The Bible tells us, "In
the beginning was the Word,
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and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God."
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It says, "To
receive with meekness
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the implanted Word,
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which is able
to save your souls,
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and to be diligent to present
yourself approved to God,
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rightly dividing
the Word of truth.
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Join us now for the
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
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Our study today
is Ezra and Nehemiah.
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Hello. I'm Shelley Quinn.
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And we welcome you to
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
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This quarter we are
studying Ezra and Nehemiah.
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And it's been so exciting.
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We've looked at
how Zerubbabel went
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and took 50,000
people in the first wave
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of the return of the exiles
from Babylon to Jerusalem.
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And then we looked at Ezra
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and how he came to
restore the Word of God.
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This wonderful man of
God taught the people,
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how important God's
Word is to their daily life.
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And we're also
considering Nehemiah,
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who led the third wave.
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And this was a man of God,
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who was a prayer
warrior and he rebuilt the wall.
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Today is lesson number five,
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and it is violating
the spirit of the law.
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So we know that
they had a few problems.
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If you would like your
own Sabbath School quarterly,
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you can go to the nearest local
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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they'll be
happy to give you one.
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I'm sure they
would even invite you
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to stay and study with them.
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Or you can go to
ABSG.Adventist.org,
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and download your personal copy.
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Well, let me
introduce our panel,
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my brothers and
sisters in Christ.
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We have so much fun
doing this series together.
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And next to me is my
precious friend, Jill Morikone,
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who is the COO of 3ABN.
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Welcome. Thank you, Shelley.
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I love to study the
Word of God with you.
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Amen.
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And then we have
Pastor Kenny Shelton.
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Pastor, thank you
for all you do for 3ABN.
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I know you work full time.
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And then you volunteer here
and we appreciate you so much.
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It's a quite a blessing.
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Thank you. Amen.
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And then my dear, dear friend,
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Mollie Sue
Steenson from Alabama.
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You never know it.
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She sounds like,
she's from Boston.
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Yeah, I tell
people when they asked me,
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where are you from?
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I tell them, "New York City."
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But they don't
believe me for some reason.
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Well, we thank you that you...
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even though you're retired,
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you still come back
and join us for this panel.
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And then my very own
pastor and dear friend,
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Pastor John Lomacang.
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Always good to be
here. I am from New York.
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But we tell people
you're from Alabama.
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Okay. It's good to be here.
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Well, before we begin,
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Jill, would you
like to have our prayer?
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Sure.
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Holy Father, we come
before You in the name of Jesus.
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And we just thank You
for the gift of Your Word,
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and the gift of Your Spirit.
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Then we pray right now
as we open up Your Word
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that You would
illuminate our hearts and minds,
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that You would touch
us with the convicting
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and converting power that
only You can do in Jesus' name.
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Amen. Amen and amen.
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And so what is
the spirit of the law?
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Anytime you hear someone
say, the spirit of the law,
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and it can be referring to
God's law or even man's law.
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It's talking about the
original intent of the law.
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And God's eternal moral
law, the Ten Commandments,
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and the temporary
covenant that He...
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the law that He gave to Moses,
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that was written in
the book of the covenant.
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It wasn't just a
written means to an end.
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It included
principles of righteousness
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that God was trying
to impart to His people,
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and it was for the
good of the community.
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Now, it is possible
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to keep the letter of the law
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and ignore the
spirit of the law.
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But it is impossible to
keep the spirit of the law
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and ignore the
letter of the law.
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We first must learn to
keep the letter of the law,
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and then we
evolve into understanding
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the spirit of the
law, we go deeper into it.
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So it's our attitude and
our approach to God's law.
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It goes beyond just a
list of do's and don'ts
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is what we're saying here.
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So, Israel's...
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as far as Israel's actions,
they were quite defective
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in keeping the
spirit of the law,
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even the letter of
the law, you could say.
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They were blind
to God's purposes,
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they were selfish,
they were thoughtless,
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and obstinately
deaf to His purposes.
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But the heart of God
revealed in His law, His wisdom.
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And it was purposeful it
had His spiritual purpose.
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Isaiah 42:21 says this,
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"The Lord is well pleased
for his righteousness' sake,
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he will exalt the law,
and make it honorable."
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And we see that when Jesus came,
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He did just this.
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He frequently
referred to the Sabbath,
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about it being
the day of worship,
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the day of rest,
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a time for fellowship
with family and friends.
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And he showed us that it
was a time for good deeds.
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And then on the
Sermon on the Mount,
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He showed us that even
lust is considered adultery.
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Hatred is considered murder.
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So He came to exalt the law.
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So in our lesson in Nehemiah,
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we're going to
look at Nehemiah 5.
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What's happening?
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Nehemiah is
confronting the people
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because they are
breaking the spirit of the law.
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And the rich Jews
were taking advantage
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of the plight of the poor Jews.
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They were charging usury,
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and that was against
the law for Israel actually.
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So Nehemiah comes in and
he boldly defends the law
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and he confronts them to return
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what they have
confiscated from the poor.
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So that gets us
to our memory text,
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Nehemiah 5:11, Nehemiah 5:11.
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"Restore now to them,
even this day, their lands,
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their vineyards,
their olive groves,
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and their houses,
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also a hundredth of
the money and the grain,
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the new wine and the oil,
that you have charged them."
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So, basically what
this lesson is doing
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is it highlights
this ongoing struggle
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of the rich getting richer
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by taking advantage of
the poor and oppressing them.
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And Nehemiah is going
to deal with this problem.
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It existed before the exile
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and unfortunately it
reappears when they return.
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I wanted to read one quick thing
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from the Sabbath School Panel.
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It says, "Be careful..."
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Sabbath School
Quarterly, ha, ha, thank you.
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It says, "Be
careful not to let rules
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and regulations become
an end in and of themselves,
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rather than a means to the end,
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which is to reflect
the character of Jesus."
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That's the spirit of the law
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reflecting the
character of Jesus.
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So, let's look
at Monday's lesson.
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It starts out in Nehemiah
5, and let me set the stage.
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Times were difficult on
the outside of the city,
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they had constant
oppression from their enemies,
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the opposition was bad,
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then there were
devastating economic conditions
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because they had crop failures
that was adding to the problem.
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But united under the
leadership of Nehemiah,
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the Jewish
community was withstanding
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these outside assaults.
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And they were working
to rebuild the city wall.
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This meant
though that the workers
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who were working on the wall
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couldn't be out in
the fields to work,
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to get food to
support their family.
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So what many of them
lacked the necessities of life
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and then with the
crop failures on top of it,
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and Persian taxation,
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this was making
the poor families
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seek help from the richer Jews.
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And the leaders were exploiting
these people for selfish gain.
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So it was all against
God's principle of community
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and brotherhood.
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So here comes Nehemiah.
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And I have to say something.
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What was going
on in the community
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was worse on morale
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than that outside
opposition, you know.
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So Nehemiah knows that the
community is broken inside,
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the families are
crying out for a relief.
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And let's look at Nehemiah 5:1.
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"There was a great
outcry of the people
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and their wives
against their Jewish brethren."
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Now these were either Jews
who'd become wealthy in exile
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or maybe they were
descendants of the Jews
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who had come in
during the first wave
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under Zerubbabel
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and they maybe had
an established business.
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Verse 2, says, "For
there were those who said,
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'We, our sons, and
our daughters are many,
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therefore let us get grain,
that we may eat and live.'"
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So this first group
is the landless poor.
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The husband's normally
worked out in the fields
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as day laborers.
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And right now they quit
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because they were
working on the wall.
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Verse 3, says, "There
were also some who said,
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'We have mortgaged our
lands and vineyards and houses,
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that we might buy grain
because of the famine.'"
00:10:12.64\00:10:16.38
So they were mortgaging
their property to survive.
00:10:16.41\00:10:19.75
And normally that debt would
be paid off at harvest time.
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But because there was a famine,
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and because the men
were working on the wall,
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they were facing foreclosure.
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Then verse 4,
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"There were also those who said,
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'We have borrowed
money for the king's tax
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on our lands and vineyards.'
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Yet now our flesh is as
the flesh of our brethren,
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our children as their children,
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indeed we are forcing our sons
and our daughters to be slaves,
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and some of our daughters
have been brought into slavery.
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It is not in our
power to redeem them,
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for other men have our
lands and our vineyards."
00:10:51.65\00:10:55.32
So this third group was
mortgaging their property,
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their fields, their vineyards
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and their homes to
pay the mandatory taxes.
00:11:02.66\00:11:06.09
And the
historian Herodotus said,
00:11:06.13\00:11:10.37
"It was 350 pieces
of silver annually."
00:11:10.43\00:11:13.70
So these people
couldn't pay these taxes
00:11:13.74\00:11:17.27
and what they would do,
00:11:17.31\00:11:19.14
it was customary that
they would sell their children
00:11:19.17\00:11:22.78
into the service of the creditor
00:11:22.81\00:11:27.28
in order to work off the debt.
00:11:27.32\00:11:29.12
And then once again,
00:11:29.15\00:11:31.32
they could at any time
usually at harvest time
00:11:31.35\00:11:34.06
redeem their children.
00:11:34.12\00:11:36.12
But they couldn't right now.
00:11:36.16\00:11:38.36
They couldn't buy their
children back from slavery.
00:11:38.39\00:11:41.63
So the gap between the rich
00:11:41.66\00:11:45.63
and the poor is growing wider.
00:11:45.67\00:11:49.14
And as that is
stretching the social fabric,
00:11:49.17\00:11:53.17
it is fraying and our Sabbath
School Quarterly says this,
00:11:53.21\00:11:58.01
"There are times in life
00:11:58.05\00:11:59.61
when we find
ourselves in trouble
00:11:59.65\00:12:01.32
because of the
consequences of our own actions.
00:12:01.35\00:12:04.55
Of course, there are also times
00:12:04.59\00:12:07.06
we end up sick or
in financial straits
00:12:07.09\00:12:10.03
due to no fault of our own."
00:12:10.06\00:12:12.43
The story of Nehemiah 5,
00:12:12.46\00:12:15.06
recounts a time
when government policies
00:12:15.10\00:12:18.07
disadvantaged the people,
leading to intensified poverty.
00:12:18.10\00:12:24.51
They were caught in the
spiral of deepening poverty
00:12:24.54\00:12:29.94
with no way out.
00:12:30.01\00:12:32.21
So we see that Nehemiah,
who was a wonderful leader,
00:12:32.25\00:12:37.62
a humble man,
00:12:37.65\00:12:39.15
we're going to see how
he reacts to this outcry.
00:12:39.19\00:12:45.26
It was truly a moral travesty,
00:12:45.29\00:12:49.46
because people
were not following
00:12:49.50\00:12:52.47
God's righteous principles,
00:12:52.50\00:12:55.30
the spirit of the law.
00:12:55.34\00:12:57.37
Jill, I think you have Monday's?
00:12:57.44\00:13:00.28
Thank you so much, Shelley.
00:13:00.31\00:13:01.64
What an incredible job,
00:13:01.68\00:13:03.01
good foundation for the issues
00:13:03.04\00:13:05.05
that they were dealing
with their inside the family,
00:13:05.08\00:13:07.65
you could say,
not external pressure,
00:13:07.68\00:13:09.78
but this is looking at internal.
00:13:09.82\00:13:11.29
And the three issues
00:13:11.32\00:13:12.65
specifically that
they were encountering.
00:13:12.69\00:13:14.29
In Nehemiah Chapter 5,
00:13:14.32\00:13:15.76
I do have Monday's lesson
against the spirit of the law.
00:13:15.79\00:13:19.76
And I have three verses
here that we'll be looking at,
00:13:19.79\00:13:22.86
Nehemiah 5:6-8.
00:13:22.90\00:13:25.37
And that covers the beginning
00:13:25.40\00:13:27.34
as it were of
Nehemiah's response
00:13:27.40\00:13:30.01
and then the rest of the panel
00:13:30.07\00:13:31.41
will take the
rest of Nehemiah 5.
00:13:31.44\00:13:33.74
You know, the
story is told of a man
00:13:33.78\00:13:35.61
who heard his daughter
00:13:35.64\00:13:37.21
and her friends
arguing loudly in the backyard.
00:13:37.25\00:13:41.12
So he let it go on for a
while, and then he thought,
00:13:41.15\00:13:44.05
I better go, Pastor Kenny,
and do something about this.
00:13:44.09\00:13:47.12
So he went to the backyard
to intervene and she said,
00:13:47.16\00:13:49.89
"But, Daddy, we were
just playing church."
00:13:49.92\00:13:53.13
You know, the
church is sometimes marked
00:13:53.16\00:13:57.30
more by
disagreement than by fellowship.
00:13:57.33\00:14:02.20
When Satan found he
could not destroy the church
00:14:02.24\00:14:04.54
by persecution,
he tried to join it.
00:14:04.57\00:14:08.11
And you see some of
that taking place here.
00:14:08.14\00:14:10.65
Shelley, already laid
such a wonderful foundation
00:14:10.68\00:14:12.85
in Nehemiah Chapter 5.
00:14:12.88\00:14:14.85
Nehemiah 4, they encountered
external problems, right?
00:14:14.88\00:14:18.59
The enemies came
against them as a people,
00:14:18.62\00:14:21.62
as a church as they were
seeking to build the wall.
00:14:21.66\00:14:24.39
Nehemiah 6, again
is external problems,
00:14:24.43\00:14:26.93
although there was a
bit of internal problem
00:14:27.00\00:14:28.76
in Nehemiah 6,
as we saw last week.
00:14:28.80\00:14:31.10
But Nehemiah 5
specifically deals
00:14:31.13\00:14:33.60
with the internal
problems that they had,
00:14:33.64\00:14:36.91
you could say as a church.
00:14:36.97\00:14:38.87
The community was
broken from the inside.
00:14:38.91\00:14:43.61
There was the
famine, there was the tax,
00:14:43.65\00:14:45.65
there was the slavery.
00:14:45.68\00:14:47.02
Those are all external,
00:14:47.08\00:14:48.42
but the internal issue
is greed and exploitation,
00:14:48.45\00:14:53.42
and not following
the spirit of the law.
00:14:53.46\00:14:57.73
Charging interest and
selling fellow Jews as slaves,
00:14:57.76\00:15:01.26
not having enough food
to feed their families,
00:15:01.30\00:15:03.37
mortgaging
properties, all of that,
00:15:03.40\00:15:05.50
borrowing money
for the Persian tax
00:15:05.53\00:15:07.44
and not being able to pay it
00:15:07.47\00:15:09.64
and then having your
children become slaves.
00:15:09.67\00:15:11.47
So let's read our
three verses here.
00:15:11.51\00:15:14.08
And then I wanna unpack that
00:15:14.11\00:15:15.54
and look specifically at
resolving conflicts biblically.
00:15:15.58\00:15:20.25
So we're gonna read,
we're in Nehemiah 5:6-8.
00:15:20.32\00:15:25.19
Nehemiah, "And I
became very angry
00:15:25.22\00:15:29.36
when I heard their
outcry and these words.
00:15:29.39\00:15:31.86
After serious thought,
00:15:31.89\00:15:33.60
I rebuked the nobles and rulers,
00:15:33.63\00:15:36.73
and said to them, 'Each
of you is exacting usury
00:15:36.77\00:15:39.87
from his brother.'
00:15:39.90\00:15:41.24
" Usury being interest.
00:15:41.27\00:15:42.84
We're going to look
at that in just a moment.
00:15:42.87\00:15:44.67
"So I called a great
assembly against them.
00:15:44.71\00:15:47.04
And I said to them,
'According to our ability
00:15:47.08\00:15:48.98
we have redeemed
our Jewish brethren
00:15:49.01\00:15:50.95
who were sold to the nations.
00:15:50.98\00:15:52.95
Now indeed, will you
even sell your brethren?
00:15:52.98\00:15:57.15
Or should they be sold to us?'"
00:15:57.19\00:15:59.02
So let's look first
of all at the interest.
00:15:59.05\00:16:01.59
I want to look
at biblical counsel
00:16:01.62\00:16:04.43
what was in the Word of God,
00:16:04.46\00:16:06.09
what they had
already in the Word of God.
00:16:06.13\00:16:08.60
Regarding interest, Exodus 22.
00:16:08.63\00:16:11.67
We'll look at a
couple different verses.
00:16:11.70\00:16:13.54
Exodus 22:25.
00:16:13.57\00:16:16.17
"If you lend money
to any of My people
00:16:16.20\00:16:18.54
who are poor among you,
00:16:18.57\00:16:20.08
you shall not be like
a moneylender to them,
00:16:20.11\00:16:22.68
you shall not
charge him interest."
00:16:22.71\00:16:26.45
Also, Leviticus 25:36-37.
00:16:26.48\00:16:29.98
"Take no usury or
interest from him,
00:16:30.02\00:16:33.36
but fear your God,
00:16:33.39\00:16:34.72
that your brother
may live with you.
00:16:34.76\00:16:36.49
You shall not lend
him your money for usury,
00:16:36.52\00:16:38.59
nor lend him your
food at a profit."
00:16:38.63\00:16:41.26
Now in case
there's any question here
00:16:41.30\00:16:43.43
that they're not
supposed to charge interest.
00:16:43.47\00:16:46.37
We look at Deuteronomy 23:19-20.
00:16:46.40\00:16:49.54
"You shall not charge
interest to your brother,
00:16:49.57\00:16:52.24
interest on money
or food or anything
00:16:52.27\00:16:54.58
that is lent out at interest.
00:16:54.61\00:16:56.85
To a foreigner you
may charge interest."
00:16:56.91\00:16:59.38
That means to
someone not of the church,
00:16:59.41\00:17:01.98
someone not of
the Jewish community.
00:17:02.02\00:17:03.72
"To a foreigner
you can charge interest
00:17:03.75\00:17:05.75
but to your brother you
shall not charge interest,
00:17:05.79\00:17:09.36
that the Lord
your God may bless you
00:17:09.39\00:17:11.06
in all to which you
set your hand in the land
00:17:11.09\00:17:13.63
which you are
entering to possess."
00:17:13.66\00:17:16.43
Now let's look at one
scripture regarding slavery
00:17:16.46\00:17:18.77
and then we'll unpack this.
00:17:18.80\00:17:20.64
Exodus 21:12.
00:17:20.67\00:17:23.91
If you buy a Hebrew servant,
he shall serve six years,
00:17:23.94\00:17:28.14
and in the seventh,
he should go out free
00:17:28.18\00:17:30.45
and pay nothing.
00:17:30.48\00:17:32.65
If he comes in by himself,
he should go out by himself.
00:17:32.68\00:17:35.65
If he comes in married,
00:17:35.68\00:17:37.02
then his wife
shall go out with him.
00:17:37.09\00:17:39.92
There was this principle put in,
00:17:39.95\00:17:43.09
God had put in as
counsel as regulations
00:17:43.12\00:17:46.46
for the children of Israel,
00:17:46.49\00:17:48.10
that they were not
to have this disparity
00:17:48.13\00:17:50.03
as you talked about, Shelley,
00:17:50.07\00:17:51.40
between the rich and the poor,
00:17:51.43\00:17:52.77
because they're not charging
interest of their brother.
00:17:52.80\00:17:54.70
And if there was a
slave on the seventh year,
00:17:54.74\00:17:57.17
they were
supposed to set them free.
00:17:57.21\00:17:59.77
And that provides that
equalization as it were.
00:17:59.81\00:18:03.51
The Jews were charging as
we looked down in verse 11.
00:18:03.58\00:18:06.85
In the lesson
indicated 1% interest per month
00:18:06.88\00:18:09.98
or 12% annually.
00:18:10.02\00:18:12.69
Now that was way less
than the Mesopotamians charged,
00:18:12.72\00:18:16.36
they charged 50% for silver.
00:18:16.39\00:18:18.33
Can you imagine, 50% interest?
00:18:18.36\00:18:21.50
I can't even fathom that.
00:18:21.53\00:18:22.86
It sounds like some
credit cards now-a-day.
00:18:22.90\00:18:24.37
It does, and they
charge 100% for grain annually.
00:18:24.40\00:18:27.54
So the Jews could have
been patting themselves
00:18:27.57\00:18:29.17
on the back, right?
00:18:29.20\00:18:30.54
We're only doing 12% annually.
00:18:30.61\00:18:32.17
But it was still against
00:18:32.21\00:18:34.08
what they were
supposed to be doing.
00:18:34.11\00:18:36.21
They weren't supposed to charge
their brother any interest,
00:18:36.24\00:18:38.95
it's against the
spirit of the law.
00:18:38.98\00:18:40.85
So let's look at
resolving conflicts, biblically.
00:18:40.92\00:18:44.92
Bring complaints to leadership.
00:18:44.95\00:18:47.56
This is for the members
00:18:47.59\00:18:48.92
and then the rest
we're gonna look at it
00:18:48.96\00:18:50.33
from a leader's perspective,
but this is for members.
00:18:50.36\00:18:52.43
Bring complaints to
leadership and obviously,
00:18:52.46\00:18:55.60
somehow it got to Nehemiah.
00:18:55.63\00:18:57.47
I don't know if
someone actually physically
00:18:57.53\00:18:59.07
went to Nehemiah and said,
00:18:59.10\00:19:00.50
"This is what's going on
amongst the people right now."
00:19:00.57\00:19:02.90
Or whether he just heard
about it through hearsay,
00:19:02.94\00:19:05.27
but somehow it got to Nehemiah.
00:19:05.31\00:19:07.51
You know, often we
bring complaint, Shelley,
00:19:07.54\00:19:09.28
to everyone except leadership.
00:19:09.31\00:19:11.05
We just say, I wanna see
00:19:11.08\00:19:12.41
if other people
feel the same way
00:19:12.45\00:19:13.85
I do about this situation.
00:19:13.88\00:19:15.22
I just really need to
air my feelings right now.
00:19:15.25\00:19:17.75
And you're a good
sounding board for me.
00:19:17.79\00:19:20.42
The leaders' too busy
00:19:20.49\00:19:21.82
and I don't think they're
gonna listen to me anyway.
00:19:21.86\00:19:23.69
But no, the biblical model
00:19:23.76\00:19:26.16
is to bring those
complaints to leadership.
00:19:26.19\00:19:28.60
Let's look at what
Nehemiah as a leader did.
00:19:28.63\00:19:31.43
The rest of this
council for resolving conflicts
00:19:31.47\00:19:34.07
is dealing with the leader.
00:19:34.14\00:19:36.10
First, take time
to hear the complaint.
00:19:36.14\00:19:40.68
Nehemiah could have
said, "You know what?
00:19:40.71\00:19:42.48
I'm busy building the wall.
00:19:42.51\00:19:44.05
We're hardly even
taking time to sleep."
00:19:44.08\00:19:45.85
We're working so hard,
Miss Mollie, I don't know.
00:19:45.88\00:19:48.88
I don't have time.
00:19:48.92\00:19:50.29
But no, take time
to hear the complaint
00:19:50.32\00:19:52.35
to realize the seriousness
00:19:52.39\00:19:54.39
of what people bring before you.
00:19:54.42\00:19:56.66
Second is take action.
00:19:56.73\00:19:59.66
Not just sit back
and hear the complaint,
00:19:59.69\00:20:01.56
but take action.
00:20:01.60\00:20:03.53
Underneath that,
00:20:03.57\00:20:04.90
I see that he had some righteous
00:20:04.93\00:20:06.90
anger going on here.
00:20:06.94\00:20:08.84
It said, we already read
it, that he became very angry.
00:20:08.87\00:20:13.84
The original word means to
burn or be kindled with anger.
00:20:13.88\00:20:19.05
Righteous anger is
never about self, Pastor John.
00:20:19.08\00:20:22.22
It's never
about my own feelings.
00:20:22.25\00:20:25.22
They were hurt,
and so I'm angry.
00:20:25.25\00:20:26.59
That's not a righteous anger.
00:20:26.62\00:20:28.06
That's all about self and pride.
00:20:28.09\00:20:30.49
Righteous anger is
about injustice for others.
00:20:30.53\00:20:33.96
It's about
standing up for wrongs
00:20:34.00\00:20:36.03
that need to be
righted in the sense of Jesus
00:20:36.06\00:20:38.87
going into the money
changers and throwing them out,
00:20:38.90\00:20:41.67
because there was a wrong
that needed to be righted.
00:20:41.70\00:20:44.71
In addition,
00:20:44.74\00:20:46.17
he coupled that
with self control.
00:20:46.21\00:20:48.54
Did you notice
that he said here,
00:20:48.58\00:20:50.78
in verse 7, it says,
"After serious thought,"
00:20:50.81\00:20:53.95
and then it goes on what he did.
00:20:53.98\00:20:55.32
So he initially got angry
00:20:55.35\00:20:57.02
about what's going on in
the oppression of the poor,
00:20:57.05\00:20:59.15
but he didn't
react out of anger,
00:20:59.19\00:21:02.16
he exercised self control
00:21:02.19\00:21:03.73
and he took time
before responding.
00:21:03.76\00:21:07.83
Proverbs 16:32,
00:21:07.86\00:21:10.43
"He who is slow to anger
is better than the mighty,
00:21:10.47\00:21:14.14
And he who rules his spirit
than he who captures a city."
00:21:14.20\00:21:18.64
The next thing I see he
did as he's taking action
00:21:18.67\00:21:21.64
is he did a
private confrontation
00:21:21.68\00:21:23.91
and then a public confrontation.
00:21:23.95\00:21:26.05
The private
confrontation started first.
00:21:26.08\00:21:28.32
And that would be
00:21:28.35\00:21:29.68
what we call the
Matthew 18 principle.
00:21:29.72\00:21:32.12
You go to the person first
before you do anything public.
00:21:32.15\00:21:36.06
And we see that he did that.
00:21:36.09\00:21:37.43
It says, "After serious thought,
00:21:37.49\00:21:39.06
I rebuke the nobles and rulers."
00:21:39.09\00:21:41.03
So he talked to
the leadership first,
00:21:41.06\00:21:44.10
before he called
a general assembly
00:21:44.13\00:21:46.03
and dealt with the whole issue.
00:21:46.07\00:21:47.60
He first went to
the nobles and leaders.
00:21:47.64\00:21:51.21
Sometimes we have that anger
00:21:51.24\00:21:53.51
and it might not
always be righteous,
00:21:53.54\00:21:54.91
I'm just being honest with you.
00:21:54.94\00:21:56.28
In my case, it might not be.
00:21:56.31\00:21:57.65
So we have that anger
00:21:57.68\00:21:59.08
and then you might
take some time to cool off,
00:21:59.11\00:22:00.98
and then what happens?
00:22:01.02\00:22:02.35
You say, I guess
it wasn't a big deal,
00:22:02.38\00:22:03.72
and I just want to address it.
00:22:03.79\00:22:05.12
No.
00:22:05.15\00:22:06.49
Sometimes if you wait,
00:22:06.52\00:22:07.86
and maybe you're not as
hard on with the collar,
00:22:07.89\00:22:09.26
and you think it's not an issue,
00:22:09.29\00:22:10.63
but it still
needs to be addressed.
00:22:10.66\00:22:13.16
So he did the private
confrontation with the leaders.
00:22:13.19\00:22:16.20
Then he did the
public confrontation,
00:22:16.23\00:22:18.50
because in verse 7, it says,
00:22:18.53\00:22:20.04
"He called a great assembly,
00:22:20.10\00:22:22.60
all the people came
together to address the issue."
00:22:22.64\00:22:25.67
Finally, the last
point, he addressed the issues.
00:22:25.71\00:22:30.01
He didn't sweep
them under the carpet.
00:22:30.05\00:22:31.75
He didn't say, well,
00:22:31.78\00:22:33.11
we're just not
gonna deal with it.
00:22:33.15\00:22:34.58
And he said in verse 7,
00:22:34.62\00:22:36.08
"Each of you is exacting
usury from his brother."
00:22:36.12\00:22:38.99
So he told them clearly,
00:22:39.02\00:22:40.52
you are charging interest
00:22:40.56\00:22:41.89
and you're not
supposed to be doing that.
00:22:41.92\00:22:43.26
And then in verse 8,
00:22:43.29\00:22:44.63
he addressed the
other issue of them
00:22:44.66\00:22:45.99
selling their
brothers and sisters as slaves.
00:22:46.03\00:22:49.76
He said, "We
redeem the Jewish brethren
00:22:49.80\00:22:52.47
from the other nations,
00:22:52.50\00:22:53.97
and yet you're selling
your own brothers and sisters
00:22:54.00\00:22:56.84
to each other as slaves."
00:22:56.87\00:22:59.41
Now, the rest of what he did,
00:22:59.44\00:23:00.88
I can't address because
that comes in the next day.
00:23:00.91\00:23:03.24
But I love that
Nehemiah was a man of God
00:23:03.28\00:23:07.85
that he thought and he prayed
00:23:07.88\00:23:10.72
and then he took action.
00:23:10.79\00:23:12.39
Amen. Very good.
00:23:12.42\00:23:14.39
Well, we are going
to take a short break,
00:23:14.42\00:23:17.26
and we will
return in just a moment.
00:23:17.33\00:23:19.06
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You know, I
always love to hear Jill.
00:23:55.63\00:23:57.77
I really appreciated
that conflict resolution
00:23:57.80\00:24:01.27
and what you,
how your mind works
00:24:01.30\00:24:04.11
as you're reading this scripture
00:24:04.14\00:24:05.71
to pull out these
principles for us.
00:24:05.74\00:24:07.61
Now we are going
to Kenny Shelton...
00:24:07.64\00:24:09.98
Pastor Kenny Shelton
who will do Nehemiah acts?
00:24:10.05\00:24:14.15
You know, to me
that's quite a challenge.
00:24:14.22\00:24:16.42
You know, when you get to that,
00:24:16.45\00:24:17.79
there comes a time
when we have to act.
00:24:17.82\00:24:21.16
It comes a time when situations
00:24:21.19\00:24:22.62
whether it be in the
church or in the home,
00:24:22.66\00:24:24.76
individual life.
00:24:24.79\00:24:26.56
You talk about things,
you try to work them out,
00:24:26.59\00:24:28.76
you compromise.
00:24:28.80\00:24:30.87
You know, you do whatever
you think to work something out
00:24:30.93\00:24:33.44
and then there comes
time that we act as so,
00:24:33.50\00:24:36.91
here Nehemiah had
come to that point,
00:24:36.97\00:24:39.21
and the good
foundation that both of you laid
00:24:39.24\00:24:42.24
is also the
foundation most of mine.
00:24:42.28\00:24:46.11
So, that it's good to repeat,
00:24:46.15\00:24:48.75
it's good to go over
00:24:48.78\00:24:50.15
but also it
brings into the point
00:24:50.19\00:24:51.79
that Nehemiah had to
do something about it.
00:24:51.82\00:24:54.12
He felt convicted
of God to do something.
00:24:54.16\00:24:56.49
I think, this is all
personal we can look at.
00:24:56.52\00:24:58.76
It comes the time
like one of the message
00:24:58.79\00:25:00.73
you can't just put it aside,
00:25:00.76\00:25:02.90
you can't dismiss it,
00:25:02.93\00:25:04.40
while you're a
little aggravated,
00:25:04.43\00:25:05.77
you could have said
something or you've cool down.
00:25:05.80\00:25:07.54
Now you're not
gonna say anything.
00:25:07.57\00:25:09.27
But it's an issue that
needs to be dealt with.
00:25:09.30\00:25:12.11
And some of it, I think,
00:25:12.14\00:25:13.48
you brought out first of
all was the letter of the law.
00:25:13.51\00:25:15.64
I like to just
read a passage scripture
00:25:15.68\00:25:17.08
because I think I'm
gonna incorporate that.
00:25:17.15\00:25:19.05
If I have time, I'll
tell a little story on myself.
00:25:19.08\00:25:21.68
And I'll let the panel decide
00:25:21.72\00:25:23.69
whether I was
the letter of the law
00:25:23.72\00:25:26.02
or whether I was of
the spirit of the law.
00:25:26.05\00:25:29.16
We'll make a
decision on that. Okay.
00:25:29.19\00:25:30.66
I'm gonna read this right here.
00:25:30.73\00:25:32.06
Everybody have to judge,
00:25:32.09\00:25:34.10
I'm gonna let you
be the judge, okay?
00:25:34.10\00:25:35.70
So you can say, he's
guilty or he's innocent.
00:25:35.73\00:25:37.67
It's been a long time ago.
00:25:37.70\00:25:39.33
You repented.
00:25:39.37\00:25:41.74
Well, if it's wrong, the text,
00:25:41.77\00:25:44.07
I wanna consider
just 2 Corinthians 3:6.
00:25:44.11\00:25:47.68
2 Corinthians 3:6.
00:25:47.71\00:25:50.81
Now again, we're talking about
00:25:50.85\00:25:52.18
the violation of the spirit
of the law here, right here.
00:25:52.21\00:25:55.35
I'm gonna read
that, 2 Corinthians 3:6,
00:25:55.38\00:25:57.69
so have your
Bibles turn along with,
00:25:57.72\00:25:59.39
it says, "Who also hath made us
00:25:59.42\00:26:01.22
able ministers of
the new testament,
00:26:01.26\00:26:04.59
not of the letter,
00:26:04.63\00:26:07.03
but of the spirit:
for the letter killeth,
00:26:07.03\00:26:11.47
but the spirit giveth life."
00:26:11.50\00:26:13.13
So it's a little bit deeper
than okay, we're just not...
00:26:13.17\00:26:15.50
that talks about
here the letter does what?
00:26:15.54\00:26:18.11
It'll kill you.
00:26:18.14\00:26:19.64
The letter here
simply any kind of grammar,
00:26:19.67\00:26:21.38
anything that's may be
written in a letter form,
00:26:21.41\00:26:24.85
but if it's not
taken the right way
00:26:24.88\00:26:26.82
from the right
motives of the heart,
00:26:26.85\00:26:28.22
it can kill you.
00:26:28.25\00:26:29.68
you know, a lot of people
you don't die immediately,
00:26:29.72\00:26:31.29
but you die a little bit daily
from the things that are said,
00:26:31.32\00:26:34.26
some of the
things that are done here
00:26:34.29\00:26:36.36
or misapplied.
00:26:36.39\00:26:37.73
Romans 5:10 said,
00:26:37.76\00:26:39.09
"We shall be saved by his life."
00:26:39.13\00:26:42.33
The Spirit gives what?
00:26:42.36\00:26:44.13
Spirit gives life
00:26:44.17\00:26:45.50
and we shall be saved by Jesus
00:26:45.53\00:26:47.60
talking about his
life, Romans 5:10.
00:26:47.64\00:26:50.27
Here, Paul, in this passage
00:26:50.31\00:26:51.91
that we're looking
at 2 Corinthians 3:6,
00:26:51.94\00:26:54.31
I like the way he does it.
00:26:54.34\00:26:55.74
He does it in
Chapters 6-18, or verses 6-18.
00:26:55.78\00:27:01.08
He predicts a contrast
00:27:01.12\00:27:04.55
between the
letter and the spirit
00:27:04.59\00:27:06.32
and there is a big contrast
00:27:06.35\00:27:07.99
between the
letter and of the spirit.
00:27:08.02\00:27:09.76
Romans 2:27-28.
00:27:09.79\00:27:12.23
I'm just saying that
so you can jot them down
00:27:12.26\00:27:14.00
and move right on, Romans 7:6,
00:27:14.03\00:27:16.60
jot them all down.
00:27:16.67\00:27:18.00
Because one
refers to the outward,
00:27:18.03\00:27:20.74
you know, and then
one's mentioned to the inward.
00:27:20.77\00:27:23.51
So we're dealing with
two different things here.
00:27:23.54\00:27:25.07
So Paul wants to get
real clear to the people
00:27:25.11\00:27:27.88
because there's always a misuse
00:27:27.91\00:27:30.55
it seems like
when you think about
00:27:30.58\00:27:32.35
when you mentioned
letter, some people get tight.
00:27:32.38\00:27:35.15
When you mentioned
law, some people get tight,
00:27:35.18\00:27:38.02
you know, it's
the way that it is
00:27:38.05\00:27:39.92
because maybe background
00:27:39.95\00:27:41.59
or maybe it's just
something they think
00:27:41.62\00:27:43.19
they have learned
or that they know.
00:27:43.22\00:27:45.06
But I'm also to agree
the spirit gives life,
00:27:45.09\00:27:47.93
I like that.
00:27:47.96\00:27:49.80
God intended in Judaism,
00:27:49.83\00:27:52.30
to have someone mentioned here,
00:27:52.33\00:27:54.00
"both" that means
both the letter of the law
00:27:54.04\00:27:57.71
and also be the
spirit of the law.
00:27:57.74\00:28:01.84
The formal creature,
00:28:01.88\00:28:03.38
Paul was right in the
midst of a big discussion.
00:28:03.41\00:28:07.55
And he could
spend hours doing it.
00:28:07.58\00:28:09.15
Big discussion of
about that the formal things
00:28:09.18\00:28:12.75
that took place about
the rules and regulations
00:28:12.79\00:28:16.12
all that's not bad.
00:28:16.16\00:28:17.49
But yet, you know, people,
we don't like rules right away,
00:28:17.56\00:28:19.79
but we do without them.
00:28:19.83\00:28:21.46
You see an overbalance of
them and stepping beyond that
00:28:21.50\00:28:24.27
which God has ordained
00:28:24.30\00:28:25.63
which we're talking
about in this lesson.
00:28:25.67\00:28:27.24
We get ourselves
into trouble here.
00:28:27.27\00:28:29.54
And so Paul
mentioned as he said,
00:28:29.57\00:28:31.17
the Jewish
priesthood, as it passed away,
00:28:31.21\00:28:34.28
became what like it, it
really is a dead letter,
00:28:34.31\00:28:37.55
even though it's still good,
00:28:37.58\00:28:38.91
even though as far as you know,
00:28:38.95\00:28:40.28
there's principles and
things that we can learn from.
00:28:40.32\00:28:42.45
He said, it's really
rules and regulations.
00:28:42.48\00:28:44.62
But the contrast that
of Christian ministers
00:28:44.65\00:28:47.66
here is of the Spirit of God.
00:28:47.69\00:28:50.23
So there's to me,
there's a big difference.
00:28:50.26\00:28:52.33
Paul had been
educated quickly on the spot,
00:28:52.36\00:28:55.26
have been
educated on number one,
00:28:55.30\00:28:57.57
I think really, to
the letter of the law.
00:28:57.60\00:29:00.30
When you say he was, I mean,
00:29:00.37\00:29:01.77
he was hard-nosed
about the letter of the law,
00:29:01.80\00:29:04.71
but when the spirit of
life got a hold of him,
00:29:04.74\00:29:07.78
when the Holy
Spirit got a hold of him,
00:29:07.81\00:29:09.54
changed his life,
changed his thinking.
00:29:09.58\00:29:11.91
All of a sudden, he's
thinking, letter of law,
00:29:11.95\00:29:15.55
what about the letter of law?
00:29:15.58\00:29:16.92
It made all good,
00:29:16.95\00:29:18.29
but has nothing to
do with my salvation.
00:29:18.32\00:29:20.59
So the letter of the law,
what does a person do with it?
00:29:20.62\00:29:24.09
Here, there was overreaching,
00:29:24.16\00:29:26.53
here there was
plain in Scripture,
00:29:26.56\00:29:29.63
of what should have taken place.
00:29:29.66\00:29:31.80
I don't know
about it, Pastor John,
00:29:31.83\00:29:33.17
but a lot of
times I've seen things
00:29:33.20\00:29:34.54
it's just as
clear to me, to you.
00:29:34.57\00:29:36.94
As clear as the
bail I read in Scripture,
00:29:37.01\00:29:39.14
and yet someone else reads it
00:29:39.17\00:29:40.51
and they're going off the
deep end somewhere over here.
00:29:40.58\00:29:42.94
I said, we just do what it
said here by the grace of God,
00:29:42.98\00:29:46.58
we would not be
having these issues.
00:29:46.61\00:29:49.08
So anytime we deviate from that
00:29:49.12\00:29:51.45
we're going to
have issues always
00:29:51.49\00:29:53.96
because God's gonna
bring us back to center,
00:29:53.99\00:29:56.19
I believe.
00:29:56.22\00:29:57.56
He always does.
00:29:57.63\00:29:59.13
I had it, and I got more.
00:29:59.16\00:30:00.83
But there was one thing
I thought was interesting.
00:30:00.90\00:30:03.00
Many, many years ago, I
built a house for a guy.
00:30:03.03\00:30:06.17
Now this is where we
sit in the judgment seat.
00:30:06.20\00:30:08.10
Bless your heart
and I love you for
00:30:08.14\00:30:10.27
where I'm guilty or innocent.
00:30:10.31\00:30:11.64
It's okay.
00:30:11.67\00:30:13.01
But anyway,
00:30:13.04\00:30:14.38
and I'm looking at
the letter of the law,
00:30:14.41\00:30:15.98
I'm looking at the
spirit because in the letter
00:30:16.01\00:30:17.95
there's a contract.
00:30:17.98\00:30:20.42
There's an agreement.
00:30:20.48\00:30:22.02
So even in that
there's agreement,
00:30:22.05\00:30:23.55
and if we stick
by the agreement,
00:30:23.59\00:30:24.92
isn't it okay?
00:30:24.95\00:30:26.76
Well, this year, I had no
idea, building a house in LA
00:30:26.82\00:30:29.06
and the guy when he's buying
is all of his own materials.
00:30:29.09\00:30:32.03
And so he was responsible.
00:30:32.06\00:30:33.40
So he went the lumberyard.
00:30:33.46\00:30:34.76
He ordered all these trusses,
00:30:34.83\00:30:36.13
but he found out
they're little higher
00:30:36.16\00:30:37.50
and what he
thought so he came to me,
00:30:37.53\00:30:38.87
he says, as a contractor, now,
00:30:38.90\00:30:40.24
could you get
those cheaper for me?
00:30:40.27\00:30:42.30
I said, I don't know.
00:30:42.34\00:30:43.67
But I'll sure try
to save you the money.
00:30:43.74\00:30:46.27
And so I just went
in there saying about
00:30:46.31\00:30:48.24
I just said I'd like
to wear so many trusses...
00:30:48.28\00:30:50.88
And sure enough,
00:30:50.91\00:30:52.25
the lumberyard
gave a $300 discount.
00:30:52.28\00:30:56.12
So I went back to the man
00:30:56.15\00:30:57.52
and I said well
praise the Lord $300.
00:30:57.55\00:31:00.06
The man said he'd given to me.
00:31:00.09\00:31:01.69
So you know, he said, Oh,
that's brought us savings.
00:31:01.72\00:31:04.76
Praise God. So that's good, man.
00:31:04.79\00:31:07.13
I get the savings right.
00:31:07.20\00:31:08.50
I said, All right,
well, absolutely $300,
00:31:08.53\00:31:10.87
what he sign down here
00:31:10.93\00:31:12.27
and I'll just
pass that on to you.
00:31:12.30\00:31:14.27
So I pass that
savings on to him.
00:31:14.30\00:31:16.20
He was very happy.
00:31:16.24\00:31:17.57
That was our agreement.
00:31:17.61\00:31:18.94
That was our arrangement.
00:31:18.97\00:31:20.34
If I could save
your money, I would.
00:31:20.38\00:31:21.71
And the amount
and laid it all out.
00:31:21.74\00:31:23.91
I went the letter, right?
00:31:23.95\00:31:26.51
And then, you know,
here's what I found out.
00:31:26.55\00:31:28.88
I found out the
next month billing
00:31:28.92\00:31:32.72
that the lumberyard went ahead
and discounted me 10% more.
00:31:32.75\00:31:38.96
No, take them all
down say, well now.
00:31:38.99\00:31:42.03
Ten more...
00:31:42.06\00:31:43.40
I had to enter some dealing
here is going to set now what?
00:31:43.43\00:31:46.23
The letter of the
law, the agreement,
00:31:46.27\00:31:48.37
the contract with the
amount was all agreed upon.
00:31:48.40\00:31:51.84
I didn't know about the other,
00:31:51.87\00:31:53.41
you see, the
motives be clear, clean.
00:31:53.44\00:31:56.41
And so, you know,
00:31:56.44\00:31:57.85
I didn't
realize that next month.
00:31:57.88\00:31:59.78
But before I could say,
00:31:59.81\00:32:01.48
I don't know that I
was even going to say
00:32:01.52\00:32:04.12
because I never had
thought about that myself.
00:32:04.19\00:32:05.52
I don't pay much
attention that we're going,
00:32:05.55\00:32:06.89
going, going all the time.
00:32:06.96\00:32:08.29
But he came to me.
00:32:08.32\00:32:09.66
He drove up in the car
said get in the car with me.
00:32:09.69\00:32:11.36
I went, well, this is good.
00:32:11.39\00:32:12.73
I gotten in the car with me.
00:32:12.76\00:32:14.40
And he started telling me,
he said, you done me wrong.
00:32:14.46\00:32:18.20
You profess to be a Christian,
and you've done me wrong.
00:32:18.23\00:32:21.77
You cheated me.
00:32:21.80\00:32:24.07
I went to shock.
00:32:24.11\00:32:25.44
Wow.
00:32:25.47\00:32:26.84
How did I cheat you?
00:32:26.88\00:32:28.21
He said because I found out
00:32:28.24\00:32:29.58
you got a discount above
what you said you'd give me.
00:32:29.61\00:32:33.58
I said yes, I did.
00:32:33.62\00:32:36.32
I didn't know to begin with.
00:32:36.35\00:32:37.69
I just got what
they gave me and paper
00:32:37.72\00:32:39.32
and I showed it to you.
00:32:39.35\00:32:40.72
He said, no, you
cheated me and just so happened,
00:32:40.76\00:32:43.06
bless his heart.
00:32:43.09\00:32:44.69
He had an accident
and he just had one leg.
00:32:44.73\00:32:48.46
And so he looked at me
and he pad his leg like that.
00:32:48.50\00:32:53.90
Like are you taking advantage
of me because I'm disabled.
00:32:53.97\00:32:56.97
I felt like a heel.
00:32:57.04\00:32:58.37
I had tears in my eyes.
00:32:58.41\00:32:59.74
And it wasn't my intention
at all to do that to him.
00:32:59.77\00:33:02.58
So I looked at the...
00:33:02.61\00:33:03.95
We had an agreement.
00:33:03.98\00:33:05.31
We had this, the
letter was there.
00:33:05.35\00:33:08.45
But do I go
along with that letter?
00:33:08.48\00:33:11.95
Do I let the Holy Spirit
speak to me and say, Kenny,
00:33:11.99\00:33:16.06
this man has
made some accusations.
00:33:16.09\00:33:18.83
He's talking about Christ
who's supposed to live in you,
00:33:18.86\00:33:22.00
even though you
didn't realize it here.
00:33:22.03\00:33:24.13
I looked at that man.
00:33:24.17\00:33:25.50
And I said, Well,
I'll be more than happy
00:33:25.53\00:33:28.04
to give you what they gave me.
00:33:28.07\00:33:30.67
But we're tempted to admit,
00:33:30.71\00:33:32.04
I think it was $100 what it was.
00:33:32.07\00:33:34.68
He said, well,
you're not gonna do that.
00:33:34.71\00:33:36.04
You're not gonna do that.
Why would you give it to me?
00:33:36.08\00:33:37.81
I say because it's
the right thing to do,
00:33:37.85\00:33:39.55
because evidently we
have misunderstanding.
00:33:39.58\00:33:41.85
And I want to go beyond
what the letter of the law
00:33:41.88\00:33:44.95
and I want to do this
right spiritual thing.
00:33:44.99\00:33:47.99
And the man got really happy.
00:33:48.02\00:33:50.69
He shed tears.
00:33:50.73\00:33:52.06
I shed tears.
00:33:52.09\00:33:53.46
We learned over that.
00:33:53.50\00:33:54.83
And I wanna be, you know,
on the spiritual side of it.
00:33:54.83\00:33:57.70
Amen, brother.
00:33:57.73\00:33:59.47
Amen. That's my story.
00:33:59.50\00:34:00.94
I'm sticking to it.
00:34:00.97\00:34:02.30
That's a good story.
00:34:02.34\00:34:04.54
Thank you, Pastor Kenny.
00:34:04.57\00:34:06.11
Well, I've got Wednesday
and we're looking at the oath
00:34:06.14\00:34:10.35
and we're in Nehemiah 5:12-13.
00:34:10.38\00:34:17.29
Now, Nehemiah was dealing
00:34:17.32\00:34:20.66
with a heart
problem in his country.
00:34:20.69\00:34:24.46
When he saw what was going on,
00:34:24.49\00:34:27.20
and he heard of the
cruel oppression, he...
00:34:27.23\00:34:30.73
What does it say, he became?
00:34:30.77\00:34:32.37
Angry. He was very angry.
00:34:32.40\00:34:35.04
But as Jill pointed out,
00:34:35.07\00:34:36.97
he didn't react
off of his anger.
00:34:37.01\00:34:40.48
He and we should
never react out of our anger
00:34:40.54\00:34:44.51
but he did act.
00:34:44.55\00:34:45.95
So the problem was and
that's being lined out,
00:34:45.98\00:34:50.25
it's was oppression,
00:34:50.29\00:34:51.79
mistreatment at
the less fortunate
00:34:51.82\00:34:54.02
by the stronger and
that's an age old problem.
00:34:54.06\00:34:57.39
Do you know it's a
problem that still exist today?
00:34:57.43\00:34:59.96
Yes.
00:35:00.06\00:35:01.36
The strong mistreating the weak.
00:35:01.40\00:35:03.67
The outward
trappings were obvious,
00:35:03.70\00:35:07.17
but it revealed a
deep seated problem
00:35:07.24\00:35:10.54
in the heart of man,
00:35:10.61\00:35:12.11
a deep seated problem in
the heart of God's people.
00:35:12.14\00:35:16.64
A simple verbal admonishment
00:35:16.68\00:35:19.15
wasn't
sufficient to make a change,
00:35:19.18\00:35:22.48
nor was a simple acknowledgement
00:35:22.52\00:35:25.25
on the part of the people
00:35:25.29\00:35:27.46
that they shouldn't
do what they were doing.
00:35:27.49\00:35:29.46
And I want us to look now,
00:35:29.49\00:35:31.29
Nehemiah dealt
strongly with them.
00:35:31.33\00:35:34.63
And here's their response.
00:35:34.66\00:35:36.06
So we're in Nehemiah 5:13-13.
00:35:36.10\00:35:40.40
So they said,
00:35:40.44\00:35:43.47
after Nehemiah whined
out their shortcomings
00:35:43.51\00:35:48.11
and what they were doing
00:35:48.14\00:35:49.48
and how they were
mistreating the people.
00:35:49.51\00:35:51.38
Here is how they
responded to him.
00:35:51.41\00:35:53.68
"So they said, what?
00:35:53.72\00:35:55.42
'We will restore,
00:35:55.45\00:35:57.75
and will require
nothing from them,
00:35:57.79\00:36:01.02
we will do as you say.'"
00:36:01.06\00:36:02.52
You see, all Nehemiah was doing
00:36:02.56\00:36:04.73
was bringing them back
00:36:04.76\00:36:06.46
to what the Lord had already
shown them they should do.
00:36:06.49\00:36:09.70
He wasn't giving them a new law.
00:36:09.73\00:36:12.13
He was telling them
just do what we know to do.
00:36:12.17\00:36:18.57
"Then I called the priests,
and required an oath from them
00:36:18.61\00:36:22.61
that they would do
according to this promise."
00:36:22.64\00:36:25.51
Verse 13,
00:36:25.55\00:36:26.92
"Then I shook out the
fold of my garment and said,
00:36:26.95\00:36:29.78
'So may God shake out
each man from his house,
00:36:29.82\00:36:33.39
and from his property,
00:36:33.46\00:36:35.19
who does not
perform this promise.
00:36:35.22\00:36:38.76
Even thus may he be
shaken out and emptied.'
00:36:38.79\00:36:42.16
And all the
assembly said, 'Amen!'
00:36:42.20\00:36:45.23
and praised the Lord.
00:36:45.27\00:36:46.94
Then the people did
according to this promise.'"
00:36:47.00\00:36:50.07
Now, he takes it further.
00:36:50.11\00:36:54.51
Have you ever heard the
saying that words are cheap?
00:36:54.54\00:36:57.31
Anybody ever been
promised something
00:36:57.35\00:37:00.75
and it didn't come to pass?
00:37:00.78\00:37:02.82
Somebody gives you their word
00:37:02.85\00:37:05.25
that they're gonna do
something but they don't.
00:37:05.29\00:37:07.52
Words can be
cheap, can they not, okay.
00:37:07.59\00:37:10.26
Even though the
leaders agreed to restore
00:37:10.29\00:37:14.30
and give back
what they had taken.
00:37:14.36\00:37:16.97
Nehemiah isn't
satisfied with mere words.
00:37:17.00\00:37:21.04
And we're gonna look
at words here in a minute.
00:37:21.07\00:37:23.81
He needed solid proof.
00:37:23.84\00:37:26.68
Therefore he
makes them swearing oath
00:37:26.71\00:37:30.25
before the pray staff swearing
00:37:30.28\00:37:33.52
before the priests carry weight,
00:37:33.55\00:37:36.52
it made the
proceedings a legally binding
00:37:36.55\00:37:41.32
valid enforceable action.
00:37:41.36\00:37:45.26
They swore an
oath before the priest.
00:37:45.29\00:37:49.26
And it became a legal action.
00:37:49.30\00:37:51.57
But then he goes
one step further.
00:37:51.60\00:37:55.10
He pronounces a
curse against anyone
00:37:55.14\00:37:58.81
who doesn't carry
through with the promise,
00:37:58.84\00:38:01.54
not only would there
be legal consequences,
00:38:01.58\00:38:05.88
there would also be
retribution from God
00:38:05.91\00:38:09.15
if they didn't do
what they promised
00:38:09.18\00:38:12.42
that they would do.
00:38:12.45\00:38:13.99
And remember where,
00:38:14.02\00:38:17.83
when God in the
prayer of Nehemiah,
00:38:17.86\00:38:21.56
he put him in
remembrance of the covenant.
00:38:21.60\00:38:23.60
And he said,
00:38:23.67\00:38:25.37
"You said that if
we were disobedient,
00:38:25.40\00:38:28.24
you would scatter us."
00:38:28.27\00:38:29.60
And what they were
disobedient, what happened?
00:38:29.64\00:38:32.24
God scattered them.
00:38:32.27\00:38:33.61
But if we are
obedient, you're gonna do what?
00:38:33.68\00:38:36.54
Gather us back together.
00:38:36.58\00:38:38.08
So with this
there is retribution
00:38:38.11\00:38:44.22
to them being disobedient,
00:38:44.29\00:38:46.02
if they're
obedient, all is well,
00:38:46.05\00:38:48.42
but if they are disobedient,
something gonna happen.
00:38:48.46\00:38:52.03
So let's look at this.
00:38:52.06\00:38:53.80
Now Nehemiah in verse 13,
he gives him a visual aid.
00:38:53.83\00:39:00.17
Jill, you teach a lot.
00:39:00.20\00:39:01.54
Do you like to use visual aids?
00:39:01.57\00:39:03.07
And I know you do.
00:39:03.10\00:39:04.44
What do the visual aids do?
00:39:04.47\00:39:06.27
It imprints it more
strongly on the mind.
00:39:06.31\00:39:10.51
You're not as apt to
forget the crux of the teaching
00:39:10.58\00:39:14.68
if you've got a
visual aid to imprint it.
00:39:14.72\00:39:17.52
So here is the visual aid.
00:39:17.55\00:39:21.49
"Then I shook out
the fold of my garment,"
00:39:21.52\00:39:24.93
he shakes out the
fold of his garment
00:39:24.96\00:39:26.66
there's the visual aid.
00:39:26.73\00:39:28.06
"And said, 'So may God shake
out each man from his house."
00:39:28.10\00:39:32.77
Jill, if you get shaken out
from your house, what happens?
00:39:32.80\00:39:37.51
That's really
rough if you're outside.
00:39:37.54\00:39:38.87
Yeah, here she has.
00:39:38.91\00:39:40.24
And from his property,
00:39:40.28\00:39:41.61
"Gets shaken out
from his property,
00:39:41.64\00:39:45.15
who does not
perform this promise.
00:39:45.18\00:39:47.52
Even thus may he be
shaken out and emptied."
00:39:47.55\00:39:51.62
Wow, now that's a curse.
00:39:51.65\00:39:53.66
In other words, if you
don't fulfill this promise,
00:39:53.69\00:39:57.16
you will lose
everything yourself.
00:39:57.23\00:39:59.63
You know, what was the promise?
00:39:59.66\00:40:01.16
The promise was to restore.
00:40:01.20\00:40:03.73
The promise was to
quit charging usury.
00:40:03.77\00:40:06.57
The promise was to
return the children.
00:40:06.60\00:40:09.40
Okay.
00:40:09.44\00:40:10.77
The keeping of the promise
00:40:10.81\00:40:12.14
to restore all
that had been taken
00:40:12.17\00:40:14.04
from their fellow countrymen,
00:40:14.08\00:40:15.58
their land, their
vineyards, their olive groves,
00:40:15.61\00:40:19.21
their houses, the money,
00:40:19.25\00:40:20.88
the grain and release the slaves
00:40:20.92\00:40:23.45
they had made of their people
was so important to Nehemiah
00:40:23.49\00:40:28.69
that he used drastic measures,
00:40:28.72\00:40:31.73
a twofold persuasion,
00:40:31.76\00:40:34.30
both an oath, now
what did the oath do?
00:40:34.36\00:40:37.00
Made it legally binding,
00:40:37.03\00:40:40.47
oath of promise before God
00:40:40.50\00:40:43.20
and pronounced a curse from God,
00:40:43.24\00:40:45.57
if they didn't
fulfill the promise.
00:40:45.61\00:40:48.34
Okay.
00:40:48.38\00:40:49.71
Let's look at
what a legally binding
00:40:49.74\00:40:52.45
the authority of an oath is.
00:40:52.48\00:40:56.22
Have any you ever taken an oath?
00:40:56.25\00:40:58.15
Oh, yeah. Okay.
00:40:58.19\00:41:00.56
Now what is an oath?
00:41:00.59\00:41:01.92
An oath is a solemn promise,
00:41:01.96\00:41:05.06
often invoking a divine witness
00:41:05.09\00:41:07.66
regarding one's
future actions or behavior,
00:41:07.73\00:41:10.93
there's your oath.
00:41:10.97\00:41:12.30
Now, in court any of you
have had to swear in court?
00:41:12.33\00:41:18.01
I guess this is true,
00:41:18.04\00:41:19.37
even I think in
taking depositions
00:41:19.41\00:41:21.51
and that sort of thing,
you have to swear an oath.
00:41:21.54\00:41:23.91
What does the
bailiff say to you,
00:41:23.95\00:41:26.78
or have you say?
00:41:26.82\00:41:28.68
I promise to tell the truth,
00:41:28.72\00:41:32.22
the whole truth and
nothing but the truth.
00:41:32.25\00:41:35.62
Wow.
00:41:35.66\00:41:38.16
And what happens if
you don't tell the truth?
00:41:38.19\00:41:42.13
What is that called?
00:41:42.16\00:41:43.90
What is it called if
you don't tell the truth?
00:41:43.93\00:41:45.27
False witnesses.
00:41:45.30\00:41:46.63
False witnesses is
called, you perjured yourself.
00:41:46.67\00:41:49.70
Now, here in the
United States, in the States,
00:41:49.74\00:41:54.01
if you perjured
yourself there is a penalty,
00:41:54.04\00:41:56.81
there's a financial penalty
00:41:56.88\00:41:58.35
and you could
serve time in jail.
00:41:58.38\00:42:00.72
Now that's in the
states, in a federal court,
00:42:00.75\00:42:03.49
if you perjure yourself,
it comes with a five...
00:42:03.52\00:42:07.06
the possibility of a
five year sentence in prison.
00:42:07.09\00:42:10.43
I mean, there are consequences
to breaking that oath,
00:42:10.46\00:42:14.56
to perjuring yourself.
00:42:14.56\00:42:16.93
Now I want us to look at...
00:42:16.97\00:42:18.63
and that's talking
about a natural oath.
00:42:18.67\00:42:20.90
Let's look at the sanctity
00:42:20.94\00:42:24.17
of the oath
that is given by God.
00:42:24.21\00:42:26.51
Now this is how seriously
God takes oath that to Him.
00:42:26.54\00:42:31.35
And, Shelley, I've
got you in Numbers 30:1-2,
00:42:31.38\00:42:35.98
will you read
that for me, please?
00:42:36.02\00:42:37.65
Numbers 30:1-2.
00:42:37.69\00:42:39.39
"Then Moses spoke to
the heads of the tribes
00:42:39.42\00:42:41.59
concerning the
children of Israel, saying,
00:42:41.62\00:42:44.09
'This is the thing
which the Lord has commanded:
00:42:44.13\00:42:47.20
If a man makes
a vow to the Lord,
00:42:47.23\00:42:49.86
or swears an
oath to bind himself
00:42:49.90\00:42:51.93
by some agreement,
00:42:51.97\00:42:53.40
he shall not break his word,
00:42:53.47\00:42:56.04
he shall do
according to all that proceeds
00:42:56.07\00:42:59.87
out of his mouth.'"
00:42:59.91\00:43:01.31
He shall not break his word.
00:43:01.34\00:43:02.88
I had this
looking at Deuteronomy,
00:43:02.91\00:43:04.91
but I think I'm
gonna skip Deuteronomy
00:43:04.95\00:43:07.32
and that it says
if you break your vow,
00:43:07.35\00:43:10.99
and it would be
sin to you, but, Kenny,
00:43:11.02\00:43:13.29
I've got you in
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5.
00:43:13.36\00:43:18.23
It says, "When thou
vowest a vow unto God,
00:43:18.26\00:43:20.80
defer not to pay it,
00:43:20.83\00:43:22.43
for he hath no
pleasure in fools:
00:43:22.46\00:43:24.43
pay that which thou hast vowed.
00:43:24.47\00:43:26.80
Better is it that
thou shouldest not vow,
00:43:26.84\00:43:29.04
than that thou
shouldest vow and not pay."
00:43:29.07\00:43:31.44
Or is it six? Yeah.
00:43:31.47\00:43:33.24
No, that's it.
00:43:33.27\00:43:35.01
What does he call someone
that doesn't fulfill the vow?
00:43:35.04\00:43:37.51
He calls him a fool.
00:43:37.55\00:43:38.88
Okay, there is
power in our work.
00:43:38.91\00:43:41.42
Speech is a
powerful gift from God.
00:43:41.45\00:43:44.25
There is power of
death and life in our tongue.
00:43:44.29\00:43:48.06
He who guards...
00:43:48.09\00:43:49.42
Proverbs 13:3,
00:43:49.46\00:43:51.06
"He who guards his
mouth preserves his life."
00:43:51.09\00:43:54.36
So my encouragement
to each of us today
00:43:54.36\00:43:57.20
is watch the words
that we say be careful,
00:43:57.23\00:44:00.54
don't make a vow
00:44:00.57\00:44:01.90
unless you've got every
intention of fulfilling it.
00:44:01.94\00:44:05.07
Amen. Pastor John.
00:44:05.11\00:44:06.78
You guys, you know what
I like about coming last
00:44:06.81\00:44:08.64
is I get to glean
off of all of you.
00:44:08.68\00:44:11.38
Thank you, so
much for the example.
00:44:11.41\00:44:12.75
We're gonna go to Thursday
now, Nehemiah as example.
00:44:12.78\00:44:16.12
And I'm going to read
very quickly verses 14-19,
00:44:16.15\00:44:19.52
because the situation here arose
00:44:19.55\00:44:21.06
that really troubled Nehemiah.
00:44:21.09\00:44:23.09
They troubled him
because he began to see
00:44:23.12\00:44:24.79
in the lives of
those around him,
00:44:24.83\00:44:27.00
that they were doing things
00:44:27.03\00:44:28.40
that Nehemiah thought
were not only underhanded,
00:44:28.43\00:44:31.97
but burdensome and unjust.
00:44:32.00\00:44:35.30
And Nehemiah is example
00:44:35.34\00:44:37.27
is one that really
carries a lot of weight with it.
00:44:37.31\00:44:39.84
I think we all
should follow that.
00:44:39.87\00:44:42.01
And let's start with
verse 14 of Nehemiah Chapter 5.
00:44:42.04\00:44:45.98
"Moreover, from the time
00:44:46.01\00:44:47.42
that I was
appointed to be their governor
00:44:47.48\00:44:49.85
in the land of Judah,
00:44:49.88\00:44:51.32
from the twentieth year
until the thirty-second year
00:44:51.35\00:44:53.56
of King
Artaxerxes, twelve years,
00:44:53.62\00:44:56.89
neither I nor my brothers
ate the governor's provisions.
00:44:56.93\00:45:00.46
But the former governors
00:45:00.53\00:45:02.10
who were before me
laid burdens on the people,
00:45:02.13\00:45:06.17
and took from
them bread and wine,
00:45:06.20\00:45:08.67
besides forty shekels of silver.
00:45:08.70\00:45:10.64
Yes, even their servants
bore rule over the people,
00:45:10.71\00:45:15.51
but I did not do so,
because of the fear of God."
00:45:15.54\00:45:19.88
"Indeed, Verse 16,
00:45:19.91\00:45:21.25
I also continued
the work on this wall,
00:45:21.28\00:45:23.69
and we did not buy any land.
00:45:23.72\00:45:26.19
All my servants were
gathered there for the work.
00:45:26.22\00:45:29.06
And at my table were
one hundred and fifty Jews
00:45:29.09\00:45:32.36
and rulers, besides
those who came to us
00:45:32.39\00:45:35.00
from the nations around us.
00:45:35.03\00:45:37.53
Now that which was
prepared daily was one ox
00:45:37.57\00:45:40.00
and six choice sheep.
00:45:40.04\00:45:41.77
Also fowls were prepared for me,
00:45:41.80\00:45:44.01
and once every ten days
00:45:44.07\00:45:45.57
an abundance of
all kinds of wine.
00:45:45.61\00:45:48.88
Yet in spite of this
00:45:48.91\00:45:50.41
I did not demand the
governor's provisions,
00:45:50.45\00:45:53.08
because the bondage
was heavy on this people.
00:45:53.11\00:45:57.95
Remember me, my God, for good,
00:45:57.99\00:46:00.92
according to
all that I have done
00:46:00.99\00:46:02.99
for this people."
00:46:03.02\00:46:04.89
I love those examples.
00:46:04.93\00:46:06.26
Nehemiah saw that the burdens
00:46:06.29\00:46:08.53
that were being
the benefits to him
00:46:08.56\00:46:12.03
meant burdens to others.
00:46:12.07\00:46:14.14
And sometimes I
like the fact here,
00:46:14.17\00:46:16.14
the question was,
00:46:16.17\00:46:17.94
what reason does Nehemiah give
00:46:17.97\00:46:20.38
for not demanding
the governor's provisions
00:46:20.41\00:46:23.04
or fees from the people?
00:46:23.08\00:46:25.35
He said it was a burden.
00:46:25.38\00:46:26.72
It was costing them too much,
00:46:26.75\00:46:28.08
it was making life
difficult for them.
00:46:28.12\00:46:30.12
And I think about it,
Mollie, and one of the points
00:46:30.19\00:46:32.12
I brought out is
Nehemiah set an example
00:46:32.15\00:46:35.29
by not taking the
governor's provision.
00:46:35.32\00:46:37.66
There are times
when our conveniences
00:46:37.69\00:46:41.46
could be somebody
else's inconveniences.
00:46:41.50\00:46:44.37
And we have to be
very careful and mindful
00:46:44.40\00:46:46.00
not to allow that to happen.
00:46:46.03\00:46:47.50
Don't allow your convenience.
00:46:47.54\00:46:48.90
Some people will say,
hey, well, they gave it.
00:46:48.94\00:46:51.61
But if... and
we've been in countries
00:46:51.64\00:46:53.21
where we know that for people
00:46:53.24\00:46:55.21
to do certain things for us
or to provide certain things,
00:46:55.24\00:46:58.41
we know it'd be a
tremendous burden.
00:46:58.45\00:47:00.38
We've gone to countries
where the difference in income
00:47:00.45\00:47:02.92
is so drastic,
00:47:02.95\00:47:05.39
and in some
cases people have said,
00:47:05.42\00:47:06.99
and I've heard this before,
00:47:07.02\00:47:09.12
some people have said, "Okay,
00:47:09.16\00:47:10.49
well, what you
would pay me if I come?"
00:47:10.56\00:47:13.36
And my wife and I don't do that.
00:47:13.43\00:47:15.46
We don't sell the gospel. Amen.
00:47:15.50\00:47:17.10
We said,
00:47:17.17\00:47:18.53
we don't even say
it to put a burden,
00:47:18.57\00:47:20.04
we don't even say,
all of you want to get me.
00:47:20.07\00:47:21.67
We don't even say that.
00:47:21.70\00:47:23.04
We said, let the Lord,
00:47:23.07\00:47:24.41
if the Lord
wants to impress him,
00:47:24.44\00:47:25.77
let's not do that.
00:47:25.81\00:47:27.18
And we were recently
somewhere where we heard,
00:47:27.21\00:47:30.05
was in a foreign country.
00:47:30.08\00:47:31.41
I'm gonna be vague
about it and we heard,
00:47:31.45\00:47:33.11
even though they were in
a pretty affluent society,
00:47:33.15\00:47:35.68
by their standards,
00:47:35.72\00:47:37.22
it was not
affluent by our standards.
00:47:37.29\00:47:39.62
And we knew that when we saw
the difficulty of raising funds
00:47:39.65\00:47:42.76
for camp meeting and
not making the budget,
00:47:42.79\00:47:44.86
and they were talking
about quite a bit of budgets
00:47:44.89\00:47:46.29
and tithes and offerings,
00:47:46.33\00:47:47.66
how tight things
were and the economy.
00:47:47.66\00:47:49.70
We thought, wow.
00:47:49.73\00:47:51.07
And I looked at Angie said,
00:47:51.10\00:47:52.43
I am so glad we
didn't ask them for anything.
00:47:52.47\00:47:54.64
And what we paid to come
into the country they gave us
00:47:54.67\00:47:57.77
when we left the country,
but the Lord blessed us.
00:47:57.81\00:48:01.58
By just doing
something special for us,
00:48:01.61\00:48:04.45
I'll be vague about that.
00:48:04.48\00:48:05.91
But the point of the matter is,
00:48:05.95\00:48:07.28
when your concern
is blessing others,
00:48:07.35\00:48:10.02
rather than them
just blessing you,
00:48:10.05\00:48:12.52
the Lord will
provide all of your needs.
00:48:12.55\00:48:14.86
And so one of my
points, I wanna make is,
00:48:14.89\00:48:16.32
don't make a vow
00:48:16.36\00:48:17.69
that you don't intend to honor.
00:48:17.73\00:48:19.66
You took Ecclesiastes 4:4-6.
00:48:19.69\00:48:23.13
And the passage
Brother Kenny is gonna read is,
00:48:23.16\00:48:25.93
don't allow your mouth
to cause your flesh to sin.
00:48:25.97\00:48:29.10
In other words, there's
some people that will say,
00:48:29.14\00:48:31.14
I'll give $500 and
they raise their hands
00:48:31.17\00:48:33.58
and the energy of the moment,
00:48:33.61\00:48:35.78
but later on, they don't do it.
00:48:35.81\00:48:37.25
And our example is
Ananias and Sapphira.
00:48:37.28\00:48:39.21
Yes.
00:48:39.25\00:48:40.62
Acts 5:1-4, I'll
read it very quickly.
00:48:40.65\00:48:42.72
"But a certain
man named Ananias,
00:48:42.75\00:48:44.22
with Sapphira his
wife, sold a possession
00:48:44.29\00:48:46.76
and kept back
part of the proceeds,
00:48:46.79\00:48:49.39
his wife also being privy of it,
00:48:49.42\00:48:51.93
brought a certain part
00:48:51.96\00:48:53.29
and laid it at
the apostles' feet.
00:48:53.33\00:48:54.63
But Peter said, 'Ananias,
00:48:54.66\00:48:56.00
why has Satan filled your
heart to lie to the Holy Spirit
00:48:56.03\00:48:58.60
and to keep back
part of the price."
00:48:58.63\00:49:00.37
Now we know the
rest of the story,
00:49:00.40\00:49:02.14
of the deacons
that day buried Ananias,
00:49:02.17\00:49:04.74
and about three hours later
00:49:04.77\00:49:06.11
his wife came in
three hours later.
00:49:06.14\00:49:07.91
Why?
00:49:07.94\00:49:09.28
Because all the
money that they kept back,
00:49:09.31\00:49:10.78
she went and bought a
nice brand new wardrobe.
00:49:10.81\00:49:12.88
That's my pastor's imagination.
00:49:12.91\00:49:14.92
Took a three hours to get ready.
00:49:14.95\00:49:16.65
She came later.
00:49:16.72\00:49:18.05
And the pastor said, did
you really pay this amount?
00:49:18.09\00:49:23.66
Why have you agreed
with your husband to lie?
00:49:23.69\00:49:26.53
You see the dirt
on the deacons feet,
00:49:26.56\00:49:28.26
they got a plot for you
in the back of the church,
00:49:28.30\00:49:30.40
and she dropped dead there.
00:49:30.47\00:49:31.80
And I read why...
00:49:31.83\00:49:33.17
And I read and in
Acts of the Apostles,
00:49:33.20\00:49:36.27
Ellen White said,
00:49:36.30\00:49:37.64
the reason why God allowed that
00:49:37.67\00:49:39.04
at the inception of
the New Testament Church,
00:49:39.07\00:49:41.68
He wanted it to be very clear
00:49:41.71\00:49:44.61
that the Lord does
not ignore deception.
00:49:44.65\00:49:49.72
Amen.
00:49:49.75\00:49:51.09
He does not
ignore a double tongue.
00:49:51.12\00:49:52.85
He wanted it to be clear.
00:49:52.89\00:49:54.29
Well, you know what,
Pastor Kenny, that day,
00:49:54.32\00:49:56.39
everybody seeing that
that was the first Sabbath
00:49:56.42\00:49:58.59
where everybody
returned an honest tithe.
00:49:58.63\00:50:02.76
So, but look at the examples.
00:50:02.80\00:50:05.57
And the key was it says,
00:50:05.60\00:50:06.94
"Why have you conceived
this thing in your heart?
00:50:07.00\00:50:10.27
You have not lied
to men but to God."
00:50:10.31\00:50:12.87
So the third point, the
truth should not cost us,
00:50:12.91\00:50:16.95
the truth should cost us
more than it costs others.
00:50:17.01\00:50:19.91
Yes. Yes.
00:50:19.98\00:50:21.55
Proverbs 23:23,
00:50:21.58\00:50:23.65
"Buy the truth,
and do not sell it."
00:50:23.69\00:50:26.42
"Buy the truth
and do not sell it."
00:50:26.45\00:50:28.22
That means, I'm willing
to pay something for it,
00:50:28.26\00:50:30.89
but don't charge
anybody else for it.
00:50:30.93\00:50:33.09
That's why when
you invited to preach,
00:50:33.13\00:50:35.43
don't set a
price for your sermons
00:50:35.46\00:50:37.50
because the Lord
gave it to us freely,
00:50:37.53\00:50:39.73
we give it to others.
00:50:39.77\00:50:41.10
If somebody wants
to be moved by the Lord
00:50:41.14\00:50:42.47
to do something like
I've seen many instances
00:50:42.50\00:50:44.34
where Danny's gone
out and 3ABN gone out,
00:50:44.37\00:50:46.74
and they've done things
and sometimes people say,
00:50:46.81\00:50:48.58
Lord impress me to
give this donation to 3ABN,
00:50:48.61\00:50:51.08
but, you know,
Danny didn't asked for it.
00:50:51.11\00:50:53.28
And that's how God
does above and beyond
00:50:53.35\00:50:56.12
what we often asked for
when we set prices on things.
00:50:56.15\00:50:58.52
Somebody said, but what if
I want to give more than that.
00:50:58.55\00:51:01.32
Let that be a
movement of the Spirit of God,
00:51:01.36\00:51:03.73
not a demand of the human heart.
00:51:03.76\00:51:06.43
Peter, Acts 3:6, says,
"Silver and gold I do not have,
00:51:06.46\00:51:10.63
but what I do
have I give to you."
00:51:10.67\00:51:12.67
And so they didn't go
00:51:12.70\00:51:14.14
as apostles
touting silver and gold,
00:51:14.20\00:51:17.11
they went campaigning
for the kingdom of God.
00:51:17.17\00:51:20.54
It was not the
focus of their ministry.
00:51:20.58\00:51:22.58
The other one, do
not demand of others
00:51:22.61\00:51:24.15
what you are not
willing to bear yourself.
00:51:24.21\00:51:26.55
And that's what
Nehemiah, his focus was.
00:51:26.58\00:51:28.45
He says, I refuse,
00:51:28.48\00:51:30.09
these people are
laboring to kill these animals,
00:51:30.15\00:51:33.15
laboring to gather these fruits,
00:51:33.19\00:51:34.92
laboring to provide us food.
00:51:34.96\00:51:37.63
And look, even the people
that are working for the kings
00:51:37.66\00:51:40.36
are putting
burdens on their shoulders,
00:51:40.40\00:51:41.86
and even the servers
00:51:41.90\00:51:43.33
are charging us
more than we should.
00:51:43.40\00:51:45.30
This is a terrible thing.
00:51:45.33\00:51:46.87
I'm not even
gonna eat any of it.
00:51:46.90\00:51:48.27
I don't even
want to give the idea
00:51:48.30\00:51:49.64
that I support this.
00:51:49.67\00:51:51.24
That's what he said,
00:51:51.27\00:51:52.61
there's 150 sitting at my table,
00:51:52.64\00:51:54.01
we wouldn't
even partake of that.
00:51:54.04\00:51:55.71
And so therefore
the principles were,
00:51:55.74\00:51:57.78
do not demand of others
00:51:57.81\00:51:59.15
what we are not
willing to bear ourselves.
00:51:59.18\00:52:01.05
Luke 11:46,
00:52:01.08\00:52:02.95
"Woe to you also, lawyers!
00:52:02.98\00:52:05.29
For you load men
with burdens hard to bear,
00:52:05.32\00:52:08.26
and you yourselves
do not touch the burdens
00:52:08.29\00:52:10.63
with one of your fingers."
00:52:10.66\00:52:12.49
I know somebody that
had a lawsuit settled,
00:52:12.53\00:52:16.36
and what the lawyer
told them what it would cost
00:52:16.40\00:52:18.13
and what the lawyer charged them
00:52:18.17\00:52:19.50
was just insurmountably
different, terrible.
00:52:19.53\00:52:22.54
And I said, you know what?
00:52:22.57\00:52:23.91
What's terrible about that,
00:52:23.97\00:52:25.31
as the lawyer you can
find a legal way to justify it,
00:52:25.34\00:52:26.68
and you can't even fight them
00:52:26.71\00:52:28.04
because they'll take you
to court on their own dime.
00:52:28.08\00:52:30.31
It's a terrible thing,
but that's what happens.
00:52:30.35\00:52:32.45
Some lawyers use the law to lie.
00:52:32.48\00:52:35.35
And that's why I
heard somebody once say,
00:52:35.38\00:52:37.49
being a lawyer doesn't
mean you tell the truth.
00:52:37.55\00:52:39.32
They just find a way
to use the law to win.
00:52:39.35\00:52:42.49
And it's a terrible thing.
00:52:42.52\00:52:43.89
That's why the Lord
used the phrase lawyers,
00:52:43.93\00:52:46.16
because the
practice was prevalent
00:52:46.19\00:52:47.60
and but not all
lawyers are that way
00:52:47.66\00:52:49.03
I want to make that point.
00:52:49.06\00:52:50.93
The other one,
00:52:50.97\00:52:52.30
burden bearing should
be mutually agreeable.
00:52:52.33\00:52:55.30
In other words, we should agree.
00:52:55.34\00:52:56.77
This is a powerful text.
00:52:56.84\00:52:58.17
Look at this one, 2
Corinthians 8:12-14,
00:52:58.21\00:53:01.51
burden bearing should
be mutually agreeable.
00:53:01.54\00:53:04.48
Here it is, "For if
there is first a willing mind,
00:53:04.51\00:53:08.52
it is accepted
according to what one has,
00:53:08.55\00:53:11.02
and not according to
what he does not have."
00:53:11.05\00:53:12.79
Yes.
00:53:12.82\00:53:14.16
"For I do not mean
that others should be eased
00:53:14.19\00:53:16.83
and you burdened,
but by an equality,
00:53:16.86\00:53:20.20
that now at this
time your abundance
00:53:20.23\00:53:22.40
may supply their lack,
00:53:22.43\00:53:24.53
that their abundance
also may supply your lack,
00:53:24.57\00:53:28.04
that there may be equity."
00:53:28.07\00:53:29.57
That's a beautiful principle.
00:53:29.60\00:53:31.21
You know, I say, Mollie,
00:53:31.24\00:53:32.57
I know you're
not making right now.
00:53:32.61\00:53:33.94
But hey, in the
future, I know you,
00:53:33.98\00:53:36.01
you know if when my time
comes, I get to come to you.
00:53:36.04\00:53:38.65
And that's the
mutuality of burden bearing.
00:53:38.68\00:53:41.58
And that's what
the beautiful thing
00:53:41.62\00:53:42.95
about the New Testament church,
00:53:42.98\00:53:44.32
they had possessions
00:53:44.35\00:53:45.85
they didn't
consider it themselves,
00:53:45.89\00:53:47.79
they didn't
consider it their own,
00:53:47.82\00:53:49.26
they consider that...
00:53:49.29\00:53:50.63
Today, I have a
burden you help me,
00:53:50.69\00:53:52.89
tomorrow I'll have a burden,
00:53:52.93\00:53:54.23
I know I'll be able to help you.
00:53:54.30\00:53:55.96
So that should be
mutually acceptable.
00:53:56.00\00:53:57.57
And fact of the
matter is, God will bless us.
00:53:57.60\00:53:59.23
"Bear one another's burdens,
00:53:59.27\00:54:02.80
and so fulfill
the law of Christ."
00:54:02.84\00:54:04.97
Galatians 6:2. Amen.
00:54:05.01\00:54:07.01
Thank you, John, I mean,
00:54:07.08\00:54:08.41
that gets down to the
point of the spirit of the law
00:54:08.44\00:54:13.08
is keeping the spiritual
principles of righteousness
00:54:13.11\00:54:17.59
that God put in
place for the community
00:54:17.62\00:54:21.09
of the brotherhood.
00:54:21.12\00:54:22.46
So praise the Lord.
00:54:22.49\00:54:23.83
But we have just a
couple of minutes left.
00:54:23.86\00:54:26.16
Why don't we do a little recap,
00:54:26.19\00:54:27.76
something special
you want to mention
00:54:27.83\00:54:29.66
about your day, Jill?
00:54:29.70\00:54:31.80
I wanna mention 1 John 1:7,
00:54:31.83\00:54:33.90
"If we walk in the
light as He is in the light,
00:54:33.94\00:54:36.54
we have
fellowship with one another,
00:54:36.57\00:54:38.77
and the blood of Jesus Christ
00:54:38.81\00:54:40.28
His Son cleanses
us from all sin."
00:54:40.34\00:54:43.81
And I love that because we
must walk in the light with Him,
00:54:43.85\00:54:48.25
before we have fellowship.
00:54:48.28\00:54:50.15
And you see the
Jews of Nehemiah's day
00:54:50.19\00:54:53.92
and the Christians of today.
00:54:53.96\00:54:56.56
We can have strife
00:54:56.59\00:54:57.93
and internal
struggles and problems.
00:54:57.96\00:55:00.53
Trying to follow
the letter of the law,
00:55:00.56\00:55:02.13
but ignoring the spirit
00:55:02.16\00:55:03.50
because we leave
Jesus out of our church,
00:55:03.57\00:55:07.34
we leave Jesus out of our heart.
00:55:07.37\00:55:08.87
But if Jesus comes in all those,
00:55:08.90\00:55:12.37
all that strife
and all the struggles
00:55:12.41\00:55:14.31
will be pushed away.
00:55:14.34\00:55:16.01
Amen. That's right.
00:55:16.04\00:55:17.38
Well, I've kind of learned
on here the customs of the world
00:55:17.45\00:55:20.15
are no example
for the Christians.
00:55:20.22\00:55:22.85
God has said His principles out,
00:55:22.88\00:55:24.89
Prophets and
Kings 6:52, says this,
00:55:24.92\00:55:27.66
it says, "Every
attempt to take advantage
00:55:27.69\00:55:30.23
of the
ignorance or the weakness,
00:55:30.26\00:55:33.13
or the misfortune of
another is registered as fraud
00:55:33.16\00:55:37.77
in the ledger of heaven.
00:55:37.80\00:55:41.14
You know, the golden
rule certainly would apply
00:55:41.17\00:55:43.27
do on to others as
you have them to do you?
00:55:43.30\00:55:46.34
I've gonna read the first
part of that if you don't mind,
00:55:46.37\00:55:49.58
it's Prophets and Kings 6:52.
00:55:49.61\00:55:52.78
Okay.
00:55:52.81\00:55:54.18
And it's
concerning the golden rule
00:55:54.22\00:55:55.88
and that what we were looking at
00:55:55.92\00:55:57.49
was how people were
oppressing other people.
00:55:57.55\00:56:00.79
"Every unjust act
toward a fellow being
00:56:00.82\00:56:04.09
is a violation
of the golden rule.
00:56:04.16\00:56:07.46
Every wrong done
to the children of God
00:56:07.50\00:56:09.76
is done to Christ Himself,
and the person of the saints."
00:56:09.80\00:56:13.54
And then you
finished up that quote,
00:56:13.57\00:56:15.94
and so just
remember and realize,
00:56:15.97\00:56:20.51
when we are unkind to others,
00:56:20.58\00:56:23.14
we are being unkind
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:56:23.18\00:56:25.78
That's right.
00:56:25.81\00:56:27.15
In Philippians 2:3-4,
00:56:27.22\00:56:28.65
"Let nothing be done through
selfish ambition or conceit,
00:56:28.68\00:56:32.42
but in lowliness of
mind let each esteem others
00:56:32.45\00:56:35.39
better than himself.
00:56:35.42\00:56:37.16
Let each of you look out
not only for his own interest,
00:56:37.23\00:56:40.30
but also for the
interest of others."
00:56:40.33\00:56:42.50
There's no
greater joy than knowing
00:56:42.53\00:56:43.97
that your life is a
blessing to someone else.
00:56:44.03\00:56:46.40
That's why the Bible said
it is more blessed to give
00:56:46.43\00:56:49.64
than it is to receive.
00:56:49.67\00:56:51.01
Amen. Amen.
00:56:51.04\00:56:52.37
You know, we
always mentioned that
00:56:52.41\00:56:53.94
the law of God is a
transcript of His character
00:56:53.98\00:56:59.35
and what we have
to remember is that
00:56:59.38\00:57:02.18
our God is a
merciful God and praise God,
00:57:02.22\00:57:05.85
the mercy seat was
above the law, right?
00:57:05.89\00:57:09.02
He always mercy
over justice is His band.
00:57:09.06\00:57:13.36
So the spirit of
the law is to reflect
00:57:13.43\00:57:18.93
that love and
that mercy of Jesus.
00:57:18.97\00:57:21.77
And that's what we
all need to be doing.
00:57:21.80\00:57:25.27
As I said earlier,
00:57:25.31\00:57:26.88
you can keep the
letter of the law
00:57:26.91\00:57:30.55
and not keep the
spirit of the law.
00:57:30.58\00:57:32.98
You can be like those Pharisees
00:57:33.01\00:57:35.55
or but it is not possible
to keep the spirit of the law
00:57:35.58\00:57:41.59
and ignore the
letter of the law.
00:57:41.62\00:57:43.09
We need to learn
to walk in God's law
00:57:43.12\00:57:46.06
and see what the
spiritual principles are.
00:57:46.09\00:57:49.80
Well, thank you so
much for joining us.
00:57:49.83\00:57:52.10
We hope you'll
join us again next time.
00:57:52.13\00:57:54.84
Our prayer for you is that
00:57:54.87\00:57:56.20
the grace of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ,
00:57:56.24\00:57:59.24
the love of the Father,
00:57:59.27\00:58:00.71
and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit
00:58:00.74\00:58:02.18
will be yours today and always.
00:58:02.21\00:58:04.45