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Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzik. 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 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. Rather than an immediate reaction, shooting from the hip to saying things he would regret. Nehemiah is pondering the problem. consulting with himself, thinking it over, I'm guessing also praying.
Because that's what he has done so far in this book time and time again. Lord, what do I do? How do I handle this? What should I say? How should I fix this?
So he's silent. Did you know there's power in silence?
Somebody sees you in a crisis. And you just sort of steal yourself and. Hold yourself together. It's called self-control. That's a fruit of the spirit.
And they're wondering, what is he thinking? And you're just silent. There's power in that. In Proverbs 17, even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent. and discerning if he holds his tongue.
That can be a powerful moment. There was a French actor who died a few years ago named Marcel Marceau. Marcel Marceau is a French mime. He spoke four languages fluently, but he decided to communicate in silence. He believed that facial expression and body language was more powerful than even words.
So he acted in silence. Nehemiah hears what is going on. He is deeply touched emotionally with anger, righteous indignation, holy indignation, but he channels that into a A thoughtful, prayerful. Presentation. It's what Brother Lawrence used to call practicing the presence of God.
I'm inviting God into this moment. This is the emotion I feel. I want to cool down in His presence before I say anything. And then he will indeed say something in the next few verses. Let me remind you of something else James tells his audience.
He writes, Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to. Wrath. Be slow to get Angry.
So he's angry immediately, but he doesn't show it immediately. He's slow to wrath. And he is Are reacting appropriately.
So we have. the local condition and then his reaction. Let's see how he fixes it. This is now the solution, the loving solution. We're going to begin in verse 7 after serious thought.
I rebuked The Nobles And the rulers. Couple of reasons for that. The nobles and the rulers, if you remember back in Nehemiah, were the ones who didn't really put their shoulders to do the work. Everybody else did, they just watched it. They didn't do much.
But also, the nobles and the rulers had the wallets, had the pocketbook, had the money. We're doing the abuse.
So I rebuked the nobles and the rulers. I said to them, Each of you is exacting usury from his brother.
So I called a great assembly against them. And I said to them, according to our ability. We have redeemed our Jewish brethren who are sold to the nations.
Now, indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us? Then they were silenced. And they found nothing to say.
So what's his solution? First. He confronts. He just Gets right in their face. and says it right to them.
It says you're charging them. Too much interest. You are making slaves out of people that have been set free. And in doing so, You're ruining your testimony. Look at verse 9.
Then I said, What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach? Of the nations. Our enemies? In other words, don't you guys realize that our enemies, Sanbala, Tobiah, Gishem, Ashdodites, Ammonites, all the people on the outside are looking at us, not getting along.
And they love this. They love nothing more than the fact that we are fighting each other and not getting the wall built. You're ruining your testimony. You know who applauds the loudest when churches split? Your neighbors who are unbelievers.
Your co-workers who are not Christians. They're looking for this kind of stuff. Nathan, you remember when he went to David in the Old Testament after David committed adultery and then. Nathan pointed out his sin and David got all remorseful. And Nathan said, God will forgive you, but...
You have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. You've handed them a permission slip to mock us. Essentially.
So he confronts it head on.
Now, listen, whenever you love somebody and they know you love them.
So there's already an established trust. You can say anything to them. And if there's something wrong, Say it. Straight up. Don't beat around the bush.
Jesus said if somebody offends you go to him Tell him his sin, his fault. To him. One-on-one.
Sometimes that's the best way to deal with the problem, direct confrontation. J. Vernon McGee wrote, Some deal with wrongs in the church by sweeping them under the rug with the excuse that they want to maintain a Christian attitude by being sweet and nice. But he says that is not acting like a Christian. It's acting like a coward.
Go to him. Deal with it. Confront. You say, I'm not comfortable. I get it.
Get over it. If somebody does something that needs to be confronted, confront. That's what he does. That's part of the solution. He confronts.
He does something else. He confronts, but he also confesses. In verse 10, you will notice, I also with my brethren.
Now he's speaking to them in verse 10. I also with my brethren and my servants am lending them money and grain. Please. Let us Stop this usury. That seems to be an admission of responsibility.
Because he includes himself. that even somewhere in his own family structure, There was oppression. Nehemiah owns it. He confesses it. He says.
I was wrong. We gotta stop this.
So he confronts, he confesses. And then he corrects. He corrects. Verse 10. I also, with my brethren, am lending them money and grain.
Please let us stop this usury. Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards. their olive groves, their houses. Also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine, the oil. that you have charged them.
So they said, get this.
So they said, we will restore it. and will require nothing from them. We will do as you say. Bingo. Success achieved.
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Now, here's more from Pastor Skip. Then I called the priests. and required an oath from them. That they would do according to this promise. Then I shook the fold of my garment and I said, So may God shake out each man from his house and from his property.
who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied. And all the assembly said, Amen. And they praised the Lord, and the people did according to this promise. Success.
The situation has now changed. The last few verses that we read, 10 to 13. Is good advice for any of you who find yourself in a counseling situation? That is, somebody comes to you for counseling. Let's say there's a couple of people sitting across from you dealing with an issue.
I want you to notice what he does when he corrects it. He identifies the problem specifically. He calls it what it was, usury. That's a very. It's an inflammatory word, but it happens to be a biblical Old Testament word that they would be familiar with.
He calls it what it was. Have you noticed in our society how fond we are of renaming sins to make them sound? lighter than they are. It was just an affair.
Well, that sounds so Innocent. If you call it what it is, it's adultery. You could say, well, just a little fib. If you call it what the Bible calls it. You're a liar.
You say, well, that person's always, you know, 10 minutes late every day. Call it what it is, they're stealing.
So He identified the problem specifically. I'm going to call it what it is. This is wrong. This is usury. And then Plan to correct it immediately.
Verse 11, notice the word now. Restore now to them, even this day. We got to fix this problem now. If you are dealing with a sin, You don't work your way away from it gradually. If you know what's wrong, turn from it now.
Ask God to put new behaviors in you now. It might be difficult. You might struggle greatly. You may need help to do so. You might need some kind of a clinic even to help you do so.
or a long-term program, but do it now. Act on it now. I've always been amazed at the story of Moses and Pharaoh. Ten plagues happened to the Egyptians. One of them was a plague of frogs.
Frogs were everywhere.
Now, just imagine that: there's frogs in your bed. Open up the bed sheet. Rivet. Open up the microwave, rivet, refrigerator, they're everywhere. Finally, Pharaoh says, I'm done.
Talk to God. Talk to your God, Moses. Tell him to stop this plague. Moses said, okay. I'm going to pray to God.
When do you want this to stop? The answer fascinates me. Pharaoh said, Tomorrow. I don't know. What?
Tomorrow? You're going to live with frogs all night? How about right now? No, tomorrow, I want to kind of seep and seep and seep in my rebellion we'll fix this tomorrow He says, do it now.
So he identified the problem specifically. If you're a counselor, do that. Plan to correct it immediately, tell them that. And then, third, Accountability. Seek to establish accountability.
Verse twelve. They said, We will restore. They made the promise. We're not going to require anything from them. We'll do as you say.
Then I called the priests. and required an oath from them. That they would do according to this promise. He calls on them to make a covenant publicly. He even gets dramatic.
He shakes his robe out saying, may God shake you like dust. from your houses if you don't do this. When you are dealing with an issue and you are counseling and the people that you are counseling have a problem dealing with stuff, it helps to get other people around them who know the problem to help hold them accountable and walk with them. with added strength to help overcome the issue. Two are better than one, said Solomon.
One might withstand another, but Two can overcome him.
So that kind of accountability can help.
So Nehemiah comes into the scene. He is determined to resolve the issue, the complaining. He doesn't just discuss it, he fixes it. But there's an overarching principle in this chapter, and I've waited till now to give it to you. Really is the glue that holds all of this together.
There's an overarching principle in Nehemiah's approach. It happens to be one of the most important principles. in all of scripture. If you haven't learned this yet, you need to learn it now. It's called the fear of God.
The fear of God. That's an awkward phrase. Most people kind of shy away from that. They don't like talking about the fear of God. No, we should talk about the love of God.
Trust me, the fear of God, Solomon said, is the beginning of wisdom. It's the beginning of knowledge. Notice it in verse 9. I said, what you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God?
Because of the reproach of the nations. Our enemies? Then Skip all the way down to verse 15. But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people. And took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver, yes.
Even their servants bore rule over the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God. That's the glue. that holds everything together. in Nehemiah's approach.
What does that mean, the fear of God? Does that mean God's mad? Vicious, and it's the Wizard of Oz kind of an experience. When you think of God, no, it simply means Respect, reverence, honor. Loves.
It is the word used in Leviticus. When it says a child should revere his father and mother. To translate fear and revere the same.
So, the fear of the Lord is this: a reverential awe. that produces humble submission. To a loving God. That's the best definition I can come up with based on the scripture. A reverential awe.
that produces humble submission. To a loving God. The only Dread Fear Fright in that equation is that we are afraid of Displeasing the God that we love. We're afraid of that. Oswald Chambers wrote this: I'll put it up on the screen.
The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else. Whereas if you do not fear God, you fear. everything else. The fear of God, listen, the fear of God is the solution to the complaining. The fear of God is the solution to the oppression.
The fear of God is the solution to selfish living. The fear of God is when your vertical relationship. governs your horizontal relationship. My relationship with God is what governs my relationship with others. That's living in the fear of God.
So once again Are you a grumbler, a complainer? No show of hands once again. Just ask yourself the question: Am I that kind of a person? Is that my default mode? Do I kind of slip into that more than I should?
Am I quick to want to spread that around to other people? If that is I almost hate to say it. You're in good company. The children of Israel became expert complainers. For 40 years.
Remember that in the wilderness? They complained about everything. And one occasion, Numbers chapter 11, verse 1, listen to this verse.
Now the people complained about their hardships. That's just part of the verse.
Now, the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord. And when he heard them, His anger. was aroused. Why is that such a big deal to God? I mean, complaining.
Come on. God would surely look down at us and go, I get it. You're humans. You're broken. You complain.
Go ahead. Why is complaining, if you're a child of God in covenant relationship with God, why is it such a big deal that it would say they complained in the hearing of God? and God's anger was aroused. Because when you complain, it's insulting to God. You're basically saying, God, you are not doing a very stellar job of taking care of me.
David said, The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not. What? God's in control, He's my shepherd. I don't need a thing.
It's a grateful heart. A complaining sheep is a disgrace to his shepherd. He's saying, my shepherd. Doesn't give me what I need. Does not take care of me.
There was a father and his family who were eating breakfast one morning. It was their custom to open up the Bible. Dad would read a verse, and then he would pray. And he often prayed very pious prayers. And on this occasion, he prayed a very pious, sounding, flowery prayer.
Then breakfast came. And he proceeded to tell his wife, man, the bacon looks undercooked and the eggs look runny and just started complaining about the breakfast.
So one of the kids said, Daddy, innocently the kid would say, Daddy. Did God hear you when you prayed? Uh Well, of course God hears everything. And knows all. And the child continued.
And Daddy, did God hear you when you complained against mommy's cooking? Nervously. The dad had to admit why, yes, he did. And then the child said, Then, Daddy, which one did God believe? Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car.
I heard you pray. I heard you complain. Which did God believe? Listen, life is tough. Yes, we're going to go through.
times where we voice what we don't like about a number of situations. But your shepherd is still in control of your life. Your shepherd still knows what you need. And you might need a period of suffering to hone you.
So just leave it there. and say, The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, here's a reminder.
When you give $50 or more this month, we'll send you the Expound Nehemiah 7 Message C D series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip's booklet, Overcoming an Anxious Mind, as our thanks. These resources offer biblical insight and encouragement to help you trust God in challenging seasons and experience His peace as you follow Him. Your support helps keep this Bible teaching ministry on the air, connecting more people to God's Word. Give today at connectwithsgift.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time.
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