More Than Mortar: The Christ-Centered Integrity of Nehemiah 5

[00:18:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:18:41] Chick-fil-A's Windshaped Camps is coming back for our 15th summer at our location.
[00:18:46] Windshaped Camp is a day camp for those in kindergarten through 5th grades that is in 90 communities nationwide, and our community gets to host one of these camps.
[00:18:56] Camp is packed with Bible studies, outdoor games, worship, and the coolest skills like soccer, fast food, archery, dance, basketball, gymnastics, rocketry, and so much more.
[00:19:10] kindergarten families, let's lean in because this part is just for you. We have only 30 spots for kindergarten. 30! That's it! So don't delay signing up. We don't want your camper to miss out on the fun. Early access registration opens
[00:19:26] Sunday, March 1st at 1 p.m. and we are in a bit of a friendly competition with three other churches, so let's win this! Let's be the church with the most campers in our area signed up on March 1st. Let's show up strong, Peninsula. Set
[00:19:42] your alarm. Tell your friends. Be ready. March 1st, 1 p.m.
[00:19:47] WinShape Camps. You can find the link to register and the early access code that you will need on our website. Okay, let's get hype. I say win. You say shape. Win.
[00:19:58] Shape. Win. Shape. I think you're ready. We'll see you at camp. Good morning. What

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:25:34] What an absolute wonderful day to be a duck.
[00:25:40] Oh, I'm so glad you're here.
[00:25:42] So loving the fact that we get to see one another and be together.
[00:25:47] Here's what I know.
[00:25:48] I know that we get the opportunity and the privilege today to sing to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the one who purchased us back and sets us free.
[00:25:56] And that's what we celebrate through song and through opening up his word.
[00:26:00] And that's what I want us to do here today is regardless of how you've come through the door what's been weighing heavy on your heart what is weighing on you for this upcoming week whatever you're going through let's just take a little while to be still and know God and worship
[00:26:14] him in spirit and song so let's all stand together I'll join us together in a time of prayer and you pray silently where you are to prepare your hearts and your mind for the worship that we have before
[00:26:25] us today and then let's sing together boldly and and loud bringing praise and honor to our king Let's pray together father. We thank you so much for your grace and your mercy that greets us here today
[00:26:39] Father I know that each individual is dealing with different things in their heart in their in their mind Situations that some can be controlled some can't But you greet us here today. We gather here this morning father to worship you
[00:26:56] So help us to prepare our hearts our minds our thought process us. Settle our stress. Settle our anxiety. Help us to be still before you now as we lift our hearts

[00:27:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:27:11] up to you. Be honored, Father. Be glorified. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. He never failed us,

[00:43:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:43:20] nor forsake us. He loved us so much that he stretched out his arms and died on the cross for us so that we could live with him for eternity. And Jesus, we praise you and we thank you for
[00:43:32] that sacrifice. God, we love you and we praise you for all that you're doing in this church, in our lives. God, for bringing us together, for allowing us to be here in worship this morning,
[00:43:42] glorifying and lifting your name up. Jesus, I pray that as Daniel brings the word, God, that you would just speak through him to the hearts and the lives of the people in this room.
[00:43:51] It's in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated.

[00:44:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:44:30] Aren't we glad we serve a king that never fails? It's a good reminder because I know sometimes life can come at us pretty hard, and we get in our own minds, we get in our own thought
[00:44:42] processes, and we start setting up this failure kind of mentality that maybe this is just the way it is, maybe this is the way we've got to cope with things, and that's how we try to move forward with life a lot of times, is in that kind of that defeated reality that
[00:44:58] we have made in our own minds.
[00:45:00] And today we're coming out of Nehemiah chapter 5, and I just want to say that it has been a blessing to see both Austin and Reagan take a portion of this book and to bring it out for us.
[00:45:14] Didn't they both do an excellent job? I just think, let's give them a hand. They were fabulous.
[00:45:21] They put in the homework, and they were willing to step up, and it was a great thing. Well, I will tell you through the book of Nehemiah, as we walk through it, you will get an opportunity
[00:45:30] to hear from every pastor on staff as we walk through this. It's a part of just modeling what Nehemiah is about of everyone kind of coming up and doing their part in building the wall
[00:45:41] so to speak but building spiritual maturity as well and giving them an opportunity so the six pastors on staff will be speaking over the next few weeks to bring the message I think I'm sprinkled throughout somewhere in there I made sure that I chose all of the chapters that
[00:45:59] had hard names and gave them to somebody else and that's the kind of being the lead pastor you kind of get that privilege. I kind of read through the book and said, nope, nope, nope, nope, and
[00:46:09] handed it off. No, that's not what it's about at all. It is literally about giving other people opportunity, allowing you to see what depth we have here in our pastors as they take an opportunity
[00:46:22] to speak as well. So it's a neat opportunity for us as we're walking through the book of Nehemiah.
[00:46:27] We're still on target to finish Nehemiah by May, and so that's kind of where we're going with it, unless God takes us in a different route or makes us hunker down on something.
[00:46:36] That's what we'll plan to do.
[00:46:40] I want you to think about two words today.
[00:46:42] The first word is integrity.
[00:46:45] Everybody say the word integrity with me.
[00:46:47] Integrity.
[00:46:48] This is what we're going to be talking about today, and I want us to think of it from the standpoint of this.
[00:46:52] I kind of want to set this up.
[00:46:55] When the enemy finds that his attack, in other words, Satan, the spiritual influence, When he finds that his attack is not going to work well from the outside influence, he will bring it inside.
[00:47:10] He'll bring it inside your family, inside your relationships, inside other things, and he'll make it personal.
[00:47:18] And you know, I wanted to kind of look into seeing, I had this question.
[00:47:23] because I know that in Genesis, one of the biggest things that came out of the fall of humans, the fall before God, was selfishness.
[00:47:35] Selfishness was a lot what drove the first sin, and it's what we grapple with every single day.
[00:47:43] And so I did a little bit of a homework about selfishness, and I was just kind of curious what country would be considered the most selfish.
[00:47:53] I couldn't find anything that said which country would be the most selfish.
[00:47:56] I know that you thought I was looking.
[00:47:58] I just wanted to know, is there anybody more selfish than America?
[00:48:03] That's really kind of where I was going with that.
[00:48:05] You know what I kept finding?
[00:48:06] It is a human thing.
[00:48:11] Selfishness is what we grapple with, and it's what creates some of the most difficulty.
[00:48:17] Selfishness is when you're saying, I want what I want, and I want it now.
[00:48:24] But it goes even further than that.
[00:48:26] Selfishness also says this, I want what I want, and I want other people in my life to want what I want.
[00:48:34] You say, well, I'm not really like that.
[00:48:36] Yes, you are, because you're human.
[00:48:39] It's part of the doctrine of mankind.
[00:48:43] Selfishness is what drives.
[00:48:45] Now, let me tell you something.
[00:48:46] If you think about a problem that you're having with someone, a situation where your relationship is strained, I am going to just go out on a limb and say 100% selfishness is driving it.
[00:49:03] And that's kind of where we find ourselves here.
[00:49:06] And everyone is a part of that, and they step into it.
[00:49:09] And I want to tell you something else about selfishness.
[00:49:13] Selfish people, really, really selfish people, are miserable.
[00:49:19] Anybody know someone really selfish?
[00:49:21] Raise your hand.
[00:49:21] No, I'm just kidding.
[00:49:22] Don't raise your hand.
[00:49:23] It might be the person in here or something, and they know you're talking about them, and then we'll never get through the rest of the message because that's what you'll be thinking about.
[00:49:31] How to have integrity with God and navigate and fight the selfish desires that we have within our own hearts.
[00:49:38] We're going to learn this from Nehemiah today.
[00:49:41] Nehemiah shows up to help rebuild a wall, to reestablish a nation that is kind of humiliated before all the other nations because the walls have crumbled, the gates have been burned.
[00:49:53] And he's coming there to build a wall, but what he signs up for is way more than a construction project.
[00:49:59] What he finds himself in the middle of is spiritual navigating and fighting and correcting what's actually happening within the people that were called the people of Israel.
[00:50:17] But selfish people are miserable.
[00:50:20] There's an author that wrote this.
[00:50:22] His name is Thomas Merton, and he said this about selfish people.
[00:50:26] To consider persons and events and situations only in the light of their effect upon myself is to live on the doorstep of hell.
[00:50:40] When we are self-centered and focused on ourselves, it creates all kinds of turmoil and lostness.
[00:50:50] And so how to have integrity before the Lord and deal with those things that we want to be selfish about at the same time.
[00:51:00] It's almost like the oxymoron, jumbo shrimp, those types of things.
[00:51:06] Integrity and selfishness, they can't go together, they can't coexist.
[00:51:12] We learn that role model from not only Nehemiah, but through Christ.
[00:51:19] So as we go down through this text, we're going to be seeing what chapter 5 reveals.
[00:51:24] It reminds us of the depth of sin in the human heart and that we should learn to love our neighbors and ourselves with Christ in the center.
[00:51:35] So here's kind of a big thought to put your head around it.
[00:51:38] Integrity in our actions is essential to building a strong and harmonious community.
[00:51:54] In Nehemiah 4, the threat came from outside.
[00:51:58] Send ballot to Baia.
[00:52:01] They brought mockery, intimidation, the threat of attacking them.
[00:52:06] The people stood guard with swords in one hand and a trowel in the other hand.
[00:52:11] But Nehemiah 5, the threat shifts.
[00:52:15] something is called out. There's no enemy army. There's no mocking from the outside in Nehemiah 5, no physical attack. The danger is internal, and that is often the most dangerous kind because we don't want to hurt the people we're supposed to love the most.
[00:52:36] Listen, a church can survive criticism. A family can survive external pressure. A ministry can survive cultural hostility. But when injustice and greed and exploitation take root inside the community, unity begins to crumble from within. Nehemiah 5 is not about stones and mortar. It's
[00:53:03] about integrity. God's call for justice and righteousness in every area of life. So let's look at the context of what's happening here. The wall was under construction. They're rebuilding it. We already know that they're beyond the halfway point all the way around. They're
[00:53:27] rebuilding it. The people were already sacrificing though. This is something that I think we don't grasp when we're reading through the book of Nehemiah because we know Nehemiah got a word from God. He asked for permission. He got permission from the king. He comes with all
[00:53:43] these resources and he rebuilds a wall. But do we know the context of what is happening during this time? The people were already sacrificing. According to biblical scholars, there were several pressures that were converging all at once. Famine. They were experiencing famine.
[00:54:00] We're going to see this in just a moment. There was heavy Persian taxation they were having to pay. Families were mortgaging their fields just to buy grain. And they were actually selling their children into slavery to pay off debt and to live. This is what the people were facing. But the most
[00:54:19] devastating detail about what I just explained to you was that this was happening among fellow Jews.
[00:54:26] So let's look at this. They were rebuilding the wall while tearing down each other. They were doing a work for God, but were still not answering the question of why they were coming against one
[00:54:43] another in such a way that seemed right maybe in their heart at the time. So let's break this down.
[00:54:50] It's kind of like a three-fold drama that's rolling out before us. First, hear the cry.
[00:54:57] Hear the cry. Verses 1 through 5 in Nehemiah chapter 5. Hear the cry. This is what it says.
[00:55:05] Now there arose a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brothers.
[00:55:11] why does it say and their wives well this is very pointed to say that it was deep a lot of times any type of public complaint that was made from families came from the men they would go into
[00:55:23] the area they would bring their voice but now it is so uh entrenched into how desperate they are that families are stepping up this is impacting children mothers are watching their children being sold off into slavery that's why he's pointing that out verse two for there were those who said
[00:55:40] with our sons and our daughters we are many, so let us get grain that we may eat and keep alive.
[00:55:47] There were also those who said, we are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine. And there were those who said, we have borrowed money for the king's
[00:56:00] tax on our fields and our vineyards. Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers. Our children are as their children yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves and some of our
[00:56:13] daughters have already been enslaved but it is not in our power to help it for other men have our fields and our vineyards we're going to pause there before we walk on down through this text
[00:56:28] let's unfold this a little bit several things going here first the cry was loud i've already pointed out that it is saying in the scripture text that everyone was crying out. Not just the men in a public arena, but everyone was crying out. It was loud. The text says it was a great
[00:56:46] outcry. This wasn't a whisper. This wasn't a mild discomfort. This was desperation.
[00:56:55] They're building a wall and answering that call while they're still extremely desperate. The Hebrew word suggests a cry of anguish, kind of like what you hear in Exodus when it says, I heard my people's cry. That's kind of what's going on here. Verse 2, we are many, we need
[00:57:15] grain. Verse 3, we are mortgaging our fields. Verse 4, we have borrowed money to pay the king's tax.
[00:57:22] Verse 5, our sons and daughters are being enslaved. What's happening? They were starving.
[00:57:29] How many of you want to go build a wall when you're hungry?
[00:57:33] How many of you just want to just sit around when you're hungry?
[00:57:36] Right?
[00:57:37] They were starving.
[00:57:38] They were indebted, and they were losing their children.
[00:57:44] But second, the cry came from within the covenant community.
[00:57:50] Within the covenant community.
[00:57:52] The phrase, against their Jewish brothers, is devastating.
[00:57:59] This is not Babylon.
[00:58:00] It's not Persia.
[00:58:02] It's not pagan oppression.
[00:58:03] it's covenant exploitation. And here's the thing, Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy, I think somewhere around 15, actually explicitly says, do not tax your brother as an Israelite.
[00:58:20] They knew better, and yet they were still doing it. So the cry came from within the covenant community. Next, Nehemiah listens. This is where we start getting the role model of what's happening.
[00:58:38] The text does not say that Nehemiah ignored them.
[00:58:41] He actually heard.
[00:58:43] And hearing is actually the first step of justice.
[00:58:50] A church cannot build walls of spiritual maturity while ignoring the cries inside its own community.
[00:59:00] Integrity begins with listening.
[00:59:04] Do we hear the financial strains of those who are in our lives, our families?
[00:59:08] Do we hear the emotional strain of marriages that are going on?
[00:59:13] Do we hear the quiet suffering of the overlooked?
[00:59:18] Christ consistently heard the cry of the marginalized, the blind, the leper, the widow, the sinner.
[00:59:26] Nehemiah models that posture here.
[00:59:31] So verses 1 through 5 show us, hear the cry.
[00:59:35] But secondly, in verses 6 through 13, challenge the wrong.
[00:59:40] This is what Nehemiah does.
[00:59:42] In fact, I like Nehemiah at this point.
[00:59:44] I've liked him all along, but this part really kind of starts coming off the page for me.
[00:59:51] In verse 6, I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
[00:59:57] You know what that means in the original text?
[00:59:59] It means that Nehemiah was very angry when he heard the outcry and these words.
[01:00:06] It is straightforward.
[01:00:08] I took counsel with myself and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials and I said to them, I'm going to pause there for just a second, that I took counsel with myself made me laugh the first time I read it.
[01:00:21] It's almost like, what am I hearing?
[01:00:24] All right, self, what are we going to do with this?
[01:00:27] It's kind of like talking to yourself.
[01:00:28] How many of you talk to yourself?
[01:00:30] Go ahead.
[01:00:31] Let's admit it.
[01:00:32] We all do.
[01:00:33] I'm in the car a lot of times by myself talking to myself and then I'll look over and somebody will be looking at me at the traffic light and I'll try to pretend like I'm on the phone.
[01:00:42] Okay, talk to you later.
[01:00:45] Bye.
[01:00:46] fakely push the button you know i don't know i don't actually do that but it it has struck me funny sometimes when i've been talking out loud sometimes praying sometimes just griping just to be completely transparent with you and i look over and somebody's kind of looking in my direction
[01:01:00] i'm like how you doing don't act like you've never done that that's what i want to say but he took to and he says i said to them you are exacting interest each from his brother
[01:01:14] And I held a great assembly against them and said to them, We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us.
[01:01:32] They were silent and could not find a word to say.
[01:01:37] It's kind of like they were, you're right.
[01:01:43] They couldn't say anything back.
[01:01:45] He was telling them what they were doing wrong.
[01:01:48] So I said, the thing that you are doing is not good.
[01:01:54] Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations, our enemies?
[01:02:01] Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain.
[01:02:06] Let us abandon this exacting of interest.
[01:02:12] Okay, so he calls them out.
[01:02:14] But then he takes it further.
[01:02:15] This right here, I just kind of went, wow.
[01:02:20] Look at this.
[01:02:21] Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.
[01:02:38] Then they said, we will restore these and require nothing from them.
[01:02:48] I don't know.
[01:02:48] This reads very simple.
[01:02:50] I don't know how much debating went on.
[01:02:52] scripture doesn't allow us to get it, but it appears as scripture is unfolding for us is Nehemiah called a great assembly and he probably stood there for a minute quiet. And when everybody got quiet here, what he had to say, he called them out. And in that moment, by the spirit of God
[01:03:08] working in their hearts, they stepped back and went, we've got to make this right. And that's what they did. We will restore these and require nothing of them. We will do as you say. And I
[01:03:24] called the priest and made them swear to do as they had promised. Why would he do that? Well, you know, when you're in the heat of the meeting and you're being called out in public, you go,
[01:03:32] oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll do that. How many times have you looked at somebody and said, hey, I'll pray for you. And then next time you see them, you're like, oh, dear Lord. He's calling
[01:03:44] the accountability out because we by nature are selfish and we want to do right when we're talking to people but nehemiah knows something he calls the priests out and he he makes them swear that
[01:03:56] they will hold to the promise i also listen what he does i also shook out the fold of my garment and said so may god shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this
[01:04:10] promise and all the assembly said amen and praise the lord and the people did as they had promised How do the people find themselves?
[01:04:25] Nehemiah hears this report of Jerusalem that the walls have been destroyed, the gates are burned, they're in ruins, they're dishonored, they're embarrassed as a people.
[01:04:37] That's how they got there.
[01:04:38] The outward circumstances made them to not hold the integrity of who they were with God the Father because of the circumstances, and it had creeped into the covenant people.
[01:04:51] They allowed the enemy to win, and he was winning.
[01:04:54] And Nehemiah called it out and called them back to the covenant and said, this is who we're supposed to be.
[01:04:59] And they responded.
[01:05:03] So let's look at this.
[01:05:04] First, righteous anger.
[01:05:06] I want us to be very careful here.
[01:05:08] Because I think sometimes we as Christians feel like we have righteous anger.
[01:05:13] And we feel like that we're right.
[01:05:15] And we go and tell people things.
[01:05:18] And it's not God honoring at all.
[01:05:21] So I want us to be very careful.
[01:05:23] I don't want us to use Nehemiah as, well, Nehemiah put them in their place.
[01:05:26] so should I. We have to be very careful. We have to know that we know that we know, and let's throw one more in there, that we know God is asking us to speak. Nehemiah says, I was very angry and I
[01:05:41] took counsel with myself. That's a powerful phrase. It's similar to Ephesians 4, be angry and do not sin. It means he didn't react. He reflected. He didn't explode. He examined. He didn't let his emotions lead. He let wisdom lead. He felt righteous anger, but before he confronted anyone,
[01:06:08] he had a meeting with his own heart. Where am I coming from with this? Let me examine myself first. He processed. He prayed. And most likely, he thought through what honored God most.
[01:06:28] He thought through what honored God most.
[01:06:32] This is emotional and spiritual maturity.
[01:06:36] This is what you and I should be growing toward.
[01:06:40] It always cracks me up when people say, Oh, I'm sorry I said that.
[01:06:44] You know how it is when you get angry.
[01:06:45] I'm like, yeah, I do know how it is when I get angry, but that still didn't justify you saying what you just said.
[01:06:53] Out of a selfish motivation, you're not mature when you just explode.
[01:07:00] Impulsiveness is what we tend to lean toward when we're angry.
[01:07:05] Nehemiah teaches us something very critical.
[01:07:07] Righteous anger must be governed by self-discipline.
[01:07:13] Before you confront someone, before you send that email, before you send that text, before you post a comment, take counsel with yourself.
[01:07:26] Ask these questions.
[01:07:27] Is this about God's glory or my pride?
[01:07:32] Am I reacting or am I responding?
[01:07:36] Will this build or will it tear down?
[01:07:42] Integrity doesn't just show up in what we say.
[01:07:45] It shows up in how we prepare to say it.
[01:07:51] I have here a soda can.
[01:07:57] Let's say this is you and something negative happens to you.
[01:08:05] Okay, I no longer hear the liquid shaking in there.
[01:08:09] I think it is pretty shaken up.
[01:08:16] You thought when I said it's a good day to be a duck that I was talking about the rain.
[01:08:21] And those in the video venue are going, oh, it's a good day to be in the video venue.
[01:08:26] What happens if I pop this top right now?
[01:08:28] It goes everywhere.
[01:08:30] And I'm in here tomorrow with the carpet cleaner cleaning this up.
[01:08:34] What do I need to do now that it has been shaken?
[01:08:36] What do I need to do?
[01:08:39] Let it sit.
[01:08:42] Let it sit right there.
[01:08:44] Let it rest.
[01:08:48] We need to wait.
[01:08:49] When something negative happens to us, let's apply, be still and know that I am God.
[01:09:03] This is what Nehemiah is demonstrating.
[01:09:06] I took counsel with myself.
[01:09:09] I examined what was my motivation.
[01:09:12] I thought through it.
[01:09:15] I prayed to God.
[01:09:17] I sought what he wanted me to say.
[01:09:19] Do you know that sometimes I've wanted to say things, and when I've asked God, do you want me to say this, it was a very clear and precise, keep your mouth shut.
[01:09:32] This is not about you, Daniel.
[01:09:34] This is not about you fixing the situation.
[01:09:37] This is about you loving that person so that I can fix the situation.
[01:09:47] Then he brings about public accountability.
[01:09:51] Nehemiah confronts the nobles.
[01:09:53] He says, you are exacting the interest each from his brothers, verse 7 says.
[01:09:57] So he calls a great assembly.
[01:09:59] This was not a private miscommunication.
[01:10:02] This was public injustice and therefore public correction.
[01:10:07] He reminds them, we redeemed the Jews from slavery, and now you're enslaving them again?
[01:10:16] He's kind of like, does this even make sense?
[01:10:20] It was moral insanity, what Nehemiah was pointing out.
[01:10:25] So what was his moral argument?
[01:10:28] Verse 9, ought you not to walk in the fear of our God?
[01:10:35] This issue wasn't about economics, it was theology.
[01:10:41] Their actions contradicted their fear of God.
[01:10:46] And Nehemiah calls them to restore the fields, restore the vineyards, restore their houses, cancel the interest, no partial reform, total restoration.
[01:11:01] How many of you in here, when you gave your life to Christ, you realized that you were only partially saved?
[01:11:12] No, when Christ shed His blood and we realized our need for Him and we turn our lives over to Him, surrendering to Him, His blood washes us 100% clean before the Heavenly Father.
[01:11:24] It's not a partial thing.
[01:11:25] It's a total transformation of what He's calling for here.
[01:11:29] So what happens?
[01:11:31] Covenant renewal.
[01:11:34] We see the covenant renewal.
[01:11:35] They swear on the oath.
[01:11:37] Nehemiah symbolically shakes out his garment and says, So may God shake out every man who does not keep this promise.
[01:11:43] And the people say, Amen.
[01:11:44] integrity requires accountability there may be some places that we need courage to confront wrong but we need to confront that wrong knowing that god has called us to that wrong lots of prayer lots of prayer a church cannot preach holiness while tolerating exploitation among people we do
[01:12:17] have to speak up. Jesus didn't tolerate injustice. He confronted hypocrisy. He exposed corruption. He defended the oppression. Integrity is not passive. It requires courageous action. Of course it does, but with being still first. Brings us to the last part of this drama that we have before us,
[01:12:42] model integrity. Nehemiah is telling his testimony of how he approached this, and I am convinced this is not only did he have the Lord walking ahead of him, and that's why the people were listening,
[01:12:55] but I believe because he had the Lord walking ahead of him, and he was walking with the Lord, and the Spirit was guiding him, this next thing you see in Nehemiah is one reason the people
[01:13:06] listened to him, and he became governor. This is why right here in verses 14 through 19, moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the 20th year to the 32nd year of Artaxerxes the king, 12 years.
[01:13:25] Neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.
[01:13:31] The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took them from their daily rations, 40 shekels of silver.
[01:13:39] Even their servants lorded it over the people.
[01:13:43] But I did not do so because of the fear of God.
[01:13:46] I also persevered in the work on this wall and we acquired no land and all my servants were gathered there for the work moreover there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials besides those who came to us
[01:14:08] from the nations that were around us now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds and every 10 days, all kinds of wine and abundance. Yet for all this, I did not demand
[01:14:24] the food allowance of the governor because the service was too heavy on this people. Remember for my good, oh my God, all that I have done for this people. Integrity. He's not just preaching the word, he's living the word. The same Nehemiah that you would see standing up in front of the
[01:14:48] people and calling them out was the same Nehemiah you would see picking up a boulder and setting it in the wall. Nehemiah turns from confronting others to examining himself, and this is crucial.
[01:15:03] It's easy to call others into integrity, but it's harder to embody it ourselves.
[01:15:11] What did he do? First, he refused entitlement. He refused the entitlement. The former governors laid heavy burdens on the people, but I did not do so because of the fear of God.
[01:15:26] He had the legal right to collect a governor's allowance. He didn't. Why? The fear of God.
[01:15:36] Integrity is not about what is legal. It's about what honors God. Second, he worked alongside them.
[01:15:47] Verse 16, I also persevered in the work of this wall. He didn't supervise from a distance.
[01:15:52] He didn't stand under an umbrella.
[01:15:54] He labored.
[01:15:56] It was servant leadership.
[01:16:01] Next, he practiced radical generosity.
[01:16:04] In verses 17 through 18, we see who was at his table.
[01:16:07] 150 men, officials, visitors, and then the daily provision of food.
[01:16:14] And he did not demand the governor's food allowance.
[01:16:16] Why?
[01:16:17] For the service was too heavy on the people.
[01:16:20] He had the right to do it.
[01:16:21] He had the right to call for it.
[01:16:23] and everyone would have probably said, well, that Nehemiah has the right. He didn't do it.
[01:16:31] He absorbed the cost so they would not have to. That's integrity. That's leadership. And more importantly, it's Christlike. Nehemiah is not the hero of the Bible. He's actually the shadow of the true Redeemer. Like Nehemiah, Jesus heard the cry of the oppressed. Jesus confronted
[01:17:00] injustice. He refused to exploit power. Jesus gave up his rights. Jesus bore the cost on himself.
[01:17:07] But Jesus went further than Nehemiah. Nehemiah relieved economic oppression. Christ relieved spiritual bondage. Nehemiah canceled interest. Christ canceled debt. Nehemiah restored the land.
[01:17:27] Christ restores souls. Nehemiah prayed, remember me, oh my God, for good, and Jesus didn't ask to be remembered for good. He gave himself so we could be remembered in grace. At the cross, justice and mercy met and now his people are called to reflect that same integrity that's you
[01:17:55] and me if we're building anything for god a family a church a ministry of movement integrity must undergird it without integrity vision will collapse trust will erode unity will fracture and our witness will weaken.
[01:18:24] Walls built without integrity will eventually fall.
[01:18:29] So how do we guard against that?
[01:18:30] Three questions.
[01:18:33] Are we hearing the cry?
[01:18:35] Are we truly hearing the cry of the people around us?
[01:18:42] When people are saying things in their conversations with us, are we reading between the lines and picking up on what their heart's cry is?
[01:18:49] Are we listening to other people in our lives?
[01:18:53] Are we hearing what they're saying?
[01:18:55] or are we assuming? Second, are we confronting the wrong with the wisdom of God? Are we actually holding integrity of the word? One of our vision statements is live biblical truth.
[01:19:14] And where us as brothers and sisters are not living biblical truth, we need to develop a friendship with them so that we can call them out. We have to confront the wrong. But three, are we modeling integrity if everyone in this church lived the way you do would this church
[01:19:41] be stronger or weaker integrity builds walls that no enemy can tear down in nehemiah 4 they held swords and trowels in nehemiah 5 the tool is integrity before stones are secured hearts must be aligned. Before walls are strong, relationships must be righteous. And in a watching world,
[01:20:16] the greatest testimony of the church is not the size of the building, the size of the wall that we build. It's the strength of its integrity to hold to the witness of Jesus Christ. So let's
[01:20:30] continue. Let's continue to hear people's cries. Let's continue to challenge the wrong, and let's continue to model integrity. And in so doing, justice and mercy coming together gets to experience the sweet taste of our risen Savior. Love it. And I'm not wearing it. Let's pray
[01:21:07] together. Father, today your word calls us out about our own selfishness that we have in our hearts and help us to understand that that motivates us. And it shouldn't. What should motivate us is your grace and your mercy and your forgiveness and your kindness and your love.
[01:21:36] It speaks heavily into why we're told to pick up our cross daily, to deny ourselves and to follow you. Help us to have integrity in our walk with you. Help us to stop making life about ourselves.
[01:22:00] Help us to look at every opportunity as a time to point people to you, every situation. When that negative thing is said or that negative thing is happening around us or we're called out on something or we're wronged in some way
[01:22:16] give us the courage to be still to wait for you to guide our words and our actions so help us to hold to an integrity of living biblical truth. First in Jesus name we pray

[01:22:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:22:36] Amen

[01:23:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:23:05] Without you, I fall apart, because you're the one that guides my heart.
[01:23:17] Come on, church, sing out here.

[01:23:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:23:19] Lord, I need your righteousness.

[01:23:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:23:53] Your grace is more than I've ever found.
[01:24:00] It's where you are.
[01:24:04] Well, church, we get an opportunity every day to walk in his grace

[01:25:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:25:21] and to be with integrity that witness to other people that are in our lives.
[01:25:26] So we're supposed to be in the world, but not of it.
[01:25:28] We're supposed to act different, look different, be different because of what Christ has done in his redemption, transformative process in our hearts.
[01:25:37] And so let's go be the church to other people, whether they're believers yet or not.
[01:25:42] Let's go and do that.
[01:25:44] And we need Christ to walk with us in that.
[01:25:48] Before we close with our closing verse, I want to just say a couple things.
[01:25:52] If you would like to go see where this wall was built, that we keep reading about in Nehemiah.
[01:25:58] We are planning a trip to Israel in May of 27.
[01:26:03] You've got 15 months to start planning, to save, and to get ready to go.
[01:26:09] It is a phenomenal, phenomenal experience to be able to do that.
[01:26:12] I want as many as can go to be there.
[01:26:15] Space is limited, but if you are interested in that, come find out information from me.
[01:26:21] I'll tell you a little bit about it.
[01:26:23] The gentleman who is leading that trip will be here at the end of March teaching a seminar on Friday and Saturday called The Life of Christ in Context.
[01:26:35] It is a phenomenal seminar. You'll want to be a part of it. It is $10, but that covers your lunch on Saturday.
[01:26:40] The seminar is free. We're just asking you to pay $10 for the lunch. If you just want to come to the seminar and not do the lunch, that's an option too, and then it's free to you. So you have that option
[01:26:51] as well, but he'll be here at the end of March. I want you to be able to experience that, to learn about the context of what Christ was about when he walked on the earth.
[01:27:01] Well, church, we go out today reading Proverbs 11, verse 3.
[01:27:06] You read out loud with me as I read it as well, and we'll read together.
[01:27:10] Proverbs 11, 3, and God's Word says, The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
[01:27:22] Go with God.

[01:27:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:27:22] through fifth grades that is in 90 communities nationwide. And our community gets to host one of these camps. Camp is packed with Bible studies, outdoor games, worship, and the coolest skills like soccer, fast food, archery, dance, basketball, gymnastics, rocketry, and so much more.
[01:49:10] And kindergarten families, let's lean in because this part is just for you. We have only 30 spots for kindergarten. 30, that's it. So don't delay signing up. We don't want your camper to miss out
[01:49:23] on the fun. Early access registration opens Sunday, March 1st at 1 p.m. And we are in a bit of a friendly competition with three other churches. So let's win this. Let's be the church with the most campers in our area signed up on March 1st. Let's show up strong, Peninsula.
[01:49:41] set your alarm tell your friends be ready March 1st 1 p.m. wind shape camps you can find the link to register and the early access code that you will need on our website okay let's get hype I say when you say shape when shape wind shape
[01:49:59] I think you're ready we'll see you at camp morning so glad that you're here

[01:55:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:55:33] today it's good to see you all good to run into you in the hallway and say hello. Apparently today is a great day to be a duck, and so good to be on the inside here with
[01:55:44] you. Here's some things that I do know for sure. I know that we are gathering here to worship the one true God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And regardless of what you faced this past
[01:55:57] week, regardless of what you are grappling with in your mind and your heart today, regardless of what you know this next week is going to bring you, Christ is here to minister to your heart.
[01:56:06] The Spirit of God wants to move today in your life, and it is my prayer that you will set the tone in your heart that we can all humble ourselves before the Lord through song and through opening ourselves up to the Word and allowing Him to move on our hearts.
[01:56:21] So let's all stand here at this time, here and in the video venue as we get ready to worship, and we ask that we have the opportunity to bring glory to His name.
[01:56:32] Let's pray together.
[01:56:33] Father, we thank you so much for an opportunity to be here for life itself.
[01:56:38] But more importantly, we thank you for your grace and your mercy that is offered to us freely.
[01:56:44] And as we believe in you and walk with you and surrender our lives with you, you're there to hold us.
[01:56:50] So be with each home, each heart that's represented here today and whatever may be the struggle internally, I pray, Father, that you would, through the gentleness of your spirit, speak to that problem.
[01:57:03] Father, that we can begin to be still now and to know who you are.
[01:57:09] That as we tone our hearts and our minds and our thought process down, let us humble ourselves before you to bring you glory and the praise that only you deserve.
[01:57:25] So hear our songs, hear our words, touch our hearts as we worship you today.
[01:57:35] It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

[01:58:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:58:08] And my fears are pressing me I won't forsake us

[02:13:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[02:13:50] Lord, you have forgiven us You've thrown us our sins As far as the east is to the west You've remembered them no more You did everything that needed to be done On that cross And you sacrificed yourself for us
[02:14:02] So that we could live with you for eternity But the great thing is That eternity doesn't start when we die It starts today Today is the day of salvation Today is the day our life changes
[02:14:14] Lord we just thank you for that Lord we praise you and invite the Holy Spirit to speak through Daniel this morning to the hearts of the people this we praise you and we love you and we thank
[02:14:25] you in Jesus name and all God's people said he will never leave us nor forsake us amen

[02:15:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[02:15:08] the God of the universe who spoke and creation happened has said he'll never leave us nor forsake us. He is with us, and we get to walk through with that. We're in Nehemiah chapter 5
[02:15:24] today, very excited about what we're going to be talking about today. Before we get there, though, I want to say a great big thank you once again to Austin Gardner and Reagan Suders for taking a portion of the passage, and didn't they do an amazing job? They did very good.
[02:15:40] Thank you for encouraging them in their growth, in their ministry, and what they're doing for the Lord. As we're going through the book of Nehemiah, I need to let you know that all the pastors on staff will have an opportunity to speak a portion of this particular book. And part of it
[02:15:58] is because this is what Nehemiah is about, people stepping up and doing their part. The other part is, is me being the lead pastor, I got to see which chapters had the hardest words in it and I
[02:16:09] just gave them away. So I said, I just read through it and went, nope, nope, nope, nope. Okay, let's see, and just kidding. Although there is that benefit, right? And Austin did a great job with
[02:16:22] the words, and Reagan did a great job unfolding the word last week as well. And I look forward to the weeks to come as the other pastors on staff get an opportunity so that you can see the depth
[02:16:33] of theology that is on our staff. We are a blessed church. Me, not included in this and what I'm saying, we are a blessed church with the leadership that we have here. And I get the privilege to walk
[02:16:45] through the hallways with these guys all during the week and to glean from them. So it is an amazing part to serve with that. Well, listen, today we're talking about integrity. That's the big word. Say that word with me, integrity. All right, so we're talking about integrity. And in
[02:17:04] relation to integrity, kind of the way I'm flipping this and making it kind of like a dichotomy, kind of an opposite thing is selfishness selfishness I just kind of out of curiosity I went in and just googled what is considered the most selfish
[02:17:21] nation in the world and it didn't answer me first time ever Google has said this is not a statistic that's out there but you may consider the human endeavor it It was saying that every, basically Google, which is not a theological source in any way, shape, form, or fashion,
[02:17:45] was saying that we're fallen and we're all selfish.
[02:17:50] And so I want you to understand that back in the garden when Adam and Eve questioned whether or not God said, right, and they kind of fell into that, there is an aspect of selfishness that is in that.
[02:18:03] And ever since the fall, sin has kind of developed in us from the standpoint of selfishness.
[02:18:11] We, by nature, fallen nature, are selfish people.
[02:18:18] In fact, I'm going to kind of push a little bit, and I'm sure some people would want to debate with me on this.
[02:18:22] I can tell you probably, I won't say probably, I'll say 100% of all relational problems have selfishness at the root.
[02:18:34] I just feel like selfishness is something we're dealing with.
[02:18:37] And so if you're going to navigate integrity with the Word and being a follower of Christ and selfishness, that's how we're wired now because we have a fallen sin nature.
[02:18:48] How do you bring those together?
[02:18:50] Do they coexist?
[02:18:51] I would submit they're kind of like an oxymoron, like jumbo shrimp.
[02:18:56] They're not really painting the true picture of what's really there.
[02:19:01] Integrity with God's word and our walk with Christ and selfishness.
[02:19:07] And if you, here's what we tend to do with selfishness.
[02:19:11] Okay, I won't say we.
[02:19:13] I'm just going to give a personal testimony.
[02:19:16] Whenever I think about selfishness and talk about selfishness, it's always about the other person.
[02:19:22] Right?
[02:19:23] Which is selfish by nature.
[02:19:25] That person is just being selfish.
[02:19:27] I mean, me pointing that out has kind of a leaning toward me being selfish and even saying that.
[02:19:32] So why do I point that out kind of in a chuckle way is that that's what we grapple with.
[02:19:37] That's what we struggle with.
[02:19:39] And we need to understand how to move through life with integrity with our relationship with Christ intact, not integrity on his part.
[02:19:48] He'll never leave us, forsake us.
[02:19:49] His promises are good forever.
[02:19:51] His words holds.
[02:19:53] He's never going to be a covenant breaker, all that.
[02:19:55] We get that.
[02:19:55] I'm talking about integrity on our part.
[02:19:57] of how we reflect our witness to the world when people know that we're believers in Christ, when people know that we're walking with God, how does that go together?
[02:20:08] There's something that I've learned and know to be true about people who are purely selfish.
[02:20:15] And when I say purely selfish, I'm talking about people who not only want their way when they want it and how they want it, but a truly selfish person wants their way when they want it, how they want it, and they want everybody else around them to want their way too.
[02:20:32] That's selfishness at the very core, at the very, very bottom. And selfish people like that are miserable. They're just constantly struggling, constantly trying to convince someone else their way. It is a difficult place to be. I think there's a good strong reason why Jesus said the
[02:20:54] very first step of becoming a follower of me is surrender. Well, what are you surrendering?
[02:20:59] You are, sure, sure, easy for you to say. You are surrendering all of you. The totality of you, your thoughts, your heart, your actions, your life, all of your resources is surrendering to God.
[02:21:17] Deny yourself daily. That's what he's saying, and I feel like that's how we learn to grapple with it.
[02:21:23] Thomas Merton said it best. He said, to consider persons and events and situations only in the light of their effect upon myself is to live on the doorstep of hell. He's saying that when I
[02:21:39] think that all of life circles around me, I'm in trouble. And this is going to be demonstrated of how not to be this way when it comes to Nehemiah. Because here's what's interesting about Nehemiah.
[02:21:52] When you first start reading the book, you see that he hears a report about Jerusalem.
[02:21:57] You see that he hears this distressing news about his people, that the borders of his particular city that he calls home, the walls have crumbled, the gates are burned, they're embarrassed, and they're beaten down.
[02:22:10] This is what he thinks he's signing up for.
[02:22:12] We're just going to go rebuild a wall.
[02:22:14] But when you get to Nehemiah chapter 5, you start learning that it's way more than rebuilding a physical wall.
[02:22:21] It's rebuilding the covenant.
[02:22:23] It's rebuilding a people.
[02:22:24] It's rebuilding spiritual maturity.
[02:22:26] And Nehemiah, I'm sure many times, even though it's not clearly recorded in his book, was challenged.
[02:22:32] What is recorded in the book is how he responded to these things that were a challenge to him.
[02:22:39] So here's kind of the big statement.
[02:22:41] Integrity in our actions is essential to building a strong and harmonious community.
[02:22:51] Integrity in our actions I remember my dad saying one time to me When I got in trouble And I was getting ready to throw back at him But you You know how it is How kids are always saying
[02:23:04] You told me to not do that But you And my dad kind of jokingly But kind of half-heartedly says Don't do as I do Do as I say do Right He didn't really mean that
[02:23:15] He's a great man But it's kind of a joke To kind of go like I'm in charge here That's kind of that that whole thought process of testing the integrity. Be who you are the same all the time
[02:23:29] in Christ. So here's kind of what is happening here. In Nehemiah 4, the threat came from the outside. In Nehemiah 5, we see that the threat is coming from the inside, amongst the covenant people. And isn't that just exactly how Satan attacks? If the outward attacks don't have any
[02:23:50] influence on you and you're constantly saying, you know, get behind me, Satan. You're not going to kind of give into that. Then the next thing he does is he starts reaching internally into relationships that are supposed to be the best around you, the ones you love, marriages, families
[02:24:05] in your home. He starts reaching into that and starts bringing confusion and conflict. And he tries to tear it down from within. And that's what we see happening here. In Nehemiah 5, there were no enemy armies. There's no mocking from the outside. There's no physical attack. The danger
[02:24:23] is internal, and I really feel like that's sometimes the most dangerous because when I can see it coming, I know how to brace. When I don't see it coming and I'm blindsided, it's when it
[02:24:41] hurts the most, right? And so that's kind of what's happening here. Integrity in our actions is essential to building a strong and harmonious community. It echoes what God calls us to in righteousness and justice in every area of our lives. So, to bring a little bit of context,
[02:24:59] then we'll read the Scripture. The wall is under construction, but the people are already sacrificing. They were already sacrificing before the wall was being built, and now they're heaping on top of it. There was famine conditions. Biblical scholars say that there was heavy
[02:25:19] Persian taxation that was on the people. Families were mortgaging their fields so that they could buy grain. Children were being sold into debt slavery because they were just trying to survive.
[02:25:34] And the most devastating detail of what we're about to read is that it was happening among fellow Jews. You'll see in just a moment that the pain went so deep that it says the men and
[02:25:51] their wives were bringing complaint. Why would he say it that way? Well, typically in that day, in that time, if there was a public hearing or a public complaint, the men would come in and they
[02:26:01] would speak on behalf of their families. But it was gotten so bad that everybody in the family was speaking up. The women were seeing their children being sold into slavery just so they could live. And so that's what we're going to see. Here's what was happening, though. They were
[02:26:16] rebuilding the wall while tearing down each other. They were rebuilding the wall while tearing down each other. So let's look at verses 1 through 5. Hear the cry. Hear the cry. Verse 1, reading on.
[02:26:40] Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.
[02:26:48] For there were those who said, With our sons and our daughters we are many, so let us get grain that we may eat and keep alive.
[02:26:57] There were also those who said, We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.
[02:27:06] And there were those who said, we have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and on our vineyards.
[02:27:15] Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers.
[02:27:18] Our children are as their children.
[02:27:20] Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves.
[02:27:24] And some of our daughters have already been enslaved.
[02:27:28] But it is not in our power to help it.
[02:27:31] For other men have our fields and our vineyards.
[02:27:36] Have you ever caught this, the fact that it wasn't just hard for them to stand there with a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other hand?
[02:27:45] It wasn't enough for that.
[02:27:46] They were already suffering.
[02:27:47] They were already wondering where the next meal was going to come from.
[02:27:50] But they're answering the call of what God's told them to do.
[02:27:54] And the cry was loud.
[02:27:57] That's the first thing we pick up here.
[02:27:59] The text says, a great outcry.
[02:28:01] This isn't a whisper.
[02:28:02] This isn't a mild discomfort.
[02:28:04] This was desperation.
[02:28:07] The Hebrew word suggests a cry of anguish.
[02:28:10] The same context of that word is used in the book of Exodus when the people cried out to God to be freed from slavery.
[02:28:19] It's that same context.
[02:28:22] They said, look at verse 2, we are many, we need grain.
[02:28:25] Verse 3, we are mortgaging our fields.
[02:28:27] Verse 4, we have borrowed money to pay the king's tax.
[02:28:31] verse 5, our sons and daughters are being enslaved. They're basically starving. They were indebted. They were losing their children. And this was happening while God's work was progressing.
[02:28:49] But secondly, we see that the cry came from within the covenant community. I've already kind of alluded to that, but I want to talk just briefly about that. The phrase against their Jewish brothers is devastating. It wasn't Babylonian oppression. It wasn't Persia. It wasn't pagan
[02:29:07] pushing on them. It was covenant exploitation. Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 15 actually tell us, it says, you are not to tax your brothers and sister Jewish community. They knew better, and we're still doing it but see we see that nehemiah listens he listens the text does not
[02:29:39] say that nehemiah ignored them it says he heard and hearing is the first step toward justice hearing what's being said reading between the lines knowing the full picture knowing what's truly there a church cannot build walls of spiritual maturity while ignoring the cries
[02:29:59] inside its own community, knowing what's truly there. Integrity begins with listening.
[02:30:10] Getting out of our selfishness begins with listening, hearing, allowing other people to share. Do we hear the financial strains of the families that we know within this church body?
[02:30:24] Do we hear the emotional strains of the marriages that are struggling? Do we hear the quiet suffering of the overlooked, Christ consistently heard the cry of the marginalized, the blind, the leper, the widow, the sinner, and Nehemiah's modeling that posture. So we have Nehemiah hearing the cry,
[02:30:51] but secondly, challenging the wrong. And I want to walk through this a little bit because I believe that some people take, just because they know what's right, that they should take the stance of Nehemiah and challenge the wrong. You have to be very careful in that. We'll talk about that as
[02:31:09] we kind of flesh it out. But if you didn't like Nehemiah and you didn't identify with Nehemiah, you will hear. Listen to this. I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. You
[02:31:22] know in the original translation what that really means? It means I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. It is just right there. He was angry. But look, verse 7, I took
[02:31:38] counsel with myself and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, you are exacting interest, each from his brother. And I held a great assembly against them and said to them we as far as we are able have brought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to
[02:32:00] the nations but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us they were silent and could not find a word to say Nehemiah is just kind of lowering the boom on them and they're they're
[02:32:18] sitting there, and I imagine they're like this. Yeah, you're right. They couldn't say anything.
[02:32:30] They were silent. Verse 9, so I said, the thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations, our enemies? Moreover, I and my
[02:32:44] brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest.
[02:32:52] Return to them.
[02:32:53] Look, he just really heaps it on.
[02:32:56] Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.
[02:33:10] Then they said, we will restore these and require nothing from them.
[02:33:18] We will do as you say.
[02:33:20] And then we pause right here before we continue to read on, because we know human nature, and so does Nehemiah.
[02:33:26] Being led under the guidance of the Spirit, he knows what people are like.
[02:33:30] They're saying, yeah, we'll do it.
[02:33:31] Have you ever been with somebody, and they're kind of talking to you, and you say, yeah, I'll take care of that?
[02:33:35] And then the next time you see them, you're like, oh.
[02:33:38] And then in your mind, you're like, what am I going to say?
[02:33:43] Instead of just going, I totally forgot, right?
[02:33:48] I'll pray for you next time you see them.
[02:33:50] You're like, here they come.
[02:33:50] dear lord please that's kind of how we do but it's because some of it stems from that selfishness that i was talking about some of it stems from just the busy life right that i'll tell you what
[02:34:04] i do if somebody comes up to me and it's appropriate at the time if they come up and say will you pray for me on such and such and it's appropriate and i'm not putting anybody to make
[02:34:12] them feel weird i pray right there because i know who i am i'll take 10 steps out of that conversation and be thinking about the next thing i'm going to do by the way if you ever ask to
[02:34:21] meet with me or talk with me or anything like that, if you don't see me pick my phone up and write it down in my phone and put it in my calendar, email me Monday morning because we'll
[02:34:33] have that conversation. I'll say this is a great conversation. I'll walk out that hallway. Somebody else will hit me with something, and I'll just forget, not because I don't like you, not because I don't want to meet with you. It's just because it's the nature of life. Nehemiah knows this too.
[02:34:46] look it moves on and i called the priest and made them swear to do as they had promised it's doing it in front of god and country right there i also shook out the fold of my garment and
[02:34:59] said so may god shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise so may he be shaken out and emptied. And all the assembly said, Amen, and praised the Lord.
[02:35:19] And the people did as they had promised. First of all, we see here at the beginning of this passage, we just read righteous anger, righteous anger. Nehemiah says, I was angry and I took counsel with myself. Nehemiah is like, okay, self, how are you doing today? This stuff is making me
[02:35:42] angry. What are we going to do with it? It's kind of like the phrase that we see in Ephesians 4, be angry and do not sin. It means he didn't react, he reflected. It means he didn't explode,
[02:36:00] he examined. He didn't let his emotions lead, he let wisdom lead. He did feel righteous anger, but before he confronted anyone, he had a meeting with his own heart. He processed. He prayed.
[02:36:20] And most likely, based on what we're pulling out of Nehemiah, this is a true statement. He thought through what honored God most. He thought through what honored God most. What you see here in Nehemiah
[02:36:36] is emotional and spiritual maturity.
[02:36:42] Anger itself wasn't the sin.
[02:36:44] Impulsiveness would have been.
[02:36:47] Nehemiah teaches us something very critical.
[02:36:49] Righteous anger must be governed and disciplined by self-control.
[02:36:56] Before you confront someone, before you send that email, before you post the comment to whatever social media you're on, take counsel with yourself.
[02:37:06] Ask these questions.
[02:37:07] Is this about God's glory or my pride?
[02:37:13] Am I reacting or am I responding in love?
[02:37:19] Will this build or will it tear down?
[02:37:25] Integrity doesn't just show up in what we say.
[02:37:27] It shows up in how we prepare to say it.
[02:37:32] So let's say this, so to can, is you.
[02:37:36] In fact, it says friend on it.
[02:37:41] Somebody says something or does something or hurts you in some way or kind of is explosive toward you.
[02:37:47] What does that do to our insides?
[02:37:50] It shakes us up so much so that you can no longer hear the liquid rattling.
[02:37:57] Have you ever been that mad?
[02:37:59] Have you ever been that fuming before?
[02:38:01] Have you ever been like, I am over it?
[02:38:04] What would happen if I were to open this can right now, obviously not pointed toward me, right?
[02:38:16] what would happen? It would explode. It would make a mess. I would be in here tomorrow cleaning carpet, or maybe this afternoon. I don't know. That's what would happen. What do I need to do
[02:38:26] in order to enjoy this? I need to wait. I need to let it sit. That's what Nehemiah did. I don't want us to just kind of glaze over one little short little line that he took counsel with
[02:38:42] himself and not understand what that means. That means he took time. He waited. And at the right time that God moved him, he moved at the right time and in the right way. And then he brought
[02:38:57] about public accountability. Nehemiah confronts the nobles. He says in verse 7, you are exacting interest, each from his brother. He calls a great assembly. This is not a private miscommunication that's going on in the community. It's public, and therefore the injustice is being called out
[02:39:15] in public. He reminds them, we redeemed Jews from slavery. He reminds them that out of slavery, back into slavery, is moral insanity. What are you doing? And so this is his moral argument.
[02:39:38] You see in verse 9, he says, ought you not to walk in the fear of our God? The issue was not economics, it was theology. Their actions contradicted their fear of God, and Nehemiah calls them to restore the fields, restore the vineyards, restore the houses, and cancel the
[02:39:58] interest. Not partial reform, total restoration. How many of you in here, when you gave your life to Christ, you were under the understanding that when you gave your life to Christ, that His shed blood covered you partially. Would you sign up for that? I wouldn't. I understood that when I
[02:40:24] realized my need for Jesus Christ, that his shed blood washed me clean, and that I stand not because of me, but because of Christ, righteous before the heavenly Father that created the universe.
[02:40:37] I don't get to boast. I don't get to brag. It's all about Christ, and it's complete, and this is what Nehemiah is doing. He's saying, total restoration. Let's get back to the covenant that we're supposed to be under, so he has a covenant renewal. They swear an oath. Nehemiah
[02:40:54] symbolically shakes out his garment and says, so may God shake you out if you don't keep this promise. And they say, amen. Integrity requires accountability. We do need to confront the wrong, but in God's timing and in God's way and with grace and mercy and love.
[02:41:23] A church cannot preach holiness while tolerating exploitation of its people.
[02:41:29] This is what Nehemiah is teaching us.
[02:41:31] Jesus did not tolerate injustice.
[02:41:33] He confronted hypocrisy.
[02:41:35] He exposed corruption.
[02:41:36] He defended the oppressed.
[02:41:38] Integrity is not passive.
[02:41:40] It does require courage and action.
[02:41:45] But that brings us to kind of the third act of this drama that we see unfolding in front of us in Nehemiah 5, 14 through 19. Model integrity. Look at who Nehemiah was as a person.
[02:42:00] Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the 20th year to the 32nd year of Artaxerxes the king, 12 years, neither I nor my brothers
[02:42:15] ate the food allowance of the governor.
[02:42:20] The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration 40 shekels of silver.
[02:42:29] Even their servants lorded it over the people.
[02:42:32] But I did not do so because of the fear of God.
[02:42:38] I also persevered in the work on this wall and we acquired no land and all my servants were gathered there for the work.
[02:42:48] He's involved.
[02:42:50] Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.
[02:43:01] Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance.
[02:43:12] Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on his people.
[02:43:23] Remember for my good, oh my God, all that I have done for this people.
[02:43:31] Nehemiah turns from confronting others to examining himself, and this is crucial.
[02:43:38] He's saying that I was angered, I confronted them, and now I'm going to show you who I was as a person.
[02:43:45] So it's easy to call other people to integrity.
[02:43:48] it's a different story to embody it a nehemiah refused entitlement the former governors laid heavy burdens on the people is what it says in verse 15 but i did not do so because of the fear
[02:44:08] of god he had the legal right to collect what he wanted to as governor but he didn't why because the fear of god he understood integrity is not about what is legal it's about what honors god
[02:44:24] be. He worked alongside them. I also persevered in the work on this wall, he says. He didn't just supervise from a distance. He didn't stand under his umbrella up at the top of the hill and yell
[02:44:39] down. He actually labored. He served with them. He got his hands dirty. But then even more than that, he practiced radical generosity. Verses 17 through 18 describe his table. 150 men, officials, visitors, and the daily provision of food that he had for them, and he did not demand
[02:45:06] the governor's food allowance. Why? Because it was too heavy on the people. He couldn't handle it.
[02:45:14] He absorbed the cost so they wouldn't have to. That's integrity. That's leadership, and even more importantly, that's Christlike. Nehemiah is not the hero of the Bible.
[02:45:33] He's the shadow of the true Redeemer.
[02:45:38] He's demonstrating.
[02:45:40] Like Nehemiah, Jesus heard the cry of the oppressed.
[02:45:44] Jesus confronted injustice.
[02:45:46] Jesus refused to exploit power.
[02:45:50] Jesus gave up his rights.
[02:45:52] Jesus bore the cost on himself.
[02:45:55] But unlike Nehemiah, Jesus went further.
[02:45:59] Nehemiah relieved economic oppression.
[02:46:02] Christ relieved spiritual bondage. Nehemiah canceled interest. Christ canceled debt.
[02:46:16] Nehemiah restored land. Christ restores souls. Nehemiah prayed, remember me, oh my God, for good.
[02:46:25] And Jesus didn't ask to be remembered for good. He gave himself so we could be remembered in grace.
[02:46:32] at the cross justice and mercy met and now his people are called to reflect that with integrity that's us so if you're building anything for god if you're building anything for god a family a
[02:47:01] church a ministry any kind of movement integrity must undergird it without integrity vision collapses, trust erodes, unity fractures, and witness weakens. Walls built without integrity will eventually fall. So here's three final questions I want to run by you for you to think
[02:47:25] about as you're moving forward based on what we read today. Number one, are we hearing the cry?
[02:47:35] Are we truly hearing the cry of the hearts of the people that are in our lives? Are we reading between the line? Are we picking up on what they're saying? The struggles that they're having?
[02:47:45] Are we willing to speak into that? There are people around us who are quietly struggling.
[02:47:51] Integrity begins with awareness of this. Getting out of ourselves and thinking about what's in it for me and thinking about the other person that is hurting. Hearing the cry. Two, are we confronting the wrong. Sometimes we need courage and obedience with integrity to take action to confront the
[02:48:12] wrong. But part of that courage and integrity is before the Lord first and then to the people.
[02:48:22] Number three, are we modeling integrity? If everyone in this church did life like you, Would this church be stronger or weaker?
[02:48:44] Nehemiah 4, they're holding swords and trowels.
[02:48:47] Nehemiah 5, the tool is integrity.
[02:48:51] Before stones are secured in the wall, hearts must be aligned.
[02:48:57] Before the walls are strong, relationships must be righteous.
[02:49:02] And in a watching world, the greatest testimony of the church is not the size of the building, not the number of people that attend the greatest strength is its integrity and so may we continue
[02:49:16] to be a people who hear the cry challenge the wrong and model integrity and in so doing we can reflect that justice and that mercy and the righteousness of christ because when we walk with
[02:49:31] integrity taking the focus off of ourselves but on the needs of others even when we're wronged and we take a step back and we wait and we enjoy allowing God to minister as we're being still
[02:49:45] and knowing who he is, it's at that point that he gives us the nod that it is okay to take a sip of his goodness. That was a good commercial, wasn't it? And that is integrity when we wait
[02:50:13] on the Lord. Let's pray. Father, your goodness, your mercy, your grace, and your justice, we get a bigger picture of it when we understand with more depth who your Son is. Thank you for your word today in Nehemiah that challenges us to take the focus off of ourselves, but to walk
[02:50:52] according to your word and according to your goodness and according to who you've called us to be with integrity thank you for meeting us right where we are and refusing to leave us there but taking your word and challenging us to step
[02:51:11] forward help us to be a witness for you because we've not made this about ourselves but we've made it all about you person G saying we pray amen if you will at this time turn your attention to the baptistry what a privilege we get a

[02:51:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[02:51:38] chance today to see the symbolism of baptism baptism is a beautiful picture of what Jesus did in his life his life living here right here on earth but his death as we as we picture this as we lower somebody down below the surface of
[02:51:53] the water his burial that were below that surface of the water because that's what the word baptizo the Greek word literally means it means to submerge to immerse to sink and then hit the other part of this picture is the is the
[02:52:08] greatest part because he came back to life and so that raising a person up is showing that life death burial but that resurrection of Jesus Christ I hope today that has been something that you have had an opportunity to participate
[02:52:23] in because I'd like to introduce to you some wonderful folks that you may already know Ben and Brittany conine and you may be asking yourself the question come on up here, brother. You may be asking yourself the question, wait a minute. I thought
[02:52:37] I've seen this guy around here a time or two. I thought he was already a part of this church.
[02:52:43] And I assumed he'd already been baptized. Well, what's the beautiful thing about this is, just the incredible power of God's word. See, Ben, over the last several years, he's been a part of this church. He's been a member of this church, he and Brittany both.
[02:52:59] and he came front to us from a different denomination a denomination that did not immerse in baptism and as as pastor daniel over the over the years and in particular the book of acts really started convicting ben and britney about what baptism really was was it a sprinkling
[02:53:23] or was it something different and what is so cool about this is that they both came to this conversation separately with the same thing on their mind have we really been baptized and they both came together and started asking the question and that is only just the move of God
[02:53:39] and what a credible incredible show and display of obedience to God's word and I'm going to stop talking right there because I want to leave you on a cliffhanger because Brittany and Ben have actually videoed their testimony and I'd like to invite you to go to our website
[02:53:57] peninsula baptist.com and if you go to the tab that says about you look underneath that tab and you'll see the word baptism and you'll locate their their testimony it's about a five minute long testimony and it will be well worth that few minutes to hear how god has just incredibly worked
[02:54:16] in their lives so this is just a just a profound sense of obedience brother and i'm just so proud of you. Good job. Well done. Well done, brother. So I'm going to ask you a few questions. This is
[02:54:28] what we ask all our folks, because we just want to make sure that you're walking in full obedience with Jesus Christ. Do you believe that Jesus has done everything to save you through his life,
[02:54:41] death, burial, and resurrection? Has he done everything for you? He has. That's exactly right, brother. Have you turned from your sin and do you desire to follow him with everything you've got?
[02:54:54] you surrender to jesus christ oh amen amen he says yes to all that and so it is my privilege brother to baptize you in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit to bear you in the likeness
[02:55:09] of christ and to raise you to the newness of life and this is ben's beautiful bride brittany what an incredible display of obedience that you and your husband have have shown this this congregation and it's really just a breath of fresh air.
[02:55:52] So thank you all so very much for this boldness.
[02:55:55] This is a hard thing to do, but we just praise the Lord that obedience makes us do hard things sometimes.
[02:56:02] So praise God for how y'all have just shown all this today.
[02:56:06] So I'm going to ask you a few questions, just like I did your husband.
[02:56:10] Do you, Brittany, do you believe that Jesus has done everything through his life, death, burial, and resurrection to save you?
[02:56:18] Amen. He has.
[02:56:19] have you turned from your sin and do you desire to surrender to him today amen amen and are you willing to follow him wherever he would leave but it is my privilege to baptize you my sister in the name of the Father the Son and the
[02:56:37] Holy Spirit to bear you and the likeness of his of his death and to raise you in In the newness of life.
[02:56:48] Thank you.

[02:56:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[02:56:49] Let's stand together.
[02:57:04] There's an old southern gospel saying that says, if that don't light your fire, your wood's wet.
[02:57:11] So let's worship Jesus this afternoon.
[02:57:14] It is afternoon.
[02:57:16] Let's just give him our praise.
[02:57:18] Amen.

[02:57:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[02:57:39] Without you, I fall.
[02:57:43] That guy, that's my.

[02:57:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[02:57:55] Lord, I need.
[02:58:27] Your grace is found.
[02:59:16] Come on, church, sing out.

[02:59:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[02:59:58] Amen, church.
[02:59:59] What a blessing today, right?
[03:00:01] It's the baptism, God's Word, worshiping together, seeing one another, hanging out together.
[03:00:06] I'm prayerful that you'll be able to go into this week encouraged and strengthened and that you'll look for God moments and God opportunities to see Him working in not only your own life but other people's lives as well.
[03:00:17] Before we move on, I want to say one quick thing.
[03:00:21] If you ever wanted to see the area that this wall was built, now's the time to start making plans.
[03:00:28] We have a Holy Land trip planned for May of 2027.
[03:00:33] That's 15 months for you to start scrimping and saving and getting ready to go.
[03:00:38] And I would love for you to be a part of that.
[03:00:40] We'd love to fill a bus.
[03:00:41] Space is a little bit limited, so sign up early and get your name on there, and it'll be a trip that you will never forget.
[03:00:50] Looking forward to that trip as well.
[03:00:52] The gentleman who leads that, Dr. Delancey, is going to be here at the end of March.
[03:00:57] he's going to be leading a Friday and Saturday seminar that is called The Life of Christ in Context it is a great seminar he is very knowledgeable he brings his archaeological knowledge his biblical knowledge together
[03:01:11] and he teaches us the life of Christ in context great great seminar it's at the end of March on Friday and Saturday I think it's the 27th, 28th somewhere in there there is a $10 charge you'll see online
[03:01:21] that $10 charge is for lunch on Saturday if you want to come and not eat lunch with us then you can come for free so that's just kind of to offset that the actual seminar itself is free and we want you to be able to be a part of that so looking forward to that
[03:01:38] time together well as we always do we go out together having read scripture letting that be the last thing on our minds and i want to read out loud as you read out loud with me proverbs
[03:01:49] chapter 11 verse 3 the word of God says this the integrity of the upright guides them but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them go with God