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Empowering multimedia ministry for bold Christian living: Weekend Messages, Deep End Podcast, Deep Dive Bible Study. Tim Hatch, Lead Pastor, Waters Church, 26 years of pastoral ministry, book author.
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0:00 You are listening to Waters Church podcast. Waters Church is a multisite, multigeneration community of faith on the East Coast of America. Now for a message from our pastor.0:13 Nehemiah, part 13, and I wanna talk to you on the subject of 4 battles every Christian must fight. These are your notes, this what that looks like in house. Follow along, fill in the0:25 blanks. 4 battles, every Christian must fight. If you are not, in person, you don't have paper notes, take out your smartphone, it looks like this, and go to waters church dot0:36 guide, and you will find today's message tab. You click on that, and you can fill in the blanks digitally and send yourself a PDF copy of it. Well, let me give you a quick context of0:48 chapter 13 in Nehemiah as we get into these texts. Nehemiah has had to return back to his home post where he was in the Persian Babylonian empire. And if you1:00 remember, the whole book started when 12 years earlier, he had asked for a vacation. Ironically, or maybe very humorously, a 12 year vacation1:12 to return to his homeland in Jerusalem, rebuild the walls. The first half of the book is building the walls, chapters 1 to 6. Chapters 7 to 12 is rebuilding1:24 community. And I wanna say this, that's the mission of the gospel. We rebuild the walls. We rebuild spaces and places for people to come and to hear1:35 God's word. That's what we're gonna do in Greenville, South Carolina very soon. Amen. Amen. We create spaces for people to come and meet with God. If you're at 1 of our1:47 locations, I just want you to think about it. Look at the walls around you. Look at the seat underneath you. Look at the technology all around you. Think about this. Someone1:59 helped us build that before you got here. They built it so that you could be here. And in some ways, now it's on you and me now to2:11 pay it forward, to build future spaces and places for people to meet with God. So Nehemiah is evenly divided. First 6 chapters, build the space. Second 62:23 chapters, fill the space. Fill it with the ministries of the Levites and the priests. Fill it with people. Populate the city. Build a community that2:34 belongs to the Lord that will effect the lands around it. This is God's vision from the day he called Abram and said I'm gonna bless all peoples through you.2:46 We are part of that blessing. But now in chapter 13, Nehemiah returns to find out that the the people that he left2:58 filled with joy, filled with fulfillment, filled with like a sense of accomplishment. And if you remember from last week, the joy of Jerusalem, Nehemiah 12 verse 43, was3:10 heard far away because they dedicated the walls and they celebrated what God had done. When Nehemiah returns, he finds them completely backslidden,3:21 stuck back in those old deceptive pack practices that got them exiled as a people 100 years earlier to the Babylonians. And Nehemiah3:33 chapter 13 reminds us that like ancient Israel, God's people will always have to struggle and fight3:45 for their faith. You are in a fight. I don't know I know some of you don't like to do this, but do this anyway. Turn to your neighbor and just say, you're in a fight.3:57 You're in a fight. And I want you to stop beating yourself up over the fact that sometimes you lose the fight.4:09 Losses are inevitable. In fact, if you read the entirety of scripture, you will see that not a single saint of the most high God4:21 had it down pat all the time. Well, maybe Enoch, but we don't know much about him. But there weren't many others. David struggled with ups and downs. Abram4:33 and Abraham struggled ups and downs. Jacob was a hot mess. The disciples were hot messes themselves, arguing about who would be the greatest, fleeing Jesus in his4:45 most desperate moments. Even after the day of Pentecost, we have records where Peter was a little bit racist towards non Jewish believers. Paul the apostle4:56 outlines in Romans chapter 7, he does the things that he hates, and the things that he should do, he doesn't do, and he wrestles with the flesh. And then you read all the way to Revelation and you hear about this the5:08 7 churches of Asia Minor and Jesus writes them letters, scathing letters to 5 of the 7 churches because 1 of them lost their first love, the church in Ephesus. Another church tolerated5:20 immoral teachings and sexual immorality within their own congregation. The church in Laodicea famously was known for what? Being what? Lukewarm. What I'm trying to tell5:32 you is, the battle for steadfastness in the faith is real. But what I know from history is that people who fight and press on5:44 in spite of their defeat and setbacks, if they just keep at it, they eventually win. He was born in 18 o5:55 9. In 18 32, he had lost his first job, ran for public office and lost. The next year, his business collapsed. In 9 in 18 35, the woman he6:07 loved died. In 18 36, he had a nervous breakdown. He ran for congress in 19 43, lost. Ran for congress in 19 18 48, lost. 18 43, 186:18 48. He ran for congress in 18 49, lost. Applied for a government job, was turned down. In 18 54, he ran for the senate, was defeated. In 18 56, he aimed for the vice presidency, lost that6:30 1 as well. In 18 58, another senate run, and he lost that. And in 18 60, he was elected president of the United States, and perhaps is our greatest president of all time, Abraham Lincoln. A6:42 life marked with failures and setbacks did not stop him from eventually fulfilling his God given destiny. I don't know if anybody's a fan of vacuuming. I'm6:54 not. My wife, thankfully, is. But I don't know if you've ever heard of the expensive vacuum, the Dyson vacuum. This is the, first vacuum of its kind, revolutionary, because it is a bagless7:06 vacuum. It was invented by a guy named James Dyson, and the story of him developing bagless vacuum technology is a thing to behold. He spent 157:18 years of his life simply trying to perfect the technology of bagless vacuuming. During the 15 years, he struggled7:30 through poverty, through failures, through industry skeptics, and absolute dismissal from contemporaries. He was stressed. He was7:42 strained. He was set back. He he came up with 5126 prototypes. I want you to think about that. 5126 prototypes7:54 before he finally got it down and started selling his vacuum. And today, the Dyson company is a world industry leader worth8:05 8000000000 dollars, and James Dyson goes down in history as 1 of the most successful inventors ever. You know what James Dyson and Abraham8:17 Lincoln knew that you need to know about your struggle with your faith? Just keep fighting. I You could be8:29 here today at any 1 of our locations, and you have just had 1 of the worst weeks of your Christian life, or maybe you're not even a Christian yet, and you've just had 1 of8:41 the worst weeks of your life, and you might be thinking, I guess that's it. I just can never get it right. I might as well just give up. This is it, my last time. I'm gonna just say goodbye to God today and8:52 see you later because I'm not worthy. I can't I can't make it happen. Well, now I wanna just tell you something. Just keep fighting. It's not over yet. If you got breath in your lungs, you're not dead. If you've got a9:04 pulse in your blood, you're not dead. And let me tell you something, Jesus is still alive. He's still faithful. He's still able, and he's still willing to help you, save you, forgive9:16 you, and establish you once again in the walk of faith. I say this because Nehemiah comes back to Jerusalem having left them in9:28 such good standing, and when he returns, they are completely backslidden. They're defeated. But what I love about chapter 13 is that,9:39 thank God, this chapter was recorded. Because what I absolutely appreciate about scripture from Genesis to Revelation is this, is that we get9:51 the whole story of God's people, even God's greatest heroes, warts and all, failures and tragedies, and absolute abject, you10:03 know, abysmal experiences, and the scriptures do not try to hide it. Maybe it's because God wrote this book for people who would suffer the same10:14 experiences. Amen somebody. If you're failing, don't quit. If you're defeated, don't quit. If you're backslidden today, I'm so glad you came to church.10:26 This is the place you should be. So Nehemiah returns. And what I love about this chapter as well is that we're gonna find, and I've discovered this, the 4 areas where we10:38 need to fight. Because if you can fight in these 4 areas, I'm gonna tell you something. You're gonna have far more success in the Christian life than failure. I think 1 of the problems is, as Christians, we fight10:50 the wrong battles. Come on. You gotta pick your battles. You gotta think about, well, where does my energy go? What do I spend my time focusing on? And in this chapter, we're gonna discover11:02 these 4 areas through the 4 areas that Nehemiah finds out where the people of Israel had broken their promises to God. Have you ever done this? Have you ever said11:13 have you ever said to Lord, Lord, I'm never gonna do this thing again. And you do it again. Or, Lord, I'm never gonna embarrass your name again. And you do it again. Or Lord,11:25 I'm always gonna be with you. I'll never walk away. And you wander. Okay. Look. Stop beating yourself up and just get back in the fight. But get back smarter. Somebody say smarter.11:37 Get back smart. Fight the fights you should fight. So 4 broken promises, which will take us to 4 battle areas, and then we're done. Are you ready? Broken promise number 1.11:50 That the people of Israel may Now now these promises are all in chapter 10. Way back in chapter 10, the people made a covenant with God and they said, we're gonna promise now, God, that we will do these things. We will12:01 not we will not ever walk away from these things. And yet here they are just a few years later and they've broken all the promises. So what is the first broken promise? Well, go back to chapter 10 verse 39. We will not12:12 neglect the house of our God. This is the temple. This is the place of worship. This is where God dwelt and met with them. And they made a promise. They said, we will not neglect the house of God.12:24 Well, what happens when we get what happens when we get to Nehemiah 13? Look what it says, verse 4. Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of God, that's the temple, and who was related to12:35 Tobiah, related. Now this is nepotism. He was related to Tobiah, prepared for Tobiah, a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, the tithes, and the grains, and the12:45 oils, and the contributions for the priest. Now this, friends, should absolutely crush you. Because what this text is telling us is that the Tobiah from earlier in the story, and12:57 I don't know if you've been here the whole time, but let me tell you who this Tobiah was. He was a sworn enemy of the Jews. He was an Ammonite. When they first came, when when Nehemiah first came just to start talking13:08 about rebuilding the walls, it was 2 guys, Sanballat and Tobiah, who came out and jeered at him, mocked him, and despised him. The bible says in Nehemiah 4 verse 3 that Tobiah the13:20 Ammonite said, he he mocked their building project. This is Nehemiah 4 verse 3. He said, even if a fox jumps up on what they're building, it will break down their stone wall. A little later,13:32 verse 8 of the same chapter, and they plotted together. This is Tobiah. Tobiah and Sanballat plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion. He was a sworn enemy. He was a critic. He13:44 was an ardent opponent of the people of Israel. And astonishingly, Nehemiah 13 verse 4 tells us that Eliashib, the high priest, the guy who was in charge of the temple,13:57 decided to clean out the temple of the offerings of the people for worship. And can you believe this? Put Tobiah up in this posh apartment in the14:08 temple. This is lunacy. And Nehemiah comes back and he is mad. Let me let me say this nicely as I14:20 can. He is angry that this guy who put so much grief into the people's lives has now got a space in the temple.14:32 So this is battle number 1. Ready? Write it down. The battle for your temple. In the New Testament, your body is the temple of the14:44 Holy Spirit. We get that from First Corinthians chapter 6 and other passages. God does not dwell in buildings made by men. Now he has chosen through the work14:56 of the whole through the work of his son Jesus that cleanses us of our sins, He has chosen to take up residence in us through the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. He now lives in you. When you look at your15:07 body, when you look at yourself, you are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. So here's a question. I want you to write this down. What or who is taking up15:19 space in your body? You have got to fight for your body. The enemy wants a space15:31 in your temple. He wants a foothold in the place that should be reserved for the Lord. And what I15:42 find is that the devil loves just to get a small space carved out. Just just like Tobiah, who got a small space carved out for him. The devil wants to carve15:54 a small space out of your body. Now when I say body, I am not just talking about your physical being. I'm talking about your mind, I'm talking about your spirit, I'm talking about your soul, and I'm talking about your16:05 physical being. All of it. So here's some questions. Maybe the enemy is taking up space in your body through food. Your diet is killing16:16 you. Your habits are wrecking your emotions. I believe you are not disconnected from your emotions and your physicality. Your physicality will affect your emotions. Your emotions affect your physicality. Your mind will16:28 affect your emotions. Everything. The whole body works together. Whole system works together. Some of you are letting the devil take a foothold through alcohol, or drugs, or smoking, or16:39 inhalants. And it seems harmless, but it's becoming a larger and larger space in your life. Here's here's another way the enemy loves to take up space in your16:51 body. Are you ready for this? Bitterness. Bitterness. He loves to plant seeds of bitterness in your life. The book of Hebrews says, Hebrews 12 15, see to it that no 1 fails to obtain17:03 the grace of God, that no root Look at how it starts. A root of bitterness, that means it's under the surface, and then it springs up and it causes trouble, and it become and many of it many people become defiled by it.17:13 The devil loves to drive a wedge. I wanna say that again. The devil loves to drive a wedge. Now if you think about it, if you ever split wood, I've split wood, 1 of the tools that you use to split wood is a wedge. It's a17:24 little triangular shape. It's made out of steel, and you put it on top of the wood that you cannot cut with an axe, and then you hammer it with a sledgehammer, and that wedge would split apart massive trunks of trees.17:35 And it is actually quite thrilling to do it because you feel so strong when it happens. But if you've ever looked at their wedge, you understand what is what a wedge is. It's science. The tip of the wedge is very small.17:46 The back of the wedge is wider, and it's amazing how that small little tip can split that massive piece of wood. Can I tell you something? Some of you have got small17:57 little things that you have allowed to drive a wedge between you and your family, your brother or sister in Christ,18:09 your hopes, your plans, your partners, your how about this? Your life group. Be careful that you don't let hurts18:21 live in here. It's called forgiveness. It's called grace. We have received it abundantly from the Lord. We have got to give it abundantly to18:32 others. I wonder who here today needs to understand. You haven't even put it in this you haven't even put it in this perspective. You've only thought about it like this. I can't believe they said that. I can't18:44 believe they did that. I can't believe da da da da da. And what you don't realize is that the devil is just dancing a happy dance because he realizes that he got a small little statement, a small little word, a small18:55 little insult to just get inside of you and it has split you. You used to be strong. You used to be connected. You used to be tied into the house and now you're disconnected because 1 small little19:06 insult has fractured the blessing of being connected to other people. What is living in your body? Some of you gotta tell yourself this. Write this down. My temple is for God, not the enemy.19:19 My temple is for God. My body is for God. I I got another 1. We gotta go back. Let me circle back to food. This might sound strange coming from a preacher, but let me say it.19:31 How is your gut biome? Some of you are like, what? How is your intestinal tract doing? Your gut biome. Scores of studies are coming out19:43 2024, 2025. They are finally figuring it out. As a man eats, so is he. As a man eats, so is he. Some of you, this19:55 thing is killing you because you don't feed it right. And astonishingly, I found this out. And by the way, in 2 weeks, we're starting our series, let's get healthy. In 2 weeks, halfway through20:07 May, just in time to ruin your Memorial Day barbecue, friend. I'm coming for you. Okay? But we're gonna start that series, but I Let me give you a preview.20:18 95 percent of the body's serotonin, which is the hormone that regulates your mood and stifles anxiety and stress.20:30 95 percent of the serotonin you need to fight off anxiety is produced in your gut. And if you don't eat right, you will not20:42 feel right. Oh, I can't wait. I can't Cancel the burgers. Cancel the hot dogs. We gonna get up right in20:54 this house. Amen. What are you letting live in your temple? You know what else Tobiah represents? Because he was a He was an ardent critic of Nehemiah and the workers. Do you know what else he21:05 represents? For some of you, listen to this. Listen to this. The person who critiques you and for whatever reason, you are utterly21:17 desperate to win their approval. Who is that for you? And you've allowed them to live rent free up here. You just And I think this is21:29 what happened with Eliashib. I mean, the high priest goes out of his way. He removes the temple offerings and he puts the enemy in. And I wonder I wonder if Eliashib was like, I just need this guy to like us.21:41 He he's related to me. You know, we're family. I just need his approve. Who is stand sitting amongst us right now? You need someone's approval and their approval isn't worth it.21:53 They are directing your life. They don't even know it because you are measuring all of your decisions by whether or not they would like it. Do you know how many times I talk to people who tell22:05 me they could never come to our church because their grandma went to a different church, and if they ever left, grandma who has been dead for 15 years would feel betrayed. Do you know what that is?22:17 You know what that is? That's worshiping grandma. Whoever is the 1 you ultimately seek to please, can I tell you, you have just identified your functional God?22:29 That's your functional savior. And anyone other than God, ladies and gentlemen, is not worth it. Look at what verse 8 says. This was Nehemiah's response, and this is what some of you gotta do. I was very angry,22:41 and I threw out the household furniture of Tobiah. I just got all this stuff right out on the curb for sale or free. Then I gave orders and they cleansed the chambers and I brought back the vessels. I filled the vessels.22:53 You don't understand something. You gotta get angry about this stuff because it's affecting your body. It's affecting your mind. It's affecting your mental health. It's affecting your emotions. It's affecting your23:02 relationship. Your body is a temple of the most high God, and you need to start taking thoughts captive. This is what Paul the apostle says. Second Corinthians 10 5, we destroy arguments. Think about these fighting23:12 words. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion that raises itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. I had a youth pastor, he used to tell me this. Hey,23:24 Tim. You can't stop the lust or the or the evil or the jealous or the prideful or the, you know, angry thought coming in, but you can stop it from staying there. You23:36 can't stop the bird from laying on your head, but you can stop him from building a nest. What are the thoughts that you need to23:48 say, I take that captive to the obedience of Christ? Oh, some of you, it's jealousy, man. You just look at other people, you're just jealous. And every time you23:59 see certain just jealousy. Bloop. And here comes the jealousy bird. Bloop. You have to take it. I take that thought captive to the obedience of Christ. My God has blessed me. My God is with me. My God is for me. I am not24:11 second class. Jesus is building my life. And this is just the part of life that we have to fight. It's never gonna go away probably until we die. The24:23 enemy's gonna constantly try to take up residence in our bodies. We have to take authority, get mad, fight back. Listen to me. You have authority in Jesus' name. Amen.24:35 Broken promise number 2. Let's move on. Here's what it says in verse 37 of chapter 10. To bring the first of our does. These are the tithes and offerings. They promise to bring the first of their does and their24:45 contributions, the fruit of the tree, wine, oil to the priest, to the chambers of the house of God, to bring the Levi's tithes from the ground. It is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor. So24:54 this is this is money. This is the money. We're gonna bring God his tithes. We're gonna bring God offerings. Well, when Nehemiah comes back in chapter 13, he found out he finds out, verse 10, I found out25:06 that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them. So the Levites and the singers who did the work had each fled to his field. So they had to go get jobs because they couldn't be supported by the people through25:15 the tithes and offerings. Now if there's 1 thing that I see constantly in scripture, in fact, is the most addressed topic in all scripture, it is this, money. And25:26 money can captivate your life. We see it from Genesis when, Cain and Abel offer 2 different sacrifices. Cain brings the leftovers, Abel brings the25:38 first fruits, and God accepts Abel's and doesn't accept Cain's. And we see it all the way through the entire bible, people wrestle over this spiritual issue of25:50 money. Jesus said in Matthew 6 24, you cannot serve 2 masters. You cannot serve God, and you cannot serve money at the same time. You're gonna serve 1 or the other.26:02 Which 1 is Which one's your master? Money can master your life. So here's second battlefront. Are you ready? Write it down. The battle for your finances. The battle for your finance. So first26:14 the temple, your body, your thoughts, your food, your ingestion, everything, your your your mind, your relationships. Okay. Now, what comes out? What comes out of your person? The26:26 in The the the the resources that God gives you, what do you do with them? What do you do with them? You have to understand that that money is a tool that the devil will use to enslave26:38 you. You will go into debt. The scripture says in Proverbs 22 7, the rich rules over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender. We're talking credit26:50 card debt cure. Years ago, I graduated from bible college, and I immediately assumed that I'm going into27:02 the ministry, I'm not gonna make much money. That's what I thought. And for a long time, that was true. So I made a27:14 very conscious decision. Do not use credit cards. I got my first apartment, my first place. To furnish the apartment,27:25 every single stitch of furniture was a hand me down. From aunts, my parents, my childhood bedroom, The church actually gave me a piece of27:37 furniture they were throwing out. It was the ugliest, dual recliner couch you could find on the planet. I proudly put that in my living room. I had, in 19 98,27:49 a console TV hand me down. How many remember console TVs? They were popular in the seventies. I was having 1 in the nineties and I didn't even have cable TV. I had an28:01 antenna. You know why I did this? Because I didn't have any money. I didn't have any money. So 1 of my 1 of my fellow graduates, I'll never forget this, and I don't wanna name him. He'd gotten married, moved into an28:12 apartment with his wife. They invited me over. I went over. The place was posh. He went to the same school I did. He didn't have any money. Posh. Everything was amazing. Beautiful couch. Beautiful dishes. Beautiful28:23 pictures on the wall. I went to Walmart. I bought 2 pictures for 5 dollars. Just guess how ugly those pictures must have been. Okay? So I was like, wow, this is amazing. Great. Then they came over my apartment, and I'll28:34 never forget it. They mocked and laughed and ridiculed my apartment from floor to ceiling. They did not let 1 thing skip their notice. Oh my word,28:46 that couch. Oh my word. Look at those pictures. Look at this place. You oh, Tim, this is heavy. And they mock and they had the time of their life These were not good friends. They had the time of their life laughing and28:57 laughing and laughing at me at all. Okay. Okay. Alright. Here we go. Long story short, 5 years later, I'm married with 2 kids and I'm finally putting a down payment on my first house. They're divorced29:09 with 2 kids because everything that they owned was on credit cards. The borrower is slave to the lender. At some point, you gotta get this29:20 right and put God first financially and trust his way of dealing with money and not yours. So Nehemiah realizes that they29:32 aren't tithing. This is where it starts by the way. It starts with tithing. First God. Then the government. Then housing,29:43 food, necessities, and then ex ex externalities. Ex, extras. Here's what it says in Nehemiah 13 11. So I confronted the officials29:55 and said, why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together and I set them in their stations. Then all Judah brought the tithe, the grain, the oil into the storehouse. He starts just bringing it in. There is30:05 no roundabout way to say this, friends. You bring God your first fruits, and then you manage the rest faithfully and diligently.30:17 And over the long term, you're blessed. Don't make impetuous decisions when it comes to big30:29 purchases. Don't try to buy stuff with money you don't have to impress people who will not care. This is a trap that the devil30:41 lays for you because if he can get you stressed about finances, he'll get you getting out there to work harder, more hours, and before you know it, your spiritual life is suffering, your emotional30:53 life is suffering. You're arguing because you don't have enough money. There's nothing you can't pay the bills. And before you know it, those credit card bills start to pile up, and you are drowning in debt. We got a31:02 class. It's called financial peace. If you haven't taken it, you gotta take it. But it's gonna tell you the things that I'm telling you right now. You gotta put God first financially. In the book of Malachi, this is, a31:12 few decades after Nehemiah. It's at the end of the Bible. It's kind of interesting. This is the end of the Old Testament. And the second to last chapter, Malachi is challenging the people once again. Bring in the tithes31:23 because you're robbing God and your and your house is desolate because you don't put them first. This is a battle, friend, that the devil wants to win. Tell the devil31:36 that God, not money, is God. Hallelujah. Broken promise number 3. Back to chapter 10 verse 31, it says this. This is their promise to God.31:48 And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath day or on a holy day. Though so this was a promise to keep the Sabbath holy. 6 days of work,31:58 1 day of rest. Sabbath, rest, cease. We're gonna stop. This was unheard of in the ancient world. Israel was setting a standard that they lived and they marched according to a different beat, and they were going to honor32:07 their father, and they were gonna trust for his provision, and they weren't gonna work themselves to death. So when Nehemiah comes back in chapter 13 verse 15, it says, in those days I saw in Judah the people treading32:17 winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys and moist and also wine and grapes and figs and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Okay. This is32:27 write this down, the battle for your time. The battle for your Your time is a battlefield. Your time is a battlefield. It is not just hours. It's a it's a matter of worship. Where where are you putting your32:39 hours? Where are you putting your time? Where are putting your attention? Verse verse 17, Nehemiah comes back. He says, he confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, what is this evil thing? If you got your notes32:49 out, underline. Evil thing. Underline. Evil thing. What is this evil thing that you were doing profaning the Sabbath day? Now, all they're doing is working on the seventh day. That's all33:01 they're doing. And Nehemiah says, it's evil. This is an evil thing. See, some of us, this is how the enemy will work you. He'll say, that's no big deal.33:13 You know, there's ones that are really big on God's list, like murder and adultery. So don't do those 2. But the rest of them, you know, come on, Sabbath. Just time. It's just a matter. Just it's just a day.33:25 It's just work. Work's a good thing. God works. We should work. Hey. Jesus is always working. No. No. No. No. No. He says this is an evil thing, that you have taken time33:37 that should be reserved for you to meet with God, and you have given it to your business and your industry. And I want you to write this point down because I think it needs to be said this way. Anything that separates33:49 you from time with the father is evil. Oh, this might sound tough, but but it it's how it's how Nehemiah addresses it.34:01 The sporting event that you go to instead of worship on Sunday, can I tell you something? It's evil. The extra shift that you pick up that you really don't need, you could make it work34:13 without it, but it's there and it's double time because it's on Sunday, but it takes you out of worship. It's evil. It's evil. And what it really does is it releases you I mean, it reveals in you a lack of trust34:24 that God will provide. This is a battle. By the way, it's a daily battle. It's a daily battle to set aside time with the Lord. And so Nehemiah brings them back. He says in verse 18, did not our fathers act this34:36 way? Did not God bring us disaster because of this? Are you now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath. So verse 19, he says, as soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the34:48 Sabbath, I commanded the doors be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath. So he does34:57 he's proactive now. Here's what he does. He says, as soon as it starts to get dark, shut the gates. The Sabbath hasn't even shut the gates. I've been to Jerusalem. I've been to Israel, by way. It's amazing. Friday night,35:06 7 PM, the whole place shuts down. It's incredible to watch. And then Saturday night, 7 PM, everything starts to open up again. Well, Nehemiah says, I'm gonna just first sign of a shade35:19 on the doors and the gates of the temple. We are shutting it down. Now some people tried to play a game. They tried to Jimmy rig the system. Look at this. Verse verse 20. Then the merchants and sellers of all the wares35:29 lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. So they're like, oh, well, he's shutting the gates of boat. Know what we're gonna do? We're gonna we're gonna line up like we're waiting for concert tickets to Bruce Springsteen.35:38 We're gonna line up and just wait for that hour to finally break, and we're gonna get in first and start selling as soon as possible. So here's what it says. Verse 21. But I warned them and said to them, why do you lodge35:47 outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you. And and that doesn't mean lay hands for prayer. That means lay hands, boom, I'm taking you out. That's what he's talking about. And then from that time, they35:57 did not come on the Sabbath. Now I just wanna take you back. Verse 19, it says that he set up that the gates should shut as soon as it started to get dark. Here's my thought for some of you. Are you ready for Pro tip for36:09 weekend success. Pro tip for Sunday worship. Ready? Don't go out late on Saturday and drink 2 or 3 cocktails.36:21 Hello? I know you're quiet. I know it. I know you're quiet right now even though I'm not there in person. You gotta set Saturday you gotta set Sunday morning worship up by shutting36:33 down on Saturday night and say, wait a second. I got a serious appointment with my father tomorrow. Can I just ask you, is it worth it? Is it worth36:45 is your appointment with God worth giving up a few extracurricular activities on Saturday because you know that time with him will bring life and peace? Write this36:57 down so I know you're getting it. When we rest with God, we are stronger in life. When we rest with God, we are stronger. Hey. When you don't rest with God, you are weaker in life. I get this from Isaiah37:09 chapter 30 verse 15. Thus said the Lord God, the holy 1 of Israel, in returning and rest, you shall find you shall be saved. In quietness and in trust, you shall find you shall be strong. Your strength comes from time37:20 with God. Okay. We're gonna move forward fast. Broken promise number 4. So he comes chapter 10, they promise, we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take daughters. We will not intermarry. Now,37:32 intermarriage racially in the ancient world or eth ethnically in the ancient world was tied was wrong because their ethnicity was tied to their worship. In the new covenant,37:45 if people are Christian, it doesn't matter what ethnicity they are, they can marry. But the ancient world prohibition in the scriptures for marrying interracially was because the races worship or the37:56 ethnicities worship different gods. Your god and your ethnicity were tied. They were joined. So that's the prohibition. Understand that. And they said, so we're not going38:08 to we're not going to celebrate and we're not going to platform in our community interfaith marriages. So he comes back. Look at what happens. Chapter 13 verse 23. In those days, I38:20 also saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. They broke their promise. They're marrying foreigners. Guess what happens? They start to worship theirShow more
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