Guarding the Gates: Faithfulness Over Numbers

• Faithful Leadership 00:12:31 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that the primary qualifications for church leadership are being a 'faithful man' and 'fearing God,' contrasting this with modern expectations of cultural relevance or administrative prowess.
• Genealogies and Captivity History 00:09:05 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor provides historical context for the names in Nehemiah 7, explaining the waves of captivity from Assyria and Babylon and noting that most Jews did not return to Jerusalem.
• Revival and God's Heart 00:11:20 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor connects the actions of the returned exiles to the concept of revival, describing them as those who seek the kingdom of God and the welfare of His bride.
• Qualifications for Church Leadership 00:12:52 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts biblical qualifications (faithfulness and fearing God) with cultural expectations (relevance, hipness, oratory skills), emphasizing that faithfulness is rare and essential.
• Church Membership and Gates 00:15:39 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the metaphor of gates to explain the need for careful vetting of new members, citing a one-year waiting period to ensure stability and genuine commitment.
• Spiritual Warfare and Vigilance 00:19:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor warns believers to be sober and vigilant against Satan, who seeks to devour them, using the analogy of armor having no back protection to illustrate the danger of turning away from the fight.
• Purity of the Church (The Bride of Christ) 00:22:55 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that the church must guard its purity like a chaste virgin engaged to Christ, warning against 'mixed multitudes' and the lack of spiritual walls in modern churches.
• Spiritual Chastity and Purity 00:24:39 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines spiritual chastity as remaining holy unto the Lord, loving Him with all heart, soul, mind, and strength, and avoiding the idols of the world.
• Corporate Unity and Revival 00:25:13 ▶️ 📄
  > He argues that revival requires corporate humility and prayer, citing 2 Chronicles 7:14, and critiques the lack of unity when members do not gather together.
• The Dilemma of Empty Seats 00:26:48 ▶️ 📄
  > Using Nehemiah 7, he highlights the problem of a large city with few people and unbuilt houses, applying this to churches with empty seats.
• Rejection of Open Gates for Growth 00:27:18 ▶️ 📄
  > He debunks the idea that tearing down walls (lowering standards) solves the problem of few people, arguing that the richness of the kingdom is in the souls and saints, not the walls.
• Genealogy and True Membership 00:28:07 ▶️ 📄
  > He explains that Nehemiah's genealogy was to ensure only true Israelites entered Jerusalem, applying this to the church's need to verify that members are truly born again.
• The Nature of the Born Again Experience 00:32:19 ▶️ 📄
  > He contrasts superficial Christian identity (baptism, family background) with the radical transformation of being a 'new creature' or 'metamorphosis' in Christ.
• Fear of God vs. Fear of Man 00:33:13 ▶️ 📄
  > He emphasizes that leaders must fear God rather than man, citing Jesus' teaching that one should fear the One who can cast the soul into hell.
• Exclusion of Unverified Leadership 00:35:07 ▶️ 📄
  > He uses the example of priests in Nehemiah who were excluded because they could not prove their lineage, applying this to pastors and leaders who are not truly born again.
• Seeking God's Will Over Convenience 00:36:52 ▶️ 📄
  > He argues against lowering standards for leadership or membership due to convenience or need, insisting on seeking God's direction as Nehemiah did.
• Urim and Thummim 00:36:27 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains the Old Testament procedure for determining God's will through the high priest, contrasting it with the current need to seek God's direction without such explicit mechanisms.
• Church Growth and Doctrine 00:37:40 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor critiques the idea of lowering biblical standards (e.g., regarding fornication or homosexuality) to attract more people, arguing that this creates a group focused on entertainment rather than true church.
• Born Again Obedience 00:38:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that God demands complete obedience and that true believers obey out of love for 'Daddy' and the hope of heaven, rather than seeking comfort.
• Humility and Exaltation 00:39:08 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites Jesus' teaching that whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted, linking this to Nehemiah's example.
• Surrender and Transformation 00:39:28 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes the call to leave a life of self-exaltation and live as a living sacrifice, transformed by the renewing of the mind.
• Value of Christ 00:41:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the parables of the treasure and the pearl to illustrate that Christ is worth everything, requiring the believer to sell all they have to gain Him.
• Eternal Life and Good Deeds 00:41:55 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor analyzes Luke 18, arguing that one cannot inherit eternal life by doing good deeds, but must first recognize Jesus as God.
• Riches vs. God 00:44:55 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the rich young ruler who chose his riches over Christ, illustrating the danger of prioritizing wealth over God.
• Building the Kingdom 00:45:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor connects Nehemiah's desire for the kingdom's purity and unity to the modern believer's call to build the house of God for His glory.
• Total Surrender 00:47:21 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor challenges the congregation to consider if Christ purchased only part of them or their entire being, calling for total consumption and constraint to His glory.
• Denying Self 00:47:57 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites Jesus' command to deny oneself, take up one's cross, and follow Him, warning that those who seek to save their lives will lose them.
• Moses' Example 00:50:11 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses Moses as an example of someone who had everything in Egypt but chose faith, illustrating that earthly riches do not bring joy and peace.
• Moses' Privilege and Choice 00:49:52 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes Moses' high status as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, possessing immense wealth and power, yet choosing to refuse these benefits.
• The Nature of Earthly Riches 00:50:43 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses a cultural reference to a 90s song about wanting to be rich to illustrate that earthly riches do not bring joy or peace, citing Michael Jackson as an example.
• Esteeming the Reproach of Christ 00:52:19 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ (suffering for God's people) as greater than Egypt's treasures, linking this to the prophetic psalms about Christ's chastisement.
• Faith and Endurance 00:53:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor connects Moses' actions to faith, noting he forsook Egypt not fearing Pharaoh (symbolizing the devil) because he saw the invisible God.
• Christ as Passover Lamb 00:53:50 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor identifies Christ as the true Passover lamb sacrificed for believers, contrasting Moses' limited scripture with his profound love for God.
• Call to Consecration 00:55:10 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor challenges the congregation to make the same choice as Moses, asking them to consecrate their lives, hands, feet, lips, mind, and heart to the Lord.

• Sermon Illustration 00:10:33 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his father, who was born in Baghdad in 1942, to illustrate the large population of Arab Jews who remained in Iraq after the Babylonian captivity, contrasting them with the minority who returned to Jerusalem.
• Sermon Illustration 00:13:03 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses a rhetorical question about 'skinny jeans' and cultural relevance to mock modern church growth strategies that prioritize being 'hip and cool' over spiritual faithfulness.
• Sermon Illustration 00:14:11 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his tenure at Lakeside church, noting he has been there almost 16 years compared to the average pastor's tenure of three to three and a half years, attributing this to the difficulty of finding faithful leaders.
• Sermon Illustration 00:17:01 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the biblical story of Achan and Ai, where the hidden sin of one man caused the entire nation of Israel to fail in conquering the land, illustrating how a single unvetted individual can harm the church.
• Sermon Illustration 00:23:56 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of an engagement ring (the Greek word 'arrabon' or earnest) to describe the Holy Spirit as a down payment, explaining that believers are currently engaged to Christ and must remain spiritually chaste until the marriage supper of the Lamb.
• Sermon Illustration 00:26:48 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the historical context of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls and the dilemma of the city being large but having few people and unbuilt houses, comparing this to modern churches with empty seats.
• Sermon Illustration 00:27:18 ▶️ 📄
  > He uses the analogy of America's open gates to critique the idea of keeping church gates open to everyone without verification, asking 'how's that working for america'.
• Sermon Illustration 00:29:18 ▶️ 📄
  > He mentions a sermon six hours long in the next chapter of Nehemiah where the people loved it and returned the next day, contrasting this with his own church's Sunday evening attendance.
• Sermon Illustration 00:31:07 ▶️ 📄
  > He references the biblical account of Judas being taken care of before the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, implying that impurity (Judas) would have prevented the outpouring of the Spirit.
• Sermon Illustration 00:35:07 ▶️ 📄
  > He cites the example of priests in Nehemiah who could not show their father's house or seed and were therefore put out from the priesthood as polluted.
• Sermon Illustration 00:36:27 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts the Old Testament high priest's use of Urim and Thummim with the modern believer's need to seek God's will through prayer, noting that there is no explicit procedure for determining God's will today.
• Sermon Illustration 00:37:15 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a 'convenience store' or 'fast food restaurant' to describe the wrong approach to church, where people expect to 'see how it goes' rather than seeking God's specific will.
• Sermon Illustration 00:37:52 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes a hypothetical scenario where a pastor tones down rhetoric on sin to attract more people, resulting in a group that gathers to hear a rock band rather than a true church.
• Sermon Illustration 00:40:39 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the parables of the treasure hid in a field and the merchant seeking pearls to illustrate that Christ is worth everything, requiring the believer to sell all they have to gain Him.
• Sermon Illustration 00:41:55 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the story of the rich young ruler in Luke 18 who asked what he must do to inherit eternal life, was told to sell his possessions, and went away sorrowful because he chose his riches over God.
• Sermon Illustration 00:50:43 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references a 90s song about wanting to be rich to illustrate the cultural desire for wealth, then cites Michael Jackson as an example of someone who found that earthly riches did not bring joy and peace.
• Sermon Illustration 00:50:43 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references a 1990s song with the chorus 'I want to be rich' to illustrate the cultural desire for wealth, then contrasts this with the reality that earthly riches do not bring joy or peace, citing Michael Jackson's life as an example of this failure.

• Pastoral Charge 00:16:19 ▶️ 📄
  > Pay special attention to who is allowed into the church assembly as a member.
• Pastoral Charge 00:19:30 ▶️ 📄
  > Watch, be mindful, be sober, and be vigilant against spiritual attacks.
• Pastoral Charge 00:20:48 ▶️ 📄
  > Fight the good fight of faith, maintain spiritual boundaries (walls), preach the gospel (gates), and live as chaste virgins holy unto the Lord.
• Pastoral Charge 00:25:13 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor implies a call to restore spiritual fidelity and unity within the church to enable revival.
• Pastoral Charge 00:32:08 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor invites individuals who are uncertain of their salvation to meet with him for counseling.
• Pastoral Charge 00:45:42 ▶️ 📄
  > Reflect on and identify the specific desires God has placed in their hearts for building His kingdom.
• Pastoral Charge 00:47:19 ▶️ 📄
  > Shift focus from personal preferences to discerning and fulfilling God's will.
• Pastoral Charge 00:55:39 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor leads the congregation in a prayer of total consecration, asking them to dedicate their physical and mental faculties to God.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] Audio, Nehemiah chapter 7. I must confess to you that Nehemiah 7 is a difficult chapter.
[00:00:09] As you look at it, there's a lot of names there. And remember, all of the Word of God is inspired from cover to cover. And sometimes when we get to genealogies or lists of names, maybe we're tempted
[00:00:22] to skip over those. But remember, even those names are inspired as well. They are there for a reason.
[00:00:31] And I have to confess that after reading chapter seven and thinking about presenting a sermon to you, I thought, well, let's see what chapter eight has to say.
[00:00:43] And chapter eight has a lot of great material.
[00:00:47] I mean, we could preach many sermons out of chapter eight.
[00:00:50] And so I was prepared to preach on chapter eight, but commentaries have a place.
[00:00:57] and I was looking at one commentary from the 19th century and it brought out some things in chapter 7 that your dull pastor just entirely missed and so I think it's worth preaching it's worth God putting it in his holy inspired word
[00:01:13] therefore there is something here that I'm sure the Holy Spirit can give to us even through these feeble infirm efforts of the worm that stands before you according to scripture So, let's now read chapter 7 of Nehemiah, and I pray you have patience with me as we
[00:01:35] go through this list of names.
[00:01:37] But remember, they're there for a reason.
[00:01:40] Let's not skip over them.
[00:01:41] Nehemiah chapter 7, our sermon is entitled, What Has God Put Into Your Heart?
[00:01:48] Well, let's see what God put into the heart of his people in the days of Nehemiah.
[00:01:53] Nehemiah chapter 7, verse 1.
[00:01:55] Now it came to pass when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters, and the singers, and the Levites were appointed, that I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah, the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God above many.
[00:02:16] And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot.
[00:02:21] and while they stand by let them shut the doors and bar them and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem everyone in his watch and everyone to be over against his house now the city was
[00:02:33] large and great but the people were few therein and the houses were not builded and my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles and the rulers and the people that they might be
[00:02:45] reckoned by genealogy and I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first and found written therein.
[00:02:53] That is a genealogy of all of those who returned from the captivity of Persia to come back to rebuild Jerusalem.
[00:03:02] All right, beginning in verse 7.
[00:03:04] Who came with Zerubbabel and Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Ramaiah, Namainai, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mizpaveth, Bigvai, Nehum, Bena.
[00:03:13] The number, I say, of the men of the people of Israel was this.
[00:03:17] The children of Parosh, 2,170 and 2.
[00:03:20] The children of Shepetiah, 370 and 2.
[00:03:23] The children of Arah, 650 and 2.
[00:03:26] The children of Pehath-Moab, the children of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818.
[00:03:32] The children of Elam, 1,250 and 4.
[00:03:35] The children of Zatu, 840 and 5.
[00:03:38] The children of Zachai, 703 score.
[00:03:41] The children of Benuai, 640 and 8.
[00:03:43] The children of Bebi, 620 and 8.
[00:03:47] The children of Asgad, 2,320 and 2.
[00:03:51] The children of Adonaiakim, 603 score and 7.
[00:03:54] The children of Bigvi, 2,000, 3 score and 7.
[00:03:57] The children of Aden, 650 and 5.
[00:04:00] The children of Atar of Hezekiah, 90 and 8.
[00:04:03] The children of Hashum, 320 and 8.
[00:04:05] The children of Bizai, 320 and 4.
[00:04:08] The children of Harith, 112.
[00:04:09] The children of Gibeon, 90 and 5.
[00:04:12] The men of Bethlehem and Netopha, 104 score and 8.
[00:04:15] The men of Anathoth, 128.
[00:04:18] The men of Bethazamaveth, 40 and 2.
[00:04:20] The men of Kirjath-Jerim, Shephara and Beeroth, 740 and 3.
[00:04:25] The men of Ramah and Geba, 620 and 1.
[00:04:28] The men of Mikmas, 120 and 2.
[00:04:31] The men of Bethel and Ai, 120 and 3.
[00:04:34] The men of the other Nebo, 50 and 2.
[00:04:36] The children of the other Elam, 1,250 and 4.
[00:04:39] The children of Harim, 320.
[00:04:41] the children of Jericho, 345, the children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721, the children of Sina, 3,930, the priests, the children of Jediah, of the house of Jeshua, 973, the children of Emer, 1,050, and 2, the children of Peshaw, 1,247, the children of Harim, 1,017, the Levites,
[00:05:06] the children of Jeshua, of Kadimiel, of the children of Hodeva, 70 and 4, the singers, the children of Asaph, 140 and 8, the porters, the children of Shalom, the children of Etar, the children of Talmon, the children of Aqob, the children of Hatia, the children of Shobaya,
[00:05:22] 130 and 8, the Nethanims, the children of Zihah, the children of Hasupah, the children of Tabeoth, the children of Kiros, the children of Siyah, the children of Pedan, the children of Lebana, the children of Haggabah, the children of Shalmai, the children of Hainan, the children of Gedel,
[00:05:37] the children of Gahar, the children of Reiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nikoda, the children of Gezam, the children of Uzzah, the children of Phaesia, the children of Besai, the children of Menuhim, the children of Nephissim, the children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakufa,
[00:05:52] the children of Harhor, the children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Tema, the children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha, the children of Solomon's servants,
[00:06:06] the children of Sotai, the children of Sofereth, the children of Perida, the children of Jeala, the children of Darkon, the children of Gidele, the children of Shephetiah, the children of Hatil, the children of Pochereth, the children of Zebayim,
[00:06:21] the children of Amon, all the Nethanims, and the children of Solomon's servants were 392.
[00:06:28] And these were they which went up also, verse 61, from Telmila to Hareshah, Cherub, Adon, and Emer.
[00:06:37] But they could not show their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.
[00:06:42] The children of Deliah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nicodah, 642, and the priests, the children of Hebiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, which took one of the daughters of Barzillai, the Gileadite,
[00:06:55] to wife, and was called after their name. These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found. Therefore were they as polluted, put from the priesthood. And the Tarshitha said unto them that they should
[00:07:10] not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim. The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and three score, besides their manservants and their maidservants, of whom there
[00:07:24] was seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven. They had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women, Their horses, seven hundred thirty and six.
[00:07:33] Their mules, two hundred and forty and five.
[00:07:35] Their camels, four hundred and thirty and five.
[00:07:38] Six thousand seven hundred and twenty asses.
[00:07:40] And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work of the fathers, gave unto the work.
[00:07:46] The Tarshitha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priest garments.
[00:07:54] And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work, twenty thousand drams of gold, two thousand and two hundred pounds of silver and that which the rest of the people gave was
[00:08:05] twenty thousand drams of gold two thousand pounds of silver and three score and seven priest garments so the priest and the levites and the porters and the singers and some of the people and the nathanims and all israel dwelt in their cities and when the seventh month came the children
[00:08:22] of israel were in their cities now what type of now what type of sermon would you all preach from that chapter.
[00:08:34] Let's pray.
[00:08:36] Heavenly Father, we do praise you and thank you for your word.
[00:08:40] We know it is inspired from cover to cover.
[00:08:43] And we know there is teaching here that you would have for your church.
[00:08:47] That is why you put it in here for our edification and for your glory.
[00:08:51] So help us now, Lord.
[00:08:52] Help me.
[00:08:53] Help us to understand, to receive from your Holy Spirit and to grow more conformed to the image of your precious son, Jesus, in whose name we pray and thank you. Amen.
[00:09:05] One of the things I want to remind you of with all of these names, there was a lot of Jews taken from Assyria out of Israel into captivity into Iraq, northern Iraq, Assyria, Mosul, in 722 B.C.
[00:09:22] And then there was Judah taken captive to Babylon in more southern Iraq in 586 B.C.
[00:09:29] But there are many waves of captives over the years, and though the captivity formerly of Judah was 70 years in Iraq, and then later in Persia, the time of captivity lasted a lot longer, and most of the Jews did not return.
[00:09:48] Because remember, the time of Nehemiah and Ezra is some 120 years after they were initially taken captive.
[00:09:57] So most of the people that went back had never lived in Israel.
[00:10:02] And so it's quite a call to leave what you know as home, to leave your goods and your family and your friends and everyone else and get up and walk, you know, for three months to a place you've never been.
[00:10:20] It's an act of faith, actually.
[00:10:22] And so these that are mentioned, though there are some 42,000, were actually the minority of those that were taken captive.
[00:10:31] Of course, they had children.
[00:10:33] And as a matter of fact, as my father will attest to you, who was born in 1942, in Iraq, in Baghdad, there was a tremendous population of Arab Jews and many synagogues that had been there since the time of Babylon
[00:10:52] and never left.
[00:10:55] So these names, even though we've already seen how many of the Jews did not act in a godly fashion in the day of Nehemiah, nevertheless, these who came back were kind of a cream of the crop.
[00:11:08] They're walking in faith.
[00:11:09] They're going to rebuild Zion and Jerusalem and the walls and to reestablish the worship of the true God of the whole earth, especially of the Jewish people.
[00:11:20] And so what we have is a picture, too, when we talk about and pray, as Pastor Andy did, for revival, these people who seek the kingdom of God, the glory of God, and the welfare
[00:11:31] of His bride, the church.
[00:11:33] And that's what we have a picture of, and that's where I think we can learn here today.
[00:11:38] In chapter 7, verse 1, it came to pass when the wall was built.
[00:11:42] Remember in the previous chapter, the wall was finished in 52 days.
[00:11:46] What a blessing.
[00:11:48] Yet there's still work to be done because the wall is finished.
[00:11:53] But it says, notice, he says that it came to pass when the wall was built of Jerusalem, I set up the doors and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed.
[00:12:02] And I gave my brother Hananiah, the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem.
[00:12:07] So what we'll find later is Nehemiah goes back to Persia.
[00:12:10] Remember, he was the cupbearer to the king.
[00:12:13] He goes back for like 13 years, and then he comes back later to check on things.
[00:12:18] So he gives his brother Hanani and Hananiah charge over Jerusalem, and it mentions of Hananiah, for he was a faithful man and feared God above many.
[00:12:29] Here's the first thing I want us to see.
[00:12:31] The church needs to have faithful leadership.
[00:12:35] Men who are faithful.
[00:12:36] Notice it didn't say he was a great preacher, or he was even a great teacher.
[00:12:41] Though elders and leaders should be of the church apt to teach and preach.
[00:12:45] It doesn't say that he was even necessarily a great administrator.
[00:12:51] But what were the qualifications?
[00:12:52] He was a faithful man and feared God above many.
[00:12:57] Is that the main qualifications of church leadership today?
[00:13:01] What can you do for us?
[00:13:03] Those jeans won't work.
[00:13:04] You got to wear skinny jeans if you're going to grow the church.
[00:13:06] You know, what do you know about current culture?
[00:13:11] How hip and cool are you?
[00:13:13] How relevant are you?
[00:13:14] No, no, it doesn't say anything about any of that, okay?
[00:13:16] And it doesn't say anything even about how good of an orator these people were to lead.
[00:13:22] It talks about two things.
[00:13:24] He was faithful and he feared God.
[00:13:28] That sounds very simple.
[00:13:30] Oh, everybody does that, Pastor Joseph.
[00:13:32] Really?
[00:13:33] A faithful man, who can find?
[00:13:37] It's very hard to find someone who is faithful, who is willing to take knocks and hits and difficulty and challenges and the fires of the evil one, and day after day, year after year, but to stand, having done all to stand against the wiles of the devil.
[00:13:57] It's difficult to find a faithful man who in times of temptation will not succumb, who in times when no one's looking but God will still continue to serve the Lord and give Him the glory and the praise.
[00:14:11] Someone who, you know what the average tenure of a pastor in a church in America is today, regardless of the denomination? The average?
[00:14:19] Three, three and a half years. I've been here almost 16. I guess I've outstayed my welcome. Pastor Andy, you're right about three, three and a half years.
[00:14:33] Actually, we both are because we're cornerstone. But I've been here, which was lakeside about that law but it's true it's true why is that because uh it has to do with churches and the way people treat their pastor but it's also because a pastor gets paid to preach to teach to
[00:14:51] lead and when all of the people start to have problems and start to blame him hey i didn't sign up for this let me get out of here a faithful man who can find and so we need faithful people
[00:15:03] in charge just as nehemiah had wisdom to put his brother who he knew was a man of integrity we need to know our leaders we need to have faithful men who fear god above all else the fear of god is
[00:15:18] something that is not common and and really present around the world today in our nation but this is what is presented as key key elements in leaders to be chosen for the church And so this trusted leadership, faithful men, fearing God,
[00:15:39] and notice special attention must be directed toward the gates.
[00:15:43] So we have walls now, but there's gates, the doors, and they're going to open from time to time.
[00:15:49] Well, you spent all this time building the walls.
[00:15:51] Now you got gates.
[00:15:52] You better check the gates.
[00:15:53] You better keep an eye on the gates.
[00:15:55] You better keep an eye on the door.
[00:15:56] Nehemiah makes this clear.
[00:15:58] Verse 3, he says, And I said unto them, let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot.
[00:16:04] So don't open them early in the morning when you're not quite sure what you're seeing.
[00:16:09] Wait till the sun is hot and you've got clear sight and you know who you're letting come into this church.
[00:16:16] Is that what he said? That's essentially what he's saying, right?
[00:16:19] We need to pay very special attention.
[00:16:22] This is the household of God. This is a precious place. This is the body of Christ.
[00:16:26] When people come through that door, we welcome them.
[00:16:29] But when people come to become members of the church and to stay, we need to pay special attention to who we allow in this assembly.
[00:16:37] You need to pay attention to who comes in and who goes out, but especially who comes in.
[00:16:44] After all, why build walls if you don't care who comes in?
[00:16:48] There's no point of walls if it doesn't matter who comes in the gate.
[00:16:52] It's extremely important that we see who is coming in And because, how many does it take to create a problem?
[00:17:01] Remember Achan? Remember Ai? Remember his sin?
[00:17:05] How it caused the entire nation of Israel to not be able to go forward in conquering the land because of the sin, hidden sin of just one man.
[00:17:12] And so, we need to pay special attention to the gates.
[00:17:17] Who is allowed to enter into the church?
[00:17:20] And that's why we have, for example, in our church, these church membership classes.
[00:17:25] and also we established this rule more recently.
[00:17:30] You need to be coming here for at least a year before you become a member.
[00:17:34] Why?
[00:17:34] Well, we'd like to get to know you and we'd like you to get to know us.
[00:17:39] First month or two, we might be decent, but then after that you say, oh, I can't stand these guys.
[00:17:43] I'm out of here.
[00:17:45] We've had a lot of people come and get excited over the years.
[00:17:48] This is the church for me.
[00:17:49] This is wonderful.
[00:17:50] And within six years, we're terrible and they're gone and telling other people how bad we are.
[00:17:55] and they want to become members right away.
[00:17:57] No, be very careful.
[00:17:59] If you want the church to be strong, you see, the ancient city of Jerusalem, these cities could never be a strong city, could never be a place where government and especially religion could thrive as long as the walls were down
[00:18:13] because all sorts of people are passing through.
[00:18:15] There is no way to have a unified government or unified religion.
[00:18:20] It's just even the enemies are having access.
[00:18:23] so they build walls so that they will have government and have safety and security and they'll be able to establish this true religion unto the Lord, which is where the temple is, where the place of God is kept sacred from those who are without,
[00:18:41] who would wish to defile it, both physically or, in our case, generally, spiritually speaking.
[00:18:47] So there is a need for walls, but there's also a need for gates because we want people to come to church.
[00:18:53] but we don't just want them to come to church we want them to get saved for them to come to church and sit there and listen to the word week in and week out and not be born again
[00:19:02] it's worse than if they were outside so we need gates but we need to pay special attention to those gates and to those doors and this is what Nehemiah is instructing he says let not the gates of Jerusalem
[00:19:16] verse 3 be open until the sun be hot and while they stand by let them shut the doors and bar them and appoint watches over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in his watch, everyone to be over against his house.
[00:19:30] So we need to watch, be mindful, be sober, be vigilant.
[00:19:34] Remember, because the adversary has a roaring lion, roameth about seeking whom he may devour.
[00:19:38] Remember, if we're truly the bride of Christ, if we're truly children of God, if we've truly been given the armor of God, we have the Holy Spirit of God inside of us, we have the name of Christ upon us,
[00:19:48] then there's no one on earth that Satan hates more than us.
[00:19:52] And he's going to do all that he can to fight against us, to try to destroy us, to try to stop us in our path.
[00:20:00] And to think otherwise is sheer folly.
[00:20:04] And by the way, if you don't believe that, Satan's, hooray, they don't believe I exist.
[00:20:09] I can do whatever I want.
[00:20:10] They'll never know who it is.
[00:20:12] I believe that.
[00:20:14] Satan's number one ploy against the church is to make the church think that he either doesn't exist formally or, well, yeah, of course he exists, but it's not that big of a deal. Either way, he's won.
[00:20:26] Now we need to understand.
[00:20:28] We need to be, the Bible tells us, be sober.
[00:20:30] Be vigilant. This is a war that we're fighting.
[00:20:32] What's the armor for if we're not to fight with it? And by the way, how many knows there's no armor on the back?
[00:20:39] And what does that tell you?
[00:20:41] If you turn around and run, Satan can shoot at you all day.
[00:20:46] And you're going to hurt for it.
[00:20:48] And so, we are called to fight the good fight of faith. We are called to have these walls. But we're called to have gates because our job is to preach the gospel of Christ, right? Take the gospel to all nations,
[00:21:01] right? Baptize in my name, you know, teaching them whatsoever I've commanded you. And lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age, right? We're supposed to do that. We're supposed to seek people to come and to hear the gospel. But when it becomes people who are going to come
[00:21:15] and reside and be a member, they need to be born again. They need to be thoroughly converted. We need to be of one heart and of one mind, striving together for the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,
[00:21:26] so that the pure church and the pure glory of God and the richness of the Spirit of God might flourish in our midst, and there might not be a mixed multitude. We have to beware. Yes,
[00:21:38] the Bible talks about, Jesus talks about the wheat and the tares, and we have to be very careful, but it's much better to be on guard and to be watching that those tares not be sown in the
[00:21:49] midst of the household of God. So we need to pay special attention to the gates. Let me say this, you don't have to pay any attention to gates if you don't have any walls. A city doesn't need a
[00:22:03] gate if it doesn't have a wall. And I'm afraid, I don't want to speak ill of our brothers and sisters, but so much of the church in America, there are no walls. Come as you are, do whatever
[00:22:15] you want, we're just glad you're here. You know, I've heard all kind of horror stories, you know.
[00:22:21] So anyone and everyone comes in, people who don't believe, atheists, all kind of tools of the devil, whether they know it or not.
[00:22:29] And so where is the pure worship of God?
[00:22:32] Where is the holiness unto the Lord?
[00:22:35] Where is the ability for the unity of the Spirit and the bonds of peace?
[00:22:38] It's broken.
[00:22:40] And so there's no sense.
[00:22:42] And you don't even have to worry about a gate if you don't have walls.
[00:22:45] So we need walls.
[00:22:47] We need walls and we need gates.
[00:22:49] We need to pay special attention.
[00:22:50] We need to guard the purity of the bride of Christ.
[00:22:55] You see, God wants a pure bride.
[00:22:59] And we're called his bride, are we not?
[00:23:02] Look with me in 1 Corinthians, if you would.
[00:23:08] Oh, I'm sorry, 2 Corinthians.
[00:23:20] 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 1.
[00:23:22] Would to God you could bear with me a little in my folly, and indeed bear with me, Paul says to the bride, to the church, for I am jealous over you with godly jealousy.
[00:23:33] for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
[00:23:42] This is the picture.
[00:23:43] When we're born again, Ephesians chapter 1, we have received the earnest of our inheritance.
[00:23:48] We've received the Holy Spirit, the down payment, if you will.
[00:23:51] The very same word in Greek, arabon, which is for the earnest, is what's given us.
[00:23:56] This is the engagement ring.
[00:23:58] It's the same word for engagement ring that's in the Bible, earnest, referring to the Holy Spirit.
[00:24:03] We've now become engaged to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but especially the Son, because one day when He returns, we'll be married, the marriage supper of the Lamb.
[00:24:12] And so now we have been called out to be His bride, but the marriage has not yet happened.
[00:24:17] And so between the point that we're born again and justified, until the point that we're glorified and see Christ when He comes back for us, or when He takes us to Himself on that last day,
[00:24:27] when He returns and the judgment and the marriage supper of the Lamb, we are to remain as chaste virgins. What does that mean? It means we are to be holy unto the Lord. Our heart is not
[00:24:39] to be swayed with the idols of the world or the self or all sorts of other things. We are to have our love for Him, the first commandment to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of
[00:24:49] your soul, all of your mind, all of your strength. Here is the chastity, spiritual chastity that we are focused on Christ and on Him alone.
[00:24:57] And this is our counsel, this is our creed this is our direction this is our call and he is the one who captures our heart and this is the way that we should all be and if there be one in the midst who is not then the unity is broken
[00:25:13] and when we cry out for revival i'm looking over here we've removed that we've got to put that back up it's over there second chronicle 714 if my people which are called by my name will humble
[00:25:23] themselves right and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then will i hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. But it talks about the group as an assumption
[00:25:35] that they're doing it together. When we have a prayer meeting on Sunday night, and we have three or four, we're not doing it together. When we have a prayer meeting on Saturday night, and I'm the
[00:25:44] only one here, we're not doing it together. Now, I'm not saying that if you're not here, you're not a chaste virgin. But what I'm saying is, we need to be together in this. We need to be, look, these
[00:25:54] people are ready to give up everything to come and to seek the prosperity of zion and the kingdom of god and so all of our hearts should be inflamed with the love for christ and for a zeal for his
[00:26:07] church and for his glory and this is the picture but we do have to be careful there is a wall there is a defined understanding of what the word of god tells us this is our doctrine this is the
[00:26:19] truth and we are to guard it zealously because we want to remain chaste and pure unto the day of his coming and the marriage supper of the lamb what a wonderful day now as we're watching
[00:26:33] there's a dilemma notice back in nehemiah 7 though they have the walls up and though the gates are closed and though they have now some administration there is a challenge beginning in verse 4 now the
[00:26:48] city was large and great, but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded. That's the dilemma of the church. Just look around at all the empty seats.
[00:26:59] There's a lot of empty seats here. The city was large. The walls were there, but there wasn't many people inside. That's a problem. And by the way, there's churches all over town that have this problem. Some don't. But notice here, the city was
[00:27:18] large and great the people were few therein and houses were not built so what you should say well you know what keep those gates open all the time why don't we tear down walls instead of building
[00:27:29] them let's just let everybody in how's that working for america how'd that work for the church no no no so his answer is not you know maybe this wall thing and this gate thing isn't so good
[00:27:44] Because we've got great walls, we've got gates, but we don't have many people in the town.
[00:27:50] And if there's not many people here, what's the whole point?
[00:27:53] Because the richness of the kingdom of God is in the souls and in the saints.
[00:27:59] Not in the wall, the beauty of the wall or the beauty and strength of the gates.
[00:28:04] And so here's the answer.
[00:28:07] Verse 5, and my God put into my heart, that's our sermon title, what has God put into your heart?
[00:28:15] As well, you know, you just need to loosen up.
[00:28:17] Keep those gates open all the time.
[00:28:18] Anybody who wants to come, come.
[00:28:20] No.
[00:28:21] My God put into my heart, verse 5, to gather together the nobles, the rulers, the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy.
[00:28:28] And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first and found written therein.
[00:28:33] So all of these names that I read, what's the point?
[00:28:36] That's the genealogy of who came up.
[00:28:39] Why?
[00:28:39] What, God put in your heart so you could just read all these numbers?
[00:28:43] That's interesting.
[00:28:44] What good is that?
[00:28:45] The point was, he wants to make sure that everyone that's going to be in Jerusalem is of the true genealogy of Israel and of Judah.
[00:28:56] And this is the picture.
[00:28:58] Why do we watch the gate?
[00:28:59] We don't want anyone here who's not born again.
[00:29:02] Anybody can say, I'm a Christian.
[00:29:04] I believe in Jesus.
[00:29:05] We want people who know the Lord, who have been thoroughly converted, who have a joy in their heart, which is their strength, who want to serve the Lord, who want to honor Him and to want to hear the Word of God.
[00:29:18] As we'll see in the next chapter, there was a sermon six hours long.
[00:29:23] I promise not to preach anywhere close to half of that.
[00:29:27] And they loved it. They loved it.
[00:29:31] And they came back the next day for more.
[00:29:33] Pastor Andy, I've never seen them show back up Monday morning and say, Can we have another one?
[00:29:38] I wish they would. We'd do it, wouldn't we?
[00:29:41] Even Sunday evening, we tried.
[00:29:43] and only a handful came back but but this is the picture and so the genealogy is for nehemiah to say okay who is going to be able to be in jerusalem and not i need to make sure that these are true
[00:29:55] jews that honor god and for the church we need to understand that who is going to be in the church needs to be born again people we are the place we are the body we are called okay to be holy
[00:30:09] unto the Lord. Yes, we share the gospel. We know that people come in. We don't know who they are.
[00:30:14] We always share the gospel in the church. But the idea is that this is not supposed to be necessarily the primary place of evangelization. You all should all be born again, filled with the spirit and desire to evangelize and talk to everyone that you meet and share the gospel
[00:30:31] and bring them back to hear the truth about the gospel. You see, this is the picture of the Bible.
[00:30:37] And here is a place of purity, of unity, of worship of our triune God, where we come together and sing in unity and pray in unity of one heart and one mind.
[00:30:49] That's the picture of the church early in the book of Acts.
[00:30:52] And that, by the way, is when the Holy Spirit of God came down and did mighty works.
[00:30:58] But if we got all kind of people in the midst, and by the way, Judas was taken care of before that happened.
[00:31:07] I don't think the Holy Spirit would have come like that if Judas was still in the midst.
[00:31:11] But Judas was taken care of.
[00:31:14] The Holy Spirit comes.
[00:31:16] There is mighty works.
[00:31:17] And as soon as it manifests, here comes the devil trying to find Ananias and Sapphira and whoever else they can to make it impure once again.
[00:31:26] So this is a fight that we have to fight for.
[00:31:28] We need to understand that the true church of God has walls.
[00:31:31] walls to keep out the enemy, but also to protect us, that we might worship our triune God in spirit and in truth, not be ashamed of the gospel, in the unity of the spirit, in the bonds of the peace,
[00:31:43] filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, striving for the gospel as one man. This is the calling of the church. This is why it's important, and we need to know about the genealogy of people who
[00:31:54] come in that door. You say, well, can't you use, you know, one of those internet DNA tests? The spiritual genealogy. You must be born again.
[00:32:08] If there's anyone in this room that says, I'm a Christian, but I'm not sure if you're born again, I'm born again. I hope that's not the case, but if so, please come see me because you're probably not born again. If you don't know what
[00:32:19] it means to be born again, how can you be born again?
[00:32:23] It's not easy. We are to be, the idea is, well, I believe certain things about Christ. I was born in a Christian family. I got baptized when I was a baby and, you know, what more do you want, pastor?
[00:32:40] God says we must be born again. We got a new daddy, father in heaven. We have a new mind, a new heart. We've been renewed. The Bible says if any man be in Christ or any woman,
[00:32:50] behold, he is a new creature. He's a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. That's a pretty radical phrase there. Is that what happened to you? Has that been working in your life? Or is it just same as always? No, it's supposed to be
[00:33:13] this tremendous, not just change, but in the Greek metamorphio, from which we get our own word metamorphosis. Now notice, not only should we have biblical, faithful men of God who are leading the church and the people of God, faithful even to death. Yes, that fear God more than man because
[00:33:37] the fear of man bringeth a snare. Jesus says, don't fear those who can kill the body and that's all they can do. Well, that's what everybody's afraid of, being killed, right? But Jesus said, don't be
[00:33:48] afraid of those guys. Be afraid of the one who after he kills can cast the soul into hell. Fear God and him alone. The fear of man brings a snare. The whole world is run by that fear and the
[00:34:01] governments of the world try to manipulate people through that fear. So we have this fact of we need godly, faithful, God-fearing leadership. We need to have strong walls. We need to have gates that are effective, that are watched carefully for who enters in and who goes out. And we also
[00:34:22] need to recognize the dilemma. We need more people. We need the place filled with life.
[00:34:30] And so we need to continue to seek and to save that which is lost. That's what God has called Christ to do and the body of Christ to do. And we need to continue to seek the Lord in all things.
[00:34:44] Notice, he had some priests that were in the genealogy.
[00:34:49] Look what's said here in verse 61.
[00:34:54] And these were they which went up also from Telmela, Telharsa, Cherub, Adon, Imar, but they could not show their father's house nor their seed whether they were of Israel.
[00:35:07] See that verse 61?
[00:35:08] In other words, these people are not to be trusted as part of Jerusalem.
[00:35:15] Later on, notice, the children of Deliah, the children of Tobiah, 62, the children of Nakoda, 642, and then verse 63, and of the priests, and it mentions their names, and it says, verse 64, these sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy,
[00:35:33] but it was not found.
[00:35:35] Therefore, they are as polluted and put out from the priesthood.
[00:35:41] Have there ever been a pastor or a priest that's not born again?
[00:35:44] You better believe it.
[00:35:46] don't take my word for it, take their words for it.
[00:35:50] There's been pastors and priests who've left Christianity and said, I don't believe in that anymore, I don't believe in Jesus.
[00:35:55] Well, here, they took special care to see the genealogy of the priests, and if they couldn't prove it, they're not allowed to minister in God's house.
[00:36:05] And this is the same thing.
[00:36:06] We need men who lead, yes, in the pulpit, but also in every aspect, any kind of leadership position in the church, however small it may be.
[00:36:14] these people need to be trustworthy people who are faithful who fear god and who are born again of course that should be for any member in the church as well and notice there was a question
[00:36:27] about this and nehemiah says in verse 65 and the tershitha said unto them they should not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest with urim and thumim in the old testament the high
[00:36:40] priest, he has this Urim and Thummim, and when he doesn't know something, he can go before God. And there was a special procedure which is not carefully given to us. We just have some information, but
[00:36:52] not explicit, how he could determine the will of God with this Urim and Thummim. But now after the captivity, there is no high priest with Urim and Thummim. So when there is not clarity, we're not
[00:37:06] moving forward. We're going to seek God. We're going to pray. We're going to seek God. We want God's direction. We can't make this stuff up as we go. This is not some kind of, you know,
[00:37:15] convenience store, a fast food restaurant. We'll just see how it goes and do the best we can. No, we have to seek God's will. We have to do God's work, God's way, not our way, not seeking, well,
[00:37:29] you know, hey, we need some more pastors. Let's just lower the bar and get some more leaders in here because, you know, you got the bar so high, there's only a few people that can minister. We
[00:37:40] got churches that need pastors, let's just lower the bar and bring them in. And the very same thing comes with churches. Pastor, if you keep preaching about fornication and about all of these ills of
[00:37:52] society, homosexuality and transgender and all of these hot topics, people aren't going to want to come. But if you'll tone down that rhetoric and just tell them how much Jesus loves them, then And you can get a lot of people to come.
[00:38:07] Come to what?
[00:38:09] It's not a church.
[00:38:12] It's a group of people who gather to hear a rock band, generally, and to say, ooh-hoo, hooray for Jesus.
[00:38:20] But I think so many are not born again because they have not heard the Word of God.
[00:38:25] God demands our complete obedience.
[00:38:29] So that's kind of tough, Pastor.
[00:38:30] But not when you're born again, because once you're born again, that's Daddy.
[00:38:33] I want to obey Daddy.
[00:38:35] I want to please Daddy.
[00:38:37] I want to do His will, and one day I'm going to get to heaven, and He essentially is going to embrace me in His arms forever with Him in pure safety and pure bliss.
[00:38:48] No more challenges, no more difficulties, no more sin.
[00:38:52] All of that's prepared, but as long as we're not born again, there's a jerking of the neck.
[00:38:58] Jerking. I don't like that.
[00:39:00] Let me find a church that won't tell me that stuff. I don't like that.
[00:39:02] That doesn't make me feel very lifted up.
[00:39:05] The only way to be lifted up is to first be cast down.
[00:39:08] The idea is Jesus says whoever exalts himself will be humbled.
[00:39:14] Whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
[00:39:17] Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord.
[00:39:19] That's what Nehemiah has done.
[00:39:21] That's what Hanani and Hananiah did.
[00:39:25] And that's what we're called to do.
[00:39:28] They left their life of ease.
[00:39:30] they've been all they knew so that they could come and start a new life building the kingdom of god isn't that the call of every one of us leave the life with the exaltation of the self the satanic
[00:39:42] trinity me myself and i and start a new life that where god is your god and king and christ is the one who your heart is set upon and live as a living sacrifice unto the lord being not conformed
[00:39:57] of this world, but transformed, metamorpho, transformed by the renewing of your mind, proving what is that good and acceptable will of God, testing, tasting, seeing, experiencing it firsthand. You'll never know the best possible will for your life until you bow the knee to
[00:40:16] Christ, because he is the one that has it. He's the one that bought and paid for it with his own blood, and he's the one that calls us to this highest calling on the face of the earth.
[00:40:29] And so, it reminds us, as we've been going through Matthew on Wednesdays, of these two very short parables in Matthew 13.
[00:40:39] You heard of the pearl of great price and the treasure in the field.
[00:40:45] If you look at Matthew chapter 13, verse 44.
[00:40:51] Matthew 13, 44.
[00:40:54] Again, the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found he hideth and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
[00:41:08] Verse 45, again the kingdom of heaven is likened to a merchant man seeking goodly pearls who when he had found one pearl of great price went and sold all that he had and bought it.
[00:41:23] That's the picture.
[00:41:25] Christ is either worth everything or he's worth nothing at all.
[00:41:32] There is no in-between.
[00:41:34] Is Christ worth everything to you?
[00:41:37] If not, then essentially he's worth nothing to you.
[00:41:42] And that's what Jesus says as much in Luke chapter 18, if you want to turn there now briefly.
[00:41:47] Luke chapter 18, someone comes to Jesus with a question, an important question.
[00:41:55] Luke chapter 18, verse 18.
[00:41:57] And a certain ruler asked him, Jesus, saying, good master what shall i do to inherit eternal life well first of all he's got the wrong question what should i do have i done enough are there any more good deeds i can do to get heaven well the
[00:42:18] answer of course is you can't buy heaven by doing good deeds and he calls jesus good verse 19 and jesus said unto him why callest thou me good none is good save one that is god now the skeptics and
[00:42:33] the Muslims and the Jehovah's Witnesses and those who deny that Jesus is God say, ah, see, Jesus was denying he was God. He says, why are you calling me good? Only one is good and that's God. And so
[00:42:45] obviously he was denying that he was calling him God. Unfortunately, they are not so bright because what Jesus is actually saying, what was the question? What must I do to inherit eternal life?
[00:42:58] The first step is to realize who Jesus is, God in the flesh.
[00:43:03] And so his answer, which is in the form of a question, is to draw him out to the first step and answer to his question.
[00:43:10] What must I do to inherit eternal life for you to know who I am?
[00:43:14] I'm God in the flesh, the Son of God.
[00:43:16] Do you believe that?
[00:43:18] Notice, that's what he says.
[00:43:19] Why do you call me good?
[00:43:22] There's none good save one.
[00:43:24] That's God.
[00:43:24] Are you then calling me God?
[00:43:27] And if so, that's the first thing you need to know about eternal life.
[00:43:33] And Jesus says, verse 20, Thou knowest the commandments.
[00:43:39] Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness.
[00:43:42] Honor thy father and thy mother.
[00:43:44] He's just quoting, right, from Exodus 20.
[00:43:46] And the man says, oh, all of these I've kept from my youth up.
[00:43:52] God forbid any of us stand before Christ.
[00:43:54] He says, how have you done with my commandments?
[00:43:55] Oh, God, nobody loves you more than me.
[00:44:00] Nobody can fulfill the law better than me.
[00:44:03] I've fulfilled every law 100%, 100% of the time.
[00:44:08] Have you not seen?
[00:44:09] God forbid.
[00:44:11] Is anyone here crazy enough to do that before God?
[00:44:14] But this guy, that's what he's essentially saying.
[00:44:18] Now, when Jesus heard these things, he said to them, Yeah, but there's still one thing you haven't done.
[00:44:24] Just one.
[00:44:25] That's pretty easy, right?
[00:44:26] just one. Yet lackest thou one thing. Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me. Jesus is either worth everything or nothing at all. And to this man, he chose nothing at all. And when he heard this,
[00:44:55] he was very sorrowful for he was very rich and he went away did he ever come back later and get saved we don't know but he didn't get saved that day why he chose his riches
[00:45:09] over God and over Christ God put into Nehemiah's heart that he is going to seek the purity the prosperity the unity and the peace of the kingdom of God so that it might grow unto His glory,
[00:45:30] that it might be populated with true believers, that it might be safe, that it might be well-administered, that it might be a praise unto our triune God, no matter what it cost Him.
[00:45:42] How about you?
[00:45:44] What's God put into your heart?
[00:45:52] Ezra chapter 1 verse 5 tells us, see Ezra and Nehemiah go together, who are these people who came back?
[00:45:59] Real quickly, Ezra chapter 1 tells us, These are the people that Nehemiah is talking about.
[00:46:06] Ezra and Nehemiah are contemporaries.
[00:46:08] Ezra came back just a little before Nehemiah.
[00:46:10] Who are these people?
[00:46:12] Ezra chapter 1 verse 5 tells us, Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, now listen, with all them whose spirit God had raised to go up and build the house of the Lord,
[00:46:33] which is in Jerusalem.
[00:46:35] Who are the people that came back?
[00:46:37] All those whose God's Spirit had worked in their heart that their desire was to build the kingdom of God unto the glory of our Christ and His Christ.
[00:46:50] God had stirred His Spirit.
[00:46:53] I thought the Holy Spirit didn't come to the New Testament.
[00:46:55] Pastor Joseph, well, He's working here.
[00:46:57] The Spirit of God is working in their hearts.
[00:47:00] He's raised them up to build the house.
[00:47:03] Well, Pastor Joseph, I'm just a Christian.
[00:47:06] I'm saved.
[00:47:07] I'm going to heaven.
[00:47:09] I come, I sit politely, and then I go.
[00:47:11] I come every Sunday.
[00:47:12] I give my money.
[00:47:13] What more do you want from me?
[00:47:16] Don't ask me what I want from you.
[00:47:19] Ask what God wants from you.
[00:47:21] If he's really your child, did he only purchase part of you?
[00:47:29] Was the blood of Christ a partial payment?
[00:47:32] Or did he not buy all of us, spirit?
[00:47:37] soul, mind, and body to be consumed and constrained to his glory and his purposes.
[00:47:44] And what is the purpose outlined in scripture? To build the house of God for his glory. I believe that's the same call for you and me today. Christ says, if any man wants to come after me, he must
[00:47:57] do what? Deny himself is the first thing. Because you can't get to the second thing before the first.
[00:48:05] You must deny yourself if you're going to take up your cross.
[00:48:08] If any man comes after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
[00:48:13] Anyone who seeks to save his life will lose it.
[00:48:15] And he who loses his life for my sake and the gospel shall find it, shall save it.
[00:48:23] I want to give you an example before we close.
[00:48:25] A beautiful example.
[00:48:27] And especially for young people.
[00:48:28] I see some young people here today, praise God.
[00:48:31] All of you are young, right?
[00:48:32] It's a relative term.
[00:48:36] Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11.
[00:48:38] I want to show you another picture of a man of God who God's spirit moved in a wonderful way in his heart.
[00:48:55] And I want you to recognize that though Hebrews 11 recounts the heroes of faith this is the same spirit that is inside of us supposed to be if we're born again and Jesus said even John the Baptist, who was the last prophet of the Old Testament
[00:49:17] dispensation, if you will, of which all of these mentioned are, he said, none has risen born of woman greater than John the Baptist, but he that's least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Who's he talking
[00:49:34] about? So if you say, well, you know, I'm a Christian, but that just doesn't apply to me. No, it applies all the more. These should only be examples for us, but they should be priding us on to greater and greater heights of the endeavor
[00:49:52] of faith in Christ that he's called us to now as redeemed, blood-bought children of God, filled with his very spirit upon whose name has been impressed upon us. And so, we see in Hebrews chapter 11, Moses. Moses apparently had it all. I know we've seen so many movies and stories about
[00:50:11] Moses and sometimes it's easy to to transpose what fiction tells us but from scripture it seems pretty clear Moses was was the son of Pharaoh's daughter Moses had great opportunity in the kingdom of Egypt probably the greatest kingdom on earth at the time he was alive could he have been
[00:50:32] the next Pharaoh I don't know but he was right up there as high about as high as you could get he had all of the pleasures and all of the riches the bible says that he could want you know there
[00:50:43] used to be a song back in the 90s you know i want to be rich rich rich remember that song i can't even remember all about that was the chorus i want to be rich that was all it was
[00:50:54] about we want to be rich if i could just be rich everything would be solved yeah go ask michael Jackson, how that worked for him. And so many others. Earthly riches do not bring joy and peace.
[00:51:10] Moses found that out. Hebrews chapter 11, we're almost done. Hang in there. Verse 23.
[00:51:14] Hebrews chapter 11, verse 23. By faith, by faith, Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents because they saw he was a proper child. And they were not afraid of the king's
[00:51:26] commandment because they feared God more than man by faith Moses when he was come to years he had all of those benefits right because he was the son of Pharaoh's daughter by faith in verse 24 when he came of years he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter
[00:51:44] that's a lot to give up it's more than any of us have it's probably more than all of us together have, if you put together all of our wealth, what he had? He refused. Why? Verse 25. He chose rather
[00:52:01] to suffer affliction with the people of God. Well, his people were slaves. He chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. And that season
[00:52:16] is essentially our life.
[00:52:19] Why?
[00:52:20] Because he esteemed the reproach of Christ.
[00:52:24] Greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.
[00:52:27] Notice, it doesn't say he esteemed the glory of Christ.
[00:52:30] He esteemed the blessings of Christ.
[00:52:32] He esteemed the salvation of Christ.
[00:52:35] He esteemed the healing of Christ or the power of Christ.
[00:52:38] He esteemed the reproach of Christ.
[00:52:42] That's why it says in the Psalms, The reproaches of those that should have been on my people for their sin have fallen upon me, a prophetic psalm of Christ.
[00:52:58] The chastisement of our peace was upon him.
[00:53:03] Moses chose and esteemed the reproach of Christ greater than all the pleasures of sin, the treasures of Egypt for he had respect for the recompense of the reward.
[00:53:25] Why?
[00:53:25] By faith he forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king Pharaoh which symbolized essentially the devil for he endured as seeing him who is invisible through faith and why was this possible?
[00:53:41] Through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. And the Passover is what?
[00:53:50] Christ is our Passover lamb sacrificed for us. Moses what scripture did Moses have? He didn't have any of this. The first five books of the Old Testament was written by who?
[00:54:03] Moses. How much of this word did he have?
[00:54:07] He didn't even have a sword. He goes and becomes a slave. But he loved God and without knowing him yet he loved christ so much looking forward to what god would do through his messiah that he was
[00:54:22] ready to be a slave ready to take the reproach that the devil and the world was was throwing mud upon the slaves and upon the name of the triune god of israel and upon the people of god
[00:54:34] he embraced it because he recognized that that's far greater than all the world has to offer and he endured in this pilgrim journey seeing him that is invisible but that's because at the beginning of this chapter faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen he
[00:54:55] walked by faith and because of that he's willing to give it all more than you and i and all of us together could amass not for the blessings but for the reproach christ took the reproach and now he
[00:55:10] offers you the blessing. Why is it so hard for us to make that choice to live? Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. My hands, my feet, my lips, my mind, my heart.
[00:55:39] Help us, Lord. Heavenly Father, we come before you and we thank you for taking the reproach and the wrath that we deserve on the cross 2,000 years ago, that we who believe in you might be saved
[00:55:55] by the blood of the Passover lamb sacrificed for us, the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, that you might select and choose from all eternity past, but now in real time, a people unto yourself,
[00:56:11] holy, acceptable, offering spiritual sacrifices as a holy nation, a peculiar people, a spiritual priesthood, the very household of God.
[00:56:26] May the walls be high and strong.
[00:56:29] May the gates be watched.
[00:56:31] But may the city be inhabited and may it be filled with your presence and your spirit.
[00:56:41] That it might also be filled with people who love you and are willing to give all.
[00:56:47] And not only die for you, but to live for you and your Son, Christ Jesus, in whose name we pray and we thank you and praise you, Lord. Amen.
[00:56:57] Amen.
[00:56:58] If you would, find a psalter, the ARP Psalter, for those of you who are visitors, the blue book.
[00:57:04] These are the psalms put to music.