1 00:00:08,530 --> 00:00:10,530 Well, good to see everybody here this morning. 2 00:00:10,530 --> 00:00:13,530 Take your Bibles and turn to Nehemiah chapter 13 if you 3 00:00:13,530 --> 00:00:16,570 would. And I will be with you in just a 4 00:00:16,570 --> 00:00:18,650 moment there. Let me share just a couple of 5 00:00:18,650 --> 00:00:21,090 words with you as we get rolling. 6 00:00:21,090 --> 00:00:24,970 What a great morning already. Yeah, after in the first 7 00:00:24,970 --> 00:00:28,810 service, I after everything I just recognized, you know, you 8 00:00:28,810 --> 00:00:30,090 were just don't mess this one up. 9 00:00:30,450 --> 00:00:36,920 So see what we can do here in, in, in our time together. 10 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:38,680 So thankful for you. Listen, I don't know if you 11 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:40,360 realize this. You know what next week is? 12 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:45,120 It's Palm Sunday. That means Easter is 2 weeks 13 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:48,800 away, believe it or not. So I do hope that in your 14 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,640 worship guide, you'll pay close attention to the schedule for 15 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,800 the Easter activities coming up. And then at all the little 16 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,320 tables and out at the welcome center, there are buckets of 17 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,800 these invitation cards. Grab about 14 billion of them 18 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:05,480 and take them to everybody you know, because some of you people 19 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,120 know 14 billion people. You're that popular. 20 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,280 Anyway, it has the schedule on the back with AQR code and an 21 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:15,120 invite card for your neighbors, your friends. 22 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:16,840 Invite them here. Let's see if we can't pack out 23 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,320 the house 2 times over. But remember, we're going to 24 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:21,840 have a special prayer service. We're going to have a Good 25 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:23,960 Friday service. We'll celebrate the Lord's 26 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:25,280 Supper at the Good Friday service. 27 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,320 We have a sunrise service Easter Sunday morning, our two services 28 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:30,560 on Easter. I look forward to everybody 29 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:32,920 being here. And so please invite your 30 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:37,040 friends and see who we can come, who will come and be here for 31 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:38,960 that. Then also, kind of on a lighter 32 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:42,000 note, but not so much, you also see these on the little table. 33 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:44,720 These are actually decals for your vehicle. 34 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:47,200 That's a Englewood Baptist Church on them. 35 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,200 And so I hope you'll take some of these and put them on your 36 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,720 car, put them on your computers, put them on your backpacks, take 37 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:56,720 them on your eyeglasses, wherever they need to go, and 38 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,320 talk about how you're excited to being in a church where God's 39 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,160 working, where you're seeing people of all ages coming to 40 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:04,600 Christ and being baptized. Wasn't that amazing? 41 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:06,680 Yeah. So you already heard incredible 42 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:08,080 testimonies. You've already heard some 43 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,080 incredible testimonies and messages for the morning. 44 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:12,960 My question to you is just who's next? 45 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,880 Is your testimony going to be the next one that we share? 46 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,640 And maybe this morning God will lead you to that. 47 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:22,520 Then after Easter, we're going to have our time with our 48 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,000 friends again. The Sunday after Easter, the 49 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,720 Wednesday after Easter, I'm going to share my full board 50 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:29,360 testimony. Several of you have asked me 51 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:32,640 about that, and so I'm going to share my testimony with you. 52 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:35,520 I don't know that I've actually every in my entire life shared 53 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,800 that whole story that way. That may seem amazing to you. 54 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,640 I've shared bits and pieces many times, but I'm going to share 55 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:43,600 that host story that Wednesday night. 56 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:45,080 Then we'll have our time with our friends. 57 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,680 And then following that, we're going to dive into the book of 58 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:49,440 Romans coming up. It's going to be huge. 59 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,800 We're going to love that. And and then we're also going to 60 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,720 start a midweek series called Heaven, Hell and the Hereafter. 61 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,600 Going to talk about heaven, talk about hell, talk about what 62 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:03,600 happens the second that we die, who all is going to be where and 63 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,240 why? Not just us, but also folks like 64 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,880 the angels and the demons and other things like that. 65 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,920 So that'll be coming up in our midweek for a few weeks 66 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:16,000 following Easter as well. So just letting you know what's 67 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,160 coming up. But next week is H week for our 68 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:20,840 reach ministry and our connect groups. 69 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,200 So please, please, please be in a connect group next week and 70 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,840 participate in reaching out for Easter. 71 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,440 We'd love to see a lot of your friends here because I promise 72 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,960 I'm going to show the gospel on Easter. 73 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:38,560 You know, it's, I love it when God reveals his plan and word to 74 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:43,320 us and, and when people obey and God's been taking us on quite a 75 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:45,960 journey. And, and one of the things that 76 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,840 we were talking earlier with our friends that God always knew 77 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:51,480 what the journey was going to hold. 78 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,040 We don't, we don't know what's going to happen to us 10 seconds 79 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:58,520 from now, but God always knows. And it's amazing when he guides 80 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:02,760 us through these experiences and what each trip might, might 81 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:04,160 contain. And today we're actually going 82 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:05,920 to complete a segment of the journey. 83 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,520 Today, we're going to finish our study in the book of Nehemiah as 84 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:14,120 we talk about restoration in chapter 13 and what happens 85 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,160 there. Now, last week when we were in 86 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,839 Nehemiah, if you're a guest here, we've been walking through 87 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,079 this entire book together, but you'll be just fine. 88 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:23,560 Last week, the people were praising the Lord. 89 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:25,440 They were marching along the walls. 90 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:28,040 They were dedicating the wall to the Lord. 91 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:31,640 They were having a big temple celebration because the walls 92 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:33,160 were complete, the city was done. 93 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:37,480 It was time to fill the city and they were celebrating well in an 94 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:41,760 incredible moment and, and God's people were unanimously united 95 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,320 in their pursuit of him. They'd they'd renewed the 96 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,000 covenant. They were all fired up for the 97 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,240 Lord. And it's powerful when God's 98 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,520 people join in that kind of purity and that kind of praise. 99 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,960 And those moments need to be cherished, just like moments of 100 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:59,240 baptism need to be cherished. Don't ever grow tired of that. 101 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:03,360 Don't ever grow weary of that. If you do, let me know and I'll 102 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,360 send you to a church that will baptize nobody this year because 103 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,000 I know a bunch of them, thousands of them. 104 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:11,560 And so be thankful for what God's doing. 105 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:14,280 Amen. But what we also see is it's 106 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:16,080 powerful when God's people join together. 107 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:22,320 But, and I'd make up this story, it's Nehemiah 13. 108 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:27,480 Sometimes God's people forget. They don't remember what they 109 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:29,720 were supposed to remember. They forget who they are. 110 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:31,760 They forget who they're supposed to become. 111 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,880 They forget who who who they're supposed to belong to. 112 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,000 They forget what they're supposed to bring along with 113 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:39,960 them, the lessons they're supposed to learn, what they're 114 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:41,840 supposed to take with them on the journey ahead. 115 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:46,880 And they just forget. I saw an article in the news 116 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,000 this past week about the airline industry and it was talking 117 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,640 about the millions of items that people leave behind on airplanes 118 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:56,520 or at airports or baggage claim, etcetera at airports. 119 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,560 Now they they claimed, I don't know if I believe this stat, but 120 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,760 they claimed that 99.9% of those checked bags make it to the 121 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,840 people they belong to. I've had other experiences, but 122 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:10,600 anyway, 99.9% but then those things that don't make it to 123 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:12,640 people, I don't know if you've ever maybe you've been there. 124 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:17,480 There's a they all end up in a in Alabama, in a small store in 125 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:20,240 Alabama called the unclaimed baggage store. 126 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:24,480 This is a real place you can go to Alabama to this store and you 127 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,520 can buy the stuff that people have left behind a security or 128 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,080 on an airplane or a baggage claim. 129 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:35,320 And in 2025, they were to describing some of the items 130 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,920 that were left and they're for sale now. 131 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,360 They're in Alabama. There's a robot, there's a 132 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:46,800 bionic knee, there's a $10,000 gold teeth grills. 133 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:49,520 You put it right on your teeth. Some of you might want that 134 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:53,600 look. There's a meteorite, there's 135 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:55,600 fire sticks used for fire dancing. 136 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,360 There's a set of samurai swords. There's a beekeeping suit. 137 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,640 There's go plated golf clubs and even a teak didgeridoo. 138 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:04,640 The most expensive items. You'll like this better. 139 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:09,160 The most expensive items left behind was a white some white 140 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:12,360 diamond earrings valued at $43,000. 141 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:14,640 Somebody just left that at security. 142 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:18,800 A Rolex watch with 18 carat yellow golden diamond dial worth 143 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:23,760 around $35,000, a bass clarinet worth $17,000, a leather jacket 144 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:27,600 worth $12,000, and a thermal camel valued at more than 145 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:33,880 $12,000. Sometimes people leave valuable 146 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:38,680 things behind. Sometimes they forget what 147 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:40,880 they're supposed to bring with them on the journey. 148 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:46,000 Sometimes people forget, forget who they are, forget who they're 149 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,280 supposed to become, and forget what they were supposed to bring 150 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:51,560 with them on that journey with God. 151 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,040 They also forget to just whom they belong to and to who the 152 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:57,720 whole journey belongs to. And they leave behind the 153 00:07:57,720 --> 00:07:59,440 lessons that they were supposed to learn. 154 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,960 They leave, leave behind the truths they were supposed to 155 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:05,080 carry with them. They forget God's faithfulness. 156 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,320 They forget God's grace. They forget his perfect plan. 157 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:08,800 And they turn back to old habits. 158 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,120 They turn back to old practices. Sometimes they even think 159 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,400 they've arrived. Sometimes they think they've 160 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,400 already arrived and they can just relax and get comfortable 161 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:21,480 and, and, and not have to work so hard. 162 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,080 And at times God has to remind them of the truth. 163 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,880 And me, we must be reminded this morning in this passage. 164 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:33,200 Don't go back. That's the message of Nehemiah 165 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:36,320 in chapter 13. Listen, not everyone receives 166 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,120 his reminders well either. I don't know how you respond. 167 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,600 I don't know how you respond when you're confronted by God. 168 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:46,600 Is your knee jerk reaction to justify yourself? 169 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:50,520 Is your knee jerk reaction to defend yourself or to fight? 170 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,200 Maybe it's to run and hide. Maybe it's just to try to ignore 171 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:54,480 him. Maybe if I just don't pay any 172 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:59,240 attention, he'll go away. I deserve to have what I want, 173 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:01,840 don't I? I deserve to have what I want 174 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,080 exactly the way I want it, when I want it, how I want it. 175 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:07,160 I mean, that's what every TV commercial and every social 176 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,840 media post screams at me. You deserve it that way. 177 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:16,440 You have the right to have that. That's what the world says to 178 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:17,800 me. And we're humans. 179 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,160 And so because we're humans, we're naturally, selfishly 180 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:25,960 sinful. All of us, all of us, all of us. 181 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,560 And so there are moments when we need or we deserve 182 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:33,080 confrontation. And it's in His love for us that 183 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:34,680 God confronts us and convicts us. 184 00:09:34,680 --> 00:09:38,240 If we're not disciples who are properly loving Him and loving 185 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:40,640 others. He demonstrates His grace this 186 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:42,280 way. In fact, listen to Hebrews 12 187 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,160 for a moment and we'll get right into Nehemiah 13. 188 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:48,400 He says, have you not? Have you forgotten the 189 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:50,760 exhortation that addresses you as sons? 190 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:53,720 My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor 191 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,680 be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one 192 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:02,640 He loves and chastises every son whom he receives. 193 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:05,640 So when we refuse this correction, when we ignore the 194 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:09,560 Holy Spirit's conviction, when we run from God, we're actually 195 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:16,240 refusing His love and grace. But if we respond, we respond to 196 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,680 humility, we accept his forgiveness, we accept his 197 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:22,400 restoration. The way opens up to experience 198 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:25,640 an even deeper intimacy with Him and even deeper love and even 199 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:29,160 deeper discipleship with Him. So remaining faithful, remaining 200 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:32,640 spiritually healthy disciples requires a constant focus. 201 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:34,600 It requires incredible discipline. 202 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:37,800 And so that's why the practices that we talk about here at 203 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:40,680 Inglewood we call the seven essentials of discipleship, that 204 00:10:40,680 --> 00:10:43,320 with these things are called spiritual disciplines for a 205 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,840 reason. But remember, the enemy never 206 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:50,960 sleeps. The enemy never relents, the 207 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:55,000 enemy never gives up. And our sinful nature always 208 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,840 seeks self. Our sinful nature always seeks 209 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:02,760 the easy, our sinful nature seeks the lazy. 210 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,240 Frankly, William Booth, who's the founder of the Salvation 211 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:09,840 Army, was training a group of young leaders and he said this. 212 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,880 I want you young men always to bear in mind that is the nature 213 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:16,720 of a fire. To go out, you must keep it 214 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,960 stirred and fed, and the ash is removed. 215 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:24,600 So Nehemiah discovered ash. When he comes back, he had to 216 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,360 leave for a while and that the fire had gone out in his 217 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,080 absence. He discovers that our in our 218 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,000 last moment with him, or after our last moment with him, 219 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,800 Nehemiah had to go back to serve the king for a while. 220 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,320 But when he returns to Jerusalem, the fire had fizzled. 221 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:43,240 The people had forgotten and it needed to be stirred. 222 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:44,920 The ashes had to be cleared away. 223 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,080 One of my jobs, actually, we called him chores in the old 224 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,320 days. Anybody remember chores? 225 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:53,120 Yeah. Yeah, some of us actually had 226 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,160 those. Some of us actually had to do 227 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:56,400 those. And you know what? 228 00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:57,720 We didn't get paid for that either. 229 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:02,720 We just had to do them and one of my chores as a child was we 230 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,680 had a wood burning fireplace and it had this cool that some of 231 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:07,240 you have. This probably had a cool little 232 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,200 opening in there and you could shovel all the ash into that 233 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:12,160 little opening and it went down a chute. 234 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:15,160 And then you could go outside at the bottom of the houses to kind 235 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:17,440 of a up there. And down here was a little bitty 236 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:19,840 metal door and you could go in there and you could scoop out 237 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:21,760 all the ash. And every now and then I had to 238 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:25,680 go clean out the ash. Yes, indeed I was Cinder fella. 239 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:29,280 Now, see, you did better than the first service. 240 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:35,640 And part of my job was to clean out the ash and my dad would 241 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,160 warn me because it would get water in there, sometimes 242 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:40,800 rainwater in there. And when you miss, when you mix 243 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:46,120 wood, ash and rainwater, you can get what's called Lye and it can 244 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:48,080 be caustic. It can actually burn you. 245 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,640 And he would warn me, don't get burned by the lie. 246 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,080 And I know this is true. If you leave the ash long 247 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:56,680 enough, it can become caustic and burn you. 248 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:04,040 And I know that from experience. Well, we're going to find that 249 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:10,080 Nehemiah came back to a pile of caustic ash in our passes, had 250 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,320 to be cleared up, had to be, had to be moved out. 251 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,640 It was burning the people. It was creating problems for 252 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:20,480 them, compromised forgotten covenant commitments that led to 253 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:23,080 a progression of failure. I'm going to show you how 1 led 254 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:25,600 to the next led to the next If and if you were to go back to 255 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:28,040 Chapter 9 and 10, you'll remember they signed this new 256 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:31,760 covenant and it's almost to the word the violations that we're 257 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,120 going to see in this passage. So the very things they agreed 258 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:38,160 to just a few chapters ago. Look at Nehemiah 13. 259 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:42,440 One, on that day they read from the book of Moses and the 260 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,800 hearing of the people, and it was found written that no 261 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:50,720 Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the Assembly of God. 262 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:54,480 For they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, 263 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:56,320 but hired Balaam against them to curse them. 264 00:13:56,920 --> 00:13:59,280 Yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. 265 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,360 As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel 266 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:08,280 all those of foreign descent. So they're violating A 267 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:10,880 commitment that they made. And so the first thing we need 268 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,840 to not forget is do not forget your commitment to purity. 269 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,680 And they're going to violate this very thing that they'd 270 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:21,280 agreed to earlier in the covenant they just signed 271 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:24,200 because they were obviously reading from Deuteronomy chapter 272 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,560 23, and they're experiencing what we're going to actually 273 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,280 read next. So what we read next actually 274 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:33,680 happened before verses 4 through 7 actually happened before 275 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:37,200 verses one through 3. But so they're they've 276 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:39,760 experienced this thing and the people were reminded of their 277 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:42,560 command to separate themselves. Here's the bottom line. 278 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,760 Separate yourself from Pagan influence in your life to 279 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:49,920 maintain your purity. These foreigners were born. 280 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:53,960 The Ammonites and Moabites were born from incestuous 281 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:57,320 relationships between Lot and his daughters, and they were 282 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:03,720 sworn, avowed enemies of Israel. And so they dealt with this very 283 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:05,400 same issue back in Chapter 9 and 10. 284 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:09,320 And here they are again dealing with the exact same problem. 285 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,880 Now list this important for us. Some lessons take longer to 286 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:16,600 remember than others. And and they were just spinning 287 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:21,240 in these old cycles of sin. Dealing with the same sin 288 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:24,880 repeatedly, over and over and over and over again can be very 289 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:28,280 discouraging. But but that's sometimes what's 290 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,960 going on in our life. Old compromises require 291 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:32,840 replacement with new commitments. 292 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:38,120 And maybe you struggle with this same sin cycling, the sin 293 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:42,120 spinning in your life. You find yourself falling and 294 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:47,520 stumbling in the same way in the same area of your life over and 295 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:50,640 over and over again, just spinning. 296 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:52,680 I don't want to do this anymore. I'm not going to do this. 297 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:55,240 You know, when we get into Romans and we read Romans 6 and 298 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:57,200 seven, we're going to hear Paul himself talk about this. 299 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:58,720 I do the very thing I don't want to do. 300 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:03,640 And we find ourselves sometimes just spinning in the same things 301 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:07,080 over and over and over again. And we got to get out of that 302 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,680 spin cycle. So listen, learn, and lean upon 303 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:12,560 God to break that cycle. Confess your sin. 304 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:15,520 When the Holy Spirit confronts and convicts you about it, 305 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,560 repent and turn away from that struggle. 306 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:20,920 But intentionally. Here's the key, and I've said it 307 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:25,640 to you 16 times in a year. Intentionally and passionately 308 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:31,440 replace that void in your life with the essentials, the holy 309 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:33,200 essentials of healthy discipleship. 310 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,080 You can't just try to stop something. 311 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:41,480 You got to replace it. You got to make new commitments 312 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,040 to get rid of these old compromises. 313 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:46,560 So these 7 essentials we talk about, we got to depend upon Him 314 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:50,200 daily to disciple ourselves, to engage the Bible, to unite in 315 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,840 fellowship, to abide in prayer, to commit to service, to respond 316 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,960 in worship, to live out evangelism, to participate in 317 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,360 missions. These are just a few of the 318 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,720 things that will help us. But you don't just need one of 319 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:03,640 these essentials. You don't just need some of 320 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,079 those essentials. You need all of these things in 321 00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:10,760 your life to make a well balanced field life where you 322 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,599 don't have the void. So submit. 323 00:17:15,319 --> 00:17:19,960 Submit your wilful decisions of obedience and accountability to 324 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,200 the strength of the Holy Spirit. And then maybe we'll be reading 325 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:28,000 your testimony next, or maybe you already know Him and you've 326 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:32,320 been baptized, but you've just been struggling as a believer 327 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:34,920 because the, the people of Israel were just struggling with 328 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,240 the same issues that led them into the exile in the 1st place. 329 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:40,760 They're just repeating the old mistakes. 330 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:43,840 So these, these outsiders, these Ammonites and Moabites, they're 331 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:46,480 not going to turn from idolatry. That wasn't what's going to 332 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:48,400 happen in that day and time. They're just going to draw the 333 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:50,320 people down into idolatry with them. 334 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:53,480 And so the so the raw, the law said avoid them. 335 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:57,760 Separate yourself from those who have sinful influence in your 336 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:01,080 life. Don't let them influence you. 337 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,920 Surround yourself with people who love the Lord, who encourage 338 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:08,960 your commitment to him. Be with those who equip you to a 339 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,160 stronger walk with him. Take full advantage of the 340 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,280 church. And if you ever wonder, when I 341 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:18,840 say that 100% of you ought to be in a what I'm not just saying 342 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:23,160 that it's just so I hope that we have a high attendance in 343 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:27,600 connect groups, it's because you need to be in a small family of 344 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:31,320 accountability and nurture and discipleship and growth. 345 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:34,760 And so we recognize that they're struggling. 346 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:37,520 They, they need to be strong enough not only to be healthy, 347 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:40,000 but to intentionally engage the world around them in the right 348 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,160 way, in the same way we do for us now. 349 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:45,400 We need to engage this lost world with the gospel rather 350 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:47,000 than allowing it to bring us down. 351 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:51,280 So influence your lost friends. Get him here for Easter. 352 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:53,600 Let him hear about a resurrect, the resurrection of an 353 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,480 incredible Lord this this holiday. 354 00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:02,320 But but the people forgot and they're in a mess again. 355 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:05,840 And you come back and comes back and finds this mess. 356 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,120 And this happens when we forget. This happens when we leave 357 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:12,160 behind the things that we should have brought with us on the 358 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:16,240 journey and we forget him. It'll catch up to you and if 359 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:19,480 you're not careful to become caustic, it'll burn. 360 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:24,600 So let's see just how bad it became in verse 4. 361 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:27,360 Now note the very the first 3 words. 362 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:30,440 Now before this. So what we're about to read 363 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:33,040 actually happened before verses one through three. 364 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,640 One through 3 happened because of what is about to be read. 365 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:41,680 Now before this, Elijah of the priest who was appointed over 366 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,960 the chambers of the House of our God and who was related to 367 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:48,760 Tobiah, don't forget that name, prepared for Tobiah a large 368 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:50,720 chamber where they had previously put the grain 369 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,480 offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the ties of grain, 370 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:57,520 wine and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, 371 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:01,200 singers and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 372 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,800 While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the 373 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:07,400 32nd year of our desert seas, King of Babel and I went to the 374 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:09,680 king. And after some time, I asked 375 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:12,400 Leva the king and came to Jerusalem and I then discovered 376 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:16,960 the evil that Elijah had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a 377 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,040 chamber in the courts of the House of God. 378 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,960 And you may not understand what just what just was read. 379 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:26,280 Here's what's going on. Now remember before this. 380 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:30,760 So this is the backdrop to them saying no more Ammonites, no 381 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:36,360 more Moabites in our midst. Nehemiah discovers that the high 382 00:20:36,360 --> 00:20:40,080 priest had blatantly defiled God's command and permitted an 383 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:45,040 Ammonite, Tobiah, to live on the grounds of the temple, defiling 384 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:49,040 the holy storage area where the consecrated items, the holy 385 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:51,040 items for temple worship, were to be stored. 386 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:55,040 And this wasn't just any Ammonite, if you know the story 387 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:57,640 at all, or you've been here during these weeks, this is one 388 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:01,520 of the enemies who attempted to stop Nehemiah from accomplishing 389 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:05,480 God's will and threaten Nehemiah with his life and threaten them 390 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:09,080 with destruction. I told you weeks ago that some 391 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:11,440 of the Jews had alliances with Tobiah. 392 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,240 They even intermarried with his family, and this included some 393 00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:17,080 of the family members of the high priestly line. 394 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,600 And so his ungodly influence was obvious. 395 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:22,440 They weren't going to bring Tobiah up. 396 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:23,960 He's just bringing them all down. 397 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:27,440 And so they literally just think about this. 398 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,400 They move the holy items for the worship of God and the temple 399 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:37,080 out of their designated spot and set up a spacious area for the 400 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,480 enemy of God to move in and squat. 401 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:47,760 And so they move out the holy and made room for the unholy. 402 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:53,240 Now I want you to catch that reverse negative replacement 403 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,200 because this is a hellish ploy of the devil. 404 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:58,480 This is a hellish ploy of Satan. This is what he'll this is what 405 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,680 he'll do in your life. Allow the unholy to creep in 406 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:07,920 until it pushes out the holy. The crazy and the sinful that 407 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,040 you knew was crazy and sinful just a little while ago will 408 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:14,680 suddenly seem normal. It'll even seem right. 409 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:18,440 The world's going to constantly reinforce this message in our 410 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:21,200 lives. Things that so many thought were 411 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,680 evil just a few years ago, a decade ago, or just even 412 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,120 yesterday will not seem so bad today. 413 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,480 I mean, everybody on TV accepts it, everybody, all the 414 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:32,520 celebrities accept it, all these sports people. 415 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:36,240 So it must be OK because a constant message of rightness is 416 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:38,960 being pushed upon you. It's not the the, the message of 417 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:40,920 the word of God. It's the message of the world. 418 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:47,120 And So what used to be horrible and sinful, it's just not so bad 419 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:50,080 anymore. It's normal, right? 420 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:57,240 I mean, here you have an an Ammonite thug living in luxury 421 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:01,920 in the temple complex, wielding influence over the high priest. 422 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:05,520 This could not be so. Look at verse 8. 423 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:11,120 And I was very angry. You, you, the Hebrew makes it 424 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:13,960 stronger. He's enraged. 425 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,000 I was very angry and I threw all the household furniture of 426 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,720 Tobiah out of the chamber. I knew I liked Nehemiah. 427 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:25,600 Then I gave orders and they cleansed the chambers and I 428 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,440 brought back there the vessels of the House of God with the 429 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:30,360 grain offering and the frankincense. 430 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,880 So here's this enraged Nehemiah. And but here's the catch, and 431 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:36,640 here's what I want you to see. Nehemiah should have been 432 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:41,040 enraged, but so should have everybody else. 433 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:48,120 He should not have been unique in his rage, but it was just OK. 434 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:50,360 It was normal. He's just Tobiah. 435 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:53,440 Everybody knows Tobiah. He's not that bad. 436 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:56,960 Well, that stuff can be stored elsewhere. 437 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:02,960 It's not that big a deal. What was wrong yesterday can 438 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:06,080 easily be perceived as right tomorrow. 439 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:08,640 This world will work on you with that. 440 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:12,640 It'll work with you on that. But the he, he recognizes that 441 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:14,880 this should never been allowed to occur in the 1st place. 442 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:18,360 So the man of God evicts Tobiah and all his junk and passionate 443 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:20,800 righteous indignation. It reminds me of somebody who 444 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:25,320 comes along later and he and he and he takes a whip of cords and 445 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:29,400 he drives the robbers the, the, the, the, the den of thieves out 446 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:33,480 of his House of his father's House of prayer by overturning 447 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:39,440 the tables at the temple. So the temple storeroom was then 448 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:42,720 ritually cleansed. It's put back into service the 449 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:46,000 way it's supposed to, the proper place for these holy utensils, 450 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,680 these offerings, this incense. And so don't miss the lesson. 451 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,080 When you move out the unholy, when you kick out the junk in 452 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:53,920 your life, you toss the junk out. 453 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:57,280 You got to move the holy back in. 454 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,560 You can't just stop right there. Getting rid of the junk is not 455 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,640 enough or you'll just leave a void. 456 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:08,200 Trust me. You can clean out your garage 457 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:11,160 all you want. You can clean out that storage 458 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:13,040 shed. Oh look how clean it is in here. 459 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:20,120 How long does it take before you accumulate the junk again? 460 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:22,880 Same thing can happen to us spiritually. 461 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,800 And so, So what we recognize is that we can't leave this void or 462 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,080 sin and Satan will take advantage of an opportune 463 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:31,920 moment. Satan will come in and put a 464 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,440 foothold or a stronghold, as one passage says. 465 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:37,160 So this leads the people to recognize their sin back in 466 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:41,560 verses one and three, 2-3 and they remember their commitment 467 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:44,880 concerning the unholy influences in their life. 468 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,880 They had compromised, they'd forgotten and and they had to be 469 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:50,320 reminded. But this was not all that 470 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:52,760 Nehemiah found when he returned. I wish that was it, but it's 471 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:54,640 not. It gets even deeper. 472 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,440 Look at verse 10. I also found that the portions 473 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:00,120 of the Levites had not been given to them. 474 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:04,000 So the Levites and the singers who did the work had fled each 475 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,760 to his field. So I confronted the officials 476 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:08,880 and said, why is the House of God forsaken? 477 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:11,920 And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 478 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,840 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into 479 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:17,240 the storehouses. And I appointed his treasures 480 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:19,440 over the storehouses. Silomiah the priest, Edict the 481 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,320 scribe, and Padaya the of the Levites. 482 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,800 And as there is assistant Hannan the son of Zakhar, son of 483 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,200 Madaniah, For they were considered reliable, and their 484 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:31,200 duty was to distribute to the brothers. 485 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:35,400 Remember Me, O God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my 486 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:37,760 good deeds that I've done for the House of God and for His 487 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:40,000 service. So not only do we not forget our 488 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,400 purity, but here's what happens progressively. 489 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:45,480 We also cannot forget our commitment to obedience because 490 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:47,560 this is what happens. There's a progression. 491 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:51,560 When I forget purity, my actions are soon going to follow. 492 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:55,840 When I forget who I am and what I'm supposed to be and how I'm 493 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:58,720 supposed to believe, then the next thing that's going to 494 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:00,960 happen is it's going to leak over into my behavior. 495 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,160 So there's no motivation to keep the commandments, there's no 496 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,800 motivation to keep the law. There's no motivation to serve 497 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:08,720 God. If there's no ongoing growth of 498 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:13,280 spiritual health and focus internally, your practice is 499 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:15,480 going to follow what's in your heart and mind. 500 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:19,040 And so Nehemiah learned that they'd reneged, that they'd 501 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:20,600 reneged. I mean, they just committed to 502 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:22,720 this. They reneged to bringing their 503 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,440 tithes and offerings to the temple to support the work of 504 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:26,880 God. They were doing it for their own 505 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:28,080 greed. They were doing it for their own 506 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,520 selfishness to keep for themselves what actually 507 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:33,400 belonged to the Lord. And since the Levites and the 508 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:36,280 singers were not receiving their food supplies to support their 509 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:38,720 families, they had neglected the temple surface. 510 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:41,120 And they were out there working their fields in order to feed 511 00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:46,880 their families. So Nehemiah recognizes that now 512 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,120 the proper worship of the whole temple is shut down. 513 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,520 I mean, your actions affect other actions. 514 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:57,200 You may not believe that, but your presence or absence effects 515 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,880 others. And so Nehemiah recognized the 516 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:02,560 whole temple thing is getting ready to shut down. 517 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:08,200 So he caused the people to renew the practice of giving and he 518 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:13,440 appointed faithful men to oversee the distribution so that 519 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:15,760 worship could continue. We need to remember our 520 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:19,400 commitment of obedience to continue to make ministry here a 521 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:23,560 joy by continuing to support those who serve to lead in the 522 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:25,600 work of God and also our core ministries. 523 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:29,920 That's why you hear me harp on this 100% stuff over and over 524 00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:32,280 and over again. And by the way, I want to thank 525 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:35,040 you and brag upon you. It's been an interesting year. 526 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:38,680 You know, we lost so much time and momentum in January. 527 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:42,040 I felt like because of the weather and because of flu and 528 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:45,280 sickness, but your stewardship has been wonderful. 529 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:49,400 Thank you for giving the way you have and just continue to do 530 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,160 that On the on the financial side, this wonderful thank you 531 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:54,760 for that faithfulness On the service side, we're going to 532 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,480 provide you more and more opportunities to plug in because 533 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:00,800 this people forgot their commitment to honor the Lord and 534 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:02,880 that everything belonged to him in the 1st place. 535 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:04,480 And I wish that were the end of this. 536 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:06,360 I wish that was all. There's no more to chapter. 537 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:10,280 Surely there's no more. But there were some other 538 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:13,280 covenant practices that were being violated. 539 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:18,200 Look at verse 15. In those days I saw in Judah 540 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:22,440 people trading wine presses on the Sabbath and bringing in 541 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:25,440 heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine 542 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,360 grapes, figs and all kinds of loads which they brought into 543 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:31,440 Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day 544 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,680 when they sold food. Tyrians also who lived in the 545 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:37,760 city brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on 546 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,680 the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem itself. 547 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,480 Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and I said to them, what 548 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:47,800 is this evil thing that you're doing, profaning the Sabbath 549 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:50,280 day? Did not your father's act in 550 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:52,120 this way? And did not our God bring all 551 00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:54,240 this disaster on us and on this city? 552 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:57,600 Now you're bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the 553 00:29:57,600 --> 00:29:59,160 Sabbath. I mean, this is one of the basic 554 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:01,480 commandments. One of the basic parts of God's 555 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,400 law was the Sabbath. And they forgot. 556 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:09,960 They forgot the this proper practice of worship as well. 557 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:13,320 This the Sabbath was to teach us to depend upon God, to trust his 558 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:16,560 sustenance, to trust his provision and to rest. 559 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,440 And it's interesting because just a couple of chapters go 560 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:24,040 look at chapter 10, verse 31. And if the peoples of the land 561 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:27,360 bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will 562 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:31,200 not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day, and we will 563 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:34,280 forego the crops of the 7th year and the exaction of every debt. 564 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:38,960 I mean, they had just committed to these specific things. 565 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,200 So these Jews were performing secular business related work on 566 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:45,080 the Sabbath and Nehemiah just couldn't take it. 567 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:49,000 He entered immediately shuts down the Jerusalem marketplace. 568 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:53,960 And then go on to verse 19. As soon as it began to grow dark 569 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:56,480 at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded the 570 00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:58,880 doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be 571 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:02,240 opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of the my 572 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:05,320 some of my servants at the gates, that no load may be 573 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:08,320 brought in on the Sabbath day. Then the merchants and sellers 574 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:11,960 of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 575 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,520 But I warned them and said to them, Why do you lodge outside 576 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:17,680 the wall? If you do so again, I'll lay 577 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:20,000 hands on you. I love Nehemiah. 578 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:23,800 From that time on. They did not come on the 579 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:25,120 Sabbath. I bet not. 580 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:28,000 Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify 581 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,040 themselves and come and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath 582 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,840 day holy. Remember this also in my favor, 583 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:36,120 Oh my God, and spare me according to the greatness of 584 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:38,880 your steadfast love. So he rebukes these foreign 585 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,960 merchants who are conducting business on the sacred day, but 586 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:46,080 he also chews out the political leaders who are allowing this to 587 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:48,800 happen in the 1st place. His sharpest words were actually 588 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:51,840 for these Jewish leaders. They knew better. 589 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:53,800 They should have known better. They knew that God brought 590 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:57,080 catastrophe on the Israelites in the past because they violated 591 00:31:57,080 --> 00:31:59,560 His commands. And so Nehemiah orders all the 592 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:02,760 gates of Jerusalem to be shut at sundown on Friday, not to be 593 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:04,880 opened again until after the Sabbath is over. 594 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:07,760 And to enforce that, he actually assist, put some of his own 595 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:10,600 assistance on the gates during the Sabbath. 596 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:13,440 Then he banned these merchants from conducting business within 597 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:16,400 the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem, threatening to harm 598 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,680 him if they violate a disorder. If you do so again, I'll lay 599 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,760 hands on you. And he wasn't messing around. 600 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:27,280 And so, to guarantee the Sabbath would not be broken in Jerusalem 601 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:29,960 again, Levites were then assigned permanently to guard 602 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:34,720 the gates, to guard against violating God's Word. 603 00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:37,040 We need to desire accountability. 604 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,480 We need high expectation. We need discipline. 605 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:43,360 But they'd forgotten to bring along with them their covenant 606 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:45,440 purity and their covenant practices. 607 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:49,080 I wish that was it, but we're not quite done. 608 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:53,160 Look at verse 23. In those days also I saw the 609 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:58,440 Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Amman and Moab, and half 610 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:01,360 their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they 611 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:04,240 could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of 612 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:07,120 each people. And I confronted them and cursed 613 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:09,360 them, and beat some of them, and pulled out their hair. 614 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:14,320 And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, You 615 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:16,520 shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their 616 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:18,520 daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 617 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:21,800 Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin on account of such women 618 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:25,360 among the many nations, that there was no king like him, and 619 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:28,160 he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all 620 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:30,280 Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made 621 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:35,760 him even him to sin. Shall we then listen to you and 622 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:40,280 do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by 623 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,200 marrying foreign women? So the third thing we need to 624 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:45,000 remember, we got to remember purity. 625 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,640 We got to remember obedience. We got to remember the truth is 626 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:51,400 truth. We can't just ignore His law, 627 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:55,880 His rules, His word. When we forget purity, our 628 00:33:55,880 --> 00:34:00,400 practices will soon follow because they they have no 629 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:04,440 foundation and our promises and commitments soon become empty 630 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:07,320 and become meaningless because they're going to be based upon 631 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,159 some self created truth that we invented ourselves. 632 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:14,239 So once purity is gone, sin is going to reign and our truth 633 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:18,400 means little. So Nehemiah has to address this 634 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:22,159 practice of intermarriage with the pagans around them again. 635 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:26,320 And Nehemiah confronted the marriage to the women from these 636 00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:28,199 places. It's fascinating. 637 00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:31,239 You know where who asked the people of Ashdod are. 638 00:34:32,199 --> 00:34:36,920 These are the Philistines, one of their oldest enemies and bad 639 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:41,159 influences upon them and so it violated the law, it violated 640 00:34:41,159 --> 00:34:45,199 history, and it also violated God's truth in the covenant that 641 00:34:45,199 --> 00:34:47,400 they had made back in chapter 10, verse 30. 642 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:49,400 Listen, how specific can you get? 643 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:52,800 We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or 644 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:54,560 take their daughters for our sons. 645 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:58,760 Sign sealed and delivered until Nehemiah leaves town. 646 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:05,640 They promised to follow God's word, the truth, but forgot, 647 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,720 left it behind, and they violated their own promise 648 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:12,520 because we got to remember in those days that marriage isn't. 649 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:15,040 Again, as I've said before, marriage wasn't some romantic 650 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:16,920 thing. It was more of an alliance. 651 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:19,680 It was more of a partnership. It was it was the influence 652 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:23,000 where you made a pact with another family or another tribe. 653 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:26,120 And so it had huge influence. But the physical reality of 654 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:29,640 intermarriage also represented the spiritual reality of 655 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:32,880 including the mixing of the sinful with the holy. 656 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,320 And they needed to remain pure. In fact, it was practically a 657 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:38,680 problem. Half the children who were 658 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:41,480 raised in these homes couldn't even speak the language of the 659 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:43,800 Hebrews. Well, they were speaking the the 660 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:48,040 Aramaic of Ashdod and and Moab and Amman, which was a different 661 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,440 dialect totally than what the Hebrews even spoke. 662 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:52,840 So some of these children were being raised up and they 663 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:55,000 couldn't even understand the words of Yahweh. 664 00:35:55,800 --> 00:36:01,520 This is a national crisis. And so, recognizing that threat, 665 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:06,520 Nehemiah made a public example of the men who broke this 666 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:08,440 promise. So he publicly rebuked them, 667 00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:12,880 called down curses. He beat some, and then he pulled 668 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:15,360 out their hair. Does that sound harsh? 669 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:19,760 It was. It was supposed to be. 670 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:23,680 He did not want them to forget this lesson. 671 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:29,840 So recognizing how significant this was, he intended for them 672 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:33,360 to to recognize that this was a direct violation of God's law 673 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:36,360 and a severe departure from the covenant promise they just made. 674 00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:39,000 We got to remember, we got to learn. 675 00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:43,280 We need to be taught relevancy and redundancy are always 676 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:45,360 required. We got to tell tell you things 677 00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:47,920 that are important. I got to tell you over and over 678 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,440 and over and over and over again, what percentage do I want 679 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:54,800 you in? The core, 100%. 680 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:59,120 Sometimes the lesson can be tough to sink in. 681 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:05,720 Sometimes they're caustic and burn and no one is above. 682 00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:07,840 No one is immune. No one's too important. 683 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:10,800 No one's too powerful to not be held responsible. 684 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,160 You might think that I'm talking to everybody else but you, but 685 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:17,920 listen to verse 3028. And one of the sons of Jehoiada, 686 00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:22,200 the son of Elijah, the high priest, was the son-in-law of 687 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:27,280 Sanballat the horror night. Therefore, I chased him from me. 688 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:28,960 Now, if you don't know what's going on here, you haven't been 689 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:30,320 part of the study. Just listen. 690 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:32,560 So Nehemiah was particularly harsh. 691 00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:35,800 And Jehovah's son, the grandson of the high priest, he's in the 692 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:39,800 lineage of the high priest. He marries the daughter of some 693 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:43,360 ballot, perhaps the greatest enemy of the Jews. 694 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:47,360 I mean, Can you imagine this? It wasn't an unholy alliance. 695 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:49,400 This man sought to kill Nehemiah. 696 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:53,680 This, this man sought to, sought to, to, to reject their ability 697 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:56,880 to rebuild the city. He fought them tooth and nail. 698 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:00,440 So his violation is particularly serious since he's a member of 699 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:03,960 the high priestly line. Even the grandson of the high 700 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:07,640 priest gets kicked out. No one's immune. 701 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:11,040 It was time to clean out the caustic ash. 702 00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:15,560 No one's above God's word. No one's above God's will. 703 00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:19,040 In fact, Nehemiah compared these actions to the sinful marriages 704 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:23,920 of King Solomon, who married several foreigners and brought 705 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:26,800 judgement on Israel in a former day. 706 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:30,120 So finally, let's look at verse 29. 707 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:35,080 Remember them, Oh my God, because they have desecrated the 708 00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:38,400 priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. 709 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:41,400 Thus I cleanse them from everything foreign. 710 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:45,800 And I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in 711 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:48,880 his own, in each in his work. And I provided for the wood 712 00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:51,680 offering at appointed times and for the first fruits. 713 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:58,480 Remember Me, O God, for good. So Nehemiah restores the ritual 714 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:02,280 purity and he restores the practices of the priests and the 715 00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:05,360 Levites, and they begin to engage once again in the proper 716 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:09,160 service of worship, the temple. And they're providing the the 717 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:11,840 necessary resources for that to take place. 718 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:18,560 The question at the end of this book it's how long would they 719 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:22,080 remember? Nehemiah and Malachi are the two 720 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:24,760 last books written in the Old Testament chronologically. 721 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:29,160 After this, you have hundreds of years before the New Testament. 722 00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:31,880 By the time the New Testament comes along, the what? 723 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:35,680 The law has been twisted and twisted and twisted to be a 724 00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:37,720 burden. By the time Jesus comes along, 725 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:40,120 how long would the people of God remember? 726 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:44,520 And I, I, I, I ask you to look into this story, this whole 727 00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:51,040 story of Nehemiah, and ask yourself, how long will I, how 728 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:56,280 long will I remember my covenant purity, my covenant practices, 729 00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:00,440 my covenant promises? How will I respond when God 730 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:03,400 confronts me with my sin? Will I resist it? 731 00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:06,840 Will I, Will I try to sneak about in secret sin, or or run 732 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:10,800 away or or leave in a huff? Or openly, intentionally, 733 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:14,480 authentically confess? Repent. 734 00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:21,880 Commit an honest commitment of the Spirit and the will. 735 00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:27,520 The intentional replacement of the of the old unholy with a new 736 00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:29,400 holy. That has to happen. 737 00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:31,680 You know, it's interesting because you can take that 738 00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:34,920 caustic Lye that wood ash and rainwater make. 739 00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:37,560 Sometimes when they mix together, you can actually take 740 00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:40,120 that caustic Lye. And if you know how to mix it 741 00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:42,760 just right, you know how to handle it just right, you can 742 00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:47,040 make powerful cleansing agents used to make Lye soap. 743 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:51,680 Anybody remember Lye soap? Sure, you could make Lye soap 744 00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:54,960 and Lye clean cleansers out of this if you know how to handle 745 00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:57,280 it right. So it's fascinating in it. 746 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:00,880 God can take your past. I'm going to share you some past 747 00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:05,280 in a couple of weeks. It's kind of embarrassing, the 748 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:09,120 failures of my life, but I'm going to do it so you can see 749 00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:11,800 what He did because God can take your path. 750 00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:13,760 I don't care what your past is. I don't care what your present 751 00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:15,440 is. I don't care who you are right 752 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:18,200 now and where you think God loves you or doesn't love you. 753 00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:20,360 I'm telling you He can take all of that. 754 00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:23,440 Your sin, my sin, everybody's sin, The mistakes we make, we 755 00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:28,480 all make them. He can take your ash and 756 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:33,440 perfectly handle it, mix it, use it to not only show and convict 757 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:37,840 you of your need for him, but to bring cleansing and change to 758 00:41:37,840 --> 00:41:41,240 your life. Now He can recreate you. 759 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:43,720 He can prepare you for a purposeful new life. 760 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:49,280 But it might burn a little. Sometimes conviction does that. 761 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:54,720 Might just burn a little in the beginning, but if but if you 762 00:41:54,720 --> 00:41:57,760 listen to the Spirit working in your life right now, right now, 763 00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:00,440 not later, not later today, not next week, but right now. 764 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:04,240 Listen to the Spirit working and you realize he's just burning 765 00:42:04,240 --> 00:42:08,360 away what needs to be left behind, what needs to be 766 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:12,680 forgotten, and trying to help you to bring with you what you 767 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:17,360 need to remember that to which you need to commit. 768 00:42:20,040 --> 00:42:21,760 Inglewood, it's time to turn the page. 769 00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:27,600 First, let's celebrate Easter. Well, let's praise our Lord for 770 00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:30,760 his resurrection. Let's invite everybody we know 771 00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:33,920 to join us for that. Please do that. 772 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:37,840 And then I want us to move forward into deeper, deeper 773 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:41,680 discipleship as we tackle the book of Romans together and we 774 00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:46,120 look deeply at what we believe, what the Bible teaches, and how 775 00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:48,880 we're really saved and what that means together. 776 00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:52,800 But for some of you this morning, there's a step one. 777 00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:57,640 You heard testimonies earlier, Powerful testimonies, man. 778 00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:00,320 You talk about all different ages, all different backgrounds, 779 00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:04,360 people being saved and baptized. Maybe you're next. 780 00:43:05,240 --> 00:43:07,120 Whose testimony will we read next? 781 00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:10,960 Which one of you? Maybe you're here this morning 782 00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:15,520 and you recognize that my first step is to trust in Jesus Christ 783 00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:18,560 as my Lord and Savior. I recognize that I'm just 784 00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:21,400 spinning, I'm just spiraling. I need to get out of this. 785 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:23,360 I need to get off the carousel. I need help. 786 00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:27,680 The Bible says that we've all sinned. 787 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:31,680 So if you want to trust in Christ, you know, pray a prayer 788 00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:35,240 or something like this, admit to God that I know I've sinned and 789 00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:38,480 I'm sorry for my sin and I want to turn for my sin. 790 00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:41,200 And I trust in Jesus as my Savior. 791 00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:44,680 I trust in Jesus as my Lord and I want to live for him and I 792 00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:48,400 want to serve him in the church. And then come talk to us, talk 793 00:43:48,400 --> 00:43:51,200 to a pastor, talk to the people in the Next Steps room who just 794 00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:54,080 love to pray with you, love to share with you more. 795 00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:57,720 Maybe you need to be baptized or maybe you need to join the 796 00:43:57,720 --> 00:43:59,720 church, or maybe you just need to come and pray. 797 00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:07,520 It's time to move forward. Spring what we need to. 798 00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:10,040 Let's leave behind what we don't. 799 00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:13,760 You let the Lord tell you what that is right now. 800 00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:17,560 Father, thank you. Thank you. 801 00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:21,240 You don't leave us alone. Thank you that you're pesteris 802 00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:23,600 and pesteris and pesteris. Thank you for that, Lord. 803 00:44:24,040 --> 00:44:27,080 Thank you for conviction. Thank you for the way you draw. 804 00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:30,920 Thank you, Father, for the way you show now. 805 00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:32,600 Father, Pierce our hearts right now. 806 00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:35,960 Pierce our minds right now. Help us to make a willful 807 00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:39,040 decision to follow you, to surrender our will to yours. 808 00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:44,080 For some, that's salvation. For some it's baptism. 809 00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:47,080 For some it may be a call to missions or ministry. 810 00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:52,600 Some need to come and intercede. Just pray for others in their 811 00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:55,280 life or pray for some area of their life. 812 00:44:56,240 --> 00:45:00,320 Help us to get out of the spin cycle, Father, and help us to 813 00:45:00,320 --> 00:45:05,000 live for You now as we sing and we glorify You and our ushers. 814 00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:07,600 Take up an offering, Father. We pray that it'll be used to 815 00:45:07,600 --> 00:45:10,160 your glory. But Father, our primary offering 816 00:45:10,160 --> 00:45:14,680 today is our lives, our commitment to the future. 817 00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:19,720 We're on the verge of Easter, the high holy holiday of the 818 00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:23,680 year for us, Father, in which we celebrate victory. 819 00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:29,080 So let that victory begin right now as people surrender in 820 00:45:29,080 --> 00:45:32,120 Christ's name, Amen. Stand with me if you would. 821 00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:35,440 We'll have pastors here. We have folks in the Next steps 822 00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:38,560 room ready to go. You surrender. 823 00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:41,240 You come right now as God leaves you.