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Now let's dive into today's teaching with Pastor Skip Heitzig. Name of my message today is Complainers in Our Midst. I want to talk about complaining. And I'm going to refrain from asking for a show of hands. of anybody who would s admit that they are a serial complainer.
For a couple of reasons, I won't do that. Number one, it would be very embarrassing to admit that. Number two, I don't know how many would actually be honest enough to admit that.
So we'll not do that. But I will say this: nobody likes a complainer. It is an unhealthy Lifestyle. A psychology today. said that complaining drains life.
of pleasure. and compromises your capacity. to feel joy. More than that, a complaining Christian is a bad advertisement. For Christianity.
Because unbelievers are looking at your lives and listening to us, and they're wondering what compelling reason can you offer me for me to leave my darkness and come over into your light. And if they hear The complaints pouring from our lives. They're going to be reticent to want to join anything we are about. I heard about two cars who went up to a stoplight. The light was red.
The man in the lead car. was not noticing when the light turned green, and so the lady behind him Gave a tap on her horn to remind him: the light is green. He didn't hear it, he didn't respond. Head was down looking at his phone.
So cars around the first two. Went through the intersection. She laid on the horn again, ranted and raved. No movement. Then the light turned yellow.
She honked louder.
So the future choice. Words and gestures He still didn't move. But just before it turned red, he did Glance up and notice it was yellow, accelerated through the intersection, leaving the lady behind him to face another round of that.
Well, now she is in a rant like you can't believe. And she is moving her arms and honking. And then she hears a tap on the window. It's a police officer. With a weapon drawn.
Ask her to step out of the car. Proceeds to put handcuffs on her, escort her down to jail where she spends. A little over two hours in a cell. Finally, she is released. The officer, the arresting officer, said.
with his head a little bit. Sheepish. Ma'am, I am so sorry. This was a gross misunderstanding. But when I pulled up behind you while you were blowing your horn and flipping that guy off and cussing.
I noticed the choose life license plate holder on your vehicle. And the What Would Jesus Do bumper sticker on your car. and the chrome plated fish emblem on your trunk. And so naturally I assumed you had stolen the car. This is why I don't have bumper stickers on my car.
What do people naturally assume? when they're around us. What would they pick up on that we are all about? With that, I want to take your attention to Nehemiah chapter 5. In this chapter, There is an internal conflict.
It is a conflict between The people of God who are living in Jerusalem, the inhabitants. The very ones who are rebuilding the walls, the project that we have been looking at for the past several weeks. That's significant. Because This is different from everything we have read up to this point.
So far, everything up to this point. The problems have been on the outside, not the inside. They have been external, not internal. There's been Sanbal, Tobiah, Gishem the Arab. There have been the Ashdodites and the Ammonites and all the other ites around them.
Trying to get them to stop building. All of it has been external, but now. There is internal strife. that is shutting the work down. Verse 1 of Nehemiah chapter 5, and today we're only going to consider the first 13 verses of this chapter.
We'll maybe dip into a couple of verses after that, but Verse 1 sets up the whole story for us. Notice There was a great outcry. You could translate that a complaint. A grumbling. There was a great outcry.
of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren. The rest of the chapter. works off that verse. The great outcry is heard. And Nehemiah sets about to fix.
What is ailing these people?
Now, this is an issue that evidently has been going on the whole time. Nehemiah is not written chronologically necessarily. It would seem that during the entire 52-day building project. There has been this festering. Under the surface, discontent.
Strife that has been going on. And down in verse 16, there is a hint of that. We won't get to that this week, but Um It's been festering. And now Nehemiah, or whoever writes the book, this journal of Nehemiah, he includes this problem. You might even ask, why does he include this at all?
Because of all the issues they're facing. the size of the task. The enemies on the outside, this would seemingly be. insignificant to write about this internal strife. The reason it is included is because Any problem, whether it's external or internal, is still a problem.
And so the problem must be noticed, the problem must be addressed, the problem must be solved. And this happens to be a problem. where people find it hard to get along with others. Have you ever found that to be a problem? Have you ever found that it's sometimes difficult to get along with Christians That many of us are just downright weird.
and difficult to get along with. I love this little Irish riddle or rhyme that I came across years ago. Where this Irish lady wrote, To live above with those we love will certainly be glory. But to live below with those we know, that's quite a different story. You've discovered it is quite a different story.
They discover it as well.
Now the text of chapter five introduces three different groups of complainers. Each group is introduced with the clause: there were those who said. There were those who said I want you to notice them. Verse 2 There were those who said, so verse 1 says, There's an outcry.
Now we're about to describe the outcry. There were those who said. We, our sons and our daughters, are many. We got big families. Therefore let us get grain, so that we may eat and live.
Sounds legit. Second group, verse 3. Also some who said We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses that we might buy grain because of the famine. Third group is mentioned in verse 4 and 5. There were also those who said, we have borrowed money for the king's tax.
on our lands and vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children. And indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves. And some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them.
For other men have our lands and our vineyards. The problems are being vocalized. Because they're being vocalized, they're also being publicized. Word is going to get around. Because they're being publicized.
Leadership is going to be scrutinized, and so Nehemiah knows the problem needs to be neutralized. That sums up chapter five. That is what this chapter is about. They're complaining. Nehemiah listens to it, has a reaction to it, then sets out to do something about it.
Somebody once said that just remember when you complain, half the people don't care. And the other half are glad you finally got what's coming to you.
Now, I have divided chapter five, at least these verses, into three separate sections. We'll take them one at a time. First of all, the condition, then the reaction, and then the solution. We begin with the condition, the local condition. And I've just read verses one through five.
What they are complaining about. are legitimate Problems. Notice the problems really quickly. Famine. High taxes.
Increased interest rates. Who said the Bible is irrelevant? and out of date. That sounds like a page from the Wall Street Journal, doesn't it? Famine, high taxes.
Increased interest rates. The famine is mentioned in verse 3. We don't know why there's a famine. My guess is that the farmers that typically work the fields have been called to help build the walls, so you have less people. producing food.
And so there is a food shortage for all the workers. Then there's a tax problem. In verse 4, you'll notice they call it the king's tax.
Now what king are we talking about? There's only one king at that time. There is no king in Jerusalem. The people have come back to rebuild. There's a governor of Jerusalem, but there's no king.
The king they're talking about is the king of Persia, 900 miles away. Artaxerxes Longemanus. By the way, Artaxerxes controlled the land. East to west, the Balkan Peninsula to the Indus River. And north to south from the Euphrates all the way down to Egypt, all of those lands and countries.
were under his control and all of them paid. tribute taxes to him. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Every day, the generosity of friends like you helps make clear, verse-by-verse Bible teaching available to people searching for truth, direction, and hope. And this month, we want to thank you with two powerful resources to help you follow God faithfully, even when life feels uncertain or challenging.
When you give, you'll receive the Expound Nehemiah 7 Message CD series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip's booklet, Overcoming an Anxious Mind. Together, these resources show you how God rebuilds what's broken, strengthens you when you face opposition, and gives you peace, even in seasons of pressure and waiting. We'll send both resources as our thanks when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com slash offer.
Now, let's return to today's teaching.
Now taxes, when we collect them today, at least part of the tax goes to benefit the people who pay the tax. You got to pay for services. In those days, The king got all of it. He could use it to improve the kingdom, but not necessarily. He could simply use it.
Uh to enjoy. But The tax was significant enough. That it forced people to borrow money in order to pay the king's tax.
So it's a financial stretch. Then, in verse five, the cost of borrowing is so high, that's the increased interest rates. That some of the people had to actually sell their kids into slavery. to pay for.
Now, you should know, and I'm not going to get too deep into the weeds, but the Old Testament did provide a legitimate form of slavery, not like we know it in our country. But we would call it an indentured servitude.
So if you can't pay your debts, Now you belong to somebody for a period of time. That is, you work for them until you pay off your debt. Then you're free to go.
However, These people making the outcry, issuing the complaint, they're not just complaining about high taxes and low income. They're actually complaining against each other. Verse one, I just draw your attention to how it's written. The outcry was against their Jewish Brethren Their Jewish brethren. And in verse 5, our flesh.
Is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children. The complaints are legitimate, as I mentioned. And Nehemiah is going to solve the problem. But we can say this, complaining made it worse. Because complaining always makes things worse.
It makes things worse because it reinforces negativity. And did you know this? That complaining can rewire your brain? One scientist writes, and I'm quoting, complaining can physically. alter brain structure.
making it easier to have negative thoughts and less likely to experience positive emotions. Maybe you know somebody, you go, why is that person always so negative? They've been doing it a long time.
So long.
Now, it is a form of communication, complaining is. It just happens to be the. least healthy way to communicate. You'll get your message across. Guaranteed.
But it is not a healthy way to communicate. Before we move on in the text, let me remind you of something we read a few months ago in the book of James when we were going through that. James is writing a letter and he tells the brothers and sisters: Look, be patient. The coming of the Lord is at hand. Trust in him.
But then he said, This. Don't grumble. Against Each other. Or you will be judged. James Wright.
So ask yourself this question. Again, no show of hands. Are you a complainer? Are you quick to see problems? and quick to share what you see.
You can't wait to find somebody to gripe to. You ought to know that's That's sinful behavior. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged.
Now, I get it. When we are suffering, that's our default mode. We want to kind of settle into what we don't like about the situation we are facing. The problem here. Is you got several groups of people complaining.
all the groups of people mentioned is putting their interests above everyone else's interests. Whether it's the money lenders or the farmers or the tax collectors or the people being taken advantage of. all of that activity of strife is causing the project to stop. Nobody's building the walls. They now have this issue that has come to a head.
So Their eyes are off the big picture of building God's city. and onto themselves. I was reading a little quip from Newsweek. Not too long ago. It got my attention.
It said Americans, if Americans could have their wildest dreams come true. Before I tell you the rest. Just in your mind, what would that be for you? Your wildest dream come true. If Americans could have their wildest dreams come true, 38%.
would choose to win the lottery. Only one percent. would tick world peace. It's an interesting stat that got my attention. Because a lot of people say, I just want world peace.
Well, actually, you want to win the lottery. In Philippians chapter two, something we covered. couple nights ago, Wednesday night. Paul said, Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind, listen to the rest of this, in lowliness or humility of mind, let each esteem others better than himself.
Or, as the message translation puts it, forget about yourself long enough to lend a helping hand. That's what Nehemiah needed to say to these people. Forget about yourselves long enough. to build this wall, to lend a helping hand.
So that's the problem. That's the condition, the local condition.
Now let's look at the leader's reaction. What does Nehemiah do when he hears this?
Well, he does a couple of things. He processes it internally in both of these. Things. We're going to look at verse 6. And I became very angry.
When I heard their outcry, And these words. When you read that, I don't know what you picture, but don't picture Nehemiah flying off the handle, going into a rage, throwing a temper tantrum. That is not his style. And the word, I got angry, is a word that means a very deep, intense, internal burning. Seething.
to be incensed the septuagent renders it I was exceedingly grieved. That's a different kind of an anger than most people who get angry. You know, the Bible talks about being angry and not sinning. Most people. When they get angry, most of us sin.
It's a sinful anger. By the way, Jonathan Edwards. Does that name ring a bell? Jonathan Edwards was one of the kingpins in the Great Awakening in the United States in the 1700s. He was the third president of Princeton University, a brilliant intellect, revivalist, evangelist.
And he wrote a book called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Jonathan Edwards had a daughter, With an uncontrollable temper. Nobody knew. The family knew, but they managed to sort of keep that a secret until a young man fell in love with her and proposed marriage to her. But the young man goes to Jonathan Edwards: I'd like to have your daughter's hand in marriage.
And Edwards said, no. You can't have her. And he said, why? I love her. You can't have her.
And when the man pressed why he couldn't have her. Edward said, Because she's not worthy of you. What he meant is, I'm going to keep her home for a while. I'm going to rehabilitate this young lady into not having temper tantrums. and to not expressing sinful anger.
And then I'm going to let her out of the house. But the young man kept pressing, and he said, But I'm a Christian, she's a Christian, we love each other. And Jonathan Edwards said, Yes, but the grace of God can live with some people with whom no one else could ever live. Do you know somebody like that? God's grace can live with them, but Anybody else?
Good luck.
Well, that is not Nehemiah. That is his, he's not. He doesn't have a temper. This is a deep Steady Hot Holy Righteous. Indignation.
And that's different. Why is he angry? Why does he feel this deep, intense emotion? Because the people are already demoralized. They have enemies on the outside.
The task is enormous as it is. This. Strife is double trouble. This makes everything worse. There's sin in the camp, and people are griping, and the work is going to stop.
So he gets angry. Rightfully so. This is a good kind of anger. Martin Luther called this the anger of love. It's the same anger Jesus had when he went into the temple and he saw people buying and selling and making merchandise.
What did he do? He got a Whip and drove them out of the temple, saying, You've made my father's house. A place of merchandise. In John chapter 2, when he did that, the disciples remembered Psalm 69, which says, Zeal for your house has eaten me up. Zeal for your house, the temple, has eaten me up.
He is so consumed by the glory and majesty of God that should be in that place of worship. Zeal for your house has eaten me up. Same with Nehemiah. Zeal for God's house, God's city, consumed him, and he is angry that people are so self-centered, they're not thinking of the glory of God.
So again, be angry. and do not sin. In fact, let me put it this way. We should be getting angrier at the right reason. For the right reason.
I know people say, well, everybody's angry today and divided. I get that. But I think Christians need a little more righteous indignation. William Bennett wrote a book years ago called The Death of Outrage, and the whole premise of the book. is that we have tolerated so much.
Immorality that we give a license to it around us by not being outraged. by certain behaviors and ways of thinking. A person who lacks appropriate anger is somebody who lacks conviction. And thus courage, to do anything about it.
So angry is number one. That's his reaction. It's all internal. The second reaction that he has is silence. Look at verse 7.
After Serious. Thought. I rebuke the nobles and rulers.
Now, I'll admit, I don't think this is a. It's an okay translation, not that I'm a Bible translation expert by any means. But The original King James captures the essence of the language. It says Then I consulted with myself.
So I got angry and then I Talk to myself. I consulted with myself. Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember: your generosity helps share God's word with people all around the world, offering truth, hope, and encouragement where it's needed most. And this month we'd love to thank you for your gift of $50 or more by sending you the Expound Nehemiah 7-Message CD series with digital download.
Along with Pastor Skip's booklet, Overcoming an Anxious Mind. These resources will help you see how God rebuilds what's broken in your life and gives you peace, even in the middle of pressure and uncertainty. Give today at connectwithskiff.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. We'll see you next time on Connect with Skiff Heitzing. Make a connection!
I make a connection. I shouldn't have the foot of the crossing. A castle burning. Connect with Skiff Heitzig is a presentation of connection communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
