WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.860 Well, good morning to all of you, especially if you're joining us for the first time. 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:11.320 I love when we do baptisms because we not only is it one of my favorite things we do, 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:13.880 but we get to welcome people who aren't normally a part of our church. 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:17.320 So if that is you, welcome to friends and family who are here for that. 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:21.240 This is a special Sunday for a couple of reasons. 00:00:21.460 --> 00:00:27.060 I mean, first of all, obviously, I've had a lot of conversations and talked to a lot 00:00:27.059 --> 00:00:32.359 of people and read a lot of articles about the amount of stress that people feel over 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:33.739 the upcoming election this week. 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:38.799 There's a sense of existential dread in the air. 00:00:39.140 --> 00:00:40.679 Some people are worried about the economy. 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:44.060 Some people are worried about the fact that it feels like the world is on the brink of 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:44.719 another war. 00:00:44.879 --> 00:00:49.239 Some people are worried about the fragility of our democracy. 00:00:49.879 --> 00:00:51.739 Whatever that is, a lot of people are stressed. 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:56.799 One article said that one in five people are reporting significant sleep disruption over 00:00:56.799 --> 00:00:58.159 this upcoming election. 00:00:58.899 --> 00:01:01.339 And so it's wreaking havoc on people psychologically. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:04.659 And this is really happening across the spectrum. 00:01:04.899 --> 00:01:08.179 People on both sides of the aisle are really being affected by this. 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:12.979 Of course, I've talked to other people who maybe in response to all that stress have sort 00:01:12.979 --> 00:01:14.140 of gone the other way. 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:16.859 They're disengaging. 00:01:18.519 --> 00:01:23.879 It's almost as though they're deciding to remain or pretend as though it's not happening. 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:28.920 I would suggest that both approaches represent a bit of a distorted perspective. 00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:33.439 And that leads us into the second reason this is a special Sunday. 00:01:33.659 --> 00:01:40.219 I'm always delighted and grateful and thankful beyond measure that the way the church calendar 00:01:40.219 --> 00:01:45.959 aligns with the calendar of our country, every time we have a big election like the one coming 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:49.340 up, just a few days before it, we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:51.939 And I'm always so thankful for that. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:56.240 Right before we all go to the polls, we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. 00:01:56.500 --> 00:02:02.300 In other words, we take time to celebrate the fact that all of God's people, past, present, 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:05.120 and future, are spiritually connected. 00:02:05.960 --> 00:02:15.340 That we are part of a great spiritual family that continues into eternity, well beyond the lifespan 00:02:15.340 --> 00:02:20.580 of our country, well beyond the lifespan of the world in its present state. 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:26.580 And even though I think a lot of Christians, including me, we all tend to forget this, being 00:02:26.580 --> 00:02:33.740 a part of the communion of saints makes it possible for us to have a unique perspective on this 00:02:33.740 --> 00:02:37.680 life and on this world, on things like elections. 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:45.099 In other words, it allows us to be fully engaged in something like an election without the fear 00:02:45.099 --> 00:02:48.060 and anxiety that often come with that. 00:02:48.700 --> 00:02:52.300 And if you want to know more about what I'm talking about, that's what we're going to be 00:02:52.300 --> 00:02:56.620 exploring a bit this morning as we look at Nehemiah chapter 7. 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:58.659 You may think, well, that's a random place to go. 00:02:58.760 --> 00:03:03.200 Well, we're in a series in Nehemiah, and it just so happens that some of the themes in 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:08.199 this chapter speak to this larger idea that we've just opened up. 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:11.899 So we're going to look a bit at the context of what's happening, and then we are going 00:03:11.899 --> 00:03:15.139 to draw out a couple of implications for us here today. 00:03:15.259 --> 00:03:15.719 Let's pray. 00:03:17.419 --> 00:03:20.759 Lord, we thank you for your presence in our midst. 00:03:21.099 --> 00:03:22.899 We don't need to ask for you to be with us. 00:03:22.939 --> 00:03:25.280 We simply need to become aware that you are here. 00:03:25.959 --> 00:03:29.679 And thank you that you're the kind of God who wants to speak to us, and you want a relationship 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:30.300 with us. 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:31.700 You want to know us. 00:03:31.960 --> 00:03:34.700 You want us to know your love, Lord. 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:35.680 And that's why we're here. 00:03:35.760 --> 00:03:38.540 It's because you created us for relationship with yourself. 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:43.620 I pray that through your word, we would come to know you and your heart more deeply and 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:44.680 clearly and fully. 00:03:45.200 --> 00:03:49.740 And that even more than that, we would experience you, that we might even come face to face with 00:03:49.740 --> 00:03:50.480 your son, Jesus. 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:53.360 We know that all of these words point to him. 00:03:53.760 --> 00:03:55.260 And Lord, we pray in his name. 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:56.120 Amen. 00:03:56.120 --> 00:04:01.840 So first of all, this is going to require a bit of context just to bring everybody up 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:02.379 to speed. 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:07.200 God sent his people into exile. 00:04:07.340 --> 00:04:08.420 He said he was going to do it. 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:12.060 And eventually through the Assyrians and then the Babylonians, he did it. 00:04:12.700 --> 00:04:19.040 Jerusalem is destroyed and God's people go into exile and they are called to live in exile 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:20.300 in Babylon. 00:04:21.019 --> 00:04:24.699 And God calls them to have a very unique relationship with Babylon. 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:29.819 He wants them to be in the city, to plant gardens and build houses and let your kids get married 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:31.279 and get jobs and settle in. 00:04:31.939 --> 00:04:33.519 But don't be of the city. 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:40.000 He wanted them to remain faithful to him and to pray to the city, pray for the city, to God 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.419 and to seek the welfare of the city until he brings them home, which he promised to do 00:04:44.419 --> 00:04:45.419 after 70 years. 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:49.060 So he says, while you're in exile, seek the welfare of the place where I've sent you. 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:52.659 Remain faithful to me until I bring you home. 00:04:52.660 --> 00:04:57.080 Just as God had promised, eventually the Babylonian exile does come to an end. 00:04:57.439 --> 00:04:59.740 The Persians conquer the Babylonians. 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:02.180 They allow God's people to begin to return home. 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:07.180 But the problem is the city of Jerusalem, the focal point of their entire identity as a 00:05:07.180 --> 00:05:09.260 people group, lies in ruins. 00:05:09.780 --> 00:05:10.800 So it needs to be rebuilt. 00:05:11.379 --> 00:05:13.379 So God raises up a number of leaders. 00:05:13.960 --> 00:05:15.040 Zerubbabel, Ezra. 00:05:15.860 --> 00:05:18.020 Our focus is on Nehemiah. 00:05:18.019 --> 00:05:20.779 And he calls Nehemiah to do a couple of things. 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:24.859 He wants Nehemiah to lead in the physical rebuilding of God's city and in the spiritual 00:05:24.859 --> 00:05:26.879 rebuilding of God's people. 00:05:27.299 --> 00:05:32.180 And as we have seen in this series over the last few weeks, this is hard work. 00:05:32.919 --> 00:05:39.159 And Nehemiah faces opposition and challenges without and within virtually the entire time 00:05:39.159 --> 00:05:40.759 they are working together. 00:05:40.859 --> 00:05:45.719 The work has been hard until finally we get to these wonderful words in Nehemiah chapter 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:46.860 6 verse 15. 00:05:47.820 --> 00:05:50.440 So the wall was finished. 00:05:50.980 --> 00:05:55.020 Can you imagine Nehemiah writing his memoir and finally getting to write that? 00:05:55.860 --> 00:05:57.700 So the wall was finished. 00:05:58.280 --> 00:06:03.700 I hope he took a huge nap after that because up until now it's been nonstop challenges. 00:06:04.380 --> 00:06:09.460 It says it was finished on the 25th day of the month Elul in 52 days. 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:15.560 So beginning in chapter 7, we begin to see the fulfillment of God's promise. 00:06:16.739 --> 00:06:22.839 God's people are returning from exile and they're coming back to live in the holy city 00:06:22.839 --> 00:06:24.919 of Jerusalem once more. 00:06:25.599 --> 00:06:27.719 And you say, well, what does this have to do with us? 00:06:29.219 --> 00:06:33.199 We're living, what, 2,400 years after this happened? 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:39.240 Well, since God is the author of the Bible, ultimately through dozens and dozens of authors, 00:06:39.379 --> 00:06:45.319 God is ultimately the author, the story of Nehemiah is actually part of a larger story. 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:52.800 And Nehemiah is actually a preview of a much greater leader who would come, Jesus Christ. 00:06:53.419 --> 00:06:59.399 And so because of that, the story of Israel in the Old Testament is actually a preview of 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:03.939 the story of the church that we began to read about in the New Testament and that we continue 00:07:03.939 --> 00:07:06.579 to live out in our lives today. 00:07:07.259 --> 00:07:11.639 So when we look at this story, even though it's old, it has a lot to say about our present 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:13.179 time and context. 00:07:13.299 --> 00:07:17.919 This is why, by the way, when the apostle Peter writes his letter to the early Christians 00:07:17.919 --> 00:07:24.039 who are experiencing persecution and opposition under the Roman government, right, lots of different 00:07:24.039 --> 00:07:24.779 administrations. 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:28.500 You have the Assyrians and the Babylonians, and then you have the Persians, right, and then 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:30.779 you have the Greeks, and then you have the Romans, bam, bam, bam. 00:07:31.060 --> 00:07:35.579 Most of the time, God's people are just hoping to be left alone, hoping to be ignored. 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:39.180 Sometimes you have governments that try to use them. 00:07:39.579 --> 00:07:41.379 Sometimes you have governments that try to kill them. 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:47.360 So they're experiencing persecution under the Romans, and Peter addresses his letter to 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:52.560 the exiles, those who are elect exiles. 00:07:52.779 --> 00:07:57.279 And all through the letter, he instructs them how to live faithfully during their time of exile. 00:07:57.279 --> 00:07:58.939 So what does that tell us? 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:04.139 Well, the Babylonian exile ended, right? 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:09.619 So in one sense, the exile has come to an end, at least for the Israelites in Babylon. 00:08:10.099 --> 00:08:16.099 But on a much deeper, more profound level, we are all still in exile. 00:08:17.379 --> 00:08:19.279 That's what Peter is saying in his letter. 00:08:19.979 --> 00:08:24.679 The Babylonian exile ended, but Peter is talking about a different kind of exile, a spiritual 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:26.139 exile. 00:08:26.280 --> 00:08:29.639 In other words, this world as it is now is not our home. 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:33.360 This world is not our home. 00:08:34.560 --> 00:08:41.039 We were made to live in a world where we have constant communion with God in a world that 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:43.379 is free from evil and suffering. 00:08:43.379 --> 00:08:49.799 But at some point along the way, we chose to try to be like God rather than to worship God. 00:08:49.939 --> 00:08:52.379 And because of that, the world is broken. 00:08:52.939 --> 00:08:55.939 Because of that, we as human beings are alienated. 00:08:56.600 --> 00:09:02.240 We are profoundly alienated from God and from one another and from the world and even from 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:02.879 ourselves. 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:10.299 And so what scripture teaches is that until God makes all things new, we as human beings 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:11.700 are living in exile. 00:09:11.899 --> 00:09:13.679 We're living in a world that is not our home. 00:09:15.879 --> 00:09:22.240 And the sooner we embrace that truth, the sooner our lives will start to make sense. 00:09:23.620 --> 00:09:28.539 It explains why you're never going to find a job that perfectly fulfills you. 00:09:28.539 --> 00:09:36.819 It explains why you're never going to find a spouse who is your soulmate or a marriage where 00:09:36.819 --> 00:09:38.019 all of your needs are met. 00:09:38.719 --> 00:09:44.259 It explains why you're never going to find a lifestyle that brings total peace and contentment. 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:49.860 No matter what choices we make, there will always be that itch. 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:53.639 There will always be that nagging discontentment. 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:58.299 There will always be that uncertainty, that longing for something more. 00:09:58.299 --> 00:09:59.659 It's always going to be there. 00:10:00.899 --> 00:10:02.879 What if I had married someone else? 00:10:04.299 --> 00:10:05.559 What if I had stayed single? 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:09.159 What if we had gotten married later or earlier? 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:14.919 Should I stay in the house I'm in or should I move to a different house in a different neighborhood? 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:19.500 Should I stay in D.C. another year or should I move somewhere else in the country? 00:10:19.579 --> 00:10:20.799 Should I move closer to be my family? 00:10:20.899 --> 00:10:22.299 Should I move further away from my family? 00:10:24.539 --> 00:10:26.939 Am I in the right job or should I make a change? 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:30.940 Should I go for a different position in the company or should I actually just change careers altogether? 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:33.440 What's the average number of pivots people make? 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:36.920 Surely I could change careers and still make a go of it. 00:10:36.980 --> 00:10:40.380 Am I in the right church or should I move to a different church? 00:10:41.460 --> 00:10:42.700 I like the music better there. 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:43.660 I like the preaching better there. 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:45.580 I like their approach to care better. 00:10:45.660 --> 00:10:46.560 I like the liturgy. 00:10:46.640 --> 00:10:47.360 I hate the liturgy. 00:10:49.560 --> 00:10:50.840 Should I make a change? 00:10:50.900 --> 00:10:52.520 Is contentment just around the corner? 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:53.159 Right? 00:10:54.340 --> 00:10:56.340 These are the things that we think and we all think them. 00:10:57.699 --> 00:11:02.199 And we need to recognize that longing and that discontentment for what it really is. 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:04.799 It's homesickness. 00:11:06.419 --> 00:11:07.579 It's homesickness. 00:11:07.580 --> 00:11:13.520 Now, I'm not saying that there aren't good times and reasons to make changes. 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:15.940 Plenty of times there are. 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:24.180 But underneath all of this, we need to understand that no matter what changes we make, no matter what decisions we make, there will always be that sense of homesickness. 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:26.220 That's what it is to be in exile. 00:11:26.340 --> 00:11:27.440 You're not in your home. 00:11:27.500 --> 00:11:28.500 And so you're homesick. 00:11:28.740 --> 00:11:30.240 You're longing for that home. 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:35.419 This is what C.S. Lewis famously called that inconsolable longing. 00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:43.539 And he said, for those of us who feel it, because it's a spiritual exile, we're longing for a place that we've never visited. 00:11:44.659 --> 00:11:45.080 Right? 00:11:45.139 --> 00:11:48.340 We're longing for the scent of a flower that we've never actually seen. 00:11:49.019 --> 00:11:52.980 We're longing for something that we can't even really fully describe, but we know it's not this. 00:11:54.460 --> 00:11:55.840 That's what it is to be in exile. 00:11:55.840 --> 00:12:05.960 And since we are in exile, God's instructions to his people in the Babylonian exile still apply to us. 00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:09.240 We're called to be in the world, but not of the world. 00:12:09.379 --> 00:12:16.060 We're called to seek the welfare of the place where God has sent us while remaining faithful to him until he calls us home. 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:21.220 I think I would suggest that's a helpful way to think about the upcoming election. 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:27.840 You know, voting is simply one of many ways we can seek the welfare of the place where God has sent us while we are here. 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:39.700 If this world is not our home, why would we expect to have presidential candidates or legislators or local officials who fully believe and embrace and reflect our way of life as Christians? 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:43.820 Certainly that wasn't a case for Nehemiah under the Persians. 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:46.740 We can engage. 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:50.420 We can participate in politics, but we have nothing to fear. 00:12:50.680 --> 00:12:52.680 For those of us who are Christians, we have a king. 00:12:54.220 --> 00:12:55.500 His name is Jesus. 00:12:56.379 --> 00:12:56.480 Right? 00:12:56.840 --> 00:12:57.920 Administrations come and go. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:06.800 As I said, you know, you have the Assyrians and the Babylonians and the Greeks and the Romans and the Persians and the Democrats and the Republicans and whatever comes next. 00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:08.500 Right? 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:10.679 Some are indifferent. 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:12.240 Some want to use us. 00:13:12.379 --> 00:13:13.779 Some want to persecute us. 00:13:15.960 --> 00:13:16.980 It doesn't matter. 00:13:17.059 --> 00:13:19.299 At the end of the day, Jesus remains on the throne of heaven. 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:22.159 Jesus is our king. 00:13:23.460 --> 00:13:28.639 So this Tuesday, for those of us who are going out to the polls to quote Pope Francis, 00:13:29.340 --> 00:13:32.120 we're merely voting for whomever we believe to be the lesser evil. 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:40.919 We're voting for those we believe will do the best job of handling the complex issues and problems that we're facing right now domestically and abroad. 00:13:42.039 --> 00:13:44.779 We're trusting that God can work through human governments. 00:13:44.899 --> 00:13:46.500 He can work in spite of human governments. 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:50.480 More than anything, I would say we're committing to prayer. 00:13:51.419 --> 00:13:55.200 We're praying for the health and the state of our democracy. 00:13:55.379 --> 00:13:57.519 We're praying for whichever candidate prevails. 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:05.360 We commit to praying for our leaders, which we do every week, because we're exiles and we're seeking the welfare of this place while God has us here. 00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:10.059 So the first point is simply this fact that we are still in exile. 00:14:10.199 --> 00:14:15.279 The sooner we embrace that, the sooner our lives and our longings start to make sense. 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:18.659 The second implication is this. 00:14:19.199 --> 00:14:20.299 And there's only two implications. 00:14:20.699 --> 00:14:21.740 This has a couple of parts. 00:14:22.199 --> 00:14:23.639 Second implication is this. 00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:27.100 Number one, we're still in exile. 00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:30.199 Number two, one day our exile will end. 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:32.399 Amen to that. 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:33.539 Right? 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:36.720 The end of the exile in Nehemiah is just a tiny preview. 00:14:37.439 --> 00:14:43.080 It's just a glimpse of the fact that one day our spiritual exile in this world will come to an end. 00:14:43.779 --> 00:14:49.220 And just as Jerusalem was rebuilt, one day the world will be rebuilt. 00:14:49.220 --> 00:14:54.360 In fact, here's how the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, describes that day. 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:56.320 Listen to this description. 00:14:56.779 --> 00:14:58.220 Revelation chapter 21. 00:14:58.940 --> 00:15:01.720 Then, John says, 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:09.379 I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 00:15:09.740 --> 00:15:19.519 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:22.460 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:26.899 Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. 00:15:26.899 --> 00:15:33.779 He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 00:15:33.860 --> 00:15:34.480 Listen to this. 00:15:35.299 --> 00:15:39.759 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. 00:15:40.259 --> 00:15:44.819 Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:49.079 For the former things have passed away. 00:15:50.539 --> 00:15:53.779 This, my friends, is a description of our true home. 00:15:53.779 --> 00:15:58.039 That's where we belong, and we know it in our hearts. 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:06.039 Knowing that this day will come, knowing that one day we will be there together in the communion of saints, 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:09.579 that shifts our perspective. 00:16:10.379 --> 00:16:16.120 And when we have that exile perspective, it begins to reorder our priorities. 00:16:17.539 --> 00:16:18.019 Right? 00:16:18.139 --> 00:16:22.120 If you believe that this is all there is, you're going to have one set of priorities. 00:16:22.120 --> 00:16:29.039 But if you understand that this is simply a moment in time, but we will spend eternity in our home, 00:16:29.980 --> 00:16:32.480 you have a very different set of priorities. 00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:34.320 It reorders your priority. 00:16:36.379 --> 00:16:42.179 So, Nehemiah 7, as we look at this return from exile, it helps us envision what our priorities should be 00:16:42.179 --> 00:16:45.220 as we await our return from exile. 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:50.700 Number one, we see that Nehemiah prioritizes worship. 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:54.560 And in particular, he prioritizes corporate worship. 00:16:54.800 --> 00:16:55.940 It says in verse 1, 00:16:56.580 --> 00:17:02.840 Now, when the wall had been built, and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:08.259 I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah, the governor of the castle, charge over Jerusalem. 00:17:08.259 --> 00:17:13.039 Now, before Nehemiah appoints, here's what I want you to see. 00:17:13.500 --> 00:17:20.539 Before Nehemiah appoints political leaders, before he appoints Hanani and Hananiah, 00:17:21.579 --> 00:17:23.640 who's sort of like the head of homeland security, 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:32.859 before he appoints those leaders, he makes sure the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites are in place. 00:17:32.859 --> 00:17:38.759 All three roles are involved in the worshiping life of God's people. 00:17:39.719 --> 00:17:42.879 The gatekeepers were not just involved in security. 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:47.179 If you jump forward to Nehemiah 13, you see what their actual job was. 00:17:47.619 --> 00:17:51.339 The gatekeepers are there to make sure that on the Sabbath day, 00:17:51.919 --> 00:17:55.939 no pagan merchants are allowed into the city to do business, 00:17:56.259 --> 00:18:00.539 which will take away from and distract from and violate the Sabbath. 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:05.579 They wanted to make sure that they had a full day of uninterrupted rest and worship, 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:09.420 and that was the gatekeeper's job, to make sure that nothing intrudes on the Sabbath. 00:18:10.519 --> 00:18:14.599 The singers were to lead in the adoration of God. 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:18.539 Not hard to imagine that, given what we've just experienced. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.379 The Levites, in the post-exilic period, served as pastors and teachers. 00:18:24.579 --> 00:18:27.539 They helped people to understand and apply God's Word. 00:18:27.539 --> 00:18:33.579 So Nehemiah is prioritizing creating a culture of corporate worship. 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:37.119 And he does that before he even appoints the political leaders. 00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:39.440 Now, why is that the case? 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:42.899 Well, it's because Nehemiah knows that although the city has been restored, 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:45.680 the people need to be spiritually restored. 00:18:46.440 --> 00:18:48.139 And he knows this about us. 00:18:48.460 --> 00:18:51.420 Unless he prioritizes regular corporate worship, 00:18:51.420 --> 00:18:54.259 they're going to end up worshiping other things. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:57.940 Because he knows that we are made to worship. 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:01.480 Human beings can't help but worship. 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:03.380 That's how we're designed. 00:19:04.080 --> 00:19:08.580 So either we worship God, or we end up worshiping something else, 00:19:08.580 --> 00:19:14.039 whether it is comfort, or wealth, or approval, or safety, 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:16.380 or any of the other number of things that are good, 00:19:16.380 --> 00:19:20.280 but that we allow to become a little too important in our lives. 00:19:20.360 --> 00:19:21.320 We are made to worship. 00:19:22.780 --> 00:19:26.200 So Nehemiah recognizes, number one, in view of the exile, 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:27.320 and our return from exile, 00:19:27.320 --> 00:19:29.880 we need to be prioritizing regular corporate worship. 00:19:31.140 --> 00:19:33.520 Now, worship is something that we can do on our own anytime, 00:19:33.760 --> 00:19:35.100 absolutely, as we should. 00:19:35.099 --> 00:19:39.019 But in order to sustain a life of worship, 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:42.679 we needed a community around us to help us do that, right? 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:46.339 We need people who are gifted to help us understand and apply Scripture. 00:19:46.500 --> 00:19:50.799 We need people to help us lead us in the adoration of God's Word. 00:19:50.899 --> 00:19:53.359 We need the voices of the saints around us, 00:19:53.419 --> 00:19:56.059 affirming what we affirm, singing what we're singing. 00:19:56.179 --> 00:19:59.159 We need that sense that we're a part of that greater communion, 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:00.139 that greater witness. 00:20:01.319 --> 00:20:03.319 That's how worship is meant to be enacted. 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:05.879 Here's the question for us. 00:20:07.179 --> 00:20:10.859 Are we willing and able to be gatekeepers in our own lives 00:20:10.859 --> 00:20:12.179 when it comes to corporate worship? 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:17.000 You know, when we lay out our calendar for the coming week 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:19.259 or month or year, however you do your planning, 00:20:20.159 --> 00:20:22.879 there are a lot of competing priorities and commitments 00:20:22.879 --> 00:20:24.059 that we have to navigate. 00:20:24.279 --> 00:20:26.119 We have professional commitments and travel. 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:28.599 We have vacation and recreational activities. 00:20:28.819 --> 00:20:31.000 We have housework and family responsibilities. 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:33.139 We have kids' sports. 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:35.899 Somewhere in there, we have church involvement. 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:39.399 So the question is simply, where is that on the list? 00:20:41.139 --> 00:20:45.419 Do we set aside first the time that we want to spend worshiping in community 00:20:45.419 --> 00:20:48.200 and then fill in the other commitments around that, 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:49.480 or do we do the opposite? 00:20:49.619 --> 00:20:52.379 Do we simply kind of go to church whenever we happen to be in town 00:20:52.379 --> 00:20:54.059 and there's no competing commitment? 00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:56.639 It's something worth considering. 00:20:56.639 --> 00:21:00.539 And I say that as a family with kids who are involved in sports, 00:21:00.619 --> 00:21:03.359 and we both have to travel a lot for our work, 00:21:03.419 --> 00:21:06.440 and we know the challenges of navigating that. 00:21:06.500 --> 00:21:09.079 But the question is, where is the priority list? 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:12.019 And what's at the top of that list? 00:21:12.019 --> 00:21:18.099 Also, I've been thinking a lot about what we allow into our lives on the Sabbath 00:21:18.099 --> 00:21:21.480 and what we keep out. 00:21:21.579 --> 00:21:29.019 For instance, could we as a community adopt or rather commit together 00:21:29.019 --> 00:21:31.180 to going totally screen-free on the Sabbath? 00:21:31.180 --> 00:21:36.440 What if you just knew that all of your friends, all of their kids, 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:38.500 everybody you know who's a part of this church, 00:21:38.560 --> 00:21:41.160 that we know that it's just normative that we're screen-free on the Sabbath? 00:21:42.519 --> 00:21:43.580 Just putting it out there. 00:21:44.180 --> 00:21:47.400 What are we allowing to intrude into our Sabbath, 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:48.460 and what are we keeping out? 00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:49.380 Are we being gatekeepers? 00:21:50.660 --> 00:21:53.920 Number two, what we see in Nehemiah, thinking about our priorities. 00:21:54.019 --> 00:21:55.519 He prioritizes corporate worship. 00:21:55.660 --> 00:21:57.340 He prioritizes godly stewardship. 00:21:57.339 --> 00:22:01.039 Starting in verse 70, we see a couple of things that are very important. 00:22:01.259 --> 00:22:03.179 First, during their time of exile, 00:22:04.139 --> 00:22:08.759 God had enabled some of the families to become very wealthy. 00:22:10.019 --> 00:22:16.119 So exile doesn't mean living in abject poverty for everybody. 00:22:16.339 --> 00:22:18.539 For some people, they got quite wealthy, 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:19.859 and they were very successful in Babylon. 00:22:21.459 --> 00:22:23.980 Some of us in this time of exile, in this world, 00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:25.720 we've become very successful. 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:27.319 God has created amazing opportunities. 00:22:27.339 --> 00:22:30.599 For us, we've been greatly blessed in that way. 00:22:32.679 --> 00:22:34.459 So first, during their time of exile, 00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:36.099 God had enabled some to become wealthy. 00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:39.299 Second, what we see is that they're giving sacrificially 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:40.379 to the work in Jerusalem. 00:22:41.919 --> 00:22:44.379 They had not yet really even had time 00:22:44.379 --> 00:22:45.599 to get established in Jerusalem. 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:47.199 These are families who, some of them, 00:22:47.259 --> 00:22:48.179 don't even have houses. 00:22:48.639 --> 00:22:51.079 It says that one of the problems is that the wall has been built, 00:22:51.139 --> 00:22:52.939 but there's a lot of homes that haven't been built yet. 00:22:53.740 --> 00:22:58.440 And for all, of course, is for a while. 00:22:58.440 --> 00:23:03.480 The dimension was referred with Lazarus in the original publicоть 00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:04.180 and, of course, is aendism. 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:05.440 Now though there's a 부분 and purchase himself, 00:23:05.600 --> 00:23:08.019 how much is it suitable for of today? 00:23:08.140 --> 00:23:08.400 Of course, there's a necessity to getoff. 00:23:10.500 --> 00:23:12.900 Over the time of exile, 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:14.019 why?