Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190052S
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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." 00:08 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." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:33 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:36 My name is John Dinzey. 00:37 And I'm glad to be with you 00:39 during this hour along with our panel 00:40 which you will meet in a moment. 00:43 And I would like to encourage you to follow along, 00:46 get something to write with because 00:48 we share a lot of information. 00:50 We have studied and prayed and we know God will bless. 00:53 And we're gonna pray again in a moment, 00:55 and we like to include you in that prayer. 00:57 We are studying Ezra and Nehemiah. 01:00 And we are coming to the end of this lesson 01:03 with this particular study. 01:05 This is lesson number 13. 01:07 This brings us to the last Saturday, 01:10 the last week of the year 2019. 01:13 And we have been blessed as we have studied 01:16 these Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. 01:18 And each one of us has also learned in the process, 01:22 and we thank the Lord for the great blessings 01:24 we have received. 01:25 And if you have been blessed during these studies, 01:28 we would like to invite you to write to us and let us know. 01:32 We are studying the Book of Ezra and Nehemiah. 01:34 We use a Sabbath School quarterly, 01:37 which you can receive absolutely free. 01:40 And you can get it in a matter of minutes 01:43 by visiting a website called ABSG, 01:46 that's Adult Bible Study Guide. 01:49 ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:52 ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:55 And there you will not only find this lesson, 01:59 but also past lessons. 02:01 You can go back several years and go 02:03 and look at different lessons 02:05 that had been studied throughout the years. 02:06 As a matter of fact, 02:07 there's on the right hand corner, 02:09 there's a place where you can click resources 02:11 and you'll see resources that will give you 02:14 a wealth of information to continue your Bible study. 02:17 Let me introduce our panel at this moment, 02:20 Pastor Kenny Shelton is to my left, welcome. 02:23 It's good to be here. Thank you. 02:25 You are the Speaker/Director for Behold the Lamb Ministries. 02:29 Thank you so much for what you bring to this study. 02:32 Blessing's all mine. 02:33 Amen. Amen. 02:34 Well, next to you is our Vice President 02:38 and General Manager for 3ABN, Sister Jill Morikone. 02:42 We always are blessed by your study and insights. 02:46 Thank you so much, Pastor Johnny. 02:47 It's a privilege to be here and study with each one of you. 02:50 Thank you so much. 02:51 And we have Pastor John Lomacang with us. 02:54 And we are also blessed by his ministry not only on 3ABN 02:58 but here in the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church 03:00 of which we are a part. 03:03 And thank you, Pastor Lomacang, for being here. 03:05 This has been an exciting study and the blessing has been 03:08 greater than I anticipated. 03:10 So we're excited about all the lessons behind us. 03:13 And we're stoked about this one. 03:14 Yes. Amen. Amen. 03:16 And we are thankful to have Sister Shelley Quinn with us. 03:20 Also a Bible student, loves to dig into God's Word. 03:24 I do indeed. 03:25 And this has been a very productive study for me. 03:29 I've really learned some things 03:31 that I didn't know about Nehemiah and Ezra before. 03:34 Amen. Amen. 03:36 Well, we like to go right into the lesson. 03:38 And before we do that, 03:40 we'd like to go to the Lord in prayer. 03:42 I like to ask, Pastor Lomacang, 03:43 if you will lead us in prayer, please. 03:45 Loving Father, as we open Your Word, 03:48 open our hearts, send Your Spirit 03:50 to speak to our minds. 03:52 May there be a unity 03:55 and may all the knowledge we receive be communicated 03:58 for Your glory and Your honor alone. 04:00 In Christ's name, amen. 04:02 Amen. Amen. Amen. 04:05 Well, we are studying lesson number 13, 04:07 Leaders in Israel, 04:08 is what we are gonna be studying during this hour. 04:12 And we have been studying the Book of Ezra and Nehemiah. 04:17 The memory verse 04:18 so we like to call the memory verse 04:19 is found in Nehemiah 8:12. 04:22 And it says, "And all the people 04:24 went their way to eat and drink, 04:26 to send portions and rejoice greatly, 04:28 because they understood the words 04:31 that were declared to them," that's Nehemiah 8:12. 04:35 And the Book of Nehemiah, also, Ezra and Nehemiah 04:39 both bring out great leaders. 04:41 Both Ezra and Nehemiah were great leaders. 04:45 And I would like to say because they follow the Lord 04:48 with all their heart, you know, 04:51 the best that you can become can only be possible 04:55 as you surrender your heart to the Lord. 04:57 Amen. 04:58 And I would like to encourage you to do that. 05:00 And we're gonna look at some leaders 05:02 and their influence during this study. 05:06 And you'll see examples of good leaders and bad leaders. 05:11 And so we want to learn from the mistakes 05:14 of the bad leaders not to repeat those things. 05:17 But we also want to learn from the good leaders, 05:19 so that we can emulate, 05:20 so we can follow these good examples. 05:23 Of course, our great leader is Jesus Christ. 05:26 And so you're gonna see that come out as we each present 05:30 our portion of the lesson study 05:34 that we have for each particular day 05:37 because central to the story 05:38 of the leaders is the Word of God. 05:41 The Word of God is the center. 05:43 And this is really the treasure of wisdom. 05:47 You know, one of the most neglected books is the Bible. 05:52 One of the books that should be treasured 05:54 above all books is the Bible. 05:57 And I encourage you to read it daily. 05:59 And as a matter of fact, it would do us great benefit 06:03 to commit to memory as much as possible from God's Holy Word. 06:08 So going into Sunday's lesson, 06:12 we come to The Influence of Leaders. 06:15 And throughout the Bible, you see different individuals 06:19 and the influence they had either for good or for bad. 06:23 Now I have to say that 06:27 the people that are good 06:31 have received good instruction and good examples to follow. 06:35 Also, many of the people that are bad as a bad leaders 06:40 have also had the opportunity 06:43 to receive good instruction and see good examples 06:46 some way or another in their lives. 06:49 Let me give you one example. 06:52 You said you have Adam and Eve, they had two sons. 06:55 You have Cain, you have Abel. 06:57 They both learned from Adam and Eve to follow the Lord. 07:03 But one chose one way, 07:05 which was the evil way, which was Cain. 07:08 And Abel chose the right way. 07:10 People make choices. 07:12 And so we want to encourage you to follow good examples. 07:17 Now, we're going to look at just 07:22 a couple of leaders here 07:24 because the lesson brings out several for my portion, 07:28 but we cannot go through each and every one of them. 07:31 So I have selected two of the leaders, 07:34 and one of them is Josiah. 07:38 Josiah, you'll find some information about him 07:42 in 2 Kings 23:1-10. 07:45 And in 2 Kings 23:1-10, 07:50 I'm gonna read a few words about Josiah. 07:52 "Now the king sent them to gather all the elders 07:55 of Judah and Jerusalem. 07:56 The king went up to the house of the Lord 07:59 with all the men of Judah, and with him 08:01 all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 08:03 the priests and the prophets and all the people, 08:05 both small and great. 08:07 And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book 08:10 of the Covenant which had been found 08:11 in the house of the Lord. 08:14 Then the king stood by a pillar," that's Josiah, 08:17 "and made a covenant before the Lord, 08:19 to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments 08:22 and His testimonies and His statutes, 08:25 with all his heart and all his soul, 08:27 to perform the words of this covenant 08:30 that were written in this book. 08:32 And all the people took a stand for the covenant. 08:35 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, 08:38 the priest of the second order, the door keepers, 08:40 to bring out of the temple of the Lord 08:43 all the articles that were made for Baal." 08:46 Why are they taking out of the temple of the Lord? 08:48 Articles that were made for Baal. 08:51 What are they doing there? 08:52 The people of Israel had departed from the Lord. 08:54 As a matter of fact, Josiah's father, 08:57 Amon was a wicked King. 08:59 And I praise the Lord that is not always true. 09:02 They say, "Like father, like son." 09:05 Because Josiah did not follow the footsteps of his father. 09:08 His father was evil. 09:10 Josiah decided to follow the Lord with all of his heart. 09:14 Now continuing here, I was reading verse 4, 09:17 "And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, 09:19 the priest of the second order, the door keepers, 09:21 to bring out of the temple of the Lord 09:23 all the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, 09:26 and for all the host of heaven, and burn them outside 09:30 Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, 09:32 and carried their ashes to Bethel. 09:34 Then he removed the idolatrous priests 09:37 whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense 09:41 on the high places in the cities of Judah 09:42 and in the places all around Jerusalem, 09:45 and those who burn incense to Baal, 09:47 to the sun, to the moon, 09:48 to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. 09:51 And he brought out the wooden image 09:53 from the house of the Lord, 09:54 to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, 09:56 burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to ashes, 09:59 and threw ashes on the graves of the common people. 10:02 Then he tore down the rituals booths 10:04 of the perverted persons 10:05 that were in the house of the Lord, 10:06 where the women wove hangings for the wooden image. 10:10 And he brought out the priests from the cities of Judah, 10:12 defiled the high places 10:14 where the priests had burned incense, 10:15 from Geba to Beersheba, also he broke down 10:19 the high places at the gates 10:21 which were at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua 10:23 the governor of the city, 10:25 which were to the left of the city gate. 10:27 Nevertheless the priests of the high place 10:29 did not come to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, 10:32 but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren." 10:34 So you see here that Josiah made wonderful reforms 10:38 under the direction of the Lord. 10:40 And this is a worthy example to follow. 10:42 He followed the Lord with all his heart. 10:46 And we have wonderful lessons that we can learn. 10:49 Before him wicked, evil had been done 10:53 but as a matter of fact, 10:56 the people that chose to remain 10:59 faithful to Lord were wondering, 11:01 when is this wickedness going to end. 11:03 I'm sure they were praying and fasting, 11:05 Lord help us because they saw the tide of evil 11:08 that was wiping out little by little, 11:12 the righteous people, they were being swallowed 11:14 by the wicked influences of Amon and those before him. 11:19 But the Lord brings up Josiah, a bright light for the Lord. 11:23 And so like Josiah, you and I are called 11:26 to let our light so shine, 11:29 that they may see our good works 11:31 and glorify our Heavenly Father. 11:33 I have a short time to talk to you about a bad guy. 11:36 His name was Ahab. 11:38 And I'm glad, I have a short time 11:40 to talk about Ahab because he was not a good example 11:44 in 1 Kings 21:1-16. 11:47 I'm not gonna read all those verses 11:48 because of lack of time. 11:50 But Ahab was a wicked king. 11:53 And as a matter of fact, 11:55 he did that which we had discussed 11:57 in the previous lesson. 11:58 He married an idolatrous women, very famous, 12:02 also mentioned in the Book of Revelation, his wife, 12:06 her name was Jezebel. 12:08 And Jezebel really took Ahab 12:13 worse than he was before. 12:15 And, of course, he burned incense, 12:17 he followed Baal. 12:18 And he was just a wicked king. 12:20 As a matter of fact, the Bible declares about 12:24 Ahab the following words. 12:28 "There was none like unto Ahab 12:29 who did sell himself to work wickedness 12:32 in the sight of the Lord 12:33 whom Jezebel his wife stirred up and he did, 12:37 very abominably in the following idols, 12:40 according to all the things as did the Amorites, 12:43 whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel." 12:45 1 Kings 21:25-26. 12:49 And so Ahab was a bad king. 12:52 And because of Ahab the people of Israel 12:54 went deeper into sin. 12:56 And we encourage you 13:00 even though we live in a wicked world, 13:02 surrounded by wickedness, 13:04 we do not have to follow the wickedness of the world. 13:07 Again, we're invited to let our light so shine, 13:10 that they may see our good works and follow 13:13 and glorify our God, our Heavenly Father, 13:15 as He spoken in Matthew Chapter 5. 13:16 And so I want to encourage you to study God's Word, 13:20 and follow God's example. 13:23 And now we turn over to Pastor Kenny Shelton 13:25 as he goes into Evil in the Sight of the Lord. 13:28 Yeah. Monday's lesson. 13:30 And I tell you, Evil in the Sight of the Lord, 13:32 I study this lesson, 13:33 I'm looking at it and I'm saying, 13:35 you know, there's things we can learn from this. 13:38 And I always like to say like, 13:39 I like to learn the things that I need to, 13:41 from even the bad things we can learn lessons that 13:44 we don't want to repeat. 13:45 So in this lesson here, we're looking at, 13:47 and it's kind of focusing on the leader 13:49 and the leadership. 13:50 So if you're in that position, don't take it personal. 13:53 We're looking at what happened here in scripture. 13:56 And yeah, and we're gonna see that influence 13:58 does make a difference, 13:59 I think that's kind of our focus 14:00 in this lesson here, 14:02 the Evil in the Sight of the Lord. 14:03 Everyone has an influence we know that, 14:05 we understand that. 14:06 Whether you think you do or not somebody's watching, 14:08 somebody's learning from you, somebody's learning the good 14:11 or they're learning things that are bad. 14:13 So we're looking at the leadership 14:15 and we're looking at the influence 14:16 that leaders have upon the people. 14:19 So, so very important. What is an influence? 14:21 If you look it up, you find the meaning, 14:23 you know, meaning of it in the dictionary influence. 14:25 It's a power of a person or things to affect others. 14:31 There's a power that's there, you ever been, 14:33 you met someone maybe the first time 14:34 it seemed like they kind of had a power 14:36 to really influence you where you met someone else. 14:38 And he just seemed like you wouldn't there. 14:42 So there's the power to influence 14:43 whether it be good or bad. 14:45 And sometimes it's based on wealth. 14:46 Sometimes it's based on position, 14:49 you know, whatever they might have 14:50 before their name or after their name, 14:51 their ability and it affects the nature of the person, 14:56 it affects the behavior of people. 14:59 So if a person is influential, 15:03 that means a little bit different, 15:04 influential, I heard a lot people say, 15:06 "Well, he's influential here in the community." 15:08 You know, he carries an awful lot of weight as it were, 15:11 he's exerting an influence. 15:13 What you were talking about here, 15:14 you're talking about the kings, very influential, 15:17 and the great power and influence. 15:20 Kinds of influences, 15:21 let's go over just a few quick ones here. 15:24 Example, influence of a Christian, 15:26 but what I look up and I found Desire of Ages, 15:28 I found this quote, I thought was, 15:29 it was good, nice and fitting, 15:31 page 306 'cause you remember, example of a Christian, 15:35 you call yourself a Christian or Christlike, 15:38 how is your influence? 15:40 You know, is it something people want to be around? 15:42 Or is it your attitude where they 15:43 don't really wanna be around. 15:45 What might it be? 15:46 I mean, it's one or the others, 15:47 either drawing someone to Christ 15:49 or it's pushing them away. 15:51 It says, "If Christians are such in name only, 15:54 they are like the salt that has lost its savor. 15:59 They have no influence for good in the world. 16:03 Through their misrepresentations of God 16:07 they are worse than unbelievers." 16:09 So we can be worse than unbeliever, 16:10 we talked a lot about unbelievers, 16:12 we talked a lot about pagan, and heathen, 16:14 and so on so forth. 16:15 But as a Christian here, if we do not have 16:18 a good influence on others, it's worse than an unbeliever, 16:21 someone doesn't even believe in God. 16:23 There's other kind of influences, 16:25 how about your social influence, 16:27 you have a social influence, well, we all do. 16:30 How about a godly influence, personal influence, 16:33 physical influence, a poisonous influence, 16:39 you know, at the church, 16:40 what kind of influence do you have in your church, 16:42 your local church or wherever you may be? 16:44 How about a saving influence? So it goes on and on and on. 16:48 Influence of talent, people are influenced 16:50 by talent that maybe some may have. 16:52 So every day our influence is exerted 16:55 is put out there for someone to behold 16:58 and either to be drawn to Jesus or pushed away from Jesus. 17:02 Thousands. 17:04 Think about thousands of people, 17:06 maybe tens of thousands will be affected by your life, 17:10 your attitude, and certainly in a ministry like this. 17:15 Tens of thousands. 17:16 And I found this in 2 Testimonies 133, 17:19 maybe kind of new talk for some of you 17:21 but it's very interesting. 17:22 Just listen to the words and see if the principles 17:24 of the Bible back it up. 17:26 Notice this, what it says, "By our example 17:28 we aid others in the development 17:30 of good principles, we give them power to do good." 17:34 Notice this. 17:36 Can that work both ways, good or bad? 17:39 Notice this. 17:41 "In their turn they expect 17:42 the same beneficial influence upon others. 17:45 And there's hundreds and thousands are affected by 17:48 our," notice this, "unconscious influence." 17:52 We're not even aware of it. 17:55 We're not even aware of it but somebody is looking, 17:58 somebody is watching, somebody is making a decision. 18:01 And we're talking about not just for today, 18:03 but again always, it's always to me for eternity 18:06 this is the thing, it can just for eternity. 18:09 Even the way somebody dresses sometime, 18:10 the way somebody talk sometime 18:13 can turn someone toward Christ or against Him. 18:15 The article goes on and says, "If by these acts strengthens 18:20 the evil powers, we share their sin. 18:24 We share their sin and we'll have to render 18:26 an account for the good we might have done, 18:30 and then do not." 18:31 So, you know, that's pretty heavy duty 18:33 when you look at it as a Christian, 18:35 someone that loves Jesus, of influence 18:37 because we're gonna have to give account of ourselves. 18:40 Bible says, by their deeds 18:41 they'll be justified and by your deeds 18:43 you'll be condemned. 18:44 So, you know, it doesn't cost very much to go 18:47 with a smile on your face. 18:49 And say it didn't cost very much 18:50 for a nice handshake 18:52 and tell somebody you care about them 18:53 or you love them. 18:54 This here, in this lesson here, 18:56 just like Pastor John was talking about a while ago, 18:58 it encouraged us to look up some of these kings 19:01 and some of these influential leaders, 19:03 that we might see what it costs 19:06 if our leadership is not what it needs to be. 19:09 And I've heard it said so often. 19:10 Well, he does it, she does it, 19:13 while they're an elder in the church, 19:15 while they're a pastor, they do it, they go hear that. 19:17 And some people use that rather than we always don't, 19:20 we try to encourage them to look to Jesus, 19:22 the author and the finisher of our faith. 19:25 He is my example. 19:26 But I tell you this, 19:28 I really believe that as Christian 19:29 we should be an example. 19:30 Of course. 19:32 And if we fail, there's a price to pay for that too. 19:34 But we keep our eyes on Christ. 19:35 We're gonna be what God wants us to do. 19:38 And we won't turn all those 19:39 because we won't have time to do it. 19:40 But in 1 Kings 15:26 and also in 34 talks about, 19:45 certain about this king here it talks about here. 19:48 Nadabs I think his reign, it just simply says 19:52 this is what I got as I read those verses. 19:54 This simply says this king, "He did evil." 19:59 Who would like that register beside their name? 20:02 You know, maybe on that, which you know, your tombstone. 20:07 He did evil. Well, that's sad. 20:09 But, you know, you'd say, 20:10 he was in business, he was a king for years. 20:15 And then what happened? Three things happen right here. 20:17 He did evil, and notice this, 20:19 "And he did evil in the sight of the people." 20:22 And so what did the people do? 20:23 Number one, they did evil in the face of God. 20:28 The king wasn't afraid to do evil in the face of God, 20:30 even though they knew better and so the people began to do 20:32 evil in the face of God, you know, 20:34 because the king did it 20:36 and they did evil in the sight of God. 20:38 They never did try to hide it. They walked, notice this. 20:41 "They walked and they ruled after another man's influence." 20:46 So I thought, you know, that just, that happens. 20:48 So again, we can't be too cautious. 20:50 We can't be too careful 20:52 as a representative of Jesus Christ. 20:55 I know this for sure. 20:56 I mean, I know this for sure, you know, in my own life, 20:59 and I'm thankful for this because, 21:02 you know, I have a wife sometimes she will say to me, 21:05 "No, it's all right, I can talk to you about it." 21:07 Sorry, you gonna say, well, 21:09 you're not supposed to tell me so. 21:10 No, I can do that, you know, it's blessing. 21:12 It just doesn't matter, if you're just a little bit, 21:14 she'll say to me sometime, 21:15 Pastor, now if ever she said to me, 21:17 remember who you are, remember who you represent. 21:22 I'm thankful for that. I really am. 21:24 It might burn just a little bit at the moment, 21:30 now you got to stay with it 21:32 'cause these are lessons to learn. 21:33 But just for a second, it burns and then you realize, 21:36 it's right. 21:39 Who do you represent? 21:41 Who you representing right now? 21:44 And if I'm not representing Christ, 21:45 I'd be representing the enemy. 21:47 So I'm thankful for that, you know, 21:49 and thank for things that we're learning in here. 21:51 You know, we don't wanna follow after a man, 21:53 we wanna follow certainly after Jesus Christ. 21:56 You know what happened? 21:57 Bible tells us that but when we act like this, 21:59 we do these things we're bad influence, 22:02 and against these kings it says the anger of the Lord 22:04 was kindled against them. 22:07 That means that God was going to correct the issue. 22:10 I like that song it says, "In His Time." 22:14 In His time, He makes all things, 22:15 isn't it beautiful in His time. 22:18 You know, there's a work to be done on me. 22:21 But I know He's promised, in His time, 22:23 song He's still working on me. 22:25 Say I'm still believer in that, regardless we said 22:27 on Sabbath School Panel or regardless of we minister, 22:29 we pastor, we travel, 22:31 we do things right here, does it? 22:32 What kind of relationship do we have with Jesus Christ? 22:34 What kind of influence 22:36 are we sending out there to people? 22:38 Do they sense by the power of the Holy Spirit 22:41 that you love Jesus with all your heart? 22:43 You know, people and sometime, you know, 22:45 we don't give them enough credit. 22:47 I'm not trying to take anything away, 22:49 but even over the airwaves or listening, 22:52 they can sense by the power of the Holy Spirit many times 22:55 whether you're serious or whether you're not serious. 22:58 They really can. 22:59 They'll say, I can tell so and so is serious. 23:02 Well, the Holy Spirit can only one certainly can do that. 23:04 So the influence is out there and we need to allow 23:07 God to take a hold of us. 23:10 And if we're not kind of influenced that 23:12 we need to be and remember a good influence, 23:13 it's not just because I'm around you 23:15 then I won't be a good influence. 23:16 The good influence 23:18 has been influenced in the home, is it not? 23:19 That's where it really begins, 23:21 that's really shows who you are and who I am. 23:24 And sometime I'm brought to tears over the issue 23:27 and that doesn't mean that you're out, da-da. 23:29 It just simply means you're falling short. 23:30 I've looked at my example, and I'm falling short. 23:34 Praise God, I can come back to Him 23:35 and through His grace and strength, 23:37 I say, oh, Lord, this weakness, help me to be strong. 23:40 Amen. Amen. 23:41 Amen. 23:42 Well, we hope you have been blessed so far. 23:45 More blessings are coming. 23:46 But first we're gonna take a break 23:48 and we will be right back. 23:54 Ever wish you could watch 23:56 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 23:58 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:01 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 24:06 A clean design makes it easy 24:09 to find the program you're looking for. 24:11 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:14 so you can follow along. 24:16 Sharing is easy. 24:17 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:21 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:27 Welcome back, we continue our study 24:29 with Sister Jill Morikone, Courage and Empowerment. 24:32 Thank you so much, Pastor Johnny and Pastor Kenny. 24:35 It's a serious sobering lesson to realize the influence 24:39 we each have on other people, whether for good, 24:42 or whether for evil. 24:43 On Tuesday's lesson, 24:45 we take a look at a good leader. 24:48 And what he did in a time of crisis. 24:51 So we're going to Nehemiah Chapter 4. 24:53 And we have actually looked at this chapter in Nehemiah 24:57 before in a previous lesson, 24:58 but we're going to get some other insights 25:01 from it this time, Nehemiah Chapter 4, 25:04 this is when they are involved 25:06 in the building of the wall of Jerusalem. 25:10 And we see the opposition that comes against them. 25:14 You know, Satan doesn't care 25:15 if we're half-hearted Christians, 25:17 if we attend church, it doesn't matter to him. 25:20 But the moment we make a decision 25:22 to stand for truth, 25:24 to get serious about Bible study and prayer, 25:27 to seek to evangelize the world 25:29 or our neighborhood to stand for Christ, 25:33 that is when the attack of the enemy begins. 25:37 I have two different lists for you here today. 25:40 First, we're gonna look at the five types of opposition 25:45 we can encounter as Christians. 25:47 And these are the opposition, the types of opposition that 25:50 we see that came against the Israelites, 25:52 came against Nehemiah and the rest of them 25:54 as they were building the wall. 25:56 And we can compare that to us as Christians. 25:58 So the five types of opposition we encounter. 26:00 Number one is anger. 26:02 Nehemiah 4:1, "It so happened, when Sanballat," 26:07 remember he was the governor of Samaria to the North, 26:09 "heard that we were rebuilding the wall, 26:11 that he was furious and very indignant, 26:16 and he mocked the Jews." 26:18 You know, Satan tries to get a new Christian 26:20 or a born again Christian or a Christian 26:24 who has recently made a decision to go 26:26 all out for God and to follow Him. 26:29 He tries to get us to cool our enthusiasm for Christ. 26:34 Sometimes he uses anger of other family members, 26:37 you're making a decision to get baptized 26:39 and your family says, "You don't wanna do that." 26:41 I don't want you to join that church, 26:43 don't make that decision. 26:46 Sometimes it's anger of co-workers 26:48 or anger of a family members or neighbors. 26:51 Second type of opposition is mockery and sarcasm. 26:57 Mockery and sarcasm. 26:58 Nehemiah 4:2, "Sanballat said, 27:00 'What are these feeble Jews doing? 27:02 Will they fortify themselves? 27:04 Will they offer sacrifices? 27:05 Will they complete it in a day? 27:07 Will they revive the stones 27:09 from the heaps of rubbish stones that are burned?' 27:11 " What is he doing? He's ridiculing them. 27:14 He's making a mockery 27:16 using sarcastic barbs against them. 27:20 Satan uses ridicule to make people 27:23 quit their Christian walk. 27:26 You're goody two shoes, what are you doing that for, 27:28 or maybe people make fun of your religion 27:32 or the choices you're making to follow Christ 27:35 or the stands you're making as a Christian 27:38 and they mock you and make fun of you. 27:40 Opposition number three, threats and intimidation. 27:44 Nehemiah 4:8, 27:46 "All of them conspired together to come 27:48 and attack Jerusalem and create confusion." 27:52 Satan uses intimidation 27:54 and threats to silence Christians. 27:58 We see this when persecution comes against people. 28:01 We see this in the business world. 28:04 If you don't keep quiet about the company's corruption, 28:07 you're going to be fired, or family member 28:10 who threatens to disown you 28:12 or leave you if you become a Christian 28:15 or make a choice to follow Christ, 28:17 threats and intimidation. 28:18 Number four, discouragement and exhaustion. 28:23 Nehemiah 4:10, "Judah said, 28:25 'The strength of the laborers is failing, 28:28 and there is so much rubbish 28:30 that we are not able to build the wall.' 28:32 " Satan uses discouragement to try to force us to stop. 28:37 Remember, just a couple of verses before, 28:39 it said, the walls was already halfway up. 28:41 They were already halfway completed with their project. 28:46 And yet, they got discouraged. 28:48 Sometimes we're passionate about following Christ. 28:51 We're passionate about walking in His way in the beginning. 28:55 And then our excitement starts to dissipate 28:59 and it starts to wane. 29:00 We might lose that first love experience 29:03 once we're on the journey a while, 29:05 we become somehow discouraged in the journey. 29:10 The fifth type of opposition is criticism from within. 29:15 Nehemiah 4:12, "So it was, 29:17 when the Jews who dwelt near them came." 29:21 So who are the Jews who dwelt near them? 29:23 These are the Jews, 29:24 who are actually living near the enemies, 29:26 living near the Ammonites, and the others, 29:29 the Samaritans, the Jews who live near the enemies, 29:31 they were not involved in building the wall. 29:35 "They told us ten times, 'From whatever place you turn, 29:38 they will be upon us.' 29:41 " They weren't working on the wall. 29:42 They were living near the enemies 29:44 and yet Satan used them 29:46 to criticize their fellow believers 29:50 who were working on the wall. 29:52 Satan uses most effectively those from 29:55 within our own camp, those who are Christians 29:58 to cause us to question the call of God on our life, 30:01 to cause us to stop work. 30:03 Maybe it's within your own church family, 30:06 that they doubt your walk with God 30:08 or your outreach for Him. 30:09 Now we don't have to be discouraged 30:10 'cause the second list is coming. 30:12 We're gonna look at Nehemiah's leadership 30:15 in the face of opposition and difficulty. 30:20 What did he do in the face? 30:21 And what can we do as Christians, 30:24 as leaders? 30:25 How do we face opposition and difficulty? 30:28 Number one, he prayed, and he encouraged 30:32 those people under him to pray. 30:35 Nehemiah 4:9, "Nevertheless we made our prayer to God, 30:38 and because of them we set a watch against them 30:41 day and night." 30:43 He prayed. 30:44 Sometimes what do we do in the midst of opposition 30:46 and difficulty? 30:48 Maybe we go into a corner and like you go to bed 30:50 and pull the covers over your head and say, 30:52 maybe tomorrow be better 30:53 or maybe you cry or you fight back 30:57 or you give up in discouragement 30:59 or you gossip to other people. 31:02 And he didn't do any of those things. 31:03 He prayed, and he encouraged the people under him to pray. 31:08 It's not enough to praise the leader. 31:10 You need to marshal the forces, 31:12 the people with you to pray together. 31:15 Second thing, he exercised common sense. 31:19 And encouraged those under him to fight. 31:21 Sometimes we can be so heavenly minded. 31:23 We are no earthly good. 31:26 We can be so as it were, well, 31:28 I'm gonna pray and God's gonna take care of everything. 31:31 And we don't even exercise common sense. 31:36 Nehemiah 4:13, "I positioned men 31:39 behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings, 31:42 and I set the people according to their families, 31:44 with their swords, their spears, and their bows." 31:47 They didn't just pray and then wait 31:49 and expect God to work. 31:51 They prayed, and worked, 31:53 and kept a watchful eye on the enemy. 31:56 Number three, he spoke with courage 31:59 and encourage them not to be afraid. 32:03 Nehemiah 4:14, "And I looked, 32:04 and arose and said to the nobles, 32:06 the leaders, and the rest of the people." 32:07 So he's talking to everyone, 32:09 leadership and the general population. 32:12 "'Do not be afraid of them. 32:14 Remember the Lord, great and awesome, 32:16 and fight for your brethren, sons, daughters, 32:19 wives, and houses." 32:20 So not only are we as leaders to speak with courage, 32:24 but to encourage other people. 32:26 Encourage the people around you. 32:29 Do not be afraid 32:31 and why do you not have to be afraid 32:33 because of number four, he trusted in God 32:36 and encourage them in their faith. 32:38 Why do we not have to be afraid? 32:40 Because, Pastor John, the Lord will fight for us. 32:43 That's right. Amen. 32:44 Nehemiah 4:20, "Whenever you hear 32:46 the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. 32:48 Our God will fight for us." 32:52 Number five, he executed a carefully crafted plan 32:57 and encouraged them to work and follow it. 33:00 He was organized and systematic in dealing 33:04 with the oppositions from the enemy. 33:06 Sometimes we can pray, we can encourage other people, 33:10 we can have common sense, 33:12 and yet we don't really do anything, 33:14 we don't organize and set the soldiers 33:17 and battle array as it were 33:18 and organize a structured response to opposition. 33:23 What was his response? 33:24 Half of the men, remember, we're supposed to carry spears 33:28 and weapons and wear armor and defend the city. 33:32 The other half were supposed to work a construction 33:35 and build the wall. 33:36 And even while they work the construction 33:38 one hand they held the spear and the other hand 33:41 they held the trowel or whatever, 33:42 however they built the wall. 33:44 Number six, he was constantly alert 33:47 and ready and encouraged them to do the same. 33:51 Nehemiah 4:23 talks about, 33:53 "They did not even take off their clothes, except, 33:58 of course, to wash them." 34:01 So they were constantly alert, constantly ready, 34:04 that means they even slept in their clothes 34:07 to be ready to do battle against the enemy. 34:10 Finally, number seven, 34:12 he worked alongside them in everything. 34:15 I like that about Nehemiah. 34:17 He didn't just delegate and say, "Okay, 34:18 this is what you need to be doing." 34:21 He got involved as a leader, 34:23 and he worked alongside his troops. 34:27 So you might be facing an incredible time 34:30 of opposition right now. 34:32 Know that the Lord will fight for you, 34:35 that He will come alongside you 34:38 and that you can be victorious in His name. 34:41 Amen. Wow. 34:42 Good. Thank you so much, Jill. 34:45 You know, I could never fall asleep 34:46 on Jill's presentation not on anyone's 34:48 but she just says that. 34:50 I don't know if this is a chocolate energy. 34:54 One of our great passions 34:55 we all have a purpose and passion. 34:58 This is a wonderful way to cap off 35:01 a study about how to deal with opposition, 35:04 how to look at, how to confront conflict, 35:07 and different things that divide us. 35:10 But look at this Purpose and Passion. 35:14 Nehemiah 2:1-10 35:18 and Ezra 7:8-10. 35:22 Now Nehemiah, we know, is continuing here, 35:26 he has heard the news of the condition 35:29 of his people in Jerusalem. 35:31 And because he is a person who understands responsibility, 35:36 this is a point I wanna make right away. 35:39 There's this phrase that goes this way, 35:42 and I know it has a number of ways it's quoted, 35:44 but all that is needed for evil to prevail 35:48 is that those who know to do good do nothing. 35:52 That's not who Nehemiah was. 35:54 He was concerned about a project 35:57 that would have taken extensive time, 36:00 extensive money, extensive energy, 36:03 extensive organization, lots of sleepless nights, 36:07 a lot of determination. 36:09 And then in face of all the opposition 36:11 he would face, 36:13 he was determined that this is not the way 36:16 I'm going to stand by. 36:17 And here's the point I wanna make 36:18 in the very beginning. 36:20 God will hold us responsible 36:21 for the things we could have done, 36:23 not just the things we did do. 36:26 And that's vitally important to understand. 36:28 If we could have made a difference, 36:30 the Lord will hold us responsible. 36:32 I have seen there's an instance, 36:34 I read books on leadership. 36:36 And one of the examples they bring out is 36:38 and Jesus even use this, you know, 36:40 if we see our brother with a burden, 36:43 bearing one of those burdens, we fulfill the law. 36:45 We should be willing to lift burdens 36:48 not only of individuals, 36:50 but surely of a higher responsibility 36:53 for burden of the work of the Lord. 36:56 Now, I use the word burden. 36:58 It's a joy we know that, 36:59 but you have to be determined 37:01 because in doing the Lord's work, 37:02 there's gonna be opposition. 37:04 And I like the way that Nehemiah 37:05 when he came to the King Artaxerxes, 37:09 the king noticed that he wasn't very pleasant. 37:13 He was... He brought the cup to the king. 37:16 And the king said to him in Nehemiah 2:2, 37:20 "'Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? 37:24 This is nothing but sorrow of heart.'" 37:27 You've got to have a close connection 37:29 with people to know there's something going on. 37:31 And he was in the king's presence every day. 37:33 All of a sudden today he's... 37:37 And he said, "Why should my face not be sad," verse 3, 37:42 "when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, 37:44 lies waste, 37:46 and its gates are burned with fire? 37:49 Then the king said to me, 'What do you request?' 37:52 " What would you like to do? 37:54 And he continues, "So I pray to the God of heaven." 37:57 We talked about this a number of lessons ago, 37:59 what I like about the writer 38:00 though they reiterate because some of the times 38:03 we could forget the great impact, 38:05 but they reiterate, 38:06 what would you like me to do in? 38:08 I like his courage. 38:09 He says in verse 5, "If it pleases the king, 38:13 and if your servant has found favor in your sight." 38:16 Now, this is a very powerful point. 38:18 If you expect future support, you must be diligent, 38:23 and consistent, and honest in your present responsibility. 38:27 Nobody will lend you support for future projects, 38:30 if they haven't seen you in the present responsible 38:33 with the ones that you can undertake. 38:35 If you are not productive in the present, 38:37 people are not gonna put greater responsibilities 38:39 on your shoulder in the future. 38:40 The king, I believe thought, this is a consistent guy, 38:44 I'm with him every day. 38:46 I have no hesitation. 38:48 And then he really, as we would say, 38:50 he opened up the resource palette, 38:52 even giving him military escort 38:55 because he was understanding. 38:57 So what I wanna bring out in a very brief time 39:00 we have here because there's so much, 39:02 it talks about the letter he gave, 39:04 it talks about the opposition being upset in Nehemiah 2:10, 39:08 "When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah 39:10 the Ammonite official heard, they were deeply disturbed." 39:14 And in one of our prior lessons a while ago, we said, 39:16 anytime you do the work of the Lord, 39:18 somebody is gonna be upset. 39:20 The devil always finds work for idle hands to do. 39:24 And in Revelation 12 when the Bible says 39:27 there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought 39:29 and the dragon and his angels fought. 39:31 You know, I looked into that one day, 39:33 you know, what he said, 39:34 "Not only was there unity among Christ 39:35 and His angels, but the dragon and his angels fought." 39:39 And Ellen White points out, they are never in harmony 39:42 with each other. 39:43 Evil angels are never in harmony with each other. 39:46 When you study these individuals, 39:47 Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arab, Geshem, 39:50 you'll discover that they were enemies of each other 39:53 until they all found a common enemy. 39:55 That's what the devil does. 39:56 He looks for people they have no harmony 39:59 among themselves as an example. 40:01 But they can find harmony for the purpose 40:03 of destroying a common threat. 40:05 So that's what happened in this particular position. 40:08 But I wanna bring out the responsibility 40:10 that God has given to every one of us. 40:12 First of all, whenever we undertake a task, 40:16 do it with all of our might. 40:18 Ecclesiastes 9:10. 40:20 And this is kind of a somber text, 40:22 but notice what it says, 40:24 "Whatever your hands find to do, 40:26 do it with your might, for there is no work or device 40:30 or knowledge or wisdom in the grave 40:31 where you are going." 40:33 Sad into the sentence, we're all headed to the grave, 40:36 some sooner than others. 40:37 Nobody really knows when, but as long as you are alive, 40:40 put passion. 40:42 As one person once said to a young man, 40:44 he sat there lackadaisically said, 40:45 "Young man, what do you want to do?" 40:47 Said I wanna education. So what do you need money? 40:49 No. What do you need? 40:51 And he kept going down the list 40:53 and you notice there was no change in his attitude. 40:56 He says, "If you need money, I can give you that. 40:58 If you need materials, I can give you that. 41:00 If you need an airline ticket, I can give you that. 41:01 But if you don't have passion, I can't give you that." 41:04 There's certain things if you don't have it, 41:06 nobody can give it to you. 41:08 And I said to a young man not too long ago, I said, 41:09 "Until you want this badly enough. 41:13 Nobody knows how to help you. 41:15 It has to be a personal drive on your part." 41:16 Absolutely. 41:18 And by the way, let me add something else, 41:19 desire without action is accounts to zero. 41:23 Yes. It's good. 41:26 The next one, God does not bless 41:28 those who are double-minded. 41:30 You have to be single-minded in God's Word. 41:32 James 1:5. 41:34 Actually, I'll just go ahead and start with the verse 5. 41:38 "If any one of you lacks wisdom, ask of God, 41:40 who gives all and He will give it liberally." 41:42 But verse 6, "But let him ask in faith, 41:44 not doubting, 41:45 for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven 41:47 and tossed by the wind. 41:49 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything 41:52 from the Lord, he is a double-minded man, 41:54 unstable in all his ways." 41:56 Instability is the greatest reason 42:00 why people don't experience success. 42:03 I've heard people say, 42:04 "I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to, 42:07 you know what I like to do?" 42:09 And I said to them, "Nobody could do it for you 42:11 until you want it badly enough." 42:13 And then secondly, the Lord's not gonna help you 42:15 because you can't. 42:16 He's not gonna help you 42:18 when you can't even make up your mind 42:19 where you need help... 42:21 Yeah, there you go. Instability. 42:23 The other thing, the greatest blessing 42:24 that we can experience is wholehearted devotion. 42:26 Another one, Colossians 3:23-24, 42:30 "Whatever you do, do it heartily, 42:33 as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord 42:36 you will receive the reward of the inheritance, 42:38 for you serve the Lord Christ." 42:40 As a pastor I've often said and thank the Lord. 42:43 I have not had to say this to too many. 42:45 But a lot of times people think that 42:47 what they do they do it for the pastor. 42:49 Oh, does that make my forehead itch? 42:54 I say, my brother, my sister, when we get to heaven, 42:57 we are all gonna get a reward, each one of us 42:59 has been given a different gift, 43:01 but each one of us is accountable to the gift that 43:04 God has entrusted to us, never say you're doing, 43:07 I'm not doing you a favor 43:08 and you're not doing me a favor, 43:10 but God never gives us a gift for our own personal benefit. 43:14 Everyone with a gift has been given that gift 43:17 for the benefit of everyone around him or her. 43:20 And the other thing is, when you are on God's side, 43:22 no opposition can stop you. 43:25 Ephesians 3:20, "Now to Him 43:27 who is able to do exceedingly," we already know it, 43:30 "abundantly above all that we ask or think, 43:32 according to the power that works in us." 43:35 We all know I can do all things through Christ 43:38 who strengthens me. 43:39 But one other thing I wanna add 43:41 and this is a special call that I see. 43:43 When you read Nehemiah Chapter 3, 43:45 which by the way, that was not included 43:47 that much in the lesson. 43:48 It was kind of a... We skimmed over it. 43:50 It was not really a central focus of study 43:52 in the entire lesson because it was just 43:55 about the repairs. 43:58 When you study Nehemiah Chapter 3, 43:59 you find 31 times the word repair shows up, 44:04 which means there's always room for repairs. 44:09 Isaiah 58, "We ought to be called 44:12 Repairers of the Breach." 44:14 Got it now. Got it, Shelley. 44:15 Got it. Yes. 44:17 That's who we are. 44:18 All of us are Repairers of the Breach. 44:20 Four things we are told to do in Isaiah 58. 44:23 Build up the places that are wasted, 44:26 raise up the foundations that are destroyed, 44:29 repair the things that are broken, 44:33 and restore the pads that we must travel in. 44:38 We are called Repairers of the Breach. 44:41 And by the way, that's why we point so much 44:44 at the greatest breach of all, 44:46 the character of God and His Sabbath message. 44:49 Amen. That's true. 44:50 Amen. That was wonderful. 44:52 Thank you. 44:54 We're down to the last day of our last study. 44:58 Thursday's lesson is, Humility and Perseverance. 45:02 Now I did not look up the word humility in the dictionary 45:06 because I want to give you the definition that 45:09 the Lord has given to me. 45:11 Please turn to Philippians 2, 45:13 we're going to look at verses 5-8 45:17 because if you want to understand humility, 45:20 here it is. 45:21 Philippians 2:5-8, "Let this mind be in you 45:26 which was also in Christ Jesus, 45:28 who, being God took the form of a bondservant, 45:33 He humbled Himself and He became obedient 45:38 to the point of death, even the death of the cross." 45:42 So Jesus humility came 45:46 in learning to be obedient 45:49 and fully reliant upon God. 45:52 What God has shown me in the last year or so, 45:57 you know, we all hope to be humble people, 46:01 we pray to be humble people. 46:03 But what God has shown me 46:04 is humility is absolute total dependence upon Him. 46:10 Humility is a humble person will pray and seek God's will. 46:16 They'll wait for His direction. 46:18 A humble person will rely on God, 46:22 receive His grace, he will be their deliverer 46:26 and they will obey His commandments. 46:28 So Jesus was the perfect model of humility and perseverance. 46:34 And what is perseverance? Bearing up under suffering. 46:39 So and bearing up courageously I might say. 46:44 I would direct this to Romans 5:3-4, 46:47 "Tribulation produces perseverance." 46:51 So that's bearing up courageously under suffering. 46:54 "Perseverance, character, and character, hope." 46:57 So let's look at Ezra. 47:00 We're going to look at Ezra and Nehemiah 47:02 and see how they were humble people. 47:05 Ezra 8:21-23. 47:08 Ezra says, "I proclaimed a fast there 47:10 at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves 47:13 before our God, to seek from Him 47:16 the right way for us and our little ones 47:18 and all our possessions. 47:20 For I was ashamed to request of the king 47:24 an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us 47:26 against the enemy on the road, 47:28 because we had spoken to the king, saying, 47:31 'The hand of God is upon all those for good 47:35 who seek Him, but His power 47:37 and wrath are against all those who forsake Him.' 47:40 So we fasted and entreated our God for this, 47:44 and He answered our prayer." 47:45 So what's He saying? 47:47 Ezra is getting ready to take his whole entourage 47:50 and return to Jerusalem, 47:52 a dangerous trip 900 miles, 47:55 about four months on the road, 47:57 and these roads were known for bands of marauders. 48:01 There were thieves on the road that would attack the people. 48:06 And Ezra and his company were gonna be 48:08 carrying a huge treasure with them. 48:11 I mean, they had all the temple treasures King 48:13 Artaxerxes had given them this. 48:16 So he does not ask the king 48:20 however for an escort. 48:23 And the reason being, 48:25 is he didn't want to confuse the king, 48:29 he witness to the king saying, "My God can do it." 48:33 But now if all of a sudden he comes back and says, 48:36 "Oh, by the way, can you send an escort?" 48:39 So he just believes, he believes that 48:42 he will bring greater honor to God 48:45 if he relies totally on God, 48:47 and let's God demonstrate His power. 48:51 But he didn't act presumptuously. 48:54 What they do? 48:55 He proclaims a fast, they humbled themselves 48:59 before the Lord. 49:00 And I'm going to say this, 49:02 please listen to what I'm saying. 49:05 Serious prayer requires 49:09 serious concentration and serious time. 49:14 That's right. 49:15 You can't just rush into the presence of the Lord. 49:18 Serious prayer requires serious concentration 49:23 and serious time. 49:25 So they're pleading with God for their protection. 49:28 And what happens? 49:30 They're anticipating His divine response. 49:33 They ended up actually, this prayer fasting went on 49:36 for a period their trip was delayed 12 days, 49:40 they were looking for the Levites, 49:42 they were having this prayer and in fasting. 49:45 But they're praying that God's protection will be 49:48 a sign of His power. 49:50 And He honored the prayer. 49:52 Ezra 8:31-32 says, "Then we departed 49:54 from the river of the Ahava on the twelfth day 49:58 of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. 50:00 And the hand of our God was upon us. 50:03 He delivered us from the hand of the enemy 50:06 and from ambush along the road. 50:09 So we came to Jerusalem." 50:11 They reached Jerusalem without harm 50:15 and attributed their success to God. 50:20 So that is humble Ezra. 50:23 Let's look at Nehemiah because this is interesting. 50:27 Nehemiah accepted an escort. 50:33 So how did Nehemiah show his humility, 50:37 his dependence upon the God? 50:40 Nehemiah 5:14 says, "Moreover, 50:43 from the time that I was appointed to be 50:46 their governor in the land of Judah, 50:47 from the twentieth year 50:49 until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, 50:51 twelve years," and get this, 50:54 "neither I nor my brothers ate the governor's provisions." 50:59 See as governor, the king, 51:04 the Persian king would give the governor provisions 51:09 but he refused to partake 51:11 because his poverty stricken nation, 51:17 the children of Israel who would return, 51:20 the exiles who had returned, 51:23 they wouldn't be taxed to cover the cost. 51:25 And Nehemiah thought that this was a great sin. 51:29 And so he refused that provision at 51:32 great personal cost to himself. 51:35 Listen to this, 15, "But the former governors 51:38 who were before me had laid burdens on the people." 51:41 There had been 60 years between 51:45 the Zerubbabel and Nehemiah. 51:47 So there had been governors, 51:49 they were appointed by the Persian administration, 51:52 they were not elected. 51:54 So obviously some of these guys had no fear of God, 51:57 and they were unjust 51:59 and they'd exacted use, etcetera. 52:01 But he said, "Those who were before me 52:04 laid burdens on the people, took from them bread and wine, 52:07 besides forty shekels of silver." 52:09 And then he says, "Yes, even their servants bore rule 52:13 over the people, but I did not do so, 52:15 because of the fear of God." 52:17 So Nehemiah considered it to be 52:19 disobedience to God's commands to do that. 52:22 In verse 16, he says, "Indeed, 52:24 I also continued the work on this wall, 52:29 and we did not buy any land. 52:32 All my servants were gathered together 52:34 there for the work." 52:36 A humble servant, he walked the walk, 52:39 he didn't just talked the talk. 52:41 He got out lead by example. He worked on the wall. 52:46 And he was there to fulfill God's commission 52:50 and he devoted himself 52:53 fully to the task of rebuilding, 52:56 personally involved in the day-to-day work. 52:58 So the other thing that we just saw in that 53:01 is he didn't take advantage of his power 53:05 to gain wealth with sweetheart deals 53:08 because that's what a lot of the aristocracy would do 53:12 is they would take advantage of the disadvantaged families. 53:18 But he did not do that. 53:20 So verse 17, he says, "At my table were 53:23 one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers, 53:25 besides those who came to us from the nations around us." 53:29 So he's using his personal finances 53:33 to feed 150 men plus their families 53:38 and the visitors. 53:39 So that, you know, obviously as the cup-bearer 53:45 to King Artaxerxes, it was a powerful position 53:49 and he had gained some wealth. 53:51 But he goes on in verse 18, and see if I've got time. 53:54 Yes, he goes on in verse 18. 53:57 And he says, "Now that which was prepared daily 54:01 was one ox and six choice sheep. 54:03 Also fowl were prepared for me, once every ten days 54:06 an abundance of all kinds of wine. 54:08 Yet in spite of this I did not demand 54:12 the governor's provisions, because the bondage 54:16 was heavy on this people." 54:18 He's acting in good faith, in right motives. 54:21 He has a clear conscience. So what does he say? 54:24 "Remember me, my God for good, 54:27 according to all that I have done for this people." 54:30 Let me read this real quickly. 54:32 "True leaders must be willing to humble themselves 54:35 and be servants. 54:37 Competent leaders do not require 54:40 or need a title to gain honor. 54:43 Nehemiah had his doors open, generously gave to the people, 54:47 demonstrated his faith, 54:49 and his incredible dedication to God was an example 54:53 to the people, 54:54 had a strong personality and no nonsense temperament, 54:58 but he did not put himself above anyone else as superior." 55:04 A humble leader. Amen. 55:06 Amen. 55:08 Well, this brings us to the end of this lesson. 55:11 And so as we finish this hour, 55:16 perhaps, maybe this week of study 55:19 or even throughout the 13 studies that we've had, 55:23 is there anything that you would like to leave 55:24 with our people? 55:26 Yeah, there's article I found in Review and Herald 4-7-1885. 55:29 I think it just, to me, 55:30 it just kind of puts everything together in one lump, 55:32 I'll read it quickly as I can, 55:34 'cause it talks about the ministers and the leaders. 55:36 It says, "If the minister's face is not flint, 55:39 if he has not indomitable faith 55:41 and courage, if his heart is not made strong 55:44 by constant communion with God," notice this, 55:46 "he will begin to shape his testimony to please 55:51 the unsanctified ears and hearts 55:53 of those whom he is addressing. 55:55 Endeavoring to avail criticism of which he is exposed, 55:59 he separates himself from God," 56:02 and notice this, "and divine favor." 56:06 So we have to set ourself as flint toward God to do 56:10 what He's asked us to do. 56:11 Absolutely. 56:12 We might feel like we're facing some sort of opposition. 56:15 You might feel like you're a leader 56:17 and you're facing opposition. 56:18 Joshua 1:9 is for you. 56:20 "Have not I commanded thee? 56:22 Be strong and of a good courage, 56:24 be not afraid," why? 56:26 "Because the Lord your God is with you." 56:28 Amen. 56:30 Always remember the capacity of sovereignty. 56:34 For it is God who works in us, 56:37 both to will and to do of His good pleasure. 56:40 Everything the Lord did in Ezra's life and Nehemiah's 56:43 and in ours, it's not our work. 56:45 It's His work that He's accomplishing 56:47 by His ever presence in our lives. 56:49 Amen. 56:50 And we know that Nehemiah and Ezra were humble 56:53 because they prayed so much. 56:57 You know, you might think, 56:58 "Oh, so and so is a humble person 57:00 because we don't talk about themselves for what." 57:03 The amount of time we spend in prayer 57:06 really does show our humility 57:08 because we got to learn to be dependent upon the Lord. 57:11 Amen. Amen. 57:12 Thank you so much. 57:14 And I like to leave you with Romans 12:2, 57:16 "And do not be conformed to this world, 57:20 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, 57:24 that you may prove what is that good 57:26 and acceptable and perfect will of God." 57:29 Amen. 57:30 Well, we wanna thank, 57:31 Pastor Kenny Shelton, Jill Morikone, 57:33 Pastor Lomacang, John Lomacang, and Sister Shelley Quinn. 57:36 And we thank you for being with us during these studies, 57:40 13 studies on the Book of Ezra and Nehemiah. 57:43 It has been a wonderful opportunity 57:45 to study God's Word. 57:47 You can still continue to learn 57:49 from these books because God has many 57:50 wonderful things to teach us. 57:52 I like to leave you with these words. 57:54 Give your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ 57:56 and you will begin to experience 57:58 peace and happiness 57:59 that begins in this world and continues forever. 58:02 Our next study will be the Book of Daniel. 58:04 Stay tuned. |
Revised 2020-01-08