Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190041A
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says, "To receive with meekness 00:09 the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:13 And to be diligent 00:15 to present yourself approved to God, 00:17 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:32 Hello, and welcome 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:35 You know what an awesome day this has been already. 00:37 I'm sure for each and every one of you 00:39 we'd pray God's blessing you. 00:40 But today we believe that it's gonna be a lesson 00:43 that you gonna make sure that you're gonna 00:45 spend this time with us, because... 00:47 I mean, as opening up 00:49 these lessons on Ezra and Nehemiah, 00:51 really just brings a lot of good thoughts to me 00:54 with the leadership and things that are going on 00:57 and how desperately 00:58 we need the Spirit of God to lead, guide and direct. 01:01 And so we're happy that you've decided to join us. 01:03 We're on lesson number two. 01:05 I'm Kenny Shelton. 01:07 And you know lesson number two is just Nehemiah. 01:09 Yes. 01:10 And, of course, our whole quarter 01:12 is Ezra and Nehemiah. 01:13 And so every time... 01:15 Even when I was young, when I heard Nehemiah, 01:18 there was something about Nehemiah 01:21 that I was always interested in. 01:23 Maybe because of the positions that he took, 01:25 the opposition that maybe came his way 01:27 and still he remained strong to God. 01:30 So, you know, that's a good example. 01:33 And those of you 01:34 who are studying and following along, 01:36 we want to make sure you do. 01:37 You know, it's nice to sit and watch 01:39 but I think it's much better, in my opinion. 01:41 We have our Bible, we have pencil and paper 01:44 and we have our study guides, so we can get that. 01:46 You say, "Well, I don't have those study guides." 01:47 You can get them, you can download them 01:50 at ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:54 That's ABSG.Adventist.org. 01:58 It's just there Adult Bible Study Guides. 02:01 You want these because there's something that 02:03 you'll be able to fill out and you'll be able to pass them 02:05 along to somebody else. 02:07 Too often I think we take things 02:08 and we mark it and we leave and then we keep it. 02:11 We need to pass the word along where we can. 02:13 And encourage others to be calling into 02:15 and to watch this program for sure. 02:16 More on that a little bit later on, 02:18 but introduction quick, introduction of our panel. 02:21 You know, praise God for a panel. 02:22 Praise God for people who are willing to take time 02:25 and it does take time to do these lessons. 02:27 People say, "Oh, just working then 02:28 into your schedule." 02:30 Yeah, to me it's above and beyond. 02:31 I don't know about you, but I praise God for it. 02:33 I think it's good. 02:34 Sister Mollie Steenson, it's always good to have you. 02:36 Thank you, Pastor Kenny Shelton, 02:37 who is Danny Shelton's older brother 02:39 and the one that kept Danny on the right track. 02:41 Okay? 02:43 That's why we're such a good friends. 02:44 Thank you, Sister Mollie. 02:45 Bless your heart. 02:47 Sister Shelley Quinn, always a pleasure, 02:50 always a treat to sit with you on any kind of panel or study. 02:53 I love to hear 02:54 what you all bring to the table, 02:56 it's so much fun. 02:57 Yeah, and you have a good friend next to you, 02:59 Pastor John Lomacang, always a pleasure. 03:01 No matter what we do, where we go, 03:03 what we seen, it's just... 03:05 it's always a pleasure. 03:06 So... May God be the glory. 03:07 Yeah. Amen. Give God the praise. 03:09 And you have somebody special besides you, 03:11 Sister Jill Morikone. Yeah. 03:13 What a pleasant surprise. 03:15 You know, not... It's not that... 03:16 She's got a smile always on her face, 03:18 you know, and, and to get that, 03:20 He has a joy of the Lord in your heart. 03:22 And so, praise God for that. 03:23 It's a privilege to open up God's Word 03:25 and study with each one of you. 03:26 Amen. All right. 03:28 Pastor John, how about you, quick word of prayer please, 03:29 as we start? 03:31 Loving Father, as we open Your Word, 03:32 open our hearts and our ears. 03:33 Yes. 03:35 May the spirit speak to us, may we not only receive, 03:37 but may we be empowered 03:39 to follow the path in which You lead. 03:41 Amen. 03:42 In Jesus' name I pray. 03:44 Amen. Amen. 03:45 Praise the Lord. Okay. 03:47 So you know, we're on lesson number two, 03:48 it's gonna be about Nehemiah. 03:50 And this is the one 03:51 that I know that you'll be interested in. 03:53 In our quarterly, you have... 03:54 You know, we always have our passage of scripture 03:57 that we have memory text. 03:59 And I though this was really a good text for us. 04:02 And maybe we should take time certainly to read it. 04:04 Nehemiah 1:4-5. 04:07 Sister Shelley, do you have that? 04:09 Would you read that for us please? 04:10 I do. Please. 04:11 "So it was, when I heard these words, 04:13 that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days, 04:17 I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 04:20 And I said, I pray, Lord God of heaven, 04:23 O great and awesome God, 04:26 You who keep Your covenant and mercy 04:29 with those who love You and observe Your commandments." 04:32 All right. 04:34 Such information in that one right there, 04:36 you take a lot of time and do a lot of stuff on that. 04:38 We're not going to do that today. 04:39 Just a quick overview because it's a Sabbath lesson, 04:41 we'll try to do it a little bit on the Sunday, 04:44 but just an overview. 04:45 We've had so far... We have two groups. 04:47 Just two groups of captives have returned to Judah. 04:51 Now notice what? 04:52 One more group is being prepared. 04:54 So it's like, it's gonna be three, two there, 04:57 one is in preparation. 04:58 And notice the word preparation. 05:00 It will probably be coming up a lot in these studies 05:02 that we have, the importance of that. 05:04 And so... 05:06 Well, you know, why did the other nations 05:08 try to stop it? 05:09 We realized that 05:10 there were some opposition is going on. 05:12 And why did the other groups want to stop? 05:14 Why did they want to interfere with what was taking place? 05:20 I mean, what we've been studying with already, 05:21 as they were afraid that the Israel 05:24 would return to the power that they once were. 05:27 Yes. 05:28 They were afraid of that. 05:29 And so they said, 05:31 we're gonna stop this at all cost. 05:32 I've seen that, you've probably been involved with us, so... 05:34 I'll let this be... 05:36 Well, this is something way past. 05:37 There are people nowadays, 05:38 even today's, even in the ministry, 05:40 they try to slow down or stop someone else 05:43 from doing what God has asked them to do. 05:45 And I just say that 05:46 we should be very cautious of that. 05:48 How do we know? 05:49 Because I'm not doing it the way you're doing 05:50 and vice versa through here. 05:52 It could be, God is calling us, 05:54 individual gifts to do something different. 05:56 We're not all doing the same thing. 05:57 Yeah, this is the gospel 05:59 but we need to be very respectful 06:00 I think of those who are called, 06:02 maybe do it in a little different way 06:03 than somebody else does it here. 06:05 But here's what, as we look at this, 06:07 they were afraid that the work would be completed, 06:09 the city would be rebuild, the walls would be rebuilt, 06:12 they would become strong again. 06:14 Ezra Chapter 4, we went through that 06:15 I think in our first lesson. 06:17 And they said, we're gonna stop this... 06:20 this process and progress. 06:21 We're just going to do it at all cost. 06:23 And I looked at that, 06:25 and I don't know if anybody feels challenged 06:27 if somebody says, I'm gonna put a stop to this. 06:29 You probably heard that maybe, maybe even ministry, 06:32 we'll put a stop to this. 06:34 And sometimes there needs to be a stop. 06:36 But in this case, right here, the people of God became afraid 06:41 because those on the outside said, 06:43 we're gonna put a stop to this. 06:45 It's not going to happen. 06:46 And they were people in high position, 06:48 people with authority, maybe people with money, 06:51 and it kind of shocked the laity 06:54 and some of the leaders to say, "Well, now I don't know." 06:56 Nehemiah received, you know, some bad news. 07:00 And certainly we'll just try to skip to that 07:01 in Sunday's lesson. 07:03 Every time I hear... 07:04 Have you ever heard this, there's two things happen 07:07 or some bad news and good news. 07:08 What do you want first? 07:10 What do we say, panel? 07:12 What do you say? Good news. 07:13 Give me the good news first. 07:14 I like to hear the bad first. 07:17 And I like the bad first, end with something good. 07:18 Me too. 07:20 I'd rather have the bad first. Okay. 07:21 It's is pretty much there. 07:23 Just go ahead and get the bad, just get it over with, right? 07:24 And then there'll be 07:25 something good that will help us 07:27 and encourage us to continue on. 07:28 Well, this one Nehemiah heard. 07:29 Here are some bad news here. 07:31 Many had returned to their homeland. 07:33 And we've been studying, we know that. 07:34 But things had... 07:36 I want to say blown up in their face. 07:38 It was very, very bad day. 07:40 Things weren't going very well at all. 07:43 We realized that it was like Moses, 07:45 we covered 13 years after Ezra returned to Jerusalem, 07:49 that all of a sudden reports 07:50 begin to coming in about the situation. 07:52 And listen, this is really bad. 07:55 They're looking for somebody to step up. 07:57 They're looking for somebody. 07:58 Where's God gonna... 08:00 Who's God gonna use 08:01 to get this bad situation squared away? 08:03 And so, Nehemiah heard about this. 08:05 I guess that's why I always liked about Nehemiah. 08:07 Nehemiah heard about this and he wasn't one of those 08:09 who's gonna back off and say, 08:11 "Hey, this is gonna be a tough thing." 08:13 But a lot of people is gonna like, maybe like it. 08:15 And there's a lot of people's not gonna like it. 08:17 He did... 08:18 Something bad is going on here with the cause of God 08:20 and I'm gonna step into this thing. 08:23 And so he realized that... 08:24 Again with the city, the walls being destroyed. 08:29 I think it was years in between 08:31 that he hadn't really heard nothing about how bad it was, 08:34 that be kind of... 08:35 Not like us today. 08:36 Some of you can go on a trip now, 08:38 you fly somewhere, 08:39 before you get back everybody knows what you did. 08:41 You ever had that? 08:43 You go on a trip, somebody kind of, oh, 08:44 we heard you preached on so and so, 08:45 oh, you did this or something happened, 08:47 the communication is different but back then it took years. 08:49 And finally when Nehemiah heard it, 08:50 he got really, really upset. 08:53 Not being able to build the wall, 08:55 not being able to brick... 08:57 You have protection against the enemies here. 09:00 Here's what he felt like. 09:01 He felt like God's people were defenseless. 09:04 He felt like God's people were desolate, 09:07 that God's people would not make it 09:08 if they did not get these walls build 09:10 and restore the house of God because that to me, 09:13 that's what it was all taking place here. 09:15 So God's people could get back to worship Him the way 09:18 that God wanted them to. 09:20 And so now okay... 09:21 Well, okay, now you've got the authority 09:23 to go do these things, but then it wasn't happening. 09:25 So that would be a little bit like, 09:27 you know, we're trying to expand here 09:28 and we've got money to build, but nobody wants to build, 09:30 nobody wants build nobody wants to become involved with it. 09:32 So now King Artaxerxes himself, he steps in, 09:36 as we've read before, he kind of steps in and stops, 09:39 stops the building because he had heard 09:41 a quite a controversy that was going on 09:44 and a lot of complaints. 09:45 Ezra Chapter 4. 09:46 Again, these are things 09:48 that we went over in our first lesson. 09:49 And this was a tough situation we realized. 09:51 Now with the temple being built, 09:54 but it was not functioning. 09:56 Now interesting, if you had a church or a temple, 09:59 would you wanted to function? 10:02 Absolutely you would. 10:03 But what was the problem? 10:05 The people. 10:06 They were afraid to come out, 10:08 they were afraid to get involved, 10:09 they couldn't live there in and among the temple. 10:11 And so they could... 10:12 You have to have people to, 10:14 you say run a church and to run a temple, 10:16 and that people were not showing up, 10:18 it just didn't take place. 10:20 Yes, Nehemiah received that word 10:22 and he said, "What's going on here? 10:24 Isn't this temple? 10:25 Isn't it to glorify God?" 10:27 So why aren't we coming together 10:29 to glorify God? 10:30 This is the whole purpose of this for our return. 10:33 And I think scripture 10:34 talks about a couple different words. 10:36 He became sad, then he became upset. 10:39 And I wonder how that works together, 10:41 you know, sad and then upset. 10:43 The House of God, the Holy City had been neglected. 10:46 They've been abandoned because the people 10:49 were afraid of those who were opposing them. 10:52 I wonder if that's ever happened 10:54 in ministry nowadays. 10:55 I wonder if that's ever happened 10:56 in church capacity. 10:58 Oh, yeah. 10:59 Or maybe they felt, people felt threatened 11:01 and they were afraid to do the right thing. 11:03 So here, here's what was going. 11:05 What did Nehemiah do? 11:07 What did he really do? 11:08 Well, there's several things that he could have done. 11:11 First of all, he could have just turned into people's voice 11:14 and all these things are wrong. 11:15 He could have turned around the people 11:17 and he could... 11:18 Look, the people said, you are a bunch of cowards. 11:21 You are yellow. 11:25 You...I'll be careful, you are sissies. 11:28 He could have done that, 11:29 because I figured he was a man of man. 11:33 He wasn't afraid, you see. 11:35 And so when the rest of people would not come together to do 11:38 what this was all about, he said, my land, 11:40 something is wrong. 11:41 But what did... They lacked faith. 11:43 He could have done that, he didn't do that. 11:46 He could have done it. 11:47 It will probably only make them feel worse. 11:49 He did not know those things at all. 11:52 He could have said, "Well, you know, this is... 11:54 this is the way it goes. 11:55 We'll just need to back down 11:57 for a while until the dust settles 11:58 and then we're gonna move forward on that." 12:00 No, Nehemiah begins to, always, most important, 12:03 brought out already, brought out this whole quarter, 12:06 he begins to pray, he begins to fast 12:08 and he begins to ask God for help. 12:10 Now this is where it always go. 12:12 I don't know that there could be another answer. 12:14 Maybe there is, in these kinds of situation. 12:16 What else would we do besides when it seemed 12:18 they were overwhelmed as it were, 12:19 the sea before us 12:21 and mountains and army behind, what do we do? 12:22 We need to pray. 12:24 And maybe before it gets to that point, 12:25 but they, he prayed and fast and ask God for help. 12:28 And certainly did we find those kinds of things, 12:30 maybe we're going on today. 12:32 God is looking for men and women 12:34 who can endure a disappointment. 12:37 They can... 12:39 They can deal with adversity, because that's what's happening 12:42 for those who are leading out in the cause of Christ today. 12:45 They're challenged on every hand. 12:47 And you have to know what you believe. 12:48 You have to know that God has called you 12:50 and you have to go and move forward 12:51 what God wants us to do. 12:54 You know... 12:55 Again, Monday's lesson, 12:56 which we're getting ready to go into... 12:58 Sister Mollie, I like that lesson 12:59 because it's going into, in Nehemiah's prayer. 13:02 The prayer, yes. 13:04 The prayer of Nehemiah and how prayer changed things, 13:07 and how desperately we need the prayer of faith, 13:11 prayer of men and women 13:12 who believe that God has called, God has chosen, 13:16 He's not gonna call you and leave you out 13:18 there with nothing. 13:19 We said some years. God calls you to dig a ditch. 13:21 He's gonna give you a shovel. 13:22 Amen. 13:24 He's not gonna dig it for you, but He'll give you a shovel. 13:25 And if you break that, bless your heart, 13:27 He'll give you another one. 13:28 Sister Mollie, about this prayer thing, 13:30 I want to hear about it. 13:31 Well, when Nehemiah got the bad news, 13:34 we see that it saddened him. 13:37 Yes. 13:38 He was mourning, bad news. 13:40 And you know, you mentioned, 13:42 all of the ministries that someone would rise up 13:45 and say, we're gonna stop you. 13:47 I'm just wondering here at 3ABN 13:50 over the last 30 some odd years, 13:53 have we ever had anyone rise up and say, we're gonna stop you? 13:56 Oh, yes. Yeah. 13:57 And I just want you to know God has prevailed... 13:59 Amen. 14:00 At every point. 14:02 Thank you Holy God. 14:03 Okay. 14:04 Nehemiah mourned. 14:06 He was sad. 14:07 But he went further than that. 14:09 He started fasting and praying. 14:10 And I get to look at this amazing prayer 14:14 that Nehemiah prayed. 14:15 You know, he gives us a template for prayer. 14:18 Was his prayer effective? Yes. 14:20 Did it bring great results? Oh, mercy. 14:22 Well, we can learn from Nehemiah's prayer. 14:25 At first I was gonna read the whole prayer to you 14:27 but sometimes we get lost in a lot of verbiage. 14:31 So what I want to do 14:32 is break this prayer down into four parts. 14:35 First, we're going to look 14:37 at Nehemiah 1:5. 14:43 And this is where Nehemiah 14:47 acknowledges the greatness of God. 14:50 Now I don't know about you, 14:51 but sometimes when I come to God with prayer, 14:55 I start out with "Help God Help." 14:57 Yeah. 14:58 Nehemiah gives us a better way. 15:00 First of all, he acknowledged the greatness of God. 15:04 Let's look at this. 15:05 Nehemiah 1:5, 15:09 "And I said, I pray, Lord God of heaven, 15:12 O great and awesome God, 15:14 You who keep Your covenant and mercy 15:17 with those who love You and observe Your commandments, 15:20 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, 15:24 that You may hear the prayer of Your servant 15:27 which I pray before You now, day and night." 15:30 He acknowledges the greatness of God. 15:34 Next, Nehemiah acknowledges their own simpleness. 15:39 Yes. Yes. 15:40 So he comes, "Oh, God, 15:42 You are the great and mighty God. 15:44 Oh, God, 15:46 there is nothing righteous within me." 15:48 Let's look at this. 15:49 "For the children of Israel Your servants," 15:51 and the second part, 15:54 "and confess the sins of the children of Israel," 15:57 which we have done what? 15:59 "Which we have sinned against you both my Father's house, 16:03 and I have sinned." 16:04 So he's acknowledging his sin, 16:07 but he's acknowledging the sins in the past as well. 16:11 "We have acted very corruptly against you, 16:15 and have not kept the commandments, 16:17 the statutes, nor the ordinances, 16:20 which I commanded Your servant Moses." 16:22 First of all, how great God is. 16:25 Secondly, oh, without You, we have no hope, 16:28 the sinfulness of man. 16:30 And then you know what Nehemiah does? 16:33 Puts God in remembrance of His promises. 16:36 Now, let me ask you this. 16:38 Is anything wrong with God's memory? 16:40 No. No. 16:42 But let me read you Isaiah 43:26. 16:47 God I... 16:48 God says through Isaiah. 16:50 "Put Me in remembrance, Let us contend together, 16:55 state your case, that you may be acquitted." 16:59 God loves it. 17:01 Amen. 17:02 Can I use that terminology? 17:04 Sure, sure. Yeah. 17:05 When we come before Him with His Word... 17:07 Amen. 17:08 When we come before Him with His promises, 17:09 when we put Him in remembrance, that... 17:12 If we can put Him in remembrance, 17:14 you know what that shows Him? 17:16 We know what His Word says. 17:18 So let's look where He puts... 17:21 He puts God in remembrance. 17:23 Verse 8. 17:24 Remember, I pray the word 17:26 that you commanded Your servant Moses saying, 17:30 "If you are faithful... 17:32 If you are unfaithful, 17:34 I will scatter you among the nations." 17:35 So let me ask you this. 17:37 Were they unfaithful? Yes. 17:39 What happened to them? Scattered. 17:41 They were scattered among the nations. 17:44 But... 17:45 Oh, thank God for the buts. 17:46 You know, Pastor Lomacang remember a long time ago 17:49 in one of his teachings. 17:50 I said, God just can't help us save. 17:53 He loves us so much, 17:54 He's always gonna put a but in there for us. 17:58 Doesn't matter how bad we get, people, God loves us. 18:01 And let's look at what that but says. 18:04 Thank God for buts. Yes. 18:05 But verse 9. 18:08 "If you return to Me..." 18:09 There's a prerequisite. 18:11 "If you return to Me," and do what? 18:15 "Keep my commandments and do them, 18:19 though some of you were cast out 18:21 to the farthest part of heaven." 18:23 You know what that means? 18:24 Doesn't matter how bad you are, 18:27 doesn't matter how far out there you get, 18:29 if you will repent and return to God... 18:31 Look at this. 18:33 "Yet I will gather them from there and bring them 18:37 to the place which I have chosen 18:40 as a dwelling for My name." 18:42 So He puts him in remembrance of a promise, 18:46 the promise that he had made to Moses. 18:49 Okay, we're gonna look at Part B of that promise. 18:52 But what was part A? 18:54 Part A was, if you are unfaithful, 18:56 I'm gonna scatter you. 18:57 Was God faithful? 18:59 Was He honest? 19:01 Was He true to that portion? 19:03 Yes, He was. 19:04 Well, I'm gonna give you a just a little precursor. 19:07 If he's faithful to part A, what's he gonna be, Jill? 19:10 Faithful to part B. Faithful to part B. 19:12 Boy, part B is a good one. 19:13 Okay. 19:15 Now we look at the help, God help. 19:17 Here he says, verse 11. 19:20 "O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear 19:24 be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, 19:28 and to the prayer of Your servants 19:29 who desire to do something, 19:32 to fear Your name and let Your servant 19:35 prosper this day, I pray, 19:37 and grant him mercy in the sigh of this man." 19:42 So what Nehemiah was doing, 19:44 was, he was going before the king 19:47 and he was gonna make a request. 19:49 But before he went before the king... 19:52 I mean, he was the king's cupbearer. 19:56 He had position and he could have gone 19:59 on his own merit. 20:01 But you know what he did first? 20:03 First he cried out to God. 20:05 He was asking God to give him favor 20:08 in the eyes of the cupbearer. 20:09 Okay. 20:11 Again, we're looking at a template for prayer, 20:13 something we can learn from. 20:15 Yes. 20:16 And Nehemiah has his prayer in the right oft, 20:22 in the right order. 20:23 He focuses himself on the greatness of God. 20:27 He focuses himself on his own sinfulness. 20:31 And he looks to the grace and mercy of God for hope. 20:39 Now in verse 5 he addresses the covenant. 20:44 Now I want to ask what a covenant is. 20:46 Somebody tell me what a covenant is. 20:48 It's the oathbound promises. 20:51 An oathbound promise, okay. 20:54 Shelley, you're always so good with things. 20:56 An agreement... 20:57 And it's usually between how many people? 20:59 Two. 21:00 It's usually between two people or two groups of people. 21:03 And it's to be, it's upheld when how many parties keep it? 21:08 When... 21:09 In human reasoning, in our thinking, 21:12 you keep your part of the covenant, 21:13 I'll keep my part of the covenant. 21:17 Now the most amazing thing... 21:19 Who made the covenant here? 21:21 God made the covenant. 21:22 The most amazing thing 21:24 about God's covenant with us is, 21:27 whether we keep our end of the covenant or not, 21:29 God never breaks covenant with us. 21:31 Amen. 21:32 Doesn't matter how far out there we get, 21:34 there's always that but. 21:36 God always reaches out Himself 21:38 and says, "But, if you will return to me." 21:42 Then the B part of the covenant, 21:44 it will go into effect. 21:47 But if you return to Me 21:48 and keep My commandments to do them, 21:51 though some of you were cast out. 21:53 He says, here's the B part. 21:55 "I will gather them from there and bring them to the place 22:02 which I have chosen, has a dwelling for them." 22:06 If the part one of the covenant had been fulfilled, 22:11 they were unfaithful and they were scattered, 22:14 then we can have confidence 22:17 that part two would be fulfilled to, 22:20 if you return to Me 22:22 and keep My commandments to do them, 22:24 I will gather you unto Myself. 22:27 What a covenant keeping God. 22:29 How faithful He is to us. 22:31 How much confidence in faith 22:33 that should put into our hearts? 22:35 I think our plea as a panel to every one of you today 22:40 is that you look into your heart 22:42 and if you feel that separation from God, 22:45 we want to make it very clear to you 22:48 and encourage you that no matter 22:50 how far out there you got, there is always hope, 22:53 there is always, that, but if you will return to me, 22:57 all God is waiting for is for you 22:59 to say help God, help, and He is there to help you. 23:03 Okay, the four steps in this template for prayer 23:07 that is so successful. 23:09 Recognize who He is, 23:11 the Creator of all the universe. 23:14 Recognize our helplessness without Him. 23:18 Put Him in remembrance of His word. 23:21 And then finally, 23:23 it's time for us to say, help God help 23:26 and have confidence to know that He will help us. 23:29 Amen. 23:31 Yeah, that's a good one. Absolutely awesome. 23:33 It sets some real groundwork here. 23:35 You know, we're gonna take a short break. 23:37 Please don't go away, 23:38 and we'll see you in just a moment. 23:45 Ever wish you could watch 23:47 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 23:49 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 23:52 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 23:57 A clean design makes it easy to find the program 24:01 you're looking for. 24:02 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:05 so you can follow along. 24:07 Sharing is easy. 24:08 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:11 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:18 Welcome back. We're glad you stayed with us. 24:20 We're going to go right now to Tuesday's lesson. 24:22 Sister Shelley Quinn, 24:24 we're looking at Nehemiah speaks out. 24:26 Amen. 24:28 And I just want to thank you both for setting this up. 24:31 Here we've got this troubled prayer warrior, 24:35 who has a high position in the king's court. 24:37 And he hears this news 24:39 that the walls have been broken down, 24:42 the gates have been burned around Jerusalem 24:44 and you couldn't have a city without the walls. 24:47 So I'm gonna read, begin with Nehemiah 1:11. 24:51 He's praying and he says, "O Lord, I pray, 24:54 please let Your ear be attentive 24:55 to the prayer of Your servant, 24:57 to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name 25:01 and let Your servant prosper this day, 25:04 I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." 25:09 Speaking of King Artaxerxes. 25:12 He says, "For I was the king's cupbearer." 25:16 So Nehemiah worked in Susa as the King's cupbearer. 25:21 That means he was like the wine steward. 25:24 He chose the wine. 25:26 But more importantly, 25:29 before he set it before the king, 25:30 can make sure it was not poisoned. 25:33 So what happened? 25:34 This is actually a very high official position. 25:38 And the king often regarded their cupbearers 25:44 as a close personal counselor. 25:48 So we see Herodotus, 25:52 who is an ancient Greek historian 25:55 pointed out how important the cupbearers were. 25:58 And he talks about a cupbearer of the Assyrian King, 26:02 Esarhaddon who was the chief minister of the kingdom. 26:07 So being a cupbearer was a high political position. 26:12 And it gave Nehemiah 26:15 unique access to the king. 26:18 Just remember with Joseph and Esther and Mordecai, 26:22 here we've got these Jews that had special access. 26:28 So he prays, he hears the news and this is the month of Kislev 26:33 when he hears the news, 26:35 he prays and fasts for four months, 26:39 because it's the month of Nisan 26:40 when he, finally he's before the king. 26:42 They were unclear, why? 26:44 Could be that the king wintered in Babylon instead of in Susa, 26:48 he could have been waiting for a particular Persian feast 26:53 where the king granted the request. 26:56 I just think it was God's perfect timing. 26:58 God's timing is always perfect. 26:59 Yes. 27:01 So he comes before the king 27:02 in Nehemiah 2:1-8. 27:05 We're gonna break this down. 27:07 "It came to pass in the month of Nisan," 27:09 which was March or April, 27:11 "in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, 27:14 when wine was before him, 27:17 that I took the win and gave it to the king. 27:19 Now I had never been sad in his presence. 27:22 It was dangerous to be sad in the presence of the king. 27:26 Kings like happy subjects, 27:28 because that was a reflection 27:30 on their administrative ability. 27:32 So he said, "I'm sad, and I've never been sad 27:36 in his presence before and the king said to me, 27:39 why is your face sad? 27:41 Since you are not sick? 27:43 This is nothing but sorrow of heart." 27:46 Remember, in Esther Chapter 4, 27:48 you couldn't even wear mourning clothes if you had, 27:52 if you were in mourning, 27:53 you were not allowed into the palace. 27:57 So then this is interesting. 27:59 Here's this brave 28:00 prayer warrior says, "I became dreadfully afraid." 28:05 Well, I think there's two reasons. 28:07 Number one, he said, it could upset the king. 28:10 Number two, he's about to ask the king 28:12 for a very bold request 28:14 to reverse his previous decision, 28:18 when Artaxerxes had caused the building 28:22 of Jerusalem to cease. 28:24 So if you displease the king, 28:27 the king could off with your head. 28:29 Right. 28:30 So what happens when he makes this request 28:36 or when the king asks this? 28:39 He says, in verse 3. 28:42 "I said to the king, May the king live forever! 28:46 Why should my face not be sad, when the city, 28:49 the place of my fathers' tombs, 28:52 lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?" 28:57 He's undaunted by fear. 28:59 I love that about him. 29:01 This man of faith believed 29:02 that God was greater than this king. 29:05 And he proceeded though 29:06 with diplomacy in an emotional appeal. 29:09 Notice that he doesn't mention Jerusalem immediately. 29:14 He just says the cities where my ancestors were buried. 29:18 Well, this would strike 29:20 a sympathetic chord with the king 29:21 because the Persians invested a lot of money 29:26 to and went to great expense to build the tombs 29:30 for their dead ancestors. 29:33 And what was so important about the gates? 29:36 The gates were the place where the... 29:39 It was the basis of social life 29:41 and this is also where they had their judicial procedures. 29:45 So burn gates meant the death of a community. 29:48 And there was no permanence to the community without walls. 29:53 So he's got the king's attention. 29:54 And verse 4 says, "The king said to me, 29:57 what do you request?" 29:59 And he... 30:00 When the king says that, what does he do? 30:03 He sends up an emergency prayer. 30:07 I mean, just this is a silent prayer. 30:10 But he said, so I prayed to the God of heaven. 30:12 Yes. 30:14 See, the King recognized Nehemiah's 30:16 desire to take action. 30:18 And Nehemiah broke into a silence, 30:20 spontaneous prayer. 30:23 Even while he was talking with the king, 30:24 I love that. 30:26 You know, I believe with all of my heart, 30:29 if you have a habit of in depth prayer, 30:33 or you're not rushing into the presence of the Lord, 30:35 but where you pray often with the Lord 30:38 and spend time with Him, 30:39 I believe that those fast prayers 30:43 that you send up, 30:44 you know, you're gonna get answers, right? 30:46 All right. 30:47 So, and eight times in this book, 30:49 Nehemiah breaks into spontaneous prayer. 30:52 So verse 5. 30:53 "I said to the king, 30:56 if it pleases the king, 30:58 and if your servant has found favor in your sight, 31:01 I ask that you send me to Judah, 31:03 to the city of my fathers' tombs..." 31:05 This is the first time he's mentioned where it is. 31:08 "That I may rebuild it. 31:10 Then the king said to me..." 31:12 And here's an interesting parenthetical statement. 31:15 The queen also sitting beside him, 31:17 which means it was probably a private dinner, instead of... 31:21 I mean, because the queen wasn't always sitting. 31:23 It wasn't customary at formal banquets 31:25 for the queen to sit next to the king. 31:28 So, "The king said to me, 31:32 with the queen sitting beside him, 31:33 how long will your journey be, and when will you return? 31:36 So it pleased the king to send me, 31:39 and I set him a time." 31:41 You know, and he ended up staying there for 12 years. 31:44 I wonder if he told the king that. 31:46 But the interesting thing was, 31:48 he knew the appropriate time to approach the king, 31:53 when he's setting the wine before him 31:54 as a trusted servant. 31:55 So verse 7. 31:57 "Furthermore, I said to the king, 31:58 if it pleases the king..." 32:00 Now get this. 32:01 Here he just made this bold request. 32:04 But now he's gonna go a little further 32:06 because he wants to make sure 32:08 that God's mission is completely fulfilled, 32:11 that his prayer will be completely answered. 32:14 "If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me 32:17 for the governors of the region beyond the River, 32:20 that they must permit me 32:21 to pass through till I come to Judah..." 32:25 So the reason that was so important 32:28 is because he needed this kind of a royal document 32:32 to get through the land of his enemies, 32:34 basically, this dangerous 32:35 four month 900 mile journey from Susa to Jerusalem. 32:40 And then he asked for a letter to Asaph, 32:42 the keeper of the king's forest. 32:44 Hey, he, I know Nehemiah believed that 32:48 God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. 32:51 So he's now asking for the materials 32:53 what, to do what? 32:55 And by the way, lumber, timber, 32:58 was a precious commodity. 33:01 It was the forest work guarded very carefully. 33:06 So he asked for this letter, 33:08 so that he could build the citadel, 33:10 which was the fortress near the garden temple, 33:14 and the gates, the city wall, 33:16 and the house that I will occupy. 33:18 And the king granted them to me 33:20 according to the good hand of my God upon me. 33:25 He recognizes this is coming from his God. 33:30 So the king not only agreed to let him go, 33:36 but he supplies him with everything 33:41 that he needs for his mission. 33:44 And, you know, 33:45 it wasn't an everyday occurrence 33:46 that a king would let a cupbearer 33:48 go be a governor of another province. 33:51 So this was an amazing request. 33:54 It was a bold request. 33:56 But he knew that God would do it. 33:58 Amen. 33:59 And Nehemiah left as soon as possible, 34:02 traveling along the same route that Ezra had taken. 34:06 Amen. Wow. 34:07 Thank you, Shelley. Thank you, Mollie. 34:09 Thank you, Pastor Kenny. 34:11 Mine is Wednesday. 34:13 And it's just a very short title 34:15 "Nehemiah sent." 34:18 I've often said, if you don't believe 34:19 that the devil exists, 34:21 wait for the Lord who sends you. 34:23 Yeah, very good. We'll find out. 34:25 Whenever you doubt that evil exists, 34:28 get involved in the work of the Lord. 34:30 Amen. 34:31 Two short verses, Nehemiah 2:9-10 34:34 are covering this day. 34:37 And, Jill, I don't know what happened to me, 34:39 but somehow lists are becoming a part of my life. 34:42 And we're gonna... 34:43 we're gonna look 34:44 at some very interesting parallels here. 34:46 Because there's a huge question asked 34:48 on the heels of these two verses, verse 9 and 10. 34:51 And, Shelley, thank you for the segue. 34:54 "Then I went," 34:55 that is the good hand of God was upon me. 34:58 And he says, "Then I went," verse 9, 35:00 "to the governors in the region beyond the river, 35:04 and gave them the king's letter. 35:06 Now the king had sent captains of the army, 35:09 he had a military escort." 35:12 He needed safety because the king 35:14 that sent him knew that there was opposition, 35:17 and his life could have been at risk. 35:20 And he sent captains of the army 35:22 and horsemen with me, 35:24 when Sanballat, the Horonite and Tobiah, 35:28 the Ammonite official heard of it, 35:30 they were deeply disturbed that a man had come 35:33 to seek the well-being of the children of Israel. 35:38 What a powerful... 35:39 That's a sermon right there all in itself. 35:41 You know mine who said it. 35:43 And I've spoken so many times on Nehemiah in portions. 35:46 That passage, there are those verses, Jill, 35:49 that stand out as a, this is a sermon verse, 35:53 that those who hear that anything is done 35:57 for the betterment of God's people 35:59 that are in opposition, 36:01 they will start by being deeply disturbed. 36:04 Yes. 36:06 And when you look at the story, as it continues to unfold, 36:09 they go from being deeply disturbed 36:11 to start taking severe actions against them. 36:14 Let's outline who these three were. 36:17 Because the question is asked, 36:19 what do these verses tell us about the opposition Nehemiah, 36:23 and the Jews in general we're going to face? 36:27 And I just made the point, 36:28 whenever we seek the wellbeing of God's people, 36:31 trouble always ensues. 36:33 Well, who is Sanballat, Tobiah and the Arab, 36:37 particularly Geshem? 36:39 Sanballat was the Governor of Syria to the north. 36:42 Tobiah was the Governor of Amman to the east. 36:46 Geshem or the Arab was to the south. 36:49 He controlled Edom and Moab. 36:51 So if you look at this, they were trying to lock him in 36:54 by controlling the territory around him. 36:57 So it was fitting that he had a military escort, 36:59 because the king who sent him knew that 37:02 there are adversarial positions, 37:05 that if he doesn't go in the right direction, 37:07 or if he doesn't have a security detail with him, 37:10 he could run not only into opposition, 37:12 but he could lose his life. 37:14 So it always starts by them being deeply disturbed, 37:17 they might start by saying, 37:20 "So what do you think we should do? 37:21 We just heard about this guy going back to help 37:24 a cause for which we are opposed. 37:26 What do you think we should do? 37:27 They're deeply disturbed." 37:28 So let's look at some of the ways. 37:30 And I like what the Sabbath School writer 37:32 put this term here. 37:34 It says, bullies don't rejoice 37:36 over the good fortune of those they intimidate. 37:40 It's good. Bullies don't rejoice. 37:42 And this is in the lesson. 37:44 Over the good fortune of those they intimidate. 37:46 So let's look at the four pronged attack of Satan, 37:49 whenever, and I found these, 37:51 and I'm gonna highlight the points 37:52 that are gonna follow 37:53 the four pronged attack of Satan. 37:55 First, whenever God's people are involved in a work, 37:58 first he pursues, then he overtakes, 38:03 then he divides, then he destroys. 38:05 It's good. Those are the four... 38:06 He pursues, overtakes, divides, and then destroys. 38:10 Look at some of the examples. 38:11 Let's go to 1 Corinthians 16:2. 38:14 And because I only had two verses, 38:15 I had to pull from other portions 38:17 of the Bible to give support 38:19 to these four very important points. 38:21 Satan always seeks a convenient season 38:24 to attack God's people. 38:26 Oh, yeah. 38:27 He waits. 38:29 Servant of the Lord Ellen White says, 38:30 that his footsteps are noiseless. 38:33 He is patient. 38:35 And that's what a roaring lion is. 38:37 They don't just roar, 38:39 but they wait for the opportune moments. 38:41 My wife and I like to watch National Geographic. 38:44 And it always amazes me when the lion just rises up 38:48 and moves slowly. 38:49 And I found out that when their cubs, 38:53 the cub has to practice 38:55 and the mother continues to teach them 38:56 how to practice because if he makes so much as... 38:59 if it twig so much as cracks, 39:02 the animal that he's hunting can hear it. 39:05 So he has to do it over and over 39:06 until he can get to the point 39:08 where he can step over twigs and they don't even crack. 39:11 So he starts by pursuing. 39:13 Let's look at one of the examples. 39:14 1 Corinthians 16:12. 39:17 "Now concerning our brother Apollos, 39:19 I strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren, 39:25 but he was quite unwilling to come at this time, 39:28 however, he will come when he has a convenient time." 39:33 When we are unwilling, 39:36 we are often looking for times of convenience. 39:39 It's not a good time. 39:41 There is never an inconvenient time 39:43 to do God's will. 39:44 The spirit that was expressed in these verses, 39:47 Satan also looks for convenient seasons. 39:50 And I say this... 39:51 There's a term my wife and I use. 39:53 What we say, "Never lower your guard." 39:56 Never lower your guard, always be suspect. 40:00 And not suspect 40:02 in the sense of thinking evil about individuals. 40:03 But when you're in an environment 40:05 where you're not accustom, 40:06 when you are in a new environment, 40:08 always keep your guard up. 40:10 That's right. 40:11 Have an official approach to things. 40:14 Be very reserved when it comes 40:16 to how you communicate with other people 40:17 physically and emotionally and verbally. 40:20 So that the... 40:22 When you establish a protocol ahead of time, 40:24 this protocol will be a safety whenever you go into places 40:26 that are not very accustomed. 40:28 And I look at professional leaders, 40:29 I look at presidents, 40:31 I look at the General Conference president, 40:32 I look at people 40:34 that are very much public in our church. 40:35 And we look at them for particular reasons. 40:37 We say notice how they stand when they take a picture. 40:41 Notice how they stand in positions 40:42 of, in important times. 40:45 When you practice the protocol of safety at home, 40:48 that protocol of safety will follow 40:50 you wherever you go. 40:52 The second one, Satan pursues us. 40:54 Exodus 15:9. 40:56 I'll go through these very quickly. 40:58 The enemy said... 40:59 And this is talking about the freedom of the Israelites. 41:03 "The enemy said, I will pursue, 41:07 I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. 41:11 My desire shall be satisfied on them, 41:15 I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them." 41:18 All four points are right in verse, chapter 15, verse 9. 41:23 How Satan pursues. 41:24 Exodus 15:9. 41:26 The enemy said, I will pursue, 41:28 overtake, divide, and destroy and he'll do it by the sword. 41:33 He said, I'll use the sword, and my hand shall destroy them. 41:37 Okay, the third one, 41:39 Satan creates division among us. 41:40 He seeks to divide. 41:42 1 Corinthians 1:10. 41:44 He says, "Now I plead with you, brethren, 41:46 by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 41:50 that you all speak the same thing, 41:52 and that there be no division among you, 41:54 but that you be perfectly joined together 41:56 in the same mind and in the same judgment." 41:59 So the same is true today. 42:01 If we are seeking the goodwill of the people, 42:04 we have to remain united. 42:05 Shelley has to be united with Mollie, 42:07 and Pastor Kenny and I cannot be speaking 42:09 in opposition to Jill. 42:10 We have to be in harmony with one another. 42:12 Yes. 42:14 And, so that unity is something that has to maintain it front 42:18 with each other around 42:19 or if the other person is not even there. 42:22 The other one, he seeks to create wrath 42:25 against the workers, Revelation 12:12. 42:27 We know that one. 42:28 He's come down having great wrath, 42:31 because he knows he has a short time. 42:32 That's right. 42:34 And the wrath is not just from opposition on the outside. 42:37 But if you notice that, 42:38 that wrath could be worker against worker. 42:40 If we as workers of God, if we as the people 42:43 that God has called 42:45 become wrathful against each other. 42:47 I spoke to one of my leaders 42:49 just recently that saw something 42:50 that was not very comfortable. 42:52 And that person said, 42:53 "Well, I want to just stand up and walk out." 42:55 I said, "As a leader you don't have that luxury. 42:57 Because your influence can create a coalition 43:00 of opposition, that will be hard to reverse." 43:03 If you have something that you don't agree with, 43:05 you come to me as the pastor, 43:07 we discuss it and we find methods 43:09 and key ways of addressing that 43:11 rather than creating visual opposition. 43:13 Yes. It's good. 43:15 The other one is Acts 18:6. 43:18 How does Paul respond to this opposition? 43:20 He says, but when they opposed him and blasphemed, 43:23 he shook his garments, and said unto them, 43:27 your blood be upon your own head, I am clean, 43:31 from now on I will go to the Gentiles." 43:33 Acts 18:6. 43:35 And the opposition is once again 43:37 in the story of Joshua. 43:40 Zachariah 3:1. 43:42 "Then he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing 43:45 before the angel of the Lord, 43:46 and Satan standing at his right hand to," what? 43:49 "Oppose him." That's right. 43:51 So very quickly, and then finally, 43:52 Paul's response to opposition, because Paul talked about this, 43:56 who opposes speaking about that power 43:58 that will come in the future 43:59 who opposes and exalts himself above all is called God. 44:02 So here's the assurance, 44:04 that "God is for us who can be against us," 44:06 Romans 8:31. Amen. 44:07 "In all these things we are more than conquerors," 44:09 Romans 8:37. 44:11 Exodus 14:14, 44:13 "The Lord will fight for you, just hold your peace." 44:15 Yes. 44:16 In Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you, 44:19 be strong and of good courage." 44:21 Amen. Amen. 44:22 Thank you, Pastor John, that was incredible. 44:25 I am so grateful for the blood of Jesus. 44:27 I'm so thankful for the promises in His Word, 44:31 and that He stands up and fights against the enemy. 44:34 That's right. What a blessing. 44:36 That was powerful. 44:38 I have Thursday, Nehemiah prepares for his task. 44:42 We're looking at Nehemiah 2:11-20. 44:47 And want to pick it up with verse 11. 44:49 Nehemiah writing, speaking, "So I came to Jerusalem, 44:53 and was there three days." 44:55 Now three days is very significant 44:57 in the Word of God. 44:59 Oh, yeah. 45:00 I think of Genesis 22:4. 45:02 Abraham was traveling with his son Isaac, 45:04 and he looked up... 45:06 What does the Bible say? 45:07 On the third day he lifted up his eyes. 45:08 That's right. 45:10 And there he saw the mountain, Mount Moriah. 45:12 Genesis 31:22, 45:14 "It was on the third day 45:15 that Laban was told that Jacob had fled." 45:18 Right. 45:20 Exodus 19:11, 45:21 there were three days of preparation 45:23 before the giving of the law of God, 45:25 there at Mount Sinai, 45:28 with the children of Israel encamped in the wilderness, 45:30 three days of preparation. 45:32 Yes. 45:33 Esther 5:1. 45:34 There were three days of fasting and prayer 45:38 before Esther approached the king unannounced. 45:42 And, of course, we know Matthew 16:21, 45:46 Jesus explaining to His disciples 45:47 that He must suffer 45:50 and be killed three days in the tomb, 45:53 and then He will rise again. 45:55 That's right. 45:56 And there's more examples 45:58 in the Word of God of three days. 45:59 So it's just fascinating to me 46:00 that Nehemiah was there three days 46:02 before he really stepped in and did anything. 46:05 Now, you know, we're... 46:07 Do enlist, Pastor John. Okay. 46:09 So I want to look at some principles of leadership 46:11 displayed in the life of Nehemiah, 46:14 as he prepared for his tasks, specifically here. 46:17 And the biggest overarching principle 46:19 I see in this whole passage is learn to work with people. 46:22 Oh, yeah. 46:23 Learn to work with people. 46:26 Have mercy. 46:27 You know, it would be fabulous 46:29 if you lead with no people, right? 46:30 You just said, okay, I am just but, that... 46:33 To be a leader, you have to have people around you, 46:36 you have to have a team. 46:38 Learn to work with people. 46:40 So I see three different aspects, 46:42 we're gonna to divide it 46:43 into the three different aspects. 46:44 First, Nehemiah worked with an unbelieving king. 46:48 Second, Nehemiah worked with a demoralized Jews. 46:52 That's where we spend the balance of our time 46:54 because that's my lesson, verses 11 through 20. 46:57 And third, Nehemiah worked with his enemies. 47:00 So we're gonna divide the lesson up 47:02 into three portions. 47:03 First, he worked with an unbelieving king. 47:07 As Shelley talked about, and Mollie talked about, 47:11 he moved the king through prayer. 47:13 I love that. 47:15 I think the prayer in Nehemiah Chapter 1, 47:17 Miss Mollie, set up the king's response 47:20 in Nehemiah Chapter 2. 47:21 And not only did that prayer in Nehemiah 1, 47:24 but the four months time between Nehemiah Chapter 1 47:28 and Nehemiah Chapter 2, 47:29 and he actually made his request. 47:32 I think Nehemiah everyday petitioned the throne of grace. 47:35 Every day he prayed about this. 47:39 He had a consistent prayer life. 47:41 Not only that, 47:43 he knew how to present a specific petition before God, 47:46 just when the time was right. 47:48 Not only had he been praying for four months, 47:49 and he fasted and prayed, it says in Nehemiah 1. 47:53 But when the king said, "What is your request?" 47:54 What does he say? 47:56 He sent up a quick prayer, a petition, as you said. 47:59 Help, God, a quick prayer right then. 48:02 He knew how to pray. 48:04 He moved the king through prayer. 48:06 He gained respect through consistency and loyalty. 48:09 I love what you talked about, Shelley. 48:11 He said, never had I been sad before in the king's presence. 48:14 He was consistent. 48:15 I don't know about you, Pastor John, 48:17 but there's some people 48:18 that every day you say good morning, 48:20 and you don't know how they're gonna be that day. 48:22 Some days they might say, "Oh, I'm doing really great." 48:24 And the next day, "Well, I'm just struggling 48:28 and I'm having such a hard day." 48:30 Right? 48:31 But Nehemiah was consistent 48:34 in his Christian witness before the king. 48:37 The third thing I see, 48:39 when he was working with the unbelieving king, 48:41 is that he spoke with tact and respect. 48:44 Nehemiah 2:3, it's interesting to me 48:47 that he did not mention Jerusalem by name. 48:50 We know that Artaxerxes had put this decree. 48:54 And he didn't even mention Jerusalem. 48:55 He didn't say, you know, what, I want to go to Jerusalem 48:57 and he didn't even mention that. 48:59 He appealed to the king's emotions, 49:01 and what you already referenced, Shelley, 49:03 as far as the Persian kings 49:04 and what they thought 49:06 of with the, the honoring of the dead. 49:08 So he said, "Why should my face be sad when the city, 49:11 the place of my fathers' tombs lies waste 49:13 and its gates are burned with fire?" 49:15 So he appealed to the king's emotions. 49:17 He spoke with tact and respect. 49:22 How did he work with the demoralized Jews 49:26 when he got there to Jerusalem? 49:29 The Jews in Jerusalem clearly believed in God. 49:32 But they were discouraged. 49:33 The walls were destroyed, 49:35 the gates had been burned with fire, 49:38 and they were discouraged. 49:40 How did he work with them? 49:41 I see five ways that he worked with them. 49:43 Number one, he took time 49:45 and considered the matter before acting. 49:49 You know, rash leaders act before they think. 49:52 And they speak before they think. 49:55 Wait before making a decision. 49:57 Sometimes you need to jump right in 49:59 and do something but other times 50:00 you need to wait before making a decision. 50:03 Nehemiah 2:11, we already read it. 50:06 I came to Jerusalem and it was there three days. 50:08 So he waited three days. 50:09 He took time and considered the matter before he acted. 50:13 Second thing he kept things confidential 50:16 until the time was right. 50:18 The next verse, verse 12. 50:20 "Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. 50:23 I told no one what my God 50:25 had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem." 50:27 That's right. 50:28 "Nor was there any animal with me, 50:30 except the one on which I rode." 50:32 Now jump down to verse 16. 50:34 "And the officials did not know where I had gone, 50:37 or what I had done. 50:39 I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, 50:42 the officials, or the others who did the work." 50:45 So it's interesting to me 50:46 that he didn't even tell the leadership 50:48 what he was wanting to do. 50:49 He didn't tell anybody. 50:51 You would think you would tell your cabinet, right? 50:53 Your closest confidants. 50:55 You would think you would tell them, 50:57 but yet, he didn't tell them. 50:59 You don't need to tell all you know. 51:01 Sometimes you don't need to tell anything you know. 51:03 All right. 51:05 There's a great need to know when to keep your mouth shut 51:07 when you're a leader. 51:09 There's a great need for confidentiality, 51:11 whether it is in the church, to keep your mouth shut, 51:14 or in a place of work or in a ministry. 51:17 Yes. Number three. 51:19 He investigated the issues thoroughly 51:22 before he made a decision. 51:24 Let's read verses 13 through 15. 51:27 Nehemiah 2:13-15. 51:29 "I went out by night 51:30 through the Valley Gate to the Serpent. 51:32 Well and the Refuse Gate, 51:33 and viewed the walls of Jerusalem 51:35 which were broken down 51:36 and its gates which were burned with fire. 51:38 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate 51:39 and to the King's Pool, 51:40 but there was no room 51:42 for the animal under me to pass. 51:43 So I went up in the night by the valley, 51:45 and viewed the wall, 51:46 then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, 51:47 and so returned." 51:49 Don't make a decision before having all the facts. 51:52 And it's very interesting to me. 51:54 Sometimes, as a leader, you need to see the situation 51:57 for yourself and not just depend on your counselors 52:00 or people who are around you 52:02 to apprize you of the situation. 52:05 He could have said, I'm gonna go to the leaders, 52:07 the high priest. 52:08 I'm gonna go to the nobles, 52:10 and I'll have them tell me what's going on here. 52:13 But he went out himself and investigated thoroughly 52:16 before making a decision. 52:18 Number four, he involved others in the decision. 52:22 Verses 17 and 18. 52:24 "I said to them," this is to the leaders now. 52:26 "You see the distress that we are in, 52:28 how Jerusalem lies waste, 52:29 and its gates are burned with fire, 52:31 come, and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, 52:34 that we may no longer be of a reproach. 52:36 And I told them of the hand of my God 52:38 which had been good upon me, 52:40 and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. 52:43 So they said, let us rise up and build." 52:47 He communicated to them a vision. 52:49 They caught the vision. 52:51 And then they felt like they could come alongside 52:53 and they wanted to do it themselves. 52:56 True leaders communicate a vision, 52:57 they invite other people 52:59 to participate with that vision. 53:01 They encourage others. 53:03 And true leaders always point to God, 53:06 never to self. 53:07 That's right. 53:08 Never to glorify themselves. 53:10 Finally, we looked at Nehemiah 53:11 working with an unbelieving king, 53:13 Nehemiah working with a demoralized Jews. 53:15 Finally, in my remaining time, 53:17 Nehemiah worked with his enemies. 53:21 Pastor John already laid out who those three enemies were. 53:24 Verse 20, Nehemiah 2:20. 53:26 "I answered them, and said unto them, 53:28 'The God of heaven himself will prosper us, 53:32 therefore we are his servants, 53:34 will arise and build, 53:36 but ye have no heritage or right, 53:39 or memorial, in Jerusalem.''' 53:42 Straight. 53:43 Have you ever been laughed at or despised or falsely accused? 53:46 I'm sure we all have been. 53:48 True leaders are not afraid to speak the truth. 53:52 They know when to speak and when to keep silent. 53:54 They know when to work with people 53:56 as Nehemiah worked with the unbelieving king. 53:58 Nehemiah worked with the demoralized Jews. 54:02 But Nehemiah stood up and confronted 54:05 and opposed the enemies. 54:07 Yes. 54:08 There's a time to not compromise. 54:11 There's a time to put your trust in God 54:13 and proclaim that to others. 54:15 Pastor Kenny? Amen. 54:17 Praise the Lord, that covered well. 54:19 Each one of you covered well. 54:20 Good information that sometime I don't think that we would get 54:23 if you just kind of thumbed over, you know. 54:26 This is like digging for hidden treasure. 54:28 And I know you folks have been doing that. 54:30 Then I pray this, rung a spiritual bail 54:33 for the people out there to encourage them 54:36 to get right in there and start studying 54:38 and show themselves approved unto God. 54:40 So with all this information, right... 54:42 Yeah, I know you got a lot of things dancing 54:44 through your head right now. 54:45 But we've got three minutes or so enough time 54:47 that we can go around and some of the things 54:50 that maybe at least one thing 54:51 that Holy Spirit just impressed you 54:52 with that would help us. 54:54 Let's just go around the table, what God has to say. 54:57 When God lays it on your heart to come before Him in prayer. 55:03 Let's follow Nehemiah's outline, 55:06 this template that he gave us. 55:07 Don't just go insane, help God, help. 55:10 Let's go in recognizing who He is, 55:13 recognizing that without Him, we are nothing. 55:16 That's right. 55:18 Put Him in remembrance of His word, 55:19 then it's time to say, "Oh, God, I need Your help." 55:22 And remember, God will always be there. 55:25 There's that but, 55:26 but Hewill always be there to bring us 55:30 into that right relationship with Him. 55:31 Amen. Amen. 55:32 I'm just thinking that, to build up yours. 55:35 When you recognize how great and awesome God is, 55:38 then you can pray without putting God in a box. 55:43 Sometimes we pray little bitty prayers. 55:47 And God wants... 55:48 You know, He gives, wants to get a big vision. 55:50 And when God does give you the vision, 55:53 even though you're prayed up, 55:54 you noticed that Nehemiah prayed 55:56 when he was in front of the... 55:57 I mean, silently, spontaneously before the king. 56:00 But he was emboldened to ask for everything that he needed. 56:05 Amen. 56:07 The call of God is always general. 56:10 The response is always personal. 56:12 Oh, that's good. It's good. 56:13 You know, when Isaiah 6:8, in this there was a call. 56:17 Nehemiah was sent because he responded. 56:19 Amen. 56:20 When Isaiah writes these words, 56:22 and I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 56:23 whom shall I send? 56:26 And who will go for us? 56:27 Then I said, the personal response, 56:29 here I am, send me. 56:31 That's good. 56:32 Amen. Amen. 56:34 This lesson challenged me personally, 56:35 because I believe God wants us to work with everyone. 56:38 And God wants us to reach out and to love other people 56:42 and to learn to work with them. 56:44 But there is a time 56:46 that we need to stand up for truth. 56:48 Amen. Amen. 56:50 Hallelujah. What a balance, right? 56:51 God's Word gives us that balance 56:53 if we just read it, 56:54 that the Holy Spirit work in our hearts, in our life. 56:56 I found little, this little quick article 56:58 was in the Review and Herald. 57:01 I think it was in 1904. 57:03 No Sabbath School Workers, 1904. 57:05 And it started out, we need Nehemiahs today. 57:08 See, we need Nehemiahs in the church, 57:10 we need Nehemiahs, not just because they can pray, 57:15 not because they can just teach. 57:17 But I thought it's very interesting here, 57:19 that man that would... 57:21 It's eager to jump into what God calls him to do. 57:25 You know, you can pray and you can... 57:26 All these are important things. 57:28 But when God calls you to do, 57:30 you know, just grab hold of that 57:31 and thank God for that. 57:33 Nehemiahs today in the world 57:35 who will arouse the people of God. 57:37 I don't know about you, but I feel like, 57:39 you know, we live in a time that we need to be aroused. 57:41 Yes. Amen. 57:43 And every time I thought about Nehemiah, 57:44 I thought about Ezra and Isaiah different ones, they... 57:48 When God called them to rouse the people out, 57:50 that means out of asleep, and I don't want to be asleep. 57:53 I believe we're near the time of the end Jesus come, 57:55 we need to be ready? 57:56 I just want to thank you for joining us here 57:58 at Sabbath School Panel. 57:59 We love you. 58:01 We look forward to seeing you next time. |
Revised 2024-08-27