WEBVTT 00:00:00.700 --> 00:00:05.759 Well, good morning everyone. My name's Steve. You haven't met me before. I'm the senior pastor 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:10.080 here at St. Paul's. I'm grateful you've had your Bibles open. And I just want to kick 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:16.219 off this morning with a content warning. The following message contains yet another running 00:00:16.219 --> 00:00:23.080 illustration. I'm sorry about that. Actually, it's more of a story than an illustration. 00:00:23.079 --> 00:00:29.719 It will become an illustration eventually, but it was Thursday morning. I was on the 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:39.939 final leg of a 11K run through Blankhobe National Park. And the next thing you knew, like I was 00:00:39.939 --> 00:00:48.519 right at the end of it, then all of a sudden, a wood duck launched itself out. I could just 00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:57.240 see it at the corner of my eye coming at me from the left. And so I ducked. Pun intended. 00:00:59.820 --> 00:01:10.280 The duck swung around behind me, landed on my shoulders, flapping its wings like this on my 00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:22.420 ears and pecking the back of my head. I'm like, what on earth is going on here? It was all in a 00:01:22.420 --> 00:01:28.000 matter of seconds. Now, this time of year, I normally see signs up occasionally, beware of 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:36.560 bagpipes. I get a duck, for goodness sake. I've never seen a warning sign for a duck. But maybe we 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:49.719 should have some warning signs for ducks. Now, see, the thing is, I had a plan. I was enjoying the 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:57.379 plan. I even got a moment in the run there where I was just praying and thanking God for the ability 00:01:57.379 --> 00:02:07.939 to run and for his creation. And then it attacks me. All of a sudden, and I'm running along and I'm 00:02:07.939 --> 00:02:14.060 trying to still run with this duck on my back. And I'm swiping at it, trying to get rid of it. 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:23.300 Eventually, it jumps off. And then I ran probably an extra five to 10 metres and then just stopped 00:02:23.300 --> 00:02:32.640 and went, well, that's it. It's all over now. Like, I was so disorientated that I had to go back past 00:02:32.640 --> 00:02:39.439 the duck, as it turns out, which, again, attempted to chase after me. What all of a sudden happened? 00:02:39.500 --> 00:02:43.540 I had this goal and all of a sudden, I was right near the end of it and it just stopped. 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:50.580 Had the effect of totally throwing me off course, as you can imagine, momentarily disorientated. 00:02:50.580 --> 00:02:56.760 Now, it's not surprising that a moment like that, you would lose focus. Now, it's taken me, 00:02:56.940 --> 00:03:01.600 you know, a couple of days to try and work out how I can tell you that story and connect it with Nehemiah. 00:03:04.300 --> 00:03:18.240 At first, I was just going to tell you the story. But really, the real issue here for me is I 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:25.260 connected with Nehemiah, and I see Nehemiah 5 in particular, is being on target, then all of a 00:03:25.260 --> 00:03:32.879 sudden just totally losing focus and just stopping, just stopping. And that's one of the things that 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:44.280 happens here in Nehemiah. For the Christian life, it is a battle to stay focused, and particularly 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:49.159 stay focused on our primary calling to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, 00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:55.080 and strength, and our neighbour as ourself. If you're a Christian for any length of time, 00:03:55.159 --> 00:04:01.400 you will know that the world, the flesh, the devil are the three constant tempters, 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:11.500 that is temptation within, temptation without, and temptation beyond, luring us out of focus, 00:04:13.420 --> 00:04:17.280 sharp focus on loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. 00:04:18.620 --> 00:04:25.460 Sometimes it's in a dramatic event, such as a duck launching at you that throws your focus 00:04:25.459 --> 00:04:33.680 in a run. More often than not, for me, it's the long grind of a run. I recently ran a half marathon. 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:38.959 One of the hardest things in a half marathon is not the physical challenge. It's not your heart. 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:46.639 It's actually your mind. It's not your cardio. It's the ability to stay focused for such a long 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:54.060 period of time on a task like that. And inevitably, they say around the 16, 17, 18K mark is when you 00:04:54.060 --> 00:04:59.920 start to wander. Your mind wanders and starts telling you, I can't do this. I can't do this. 00:04:59.980 --> 00:05:08.379 I can't do this. If you're on a marathon, you will know it's around somewhere between the 25 and 32K 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:13.660 mark that your mind says the same thing. Your body might be still trudging along, but your mind's 00:05:13.660 --> 00:05:20.279 saying, I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this. Just stop. Just give up. It's the ability 00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:27.359 to stay sharp focused. And what we see again and again in the Old Testament is that Israel 00:05:27.359 --> 00:05:34.599 regularly lost focus on who God is and who they are and what he's called them to do. And the 00:05:34.599 --> 00:05:41.239 consequences were devastating, which is where we're up to in Nehemiah. We've touched on this already. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:47.439 The book of Nehemiah is a time in history when the Israelites are trying to rebuild Jerusalem, 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:56.199 140 years after a catastrophic event that was God's disciplining of his special people. 00:05:57.060 --> 00:06:03.279 In 586 BC, the Babylonian army came in, sacked Jerusalem. The elite of the people were carted 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:08.899 off, deported down to Babylon. The city was left in ruins. The people were crushed, enslaved 00:06:08.899 --> 00:06:15.819 again under the rule of a foreign nation. All because they honoured God with their lips, 00:06:15.819 --> 00:06:23.839 but their hearts and their lives were focused on other things. And so now after 70 years of exile 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:30.579 in a foreign land, God started to bring his people back to Jerusalem. And so the question 00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:38.860 is, as Nehemiah is in these early chapters, is would they come back? Not just physically come 00:06:38.860 --> 00:06:43.639 back, but would they come back to him? Would they obey the covenant requirements and show the 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:51.659 world how brilliant it is to be friends with Yahweh? Now, while much of the activity of these 00:06:51.659 --> 00:07:00.919 first chapters of Nehemiah are about the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, the main purpose is 00:07:00.919 --> 00:07:08.839 about rebuilding the covenant people of God. Hearts and minds aligned with God. Nehemiah 4, 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:13.879 we were there last week. The wall builders were under enormous pressure to stop this rebuilding 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:21.699 work, this reforming work. In chapters 5 and 6, there is once again pressure to stop the rebuilding 00:07:21.699 --> 00:07:29.959 work, but it's different. This time, the pressure is coming from within, amongst God's people themselves. 00:07:30.179 --> 00:07:36.039 Once again, they are losing focus on their primary calling to obey God, obedience to God. So if 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:43.180 you've got, it might not be on the St. Paul's app, but anyway, use a notepad or whatever, 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:49.260 three points, losing focus, a focused life, and regaining focus. That's where I'm headed this 00:07:49.260 --> 00:07:58.920 morning. So focusing, losing focus. The first five verses of chapter 5, a very significant problem 00:07:58.920 --> 00:08:11.720 is raised. As the work on the wall is progressing, farms are languishing. The people need to eat. 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:21.319 And the threat is compounded due to a recent famine, but specifically, it's compounded because of a heavy 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:31.939 tax burden. And they need grain for next year's crops. So the essence of the first five verses is a 00:08:31.939 --> 00:08:38.740 call to Nehemiah, something like this. Nehemiah, we have been seven weeks away from our farms building 00:08:38.740 --> 00:08:47.500 this wall in really desperate times. And so this whole wall building project is just making matters 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:57.980 worse. We've got to stop building the wall. It's a call to stop the work on Jerusalem so that they can go 00:08:57.980 --> 00:09:06.059 and get their families in order. Let's put a pause on what God has called us to do here because there's 00:09:06.059 --> 00:09:12.980 something a little bit more pressing. See it? It's good stuff. Let's just divert focus for a bit. 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:19.800 Now, I'll come back. When we've got everything else in order, we'll come back to God then and do his 00:09:19.800 --> 00:09:27.800 work then. Now, Nehemiah doesn't stop the work, but he does deal with the threat that he's seeking to 00:09:27.800 --> 00:09:36.159 unravel God's charge to his people. And the real threat here is the nobles and the officials. And 00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:43.579 Nehemiah is furious with them. Have a look at verse seven. You are charging your own people interest. 00:09:47.079 --> 00:09:54.899 You see, here's the problem. God's word to his people was absolutely crystal clear on this issue. 00:09:55.659 --> 00:10:04.439 Crystal clear. Exodus 22, 25. If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:13.960 do not treat it like a business deal. Charge no interest. This is one of the laws that governs God's 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:19.720 people to let their life together so that they could show the world how brilliant it is to live 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:27.540 in relationship with Yahweh, their God. And the covenant people of God are struggling to rebuild 00:10:27.539 --> 00:10:34.959 themselves after 70 years of slavery because of disobedience to God's law. And the nobles and 00:10:34.959 --> 00:10:42.839 officials are once again doing the very thing that caused the exile. What were they thinking? 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:52.519 They're ignoring God's word. And once again, you see the community of God's people unraveling. 00:10:52.519 --> 00:11:03.939 If we just flick over very briefly to chapter six, I want to see something here real quick. 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:12.299 In verse one, we see that the goon squad from chapter four have reappeared. Sanballat, 00:11:12.460 --> 00:11:22.419 Tobiah, Jeshem the Arab. In particular, Tobiah is mentioned in verse 12 and again in verses 00:11:22.419 --> 00:11:31.259 17 to 19. And right throughout these chapters, we see that Tobiah is against the purposes of God. He's 00:11:31.259 --> 00:11:40.599 against the people of God. What makes that so terrible is that Tobiah's name means Yahweh is good. 00:11:43.419 --> 00:11:52.179 Yahweh is good. He's a fellow Jew with a great name and a great pedigree. 00:11:52.419 --> 00:11:58.539 But he is not convinced by his own name that Yahweh is in fact good. 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:07.639 Friends, every society and culture that the Christian church has found itself placed within 00:12:07.639 --> 00:12:13.439 has been a threat to the church. Every single society and culture from its inception. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:25.400 There is always pressure from without. But it is, I believe, more easily matched by the threat of every 00:12:25.400 --> 00:12:34.080 church community losing sight of God's goodness as revealed to us in his word. Easily matched by that. 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:43.100 That is more fundamentally the problem. And what Nehemiah does here is he calls these nobles and officials back 00:12:43.100 --> 00:12:48.639 to God's goodness. In chapter five, verse eight, chapter five, verse nine, 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:55.600 shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of the Gentile enemies? 00:12:55.600 --> 00:13:04.700 When the Bible talks, as Nehemiah does here about the fear of God for the people of God, it means a 00:13:04.700 --> 00:13:15.019 respect and awe for God's holiness, his sovereignty, his goodness, his mercy, that ultimately leads you to 00:13:15.019 --> 00:13:21.820 respond with a life of submission, obedience, consistency, integrity, and joy. 00:13:21.820 --> 00:13:33.379 I would suggest that Nehemiah's narrative here of opposition to the wall of Jerusalem being built here 00:13:33.379 --> 00:13:43.280 should be understood in terms of spiritual warfare. From chapters four right through to chapter seven, 00:13:43.680 --> 00:13:51.800 this is spiritual warfare. You see, Satan operating in Nehemiah's time, 00:13:51.820 --> 00:14:01.840 hated the rebuilding work of Jerusalem. In Nehemiah four, he uses tactics like psychological warfare, 00:14:03.280 --> 00:14:10.160 physical threats, personal discouragement. In chapters five and six, he deploys incrimination, 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:20.280 intrigue, innuendo, and intimidation. His main tactic deployed right from the very beginning 00:14:20.279 --> 00:14:30.419 in Genesis chapter three with Adam and Eve to Jesus himself in Matthew four is to get us, 00:14:30.419 --> 00:14:38.059 as he did attempt with them, one with Adam and Eve, didn't with Jesus, to actually doubt God's word 00:14:38.059 --> 00:14:45.639 and his goodness. Specifically, his goodness as revealed in his word. 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:55.059 And I want you to know that there is a war going on for your soul. 00:14:55.059 --> 00:15:09.379 And your enemy, Satan, has no conscience. He has no compassion. There is no Geneva Convention here. 00:15:10.019 --> 00:15:19.199 He has no remorse. He has no morals. He feeds on pain and anguish and filth. There is nothing in 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:26.879 Satan which is even remotely redeemable. There is no virtue. He is but a dark void. 00:15:28.280 --> 00:15:34.220 He is supremely cunning. He has been honing his methods for millennia. He is an accomplished philosopher, 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:39.620 theologian, and psychologist. He is the ultimate manipulator, subverter, and actor. 00:15:39.620 --> 00:15:49.679 He often mixes just enough truth with falsehood to make a lie seem plausible. He instills doubts 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:56.440 consistently in your heart, in your mind to doubt God's goodness and the truthfulness of his word. 00:15:58.139 --> 00:16:07.639 He will do it all the time. It's his main tactic. It's how sin began by instilling a doubt of God's 00:16:07.639 --> 00:16:15.879 word and his goodness in Adam and Eve. And he persuades us often, especially in the West, 00:16:16.100 --> 00:16:22.840 that the Christian life is not a battle. And so if you are experiencing any kind of battle at all, 00:16:24.340 --> 00:16:30.740 well then therefore God must not be good. That's his main tactic for you in the West. 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:47.960 You see, he hates God. He hates God's children. He hates the work of Jesus Christ to build his church 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:56.419 from people of every tribe, language, and nation. And he will do whatever he can to destroy the work 00:16:56.419 --> 00:17:04.500 of the gospel in your life and in the life of this church. He will try to do it by some dramatic event. 00:17:06.819 --> 00:17:11.299 Or he will just gradually and subtly by shifting your attention away from God. 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:17.819 Bit by bit by bit. And before you know, 00:17:17.819 --> 00:17:23.079 I just can't do this anymore. I just got to give up. 00:17:25.779 --> 00:17:31.960 He wants your focus off God. And therefore that means he wants your focus off the gospel. 00:17:32.439 --> 00:17:35.019 He wants your focus off his word. 00:17:36.500 --> 00:17:41.819 I've never, ever had any that I can ever recall, not certainly markedly, 00:17:41.819 --> 00:17:49.119 anything to ever divert me away from opening up Facebook. 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:53.500 Never felt a temptation to divert me elsewhere to open that up. 00:17:54.500 --> 00:17:56.200 Or to scroll the news. 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:03.159 Pick up the Bible, however. 00:18:03.939 --> 00:18:06.899 The amount of things that get in the way of that 00:18:06.899 --> 00:18:09.720 is remarkable in my life. 00:18:11.819 --> 00:18:17.359 So let's look to a focused life. 00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:21.319 Nehemiah, on the other hand, he's a great example 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:25.299 of resisting this temptation and staying focused on faithfulness to God 00:18:25.299 --> 00:18:27.220 and his word in this text. 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:30.779 There is an attempt to get Nehemiah to deny God's word. 00:18:30.919 --> 00:18:32.519 In chapter 6, verse 10, 00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:35.859 Nehemiah goes to the house of a man named Shemaiah. 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:38.019 Now he is some kind of a prophet. 00:18:38.019 --> 00:18:45.460 And he shares with Nehemiah a prophecy that he has apparently received from God. 00:18:47.180 --> 00:18:51.000 Let us meet in the house of God inside the temple 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:54.440 and let us close the temple doors. 00:18:55.319 --> 00:18:57.559 Because men are coming to kill you. 00:18:57.900 --> 00:18:59.559 By night they're coming to kill you. 00:18:59.619 --> 00:19:00.319 See the message? 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:02.259 Nehemiah, run. 00:19:02.259 --> 00:19:02.740 Run. 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:03.960 Run. 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:07.339 Take sanctuary in the temple because people are coming to kill you. 00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:08.700 Save yourself, Nehemiah. 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:12.759 Nehemiah responds in verse 10. 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:17.500 Should a man like me run away? 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:21.440 Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? 00:19:21.539 --> 00:19:23.660 I will not go. 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:27.519 How did Nehemiah know? 00:19:27.579 --> 00:19:28.379 He makes a point there. 00:19:28.420 --> 00:19:30.319 I realize there was not a message from God, he says. 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:31.140 How does he know that? 00:19:31.140 --> 00:19:36.040 Because Nehemiah wasn't a priest. 00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:47.580 And he knew from Exodus 22 that for him to run into the sanctuary, the temple, 00:19:48.100 --> 00:19:56.980 is a violation of God's word requiring him to die. 00:19:56.980 --> 00:19:57.980 Save your life. 00:19:58.620 --> 00:19:59.640 Save your life. 00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:00.620 Run to the sanctuary. 00:20:00.819 --> 00:20:02.380 Save your life from these men. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.640 And it would result in him going into the sanctuary and being struck down by God instead. 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:10.319 He knew that. 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:11.640 He knew his Bible. 00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:26.800 See, Nehemiah here appeals to his own example as one who walks in the fear of the Lord and by judging even this so-called prophet from God's word. 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:35.960 It's seen also in his integrity of life and his compassion for God's people. 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:39.059 Have a look at chapter 5, verse 14 and 15. 00:20:39.059 --> 00:20:44.359 For the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, 00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:52.299 until his 32nd year, 12 years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. 00:20:53.700 --> 00:21:02.879 But the earlier governors, those preceding me, placed a heavy burden on the people and took 40 shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:06.260 Their assistants also lauded it over the people. 00:21:07.500 --> 00:21:11.260 But out of reverence for God, I did not act like that. 00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:17.820 Nehemiah has certain rights by virtue of his position as being appointed governor. 00:21:18.620 --> 00:21:20.180 A food allowance, a stipend. 00:21:20.900 --> 00:21:23.400 But he voluntarily relinquished them. 00:21:24.780 --> 00:21:29.000 What motivates that kind of self-sacrificing, non-oppressive leadership? 00:21:30.280 --> 00:21:32.600 Why was Nehemiah different from the others? 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:33.820 Verse 15. 00:21:34.320 --> 00:21:37.520 Because of the fear of God. 00:21:39.180 --> 00:21:45.740 It's this reverence for God that controls his life, his attitudes, his priorities. 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:48.220 Nehemiah relinquishes his rights. 00:21:48.600 --> 00:21:50.700 He serves his brothers and sisters. 00:21:51.460 --> 00:21:54.760 He is a non-oppressive leader. 00:21:55.540 --> 00:21:59.640 As opposed to the nobles and officials, he is a non-oppressive leader. 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:03.560 This is not a mere outward compliance. 00:22:03.780 --> 00:22:06.360 It is a heart that is captivated by God himself. 00:22:06.860 --> 00:22:09.800 His heart delights in God. 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:13.220 He does not lord it over. 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:17.440 A gracious God had made him a gracious ruler. 00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:22.160 Now we might think if we flick forward into the New Testament, the likes of the Apostle Paul, 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:26.880 who says in 1 Corinthians 9, that he made himself a servant of all. 00:22:28.620 --> 00:22:34.519 But in the end, both Nehemiah and Paul reflect the God-focused life of Jesus Christ, 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:39.720 who we are told in Philippians 2, being in very nature God, 00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:43.920 did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. 00:22:44.619 --> 00:22:48.299 Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:52.240 being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, 00:22:52.299 --> 00:22:58.039 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. 00:22:58.039 --> 00:23:00.519 So what's the point? 00:23:01.079 --> 00:23:03.220 Jesus is a great example for us to follow? 00:23:06.379 --> 00:23:13.460 Well, yes, but more significantly, he's a much-needed substitute for all of us. 00:23:13.460 --> 00:23:19.720 Because, friends, when we look at Nehemiah 5, 00:23:21.100 --> 00:23:26.720 we tend to think of ourselves as the Nehemiah in this text. 00:23:27.779 --> 00:23:28.920 But we're not. 00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:31.200 We're the nobles and officials. 00:23:33.799 --> 00:23:36.900 They're the ones who represent us. 00:23:40.420 --> 00:23:42.380 We don't fear God as we should. 00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:44.400 We don't act rightly. 00:23:44.600 --> 00:23:45.660 We deserve punishment. 00:23:46.600 --> 00:23:48.500 That is what we should receive. 00:23:50.020 --> 00:23:57.900 And yet, Matthew 20 reveals how Jesus leads graciously his flawed and his failed humanity. 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:01.620 He says, 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:04.760 You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, 00:24:05.540 --> 00:24:08.260 and their high officials exercise authority over them. 00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:09.600 Not so with you. 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:13.619 Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 00:24:14.439 --> 00:24:16.879 and whoever wants to be first must be a slave. 00:24:17.559 --> 00:24:19.839 Just as the Son of Man, speaking of himself, 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:22.279 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:28.099 but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many, for all. 00:24:29.480 --> 00:24:33.539 Right there is the difference between Nehemiah and Jesus. 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:39.500 Jesus is the only one who gives his life as a ransom for the sins of many. 00:24:40.159 --> 00:24:48.659 He became a slave to death on the cross to liberate us from a life of oppressive slavery to sin. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:53.920 Set free to serve him and others with freedom and joy. 00:24:53.920 --> 00:25:01.180 In Jesus, God's disposition towards us is delight. 00:25:02.380 --> 00:25:03.620 Not oppression. 00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:04.680 Delight. 00:25:05.960 --> 00:25:09.420 Because Jesus was able to take upon himself our sin. 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:17.539 He was able to withstand the full blow of God's just wrath for our rejection and our disobedience. 00:25:17.539 --> 00:25:25.319 You see, Nehemiah here is a wonderful pointer to the character of God 00:25:25.319 --> 00:25:29.799 in the way he handles the flawed and the failed in chapter 5. 00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:39.579 It's so easy to skip over this, but in verse 10, he says, 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:43.399 let us stop charging interest. 00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:49.059 In other words, what he's saying there is, let's repent of this. 00:25:49.779 --> 00:25:50.559 Repent of this. 00:25:51.399 --> 00:25:55.319 He's calling them back into faithfulness to the good God. 00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:58.519 He gives them a second chance to make things right. 00:25:59.799 --> 00:26:03.899 Let me tell you, if you're not sure about the Christian faith, 00:26:03.980 --> 00:26:07.319 let me just make a statement here for you to ponder. 00:26:08.339 --> 00:26:16.319 Christianity is the only world religion that declares that there is a divine being 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:22.000 who is both infinitely powerful, infinitely holy, 00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:27.440 and infinitely gracious at the same time. 00:26:28.220 --> 00:26:29.399 The only one. 00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:37.240 Jesus Christ came without sin, lived a perfect life of obedience and reverence. 00:26:37.339 --> 00:26:42.839 He died on the cross for our infidelity, our faithlessness, 00:26:43.259 --> 00:26:49.960 our oppression of others, our sin, our failure to obey God, 00:26:51.099 --> 00:26:52.220 our rejection of his word. 00:26:52.220 --> 00:26:57.299 And he offers us a second chance every day. 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:04.980 So, let's regain some focus. 00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:09.079 What might it look like to live a life staying focused on Jesus? 00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:14.680 Fundamentally, it means walking in the fear of the Lord. 00:27:14.680 --> 00:27:18.600 This is the foundation of Nehemiah's life of faithfulness. 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:24.100 His life of service of others is walking in the fear of the Lord. 00:27:25.100 --> 00:27:30.860 Let me just remind you again, fear of God is an expression that means a reverent submission 00:27:30.860 --> 00:27:31.900 to the will of God. 00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:37.060 It is, according to Proverbs 9, the beginning of wisdom, 00:27:37.059 --> 00:27:42.460 which means it's the very foundation of how to navigate life well in God's world. 00:27:43.919 --> 00:27:47.940 Which is why the title of Jerry Bridges' book, 00:27:48.899 --> 00:27:51.639 The Joy of Fearing God, 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:53.960 makes total sense. 00:27:53.960 --> 00:27:58.180 Even though, in the introduction, he says it seems like it's an oxymoron. 00:27:59.079 --> 00:28:01.500 The joy of fearing God. 00:28:04.120 --> 00:28:07.519 It's not the fear that something bad will happen to you if you mess up, 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:10.980 and so you better be good, better try harder, pull your socks up. 00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:15.980 It just simply means respecting the Lordship of Jesus Christ 00:28:15.980 --> 00:28:19.400 over every part of your life for your joy. 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:29.220 When you fear God, you will want intimate fellowship with Him. 00:28:30.120 --> 00:28:31.740 You will want connection with Him. 00:28:33.100 --> 00:28:36.380 And you won't want anything in your life to be a roadblock to Him. 00:28:37.800 --> 00:28:41.420 Fear of God, therefore, means giving attention to God's Word, 00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:46.460 discovering His will and His heart for you, 00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:49.200 but also discovering your own heart. 00:28:50.340 --> 00:28:52.940 In our staff devotional this week, 00:28:53.900 --> 00:28:55.360 or one day on last Thursday, 00:28:55.920 --> 00:29:00.519 we read Psalm 119 verses 25 to 32 00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:03.060 in the daily devotional book, 00:29:03.820 --> 00:29:05.900 My Rock, My Refuge, written by Tim Keller. 00:29:07.080 --> 00:29:10.820 The title for the devotion is 00:29:10.820 --> 00:29:14.560 The Word is Our Examiner. 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:19.480 And Keller makes this very, very crucial point. 00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:26.200 The psalmist surveys his life using the Word to examine himself. 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:29.940 Contemporary people, that's us, 00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:34.819 tend to examine the Bible looking for things that they cannot accept. 00:29:34.819 --> 00:29:40.279 But Christians should reverse that. 00:29:42.779 --> 00:29:44.240 They should reverse that. 00:29:45.639 --> 00:29:48.480 Allowing the Bible to examine us. 00:29:49.980 --> 00:29:53.119 Looking for things that God cannot accept. 00:29:53.119 --> 00:29:58.519 The psalmist has set his heart on being faithful to God's laws. 00:29:59.659 --> 00:30:02.299 We cannot truly understand the Scriptures 00:30:02.299 --> 00:30:05.579 unless we make a basic commitment to saying, 00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:08.379 whatever I find in your Word, 00:30:08.539 --> 00:30:10.039 I will do. 00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:13.180 Then he says this, 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:15.180 This seems restrictive, 00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:17.299 but it leads to freedom. 00:30:17.299 --> 00:30:23.079 This kind of devotional life 00:30:23.079 --> 00:30:25.799 overflows into a life of prayerful dependence, 00:30:26.379 --> 00:30:30.839 an expectation God will answer and help 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:32.079 and deliver us at every point. 00:30:32.299 --> 00:30:34.819 It particularly overflows into a life 00:30:34.819 --> 00:30:36.779 of meticulous repentance of sin 00:30:36.779 --> 00:30:40.279 and to consider in every situation 00:30:40.279 --> 00:30:43.659 whether what's happening is for God's glory or my own. 00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:47.099 Ignoring sin does not make life better. 00:30:47.740 --> 00:30:50.200 It makes it worse, increasingly worse. 00:30:50.680 --> 00:30:53.500 A focused life that trusts God is good 00:30:53.500 --> 00:30:56.180 walks in dependence upon His Word 00:30:56.180 --> 00:30:58.539 and it repents daily of sin. 00:30:59.259 --> 00:31:00.379 Regularly of sin. 00:31:02.519 --> 00:31:07.680 So friends, what chapters 5 to 7 tell us 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:10.940 is that the urban renewal of Jerusalem 00:31:10.940 --> 00:31:14.200 wasn't the only thing that was happening in Jerusalem. 00:31:14.200 --> 00:31:19.240 The walls being repaired was only a sign 00:31:19.240 --> 00:31:21.880 of the relational and heart repair 00:31:21.880 --> 00:31:23.680 that was needed amongst God's people. 00:31:24.940 --> 00:31:27.580 When we speak of building the church, 00:31:28.039 --> 00:31:30.920 our minds are usually captivated by buildings, 00:31:31.580 --> 00:31:34.640 programs, structures, systems, 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:38.160 congregations, denominations, finance, 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:40.500 and whatever else. 00:31:42.340 --> 00:31:45.400 When Jesus spoke of building His church, 00:31:45.400 --> 00:31:51.100 He was thinking of the simple but complex process 00:31:51.100 --> 00:31:56.040 whereby the truth about Himself is received. 00:31:56.039 --> 00:32:01.980 the recipients respond to Him on His terms 00:32:01.980 --> 00:32:06.980 and are then increasingly conformed to Him 00:32:06.980 --> 00:32:09.759 as they share in the things that the church does 00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:12.799 in obedience to Jesus' Word 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:14.859 under His leadership 00:32:14.859 --> 00:32:16.879 and independence of His power. 00:32:16.880 --> 00:32:25.900 Incidentally, we are told in Nehemiah 6 00:32:25.900 --> 00:32:29.240 that the war was completed in 52 days. 00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:32.180 It was nothing short of a miracle. 00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:35.340 What building gets done in 52 days? 00:32:35.339 --> 00:32:43.059 And it says the nations around were filled with fear 00:32:43.059 --> 00:32:48.279 because they could see it was clearly a work of God. 00:32:49.619 --> 00:32:53.319 The battle was raging within and without, 00:32:53.919 --> 00:32:57.639 but God built Jerusalem. 00:32:57.640 --> 00:33:02.340 Like the building of the walls of Jerusalem, 00:33:02.520 --> 00:33:04.480 the building of God's church 00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:07.700 on the foundation of Jesus Christ 00:33:07.700 --> 00:33:11.340 is one that He will bring to completion. 00:33:13.120 --> 00:33:16.180 And it's a story of both spiritual battle, 00:33:17.700 --> 00:33:19.440 but most significantly, 00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:24.960 it's a story of significant spiritual triumph. 00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:30.140 God will bring to completion His work in you. 00:33:31.500 --> 00:33:33.980 He has given every single Christian 00:33:33.980 --> 00:33:36.860 the means of grace to stay focused 00:33:36.860 --> 00:33:39.500 in this building work, 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:42.660 the rebuilding of your heart and our life together. 00:33:43.360 --> 00:33:45.440 His spirit, worship, Bible, prayer, 00:33:45.600 --> 00:33:47.200 brothers and sisters for the task, 00:33:48.039 --> 00:33:49.480 gifts to serve. 00:33:50.960 --> 00:33:52.920 So I want to ask you right now, 00:33:52.920 --> 00:33:55.539 have you bought into Satan's lie 00:33:55.539 --> 00:33:57.580 that God's not good 00:33:57.580 --> 00:34:00.140 and that His word cannot be trusted? 00:34:03.220 --> 00:34:06.759 What is causing you to lose focus at the moment? 00:34:07.940 --> 00:34:09.720 What has got your attention? 00:34:11.720 --> 00:34:12.280 Let me say, 00:34:12.380 --> 00:34:15.320 if you are stumbling and straying right now, 00:34:16.039 --> 00:34:18.280 it might be that a duck's landed on your back, 00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:18.960 so to speak, 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:21.639 or you're just getting tired. 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:25.099 Don't believe the lie of Satan 00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:28.420 that God must not be delighting in you right now. 00:34:31.299 --> 00:34:32.460 In Jesus, 00:34:33.359 --> 00:34:34.219 He does 00:34:34.219 --> 00:34:36.359 all the time, 00:34:37.139 --> 00:34:38.980 delights in you. 00:34:41.779 --> 00:34:44.440 He is not an oppressive God. 00:34:44.440 --> 00:34:50.360 And so can I call you 00:34:50.360 --> 00:34:52.200 to get the eyes of your heart 00:34:52.200 --> 00:34:53.559 back into God's word? 00:34:58.440 --> 00:35:02.880 And His multitude of firm promises to you in Jesus, 00:35:03.900 --> 00:35:04.579 in other words, 00:35:04.659 --> 00:35:06.940 I'm calling you to repent and turn back, 00:35:07.679 --> 00:35:08.579 turn back to Him, 00:35:09.240 --> 00:35:10.300 find refuge in Him. 00:35:10.300 --> 00:35:14.820 How is your focus right now 00:35:14.820 --> 00:35:16.800 on growing as a disciple of Jesus? 00:35:17.820 --> 00:35:20.680 What is God teaching you through His word? 00:35:20.760 --> 00:35:23.000 What is He pressing in on you right now? 00:35:24.640 --> 00:35:26.440 What is your next step 00:35:26.440 --> 00:35:29.039 to walk in the fear of the Lord? 00:35:29.039 --> 00:35:32.699 Thank you for ranking, 00:35:45.860 --> 00:35:48.480 you 00:35:48.539 --> 00:35:50.659 say to the Lord.