1 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:08,240 You've tuned into a mega church. We are people hungry to 2 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,240 encounter God through worship and His Word being witnesses to 3 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:13,760 the world around us. We pray this teaching blesses 4 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:15,480 you. We have been studying the book 5 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,960 of Nehemiah. We are coming to chapter 5 now. 6 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:24,640 This chapter looks very irrelevant to New Zealanders. 7 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,560 Why it's why is it, which sounds like irrelevant because 8 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:35,160 financially we are all OK. Most of us have jobs and those 9 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:39,360 who don't have jobs, we have got the government giving some dole. 10 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:41,120 And you know that kind of a system is there. 11 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,560 But in the third world countries, developing countries, 12 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,400 in the Israel, in all other nations, the government doesn't 13 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,040 give any money when you don't have money. 14 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,240 No, that's very that's how it operates. 15 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:58,320 And in those places charity has a place. 16 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,920 In those places helping somebody financially has a place. 17 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:09,640 And what I our our our experience with the lending 18 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,560 money, giving money to those who are in need has not been very 19 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:14,680 great. Only we have one successful 20 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:16,680 story and all other stories are flops. 21 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:24,360 In one case we gave somebody who is connected to Seemas family 22 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,680 was has borrowed money and they were not able to pay back. 23 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:33,200 So we were visiting at the time. So I said how much is the money? 24 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,480 He said only ₹10,000 it's just not much ₹10,000 is like how 25 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:43,320 much $200 now. So I said take the money, pay 26 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:46,360 back the loan. So he went and paid back the 27 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,240 loan and he got back his land. He started farming in Gujarat 28 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,840 and he became self-sufficient and he had enough money. 29 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,400 One day he came back and said here is the 10,000 you gave us, 30 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,720 thank you very much, I'm out of my debt. 31 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:03,880 Good, good, very good. We said we don't want that money 32 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:10,000 back due to somebody who needs that money to set them free from 33 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,360 their debt. So he found a guy, gave him the 34 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,080 10,000 and helped him to come out of the debt. 35 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,200 And that man, when he came out of the debt, he gave the money 36 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:20,720 to someone else. And the whole Christian 37 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,920 community in the village was debt free in few years just 38 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:31,160 because of one act of help. So that is something that's very 39 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:35,480 debilitating. It just like a having a grip on 40 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,480 somebody. It affects every part of your 41 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:43,880 life. And what we see here is the 42 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:48,840 repercussions or consequences of the debt that is on the people 43 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:51,600 in Jerusalem who are building the chair with the walls of 44 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:53,800 Jerusalem and how it was affecting. 45 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,640 And they're all crying out. They're all crying out for 46 00:02:56,640 --> 00:02:59,880 relief from different aspects and different causes of getting 47 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:02,520 into trouble. One of the things I want to 48 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:08,920 share is if we are believers, one of the noble principles we 49 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:14,800 can adopt into our life is not to borrow, not to overspend on 50 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,240 your credit card. It is very difficult thing I'm 51 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:21,280 saying, but that's how it should be. 52 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,480 Except for buying a house, you don't borrow money from the 53 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,720 bank. This is, I'm not putting a 11th 54 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:29,320 commandment. I'm just telling out of my 55 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:33,040 experience. When we got married, when I went 56 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,200 back to our place of place of work, I thought there should be 57 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:37,880 definitely some money in my bank. 58 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:40,400 So I went there. Those days you didn't have this 59 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,440 credit card and those things so you had to physically go to the 60 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,240 bank, draw the money. So I filled out the form to draw 61 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:49,560 the money and gave. They said there's no money here. 62 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:56,920 So that is how we have started me and Seema and I never told 63 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:58,320 her that there's no money in the bank. 64 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:00,680 Even she payment news for her now. 65 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,120 But every month as you are getting the money, there's an we 66 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,080 had a cupboard where you used to put the money and you used to 67 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:10,720 spend from there and any leftover money is still sitting 68 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:12,400 there. We don't go to bank, put it 69 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:14,280 there and draw and you know nothing. 70 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:19,480 There was a time when he needed to buy a fridge good big money 71 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:21,920 and we didn't have to go to the bank. 72 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:27,240 It was there enough accumulated and I tell you those people who 73 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,840 can manage finances well and one of the partners is there either 74 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:33,720 wife or husband. It's a great blessing. 75 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:36,720 You don't have to grumble about it. 76 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:42,560 I can trust Seema with a $100,000 and I will not lose my 77 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:49,080 sleep isn't a blessing. Can I, can I hear hear a Amen? 78 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,480 So that is something I'm telling you, that's how you manage your 79 00:04:54,480 --> 00:05:00,200 debt is first don't borrow is a rule #1 sometimes you may have 80 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:02,320 to borrow. Then you have to sit down and 81 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,680 see whether it is really practical to borrow and whether 82 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:07,760 you can pay back. So many times people in the 83 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:12,720 fellowship want to borrow money. S Once a student got a job, a 84 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,840 very high paying job, and he didn't want to take the job, he 85 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:17,760 wanted some money. S He can go and do some 86 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,920 research. I said why do you want to waste 87 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:24,880 your opportunity? Take that job and in the 88 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:28,080 fellowship everybody wanting to give money and we had some 89 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,520 common fund. They said can we give from this 90 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:32,320 common fund? I said that's not your father's 91 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:38,640 money to give you together who want to give you come together 92 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:42,200 and put money and give him not from this thing. 93 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,680 So why am I putting this principle is these days we are 94 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:48,920 not having churches doing charity in the sense of trying 95 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,960 to pull somebody out. But there are some churches 96 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:57,160 where they have got money to give to somebody who has got a 97 00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:59,440 business idea. They go to the church and they 98 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:00,920 say hey, I got this business idea. 99 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:05,000 So they got elders who sit down, evaluate, go through the plan 100 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,120 and see if it is best thing to do for them. 101 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,880 And they give the money and he does the business and pays back 102 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:13,320 the money with a little more than what he has borrowed. 103 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:18,920 So that fund keeps growing. And in that church, this is, I'm 104 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:22,080 talking about a group called Exclusive Brother and who are 105 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:27,040 very much into business and nobody there lacks money. 106 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,280 Everybody has a business, most of them. 107 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,120 And I don't know whether we can bring that kind of model into 108 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:36,320 church in general. It's very difficult. 109 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:40,120 I know it's difficult, but this is just thing what is a fact? 110 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,080 I'm telling you a fact now. Let's get into the scriptures 111 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:48,760 now and see how Nehemiah faced these problems #1 Nehemiah had 112 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:52,400 faced external problems before. What are the external problems 113 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,480 that coming from outside? He had external problem from Sun 114 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:57,360 Ballot. He had an external problem from 115 00:06:57,360 --> 00:06:59,200 Tobiah. He had external problem from 116 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,040 Gheshem the Arab. He had so many problems asked or 117 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:04,120 people have asked different kinds of problems he had. 118 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,720 He successfully withstood all the opposition and encouraged 119 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,280 people, gave them vision, gave them inspiration so they could 120 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:16,000 build the walls. And they reach half the height 121 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:21,760 in less than 5 weeks, less than 5 weeks, and finish the walls in 122 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:26,200 52 days, 52 working days. That's awesome accomplishment 123 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,840 that Nehemiah has done. But now the work is not yet 124 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:31,840 fully completed. Half the walls have come. 125 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,200 Now internal problems are coming, external is over. 126 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,440 Now its turn for internal problems. 127 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:43,200 What is the internal problem #1 is that there's no grain to eat. 128 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:44,840 These. Many of the people who are 129 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:47,960 working on the walls, they are supposed to be working to get 130 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,040 their money because they are doing the building of the walls. 131 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:52,560 Now there's no money in the hands. 132 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:54,960 They ran out in one month, 4 weeks. 133 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:59,000 They somehow managed to work without wages and now they 134 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,240 cannot build anymore because there's no more wages. 135 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,640 They said please give us grain so that our families can eat and 136 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:10,320 live. Is it a rightful expectation, 137 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,400 yes or no? Yes, because they are building 138 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:16,240 the walls, they cannot go to work. 139 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:22,640 Sometimes when people are busy in the ministry and they cannot 140 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:26,520 be making money, then it is a responsibility of the community 141 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:30,360 to support them. The church, it's just one of the 142 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:34,400 things and so that's because of that. 143 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:38,640 Secondly, this is some of these problems have been built up 144 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:41,159 historically. Its not something new that just 145 00:08:42,159 --> 00:08:45,360 happened in one month. No, some of them will have been 146 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:47,520 building up. What is building up here? 147 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:53,920 Verse 3, Verse 3, it says others were saying we are mortgaging 148 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:58,400 our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during 149 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,440 the famine. They are using the word famine. 150 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:06,680 Was it before they started building or is it after they 151 00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:10,280 started building? So the commentators have a lot 152 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:11,640 of problem in solving the problem. 153 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,120 But let's go with the idea that because they were not able to 154 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,080 work there, they don't have grain. 155 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:18,800 So they are calling it as a famine. 156 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,960 There's no money basically. So they are crying out for that. 157 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:28,280 Still others were saying we have had to borrow money to pay the 158 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:31,840 king, kings tax on of fields and vineyards. 159 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:38,080 King was imposing tax and now they had to pay the tax to pay 160 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,000 the tax. They don't have the income so 161 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:42,880 they are borrowing money to pay tax. 162 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,720 Now Nehemiah will be in a great fix now why? 163 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:52,800 Because he is the governor, he can say, OK, don't worry, don't 164 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,320 pay taxes anymore, I'll refund the tax you already paid. 165 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:59,360 And if he does that, he will be opposing the king. 166 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:04,280 So he cannot do it and he cannot say, OK, OK, I will take the 167 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:05,520 money next year. You pay. 168 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,600 He cannot say that. He has to collect the money and 169 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:11,760 give to the king. That's how the kings make their 170 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:14,760 own money. So that was another problem. 171 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,200 So what they did was they mortgage their vineyards, their 172 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:23,320 homes, and sometimes even this let their children become slaves 173 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:26,520 to somebody so they can borrow money and pay the tax. 174 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:30,480 That was another problem that was coming up. 175 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,920 And the next thing that you see here is in verse 4, verse four, 176 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:37,760 we deal dealt with sorry they were King's tax and poverty 177 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:40,200 because they were engaged in the work of God rebuilding the 178 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:42,640 walls. So when we do ministry, 179 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,160 sometimes we may have financial needs and then that has to be 180 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:50,520 dealt properly in the sense who is asking you to do the ministry 181 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:52,440 and why you are doing the ministry. 182 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:54,360 There are all different questions need to be answered 183 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:59,400 before we can give a reasonable answer to such a situation if it 184 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:03,040 arises now. So, we need to be careful about 185 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:07,040 how we do what we do. And among the believers also, so 186 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,560 many times we have lent money. It never came back. 187 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:15,440 One couple, we, they were, they were trying to find room in a 188 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:19,360 place in New Zealand and they were having immigration issues. 189 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:23,240 And we said, OK, they need some money, so let's give them some 190 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:25,960 money. We gave some money and it didn't 191 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:27,280 work out. They were leaving the country, 192 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,520 going back to India. And then what they said is we 193 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,000 have the money you gave us, but we are not giving it back to 194 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:37,280 you. It was very cruel to hear those 195 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:39,360 words and they just left the country. 196 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:45,040 It doesn't have the country. And one guy I tried to help, I 197 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:48,360 gave money and it was a decent money I gave. 198 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:50,320 I said you can start a business with this money. 199 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:53,280 It's something like ₹60,000 I gave. 200 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,760 And after one month, I asked what's happening with the money 201 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:05,440 I already spent 24,000 on previously, the loans I bought 202 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:07,720 in the water, we borrowed the groceries and things like that. 203 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:10,760 I had to pay back the money otherwise the guy was not giving 204 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:12,960 me the money for new groceries again. 205 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,920 So I paid back the thing and I paid again for the fresh 206 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:17,960 groceries. I said how much is left? 207 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:20,480 Put that, go put it in my bank today. 208 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:26,960 Because people see, the one thing that I know this is, I'm 209 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,600 not talking judgmentally, but I'm talking out of my 210 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,800 experience. Number one, don't borrow. 211 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:40,840 That's just rule #1 #2 we must have means to pay back or to 212 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:43,240 come out of it. If we think we cannot come out 213 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:46,880 of it, better not to go for it. That's all I know. 214 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,360 Because after we got married, as I told you, we didn't have any 215 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:52,200 bank balance. People are expecting us to give 216 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:55,560 them a party. So what we did, you know, 217 00:12:55,880 --> 00:13:00,200 instead of borrowing from outside money, borrowing and I 218 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:02,120 said, let's cook some food and give them. 219 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:04,800 So we made some biryani and people came to the house and ate 220 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:08,920 and went that's, that's it. So that is how you need to be 221 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:11,360 let. Don't live for others, live for 222 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,240 yourself. What will they think about me? 223 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:17,400 This is one of the main things, problems that will make people 224 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,720 borrow more and more and more. What will others think about me? 225 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:23,360 Don't live for others, live for yourself. 226 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:27,200 I don't care what others think. I don't want to borrow and have 227 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:33,400 a debt on my hand. Anything I speak, I'm speaking 228 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:37,200 from my personal experience and somebody else may disagree. 229 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:42,680 That's fine, no problem, no problem. 230 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:51,200 OK And then what does borrowing do to the family children? 231 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:53,080 They sense what happens in a family. 232 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,120 Can they sense when the parents talk. 233 00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:58,520 We are having problem with the money. 234 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,160 We can't buy shoes now because we can't buy the skateboard 235 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:10,560 because we can't take you to so once a place because they sense 236 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:14,480 OK, its not right. So they also are growing with a 237 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:19,520 mindset how to fight this poverty, how to find fight this 238 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:23,080 insufficiency of money in the family. 239 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:26,760 So they grapple with this and sometimes the children volunteer 240 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,160 to go and do some work so that they can compensate and help the 241 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,880 family. It is different ways children 242 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,080 react. And somebody may say I don't 243 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:36,480 care, I don't want to be like this. 244 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,360 I am going to steal something from the shop because I want my 245 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:43,160 need met. Now these are all different 246 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:47,800 things can happen. So that's is the reason why when 247 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:51,920 we raise the children, we don't let them know about the 248 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:54,680 finances, don't discuss it before the children. 249 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:59,720 This is another principle. Again, it's open to discussion. 250 00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:02,080 You can accept it, reject it. That's not a problem. 251 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,040 But the way we have done it is. That's how we have done it. 252 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,520 OK, And then you have all these internal problems. 253 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:14,160 Now, do you think the work on the wall will go on with all 254 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:18,480 these people grumbling for money, wanting food and there's 255 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:21,520 no grain, and then you got the time. 256 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:25,040 We have to pay the tax because you have to borrow money is 257 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,800 going to pull the peoples morale down. 258 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:29,680 They will not have that enthusiasm. 259 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:34,120 Let's go and build the wall. Its very difficult when we are 260 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:38,520 working and wanting the church to go from strength to strength. 261 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:45,080 We expect or rather many other people are doing something 262 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:47,400 sacrificially for the church to go forward. 263 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:53,800 We appreciate it, definitely we appreciate it and that is what 264 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:59,000 happens in any church. People will sacrificially do the 265 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:02,800 ministry because its not comfortable, its not convenient, 266 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:05,280 but they go out of their way to do the ministry, give their 267 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:11,360 time, give their resources and give their knowledge and 268 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:14,560 different ways they contribute and that is how the church is 269 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:16,880 built. That's how the church is built. 270 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,880 And one of the ways we have personally done for many years 271 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:28,520 is we have served the Lord not for money anytime for several 272 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,120 decades. We put money from a pocket, we 273 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:35,840 travel, we go preach the world, we come back, we pray for people 274 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:40,760 come back. So much so that that mindset of 275 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:44,920 serving God is something that's very important. 276 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,160 Very important. It is their first. 277 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:50,360 It begins with the mind, then it results in action. 278 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:54,840 Do you do we love God enough to go through inconvenience? 279 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:01,040 That's how it is sometimes. You know, there was a case once 280 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:03,640 we had to, somebody came and said, oh, I want to buy a 281 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:07,800 bicycle for my son. 16 gears on it. 282 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:14,000 How much is it about $5000 in that's equal to in Indian 283 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,560 rupees. It will be lot more thought 284 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:20,160 about it. I mean 2 or 3000, I think $3000. 285 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:24,400 So we thought about it and then we'll say OK, let's give the 286 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:28,400 money. We gave the money and after some 287 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:32,320 weeks we had to buy a bicycle for our own son Joseph. 288 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:36,280 What we did, we did not go and buy the same kind of a thing, 289 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:39,240 but we went to a second hand shop and bought a bicycle for 290 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:43,800 $120.00, which was fixed. So why? 291 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:47,000 Why do I have to bare my heart before you? 292 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,160 There is a way to serve God. There's a way to love God. 293 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,200 It is at the expense of your own comfort. 294 00:17:55,760 --> 00:18:00,560 You saw God and so the fellow fellow man and I tell you 295 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,960 there's joy in serving God. I'm not saying all that I've OK 296 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,200 take away your children's food and give to somebody. 297 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,760 I'm not saying that, but there are certain things you can do in 298 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:14,160 a way that will you lose your personal comfort. 299 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:19,160 But bless somebody, there's great joy and the Lord will 300 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:21,040 reward you. Just like the widow's mite. 301 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:23,800 She put only two copper coins, but the Lord looked at it and 302 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,560 blessed it Cool. So after the solving these 303 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:31,480 things, when he heard all the internal problems, Nehemiah 304 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:37,760 became very angry. Everybody say very angry Sun 305 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:41,680 Ballad Tobiah, Geshem the Arab. They were angry for what reason? 306 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:44,360 Because the walls are being built, because Nehemiah was 307 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:47,560 concerned for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, they got 308 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,680 angry. And now you have Nehemiah 309 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:51,800 getting angry for a different reason. 310 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:57,120 And the rightful reason when he saw people suffering, he became 311 00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:03,120 very angry. So what was happening is these 312 00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:06,320 people have mortgage fields, they borrowed the money, paid 313 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:10,320 the tax but now they don't have field where they can go and work 314 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:14,240 and produce. If you don't have the land, you 315 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:17,040 don't have access to your land, how are you going to plough it 316 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:19,760 and sow it and reap it? Its not going to happen. 317 00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:26,240 So they the debt is going to make them from having something 318 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:30,120 to having nothing to it will drive you into the pit of 319 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:34,600 poverty forever. To rescue this situation, God 320 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:40,440 has set a simple system in Israel called Year of Jubilee, 321 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,680 the 50th year, when people mortgage their lands and they 322 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,720 lose it for years. And when it comes to the year of 323 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:52,800 Jubilee, the land has to be restored to the original owner. 324 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,360 So that is not forever lost. But they were not following it. 325 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,480 They were not following it. So that's the problem. 326 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,960 What we are trying to see in chapter 5 is the great principle 327 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:08,080 of a man who is committed to honor God, a man who is 328 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:10,240 committed to serve the community. 329 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:13,840 A man is committed to do the work of God, but he had boldness 330 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:15,880 to confront the people. Bold. 331 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:19,840 Everybody say boldness. Boldness to confront the people 332 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,320 and bring change in the community so that the everybody 333 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:26,720 will be blessed. Everybody will be blessed. 334 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:31,040 So what he did when he became angry, by the way, what was 335 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:35,120 happening because the children were, the children were slow 336 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:38,600 sold into slavery. The people who lent money would 337 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:40,240 come and take away their daughters. 338 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:42,760 So that's what they're crying out. 339 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:44,320 Our daughters are being enslaved. 340 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:49,120 And what a pity it is, it is just heart running situation 341 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:51,720 when you lose your children, your daughter being taken away, 342 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:56,800 somebody because you borrowed some money is not right, is not 343 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:00,720 right. So Neymar became very angry. 344 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:05,640 Was 6. When I heard their outcry and 345 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:10,800 these charges, I was very angry. Now, this is NIV, but if you 346 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,640 look into ESV or King James, it may say there was a great 347 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:16,360 outcry, There was a great outcry. 348 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,040 And because of the great outcry, he became very angry. 349 00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:26,320 And then what did he do? I pondered them in my mind. 350 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:30,400 I pondered them in my mind. What does it say here? 351 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:36,840 I pondered them in my mind. OK, I think it is King James. 352 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:43,120 It says I consulted with myself. Some translators say I consulted 353 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:49,200 with my own mind. It is it is just like there 354 00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:52,520 there has to be this leaders have must have an ability to 355 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:54,400 absorb. They should have like a great 356 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,520 shock observers, you know, they must have the shock absorbing 357 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,400 ability. So he hurts, he has all this cry 358 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:05,880 and then he goes into the house and things with himself in 359 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:08,160 himself. You know, when David was being, 360 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:13,080 the followers wanted to stone him to death because the enemies 361 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:15,440 came and took their wives and cattle and everything. 362 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,640 What did David do? He strengthened himself in the 363 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:21,520 Lord. So there has to be a internal 364 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:25,560 resource for the leader where he can retreat and look at God and 365 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:27,480 look at the problem from Gods perspective. 366 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:30,920 And he did that. He did that. 367 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:36,280 He consulted with his own mind. Does it mean everybody should 368 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:37,960 not talk to anybody else about their problem? 369 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,320 It doesn't mean that. But as a leader he had no one 370 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:43,720 where he can go, and he knew where to go. 371 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:47,240 He withdrew into himself and shut with himself with the Lord. 372 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:51,200 And he prayed over the matter. And then comes the boldness to 373 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,360 confront nobles. Are we together? 374 00:22:57,320 --> 00:22:58,240 Can I hear? Amen. 375 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:03,080 Now what he did was something similar to when you read this 376 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:05,880 incept to agent. There is a verse that is 377 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:09,880 parallel in the New Testament and there it says when the Lord 378 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:14,000 says in a parable, if a man wants to build a tower, what 379 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,280 will he do? He will have to sit down and 380 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:20,760 calculate and make sure that he has enough means to complete the 381 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,160 work he begins. If you want to build a house and 382 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:26,960 you have no resources, then you are going to be having a house 383 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,320 that is half complete. So you need to sit down and 384 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:32,880 calculate. That's the same word that is 385 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:35,280 used for Nehemiah concerning his own mind. 386 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:39,440 If you are going to fight against another army, you're 387 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:41,680 going to resist another army. You have to sit down and 388 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,520 calculate. Can you fight the 10,000 that's 389 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:46,920 coming against you with the 1000 that you have? 390 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:52,520 So that kind of a sitting down and calculating is what Nehemiah 391 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,000 did. Can I oppose this day nobles? 392 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,040 Can I talk to the officials? Can I confront them? 393 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:00,800 Will they change? What will happen if I do it? 394 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,680 Will the people support me or will they stone me? 395 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,360 What is going to happen? That's where you retreat back 396 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:11,840 into your own mind, where you have no one else but God and 397 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,520 talk to God when you have a problem. 398 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:19,880 Who do you talk to 1st? Talk to God. 399 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:23,040 And that's what Nehemiah did. So he did this. 400 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:25,600 I was very angry. I pointed them into my mind and 401 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:27,720 then accused the nobles and officials. 402 00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:30,480 That word accused is not a good word, is it? 403 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:35,440 He accused them. And how did he accused them? 404 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:39,280 Publicly, Not privately. Didn't call one-on-one. 405 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:40,600 OK, you come. I want to talk to you. 406 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:41,560 You come. I want to talk to you. 407 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:44,400 No, no, no. He called for a great assembly, 408 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,120 for a great outcry, for a great problem. 409 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:51,040 He called a great assembly. He said let's all gather 410 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:54,000 together. And then he confronted the 411 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,320 nobles and officials. What you are doing is not right. 412 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,920 And he had, he had support of all the common people who are 413 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,080 suffering from being exploited by the rich. 414 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:11,720 They were in support of him, so he instead of doing privately, 415 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:16,640 he confronted them publicly. And it requires a lot of guts. 416 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:19,320 You need to have a heart of a lion to do that. 417 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:23,040 And that is what a leader is made of. 418 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:27,560 A leader is made of a strong heart like a lion. 419 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,200 So he told them. What did he say to them? 420 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:34,800 You are extracting usury from your own countrymen. 421 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:39,640 What is usury? It just basically collecting 422 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,680 interest on the money you lend is user. 423 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:47,600 But sometimes the usury. The word usury has a connotation 424 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:54,600 of exorbitant interest. When I was growing up in my in 425 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,800 India, I used to hear about 1% per month. 426 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:03,840 That is 12% per annum was considered a very legitimate 427 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:07,600 interest. Legitimate interest. 428 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:12,520 To borrow money you want $100, you pay only $1.00 a month. 429 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,520 That is $12.00 in a year. But as I was growing up, it went 430 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,240 up to 1.5, then it became 2%, then it became 3%. 431 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:27,000 And now even today they think 3% per month is a very reasonable 432 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:30,480 interest rate. A lot of people borrow it and 433 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:39,480 get into a debt trap because if it is 3% is 3636% in a year and 434 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:41,120 that becomes in three years time. 435 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:43,600 If you borrow 100 you are owing 200. 436 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:48,440 Even after though you have paid interest, the still the 437 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:51,080 principal still remains and you still have a debt. 438 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,400 A friend of mine lost his house because he borrowed so much. 439 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:59,480 One day the people came and said we are coming and taking over 440 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:01,720 your house. You go and find another house. 441 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:08,000 So what can debt do is something very horrible, very horrible. 442 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:12,080 People are sick in the family, no money to pay for treatment. 443 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,520 And when you're when you want to celebrate a birthday, there's no 444 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:18,400 money to buy a cake. That is the kind of thing I'm 445 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:22,000 talking about. Debt is a big enemy and we 446 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,840 should resist it at all costs in our life and having a grip on 447 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:34,120 our lives and we should train our children to not spend when 448 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:39,760 they don't have is very simple. I rather I would tell so many 449 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:43,880 times we are told our children, is it necessary, the need to 450 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:47,920 buy. Sometimes you know, you postpone 451 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:50,240 it by three days. That urge to buy goes. 452 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:54,880 So many times we buy because there's something inside pushing 453 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,040 you to go and buy, go and buy, go and buy. 454 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:01,640 It gives you identity, it gives you power, even ability to spend 455 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:06,000 money gives you power. It empowers you that when you go 456 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,680 and spend money on the spot, it empowers you. 457 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:13,560 That's the reason the, the, whatever happens in your brain, 458 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:17,520 that feeling that you get makes you spend again and again. 459 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:22,320 So we need to be careful. Cool exerting usually from your 460 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,240 own countrymen. So I have some pictures here. 461 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:31,000 What is the system that we have that the Lord has put because he 462 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:32,720 knew that people are going to borrow money. 463 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:34,680 He knew that people are going to get into debt. 464 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:36,880 So He has certain things in place. 465 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:44,320 Let's look at Exodus 2225. Exodus 2225, If you lend money 466 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:49,200 to one of my people among you who is poor, you must not act as 467 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,400 a creditor to him. You are not to charge him 468 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:56,520 interest. So this is a basically no 469 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:58,600 interest to be charged if you lend money to your own 470 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:01,920 countrymen. But the Jewish people didn't 471 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:04,280 follow this law. They transgressed the law. 472 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:06,320 And when you transgress the law, what happens? 473 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:10,280 You become guilty before God and the curse comes upon the nation 474 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,160 because people, everybody disobeying the law of God. 475 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:21,000 Are we together? In some cases, one man, Sin is 476 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,840 visited on everybody, like Aiken in the Old Testament. 477 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:29,520 Aiken, he loved a little garment and a piece of gold and little 478 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:32,840 bar of silver. And if you stole it and hid 479 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:35,680 under the tent. But the guilt came on all of 480 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:39,200 Israel because they lost to the enemy and they could not be 481 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:41,840 standing the battle. And many were killed on the day 482 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,200 at the battle of AI or I whatever you call it. 483 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,840 So one man, sin comes upon a nation. 484 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:52,720 If everybody in the nation is sinning, how great is the guilt 485 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:59,840 before God take anything. Abortions take any kind of a 486 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:03,520 drugs and alcohol and all these kind of things, they add up 487 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:08,080 together, adultery, fornication, whole nation becomes guilty 488 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:12,800 before God. A curse comes upon the nation 489 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:14,800 because of disobedience to the loss of God. 490 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:20,080 And here Nehemiah is trying to fight big problem single 491 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:23,600 handedly, trying to mobilize people, the common people 492 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:27,880 against the nobles. So he called for a large meeting 493 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,400 to deal with them and said as far as possible we have bought 494 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:33,920 back our Jewish brothers who were sold. 495 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:36,680 Now here he has a lot of moral courage. 496 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:40,560 Moral courage comes from practical individual experience. 497 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:44,200 So what he did was before even they started talking about what 498 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:46,200 he generally did was to help the people. 499 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:49,560 So if there is a Jewish man who says, oh, I have borrowed money 500 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,080 from this foreigner and now he's coming and oppressing me, and he 501 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:57,680 would say, OK, I'll pay your debt and release you. 502 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:00,640 So he did. Some of his associates, his 503 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,880 brothers, his relatives who are following Nehemiah in his 504 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:06,080 leadership were also practicing it. 505 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:09,320 They gave money and set the people free. 506 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:14,400 So when you do personally something, you have a right to 507 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,560 talk about it. And Nehemiah did that. 508 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:20,800 He had a right to talk about it because he practiced charity 509 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,960 love towards his own countrymen who had borrowed from 510 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,600 foreigners. So he paid the money and set 511 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,320 them free. Good. 512 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:34,520 And then what happened? They have even the Jewish people 513 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:37,240 who are lending money to Jewish people for interest. 514 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:41,040 Who is going to set free them? So he's saying you're selling 515 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:43,720 your brothers to me. You're selling your brothers to 516 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:47,920 us, which is not right. So what did he, what he said was 517 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:52,280 stop taking interest rule #1 you have to obey God. 518 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:55,080 You have to have fear of God. You must have fear of God. 519 00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:59,160 If you have fear of God, stop taking interest from your own 520 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,280 countrymen. This is rule number 12. 521 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,360 If you're already taking money, return it back. 522 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:10,440 Return it back. I tell you, those are very hard 523 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:12,760 words. And once we had to use it like 524 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:17,000 that between two people, one man took more money from another man 525 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,400 in a business deal. So we had to call both of them. 526 00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:22,120 I said what you're doing is not right. 527 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:26,040 First to reduce your charges for this business and then secondly, 528 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:27,800 whatever you have taken extra hard to give back. 529 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:30,600 So he paid back 10,000 or something extra money he had 530 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:34,640 taken, he paid back. So we should be having the moral 531 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:39,720 courage to talk and that comes only from your life, not just 532 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:41,800 like that. You can you can't just walk into 533 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:44,080 somebody and say, hey, I want you to pay back the money or 534 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:45,240 taken. He won't listen to you. 535 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,000 You need to have a life that supports your words. 536 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:54,400 And Nehemiah had that kind of a ability to talk into the nobles 537 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,920 and officials telling them to pay back what they have taken 538 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:00,320 and what was the rate of interest. 539 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:09,560 It was 100th part of the money, grain, new wine and oil, hundred 540 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:12,640 part that's 1%. OK, you've been charging for 541 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:15,120 them 10 years since 10 years you're taken 1%. 542 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:18,600 Now pay back the 10% you're taken from them and pay back 543 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:22,240 everything, restore the field, restore everything. 544 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:24,440 And this is how he dealt with it. 545 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:28,200 So I continued, what you're doing is not right. 546 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:32,680 He first gave them a sentence. What you're doing is not right. 547 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:37,080 And then he said, shouldn't you walk in the fear of a God? 548 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:42,520 You must have the fear of God. Now this is very simple rule I 549 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:46,480 want to say here is Christianity will either destroy every 550 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:53,840 iniquity that abounds in a land or itself will decline and 551 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:59,280 depart from a people who will not hear his voice to break off 552 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:04,160 their sins by righteousness. Somebody, Pastor W Richie has 553 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:08,719 said it. If you either obey Bible and you 554 00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:12,239 receive a blessing over the land or you disobey and the Bible 555 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:16,080 goes. We came to New Zealand 23 years 556 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:20,000 ago and when we drove from the airport to a brother in law's 557 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,400 house, the whole Rd. was just empty. 558 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:28,320 Like I said, what you come from India where you have no room to 559 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:31,080 walk on the road and you come here the whole Rd. is for 560 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:34,239 yourself. I said have they laid a road 561 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:38,520 just for me? Because that happens in India. 562 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:41,080 If you are a president or a chief minister, when you are on 563 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:45,560 the road, all traffic is stopped so you can pass and here nobody 564 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:47,560 stopping anybody. We have all the road to 565 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:51,320 ourselves. It just shocked me. 566 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:54,520 I said, oh, we have come to a land where you, you are a VIP, 567 00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:57,960 you can go on the road alone. But it's not so today. 568 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:01,000 After the 23 years now the roads are all filled up now everywhere 569 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:03,600 you have cars and a lot of businesses going on and 570 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:06,000 everything is increasing in New Zealand. 571 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,800 That's good in a sense. But what I'm trying to say here 572 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:17,720 is that when you are having this kind of treatment, sorry, when 573 00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:22,280 you are obeying God's law, what I was trying to say was the 574 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:24,480 roads were empty on the, we came on a Sunday. 575 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:28,800 So afterwards I came to know that on Sundays you don't have 576 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:32,000 any shopping that you can do. Even this malls were all, not 577 00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:34,440 all the malls were not operating on Sunday when we came. 578 00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:36,760 Now all malls are operating on Sunday. 579 00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:41,240 So this is the degeneration that you see in New Zealand. 580 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:46,240 There was a time they said on Sunday between the church 581 00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:48,840 timings you will not find anybody elsewhere. 582 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:52,560 Like there is no rugby, there is no soccer, there is no football, 583 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:55,480 nothing. Everybody is in the church that 584 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:59,880 is New Zealand today. You hardly have 1012% in the 585 00:35:59,880 --> 00:36:03,600 church and everybody is at any other every other place. 586 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,760 What am I trying to say when you fear this book? 587 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:15,680 This book will either keep you in God safe, prospering, quiet, 588 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:20,560 enjoying peace or you are running after things, leaving 589 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:24,080 God beside. So that is what is happening. 590 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:29,800 So we need to pray that the nation will turn to God again, 591 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:35,360 shall we say together, nation should turn to God again. 592 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:40,080 That's what is what we need. So you have these people, the 593 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:42,840 internal problems. Now Nehemiah was very angry, was 594 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,680 six, he pondered, considered himself was 7. 595 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:48,200 He accused the nobles and officials was 7. 596 00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:52,040 And I said a large assembly against them, masses against the 597 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:55,240 powers was 7. Then he argued from personal 598 00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:58,920 example was 8. And they had nothing to say. 599 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:01,840 When all these things were done by Nehemiah, they had nothing to 600 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:03,720 say. They had to agree with Nehemiah, 601 00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:06,320 yes you are right, yes you are right, yes you are right. 602 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:08,120 We are the ones who are done wrong. 603 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:15,240 So they had nothing to say. And then you see in verse 12 he 604 00:37:15,240 --> 00:37:20,000 says you had to give back. They agreed we will give back. 605 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:23,160 They agreed we will give back for future. 606 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:26,480 We will not demand anything from them. 607 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:30,520 OK, what you're taking, you're giving back again tomorrow you 608 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:33,360 can say, hey, I have cancelled your debt. 609 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:35,600 I have paid back what you paid back, but from tomorrow you're 610 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:37,040 going to pay interest again. No. 611 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:43,360 So the principle is not just for dealing with history, it's for 612 00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:46,800 present, it's for future when you read the word of God obeyed. 613 00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:49,600 It's for dealing with your history, to dealing with your 614 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:51,280 present, and to deal with your future. 615 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:55,400 That's the power of the world. When you are committed to honor 616 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:58,760 God, you are dealing with your history, you're dealing with 617 00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:00,600 your present, you're dealing with your future. 618 00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:05,640 Can I hear a Amen? So the people said we will not 619 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:07,800 collect from you anymore, not demand from you anymore. 620 00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:11,080 In verse 13, the people did as they promised. 621 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:18,080 People did as they promised. Now, what he was trying to say 622 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:21,640 here is when you are doing this, you're bringing reproach to the 623 00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:25,480 nation of Israel. When you are practicing, usually 624 00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:27,960 when you're taking interest from your neighbors, from your 625 00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:31,840 fellowmen, and you're buying, you're taking over their lands, 626 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:35,840 fields, all you, all your groups, and then you're taking 627 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:38,320 away the children. You're bringing a curse on 628 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:41,880 yourself and you are a bad witness to the nations around 629 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:46,680 who are watching over. Now I wanted to see, is the 630 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:48,080 church being watched by the world? 631 00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:53,040 Does the world watch the church? Yes, they do watch. 632 00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:56,480 They do watch. Whatever happens in your life, 633 00:38:56,880 --> 00:38:58,800 the world will come and ask you one day. 634 00:38:59,240 --> 00:39:01,480 I'll give an example. A friend of mine applied for 635 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,080 immigration for his wife. He got married. 636 00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:07,520 He applied papers and the wife did not come very quickly. 637 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,640 Another guy who doesn't know much English, but he came to him 638 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:14,280 one day and he says, hey, you say you're a child of God. 639 00:39:14,720 --> 00:39:19,680 I am not, but I got married. My wife is here in one month and 640 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:22,280 your wife has not come yet after six months or one year. 641 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:25,760 Is the world watching? Watching. 642 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:29,000 Everybody compares your life with their life. 643 00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:32,000 That's very simple. When you say you are a 644 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,600 Christian, everybody is watching. 645 00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:39,160 Everybody is watching. They will compare and contrast 646 00:39:39,240 --> 00:39:42,440 their life with your life. They say, oh, he says he's a 647 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:44,680 Christian, why does he have problem? 648 00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:47,400 I am not a Christian. I don't have a problem. 649 00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:52,280 So that's how they look at it. But we know that everything was 650 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:58,400 for good to them, that love God and that the Scripture, we know 651 00:39:58,400 --> 00:40:02,240 the Scripture and we are, we know that there's a blessing for 652 00:40:02,240 --> 00:40:05,920 us even though we suffer at the present time, we have no answer. 653 00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:08,880 We know that our life is safe and secure in the hand of God. 654 00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:12,160 Amen. Cool. 655 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:17,720 So what happened here is. They said we will give back. 656 00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:20,800 Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials 657 00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:23,560 take an oath to do what they had promised. 658 00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:26,840 Now Nehemiah is a leader. We have to understand. 659 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:31,920 So you can, you can make a legislation, but implementation 660 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:37,200 is very difficult. You can say don't do this, don't 661 00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:39,600 do that. You can, you can pass a law, but 662 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:44,760 who is going to follow? So Nehemiah has made this, made 663 00:40:44,760 --> 00:40:48,400 them pay back the money they have taken and promised not to 664 00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:49,920 do it again and all these things. 665 00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:52,080 But he said he wants to make sure it is implemented. 666 00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:56,880 So he calls priests as a witness and he before the public, he 667 00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:01,120 charged the nobles and officials they should be implementing it. 668 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:08,520 They had to follow it through. And what he did was he summoned 669 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:12,200 the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do 670 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:15,640 what they had promised. I also shook out the folds of my 671 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:19,840 robe and said, in this way May God shake out of his house and 672 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:22,920 possessions every man who does not keep this promise. 673 00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:28,080 So may such a man be shaken out and emptied. 674 00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:31,640 Basically what he did was he took his outer robe, and the 675 00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:35,840 robe they had was having folds. Sometimes you want to carry some 676 00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:37,960 small things. You can, you just put it in the 677 00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:41,480 clothes that you're wearing and carry it for a temporary period. 678 00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:46,160 And you see somebody. I mean this is in quite common 679 00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:48,160 in the villages. You know, somebody wants to 680 00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:52,400 borrow, let's say wheat or Millet or something goes to the 681 00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:54,560 neighbor. The lady goes to neighbor, just 682 00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:56,880 can I borrow one liter of Millet? 683 00:41:57,720 --> 00:41:59,560 And do you think she goes with the bag? 684 00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:02,920 No, she take out a saree fold and fold like this and they'll 685 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:06,320 put one liter of Millet and she folds it and comes home. 686 00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:11,120 So what Nema was doing was he took the fold of his, I mean, 687 00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:15,840 they took the outer government and shook it out in public. 688 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:20,600 Did Paul do the same thing? What did he do? 689 00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:23,680 He took the outer government, shook it out in the public and 690 00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:26,680 said no dust will stick to my thing. 691 00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:31,440 May God shake you out if you don't do this, this, this and 692 00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:34,880 did Christ himself tell the disciples, When the people of a 693 00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:37,320 village reject the gospel, you go and preach. 694 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:38,840 They don't accept it. What do you do? 695 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:41,520 Shake off the dust from your feet. 696 00:42:42,240 --> 00:42:44,600 That dust will be a witness on the day of judgment. 697 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:47,600 The shaking the dust from your clothes will be witness on the 698 00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:52,120 day of judgment. This is some simply exaggerated 699 00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:55,840 and a true way of saying that God is a witness. 700 00:42:56,320 --> 00:43:03,520 You cannot escape God. You can escape man, but not God. 701 00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:09,080 So that is how he powerfully, forcefully implemented these 702 00:43:09,080 --> 00:43:12,120 things in public and made them do take an oath. 703 00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:15,280 And what does the Scripture say in verse 13? 704 00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:18,680 At this the whole assembly said Amen. 705 00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:21,920 That is all. The people are happy with the 706 00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:25,160 conclusion and they all shouted Amen. 707 00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:30,320 And then and praise the Lord, they also praised the Lord. 708 00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:34,920 And then he and, and the people did as they had promised. 709 00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:39,040 Is there a victory now? Can we shout Amen? 710 00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:43,480 See, from a people who are oppressing to a people who are 711 00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:47,160 setting other people free and enjoying freedom themselves and 712 00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:50,560 praising God. When you obey God, there is joy. 713 00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:56,360 When you obey God, there is joy. Actually, I'm almost done with 714 00:43:56,360 --> 00:44:01,200 my time, but very quickly you want to finish it. 715 00:44:04,680 --> 00:44:07,200 I'm just trying to push myself a little bit because I want to 716 00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:14,760 finish the chapter now after this verses from 14th verse till 717 00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:18,400 the end of the chapter, nineteenth verse, that's only 5 718 00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:20,040 verses but is such a big portion. 719 00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:25,480 What you see there is Nehemiah inserting probably after all the 720 00:44:25,480 --> 00:44:28,640 things happened when the book is being compiled, Nehemiah must 721 00:44:28,640 --> 00:44:32,400 have said, OK, this is rightful that I should say what I had 722 00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:37,760 done for God. So what he did was basically he 723 00:44:37,760 --> 00:44:44,360 was from 4:44 BC to 432 BC. That's about 12 years of being a 724 00:44:44,360 --> 00:44:47,600 governor. He is, he is eligible to take 725 00:44:47,600 --> 00:44:51,520 some food money because you are an official. 726 00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:54,200 People will come to visit you, they will come to your home. 727 00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:56,720 So you have to give them food. You have to take care of the 728 00:44:56,720 --> 00:44:59,800 visitors. So for all these things, the 729 00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:05,360 king of Persia, the art exists, makes an allowance for them to 730 00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:09,720 collect money from the people. That means you pay tax to the 731 00:45:09,800 --> 00:45:13,160 Persian king and you pay tax to the local governor. 732 00:45:14,240 --> 00:45:19,160 But what did Neymar do was he said I will not take this money 733 00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:22,640 for myself, but instead I will pay from my own pocket? 734 00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:30,320 Am I making sense here? So many times this disconnection 735 00:45:30,320 --> 00:45:31,880 with the money is very important. 736 00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:35,840 Our heart must be disconnected from money. 737 00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:38,200 What am I saying? Can we repeat it? 738 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:42,920 Heart must be disconnected from money. 739 00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:46,360 Why is it important? Because that will set you free. 740 00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:51,640 That will set you free. So what he did was he didn't 741 00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:54,800 take money from the public usual, which was equal to how 742 00:45:54,800 --> 00:45:58,280 much silver they were collecting there were. 743 00:45:58,280 --> 00:46:04,600 That's about 40 shekels of silver. 40 shekels is like 1 LB 744 00:46:04,600 --> 00:46:06,200 of silver or something per year probably. 745 00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:07,760 It's for a year. It's not monthly. 746 00:46:07,880 --> 00:46:12,040 Must be for a year, not daily. People have no money to give at 747 00:46:12,040 --> 00:46:14,720 all because they're crying out. It must be for a year. 748 00:46:15,200 --> 00:46:18,960 So he says no, no, no, I will not collect money from people 749 00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:22,280 for my own food, for people I entertain at home. 750 00:46:22,480 --> 00:46:24,600 And how many were coming for meal in this house? 751 00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:32,520 150 people every day, not once a month, not once a year they are 752 00:46:32,520 --> 00:46:35,360 having guess how many? 150 people. 753 00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:42,040 And what was necessary to feed this 150 people, One ox, six 754 00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:45,640 choice sheep, and some poultry were prepared for me for every 755 00:46:45,640 --> 00:46:48,840 10 days an abundant supply of wine of all kinds. 756 00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:53,440 Food and wine go together in the Old Testament. 757 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:58,200 And here he is spending money from his own pocket. 1 ox every 758 00:46:58,200 --> 00:47:01,040 day. If you have 10 ox, you are a 759 00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:05,800 rich man, and this man is giving 1 ox every day. 365 oxes in a 760 00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:13,360 year. 6 sheep, multiply by 365, that's more than 2000 sheep. 761 00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:18,400 And how much wealthy this man must be not to take money from 762 00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:20,760 people, but spend money like water. 763 00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:24,720 Nehemiah was rich. Let's say Nehemiah was rich. 764 00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:30,520 When you fear God, when you obey him, God will bless you. 765 00:47:32,520 --> 00:47:35,400 When you fear God and obey him, God will bless you. 766 00:47:35,800 --> 00:47:38,760 We have not just one example of Nehemiah. 767 00:47:38,760 --> 00:47:42,200 Look at Abraham, how rich was he? 768 00:47:42,640 --> 00:47:46,640 He had his own army of 318 men who were born and raised and 769 00:47:46,640 --> 00:47:50,040 trained in his own household and he was able to have an allies 770 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:52,560 with him and go and defeat 5 kings. 771 00:47:52,960 --> 00:47:56,120 He defeated 5 kings overnight. They travelled and captured 772 00:47:56,120 --> 00:47:59,120 those people, brought back Lot and his family and all his 773 00:47:59,120 --> 00:48:01,480 possessions and all the things they have carried from that. 774 00:48:02,360 --> 00:48:04,840 Different kings. 4 kings they defeated. 775 00:48:05,040 --> 00:48:07,120 He brought back everything and gave it to kings. 776 00:48:07,280 --> 00:48:14,120 Take it your own portions. How liberal Abraham must be to 777 00:48:14,120 --> 00:48:18,920 give back to every king. What is recall from the battle? 778 00:48:18,920 --> 00:48:20,400 Take it. That's yours. 779 00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:22,240 Take it, take it. They said no, we want to give. 780 00:48:22,240 --> 00:48:25,400 You said no, no, no. I don't want anybody to say that 781 00:48:25,400 --> 00:48:29,200 I had taken from you not even a tongue of shoe I will take from 782 00:48:29,200 --> 00:48:31,400 you. But the men who went with me. 783 00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:35,720 You pay their charge their their portion, you can give job. 784 00:48:35,920 --> 00:48:43,080 How rich was he, Daniel How rich and powerful he was Joseph, He 785 00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:48,520 became a Prime Minister in Egypt and he controlled of economy of 786 00:48:48,520 --> 00:48:52,560 Egypt. He introduced a tax loss 20% to 787 00:48:52,560 --> 00:48:58,160 be given to the King. I tell you when you have God in 788 00:48:58,160 --> 00:49:02,400 your life, the impact you make is far greater than what you can 789 00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:06,440 ever do in your all your life. So what do we need? 790 00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:13,320 Have God in your life. Let's say I want to have God in 791 00:49:13,320 --> 00:49:19,360 my life. If you have God in your life, he 792 00:49:19,360 --> 00:49:24,120 will make a head, not a tail. When you have God in your life, 793 00:49:24,400 --> 00:49:26,080 you will be a blessing, not a curse. 794 00:49:26,600 --> 00:49:30,360 When you have God in your life, you have something to give, not 795 00:49:30,360 --> 00:49:32,280 you are looking for somebody to give you. 796 00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:36,040 You have everything you need because you have God in your 797 00:49:36,040 --> 00:49:43,400 life. So I think I should leave it 798 00:49:43,400 --> 00:49:49,640 there for today. And he says, Remember Me with 799 00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:53,120 favor, Oh my God, for all I have done for these people. 800 00:49:53,640 --> 00:49:56,880 This is a prayer He has prayed 7 times in the whole book. 801 00:49:57,640 --> 00:50:01,240 The last time we find in chapter 13, five or five times in 802 00:50:01,240 --> 00:50:05,520 chapter 6, and here you find in chapter 5 and once before. 803 00:50:06,160 --> 00:50:09,160 So this is awesome. This is awesome. 804 00:50:09,720 --> 00:50:12,320 To live like Nehemiah is a great blessing. 805 00:50:13,360 --> 00:50:16,000 To live to live like Nehemiah is a great blessing. 806 00:50:16,880 --> 00:50:20,960 And I tell you, through the power of the Holy Ghost, we can 807 00:50:20,960 --> 00:50:25,800 live like Nehemiah and better. We can live like Nehemiah, and 808 00:50:25,800 --> 00:50:28,880 better shall we bow heads in prayer. 809 00:50:30,360 --> 00:50:34,480 Thank you, Jesus. Sabarasi Maharudu Karasande 810 00:50:35,160 --> 00:50:39,840 Mandana Sarasota Barasaroni hasta saktaroni rabasta ronomo 811 00:50:39,840 --> 00:50:44,520 shandarani manando sastaro hasse Rica sandastaburoni horonomo 812 00:50:44,600 --> 00:50:48,000 samani sandastaro hosa baraka sastarani. 813 00:50:50,240 --> 00:50:54,760 The Lord says you have an insurance to protect your goods, 814 00:50:55,120 --> 00:50:58,240 you have insurance to protect your house, you have insurance 815 00:50:58,240 --> 00:51:01,560 for your life. You become unhealthy and you 816 00:51:01,560 --> 00:51:05,320 don't make money. But God says when you trust in 817 00:51:05,320 --> 00:51:08,960 me, you don't need an insurance. I am your insurance. 818 00:51:10,280 --> 00:51:15,760 Sarabhashanima, Honda sector, Hoba rima Rishandra Marasastoro 819 00:51:16,680 --> 00:51:22,680 Harinama sector, Storo Sundarani riba Rishanima. 820 00:51:26,600 --> 00:51:30,160 Like a river in flood. I will bless you, my children, 821 00:51:30,920 --> 00:51:34,600 says the Lord. When you, when you fear me, obey 822 00:51:34,600 --> 00:51:39,800 my laws, and when you give your time, your money, your resources 823 00:51:39,800 --> 00:51:43,920 for my Kingdom, you will be like a river in spate. 824 00:51:45,040 --> 00:51:47,960 Oh, thank you, Lord. That's a powerful word You're 825 00:51:47,960 --> 00:51:51,000 losing into our lives. So touch our hearts now. 826 00:51:51,400 --> 00:51:53,240 I pray, Holy Ghost, touch our hearts now. 827 00:51:53,440 --> 00:51:55,800 That's our hearts now. That's our harsh now, That's our 828 00:51:55,800 --> 00:51:58,720 harsh now that we may be completely sold out to you, that 829 00:51:58,720 --> 00:52:02,200 we may live like Nehemiah in our own time, impacting the 830 00:52:02,200 --> 00:52:04,280 generation to the glory of your name. 831 00:52:05,400 --> 00:52:09,120 We praise you for your the walls around our property. 832 00:52:09,280 --> 00:52:13,760 You are every protection for us, and you are the Fort in which we 833 00:52:13,760 --> 00:52:16,520 take refuge, and you are our king. 834 00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:19,880 You are like a mountain, like a hill for us, and we worship it. 835 00:52:19,920 --> 00:52:23,280 We praise you, We put a trust in you, and nobody who trusts in 836 00:52:23,280 --> 00:52:26,920 you will be shaken. We give you glory on our own. 837 00:52:26,920 --> 00:52:29,720 Praise for every blessing you are speaking or our lives this 838 00:52:29,720 --> 00:52:33,160 morning, and may your name be glorified later, Kingdom come 839 00:52:33,160 --> 00:52:36,200 later will be done on earth as it is in heaven, to the glory of 840 00:52:36,200 --> 00:52:38,840 your name. We worship you again. 841 00:52:39,360 --> 00:52:40,760 We fall at the feet, worship you. 842 00:52:40,760 --> 00:52:42,760 Father, Son, the Holy Ghost, we worship you. 843 00:52:42,960 --> 00:52:45,240 May your hand come up on your congregation now. 844 00:52:45,560 --> 00:52:48,160 Everybody who comes under the influence of my voice, even 845 00:52:48,160 --> 00:52:51,840 those who listen through the podcast, I pray that your hand 846 00:52:51,840 --> 00:52:54,520 will come upon them and your blessing will come, powerful 847 00:52:54,520 --> 00:52:56,760 blessing to come upon them to the glory of your name. 848 00:52:57,480 --> 00:53:02,440 In Jesus name we have asked and everybody says Amen. 849 00:53:06,760 --> 00:53:10,000 Thanks for joining us at Omega. If you need prayer for healing 850 00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:12,920 or breakthrough, or simply to find out more, please head to 851 00:53:12,920 --> 00:53:15,280 our website or Facebook page in the links below.