WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.080 Father, sometimes your word is frightening. 00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:16.320 Sometimes we come upon a part of your word and we wonder why it is that we've never noticed that before and it makes us uncomfortable. 00:00:17.580 --> 00:00:21.539 But Father, we know that you have spoken to us for our good. 00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:29.940 You have spoken to us so that we would know Jesus and that we would grow in wisdom and sanity and wholeness. 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:38.820 And so we ask, Father, that you would grip us with the gospel, fill us with the spirit as we read your word and think about it today. 00:00:39.120 --> 00:00:41.880 And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:00:42.620 --> 00:00:43.579 Please be seated. 00:00:49.579 --> 00:00:54.340 A bit of a slow opening of my different books getting settled. 00:00:54.340 --> 00:01:04.380 There's a famous Western movie, a landmark movie at its time, and it's had a big influence in lots of other movies. 00:01:04.540 --> 00:01:06.680 And it's called The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:10.219 It was one of the movies that started to make Clint Eastwood famous. 00:01:10.219 --> 00:01:13.260 It's known as a spaghetti western. 00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:21.400 And in some ways, the chapter that we're going to look at today, which is the last chapter in the book of Nehemiah, 00:01:22.039 --> 00:01:28.480 it could be summarized as we're going to look at the good, the bad, and the ugly, because all of them are in the story. 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:33.280 Good things, bad things, and really ugly things are in the same text. 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:37.900 And it can be very confusing for us when we read a story that has the good, the bad, and the ugly, 00:01:38.060 --> 00:01:43.740 to try to figure out which is the bad and which is the ugly part and why they're bad and why they're ugly and why they're good. 00:01:44.579 --> 00:01:46.519 And it's a long text. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:47.519 It's 31 verses. 00:01:47.900 --> 00:01:52.640 And those of you who have been to the church for a while or those of you who have watched online for a while know 00:01:52.640 --> 00:02:00.879 that sort of one of my commitments to us as a congregation is that I'll never just sort of skip over the bad and the ugly parts. 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:05.039 Like what I could do is just look in this chapter and remember the touching prayers, 00:02:05.199 --> 00:02:12.539 Remember Me, O Lord, and not look at, well, I'll just tell you, there's parts in this text which we're going to look at 00:02:12.539 --> 00:02:19.099 that imply that Moabites, certain groups could never, ever, ever, ever enter the temple. 00:02:19.859 --> 00:02:26.539 And there's, in fact, a sort of a graphic scene of Nehemiah pulling the hair out of people who disagree with him. 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:30.039 And so I could just sort of preach around it. 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:30.780 You'd never know it. 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:32.639 But that, I wouldn't be fair to you. 00:02:33.299 --> 00:02:38.859 And, in fact, there's parts of this text which is, you know, if you're outside the Christian faith 00:02:38.859 --> 00:02:42.239 or if you're on the way out of the Christian faith, you'd say, 00:02:42.239 --> 00:02:49.180 See, this is exactly the sort of text that causes me to not want to be a Christian or to leave the Christian faith. 00:02:49.180 --> 00:02:58.439 But I'm, as always, I'm going to suggest that if we actually keep in mind Jesus and we walk towards the text, 00:02:58.439 --> 00:03:11.099 we actually see that this text is really important for helping us to lead a nuanced and coherent and centered life. 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:22.459 That this text is very important in helping us to live a nuanced, coherent and centered life. 00:03:22.460 --> 00:03:25.080 So, some of you have Bibles. 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:26.060 If you have, open them up. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:28.360 If you don't, the words will be up on the screen. 00:03:29.340 --> 00:03:31.640 I'm not going to read all of the 31 verses. 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:33.120 I'm going to summarize some of them. 00:03:33.200 --> 00:03:36.760 But I won't summarize anything that is, in a sense, very controversial. 00:03:37.420 --> 00:03:38.920 And here's how the text begins. 00:03:39.020 --> 00:03:43.560 It's just before the part that Josiah read very ably a few moments ago. 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:44.520 And it goes like this. 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:49.219 In fact, actually, this is the text that's going to shock you. 00:03:49.960 --> 00:03:55.819 Because it seems to imply that it's proper to get rid of foreigners, whatever that means. 00:03:56.259 --> 00:03:59.819 And that some people are forever excluded from the assembly of God. 00:04:00.020 --> 00:04:01.580 Like a pretty shocking text. 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:02.939 Let's hear what it says. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:05.480 Nehemiah 13, verses 1 and following. 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:11.840 On that day, just sort of a day, they read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:21.740 And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God. 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:25.939 That's not just the Jewish people, but the people who worship in the temple. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:34.120 And, you know, sometimes I'll tell you, in fact, later on, there's going to be a part that the Hebrew helps you to understand something a little bit. 00:04:34.220 --> 00:04:36.959 But here, the text has been translated pretty accurately. 00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:40.819 There's no sort of, if you knew the Hebrew, it doesn't quite mean. 00:04:40.819 --> 00:04:43.420 No, no, it's translated quite accurately. 00:04:44.579 --> 00:04:45.079 Verse 2. 00:04:46.159 --> 00:04:52.420 For they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. 00:04:53.219 --> 00:04:57.100 Yet our God turned the blessing, the curse, into a blessing. 00:04:58.259 --> 00:04:59.300 Just sort of pause. 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:07.060 Part of what also makes this text difficult is that this story that they're referring to happened a thousand years earlier. 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:12.899 So this implies that God's a bit of a vindictive bully who never forgets. 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:15.399 Verse 3. 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:21.899 As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:28.699 Now, just a very simple point, which I'll sort of maybe return to in a little bit. 00:05:29.379 --> 00:05:35.259 But every time you see the word foreign in there, it's an unfortunate translation, especially in our day and age. 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:42.439 Really, what it's really referring to are different religions. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:44.199 That's what it's really referring to. 00:05:44.699 --> 00:05:47.039 People who are still worshipping as pagans. 00:05:47.899 --> 00:05:51.379 And the significance of that, I'm not going to go into it. 00:05:51.620 --> 00:05:56.560 If you look at my sermon from a couple of weeks ago called Embracing the Beautiful Vision, 00:05:56.560 --> 00:06:01.839 I take some time to actually explain what Canaanite religion was and what it did. 00:06:01.899 --> 00:06:06.680 The child sacrifice, the ritual sex, the sexual abuse that went on in it. 00:06:06.899 --> 00:06:08.339 And I'm not going to go over that again. 00:06:08.459 --> 00:06:10.519 You can go and you can listen to the sermon. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:13.120 But this is a very hard text. 00:06:13.939 --> 00:06:18.680 And it seems pretty harsh. 00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:26.259 Now, the first thing I'm going to say about the text is what we see here in the text, 00:06:26.420 --> 00:06:30.699 it's going to be more obvious as we read the next little bit, is a very, very human problem. 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:34.939 It's the human problem of going from one extreme to the other. 00:06:36.060 --> 00:06:43.780 It might very well be that maybe you were brought up in a very, very, very, very legalistic home. 00:06:43.779 --> 00:06:48.859 And so you say that when I get out of the home, I'm going to go the complete opposite direction. 00:06:49.459 --> 00:06:53.339 Or maybe you were raised in a home that was quite wild with no limits. 00:06:53.679 --> 00:06:58.299 And you say, when I'm older and I have kids, my kids are going to have limits. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:00.779 And you can end up being very, very harsh. 00:07:01.419 --> 00:07:05.019 It can be the same type of thing in who you date or who you end up marrying. 00:07:05.179 --> 00:07:09.399 There's a tendency, there's institutions, they get really worried about one thing 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:11.439 and they go to the complete opposite extreme. 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:16.120 And that's a very, very deep, persistent human problem. 00:07:16.300 --> 00:07:21.459 And what we see in the text here is part of that, of a going from extremes to extremes. 00:07:22.180 --> 00:07:25.439 The Bible actually doesn't teach what they say it teaches. 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:31.259 So part of it, if you actually go back, if you look at Deuteronomy, the original text, 00:07:31.540 --> 00:07:36.480 part of that is in there, but actually it doesn't say that no foreigner can ever enter. 00:07:36.579 --> 00:07:38.519 It does say something about Moabites and Ammonites, 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:40.279 and I'm going to return to that at the end of the sermon. 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:42.479 But it doesn't actually say that. 00:07:42.539 --> 00:07:46.579 It actually gives some criteria for when they actually do join the temple. 00:07:47.359 --> 00:07:51.039 And the fact is that if you're trying to interpret the Bible from their point of view, 00:07:51.099 --> 00:07:54.119 there's been a whole pile of other parts of the Bible that you have to read 00:07:54.119 --> 00:07:56.279 to try to figure out exactly what's going on. 00:07:56.579 --> 00:08:00.019 Amongst other things, because I said how it says, 00:08:00.139 --> 00:08:02.939 no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God. 00:08:02.939 --> 00:08:08.219 Well, they would have known that King David, and if you go back and read Ezra and Nehemiah, 00:08:08.360 --> 00:08:11.079 King David's crucial to all of Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:13.959 They keep going back to the great reforms that he brought in. 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:17.160 They're using his Psalter, all of that. 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:20.120 David's great-grandmother was a Moabite. 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:23.980 And they would have known that. 00:08:26.220 --> 00:08:31.840 And if you read Isaiah, that this whole part has, in a sense, been rescinded in a part of Isaiah. 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:37.679 So it looks like they're being very biblical, but they're actually not. 00:08:37.819 --> 00:08:40.779 They're actually being far stricter than the Bible is. 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:43.299 Now, what's the other extreme? 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:45.559 What's the context within which they're acting? 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:48.839 Well, I'll just read one verse, and then I'll summarize the rest. 00:08:48.939 --> 00:08:55.059 If you look at verse 4, here's, in a sense, probably the other extreme that they're reacting to. 00:08:55.419 --> 00:08:57.220 Because these are the people who gather in worship. 00:08:57.360 --> 00:08:58.159 And it goes like this. 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:04.579 Now, before this, verse 4, Eliashib, the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:10.240 and who was related to Tobiah, prepared—actually, well, I guess I'll read verse 5 as well. 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:11.120 You probably don't have it. 00:09:11.419 --> 00:09:17.959 But prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, 00:09:18.179 --> 00:09:22.019 the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:27.799 which were given by commandment to the Levite singers and gatekeepers and the contributions for the priests. 00:09:27.799 --> 00:09:29.399 Okay, what's going on here? 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:33.000 So, first of all, I'm going to use a bit of a controversial example. 00:09:33.259 --> 00:09:37.519 And so, hopefully, those who are here and those who are online, you're going to extend me a little bit of grace. 00:09:38.659 --> 00:09:42.759 And it's been Pride Month, and I have not made any comment about Pride Month. 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:48.679 But I want to use an example around Pride Month that will maybe help us to understand this. 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:57.799 And if you're here, or if you're watching online, you know, people—I know that if I was to say this in the average, 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:00.979 like a Bridgehead or a Starbucks, I'd get a lot of problems. 00:10:01.079 --> 00:10:05.539 But everybody in our culture and everybody who's involved in the Pride Movement, 00:10:05.539 --> 00:10:16.839 you all know this, that historic, traditional, thick, deep Christianity is opposed to Pride Month. 00:10:17.219 --> 00:10:18.419 Like, that's not a surprise. 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:21.959 You know, me saying this might make you mad. 00:10:22.059 --> 00:10:25.179 It might make some of us very tense for me to say that. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:29.699 But I'm—and if you want to have a conversation with me about it this week, 00:10:29.700 --> 00:10:31.720 I'd gladly have a conversation with it. 00:10:31.800 --> 00:10:38.400 But I—and I think this is—us as a church, we want to be a church which is—we want to follow Jesus. 00:10:40.520 --> 00:10:46.379 And I think all of us, if we're honest, would acknowledge that most of the time we're not very good followers of Jesus. 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:50.720 But the direction of our life is that we want to be followers of Jesus, 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:55.400 and we want to accept his teaching and the teaching of the Bible 00:10:55.399 --> 00:11:01.840 in as biblical and deep and thick way that we possibly can. 00:11:03.079 --> 00:11:08.500 And everybody knows that that's going to be quite different than everything— 00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:10.340 than most things articulated in Pride. 00:11:10.439 --> 00:11:11.459 Not everything, obviously. 00:11:11.459 --> 00:11:14.740 We'd all agree that, you know, you have to do things with HIV 00:11:14.740 --> 00:11:17.759 and that there should be, you know, human rights for people. 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:19.039 That's not points of difference. 00:11:19.100 --> 00:11:21.319 But we all know that there's a very significant difference 00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:25.540 between those who are fully committed to the Pride agenda 00:11:25.540 --> 00:11:30.220 and to deep—people who desire to be deep, historic Christians. 00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:33.040 And I'm unashamed and unembarrassed about wanting to be a Christian. 00:11:33.180 --> 00:11:36.500 I just want to say, if you're watching this and you're getting tense, 00:11:36.620 --> 00:11:37.980 Jesus is the hope of the world. 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:40.220 He's your hope. 00:11:40.980 --> 00:11:42.300 He's the only hope. 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:45.360 Only he has defeated death. 00:11:46.020 --> 00:11:48.740 Only he has defeated that which causes death. 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:52.379 And he will share that victory with you 00:11:52.379 --> 00:11:54.560 if you humbly put your faith and trust in him. 00:11:55.860 --> 00:11:59.620 And he is your hope for a wise and sane and whole life. 00:11:59.700 --> 00:12:00.899 He is the hope of the whole world. 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:02.840 And I'm unembarrassed about it. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:05.419 But I might have caused some tension 00:12:05.419 --> 00:12:08.960 by making such a stark comparison. 00:12:10.419 --> 00:12:12.820 So here's the thing which is going on in this story. 00:12:12.820 --> 00:12:19.060 Tobiah has connected to the high priest. 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:23.120 And the high priest says that Tobiah can have this main room 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:25.100 right in the very, very center of the area 00:12:25.100 --> 00:12:28.100 where the Jewish people are gathering to worship. 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:36.040 That would be like us hiring a Pride activist on staff. 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:43.959 Now, I can tell you, you might not know this if you're watching it, 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:49.419 if the council found out that I knowingly hired a Pride activist on our staff, 00:12:49.459 --> 00:12:50.139 I'd be fired. 00:12:51.379 --> 00:12:52.839 And I should be. 00:12:53.599 --> 00:12:56.019 I should be fired for this church. 00:12:56.699 --> 00:12:56.819 Okay? 00:12:57.419 --> 00:12:58.719 But that's what's going on. 00:12:59.319 --> 00:13:01.299 It's not just that, I don't know, you know, 00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:05.500 Tobiah, he likes lots of garlic and cilantro and, you know, 00:13:05.859 --> 00:13:08.059 and other people, they like, 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.159 they're not into that type of sauce. 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:13.199 They like different types of spices, you know, 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:15.059 maybe with more tarragon or something. 00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:15.779 It's not like that. 00:13:15.839 --> 00:13:21.319 This is a fundamentally different direction that you're heading in life. 00:13:22.179 --> 00:13:26.679 And right at the very center of where people should be gathering to worship, 00:13:26.679 --> 00:13:32.479 those who desire have a thick, deep encounter with Yahweh, 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:37.379 they have brought in somebody with a completely and utterly radically different agenda. 00:13:37.579 --> 00:13:40.439 And everything that that means follows from it. 00:13:40.699 --> 00:13:42.219 He gets rid of this stuff for worship. 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:44.620 He puts himself there. 00:13:45.239 --> 00:13:46.479 And he's right there. 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:48.739 Whenever discussions are going on, he's right there. 00:13:48.819 --> 00:13:50.539 And he's obviously welcomed into it. 00:13:50.959 --> 00:13:53.039 And then if you go on, and you'll see later on, 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:56.599 that it also means then that it ends up worship goes away 00:13:56.599 --> 00:14:00.120 because the Levites, the singers, all the people involved in worship, 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:01.679 he stops having them paid, 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.259 or he has a role in having them no longer be paid, 00:14:04.339 --> 00:14:05.159 and people aren't concerned. 00:14:05.299 --> 00:14:07.240 And so the worship declines and all of that type of stuff. 00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:12.439 And so there's this complete and utter abandonment of the Jewish faith. 00:14:12.659 --> 00:14:16.539 And so that's the context for these people wanting to be even harsher 00:14:16.539 --> 00:14:20.459 and not let anybody all like Tobiah ever all be in. 00:14:20.460 --> 00:14:23.100 They've gone from one extreme to the other. 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:27.340 And then the other thing which comes just immediately after that, 00:14:27.400 --> 00:14:29.200 which is all part of this whole thing, 00:14:29.660 --> 00:14:33.360 is that they're worshiping together on Sunday for the people of Israel. 00:14:33.540 --> 00:14:35.340 And all of the things which are connected to it, 00:14:35.400 --> 00:14:37.420 those completely and utterly get abandoned. 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:45.280 And what happens in verses 5 to 22 is Nehemiah comes back. 00:14:45.379 --> 00:14:48.000 He discovers that this has been going on, and he deals with it. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.200 He kicks Tobiah out of the room. 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:52.220 He has the place cleansed. 00:14:52.259 --> 00:14:54.500 He has the stuff needed for worship put back in. 00:14:54.540 --> 00:14:55.900 He starts paying people again, 00:14:56.060 --> 00:14:59.200 and he starts having the conditions made for people to worship. 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:00.460 He has that reinstituted. 00:15:00.560 --> 00:15:02.400 He comes in, and he does a good thing. 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:04.519 He does a good thing. 00:15:06.519 --> 00:15:09.480 And that's what's going on in this particular story. 00:15:10.920 --> 00:15:12.600 Now, here's the thing. 00:15:12.660 --> 00:15:14.000 If you could put up the first point. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:15.879 I have a lot of points this morning, 00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:19.100 but I tried to think of something clear to help you understand. 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.639 And so here's the first one. 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:25.240 If you are more biblical than the Bible, you are not biblical. 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:30.759 In other words, if you are more biblical than the Bible, 00:15:30.899 --> 00:15:32.500 you're not actually following Jesus. 00:15:32.680 --> 00:15:34.100 You're following something else. 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:37.500 That was the part of the first bit. 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:41.440 They actually didn't want... 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:45.120 I mean, the Old Testament said that there's ways that Moabites and Ammonites 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:46.480 can be part of the people of God. 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:49.120 Ezra 6 says that there's people from those backgrounds 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:50.300 who are all part of the people of God, 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:51.300 but they want to get rid of them all. 00:15:51.520 --> 00:15:53.240 They want to be more biblical than the Bible. 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:54.880 They want to be more Christian than Jesus. 00:15:55.040 --> 00:15:56.960 Well, if you want to be more Christian than Jesus, 00:15:57.060 --> 00:15:57.820 you're not a Christian. 00:15:59.760 --> 00:16:00.280 It's... 00:16:00.280 --> 00:16:03.200 In fact, actually, the danger for churches like us 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:05.180 is really in those first few verses. 00:16:05.179 --> 00:16:07.500 The danger for churches like us 00:16:07.500 --> 00:16:10.959 that want to have a thick, deep Christian faith 00:16:10.959 --> 00:16:15.699 is that we can end up wanting to be more Christian than Jesus 00:16:15.699 --> 00:16:20.339 and add more rules and be more exclusive and more harsh. 00:16:20.899 --> 00:16:22.019 If you could put up the next point, 00:16:23.079 --> 00:16:26.159 if you are less biblical than the Bible, you are not biblical. 00:16:27.139 --> 00:16:30.740 If you are less biblical than the Bible, you're not biblical. 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:31.839 You're not following Jesus. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:32.939 That would be the case for people. 00:16:32.940 --> 00:16:35.340 It doesn't matter if, you know, these... 00:16:35.340 --> 00:16:36.960 You know, Tobiah wants to be part of it, 00:16:37.040 --> 00:16:39.260 and, you know, we're all just religious people of goodwill. 00:16:39.380 --> 00:16:40.800 And, like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:16:41.540 --> 00:16:42.640 That's not right. 00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:44.880 You've lost the plot. 00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:50.300 Now, earlier on, I said that this sermon 00:16:50.300 --> 00:16:52.260 could be called the good, the bad, and the ugly. 00:16:53.660 --> 00:16:55.760 We've already seen some of the bad and the ugly 00:16:55.760 --> 00:16:57.580 in terms of wanting to exclude people. 00:16:57.580 --> 00:17:04.420 But now this part, the ugliness, well, there's... 00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:05.279 Let's just look at it. 00:17:05.360 --> 00:17:07.640 There's an ugly text, which comes immediately afterwards. 00:17:08.380 --> 00:17:12.799 Nehemiah has done good to get people paid again, 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:14.420 to establish worship again. 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:16.920 He's done some really good things, but... 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:17.579 Well, let's look. 00:17:17.640 --> 00:17:18.380 Verse 23. 00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:20.400 It goes like this. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:24.759 In those days, also, I saw the Jewish people 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:27.480 who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:31.620 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, 00:17:32.100 --> 00:17:34.500 and they could not speak the language of Judah, 00:17:35.140 --> 00:17:37.460 but only the language of each people. 00:17:39.080 --> 00:17:42.360 And I confronted them and cursed them 00:17:42.360 --> 00:17:46.940 and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. 00:17:46.940 --> 00:17:53.259 And I made them take an oath in the name of God, 00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:56.460 saying, You shall not give your daughters to their sons 00:17:56.460 --> 00:17:59.840 or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:04.420 Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin on account of such women? 00:18:05.220 --> 00:18:07.600 And among the many nations there was no king like him, 00:18:07.620 --> 00:18:09.160 and he was beloved by his God, 00:18:09.220 --> 00:18:11.279 and God made him king over all of Israel. 00:18:12.380 --> 00:18:16.340 Nevertheless, foreign women, pagan women, 00:18:16.339 --> 00:18:19.459 made even him to sin. 00:18:20.500 --> 00:18:22.159 Shall we then listen to you 00:18:22.159 --> 00:18:24.459 and do all this great evil 00:18:24.459 --> 00:18:27.720 and act treacherously against our God 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:29.639 by marrying foreign women? 00:18:30.619 --> 00:18:33.519 Now, I said there's something a tiny bit 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:34.439 that's a bit helpful. 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:38.039 In the Hebrew, that verse 27, 00:18:40.500 --> 00:18:42.339 this isn't as if... 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:45.079 What it is is that Nehemiah would have said, 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:46.539 Listen, this is the way we need to go. 00:18:47.659 --> 00:18:50.339 And the people that he was confronting, 00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:52.819 they got right in his face and hostile. 00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:55.799 It's implied in the language, in the original language. 00:18:55.980 --> 00:18:58.339 So it would be as if I try to rebuke people 00:18:58.339 --> 00:18:59.699 and say we need to go in a different direction, 00:18:59.819 --> 00:19:02.240 but rather than people having a conversation about it 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:04.559 or even agreeing with it, 00:19:04.619 --> 00:19:07.919 they get right in my face with full hostility and full anger, 00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:10.679 and that's part of the context of the violence, 00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:12.039 the cursing and the hair pulling. 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:15.440 Now, the other thing, as I said earlier, 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:17.100 the issue isn't... 00:19:17.100 --> 00:19:19.140 Foreign is an unfortunate translation, 00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:21.860 and if you go back and listen to my sermon 00:19:21.860 --> 00:19:23.340 on embracing the beautiful vision, 00:19:23.980 --> 00:19:26.279 the religions of those days 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:29.360 involved child sacrifice. 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:32.219 It involved, let's say, somebody like... 00:19:32.219 --> 00:19:34.619 We have some families here with lots of daughters, 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:37.000 of giving several of their daughters 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:39.439 at a very young age to the temple 00:19:39.439 --> 00:19:42.019 where the women could be sexually abused in the name of God. 00:19:42.419 --> 00:19:43.919 I mean, these are horrific religions. 00:19:44.879 --> 00:19:47.159 And one of the things I said in that sermon, 00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:49.019 which is really important to us to understand, 00:19:49.199 --> 00:19:50.819 and it's important for us to understand today, 00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:54.399 is that God doesn't want more Nigerians in his kingdom. 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:57.080 He doesn't want more Chinese in his kingdom. 00:19:57.380 --> 00:20:00.240 He doesn't want more Lebanese or Australians 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:02.700 or Indians in his kingdom. 00:20:02.820 --> 00:20:03.800 He wants more children. 00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:06.560 That's what he wants. 00:20:09.080 --> 00:20:10.700 He doesn't want more Rwandans. 00:20:10.780 --> 00:20:11.900 He wants more children. 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:16.480 And in a sense, 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:18.700 the second you give your life to Christ, 00:20:18.840 --> 00:20:19.920 in some ways, 00:20:20.540 --> 00:20:23.360 God never obliterates your cultural identity. 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:28.399 But he will relativize your cultural identity 00:20:28.399 --> 00:20:31.959 as your primary identity is found in him. 00:20:34.099 --> 00:20:36.979 And so the entire Old Testament, 00:20:37.240 --> 00:20:38.099 the book of Exodus, 00:20:38.439 --> 00:20:40.439 records how when the people of Israel, 00:20:40.439 --> 00:20:42.099 I was just reading this in my devotions 00:20:42.099 --> 00:20:43.899 within the last week or so, 00:20:43.979 --> 00:20:46.579 when the people of Israel left out of bondage and slavery 00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:48.240 in Egypt, 00:20:48.399 --> 00:20:51.519 many Egyptians accompanied the people of Israel 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:54.139 to become part of the people of Israel. 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:56.379 In Ezra chapter 6, 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:58.819 we learn that many of the pagan nations, 00:20:58.980 --> 00:21:01.059 they come to their senses and say, 00:21:01.500 --> 00:21:03.819 how on earth do we think that we can worship God 00:21:03.819 --> 00:21:06.220 by giving our daughters to be sexually abused? 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:10.359 Or giving our sons to be murdered? 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:13.220 Maybe we should become followers 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:16.259 of Moses, 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:17.240 of Yahweh. 00:21:18.740 --> 00:21:20.299 And God welcomes them. 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:22.720 So part of the language here is, 00:21:23.100 --> 00:21:24.519 and so it's really not about foreigners, 00:21:24.660 --> 00:21:25.480 it's about people who, 00:21:25.980 --> 00:21:27.759 it's not that they want to become Jews, 00:21:27.940 --> 00:21:30.019 they want to maintain their cultural practices, 00:21:30.220 --> 00:21:30.460 they want to, 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:31.120 not their cultural, 00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:33.100 they want to maintain their worship practices. 00:21:33.819 --> 00:21:34.880 And in a sense, 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:35.920 they want to create, 00:21:36.380 --> 00:21:37.799 within their family structure, 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:38.559 people who are, 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:39.579 well, you can't, 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:39.799 you know, 00:21:39.880 --> 00:21:40.000 how, 00:21:40.180 --> 00:21:40.380 you know, 00:21:40.380 --> 00:21:41.400 just think about it for a second. 00:21:41.660 --> 00:21:42.040 Like, you know, 00:21:42.520 --> 00:21:43.800 how could you both say, 00:21:43.860 --> 00:21:45.400 I'm going to come to church on Sunday 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:49.080 where my daughters will be honored 00:21:49.080 --> 00:21:51.380 and protected 00:21:51.380 --> 00:21:52.840 and encouraged 00:21:52.840 --> 00:21:53.680 and loved 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:54.660 and cherished, 00:21:55.060 --> 00:21:56.360 and the day before, 00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:57.160 I'll go to a place 00:21:57.160 --> 00:21:58.100 where I give my daughters 00:21:58.100 --> 00:21:59.120 to be sexually abused. 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:00.620 Like, how can the two things coexist? 00:22:05.500 --> 00:22:06.820 Like, how can they coexist? 00:22:06.819 --> 00:22:11.519 And that's what Nehemiah's point is. 00:22:11.879 --> 00:22:13.059 Now, should he have been cursing them 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:13.799 and pulling their hair 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:14.480 and beating them up? 00:22:15.399 --> 00:22:16.220 That's the ugly. 00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:18.839 That's the ugly. 00:22:20.019 --> 00:22:20.939 So here's a couple of things 00:22:20.939 --> 00:22:21.939 to help you understand. 00:22:22.460 --> 00:22:24.919 There's a very, very famous line 00:22:24.919 --> 00:22:27.179 in Matthew chapter 27, verse 5. 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:28.000 I'm not going to read it, 00:22:28.099 --> 00:22:28.980 but it's very simple. 00:22:29.919 --> 00:22:31.259 Judas has betrayed Jesus 00:22:31.259 --> 00:22:34.299 and he realizes he's done an evil thing 00:22:34.299 --> 00:22:35.799 and he throws the money in the temple 00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:37.299 and he goes out and he hangs himself. 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:39.359 So if you could put up the next point, 00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:40.519 this would be very helpful. 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:43.980 Be careful of saying about any, 00:22:44.379 --> 00:22:45.659 about a biblical narrative, 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:47.339 go and do likewise. 00:22:49.019 --> 00:22:51.079 Just think of Judas hanging himself. 00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:52.740 Like, if you read a biblical narrative, 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:54.240 don't read it thinking 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:55.200 everything in the narrative 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:56.599 means I should go and do likewise. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:57.639 No, that when, you know, 00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:59.099 they tell you that Judas hung himself, 00:22:59.200 --> 00:22:59.859 it's not saying everybody 00:22:59.859 --> 00:23:01.119 go out and hang themselves. 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:02.879 When they have a story here 00:23:02.879 --> 00:23:04.419 about Nehemiah doing these things, 00:23:04.420 --> 00:23:05.840 it's not saying that that means 00:23:05.840 --> 00:23:07.320 you should go out and pull people's hair 00:23:07.320 --> 00:23:08.740 and beat them up and curse them. 00:23:10.460 --> 00:23:12.259 You know, that's not what's, 00:23:12.580 --> 00:23:13.840 that's not the right way 00:23:13.840 --> 00:23:15.360 to listen to a biblical narrative. 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:16.840 And I'll make it clear 00:23:16.840 --> 00:23:18.340 by making a couple of other points. 00:23:18.420 --> 00:23:18.779 The next one, 00:23:18.820 --> 00:23:19.779 if you could put up the next point, 00:23:19.840 --> 00:23:20.440 and this is the, 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:22.640 this is really important 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:23.560 for us to understand. 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:24.680 You see, because when I say 00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:25.840 that the Bible's not teaching 00:23:25.840 --> 00:23:27.060 to go out and pull people's hair 00:23:27.060 --> 00:23:28.200 and curse them and beat them up, 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:29.860 it's not because I've read 00:23:29.860 --> 00:23:30.799 Eckhart Tolle, 00:23:31.180 --> 00:23:32.500 Deepak Chopra, 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:34.100 Brene Brown, 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:35.279 and Glennon Doyle. 00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:37.559 It's because I've read the Bible. 00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:40.640 See, if there's the next point, 00:23:40.740 --> 00:23:42.279 there's only one true hero 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:42.940 in the Bible, 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:45.519 someone who is unfailingly 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:47.660 courageous, wise, and good, 00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:49.019 and his name is Jesus. 00:23:50.100 --> 00:23:50.900 It's only when I read 00:23:50.900 --> 00:23:52.180 the narratives of Jesus 00:23:52.180 --> 00:23:52.880 that I could say, 00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:53.319 you know, that's, 00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:55.440 I need to pay attention to that 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:57.640 in a way that I need to obey it. 00:23:58.900 --> 00:24:00.700 And part of the brilliance 00:24:00.700 --> 00:24:02.059 of the overarching story 00:24:02.059 --> 00:24:02.840 of the Bible is 00:24:02.840 --> 00:24:03.539 you read Abraham 00:24:03.539 --> 00:24:04.860 and you see how he's done 00:24:04.860 --> 00:24:06.580 some really remarkable things, 00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:07.620 but he's also sinned. 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:09.059 You read about Moses 00:24:09.059 --> 00:24:10.440 and the remarkable things, 00:24:10.700 --> 00:24:11.319 and he sinned. 00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:12.600 You read Joshua, 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:13.660 remarkable things, 00:24:14.100 --> 00:24:15.299 and he sinned. 00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:17.259 You read, you know, 00:24:17.380 --> 00:24:18.420 you go on, David, 00:24:18.539 --> 00:24:19.539 you read Nehemiah, 00:24:19.860 --> 00:24:22.420 and on and on. 00:24:22.819 --> 00:24:23.240 And, you know, 00:24:23.299 --> 00:24:24.680 Ruth wasn't without sin. 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:25.779 And, you know, 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:28.180 Esther lived a life 00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:29.519 of profound compromise 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:32.440 before those acts of courage 00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:33.560 that ended up, 00:24:33.620 --> 00:24:33.920 in a sense, 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:35.080 defining her life, 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:36.259 her conversion. 00:24:37.140 --> 00:24:38.120 And so, you know, 00:24:38.140 --> 00:24:38.519 when you're reading 00:24:38.519 --> 00:24:39.519 the story of Nehemiah, 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:40.460 you're not to read, 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:41.259 there's many things 00:24:41.259 --> 00:24:42.299 in the story of Nehemiah 00:24:42.299 --> 00:24:43.240 that are exemplary, 00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:47.560 but he does some good things, 00:24:47.660 --> 00:24:48.539 but he also does things 00:24:48.539 --> 00:24:49.580 which are bad and ugly. 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:54.240 And here's the most important question 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:56.759 about reading the Bible, 00:24:57.240 --> 00:24:57.819 if you could put up 00:24:57.819 --> 00:24:58.439 the next point. 00:24:58.919 --> 00:25:01.179 A wiser question to ask 00:25:01.179 --> 00:25:02.519 as you read a biblical narrative, 00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:03.319 that's a story, 00:25:03.659 --> 00:25:04.199 is this. 00:25:04.919 --> 00:25:06.139 Is it I, Lord? 00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:10.259 Is it me, Lord? 00:25:11.779 --> 00:25:13.240 That actually is a quote 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:14.460 from Matthew 26, 00:25:14.599 --> 00:25:15.899 verses 20 to 22, 00:25:15.900 --> 00:25:18.940 where Jesus tells the disciples 00:25:18.940 --> 00:25:19.519 that one of them 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:20.600 is going to betray him 00:25:20.600 --> 00:25:21.840 that night, 00:25:22.100 --> 00:25:23.280 and each of the disciples 00:25:23.280 --> 00:25:24.019 say to Jesus, 00:25:24.220 --> 00:25:24.980 is it I, Lord? 00:25:26.540 --> 00:25:27.180 You see, 00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:28.360 here's where 00:25:28.360 --> 00:25:29.780 you start to see 00:25:29.780 --> 00:25:30.440 the power 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:31.600 of the biblical narrative. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:34.000 It's where you start 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:35.480 to see how the Bible, 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:36.920 reading the stories 00:25:36.920 --> 00:25:37.560 in the Bible, 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:38.700 help you to live 00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:40.060 a nuanced life 00:25:40.060 --> 00:25:42.400 and a coherent life 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:44.620 and a life of compassion 00:25:44.620 --> 00:25:46.400 that is centered 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:47.680 and has a firm direction. 00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:49.880 You see, 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:51.040 amongst other things here, 00:25:53.640 --> 00:25:53.880 I mean, 00:25:53.940 --> 00:25:55.360 just in terms of biology, 00:25:56.100 --> 00:25:57.620 I'm closer to the Moabites 00:25:57.620 --> 00:25:58.460 and the Ammonites 00:25:58.460 --> 00:26:00.540 than I am to Nehemiah. 00:26:03.340 --> 00:26:03.560 You know, 00:26:03.580 --> 00:26:03.820 by the way, 00:26:03.880 --> 00:26:04.640 one of the things 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:05.440 about that thing, 00:26:05.620 --> 00:26:06.540 which is a deep irony 00:26:06.540 --> 00:26:07.660 about that earlier part, 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:08.560 that earlier part 00:26:08.560 --> 00:26:09.100 of the text, 00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:10.900 which has to be nuanced, 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:11.280 where I said 00:26:11.280 --> 00:26:12.040 they were too harsh, 00:26:12.039 --> 00:26:13.859 it also forbids eunuchs 00:26:13.859 --> 00:26:14.680 from entering 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:15.579 the assembly of God 00:26:15.579 --> 00:26:16.839 and Nehemiah was a eunuch. 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:21.180 And Nehemiah is, 00:26:21.639 --> 00:26:22.680 although a fallen hero, 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:23.740 the hero of the book 00:26:23.740 --> 00:26:25.099 of Nehemiah. 00:26:26.599 --> 00:26:27.119 You see, 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:28.259 here's where it is. 00:26:28.339 --> 00:26:29.720 When I read this story, 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:30.920 if I'm to read this story 00:26:30.920 --> 00:26:31.639 the way that Jesus 00:26:31.639 --> 00:26:32.940 wants me to read this story, 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:34.539 I'm to read the story 00:26:34.539 --> 00:26:34.899 and say, 00:26:34.980 --> 00:26:35.099 Lord, 00:26:35.180 --> 00:26:35.720 is it I? 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:36.420 Am I the one 00:26:36.420 --> 00:26:37.319 who's too harsh? 00:26:38.220 --> 00:26:38.879 Am I the one 00:26:38.879 --> 00:26:39.500 who's trying to be 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:40.079 more biblical 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:40.899 than the Bible? 00:26:42.039 --> 00:26:43.619 I'm to read the story 00:26:43.619 --> 00:26:44.539 and look and say, 00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:44.899 Lord, 00:26:45.059 --> 00:26:46.299 am I the Ammonite 00:26:46.299 --> 00:26:47.059 or the Moabite? 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:48.299 Am I the one 00:26:48.299 --> 00:26:48.700 who's, 00:26:48.859 --> 00:26:49.299 in a sense, 00:26:49.659 --> 00:26:50.379 cast off? 00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:52.200 I'm to read the story 00:26:52.200 --> 00:26:52.720 and say, 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:55.319 am I the Tobiah? 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:57.659 Am I causing problems 00:26:57.659 --> 00:26:59.259 in this church 00:26:59.259 --> 00:27:00.119 or in this movement? 00:27:01.559 --> 00:27:02.940 Am I Eliashib? 00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:04.639 I can't remember 00:27:04.639 --> 00:27:05.399 how it's his name right now. 00:27:05.460 --> 00:27:06.159 Am I the one 00:27:06.159 --> 00:27:07.420 who's laxing my duty 00:27:07.420 --> 00:27:09.160 and allowing 00:27:09.160 --> 00:27:10.240 these terrible things 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:10.920 to go on? 00:27:13.240 --> 00:27:14.500 Am I the one 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:15.940 who's violent? 00:27:16.600 --> 00:27:17.779 Maybe not physically, 00:27:17.980 --> 00:27:18.640 but verbally 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:20.140 and violent 00:27:20.140 --> 00:27:21.920 and doing the verbal equivalent 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:23.160 of pulling people's hair. 00:27:24.060 --> 00:27:24.960 Am I the one 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:26.220 whose hair is being pulled? 00:27:27.640 --> 00:27:27.900 See, 00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:28.820 that's a wiser way 00:27:28.820 --> 00:27:29.580 to read the Bible. 00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:30.960 And when you read 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:31.920 the Bible in that way, 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:33.360 you see how all of a sudden, 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:35.120 rather than just being 00:27:35.120 --> 00:27:35.580 good guys 00:27:35.579 --> 00:27:36.339 and good guys 00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:37.099 and bad guys, 00:27:37.159 --> 00:27:38.119 rather than what happens 00:27:38.119 --> 00:27:38.819 in our culture 00:27:38.819 --> 00:27:40.099 where you have, 00:27:40.679 --> 00:27:42.480 you fall into echo, 00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:43.240 there's the danger 00:27:43.240 --> 00:27:44.519 of falling into 00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:45.359 an echo chamber 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:46.519 that will just make you 00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:47.720 always mad 00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:49.480 at everybody else. 00:27:50.119 --> 00:27:51.779 To read these stories 00:27:51.779 --> 00:27:53.559 is all of a sudden, 00:27:53.699 --> 00:27:55.000 if I'm asking myself 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:55.519 the question, 00:27:55.639 --> 00:27:56.240 am I the one 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:56.980 too harsh? 00:27:58.179 --> 00:27:58.899 Am I the one 00:27:58.899 --> 00:27:59.899 pulling out the hair? 00:28:00.419 --> 00:28:01.599 Or am I the one 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:02.839 to be like Nehemiah 00:28:02.839 --> 00:28:03.699 and step up 00:28:03.699 --> 00:28:04.439 and do something 00:28:04.439 --> 00:28:05.139 to fix it? 00:28:06.399 --> 00:28:07.699 It's training you 00:28:07.699 --> 00:28:08.899 to look at people 00:28:08.899 --> 00:28:10.199 and look at yourself 00:28:10.199 --> 00:28:11.419 from different directions. 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:12.819 It's training you 00:28:12.819 --> 00:28:14.119 to have compassion 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:14.839 for people. 00:28:16.379 --> 00:28:17.359 It's training you 00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:18.179 to see nuance. 00:28:20.599 --> 00:28:21.619 It's training you 00:28:21.619 --> 00:28:22.339 to pause. 00:28:24.039 --> 00:28:24.919 And yet all 00:28:24.919 --> 00:28:26.099 clearly centered, 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:27.159 as we'll see in a moment, 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:27.839 in our hero, 00:28:28.019 --> 00:28:28.299 Jesus, 00:28:28.599 --> 00:28:29.879 which is sort of 00:28:29.879 --> 00:28:30.659 as how the story 00:28:30.659 --> 00:28:31.500 is going to continue. 00:28:31.500 --> 00:28:36.279 Okay, George, 00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:37.720 those are all 00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:38.400 very interesting 00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:40.339 and I must confess 00:28:40.339 --> 00:28:41.200 I never thought 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:42.880 you'd end up here. 00:28:43.740 --> 00:28:44.180 But, 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:45.279 I don't know, George, 00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:46.500 doesn't it still seem cruel? 00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:46.759 Like, 00:28:46.819 --> 00:28:47.339 does the Bible 00:28:47.339 --> 00:28:48.000 actually say 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:48.900 that no Moabite 00:28:48.900 --> 00:28:49.799 can ever enter 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:50.759 the assembly of God 00:28:50.759 --> 00:28:51.619 or no Ammonite? 00:28:51.619 --> 00:28:55.619 Well, 00:28:55.939 --> 00:28:58.039 here's where you need 00:28:58.039 --> 00:28:59.079 to read all of the Bible. 00:29:00.719 --> 00:29:01.799 And here's where you need 00:29:01.799 --> 00:29:02.939 to read all of the Bible 00:29:02.939 --> 00:29:04.839 and then, 00:29:04.839 --> 00:29:06.919 and think about Jesus 00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:10.200 and go back 00:29:10.200 --> 00:29:11.100 and look at the text. 00:29:12.300 --> 00:29:13.660 If you go to the next point, 00:29:14.900 --> 00:29:15.519 one of the things 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:16.519 the Bible tells us 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:17.200 is that no one 00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:17.860 has the right 00:29:17.860 --> 00:29:18.759 to God's presence 00:29:18.759 --> 00:29:19.279 and love. 00:29:22.539 --> 00:29:23.539 You don't have a right 00:29:23.539 --> 00:29:25.460 to being in God's presence. 00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:27.759 You don't have a right 00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:28.400 to His love. 00:29:31.160 --> 00:29:32.340 We tend to think you do 00:29:32.340 --> 00:29:33.560 because our culture 00:29:33.560 --> 00:29:35.000 forms us to think that, 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:36.400 like, 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:37.200 our culture, 00:29:37.400 --> 00:29:38.660 the reason our culture 00:29:38.660 --> 00:29:39.900 would be deeply offended 00:29:39.900 --> 00:29:41.099 by what I said earlier 00:29:41.099 --> 00:29:42.099 about the difference 00:29:42.099 --> 00:29:43.940 between the pride worldview 00:29:43.940 --> 00:29:45.740 and the deep Christian worldview 00:29:45.740 --> 00:29:47.180 is that, 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:48.059 at the end of the day, 00:29:48.119 --> 00:29:49.880 they think the deep Christian worldview 00:29:49.880 --> 00:29:51.460 doesn't refer to anything at all 00:29:51.460 --> 00:29:52.420 other than taste. 00:29:53.059 --> 00:29:55.160 That it's really just like me yelling, 00:29:55.640 --> 00:29:57.140 chocolate ice cream's the best 00:29:57.140 --> 00:29:57.839 and others yelling, 00:29:57.960 --> 00:29:59.819 no, strawberry ice cream's the best. 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:00.500 And we just, 00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:01.859 our culture sees that 00:30:01.859 --> 00:30:03.579 that's all that religious claims are. 00:30:03.660 --> 00:30:04.420 That's what they think. 00:30:04.420 --> 00:30:07.240 But that's a mistake of our culture. 00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:08.320 That's definitely not. 00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:12.380 I believe Jesus really existed. 00:30:12.500 --> 00:30:13.320 That's what history says. 00:30:13.380 --> 00:30:14.539 I believe He really died. 00:30:14.940 --> 00:30:15.980 That's what history teaches. 00:30:16.120 --> 00:30:17.580 I believe the grave was empty. 00:30:17.700 --> 00:30:18.779 That's what history teaches. 00:30:18.920 --> 00:30:19.860 And I believe it's empty 00:30:19.860 --> 00:30:21.039 because He rose from the dead, 00:30:21.340 --> 00:30:22.340 that that really happened. 00:30:22.779 --> 00:30:24.180 It is just as true 00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:25.539 as to say that Joe Biden's 00:30:25.539 --> 00:30:26.420 the President of the United States 00:30:26.420 --> 00:30:26.880 of America, 00:30:27.019 --> 00:30:27.720 or Justin Trudeau's 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:29.080 the Prime Minister of Canada, 00:30:29.140 --> 00:30:30.720 that these are truth statements. 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:32.220 And that, in fact, 00:30:32.220 --> 00:30:33.680 these stories are telling us 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:35.259 the truth about the world 00:30:35.259 --> 00:30:37.039 and how to live in the world. 00:30:37.700 --> 00:30:39.940 And if we actually think of God 00:30:39.940 --> 00:30:40.900 as being real, 00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:42.180 not just something fanciful, 00:30:43.059 --> 00:30:43.779 but real, 00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:46.440 well, in a sense, 00:30:46.980 --> 00:30:48.000 to put it very simply, 00:30:49.180 --> 00:30:50.759 you don't have a right 00:30:50.759 --> 00:30:52.720 to have my wife Louise love you. 00:30:53.360 --> 00:30:54.380 You can't just treat her 00:30:54.380 --> 00:30:55.259 any way you want. 00:30:55.680 --> 00:30:57.120 You can't just go up to say to her, 00:30:57.120 --> 00:30:58.299 you have a right to love me, 00:30:58.339 --> 00:30:59.620 you have a right to take me home, 00:30:59.879 --> 00:31:00.399 you have a right, 00:31:00.679 --> 00:31:01.139 no, I'm sorry, 00:31:01.179 --> 00:31:02.119 I have a right that you would 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:02.579 take me home, 00:31:02.639 --> 00:31:03.979 I have a right that you would feed me, 00:31:04.059 --> 00:31:05.679 I have a right to do whatever I, 00:31:05.759 --> 00:31:07.419 no, you'd never say that 00:31:07.419 --> 00:31:08.279 about a human being. 00:31:08.399 --> 00:31:09.279 Well, why would you say that 00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:10.659 about God if God is real? 00:31:11.819 --> 00:31:13.179 We have no right, 00:31:13.559 --> 00:31:15.139 just like I have no right 00:31:15.139 --> 00:31:16.719 to say to one of you, 00:31:16.779 --> 00:31:17.699 you need to do this and this 00:31:17.699 --> 00:31:18.479 and this and this for me, 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:19.059 you need to feed me. 00:31:19.159 --> 00:31:19.699 No, no, no, 00:31:19.739 --> 00:31:20.759 you have no right, 00:31:20.879 --> 00:31:21.779 like get out of my face, 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:22.639 have some boundaries. 00:31:22.779 --> 00:31:23.199 That's what we say, 00:31:23.259 --> 00:31:23.959 have boundaries. 00:31:26.039 --> 00:31:27.139 Well, if God is real, 00:31:27.399 --> 00:31:29.459 he has boundaries. 00:31:29.619 --> 00:31:36.059 But you see, 00:31:36.179 --> 00:31:37.119 here's the thing 00:31:37.119 --> 00:31:38.039 which the Bible wants 00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:38.799 to teach you. 00:31:40.099 --> 00:31:41.359 It's why it is 00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:43.479 that Ruth was a Moabitess 00:31:43.479 --> 00:31:46.259 and she was welcomed 00:31:46.259 --> 00:31:47.819 into the assembly of God 00:31:47.819 --> 00:31:51.479 and why she's the great grandmother 00:31:51.479 --> 00:31:52.439 of King David 00:31:52.439 --> 00:31:53.399 who's responsible 00:31:53.399 --> 00:31:55.939 for most of the Psalms. 00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:59.059 These next 10 weeks, 00:31:59.140 --> 00:31:59.660 we're going to be looking 00:31:59.660 --> 00:32:00.680 at Psalms and many of them 00:32:00.680 --> 00:32:01.640 will be Psalms written 00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:03.220 by a man whose great grandmother 00:32:03.220 --> 00:32:04.180 was from Moab. 00:32:07.299 --> 00:32:08.120 If you could put up 00:32:08.120 --> 00:32:08.759 the next point, 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:11.539 no one is so good 00:32:11.539 --> 00:32:13.120 that they do not need 00:32:13.120 --> 00:32:14.320 God's grace and mercy 00:32:14.320 --> 00:32:17.120 and no one is so bad 00:32:17.120 --> 00:32:19.320 that they will not freely 00:32:19.320 --> 00:32:20.980 and lavishly receive 00:32:20.980 --> 00:32:22.400 God's mercy and grace 00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:23.720 when they humbly 00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:24.680 call out to him. 00:32:26.900 --> 00:32:27.780 See, that's what the Bible 00:32:27.780 --> 00:32:28.660 is teaching us. 00:32:29.580 --> 00:32:31.060 You think you're good enough? 00:32:31.860 --> 00:32:32.840 There's no one 00:32:32.840 --> 00:32:33.500 good and 00:32:33.500 --> 00:32:35.060 so good 00:32:35.060 --> 00:32:35.740 that they don't need 00:32:35.740 --> 00:32:36.940 God's mercy and grace. 00:32:37.300 --> 00:32:38.440 You're deluding yourself 00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:39.700 if you think you're good enough. 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:42.380 And there's no one 00:32:42.380 --> 00:32:43.180 so bad 00:32:43.180 --> 00:32:45.340 and there's no one 00:32:45.340 --> 00:32:46.440 from such a terrible 00:32:46.440 --> 00:32:47.480 family tree. 00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:49.519 Doesn't matter 00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:50.259 if you can say 00:32:50.259 --> 00:32:51.259 my parents were 00:32:51.259 --> 00:32:53.100 terrible abusive alcoholics 00:32:53.100 --> 00:32:53.920 and my grandparents 00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:55.080 and my great-grandparents 00:32:55.080 --> 00:32:56.380 and my great-great-grandparents 00:32:56.380 --> 00:32:58.059 and my great-great-great-great-grandparents 00:32:58.059 --> 00:32:59.860 and I feel all those things 00:32:59.860 --> 00:33:00.680 of alcoholism 00:33:00.680 --> 00:33:01.539 and abuse in me 00:33:01.539 --> 00:33:03.259 and I don't love myself. 00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:03.840 I can't imagine 00:33:03.840 --> 00:33:05.240 no, I can't even imagine 00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:06.420 why God would ever love me 00:33:06.420 --> 00:33:07.340 and I've been abandoned 00:33:07.340 --> 00:33:09.380 and I've been passed over 00:33:09.380 --> 00:33:10.560 and nobody loves me 00:33:10.560 --> 00:33:10.880 and nobody 00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:12.680 and I'm just completely 00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:13.480 not, there is 00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:15.900 there is no one so bad 00:33:15.900 --> 00:33:17.600 no one so left out 00:33:17.600 --> 00:33:19.220 that they will not 00:33:19.220 --> 00:33:20.380 freely and lavishly 00:33:20.380 --> 00:33:21.840 receive God's mercy and grace 00:33:21.840 --> 00:33:22.440 when they humbly 00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:23.220 call out to him. 00:33:24.020 --> 00:33:24.700 What's the point 00:33:24.700 --> 00:33:25.280 of these texts 00:33:25.280 --> 00:33:26.040 about the Moabites? 00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:28.780 Father, I'm a Moabite. 00:33:29.320 --> 00:33:30.020 Have mercy. 00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:34.360 Have mercy. 00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:38.520 God smiles and says 00:33:38.519 --> 00:33:39.639 you will receive 00:33:39.639 --> 00:33:40.220 my mercy. 00:33:44.059 --> 00:33:45.039 Come to me. 00:33:49.119 --> 00:33:50.519 Just wrapping it up. 00:33:55.019 --> 00:33:56.579 Nehemiah finishes his letter 00:33:56.579 --> 00:33:57.879 by saying something 00:33:57.879 --> 00:33:59.139 which points very much 00:33:59.139 --> 00:33:59.879 to the gospel. 00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:01.059 He says something 00:34:01.059 --> 00:34:02.359 which is deeply human 00:34:02.359 --> 00:34:04.220 and also points 00:34:04.220 --> 00:34:05.779 to how deeply wonderful 00:34:05.779 --> 00:34:06.779 the gospel is 00:34:06.779 --> 00:34:08.139 and how it centers us 00:34:08.139 --> 00:34:09.340 in reading stories. 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:10.900 Look what he says. 00:34:12.239 --> 00:34:13.460 Actually, if I start reading 00:34:13.460 --> 00:34:14.820 at verse 30, 00:34:15.960 --> 00:34:16.199 Claire, 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:18.159 thus I cleansed 00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:19.480 them from everything 00:34:19.480 --> 00:34:20.019 foreign 00:34:20.019 --> 00:34:21.480 or pagan 00:34:21.480 --> 00:34:23.159 and I established 00:34:23.159 --> 00:34:24.440 the duties of the priests 00:34:24.440 --> 00:34:25.159 and the Levites 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:26.039 each in his work 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:27.500 and I provided 00:34:27.500 --> 00:34:28.579 for the wood offering 00:34:28.579 --> 00:34:29.579 at appointed times 00:34:29.579 --> 00:34:30.480 and for the first fruits. 00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:31.219 He summarizes 00:34:31.219 --> 00:34:31.900 what he's done. 00:34:31.900 --> 00:34:33.240 his whole life 00:34:33.240 --> 00:34:33.880 has been about 00:34:33.880 --> 00:34:34.760 cleansing 00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:37.420 and establishing 00:34:37.420 --> 00:34:39.160 and providing 00:34:39.160 --> 00:34:40.920 good things 00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:41.440 to seek 00:34:41.440 --> 00:34:41.880 to do 00:34:41.880 --> 00:34:43.840 and then he closes 00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:44.360 with this, 00:34:44.559 --> 00:34:45.200 remember me, 00:34:45.340 --> 00:34:46.039 oh my God, 00:34:46.160 --> 00:34:46.619 for good. 00:34:47.480 --> 00:34:48.960 God, I hope you remember me. 00:34:51.460 --> 00:34:52.400 Isn't that a deeply 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:53.139 human prayer? 00:34:53.780 --> 00:34:55.280 God, I hope you remember me 00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:56.280 and in the Bible 00:34:56.280 --> 00:34:57.139 when it says remember, 00:34:57.280 --> 00:34:58.139 remember also means 00:34:58.139 --> 00:34:58.760 not just that 00:34:58.760 --> 00:34:59.680 he remembers 00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:00.879 but that there's affection 00:35:00.879 --> 00:35:02.359 and that he's willing 00:35:02.359 --> 00:35:03.639 to act on your behalf 00:35:03.639 --> 00:35:06.119 and in a sense 00:35:06.119 --> 00:35:07.579 the cry of the human heart 00:35:07.579 --> 00:35:09.699 is to at times 00:35:09.699 --> 00:35:09.940 say, 00:35:10.019 --> 00:35:11.159 God, please remember me. 00:35:14.139 --> 00:35:14.960 But here's how 00:35:14.960 --> 00:35:16.440 the gospel changes everything. 00:35:17.399 --> 00:35:18.059 If you could put up 00:35:18.059 --> 00:35:18.819 the final point, 00:35:19.539 --> 00:35:20.539 the good news 00:35:20.539 --> 00:35:21.159 of the person 00:35:21.159 --> 00:35:21.940 and work of Jesus 00:35:21.940 --> 00:35:22.940 is that it turns 00:35:22.940 --> 00:35:23.399 your heart 00:35:23.399 --> 00:35:24.719 from saying, 00:35:25.399 --> 00:35:26.219 remember me, Lord, 00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:27.339 to saying, 00:35:27.340 --> 00:35:29.900 my Lord and Savior 00:35:29.900 --> 00:35:31.460 remembers me. 00:35:33.640 --> 00:35:35.059 My Lord and Savior 00:35:35.059 --> 00:35:37.260 remembers me. 00:35:40.820 --> 00:35:42.180 Not out of pride, 00:35:42.620 --> 00:35:43.519 not out of arrogance, 00:35:44.079 --> 00:35:45.400 but he remembers me. 00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:47.260 I'm dealing with 00:35:47.260 --> 00:35:48.340 a very ugly thing. 00:35:49.660 --> 00:35:50.920 He remembers me. 00:35:51.079 --> 00:35:51.660 He's my Lord 00:35:51.660 --> 00:35:52.260 and my Savior. 00:35:52.420 --> 00:35:53.320 He remembers me. 00:35:53.320 --> 00:35:55.200 And I have the basis 00:35:55.200 --> 00:35:56.680 and the grounding 00:35:56.680 --> 00:35:57.460 and the hope 00:35:57.460 --> 00:35:58.500 to repent 00:35:58.500 --> 00:35:59.680 and amend my life. 00:36:00.880 --> 00:36:01.700 I'm dealing with 00:36:01.700 --> 00:36:02.860 very hard things. 00:36:03.680 --> 00:36:04.539 I can say, 00:36:05.320 --> 00:36:05.860 you know, 00:36:05.960 --> 00:36:06.760 I've given my life 00:36:06.760 --> 00:36:07.260 to Jesus. 00:36:07.559 --> 00:36:08.320 I called out to him 00:36:08.320 --> 00:36:08.860 for mercy. 00:36:09.740 --> 00:36:10.440 And every day 00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:11.120 I can say, 00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:12.620 my Lord and Savior, 00:36:12.800 --> 00:36:13.539 Jesus Christ, 00:36:14.200 --> 00:36:15.580 he remembers me. 00:36:15.579 --> 00:36:19.440 it's the cry 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:20.259 of the heart 00:36:20.259 --> 00:36:21.659 of those 00:36:21.659 --> 00:36:22.319 whose heart 00:36:22.319 --> 00:36:23.920 belongs to Christ. 00:36:24.860 --> 00:36:25.579 I invite you 00:36:25.579 --> 00:36:26.099 to stand. 00:36:37.739 --> 00:36:38.219 See, 00:36:38.299 --> 00:36:38.699 when you 00:36:38.699 --> 00:36:41.079 know that 00:36:41.079 --> 00:36:41.960 he remembers you, 00:36:42.799 --> 00:36:43.920 you can look 00:36:43.920 --> 00:36:45.000 at stories like this 00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:46.000 and you can ask God, 00:36:46.119 --> 00:36:47.119 in my family, 00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:49.420 am I the abusive one? 00:36:50.300 --> 00:36:51.360 In my workplace, 00:36:51.500 --> 00:36:52.659 am I the abusive one? 00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:53.820 Am I the one 00:36:53.820 --> 00:36:54.739 who's being abused? 00:36:55.260 --> 00:36:56.019 Do I do both? 00:36:56.099 --> 00:36:56.880 Do I abuse 00:36:56.880 --> 00:36:58.159 and am I also abused? 00:36:59.059 --> 00:36:59.699 Am I the one 00:36:59.699 --> 00:37:00.320 who's called 00:37:00.320 --> 00:37:01.280 to step up 00:37:01.280 --> 00:37:02.159 and be courageous 00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:04.079 and stop something 00:37:04.079 --> 00:37:04.960 which is wrong? 00:37:07.460 --> 00:37:08.380 Am I the one 00:37:08.380 --> 00:37:10.300 being too narrow 00:37:10.300 --> 00:37:11.900 and not seeing 00:37:11.900 --> 00:37:12.659 the full grace 00:37:12.659 --> 00:37:13.340 of the Bible? 00:37:13.340 --> 00:37:15.980 Am I 00:37:15.980 --> 00:37:17.000 not wanting 00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:17.880 to take a stand 00:37:17.880 --> 00:37:18.519 and allowing 00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:19.019 the world 00:37:19.019 --> 00:37:19.720 to have its 00:37:19.720 --> 00:37:20.519 rules? 00:37:20.740 --> 00:37:20.860 And I, 00:37:21.400 --> 00:37:21.780 you know, 00:37:21.940 --> 00:37:22.800 if we remember 00:37:22.800 --> 00:37:23.079 that, 00:37:23.559 --> 00:37:24.340 if we go into 00:37:24.340 --> 00:37:25.079 the text saying, 00:37:25.640 --> 00:37:26.400 my Lord and Savior, 00:37:26.559 --> 00:37:27.160 Jesus Christ, 00:37:27.260 --> 00:37:28.059 remembers me, 00:37:28.620 --> 00:37:29.720 there's a centered 00:37:29.720 --> 00:37:30.519 place 00:37:30.519 --> 00:37:32.500 by which 00:37:32.500 --> 00:37:34.260 I, 00:37:34.980 --> 00:37:35.600 it's not so much 00:37:35.600 --> 00:37:36.680 that I'm self-possessed, 00:37:37.100 --> 00:37:37.740 but that I know 00:37:37.740 --> 00:37:38.380 that I'm possessed 00:37:38.380 --> 00:37:39.059 by him. 00:37:39.059 --> 00:37:40.759 and so I can 00:37:40.759 --> 00:37:41.940 ask those questions 00:37:41.940 --> 00:37:43.259 of the text 00:37:43.259 --> 00:37:44.599 and ask him 00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:45.420 for that wisdom 00:37:45.420 --> 00:37:45.940 and insight 00:37:45.940 --> 00:37:46.799 into my life 00:37:46.799 --> 00:37:49.139 and then make 00:37:49.139 --> 00:37:49.619 the changes 00:37:49.619 --> 00:37:50.500 I have to make. 00:37:50.920 --> 00:37:51.940 Maybe the step 00:37:51.940 --> 00:37:52.739 of courage 00:37:52.739 --> 00:37:54.400 to cleanse, 00:37:54.920 --> 00:37:55.840 maybe the step 00:37:55.840 --> 00:37:56.619 of repentance 00:37:56.619 --> 00:37:59.000 because I've been 00:37:59.000 --> 00:37:59.400 abusive. 00:37:59.400 --> 00:38:02.920 but knowing 00:38:02.920 --> 00:38:04.820 the truth 00:38:04.820 --> 00:38:05.639 that my Lord 00:38:05.639 --> 00:38:06.079 and Savior 00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:07.280 remembers me, 00:38:08.380 --> 00:38:10.820 if that is not 00:38:10.820 --> 00:38:11.500 yet your place 00:38:11.500 --> 00:38:12.039 to stand, 00:38:12.380 --> 00:38:13.079 call out to him 00:38:13.079 --> 00:38:13.400 now. 00:38:14.000 --> 00:38:14.700 Call out to him 00:38:14.700 --> 00:38:14.940 now. 00:38:15.619 --> 00:38:16.280 Let's pray. 00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:17.559 Father, 00:38:18.900 --> 00:38:19.539 we give you 00:38:19.539 --> 00:38:20.460 thanks and praise 00:38:20.460 --> 00:38:21.420 that your word, 00:38:22.559 --> 00:38:23.099 that you wanted 00:38:23.099 --> 00:38:23.940 to humble us, 00:38:24.519 --> 00:38:25.740 not to humble us, 00:38:25.960 --> 00:38:26.079 Father, 00:38:26.240 --> 00:38:26.820 so that we would 00:38:26.820 --> 00:38:27.340 grovel, 00:38:27.340 --> 00:38:28.820 but that humble us 00:38:28.820 --> 00:38:29.400 so that we would 00:38:29.400 --> 00:38:30.019 be free, 00:38:30.900 --> 00:38:31.519 that we know 00:38:31.519 --> 00:38:32.220 we need to call 00:38:32.220 --> 00:38:32.700 out to you 00:38:32.700 --> 00:38:33.360 for mercy, 00:38:34.360 --> 00:38:35.000 that you want 00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:35.480 to give us 00:38:35.480 --> 00:38:36.460 mercy and grace, 00:38:36.640 --> 00:38:37.300 that that is 00:38:37.300 --> 00:38:39.519 your deep heart, 00:38:39.640 --> 00:38:40.200 the heart of the 00:38:40.200 --> 00:38:41.140 Father and the Son 00:38:41.140 --> 00:38:42.000 and the Holy Spirit, 00:38:42.140 --> 00:38:42.760 three persons, 00:38:42.920 --> 00:38:43.400 one God, 00:38:43.460 --> 00:38:44.000 is that we would 00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:45.100 humble ourselves 00:38:45.100 --> 00:38:47.360 and come to Jesus. 00:38:47.660 --> 00:38:47.900 And Lord, 00:38:47.980 --> 00:38:48.140 Father, 00:38:48.160 --> 00:38:48.620 we give you 00:38:48.620 --> 00:38:49.420 thanks and praise 00:38:49.420 --> 00:38:50.380 that that is your heart. 00:38:50.920 --> 00:38:51.380 And I ask, 00:38:51.519 --> 00:38:51.640 Father, 00:38:51.700 --> 00:38:52.519 for each one of us 00:38:52.519 --> 00:38:53.160 who are here, 00:38:54.140 --> 00:38:55.019 that you help us, 00:38:55.200 --> 00:38:55.260 Father, 00:38:55.360 --> 00:38:56.019 day by day 00:38:56.019 --> 00:38:56.960 and throughout the day, 00:38:57.340 --> 00:38:58.559 to be able to say, 00:38:59.160 --> 00:39:00.019 my Lord and Savior, 00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:01.260 Jesus Christ, 00:39:01.760 --> 00:39:02.480 remembers me. 00:39:03.059 --> 00:39:03.380 Father, 00:39:03.480 --> 00:39:04.220 help it to be 00:39:04.220 --> 00:39:05.260 the prayer 00:39:05.260 --> 00:39:06.680 that we pray, 00:39:08.220 --> 00:39:09.340 the way we preach 00:39:09.340 --> 00:39:10.340 to ourselves 00:39:10.340 --> 00:39:11.140 throughout the day. 00:39:12.120 --> 00:39:12.440 Father, 00:39:12.559 --> 00:39:13.440 help those to be 00:39:13.440 --> 00:39:13.900 the words. 00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:15.059 And we ask this 00:39:15.059 --> 00:39:16.039 in the name of Jesus, 00:39:16.640 --> 00:39:17.280 your Son 00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:18.059 and our Savior. 00:39:18.740 --> 00:39:19.079 Amen. 00:39:19.079 --> 00:39:19.260 Amen.