Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190048A
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says, "To receive with meekness 00:10 the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:14 And to be diligent to present yourself 00:16 approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is, "Ezra and Nehemiah." 00:31 Oh! 00:32 Hello, I am Shelley Quinn and we welcome you 00:34 once again to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:37 We're so glad that you're taking this time 00:39 to join us. 00:40 We hope you have your Bible. 00:41 We hope you have your 00:43 Sabbath School quarterly with you. 00:44 If you haven't got a copy, you may download it. 00:48 Just simply go to 00:50 ABSG.Adventist.org. 00:56 You can download a copy or better yet, 00:59 you can go by your local Seventh-day Adventist Church, 01:03 and they will be happy to give you a copy 01:05 and even you can enjoy the fellowship 01:08 of personal study with them. 01:11 We are on lesson 9 of Ezra and Nehemiah 01:16 and this has been such a rich study. 01:19 Let me quickly introduce our Sabbath School panel. 01:23 I'm just always so blessed to be joined 01:26 by my 3ABN family, 01:28 my brothers and sisters in Christ, 01:30 and to my left is Pastor Kenny Shelton. 01:34 Kenny, we're so thankful that 01:36 you take the time to do this study with us. 01:38 It's such a blessing and I do appreciate it. 01:40 Thank you. 01:41 Oh, you always bring something good to the table, 01:43 and then my dear sister and friend, Jill Morikone. 01:46 Jill, you always bring something good to the table. 01:49 Always a privilege to study with each one. 01:51 Thank you, Shelley. Amen. 01:52 And then Pastor John Lomacang who is my pastor, 01:56 and we appreciate you so much, John. 01:58 Praise the Lord. Thank you, Shelley. 01:59 Yes. 02:01 And joining us for the first time 02:02 this quarter is Pastor John Dinzey. 02:05 John, we are so glad that you're here today. 02:08 Can't wait to hear what you've got to add. 02:11 Well, we've been praying 02:12 and asking the Lord for His blessing. 02:13 And I'm sure that the Lord is gonna use 02:15 each and every one of us to bring out a message 02:18 that God wants His people to hear. 02:19 Amen. 02:20 Johnny, would you like to have our opening prayer? 02:22 Sure. 02:24 Our loving Heavenly Father, we want to thank You, Lord, 02:27 for the privilege to be here together to share 02:29 all those things You have shown to us. 02:32 And even now we ask, Lord, 02:33 that Your Holy Spirit will take over again, 02:36 and use us in such a way that Your children will know that 02:39 they have been hearing a message from heaven. 02:42 We pray unto You and ask for Your blessing 02:44 upon all that accompany us, 02:46 whether it be on Internet, TV or radio, 02:49 may they receive the blessing, not only that they seek for 02:52 but that which they need. 02:54 We ask You in Jesus' holy and blessed name, amen. 02:57 Amen. Amen and amen. 02:58 So last week we were looking at God's love 03:02 and His promises as expressed in His everlasting covenant. 03:08 And that covenant just progressively unfolds 03:13 throughout Scripture. 03:15 We've also considered faithless Israel, 03:18 and how they had this cycle of sin 03:22 and persecuting the prophets and then crying out to God 03:26 and asking for Him to save them, 03:29 and then they would just go right back into that cycle, 03:32 but God was always faithful. 03:34 Now, Nehemiah, we looked at that, 03:37 how he was teaching them to listen and learn 03:41 from the Word of God. 03:43 They celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles with great joy. 03:46 And then on the eighth day, they had a solemn assembly 03:50 and after their prayer of confession and repentance, 03:54 Nehemiah Chapter 10 03:56 begins with a long list of names, 04:00 the leaders, the Levites, the rest of the people 04:03 who had knowledge and understanding, 04:05 made a pledge before God to be faithful. 04:08 So our memory text is 10:29, 04:12 it says "These joined with their brethren, 04:15 their nobles, and entered into a curse 04:17 and an oath to walk in God's love 04:19 which was given by Moses, 04:22 the servant of God, to observe 04:24 and do all the commandments of the Lord, our God, 04:27 and His ordinances and His statutes." 04:30 You know, my title today or the title today 04:34 for this lesson is Trials, Tribulations, and List. 04:37 Although we know that all scripture is God breathe. 04:41 Can we be honest, 04:42 sometimes we get to those points 04:44 of the long list or inventories and we have a tendency 04:49 when it comes to genealogies and things to go, 04:52 and just skip right past to the next scripture. 04:55 But why does God include 04:59 these things in His Word? 05:02 You know, God is a God of details. 05:05 There's nothing insignificant to Him. 05:07 And He knows all and He cares about 05:11 the details that shouldn't give us 05:13 great comfort in one sense that he does. 05:19 But on the other hand, it tells us 05:21 we too need to care about the details. 05:23 In Luke 12:6-7, Jesus said, 05:28 "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies, 05:31 yet not one of them is forgotten by God." 05:35 Indeed, the very hairs on your head are all numbered, 05:40 which God has, that, that tells me a lot 05:44 if He's keeping up with me. 05:46 But sparrows were 05:48 the most insignificant of all birds, 05:51 and God knew. 05:52 Yes. 05:54 You know, every time one falls to the ground, 05:56 God knows. 05:57 So He knows all the details of our life too, 06:00 and I want to give you this promise 06:02 before we go to Sunday. 06:04 Isaiah 43:1, I love this verse. 06:08 It says, "Now thus says the Lord, 06:10 'Who created you? 06:12 Who formed you? 06:13 Fear not, for I have redeemed you, 06:16 I have called you by your name. 06:19 You are mine.' " So God knows your name. 06:23 Let's look at Sunday, the God of history. 06:26 It's interesting. 06:28 Daniel 1:1-2 kind of give us a big picture 06:33 that Ezra then goes in 06:35 and gives a little more details. 06:37 In Daniel 1:1-2, it says, "In the third year of the reign 06:41 of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, 06:44 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon 06:45 came to Jerusalem besieged it and the Lord gave Jehoiakim, 06:50 king of Judah into his hand 06:52 with some of the articles of the house of God, 06:55 which he carried into the land of shinar 06:58 to the house of his God and he brought the articles 07:02 into the treasure house of his God." 07:06 That's the big picture. 07:07 Now Ezra 1:7-10 gives us 07:12 the details and the list, 07:14 we won't take time, 07:15 but you might want to read that, 07:17 the 30 gold platters, 1000 silver platters. 07:20 He goes through and details everything 07:23 that Nebuchadnezzar had brought back. 07:26 Now, in October 539. 07:29 This is two decades after Nebuchadnezzar's death. 07:34 Belshazzar was the Babylonian king 07:38 and his city Babylon 07:41 was surrounded by the armies 07:45 of the Medo-Persians. 07:47 So he throws this wild drunken feast 07:50 to boost morale. 07:52 Daniel 5:1-4 tells us about this. 07:56 Belshazzar, 5:1, 07:59 Daniel 5:1, 08:03 "Belshazzar the king made a great feast 08:06 for a thousand of his lords, 08:07 and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. 08:10 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command 08:14 to bring the gold and silver vessels 08:16 which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken 08:19 from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, 08:22 that the king and his lords, his wives, 08:24 and his concubines might drink from them." 08:28 So Babylonian hands had taken these holy vessels 08:34 from the sanctuary, 08:35 and now they're going to drink wine from them. 08:39 This is an unusually brazen and blasphemous act. 08:43 These were the holy articles from God's house. 08:46 So they brought the gold vessels 08:48 that have been taken 08:49 from the temple of the house of God, 08:52 which had been in Jerusalem, the king, his lord, his wives, 08:56 and the concubines drank from them. 08:58 They drank wine, 08:59 and they praised to the gods of gold and silver, 09:04 bronze and iron, wood and stone." 09:07 So here they are drinking from articles 09:10 that have been sanctified for God, 09:12 and they're toasting their gods. 09:17 So all of a sudden, 09:19 this drunken feast is interrupted. 09:21 Yes. 09:22 And a mysterious hand, it may have been their hands 09:26 that took these articles, but now God's gonna answer 09:29 the challenge. 09:30 This mysterious hand starts writing on the wall. 09:34 And this wasn't just a vision when Belshazzar sees it, 09:39 his knees are knocking and it wasn't just a vision 09:42 that he was seeing. 09:44 This was a miraculous event because everybody saw it. 09:49 And so what happened? 09:51 Belshazzar had exalted himself against God 09:56 by using these temple vessels, 09:58 but now God's answering the challenge. 10:01 None of them, he calls for his wise men, 10:05 and his soothsayers, and his astrologists, 10:08 nobody can tell him what this says 10:12 because the pagan religion is really worthless. 10:17 But finally, he calls out for the Hebrew Daniel, 10:21 the prophet of the one true God, 10:24 who Daniel is probably about 80 years old right now. 10:27 And Daniel had shown 10:29 a lot of respect for Nebuchadnezzar, 10:32 but when he gets to Belshazzar, he reprimands him, 10:37 because Belshazzar has a brazen attitude 10:40 and he didn't learn the lesson 10:43 that Nebuchadnezzar had learned. 10:44 So Chapter 5 of Daniel, verse 22. 10:49 This is what Daniel is saying, "You his son, Belshazzar, 10:54 have not humbled your heart." 10:56 Although you knew all this, he knew that Belshazzar, 10:59 I mean that Nebuchadnezzar had converted 11:03 after God's mighty hand had dealt with him. 11:06 But he said, "You have lifted yourself up 11:08 against the Lord of heaven. 11:09 You've brought the vessels in the house 11:11 and you've drunk from them." 11:13 And he goes on. 11:14 He says, "You praised your gods from this, 11:16 which you don't see or hear and the God 11:19 who hold your breath in his hand, 11:21 and owns all your ways, you have not glorified." 11:26 So now in verse 25, here's we've got this king, 11:32 who's guilty of pride, blasphemy, idolatry. 11:36 And in verse 25, Daniel is going to 11:40 interpret the message on the wall, 11:42 "And this is what was written in the inscription, 11:45 he says, "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN." 11:48 This is the interpretation of each word. 11:51 MENE: God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. 11:56 TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances 11:59 and found wanting. 12:01 PERES, now, it's interesting 12:03 because that used to confuse me. 12:06 It was UPHARSIN, but he's saying PERES 12:09 and that is written 12:12 in the plural form of UPHARSIN. 12:15 And so Daniel explained its meaning 12:18 by using this singular form PERES. 12:21 He said, "Your kingdom has been divided 12:23 and given to the Medes and the Persians." 12:27 So, what happened? 12:29 The troops that were surrounding Babylon, 12:32 dug a trench, and they diverted the waters 12:36 of the Euphrates River. 12:38 And when the river went down, 12:40 then they came in and besieged Babylon, 12:45 and Belshazzar was slain that very night. 12:50 The kingdom of Babylon fell, 12:53 just as had been foretold in Daniel 5:30 12:57 and the head of gold, 13:00 Babylon had fallen, replaced by the arms, 13:05 the chest and arms of silver, 13:07 representing the Medo-Persians. 13:10 So we see that God is the God of history. 13:15 And he foretold it all in Daniel. 13:18 Amen. Praise the Lord. Amen. 13:20 I love it when you go into the Book of Daniel, 13:22 and you go into prophecy, and you see, 13:24 because lesson brings out and certainly mine does 13:27 here on Monday in their cities. 13:30 But you mentioned that God is a God of details. 13:35 And how wonderful, and I'm so very grateful 13:37 and thankful that He is, because in this image, 13:41 as it were Babylon, 13:43 Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, 13:44 everything was detailed, you know, 13:47 and timeframes attached to it. 13:49 God wanted us to understand and want to see 13:51 the historical aspect of it 13:53 and how we can certainly look at it, 13:55 apply to our own hearts, into our own lives today 13:58 of where we're at in the history of the world. 14:00 So I take out that God is very interested in details. 14:04 Amen. 14:05 And so, as we look the lesson, our lesson challenges us, 14:08 at least on my part here, it says scan over the list 14:11 in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7. 14:14 Well, that's a lot of list to go over in 2 and 7, 14:17 so I don't know that I can scan over the whole thing. 14:19 But you know, just to look, I'm taking it for granted. 14:22 And by faith, I'm believing 14:26 that God cares about details, 14:29 He likes those and you know, 14:30 and He puts them in there for us. 14:32 And because He was wanting to see 14:34 the groups that came, you know, 14:37 and how each one was involved, 14:39 how the next group and the next group, 14:41 but they all work together for one purpose 14:44 as the end result. 14:45 And as the bottom line there, 14:47 we find that the walls were rebuilt 14:49 and the gates were all put up and you know, 14:51 people returning with a little more safety 14:54 and they felt good about themselves, 14:57 and God blessing and then like Satan, 14:59 you find somehow that they, ever once in a while turn back 15:03 and then God gets them again and brings them back. 15:06 Making list, now, I don't see anything wrong 15:10 with making list. 15:12 You know, I think it's good. 15:14 You know, I don't know if anybody here 15:15 has made a list of any trials that you've had, 15:19 or any tests that may have come your way, 15:21 you said, you know, that's really a dandy. 15:23 I'm going to write this thing down 15:26 and take a good close look at it. 15:27 Because you know, we write down a lot of it, 15:29 I write blessings down sometime, 15:31 it's a blessing 'cause I want to come back, 15:33 say thank You, Lord for it. 15:35 But maybe tests and trials, 15:36 they're meant to be blessings, also. 15:38 And so may we should look at those things, 15:40 make lists, take notes, keep records. 15:42 What we do without records? 15:44 What we'd be doing here? What would we have here 15:47 when someone that's keeping tabs on things, 15:50 especially in the Word of God, God is taking care of it 15:52 and He's making sure we get it. 15:53 But I think it's very important 15:55 and we're reminded of the important things. 15:58 There's a lot of foolishness out there 15:59 but God reminds us of the things 16:01 that are so important. 16:02 And to me the most important things 16:04 we have in here is making list out. 16:06 I don't know about you, but make it, 16:07 I've heard people say make a bucket list. 16:09 I'm not sure I understand all of that, you know, 16:11 and the way I understood it and the list of things 16:13 they may want to do before they die, 16:15 ain't that what was bucket list? 16:17 That's right. 16:18 Okay, so you know, so people can relate 16:20 to bucket list or they can take these, 16:22 I'd like to do this before, before I get saved, 16:25 before I pass away. 16:27 You know, I don't know 16:28 if there's anything really wrong with that, 16:29 things we'd like to see accomplished or whatever, 16:31 but maybe in the cause of Christ, 16:32 it'd be nice to make a list. 16:35 You know, as we all work and cooperate together, 16:37 things that God has impressed you to do, 16:39 things that He's allowed us to do, 16:41 places that He's taken us, results that we've seen 16:46 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 16:48 And I just, I mourn sometimes, 16:51 I almost cry over the fact that so many years, I hardly, 16:56 I never even took a camera with me 16:57 when I went. 16:59 Many, many, I know Pastor John, that's just. 17:01 It's unheard of. 17:02 It's unheard of, say, I know, I'm way out with this. 17:05 But you know, I go back to where 17:07 the Polaroids were not so, you know... 17:10 I can understand that. You understand that. 17:12 But you know, there's times that you could have, 17:14 I wish then I had, because this list 17:18 because it's things for the cause of Christ, 17:20 things that bring joy to your heart, 17:23 you know, as you see different ones working together, 17:25 people coming together for certain meetings 17:27 and so on and so forth. 17:29 And I wished I have, 17:31 that's maybe a little bucket list 17:32 that I have, I don't really want to care, 17:34 care to go anywhere, do anything necessarily, 17:36 except make it to heaven. So my bucket list, 17:38 I'm going to put, I want to make it to heaven. 17:40 Amen. I want by God's grace. 17:42 Now, you know, and why do we make list? 17:46 Why do you tie a string around your finger? 17:48 Well, I don't. 17:50 So you don't forget, that's why you make a list 17:52 so you don't forget the important things. 17:54 And something that again, we wanna do, 17:57 place maybe we want to go. 17:59 Yeah, this lesson reminds me of God's list. 18:03 I believe that God has list 18:04 and He's listed so many things in here 18:06 and we could do that in Ezra 2:7, go through. 18:09 And again, 'cause details and how things came about, 18:12 and how they started and how they finished, 18:15 and how that different people play a different part 18:18 and different role in a work. 18:21 It could be at 3ABN, it could be another ministries. 18:25 What was that Paul talked about that somebody comes and plants, 18:28 and then somebody comes and waters 18:29 and somebody comes and... 18:30 God gives the increase. 18:32 You know that, that needs all be taken in consideration. 18:34 That number one, 18:35 it's always God that does it all. 18:37 And if He chooses so to use you or me just for a little bit 18:41 for His honor and glory, oh, how wonderful. 18:44 Thank you, Lord, for being using me today. 18:45 Amen. 18:47 You know, and put that in our list 18:48 and say, you know, 18:50 I liked it so much today God, that tomorrow, 18:53 I'd like to put some more of these into my bucket. 18:56 I'd like to have some more of these lists, 18:57 and God will do it. 18:59 That's right. 19:00 God will do that, He'll send you the list 19:01 and you know, 19:03 what we need to look at is what does God care about? 19:05 Is He particular? Yes, He's particular God. 19:08 Does He care about little things? 19:10 Absolutely, He does. 19:11 You read several passages of scripture, 19:13 okay when he said, You know, I know the hair on your head, 19:15 He's having a hard time with mine. 19:20 No, He's not. Probably not. 19:21 You know, I said, No, 19:23 he doesn't have a hard time with it, 19:24 but He's keeping some, 19:26 little busier on something on others. 19:27 But to me that, that was intimate. 19:30 That was intimate in that sense in relationship, 19:33 that Christ cares so much that the Bible tells it. 19:36 You read, was it, was 43? Was it Isaiah 40 or 45? 19:40 And 45 just simply says, God says, 19:43 "I called him by name." 19:45 Yes. 19:46 That's intimate. I called him by name. 19:48 Amen. 19:49 And when He comes to you, He comes to me, 19:51 He calls us by name and He woos us 19:53 into the relationship. 19:55 He woos us into, you know, 20:00 recognizing who He is and falling in love with Him. 20:03 I thought He was detailed God that we have. 20:05 And I'm so very grateful and thankful of that. 20:07 God of miracles, you know, God of might, God of strength. 20:13 You know, if I look at all these lessons, 20:15 I see so much coming out of here, 20:16 and I'm thinking 20:17 there's so much information out here, 20:19 each one of you say it, there's so much information. 20:21 So much that you just go on and on. 20:22 And then the hardest part for us, 20:24 to do is try to condense it down 20:26 to just a little bit, you know, 20:29 because there's so much and then others think maybe 20:32 you've left something out. 20:33 But you know, I think there's... 20:36 We see in our lesson right here, 20:37 there was a certain time in the history of the world 20:41 for this project of the rebuilding. 20:44 There was a certain time, a certain place, 20:47 a certain people that God chose 20:49 and that God used to fulfill His will. 20:52 Remember, God writes it, and then God brings it about. 20:57 And each one of us need to be praying that 20:58 we can be a part of that, that we might contribute, 21:02 you know, to the cause of Christ, 21:04 'cause I think we all believe that the God is coming. 21:07 I believe that we... 21:10 There needs to be reformed. Right? 21:13 Reform in our church, 21:15 it needs to be reformed among us 21:17 as individuals. 21:18 That's not saying anything bad about anything or anybody, 21:21 but until we, you know, until the Christ's character 21:23 is fully reproduced in us. 21:24 That's right. 21:26 You know, when it is, He's going to come back, 21:27 and I look at my measuring device, 21:30 I look at Christ and I fall short of that. 21:32 And so I'm asking Him that I may behold Him more 21:35 each and every day, to become better acquainted with Him, 21:38 so that I might see Him as He is. 21:40 And then desire that change and I'm praying that for you, 21:43 and I'm praying for all of us, because this was all about, 21:46 we may sit on a panel, you may do this, 21:47 you may do that, may be in ministry, 21:49 you may run here, you may run there and there. 21:51 What does that mean? God knows where you're at. 21:55 God knows what you're doing, but He also knows the heart. 21:57 Why are we doing it? Why are we doing it? 22:00 It's because we love the gospel, 22:01 because we love people, because we want people 22:04 saved in the kingdom. 22:05 Are we willing to put ourselves out there 22:07 on the line to be talked about and gossiped about? 22:10 Beat on the head, thrown out, as it were at times. 22:13 You know, are we willing to it because we love Jesus. 22:15 I pray that's what it is, because God does have... 22:17 We'll talk about a list here. 22:19 We talk about things that He cares about. 22:21 And so what I'm trying to do by the grace of God 22:23 is learn to care about the things 22:25 that He cares about me. 22:27 Amen. See, that's important. 22:28 I learned a lot. 22:30 There's other things that I care about in the world 22:31 that I probably shouldn't care about. 22:33 And so I don't want to care about the things that doesn't. 22:35 And now I'm having more difficult time 22:37 'cause everything unless it has eternal interest, 22:39 I have a hard time 22:41 getting involved with it anymore. 22:42 Doesn't make you a good person, 22:43 that's just where my heart's at. 22:46 If there's not some eternal realities 22:48 involved with, I'm saying, what's the use? 22:50 Why are we doing it? 22:51 Let's put our thoughts, our effort, our energy, 22:53 and then our lessons brought out on finances, 22:56 everything in the cause of Christ 22:59 because God cares. 23:00 God has a bucket, we need to fill that bucket up. 23:02 God has details, right? 23:04 And we need to look at His details, say God, 23:06 "What is your detail for my life? 23:09 Whatever your details is, 23:11 that's what I want for my life." 23:13 And therefore by dedicating ourselves to Christ, 23:15 watch what He will do for and through 23:18 and in you and in me. 23:20 You know, I'm longing for that day 23:21 that we like Jesus, longing today I can see Jesus. 23:24 And so that's my desire. That's my goal. 23:28 Take it from there. Amen. 23:29 We're going to take it to us. Thank you so much, Pastor. 23:34 We're gonna take a quick break and we'll be right back. 23:42 Ever wish you could watch 23:44 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 23:46 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 23:49 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 23:54 A clean design makes it easy 23:56 to find the program you're looking for. 23:58 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:02 so you can follow along. 24:04 Sharing is easy. 24:05 Just click share 24:06 and choose your favorite social media. 24:08 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:14 We're back now for Tuesday's study 24:16 with Jill Morikone. 24:18 Where are the priests? 24:19 Thank you so much, Shelley and Pastor Kenny, 24:21 what an incredible open to this lesson number 9. 24:24 And on Tuesday's lesson, 24:26 we're gonna turn to Ezra Chapter 8. 24:29 Ezra Chapter 8, we look at the first 15 verses, 24:32 although we're really focused on verse 15. 24:34 And then Pastor John gets to pick up after that. 24:37 This is the second return under Ezra. 24:40 Remember, we've already studied this quarter, 24:42 the first return under Zerubbabel, 24:44 probably 50,000 Jews went back 24:47 from Babylon, back to Judah, back to Jerusalem. 24:51 That's probably 538, 537 BC. 24:55 Then we come to this return under Ezra, 457 BC. 25:00 And then, of course, we know 13 years later, 25:02 we had the return under Nehemiah. 25:04 So let's take a look at the second return 25:06 under Ezra. 25:08 In verses 1-14, there's another list 25:12 which we will not attempt 25:13 to read all those beautiful names. 25:15 But we see that there are 12 different heads 25:18 of families mentioned, 12 different families, 25:22 symbolic as it were of the 12 tribes of Israel. 25:26 Now, what is interesting to me, in this list, 25:29 you see different groups of people. 25:31 You see some priestly returnees, 25:34 that's in Ezra Chapter 8:2, it says, 25:37 "Of the sons of Phinehas, 25:38 Gershom and of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel." 25:42 Now we know Phinehas was Aaron's grandson, 25:44 and Ithamar was the son of Aaron. 25:47 So these are priests who are returning. 25:51 Next we see that 25:53 some of the sons of David return, 25:55 so there are some royal returnees as well. 25:58 And then we have the lay people as it were, 26:01 12 different heads of families listed here in verses 1-14. 26:06 Everyone on this list with the exception of Joab, 26:09 he is in verse 9, is connected somehow 26:13 to the first return of the exiles 26:15 under Zerubbabel. 26:17 This means that when the original call 26:19 went forth, Cyrus's decree 26:21 and the original 50,000 went back, 26:23 it split up families. 26:25 There was a mixed response, as it were, Pastor Kenny, 26:29 and families were divided almost down the middle. 26:33 It shows the spiritual indifference 26:37 of those who were in a comfortable lifestyle 26:40 and who had remained behind in Babylon. 26:43 It also shows the faith and commitment 26:46 that it took for those to return 26:49 and to make a choice 26:50 to leave their comfortable lifestyle 26:52 in Babylon and return. 26:57 It was a long journey, we know it was 900 miles 27:00 across the desert. 27:01 It was a hard journey. 27:03 But it shows the faith and commitment 27:05 of those who did return. 27:07 We know probably 1,500 men returned and then, of course, 27:11 the women and children 27:13 bringing the total to 5 or 6,000 people. 27:16 But let's concentrate on verse 15. 27:18 That's where we really spend the balance of our time. 27:20 Let's read Ezra 8:15, "Now I gathered them 27:24 by the river that flows to Ahava, 27:27 and we camped there three days. 27:30 And I looked among the people and the priests, 27:33 and found none of the sons of Levi there." 27:39 Now, what's interesting, the lesson asks, 27:40 where are the priests but the truth is, 27:43 the priests were there. 27:44 We already saw that in Ezra Chapter 2 27:46 because some of the sons 27:47 of the lineage of Aaron had gone. 27:50 But there were no Levites there. 27:55 Now, you might say, I don't understand that at all. 27:57 All priests were to be Levites, 27:59 that was clear according to the law, 28:02 but not all Levites were priests. 28:05 Levitical priests were given the privilege 28:07 of doing service in the tabernacle. 28:10 We also know they served as judges. 28:12 That's in Deuteronomy Chapter 17. 28:15 Sometimes they served as teachers of the law, 28:18 that's in Deuteronomy Chapter 33. 28:20 I can think of some Levitical priests, 28:22 of course, Aaron, 28:24 we have Ezra was a Levitical priest, Eli, 28:28 Zachariah in the New Testament would be a Levitical priest. 28:33 But not all Levites were priests. 28:38 They were non priestly Levites 28:40 who were involved in taking care 28:42 of the tabernacle and its furnishings. 28:45 We see that in Numbers Chapter 3, 28:48 you can look that up in verses 21-26. 28:52 So this tells us here in this verse 28:55 that no Levites wanted to return 28:59 when Ezra made the call and said please go back 29:02 who wants to come back and rebuild that temple 29:05 and dedicate that who wants to go? 29:08 And no Levites made the decision to join. 29:12 Now, we're gonna see later in the chapter 29:14 that some Levites were persuaded to go 29:16 along with some temple servants. 29:18 Later 38 Levites joined the group 29:20 and 220 temple servants were persuaded 29:24 to join the returning exiles. 29:27 So what is the danger of the Levite mentality? 29:31 This is what I call it, the Levite mentality. 29:34 I want to talk about five dangers, 29:36 Pastor John, five dangers of the Levite mentality. 29:40 Number one, the danger of comfort. 29:44 Babylon was comfortable, and it was safe, 29:49 and it was what they were used to. 29:51 It's dangerous when we become comfortable 29:54 where we are serving the Lord. 29:56 Yes. 29:58 It's dangerous when we become comfortable in that. 30:00 Zephaniah Chapter 4, Chapter 1:12. 30:05 Zephaniah 1:12. 30:07 "And it shall come to pass at that time 30:09 that I will search Jerusalem with lamps 30:11 and punish the men 30:12 who are settled in their complacency, 30:16 who say in their heart, the Lord will not do good, 30:19 nor will he do evil, the Lord will come and punish 30:23 those settled in their complacency." 30:27 I think of the parable of the rich fool 30:28 that's in Luke 12. 30:30 Remember verse 19, he said, "I'll say to my soul, 'Soul, 30:34 you have many goods laid up for many years, 30:36 take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.'" 30:39 That is the danger of comfort. 30:42 The second danger is the danger of tradition. 30:46 Babylon was the only thing 30:48 that many of these Levites had known 30:49 because they've probably been born there, 30:51 and they were raised in Babylon and that's all they knew. 30:54 It's dangerous when we serve the Lord 30:56 just because our parents did. 30:58 Well. 30:59 Or just because is what we have always done. 31:02 I think of Joshua 24:15. 31:05 Joshua made an appeal to the people to not serve God 31:08 from tradition, to not serve God 31:10 because their parents did it. 31:13 But they had to make their own choice to follow God. 31:17 The Bible says, "And if it seems evil for you 31:19 to serve the Lord, choose for yourself this day, 31:23 whom you will serve, 31:25 whether the gods which your father served, 31:27 that were on the other side of the river, 31:30 or the gods of the Amorites, 31:32 and whose land you dwell, but as for me and my house, 31:36 we will serve the Lord." 31:37 Amen. 31:39 We have the danger of comfort, 31:40 the danger of tradition. 31:42 The third danger is the danger of complacency 31:45 and the fear of hardship. 31:48 The journey to Judah was long, it was difficult. 31:52 It was a harsh desert, 900 miles. 31:55 We know it took Ezra's company four months 31:58 to travel across that journey. 32:02 It's dangerous when we refuse to serve the Lord 32:06 because of an unwillingness to encounter hardship. 32:09 We say, I don't want to suffer. 32:12 All that live godly in Christ Jesus 32:13 shall suffer persecution. 32:15 I don't want persecution. I don't want to suffer. 32:17 I don't want to endure that. 32:19 Think of Paul, his letter to Timothy. 32:22 2 Timothy 2:3, 32:24 this is right at the end of Paul's life, 32:26 and he's counseling his, you can say son in the faith 32:30 who's Timothy. 32:31 It says, "You therefore must endure," 32:34 what's that word? 32:35 Hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 32:38 Danger number four, 32:40 the danger of avoiding responsibility. 32:45 They weren't serving in the temple in Babylon, 32:48 perhaps they didn't even want that responsibility. 32:52 It's dangerous when we shirk a duty 32:55 that God has placed on us. 32:58 Galatians 6:4-5, 33:00 usually I read from New King James, 33:01 but this is NIV, 33:03 "Each one should test their own actions, 33:06 then they can take pride in themselves alone, 33:08 without comparing themselves to anyone else 33:11 for each one should carry their own load." 33:15 There's a danger of shirking the responsibility 33:17 that God has given you to carry. 33:20 Romans 14:12, 33:22 "So then each of us should give an account of himself to God." 33:25 And finally, danger number five, 33:27 the danger of feeling insignificant. 33:30 They might have said, we're only Levites, 33:32 we're not priests, we don't teach in the law, 33:35 we don't judge, my job is just to take care 33:38 of the tabernacle and its furnishings. 33:40 It is dangerous 33:42 when we measure our responsibilities 33:44 against someone else instead of doing 33:46 what we are given to the best of our ability. 33:51 Colossians 3:23-24, "Whatever you do, 33:54 do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, 33:57 knowing that from the Lord you receive the reward 34:00 of your inheritance." 34:01 So beware of the danger of comfort, 34:04 the danger of tradition, 34:05 the danger of the fear of hardship 34:07 avoiding responsibility, or of feeling insignificant. 34:12 Pastor John. Well, thank you, Jill. 34:14 Thank you for your notes, I appreciate it. 34:16 Amen. 34:20 Jill is always a student of list, 34:22 but not just list but list with great content. 34:25 Thank you for that. 34:26 And Wednesday, humble before God. 34:29 You know, the journey of the Israelites, 34:31 the rebuilding of the temple, 34:33 the gathering of the priests to Levites, 34:35 the opposition, in all of it, we found a lot of vacillating. 34:40 There were those 34:41 who were uncomfortable with change. 34:44 There were those who were hesitant to change. 34:47 They were those who fluctuated between good and evil. 34:52 They were those who started out but turned back. 34:55 All of these instances were listed 34:57 in what we've discovered so far in the Journey 35:00 of the Israelites in the books of Ezra, 35:02 Nehemiah, and Deuteronomy and Daniel, 35:05 and Zephaniah and Haggai, they're all in there. 35:08 But today we're talking about humility. 35:10 Humility is something that's very essential 35:13 when it comes to working in the Lord's field. 35:15 And what you found... 35:18 We find, I'm going to go ahead and read here in Deuteronomy, 35:22 I want to just talk about how God was willing to bring 35:26 His people back. 35:27 But you'll find in the center of this, 35:32 you find an if and a then. 35:35 All of the promises of God are based on an if and a then. 35:39 If my people, then I will hear. 35:41 So when you find those, you consider that 35:45 this promise is conditional. 35:47 Now God's covenant is based on the consistency of His life. 35:53 But in the nestled in the midst of all the blessings, 35:56 there is the if and there's the when. 35:58 Amen. 35:59 So Deuteronomy 30:1-6 and I'm gonna just go down 36:02 to a list of praises to be humble. 36:06 Verse 1, now it's, this is Deuteronomy 30:1, 36:10 "Now it shall come to pass 36:12 when all the things come upon you, 36:14 the blessings and the curse which I have set before you, 36:17 notice, both of them are there, 36:19 and you call them to mine among all the nations 36:23 where the Lord your God drives you 36:25 and you return to the Lord your God 36:27 and obey His voice according to all 36:28 that I command you today. 36:30 You and your children with all your heart 36:32 and with all your soul, 36:34 that the Lord your God 36:35 will bring you back from captivity 36:38 and have compassion on you and gather you again 36:41 from all the nations where the Lord 36:42 your God has scattered you. 36:44 They were scattered because of their disobedience 36:46 and the Lord says, if you want to live like that, 36:48 if you want to live like the Babylonians, 36:50 you're not going to do it in Jerusalem. 36:52 Go where it's most comfortable, 36:53 live like Babylon in Babylon." 36:56 But look at verse 4. 36:57 "If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts 37:01 under heaven. 37:02 From there the Lord your God will gather you 37:04 and from there he will bring you back, 37:06 he will bring you. 37:08 If then, the Lord your God will bring you to the land 37:13 which your father's possessed, and you shall possess it. 37:16 He will prosper you and multiply you 37:18 more than your father's. 37:20 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart, 37:24 and the heart of your descendants 37:26 to love the Lord your God with all your heart, 37:29 and with all your soul, that you may live." 37:32 This is the promise the Lord made, 37:33 this is a covenant, 37:35 if and then I have blessings for you, 37:37 but they are conditional, 37:39 and the bringing back, and this is the point 37:42 I think I've made it and maybe even past 37:44 it fits right here. 37:45 The Lord was able to take the Israelites out of Egypt, 37:49 but He couldn't take each about the Israelites. 37:51 The Lord was able to take Israel out of Babylon 37:54 but you know what I am taking Babylon out of Israel, 37:57 and often the places that they were driven, 37:59 He was able to take them out physically 38:01 but the spiritual restoration was the great challenge. 38:04 And a part of the reason for the spiritual restoration 38:06 being a great challenge was humility was lacking. 38:10 So I want to point out a couple of points 38:12 very important here. 38:13 First of all, I want to point out 38:14 the heart of God, 38:16 the foundation of all of the blessings of God 38:19 are based on the heart of God. 38:20 Amen. 38:22 And even when we are falling into sin, 38:24 even when we stumble, 38:25 because sometimes breaking a person up, 38:28 breaking someone out of an old habit 38:30 is not as simple as saying, just do it. 38:33 You know, the brain is this powerful instrument, 38:35 it engrains in itself. 38:36 I was talking to a young man just not too long ago. 38:39 And I said, you're trying to, you know, 38:42 you'd have to say, pray for me. 38:44 I'm gonna read my Bible. 38:45 I said, that's, I said, for you, 38:47 that's the easy thing to do. 38:49 You need a change in the way you think 38:51 and that's only gonna happen in the change 38:53 in the way you yield yourself, 38:55 your actions, your habits, your practices. 38:58 You literally have to relearn the way you should live 39:02 and that's not something by copying out by saying, 39:04 well pray for me. 39:05 Because so many people use prayer as a parachute. 39:08 When they land safely, they go back to the way 39:10 they live before. 39:12 The heart of God is so important. 39:14 Hebrews 4:15, 39:15 let's look at the heart of God very quickly. 39:17 And he says the foundation of the promises of God 39:22 is he understands us, but notice the heart of God, 39:25 "For we do not have a High Priest 39:27 who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, 39:30 but was in all points tempted as we are, 39:33 yet without sin." 39:34 He understands our frailty. 39:36 Amen? Amen. 39:38 He understands our frailty, but He bears with us. 39:42 Also, Hebrews 7:25, 39:44 another indicator of the heart of God. 39:48 "Therefore, he is able to save to the uttermost, 39:52 those who come to God through him 39:54 since he always lives to make intercession for them," 39:58 or as the King James says, ever liveth to make, 40:01 that just sounds so good, ever liveth. 40:05 And, so let's look at it now, 40:08 He will always bring us back up we're humble. 40:11 He ever liveth to make intercession. 40:12 He understands our weaknesses. 40:14 But then so why does He want us to be humble? 40:17 Now let's look at Deuteronomy 8:2, 40:21 Deuteronomy 8:2. 40:23 Let's see, one of the first things, Jill, 40:25 is humility is a test. 40:27 Humility is a test. 40:29 And you shall remember the Lord your God led you all the way 40:34 these 40 years in the wilderness, 40:37 to humble you and to do what else? 40:40 Test you, to know what was in your heart, 40:44 whether you would keep His commandments or not. 40:47 You know what's amazing about this. 40:48 He already knew what was in their heart. 40:50 God doesn't need to find out what's in our heart. 40:52 We need to find out what's in our heart, 40:54 and tests don't develop us, tests reveal us. 40:59 Trials reveal our fabric. It doesn't develop our fabric. 41:04 So the Lord sometimes will ordain a trial 41:06 to show you that you really don't have faith. 41:09 It's easy to trust God when the sun is out, 41:11 the bank is full, the cars are working, 41:12 the kids are obedient 41:14 and the dog hasn't bitten anybody. 41:15 But if any of those things fall out of practice, Lord, 41:18 why have you forsaken me? 41:19 And thus the Israelites, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, 41:22 they all heard 41:24 the unrelenting hearts of people 41:26 that just couldn't stick with this, 41:28 the consistency of trusting God. 41:30 So the humility first is a test. 41:33 Secondly, go to Proverbs 29:23, 41:37 Humility also will attract, 41:40 a humble character will attract a blessing. 41:44 Let's see what that blessing is. 41:46 "A man's pride will bring him low, 41:48 but the humble in spirit will retain honor." 41:53 We cannot gain honor by 41:55 our veracity or by our abilities. 41:58 The Lord doesn't give us honor based on what we do, 42:01 but He gives us honor based on who we are. 42:05 What kind of heart do you have? 42:07 And if a person is filled with pride, you know, 42:09 one person says, I am not pride. 42:11 I am not proudful, I just want to let you know 42:14 that I am not a proud person. 42:16 I'm very humble. Don't you ever forget that? 42:22 Okay, well, the point is very well made. 42:24 The next one, James 4:6, 42:28 "A humble heart is also a heart filled with God's grace, 42:31 but He gives more grace. 42:33 Therefore, he says, "God resists the proud, 42:38 but gives grace to the humble." 42:42 What does He do? 42:43 He resists the proud and give grace to the humble. 42:48 Also, a lot of times we wonder 42:51 why the blessings of God eludes us. 42:53 We are waiting for God to bless us and sometimes, 42:56 God will purposefully not bless us 42:58 but bless others in our presence 43:00 so that He can test whether 43:02 or not we are rejoicing with them 43:04 or jealous of them. 43:06 And the sad... 43:07 It is a sad reality among Christians, 43:10 there's professional jealousy. 43:12 There's Christian jealousy. 43:14 Wow, what an oxymoron. 43:16 Christians whose hearts are jealous rather than rejoice 43:19 when we all celebrate somebody's successes, 43:22 we experience that success. 43:24 But notice what `the Lord points out here. 43:27 Let's look at 1 Peter 5:6, 43:30 "Humility is a precursor to God's blessings." 43:34 It's a precursor to God's blessings, 43:36 but He decide when the blessing is going to come, 43:38 "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, 43:42 that He may exalt you when you think 43:44 the time is right." 43:46 In due time. In due time. What? 43:47 In due time, or as the King James 43:49 says in due season. 43:50 Some people say, "Okay, Lord, 43:52 I've been humble for five years, 43:53 when You're gonna bless me." 43:54 He says, "You need five more years." 43:56 It's always in God's time, 43:58 so don't put God on a time clock. 44:01 Don't press God for the blessings. 44:03 When the time is right, 44:05 when the Lord knows that you can handle a blessing, 44:07 He'll send the blessing your way. 44:09 But be humble, you'll have His grace. 44:12 Be humble, He will exalt you, 44:13 but He'll always do it in His time, 44:16 and for His glory. 44:17 Amen. Amen. 44:18 Thank you, John. Johnny? 44:20 Well, we pick up now with Thursday's portion 44:22 and the title is In the Holy City. 44:27 Now, for this, 44:29 we begin with Nehemiah Chapter 11 44:32 and we're gonna go to verse 1 and 2, 44:34 and the Bible tells us this. 44:37 "Now the leaders of the people dwelt at Jerusalem, 44:41 the rest of the people, cast lots to bring 44:45 one out of 10 to dwell in Jerusalem, 44:48 the Holy City and nine tenths were to dwell in other cities." 44:52 I'm gonna stop at verse 1 for now. 44:55 Here we see, of course, 44:56 that the leaders of the people dwelt at Jerusalem 45:00 to lead the rest of the people. 45:03 It's interesting here that it says that 45:05 they cast lots to bring one out of 10. 45:08 In other words, like a tithe of the people 45:11 that were to dwell in Jerusalem. 45:13 Our lesson brings out something interesting 45:15 about the difference between 45:17 living in the city and living in the country. 45:19 Remember, the people of Israel 45:21 were apportioned different places in the land, 45:26 and each family had their place to have to then move 45:29 from there to the city means you're separated 45:32 from the rest of your family, 45:33 and now you're living in the city 45:35 and it seemed to them 45:36 that it was a sacrifice to move to the city. 45:40 Now, it's interesting that this is one of the verses, 45:43 Nehemiah 11:1, that it makes reference 45:47 to the Holy City and then it mentions 45:49 New Jerusalem attached to it. 45:50 Sometimes it just says, the Holy City like it says 45:52 in Daniel Chapter 9, 45:54 The Holy City that will and also in Revelation it says, 45:57 the holy city will be trodden underfoot 45:58 by the Gentiles, 42 months. 46:01 But I want to bring out something here 46:03 about casting lots because we don't want people 46:07 to come out thinking that this was something 46:11 that was just done by chance. 46:14 When you have, there are about 70 references 46:17 in the Bible about casting lots 46:19 and what takes place afterwards. 46:21 This is different 46:22 when the Bible says casting lots, 46:24 it's talking about God being involved in the process 46:27 of selecting the person or tribe or people 46:31 that are going to be involved 46:33 in whatever is being spoken about. 46:34 And I'm going to bring out an example 46:36 because we cannot just look at, oh, 46:40 we're gonna toss a coin. 46:41 That's true. 46:43 You know, okay, one of you two is gonna clean the bathroom, 46:45 we will toss coin, heads, tails, you okay? 46:46 You clean the bathroom, oh mom, you know, 46:49 and you're not happy about this. 46:51 But the process here indicates that 46:55 God gets involved and God says, 46:56 I have chosen you to live in Jerusalem. 47:00 Wow, God has chosen me. It's a privilege. 47:03 It's an honor. That's right. Yeah. 47:04 So let's look here in one of the... 47:09 We're gonna go to two scriptures 47:11 that help bring this out in Proverbs 16:33, 47:15 The Bible brings out this important aspect 47:18 of casting lots as it is done 47:20 according to the biblical way. 47:22 Now, when you say cast lots, well, how was it done? 47:25 There's not a lot of information about this. 47:27 They say that, you know, they probably used, 47:31 something made out of wood, or metal, or stone, 47:36 wood markings to identify the... 47:39 What was chosen. 47:40 Now Proverbs 16:33 says, "The lot is cast into the lap. 47:45 But it's every decision is from the Lord." 47:50 So this casting of lots is something that 47:53 the Lord gets involved and He says, 47:54 "You are chosen to go to Jerusalem." 47:57 Wow, what an honor. 47:59 Now, Proverbs 18:18 says this, 48:02 "Casting lots causes contentions to cease 48:05 and keeps the mighty apart." 48:08 So this would settle the issue 48:11 and people will be contend to know 48:13 God has chosen me, I get to go, 48:15 and I am happy to be there. 48:19 There's different places we can go to. 48:21 I'm gonna skip one of these 48:22 because of lack of time because I see the time 48:24 seems to fly during the Sabbath School lesson here. 48:27 Let's go to the Book of Acts. 48:29 Now you remember that 48:33 Judas betrayed Jesus Christ. 48:35 They wanted to keep the original 12 48:38 and as a matter of fact to fulfill a prophecy, 48:41 Peter gets up and starts to talk about this. 48:45 Now there's a part that man can do. 48:47 And so this is the part where Peter gets up, 48:50 and he begins to talk and it says, 48:52 "They proposed two, 48:53 where I'm looking at Acts 1:23 and onward, 48:56 "And they propose two: 48:58 Joseph called Barsabas who was surnamed Justus, 49:01 and Matthias and Matthias." 49:03 Now these individuals have been with them 49:04 from the beginning. 49:06 So they can say, "Okay, of the ones that are available, 49:09 these have been around for since the beginning. 49:12 So of these, we're going to pick 49:14 one to replace Judas." 49:16 So verse 24, "And they prayed." 49:18 Now notice that God gets involved in the process. 49:20 They're asking God to get involved 49:22 in the process of this casting a lot 49:25 and they prayed and said, 49:26 "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, 49:29 show which of these two you have chosen." 49:33 See, there's God getting involved, 49:34 "To take part in this ministry and apostleship 49:37 from which Judas by transgression fell, 49:39 that he might go to his own place." 49:41 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Mathias. 49:45 And he was numbered with the eleven apostles." 49:48 So God gets involved in the process of choosing. 49:53 So here in Nehemiah Chapter 11, 49:58 this choosing of lots is done, 50:02 where God gets involved in the process. 50:04 Now let's go to Nehemiah 11:2, notice what happens, 50:08 "And the people blessed all the men 50:11 who willingly offer themselves to dwell at Jerusalem." 50:15 You know, today God is also making 50:17 a call to people, 50:19 some may be chosen to go here, 50:20 so may be chosen to go there to be a missionary here, 50:26 be a missionary there, to go preach over there to go 50:28 and bring something to the poor. 50:31 God has ministry, 50:33 all of us can get involved in ministry, 50:35 the church has opportunities for ministry. 50:39 The church also selects officers 50:41 so that they can serve in different capacities. 50:44 And we at church, we pray, and we say, "Lord, 50:50 show us who it is You want to be 50:52 in charge of this department. 50:53 And there should be no jealousy. 50:55 Okay, oh man, I wanted to be there. 50:58 Now why did they pick that person? 51:00 You know, we need to understand that 51:02 if we pray and humble ourselves and ask God to direct, 51:06 then He's going to choose the individual to do. 51:10 And I'm going to bring this a little further, 51:11 which might bring some people a little, 51:14 get a little upset about this, but I'm gonna go there. 51:18 And that is the general conference session 51:21 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 51:23 delegates from all over the world get together 51:25 to choose officers. 51:27 And the President 51:29 of the General Conference is chosen 51:31 and the different leaders are chosen. 51:33 So as these delegates get together, 51:36 I heard one individual say, they had gone to many 51:40 general conference sessions as a conference president, 51:43 union president, he says, 51:44 "I believe God gets involved in the process 51:48 and the General Conference president, 51:50 God gets involved. 51:52 And I believe I believe this to be so as well 51:55 and I believe we need to respect that and say, 51:58 "This is the person that God has shown." 52:00 Let us as David used to say, 52:02 not touch the anointed of the Lord, 52:05 because God has chosen that individual now. 52:07 I didn't want to do that much in this 52:09 but we have to respect these things God has chosen, 52:12 we need to respect God's choice. 52:14 God can choose and when God chooses, 52:16 we need to respect it. 52:18 All right. 52:19 Now, let's go over here to the lesson 52:21 brings out an aspect of this Chapter 12. 52:27 And in Chapter 12 of Nehemiah, 52:30 we have now a question 52:33 that comes up based on the list. 52:36 There's the list of individuals 52:37 that are there in Nehemiah Chapter 12 52:40 of the people that I like to ask 52:45 I think I'll ask myself this, 52:46 I'll go ahead and read it myself. 52:49 Nehemiah 12:1, 52:51 "Now these are the priests and the Levites 52:53 who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, 52:56 and Jeshua, and Seraiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezra." 52:59 And the list is given, and the lesson asks us 53:02 to look at the list in Jeremiah Chapter, 53:04 I mean, Nehemiah 12:1-27. 53:07 Why were these individuals mentioned here? 53:09 And they are there, because God chose them, one, 53:14 and the people are being directed towards a place 53:20 of dedication to God and they needed to again 53:24 get accustomed to the sacrifices 53:27 and these individuals were chosen to not only help 53:31 with that aspect of what needed to be done 53:34 for the people of Israel, but also to prepare them 53:38 and to protect what is worship, the correct worship of God. 53:44 And some interesting things I brought out there, 53:46 which we don't have time to bring out. 53:49 And in this lesson, because as I said, 53:50 time seems to fly. 53:52 Yes. 53:53 Johnny, you take an extra minute 53:55 if you'd like Take an extra minute, okay. 53:57 Now, when we go to Nehemiah 12:1-26, 54:03 we see, for example, 54:06 in verse 8, it says here, 54:10 "Moreover the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, 54:14 Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah 54:17 who led the thanksgiving psalms, 54:19 and his brethren." 54:21 These were key people to help lead out in the people 54:26 to prepare them because as we continue talking, 54:30 we're gonna see the dedication of the wall, 54:32 the dedication of the temple 54:34 and this is something marvelous. 54:37 Now something interesting happens 54:39 because you see, when you go through 54:41 Nehemiah 12:1-7, 54:43 you see a list and it seems to start over 54:45 mentioning people again. 54:47 Also Nehemiah Chapter 10 brings out a list 54:50 of individuals that are very, very close to the same list. 54:53 There are a few differences 54:55 and we have in this list again, 55:00 you've mentioned detail, God is a God of detail. 55:04 And this is another aspect of God, 55:06 letting the people know what, what had been chosen. 55:09 And, of course, some of these people volunteered. 55:11 One of the things that we need to understand is that 55:14 there is revival and reformation taking place. 55:19 What needs to happen, 55:21 people need to humble themselves 55:22 before the Lord, allow the Lord to work 55:24 because Israel had a great mission to accomplish, 55:27 and that is to show the world 55:29 what it is to follow God and the blessings that follow. 55:32 Amen. Amen. 55:33 Very good. 55:34 Let's take just a few seconds and give a quick thought that 55:37 you have on your day. 55:39 Quick thought, just a couple of words 55:40 and I call Steps to Christ, 57 and 65, 55:43 "We shall often have to bow down 55:44 and weep at the feet of Jesus 55:46 because of our shortcomings and our mistakes. 55:49 But we are not to be discouraged 55:51 even if we overcome by the enemy, 55:53 we are not cast off, not forsaken, 55:55 rejected of God, if you will, but yield yourself to Him, 55:58 He that hath begun a good in your work 56:00 and you will carry forward to the day of Jesus." 56:03 Amen. 56:04 1 Peter 2:9, "You are a chosen generation, 56:06 a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 56:08 his own special people, and God has called 56:11 each one of us to get out of ourselves, 56:13 to get out of our comfort, our tradition, our complacency, 56:17 our fear of responsibility, and feeling insignificant 56:21 and share the gospel with the world." 56:23 Amen. 56:24 Humility is necessary, 56:26 so that we don't take God's tools 56:28 and rob God of His glory. 56:30 Absolutely. 56:33 The Book of Ezra and Nehemiah show us that 56:35 God gets involved in the process 56:37 of bringing people back to Him 56:40 and God uses people to bring people back to Him. 56:44 And I encourage you, I encourage myself, 56:47 put yourself in the hands of the Lord 56:48 that He may use you not only to bring you 56:52 and your family back to the Lord, 56:54 but to help others come to the Lord as well. 56:56 Amen, yeah Amen and amen. 56:58 And you know, we just once again 57:00 reminded that God notices 57:03 everything about your life. 57:06 It is so amazing to me to think of His constant watch 57:11 care over us and His attention to detail. 57:14 But that's why you can't hide any sin from Him. 57:17 You know, that's why you may as well 57:19 be honest in your approach to Him. 57:21 He knows it all. And He loves you. 57:25 Yes. 57:26 Well, I want to thank each and every one of you 57:28 for being on the panel today. 57:29 And we are so grateful that you joined us. 57:32 We hope that next week you can join us, 57:35 we're going to... 57:36 Our next week's lesson is Worshiping the Lord, 57:40 and I know that is going to be rich. 57:42 Our prayer for you is the grace 57:44 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 57:46 the love of the Father 57:48 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 57:49 will be with you always. 57:51 Join us next time. Bye-bye. |
Revised 2024-09-04