WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.259 So please keep your Bibles open. You'll want to look at them as we get into this text. 00:00:13.259 --> 00:00:17.519 We've been learning lessons week by week from the life of Nehemiah. And this week, 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:27.160 I hope we'll see that God wants generosity and justice in His church. But let's begin here 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:36.539 with the reality that sometimes the eyes of the world are on a particular city. This year, 00:00:36.980 --> 00:00:44.120 even Gorgie has been going global. The eyes of the world, or at least the footballing world, 00:00:44.379 --> 00:00:53.460 has been on Edinburgh. There's been TV in America and Brazil and Nigeria and in Europe, 00:00:53.460 --> 00:01:00.140 all asking the question, could hearts finally do it? Could they break the domination? Could they win 00:01:00.140 --> 00:01:10.420 the title after 66 years? And we know the answer. Sometimes the world is focused on a particular 00:01:10.420 --> 00:01:20.400 city. There is an event that takes on historic significance. Maybe again in our own city, 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:29.380 we remember the Queen lying in state. Or perhaps we think of the Paris Olympics that just recently 00:01:29.380 --> 00:01:37.200 happened, or even the terror attacks in New York. There are times when the world's eyes are on a 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:45.200 particular city. Here we are in the story of Nehemiah, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:52.379 has very much put this city under the spotlight. So we know the king of Persia is aware, and he supports 00:01:52.379 --> 00:01:57.659 the rebuilding project. But we've also been hearing, and we thought about it especially last week, 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:06.780 that enemy nations have also been paying attention. And by God's design, Jerusalem 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:18.659 is the city of God. It is designed as the center of true worship. It was designed so that other 00:02:18.659 --> 00:02:25.860 nations would be attracted to the glory of the one true and living God, like moths drawn to flame. 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:33.819 Remember, Jesus said to his disciples and to the church, you are the light of the world. 00:02:33.819 --> 00:02:40.039 But what happens if the church's light goes out? 00:02:42.180 --> 00:02:47.659 So we need to think about the importance of God's city and God's church, and what it means for Nehemiah 00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:53.979 chapter 5. In God's plan of salvation, there is this principle where God chooses one for the sake of 00:02:53.979 --> 00:03:00.340 many. God chose one man, Abraham, and said, from your family will come blessing to all nations. God 00:03:00.340 --> 00:03:06.539 chooses one nation, Israel, to be a blessing to all the nations. And he chooses one city, Jerusalem, 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:14.659 where worship will be focused, where he will be said to dwell, where his glory should be on display. 00:03:15.939 --> 00:03:24.439 So the city of Jerusalem matters. And in the same way, God chooses the church. 00:03:24.439 --> 00:03:33.579 People like us, chosen and set apart to become together, as it were, a little colony of heaven, 00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:44.159 an alternative society, a place of goodness and love and justice and mercy, a place that's so focused 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:49.259 on God and his Savior, Jesus, that others are compelled and drawn in. 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:58.259 But that's not the scene that we encounter in Nehemiah chapter 5. And what we have, rather, 00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:05.000 is here is Nehemiah, and he kind of acts like the new sheriff in town, if you like old western movies. 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:10.599 You know, he comes to clean up the town from the outlaws, from the oppression, from the injustice 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:18.899 that he sees in the streets. And he shows in his own way of life generosity and justice. 00:04:19.259 --> 00:04:27.819 And he does it all for the sake of God's kingdom and God's glory. And what we need to see today, 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:34.240 as we're gathered here in this place, is that when it comes to church and when it comes to worship, 00:04:34.860 --> 00:04:37.939 it's what's on the inside that counts. 00:04:37.939 --> 00:04:38.939 God's kingdom and grace. 00:04:38.939 --> 00:04:40.939 God's kingdom and grace. 00:04:40.939 --> 00:04:50.639 Not nice buildings and secure walls. Not coming to worship at a surface level. God is looking 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:58.139 for lives that love Jesus, that are transformed by him so that we live for God's glory in a way 00:04:58.139 --> 00:05:05.279 that makes a difference to the people around us. So two things that we'll see. First of all, 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:12.239 number one, God's servant challenges injustice in God's church. 00:05:13.919 --> 00:05:21.059 First 13 verses. The key word for us to think about at this stage is outcry. Notice the outcry of 00:05:21.059 --> 00:05:26.859 God's people. Verse 1, now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. 00:05:27.219 --> 00:05:33.039 And the section concludes verse 6 with Nehemiah. I heard their outcry in these charges, and he's very 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:40.319 angry. So there is a protest. There is a complaint. So why is this complaint being made? Well, what's 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:45.340 happening is as people have been called to this great rebuilding work, as they're sorting through 00:05:45.340 --> 00:05:52.140 the rubble, as the wall is getting higher, at the same time, a great social and moral and indeed 00:05:52.140 --> 00:05:59.980 spiritual problem is being brought to light. And in the first few verses, we discover three kinds of 00:05:59.980 --> 00:06:08.120 people who are suffering while they're serving God, and so they raise a complaint. In verses 1 and 2, 00:06:09.379 --> 00:06:13.780 it's families that are coming to complain. We and our sons and daughters are numerous. 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:20.259 To eat and stay alive, we must get grain. They're not able to work their normal jobs. They've left 00:06:20.259 --> 00:06:27.480 things behind. They've sacrificed, and now whole families are feeling the cost. And so there's an outcry. 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:34.060 Verse 3, we discover others who are mortgaging their fields and their vineyards. So perhaps they live 00:06:34.060 --> 00:06:40.259 outside of the city, and they've come to work on the wall. So they've left their place behind. There's 00:06:40.259 --> 00:06:45.700 famine in the first place, but if they're not there, then there's no harvest, and there's no income, 00:06:46.280 --> 00:06:51.040 and so they're needing to mortgage their fields. And they are suffering, and so there's outcry. 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:59.860 And then there's another group in verse 4 and 5, and they're suffering under harsh taxation. Persian kings loved to 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:09.280 tax their empire. So there was this at least 20% taxation, and they're really struggling. And they're being forced to 00:07:09.280 --> 00:07:18.140 sell their family members into slavery, but now they've got no resources to ever rescue them from that situation. 00:07:18.139 --> 00:07:24.680 They have no land. They have no land. It's all been mortgaged away. And so there is an outcry that comes 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:32.439 up because while they have sacrificed in order to serve God, others have taken advantage. Others are 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:42.199 exploiting them, and they're guilty of social injustice. Some things I suppose that we need to see in where 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:47.920 our world is different from the Old Testament world in our day. We are used to companies lending money for 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:53.539 profits. We know credit card companies. That's just the world that we live in. But in the Old Testament, 00:07:54.259 --> 00:08:02.740 people lent money to show compassion, or at least that's how it ought to be. That love for neighbor 00:08:02.740 --> 00:08:08.339 always had an economic component, always had a mercy component built in. 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:14.739 And again, it's important for us to see that while in our day, typically we tend to operate, 00:08:14.819 --> 00:08:20.959 and this includes our finances, we tend to operate as individuals, unless we borrow from the bank of 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:30.779 mom and dad, I guess. In the Old Testament, care for the family included a financial support system 00:08:30.779 --> 00:08:37.519 with this web of interconnected relationships and support. So maybe if you know the Old Testament, 00:08:37.659 --> 00:08:42.879 you'll know of the kinsman redeemer. I get in trouble. I can't pay my debts. I sell my land, 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:46.860 or I sell myself. One of my family members can pay the price to redeem me. 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:55.259 In Nehemiah's day, what are we seeing? We're seeing that compassion is lacking, 00:08:55.259 --> 00:09:03.659 and they're giving for profit. The family of Israel, they're not acting as family at all. 00:09:04.220 --> 00:09:08.659 They're gladly exploiting others for their own gain and profit. 00:09:11.460 --> 00:09:16.539 I scanned the news this week, and we could do this on any given week, guarantee, 00:09:17.220 --> 00:09:23.220 and we will see story upon story of injustice. So there was a big BBC investigation, 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:29.399 and they tracked down the identity of someone who was central to a people trafficking network. 00:09:31.180 --> 00:09:37.899 Taking 15, 20,000 pounds, claiming that they would get safe transport to the UK. 00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:47.300 Stories of injustice like that, they make our blood boil, don't they? And rightly so. 00:09:47.299 --> 00:09:55.919 We are made in God's image, and we are made to show care for fellow image bearers. We want to see 00:09:55.919 --> 00:10:04.019 mercy and kindness be done. Now, it'd be really easy to take a passage like Nehemiah 5 and rail against 00:10:04.019 --> 00:10:10.559 the injustice that we see in the world, and the Bible would do that, but we need to recognize that 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:18.079 the point of Nehemiah 5 takes it much closer to home. Because the problem of people not showing 00:10:18.079 --> 00:10:24.939 compassion and kindness, it's not the enemies we met last week. This week, it's a problem within the 00:10:24.939 --> 00:10:31.599 church. It's people who are living in the city who are exploiting others in the city. And so we have this 00:10:31.599 --> 00:10:38.579 reality that while the city walls might be starting to look really good, God's Word here is lifting the 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:47.780 lid. And this covenant community is breaking covenant. This people who've been called to be a light to the 00:10:47.780 --> 00:10:57.020 world, they're living in darkness. And that outcry of the people secondly leads to the outrage of God's 00:10:57.020 --> 00:11:04.620 servant. Now, there it is in verse 6, when I heard the outcry in these charges, I was very angry. So we've been 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:09.799 getting to know Nehemiah for the last, I guess this is the last month or so. And what we've seen week by week 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:18.620 here is someone who cares deeply about God's glory. He cares about the state of God's church. He sacrifices 00:11:18.620 --> 00:11:25.919 and serves to advance God's kingdom. And so we know, don't we, he's going to take action. 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:34.819 Follow the action. Follow the action, verse 6 to 9, he hears the outcry and he feels it. He feels that 00:11:34.819 --> 00:11:42.860 righteous anger when people are being abused and exploited. Verse 7, he ponders, so he stops to 00:11:42.860 --> 00:11:47.120 reflect. And we've seen he's a man of prayer, so absolutely he's going to be praying at this point. 00:11:48.379 --> 00:11:54.899 Then comes action. Verse 7, he accuses the nobles and officials. So often it's the haves, 00:11:54.899 --> 00:12:01.179 that persecute the have-nots, isn't it? And then he calls this meeting. He accuses them, 00:12:01.259 --> 00:12:09.100 you're charging your own people interest, and I call together a large meeting to expose the problem. 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:16.459 That's one of the reasons why I think we love Nehemiah. Here he is this time, he's standing up 00:12:16.459 --> 00:12:22.740 for the little guy. But again, we see he's standing up for what's right. He's standing against injustice. 00:12:24.899 --> 00:12:31.319 The same kind of reasons why so many people are drawn towards Jesus. Even people who aren't 00:12:31.319 --> 00:12:39.740 Christians find this aspect of Jesus' heart and character so compelling. But let's use verse 9 00:12:39.740 --> 00:12:49.259 to show why Nehemiah rightly feels this outrage. There's three reasons within verse 9. The first 00:12:49.259 --> 00:13:00.139 reason is that it's just wrong. I continued, what you are doing is not right. You know, fundamental, 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:09.620 sort of bedrock to Old Testament law. Love your God, love your neighbor. Love your God by loving 00:13:09.620 --> 00:13:19.259 your neighbor. We could go to Exodus 12. We could go to Leviticus 25, Exodus 22 rather, Leviticus 25, 00:13:19.620 --> 00:13:27.840 and you'd see long, lengthy, detailed lists of what does social justice look like when you're dealing 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:37.860 with those who are weak and poor. Or listen to the wisdom of Proverbs 14 verse 31 and apply it to what 00:13:37.860 --> 00:13:48.480 we see in Nehemiah 5. Proverbs 14. Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their maker. Not just 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:53.259 contempt for the person, but contempt for the person who made them. But whoever is kind to the needy 00:13:53.259 --> 00:14:07.759 honors God. When we hold back good, when we can show it to someone, it's wrong. When we pass by 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:14.679 trouble. Like those first two characters in the Good Samaritan story, cross to the other side because 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:23.480 it's more convenient. It's wrong. When and if the church is not a place where the needy, where the 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:31.340 poor can come and feel cared for, it's wrong. It's contempt for them and it's contempt for God. 00:14:31.340 --> 00:14:39.399 And so he has this righteous outrage because their actions are wrong. But there's a second reason, 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:47.420 and it's to do with worship. Look again at verse 9. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God? 00:14:49.220 --> 00:14:55.740 The way that we revere and honor God should influence the way we live out our relationships. 00:14:55.740 --> 00:15:01.980 John Goldingay, the Old Testament scholar, puts it this way. The way people deal with the poverty of 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:11.320 their neighbors is an aspect of how they live in reverence for God. You can't separate your economic 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:20.340 policy from the way God expects people to treat each other. Read the Old Testament. Read the New 00:15:20.340 --> 00:15:24.960 Testament as well. Read the Old Testament and it becomes really clear. God is holy and God is a holy 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:37.340 hatred of sin. Get to the prophets and we discover God really hates sin within His church. Those lips that 00:15:37.340 --> 00:15:46.560 worship God while hearts are far from Him. Take a look at a prophet like Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 1. 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:54.139 Isaiah's prophecy does get to comfort eventually, but it begins with judgment on Jerusalem, which has become 00:15:54.139 --> 00:16:00.100 like Babylon. Like Babylon it's become, like sin city. And in the middle of Isaiah chapter 1, 00:16:01.100 --> 00:16:10.419 God says some things that sound shocking. He says to the people, stop bringing to me your meaningless 00:16:10.419 --> 00:16:22.100 offerings. Stop bringing your sacrifices. He says to them, your festivals I hate with all my being. 00:16:22.100 --> 00:16:29.080 It's like he wishes the doors of the church were slammed shut so they wouldn't come in and bring 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:37.659 their worship. Why? Because their worship is a sham. And so he says to them, before your worship is going 00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:48.460 to be acceptable, you need to learn to do right. Seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Plead the case of the 00:16:48.460 --> 00:17:02.700 widow. Think about Jesus. Who did Jesus reserve His harshest words for? He was never the prostitutes. 00:17:03.420 --> 00:17:11.420 He was always the Pharisees. The self-righteous, self-serving, complacent religious leaders. 00:17:11.420 --> 00:17:20.160 Jesus would say to them, you're devouring widows' houses, and all the while you're offering up pretty 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:26.860 prayers. God is not impressed. And so God, Old Testament and New Testament, He exposes 00:17:26.860 --> 00:17:30.980 superficial worship offered from unfeeling hearts, 00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:41.380 where there is no love for God or neighbor in the way that we use our resources, our time, 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:44.779 our money, our kindness. 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:56.440 So it's wrong. It's got a worship component. The third reason that Nehemiah is rightly outraged is 00:17:56.440 --> 00:18:04.359 because of the impact on their witness. Look how verse 9 ends, shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:18.439 to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies, to avoid being a stench in their noses. The problem here 00:18:18.439 --> 00:18:26.599 is that the city of God has become just like the world. There is no distinction. 00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:37.939 Ray Ortlund says, what the world most needs is the church so obviously saved that the church 00:18:37.939 --> 00:18:46.879 is an alternative to convert to. That's a really important guiding principle for us. Our aim is 00:18:46.879 --> 00:18:55.659 not to be like the world, and our aim is not even to be liked by the world. 00:18:56.599 --> 00:19:06.159 Rather, our aim is to be totally different in an attractive and compelling way in our way of life 00:19:06.159 --> 00:19:17.899 and love and service. And Nehemiah is outraged because Jerusalem as a city is supposed to represent 00:19:17.899 --> 00:19:23.259 God in the world. It's supposed to reveal something of the glory of God to the world. 00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:30.680 And that's true for any Christian, that we are to be a mirror on God's character. And so Jerusalem 00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:40.299 right now is saying to the world, God is like this. God is unjust. God is unkind. God is uncaring. 00:19:40.299 --> 00:19:48.619 And so in the way that they are living, they're not bearing a good witness to God. They're giving the 00:19:48.619 --> 00:19:57.019 nations a reason to say, I knew we were right to ignore the God of the Bible, the God of Christians. 00:19:57.019 --> 00:20:05.279 failure to treat others well. Especially as we have it here in Nehemiah 5. Failure to treat other 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:16.180 believers well. It's an insult to our maker and a major blot on our testimony. And again, Jesus captured 00:20:16.180 --> 00:20:23.019 this in his ministry. Remember the day that Jesus came to clean the house. Remember the day that Jesus 00:20:23.019 --> 00:20:29.779 came to his father's house, to the temple. The temple that was supposed to be the center of worship. 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:35.859 The place where sacrifice could be offered, where you could meet with God. But that place of worship, 00:20:35.859 --> 00:20:42.319 it had become a den of robbers. And so Jesus, the servant of God, he's outraged. And so he takes some 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:47.519 cords and he makes a whip and he drives out the money changers and the people buying and selling 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:56.799 animals. He throws them out. Why? So that it could once again be a house of prayer for all nations. 00:20:59.139 --> 00:21:07.680 That the church exists to worship God and to let the world know who our God is and the good news of 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:14.180 our God. And so Jesus, the servant of the Lord, he hated and he challenged the injustice and the 00:21:14.180 --> 00:21:20.680 oppression that he saw in the church of his day. And so the Bible is very clear and God is very clear 00:21:20.680 --> 00:21:32.160 that our everyday religion must impact our everyday relationships. That our experience of God's grace 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:37.920 must then produce by response generous justice. 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:48.400 before we leave this section, we must let God's word examine us. 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:57.840 God's word did its work in the hearts of the people in Jerusalem. So when he tells them in verse 10 to 00:21:57.840 --> 00:22:04.640 stop charging interest, in verse 11 to give them back their fields, verse 12, we will give it back. 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:13.340 End of verse 13, the whole assembly said, Amen, and the people did as they promised. God's word has that 00:22:13.340 --> 00:22:22.640 transforming power. And so we need to make time to stand before the mirror of God's word 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:32.360 to ask questions of our dealings with other people. Do we share God's heart for justice and mercy? 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:39.099 Do we seek to show special care and attention to the weak and to the poor and the needy and the 00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:48.539 vulnerable? Do my financial decisions and spending habits, do they just take into account me or my 00:22:48.539 --> 00:22:56.159 family or do they take into account the needs of others? If God's word were to examine us, 00:22:56.160 --> 00:23:05.160 where would our sin raise an outcry? So we need to stand before the mirror of God's word, but also 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:12.259 we need to go under the scalpel of God's word. You know, Jesus, the great physician, why does he, 00:23:12.320 --> 00:23:20.640 why does he expose us to the word of God? Why does he, he wound us? He wounds that he might heal. 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:30.820 And so by his spirit, he would expose ways in our own hearts in which we sin against our good and holy God 00:23:30.820 --> 00:23:39.380 by sinning against our neighbor. He wants his word to cut deep beneath our self-righteous exterior 00:23:39.380 --> 00:23:50.900 that we might come to him for healing and for change. So that's the first thing that we see, 00:23:50.900 --> 00:23:59.660 is that God's servant challenges injustice in God's church. The second thing we see, and this is much 00:23:59.660 --> 00:24:09.260 more briefly, verses 14 to 19, is that God's servant practices generosity towards God's church. So 00:24:09.259 --> 00:24:16.660 the focus shifts in verse 14 onwards from focusing in the city on all that was wrong, on those rich 00:24:16.660 --> 00:24:24.859 people that were exploiting others, as if the camera pans over to Nehemiah's house and Nehemiah's 00:24:24.859 --> 00:24:32.279 dealings, and they become an alternative and a beacon of light. And Nehemiah provides for us another 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:38.460 powerful and compelling picture of a sacrificial and generous servant of God. 00:24:39.259 --> 00:24:45.119 So the one thing that we see about Nehemiah is that he was clearly rich. He was really rich. 00:24:46.119 --> 00:24:53.599 But that's not what defines him. Look at verse 16. We find a man who is devoted to the work on the wall. 00:24:53.940 --> 00:25:01.960 He's devoted to God's work. Listen to him in verse 19. He prays, remember me with favor, my God. His reward 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:09.620 that he looks for is from God. It's eternal. And because of that, he feels free to use his resources 00:25:09.620 --> 00:25:14.880 generously, cheerfully, sacrificial to bless and not burden others. 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:24.860 It's a compelling pattern. I'm sure I've mentioned this probably many times before, but I love the 00:25:24.860 --> 00:25:30.860 story of the early church and the Roman Empire, those first centuries. You look at the individual 00:25:30.860 --> 00:25:38.500 portraits or the collective witness and you see, here's what sacrificial generosity and care can do 00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:48.019 in a society when ordinary men and women live these extraordinary lives because of God's extraordinary 00:25:48.019 --> 00:25:58.720 grace, such that the attention of the emperors was had. The church was hated often by the emperors, 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:06.619 but they could do nothing to stop the movement of God. And the church became known for certain things. 00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:13.079 They became known for the truth that they cared for their own poor and suffering people, but they also 00:26:13.079 --> 00:26:18.159 extended care to those outside of the church. Rome wasn't doing that, but the Christians were. 00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:29.500 They were noted for their generosity towards those others ignored and abandoned. Children, babies, 00:26:29.500 --> 00:26:36.399 left in the street to die, would be gathered in and adopted by Christians. And that 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:45.220 was noticed. Women flocked to the early church. And do you know why? Because it was an alternative. 00:26:45.460 --> 00:26:50.259 They were so used to being used and abused and treated as property, but in the church, 00:26:51.259 --> 00:26:57.920 they found dignity. Here is a place where we are invited to learn and we can worship together with 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:06.040 men and we can serve. And the church was valued by wider society because they provided hospitality. 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:13.360 And they provided medical care for the sick and for the dying. And the Roman Empire was changed. 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:21.519 Because people were changed by God's grace and they passed it forward. And God always wants his people 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:29.120 to be radically different. To be so transformed by his saving love that God's church becomes the safest 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:36.559 place in the world. And the best place in the world to be. So that the world would sit up and take notice. 00:27:37.439 --> 00:27:43.019 Two examples that we see in Nehemiah's life here as the servant of the Lord. First, in verses 14 to 16, 00:27:43.579 --> 00:27:49.659 did you notice that he refused to claim his rights? The rights that he could claim as the governor. 00:27:49.660 --> 00:27:57.360 For 12 years, we're told in verse 14, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. 00:27:58.160 --> 00:28:03.840 So he had every opportunity to take some silver, to take some food, to take some wine, but he will not. 00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:11.600 And he tells us why. Verse 15, early governors, they placed a heavy burden on the people and their 00:28:11.600 --> 00:28:16.740 assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God, I did not act like that. 00:28:16.740 --> 00:28:23.059 He knew the people were already paying a high cost in sacrificing to build. So he's not going to add 00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:29.039 to it. And he will absolutely not lord it over other people. In fact, look at what you see in verse 16. 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:35.640 Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work. 00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:44.620 We did not acquire any land. Nehemiah is one with his people. Nehemiah is a wealthy leader, 00:28:44.619 --> 00:28:50.619 but he rolls up his sleeves to get involved in the work side by side, shoulder to shoulder with 00:28:50.619 --> 00:28:57.699 the others. It's a striking contrast to what we normally see. Think about any president or prime 00:28:57.699 --> 00:29:03.839 minister or CEO. We're used to a great divide and to see them with all their privilege. 00:29:04.939 --> 00:29:11.779 But here we have a great pattern of humble service. So he doesn't claim his rights. And secondly, 00:29:11.779 --> 00:29:16.960 positively, he will practice generous hospitality. Verse 17, 00:29:17.099 --> 00:29:23.099 furthermore, 150 Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the 00:29:23.099 --> 00:29:28.039 surrounding nations. Each day, one ox, six choice sheet, and some poultry were prepared. And every 00:29:28.039 --> 00:29:37.799 10 days, wine of all kinds. Imagine the scene every day. There's 150 for sure, but then others are being 00:29:37.799 --> 00:29:44.339 added to the king's table. Not to the king, to Nehemiah's table. There's the high officials, 00:29:44.460 --> 00:29:49.399 but there's also the other guys who are coming from other nations. And everybody is getting included in 00:29:49.399 --> 00:29:57.460 this feast, this moment of lightness and joy and hospitality and feasting in the midst of all the 00:29:57.460 --> 00:30:05.200 heavy demands of building. Now, I'm going to guess. I don't need to guess. I know that none of us 00:30:05.200 --> 00:30:13.860 has this level of disposable income or oxen or poultry. Okay, so we need to do two things. We need 00:30:13.860 --> 00:30:21.640 to see, first of all, Nehemiah is absolutely a unique picture of God's servant leader, but he's also a 00:30:21.640 --> 00:30:27.819 pattern in our own way with our own resources we're called to follow. So let's begin with the pattern of 00:30:27.819 --> 00:30:38.960 sacrificial generosity for the church. John Piper, he wrote of the church learning to adopt a wartime 00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:48.919 mentality with our finances, being really careful in our spending because we know we're in battle and we 00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:59.840 want to be strategic. To use our resources in such a way that people might say, our God is good. 00:31:01.480 --> 00:31:09.320 That we would use what God has given us wisely so that glory would come to him. That we'd be thinking 00:31:09.320 --> 00:31:16.440 about how can our resources help God's kingdom to be advanced. We'd think about our time and our food 00:31:16.440 --> 00:31:21.799 and our money to think, how can my brothers and sisters in Christ be blessed through what God has 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:30.120 given me to steward. Like Old Testament Israel, the church is bound together as a covenant community, 00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:36.779 bound together in and by Christ Jesus, and we are called to live in such a way that by this, 00:31:36.779 --> 00:31:43.160 all men would know that you are Jesus' disciples. We'd love one another. 00:31:43.160 --> 00:31:54.580 Remember Jesus' parable, Matthew 25, of the sheep and the goats. And as he's giving a reward to his 00:31:54.580 --> 00:31:59.480 sheep, those who were said to have fed the hungry and clothed the needy and visited those in prison, 00:31:59.560 --> 00:32:05.540 and they say, Jesus, we never did that for you. And Jesus said, whatever you did for the least of these, 00:32:05.539 --> 00:32:13.920 you did for me. Everything that we do for a brother and sister in Christ becomes for us an act of worship 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:22.220 for our Lord and Savior. The pattern of Nehemiah calls us to a way of life that makes room for others, 00:32:23.220 --> 00:32:28.319 ready to draw the wider community into the community of God. 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:34.419 So a simple thing like a community day at the end of the month becomes a really important and easy way 00:32:34.419 --> 00:32:39.759 for us to do that, to welcome people in, to spend time together, and to offer friendship and food in 00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:47.200 Jesus' name. So there is a pattern that we need to work out in our own lives of what does sacrificial 00:32:47.200 --> 00:32:55.859 generosity and mercy look like for me? But let's close with the picture of God's true servant leader, 00:32:55.859 --> 00:33:01.240 because we need to see that Nehemiah is a type of Christ for us. Nehemiah was concerned for God's 00:33:01.240 --> 00:33:06.839 kingdom and glory. Jesus was supremely concerned for God's kingdom and glory. That's why he came and 00:33:06.839 --> 00:33:13.879 became one of us. That's why he suffered and died there on the cross. Nehemiah was concerned for the 00:33:13.879 --> 00:33:20.059 needs of others. Jesus was passionately concerned, concerned for the needs of the poor. Remember all 00:33:20.059 --> 00:33:25.779 those woes that he issued on the rich oppressors. Remember every miracle that he did. 00:33:25.859 --> 00:33:33.399 For those despised and ignored and recognized that Jesus came to meet our greatest need in poverty, 00:33:34.399 --> 00:33:39.479 our spiritual need, our sin that separates us from life with God. 00:33:40.459 --> 00:33:46.119 Just like Nehemiah, Jesus too would prepare a great feast. Remember him feeding over 5,000 00:33:46.119 --> 00:33:51.479 in the wilderness and recognized he did that because he was moved with compassion. 00:33:51.480 --> 00:33:58.339 And so he fed hungry stomachs and he fed hungry souls with the word of God, with the word of life. 00:33:59.319 --> 00:34:07.160 And Jesus, we know he didn't lord it over us, but rather the Son of Man came to serve 00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:14.940 and to lay down his life as a ransom for many. Jesus, we know, was supremely rich. 00:34:14.940 --> 00:34:25.619 Glory of heaven, yet for our sake he became poor so that we, through his poverty, through his sacrificial death 00:34:25.619 --> 00:34:32.460 on our behalf, through his poverty, we might become rich. Before we need anything else, 00:34:33.420 --> 00:34:38.900 we need the saving work of Jesus in our lives. We need to come to him in faith and repentance. 00:34:38.900 --> 00:34:48.960 And knowing him as saviour and friend, our hearts are set free. Set free from the need to live for money, 00:34:49.059 --> 00:34:52.660 to grasp hold of money, so that we can live for him and his reward. 00:34:54.660 --> 00:35:02.980 So may it be that as we know God's love in our hearts, that we be moved with kindness and generosity, 00:35:02.980 --> 00:35:08.920 out of gratitude to God for giving us Jesus, to meet the needs of those around us. 00:35:10.119 --> 00:35:14.219 Because Nehemiah 5 reminds us that while God hates injustice in the church, 00:35:14.639 --> 00:35:19.019 he loves sacrificial generosity that gives him glory. 00:35:19.940 --> 00:35:20.380 Let's pray.