Latest / Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive / September 15, 2021 | Chronological Bible Study with Patty Diliberto - Session 24: The Rebuilding

Transcript

September 15, 2021 | Chronological Bible Study with Patty Diliberto - Session 24: The Rebuilding · Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Hey, welcome to Crono today as we look at the rebuilding.
0:04
SPEAKER_00: God will do what he says he will do.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: We serve a very faithful God.
0:14
SPEAKER_00: He says to Israel, I will carry you away into captivity for 70 years for your sin of idolatry.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: And then in Ezekiel 36, this is what the sovereign Lord says.
0:48
SPEAKER_00: They will say, This land that was laid waste has become like the Garden of Eden.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: The cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate.
1:13
SPEAKER_00: I, the Lord, have spoken and I will do it.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Has he done that?
1:20
SPEAKER_00: If you have been to Israel, you know that he has done that.
1:24
SPEAKER_00: What an incredible land.
1:27
SPEAKER_00: What a beautiful land.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: He has done what he said he would do because he will always do.
1:34
SPEAKER_00: God will always do what he says he will do, because God always keeps his promises.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
1:42
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, God, that you keep your promises.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: Thank you that you determine ahead of time what you will do.
1:52
SPEAKER_00: And then throughout history, you are carrying it out.
1:55
SPEAKER_00: How we praise you for that and how we ask you to show us clearly today what we need to see.
2:03
SPEAKER_00: And we pray these things in Jesus' name.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: When we looked at the return a couple of weeks ago, we saw that there were three returns and with three different missions.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: Chronologically, this is what takes place.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: The first return was under Zerubbabel.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: You remember that.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: And we're going to look at him today.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: And the mission was to rebuild the temple.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: Then we had the book of Esther that came in between the first and second return.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: And that mission was to save the Jewish people.
2:36
SPEAKER_00: Then the second return was with Ezra.
2:42
SPEAKER_00: Excuse me.
2:43
SPEAKER_00: And that mission was to re-establish worship.
2:47
SPEAKER_00: The third mission and return was Nehemiah.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: And that mission was to rebuild the walls around the city.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: The rebuilding is what we will look at today, and some of the significant pieces of that.
3:04
SPEAKER_00: We will see that the same sovereign hand that disciplined Israel and sent them into exile is still holding on to them, bringing them back to the land in order to bring them back into fellowship with him and to fulfill his promises.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: So the first one we're going to look at, of course, is a rubal.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: Put yourself in the sandals of those who are returning for a moment.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: Your entire life, for your entire life, you've heard about the glorious temple.
3:42
SPEAKER_00: From two generations of exiles, you've heard this.
3:46
SPEAKER_00: You've heard and experienced it vicariously through their stories, your parents and your grandparents.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: You've heard about the animal sacrifices in the temple, the feasts and the festivals that took place and how glorious they were.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: You've heard all of this and you had a picture in your mind of what all that would look like would look like.
4:12
SPEAKER_00: But when you arrive in Jerusalem, the reality suddenly hits you.
4:19
SPEAKER_00: It is not how you thought it would be.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: And the enormity of the work overwhelm you and becomes very, very evident.
4:28
SPEAKER_00: Where do you begin with the building?
4:31
SPEAKER_00: Zerubbabel knew exactly where to begin, and that was with the altar.
4:37
SPEAKER_00: They built the altar so that worship through sacrifice could begin again.
4:43
SPEAKER_00: And only after that would they lay the foundations of the temple.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: Animal sacrifice seems very foreign to us in our time and in our culture, but it was familiar.
4:55
SPEAKER_00: It was comforting for the people of Israel.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: It was what God established for them and it and what was required.
5:05
SPEAKER_00: And it represented who they were as a people.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: It was their way of drawing closer to God and showing him their hearts and their worship.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: It was through the shedding of the blood of the innocent on behalf of the guilty.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: That would be that incredible picture of the ultimate sacrifice that Christ made on the cross.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: Following closely on the re-establishment of the sacrifices was a celebration, a feast, the Feast of Tabernacles.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the new moon sacrifices, and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred feasts of the Lord, as well as those as free will offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord's temple had not yet been the following year.
6:05
SPEAKER_00: But I love that in the absence of a temple, it didn't keep them from worshiping.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: It didn't keep them from being obedient to God in that.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: They did what they could with what they had and they started in the right place.
6:21
SPEAKER_00: And the fact that the people began rebuilding the temple before rebuilding the city walls again shows us where their priorities were.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: And it was such a joyous, joyous celebration.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests and their with their vestments and the trumpets with and with trumpets and the Levites with symbols took their places to praise the Lord as prescribed by David, King of Israel.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: With praise and thanksgiving, they sang to the Lord, He is good, the Lord is good.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: His love to Israel endures forever.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: And it does.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.
7:12
SPEAKER_00: But many of the older priests, sorry, I went too far.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: Many of the older priests and Levites and family heads who had seen the former temple wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping because the people made so much noise, and the sound was heard far away.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: So we have to wonder why are these older priests, these Levites in the former temple, why are they weeping aloud when the foundation of this temple is being laid?
7:54
SPEAKER_00: Why is that happening?
7:56
SPEAKER_00: It could be that they were just so overwhelmed that it was finally happening after all this time and that they were going to get to rebuild it, that God was going to fulfill his promise.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: Or it could be because this second temple was so much smaller than the first one in comparison.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: Compared to that first temple, the second one was much less impressive.
8:24
SPEAKER_00: And that would be difficult to remember what you had before and now the reality of what you're going to have.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't just the older priests and the Levites, though, who wept and felt this way.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: Look what God says through the prophet Haggai.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: On the 21st day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai.
8:46
SPEAKER_00: Speak to Zerubbabel.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: Remember, this is his time, Zerubbabel's time, governor of Judah, to Joshua the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and ask them, Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?
9:03
SPEAKER_00: How does it look to you now?
9:06
SPEAKER_00: Does it not seem to you like nothing?
9:09
SPEAKER_00: So even God noticed that it's quite a bit less impressive.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: But then he encourages them and he says, But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord.
9:20
SPEAKER_00: Be strong, O Joshua, son, son of Jehosadak, the high priest.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord, and work.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: For I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: This is what I covenanted, covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, and my spirit remains among you.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: Do not fear.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: What a passage.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: The Lord again encouraged Zerubbabel, Joshua and the people to work, and he promised, he promised again to be with them.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: It's so reminiscent of what he said to Joshua when they were entering the land in the conquest.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: They did not need to fear because his spirit would stay in their midst.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: That is as much of an encouragement to us as it as it was to them at that time.
10:21
SPEAKER_00: And it's an encouragement for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are dying for their faith.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: What an encouragement.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: God is with them in tangible ways, in dynamic ways.
10:40
SPEAKER_00: Right now, as they are being beheaded for their faith.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: He is with them because he promises that his spirit will stay.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: But we can have confidence that our merciful God is with them to the very, very end because he is faithful.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: Now, inevitably, when you attempt to do something important for God, you will be met with opposition and resistance by the enemy of our souls.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: And that is exactly what Zerubbabel and the people experience.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: So let's see the ways that Satan worked in this situation, because make no doubt, it is Satan who is doing this work.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: Every important work that God is doing attracts the attention of the enemy.
11:46
SPEAKER_00: The enemies of Judah try to sabotage the project by infiltrating the ranks of the builders.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, Let us help you rebuild, because like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Ershadon, King of Assyria, who brought us here.
12:18
SPEAKER_00: But Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, You have no part with us in building a temple to our God.
12:27
SPEAKER_00: We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: These enemies of Judah and Benjamin mentioned here in verse 1 were the descendants of those who came from other countries to settle, to be planted in the land and to settle when Assyria took the northern kingdom of Israel captive.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: These settlers intermarried with the Jews who had been left behind and remained in the land, and their offspring became known as, wait for it, the Samaritans, because Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom, Assyria, I mean Israel.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: And so they became known as Samaritans, a mixed breed racially and religiously.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: That is the reason the Samaritans were so hated by the Jews.
13:22
SPEAKER_00: This is exactly where that hatred began.
13:28
SPEAKER_00: And in Jesus' time, we see how much the Samaritans were hated by the Jews because they were regarded as a mixed race.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: These are the ones who are now approaching Zerubbabel and offering to help them.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: Then the people around them set to work to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus, king of Persia, and down to the reign of Darius, king of Persia.
14:06
SPEAKER_00: So what tactics did Satan use?
14:09
SPEAKER_00: He used infiltration, he used discouragement, he used fear, he used working against them and frustrating their plans.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
14:26
SPEAKER_00: Opposition and interference from the enemy is what we can expect every single time.
14:34
SPEAKER_00: It shouldn't take us by surprise, but it often does take us by surprise.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever had a time when you're going through something and you're just so frustrated and you or you feel so overwhelmed and then all of a sudden God makes you aware this is a spiritual battle.
14:51
SPEAKER_00: And as soon as the spirit wakes you up to that reality, you go, Oh yes, it is.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: And you start to take action against the enemy.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure that there have probably been times in the last year and a half that this has happened to you, where you suddenly wake up and it becomes very clear that what the enemy's tactics against you have been.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: Because we are living in such a fear-filled culture right now.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: More people are discouraged, fearful, and frustrated than I have ever seen in my entire life.
15:40
SPEAKER_00: It's nice to have this example in Scripture for us to see.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: Okay, this is how the enemy works, and this is how you take action against the enemy.
15:51
SPEAKER_00: The devil has always been using these kind of tactics, and that's what this shows us, too.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing new under the sun.
15:59
SPEAKER_00: He's just up to his old tricks.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: But they are intensifying.
16:06
SPEAKER_00: The exiles that returned from Babylon and their descendants despised the Samaritans.
16:11
SPEAKER_00: Zerubbabel refused their offer because even though they worshiped Yahweh, they did not worship him exclusively.
16:21
SPEAKER_00: They also worshiped idols.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: Their offer to help sound a good, but in actuality it was an attempt to infiltrate and disrupt the project.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: They wanted to keep a close eye on the Jews and to see what they were doing and prevent them from becoming the dominant power again.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: Right?
16:44
SPEAKER_00: They'd had the power.
16:45
SPEAKER_00: They didn't want to lose the power.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: These people wanted to maintain the property, the power, and the prestige that they had had for 70 years.
16:55
SPEAKER_00: Well, finally, 23 years after the first group returned to Jerusalem, the completed temple is dedicated with celebrations.
17:04
SPEAKER_00: And the first Passover since King Josiah's time, more than a hundred years earlier, takes place.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: And we see great rejoicing.
17:13
SPEAKER_00: So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: The temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar.
17:32
SPEAKER_00: On the 14th day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: That's such a hard word to say.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their brothers, the priests, and for themselves.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: For seven days they celebrated with joy the feast of unleavened bread, because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work of the on the house of God, the God of Israel.
18:10
SPEAKER_00: God was bringing them back and establishing them again, just like he said he would do.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: And the next thing God would do is to bring the people back into fellowship with him throughout through restoring the worship.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: And that's when we see the second return.
18:31
SPEAKER_00: In 457 BC, Arta Xerxes permits Ezra to lead an expedition of about 5,000 people back to Jerusalem to settle there and to continue the work of rebuilding the city.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: Remember, Ezra was a descendant of Aaron, the high priest, Moses' brother.
18:51
SPEAKER_00: And in chapter 7 of Ezra tells us three times that the hand of the Lord was on him.
18:58
SPEAKER_00: We saw what motivated Ezra in verse, uh chapter 7, verse 10.
19:04
SPEAKER_00: Ezra devoted himself to the study and observance of the law of the Lord and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.
19:13
SPEAKER_00: We saw the character of Ezra.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: There by the Ahavakanel I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children with all our possessions.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: So we fasted and we petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: Ezra was a really strong, dynamic man of God.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: He was called to lead and God had equipped him for his calling.
19:42
SPEAKER_00: Ezra knew Scripture, he lived Scripture, and he taught Scripture.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: And it's important, it's very important that Ezra was that kind of man, that he was such a man of character and integrity.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: And we will see why in just a moment.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: Ezra isn't just satisfied to see his kinsmen returning physically to Jerusalem.
20:05
SPEAKER_00: He wanted to see them return spiritually to the Lord.
20:10
SPEAKER_00: So when Artaxerxes decrees that he return to Jerusalem and teach the word to the people, Ezra assembles a company of priests and Levites, the sons of Israel, to return with him.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: When he arrives, he learns that many of those who had come back in the first return with Zerubbabel, including some of the leaders, several of the leaders, have intermarried with the women from the surrounding pagan nations.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: Now you've already read all this, and so you understand where we're going with this.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: But Ezra's response is a good one for us to follow when we have to confront sin, either in ourselves or helping someone else to confront their sin.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: The first thing he does is grieves.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down appalled.
21:09
SPEAKER_00: Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles, the ones who had returned.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: You can relate to Ezra's grief if you have seen or heard of sin that grieves your heart.
21:49
SPEAKER_00: We've been grieving over the sin of our world.
21:55
SPEAKER_00: The second thing he does is to confess his sins to God.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: And he includes himself in the sin which shows such humility.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: Ezra says, Oh my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our than our heads.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: Our guilt has reached to the heavens.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: From the days of our forefathers until now, our guilt has been great.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: What an amazing, amazing confession here.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: The preceding generations have sinned, and then we've just heaped more and more and more sin upon that until we are weighed down with this sin.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: What a great example of confessional prayer this is.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: And then, third, publicly, he he calls the people to repent and covenant with God to change.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, You have been unfaithful.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: You have married foreign women, adding to Israel's guilt.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will.
23:21
SPEAKER_00: Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: And the fourth thing that he does is follows through with accountability to make sure that the people keep their word.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: So the exiles did as was proposed.
23:37
SPEAKER_00: Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, one from each family division, and all of them designated by name.
23:45
SPEAKER_00: On the first day of the tenth month, they sat down to investigate the cases.
23:49
SPEAKER_00: And by the first day of the first month, they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: Ezra's example is such a good one for us to follow.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: When you or someone you care about is in sin, the first step should be recognition of that sin, that that sin that they have committed not only grieves you and them, but it grieves God.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: More importantly, it grieves God.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: And because of that, it should grieve them.
24:27
SPEAKER_00: And that that should lead to a confession of the sin, which then should lead to repentance.
24:35
SPEAKER_00: Confession and repentance are not necessarily the same thing.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: They go hand in hand.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: You confess and then you do business with it.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: The turning away from sin is involved in repentance.
24:50
SPEAKER_00: And then accountability, accountability helps them stay out of that sin pattern.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: That's such a great strategy that Ezra uses.
24:59
SPEAKER_00: The people responded to this with repentance because Ezra, whom they respected for his character and his integrity, had identified himself with them so much and to such a degree that they didn't feel condemned by him.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: This is our sin, God.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: We've sinned.
25:45
SPEAKER_00: And that is the mark of a really good leader.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: And he really was.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: Next we move to Nehemiah III return in rebuilding the wall.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: Like Ezra, Nehemiah was born in captivity under the rule of a pagan king.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: He was a contemporary of Ezra, and he was a very versatile leader who wore many, many, many hats.
26:12
SPEAKER_00: Of all the hats, Chuck Swindahl says, of all the hats Nehemiah wore in his lifetime, he is best known for donning the construction hard hat and rebuilding the wall around his beloved Jerusalem.
26:25
SPEAKER_00: When we had the lesson on the return, we saw that Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: Artaxerxes, and to King Artaxerxes, and eventually he became the governor of Judah during this time period.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: Just a few other hats that he wore.
26:44
SPEAKER_00: But we saw how Nehemiah's heart was broken when his brother Han and I brought news about the condition of the walls in Jerusalem.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: And we also saw that God often breaks our hearts with something out, and out of that comes the passion that fuels our service to God.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah had an amazing reliance on God, and he shows us that reliance through his prayer life.
27:16
SPEAKER_00: When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.
27:19
SPEAKER_00: For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah mourned, he fasted and he prayed, and then he waited.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: And with this heavy burden on his heart, placed there?
27:36
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely by God.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: And as soon as God opened the door, Nehemiah was ready to walk through it.
27:43
SPEAKER_00: We often think of waiting, waiting on the Lord as a passive inactivity, but it is anything but passive inactivity.
27:54
SPEAKER_00: The scriptural evidence we have seen throughout the Old Testament is that waiting is active, very active.
28:04
SPEAKER_00: Yes, Nehemiah was waiting, but he was working, he was planning, he was thinking, he was praying, he was strategizing all the whole time that he was waiting.
28:13
SPEAKER_00: So that waiting time, even for us, because we feel like we are in a holding pattern right now, and that waiting time should be preparation time.
28:23
SPEAKER_00: Preparation for what?
28:25
SPEAKER_00: We're not sure, but it's all part of the process.
28:28
SPEAKER_00: Because Nehemiah waited well, he's ready when God opens the door.
28:34
SPEAKER_00: When the king noticed that something was wrong with Nehemiah, he was very concerned, and that was Nehemiah's open door.
28:42
SPEAKER_00: The king said to me, What is it you want?
28:45
SPEAKER_00: Then I prayed to the God of heaven, that flare prayer.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: I prayed and I answered the king.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, then let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried, so that I can rebuild it.
28:59
SPEAKER_00: He goes on to tell the king exactly what he wants, because he has he's planned it all out in his mind.
29:06
SPEAKER_00: He's rehearsed it, he knows, and and and and God answers that prayer and gives him everything that he needs.
29:13
SPEAKER_00: So next we see a reconnaissance.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: He went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days, I set out during the night with a few men.
29:22
SPEAKER_00: There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding.
29:24
SPEAKER_00: By night I went out through the valley gate toward the jackal gate, well, jackal, jackal well, and the dung gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down and the gates which had been destroyed by fire.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: Then I moved on toward the fountain gate and the king's pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through.
29:43
SPEAKER_00: So I went up the valley gate by night, examining the wall.
29:46
SPEAKER_00: Finally, I turned back and re-entered through the valley gate.
29:50
SPEAKER_00: The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing because, as of yet, I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or the nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: So Nehemiah started his project the right way with a physical examination of all the damaged walls.
30:11
SPEAKER_00: He took a very realistic look at what they were all up against, and it was staggering.
30:18
SPEAKER_00: Then Nehemiah springs into action because he's a very good leader, and we see him recruiting people and inspiring people to start working on the walls.
30:29
SPEAKER_00: Then I said to them, You see the trouble we are in.
30:34
SPEAKER_00: Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: They replied, Let's start building.
30:51
SPEAKER_00: So they began this work.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: How cool is that?
30:57
SPEAKER_00: Just in case you need some encouragement, this is everything that God has done.
31:01
SPEAKER_00: Don't we love stories like that?
31:03
SPEAKER_00: Whenever you see something and somebody's calling you to do something, and then you see how God has prepared this and this and this and this and this, and it gives you such confidence to do what He wants you to do.
31:14
SPEAKER_00: It's like, wow, if God is doing all of that, then who am I to say we can't do this?
31:21
SPEAKER_00: Clearly, He's in control.
31:24
SPEAKER_00: And as we have seen time after time after time in Scripture, whenever you do something big for God, you're going to meet with resistance from the enemy.
31:34
SPEAKER_00: And he does.
31:36
SPEAKER_00: Sambellah, Tobiah, and Geshem's tactics were to, which were also Satan's tactics because they're just his pawns, but were to demoralize Nehemiah's crew and volunteers by planting seeds of doubts in their mind, just like he did with Eve in the garden.
31:54
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing new under the sun, right?
31:56
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah chapter 4, verses 2 through 3.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: They said, What are those feeble Jews doing?
32:03
SPEAKER_00: Will they restore their wall?
32:06
SPEAKER_00: Will they offer sacrifices?
32:08
SPEAKER_00: Will they finish in a day?
32:10
SPEAKER_00: Can they bring stones back to life from those heaps of rubble burned as they are?
32:15
SPEAKER_00: Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, What are they building?
32:19
SPEAKER_00: For goodness sakes, even if a fox climbed up on it, it would break down their wall of stones.
32:27
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah, he wasn't intimidated, and his first response is perfect.
32:34
SPEAKER_00: It's prayer.
32:36
SPEAKER_00: Hear us, O God, for our for we are despised.
32:41
SPEAKER_00: Turn their insults back on their own heads.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.
32:48
SPEAKER_00: Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.
32:57
SPEAKER_00: What an amazing strategy to handle opposition.
33:01
SPEAKER_00: Go to God in prayer.
33:04
SPEAKER_00: I love this retribution prayer of his.
33:07
SPEAKER_00: That's what it is.
33:09
SPEAKER_00: He's asking God to give them over to plunder and take them to a land of captivity.
33:15
SPEAKER_00: Exactly what it happened to them.
33:17
SPEAKER_00: He's asking God to do the same.
33:20
SPEAKER_00: There are times, and we are living in them, when it is okay to ask God for that kind of retribution.
33:28
SPEAKER_00: It's not only okay, it is right.
33:31
SPEAKER_00: God put back on them the evil that they have done to others.
33:37
SPEAKER_00: When the enemy's intimidation tactics didn't work, they threatened to use force.
33:43
SPEAKER_00: So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: But when Sambalat Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry.
34:03
SPEAKER_00: They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.
34:08
SPEAKER_00: But we prayed to our God and posted a guard and at day and night to meet this threat.
34:19
SPEAKER_00: The people prayed and they posted a guard.
34:24
SPEAKER_00: The people prayed and then they took action.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: They did something, and that is a great strategy.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: Pray and take action.
34:34
SPEAKER_00: And but don't let the enemy intimidate you and keep you from taking action.
34:44
SPEAKER_00: There's always some action that you can take.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: There's always prayer that needs to take place.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: And then we have to take action.
34:55
SPEAKER_00: The next threat to the project came from within, from the people.
35:00
SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, the strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.
35:10
SPEAKER_00: And you know what that's called?
35:12
SPEAKER_00: Discouragement.
35:13
SPEAKER_00: The task is too enormous.
35:15
SPEAKER_00: There's too much rubble and not enough strength.
35:18
SPEAKER_00: Those are difficult circumstances.
35:20
SPEAKER_00: They are.
35:21
SPEAKER_00: The work is too much and the workers are too few.
35:25
SPEAKER_00: And that's a great recipe for disaster and discouragement.
35:29
SPEAKER_00: Right after this internal discouragement, their enemies threaten to kill them and destroy what they have done.
35:38
SPEAKER_00: Also, our enemies said, Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.
35:49
SPEAKER_00: Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us, ten times over, wherever you turn, they will attack us.
35:57
SPEAKER_00: Which intimidation tactic is this one?
36:01
SPEAKER_00: Fear.
36:02
SPEAKER_00: Fear.
36:04
SPEAKER_00: We're all gonna die.
36:07
SPEAKER_00: Fear is a very strong scheme of the enemy, right?
36:13
SPEAKER_00: We know that.
36:15
SPEAKER_00: We've seen how effective this strategy can be in controlling people, haven't we?
36:22
SPEAKER_00: He's always going to use fear.
36:25
SPEAKER_00: Always he's going to use fear, but Nehemiah doesn't give in and let the internal or the external opposition discourage him.
36:35
SPEAKER_00: Instead, it moves him to action.
36:38
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah is such a great example of persistence.
36:42
SPEAKER_00: I love this guy.
37:05
SPEAKER_00: Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: Don't be afraid of them.
37:19
SPEAKER_00: Remember the Lord.
37:23
SPEAKER_00: That's who has the battle, not the one that's causing the fear.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.
37:42
SPEAKER_00: He empowers the people with a strategy for protection, and then he inspires them with his words.
37:49
SPEAKER_00: What a great leader.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: And by posting them in families, they aren't just fighting to protect the wall.
37:56
SPEAKER_00: They're fighting for their families.
37:58
SPEAKER_00: They're fighting to protect them.
38:01
SPEAKER_00: They're fighting for their loved ones.
38:04
SPEAKER_00: What a brilliant strategy this is.
38:07
SPEAKER_00: Now more than ever, we need to think seriously about all of these strategies we've seen here.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: Things are out of control.
38:16
SPEAKER_00: The internal and the external threats to us right now are severe.
38:23
SPEAKER_00: And they will probably get more severe.
38:25
SPEAKER_00: People are doing crazy things and threatening to do awful things if we don't fall in line.
38:32
SPEAKER_00: The intimidation tactics of the enemy has reached all new levels of threats around the world.
38:41
SPEAKER_00: People are discouraged.
38:44
SPEAKER_00: People feel like we should be doing something, but they don't know what they should be doing.
38:51
SPEAKER_00: We can relate to these Israelites more than we've ever been able to relate to them before.
38:59
SPEAKER_00: We need some strategies that will help us in this battle.
39:03
SPEAKER_00: We need to do what Nehemiah did.
39:06
SPEAKER_00: What did Nehemiah do?
39:07
SPEAKER_00: The first thing he did, we need to do some reconnaissance.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: We need to do some reconnaissance.
39:15
SPEAKER_00: We gotta assess the damage.
39:18
SPEAKER_00: We have to do some research and find out what's truly going on and who is behind all of it.
39:27
SPEAKER_00: See where the enemy is doing the most damage.
39:31
SPEAKER_00: And then we need to recruit and inspire people to come alongside of us.
39:37
SPEAKER_00: How do you do that?
39:38
SPEAKER_00: Start talking to people.
39:40
SPEAKER_00: If you find somebody that that's like-minded, then you do the next step.
39:45
SPEAKER_00: You pray.
39:46
SPEAKER_00: You pray.
39:47
SPEAKER_00: And then you take some action.
39:49
SPEAKER_00: Prayer is action.
39:51
SPEAKER_00: But then if but it but then if God leads you in that prayer time to take other action, then you're gonna know what it is.
39:57
SPEAKER_00: Don't let the enemy intimidate you and keep you from taking action.
40:01
SPEAKER_00: Keep watching.
40:01
SPEAKER_00: Don't stick your head in the sand.
40:04
SPEAKER_00: And don't just hope that it will all go away.
40:06
SPEAKER_00: It's not going to go away.
40:07
SPEAKER_00: Gather with others who see what is happening and who will be faithful to pray and then strategize what you can do.
40:16
SPEAKER_00: It is not going away without prayer and action.
40:21
SPEAKER_00: And then the fourth thing, be persistent.
40:23
SPEAKER_00: Don't let the internal or the external opposition discourage you.
40:28
SPEAKER_00: Let it move you to action.
40:30
SPEAKER_00: There's always some action you can take, but let all of that build your faith in God to a deeper and deeper levels.
40:43
SPEAKER_00: There's one more characteristic of leadership that we need to see in Nehemiah, and it is found in Nehemiah chapter 4, verse 20 and 23.
40:52
SPEAKER_00: At that time I also said to the people, have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve as guards by night and workmen by day.
41:02
SPEAKER_00: Neither I nor my brothers, nor my men, nor the guards with me took off our clothes.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: Each had his weapon even when he went for water.
41:14
SPEAKER_00: What is the strategy we see here?
41:16
SPEAKER_00: It's sacrifice.
41:17
SPEAKER_00: Sacrifice is the leadership characteristic we see here.
41:21
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah and the Jews were willing to make temporary sacrifices and endure some discomfort in order to finish the work God had given them to do.
41:34
SPEAKER_00: How many missionaries understand this?
41:38
SPEAKER_00: All of them.
41:41
SPEAKER_00: All of them.
41:43
SPEAKER_00: At some level, many levels.
41:47
SPEAKER_00: Every missionary sacrifices something significant for their calling.
41:53
SPEAKER_00: If you are going to serve effectively in ministry or in the world, it will demand sacrifice.
42:01
SPEAKER_00: I've seen this myself in my 40 years here at Topeka Bible Church with this great staff.
42:08
SPEAKER_00: I could tell story after story of what I have seen done in sacrifice for the ministry just here at TBC.
42:18
SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying that to try to impress you.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: I'm just saying I know the reality.
42:23
SPEAKER_00: I know the reality of the cost of service.
42:27
SPEAKER_00: And many of you out there who are watching probably understand it as well.
42:35
SPEAKER_00: Especially missionaries, military, police.
42:42
SPEAKER_00: The believers on the other side of the world know.
42:48
SPEAKER_00: They know that degree of sacrifice more than any of us ever will, unless it comes to our shores.
42:57
SPEAKER_00: Well, finally, after all the hard work, we see rejoicing.
43:02
SPEAKER_00: Despite the efforts of the enemy, and the rebuilding is the rebuilding is completed in 52 days, and Nehemiah presides over the dedication of the wall.
43:12
SPEAKER_00: One large choir mounted the city wall and walked around it counterclockwise while another part of that huge choir comes up, mounted in the same place and comes around and meets them.
43:26
SPEAKER_00: The two choirs that gave thanks, gave that gave thanks, then took their places in the house of God.
43:33
SPEAKER_00: So did I, together with half the officials as well as the priests, the choir sang, and on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy.
43:45
SPEAKER_00: The women and children also rejoiced.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: There are two huge choirs parading on top of it.
44:05
SPEAKER_00: What joy! The temple is rebuilt.
44:08
SPEAKER_00: Revival has broken out, and the walls have been repaired, and the result is fellowship and worship of God.
44:18
SPEAKER_00: A minute ago we were talking about sacrifice.
44:22
SPEAKER_00: Where have we seen the greatest sacrifice ever take place?
44:33
SPEAKER_00: Just beyond these very walls.
44:42
SPEAKER_00: The greatest sacrifice took place.
44:46
SPEAKER_00: The ultimate sacrifice was made for the atonement of sin.
44:51
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah's heart was broken over Jerusalem, but it was, he was not the last one to weep over its condition.
45:01
SPEAKER_00: One day our Lord Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives and he wept over it.
45:07
SPEAKER_00: And he said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who killed the prophets and stoned those sent to you, how often I longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
45:25
SPEAKER_00: Look, your house is left to you, desolate.
45:30
SPEAKER_00: I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, Baruch Habashem Adonai, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
45:42
SPEAKER_00: That is still in the future.
45:44
SPEAKER_00: That is still in the future for the nation of Israel.
45:50
SPEAKER_00: One day, and it could be soon, all those Jews who who love God will say, Baruch Habishemadai, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, and he will come.
46:07
SPEAKER_00: He will.
47:01
SPEAKER_00: And our hearts cry out together with them.
47:06
SPEAKER_00: Come, Lord Jesus.
47:10
SPEAKER_00: Oh Father, we thank you so much that you always keep your promises.
47:19
SPEAKER_00: You always have.
47:21
SPEAKER_00: You always will.
47:23
SPEAKER_00: You will do all that is in your holy will to do.
47:27
SPEAKER_00: And you will do it in your way and in your time.
47:30
SPEAKER_00: And we will look back on it after you do it.
47:34
SPEAKER_00: And there will be much rejoicing.
47:39
SPEAKER_00: But God, we want to live in that reality right now.
47:42
SPEAKER_00: We want to live in the reality of you have all things under control, and the enemy has been defeated.
47:48
SPEAKER_00: And you will right every wrong because you will.
47:53
SPEAKER_00: That is who you have proclaimed yourself to be.
47:56
SPEAKER_00: That is who we have seen in Scripture that you are.
47:59
SPEAKER_00: And so today, God, our hearts give you praise and worship because that is who you are.
48:10
SPEAKER_00: And we love and adore you.
48:14
SPEAKER_00: I thank you and pray these things and ask for you to come, Lord Jesus, in your name.
48:22
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
48:24
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me today.
48:26
SPEAKER_00: I hope this lesson really hits you the way it's hit me.
48:31
SPEAKER_00: Have a blessed day.