Nehemiah 7 (Part 1) Bible Study (Hanani & Hananiah Governors) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (9/18/26)

Let's go together to the book of Nehemiah. As you know, we've gathered together again to explore a marvelous book in our Bibles written by a godly man named Nehemiah. Now, I wouldn't be surprised that as returning to our Bibles, if some of you who have been carefully studying with us these past few months may be wondering what is left for us to study. And the reason why I say that is because from the very beginning of this book, the main purpose, the main focus of looking at Nehemiah's narration and his retelling of this piece of Judah's history is the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem that had been destroyed many years before his time through the Babylonian exile. And as we saw last week in chapter six, this wonderful task that Nehemiah prayed for and and desired to get his hands on has reached its completion.

The walls are rebuilt, and the enemies of Judah did not succeed in stopping the people of God from accomplishing it. And the passion of this man and all his fasting and praying has now materialized. Everything that we have studied about Nehemiah up to this point revolved around that objective, that challenging objective, that important objective, but we've seen the climax, haven't we? It's done. It's over.

The walls are resurrected. The gates are in place. The people are now secure. So what is left for Nehemiah to write about? Well, as we're about to see in this new chapter, Nehemiah is not concerned merely and simply for the walls to be rebuilt.

Nehemiah wanted those walls, yes to come again into existence, but also to fulfill the purpose that they were designed for. And that was to be a shield for God's people against external threats and temptations, while also serving as a symbol of the separation that the people of God were called to unto the Lord from the nations. And that is why for the rest of this book, Nehemiah is going to shift his leadership focus from rebuilding the walls to shepherding the convictions of the people within those walls. Because you see, this godly man understood that the security of the holy city was not dependent upon any physical structure. It ultimately rested upon the obedience of God's people.

Here's what we have to remember before we start reading. The destruction of these walls to begin with did not come from anything other than the people's unrepentant ongoing rebellion against the Lord. It wasn't like Babylon just emerged from the scene as the dominating world empire and surprised Judah by besieging it and destroying it. Babylon was God's agent on the earth to discipline his people. And the manifestation of God's wrath in that setting brought down these walls because it stemmed from the people who continually rejected his patience throughout the centuries, calling them to come back to himself.

And so in order to avoid that fatal mistake repeating again, Nehemiah now is going to give his attention while he is in Jerusalem to facilitating and fostering the faith of the people so that it can come to a place where they can sustain the blessing that they have enjoyed thus far. And that is really what this Bible study is all about. We have considered in past Friday nights how the enemy attacks the work of God, especially when it is significant, when it is serious, when it is in alignment with God's word and his will. We've also considered how the enemy attacks the leaders of such work, how he targets leaders of different ministries, especially in the context of the local church. And we've we've even seen how his assaults appear and manifest within and from the outside, and that was hopefully helpful.

That was that was something for our own equipment, but now the spirit of God through Nehemiah's example is going to bring us to the other side of the battle. Nehemiah is now going to show us through this passage wonderful principles to protect, to preserve, and to prosper the work of God that He has blessed us with and entrusted us with as a community. This Bible study is framed in the context as a community. Many times we seek individual application, and though that is there every time we open God's word, what we're going to see here will highlight some of the things that a local body of believers must do and must secure, especially those who are in leadership positions, to enjoy God's continued favor over their ministry. And I believe that this is a timely word for us as a church because like Nehemiah, at this point of his story, we too have reached a milestone as a ministry, haven't we?

I mean, look around you. This is massive. This is an answer to many prayers. This is an answer to fasting. This is God's grace to us, and he is giving us something to steward, and it's been beautiful these last few months.

But how do we protect it? Is it possible for this to go south very quickly? Yes. But is it possible for it to sustain, and not just sustain, but to thrive as we tread along and as we move ahead in this journey in whatever the Lord has called us to? Absolutely.

And what we'll see here in these handful of verses of chapter seven are principles that we can draw from that can be applied to the church because all scripture is breathed out by God and is for our benefit. And so I want us to begin here reading the first four verses of Nehemiah chapter seven, and then zoom in to see what we can learn for ourselves as a church to know how to preserve this great work that God has given to us, this community, this family, this ministry. Let's read together in verse one of Nehemiah seven. Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, I gave my brother Hananiah and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God fearing man than many. And I said to them, 'Let not the gates of Jerusalem be open until the sun is hot, and while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors.

Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes. The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt. This is God's word. Let's pray. Lord, bless the reading and the explaining and the applying of your word to our hearts.

Help us see Christ clearly. Help us see his wisdom, his heart, his love. And as we see it, may our hearts enlarge so that we could run-in the way of your commandments. We pray that you would shoot down all distractions, anything that would snatch away the seed of the truth from our hearts. Instead, Lord, may the soils of our hearts be prepared to receive all that you have to say.

Be glorified in it, and may we know greater good in it. At the same time, Lord, we ask these things in the precious name of our Savior, your Son, the soon coming King, Jesus. Amen and amen. I'm not sure if you noticed, but there's a repeated action being expressed here in the verses that we looked at, and it is that of appointing. Nehemiah appointed, Nehemiah gave charge, Nehemiah even called for others to appoint, all within the first three verses.

So, we see here that this man is setting into place necessary practices to preserve the vitality of Jerusalem, At the same time, to protect her... Protect God's honor which was at stake here, and to also position the people of God for greater testimonies ahead. This was a man who was being very strategic and careful of who would go where and what they would be doing, and because he is doing this for the people of God, we have to also understand that the Spirit of God would speak to us through it because the conditions that he sets here are also conditions that are universal concerning us, the church. There are things here that reflect the practices that the church must also apply and employ, and in doing so, we can know a security in God's favor for us. And I think there are at least six.

Six conditions highlighted here, and the first three of them appear in verse one. What is it that we must do to protect what God has done through us? What He has built and what He is building? Well, the first thing that we notice here in verse one is the importance of gatekeepers. Look at it again.

Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors and the gatekeepers, the singers and the Levites had been appointed. Highlight that, the gatekeepers. Now the gatekeepers throughout the Old Testament were generally assigned to the precincts of the temple. They were raised up as a designated group tasked to screen who and what would enter into the house of God, and who and what would exit the house of God, assuring that whatever transpires, whatever is transported, whatever enters and exits would be in alignment with God's will, and the sanctity of this dwelling place would remain. And so these gatekeepers here can be found in a more detailed account and a more specific set of the responsibilities in first Chronicles chapter nine, and you don't have to turn there because what we find here in Nehemiah's day is something unique.

Their responsibilities as the gatekeepers now extend beyond the temple, beyond the tabernacle to the city walls. There's an enlargening here happening with the gatekeepers. They're actually going to the borders of the city, and this is because Nehemiah wants to take extra precautions to ensure the safety of God's people. Gatekeepers, they symbolize something for us as believers in Jesus Christ who take the church of Christ seriously. Gatekeepers show us the necessity of being a discerning people, especially those who are leaders.

It's a representation to remain vigilant of who and what would enter into the fellowship of God's people, and who and what would leave and walk out of the community of faith. And it would be tempting to say that this kind of responsibility is reserved for those who are overseers, and though that is true in many ways, it's a call for the people of God as a whole to possess discretion, and to walk in the light, and to be observant, and to be listening, because not everybody who enters a fellowship has good or holy intentions. Now, we have to be careful here because this can easily become a mindset that is exclusive in a negative way, unwelcoming, or even overly suspicious, where people who walk in don't sense the love of Christ. That is not what this is a call for. Remember, the gatekeepers, if you read one Chronicles carefully, we're in charge of opening the doors every morning.

We should expect and long for people to come, and to be blessed, and to even join this fellowship as they worship God with us. However, what they stand for means that you and I have to be careful, and we have to be watchful because there are behaviors and there are doctrines that can harm the purity and the unity of the church. And what the gatekeeper shows us is that we have to be willing to address such things swiftly before they cause injury. And the New Testament presents many ways where they have both failed and succeeded in applying the principle of being watchful, and I wanna show you a few of those. Turn with me to two Peter chapter two, and notice how Peter speaks about false teachers.

You would be amazed to know how much New Testament speaks about false teachers and how little false teachers are spoken of from the pulpit across the churches, in the West especially. I want you to look at this. Now I've said this before, and I think people miss it, and that's why we need to be reminded. If you look through the New Testament, virtually every letter warns about false teachers. They're out there, and they're not less prevalent today as they were in the days of the early church.

Notice what Peter says in second Peter two verse one, but false prophets also arose among the people just as there will be false teachers among you. That's a promise. That's a prophecy. There will be false teachers among you. Now look how they operate.

Who will secretly... Who will secretly bring in destructive heresies? Not obviously, but secretly. They will wear a cloak. They will come in seemingly believing what you believe in, but they are undercover, they are on a mission, they understand especially if a church is preaching the truth that they can't be so obvious, and so they come in in a manner that is camouflaged.

Who will secretly bring in destructive heresies even denying the master who bought them bringing upon themselves swift destruction. Turn over to Jude, no chapters only verses and look at verse four of Jude. And notice what Jude says about the state of many assemblies in his day. In Jude verse four, For certain people have crept in unnoticed. Where were the gatekeepers?

Where was the church? Where were the leaders? How have people crept in unnoticed? They were able to slip in, they didn't seem dangerous, they didn't seem harmful, they didn't seem divisive, they didn't seem like they were bearing false doctrine, they crept in unnoticed. They had Bibles in their hands.

They had a nice suit jacket on. They seemed so friendly. They were singing the songs when you were singing them. They crept in unnoticed. And what did they bring with them?

Who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality, and deny our only master and Lord Jesus Christ. Do you see that? There are some who have come in and begin to convince other Christians within that assembly, you know, God's so merciful, he's so forgiving. Surely he will not condemn us if we continue in sin, surely he understands that we are flesh, Surely he is lenient on these matters. Surely his grace abounds, and they crept in unnoticed.

So this has been a problem for the church from the beginning. But is there any example in the New Testament where the church succeeded in applying this principle of having their gates watched? Let me give you one. You're there in Jude, so you don't have to turn too far. Go to Revelation, and go to chapter two with me and look at what God says, look what Christ says in commending the church in Ephesus.

Revelation two, and look at verse two with me. I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not and found them to be false. Do you see that? Jesus Christ is going to criticize this church for forsaking the first love. But before he does that, he praises them.

And one of the things that he praises is that you as a church were able to distinguish and able to identify those who claim to be apostles, claim to be ministers, but were indeed false, and I love that. And I celebrate that, and I commend you for that. Why? Because the Lord wants gatekeepers in his church. Vigilant members, loving elders, who yes are accepting to all people, but not admitting all people should they bring destructive heresies and abominable practices into the church.

So what does that look like for us as a church? I'll tell you one way that we exercise this principle. If those who desire to become members pursue that, they have to sit with the elders and we have to find out what they believe. You know, there's a lot of people who criticize this concept of membership and I know some churches take it way too far. But why we apply that is because we see in the New Testament that not anybody can just come in and out of the church.

If you look at the book of Acts carefully, when certain believers would travel from one church to another, or move from one location to another, if they were believers, they needed to receive the recommendation of that church before they moved on. That's what you that's what you see in the in the book of Acts, and that's the application of being gatekeepers. And so that's how we try to do it. We try to implement this by knowing those who would say, I wanna be a part of this fellowship. Wonderful.

Well, let let's let's hear what you believe. We'll tell you what we believe, and and let's see if these things are secondary matters, tertiary matters. Do they touch the nerve of the gospel? Are they out of line of Orthodox Christianity? If we wanna preserve and protect what God has built and what he wants to build, we need gatekeepers.

And we'll get to that later in this study because we come now to the second thing that Nehemiah implements. Verse one again, read it with me. Now when the wall had been built and I'd set up the doors and the gatekeepers, the singers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, but highlight the singers. What does Nehemiah show us here as he seeks to invest in this community before he moves on? What does he do in order to provide the necessary ingredients for their longevity?

He prioritizes worship. He establishes the importance of gatekeepers, and from there he reminds the people the priority of worship. Now amazingly, Nehemiah writes that he appoints singers, and this is not a new ministry that he invents. This was something that King David himself had established when he brought the Ark of the Covenant and retrieved it to the Tabernacle once he became king, and that practice continued in the days of Solomon his son. There was a separate group of people recognized as singers and it was their job twenty four seven according to the Book of Chronicles.

That's all they did. Ongoing praise, assisting the people who would come into the presence of God to do the very same thing, all of this is recorded in one Chronicles six verse 31 and verse 32. But Nehemiah was not just keeping up with tradition here. No, The fact that he prioritize organizing the singers so soon after the reconstruction of the walls around Jerusalem illustrates the essential goal of this community in Jerusalem to worship God. Why did we build these walls?

Merely for defense? No. The ultimate purpose according to this man of God was to protect and facilitate the devotion of God's people. To worship God with freedom and less fear. That was his driving vision all along.

And so he resurrects these walls, and one of the first orders, one of the first course of action is make sure that the singers are in place. Why? Because what we're doing here within these walls is worshiping God. And this carries a powerful lesson for the church today because as we expand and seek new initiatives, we must keep in mind that everything we build serves that purpose, to deepen people's attention and awareness of God, to draw them closer to the person of Jesus Christ. And both in the Old and in the New Testament, we see time and time again how that simple mission, that focus is lost for secondary endeavors, or even for sinful ambitions.

And And the community that's called to worship now gathers for different reasons, different motives, different ambitions, different longings. And one of the clearest examples we read is the Lord Jesus cleansing the temple. Why did he cleanse the temple? Twice. Because worship was no longer a priority, was it?

Now, people make the mistake that when Jesus cleansed the temple is because he didn't want anything being sold in the temple. Is that why Christ cleansed his father's house? No, not if you read the Old Testament. If you read Deuteronomy 14 carefully, God instituted a law that would relieve worshipers who would come from different parts of Israel so that when they would come on their pilgrimages, they would not have to haul their large animals. Instead, they can just bring their wallets, and then come to the temple, and then purchase whatever they wanted, and then sacrifice it there on the spot.

So the issue was not that people were selling animals in the temple, that was God's idea. All you have to do is read Deuteronomy 14 to see it. So what was the problem with Christ in entering in and driving away the money changers is because what was designed to assist worship now became worship assisting greed. What was meant to help the people in their devotion to God was used by certain people to benefit them. It was a grace given by God and like so many other graces, it was perverted for personal gain.

And how was that done? There was extortion and unfair exchange rates. That is people traveled from far and they realized how much the price was high, they had no choice. What do they do? Go back home and get their animals or get it for a different price?

We see that strategies today. Specific locations will have higher what? Prices for this, prices for that. Understanding that those who have come from different places are more likely to give in to that even though it hurts, and this is selfishness at play. This is exactly what happened here at the temple.

But it boils down to this, what was meant for the worship because of wicked men became for profit. And so listen, you and I as a church, we have to always ask ourselves, no matter what we dream about or whatever ministry wanna start or or anything that we wanna do in the future, does this serve any purpose in assisting people in their devotion to Christ. If it doesn't, we have every right to question it. Why are we doing this? Because it happens incrementally.

If the goal is not, this is to draw people towards the Lord, then what are we doing? Nehemiah understands we have to establish the singers here at the out front because the activity of this fellowship of this people is primarily to draw near to God. If we're not building around that, we're treading on dangerous territory here. So he sets up the singers. The singers represent the priority of worship.

We want God to bless what we're building here, then prioritize that. But we come to the third thing found in verse one, and you saw it already, but we can read it again. Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed. If you're taking notes, we've already covered the importance of gatekeepers, the priority of worship, and thirdly, what needs to be established for a community of faith to thrive is the spiritual care of priests. The role of the Levites is quite expansive.

We're not gonna cover everything that they contribute to a community of believers. Instead, I wanna highlight the emphasis that Nehemiah makes in this book. What does he highlight about the Levites that helps us understand why he sets up the Levitical priesthood and make sure that they are in alignment with God's word and will? We have to go over to the next chapter. What happens next?

Look at Nehemiah eight with me in verse seven. This will reveal the importance of their appointment. What did the Levites do in Nehemiah's narration? In Nehemiah eight, look at verse seven with me, Also Jeshua, Benai, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkob, Shabbathai, Hodiah, Messiah, Kalita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Peliah, the Levites helped the people to understand the law. While the people remain in their places, they read from the book, from the law of God clearly, and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading.

And Nehemiah who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, this day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep for all the people wept as they heard the words of the law. So what are the Levites instructed to do? What's their primary goal here and responsibility? To teach.

To teach. You want a community, you want a church to not just survive, but thrive. You want what God has built and what we continue to build to be protected and preserved and to prosper, you need to establish the spiritual care of priests namely through the ongoing exposure of God's word to the hearts of God's people. Nehemiah understood that the spiritual well-being tied to the ongoing blessing of this community would not be possible, nor could it arrive to new heights unless he had designated people who are qualified to expound the truth of God's word. And Paul shared a similar concern when he gave Timothy final instructions before his own execution.

Paul like Nehemiah, because Nehemiah is ready to go back to Persia, And Paul was ready to go to heaven, and he could not offer anything while being in the presence of Christ, unlike what some people claim. Once he's gone, he's gone, so he leaves marching orders to Timothy, and one of the things that he sets for his protege, for his young spiritual son is a very known verse in second Timothy two two. What does he tell this pastor to do in second Timothy two two? Let me read it to you. And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses and trust the faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Timothy, if you want your church in Ephesus to live beyond me and live beyond you, raise up teachers in that church. A healthy church, a spiritual church, a successful church will in time raise up more teachers in that church. It's not built around one teacher, that's a recipe for a short term ministry. It's to disciple, and it's to invest, and it's to raise up not a copy paste of the main teaching pastor, but to instill the convictions and the tools necessary to draw out the depths of God's word so that the teaching ministry can sustain that ministry. And what I love about this here is that you see this throughout the New Testament especially.

In Acts two forty two, what did the early church devote themselves to? The first thing out of that list of things is the apostles' teaching. Everything flows from that. Whether you like it or not, the health of the church depends upon the strength of the teaching, and that's why we're so heavily reliant on being a word based church. What does it matter if you have walls?

What does it matter if you have programs? What does it matter if you have all these activities, but the substance is lacking? Where's the spiritual nourishment? Where's the voice of God? Where is the thunderous authority that comes from heaven through the written sacred scrolls of the Lord?

Where is it? What are we offering people? Nehemiah knew this. We need Levites. We need men who will be able to look at people in the eye with hearts throbbing in love and saying, this is what God's word says, and not just reading it.

No, no, no, giving them clarity and understanding of it. And what I love also about this is how the singers and the Levites are so closely connected in chapter seven, are they not? It shows us that authentic worship is impossible without knowledge of God's truth. And in turn, God's truth must in turn produce authentic praise and adoration. If you wanna know the emotion in a place is legitimate, if you wanna know if the the the volume of the singing is right, look at what's being taught.

What's being taught? If it's not truth, if it's not biblical, if it's not rooted in verses being expounded, then all of that that's taking place before the preaching and after preaching, it's all hoopla. It's just noise. It's just manipulation. It's just the right keys and the right build up.

It's not based on truth. But, oh, if truth is really at work, if it's done in the spirit, then it's not gonna... I'm stunned sometimes when I go to some places, you think Jesus didn't erase from the grave the way people sing. Is this a funeral service or are we a people who know that our Christ has resurrected? And do we understand that we're called to that resurrection as well?

How can you be dormant? How can you be so lifeless? And some of those same places, they... They're proud because they go verse by verse. Okay, great, but why is it dead?

I don't understand it. So, yes, true authentic worship must be stimulated by the truth, but the truth also must stimulate true and authentic worship. Something's disconnected if those things are not happening. But Nehemiah understood we need Levites, and we need to raise up Levites, and we need to protect the Levitical ministry primarily in the ministry of the word. May God preserve us in that.

But we still have a few more things to look at. Look at verse two now, finally we've escaped verse one. The fourth thing that Nehemiah wants to put into place to ensure the long term health of the community in Jerusalem is to have the fear of God first in the leadership that would trickle down to the people. Look at verse two again, I gave my brother Hananiah, and Hananiah, the governor of the castle, charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God fearing man than many. Oh, I love that verse.

We've discussed a lot already about the fear of God because that was one of the trademarks of Nehemiah's character, was it not? Because of the fear of God. This is why I did this. This is why I sacrificed in this way. This is why I removed myself from perverse practices because of the fear of God.

And so it should be no surprise to us that when Nehemiah needed help to supervise the city, especially in his absence, he would look for people who possess that same quality, who in this place fears God. I love how he doesn't just find anybody who fears God, he says, I found in Hananiah a man who fears God more than the rest of them. And there's so much I would like to say about this one verse like how Nehemiah's blood brother was one of the people appointed for this responsibility? That's interesting. Nobody dared to accuse him of nepotism because he wasn't choosing his brother because he was his brother.

Go back to chapter one, you don't have to turn there. Nehemiah's brother was one of the ones who brought the news about the destitution of Judah and Jerusalem. He had a genuine care and love for the people of God. Nehemiah saw that and he promoted his brother because of that. I would love to speak about how faithfulness and fear in God go hand in hand like we see with Hananiah.

And as I mentioned earlier, I would love to speak about how there are those who fear God more than others. There's a spectrum of the fear of God and there's a way to measure it, but time does not suffice for us to explore that. Instead, I just wanna highlight one thing, the blessing that leaders who fear God bring to those under their leadership. Nehemiah understands that if I can get men who lead to fear God, not only will they be rewarded for fearing God, those under their leadership will also be enriched. And one clear example of that is in second Samuel.

I want you to see what David says here in his final words in chapter 23. In two Samuel 23, it's worth turning there. David says something splendid. It's a wonderful insight about what the fear of God produces, not just in a person, but in a community. Two Samuel 23 in verse three, The God of Israel has spoken.

The rock of Israel has said to me, 'When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God,' what happens? Verse four, He dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. Oh, how poetic, how precious, how profound. David reflecting on his own leadership surely and what he's observed throughout his career says, when you have somebody ruling in the fear of God, there is a manifold blessing that awaits those who are under such a rule. And he describes it here so beautifully, right?

But listen, if you know somebody who fears God, you can echo these sentiments, can you not? People who genuinely walk in an awe of the Lord are delightful people. They are safe people. They are reliable people. They are insightful people.

They are trustworthy. They are selfless. They are a gift. They pour out. They invest, they sacrifice, they bring warmth to us, and not just leaders, but especially leaders.

And how true is it that a person who lacks a fear of God brings the opposite effects? Especially within the community of a church, they incite trouble. Most of the trouble that you bump into with people in the church is due to this single issue, they don't fear God. They think a pastor is in charge of the church, they think people are in charge of the church, they think... They're so humanistic, they're so carnal, they're so fleshly.

And when you fear God, you'll be very careful to touch the church, very careful. So, they incite trouble, they create strife, they hurt others out of selfish gain, and they are ultimately draining people. They don't make things grow, they destroy. They don't bring more warmth, they make people cringe. And Nehemiah understood what David was speaking about here.

I have to find not just people who have skill, and ability, and respect, and an impressive resume, I need people who fear God. And when you fear God like Nehemiah did, you're able to discern who else fears God. And you're able to discern, yeah, that person fears the Lord, but not in everything. That person fears the Lord, but it's inconsistent. No, not with the men that he chose, they feared God more than others.

And the fear of God is a necessary ingredient to spiritual promotion. You can't go very far without the fear of God. You can go very far if you fear him. And the reason why it's important to establish in leadership because that outlook, that attitude, that conviction is contagious. It's inspiring.

People sometimes ask, what do I look for in a local church? And my answer is the same, look no further than the leadership because they sit in the driver's seat of that community. How do they handle God's word? How do they speak about Christ? How do they conduct themselves?

Are they flipping? Are they casual? Are they irreverent? Are they disrespectful? That's all you need to know.

I'm sure there are other factors. I don't wanna be overly simplistic, but I think it's paramount like Nehemiah shows us here that for community to be able to thrive, you need God fearing people especially those who are in positions of authority. There's more. Let's come back to Nehemiah seven, and let's read now again verse three. And I said to them, now he's speaking to those that he just appointed to govern the city with him, and I said to them, 'Let not the gates of Jerusalem be open until the sun is hot, and while they are standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors, appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.

Now, the initial set of commands here are quite clear. It connects with the gatekeepers earlier. He tells these men, Listen, you have to instruct the gatekeepers, number one, to not open the gates too early in the day. Why? He says, while the sun is hot.

Because if you did it too early, there wouldn't be enough light, it would be too dim, and you wouldn't be able to identify people enough. There would be a lack of information, so to speak, due to visual obstacles. So wait till the sun is hot. Wait till you can see all things and people can't sneak things in and sneak things out. And this is really an illustration again of the need for discernment, of the need to be prayerful and aware, biblically informed to know what is right, what is wrong, what is clean, what is unclean, what is truth and what is not true.

And he says the same thing later where he says, make sure you shut the door before it gets dark, make sure there are people there standing guard as you do it, but that's not the focus that I wanna bring to your attention. What I wanna highlight here as we look at the fifth condition necessary to maintaining God's protection, and preservation, and prosperity in our work, healthy homes. Healthy homes. Did you notice the last part of verse three? Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.

This is amazing. Nehemiah doesn't just see how necessary it is for people to be standing guard at the walls, he goes beyond the call for those to watch over the temple, he now stations watchmen right in front of their own front steps. Why? Because this man of God understood something that is so profoundly important for local assemblies today. The strength of the broader fellowship of Christians is connected to the shared responsibility and welfare of individual households.

If you don't have healthy homes in a church, you ultimately are going to get a sick church. What is the church made up of? Families. Yes, different demographics and different backgrounds, but that is a key component surely. And so how do we look at an instruction like this and apply it to Christians in this age?

All you have to do is look at the New Testament, and you see from time to time where the Holy Spirit gives specific instructions and warnings about not the church, households, what happens in homes. Because the Holy Spirit understands if you have no watchmen at home, then that is a very crucial foothold for Satan to not just get into that home, but get into the church. Can I prove that to you? Let me give you a couple of examples. We're talking about Nehemiah inviting everyone to share in this responsibility to protect their community, not just guards, not just Levites, not just gatekeepers, we need some of you, especially the men, to stand at your front door.

Let me show you one example of that. Go to first Timothy five with me. Do you know what you have in this chapter primarily? Paul's instructions to Timothy who's pastoring a church of how to deal with financial distributions in the church. Should the church help people financially?

Sure. Should they do so freely and without protocol? No. Paul tells Timothy exactly how to go about helping namely widows. And what's amazing here is what he says in verse 16 of first Timothy five.

He writes, if any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened so that it may care for those who are truly widows. What an instruction. What is Paul revealing here? He's revealing that it is very much a common reality for people to instinctively go to the church to solve problems, run to the church as their primary solution for their issues.

And though the church is designed to be a safe haven and to be a place of healing and instruction and counsel and guidance, in the context of financial help here, Paul says, before you go to the church, if any among you have a widow in your family, and he says earlier, children and then grandchildren, take care of them yourself. That's your duty. And what's the warning here? Because if everybody, no matter their circumstance, no matter the depth of their issues runs to the church, Paul says that the church will be burdened. The church will be financially burdened in the context here.

And not only burden in that sense, but he says here, we we need to care for those who are truly widows. There are widows who don't have believing family members. There are those who are more dire circumstances. They don't have a husband who can support them. They don't have relatives.

They don't have children who work, and so they really need the church. But if everybody just runs to the church and you neglect your own responsibility in your own household and with your immediate family, then we're gonna get ourselves into trouble. And I see an illustration of that in Nehemiah chapter seven. You can't just depend on the guards and you can't just depend on the gatekeepers, you need to watch over your own house. You need to take care of your own loved ones.

And to some extent, we can apply that to spiritual disciplines as well. How many people just dump their children at the foot of youth pastors and say, teach my kids and get them saved? And they do zero in the house. There is no instruction, there's no Bible reading, there's no praying, there's no exemplifying the joy of serving the Lord. It just, oh, okay, here you have a program here my kids, get them sanctified.

No. The church supplements. As we heard at the conference, the main school of faith is within the household and with parents who've been entrusted with godly offspring. Here's another example, go to second Timothy in chapter three. After Paul list the different vices and sins that will be amplified as we approach the last days, he gives a warning to believers.

He says at the end of verse five, Avoid such people, and he goes on to describe some of their activities, and we see it here in second Timothy three verse six. For among them are those who creep into churches, households, and capture weak woman, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. What a word for us today. So much information. Right?

So so much podcast and interviews, so much learning and very little arriving to the knowledge of the truth. But besides, I noticed earlier here, for among... From among them are those who creep into households. These type of people understand we can't just go directly into the local assembly. We can't get into such close proximity with a spiritual community and and shepherds.

So what do they do? They invite themselves over for dinner, and they sit on your couch, and they befriend you, and slowly but surely they they arrest people who lack discernment, people who are naive, people who are not built in the word, people who don't have their hearts guarded. And you do that in enough households, that's going to impact the church at large. And I've seen it with my own eyes. I've seen it with my own eyes.

I've seen people who stumble into this place and they seem splendid and wonderful and kind and everything else, but slowly they begin to creep into households with heresy on their lips and divisive plans in their hearts. Because they understand that shepherds and under shepherds are not omnipresent. And so what's the call? To be vigilant in our own homes. What kind of things are we allowing in our entertainment?

What kind of conversations are we having? What kind of attitudes are we displaying before our loved ones? What are we allowing in or are we careful? Nehemiah tells certain men, you need to be careful because the enemy may not come to us, he may not come in obvious ways, but he may come knocking at your front step to guard yourselves, guard your loved ones. This is a call especially for men.

Men, you've been granted a unique authority to protect your family. There's a certain level of power in your prayers, in your instruction, and in your example. Don't take it for granted. Don't think little of it. That's already the first step of losing this battle over guarding our homes.

Let this Bible study refresh you and inspire you again that God has called me to wield spiritual weapons and to be strengthened in my soul and to be in tune with the Holy Spirit and to be inhaling the word of God so that I can be the man that God's called me to be in watching over my loved ones. And when you do that, whether you realize it or not, you are contributing to the strength of the church, and that's a wonderful thing. There's a ripple effect here. So Nehemiah understands if we wanna protect the community in Jerusalem, well that's not separate from protecting the home, so protect your homes believers. Don't just rely on the meetings here, go beyond that by the grace of God and do it in the joy of the Lord.

Final thing, it's very subtle, but it's one that excited me a lot in preparation for this study. Look at the final verse of our passage tonight, Nehemiah seven verse four. After speaking about all that he had appointed, all that he had set up, he mentions his last thing, The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few and no houses had been rebuilt. Why were there so few people in the city? Well, it's clear for years Jerusalem had been unsafe to inhabit without surrounding barriers.

And so, many of the population went to the outskirts, went to the countryside, and they chose to raise their families there. And so, Nehemiah comes to help and he realizes we don't have the adequate population. We don't have enough inhabitants. We don't have enough citizens in the main city here, and if that would not change, then rebuilding those walls would be a very pointless feat. And I'm looking at this, I'm wondering what do we learn from this?

Well, for the rest of the chapter, we're going to see Nehemiah strategizing to reverse this. He's going to find a way now to draw people back to Jerusalem and to bring life again to that place. But I see something else here with this verse. This is not just a transitionary thought. This is something that says something about Nehemiah's heart, Nehemiah's faith namely.

What does it say about Nehemiah that when he comes to Jerusalem understanding the people being scattered and yet chooses still to build the walls with its original parameters. Think about it. Nehemiah knew very well that few were living in the city, but he refused to let that shrink the city's boundaries or scale back its borders. I think that says something about this man of God. It says something that he honored the original blueprint for the city rather than downsizing it based on his present circumstances.

He could have easily looked around being like, you know what? It's gonna take some time for people to be real back in here. Why don't we just downsize a little bit? Why don't we just bring it a little closer so that it can get a little cozier and not make people feel like there's so much space. He could have thought like that, but he didn't.

And here's the sixth principle if we wanna see God continue to bless what we have started, what he has built through us. Faith to believe for more. Faith to believe for more. Things could have easily wrapped up at the end of Nehemiah chapter six. I wasn't intending to do this, but can you peek over at verse five very quickly of Nehemiah seven?

Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. Just pause there. I was planning to elaborate on this next week, but I think it's fitting now. Don't you love it? The man who experienced God putting it on his heart to rebuild the walls experiences a fresh touch.

Once that was completed to do something else for God. God had more for Nehemiah, but it started with his faith. Nehemiah believed there was more and that's shown here in verse four. I believe him building the walls and building the parameters the way he did, even though the people were not there to fill the space was an act of faith. I believe that God is gonna fill these streets, and new homes are gonna be built, and markets are going to be packed, and there will be a lineup at the temple.

I believe it. So let's build it and trust God for the rest of it. And I don't think Nehemiah here is being wishful in his thinking. I don't I don't believe he's being unrealistic at all. In fact, I believe that Nehemiah's vision was biblically informed.

We can't say this explicitly, we can't say this conclusively, but it makes me wonder if Nehemiah had certain promises in mind, maybe even certain prophecies that were made about Jerusalem that moved him to make such a decision when he planned the way he planned for Jerusalem. Does anybody remember the two main prophets in this wider story of the exiles returning to Jerusalem who helped the people continue to work of God back in the book of Ezra. In the days of Zerubbabel, does anybody remember the two prophets that we studied carefully? You can say it if you know it. Haggai.

Haggai is one. Who's the other one? Zechariah. Haggai and Zechariah. And I want us to go to one final place here in our study tonight, particularly one prophecy that Zechariah made some years before Nehemiah entered into the scene.

Turn with me to Zechariah chapter eight. He is a post exilic prophet, by the way. As you know, God raised them up to encourage the people, the remnant that returned to Jerusalem to not give up and to not look so low on their efforts and their pursuit of faithfulness to God. And I just thought to myself, did any of this run through Nehemiah's mind when he envisioned when he envisioned for Jerusalem? Look at Zechariah eight verse three.

Thus says the Lord, I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. Thus says the Lord of hosts, old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, precious picture? Can I pause here for a moment? Don't you love how the Lord cares about the elderly and the little children? We forget about the elderly and we overlook the little children, not the Lord.

The Lord loves his people so much that he even cares about the little games that children play in order to entertain their little hearts and enjoy that innocent phase of their lives. He could have said many things, but what does he say here in this prophecy? Oh, I'm going to do a work in Jerusalem where the elderly will feel safe to sit on their patios, and little children will litter the streets with all their games and all their fun. This is the God that we serve. Isn't it amazing?

Look at verse six, Thus says the Lord of hosts, if it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, Should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts. Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I will save my people from the East Country and from the West Country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God in faithfulness and in righteousness. This prophecy will ultimately be fulfilled in the millennium, but Zechariah prophesied it to a discouraged remnant who returned back from Babylonia, and this was before Nehemiah's day. And I wonder if Nehemiah knew something about it or other similar promises and prophecies throughout the Tanakh and said, The Lord is going to visit Jerusalem again. The Lord is going to repopulate the city.

The Lord is going to cause Judah to be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem will remain great forever. Let's build and make sure that there's enough space for it. You and I need to have some kind of vision for whatever church we are a part of. There needs to be something in us to believe that whatever God has done, we praise him for it, we rejoice in it, but there's more ahead. And I'll tell you, it's so sad.

There there there are many things that I can say, and I don't wanna sound critical, but one of the things that breaks my heart is over the years, if I've ever been to a church or met with other leaders and you look in their eye and you hear them talk and there seems to be a void of faith to see God do more in their midst. And if they don't say it, you can tell the way they operate. It's just an event oriented ministry. Let's just make it for another week. And I'm not saying that we have to have these ideas where we look so ahead that we don't enjoy the present or we don't be responsible for what God has given us now.

I'm not saying that at all. I hope you're hearing me right, but where's the faith for more salvation? Where's the faith to see greater growth in the people of God? Where's the faith to see God do miracles in homes? Where's the faith to see God touch our community?

Where is that? If you don't have that, if you don't have a measure of that, longevity in the ministry is less likely. And if it's there, it's less joyful. And that's when people begin to drag their feet into church. And that's when people attend prayer meeting less because what's the point?

No. Nehemiah finished building the walls, but he said, Alright, what's next Lord? We built the walls, where are the people? We're gonna do something about that. Do you see how these things are so applicable to us as Christians?

We need gatekeepers. We need to prioritize worship. We need the care of overseers who teach us. We need the fear of God in the hearts of those who oversee, in the hearts of those who serve. It must be a shared conviction.

We need to be reminded as much as the church is a blessing, individual households have a shared responsibility, and individual households also must do their part to guard their homes. That's not solely upon the pastors to help in that way. And lastly, we need faith to believe God for more ahead. We have those things in place, we have those things connected to one another, then we don't have to just relish in the past as much as we are called to do that. We can look ahead and trust that God is going to keep us and he has more to unfold before us.

Let's thank him for it together. Father, with all the things that were shared and explained this night, our prayer is especially for that last thought. Perhaps our hearts have grown dull to believe you for more. Perhaps some have walked with you for decades, but there's no vision. Perhaps you have used some in here in amazing ways in the past, but their hearts are empty today about tomorrow.

Lord, we look at Nehemiah, a man who is so broken over Jerusalem and you heard that crying, you use them, but Lord, we got a peek at how you filled that heart with a fresh vision. And, Lord, we pray in this place tonight that you would do the same in all of our hearts. But help us do it with one another in mind, help us do it with the church in mind, help us do it with the partnership of believers in mind. And so Lord, in your presence this night, we thank you for bringing us to this area. We thank you for giving us this building.

We thank you knowing that there's still much to do here, yes, but Lord, we believe there's more. We believe there's more. We believe that you brought us here to do something more and we ask that you would show us that. Help us, Lord, be faithful in the things that you've given us, but help us also have a heart that is ready to receive further instruction from you. We love you Lord.

We thank you that you've spoken to us so clearly in these short verses. Help us respond to these things the way you desire. May we leave here stirred, Lord, and knowing that you have brought us to a place that fears you, may that never go away. Receive our praise this night together. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Amen. Well as always, do you need to speak to the Lord tonight? Do you need to respond to one of these things that you heard tonight? Did something touch you in particular?

Grab it. Don't let it float away. Grab it and bring it before him. Say, Lord, you spoke to me about this. Help me with it.

Or Lord, you encourage me in this area. I thank you for it. Respond to the living God today. He is the God of Nehemiah. He is the God who inspired Nehemiah to write these verses to bless Maranatha Bible Church on a Friday night in 2026.

Let's speak to him from our hearts. If you wanna stand and worship, you can do that. If you wanna remain seated and speak to him, you're free to do that as well. Let's worship the Lord together.