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
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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, and welcome to
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
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My name is John Dinzey.
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And I'm glad to be with you
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during this hour
along with our panel
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which you will meet in a moment.
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And I would like to
encourage you to follow along,
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get something to
write with because
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we share a lot of information.
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We have studied and prayed
and we know God will bless.
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And we're gonna
pray again in a moment,
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and we like to
include you in that prayer.
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We are studying
Ezra and Nehemiah.
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And we are coming to
the end of this lesson
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with this particular study.
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This is lesson number 13.
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This brings us to
the last Saturday,
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the last week of the year 2019.
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And we have been
blessed as we have studied
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these Books of
Ezra and Nehemiah.
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And each one of us has
also learned in the process,
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and we thank the Lord
for the great blessings
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we have received.
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And if you have been
blessed during these studies,
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we would like to invite you
to write to us and let us know.
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We are studying the
Book of Ezra and Nehemiah.
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We use a Sabbath
School quarterly,
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which you can
receive absolutely free.
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And you can get it
in a matter of minutes
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by visiting a
website called ABSG,
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that's Adult Bible Study Guide.
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ABSG.Adventist.org.
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ABSG.Adventist.org.
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And there you will
not only find this lesson,
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but also past lessons.
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You can go back
several years and go
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and look at different lessons
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that had been
studied throughout the years.
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As a matter of fact,
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there's on the
right hand corner,
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there's a place where
you can click resources
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and you'll see
resources that will give you
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a wealth of information
to continue your Bible study.
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Let me introduce our
panel at this moment,
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Pastor Kenny Shelton
is to my left, welcome.
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It's good to be here. Thank you.
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You are the Speaker/Director
for Behold the Lamb Ministries.
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Thank you so much for
what you bring to this study.
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Blessing's all mine.
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Amen. Amen.
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Well, next to you
is our Vice President
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and General Manager for
3ABN, Sister Jill Morikone.
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We always are blessed
by your study and insights.
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Thank you so
much, Pastor Johnny.
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It's a privilege to be here
and study with each one of you.
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Thank you so much.
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And we have Pastor
John Lomacang with us.
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And we are also blessed by
his ministry not only on 3ABN
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but here in the Thompsonville
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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of which we are a part.
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And thank you, Pastor
Lomacang, for being here.
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This has been an exciting
study and the blessing has been
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greater than I anticipated.
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So we're excited about
all the lessons behind us.
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And we're stoked about this one.
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Yes. Amen. Amen.
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And we are thankful to have
Sister Shelley Quinn with us.
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Also a Bible student,
loves to dig into God's Word.
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I do indeed.
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And this has been a
very productive study for me.
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I've really learned some things
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that I didn't know about
Nehemiah and Ezra before.
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Amen. Amen.
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Well, we like to go
right into the lesson.
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And before we do that,
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we'd like to go to
the Lord in prayer.
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I like to ask, Pastor Lomacang,
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if you will lead
us in prayer, please.
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Loving Father, as
we open Your Word,
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open our
hearts, send Your Spirit
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to speak to our minds.
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May there be a unity
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and may all the knowledge
we receive be communicated
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for Your glory
and Your honor alone.
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In Christ's name, amen.
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Amen. Amen. Amen.
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Well, we are
studying lesson number 13,
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Leaders in Israel,
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is what we are gonna be
studying during this hour.
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And we have been studying
the Book of Ezra and Nehemiah.
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The memory verse
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so we like to
call the memory verse
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is found in Nehemiah 8:12.
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And it says, "And all the people
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went their way to eat and drink,
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to send portions
and rejoice greatly,
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because they
understood the words
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that were declared to
them," that's Nehemiah 8:12.
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And the Book of Nehemiah,
also, Ezra and Nehemiah
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both bring out great leaders.
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Both Ezra and
Nehemiah were great leaders.
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And I would like to say
because they follow the Lord
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with all their heart, you know,
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the best that you can
become can only be possible
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as you surrender
your heart to the Lord.
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Amen.
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And I would like to
encourage you to do that.
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And we're gonna
look at some leaders
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and their
influence during this study.
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And you'll see examples of
good leaders and bad leaders.
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And so we want to
learn from the mistakes
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of the bad leaders not
to repeat those things.
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But we also want to
learn from the good leaders,
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so that we can emulate,
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so we can follow
these good examples.
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Of course, our great
leader is Jesus Christ.
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And so you're gonna see
that come out as we each present
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our portion of the lesson study
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that we have for
each particular day
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because central to the story
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of the leaders
is the Word of God.
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The Word of God is the center.
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And this is really
the treasure of wisdom.
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You know, one of the most
neglected books is the Bible.
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One of the books
that should be treasured
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above all books is the Bible.
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And I encourage
you to read it daily.
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And as a matter of fact,
it would do us great benefit
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to commit to memory as much as
possible from God's Holy Word.
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So going into Sunday's lesson,
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we come to The
Influence of Leaders.
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And throughout the Bible,
you see different individuals
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and the influence they had
either for good or for bad.
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Now I have to say that
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the people that are good
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have received good instruction
and good examples to follow.
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Also, many of the people
that are bad as a bad leaders
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have also had the opportunity
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to receive good instruction
and see good examples
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some way or
another in their lives.
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Let me give you one example.
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You said you have Adam
and Eve, they had two sons.
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You have Cain, you have Abel.
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They both learned from
Adam and Eve to follow the Lord.
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But one chose one way,
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which was the evil
way, which was Cain.
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And Abel chose the right way.
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People make choices.
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And so we want to encourage
you to follow good examples.
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Now, we're going to look at just
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a couple of leaders here
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because the lesson brings
out several for my portion,
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but we cannot go through
each and every one of them.
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So I have selected
two of the leaders,
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and one of them is Josiah.
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Josiah, you'll find
some information about him
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in 2 Kings 23:1-10.
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And in 2 Kings 23:1-10,
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I'm gonna read a
few words about Josiah.
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"Now the king sent them
to gather all the elders
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of Judah and Jerusalem.
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The king went up to
the house of the Lord
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with all the men
of Judah, and with him
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all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem,
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the priests and the
prophets and all the people,
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both small and great.
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And he read in their hearing
all the words of the Book
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of the Covenant
which had been found
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in the house of the Lord.
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Then the king stood by
a pillar," that's Josiah,
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"and made a
covenant before the Lord,
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to follow the Lord and
to keep His commandments
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and His
testimonies and His statutes,
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with all his
heart and all his soul,
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to perform the
words of this covenant
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that were written in this book.
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And all the people took
a stand for the covenant.
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And the king commanded
Hilkiah the high priest,
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the priest of the
second order, the door keepers,
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to bring out of
the temple of the Lord
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all the articles
that were made for Baal."
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Why are they taking out
of the temple of the Lord?
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Articles that
were made for Baal.
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What are they doing there?
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The people of Israel
had departed from the Lord.
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As a matter of
fact, Josiah's father,
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Amon was a wicked King.
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And I praise the Lord
that is not always true.
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They say, "Like
father, like son."
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Because Josiah did not follow
the footsteps of his father.
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His father was evil.
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Josiah decided to follow
the Lord with all of his heart.
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Now continuing here,
I was reading verse 4,
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"And the king commanded
Hilkiah the high priest,
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the priest of the
second order, the door keepers,
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to bring out of
the temple of the Lord
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all the articles that were
made for Baal, for Asherah,
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and for all the host of
heaven, and burn them outside
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Jerusalem in the
fields of Kidron,
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and carried
their ashes to Bethel.
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Then he removed
the idolatrous priests
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whom the kings of Judah
had ordained to burn incense
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on the high places
in the cities of Judah
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and in the places
all around Jerusalem,
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and those who
burn incense to Baal,
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to the sun, to the moon,
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to the constellations,
and to all the host of heaven.
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And he brought
out the wooden image
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from the house of the Lord,
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to the Brook
Kidron outside Jerusalem,
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burned it at the Brook
Kidron and ground it to ashes,
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and threw ashes on the
graves of the common people.
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Then he tore down
the rituals booths
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of the perverted persons
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that were in the
house of the Lord,
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where the women wove
hangings for the wooden image.
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And he brought out the priests
from the cities of Judah,
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defiled the high places
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where the priests
had burned incense,
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from Geba to
Beersheba, also he broke down
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the high places at the gates
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which were at the
entrance of the Gate of Joshua
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the governor of the city,
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which were to the
left of the city gate.
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Nevertheless the
priests of the high place
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did not come to the
altar of the Lord in Jerusalem,
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but they ate unleavened
bread among their brethren."
00:10:32.36\00:10:34.90
So you see here that
Josiah made wonderful reforms
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under the direction of the Lord.
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And this is a
worthy example to follow.
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He followed the
Lord with all his heart.
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And we have wonderful
lessons that we can learn.
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Before him
wicked, evil had been done
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but as a matter of fact,
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the people that chose to remain
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faithful to Lord were wondering,
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when is this
wickedness going to end.
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I'm sure they were
praying and fasting,
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Lord help us because
they saw the tide of evil
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that was wiping
out little by little,
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the righteous people,
they were being swallowed
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by the wicked influences
of Amon and those before him.
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But the Lord brings up Josiah,
a bright light for the Lord.
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And so like Josiah,
you and I are called
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to let our light so shine,
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that they may see our good works
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and glorify our Heavenly Father.
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I have a short time to
talk to you about a bad guy.
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His name was Ahab.
00:11:36.39\00:11:38.36
And I'm glad, I
have a short time
00:11:38.39\00:11:40.20
to talk about Ahab because
he was not a good example
00:11:40.23\00:11:44.23
in 1 Kings 21:1-16.
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I'm not gonna
read all those verses
00:11:47.20\00:11:48.60
because of lack of time.
00:11:48.64\00:11:50.07
But Ahab was a wicked king.
00:11:50.11\00:11:53.38
And as a matter of fact,
00:11:53.41\00:11:55.01
he did that
which we had discussed
00:11:55.04\00:11:57.41
in the previous lesson.
00:11:57.45\00:11:58.81
He married an
idolatrous women, very famous,
00:11:58.85\00:12:02.68
also mentioned in the
Book of Revelation, his wife,
00:12:02.72\00:12:06.29
her name was Jezebel.
00:12:06.32\00:12:08.19
And Jezebel really took Ahab
00:12:08.22\00:12:13.63
worse than he was before.
00:12:13.66\00:12:15.73
And, of course,
he burned incense,
00:12:15.76\00:12:17.33
he followed Baal.
00:12:17.37\00:12:18.70
And he was just a wicked king.
00:12:18.73\00:12:20.27
As a matter of fact,
the Bible declares about
00:12:20.30\00:12:24.87
Ahab the following words.
00:12:24.91\00:12:28.11
"There was none like unto Ahab
00:12:28.14\00:12:29.84
who did sell
himself to work wickedness
00:12:29.88\00:12:32.51
in the sight of the Lord
00:12:32.55\00:12:33.88
whom Jezebel his wife
stirred up and he did,
00:12:33.92\00:12:37.22
very abominably in
the following idols,
00:12:37.25\00:12:40.92
according to all the
things as did the Amorites,
00:12:40.96\00:12:43.16
whom the Lord cast out
before the children of Israel."
00:12:43.19\00:12:45.49
1 Kings 21:25-26.
00:12:45.53\00:12:49.06
And so Ahab was a bad king.
00:12:49.10\00:12:52.03
And because of Ahab
the people of Israel
00:12:52.07\00:12:54.17
went deeper into sin.
00:12:54.20\00:12:56.50
And we encourage you
00:12:56.54\00:13:00.08
even though we
live in a wicked world,
00:13:00.11\00:13:02.34
surrounded by wickedness,
00:13:02.38\00:13:04.45
we do not have to follow
the wickedness of the world.
00:13:04.48\00:13:07.62
Again, we're invited
to let our light so shine,
00:13:07.65\00:13:10.45
that they may see
our good works and follow
00:13:10.49\00:13:13.05
and glorify our
God, our Heavenly Father,
00:13:13.09\00:13:14.99
as He spoken in
Matthew Chapter 5.
00:13:15.02\00:13:16.89
And so I want to encourage
you to study God's Word,
00:13:16.93\00:13:20.83
and follow God's example.
00:13:20.86\00:13:23.30
And now we turn over
to Pastor Kenny Shelton
00:13:23.33\00:13:25.57
as he goes into Evil
in the Sight of the Lord.
00:13:25.60\00:13:28.54
Yeah. Monday's lesson.
00:13:28.57\00:13:30.54
And I tell you, Evil
in the Sight of the Lord,
00:13:30.57\00:13:32.41
I study this lesson,
00:13:32.44\00:13:33.94
I'm looking at
it and I'm saying,
00:13:33.98\00:13:35.31
you know, there's
things we can learn from this.
00:13:35.34\00:13:37.98
And I always like to say like,
00:13:38.01\00:13:39.48
I like to learn the
things that I need to,
00:13:39.51\00:13:41.78
from even the bad things
we can learn lessons that
00:13:41.82\00:13:44.22
we don't want to repeat.
00:13:44.25\00:13:45.79
So in this lesson
here, we're looking at,
00:13:45.82\00:13:47.39
and it's kind of
focusing on the leader
00:13:47.42\00:13:49.29
and the leadership.
00:13:49.32\00:13:50.66
So if you're in that position,
don't take it personal.
00:13:50.69\00:13:53.03
We're looking at what
happened here in scripture.
00:13:53.06\00:13:55.96
And yeah, and we're
gonna see that influence
00:13:56.00\00:13:58.17
does make a difference,
00:13:58.20\00:13:59.53
I think that's kind of our focus
00:13:59.57\00:14:00.90
in this lesson here,
00:14:00.94\00:14:02.27
the Evil in the
Sight of the Lord.
00:14:02.30\00:14:03.64
Everyone has an
influence we know that,
00:14:03.67\00:14:05.37
we understand that.
00:14:05.41\00:14:06.74
Whether you think you do
or not somebody's watching,
00:14:06.78\00:14:08.78
somebody's learning from you,
somebody's learning the good
00:14:08.81\00:14:11.31
or they're learning
things that are bad.
00:14:11.35\00:14:13.11
So we're looking
at the leadership
00:14:13.15\00:14:15.38
and we're
looking at the influence
00:14:15.42\00:14:16.82
that leaders
have upon the people.
00:14:16.85\00:14:18.99
So, so very
important. What is an influence?
00:14:19.02\00:14:21.46
If you look it up,
you find the meaning,
00:14:21.49\00:14:23.09
you know, meaning of it
in the dictionary influence.
00:14:23.12\00:14:25.63
It's a power of a person
or things to affect others.
00:14:25.66\00:14:31.00
There's a power
that's there, you ever been,
00:14:31.03\00:14:33.23
you met someone
maybe the first time
00:14:33.27\00:14:34.90
it seemed like
they kind of had a power
00:14:34.94\00:14:36.71
to really influence you
where you met someone else.
00:14:36.74\00:14:38.94
And he just seemed
like you wouldn't there.
00:14:38.97\00:14:42.28
So there's the
power to influence
00:14:42.31\00:14:43.75
whether it be good or bad.
00:14:43.78\00:14:45.11
And sometimes
it's based on wealth.
00:14:45.15\00:14:46.68
Sometimes it's
based on position,
00:14:46.72\00:14:49.02
you know,
whatever they might have
00:14:49.05\00:14:50.39
before their name
or after their name,
00:14:50.42\00:14:51.79
their ability and it affects
the nature of the person,
00:14:51.82\00:14:56.69
it affects the
behavior of people.
00:14:56.73\00:14:59.76
So if a person is influential,
00:14:59.79\00:15:03.47
that means a
little bit different,
00:15:03.50\00:15:04.83
influential, I
heard a lot people say,
00:15:04.87\00:15:06.20
"Well, he's influential
here in the community."
00:15:06.23\00:15:08.40
You know, he carries an
awful lot of weight as it were,
00:15:08.44\00:15:11.17
he's exerting an influence.
00:15:11.21\00:15:13.54
What you were
talking about here,
00:15:13.58\00:15:14.91
you're talking about
the kings, very influential,
00:15:14.94\00:15:17.45
and the great
power and influence.
00:15:17.48\00:15:20.28
Kinds of influences,
00:15:20.32\00:15:21.65
let's go over just
a few quick ones here.
00:15:21.68\00:15:24.02
Example,
influence of a Christian,
00:15:24.05\00:15:26.02
but what I look up and
I found Desire of Ages,
00:15:26.05\00:15:28.29
I found this
quote, I thought was,
00:15:28.32\00:15:29.66
it was good, nice and fitting,
00:15:29.69\00:15:31.39
page 306 'cause you remember,
example of a Christian,
00:15:31.43\00:15:35.76
you call yourself a
Christian or Christlike,
00:15:35.80\00:15:38.60
how is your influence?
00:15:38.63\00:15:40.34
You know, is it something
people want to be around?
00:15:40.37\00:15:42.30
Or is it your
attitude where they
00:15:42.34\00:15:43.67
don't really wanna be around.
00:15:43.71\00:15:45.04
What might it be?
00:15:45.07\00:15:46.41
I mean, it's one or the others,
00:15:46.44\00:15:47.78
either drawing someone to Christ
00:15:47.81\00:15:49.14
or it's pushing them away.
00:15:49.18\00:15:50.98
It says, "If Christians
are such in name only,
00:15:51.01\00:15:54.68
they are like the salt
that has lost its savor.
00:15:54.72\00:15:59.45
They have no
influence for good in the world.
00:15:59.49\00:16:03.63
Through their
misrepresentations of God
00:16:03.66\00:16:07.00
they are worse
than unbelievers."
00:16:07.03\00:16:09.56
So we can be
worse than unbeliever,
00:16:09.60\00:16:10.93
we talked a lot
about unbelievers,
00:16:10.97\00:16:12.30
we talked a lot
about pagan, and heathen,
00:16:12.33\00:16:14.24
and so on so forth.
00:16:14.27\00:16:15.60
But as a Christian
here, if we do not have
00:16:15.64\00:16:18.37
a good influence on others,
it's worse than an unbeliever,
00:16:18.41\00:16:21.14
someone doesn't
even believe in God.
00:16:21.18\00:16:23.85
There's other
kind of influences,
00:16:23.88\00:16:25.21
how about your social influence,
00:16:25.25\00:16:27.52
you have a social
influence, well, we all do.
00:16:27.55\00:16:30.05
How about a godly
influence, personal influence,
00:16:30.09\00:16:33.76
physical influence,
a poisonous influence,
00:16:33.79\00:16:39.33
you know, at the church,
00:16:39.36\00:16:40.76
what kind of influence
do you have in your church,
00:16:40.80\00:16:42.63
your local church
or wherever you may be?
00:16:42.66\00:16:44.53
How about a saving influence?
So it goes on and on and on.
00:16:44.57\00:16:48.10
Influence of talent,
people are influenced
00:16:48.14\00:16:50.04
by talent that
maybe some may have.
00:16:50.07\00:16:52.27
So every day our
influence is exerted
00:16:52.31\00:16:55.58
is put out there
for someone to behold
00:16:55.61\00:16:58.18
and either to be drawn to
Jesus or pushed away from Jesus.
00:16:58.21\00:17:02.88
Thousands.
00:17:02.92\00:17:04.55
Think about thousands of people,
00:17:04.59\00:17:06.89
maybe tens of thousands
will be affected by your life,
00:17:06.92\00:17:10.46
your attitude, and certainly
in a ministry like this.
00:17:10.49\00:17:15.03
Tens of thousands.
00:17:15.06\00:17:16.63
And I found this
in 2 Testimonies 133,
00:17:16.67\00:17:19.93
maybe kind of new
talk for some of you
00:17:19.97\00:17:21.54
but it's very interesting.
00:17:21.57\00:17:22.90
Just listen to the words
and see if the principles
00:17:22.94\00:17:24.74
of the Bible back it up.
00:17:24.77\00:17:26.11
Notice this, what it
says, "By our example
00:17:26.14\00:17:28.78
we aid others in the development
00:17:28.81\00:17:30.85
of good principles, we
give them power to do good."
00:17:30.88\00:17:34.75
Notice this.
00:17:34.78\00:17:36.65
Can that work
both ways, good or bad?
00:17:36.69\00:17:39.69
Notice this.
00:17:39.72\00:17:41.06
"In their turn they expect
00:17:41.09\00:17:42.76
the same beneficial
influence upon others.
00:17:42.79\00:17:45.89
And there's hundreds and
thousands are affected by
00:17:45.93\00:17:48.70
our," notice this,
"unconscious influence."
00:17:48.73\00:17:52.57
We're not even aware of it.
00:17:52.60\00:17:55.27
We're not even aware of
it but somebody is looking,
00:17:55.30\00:17:58.04
somebody is watching,
somebody is making a decision.
00:17:58.07\00:18:01.74
And we're talking
about not just for today,
00:18:01.78\00:18:03.48
but again always, it's
always to me for eternity
00:18:03.51\00:18:06.28
this is the thing, it
can just for eternity.
00:18:06.31\00:18:09.05
Even the way
somebody dresses sometime,
00:18:09.08\00:18:10.95
the way somebody talk sometime
00:18:10.99\00:18:13.25
can turn someone
toward Christ or against Him.
00:18:13.29\00:18:15.56
The article goes on and says,
"If by these acts strengthens
00:18:15.59\00:18:20.40
the evil powers,
we share their sin.
00:18:20.43\00:18:24.43
We share their sin
and we'll have to render
00:18:24.47\00:18:26.57
an account for the
good we might have done,
00:18:26.60\00:18:30.44
and then do not."
00:18:30.47\00:18:31.87
So, you know,
that's pretty heavy duty
00:18:31.91\00:18:33.51
when you look at
it as a Christian,
00:18:33.54\00:18:35.71
someone that loves
Jesus, of influence
00:18:35.74\00:18:37.75
because we're gonna have
to give account of ourselves.
00:18:37.78\00:18:40.28
Bible says, by their deeds
00:18:40.32\00:18:41.65
they'll be
justified and by your deeds
00:18:41.68\00:18:43.28
you'll be condemned.
00:18:43.32\00:18:44.79
So, you know, it
doesn't cost very much to go
00:18:44.82\00:18:47.26
with a smile on your face.
00:18:47.29\00:18:49.29
And say it didn't cost very much
00:18:49.32\00:18:50.66
for a nice handshake
00:18:50.69\00:18:52.03
and tell somebody
you care about them
00:18:52.06\00:18:53.40
or you love them.
00:18:53.43\00:18:54.76
This here, in this lesson here,
00:18:54.80\00:18:56.13
just like Pastor John was
talking about a while ago,
00:18:56.16\00:18:58.63
it encouraged us to
look up some of these kings
00:18:58.67\00:19:01.14
and some of these
influential leaders,
00:19:01.17\00:19:03.74
that we might see what it costs
00:19:03.77\00:19:06.27
if our leadership is
not what it needs to be.
00:19:06.31\00:19:09.24
And I've heard it said so often.
00:19:09.28\00:19:10.61
Well, he does it, she does it,
00:19:10.65\00:19:13.68
while they're an
elder in the church,
00:19:13.72\00:19:15.05
while they're a pastor,
they do it, they go hear that.
00:19:15.08\00:19:17.49
And some people use that
rather than we always don't,
00:19:17.52\00:19:20.32
we try to encourage
them to look to Jesus,
00:19:20.36\00:19:22.72
the author and the
finisher of our faith.
00:19:22.76\00:19:25.06
He is my example.
00:19:25.09\00:19:26.70
But I tell you this,
00:19:26.73\00:19:28.06
I really believe
that as Christian
00:19:28.10\00:19:29.43
we should be an example.
00:19:29.46\00:19:30.80
Of course.
00:19:30.83\00:19:32.17
And if we fail, there's a
price to pay for that too.
00:19:32.20\00:19:34.37
But we keep our eyes on Christ.
00:19:34.40\00:19:35.74
We're gonna be
what God wants us to do.
00:19:35.77\00:19:38.01
And we won't turn all those
00:19:38.04\00:19:39.54
because we won't
have time to do it.
00:19:39.57\00:19:40.91
But in 1 Kings 15:26
and also in 34 talks about,
00:19:40.94\00:19:45.65
certain about this king
here it talks about here.
00:19:45.68\00:19:48.95
Nadabs I think his
reign, it just simply says
00:19:48.98\00:19:52.25
this is what I got
as I read those verses.
00:19:52.29\00:19:54.32
This simply says
this king, "He did evil."
00:19:54.36\00:19:59.13
Who would like that
register beside their name?
00:19:59.16\00:20:02.70
You know, maybe on that,
which you know, your tombstone.
00:20:02.73\00:20:07.40
He did evil. Well, that's sad.
00:20:07.44\00:20:09.57
But, you know, you'd say,
00:20:09.60\00:20:10.94
he was in business,
he was a king for years.
00:20:10.97\00:20:15.24
And then what happened?
Three things happen right here.
00:20:15.28\00:20:17.51
He did evil, and notice this,
00:20:17.55\00:20:19.75
"And he did evil in
the sight of the people."
00:20:19.78\00:20:22.38
And so what did the people do?
00:20:22.42\00:20:23.89
Number one, they did
evil in the face of God.
00:20:23.92\00:20:28.12
The king wasn't afraid to
do evil in the face of God,
00:20:28.16\00:20:30.46
even though they knew better
and so the people began to do
00:20:30.49\00:20:32.89
evil in the face
of God, you know,
00:20:32.93\00:20:34.83
because the king did it
00:20:34.86\00:20:36.33
and they did evil
in the sight of God.
00:20:36.36\00:20:38.40
They never did try to hide
it. They walked, notice this.
00:20:38.43\00:20:41.70
"They walked and they ruled
after another man's influence."
00:20:41.74\00:20:46.01
So I thought, you know,
that just, that happens.
00:20:46.04\00:20:48.78
So again, we
can't be too cautious.
00:20:48.81\00:20:50.51
We can't be too careful
00:20:50.55\00:20:52.25
as a
representative of Jesus Christ.
00:20:52.28\00:20:55.38
I know this for sure.
00:20:55.42\00:20:56.85
I mean, I know this for
sure, you know, in my own life,
00:20:56.89\00:20:59.45
and I'm thankful
for this because,
00:20:59.49\00:21:02.32
you know, I have a wife
sometimes she will say to me,
00:21:02.36\00:21:05.96
"No, it's all right, I
can talk to you about it."
00:21:05.99\00:21:07.60
Sorry, you gonna say, well,
00:21:07.63\00:21:08.96
you're not
supposed to tell me so.
00:21:09.00\00:21:10.33
No, I can do that,
you know, it's blessing.
00:21:10.37\00:21:12.20
It just doesn't matter,
if you're just a little bit,
00:21:12.23\00:21:14.04
she'll say to me sometime,
00:21:14.07\00:21:15.40
Pastor, now if
ever she said to me,
00:21:15.44\00:21:17.41
remember who you are,
remember who you represent.
00:21:17.44\00:21:22.68
I'm thankful for
that. I really am.
00:21:22.71\00:21:24.81
It might burn just a
little bit at the moment,
00:21:24.85\00:21:30.65
now you got to stay with it
00:21:30.69\00:21:32.02
'cause these are
lessons to learn.
00:21:32.05\00:21:33.59
But just for a second, it
burns and then you realize,
00:21:33.62\00:21:36.66
it's right.
00:21:36.69\00:21:39.26
Who do you represent?
00:21:39.29\00:21:41.53
Who you representing right now?
00:21:41.56\00:21:44.00
And if I'm not
representing Christ,
00:21:44.03\00:21:45.37
I'd be representing the enemy.
00:21:45.40\00:21:47.44
So I'm thankful
for that, you know,
00:21:47.47\00:21:49.20
and thank for things
that we're learning in here.
00:21:49.24\00:21:51.61
You know, we don't
wanna follow after a man,
00:21:51.64\00:21:53.27
we wanna follow
certainly after Jesus Christ.
00:21:53.31\00:21:56.14
You know what happened?
00:21:56.18\00:21:57.81
Bible tells us that
but when we act like this,
00:21:57.85\00:21:59.78
we do these things
we're bad influence,
00:21:59.81\00:22:02.08
and against these kings
it says the anger of the Lord
00:22:02.12\00:22:04.65
was kindled against them.
00:22:04.69\00:22:07.22
That means that God was
going to correct the issue.
00:22:07.26\00:22:10.43
I like that song it
says, "In His Time."
00:22:10.46\00:22:14.10
In His time, He
makes all things,
00:22:14.13\00:22:15.93
isn't it beautiful in His time.
00:22:15.96\00:22:18.63
You know, there's a
work to be done on me.
00:22:18.67\00:22:21.17
But I know He's
promised, in His time,
00:22:21.20\00:22:23.64
song He's still working on me.
00:22:23.67\00:22:25.74
Say I'm still believer
in that, regardless we said
00:22:25.77\00:22:27.94
on Sabbath School Panel
or regardless of we minister,
00:22:27.98\00:22:29.88
we pastor, we travel,
00:22:29.91\00:22:31.25
we do things
right here, does it?
00:22:31.28\00:22:32.78
What kind of relationship
do we have with Jesus Christ?
00:22:32.81\00:22:34.62
What kind of influence
00:22:34.65\00:22:36.58
are we sending
out there to people?
00:22:36.62\00:22:38.82
Do they sense by the
power of the Holy Spirit
00:22:38.85\00:22:41.26
that you love Jesus
with all your heart?
00:22:41.29\00:22:43.39
You know, people
and sometime, you know,
00:22:43.43\00:22:45.29
we don't give
them enough credit.
00:22:45.33\00:22:47.70
I'm not trying to
take anything away,
00:22:47.73\00:22:49.33
but even over the
airwaves or listening,
00:22:49.36\00:22:52.30
they can sense by the power
of the Holy Spirit many times
00:22:52.33\00:22:55.00
whether you're serious or
whether you're not serious.
00:22:55.04\00:22:58.37
They really can.
00:22:58.41\00:22:59.74
They'll say, I can
tell so and so is serious.
00:22:59.77\00:23:02.18
Well, the Holy Spirit can
only one certainly can do that.
00:23:02.21\00:23:04.85
So the influence is out
there and we need to allow
00:23:04.88\00:23:07.72
God to take a hold of us.
00:23:07.75\00:23:10.39
And if we're not
kind of influenced that
00:23:10.42\00:23:11.99
we need to be and
remember a good influence,
00:23:12.02\00:23:13.89
it's not just
because I'm around you
00:23:13.92\00:23:15.52
then I won't be
a good influence.
00:23:15.56\00:23:16.89
The good influence
00:23:16.93\00:23:18.26
has been influenced
in the home, is it not?
00:23:18.29\00:23:19.66
That's where it really begins,
00:23:19.69\00:23:21.03
that's really shows
who you are and who I am.
00:23:21.06\00:23:24.17
And sometime I'm
brought to tears over the issue
00:23:24.20\00:23:27.24
and that doesn't mean
that you're out, da-da.
00:23:27.27\00:23:29.17
It just simply means
you're falling short.
00:23:29.20\00:23:30.67
I've looked at my
example, and I'm falling short.
00:23:30.71\00:23:34.44
Praise God, I
can come back to Him
00:23:34.48\00:23:35.81
and through His
grace and strength,
00:23:35.84\00:23:37.18
I say, oh, Lord, this
weakness, help me to be strong.
00:23:37.21\00:23:40.22
Amen. Amen.
00:23:40.25\00:23:41.58
Amen.
00:23:41.62\00:23:42.95
Well, we hope you
have been blessed so far.
00:23:42.98\00:23:45.25
More blessings are coming.
00:23:45.29\00:23:46.89
But first we're
gonna take a break
00:23:46.92\00:23:48.26
and we will be right back.
00:23:48.29\00:23:49.62
Ever wish you could watch
00:23:54.96\00:23:56.30
a 3ABN Sabbath
School Panel again,
00:23:56.33\00:23:58.57
or share it on
Facebook, Instagram or Twitter?
00:23:58.60\00:24:01.80
Well, you can by visiting
3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com.
00:24:01.84\00:24:06.68
A clean design makes it easy
00:24:06.71\00:24:09.14
to find the
program you're looking for.
00:24:09.18\00:24:11.31
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00:24:11.35\00:24:14.72
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00:24:14.75\00:24:16.48
Sharing is easy.
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00:24:21.12\00:24:27.06
Welcome back, we
continue our study
00:24:27.10\00:24:29.33
with Sister Jill Morikone,
Courage and Empowerment.
00:24:29.36\00:24:32.93
Thank you so much,
Pastor Johnny and Pastor Kenny.
00:24:32.97\00:24:35.50
It's a serious sobering
lesson to realize the influence
00:24:35.54\00:24:39.57
we each have on other
people, whether for good,
00:24:39.61\00:24:42.41
or whether for evil.
00:24:42.44\00:24:43.78
On Tuesday's lesson,
00:24:43.81\00:24:45.55
we take a look at a good leader.
00:24:45.58\00:24:48.45
And what he did
in a time of crisis.
00:24:48.48\00:24:51.39
So we're going to
Nehemiah Chapter 4.
00:24:51.42\00:24:53.49
And we have actually looked
at this chapter in Nehemiah
00:24:53.52\00:24:57.06
before in a previous lesson,
00:24:57.09\00:24:58.86
but we're going to
get some other insights
00:24:58.89\00:25:01.60
from it this time,
Nehemiah Chapter 4,
00:25:01.63\00:25:04.30
this is when they are involved
00:25:04.33\00:25:06.63
in the building of
the wall of Jerusalem.
00:25:06.67\00:25:10.14
And we see the opposition
that comes against them.
00:25:10.17\00:25:14.34
You know, Satan doesn't care
00:25:14.38\00:25:15.84
if we're
half-hearted Christians,
00:25:15.88\00:25:17.55
if we attend church,
it doesn't matter to him.
00:25:17.58\00:25:20.55
But the moment
we make a decision
00:25:20.58\00:25:22.65
to stand for truth,
00:25:22.68\00:25:24.09
to get serious about
Bible study and prayer,
00:25:24.12\00:25:27.16
to seek to evangelize the world
00:25:27.19\00:25:29.52
or our neighborhood
to stand for Christ,
00:25:29.56\00:25:33.33
that is when the
attack of the enemy begins.
00:25:33.36\00:25:37.63
I have two different
lists for you here today.
00:25:37.67\00:25:40.40
First, we're gonna look at
the five types of opposition
00:25:40.44\00:25:45.37
we can encounter as Christians.
00:25:45.41\00:25:47.61
And these are the opposition,
the types of opposition that
00:25:47.64\00:25:50.18
we see that came
against the Israelites,
00:25:50.21\00:25:52.95
came against
Nehemiah and the rest of them
00:25:52.98\00:25:54.92
as they were building the wall.
00:25:54.95\00:25:56.38
And we can compare
that to us as Christians.
00:25:56.42\00:25:58.59
So the five types of
opposition we encounter.
00:25:58.62\00:26:00.79
Number one is anger.
00:26:00.82\00:26:02.82
Nehemiah 4:1, "It so
happened, when Sanballat,"
00:26:02.86\00:26:07.36
remember he was the governor
of Samaria to the North,
00:26:07.40\00:26:09.66
"heard that we were
rebuilding the wall,
00:26:09.70\00:26:11.83
that he was
furious and very indignant,
00:26:11.87\00:26:16.00
and he mocked the Jews."
00:26:16.04\00:26:18.41
You know, Satan tries
to get a new Christian
00:26:18.44\00:26:20.68
or a born again
Christian or a Christian
00:26:20.71\00:26:24.01
who has recently
made a decision to go
00:26:24.05\00:26:26.75
all out for God
and to follow Him.
00:26:26.78\00:26:29.68
He tries to get us to
cool our enthusiasm for Christ.
00:26:29.72\00:26:34.29
Sometimes he uses anger
of other family members,
00:26:34.32\00:26:37.56
you're making a
decision to get baptized
00:26:37.59\00:26:39.76
and your family says,
"You don't wanna do that."
00:26:39.79\00:26:41.70
I don't want you
to join that church,
00:26:41.73\00:26:43.67
don't make that decision.
00:26:43.70\00:26:46.17
Sometimes it's
anger of co-workers
00:26:46.20\00:26:48.17
or anger of a family
members or neighbors.
00:26:48.20\00:26:51.74
Second type of opposition
is mockery and sarcasm.
00:26:51.77\00:26:57.05
Mockery and sarcasm.
00:26:57.08\00:26:58.58
Nehemiah 4:2, "Sanballat said,
00:26:58.61\00:27:00.82
'What are these
feeble Jews doing?
00:27:00.85\00:27:02.82
Will they fortify themselves?
00:27:02.85\00:27:04.25
Will they offer sacrifices?
00:27:04.29\00:27:05.82
Will they complete it in a day?
00:27:05.85\00:27:07.62
Will they revive the stones
00:27:07.66\00:27:09.16
from the heaps of
rubbish stones that are burned?'
00:27:09.19\00:27:11.79
" What is he doing?
He's ridiculing them.
00:27:11.83\00:27:14.36
He's making a mockery
00:27:14.40\00:27:16.26
using sarcastic
barbs against them.
00:27:16.30\00:27:20.20
Satan uses
ridicule to make people
00:27:20.24\00:27:23.51
quit their Christian walk.
00:27:23.54\00:27:26.57
You're goody two shoes,
what are you doing that for,
00:27:26.61\00:27:28.91
or maybe people
make fun of your religion
00:27:28.94\00:27:32.01
or the choices you're
making to follow Christ
00:27:32.05\00:27:35.38
or the stands you're
making as a Christian
00:27:35.42\00:27:38.09
and they mock you
and make fun of you.
00:27:38.12\00:27:40.46
Opposition number three,
threats and intimidation.
00:27:40.49\00:27:44.49
Nehemiah 4:8,
00:27:44.53\00:27:46.13
"All of them
conspired together to come
00:27:46.16\00:27:48.33
and attack Jerusalem
and create confusion."
00:27:48.36\00:27:52.40
Satan uses intimidation
00:27:52.43\00:27:54.57
and threats to
silence Christians.
00:27:54.60\00:27:58.17
We see this when persecution
comes against people.
00:27:58.21\00:28:01.61
We see this in
the business world.
00:28:01.64\00:28:04.11
If you don't keep quiet
about the company's corruption,
00:28:04.15\00:28:07.08
you're going to be
fired, or family member
00:28:07.12\00:28:10.62
who threatens to disown you
00:28:10.65\00:28:12.72
or leave you if
you become a Christian
00:28:12.75\00:28:15.56
or make a choice
to follow Christ,
00:28:15.59\00:28:17.46
threats and intimidation.
00:28:17.49\00:28:18.83
Number four,
discouragement and exhaustion.
00:28:18.86\00:28:23.00
Nehemiah 4:10, "Judah said,
00:28:23.03\00:28:25.47
'The strength of
the laborers is failing,
00:28:25.50\00:28:28.67
and there is so much rubbish
00:28:28.70\00:28:30.07
that we are not
able to build the wall.'
00:28:30.11\00:28:32.94
" Satan uses discouragement
to try to force us to stop.
00:28:32.97\00:28:37.05
Remember, just a
couple of verses before,
00:28:37.08\00:28:39.01
it said, the walls
was already halfway up.
00:28:39.05\00:28:41.28
They were already halfway
completed with their project.
00:28:41.32\00:28:46.86
And yet, they got discouraged.
00:28:46.89\00:28:48.82
Sometimes we're passionate
about following Christ.
00:28:48.86\00:28:51.49
We're passionate about walking
in His way in the beginning.
00:28:51.53\00:28:55.66
And then our
excitement starts to dissipate
00:28:55.70\00:28:59.20
and it starts to wane.
00:28:59.23\00:29:00.94
We might lose that
first love experience
00:29:00.97\00:29:03.74
once we're on
the journey a while,
00:29:03.77\00:29:05.67
we become somehow
discouraged in the journey.
00:29:05.71\00:29:10.28
The fifth type of opposition
is criticism from within.
00:29:10.31\00:29:15.38
Nehemiah 4:12, "So it was,
00:29:15.42\00:29:17.75
when the Jews who
dwelt near them came."
00:29:17.79\00:29:21.56
So who are the Jews
who dwelt near them?
00:29:21.59\00:29:23.12
These are the Jews,
00:29:23.16\00:29:24.49
who are actually
living near the enemies,
00:29:24.53\00:29:26.49
living near the
Ammonites, and the others,
00:29:26.53\00:29:29.06
the Samaritans, the Jews
who live near the enemies,
00:29:29.10\00:29:31.90
they were not
involved in building the wall.
00:29:31.93\00:29:35.94
"They told us ten times,
'From whatever place you turn,
00:29:35.97\00:29:38.81
they will be upon us.'
00:29:38.84\00:29:40.98
" They weren't
working on the wall.
00:29:41.01\00:29:42.48
They were
living near the enemies
00:29:42.51\00:29:44.05
and yet Satan used them
00:29:44.08\00:29:46.95
to criticize
their fellow believers
00:29:46.98\00:29:50.42
who were working on the wall.
00:29:50.45\00:29:52.35
Satan uses most
effectively those from
00:29:52.39\00:29:55.36
within our own camp,
those who are Christians
00:29:55.39\00:29:58.73
to cause us to question
the call of God on our life,
00:29:58.76\00:30:01.40
to cause us to stop work.
00:30:01.43\00:30:03.43
Maybe it's within
your own church family,
00:30:03.47\00:30:06.13
that they doubt
your walk with God
00:30:06.17\00:30:08.04
or your outreach for Him.
00:30:08.07\00:30:09.57
Now we don't
have to be discouraged
00:30:09.60\00:30:10.94
'cause the
second list is coming.
00:30:10.97\00:30:12.94
We're gonna look at
Nehemiah's leadership
00:30:12.97\00:30:15.34
in the face of
opposition and difficulty.
00:30:15.38\00:30:20.38
What did he do in the face?
00:30:20.42\00:30:21.75
And what can we
do as Christians,
00:30:21.78\00:30:24.19
as leaders?
00:30:24.22\00:30:25.55
How do we face
opposition and difficulty?
00:30:25.59\00:30:28.32
Number one, he
prayed, and he encouraged
00:30:28.36\00:30:32.53
those people under him to pray.
00:30:32.56\00:30:35.33
Nehemiah 4:9, "Nevertheless
we made our prayer to God,
00:30:35.36\00:30:38.87
and because of them we
set a watch against them
00:30:38.90\00:30:41.34
day and night."
00:30:41.37\00:30:43.34
He prayed.
00:30:43.37\00:30:44.71
Sometimes what do we do
in the midst of opposition
00:30:44.74\00:30:46.64
and difficulty?
00:30:46.68\00:30:48.01
Maybe we go into a
corner and like you go to bed
00:30:48.04\00:30:50.75
and pull the covers
over your head and say,
00:30:50.78\00:30:52.41
maybe tomorrow be better
00:30:52.45\00:30:53.78
or maybe you cry
or you fight back
00:30:53.82\00:30:57.89
or you give up in discouragement
00:30:57.92\00:30:59.95
or you gossip to other people.
00:30:59.99\00:31:02.16
And he didn't do
any of those things.
00:31:02.19\00:31:03.86
He prayed, and he encouraged
the people under him to pray.
00:31:03.89\00:31:08.23
It's not enough
to praise the leader.
00:31:08.26\00:31:10.03
You need to marshal the forces,
00:31:10.07\00:31:12.80
the people with
you to pray together.
00:31:12.83\00:31:15.80
Second thing, he
exercised common sense.
00:31:15.84\00:31:19.64
And encouraged
those under him to fight.
00:31:19.67\00:31:21.54
Sometimes we can
be so heavenly minded.
00:31:21.58\00:31:23.81
We are no earthly good.
00:31:23.85\00:31:26.31
We can be so as it were, well,
00:31:26.35\00:31:28.18
I'm gonna pray and God's
gonna take care of everything.
00:31:28.22\00:31:31.89
And we don't even
exercise common sense.
00:31:31.92\00:31:36.22
Nehemiah 4:13, "I positioned men
00:31:36.26\00:31:38.99
behind the lower parts of
the wall, at the openings,
00:31:39.03\00:31:42.53
and I set the people
according to their families,
00:31:42.56\00:31:44.47
with their swords,
their spears, and their bows."
00:31:44.50\00:31:47.70
They didn't just
pray and then wait
00:31:47.74\00:31:49.34
and expect God to work.
00:31:49.37\00:31:51.04
They prayed, and worked,
00:31:51.07\00:31:53.24
and kept a
watchful eye on the enemy.
00:31:53.27\00:31:56.18
Number three, he
spoke with courage
00:31:56.21\00:31:59.31
and encourage
them not to be afraid.
00:31:59.35\00:32:02.98
Nehemiah 4:14, "And I looked,
00:32:03.02\00:32:04.82
and arose and
said to the nobles,
00:32:04.85\00:32:06.39
the leaders, and
the rest of the people."
00:32:06.42\00:32:07.79
So he's talking to everyone,
00:32:07.82\00:32:09.26
leadership and the
general population.
00:32:09.29\00:32:12.29
"'Do not be afraid of them.
00:32:12.33\00:32:14.43
Remember the
Lord, great and awesome,
00:32:14.46\00:32:16.93
and fight for your
brethren, sons, daughters,
00:32:16.97\00:32:19.03
wives, and houses."
00:32:19.07\00:32:20.40
So not only are we as
leaders to speak with courage,
00:32:20.44\00:32:24.84
but to encourage other people.
00:32:24.87\00:32:26.64
Encourage the people around you.
00:32:26.68\00:32:29.81
Do not be afraid
00:32:29.84\00:32:31.55
and why do you
not have to be afraid
00:32:31.58\00:32:33.45
because of number
four, he trusted in God
00:32:33.48\00:32:36.58
and encourage
them in their faith.
00:32:36.62\00:32:38.72
Why do we not have to be afraid?
00:32:38.75\00:32:40.09
Because, Pastor John,
the Lord will fight for us.
00:32:40.12\00:32:43.56
That's right. Amen.
00:32:43.59\00:32:44.93
Nehemiah 4:20,
"Whenever you hear
00:32:44.96\00:32:46.33
the sound of the
trumpet, rally to us there.
00:32:46.36\00:32:48.70
Our God will fight for us."
00:32:48.73\00:32:52.77
Number five, he executed
a carefully crafted plan
00:32:52.80\00:32:57.64
and encouraged them
to work and follow it.
00:32:57.67\00:33:00.28
He was organized and
systematic in dealing
00:33:00.31\00:33:04.25
with the
oppositions from the enemy.
00:33:04.28\00:33:06.35
Sometimes we can pray, we
can encourage other people,
00:33:06.38\00:33:10.82
we can have common sense,
00:33:10.85\00:33:12.72
and yet we don't
really do anything,
00:33:12.75\00:33:14.82
we don't organize
and set the soldiers
00:33:14.86\00:33:17.23
and battle array as it were
00:33:17.26\00:33:18.93
and organize a structured
response to opposition.
00:33:18.96\00:33:23.57
What was his response?
00:33:23.60\00:33:24.93
Half of the men, remember,
we're supposed to carry spears
00:33:24.97\00:33:27.97
and weapons and wear
armor and defend the city.
00:33:28.00\00:33:32.11
The other half were
supposed to work a construction
00:33:32.14\00:33:35.34
and build the wall.
00:33:35.38\00:33:36.88
And even while they
work the construction
00:33:36.91\00:33:38.85
one hand they held the
spear and the other hand
00:33:38.88\00:33:40.98
they held the
trowel or whatever,
00:33:41.02\00:33:42.55
however they built the wall.
00:33:42.58\00:33:44.19
Number six, he
was constantly alert
00:33:44.22\00:33:47.36
and ready and
encouraged them to do the same.
00:33:47.39\00:33:51.69
Nehemiah 4:23 talks about,
00:33:51.73\00:33:53.93
"They did not even take
off their clothes, except,
00:33:53.96\00:33:58.73
of course, to wash them."
00:33:58.77\00:34:01.07
So they were constantly
alert, constantly ready,
00:34:01.10\00:34:04.37
that means they even
slept in their clothes
00:34:04.41\00:34:07.38
to be ready to do
battle against the enemy.
00:34:07.41\00:34:10.81
Finally, number seven,
00:34:10.85\00:34:12.55
he worked
alongside them in everything.
00:34:12.58\00:34:15.58
I like that about Nehemiah.
00:34:15.62\00:34:17.05
He didn't just
delegate and say, "Okay,
00:34:17.09\00:34:18.89
this is what you
need to be doing."
00:34:18.92\00:34:21.12
He got involved as a leader,
00:34:21.16\00:34:23.93
and he worked
alongside his troops.
00:34:23.96\00:34:27.03
So you might be
facing an incredible time
00:34:27.06\00:34:30.50
of opposition right now.
00:34:30.53\00:34:32.67
Know that the Lord
will fight for you,
00:34:32.70\00:34:35.54
that He will come alongside you
00:34:35.57\00:34:38.17
and that you can be
victorious in His name.
00:34:38.21\00:34:40.98
Amen. Wow.
00:34:41.01\00:34:42.34
Good. Thank you so much, Jill.
00:34:42.38\00:34:45.01
You know, I
could never fall asleep
00:34:45.05\00:34:46.68
on Jill's
presentation not on anyone's
00:34:46.72\00:34:48.65
but she just says that.
00:34:48.68\00:34:50.15
I don't know if this
is a chocolate energy.
00:34:50.19\00:34:54.12
One of our great passions
00:34:54.16\00:34:55.49
we all have a
purpose and passion.
00:34:55.52\00:34:58.33
This is a
wonderful way to cap off
00:34:58.36\00:35:01.23
a study about how to
deal with opposition,
00:35:01.26\00:35:04.17
how to look at, how
to confront conflict,
00:35:04.20\00:35:07.90
and different
things that divide us.
00:35:07.94\00:35:10.34
But look at this
Purpose and Passion.
00:35:10.37\00:35:14.04
Nehemiah 2:1-10
00:35:14.08\00:35:18.95
and Ezra 7:8-10.
00:35:18.98\00:35:22.68
Now Nehemiah, we
know, is continuing here,
00:35:22.72\00:35:26.05
he has heard the
news of the condition
00:35:26.09\00:35:29.22
of his people in Jerusalem.
00:35:29.26\00:35:31.96
And because he is a person
who understands responsibility,
00:35:31.99\00:35:36.46
this is a point I
wanna make right away.
00:35:36.50\00:35:39.57
There's this
phrase that goes this way,
00:35:39.60\00:35:41.97
and I know it has a
number of ways it's quoted,
00:35:42.00\00:35:44.51
but all that is
needed for evil to prevail
00:35:44.54\00:35:48.41
is that those who
know to do good do nothing.
00:35:48.44\00:35:51.98
That's not who Nehemiah was.
00:35:52.01\00:35:54.18
He was concerned about a project
00:35:54.22\00:35:57.39
that would have
taken extensive time,
00:35:57.42\00:35:59.99
extensive money,
extensive energy,
00:36:00.02\00:36:03.26
extensive organization,
lots of sleepless nights,
00:36:03.29\00:36:07.56
a lot of determination.
00:36:07.60\00:36:09.40
And then in face
of all the opposition
00:36:09.43\00:36:11.47
he would face,
00:36:11.50\00:36:13.07
he was determined
that this is not the way
00:36:13.10\00:36:16.04
I'm going to stand by.
00:36:16.07\00:36:17.51
And here's the
point I wanna make
00:36:17.54\00:36:18.87
in the very beginning.
00:36:18.91\00:36:20.24
God will hold us responsible
00:36:20.28\00:36:21.84
for the things
we could have done,
00:36:21.88\00:36:23.95
not just the things we did do.
00:36:23.98\00:36:26.31
And that's vitally
important to understand.
00:36:26.35\00:36:28.32
If we could have
made a difference,
00:36:28.35\00:36:30.15
the Lord will
hold us responsible.
00:36:30.19\00:36:32.22
I have seen there's an instance,
00:36:32.25\00:36:34.52
I read books on leadership.
00:36:34.56\00:36:36.39
And one of the
examples they bring out is
00:36:36.42\00:36:38.83
and Jesus even
use this, you know,
00:36:38.86\00:36:40.56
if we see our
brother with a burden,
00:36:40.60\00:36:43.37
bearing one of those
burdens, we fulfill the law.
00:36:43.40\00:36:45.87
We should be
willing to lift burdens
00:36:45.90\00:36:48.40
not only of individuals,
00:36:48.44\00:36:50.47
but surely of a
higher responsibility
00:36:50.51\00:36:53.54
for burden of
the work of the Lord.
00:36:53.58\00:36:56.68
Now, I use the word burden.
00:36:56.71\00:36:58.05
It's a joy we know that,
00:36:58.08\00:36:59.81
but you have to be determined
00:36:59.85\00:37:01.18
because in
doing the Lord's work,
00:37:01.22\00:37:02.55
there's gonna be opposition.
00:37:02.58\00:37:04.05
And I like the way that Nehemiah
00:37:04.09\00:37:05.42
when he came to
the King Artaxerxes,
00:37:05.45\00:37:09.52
the king noticed that
he wasn't very pleasant.
00:37:09.56\00:37:13.03
He was... He
brought the cup to the king.
00:37:13.06\00:37:16.77
And the king said
to him in Nehemiah 2:2,
00:37:16.80\00:37:20.57
"'Why is your face
sad, since you are not sick?
00:37:20.60\00:37:24.37
This is nothing
but sorrow of heart.'"
00:37:24.41\00:37:27.78
You've got to
have a close connection
00:37:27.81\00:37:29.28
with people to know
there's something going on.
00:37:29.31\00:37:31.18
And he was in the
king's presence every day.
00:37:31.21\00:37:33.92
All of a sudden today he's...
00:37:33.95\00:37:37.19
And he said, "Why should
my face not be sad," verse 3,
00:37:37.22\00:37:42.06
"when the city, the
place of my fathers' tombs,
00:37:42.09\00:37:44.86
lies waste,
00:37:44.89\00:37:46.23
and its gates
are burned with fire?
00:37:46.26\00:37:49.00
Then the king said to
me, 'What do you request?'
00:37:49.03\00:37:52.87
" What would you like to do?
00:37:52.90\00:37:54.64
And he continues, "So I
pray to the God of heaven."
00:37:54.67\00:37:57.77
We talked about this
a number of lessons ago,
00:37:57.81\00:37:59.34
what I like about the writer
00:37:59.37\00:38:00.71
though they reiterate
because some of the times
00:38:00.74\00:38:03.18
we could forget
the great impact,
00:38:03.21\00:38:05.41
but they reiterate,
00:38:05.45\00:38:06.78
what would you like me to do in?
00:38:06.82\00:38:08.15
I like his courage.
00:38:08.18\00:38:09.52
He says in verse 5,
"If it pleases the king,
00:38:09.55\00:38:13.56
and if your servant has
found favor in your sight."
00:38:13.59\00:38:16.02
Now, this is a
very powerful point.
00:38:16.06\00:38:18.26
If you expect future
support, you must be diligent,
00:38:18.29\00:38:23.03
and consistent, and honest
in your present responsibility.
00:38:23.06\00:38:27.57
Nobody will lend you
support for future projects,
00:38:27.60\00:38:30.54
if they haven't seen you
in the present responsible
00:38:30.57\00:38:32.97
with the ones
that you can undertake.
00:38:33.01\00:38:35.21
If you are not
productive in the present,
00:38:35.24\00:38:37.25
people are not gonna
put greater responsibilities
00:38:37.28\00:38:39.18
on your shoulder in the future.
00:38:39.21\00:38:40.95
The king, I believe thought,
this is a consistent guy,
00:38:40.98\00:38:44.52
I'm with him every day.
00:38:44.55\00:38:46.05
I have no hesitation.
00:38:46.09\00:38:48.02
And then he
really, as we would say,
00:38:48.06\00:38:50.23
he opened up the
resource palette,
00:38:50.26\00:38:52.53
even giving him military escort
00:38:52.56\00:38:55.93
because he was understanding.
00:38:55.96\00:38:57.73
So what I wanna bring
out in a very brief time
00:38:57.77\00:39:00.17
we have here
because there's so much,
00:39:00.20\00:39:02.50
it talks about
the letter he gave,
00:39:02.54\00:39:04.37
it talks about the opposition
being upset in Nehemiah 2:10,
00:39:04.41\00:39:08.24
"When Sanballat
the Horonite and Tobiah
00:39:08.28\00:39:10.05
the Ammonite official heard,
they were deeply disturbed."
00:39:10.08\00:39:14.02
And in one of our prior
lessons a while ago, we said,
00:39:14.05\00:39:16.85
anytime you do
the work of the Lord,
00:39:16.89\00:39:18.52
somebody is gonna be upset.
00:39:18.55\00:39:20.19
The devil always finds
work for idle hands to do.
00:39:20.22\00:39:24.13
And in Revelation
12 when the Bible says
00:39:24.16\00:39:27.00
there was war in heaven,
Michael and his angels fought
00:39:27.03\00:39:29.66
and the dragon
and his angels fought.
00:39:29.70\00:39:31.60
You know, I
looked into that one day,
00:39:31.63\00:39:32.97
you know, what he said,
00:39:33.00\00:39:34.34
"Not only was
there unity among Christ
00:39:34.37\00:39:35.80
and His angels, but the
dragon and his angels fought."
00:39:35.84\00:39:39.27
And Ellen White points
out, they are never in harmony
00:39:39.31\00:39:42.14
with each other.
00:39:42.18\00:39:43.68
Evil angels are never
in harmony with each other.
00:39:43.71\00:39:46.25
When you study
these individuals,
00:39:46.28\00:39:47.92
Sanballat,
Tobiah, the Arab, Geshem,
00:39:47.95\00:39:50.19
you'll discover that they
were enemies of each other
00:39:50.22\00:39:53.05
until they all
found a common enemy.
00:39:53.09\00:39:55.22
That's what the devil does.
00:39:55.26\00:39:56.59
He looks for people
they have no harmony
00:39:56.62\00:39:58.99
among themselves as an example.
00:39:59.03\00:40:01.46
But they can find
harmony for the purpose
00:40:01.50\00:40:03.43
of destroying a common threat.
00:40:03.47\00:40:05.73
So that's what happened
in this particular position.
00:40:05.77\00:40:07.97
But I wanna bring
out the responsibility
00:40:08.00\00:40:10.77
that God has given
to every one of us.
00:40:10.81\00:40:12.64
First of all,
whenever we undertake a task,
00:40:12.67\00:40:15.98
do it with all of our might.
00:40:16.01\00:40:18.21
Ecclesiastes 9:10.
00:40:18.25\00:40:20.78
And this is kind
of a somber text,
00:40:20.82\00:40:22.38
but notice what it says,
00:40:22.42\00:40:24.29
"Whatever your hands find to do,
00:40:24.32\00:40:26.35
do it with your might,
for there is no work or device
00:40:26.39\00:40:30.33
or knowledge or
wisdom in the grave
00:40:30.36\00:40:31.83
where you are going."
00:40:31.86\00:40:33.29
Sad into the sentence,
we're all headed to the grave,
00:40:33.33\00:40:36.43
some sooner than others.
00:40:36.46\00:40:37.80
Nobody really knows when,
but as long as you are alive,
00:40:37.83\00:40:40.67
put passion.
00:40:40.70\00:40:42.44
As one person once
said to a young man,
00:40:42.47\00:40:43.97
he sat there
lackadaisically said,
00:40:44.01\00:40:45.64
"Young man, what
do you want to do?"
00:40:45.67\00:40:47.01
Said I wanna education.
So what do you need money?
00:40:47.04\00:40:49.44
No. What do you need?
00:40:49.48\00:40:51.41
And he kept going down the list
00:40:51.45\00:40:53.15
and you notice there was
no change in his attitude.
00:40:53.18\00:40:56.28
He says, "If you need
money, I can give you that.
00:40:56.32\00:40:58.65
If you need
materials, I can give you that.
00:40:58.69\00:41:00.06
If you need an airline
ticket, I can give you that.
00:41:00.09\00:41:01.56
But if you don't have
passion, I can't give you that."
00:41:01.59\00:41:04.96
There's certain
things if you don't have it,
00:41:04.99\00:41:06.63
nobody can give it to you.
00:41:06.66\00:41:08.00
And I said to a young
man not too long ago, I said,
00:41:08.03\00:41:09.70
"Until you want
this badly enough.
00:41:09.73\00:41:13.03
Nobody knows how to help you.
00:41:13.07\00:41:15.34
It has to be a
personal drive on your part."
00:41:15.37\00:41:16.91
Absolutely.
00:41:16.94\00:41:18.27
And by the way, let
me add something else,
00:41:18.31\00:41:19.64
desire without
action is accounts to zero.
00:41:19.67\00:41:23.85
Yes. It's good.
00:41:23.88\00:41:26.01
The next one, God does not bless
00:41:26.05\00:41:28.72
those who are double-minded.
00:41:28.75\00:41:30.49
You have to be
single-minded in God's Word.
00:41:30.52\00:41:32.65
James 1:5.
00:41:32.69\00:41:34.52
Actually, I'll just go ahead
and start with the verse 5.
00:41:34.56\00:41:38.26
"If any one of you
lacks wisdom, ask of God,
00:41:38.29\00:41:40.76
who gives all and He
will give it liberally."
00:41:40.80\00:41:42.73
But verse 6, "But
let him ask in faith,
00:41:42.76\00:41:44.53
not doubting,
00:41:44.57\00:41:45.90
for he who doubts is
like a wave of the sea driven
00:41:45.93\00:41:47.77
and tossed by the wind.
00:41:47.80\00:41:49.34
For let not that man suppose
that he will receive anything
00:41:49.37\00:41:52.17
from the Lord, he
is a double-minded man,
00:41:52.21\00:41:54.68
unstable in all his ways."
00:41:54.71\00:41:56.61
Instability is
the greatest reason
00:41:56.64\00:42:00.12
why people don't
experience success.
00:42:00.15\00:42:03.25
I've heard people say,
00:42:03.28\00:42:04.62
"I want to, I want
to, I want to, I want to,
00:42:04.65\00:42:07.36
you know what I like to do?"
00:42:07.39\00:42:09.19
And I said to them,
"Nobody could do it for you
00:42:09.22\00:42:11.49
until you want it badly enough."
00:42:11.53\00:42:13.53
And then secondly, the
Lord's not gonna help you
00:42:13.56\00:42:15.43
because you can't.
00:42:15.46\00:42:16.80
He's not gonna help you
00:42:16.83\00:42:18.27
when you can't
even make up your mind
00:42:18.30\00:42:19.63
where you need help...
00:42:19.67\00:42:21.00
Yeah, there you go. Instability.
00:42:21.04\00:42:23.20
The other thing,
the greatest blessing
00:42:23.24\00:42:24.57
that we can experience
is wholehearted devotion.
00:42:24.61\00:42:26.64
Another one, Colossians 3:23-24,
00:42:26.68\00:42:30.31
"Whatever you
do, do it heartily,
00:42:30.35\00:42:33.21
as to the Lord and not to
men, knowing that from the Lord
00:42:33.25\00:42:36.12
you will receive the
reward of the inheritance,
00:42:36.15\00:42:38.65
for you serve the Lord Christ."
00:42:38.69\00:42:40.42
As a pastor I've often
said and thank the Lord.
00:42:40.46\00:42:42.99
I have not had to
say this to too many.
00:42:43.02\00:42:45.69
But a lot of
times people think that
00:42:45.73\00:42:47.06
what they do they
do it for the pastor.
00:42:47.10\00:42:49.33
Oh, does that
make my forehead itch?
00:42:49.36\00:42:54.44
I say, my brother, my
sister, when we get to heaven,
00:42:54.47\00:42:57.51
we are all gonna get
a reward, each one of us
00:42:57.54\00:42:59.67
has been given a different gift,
00:42:59.71\00:43:01.21
but each one of us is
accountable to the gift that
00:43:01.24\00:43:04.41
God has entrusted to
us, never say you're doing,
00:43:04.45\00:43:07.58
I'm not doing you a favor
00:43:07.62\00:43:08.95
and you're not doing me a favor,
00:43:08.98\00:43:10.32
but God never gives us a gift
for our own personal benefit.
00:43:10.35\00:43:14.42
Everyone with a gift
has been given that gift
00:43:14.46\00:43:16.99
for the benefit of
everyone around him or her.
00:43:17.03\00:43:20.30
And the other thing is,
when you are on God's side,
00:43:20.33\00:43:22.50
no opposition can stop you.
00:43:22.53\00:43:25.00
Ephesians 3:20, "Now to Him
00:43:25.03\00:43:27.07
who is able to do exceedingly,"
we already know it,
00:43:27.10\00:43:30.04
"abundantly above
all that we ask or think,
00:43:30.07\00:43:32.24
according to the
power that works in us."
00:43:32.27\00:43:35.54
We all know I can do
all things through Christ
00:43:35.58\00:43:38.31
who strengthens me.
00:43:38.35\00:43:39.68
But one other thing I wanna add
00:43:39.71\00:43:41.05
and this is a
special call that I see.
00:43:41.08\00:43:43.28
When you read
Nehemiah Chapter 3,
00:43:43.32\00:43:45.02
which by the way,
that was not included
00:43:45.05\00:43:47.22
that much in the lesson.
00:43:47.26\00:43:48.59
It was kind of
a... We skimmed over it.
00:43:48.62\00:43:50.73
It was not really a
central focus of study
00:43:50.76\00:43:52.93
in the entire
lesson because it was just
00:43:52.96\00:43:55.40
about the repairs.
00:43:55.43\00:43:58.20
When you study
Nehemiah Chapter 3,
00:43:58.23\00:43:59.83
you find 31 times
the word repair shows up,
00:43:59.87\00:44:04.17
which means there's
always room for repairs.
00:44:04.21\00:44:09.84
Isaiah 58, "We
ought to be called
00:44:09.88\00:44:12.61
Repairers of the Breach."
00:44:12.65\00:44:14.48
Got it now. Got it, Shelley.
00:44:14.52\00:44:15.95
Got it. Yes.
00:44:15.98\00:44:17.32
That's who we are.
00:44:17.35\00:44:18.69
All of us are
Repairers of the Breach.
00:44:18.72\00:44:20.16
Four things we are
told to do in Isaiah 58.
00:44:20.19\00:44:23.12
Build up the
places that are wasted,
00:44:23.16\00:44:26.09
raise up the
foundations that are destroyed,
00:44:26.13\00:44:29.63
repair the
things that are broken,
00:44:29.66\00:44:33.90
and restore the pads
that we must travel in.
00:44:33.94\00:44:38.54
We are called
Repairers of the Breach.
00:44:38.57\00:44:41.34
And by the way,
that's why we point so much
00:44:41.38\00:44:44.71
at the greatest breach of all,
00:44:44.75\00:44:46.38
the character of God
and His Sabbath message.
00:44:46.41\00:44:49.02
Amen. That's true.
00:44:49.05\00:44:50.42
Amen. That was wonderful.
00:44:50.45\00:44:52.49
Thank you.
00:44:52.52\00:44:54.32
We're down to the
last day of our last study.
00:44:54.36\00:44:58.33
Thursday's lesson is,
Humility and Perseverance.
00:44:58.36\00:45:02.60
Now I did not look up the
word humility in the dictionary
00:45:02.63\00:45:06.53
because I want to give
you the definition that
00:45:06.57\00:45:09.30
the Lord has given to me.
00:45:09.34\00:45:11.07
Please turn to Philippians 2,
00:45:11.11\00:45:13.24
we're going to
look at verses 5-8
00:45:13.27\00:45:17.08
because if you want
to understand humility,
00:45:17.11\00:45:20.15
here it is.
00:45:20.18\00:45:21.52
Philippians 2:5-8,
"Let this mind be in you
00:45:21.55\00:45:26.39
which was also in Christ Jesus,
00:45:26.42\00:45:28.62
who, being God took
the form of a bondservant,
00:45:28.66\00:45:32.99
He humbled Himself
and He became obedient
00:45:33.03\00:45:38.77
to the point of death,
even the death of the cross."
00:45:38.80\00:45:42.64
So Jesus humility came
00:45:42.67\00:45:46.81
in learning to be obedient
00:45:46.84\00:45:49.61
and fully reliant upon God.
00:45:49.64\00:45:52.41
What God has shown me
in the last year or so,
00:45:52.45\00:45:57.59
you know, we all
hope to be humble people,
00:45:57.62\00:46:01.19
we pray to be humble people.
00:46:01.22\00:46:03.32
But what God has shown me
00:46:03.36\00:46:04.73
is humility is absolute
total dependence upon Him.
00:46:04.76\00:46:10.43
Humility is a humble person
will pray and seek God's will.
00:46:10.47\00:46:16.40
They'll wait for His direction.
00:46:16.44\00:46:18.54
A humble person
will rely on God,
00:46:18.57\00:46:22.18
receive His grace, he
will be their deliverer
00:46:22.21\00:46:26.95
and they will
obey His commandments.
00:46:26.98\00:46:28.92
So Jesus was the perfect model
of humility and perseverance.
00:46:28.95\00:46:34.06
And what is perseverance?
Bearing up under suffering.
00:46:34.09\00:46:39.86
So and bearing up
courageously I might say.
00:46:39.89\00:46:43.97
I would direct
this to Romans 5:3-4,
00:46:44.00\00:46:47.74
"Tribulation
produces perseverance."
00:46:47.77\00:46:51.61
So that's bearing up
courageously under suffering.
00:46:51.64\00:46:54.74
"Perseverance,
character, and character, hope."
00:46:54.78\00:46:57.71
So let's look at Ezra.
00:46:57.75\00:47:00.15
We're going to look
at Ezra and Nehemiah
00:47:00.18\00:47:02.32
and see how they
were humble people.
00:47:02.35\00:47:05.59
Ezra 8:21-23.
00:47:05.62\00:47:08.79
Ezra says, "I
proclaimed a fast there
00:47:08.82\00:47:10.73
at the river of Ahava,
that we might humble ourselves
00:47:10.76\00:47:13.66
before our God, to seek from Him
00:47:13.70\00:47:16.16
the right way for
us and our little ones
00:47:16.20\00:47:18.93
and all our possessions.
00:47:18.97\00:47:20.44
For I was ashamed
to request of the king
00:47:20.47\00:47:24.31
an escort of soldiers
and horsemen to help us
00:47:24.34\00:47:26.61
against the enemy on the road,
00:47:26.64\00:47:28.58
because we had
spoken to the king, saying,
00:47:28.61\00:47:31.65
'The hand of God is
upon all those for good
00:47:31.68\00:47:35.32
who seek Him, but His power
00:47:35.35\00:47:37.39
and wrath are against
all those who forsake Him.'
00:47:37.42\00:47:40.66
So we fasted and
entreated our God for this,
00:47:40.69\00:47:44.33
and He answered our prayer."
00:47:44.36\00:47:45.69
So what's He saying?
00:47:45.73\00:47:47.20
Ezra is getting ready
to take his whole entourage
00:47:47.23\00:47:50.40
and return to Jerusalem,
00:47:50.43\00:47:52.40
a dangerous trip 900 miles,
00:47:52.43\00:47:55.04
about four months on the road,
00:47:55.07\00:47:57.31
and these roads were
known for bands of marauders.
00:47:57.34\00:48:01.84
There were thieves on the road
that would attack the people.
00:48:01.88\00:48:06.11
And Ezra and his
company were gonna be
00:48:06.15\00:48:08.15
carrying a huge
treasure with them.
00:48:08.18\00:48:11.49
I mean, they had all
the temple treasures King
00:48:11.52\00:48:13.56
Artaxerxes had given them this.
00:48:13.59\00:48:16.42
So he does not ask the king
00:48:16.46\00:48:20.10
however for an escort.
00:48:20.13\00:48:23.30
And the reason being,
00:48:23.33\00:48:25.53
is he didn't want
to confuse the king,
00:48:25.57\00:48:29.60
he witness to the king
saying, "My God can do it."
00:48:29.64\00:48:33.38
But now if all of a
sudden he comes back and says,
00:48:33.41\00:48:36.54
"Oh, by the way,
can you send an escort?"
00:48:36.58\00:48:39.05
So he just
believes, he believes that
00:48:39.08\00:48:42.88
he will bring
greater honor to God
00:48:42.92\00:48:45.45
if he relies totally on God,
00:48:45.49\00:48:47.62
and let's God
demonstrate His power.
00:48:47.66\00:48:51.49
But he didn't
act presumptuously.
00:48:51.53\00:48:53.96
What they do?
00:48:54.00\00:48:55.33
He proclaims a fast,
they humbled themselves
00:48:55.36\00:48:59.10
before the Lord.
00:48:59.13\00:49:00.47
And I'm going to say this,
00:49:00.50\00:49:02.20
please listen
to what I'm saying.
00:49:02.24\00:49:05.14
Serious prayer requires
00:49:05.17\00:49:09.21
serious
concentration and serious time.
00:49:09.24\00:49:14.08
That's right.
00:49:14.12\00:49:15.45
You can't just rush into
the presence of the Lord.
00:49:15.48\00:49:18.49
Serious prayer
requires serious concentration
00:49:18.52\00:49:23.16
and serious time.
00:49:23.19\00:49:25.09
So they're pleading with
God for their protection.
00:49:25.13\00:49:28.46
And what happens?
00:49:28.50\00:49:30.17
They're anticipating
His divine response.
00:49:30.20\00:49:33.44
They ended up actually,
this prayer fasting went on
00:49:33.47\00:49:36.91
for a period their
trip was delayed 12 days,
00:49:36.94\00:49:40.51
they were
looking for the Levites,
00:49:40.54\00:49:42.51
they were having this
prayer and in fasting.
00:49:42.54\00:49:45.85
But they're praying
that God's protection will be
00:49:45.88\00:49:48.72
a sign of His power.
00:49:48.75\00:49:50.39
And He honored the prayer.
00:49:50.42\00:49:51.99
Ezra 8:31-32
says, "Then we departed
00:49:52.02\00:49:54.89
from the river of the
Ahava on the twelfth day
00:49:54.92\00:49:58.09
of the first
month, to go to Jerusalem.
00:49:58.13\00:50:00.33
And the hand of
our God was upon us.
00:50:00.36\00:50:03.63
He delivered us from
the hand of the enemy
00:50:03.67\00:50:06.00
and from ambush along the road.
00:50:06.03\00:50:09.00
So we came to Jerusalem."
00:50:09.04\00:50:11.84
They reached
Jerusalem without harm
00:50:11.87\00:50:15.48
and attributed
their success to God.
00:50:15.51\00:50:20.72
So that is humble Ezra.
00:50:20.75\00:50:23.52
Let's look at Nehemiah
because this is interesting.
00:50:23.55\00:50:27.46
Nehemiah accepted an escort.
00:50:27.49\00:50:32.99
So how did
Nehemiah show his humility,
00:50:33.03\00:50:37.67
his dependence upon the God?
00:50:37.70\00:50:40.04
Nehemiah 5:14 says, "Moreover,
00:50:40.07\00:50:43.91
from the time that
I was appointed to be
00:50:43.94\00:50:46.41
their governor in
the land of Judah,
00:50:46.44\00:50:47.78
from the twentieth year
00:50:47.81\00:50:49.14
until the thirty-second
year of King Artaxerxes,
00:50:49.18\00:50:51.95
twelve years," and get this,
00:50:51.98\00:50:54.85
"neither I nor my brothers
ate the governor's provisions."
00:50:54.88\00:50:59.25
See as governor, the king,
00:50:59.29\00:51:04.29
the Persian king would
give the governor provisions
00:51:04.33\00:51:09.23
but he refused to partake
00:51:09.26\00:51:11.70
because his
poverty stricken nation,
00:51:11.73\00:51:17.67
the children of
Israel who would return,
00:51:17.71\00:51:20.74
the exiles who had returned,
00:51:20.78\00:51:23.01
they wouldn't be
taxed to cover the cost.
00:51:23.04\00:51:25.65
And Nehemiah thought
that this was a great sin.
00:51:25.68\00:51:29.95
And so he
refused that provision at
00:51:29.98\00:51:32.35
great personal cost to himself.
00:51:32.39\00:51:35.52
Listen to this, 15,
"But the former governors
00:51:35.56\00:51:38.86
who were before me had
laid burdens on the people."
00:51:38.89\00:51:41.90
There had been 60 years between
00:51:41.93\00:51:45.03
the Zerubbabel and Nehemiah.
00:51:45.07\00:51:47.24
So there had been governors,
00:51:47.27\00:51:48.97
they were appointed by
the Persian administration,
00:51:49.00\00:51:52.77
they were not elected.
00:51:52.81\00:51:54.21
So obviously some of
these guys had no fear of God,
00:51:54.24\00:51:57.68
and they were unjust
00:51:57.71\00:51:59.05
and they'd
exacted use, etcetera.
00:51:59.08\00:52:01.22
But he said,
"Those who were before me
00:52:01.25\00:52:04.42
laid burdens on the people,
took from them bread and wine,
00:52:04.45\00:52:07.09
besides forty
shekels of silver."
00:52:07.12\00:52:09.76
And then he says, "Yes,
even their servants bore rule
00:52:09.79\00:52:13.36
over the people,
but I did not do so,
00:52:13.40\00:52:15.23
because of the fear of God."
00:52:15.26\00:52:17.07
So Nehemiah considered it to be
00:52:17.10\00:52:19.73
disobedience to
God's commands to do that.
00:52:19.77\00:52:22.80
In verse 16, he says, "Indeed,
00:52:22.84\00:52:24.67
I also continued
the work on this wall,
00:52:24.71\00:52:29.21
and we did not buy any land.
00:52:29.24\00:52:32.45
All my servants
were gathered together
00:52:32.48\00:52:34.22
there for the work."
00:52:34.25\00:52:36.62
A humble servant,
he walked the walk,
00:52:36.65\00:52:39.25
he didn't just talked the talk.
00:52:39.29\00:52:41.12
He got out lead by
example. He worked on the wall.
00:52:41.16\00:52:46.49
And he was there to
fulfill God's commission
00:52:46.53\00:52:50.37
and he devoted himself
00:52:50.40\00:52:53.23
fully to the task of rebuilding,
00:52:53.27\00:52:55.97
personally involved
in the day-to-day work.
00:52:56.00\00:52:58.57
So the other thing
that we just saw in that
00:52:58.61\00:53:01.48
is he didn't take
advantage of his power
00:53:01.51\00:53:05.21
to gain wealth
with sweetheart deals
00:53:05.25\00:53:08.18
because that's what a lot
of the aristocracy would do
00:53:08.22\00:53:12.55
is they would take advantage
of the disadvantaged families.
00:53:12.59\00:53:18.33
But he did not do that.
00:53:18.36\00:53:20.10
So verse 17, he
says, "At my table were
00:53:20.13\00:53:23.70
one hundred and
fifty Jews and rulers,
00:53:23.73\00:53:25.90
besides those who came to
us from the nations around us."
00:53:25.93\00:53:29.74
So he's using
his personal finances
00:53:29.77\00:53:33.41
to feed 150 men
plus their families
00:53:33.44\00:53:38.38
and the visitors.
00:53:38.41\00:53:39.91
So that, you know,
obviously as the cup-bearer
00:53:39.95\00:53:45.35
to King Artaxerxes, it
was a powerful position
00:53:45.39\00:53:49.49
and he had gained some wealth.
00:53:49.52\00:53:51.36
But he goes on in verse
18, and see if I've got time.
00:53:51.39\00:53:54.43
Yes, he goes on in verse 18.
00:53:54.46\00:53:57.63
And he says, "Now that
which was prepared daily
00:53:57.67\00:54:01.34
was one ox and six choice sheep.
00:54:01.37\00:54:03.71
Also fowl were prepared
for me, once every ten days
00:54:03.74\00:54:06.54
an abundance of
all kinds of wine.
00:54:06.57\00:54:08.61
Yet in spite of
this I did not demand
00:54:08.64\00:54:12.88
the governor's
provisions, because the bondage
00:54:12.91\00:54:16.25
was heavy on this people."
00:54:16.28\00:54:18.32
He's acting in good
faith, in right motives.
00:54:18.35\00:54:21.56
He has a clear
conscience. So what does he say?
00:54:21.59\00:54:24.39
"Remember me, my God for good,
00:54:24.43\00:54:27.46
according to all that I
have done for this people."
00:54:27.50\00:54:30.63
Let me read this real quickly.
00:54:30.67\00:54:32.40
"True leaders must be
willing to humble themselves
00:54:32.43\00:54:35.94
and be servants.
00:54:35.97\00:54:37.37
Competent leaders do not require
00:54:37.41\00:54:40.41
or need a title to gain honor.
00:54:40.44\00:54:43.88
Nehemiah had his doors open,
generously gave to the people,
00:54:43.91\00:54:47.75
demonstrated his faith,
00:54:47.78\00:54:49.75
and his incredible
dedication to God was an example
00:54:49.78\00:54:53.59
to the people,
00:54:53.62\00:54:54.96
had a strong personality
and no nonsense temperament,
00:54:54.99\00:54:58.49
but he did not put himself
above anyone else as superior."
00:54:58.53\00:55:04.27
A humble leader. Amen.
00:55:04.30\00:55:06.87
Amen.
00:55:06.90\00:55:08.24
Well, this brings us
to the end of this lesson.
00:55:08.27\00:55:11.74
And so as we finish this hour,
00:55:11.77\00:55:16.75
perhaps, maybe
this week of study
00:55:16.78\00:55:19.48
or even throughout the
13 studies that we've had,
00:55:19.51\00:55:23.08
is there anything that
you would like to leave
00:55:23.12\00:55:24.82
with our people?
00:55:24.85\00:55:26.19
Yeah, there's article I found
in Review and Herald 4-7-1885.
00:55:26.22\00:55:29.46
I think it just, to me,
00:55:29.49\00:55:30.83
it just kind of puts
everything together in one lump,
00:55:30.86\00:55:32.73
I'll read it quickly as I can,
00:55:32.76\00:55:34.33
'cause it talks about the
ministers and the leaders.
00:55:34.36\00:55:36.13
It says, "If the
minister's face is not flint,
00:55:36.16\00:55:39.47
if he has not indomitable faith
00:55:39.50\00:55:41.47
and courage, if his
heart is not made strong
00:55:41.50\00:55:44.11
by constant communion
with God," notice this,
00:55:44.14\00:55:46.91
"he will begin to
shape his testimony to please
00:55:46.94\00:55:51.01
the unsanctified ears and hearts
00:55:51.05\00:55:53.95
of those whom he is addressing.
00:55:53.98\00:55:55.78
Endeavoring to avail criticism
of which he is exposed,
00:55:55.82\00:55:59.69
he separates himself from God,"
00:55:59.72\00:56:02.39
and notice this,
"and divine favor."
00:56:02.42\00:56:06.86
So we have to set ourself
as flint toward God to do
00:56:06.90\00:56:10.13
what He's asked us to do.
00:56:10.17\00:56:11.50
Absolutely.
00:56:11.53\00:56:12.87
We might feel like we're
facing some sort of opposition.
00:56:12.90\00:56:15.50
You might feel
like you're a leader
00:56:15.54\00:56:17.17
and you're facing opposition.
00:56:17.21\00:56:18.54
Joshua 1:9 is for you.
00:56:18.57\00:56:20.31
"Have not I commanded thee?
00:56:20.34\00:56:22.38
Be strong and of a good courage,
00:56:22.41\00:56:24.81
be not afraid," why?
00:56:24.85\00:56:26.72
"Because the Lord
your God is with you."
00:56:26.75\00:56:28.65
Amen.
00:56:28.68\00:56:30.02
Always remember the
capacity of sovereignty.
00:56:30.05\00:56:34.76
For it is God who works in us,
00:56:34.79\00:56:37.63
both to will and to
do of His good pleasure.
00:56:37.66\00:56:40.63
Everything the Lord did
in Ezra's life and Nehemiah's
00:56:40.66\00:56:43.00
and in ours, it's not our work.
00:56:43.03\00:56:45.40
It's His work
that He's accomplishing
00:56:45.43\00:56:47.24
by His ever
presence in our lives.
00:56:47.27\00:56:49.14
Amen.
00:56:49.17\00:56:50.51
And we know that
Nehemiah and Ezra were humble
00:56:50.54\00:56:53.11
because they prayed so much.
00:56:53.14\00:56:57.41
You know, you might think,
00:56:57.45\00:56:58.78
"Oh, so and so
is a humble person
00:56:58.81\00:57:00.58
because we don't talk
about themselves for what."
00:57:00.62\00:57:03.35
The amount of
time we spend in prayer
00:57:03.39\00:57:06.76
really does show our humility
00:57:06.79\00:57:08.72
because we got to learn to
be dependent upon the Lord.
00:57:08.76\00:57:11.49
Amen. Amen.
00:57:11.53\00:57:12.86
Thank you so much.
00:57:12.89\00:57:14.23
And I like to leave
you with Romans 12:2,
00:57:14.26\00:57:16.67
"And do not be
conformed to this world,
00:57:16.70\00:57:20.04
but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind,
00:57:20.07\00:57:24.11
that you may
prove what is that good
00:57:24.14\00:57:26.51
and acceptable and
perfect will of God."
00:57:26.54\00:57:29.04
Amen.
00:57:29.08\00:57:30.41
Well, we wanna thank,
00:57:30.45\00:57:31.78
Pastor Kenny
Shelton, Jill Morikone,
00:57:31.81\00:57:33.55
Pastor Lomacang, John Lomacang,
and Sister Shelley Quinn.
00:57:33.58\00:57:36.69
And we thank you for being
with us during these studies,
00:57:36.72\00:57:40.49
13 studies on the
Book of Ezra and Nehemiah.
00:57:40.52\00:57:43.66
It has been a
wonderful opportunity
00:57:43.69\00:57:45.66
to study God's Word.
00:57:45.69\00:57:47.36
You can still continue to learn
00:57:47.40\00:57:49.00
from these books
because God has many
00:57:49.03\00:57:50.93
wonderful things to teach us.
00:57:50.97\00:57:52.30
I like to leave
you with these words.
00:57:52.33\00:57:54.20
Give your heart to
the Lord Jesus Christ
00:57:54.24\00:57:56.84
and you will begin to experience
00:57:56.87\00:57:58.21
peace and happiness
00:57:58.24\00:57:59.57
that begins in this
world and continues forever.
00:57:59.61\00:58:02.24
Our next study will
be the Book of Daniel.
00:58:02.28\00:58:04.08
Stay tuned.
00:58:04.11\00:58:05.45