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I've titled my sermon this 
morning, The Importance of 

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Leadership and Sacrifice. 
Before I get into my sermon, I 

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just want to mention a few 
things about the nature of the 

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last few days for me personally,
and I won't go into the details,

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but as we all know, it's been a 
difficult journey for us as a 

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congregation for many 
individuals and things like that

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and the stuff that went on and 
so on. 

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I was really contemplating, do I
want to preach out of Nehemiah 

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and all of what's happened and 
so on. 

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You know, we cannot control a 
lot of it and it's been 

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difficult and, and so on. 
How do we navigate and process 

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this? 
Maybe I should preach on that. 

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And so those are some of my 
thoughts as I was contemplating,

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as I was meditating and in 
prayer and thinking what would 

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be helpful on a service and a 
service like today to bring 

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togetherness to common focus and
a common goal and so on. 

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What's the best thing to say and
what should we do? 

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And as I was thinking about this
and I was reading the chapter 

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and it seemed to just fit. 
It's a totally different 

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dynamic, different context 
there. 

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But there's a there's a parallel
there. 

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I thought there is validity to 
preaching this sermon. 

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And so this morning we're 
continuing our sermon series in 

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Nehemiah. 
As I mentioned, all of us know 

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by now, perhaps that our church 
has undergone some serious 

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situations that we didn't see 
coming. 

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And so this this last week that 
really weighed on my mind. 

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What do I preach? 
And after much thinking and 

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praying and considering this, I 
just decided we're going to 

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continue with the book of 
Nehemiah. 

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Nehemiah Chapter 11 is a 
description of how the city of 

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Jerusalem was to some was to an 
extent depopulated, had been 

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depopulated after the 
destruction that had lasted for 

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over 100 years. 
But then God sends Nehemiah to 

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the city of Jerusalem. 
That's nothing more really than 

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a heap of rubble, the walls 
broken down. 

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And then we find in the Neo, in 
the passage of Nehemiah, how 

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Nehemiah reconstructs the walls.
Some houses were reconstructed 

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as well, but that didn't fix the
problem. 

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There was still something 
missing. 

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The people, the people were 
still missing. 

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And today's passage goes into 
how that was rectified or how 

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that changed. 
So I want us to to turn our 

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Bibles to Nehemiah Chapter 11. 
This morning, Nehemiah Chapter 

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11. 
And we'll read verse one through

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verse 4. 
Nehemiah Chapter 11, one through

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verse 4. 
Now the leaders of the people 

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dwelt at Jerusalem. 
The rest of the people cast lots

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to bring one out of OK. 
The rest of the people cast lots

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to bring one out of 10 to dwelt 
in Jerusalem. 

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The Holy City and 9/10 were to 
dwell in other cities. 

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And the people blessed all the 
men who willingly offered 

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themselves to dwell at 
Jerusalem. 

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These are the heads of the 
province who dwelt in Jerusalem.

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But in the city of cities of 
Judah. 

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Everyone dwelt in his own 
possession in their cities. 

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Israelites, Priests, Levites, 
Nethanim, descendants of 

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Solomon's servants, and also 
also in Jerusalem dwelt some of 

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the children of Judah and of the
children of Benjamin. 

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A bit of backdrop here. 
When Nehemiah was working as 

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serving king, the king of 
Babylon, he had received 

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permission from the king to go 
to Palestine, to the city of 

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Jerusalem and to rebuild its 
walls. 

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He finished the project in 
record short time through a lot 

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of opposition and resistance 
internally and out, but he stuck

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to his task. 
He finished the job. 

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That was the job he came to do, 
but there was much more that 

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needed to still be done. 
The city need restoration in 

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many more ways than just that. 
The work had been done 

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outwardly, but now the inside of
the city had to be also 

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restored. 
And that meant people. 

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We have read in previous 
chapters how they organized. 

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They had celebrations, they 
organized times of rejoicing and

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repenting. 
They committed themselves to the

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keeping of the law of Moses and 
to live in obedience to God. 

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But again, something was still 
missing. 

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The people were not living in 
the city. 

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One might wonder, well, why 
would anyone want to live in a 

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city that still was inside to a 
large extent just a heap of 

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rubble. 
The houses were broken down or 

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in bad Rouge pair in bad shape 
have been destroyed. 

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And not just that. 
Besides all of the disarray and 

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this and the the rubble and the 
broken down shacks and shambles,

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what it might have looked like, 
we can only imagine. 

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It had a bad reputation. 
Jerusalem had a bad reputation. 

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You see, the bad in life is 
remembered long after it's gone.

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People have memories, and not 
all of them are pleasant living 

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in Jerusalem. 
Why that city? 

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No, if it had been a great place
to be, it would have been 

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packed. 
It would have been crowded. 

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Real estate would have been 
high. 

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But it wasn't. 
Nobody really cared. 

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It was an empty place, not 
attractive. 

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The wall was built, sure, and 
some houses. 

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When a When a place has a bad 
reputation, it does not die 

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easy. 
It had been called the Holy 

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City, and Nehemiah refers to it 
as the Holy City, but it hadn't 

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been holy for over 100 years. 
And he had rebuilt the wall. 

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The leadership were living 
there. 

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Jerusalem had been the problem 
had been the root of so much 

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sin, so much pain. 
And after a long time of 

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captivity for the people of of 
the Jews, the Israelites, they 

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finally had been able to go back
and they settled the towns and 

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the villages and whatnot and 
lived in an agricultural life. 

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But now it's time now to go 
where it all happened. 

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God had pronounced judgement on 
that city. 

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Yes, he had had been destroyed, 
been in the disrepair for many 

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generations, but now it's time 
to change it. 

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Niemah had done a part of it, 
made at least made it secure 

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physically from attack and 
rebuilt the wall to a security 

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was there, but not attractive. 
Nobody wants to live there. 

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So how did they go about not 
just having a rebuilt city, but 

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a city that meant something, 
that stood for something? 

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Well, they decided to live 
there. 

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And so the leaders, they led by 
example. 

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It says in verse 1, the leaders 
of the people dwelt at 

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Jerusalem, the seat of power. 
It had been the seat of power. 

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Consequently, it had also been 
the seat of trouble too have 

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been destroyed. 
You know, often times in life 

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you go back to where the 
problems began to fix them. 

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It's important to note that 
leaders were living in 

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Jerusalem, not a reputable place
had not been restored yet. 

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Yes, the wall was, but not the 
not the not the houses. 

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But they lived by example. 
These leaders not just say you 

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guys go live there. 
No, they first lived there. 

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True leadership does not just 
tell people to do something. 

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True leadership is about doing 
it themselves and being the 

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model. 
True leaders lead by lifestyle. 

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Jesus accused the religious 
leaders of his time, the 

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Pharisees and their structure. 
And he says you guys put heavy 

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loads on men's shoulders that 
you're not willing to lift with 

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a finger. 
But these guys in Nehemiah say 

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no, we'll live there. 
It was not risk free. 

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Sure, the wall had been built, 
the houses had been restored, 

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and while some houses have been 
restored, but it was still a 

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place of a lot of rubble. 
The other thing was the enemies 

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of the Jews had their eyes on 
it. 

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You know, it's interesting how 
people in society normally 

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choose carefully where they're 
going to put down roots, right? 

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Not at some place where it's all
just kind of a rundown place 

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where, oh, I ain't moving that 
part of town. 

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It's not good neighborhood. 
I won't move there. 

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So and so lives there or such 
and such live there, the crime, 

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whatever. 
But let's think for a second. 

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How does God make bad 
neighborhoods good? 

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How does God make bad 
neighborhoods good when he 

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places good people into bad 
neighborhoods, when groups of 

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good people move to the place 
where nobody wants to be? 

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In this story, the leaders lived
in Jerusalem, and if it was 

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going to be populated, they 
couldn't do it. 

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They started. 
They led by example. 

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For Jerusalem to again become a 
good place, good people had to 

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move in. 
Who wants to be the good people?

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When people make personal 
comfort and convenience and 

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security their priority, that's 
not a good sign of walking with 

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Jesus. 
So how does a community become a

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better community when people 
become good? 

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How do people become good when 
good people become their 

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neighbors? 
This principle holds true so 

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many areas of life, whether it's
at work and the home and the 

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church in many places. 
I'm not here saying there's 

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never time to move. 
There is, but we need to 

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evaluate, am I moving because of
the glory of God or because, you

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know, it's too uncomfortable, 
it's too inconvenient. 

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I don't like it. 
Sure, the wall was built. 

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That part was nice, but still 
empty of people in broken houses

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for the most part. 
The city needed people to clear 

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the rubble, rebuild, start 
businesses, a daunting task. 

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As I was thinking about this, I 
was thinking to myself, you 

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know, imagine a scene in heaven.
Imagine this just an imaginary 

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thing, God in heaven having a 
conversation with his angels and

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talking with him and saying, you
know what? 

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I really would like that 
particular town down there to 

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become a good place where all my
people would worship me and they

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would say, but God, there's no 
good people living there. 

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No one fears you. 
God says, I know I'm going to 

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arrange it so my good people 
will move into that town, start 

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living out their lives for me as
a witness in that town. 

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And I want you angels to go and 
touch some good people to make 

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that difficult town a place 
where they'll move to and 

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they'll worship me there too. 
And you say, yes, God, but 

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that's a hard sell. 
Most people on earth don't want 

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that. 
Imagine a conversation like 

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that. 
But isn't that the truth though?

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And practicality? 
We who are Christians, we say we

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love Jesus, we're with him, but 
then refuse to go where he sends

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us. 
And I'm not saying we're not 

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children of God here, but how 
dedicated, how obedient are we? 

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How serious we are is evident 
with what we do. 

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Are we serious with our physical
bodies? 

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Where we go when God calls a 
person to sacrifice to make a 

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change, he doesn't say, well, by
the way, I'd like you as a part 

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time follower, part time 
commitment as a volunteer 

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follower. 
He wants us sold out. 

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Jesus taught us, lay down your 
life, take up your cross and 

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follow me. 
John 15 verse 12, it says this 

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is my commandment, that you love
one another as I have loved you.

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All right, Lord, send me some 
good people. 

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I will. 
No, His greater love has no one 

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than this, than he laid down his
life for his friends. 

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OK, I'll give you a few days, 
maybe a few bucks. 

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He's his life. 
It's a very deep and powerful 

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concept. 
These of course does not explain

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the exact nuts and bolts of all 
that he means, but that's for us

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to flesh out and to to 
contemplate. 

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And how does he want me to serve
whatever it is we have to serve 

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100%. 
The love for others always comes

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out, whether it's there or not. 
If we it's seen, if it's not 

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there, what we do, it's seen. 
If it's there and what we do, 

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how available am I? 
These leaders, the nation of of 

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Israel, the Jews, the leaders in
Jerusalem, they lived in the 

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city and they lived by example. 
But a community is not made of 

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just a group of leaders. 
It's a body that makes a 

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community. 
Some do one kind of work, some 

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do another kind of work and 
everyone has a purpose and says 

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in verse one Part B says the 
rest of the people cast lots to 

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bring one out of 10 to dwell in 
Jerusalem, the holy city and 9 

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tents were to dwell in other 
cities. 

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I find this little verse 
incredibly fascinating because I

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would like there to be there and
ask them. 

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So what's with this was a lots, 
man? 

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I mean, I don't volunteer. 
I ain't either. 

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Well, let's cast lots. 
He has to go. 

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I don't know if they did that or
not, but they say they cast lots

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to bring one out of 10 to dwell 
in Jerusalem. 

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Just don't start that here, 
right? 

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00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:27,160
What an interesting way to go 
about getting people to move to 

228
00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:31,000
Jerusalem. 
I wonder how open we would be in

229
00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,720
our day to that kind of a 
decision making to send out 

230
00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,040
missionaries or to send people 
to live in another town. 

231
00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,000
There are communities, face 
communities that literally do 

232
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,800
this today in our time. 
I'm not kidding, but imagine 

233
00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:49,920
being one of them. 
I don't know if Jews still do 

234
00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:53,360
this to this day, but stories 
I've read years ago when they 

235
00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:57,080
would want to start a synagogue 
in another city, they picked 11 

236
00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:00,840
couples, 11 households. 
OK, you 11 people, you have to 

237
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:05,120
move to such and such city, buy 
houses, get jobs. 

238
00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:09,000
And one, one was a rabbi, 1 
didn't have to have a day job. 

239
00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:12,440
His job was to minister to the 
congregation and reach out. 

240
00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:14,760
That was his job. 
But the rest of them, they had 

241
00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:18,200
to feed the rabbi and that's how
the whole thing would go. 

242
00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,800
A great idea, great, great 
system as long as people can 

243
00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:25,200
volunteer to do it or or want to
do it. 

244
00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:26,800
But here they didn't have much 
choice. 

245
00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,480
They cast lots and just hope it 
hit. 

246
00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:35,200
Doesn't hit me right. 
Imagine moving you. 

247
00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:37,680
You're moving to a community 
because you're chosen by a lot 

248
00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:39,720
to do that. 
Getting to know your neighbors 

249
00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,400
and you would talk to them and 
say, So what made you move to 

250
00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,720
Leamington? 
My church picked me. 

251
00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:49,400
Really. 
That's commitment. 

252
00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:53,640
Almost feels like it's a roll of
the dice, right? 

253
00:14:54,240 --> 00:15:00,080
Well, not quite like that. 
What it took from these people 

254
00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,400
before they cast laws, they had 
to have an attitude that worked 

255
00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:07,520
in that kind of a system. 
Usually that's where the issue 

256
00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:12,120
is. 
The inside these people could 

257
00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,760
not be self focused or self 
minded. 

258
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,640
For this to work, it has to be a
mindset that says it's not about

259
00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:22,240
me, it's about something far 
greater than me. 

260
00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,040
In other words, these people had
to be willing to sacrifice. 

261
00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:28,640
These people willingly 
sacrificed. 

262
00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:33,280
It does not say the people gave 
money. 

263
00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:37,360
They might have. 
It does not say they gave 

264
00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:39,520
supplies for the city. 
They might have. 

265
00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,640
They gave themselves as the lot 
fell on them. 

266
00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:50,320
And reasonably, there would have
been numerous reasons why it 

267
00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:52,440
would not be wise to move to 
Jerusalem. 

268
00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,800
For one, they had their places. 
They didn't need to leave. 

269
00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:00,040
They had their jobs, they had 
their farms, their houses, their

270
00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:01,800
agriculture, their flocks and 
their herds. 

271
00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,000
They did not need to move to 
Jerusalem. 

272
00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,520
Which one of us here today, 
don't raise your hands, would be

273
00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:15,520
willing to sell their houses, to
quit their jobs, to pack up 

274
00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:20,280
everything, move to a different 
town, find a job, buy a house, 

275
00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,680
start over. 
Just because I want to be a 

276
00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:29,360
missionary or I want to be a, in
this case, repopulate the city. 

277
00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,880
The people that they earned 
their living differently than we

278
00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:38,800
do today. 
They were basically farmers and 

279
00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:41,520
so on. 
For the most part, that was the 

280
00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:43,320
main thing. 
For them to leave all this 

281
00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:47,400
behind was asking for a huge 
sacrifice on their part. 

282
00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,040
And for those who moved, it was 
significant in other ways. 

283
00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:54,640
What about friends? 
What about my social 

284
00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:57,600
connections? 
You get it. 

285
00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:03,240
And on top of that, remember, 
Jerusalem ain't popular. 

286
00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:05,839
Nobody wants to live there. 
It's not like they're asking you

287
00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:10,040
to move to Hawaii or to Cancun 
or someplace they're asking you 

288
00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:12,440
to move to, or telling you to 
move to a place that nobody 

289
00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:18,720
really wants to be part of. 
And true, the the wall had been 

290
00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:23,119
built, but still, this city had 
enemy eyes fixated on it. 

291
00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:27,079
Had for years, and now more than
ever it was the seat of power 

292
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:29,760
and leadership. 
And it's always the seat of 

293
00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:31,760
power and leadership that gets 
attacked first. 

294
00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:35,960
Somehow, it seems to me I would 
not want to live in a place 

295
00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,800
where that was marked on an 
enemy map somewhere in some 

296
00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:42,960
enemy war room bunker. 
Yeah, if we ever attack, we'll 

297
00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:45,800
attack that. 
I wouldn't want to live there. 

298
00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:54,440
Jerusalem had been in the past a
place of where there's a lot of 

299
00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,280
trouble. 
Enemy kingdoms had targeted 

300
00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,640
Jerusalem, broken down the city,
the walls, the temple, and 

301
00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:03,400
destroyed it. 
And after Christ, it did happen 

302
00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:06,400
again. 
Nehemiah does not say that 

303
00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:09,040
everybody was eager, oh, let's 
move to Jerusalem. 

304
00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:14,160
He doesn't tell us that. 
But the system they used to 

305
00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:19,600
decide was a very interesting 
one, decided to who would move 

306
00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:23,160
by a lot. 
They used the tithe principle in

307
00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:24,440
doing this. 
For instance, they said we'll 

308
00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:30,160
cast lots and count off every 
10, one of every 10, one of 

309
00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:32,880
every ten families would have to
relocate. 

310
00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,120
What would happen to us if it 
happened to us today? 

311
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,680
Granted, they were not asked to 
give up their lives. 

312
00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,680
That was not it just their 
livelihood or their way of life,

313
00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:48,520
so to speak. 
As I said before, there's some 

314
00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:52,560
churches even today when they 
want to elect a new leader, they

315
00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:57,320
pray, they have a meeting, they 
come before the Lord. 

316
00:18:57,760 --> 00:18:59,800
Lord, we need a new leader, 
another leader. 

317
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,760
What do you want from us? 
And they pray some more. 

318
00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:07,440
They have a number of meetings. 
Then they say it's time for a, 

319
00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,240
for an election, time for a vote
for nomination. 

320
00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:16,520
And they come up with one or two
names and then they cast a lot. 

321
00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:21,160
The person who's it is it? 
I remember one of our conference

322
00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:23,760
churches in fact talked to one 
of their leaders one time and 

323
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:27,520
they said in their church, he 
said when we vote in a minister,

324
00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:30,480
they we don't ask are you 
willing to serve? 

325
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:35,600
We have prayed, we've discerned.
We believe God has called you to

326
00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:37,800
serve. 
This person doesn't think of oh,

327
00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,760
now I can get to say no yet no, 
OK, If the congregation has has 

328
00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:45,120
discerned and prayed and voted, 
then I'm it. 

329
00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:49,080
It's not about self. 
I had a friend 43 years ago. 

330
00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:55,280
He and I got baptized together 
in the same day back in 1982. 

331
00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,320
We were friends. 
We've lost contact over the 

332
00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:01,480
years, met briefly here and 
there, but I remember him 

333
00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:06,000
getting married, raising a 
family and having a small 

334
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,760
business. 
Was very involved in the church 

335
00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:15,400
he was part of, very active in 
ministry and one day they 

336
00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:22,000
decided they wanted to do. 
Send somebody out and he got 

337
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:23,560
picked. 
I don't know how they picked 

338
00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,880
him, but I was kind of 
surprised, actually really 

339
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,000
surprised this man did it. 
Gave up his business, packed up 

340
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,600
his wife and children and off he
went into a foreign country. 

341
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:36,320
Just like that. 
The body had sensed the need, 

342
00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,320
that prayed, discerned he was it
self supporting self, 

343
00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:43,000
self-employed man with small 
business. 

344
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:48,480
Gave it all up went on a trip 
that's not unbiblical to do that

345
00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:52,040
actually it's actually biblical 
Acts chapter 13 verse one says 

346
00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:54,080
now in the church there was an 
Antioch. 

347
00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:55,920
There were certain that was an 
Antioch. 

348
00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:57,520
There were certain prophets and 
teachers. 

349
00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:01,640
Barnabas Simeon, who was called 
Niger, Lucius of Cyrene Manian 

350
00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:05,640
who had been brought up with 
Herod the Tetrarch and Saul as 

351
00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:10,160
they ministered to the Lord and 
fasted the Holy Spirit said, now

352
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,480
separate to me, Barnabas and 
Saul for the work to which I 

353
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:18,600
have called them. 
Then having fasted and prayed 

354
00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:21,520
and laid hands on them, they 
sent them away. 

355
00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,560
I wonder what kind of 
conversations they may have had.

356
00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:31,600
I don't know, but I'm confident 
that personal conveniences and 

357
00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,680
comforts were most likely not on
the list that were part of the 

358
00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:38,080
deciding factor. 
God's Spirit had moved. 

359
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:40,840
They had responded and they 
obeyed. 

360
00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,840
They were in communion with God 
and says here the Holy Spirit 

361
00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:51,680
told them to separate to me, 
dedicate to me, and they did. 

362
00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,320
He had called them. 
This was God's calling, just as 

363
00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:59,560
it was in Nehemiah's time. 
God was working within the 

364
00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,120
structure of that day and age 
and now in the church age and 

365
00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:06,560
God's still working today, there
was a clear sense and 

366
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:08,880
understanding of what God 
wanted. 

367
00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:13,480
It was very clear this was not 
about Barnabas, not about Saul, 

368
00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:17,120
but about God's work that God 
wanted these two men to fulfill.

369
00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:22,480
It was about God. 
A vessel is a container to put 

370
00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:25,800
something in. 
See, the contents are what the 

371
00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:29,120
vessel is for. 
The vessel is not for the 

372
00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:31,960
purpose of benefiting from the 
contents. 

373
00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,080
The vessel exists for the 
contents. 

374
00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:37,880
And you and I, we have the Holy 
Spirit. 

375
00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:40,400
The Holy Spirit doesn't exist 
because of us. 

376
00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:44,720
We exist to serve Him. 
Are we that loyal? 

377
00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,760
Are we that committed? 
I want to say I trust we are, 

378
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:50,240
but we have to examine 
ourselves. 

379
00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:53,840
In the early church, did 
Barnabas and Saul view 

380
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:55,840
themselves as being called? 
We don't know. 

381
00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:58,000
We don't know if they felt 
called. 

382
00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:01,720
Just because a person doesn't 
always feel something does not 

383
00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,600
mean that it doesn't exist. 
On the other hand, Well, I feel 

384
00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:06,920
the Lord has called me. 
What's the body say? 

385
00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:12,200
It's always important to check. 
In the story of Nehemiah, there 

386
00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:16,200
was a sense of unity and oneness
and all of this. 

387
00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:20,320
It says Nehemiah Chapter 11, 
verse 2. 

388
00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:22,840
And. 
And the people blessed all the 

389
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:25,520
men who willingly offer 
themselves to dwell at 

390
00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:26,720
Jerusalem. 
That's another interesting 

391
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:27,040
words. 
Yeah. 

392
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:27,520
Yeah. 
Good. 

393
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:28,400
Good job. 
You just go. 

394
00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:29,200
You go. 
We'll stay here. 

395
00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:30,640
You just go. 
All right, All right, Let's just

396
00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:32,400
go. 
I don't know if they said that 

397
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:35,880
or if they did that, but to me, 
like, thank God, I'm not. 

398
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:38,040
I'm not sure. 
Oh, why I'm so glad it didn't 

399
00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:39,800
hit me. 
That's not a good mindset to 

400
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,480
have, folks. 
We should be as willing and 

401
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:47,000
surrendered as anyone. 
And we should, we should be 

402
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,280
still be part of it in a sense. 
All right, if you're called, I'm

403
00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:53,680
behind you, I'm with you. 
Leaders lead by example. 

404
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,880
The people are willing to 
sacrifice because they see that 

405
00:23:56,880 --> 00:24:00,000
and they are inspired by that. 
And then there's the blessing of

406
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:04,760
participation. 
It can't be easy for everyone to

407
00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:07,280
just go up and relocate. 
We must keep in mind God has 

408
00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:08,600
even called everybody to do 
that. 

409
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:14,040
But we're all plugged in. 
The wall was rebuilt, Outside 

410
00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,400
was safe, but inside there would
be so much. 

411
00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:18,520
Then I can just imagine all the 
work that left to do. 

412
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:23,240
Oh my goodness, how will we ever
get those shacks back in to 

413
00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,120
modern standards and how we ever
clear up that rubble? 

414
00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:28,000
How we ever get all this work 
done? 

415
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:33,200
They said they blessed the 
people that participated in a 

416
00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:34,960
way. 
And I want to believe there's 

417
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:36,280
much more that was involved in 
this. 

418
00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:44,030
Just this little piece here. 
But thinking to myself, if there

419
00:24:44,030 --> 00:24:47,030
was some rundown city somewhere 
and God was saying, OK, I want 

420
00:24:47,030 --> 00:24:48,190
you to go and start a mission 
there. 

421
00:24:48,190 --> 00:24:49,790
I want you to go and witness to 
those people there. 

422
00:24:49,790 --> 00:24:51,350
Start a church there. 
I struggle. 

423
00:24:51,750 --> 00:24:57,550
I what I would do, I don't think
I can say from a fleshly point 

424
00:24:57,550 --> 00:24:59,230
of view. 
I would have just wanted to. 

425
00:24:59,550 --> 00:25:01,270
I would have had to do some self
crucifying. 

426
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:05,800
Fallen down houses, crumbling 
structures. 

427
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,520
That's not attractive. 
And besides bad reputation for 

428
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:13,480
the city, maybe there is some 
rubble. 

429
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,720
Places in our own lives, in our 
community, situations that need 

430
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:20,720
to be embraced, that need to be 
dealt with, that need to be 

431
00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:24,640
brought to restoration. 
How do we respond when things 

432
00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:27,080
are a mess? 
There seems to be no joy. 

433
00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:31,000
Do we respond with surrender and
compassion, commitment, or just 

434
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,880
walk away? 
We need to ask ourselves serious

435
00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,120
questions. 
There's an application here. 

436
00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:40,360
What do we do when we encounter 
hurting people, broken 

437
00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:43,320
relationships? 
Maybe even though they don't 

438
00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:46,760
want to be with us, this 
happens. 

439
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:51,480
Do we still reach out? 
God has called each one of us to

440
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:53,560
do something in our sphere of 
influence. 

441
00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:55,840
God does want to use each one of
us. 

442
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,040
It is important that we have a 
place where we serve and that we

443
00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:00,360
bless each other with where and 
where and where we serve. 

444
00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:05,520
So what is that God has called 
you and I to do in this passage 

445
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:08,520
of the people who were relocated
to Jerusalem, many of them 

446
00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:10,360
actually named. 
And this is an important part 

447
00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:11,880
here. 
We won't name all the, all the, 

448
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:13,120
all the people here. 
I won't name that. 

449
00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:16,360
I can't read the names anyhow. 
There's so hard to pronounce, 

450
00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:19,680
but there's a lot of people that
were named here because 

451
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,000
Nehemiah, OK, this person, this 
person, this person, and so many

452
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:27,200
of those persons. 
And he describes what they do in

453
00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:28,800
verse 10. 
He mentions the priests. 

454
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,200
So priests were chosen from the 
surrounding communities and 

455
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,480
cities and villages. 
Priests were chosen. 

456
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:36,960
They all had a part in this. 
There's a long list of names who

457
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:40,600
are priests. 
The job of the priests was the 

458
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:42,560
temple, the sacrifices, the 
offerings. 

459
00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:46,120
They were the religious leaders,
the pastors and the deacons and 

460
00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:48,640
so on. 
God wanted had restored the 

461
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,200
outside of the city. 
Now the inside has to get going.

462
00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:53,800
The part of that restoration 
meant the restoration of 

463
00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,040
worship. 
They need a priest to do that. 

464
00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,000
They were handpicked too, by 
lot. 

465
00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:02,160
They moved in. 
Imagine having a nice well 

466
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,600
built, well built home, maybe a 
nice church in your community. 

467
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:06,720
Now you move to a city that's 
not that good. 

468
00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:09,800
Then in verse 15, we find the 
Levites. 

469
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:12,120
They were also from the tribe of
Levi. 

470
00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:13,680
The priests were from the tribe 
of Levi. 

471
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:16,840
But the Levites in general, who 
were not priests were temple 

472
00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,160
workers. 
We could say maybe like deacons 

473
00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:21,800
and so on. 
They served as well. 

474
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:27,320
It says in verse 16, the the 
heads of the Levites that 

475
00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:30,080
oversight of the businesses out 
of the business outside of the 

476
00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:32,520
House of God, there was work for
everybody. 

477
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:34,120
Running the temple ministries 
was huge. 

478
00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:36,520
The inside of the temple, it 
employed a lot of people. 

479
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:39,360
The priests were working. 
The Levites had a job to look 

480
00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:41,440
after the temple grounds and 
take care of all that work. 

481
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:43,560
A lot of physical labor was 
involved. 

482
00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,240
Then we drop down to verse 19. 
There's the gatekeepers of the 

483
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,400
city. 
Cities in those days had walls, 

484
00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,800
as Jerusalem had a new wall. 
Then at a repaired wall, they 

485
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:55,440
had gates, and the gates had to 
be guarded. 

486
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:57,440
City gates are very important 
places. 

487
00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:01,560
They were closed that night and 
they served like a boundary, 

488
00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,160
like a border. 
People wanted to get into the 

489
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,400
city, had to go through the 
gate, and the gates were 

490
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:08,240
guarded. 
If the gates would not be 

491
00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:11,800
guarded, the city could be lost 
to attack. 

492
00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:14,880
Gates are very important, so the
gatekeepers. 

493
00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:21,000
Nehemiah goes into a quite a bit
of detail of who did what and 

494
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,560
how the community of people were
dispersed in the various parts 

495
00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:26,160
of the country. 
You see, there's no such thing 

496
00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,000
as a complete community doesn't 
exist. 

497
00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:32,240
Simply by being human, we're 
always in transition from one 

498
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,360
phase of life to another, 
childhood to adulthood, 

499
00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:38,360
adulthood to middle age, from 
there to old age and those 

500
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,040
phases of life. 
Life is always in process, 

501
00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,080
changing and changing, and 
people are being added and 

502
00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:45,400
people are dying and so on. 
In all of that, there's many 

503
00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:47,240
different occupations, many 
moving parts. 

504
00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:49,280
We all have roles one way or 
another. 

505
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:51,760
And as we live and as we 
connect, as we participate in 

506
00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,240
our community, we're called to 
be somewhere and do something. 

507
00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:58,240
And Nehemiah's day, the need at 
the time was to bring security, 

508
00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:00,640
stability and community and 
prosperity into the city. 

509
00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:06,280
And they did that. 
No doubt it cannot have been 

510
00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:08,920
easy for some people in their 
respective roles to fulfill 

511
00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:12,080
their jobs. 
Again, the city was not in the 

512
00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:16,600
desirable state, uninhabited for
many decades, generations 

513
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,520
unpopular, bad reputations in 
shambles. 

514
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,160
Things were going to change and 
they were going to change by 

515
00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:28,160
people moving in. 
And those that received the 

516
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,600
blessing were those who were 
moving in and the blessing, the 

517
00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:33,960
doing the blessing was those the
blessing, the sharing the 

518
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:35,320
blessing with those who were not
part of it. 

519
00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:39,960
So here in Nehemiah, the people 
were called up to called to give

520
00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:43,840
up their places of residence, 
the economic, economic standards

521
00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:47,520
that follow, the leaders 
relocate to help populate the 

522
00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:50,600
city. 
That began with the leaders. 

523
00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:53,320
They were at the forefront of 
the community. 

524
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:57,200
They lived by example before 
they asked anything of the 

525
00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:00,120
people. 
Jerusalem had been a great place

526
00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,360
at one time where everybody 
would have wanted to be. 

527
00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:07,320
Not so much now with the events 
leading up to Chapter 11, the 

528
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:09,920
celebrations, the rededicating 
of themselves to God. 

529
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:13,560
Now was the time to start doing 
physically what they had 

530
00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:17,840
committed to do in their hearts.
You know, folks, that's often 

531
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:19,200
times. 
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I will. 

532
00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:20,080
I will. 
I will serve. 

533
00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:21,800
I'll do. 
I'll do when. 

534
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:24,640
Well, we'll see. 
And it never happens. 

535
00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,760
They were going to put their 
bodies way. 

536
00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:35,240
They're said their heart was 
most likely God will not call 

537
00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:39,240
you to just give up your job, 
sell your house, move away. 

538
00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:45,640
He does call some people, but we
should live as if we're ready at

539
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:49,320
a moment's notice. 
And we sometimes say, oh, I want

540
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:50,680
to do what God wants. 
Really. 

541
00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:55,320
Or do we just want God's 
blessing and what I've decided I

542
00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,560
want. 
God wants us to love Him with 

543
00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:02,240
all of our heart, our soul, our 
strength, and our mind. 

544
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,640
In other words, all that we do 
is supposed to be focused on God

545
00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:09,360
loving Him and our neighbor. 
When it comes to putting hands 

546
00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:12,880
and feet to what we say, we 
believe, often times that's 

547
00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:17,080
where the break comes. 
In Nehemiah, God directed the 

548
00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,320
leadership to take ownership and
give leadership to the people. 

549
00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:24,200
The people responded willingly, 
relocating to move into the 

550
00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:27,440
city. 
Does this mean that all would be

551
00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:28,120
good? 
No. 

552
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,720
We will find later in the book 
of Nehemiah things did not work 

553
00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:35,640
out that well. 
There were issues that popped up

554
00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:38,360
after this. 
Some of it was very good, some 

555
00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:40,560
good stuff happened, but there's
some other stuff that happened 

556
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:42,560
that's not so good. 
We'll follow that in the next 

557
00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:44,960
few Sundays. 
But see, that's life in this 

558
00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:47,600
world. 
If we're only going to do it if 

559
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:51,520
it's perfect or if it's good, 
then we're already starting to 

560
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:55,160
focus on the wrong things. 
God is gracious, merciful and 

561
00:31:55,160 --> 00:32:00,440
loving and so should we be. 
I want to bless each one here 

562
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:03,120
this morning and anyone who's 
listening online. 

563
00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:06,640
God hasn't changed. 
God is still the same. 

564
00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:10,360
We must stay the course and ask 
ourselves what our motives are 

565
00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:15,480
for the actions that we take. 
We must ask ourselves if the 

566
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:19,600
actions we take, are they for 
God's glory or for ourselves or 

567
00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:25,360
even just self preservation? 
Maybe, maybe you and I, we need 

568
00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:28,240
to do some relocating this week 
with our hearts. 

569
00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:33,160
Maybe we need to do some 
relocating with our attitudes. 

570
00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:36,600
There are people we know are 
hurting in our community. 

571
00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,360
Are we willing to help? 
At what cost? 

572
00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:46,000
May God help us as His people to
you and allow Him to use us to 

573
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:48,800
bring healing and hope and 
restoration to the community 

574
00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:50,960
where there's so much emotional 
rubble. 

575
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:54,640
And let's pray for one another 
as we meet, as we visit, 

576
00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:57,680
trusting that God will use our 
efforts for his glory. 

577
00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:00,440
And May God bless his church. 
Let us pray. 

578
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:08,680
Father God, we are so grateful 
that you do not change. 

579
00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:11,880
You're the same today. 
You were back in Nehemiah's day.

580
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:15,080
You're the same today. 
You were in the days of when 

581
00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:19,080
your Son Jesus walked this 
earth, the days of the apostles 

582
00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:21,760
when they sent, served. 
You send it, send out 

583
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,520
missionaries. 
We pray this morning for hurting

584
00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:28,120
people who are not sure what to 
do, where to turn next. 

585
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:30,320
We pray for healing and 
restoration. 

586
00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:34,360
You are the great healer, Lord. 
You're gracious and merciful. 

587
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:36,840
We pray that your spirit will 
restore the hearts of the 

588
00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:41,400
hurting and may relationships be
restored. 

589
00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:45,200
We ask, Lord, that as we go into
the week and meet with people, 

590
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:48,400
may our love shine in our hearts
and our homes, in our places of 

591
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:50,320
work and wherever else we may 
rub shoulders. 

592
00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:52,480
We thank you, Lord, for your 
grace and your mercy. 

593
00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:54,400
In your name we pray. 
Amen.