1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,040 Hey everybody, this is Pastor John Ewart from Englewood 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:05,920 Baptist Church in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,119 Thank you so much for tuning in to our podcast. 4 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,320 You're going to hear from God today as we share from his word 5 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,080 about important issues facing your life that can guide you 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:20,960 according to the Bible. Well, good morning, Englewood. 7 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:26,240 Turn to somebody sitting next to you and say, I'm just glad to 8 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:35,200 see you. Listen, we appreciate, we 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,920 appreciate the opportunity to gather again face to face. 10 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,720 For those joining us online, we welcome you as well. 11 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,240 Let me share a couple words as you turn to Nehemiah Chapter 6. 12 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:48,640 And we're going to dive into that and one, one or two words 13 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:52,160 very quickly. Just this next weekend is our 14 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:56,040 marriage conference. And on Friday night and Saturday 15 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,280 morning through noon, Doctor Danny Aikins, wife Charlotte are 16 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,000 going to come lead us. We have great crowd already 17 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:07,400 signed up, but we have room for six more couples, just 612 18 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:09,960 people, 6 couples. So if you want to come to that, 19 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:12,000 you need to sign up very quickly and that there may not even be 20 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:13,840 that much room left after the first service. 21 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,960 So if you want to sign up for that, you can go online on our 22 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:20,280 website or on our app and find a place to sign up for that. 23 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,000 Love to have you there. Great time. 24 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,000 You're going to get a wonderful meal, wonderful experience and 25 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:26,320 be blessed. Couple other things. 26 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,800 We have some mission trips coming up fairly quickly and one 27 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:36,160 of them is going to Uganda in in March, end of March and we could 28 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:40,040 stand one or two more people maybe if you have your passport 29 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:41,320 already. They're having information 30 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:44,640 meeting today at 4:00. And so surprise everybody and be 31 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:46,800 the person who showed up. Nobody was going to be, nobody 32 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:48,120 knew you were going to be there. Be great. 33 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,200 Then there's another one to the Middle East in April. 34 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:54,120 Pastor Gene Davis is leading that. 35 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:55,800 We need a couple more people for that one. 36 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:57,440 Still got a team. It's still going. 37 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:58,920 There's no danger of it not happening. 38 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:01,720 It's just we could add a couple more folks to that, just 39 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,120 probably about two to that. So think about that. 40 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,240 Listen, for those of you who are coming to the East Coast Men's 41 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:09,440 Bible Conference, that would be men. 42 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:14,320 We have men coming from about 9 states, probably more than that 43 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,760 this year, all up and down the Eastern Seacoast. 44 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,120 If you're new to Englewood, this is a phenomenon. 45 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,080 This room will be packed with men from all over the eastern 46 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,560 part of the United States. What I would love to see is for 47 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,360 the majority of those men to be from this area. 48 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:31,600 Now, I'd love for everybody come from out of town. 49 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:33,760 You're all welcome. Come on, come on and join us. 50 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,000 We'd love to have you. But I'd love to see you inviting 51 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,560 your friends, signing up and being here so that we can follow 52 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:43,520 up as a local church, get them involved, sharing the gospel 53 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:45,080 with them. So look forward to that. 54 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:48,160 So bring your bring them in. You see information about that, 55 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,840 you can sign up for it. Well, I want to talk this 56 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,200 morning in Nehemiah chapter 6 and seven as we continue in this 57 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:59,400 book, the the Message title has to do a struggle because 58 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:04,200 conflict can occur whenever God's people seek his 59 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:06,880 restoration. It's it's often that that's 60 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,320 going to happen. Now, those of you who are Duke 61 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,600 fans, some of you have experienced conflict in the last 62 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,640 24 hours. So both of you, I feel sorry for 63 00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:20,280 you. The rest of the rest of you I 64 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,280 think are cheering, probably because I've heard that the 65 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:26,480 majority of you are not Duke fans, but that may not be true. 66 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:28,520 You can talk to me later. That's 67 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:35,120 c.taylor@inglewoodbaptist.com. I have a nine point sermon. 68 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,160 If you notice the back of your worship guide or you're looking 69 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,880 at the notes. I've missed you so much. 70 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:43,600 I feel like I just need to share everything with you so they 71 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,560 don't actually be OK. Listen, conflict is a serious 72 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:47,600 thing. This is not just going to be 73 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:49,160 about the church. It's about you, your life, your 74 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,200 family. At least seven times in the book 75 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:56,920 of Nehemiah, the enemy tries to stop Nehemiah from fulfilling 76 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,720 what God wanted him and the people to do. 77 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:03,800 It was a a common theme throughout these first chapters 78 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:06,920 of this book. And so if we say let us arise 79 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:09,240 and build, Satan says let us arise and tear down. 80 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:12,800 And that's just a common way the enemy works. 81 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,760 And so the schemes that Satan used against the folks in 82 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:20,440 Nehemiah's day are the same schemes that he will use against 83 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:22,960 you and your family and against our church. 84 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:24,560 And so we need to be aware of them. 85 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,240 So we're going to study a few of those, and we're also going to 86 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:29,640 study some strategies to help us combat those. 87 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,680 And so even though he's going to work, we can still find success 88 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:39,400 through the struggle. So Nehemiah chapter 6 beginning 89 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:43,200 in verse one. Now when Sambalad and Tobiah and 90 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:45,760 Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had 91 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,600 built the wall and that there was number breach left in it, 92 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,320 although up to that time I had not set up the doors and the 93 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:55,760 gates, Sambalad and Geshem sent to me saying come and let us 94 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,400 meet together at at Hakafarim in the plain of Ono. 95 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:04,000 But they intended to do me harm. And I sent messengers to them 96 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,520 saying I'm doing a great work and I cannot come down. 97 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,560 Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you? 98 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:13,680 And they sent to me four times in this way. 99 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:16,680 And I answered them in the same manner. 100 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,640 The first scheme that we're going to see Satan use against 101 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:21,720 us, whether it's our church or whether it's you as an 102 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:25,120 individual or whether you and your family, is the scheme of 103 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:29,400 deceit and distraction. This is a common weapon he uses. 104 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,200 The walls were prepared, but the doors hadn't been hung on the 105 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:33,920 gates yet. So the enemy's getting even more 106 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:35,680 and more desperate. Time's getting close. 107 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:37,680 It's getting close. We got to even act stronger. 108 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:40,920 So the closer we are to fulfilling what God wants us to 109 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,400 do in our lives, whether that's if that's an individual or us as 110 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:47,720 a church, the more desperate, more intensely, the enemy's 111 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,320 going to attack. So we need to expect it in our 112 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,720 current blessing, the way God's blessing Inglewood right now. 113 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:56,640 Listen, I, I, I've heard of three people, I think you're 114 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:58,120 going to get baptized next Sunday. 115 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:00,520 And I had somebody after the first service come and talk to 116 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:02,720 me about that too. So we, we've got, I don't know 117 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,040 about seven or eight people lined up just in the next few 118 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:07,680 weeks who need to be who, who want to be baptized, who want to 119 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,720 testify of trusting in Christ and living for him. 120 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:13,280 God's blessing, God's working, God's growing. 121 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:14,840 And so we need to be aware of that. 122 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:18,320 And because of that, we also need to expect the enemy to 123 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:19,920 work. And he does, and he is. 124 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:23,920 So these enemies said they wanted a meeting with Nehemiah 125 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,280 to discuss some things. Let's sit down and talk about 126 00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:28,280 this. It sounds kind of reasonable. 127 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:32,400 Stop doing what you're doing up there and come down here where 128 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:33,720 we are. Stop. 129 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:36,760 Stop that and come down here with us on the plane of oh, no, 130 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:38,640 that's a great word for it. Because that was a response you 131 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:43,440 ought to give. Oh, no, Because stopping the 132 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,560 work of God and sitting around the table of the enemy is a 133 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:49,760 dangerous thing. It's a dangerous thing. 134 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:54,680 As one author wrote, you don't have to attend every argument 135 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,200 you're invited to. You just don't. 136 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:01,040 And yet some people thrive in it, I feel like. 137 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:03,600 But the truth was, here's the truth of the story. 138 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,440 Stop so we can distract you and frankly, so we can destroy you. 139 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:11,960 We want to kill you. Quit focusing on what God wants 140 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:14,640 or has called you to do and waste your time. 141 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,640 Waste your energy on us down here, on our level. 142 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,560 Now, can't you have the world saying that That's what the 143 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:22,880 world says to us. Quit messing with that stuff. 144 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,080 Come down here and play with us. Come down here and sit around 145 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,240 the table with us. The enemy is going to whisper 146 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:33,000 these distracting things to you. So, so chase after, dwell with 147 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:37,360 anything other than what God wants, anything other than that. 148 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:40,000 So Nehemiah, of course, recognize, he's walking closely 149 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,240 with God. He recognizes the deceit and he 150 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,320 knew the truth. We're doing God's work. 151 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:47,760 Why should I compromise and come down there to you on your level? 152 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,560 He knew who these guys were. They were the enemies. 153 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:55,760 Now we love them. The Bible teaches us we love our 154 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:58,240 enemies. We seek for our enemies to be 155 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,400 saved. But we're also not naive about 156 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:03,200 their intentions and their desires. 157 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:05,760 We're not going to let them to fool us or distract us. 158 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,080 Don't allow anybody to divert you away from the great work God 159 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:10,080 has called you to do. By what? 160 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:15,240 By what they are going to falsely define as good or even 161 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:19,720 urgent or important. Listen, especially in our world 162 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:24,160 today, but probably always, humanity loves to create its own 163 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:27,520 truth. And then and then urgently 164 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,960 expect you to react to it. They, they expect you to live by 165 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:33,960 it. Because I think something's 166 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:35,240 urgent. Because I think something's 167 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:36,280 urgent. You got to stop everything 168 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,000 you're doing and you got to react to what I want you to 169 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,440 react to. That's how social media thrives. 170 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:45,960 It's expecting a reaction, it wants a follower, it wants to 171 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,040 influence. Think about the words that we 172 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,400 use. Sometimes it's good, sometimes 173 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:53,560 it's not. So they were persistent and so 174 00:08:53,560 --> 00:09:01,560 these enemies posted. No, I I mean sent message after 175 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:04,720 message to stop God's work and come waste time. 176 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:07,800 See now Nehemiah, Nehemiah knew better. 177 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,320 So he wouldn't stop. He wouldn't be stopped because 178 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:12,320 the name and the promise of God was at stake. 179 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,840 This was about a fulfillment of what God wanted, what God had 180 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:17,960 called. So there's no time to stop. 181 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:20,920 There's no time to fall into the enemy's deceitful snares. 182 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:26,160 But if this doesn't work, if he can't get you this way, our 183 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:28,400 enemy never sleeps. He never relents, He never gives 184 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:30,680 up. He'll try something else. 185 00:09:30,680 --> 00:09:34,000 Look at verse 5. Verse 5 says in the same way Sam 186 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,240 Ballot for the 5th time sent his servants to me with an open 187 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:38,400 letter. Don't miss that word open. 188 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:43,160 It's very important open letter in his hand in it was written as 189 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:44,960 reported among the nations in Geshem. 190 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:53,320 It's probably actually pronounced Geshem something like 191 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:57,400 that. And Geshem also says that you 192 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:01,200 and the Jews intend to rebel. That is why you're building the 193 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,040 wall. And according to these reports, 194 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,600 you wish to become their king. What? 195 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:08,920 What a claim. And you've also set a prophets 196 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:10,640 to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem. 197 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,040 There's a king in Judah. And now the king will hear of 198 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:15,520 these reports talking about the king of Persia. 199 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,360 So now come and let us take counsel together. 200 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,680 Then I sent to him saying no such things as you say have been 201 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:24,040 done, for you're inventing them out of your own mind. 202 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:28,040 For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking their hands will 203 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,920 drop from the work and it will not be done. 204 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:34,760 But now, O God, strengthen my hands. 205 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:37,920 So if deceit and distraction don't work, the next thing he's 206 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,040 going to try is slander and gossip. 207 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:43,800 You ever heard of that slander and gossip man? 208 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,600 He'll pull that out of the quiver when you when you 209 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:48,760 couldn't, when they couldn't goad him into some kind of 210 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:51,080 private debate. We'll, we'll, we'll turn the 211 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,440 public on him. We'll try to turn public opinion 212 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:57,160 against him. They send an unsealed letter 213 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:00,400 that they fully intended to be read by the people, fully 214 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:03,760 intended to be read by the other leaders in Jerusalem in order to 215 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:08,320 intimidate Nehemiah. And so Sambalit spreads rumors 216 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:12,720 that Nehemiah was actually doing this work to lead the people to 217 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:16,400 rebel against the Persian king. You're setting yourself up to be 218 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:18,640 king, Nehemiah. That's what you're really doing. 219 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:22,000 You're doing this for your glory, not for the glory of God. 220 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:24,360 And so he hoped others would read it. 221 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:27,360 He hoped others would read it and spread the rumors. 222 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:29,680 You can see friends, listen to me, whether it's in your 223 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:31,440 personal life, your family life, or the church life. 224 00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:33,680 Gossip and slander are like that. 225 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,480 They don't like to be caged. They don't like to be 226 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,280 controlled. They want others to hear. 227 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:42,280 They want others to believe in them. 228 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:46,880 They seek to bully. They seek to intimidate, often 229 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,280 motivated by very selfish, selfish fears in the person 230 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:52,280 sharing them. But their their goal is to cause 231 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:54,240 fear. And now we have the digital 232 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:57,840 capacity to spread lies all around the world, to cyber 233 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:01,400 bully, to create false conspiracies, to try to cancel 234 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:03,640 people or shame people into things. 235 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:08,680 So destructive and accurate lies and slander. 236 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:11,480 But also labeled with this and coupled with this, married to 237 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:15,080 gossip and slander, are these impure or inaccurate motive 238 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:16,840 attributions? In other words, I know what 239 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,000 you're really doing. I know what this is really 240 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,440 about. And people have all kinds of 241 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,640 conspiracy theories about inaccurate motive attribution. 242 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,480 It's a curse. This is really why you're doing 243 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,560 what you're doing. I know, I know nobody else 244 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:33,560 knows, but I know when in fact you don't know anything. 245 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:38,040 There's no truth in that at all. And you really don't know, but 246 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,080 you're basing your truth on gossip you've heard or you've 247 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:45,000 read or by forming some unsupported opinion. 248 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,720 Back in the day when I was grading seminary papers in the 249 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:51,600 old school way, now you do digital comments and send them 250 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:54,200 digital copies with comments out to the side of the paper. 251 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,040 But in the old days, you actually marked on the papers. 252 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:58,720 And I was known, and I've shared this with some of you. 253 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:00,840 You know, some of the I was known as doctor red ink. 254 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:06,280 I've used an entire brand new red pen on one student's paper 255 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:11,000 from from beginning to end. And I would write and I had 256 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,760 codes for grading that my students all know. 257 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:18,040 And one of the codes was you owe it stood for unsupported 258 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,800 opinion. Because in academic writing, you 259 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:22,520 don't just say whatever you want to say. 260 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:25,360 You don't just escape state your own unsupported opinion. 261 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:28,160 You have to footnote, You have to reference some reliable 262 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:30,800 source from which you've got your information. 263 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,000 You can't just spout off what you think is true. 264 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,480 And so I do You owe. You owe especially in some of 265 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:37,880 my, you know, preachers are horrible at it. 266 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,000 Every church in the world. No, you don't know that. 267 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:41,400 You've never talked to every church in the world. 268 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,640 You owe. But sometimes in life I just 269 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:47,480 want to run around. Sometimes in church life, I just 270 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:54,560 went around going you owe. You owe because there might just 271 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:56,640 be more research taking place than you know. 272 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,640 There might just be more well educated conclusions taking 273 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:03,440 place than you perceive. OS Hawkins, who writes about 274 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:08,040 Nehemiah, says just watch. If a Christian is all out for 275 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:11,160 souls and has a heart for God, he most likely will become the 276 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:12,760 target for other people's tongues. 277 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,240 Or as Doctor Danny Aiken, he'll be with us this next weekend. 278 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:17,760 He's preaching next Sunday, by the way, too. 279 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:21,920 As Danny Aiken points out to us, naysayers don't have to be 280 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,120 right. They just have to be loud. 281 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,600 And in our world today, I find this to be true. 282 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,760 And sometimes your kids are exposed to these things, even 283 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:34,000 online. So don't be surprised when Satan 284 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:36,560 fabricates lies. If you're determined to fulfill 285 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:40,040 God's mission, remember this. Satan is the father of lies. 286 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,200 These lies are his children. These are his kids. 287 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:45,440 These are his offspring. He tends them. 288 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,520 He nurtures them. He wants them to grow. 289 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:52,400 This is who he is. A pastor friend of mine, Mike 290 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:56,200 Powers, was preaching through Genesis, and he reminded me that 291 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:58,200 some people are not seeking to make you better. 292 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:01,520 They're only seeking to build their own tower to their own 293 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:04,880 glory, like the people in Genesis building a tower called 294 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:08,280 Babel who simply sought to quote, make a name for 295 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:12,120 themselves. So Nehemiah knew how to respond. 296 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,520 He responds the same way consistently throughout the 297 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:16,000 book. He responds with truth. 298 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,520 He responds with prayer. Lies must be fought with 299 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:23,240 prayerful communication with the real source of real truth. 300 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:27,240 So when we speak truth, God can be glorified. 301 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,720 If we don't speak truth, God can't be glorified or he won't 302 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:33,960 be. So Nehemiah rejected their life. 303 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:35,560 He refused to waste time with them. 304 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,600 I don't have time for this. And they, you know, Nehemiah, 305 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:39,920 knew They have no strength over me. 306 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:42,640 They can't stop me. So Nehemiah wasn't as concerned 307 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,000 about what these men thought about him as what he was about 308 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:49,880 what God thought about him. He had one consuming passion to 309 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:53,920 fulfill the mission, to fulfill the calling that God had called 310 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:56,040 him to. So these enemies were seeking to 311 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:58,880 cause fear and doubt. But Nehemiah reminds the people, 312 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:02,080 he reminds the people in verse 9 that God strengthens for all. 313 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,040 They wanted to frighten us, thinking their hands will drop 314 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:07,080 from the work and it will not be done. 315 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,400 But now, oh God, strengthen my hands. 316 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:16,000 I believe in and I'm dependent upon what you say, Lord. 317 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,880 Therefore, I don't have to fear what they're saying. 318 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:22,840 I don't have to fear what others might say. 319 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:27,560 Inglewood, we must be defined by God's Word, we must be devoted 320 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:30,240 to prayer, and we must be absolutely dependent upon the 321 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:32,920 Holy Spirit. Those are our 3DS for living. 322 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:37,280 So let no one else, let nothing else define truth for you, not 323 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,440 for you, not for your family, not for this church. 324 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:42,320 So when we're fulfilling God's mission by living out the seven 325 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:45,120 essentials of discipleship by 100% participation in the core 326 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,960 ministries of our church, you will be far better able. 327 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:53,760 You'll be far better equipped to see and to sniff out the enemy 328 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,960 schemes. Your spiritual sensitivity and 329 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:00,000 discernment will be much more mature as you grow in the 330 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:04,440 maturity of your discipleship. We have to continue that path. 331 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,880 Look at verse 10. Now when I went into the House 332 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:14,400 of Shamaya, the son of Delia, son of Mehtabal, that's good 333 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:19,319 enough, who was confined to his home, he said let us meet 334 00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:20,520 together. This is huge. 335 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,720 Let us meet together in the House of God within the temple. 336 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:26,440 Let us close the doors of the temple, for they're coming to 337 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:28,960 kill you. They're coming to kill you by 338 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:32,120 night. But I said, should have such a 339 00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:35,560 man as I run away. And what man such as I could go 340 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:37,680 into the temple and live. I will not go in. 341 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,000 And I understood and saw that God saw that God had not sent 342 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,800 him, but that he'd pronounced the prophecy against me because 343 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:47,800 Tobiah and Sambala had hired him for this purpose. 344 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:51,360 He was hired that I should be afraid and act in this way and 345 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:55,800 sin and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. 346 00:17:56,080 --> 00:18:00,280 Scheme #3 very simply is self preservation and sinful choices. 347 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,960 If he can't work with deceit and distraction, if slander and 348 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,480 gossip don't get, what he's going to tempt you to do is to 349 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,760 to save yourself, to preserve yourself, to be safe and to make 350 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:14,640 bad choices. Never underestimate the length 351 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,920 that he will go. He'll use insiders, He'll use 352 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:21,040 people in the church, He'll use unregenerate church members. 353 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:23,680 Listen to what Second Peter wrote in chapter 2. 354 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,200 He said that false prophets also arose among the people. 355 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,720 Such as there will be false teachers among you who will 356 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,880 secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the 357 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:37,200 master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift 358 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,000 destruction. And many will follow their 359 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,800 sensuality, and because of them, the way of truth will be 360 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,760 blasphemed. So here's this man, supposedly a 361 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:49,760 prophet, he might even be a priest if his father's actually 362 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:53,120 the one mentioned in Chronicles. And he and he, he encourages 363 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:55,040 Nehemiah to come hide in the temple. 364 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:57,960 He goes, you're defeated, Nehemiah, you can't win. 365 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,680 You got to stop this work. You got to stop right now, 366 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:04,320 protect yourself, run and hide and retreat rather than 367 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,200 complete. That's going to be a challenge 368 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:11,840 in all of our lives to give up. Listen, for the last decades of 369 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:16,240 my life, I know churches and pastors, once on fire for the 370 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,400 Lord, now defeated and choosing to become safe little havens of 371 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,840 tiny groups of non disciple and Christians all across this 372 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:30,200 country, all across this county, across the state, and around the 373 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,200 world. And if we can't trick or shame 374 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,320 you, Nehemiah, maybe we can weaken you to make really bad 375 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:40,200 sinful choices. You can hear the snake 376 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:42,000 whispering, same thing you did to Eve. 377 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:44,560 Same thing he does to you and to me. 378 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:47,320 Think of yourself, you can't win. 379 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:49,880 Be safe. Listen to what Nehemiah says in 380 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:51,880 verse 11. But I said, should a should such 381 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,360 a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go 382 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:56,480 into the temple and live. I will not go in. 383 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:58,800 See, he knew this was a violation of the law. 384 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:03,720 It's a blatant violation of the Mosaic Law. 385 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,120 There was a provision that the court of the temple could be a 386 00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:09,280 place of sanctuary for people fleeing others, but the law 387 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,120 clearly stated that only the priest could enter the building. 388 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:16,240 So Nehemiah had no right to go in and close the door. 389 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,520 In fact the the Old Testament would say that non non priests 390 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:24,200 who went there would die in the word of God. 391 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,400 So hiding in the temple was not where Nehemiah belonged. 392 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,240 Running and hiding is not our our strategy. 393 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:33,960 This false prophet was not declaring a word from the Lord, 394 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,360 but rather a word from the enemies who hired him. 395 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:40,640 He was a mercenary, and Nehemiah knew he sought to lead him to 396 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:45,600 choose sin, and frankly, this fraud would pay for it according 397 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,160 to God's word in the law. In Deuteronomy 18 it says, But 398 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,640 the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I 399 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,560 have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of 400 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:57,320 other gods, that same prophet shall die. 401 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,720 So don't pretend you're speaking for God when you're not. 402 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:04,760 Make sure that you're abiding in His word. 403 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:07,760 We must handle the word of God carefully and rightly. 404 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,960 This midweek, this Wednesday night, we've been doing a series 405 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:13,320 on engaging the Bible. This week we're going to talk 406 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:15,720 about how do I actually teach other people what I've learned? 407 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:17,080 We're going to do workshop style. 408 00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:19,320 We've been talking about how we interpret and how we apply. 409 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:21,120 Now what do I do? How can I share what I've 410 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:24,120 gleaning out of God's word? This revelation God's given me 411 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:25,800 out of his word. How can I share that with other 412 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:28,120 people? Look at verse 14. 413 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:34,160 Remember Tobiah and Sabalot, Oh my God, according to these 414 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,280 things that they did, and also the prophetess Noah die and the 415 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:40,280 rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid. 416 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:45,320 Comfort, personal comfort is often not worth the price of 417 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:47,120 sin. It might cost you. 418 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,080 Once again, Nehemiah asked God to remember those who sought to 419 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:54,640 violate His Word. Satan doesn't want you to deny 420 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:56,760 yourself. Satan doesn't want you to grow 421 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:58,600 as a disciple. Satan doesn't want you to 422 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:00,800 fulfill the mission of God. He doesn't want you to follow 423 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:02,080 the Seven Essentials of disciple. 424 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:05,160 He doesn't want you to participate 100% in what we're 425 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:07,280 doing and what God's leading us to do here. 426 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,840 He wants you to be selfish. He wants you to be weak. 427 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:15,280 He wants you to be comfortable. In fact, He'll raise others up. 428 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:19,000 He will to convince you that that's OK, that that's the right 429 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:23,760 way, because it's normal. It's normal to be that way in 430 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:25,880 our culture today. It's normal. 431 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:28,040 He'll raise up others to convince you of that. 432 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:30,320 Cheap discipleship is very common. 433 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,000 It's normal, but that doesn't make it the right choice. 434 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:40,280 Easy Christianity. I, I I spent so much time with 435 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:43,160 thousands of leaders and hundreds of churches all around 436 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,640 this planet. Easy Christianity, easy church, 437 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:51,120 where all my felt needs are met the way and exactly when I want 438 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:54,200 them to be. Where all my itches are 439 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:56,520 scratched to my personal satisfaction. 440 00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:59,960 But with no expectation of sacrifice, no expectation of 441 00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:02,120 submission, no expectation of service. 442 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:07,840 These are very, very common defeated churches where you, 443 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,000 you, you can be nothing more than an attending spectator 444 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,840 consumer with no real personal or spiritual commitment. 445 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:18,800 No, no, no investment. These are prevalent. 446 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,840 This is normal. But I pray it. 447 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:28,240 By now you know that I'm seeking a new normal, a different 448 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:31,040 normal. In fact, these churches call me 449 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:32,560 for help. They still do Talk to 1 this 450 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:37,160 week, call me for help, and I show them the poor decisions of 451 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:40,360 defeat that they've made to put themselves into positions of 452 00:23:40,360 --> 00:23:43,280 spiritual weakness and complete impotency. 453 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:46,280 And some of them learn, most don't. 454 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,840 So Nehemiah could not be persuaded to live in such 455 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:53,640 defeat. I pray that you protect your 456 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,120 families, I protect you protect your children, you protect this 457 00:23:57,120 --> 00:23:59,760 church and and as leaders we have to do that. 458 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:02,960 And those Scottish pastor once said my my people's greatest 459 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:07,480 need, my people's greatest need is my personal holiness, my walk 460 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,520 with God. Now some of the most important 461 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:13,720 words in the entire book of Nehemiah are next verse 15. 462 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:22,720 So the wall was finished on the 25th day of the month in law, in 463 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:28,040 52 days, in 52 days. And when all our enemies heard 464 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:30,760 of it, all the nations around us were afraid and felt great and 465 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,440 felt greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that 466 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:36,520 this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. 467 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:41,520 Now I just want you to see what God does when His people focus 468 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,840 and unite to serve. He creates A glorifying 469 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:49,240 testimony to Himself and He fulfills His mission and and we 470 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,480 see the defensive walls of Jerusalem, which were in ruins 471 00:24:52,480 --> 00:25:00,960 for years, finished in 52 days. Now that's amazing. 472 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:05,960 It's an incredible, but that's exactly the business of our God, 473 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:10,640 the amazing and the incredible. That's what he does with a 474 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,120 people who are focused. Never underestimate what he can 475 00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:16,800 do with the church that cares, with the church that's seeking 476 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:19,640 to serve him. Never underestimate that in this 477 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:23,520 world of apathy, in this world of rebellion, God is looking for 478 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:28,640 a people through which to do the next new amazing and miraculous 479 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:31,760 thing. And his enemies were humbled. 480 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,080 It's interesting, isn't it? Turns the tables on them. 481 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:35,440 God does. They were trying to make 482 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:37,320 Nehemiah afraid. We're going to try to make you 483 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:38,880 all fear. We're going to make you all too 484 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,840 afraid to do the work. Instead, they're afraid because 485 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:46,680 they knew that God was at work. Just turn the tables on the 486 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:51,960 enemy and see what happens. But to the bitter end, He never 487 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:57,160 sleeps, He never relents, He never gives up. 488 00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:00,600 Look at verse 17. Moreover, in those days the 489 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:03,560 nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah and Tobiah's 490 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,520 letters came to them and for many and Judah were bound by 491 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,120 oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shekinah, the son 492 00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:14,880 of Arah and his son Jeho. Jehoanan had taken the daughter 493 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:17,400 of Mushulam, the son of Berekaya as his wife. 494 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:21,000 Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and 495 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:25,360 reported my words to him. Tobias sent letters to make me 496 00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:29,760 afraid. So scheme #4 unhealthy 497 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,040 relationships and influences. This is important for your 498 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,360 families. Tobiah had business dealings 499 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:41,000 with and or was related to people inside of Jerusalem, OK, 500 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:45,040 even some of the priests, the Hebrew wording suggests he had a 501 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:50,080 business agreement with them. And so the, the, the tribe of 502 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,960 Judah, the people of Judah had been telling the enemy all along 503 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:58,560 everything that was going on. These insiders were like spies. 504 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,880 And, and, and Nehemiah was even told how good Tobiah was. 505 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,040 And Tobiah is one from the very beginning, seeking to sabotage 506 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:07,040 the very work that God had called him to do. 507 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:09,960 A little fox will tear down that wall. 508 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:11,120 What do these Jews think they're doing? 509 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:14,840 And he was being told how great this guy was. 510 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:17,600 I mean, how disappointing that must have been to Nehemiah. 511 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:21,640 Your own people choosing to be close to the enemy. 512 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:27,160 The tribe of Judah, the lineage of Jesus was misguided by 513 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:28,960 unhealthy relationships and influences. 514 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,440 And remember, earlier in the book, these were the ones that 515 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:35,760 said the work was too hard. We can't do this for the enemies 516 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,560 around us. So we need to be very careful. 517 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:41,040 You need to be careful with your children. 518 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:42,320 You need to be careful with your families. 519 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:45,600 We need to be careful as a church with whom we have our 520 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:49,920 closest alignment. With whom do you align yourself? 521 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:52,720 Check. Check your loyalties. 522 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:56,240 Check your allegiances. With whom are your or your 523 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:59,880 children's closest relationships, and for who? 524 00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:05,440 And for what are they living? How does God lead those 525 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:09,440 relationships right? Do they lead you closer to 526 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:11,760 fulfilling God's purpose for your life? 527 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:15,120 What is your level of dependency upon those relationships? 528 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,560 Because we're destined for failure if we're only dependent 529 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:21,800 upon man. I don't know if you know this or 530 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:22,960 not. We're all sinners. 531 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,560 If you're a Sinner, raise your hand now. 532 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,520 If you didn't raise your hand, you just lied and you just 533 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:34,520 sinned. So we're all sinners and we will 534 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:38,360 fail one another. I promise you, you will. 535 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:42,480 We will do things we don't like to one another. 536 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:44,640 We will say things we don't agree with. 537 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:46,360 I wish you hadn't done it that way. 538 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,480 All these things are good because we're sinners and we're 539 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:49,920 imperfect. This is going to happen. 540 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:53,480 So we've got to recognize that what binds us together is not 541 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:58,160 us. What binds us together is Jesus 542 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,480 Christ and the Spirit. We need to be driven by a 543 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:05,560 dependency upon Him. So Nehemiah then begins to 544 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:07,360 strategize for their next best steps. 545 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:10,120 So listen and learn from these strategies for yourself, for 546 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:13,640 your family, for the church. So look at verse 1 of Chapter 7. 547 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,960 Now when the wall had been built and I'd set up the doors and the 548 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,400 gatekeepers, the singers and the Levites have been appointed, I 549 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:26,160 gave my brother Hanani probably and Hananiah, the governor of 550 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:28,040 the castle charge over Jerusalem. 551 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:32,360 For he he was a more faithful and God fearing man than many 552 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:38,880 Strategy number one. Properly positioned leaders are 553 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:42,400 absolutely vital for your family and for the church. 554 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,600 Nehemiah knew they needed focused leadership for the 555 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:49,120 future. There was a reason they rebuilt 556 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:50,480 these walls. Don't miss this. 557 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:52,520 They were a testimony to God's faithfulness. 558 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:55,080 I promised you with prophets ahead of time, I'm going to 559 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,720 bring you back from the exile and, and this is being 560 00:29:57,720 --> 00:29:58,880 fulfilled. You're going to be able to 561 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:02,160 worship me again in Jerusalem. So there's a fulfillment here 562 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:04,200 and there's a fulfillment of his promise. 563 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,520 But building the walls was not the ultimate goal. 564 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:10,600 Building the walls was just the beginning. 565 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,840 That's not what they're ultimately they had to actually 566 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:18,720 occupy the city and live and worship Yahweh to show the world 567 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:21,200 who he was, to be a light to the Gentiles. 568 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:24,880 So Nehemiah appointed godly men to oversee city life. 569 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:29,360 We have to develop. We have to empower the right 570 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:33,040 people in the right positions to help us live for him. 571 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,560 That's true in your family. That's true at the church. 572 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,800 Leadership development, leadership alignment have to be 573 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,880 prioritized. So I'm begging you, pray for 574 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:45,120 those who are in authority here. Pray for those who are in 575 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:46,760 service. Pray for those who lead 576 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:49,280 ministries here and thank them for what they do. 577 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:52,680 Thank the people right now who are working in these hallways 578 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:55,880 with children and preschoolers, teaching them, helping them, 579 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,480 discipling them so that you could be here in worship. 580 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:06,120 Verse 3 And I said to them, let not the gates of Jerusalem be 581 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:09,120 opened until the sun is hot, and while they are still standing 582 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:11,080 guard, let them shut and bar the doors. 583 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:14,560 Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some 584 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,440 at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes. 585 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:22,880 Strategy #2 We have to protect. We have to guard our families. 586 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:27,400 Our families must be guarded. Listen, Nehemiah appointed 587 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:29,920 guards over the most vulnerable places. 588 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,960 What good are the walls, What good are the gates if nobody's 589 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,680 watching them? So these guarded passageways and 590 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:41,520 even in front of their own homes, closely monitored, Who 591 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:44,120 could come in? Who was going out, right? 592 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:46,240 It's, it's Nehemiah's neighborhood watch. 593 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:50,960 And we need spiritual neighborhood watch in our homes. 594 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:54,440 We need it in our church to protect our most vulnerable past 595 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:58,520 and our most vulnerable people. How am I protecting my home? 596 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:00,760 One of the great strengths of Inglewood Baptist Church, 597 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,120 whether you believe this or not, those listening online, those 598 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:05,000 who are checking us out as guests, listen. 599 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,520 One of the greatest strengths of Inglewood's Inglewood Baptist 600 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:11,440 Church is the fact that this is a multi generational church. 601 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:16,120 It's an incredible strength, the fact that you have mature older 602 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:19,240 believers from which you can learn, you have young families 603 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:22,560 with children that you can see the next generation coming up. 604 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:26,720 And together we formed a true family, just like a family would 605 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:32,400 be multi generational family seeking to disciple, seeking to 606 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,440 grow. So our families deserve solid 607 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:37,800 theology. Our families deserve solid 608 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:40,840 discipleship. They also demand our care. 609 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:43,880 They also demand our protection. And so we have multiple 610 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:47,320 generations here to equip, multiple generations to raise up 611 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:51,880 for the future and to send out. But it's not enough to build for 612 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:54,120 God's future if we don't seek to protect it. 613 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:57,800 And so faithful men and women at the gates and on the walls, 614 00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:59,720 guarding their families, guarding their homes, guarding 615 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,400 the flock, working together in community to encourage and 616 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:08,160 protect against the weak, discipleship or preventing the 617 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:11,880 enemy from sneaking in. Nehemiah even commanded that the 618 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:14,400 gates had strict rules about when the gates could be open or 619 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:16,160 closed. They can only be open during the 620 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,120 daytime, only in the light. The darkness was too dangerous. 621 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:23,480 It's when we sleep in the darkness that the enemy will 622 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:26,360 creep in. Look at verse 4. 623 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:30,160 The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, 624 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:33,720 and no houses had been rebuilt. Then my God put into my heart to 625 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:35,720 assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be 626 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:38,800 enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the 627 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,640 genealogy of those who came up at the 1st, and I found written 628 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:43,160 in it. These were the people of the 629 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,400 province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom 630 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,000 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried into exile. 631 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,480 They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. 632 00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:57,080 Strategy #3 Our flock demand identification. 633 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,320 Here's what I mean. There was plenty of room, but 634 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:03,800 there weren't enough people. They needed more people to 635 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:06,120 occupy the city. So who is going to be allowed to 636 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:08,159 live in Jerusalem? Who is going to be allowed 637 00:34:08,159 --> 00:34:10,800 inside the city? All those who occupied the land, 638 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:13,080 even the enemies who were around them, People who'd been there 639 00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:15,199 forever, who weren't even Jewish in their background, who was 640 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:19,840 going to be in? So Nehemiah had to identify the 641 00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:22,440 flock with proper identification. 642 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:26,639 He had identified the proper citizenship who belongs to the 643 00:34:26,639 --> 00:34:31,840 congregation and who are members of it and but who are members of 644 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:34,840 the surrounding communities and not yet members of the 645 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:38,080 congregation. We're still in the same work. 646 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:42,520 In December, we tried to make over 1000 contacts of inactive 647 00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:45,000 church members and guests who had visited with us over the 648 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,960 last two years through our Connect Group ministries through 649 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:51,239 REACH, and we were able to to reach many of them. 650 00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:53,239 Some of you may be here now. Thank you for coming. 651 00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:56,120 And so this isn't just some crazy idea. 652 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:58,720 God was behind it. Then verse 5 says, then God put 653 00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:01,320 into my heart to do this. When spirit filled leaders seek 654 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:05,120 God, he's going to guide them to biblically identify the people 655 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:08,600 ready for his future. So Nehemiah clarified the 656 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:12,600 population with a list of exiles who had returned years prior. 657 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:16,080 This same list can be found in Ezra chapter 2 and they're 658 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:20,080 listed by bloodline. We need to keep careful track of 659 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:23,920 who our family is. We have to define membership. 660 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:27,040 We have to define church member accountability. 661 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:29,440 We have to define church member care. 662 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:32,920 These things matter. We must guard a covenant. 663 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:37,080 Church membership made-up of the truly saved people of God born 664 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:41,560 into his bloodline. See, I'm thankful that my 665 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:44,600 salvation is not based on some earthly genealogy. 666 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:48,960 Ewart, Ewart, Ewart doesn't mean a whole lot. 667 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:53,080 I'm dependent on being born again into the bloodline of the 668 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:56,960 King. The name Jesus means everything. 669 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:00,160 And that's the only reason I'm allowed to officially belong. 670 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,000 The only reason the new members that were presented today, thank 671 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:06,040 you so much for joining us. They all trust in Jesus Christ. 672 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:08,680 They've all been born again into the bloodline. 673 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:14,080 Now look at verse 66. I know I skipped. 674 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:20,480 We don't have time for all the names, but listen to this. 675 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:24,000 The whole assembly together was 42,360. 676 00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:27,520 Besides, they're male and female servants, of whom there were 677 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:32,560 7337, and they had 245 singers, male and female. 678 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:33,880 Now, why in the world do I care about that? 679 00:36:35,120 --> 00:36:36,920 I just want you to hear a simple message. 680 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:40,600 The message is simply this. It's not simply to count the 681 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:42,560 people. That's not what we're trying to 682 00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:46,360 necessarily do here. The message is, is that every 683 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:50,760 single person counts. We don't want anybody to drift. 684 00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:52,400 We don't want anybody to be inactive. 685 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:54,560 We want everybody to be an official member. 686 00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:57,480 And so that way we can have them in a covenant relationship, we 687 00:36:57,480 --> 00:36:59,920 can help them grow and they can help serve here. 688 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:03,560 So it's important to fully appreciate who is already here 689 00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:05,240 and those who still need to come. 690 00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:09,520 There's still so many on the way that aren't here yet. 691 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,560 Now if you're if you're visiting, if you're a guest or 692 00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:15,880 you're listening online, I want you to speak with us about 693 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:17,960 joining. A young man came up to me after 694 00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:21,680 the first service saying I want to be baptized and let's 695 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:24,400 encourage members who aren't here to get back here. 696 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:27,000 It's time. Come on back. 697 00:37:27,720 --> 00:37:28,920 Now. Look at verse 61. 698 00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:32,480 The following were those who came up from Telmala, Tell, 699 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:37,120 Harsha, Cherub, Adan, and Imr, but they could not prove their 700 00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:40,400 father's houses, nor their descent whom or whether they 701 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:44,720 belong to Israel. Skip to verse 64 These sought 702 00:37:44,720 --> 00:37:47,800 their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but 703 00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:50,360 it was not found there. So they were excluded from the 704 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:53,240 priesthood as unclean. The governor told them that they 705 00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:56,360 were not to partake of the most holy food until a priest with 706 00:37:56,360 --> 00:38:00,400 Urim and Thummim should arise. So there were some who couldn't 707 00:38:00,400 --> 00:38:03,000 trace their lineage back there, right? 708 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:06,600 And so they couldn't serve in the temple in the same way until 709 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:10,160 God made a decision about them. And in the same way, there are 710 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:14,200 understood expectations for those people who are officially 711 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:18,440 church members at Inglewood. We very much welcome all of you 712 00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:21,720 guests every week. We hope you come and you always 713 00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:24,640 be with us. But only those born into the 714 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:27,760 family through salvation in Christ and and who have 715 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:31,640 testified through biblical baptism can be official members, 716 00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:35,040 and only official members can serve in certain places in the 717 00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:36,920 church. It has to be that way. 718 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:40,280 Nehemiah also accounts for the resources. 719 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:44,880 Look at verse 68. Their horses were 736, their 720 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:51,280 mules 245, they're camels 435 and they're donkeys. 6720 721 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:53,160 somebody at a corner on the donkey market. 722 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:56,760 Now. Now some of the heads of Fathers 723 00:38:56,760 --> 00:38:58,840 houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the 724 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:02,680 treasury 1000 derricks of gold of 50 basins, 30 priests 725 00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:04,440 garments and 500 minutes of silver. 726 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:07,240 And some of the heads of Fathers houses gave into the treasury of 727 00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:11,080 the work 20,000 derricks of gold and 2200 minutes of silver. 728 00:39:11,600 --> 00:39:13,880 And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 derricks of 729 00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:18,360 gold. 2000 Minas of silver and 67 priest garments. 730 00:39:18,880 --> 00:39:22,640 Now I want you to see strategy #4 you may not like it, but it's 731 00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:24,720 important. Stewardship requires 732 00:39:24,720 --> 00:39:28,520 recognition. Listen, this isn't just about 733 00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:30,200 money. It's not just about giving 734 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:34,360 things, it's about life. The general economic status of 735 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,880 these people could be seen in the number of their animals. 736 00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:38,480 That's why that number becomes important. 737 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:41,360 Some of them are in a very fragile, meager state, but God 738 00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:44,480 was still blessing them, and they still graciously supported 739 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:47,360 the worship that needed to take place, the temple work. 740 00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:50,640 After all that hard work, they wanted this new future to 741 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:52,680 succeed. So they gave to it, they 742 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:56,000 supported it, and they were expected to give a portion of 743 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,760 what God had entrusted them with as part of their worship in a 744 00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:02,040 moment. We're going to pass offering 745 00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:03,400 place like we're doing every week. 746 00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:05,280 That's not just so we can get your money. 747 00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:08,320 In fact, if you're a visitor here, don't you give a dime. 748 00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:09,800 Put your Next steps card in there. 749 00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:11,280 Put your prayer requests in there. 750 00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:14,280 Everybody can put their prayer requests in there so we can pray 751 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:16,240 for you. But when we pass that offering 752 00:40:16,240 --> 00:40:18,720 plate as an act of worship, it's an act of recognition. 753 00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:21,640 Nothing's changed. Stewardship has always been a 754 00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:23,520 part of our spiritual health and discipleship. 755 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:26,520 And it's born from this understanding that everything 756 00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:29,720 belongs to God. Listen for a minute. 757 00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:32,840 The question is not how much of my money I should give back to 758 00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:36,040 God. It's how much of God's money I 759 00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:40,280 should keep for myself. It all belongs to him. 760 00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:43,240 How much of God's money am I allowed to keep and still be 761 00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:45,720 useful to him? But I would say the same thing 762 00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:50,600 about your time, about your energy, about your skills, about 763 00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:53,520 your experience, about your focus. 764 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:56,520 All of these pieces are part of our stewardship. 765 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,280 And I just know this. He will care for me far better 766 00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:04,280 out of what remains than what I might retain if I don't 767 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,800 faithfully give out of a joyful heart of worship and 768 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,000 Thanksgiving. So watch these grateful people 769 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:13,160 after such a long, hard journey, graciously give to their future. 770 00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:16,200 Invest in it now. Two more verses will close. 771 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:18,440 Look back at verse 1 of Chapter 7. 772 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:22,680 Now when the wall had been built, I had set up the doors, 773 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:24,680 and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had 774 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:26,920 been appointed. Now you go all the way to verse 775 00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:30,520 73. So the priests, the Levites, the 776 00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:32,800 gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple 777 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:36,360 servants, and all Israel lived in their towns, and when the 7th 778 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:40,440 month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns. 779 00:41:41,480 --> 00:41:45,600 The last little strategy is God's purpose can bring success. 780 00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:52,120 Through several attempts. They tried to stop Nehemiah, try 781 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:54,560 to pull him off the wall. You got to stop that Nehemiah, 782 00:41:54,680 --> 00:41:56,800 you can't do this. They tried to stop the people, 783 00:41:56,800 --> 00:42:00,800 discourage them, even lie about him, but they never stopped. 784 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:04,080 And now the people were in their proper places. 785 00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:07,520 And my friends, revival is just around the corner for them. 786 00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:10,480 You do not want to miss next week. 787 00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:15,120 It's it's the climax of the entire book to where revival 788 00:42:15,120 --> 00:42:19,440 begins to break out next week. Could happen in your life, could 789 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:21,800 happen in your family's life, could happen in our church. 790 00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:24,560 I'm praying for next week in a big way. 791 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:30,240 A quote attributed to Sir Sir Francis Drake can't say it, but 792 00:42:30,240 --> 00:42:33,960 I can read it. Sir Francis Drake in 1577 goes 793 00:42:33,960 --> 00:42:36,000 like this. Not sure he really said it, but 794 00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:41,680 we'll say he did. Disturb us, Lord, when we are 795 00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:46,200 too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true, 796 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:50,640 because we have dreamed too little, when we arrived safely, 797 00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:52,760 because we sailed too close to the shore. 798 00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:57,160 Disturb us, Lord, with when, with the abundance of things we 799 00:42:57,160 --> 00:43:01,080 possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life. 800 00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:05,160 Having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of 801 00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:09,040 eternity, and in our efforts to build a new earth we have 802 00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:11,160 allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim. 803 00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:16,680 Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly to venture on wider seas 804 00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:19,720 where storms will show their mass will show your mastery. 805 00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:23,760 We're losing sight of land. We shall find the stars. 806 00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:28,280 We ask you to push back the horizons of our hope and to push 807 00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:33,200 into the future. And strength, courage, hope and 808 00:43:33,200 --> 00:43:36,680 love. Remain diligent, Inglewood, with 809 00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:40,840 your families as a church. It's time to rise and finish 810 00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:43,000 building. They're just a few gaps to fill 811 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:46,120 in now. We're getting closer, but don't 812 00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:47,720 look back. Don't look back. 813 00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:50,880 You're not going that way. Quit looking back there. 814 00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:53,520 Look this way because God has a plan. 815 00:43:53,520 --> 00:43:55,120 And like Nehemiah, remain focused. 816 00:43:55,120 --> 00:43:59,080 Stack one rock at a time and then find another rock and let's 817 00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:00,920 continue to build. The work has to continue. 818 00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:03,560 There's too much at stake. The lost world's at stake. 819 00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:07,800 This lost city is at stake. So we need to seek the glory of 820 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:11,600 God in our lives, in the lives of our families, and join Him in 821 00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:16,400 redeeming the nation's. SO as we close, all I can say is 822 00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:20,640 I'm sorry, Satan. I believe Inglewood Baptist 823 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:25,080 Church will just keep moving forward in worship and the work 824 00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:29,880 of our King Jesus. You lose Father. 825 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:33,480 Thank you to what you have called us to. 826 00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:39,000 It's not a small thing. We all have life, Father. 827 00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:41,440 It's all we get. We're all doing it for the first 828 00:44:41,440 --> 00:44:44,520 time. And so, Father, we'll make 829 00:44:44,520 --> 00:44:46,560 mistakes along the way. We pray you'll forgive us. 830 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:50,360 But Father, you have grand purposes for our lives. 831 00:44:51,320 --> 00:44:55,120 For some here at Salvation this morning, right now, I pray your 832 00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:57,560 Spirit would just move in their hearts to recognize that the 833 00:44:57,560 --> 00:45:00,800 testimony of baptism are new members or the sermon or just 834 00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:04,920 your word that they need you for others. 835 00:45:04,920 --> 00:45:07,200 The recognition I need to be baptized. 836 00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:10,680 I need to share this testimony to the world or I need to 837 00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:13,000 officially join the church I've been visiting long enough. 838 00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:16,880 I need to join. And so, Father, I pray, Lord, 839 00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:19,560 that whatever you're leading people to do this morning, that 840 00:45:19,560 --> 00:45:22,600 will simply respond, Father, I pray that they'll come forward, 841 00:45:22,600 --> 00:45:25,240 that they'll come and, and kneel at these steps in prayer. 842 00:45:25,240 --> 00:45:27,640 They'll take a pastor by the hand or they'll go to our next 843 00:45:27,640 --> 00:45:30,760 steps room and talk to a counselor in a private, discreet 844 00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:33,760 conversation where they'll pray together and just discuss what 845 00:45:33,760 --> 00:45:37,120 you're laying on their hearts. So Father, there's all kinds of 846 00:45:37,120 --> 00:45:40,520 avenues, even the Next steps desk in the lobby. 847 00:45:41,680 --> 00:45:45,160 So Father, there's no excuse. It's just time for surrender. 848 00:45:45,800 --> 00:45:49,120 So, Father, I pray that we'll come and we'll we'll respond to 849 00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:52,520 your calling in Christ's name. Amen. 850 00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:54,640 Well, let's stand together. The worship team's going to lead 851 00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:56,040 us. Some of the pastors will be 852 00:45:56,040 --> 00:45:57,920 here. Our next steps room is open 853 00:45:57,920 --> 00:45:59,160 there. There's another one out in the 854 00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:01,960 lobby. And so you come, and you share 855 00:46:01,960 --> 00:46:03,560 with us what God's laying on your heart. 856 00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:13,120 Thank you so much for listening today, and I also hope that 857 00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:15,680 you'll go to ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com 858 00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:18,720 as well as our app and find many other resources that will bless 859 00:46:18,720 --> 00:46:20,920 you and your families. Thank you once again.