Vigilance in the Temple: Guarding Your Heart and Nation

• Enduring Faithfulness [02:14:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that spiritual renewal must be guarded against drift, emphasizing that the danger often comes after the celebration of a great work of God.
• Vigilance Against Compromise [02:16:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using Nehemiah 13, the pastor illustrates how compromise enters quietly through relationships and softened boundaries, citing the example of Tobiah being given a room in the temple.
• Commitment to Service [02:25:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor introduces the second point regarding the neglect of the Levites, highlighting the need for active commitment to the work of the church.
• Vigilance Against Compromise [02:24:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that faithfulness begins with vigilance against compromise because believers belong to God and were purchased by His blood, requiring them to ask if anything occupying their space belongs to the Lord.
• Commitment to Service [02:25:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using Nehemiah's confrontation of the neglect of Levites, the pastor illustrates that commitment must be practiced, not merely promised, and that faithfulness is active devotion rather than passive admiration.
• Accountability in Community [02:32:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor discusses the Sabbath violation to highlight that spiritual life is communal, not private, and that believers need others to ask hard questions and help close the 'gates' where compromise enters.
• Persevering in Holiness [02:38:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses intermarriage and the loss of covenant identity/language, using Solomon as an example that even the wise are not immune to compromise, emphasizing the seriousness of spiritual formation for the next generation.
• Spiritual Drift and Covenant Holiness [02:40:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that Nehemiah's actions were descriptive, not prescriptive, highlighting the seriousness of covenant community drifting and the need for holiness rather than ethnic purity.
• Generational Faithfulness [02:42:47 ▶️ 📄]
  > Addressing graduates, the pastor emphasizes that the deepest prayer is for the next generation to know Christ, warning that parental compromise leads to generational confusion.
• National Prayer and Renewal [02:51:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor encourages prayer for the nation, specifically referencing a National Day of Prayer event, urging humility, repentance, and spiritual awakening.
• Communion and Christ's Faithfulness [02:54:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The sermon concludes with communion, contrasting Nehemiah's failed attempts at self-preservation with Jesus' perfect faithfulness and the new covenant.
• Vigilance and Perseverance [02:57:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor calls for staying committed to God's work, walking in accountable community, and persevering in holiness while being vigilant against compromise.
• Generational Faith [02:57:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor prays for the preservation of the language of faith for the next generation.

• Sermon Illustration [02:13:53 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor compares the feeling of finishing the book of Nehemiah to watching the movie 'Karate Kid,' where the protagonist learns karate in six minutes, creating a false sense of completion before the real challenges begin in chapter 13.
• Sermon Illustration [02:24:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the 'WWJD' (What Would Jesus Do) bracelet, noting that while friends joke about it, Jesus actually turned over tables and fashioned whips in the temple, demonstrating perfect zeal.
• Sermon Illustration [02:39:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his parents telling him they would 'jerk a knot' in his head, realizing later that this phrase came from the Bible, specifically referencing Nehemiah's harsh confrontation of the people.
• Sermon Illustration [02:29:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of packing a backpack for travel, describing how important items placed in easy-to-reach pockets often end up lost at the bottom with melted chapstick if not intentionally kept in front, illustrating how faith can drift from priority to resource.
• Sermon Illustration [02:39:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his parents threatening to 'jerk a knot' in his head, realizing later that this phrase originated from Nehemiah's biblical action of pulling out hair, noting it was a 'holy and biblical' upbringing moment.
• Sermon Illustration [02:47:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the historical figure Nehemiah, who rebuilt walls of stone and cleansed temple rooms but could not achieve perfect faithfulness, with Jesus, who rebuilds ruined centers and cleanses the human heart through His death and resurrection.

• Pastoral Charge [02:27:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > Order lives so God's priorities remain first, ensuring actions match words.
• Pastoral Charge [02:30:31 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stop being a passive observer and engage actively in worship and service.
• Pastoral Charge [02:37:46 ▶️ 📄]
  > Evaluate and select friends/community members based on their ability to help maintain faithfulness to Jesus.
• Pastoral Charge [02:51:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > Set a phone reminder to pray for the nation at 4 p.m. on the day of the sermon.
• Pastoral Charge [02:52:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pray for mercy, confess sins, and seek spiritual awakening during the designated prayer time.
• Pastoral Charge [02:55:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > Examine personal hearts for compromise, neglected service, resistance to accountability, and compromised holiness before taking communion.
• Pastoral Charge [02:57:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > To be vigilant against compromise, stay committed to God's work, walk in an accountable community, and persevere in holiness.

[00:12:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:12:27] Good morning church family my name is Adam and we are thankful for you being here with us to worship today and we know that we are quickly heading into the summer and our summer brings a lot of unique opportunities for ministry and some different things you can be a part of one of them is something that we have here over the summer called table gatherings table gatherings are just opportunities for you to gather in the homes of some of our church members for meals maybe with some people in different age groups or stages of life as you and just get to build a deeper sense of community within our church
[00:12:57] church family here. Those meals are three times over the summer. It's a really fun opportunity for you to get to know those people. And that is going to be happening soon. So you need to sign
[00:13:06] up for that by May 24th. That lets us kind of build our groups together and allows you to start soon as we go into June. So sign up online for our table gatherings starting this summer. Also,
[00:13:16] that same day, May 24th, we have an information meeting for our Way Home ministry. The Way Home is our foster and adoption ministry. And so many different ways you can be part of this information
[00:13:26] meeting and lunch, we'll let you know about how to get involved. One of the ways you can get involved is something we have here called Heritage Builders, which is kind of a mentorship and life
[00:13:36] skills ministry that we have for those who are about to age out of the foster care system.
[00:13:41] Once a month, they gather together on Monday evenings for a meal, for a life skills training, and you get to be there with them just to encourage them and mentor these kids as they're preparing for the next stage of life. So you can learn about that and many other ways to be a part
[00:13:54] the Way Home Ministry at their information meeting on Sunday, May 24th at 1230 for a lunch.
[00:14:00] Also, as we get into the summer, we've got some great opportunities for your kids and also for you with our elementary camp and camps that we have here. One of them, Windshake Camps. We know about
[00:14:10] this. It's a large camp that happens here every summer for some of our grades. There's still spots to sign up and be a part of Windshake for your kids. Also, there's a great opportunity for you
[00:14:20] to sign up to volunteer for that is we have hundreds of kids around the campus we know that that means we need a lot of volunteers and we appreciate any opportunity you have to serve
[00:14:29] during that week it might be every day it might be a half a day or a couple of days there's a lot of different ways you can get involved and we encourage you to look at that and sign up and
[00:14:37] join us to volunteer for our wind shape camp also coming up later in the summer in july we have what we call our impact kids camp that's a great opportunity for some of our older elementary
[00:14:47] students to learn about how they can be involved in local ministry here and serve our community during that camp. You can register your kids for that online. You can also register to volunteer and be a part of that camp as well. It's a great opportunity for them to learn what it means to
[00:15:03] impact our community and world for Christ through the ministries here at Peninsula. All these things and more on our website. You can register for them, look at any questions, also our event wall right outside of our worship center. But we look forward to a great summer, but we also look forward
[00:15:18] to a great time of worshiping together as we wrap up the book of Nehemiah with one another, and we celebrate all that God has done as we look ahead and worship together this morning.

[00:16:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:16:30] So glad to be with you here today to worship. As we do every week, we get to celebrate the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords through singing and through opening up His Word,
[00:16:40] through fellowship, but occasionally we get to add an additional celebration to what we do here.
[00:16:46] And today we are having Graduate Recognition Sunday, and so you're going to see that flow out here in just a moment. A lot of excited families, we think, but definitely some excited graduates and kind of putting high school in their rearview mirror. We're excited to be able
[00:17:02] to celebrate with those families as we close the book of Nehemiah today. We will be in Nehemiah chapter 13. And we're getting ready to sing a song about believing, believing that there's one salvation, one Father, believing in Him that we get to celebrate in that. So I want
[00:17:18] to open us in a time of prayer as we prepare our hearts and our minds to worship through songs. So would you stand with me here and in the Youth Center? Stand with me as we open
[00:17:28] our thought process to the things of God as we pray together. Let's pray at this time.
[00:17:33] father we thank you for a time of celebration we gather here weekly to celebrate who you are and we pray that you hear our hearts on that and you hear our prayer to you that we can open our hearts
[00:17:45] to your word today we celebrate other things in life those milestones that come along that we can celebrate that shows that your faithfulness in our lives allows us to achieve certain things and so as we celebrate here today may you be glorified may you be honored and may we feel

[00:18:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:18:04] your presence first in jesus name we pray amen salvation leads to one confession i believe in the name of jesus christ to god christ the son all praise to the holy spirit today church We've been doing this place today, God. We praise you, or we thank you, for it's in Jesus' name. You may be seated.

[00:32:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:32:42] Well, good morning. If you're thinking round two with Pastor Nate, no, I'm not actually preaching, but we are recognizing our graduates this morning.
[00:32:50] This is one of those classes, and I probably say this every year, but one of those classes I'm going to miss the most, not just because my daughter is a part of it, because these are amazing young men and women of God
[00:33:01] that we've poured into and their parents have poured into for 17 or 18 years, depending on how old they are.
[00:33:07] And these small group leaders have poured into as well.
[00:33:10] And that's why they're joining me up here today.
[00:33:12] So without further ado, Austin James Benedict, son of Ken and Melinda Benedict, graduating from Benedict Academy.
[00:33:21] Austin will be graduating with his associate's degree in the fall of, oh, sorry, fall of 2026, and then plans to take a gap year. Kara Dean Brown, daughter of Roger and Karen Brown, graduating from Pine Lake Preparatory School. Kara will
[00:33:46] be attending Mitchell Community College, and then plans to transfer and enter the workforce.
[00:34:04] I feel like I skipped a page. They're in alphabetical order. The Bouts is like, what is happening? Let's go back. It's a little scooch here. Abigail Ann Bouts, daughter of Andy and Beth Bouts, graduating from Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy.
[00:34:19] Abigail will be attending Liberty University, pursuing a degree in pediatric physical therapy.
[00:34:34] Maxwell Butcher, son of Matthew and Malayalani. I said it right. Butcher, graduating from Lake Norman High School. Maxwell will be attending NC State University to study mechanical engineering.
[00:34:57] Leah Grace Garrett, daughter of Nate and Debbie Garrett, graduating from Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy.
[00:35:04] Leah will be attending Liberty University and pursuing a major in women's leadership and a minor in children's ministry.
[00:35:18] She went in for the handshake, too.
[00:35:20] T. and I, Shaul Hager, daughter of Jay and Sonny Hager, graduating from Langtree Charter Academy.
[00:35:30] T. and I will be attending Mitchell Community College for a general education degree.
[00:35:35] Alex Makowinski, son of Paul and Dawn Makowinski, graduating from Lake Norman High School. Alex will be going to Eastern Carolina University for a degree in sports medicine. Caroline Marie Michelot, daughter of Michael and Erin
[00:36:04] Michelot, graduating from Mooresville High School. Caroline will be attending School of University of North Carolina in Charlotte to study occupational therapy. Haley Joy Peckham, daughter of Jeff and Christy Peckham, graduating from Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy.
[00:36:29] Haley will be attending NC State University's College of Education.
[00:36:40] Ellie Grace Wiggins, daughter of Darren and Amy Wiggins, graduating from Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy.
[00:36:47] Ellie will be studying psychology at UNC Wilmington to pursue a career in child counseling.
[00:37:03] Ava Elizabeth Wilkinson, daughter of Brad and Lori Wilkinson.
[00:37:08] She's graduating from Pine Lake Preparatory School.
[00:37:10] Ava will be attending Appalachian State University pursuing a degree in business management. Santino Zobrist, son of Samuel and Michelle Zobrist, graduating from Lake Norman High School. Santino will be attending Roanne Cabarrus Community College for physical therapy. At this time, all the parents are here. I was going to invite the parents
[00:37:44] to stand with their students, and now I'm going to come over here and try not to mess up my daughter's cap, and we're going to pray over these students. We recognize also that many of you
[00:37:53] you may realize that some of these kids you had in the nursery or in preschool or in children's ministry or volunteering in youth ministry or shaking their hand in the hallway as a greeter or whatever you've done you have helped to get them to where they are today and we appreciate
[00:38:11] that that's one reason why we bring them in front of the church because there's been so much investment by the body in the body of Christ as we send them out because we're a church that sends
[00:38:22] Let's pray.
[00:38:25] God, we thank you so much for the graduates.
[00:38:28] These amazing men and women of God standing in front of me today and in front of our church.
[00:38:33] Lord, we commit them to you.
[00:38:36] We ask that you would go before them into the workplace, into college, into gap years, into anything you call them to.
[00:38:44] And wherever they set their feet, the gospel would be present.
[00:38:49] Lord, I pray that they would make heaven full.
[00:38:53] Lord, that they would not cease to share your truth with everyone they come in contact with.
[00:38:59] God, for these parents, I pray just some peace about sending their kids off.
[00:39:05] Lord, that you would make this a time where as our relationship shifts with them, that you would just draw us closer together as families as we endeavor to see you lifted high.
[00:39:18] Lord, we love them and we know that you love them even more than we do.
[00:39:22] So we ask that you would go with them, that you would be a lamp unto their feet the light to their path with your word in jesus name amen peninsula that's our class of 2026.

[00:40:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:40:16] thank you for the investment that you put into those students as we launch them out and send them out to where they're maybe in their next chapter in life pastor nate and his team do such
[00:40:27] a phenomenal job getting them ready making sure that they're steeped in the word and ready to tackle the world as they have it ahead of them. There's a lot of excitement there and we're so
[00:40:38] blessed to be a part of it. I want to make sure before we get moving that at the end of the service we are going to have communion together and you could have possibly slipped in with all
[00:40:48] the excitement of getting in without getting a communion element. Our deacons are here to serve you. If you didn't get an element and you would like to participate in communion at the end of the message, if you just slip your hand up they will make sure that you have one. We want to make
[00:41:02] sure that everyone is served in the room before we continue on with the message today. Thank you gentlemen for serving so diligently. Today I want to talk about the enduring faithfulness, the danger after the celebration. Now if I was asked to come into a setting and say, hey there's going to be a
[00:41:25] graduate recognition, you need to pick a passage to speak to the graduates, I don't know that I would have automatically gone to Nehemiah chapter 13 and say there's going to be a good message there for our graduates but guess what there is the temptation for us though even though I will
[00:41:42] be speaking to the graduates and their families today the temptation for us will be to say well that's a great word for our graduates don't allow that temptation to set in because all of God's
[00:41:53] word is appropriate for us and I want us to be able to lean into it and understand and hear what God's word is saying for all of us. So today we come to the end of the book of Nehemiah.
[00:42:05] Can I get a hallelujah? Yeah. In some ways, last week felt like the natural ending. If you think about it, there was celebration, there was choir singing. It even says in one of the verses that God brought them great joy. That seems like it would be the time
[00:42:23] to cue the credits. It's the end of the scene. It's the end of the movie and you get to walk out of the theater with this excitement that, wow, God helped them rebuild the wall. They got
[00:42:34] together and everything was great after that. But then you turn the page to Nehemiah chapter 13 and you see the danger after the celebration. Nehemiah chapter 13 reminds us of something deeply deeply important and it's this spiritual renewal must be guarded or it will drift
[00:42:58] graduates what you've learned over the past 18 years of your life of spiritual things poured into your life must be guarded church the things that we learn as we're being discipled and we're discipling others, the things that we pull out of scripture, those things must be guarded. See,
[00:43:21] the danger in Nehemiah chapter 13 shows that it was not only when the walls were broken down, there was also danger after the walls were rebuilt. That may be one of the most important lessons in this whole entire book. It is possible to experience great work of God,
[00:43:43] celebrate it dedicate it sing about it make commitments around it and still drift from it if the heart is not continually being renewed before God it is an intentionality that we have to set in place in order to walk with God and to continue to walk with God and that's where the
[00:44:06] passage in Nehemiah 13 speaks to us today because the great need of the Christian life is not only a strong beginning, it is enduring faithfulness. So here's the big thought for today.
[00:44:23] Enduring faithfulness requires constant vigilance, active commitment, and community accountability in our walk with God. This is where we're going today. Those four things, vigilance, commitment, community, and walk with God. We're going to talk about those as we go down through the scripture
[00:44:42] text today, and it's there. I am not trying to pull something out of the text that's not there.
[00:44:48] It lands for us today. This one hits. For our graduates today, this is going to be an important word. You are entering a new season of life, new opportunities, new responsibilities, new relationships, new freedoms, new decisions. And the question is not simply, will you start well?
[00:45:10] the question is will you remain faithful up into this point you've been surrounded by a community hopefully you've been surrounded by parents that have pointed you in the direction of walking in the faith this next chapter is going to allow you to have the opportunity to make decisions
[00:45:29] for yourself and today needs to be the day that you draw the line in the sand and say not me I am not going to be one of the statistics that chooses to walk away because of what happens in
[00:45:42] my life. So let's look at this text. Number one, vigilant against compromise. Vigilant against compromise. Nehemiah 13 opens with the people hearing God's word. This has been their song in tune. They hear God's word, it speaks to them, it convicts them, and they repent and they reform.
[00:46:05] that has been what they've been doing all along so let's look at it again nehemiah chapter 13 verses 1 through 3 on that day they read from the book of moses in the hearing of the people
[00:46:19] in other words they were listening and in it was found written that no ammonite or moabite should ever enter the assembly of god for they did not meet the people of israel with bread and water
[00:46:31] but hired Balaam against them to curse them.
[00:46:34] You can go back further in the Old Testament to find that account.
[00:46:37] It's there.
[00:46:39] Yet our God turned the curse into blessing.
[00:46:42] As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.
[00:46:48] So they hear the law.
[00:46:50] They are reminded that the Ammonite and the Moabites were not supposed to be brought into the assembly of God because of the way they oppressed Israel when they came out of Egypt.
[00:47:03] Now we need to understand this carefully.
[00:47:05] This is not a statement that God has no mercy for outsiders.
[00:47:09] The Old Testament itself makes that clear.
[00:47:12] Remember Ruth?
[00:47:14] Ruth was a Moabite.
[00:47:17] By faith she became a part of the people of God.
[00:47:20] She is even in the line of Christ.
[00:47:22] So that's not what's happening here.
[00:47:23] This is not what's being said.
[00:47:25] The issue is not ethnicity in the ultimate sense.
[00:47:29] the issue is covenant opposition and spiritual compromise now if you're tuned in and you know anything that's going on in the world you can see where this message is heading you see how it's going to relate to us today an old testament book like nehemiah is going to speak to us on a whole
[00:47:52] new level today the ammonites and the moabites had historically tried to weaken curse and corrupt God's people. And that matters because of what we find in verses 4 and 5. Let's look at that.
[00:48:08] Now before this, Eliashib, the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God and who was related to Tobiah, remember that name, we're going to come back to that in just a
[00:48:20] second, who was related to Tobiah, prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levite singers and gatekeepers and the contributions
[00:48:42] for the priest. Eliashib, the priest, had prepared a large chamber in the courts of the house of God for Tobiah. That name should make us Pauls. Why? Tobiah is not a neutral figure in the book of
[00:49:01] Nehemiah. This is not the first time we hear about Tobiah. In chapter 2, Tobiah was one of the first opponents to the wall being rebuilt. In Nehemiah 4, Tobiah mocked the wall. He was the one that said
[00:49:17] if a fox runs on this wall, it's going to cave in. In Nehemiah 6, Tobiah was connected to the intimidation and political pressure against nehemiah and now by chapter 13 tobiah has a room in the temple let that sink in vigilant against compromise the enemy who once mocked the work
[00:49:52] from outside now has furniture on the inside of the house of god this is how compromise often works in our own lives. It rarely begins with a public announcement, today I'm abandoning faithfulness to God. No, it usually begins quietly. A relationship that's wrong, that is excused.
[00:50:16] A conviction is softened. A boundary is moved. A spiritual danger is renamed as something harmless.
[00:50:28] And before long, something that once stood outside in opposition is now living inside with permission.
[00:50:38] Verse 6 tells us that Nehemiah had not been in Jerusalem when this happened.
[00:50:43] He had returned to the king, and when he came back to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Elisha had done, verse 8 says, and I was very angry and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the
[00:51:00] chamber. Nehemiah does not negotiate with compromise. He does not decorate around it.
[00:51:12] He does not make room for it. He throws it out. Then in verse 9 it says, he gave orders and they cleansed the chambers. The vessels of the house of God were brought back. This is a really strong
[00:51:27] scene. Nehemiah is commanding direction, but it teaches us that enduring faithfulness requires vigilance. The people had rebuilt the temple area. They had restored worship. They had made a covenant before God and commitments before him, but while they were not paying attention, compromise moved
[00:51:52] in. And this is where we should examine our own hearts. What have we allowed into the storerooms of our lives that do not belong there? A hidden resentment, a quiet compromise, a relationship pulling us from obedience, a habit we keep justifying, a love for comfort that slowly
[00:52:18] displaces love for Christ, a private sin that has become too familiar. The question is not merely is the wall standing in our lives. The question is, is the heart still surrendered?
[00:52:35] This points us directly to Christ. Remember when Jesus entered the temple and found it corrupted by greed and false worship he overturned tables john records the words zeal for your house will consume me jesus's zeal was perfect and now in christ god's dwelling place is not merely a room
[00:53:03] in jerusalem the church is the temple of the holy spirit believers are indwelt by the spirit of god So this passage presses us to ask, is there anything occupying space in our lives that belongs to the Lord?
[00:53:25] I know, you're thinking, get those graduates.
[00:53:30] It hits, doesn't it?
[00:53:33] This is real.
[00:53:35] I would have liked for Nehemiah to end at chapter 12, but chapter 13 is really more where I live, and that's why it hits.
[00:53:46] Enduring faithfulness begins with vigilance against compromise.
[00:53:49] Not because we are trying to earn God's love, but because we belong to Him.
[00:53:54] We have been purchased by the shed blood of Christ.
[00:54:00] Which brings us to number two.
[00:54:02] Commitment to service.
[00:54:06] The second issue that Nehemiah confronts is the neglect of the Levites.
[00:54:14] Look at verse 10.
[00:54:15] I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers who did the work had fled each to his field.
[00:54:26] So I confronted the officials and said, Why is the house of God forsaken?
[00:54:33] And I gathered them together and set them in their stations.
[00:54:39] In other words, the people had stopped supporting the work of worship.
[00:54:45] The Levites and the singers depended on the people's obedience and generosity in order to carry out their service in the house of God.
[00:54:54] But when the people neglected their responsibilities, the Levites had to leave their posts and return to their fields so they could live.
[00:55:02] That means the community's spiritual life was weakened by neglect.
[00:55:10] This is important.
[00:55:12] Remember in chapter 10, the people had made a covenant commitment.
[00:55:15] they actually said the words, we will not neglect the house of God. That's recorded.
[00:55:22] That was what they were signing on the dotted line and sealing it. We will not neglect the house of God. And yet, this is what they've done. Which brings me to this statement. Commitment must be practiced, not merely promised. Commitment that you make drives us to action.
[00:55:47] be doers of the word and not hearers only it is the one thing to say we will not neglect God it is another thing to order your life so that it actually sets us priorities to do that
[00:56:08] commitment Nehemiah responds in verse 11 so I confronted the officials and said why is the house of God forsaken that's a piercing question this does not mean God lives in a building as pagan gods were thought to inhabit temples but under the old covenant the temple was the center
[00:56:31] of worship the center of sacrifice the center of instruction and covenant life to neglect the house of god was to neglect the worship of god and for us the question becomes where has our commitment
[00:56:46] to god's work become passive graduates you get now you don't have somebody telling you to get up every Sunday to go to church, the temptation is going to be to kind of say, well, I'm going to
[00:56:59] take a few weeks, and I'm going to tell you, the record shows one week turns into two, two weeks turns into three, and then four weeks turns into you just never go. Do not become passive to your
[00:57:14] worship of God. It's not merely do I believe the right things, but is it am I actively giving myself to the work of the Lord. Faithfulness is not passive admiration. Faithfulness is active devotion. The work of ministry is not sustained by spectators. The body of Christ is built up
[00:57:38] as every part does its work. Even here at Peninsula, there are children to disciple, students to encourage, guests to welcome, hurting people to care for, missionaries to support, neighbors to reach, prayers to pray, songs to sing, truth to teach, homes to strengthen,
[00:57:57] and disciples to make. And when God's people neglect the work of God, the spiritual life of the community is affected. This is not about guilt, by the way. This is about calling. Because the Lord has not merely saved us from something. He has saved us for something. Graduates,
[00:58:22] this matters to you. As you step into this new season, do not treat your faith as something you carry in your backpack just in case you need it. Well, I'm going off now on my own. I'm going to
[00:58:37] take Jesus in there and I'm going to put him in there. What we tend to do because we're excited is we say, I'm going to put him up right up here in this top pocket so he's easy to get to
[00:58:46] in case I need him. But then life starts happening. What ends up happening is he gets put down in the big pocket, all the way down at the bottom like a crumpled up receipt with melted chapstick on it.
[00:59:00] Oh, okay, you've been there. You've found that chapstick. And if you're not careful, if you think that's the way you walk into this new segment in your life, or any of us walk into a new segment
[00:59:11] in life thinking that that's how we treat our relationship with the Father as just kind of, I've got him in case I need him, he will become that crumpled up receipt in the very bottom
[00:59:23] of your resources. You need to find a faithful church. You need to serve. You need to worship.
[00:59:34] You need to be known in that church. You need to be accountable. Use your gifts. Do not drift into a version of Christianity that watches from the edges. Worship requires priority. Service requires structure. Faithfulness requires practical obedience. And then Nehemiah prays this amazing
[00:59:55] prayer that's listed several times in chapter 13 he says remember me oh my god concerning this and do not wipe out my good deeds that i have done for the house of my god and for his service that
[01:00:07] prayer appears several times and nehemiah is not claiming sinless perfection here he is actually approaching god and appealing to god he wants his work to matter before the lord he wants god to remember his faithfulness and that points us to a greater truth in christ we do not serve in order
[01:00:28] to be accepted by god we serve because in christ we have already been accepted our labor in the lord is not in vain so enduring faithfulness requires commitment to service not just emotional moments, not just covenant ceremonies, not just graduate celebrations, not just memories of what
[01:00:54] God has done, but active, ongoing, embodied commitment to the work of God. Number three, accountability in community. The third issue Nehemiah confronts is Sabbath compromise.
[01:01:14] eyes. Look at verse 15. In those days, I saw in Judah people treading wine presses on the Sabbath and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys and also wine, grapes, figs, and all
[01:01:28] kinds of loads which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. The Sabbath to the people of Israel during Nehemiah's time had just become
[01:01:41] another business day the people were buying selling and trading transporting and treating the day like the rest of the day and they were minimizing worship they were actually acting acting like worship belonged to them this is significant because in chapter 10 they said the
[01:02:06] words we will remember the sabbath and we promise not to sell goods on the sabbath and then in verse 17 of nehemiah 13 nehemiah says what is the evil thing you are doing you are profaning the sabbath
[01:02:26] day then it reminds them that sabbath rebellion was a part of what brought judgment to their fathers he even goes so far to remind them of what solomon had done the sabbath was a sign of
[01:02:39] israel's covenant relationship with the lord it reminded them that they belonged to god we gather here to worship not only for the fellowship, not only for the hearing of the word, not only for the
[01:02:52] challenge and accountability to edifying one another, but to demonstrate to the world around us that we belong to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. It means something. To profane the Sabbath is basically saying our lives are our own, our time is our own, our economy is our own,
[01:03:12] our priorities are our own and nehemiah sees the danger and he gives order that the gates should be shut before the sabbath he stations his servants there at the gates when the merchants lodge outside the wall he warns them not to return he says if you return them will snatch a knot in your
[01:03:30] head you think i'm kidding in a moment you'll see that he actually does that we live in a culture that prizes individual autonomy people people often think my spiritual life is my private business My choices only affect me.
[01:03:49] But the Bible gives us a much more connected picture.
[01:03:55] My faithfulness affects the body.
[01:03:59] My obedience strengthens others.
[01:04:02] My compromise influences others.
[01:04:07] My worship encourages others.
[01:04:10] My absence is felt.
[01:04:13] My service matters.
[01:04:14] my repentance matters and my holiness matters god never designed his people to follow him in isolation nehemiah's question is still important what is this evil thing that you are doing there are times when love ask hard questions not because we enjoy confrontation but we need that
[01:04:39] accountability to one another have you ever had anybody question you in your spiritual walk like oh are you really i remember one time uh when i lived in texas i was working with a group of guys
[01:04:52] and there was one guy who just he he just looked and acted like the world and we were standing around one day just talking everything and he said something about being a christian and i did not poker face it i went you're a christian and he went yeah sure and then later
[01:05:15] he came to me he said why did you ask about christian i said because i don't see it man he told me like three months later that he needed that i was just shocked i wasn't trying to be
[01:05:27] preachy i was just legitimately like oh really he said i needed that and i'm actually attending church now and i'm getting my life back in order we need that accountability here's the thing a faithful community helps close the gates where compromise keeps entering i need people in my life
[01:05:49] saying, hey, you might want to close that gate. You might want to shut that down a little bit.
[01:05:54] You've got the gate open over there. You need to be sure you close that.
[01:06:00] That's a good image for us. Sometimes faithfulness means closing the gate. Closing the gate on a pattern that keeps pulling you away from worship. Closing the gate on a relationship that keeps weakening your obedience. Closing the gate on a schedule that leaves no room for God.
[01:06:18] closing the gate on entertainment that feeds sin closing the gate on bitterness before it becomes normal and we need brothers and sisters who help us see where the gates have been left open graduates hear this with love one of the most important decisions you will make in this next
[01:06:41] season of life is who gets access to the gates of your life who will shape what you love who will normalize your compromise? Who will encourage your obedience? Who will tell you the truth? Who will
[01:07:03] help you remember who you are in Christ? Do not simply ask the question in this next season in your life, do I have friends? Ask this question, do I have people around me who help me remain
[01:07:17] faithful to Jesus? Church, listen, this passage calls us to be a people who lovingly help one another persevere. Enduring faithfulness requires community accountability. Number four, persevering in holiness, walking with God. The final issue Nehemiah confronts is intermarriage with the
[01:07:46] surrounding peoples. I'm going to explain that in just a moment, but let's look at verse 23.
[01:07:52] In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab, And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.
[01:08:09] That detail is important.
[01:08:13] This was not merely about marriage as a social category.
[01:08:17] This was about the loss of the covenant identity and spiritual formation.
[01:08:23] You see what was happening here?
[01:08:24] The next generation was losing the language of God's people.
[01:08:32] They were growing up unable to speak the language of Judah.
[01:08:38] Well, why was this important?
[01:08:39] In the context of Nehemiah, language was not a small thing.
[01:08:43] The word of God had been read and explained to the people.
[01:08:47] Covenant life was shaped by God's revealed word to them.
[01:08:51] If the next generation lost the language, they were in danger of losing the story, the worship, the law, the identity, and the mission.
[01:09:02] So Nehemiah confronts them strongly.
[01:09:06] This passage is uncomfortable, but it says Nehemiah contends with them, curses them, beats some of them, and pulls out their hair.
[01:09:20] I was told when I was little one time, I'm going to yank a knot in your head.
[01:09:27] Now I know what yanking a knot in your head is.
[01:09:30] They got it from Nehemiah.
[01:09:34] By the way, this is descriptive, not prescriptive.
[01:09:37] The Bible is not telling church leaders to imitate Nehemiah here.
[01:09:41] although sometimes but you know what we should not miss the seriousness underneath the scene nehemiah sees the covenant community drifting in a way that will affect generations to come he brings up solomon again in verse 26 he says solomon was loved by god solomon was a king
[01:10:06] over all of israel solomon has wisdom beyond anyone else and yet foreign women led him into sin. The point is clear. If Solomon was not immune to spiritual compromise, neither are we.
[01:10:21] No one outgrows the need for faithfulness. No one becomes so mature that they can safely ignore temptation. No one is so gifted that they are above obedience. This is a needed warning, but again, we need to understand the issue biblically. The concern in Nehemiah is not
[01:10:42] ethnic purity in the ultimate sense. The concern is covenant holiness. The issue is whether the people of God will be distinct in worship, identity, and obedience in the Lord. In the New Testament, the dividing wall between Jew and Gentiles is broken down in Christ. People from
[01:11:01] every tribe, tongue, and nation are brought into one new humanity through the gospel. But the call to holiness remains. We should look and act different than the world, not blend in. The church is not called to preserve ethnic separation. The church is called to preserve gospel faithfulness.
[01:11:31] How do you apply that? Application for us today, what does that look like? It looks like this.
[01:11:36] We are called to be in the world, but not of the world. To love our neighbors without being discipled by the idols of our neighbors to engage the culture without surrendering to the culture to raise the next generation not merely to be successful but to know the lord this is especially
[01:12:03] appropriate on graduation recognition sunday graduates i want you to know that we are proud of you we do smile when we see you walk in with the the caps and gowns on we celebrate what god
[01:12:15] has done in your life we recognize the work the discipline the late nights the growth of the achievements that you've had but our deepest prayer as a church is not merely that you would get into the right school or find the right career meet the right people or build a comfortable life
[01:12:33] our deepest prayer is that you would know christ love christ follow christ and remain faithful to christ you do that i don't care where you work or go to school do not lose the language of your
[01:12:54] faith do not forget the word do not forget to pray do not forget to worship do not forget the gospel do not forget the people of god and do not forget who you are in christ one generation's compromise
[01:13:14] often becomes the next generation's confusion.
[01:13:19] If we casually neglect worship and the word of God, we should not be surprised when the next generation sees worship as optional and attends maybe once a month.
[01:13:31] If we make comfort the goal, we should not be surprised when the next generation struggles to understand what sacrifice is.
[01:13:39] If we speak the language of sports, politics, entertainment, and success fluently but rarely speak the language of scripture and prayer and repentance and mission and holiness we should not be surprised when our children and grandchildren learn the languages we
[01:13:58] spoke most passionately about nehemiah 13 ask us this are we preserving the language of faith for the next generation and graduates that's you too you will over the next 10 years impact the next generation? Not merely in vocabulary, but in life. Do they see repentance in us? Do they
[01:14:34] see joy in worship? Do they see generosity? Do they see forgiveness? Do they see dependence on God? Do they see that Christ is worthy? Nehemiah ends by purifying the priesthood, assigning duties, and arranging the wood offering and first fruits. Then he prays. At the very end
[01:14:53] of this book, he prays, remember me, oh God, for good. That is the final line of this amazing book.
[01:15:02] At first, it feels like an unusual ending. There is no grand final celebration, no perfect resolution, no statement that the people never drifted again. Just Nehemiah praying, remember me, oh God, for my work and good. But you know what? That ending is honest, isn't it?
[01:15:26] So as we close the book of Nehemiah, we need to step back and ask, what has this whole book been for?
[01:15:39] What is it about?
[01:15:42] It has been about a wall, but not merely a wall.
[01:15:47] The broken wall represented a broken people.
[01:15:51] The ruined gates represented a vulnerable community.
[01:15:55] The opposition revealed the cost of obedience.
[01:16:00] The rebuilding showed the faithfulness of God.
[01:16:03] The reading of the word showed the need for spiritual renewal.
[01:16:08] The confession showed the seriousness of sin.
[01:16:11] The covenant showed the call to obedience.
[01:16:14] The dedication showed the joy of worship.
[01:16:18] And chapter 13 shows the ongoing danger of drift.
[01:16:22] In other words, Nehemiah is not ultimately about construction.
[01:16:27] It is about covenant renewal.
[01:16:29] It is about God preserving his people.
[01:16:31] God restoring worship.
[01:16:33] God calling his people back to holiness, God keeping his promises even when his people remain weak.
[01:16:42] The wall mattered because the people mattered.
[01:16:46] The city mattered because worship mattered.
[01:16:51] Jerusalem mattered because God's redemptive plan was moving forward.
[01:16:59] And from that city would eventually come the true and better faithful one.
[01:17:04] And that church is the book of Nehemiah.
[01:17:10] Jesus would enter Jerusalem.
[01:17:14] Jesus would cleanse the temple.
[01:17:16] Jesus would confront empty religion.
[01:17:18] Jesus would weep over the city.
[01:17:20] Jesus would be rejected by the people he came to save.
[01:17:24] Jesus would be taken outside the city wall and crucified.
[01:17:28] And through his death and resurrection, Jesus would accomplish what Nehemiah never could.
[01:17:34] Nehemiah rebuilt walls of stone.
[01:17:38] Jesus rebuilds ruined sinners.
[01:17:41] Nehemiah cleansed temple rooms.
[01:17:43] Jesus cleanses human hearts.
[01:17:47] Nehemiah called people back to covenant faithfulness.
[01:17:50] Jesus fulfills the covenant in perfect faithfulness.
[01:17:54] Nehemiah prayed, remember me, oh my God, for good.
[01:17:59] Jesus gives us a better prayer.
[01:18:02] Remember me not according to my goodness, but according to Christ's righteousness.
[01:18:08] That is the hope of the gospel.
[01:18:13] because Nehemiah 13, if it only tells us try harder to be faithful, then we should leave discouraged. The people tried. They promised. They signed documents. They celebrated, and then they drifted again, and honestly, that sounds so uncomfortably familiar. We do the same. We have
[01:18:39] made commitments and broken them. We have confessed sins and returned to them. We have celebrated God's work and then grown cold. We have rebuilt one area of our lives while another area crumbled.
[01:18:53] We have left gates wide open. We have made room for Tobiah. We have neglected service. We have resisted accountability. We have compromised holiness. So our hope cannot be in our perfect faithfulness to God. Our hope is in God's perfect faithfulness to us in Christ. Amen.
[01:19:18] And this is why Nehemiah 13 is not just an ancient word for Israel, it is a timely word for us.
[01:19:25] Because spiritual drift does not only happen in individuals, it happens in families, it can happen in churches, it can happen in communities, and it can certainly happen in nations.
[01:19:38] We need to pray. We need to commit to pray.
[01:19:45] as individuals. We need to pray as families. We need to pray as communities, as church, and as a nation. I do want to make you aware of something. Today, for the first time in my
[01:20:05] lifetime, the president has called for a jubilee of prayer and praise. So organizers are holding a national jubilee of prayer and praise and thanksgiving on the national lawn today. It's going on right now. If you want to tune into it, you can certainly watch it. It's on freedom250.com.
[01:20:27] That's freedom and then the number is 250, freedom250.com. But I want to take it a step further because today at 4 p.m., the part of the program that I'm most interested in is calling the nation toward renewal by looking ahead to the future. That's the whole thought
[01:20:44] process starting at 4 p.m. I want to encourage you to set a reminder on your phone for today at 4 p.m. to pray for our nation, ask God for mercy, confess sin, seek spiritual awakening.
[01:21:00] And while our hope is never, hear me on this, our hope is never ultimately in a nation, a political party, or a cultural movement, it is always right for God's people to pray for renewal and spiritual awakening in their land. Nehemiah 13 reminds us that the prayer
[01:21:20] does not begin with, Lord, fix them.
[01:21:23] It begins with, Lord, search us.
[01:21:26] Lord, cleanse us.
[01:21:27] Lord, bring us back to you.
[01:21:30] So, I want to encourage you to start today to praying for our nation and continue every day, maybe a reminder on your phone every day, to pray for our nation between now and July 4th.
[01:21:43] Pray for humility.
[01:21:46] Pray for repentance.
[01:21:48] Pray for our leaders.
[01:21:50] Pray for the churches to be faithful.
[01:21:53] Pray for gospel clarity.
[01:21:55] Pray that Jesus would be boldly proclaimed as our only true hope.
[01:22:00] And pray that awakening that we see in our nation would start with us.
[01:22:11] Seeking God with sincerity and obedience.
[01:22:16] God's people must guard against spiritual drift, must confess sin, seek renewal, and pray for mercy in the land where God has placed them.
[01:22:25] and so with that as we finish the book of nehemiah with such a strong challenge we come to a time of communion the people could not hold themselves together in nehemiah's time the pete their promises were not enough their wall was not enough their leadership was not enough
[01:22:47] they needed a savior and with communion we remember that the savior has come the bread reminds us of his body that was broken for us the cup the juice reminds us of his blood that was
[01:23:02] shed for us that we were purchased back with and when we take communion we do not come pretending we have been perfectly faithful we come confessing that christ has been faithful to us but we also
[01:23:18] come asking the lord to renew our faithfulness so before we take communion in this moment ask yourself a few questions in silence where has compromise moved in where has service become neglected where have we resisted accountability where has holiness been compromised and where do
[01:23:45] we need to return to the lord take the next 30 seconds to reflect on those father we come before you, with a desire to humble ourselves before you, recognizing a need for you and salvation
[01:24:32] through your son Christ. Meet us where we are, cleanse our hearts, and renew our walk with you.
[01:24:45] First in Jesus' name we pray, amen. So Jesus demonstrated with the disciples when he picked up the bread, and he said, this is the way I'm purchasing you. And he said, this is a representation
[01:25:03] of my body that is broken for you do this remembrance of me then he picked up the cup and he held it up and he said this cup represents the blood that is shed because without the shed
[01:25:31] blood there is no remission of sin do this in remembrance so church the wall has been rebuilt but the call remains to be vigilant against compromise stay committed to the work of god walk in an accountable community
[01:25:54] and persevere in holiness.
[01:25:57] Preserve the language of the faith for the next generation and keep our eyes on Jesus Christ, the faithful one.
[01:26:05] Let's pray.
[01:26:08] Father, we come before you recognizing a need, celebrating who we are in you, not because of anything we've done, but because you are everything and in everything.
[01:26:21] Of course, in Jesus' name we pray.
[01:26:22] Amen.

[01:26:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:26:26] Church family, I want to say thank you for being here with us. If you're a guest with us, we are honored that you're here with us today. We'd love to have an opportunity to greet you, answer any questions you might have,
[01:26:37] invite you to stop by our Welcome Center, which is this direction, right inside our main entrance as you leave for that. But for all of us, we're thankful to get to celebrate with our graduates
[01:26:44] today. And also, we look forward to, as we kind of go into the summer, just encourage you to be on the lookout for a lot of different things in our weekly emails, our event wall back here.
[01:26:54] There's a lot of camps, events, things happening over the summer, ways your kids and family can be involved, ways you can serve as well.
[01:27:01] But also, next week, we start a new sermon series about the gospel that forms us.
[01:27:06] And as a part of that, this coming week, you're going to get a link sent to you with an opportunity to take a survey, which is kind of a theological survey.
[01:27:14] It's totally anonymous, so we're not going to come find you if we think you got one wrong.
[01:27:18] But it really is a way, as we kind of get into that in Romans, It kind of helps us think about what we believe and help us become stronger in that, establish what we believe and why we believe those things to be true.
[01:27:30] And so some information will be coming out this week about that, but be on the look for it.
[01:27:34] And we're excited to get started with that sermon series next week.
[01:27:37] But as well, as we are sent out into our week, we're going to read together from 1 Corinthians 15 in our hope that we have together in being steadfast, not because of us, but because of the Lord's faithfulness He's shown to us.
[01:27:49] So as we do, I invite you to stand with me.
[01:27:50] We're going to read together from 1 Corinthians 15 in verse 58, where Paul says, Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
[01:28:10] Church families, we are sent out into our week.
[01:28:12] We know we do not work, we do not share, we do not love our community around us in vain.
[01:28:16] And we do it because the Lord is with us.
[01:28:18] He keeps us steadfast and movable and confident in him.
[01:28:23] Have a great week.
[01:42:27] Good morning, church family.
[01:42:28] My name is Adam, and we are thankful for you being here with us to worship today.
[01:42:32] And we know that we are quickly heading into the summer.
[01:42:35] And our summer brings a lot of unique opportunities for ministry and some different things you can be a part of.
[01:42:41] One of them is something that we have here over the summer called table gatherings.
[01:42:45] Table gatherings are just opportunities for you to gather in the homes of some of our church members for meals, maybe with some people in different age groups or stages of life as you, and just get to build a deeper sense of community within our church family here.
[01:42:58] Those meals are three times over the summer.
[01:43:01] It's a really fun opportunity for you to get to know those people, and that is going to be happening soon.
[01:43:05] So you need to sign up for that by May 24th.
[01:43:08] That lets us kind of build our groups together and allows you to start soon as we go into June.
[01:43:13] So sign up online for our table gatherings starting this summer.
[01:43:16] Also, that same day, May 24th, we have an information meeting for our Way Home ministry.
[01:43:21] The Way Home is our foster and adoption ministry.
[01:43:24] And so many different ways you can be a part of this information meeting and lunch.
[01:43:27] We'll let you know about how to get involved.
[01:43:29] One of the ways you can get involved is something we have here called Heritage Builders, which is kind of a mentorship and life skills ministry that we have for those who are about to age out of the foster care system.
[01:43:40] once a month they gather together on monday evenings for a meal for a life skills training and you get to be there with them just to encourage them and mentor these kids as they're preparing for the next stage of life so you can learn about that and many other ways to be a part
[01:43:54] of the way home ministry at their information meeting on sunday may 24th at 12 30 for a lunch also as we get into the summer we've got some great opportunities for your kids and also for you
[01:44:05] with our elementary camp and camps that we have here.
[01:44:09] One of them, Windshake Camps.
[01:44:10] We know about this.
[01:44:11] It's a large camp that happens here every summer for some of our grades.
[01:44:14] There's still spots to sign up and be a part of Windshake for your kids.
[01:44:18] Also, there's a great opportunity for you to sign up, to volunteer for that.
[01:44:22] As we have hundreds of kids around the campus, we know that that means we need a lot of volunteers and we appreciate any opportunity you have to serve during that week.
[01:44:30] It might be every day.
[01:44:31] It might be a half a day or a couple of days.
[01:44:33] There's a lot of different ways you can get involved.
[01:44:35] And we encourage you to look at that and sign up and join us to volunteer for our WindShape camp.
[01:44:39] Also, coming up later in the summer, in July, we have what we call our Impact Kids Camp.
[01:44:45] That's a great opportunity for some of our older elementary students to learn about how they can be involved in local ministry here and serve our community during that camp.
[01:44:53] You can register your kids for that online.
[01:44:56] You can also register to volunteer and be a part of that camp as well.
[01:45:00] It's a great opportunity for them to learn what it means to impact our community and world for Christ through the ministries here at Peninsula.
[01:45:08] All these things and more are on our website.
[01:45:10] You can register for them, look at any questions, also our event wall right outside of our worship center.
[01:45:15] But we look forward to a great summer, but we also look forward to a great time of worshiping together as we wrap up the book of Nehemiah with one another, and we celebrate all that God has done as we look ahead and worship together this morning.

[01:45:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:45:28] Well, good morning, everyone.
[01:46:31] It is great to be with you.
[01:46:33] Thanks for being here today.
[01:46:34] We get together on a weekly basis to be able to celebrate the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and we're joining together to sing and to hear his word and to fellowship, to do that again today.
[01:46:45] But every once in a while, we get an added benefit to add a celebration.
[01:46:48] Today is Graduate Recognition Sunday, and just a few moments after we're able to worship through song, we'll see our graduates, our class of 2026, being recognized as we celebrate together what God has done in their lives
[01:47:00] and what we've been able to see through that in just a few moments.
[01:47:03] We're going to be able to sing here now with the worship team about the one true salvation that we have in Christ.
[01:47:10] It is a celebration that we get to open our hearts to so that the Spirit would lead in our lives.
[01:47:16] So let's all stand together as I open our time in prayer.
[01:47:19] So glad that you're here.
[01:47:20] I hope that you'll sing out and that you will worship the King of Kings with spirit and truth.
[01:47:26] Let's pray together.
[01:47:27] Father, we thank you for an opportunity to be here today to worship you, to be able to celebrate not only your goodness in our lives, but the goodness in others' lives as we see the celebration of the graduates here today. Hear our songs as we pray
[01:47:41] and sing out through the words today. Lord, we pray that you would just greet us where we are and love on us there. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

[01:47:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:47:53] One salvation, one doorway that leads to life.
[01:48:26] One redemption, one confession.
[01:48:30] I believe in the name of Jesus Christ.
[01:48:34] It's a fiction, it's blood I have been set free.
[01:48:50] Resurrection, hallelujah, his life is dead still.
[01:48:55] All praise to God the Father.
[01:49:02] All praise to Christ the Son.
[01:49:05] All praise to the Holy Spirit Our God has overcome The King who was and is And evermore will be In Jesus' mighty name I believe Believe that church, King of the day

[01:50:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:50:46] So let's celebrate him

[01:50:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:50:48] Gospel, Christ the Son Praise to the Holy Spirit We worship you this morning

[02:02:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[02:02:03] And as we continue in your word Of course, in Jesus' name.

[02:02:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[02:02:32] Good morning.
[02:02:33] Sorry, there was something, a frog stuck in there or something.
[02:02:38] Well, I'm not preaching again, in case you were getting ready to walk out.
[02:02:43] We're here to honor our graduates.
[02:02:44] This is graduation day here at Peninsula.
[02:02:48] We do that every year, not just because we want them to walk across two stages during their college career, but because a lot of you have put a lot into them.
[02:02:58] And maybe you were in nursery with them.
[02:03:00] or you rocked them and everything or you were in preschool with them or children's ministries or worked with them in middle school or high school or shook their hand or saw them every morning getting a little bit
[02:03:13] every Sunday morning getting a little bit older as you were a greeter we thank you guys for your investment that you have put in these college seniors as we begin to honor them now and he also tells
[02:03:25] you a little bit about what they're doing now and where they're going next which is pretty cool This is one of the, probably one of the closest classes that I've been close to.
[02:03:35] I say that every year, but it gets better every year.
[02:03:38] And they're amazing.
[02:03:41] These kids are going places, and they're taking Jesus with them, which is the most important thing.
[02:03:47] All right, let's begin with Austin James Benedict, son of Ken and Melinda Benedict, graduating from Benedict Academy.
[02:03:54] Austin will be graduating with his associate's degree in the fall of 2026 and then plans to take a gap year. These are our small group leaders for middle school and high school. In case you're
[02:04:10] wondering why they're going down another line of random people, they've actually put a lot into these students over the past few years. Abigail Ann Bouts, daughter of Andy and Beth Bouts.
[02:04:23] She's graduating from Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy. Abigail will be attending Liberty University pursuing a degree in pediatric physical therapy. Maxwell Butcher, he's the son of Matthew and my Leilani Butcher. Got to slow down there. Got it. Graduating from Lake Norman
[02:04:49] High School, Maxwell will be attending North Carolina State University to study mechanical engineering. I tell you what, all these cords they're wearing, I was a lot lighter when I graduated. Leah Grace Garrett, daughter of Nate and Debbie Garrett, graduating from Liberty
[02:05:12] Preparatory Christian Academy. Leah will be attending Liberty University, majoring in women's leadership with a minor in children's ministry. TNI Chow Hanger, daughter of Jay and Sonny Hager, graduating from Langtree Charter Academy. TNI will be attending Mitchell Community
[02:05:38] College for a degree in general education. Alex Makowinski, son of Paul and Dawn Makowinski, He is graduating from Lake Norman High School.
[02:05:55] He'll be going to Eastern Carolina University for a degree in sports medicine.
[02:05:59] Caroline Marie Michelot, daughter of Michael and Aaron Michelot, graduating from Mooresville Senior High School.
[02:06:15] She will be attending the University of North Carolina in Charlotte to study occupational therapy.
[02:06:27] Haley Joy Peckham, daughter of Jeff and Christy Peckham.
[02:06:31] She's graduating from Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy.
[02:06:34] Haley will be attending North Carolina State University's College of Education.
[02:06:47] Ellie Grace Wiggins, daughter of Darren and Amy Wiggins.
[02:06:50] She's graduating from Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy.
[02:06:53] Ellie will be studying psychology at UNC Wilmington to pursue a career of child counseling.
[02:07:06] Ava Elizabeth Wilkinson.
[02:07:09] She's the daughter of Brad and Lori Wilkinson.
[02:07:11] She's graduating from Pine Lake Preparatory School.
[02:07:14] Ava will be attending Appalachian State University, pursuing a degree in business management.
[02:07:26] Santino Zobrest, son of Samuel and Michelle Zobrest.
[02:07:30] He's graduating from Lake Norman High School.
[02:07:33] Santino will be attending Rowan Cabarrus Community College for physical therapy.
[02:07:45] These bags that they're handing the students have apologetics study Bibles that have awesome notes from their parents in them.
[02:07:54] I know the one I wrote was awesome.
[02:07:56] Maybe grandparents or however many they got that Bible out to.
[02:08:00] This will help them as they are going to school.
[02:08:04] They'll be challenged with a lot of questions.
[02:08:07] A lot of those questions we've dealt with specifically with them and poured into both their parents and us as youth ministry partners together.
[02:08:15] And we are looking forward to those stories of the people that they have reached.
[02:08:21] Let's pray for them now.
[02:08:24] Father, we thank you so much for these guys and girls, these wonderful men and women of God that you are sending out from Peninsula Baptist us to be a light to the world. May they make heaven full and bring people with them. God,
[02:08:39] we thank you for their stand, their walk, for the people that they've shared Christ with thus far.
[02:08:46] We pray that you would continue to work on those hearts. And God, we thank you for the parents and all their countless hours pouring into these students and that we get to participate in just
[02:08:57] a little part of that. It's truly humbling. Lord, I thank you for those in this crowd today who have invested in these students along the way. God, what amazing men and women you've brought alongside
[02:09:11] to sharpen them. Lord, for those that are still investing in the younger students coming up that will one day be standing up here, may they not grow weary in doing well. Maybe they continue.
[02:09:27] And Lord, we just ask that you would go with them now, walk every step in front of them, light their feet so that they can see where they're going. Lord, may they always run back

[02:09:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[02:09:42] your word we thank you and we send them now in jesus name amen that's an amazing picture isn't it pastor nate and his team do such a wonderful job with the students you may have invested in
[02:10:37] some of them like he said uh when maybe when we had a couple of those that were long time uh attenders of peninsula that even went into the preschool area so maybe you even held them
[02:10:47] in your arms, and now here they are. They're graduating them early, by the way. It hasn't been a full 18 years. It's only been like four or five, right? When I see some of them
[02:10:56] graduating, I'm thinking, I remember when you were this young. But what an exciting time for the families, and it's not time for them to celebrate. Before we get into the message today, we will have communion today as part of the message as we close Nehemiah
[02:11:13] chapter 13 and our deacons are coming forward this time. You may have been able to sneak in if you want to participate. You may have come in without picking up one of the elements. If you
[02:11:23] want to participate and you didn't get an element, just slip your hand up. They'll be sure that's in your hand. Would hate for it to get to that moment and you say, hey, when did that happen? And so
[02:11:32] thank you men for serving the way you do and for helping us out as we get ready for communion.
[02:11:39] Well, today we are jumping into Nehemiah 13.
[02:11:44] This is the end of the book.
[02:11:47] Can I get an amen?
[02:11:51] It's been a great book, but it's been a challenging book, especially when you get into those list of names that's really challenging and you're thinking to yourself, why are we going through these books?
[02:12:00] And I've got to be honest with you.
[02:12:01] Today I'm going to be speaking to and toward the families who have graduates.
[02:12:06] But I want you to know that God's word is appropriate for everyone.
[02:12:10] So resist the temptation to say, boy, he's really telling those graduates something because the word is for us as well, all of us here.
[02:12:20] If you would have said, hey, Pastor Daniel, Graduate Recognition Sunday is coming.
[02:12:26] Would you pick a passage out of the Bible to be able to speak to the graduates, to challenge them as they go into this new walk of life?
[02:12:34] because we know that statistics show that a very high percentage of those who graduate from high school sometime over their college years begin to walk away from the faith and you if you would have said pick a passage it probably would not have been nehemiah 13 because i would have not
[02:12:54] known to go to nehemiah 13 but as we read nehemiah 13 we learned something incredibly valuable It is appropriate, very appropriate for what we're talking about today.
[02:13:08] So I'm excited about Nehemiah chapter 13 as we kind of land the plane, so to speak, in the book of Nehemiah.
[02:13:14] This summer we'll be going through a special series getting us ready for the book of Romans in August.
[02:13:22] And so I know we're going to be excited about that as well.
[02:13:25] But today we do end the book of Nehemiah, and there, in some ways, in my mind, feels like that last week should have been the end of Nehemiah, right?
[02:13:36] I mean, they've built the wall, they've renewed their commitment to God, they've got choirs that are walking around the wall and celebrating, and all of Jerusalem can hear them.
[02:13:47] In fact, there's one verse in chapter 12 that says that God had created joy in their hearts.
[02:13:53] in my mind I'm like cue the credits that's where the movie ends let's go out of the theater thinking this is exciting I feel good you know first time I watched Karate Kid I came out thinking that I
[02:14:06] could do karate I'm like if he can learn it in six minutes in a movie I know I can do karate that's the kind of feeling that we want right when we get to the end of the book we want to be able
[02:14:17] to walk out and say this is great but then we turn the page to chapter 13 and we go oh what's going on here so today we're talking about enduring faithfulness the danger after the celebration
[02:14:33] the danger after the celebration i think this is a good word for us nehemiah 13 reminds us something that's deeply, deeply important. Spiritual renewal must be guarded or it will drift, period. Without any context, I could just leave the message there and I could say,
[02:14:55] have a good lunch. That's where we're going with this. This is what we're talking about.
[02:15:00] The danger did not come only when the walls were broken down in Jerusalem for the people of Israel.
[02:15:05] The danger also came after the walls were rebuilt. That may be one of the most important lessons that we can get out of the entire book of Nehemiah it is possible to experience a great work of God
[02:15:19] to celebrate it to renew yourself to make a commitment to God and to sign on the dotted line that you are committed to him and then if you are not continually being renewed before God
[02:15:33] to drift away from it and that's what we see here that's where this passage speaks to us today Because the great need of the Christian life is not only a strong beginning, it is an enduring faithfulness.
[02:15:51] So here is the big thought for the day as we walk through this chapter.
[02:15:55] Enduring faithfulness requires constant vigilance, active commitment, and community accountability in our walk with God.
[02:16:06] Those four things, vigilance, commitment, community, and walk with God.
[02:16:10] That's what we're going to be looking at in the text today.
[02:16:13] And if we will all hear what's happening in Nehemiah and resonate with it in a way that we apply it to our lives, we can guard against spiritual drift in our own hearts.
[02:16:27] So for the graduates today, this is an important word.
[02:16:30] You're entering a new season of life, new responsibilities, new possibilities, new freedoms, new decisions.
[02:16:39] And the question is not simply, will you start well?
[02:16:44] The question is, will you remain faithful?
[02:16:51] So number one, as we dive into this passage, vigilant against compromise.
[02:16:59] If I could give you one pointer as you step into any new season in your life, anybody, whether you're a graduate or you are an elderly person, and you're stepping into a new season of life,
[02:17:11] you need to be vigilant against compromise.
[02:17:15] Nehemiah 13 opens with the people hearing God's Word.
[02:17:20] This has been one of the recurring themes for them.
[02:17:23] They hear God's Word.
[02:17:24] It exposes where they're wrong.
[02:17:27] They listen to the Word and correct their path, and then it reforms the people.
[02:17:32] So let's look at this in Nehemiah 13, starting at verse 1.
[02:17:36] On that day, they read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people.
[02:17:42] And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God.
[02:17:49] For they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them.
[02:17:56] Now you can search that back in the Old Testament and find that account if you want to know exactly what all happened.
[02:18:02] Yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.
[02:18:04] As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.
[02:18:12] And you say, well, this is kind of like, it's out there.
[02:18:15] What's that got to do with us?
[02:18:17] Because we live under a New Testament.
[02:18:19] There are some truths that we can pull out of this.
[02:18:21] Let me walk through them.
[02:18:24] As they hear the law, they're reminded that the Ammonites and the Moabites were not to be brought into the assembly of God because they were the ones that opposed them when they came out of Egypt.
[02:18:39] Now, we need to understand this carefully.
[02:18:40] This is not a statement that God has no mercy for outsiders.
[02:18:44] In fact, the opposite is true.
[02:18:46] Ruth was a Moabite.
[02:18:50] And by faith, she became a part of God's people.
[02:18:53] She is even in the line of Christ.
[02:18:58] So the issue here is not ethnicity in the ultimate sense.
[02:19:02] the issue is covenant opposition and spiritual compromise that's what's being called out that spiritual compromise that the others wanted to pull into the israel believers of god the ammonites and the moabites had historically tried to weaken curse and corrupt god's people
[02:19:25] and that matters because of what we find in the next couple verses but i need to say this Our culture is constantly at odds with what we believe about God's word.
[02:19:40] But let's look at verse 4.
[02:19:42] Now before this, Elisha the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God and who was related to Tobiah, remember that name, we're going to go over that in just a second,
[02:19:54] prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levite singers and gatekeepers
[02:20:08] and the contributions for the priest.
[02:20:10] When you first read that, you already sense that that seems wrong.
[02:20:14] They've moved the things of God out and they've moved somebody in, but it's way more than that.
[02:20:20] It is much bigger than that.
[02:20:21] Elias, the priest, had prepared the large chamber in the courts of the house of God for Tobiah, Tobiah is not a neutral figure in the book of Nehemiah in Nehemiah chapter 2 Tobiah was the first one to oppose the work of the wall in Nehemiah chapter 4 Tobiah
[02:20:48] mocked the wall saying that if a fox climbed on it it would break down in Nehemiah 6 Tobiah was connected to the intimidation and the political pressure that was coming against Nehemiah. And now in chapter 13, Tobiah has a room in the temple. Let that sink in for just a moment.
[02:21:19] Vigilant against compromise. The enemy who once mocked the work from outside now has furniture inside the house of God. That is how compromise often works. It rarely begins with a public announcement. Today, I'm abandoning faithfulness to God. It's usually a slippery slope. It usually
[02:21:42] begins quietly. A relationship that is excused, a conviction that is softened, a boundary that is moved over, a spiritual danger that is renamed as something harmless. And before long, something that once stood outside an opposition is now living inside with permission. Verse 6 tells us
[02:22:08] that Nehemiah had not been in Jerusalem when this had happened. And when he returned, he came in and he discovered the evil that Elisha had done. In fact, in verse 8 it says, and I was very angry
[02:22:21] and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. Nehemiah does not negotiate with compromise. He does not decorate around it. He does not make room for it. He throws it out.
[02:22:38] Then verse 9 says, he gave orders and they cleaned the chambers and the vessels of the house of God were brought back. This is a strong scene, but it teaches us that enduring faithfulness requires
[02:22:50] vigilance. The people had rebuilt the temple area. They had restored worship. They had made covenant commitments, but while they were not paying attention, compromise moved in. This is what we need to guard about in our drift, in our own walk, is allowing compromise to drift in. It's
[02:23:12] that argument of, well, you know, that's a good point. Maybe I should just switch a little about how I feel about that. This is where we have to examine our own hearts. What have we allowed into
[02:23:26] the storerooms of our lives that do not belong there. A hidden resentment, a quiet compromise, a relationship pulling us from obedience, a habit that we keep justifying, a love for comfort that replaces our love for Christ, a private sin that becomes too familiar. The question is not merely
[02:23:54] is the wall still standing the question is is my heart still surrendered it's always like all scripture points us to christ remember this when jesus entered the temple and found corrupted it was corrupted by greed and false worship he overturned tables you ever saw the bracelet
[02:24:17] what would jesus do wwjd i've had a friend of mine that always said well turning over tables is an option. Oh, come on, man. What would Jesus do? Turning over tables, fashioning whips. I'm like,
[02:24:30] that's kind of funny. John writes down that he remembered these words, zeal for your house will consume me. Jesus's zeal is perfect. And now in Christ, God's dwelling place is not merely a room in Jerusalem for you and me. The church is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Believers are indwelt
[02:24:50] by the Spirit of God. So this passage presses us to ask this question, is there anything occupying space in our lives that belongs to the Lord? Enduring faithfulness begins with vigilance against compromise, not because we are trying to earn God's love, but because we belong to Him.
[02:25:14] We were purchased by the shed blood of Jesus. Number two, what we see in this text, the second issue that Nehemiah confronts is the neglect of the Levites. Commitment to service. Commitment to service. Let's look at verse 10 and 11. I also found out that the portions of the Levites
[02:25:39] had not been given to them so that the Levites and the singers who did the work had fled each to his field. So I confronted the officials and said, why is the house of God forsaken?
[02:25:51] And I gathered them together and set them in their stations.
[02:25:56] In other words, the people had stopped supporting the work of worship.
[02:26:01] The Levites and the singers depended on the people's obedience and their generosity in order to carry out their service in the house of God.
[02:26:10] But when the people neglected their responsibility, the Levites were forced to leave to live.
[02:26:17] They returned to their fields.
[02:26:18] that means that community spiritual life was weakened by neglect that's important remember in chapter 10 looking back at that they actually made a covenant that they signed and they said the words it's written it's recorded in chapter 10 verse 39 we will not neglect the house of our
[02:26:43] God. But now in chapter 13, they had done exactly that. They had said the right thing. They had signed the commitment. They had celebrated the dedication. But over time, their act of obedience faded. And that's another major lesson from this chapter. Commitment must be practiced,
[02:27:08] not merely promised. We have to put into action what we're saying we're going to do. Let our words lead what we actually do it is one thing to say we will not neglect the house of god is
[02:27:24] another thing to order our lives so that god's priorities remain first nehemiah responds in verse 11 so i confronted the officials and said why is the house of god forsaking that is that is powerful words this does not mean that god lives in a building it's not what nehemiah was
[02:27:43] pointing to for us. It's not like as the pagan gods were thought to inhabit temples, but under the old covenant, the temple was the center of worship. It was the center of sacrifice and instruction and covenant life. To neglect the house of God was to neglect the worship of God.
[02:28:05] And for us, the question becomes, where has our commitment to God's work become passive?
[02:28:10] it's easy to do not merely do i believe the right things but am i actively giving myself to the work of the lord faithfulness is not passive admiration faithfulness is active devotion the work of ministry is not sustained by spectators the body of christ is built up
[02:28:35] as every part does its work here peninsula there are children to disciple students to encourage Courage, guests to welcome, hurting people to care for, missionaries to support, a church to plant, neighbors to reach, prayers to pray, songs to sing, truth to teach, homes to strengthen, and disciples to make.
[02:29:03] And when God's people neglect the work of God, the spiritual life of the community is affected.
[02:29:09] Now this is not about guilt.
[02:29:10] This is about calling.
[02:29:11] This is a clarity for us that we're called to something.
[02:29:15] Because the Lord has not merely saved us from something.
[02:29:18] He has saved us for something.
[02:29:22] Graduates, this matters for you.
[02:29:25] As you step into this new season, do not treat your faith as something you carry around in your backpack.
[02:29:34] It needs to be something that is in the front.
[02:29:37] What we typically do is when we have something important that we're putting in our backpack and we're getting ready to travel, is we pick up the backpack and we find the easy-to-get-to pocket.
[02:29:46] And we put that in there and we say, hey, I know where that is.
[02:29:49] I'm going to remember.
[02:29:50] That's right there where that is.
[02:29:51] There's a pocket within a pocket.
[02:29:52] It's easy to grab.
[02:29:53] I don't have to dig through a lot of stuff.
[02:29:55] But what ends up happening?
[02:29:57] What ends up happening is that thing that was so important by the end of the trip has turned into like the receipt at the bottom of the bag with melted chapstick on it.
[02:30:09] You know what I'm talking about.
[02:30:10] Because you've cleaned your bag out before and went, ugh, what is that?
[02:30:14] And if we're not careful, if we're not intentionally putting our faith out in front and keeping it in front, it's not something we're just sticking in our backpack as a resource to call on when we need it.
[02:30:25] It has got to be something that stays in the front of who we are.
[02:30:31] Do not drift into a version of Christianity that watches from the edges.
[02:30:37] Worship requires priority.
[02:30:39] Service requires structure.
[02:30:41] Faithfulness requires practical obedience.
[02:30:44] and then nehemiah prays in verse 14 he says remember me oh my god concerning this and do not wipe out my good deeds that i have done for the house of my god and for his service
[02:30:59] that prayer appears several times in this chapter nehemiah is not claiming sinless perfection by any means he is appealing to god he wants his work to matter before the lord he wants god to remember his faithfulness, and that points us to a greater truth. In Christ, we do not serve in order
[02:31:19] to be accepted by God. We serve because Christ and in him has already accepted us. Our labor to the Lord is never in vain. So enduring faithfulness requires commitment to service, not just emotional moments, not just covenant ceremonies, not just celebrations.
[02:31:46] Not just memories of what God has done, but active, ongoing, embodied commitment to the work of God.
[02:31:56] Which brings us to number three, accountability in community.
[02:32:02] Anytime you move to another location, you need to keep this one hot on your radar.
[02:32:10] Look at what it says in verse 15.
[02:32:13] In those days I saw in Judah people treading wine presses on the Sabbath and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day
[02:32:28] and I warned them on the day when they sold food.
[02:32:33] In other words, the Sabbath had become just another business day for the people in Nehemiah's time.
[02:32:40] The people were buying, selling, trading, transporting, and treating the day of rest and the day of worship as though it belonged to them.
[02:32:52] Again, this is significant because in chapter 10, they actually said, we will not neglect the Sabbath.
[02:33:00] We will not sell on the Sabbath.
[02:33:03] They signed it.
[02:33:04] They sealed it.
[02:33:04] And then here, Nehemiah confronts in verse 17.
[02:33:11] What is the evil thing that you are doing?
[02:33:15] You have profaned the Sabbath day.
[02:33:18] Then it reminds them that Sabbath rebellion was part of what brought judgment to their fathers.
[02:33:25] This is not Nehemiah being picky.
[02:33:27] This is covenant seriousness.
[02:33:31] The Sabbath was a sign of Israel's covenant relationship with the Lord.
[02:33:34] It reminded them that they belonged to God.
[02:33:37] It reminded them that they were not slaves anymore.
[02:33:39] It reminded them that life was not sustained ultimately by endless production, but by the Lord himself.
[02:33:47] To profane the Sabbath was to say, our lives are our own.
[02:33:54] Our time is our own.
[02:33:57] Our economy is our own.
[02:34:00] Our priorities are our own.
[02:34:03] And Nehemiah sees the danger.
[02:34:05] And he gives orders that the gates be shut.
[02:34:09] Nehemiah meant business.
[02:34:11] I just wonder what Nehemiah looked like.
[02:34:14] Because when he walked in, apparently people listened.
[02:34:16] Probably had the king's seal too.
[02:34:18] That probably helped.
[02:34:19] But something about when he would speak, people moved.
[02:34:24] This is where Nehemiah 13 speaks very directly to us as a church.
[02:34:29] We live in a culture that prizes individual autonomy.
[02:34:33] People often think, my spiritual life is my private business.
[02:34:37] Don't be getting up in my business spiritually.
[02:34:42] And that's not biblical.
[02:34:43] Because scripture teaches us that accountability in community is one of the reasons Christ appointed the church and called the church.
[02:34:54] Here's a list of things that I think about when I think about the church.
[02:35:01] My faithfulness affects the body.
[02:35:05] My obedience strengthens others.
[02:35:09] My compromise influences others.
[02:35:13] My worship encourages others.
[02:35:17] My absence is felt.
[02:35:20] My service matters.
[02:35:22] My repentance matters.
[02:35:25] And my holiness matters.
[02:35:28] God never designed his people to follow him in isolation.
[02:35:33] And Nehemiah's question is still very strong here.
[02:35:35] What is the evil thing that we are doing?
[02:35:37] There are times when love asks hard questions.
[02:35:43] Not because we enjoy confrontation.
[02:35:45] Not because we think we are better.
[02:35:47] but because spiritual drift is dangerous.
[02:35:51] We need people in our lives to say, that ain't right.
[02:35:57] You're not acting like you should.
[02:36:00] You're not being like a kingdom builder.
[02:36:05] I need people to point that out to me.
[02:36:09] I need people to say, is that really Christ-likeness there?
[02:36:15] And I'll mumble off of my breath and shut up.
[02:36:17] But I need people to do that, to help me to walk.
[02:36:21] Because a faithful community helps close the gates where compromise keeps entering.
[02:36:30] This is a good image for us from this text.
[02:36:34] Sometimes faithfulness means closing the gate.
[02:36:37] Closing the gate on a pattern that keeps pulling you away from worship.
[02:36:42] Closing the gate on a relationship that keeps weakening obedience.
[02:36:47] Closing the gate on a schedule that leaves no room for God.
[02:36:50] closing the gate on entertainment that feeds sin closing the gate on bitterness before it becomes normal we need brothers and sisters who help us see where the gates have been left open graduates want you to understand this one of the most important decisions you will make in this
[02:37:11] next season of your life is who gets access to the gates of your life who will shape what you love who will normalize your compromises who will encourage your obedience who will tell you the
[02:37:34] truth who will help you remember who you are in christ do not simply ask do i have friends in this season in my life ask this question instead do i have people around me who help me remain
[02:37:46] faithful to jesus this passage calls us to be a people who lovingly help one another persevere. Enduring faithfulness requires community accountability. And this is what we see happening here in Nehemiah. Number four, persevering in holiness. This walking with God
[02:38:10] that we claim. The final issue Nehemiah confronts is intermarriage with the surrounding peoples.
[02:38:19] And there's something very important that comes out of this. So don't make it what it's not.
[02:38:23] listen to what's happening here. In those days, also, I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not
[02:38:37] speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. You know, on the surface, you're thinking, well, what's the problem? The detail is important. This is not merely about marriage as a social category. This is about the loss of covenant identity and spiritual formation.
[02:39:00] The next generation was losing the language of the people of God. In the context of Nehemiah, that's incredibly important because you see over the course of 13 chapters how the word of God was read in their language to them and they were changing their lives because of that. If the
[02:39:21] next generation loses the language, they're in danger of losing their story. They're in danger of losing their worship, the law, their identity, and their mission. So Nehemiah confronts them strongly. And this is where I laugh. I shouldn't. It's just a picture that I wish I could have seen.
[02:39:46] He confronts them strongly. The passage says that Nehemiah contends with them, curses them, beats some of them, and pulls out their hair.
[02:39:56] Have you ever had anybody tell you, I'm going to jerk a knot in your head?
[02:39:59] Come on, some of you have those.
[02:40:01] I had my parents, I'm going to jerk a knot.
[02:40:03] I didn't know what that meant until I read it.
[02:40:04] I said, oh, you got that out of the Bible.
[02:40:08] You were being holy and biblical when you said that to me.
[02:40:11] Thank you for my upbringing.
[02:40:18] This is descriptive, though, and not prescriptive.
[02:40:22] The Bible is not telling us that we should imitate every action of Nehemiah here.
[02:40:27] although but you know what we shouldn't miss the seriousness seriousness of underneath the scene nehemiah sees the covenant community drifting in a way that will affect generations to come he brings up solomon in verse 26 he says solomon was loved by god solomon was king over all israel
[02:40:52] solomon had wisdom beyond anyone else and yet foreign women led him into sin the point is clear If Solomon, who was incredibly wise, was not immune to spiritual compromise, neither are we.
[02:41:10] No one outgrows the need for faithfulness.
[02:41:14] No one becomes so mature that they can safely ignore temptation.
[02:41:20] No one is so gifted that they are above obedience.
[02:41:26] This is needed.
[02:41:27] It's a warning that we need to hear.
[02:41:30] But we have to understand it biblically.
[02:41:31] The concern in Nehemiah is not ethnic purity in the ultimate sense.
[02:41:35] The concern is covenant holiness.
[02:41:39] The issue is whether the people of God will be distinct in worship, identity, and obedience before the Lord.
[02:41:47] In the New Testament, the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile is broken down in Christ.
[02:41:53] People from every tribe, tongue, and nation are brought into the new humanity through the gospel.
[02:41:59] But the call for holiness remains.
[02:42:04] The church is not called to preserve ethnic separation.
[02:42:10] The church is called to preserve gospel faithfulness.
[02:42:16] Practically, what does that mean?
[02:42:19] It means this.
[02:42:21] We are called to be in the world, but not of the world.
[02:42:27] We are called to love our neighbors without being discipled by the idols of our neighbors.
[02:42:33] We are called to engage the culture without surrendering to the culture.
[02:42:39] We are called to raise the next generation not merely to be successful, but to know the Lord.
[02:42:47] This is especially appropriate for us today.
[02:42:50] Graduates, you've got to know, you need to hear me say, we are proud of you.
[02:42:55] We celebrate what God has done in your life.
[02:42:57] We recognize the work, the dedication, the discipline, the late nights, the growth, the achievement.
[02:43:05] But the deepest prayer of this church is not merely that you would get into the right school or find the right career, meet the right people, or build a comfortable life.
[02:43:19] Our deepest prayer as a sending, disciple-making church is that you would know Christ, love Christ, follow Christ, and remain faithful to Him.
[02:43:32] You do that, I don't care what school you go to.
[02:43:34] I don't care what job you have, because that is paramount.
[02:43:40] Do not lose the language of faith.
[02:43:46] Do not forget the Word.
[02:43:49] Do not forget prayer.
[02:43:53] Do not forget worship.
[02:43:56] Do not forget the gospel.
[02:43:59] Do not forget the people of God.
[02:44:02] And do not forget who you are in Christ.
[02:44:05] because one generation's compromise often becomes the next generation's confusion.
[02:44:15] If we casually neglect worship and the Word of God, we should not be surprised when the next generation sees worship as optional.
[02:44:28] If we make comfort the goal, we should not be surprised when the next generation struggles to understand what sacrifice is.
[02:44:36] If we speak the languages of sports and politics, entertainment and success fluently, but rarely speak the languages of scripture, prayer, repentance, mission and holiness, we should not be surprised when our children and our grandchildren learn the languages we spoke most passionately about.
[02:45:08] Nehemiah 13 asks us, are we preserving the language of faith for the next generation?
[02:45:16] Not merely in vocabulary, but in life.
[02:45:21] Do they see repentance in us?
[02:45:23] Do they see joy in worship?
[02:45:26] Do they see generosity?
[02:45:28] Do they see forgiveness?
[02:45:29] Do they see dependence on God?
[02:45:31] Do they see first that Christ is the most worthy thing in our lives?
[02:45:36] Nehemiah ends by purifying the priesthood, assigning duties, and arranging the wood offering and first fruits.
[02:45:47] And then it hits me.
[02:45:49] The last line of this book, Remember me, O my God, for good.
[02:45:56] That's the book's final line.
[02:46:01] At first it may feel like an unusual ending.
[02:46:03] There is no grand final celebration, no perfect resolution, no statement that the people never drifted again, just Nehemiah praying, remember me, oh my God, for good. But that ending is honest. As we close the book of Nehemiah,
[02:46:24] we need to step back and ask, what has the whole book been about? The wall mattered because the people mattered. The city mattered because worship mattered. Jerusalem mattered because God's redemptive plan was moving forward and from that city would eventually come the true
[02:46:53] and better faithful one. You see, Jesus would enter Jerusalem. Jesus would cleanse the temple.
[02:47:06] Jesus would confront empty religion. Jesus would weep over the city. Jesus would be rejected by the people he came to save. Jesus would be taken outside the city wall and crucified and through his death and resurrection Jesus would accomplish what Nehemiah never could. Nehemiah rebuilt walls
[02:47:34] of stone. Jesus rebuilds ruined centers. Nehemiah cleansed temple rooms. Jesus cleanses the human heart. Nehemiah called people back to covenant faithfulness. Jesus fulfills the covenant in perfect faithfulness. Nehemiah prayed, remember me, oh my God, for good. Jesus gives us a better
[02:48:06] prayer. Remember me, not according to my goodness, but according to Christ's righteousness. And that is the hope of the gospel because of nehemiah if it only told us in nehemiah 13 to try harder we would have to leave here discouraged we can't just try harder the people in nehemiah's time
[02:48:31] tried they promised they signed they celebrated and then they drifted again and i gotta be honest with you that sounds uncomfortably familiar we have done the same we have made commitments and broken them. We have confessed sins and returned to them. We have celebrated God's work
[02:49:01] and then grown cold. We have rebuilt one area while another area crumbled. We have left gates open in our lives. We have made room for Tobiah. We have neglected service to the kingdom work.
[02:49:27] We have resisted accountability.
[02:49:33] We have compromised holiness.
[02:49:38] So our hope cannot be in our perfect faithfulness to God.
[02:49:46] Our hope is in God's perfect faithfulness to us in Christ.
[02:49:54] And this is why Nehemiah 13 is not just an ancient word for Israel.
[02:49:58] It is a timely word for us.
[02:50:00] Because spiritual drift does not only happen in individuals.
[02:50:03] it happens in families, it happens in churches, and it happens in nations. Could it be that the hearing of the book of Nehemiah is a calling for you and me as individuals, as us as family members,
[02:50:19] as us as a church, to renew our commitment that sings the glory of God to the highest so that people can hear it very loudly in Mooresville? So we need to pray. We need to pray as individuals.
[02:50:40] We need to recognize where we are with Christ.
[02:50:44] We need to pray as families.
[02:50:47] We need to recognize where we're not with Christ.
[02:50:52] We need to pray as a church, and we certainly need to pray as a nation.
[02:50:58] For the first time in my lifetime, a standing president has called for the nation to pray in a big way.
[02:51:15] I'm not just saying the National Day of Prayer doesn't count.
[02:51:18] I'm saying it in what I'm getting ready to tell you.
[02:51:22] Today on the lawn in D.C., organizers are holding a national jubilee of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.
[02:51:31] In fact, if this is the first time you've heard of it, you can tune in.
[02:51:34] You can go to freedom250.com.
[02:51:37] That's freedom250, freedom250.com, and you can tune in today.
[02:51:44] But I want to take it a step further.
[02:51:47] Today at 4 p.m., as part of the programming on the lawn, They're going to switch the programming to a calling the nation toward renewal by looking ahead to the future.
[02:51:57] That's at 4 p.m. today.
[02:51:59] I want you to consider reminding yourself, maybe putting a reminder on your phone, that today at 4 p.m. to pray for our nation.
[02:52:13] Ask God for mercy.
[02:52:15] Confess sins and seek spiritual awakening.
[02:52:17] And while our hope is never ultimately in a nation, a political party, or a cultural movement, it is always right for God's people to pray for renewal and spiritual awakening in their land.
[02:52:37] Nehemiah 13 reminds us that the prayer does not begin with, Lord, fix them.
[02:52:44] It begins with, Lord, search us.
[02:52:49] Lord, cleanse us.
[02:52:51] Lord, bring us back to you.
[02:52:55] So I want to encourage you to pray today for our nation at 4 p.m.
[02:53:00] But I want to stretch it a little, that you pray daily, starting today through July 4th.
[02:53:09] Pray for humility.
[02:53:11] Pray for repentance.
[02:53:14] Pray for our leaders.
[02:53:16] Pray for churches to be faithful.
[02:53:19] Pray for gospel clarity.
[02:53:20] pray that Jesus would be boldly proclaimed as our only true hope and pray that any awakening we long to see around us would begin with the people of God seeking him with sincerity and obedience. God's
[02:53:40] people must guard against spiritual drift, confess sin, seek renewal and pray for mercy in the land where God has placed them and for us that's America but for you maybe it starts personally in your own life in your own home
[02:54:06] and that brings us to the Lord's table communion is fitting way to end the book of Nehemiah because Nehemiah ends with the need for a better covenant faithfulness the people could not hold themselves together their promises were not enough their wall was not enough their leadership was not enough
[02:54:30] they needed a savior. And so when we take communion, we remember that our savior has come. The bread reminds us that his body was bruised and broken. The cup reminds us of the blood of Christ shed for the forgiveness of sins. And so when we take communion, we don't come
[02:54:50] pretending we have been perfectly faithful. We come confessing that Christ has been faithful for us, but we also come asking the Lord to renew our faithfulness to Him. So before we take communion, this is a moment to examine our hearts just briefly. Ask these questions. Where has
[02:55:14] compromise moved in? Where has service become neglected? Where have we resisted accountability?
[02:55:24] Where has holiness been compromised? Where do we need to return to the Lord? The good news is that Jesus does not merely expose sin to shame us. He exposes sin to cleanse us. He calls us back
[02:55:40] because he loves us. So today, as we close Nehemiah, the invitation is not simply rebuild the wall. The invitation is return to the Lord, renew your commitment, rest in Christ, and remain faithful so we take the communion element and we learn from christ what he was demonstrating with
[02:56:05] the disciples at the end of his earthly life and he picked up the bread at the last supper and he held it up for the disciples and he said this represents my body that is broken for you do this
[02:56:18] in remembrance of me then he picked up the cup and he said this cup represents my shed blood for you to purchase you back from your unfaithfulness i will be faithful all the way to the end
[02:56:50] he picked the cup up and he said do this in remembrance of me let's pray father we know and can see through the reading of your word the demonstration that the wall has been rebuilt
[02:57:15] but the call remains we must be vigilant against compromise we have to stay committed to your work we have to walk in an accountable community and we have to persevere in holiness help us to preserve
[02:57:36] the language of faith for the next generation and keep our eyes on jesus the true faithful one help us to continue to build our lives on you jesus for us in your holy name we pray

[02:57:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[02:57:54] the church we want to say thank you for being here with us to worship today is a great day to not only worship with one another but also be able to celebrate and recognize our graduates
[02:58:08] and we're thankful for you and your families and any guests that are here with you.
[02:58:12] And I want you to know as well, as you go out, I know the graduates and our kids, they're kind of full on summer mind and, you know, those things are coming.
[02:58:20] There's a lot of good things happening here over the summer.
[02:58:22] I encourage you to be looking out on those weekly emails we send out for ways you can be involved in ministry and also serving in ministry opportunities this coming summer.
[02:58:30] But also, you know, next week, as we finish Nehemiah, we start a new sermon series for the summer called The Gospel That Forms, leading into the book of Romans, a part of that, you're going to get a link sent to you this week
[02:58:42] about a survey. It's called a state of theology. It's a little survey. It takes about 10 minutes about some basic Christian belief and kind of helps us kind of get a picture of where we're at,
[02:58:52] where we need to be encouraged, where we need to grow, where we might say, I don't know the answer.
[02:58:56] And as you know, it is anonymous. So don't worry, we're not going to call you and say, hey, you missed number 13. Okay. So, but you can, if you take that over the next few weeks, that would be
[02:59:05] a huge help to us as we kind of see where we're at and where we can be encouraged in our study of the scriptures together. So be on the lookout for that this week. But for all of us as we go as
[02:59:14] well, we want to read together from 1 Corinthians 15 and being reminded of the Lord's faithfulness to us. So let's stand together and read from 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 58. We're reminded that we stand in the work that the Lord has done for us. So let's read together what Paul says,
[02:59:34] verse 58. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. Church, that is our confidence that we have as we are sent out by the Lord this week. It's not in us. It's not in our accomplishments
[02:59:55] or ability. It's in the Lord's guidance and care for us that we can remain faithful in Him. Have a great week.