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Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig.
Well, imagine a Jew married to a Gentile. trying to observe their dietary laws. There Um annual festivals keep kosher. and ceremonially clean, they wouldn't be able to do that.
Some People.
Some dating will say, well. As long as we love each other, it'll all work out. The issue is not will it work out. The issue is, will this marriage enjoy God's blessing? That should be the primary issue.
Will this relationship an eventual marriage, perhaps Will it fulfill God's will? For my life. That's why Paul said and 2 Corinthians 6, and you knew I would bring up this passage: do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness, what communion has light with darkness?
So They put their foot down. These men are saying we're going to be under scriptural authority and we want relational purity.
So an unbelieving guy comes along. Man? and says, I want to get to know your daughter. Your answer should be: if you don't know Jesus Christ, you don't get to know my daughter. If you're not following Jesus Christ, I don't want her following you.
Men, the two most important decisions you'll ever make in your life, the two most important questions: number one, who is your God? And number two. Who's your wife? And women, the two most important questions: who's your God? Who is your husband?
Two most important issues you will ever have in your life. If you can't agree on God, you're not going to agree on much else. You add kids to that mix and you will have a confusing Situation. By the way, you may not know this, but this is according to First rate. A survey done by Pew Research and Baylor University.
They discovered that interfaith couples, that is, husband and wife with different religious affiliations, tend to have a higher divorce rate. than same faith couples.
So it's really not an issue as long as we love each other, it'll all work out.
So they're making a clear commitment to a clear separation.
So priority number one, scriptural authority. And then relational purity. The third. is spiritual regularity.
Now, this concerns the Sabbath day. Look at verse 31. If the peoples of the land brought wares, or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day We would not buy it from them on the Sabbath. or on a holy day. And we would forego the seventh year's produce and exacting of every debt.
Essentially, they're saying we're going to keep the Sabbath day and we're going to keep the Sabbath year. Did you know there was a Sabbath year as well as a Sabbath day? What day is the Sabbath day? Anybody know? What day of the week?
Saturday. Begins Friday night. Sundown to Saturday. At sundown. That's Sabbath, Jewish Sabbath.
But there was also a Sabbatic year And the commandment that God gave the children of Israel, they have not kept this for Well, I'll tell you in a minute how long exactly. They had not kept it so What it was is they would go to their fields, they would plant, they would harvest for six years. On the seventh year, they would do absolutely nothing. For an entire year, the land would not be tilled, would not be cultivated. They would just let whatever grows from the land feed them.
For one year. Let the land rest. Every seven years, let the land rest. That's an exercise of faith. Trusting God for 12 months.
Doing no business, but trusting that whatever God brings in, He'll provide.
Well, they had not done that for 490 years.
Now, if you keep a Sabbath year every seventh year, 490 years. How many Sabbath years did they break? 70 years. How long was the Babylonian captivity?
Okay. 70 years. That's one of the reasons they went into captivity for 70 years. God said, You owe me 70 years. I'm going to let the land rest for 70 years.
The 70 years you did not let happen for 490 years, I'm taking it now.
So they're saying, okay, we figured that out, and we're now going to keep the Sabbath day. And they want to keep that six. days of work and one day of rest. In Leviticus 23, They're called appointed times and days for sacred assembly.
So, when they say we want to keep the Sabbath day and the Sabbath year holy, it means we want to. Worship in the temple together. Every Seventh day.
Now, we mentioned that Saturday was the day of the Sabbath for the Jews. In the New Testament, that is not the same. Did you know that all 10 commandments in the Old Testament are repeated in the New Testament? as binding for believers except for one. And that's the Sabbath.
Sabbath was uniquely given to the Jewish nation. In the New Testament, Jesus said, Man was not made for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a gift from God for you, for man. And then Paul said, One man may esteem one day of the week over all the other days, like Sabbath. Another guy will say, all the days of the week are the same.
And then Paul said, let each one be persuaded in his own mind.
So pick a day. that you're going to enjoy as your Sabbath. Of rest before the Lord, a day of worship. In the New Testament, it happened to be Sunday, Acts chapter 20, on the first day of the week when the disciples gathered together. Why Sunday?
Why not Saturday? Because Jesus rose from the dead on. Sunday, first day of the week. That's why the church. I gather.
So In Nehemiah 10, they're saying, okay. Here's our priority list. We're going to go back to the Bible. We're going to keep our relationships pure. And we're going to orient our business so that we shut down one day a week.
And not buy and sell, because some of the Jewish people were saying, let's keep our business open seven days a week because it's a good business opportunity. And now they're saying, no more. We're going to actually keep this day holy.
Now, I have a question. It would be for them or for us. Would you rather operate seven days a week in your business? Without God's blessing, Or would you rather operate six days a week? With God's blessing.
That becomes a question. You can get more done in six days that are blessed by God than you could ever get in seven days that are not blessed by God. Let me make application to us today in 2025. Set the example. That going to church is going to be for you a weekly activity.
I realize I am speaking to a culture. where the average born-again Christian Goes to church. Two out of four. Weekends a month. That's the average.
But I'm saying, set the example that church is going to be a weekly activity. It's going to take priority over work. Over your kids' sporting activities. over the golf game that's on television. This is You know, when I was a kid, if I asked my parents, Here, it's Sunday.
Are we going to church? I never, ever, ever asked that question. Because if I did, they would say, are you breathing? Are you alive? Of course, it's Sunday.
We are always going to church. They made it a priority. I grew up with that. You go, well, why weekly? Why does the Bible, Old and New Testament, make it a weekly practice?
Okay, I wanna answer that. Think of what you're exposed to for six days a week. Think of the messages you hear, the conversations you hear, the values you hear and see around you. And so, what is shaping your reality? This is why we go back to church and get a dose of the truth and get reminded of who we are.
I know for a fact that many of you work in offices and businesses where people do not think that what you believe is awesome. And the church is the place you need to come back to to remind yourself of what is really true.
So it's where we get reoriented. Church is the one place that reminds us we're not weird.
Some of you are weird, but... You come to church and go, wow. That's right. This is right. This is not weird.
The world thinks it is, but I come back here and I get reoriented. I meet people all the time, not just locally, but different places who say, hey, we listen to you on the radio or watch your YouTube channel. And I think, well, that's neat. Thank you very much. And I talk to them.
And then I usually follow up and say, where do you go to church? You'd be amazed at the answers. Uh well. Uh You know, my kids have. and my work or my wife, we were hurt.
They don't go to church. You have no right to give up on church. Jesus Didn't give up on the church. He said, I've come to build my church. The only thing he said he's going to build.
This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Your support helps reach people every day with biblical truth that brings clarity, hope, and direction in difficult times. And this month, we'd love to thank you with a timely resource centered on God's power to restore what's broken. When you give today, you'll receive City in Shambles, Pastor Skip's complete 18-message study through Nehemiah on CD plus digital download. These messages will help you understand how God works in times of confusion and instability, how revival begins in the hearts of his people, and how to move from passive concern to courageous faith and action.
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Now, if you're looking for a way to go deeper in your Bible study, here's a great way to do just that. Learning your Bible matters. I'm committed to teaching God's Word and I want you to understand the depth of Scripture for yourself. That's why I want to invite you to join me in a 90-day through the entire Bible reading challenge using the UVersion Bible app. We call it Jesus People Grow.
So for 90 days, we're going to read together God's Word. We're going to learn it, receive it. and we're going to let it shape us so that we can also be faithful in sharing good teaching with others.
So join me. Let's learn our Bibles and grow in the Word of God.
Now, here's more from Pastor Skip. I've always been amazed that Christians can have the strongest convictions about everything. Except this. They have the conviction that the Bible is God's word. They have the conviction that Jesus is God's only Son.
They have the conviction that He's coming back again. They have a conviction about the Trinitarian doctrines. They're very stickler about this and that. But they don't have, shockingly, a conviction about. Church.
The New Testament, Acts 2.42, says they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. Fellowship. Breaking bread and prayers. That means to stick to something, to be loyal to something, to be regularly present. That was their conviction.
And that is their conviction in Nehemiah 10: word of God is our authority. Our relationships here on out are going to be pure. We're going to follow God in this. And number three, we are going to be spiritually regular. keeping the Sabbath day and the Sabbath year.
Here's the fourth and final one. financial responsibility. Verse 32 says, Also, we made ordinances for ourselves. To exactly from ourselves. Yearly, one-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God, for the showbread, for the regular grain offering, for the regular burnt offering of the Sabbaths, the new moons, the set feasts, for the holy things, for the sin offerings, to make atonement for Israel and all the work of the house of our God.
We cast lots among the priests, the Levites, the people for bringing the wood offering into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses at the appointed times year by year.
Sorry, I'm reading so fast, but there's a lot of verses. To burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as is written in the law. And we made ordinances to bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all the. fruit of all trees year by year to the house of The Lord To bring the firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as it is written in the law, in the firstborn of our herds and flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, to bring the first fruits of our dough, Our offerings The fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God, to bring the tithes. of our land to the Levites for the Levites should receive the tithes in all of our farming communities.
And the priests, the descendants of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes. The Levites shall also bring up a tenth of the tithe to the house of our God in the rooms of the storehouse. For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine, the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers, and the singers are. And we will not neglect the house of our God.
Now, I counted nine times repeated the phrase, house of our God. That's what all this is around. We are going to fund. The public worship. In the house of our God.
That is their fourth. Essential. And so they're going to take the temple tax. Half of a shekel. For everyone 20 years and below.
That was a temple tax. a temple tax. Jesus paid that in the New Testament. You know what that was all about, by the way? A temple tax?
It was to remind God's people that they were redeemed, that God paid a price to set them free. They just wanted, God wanted that reminder every year. I paid a price to set you free. I paid a price to set you free. So they did that.
They also brought wood for the altar of sacrifice. They also pledged to support the priest with tithes, offerings, first fruits.
Now get this. They're not rolling in money. Finances are tied in Jerusalem. The overlords in their life. The government in their life is Persia, and Persia put a heavy tax.
on all the peoples it subjugated. In fact, if you remember back in chapter five of Nehemiah, this is what the people complained about: our tax rate is incredibly high.
So it's not easy for them to do it. But Jesus said, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and render unto God the things that are God's. They decide we're going to do that. This is our priority. We're getting back to the Bible.
We're going to keep our relationships pure. We're going to keep the Sabbath and we're going to fund the public worship for the house of our God. At the beginning of this message, I quoted a verse, and I just want to bring it up again and ask you if we really believe that. In Matthew chapter 6, verse 33.
So see key first. Seek ye first. First, number one priority. the kingdom of God and his righteousness And everything else will be. Add it unto you.
And I wonder if we really believe that. And I asked you that because I used to sing that song every week in my church. when I became a Christian. See key. First, I knew all the words, I knew the chords.
I knew the harmony, I knew the melody. I knew the Second harmony. And I sang it. I don't think I really believed it. Because if we really believe that Then God will be first.
in his authority over our lives, scripture. It'll be first. In our romantic relationships, he will be first. In our weekly schedule, and he will be first in our budget.
Now, I know many pastors are scared to talk about this topic, and I just want to bring it up. Why should we fund Christian ministry? Why should we fund Christian ministry? Why should we spend one cent? To fund Christian ministry?
Here's the answer. because evil is being funded. in this culture, in this world. Darkness is being funded. in our society, in our culture.
Most of the money spent in our culture goes to evil. Including Many of our taxes. I am not excited about how the state government spends my tax money. I do not agree with the decisions they make.
So I want to put my money where my mouth is. And fund Christian ministry because, unless truth and righteousness are funded by God's people, there will only be evil and darkness. Funded by a fallen society. The devil's kids will fund their things.
Somebody paid for the Bible to be translated.
Somebody paid for the television program to be aired so you could hear the gospel.
Somebody paid for the camp. That you could go to, or the mission trip for your children to go on, or Freedom Fest. to be put on. It is generosity that turns people into partners. It turns God's people into God's partners.
We're partnering with God.
So these are their four priorities. We're under God's scriptural authority. You could just have that as your only banner because once. your script the scripture is your authority then all these things will just fall into place right relationally Regular worship. What you fund.
But where do we begin? Where do we begin? We begin where God begins. We begin at the beginning. We begin with God Himself.
God must be our top priority. God should never be a part of our lives. God should be over all the parts of our lives. Have you ever heard of a set of books called The Greatest Books of the Western World? Anyone ever heard of that?
It's a voluminous set of books.
Okay, have you heard of Encyclopædia Britannica?
So Encyclopædia Britannica put out a series of books years ago called The Greatest Books of the Western World.
Now, the editorial chairman of all that, including Britannica, was a guy by the name of Mortimer J. Adler. Brilliant guy. And somebody noticed that in the greatest books of the Western world, That And Britannica. That the greatest number of words Had to do with God.
And they ask him about that. That there was more space. devoted to the subject of God than any other subject in history. They asked the chairman, Mortimer J. Adler, why, and here's his answer.
It is because more consequences for life follow from that one issue. than any other. In essence, what he was saying is More is about God because the stakes are so high. That's why. The Bible says, the fool has said in his heart, There is no God.
The fool has said in his heart, actually that's a poor translation. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. Poor translation. The literal translation is this, the fool has said in his heart, no God. It's not necessarily denying the Possible Existence of God or the veracity that there is a God.
It's saying, I don't prefer God. It's like if you go to a restaurant and you had a good meal, and they say, okay, now it's dessert time, and you go, no dessert. You're not denying the existence of dessert. You're just saying none for me, please.
So the fool has said in his heart, I don't want God. If there is a God, I don't care. I don't want him. That's a fool. We begin with God.
A smart person says, yes to God, He will be my priority.
So The stakes are high. If you have not given your life to Jesus Christ. If you have not surrendered your life to God, if God has just spoken your wheel, a part of your life, every now and then I go to church, every now and then I sing a song, every now and then I read a Bible verse, God's a part of your life. God wants to be over all the parts of your life. God doesn't want your money.
He wants your heart. He wants you. If you've not done that, settle that. We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, here's a reminder.
When you give fifty dollars or more this month, we'll send you City in Shambles, Pastor Skip's complete study through Nehemiah on C D and Digital Download, as our thanks. These messages offer practical biblical insight for anyone burdened by the brokenness they see in the world around them, helping you respond with faith, prayer, and hope instead of fear or despair. Your support helps keep this Bible teaching ministry on the air, connecting more people to God's word. You can give today at connectwithskift.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time.
Make a connection Make a connection, let the foot. Of the crossing.
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