Rebuilding with Uncompromising Faith
Series: Rebuild
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 27th November 2022
Passages:
00:00:01 --> 00:00:07 Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:13 It destroyed about 80% of the houses in Darwin.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:22 And it required the evacuation of over 30 of the then 47 inhabitants.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:31 One thing that I didn't realise until I first went to Darwin and spoke to someone who actually went through Cyclone Tracy,
00:00:32 --> 00:00:37 said to me that the vast majority who were evacuated never ever came back.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:40 They never came back.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:48 Of the 30 evacuated, less than 8 actually returned to Darwin and rebuilt again.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:52 And those who did had a massive task in front of them.
00:00:52 --> 00:01:00 And one of the things that I was told was that as Darwin was rebuilt, they had learnt their lesson.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:06 It was rebuilt from that moment on to withstand Cyclones.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:09 With unique architecture.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:18 Now the book of Nehemiah is a time in history when the Israelites are seeking to rebuild the city of Jerusalem
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 after a catastrophic event that wiped out the city.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:26 It was God judging his people for their consistent idolatry.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:32 They loved other things more than they loved their God.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 And so this whole book is about the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:43 But fundamentally, it's about God rebuilding his people as he rebuilds his city.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:50 If you've got the St. Paul's app in front of you, you've got three points in there and it might be easier for you to follow along.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 The first one is a flawed people.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 In chapter 1, Nehemiah was born and raised.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 What we're going to do now, because we're getting to the end of chapter Nehemiah 13,
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 I'm going to retell the story for you.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 Quickly.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:11 In chapter 1, Nehemiah was born and raised as a Jew in exile.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:17 He had, however, risen to the position of cupbearer to King Artaxerxes.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:24 It was there that he had received the shocking reports of the state of his fellow Jews who had returned to Jerusalem.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:35 This led to long periods of praying where he laid before God the failure of his people and his own failure and his wish for God to keep his covenant promises.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:45 In chapter 2, he was sent to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem by King Artaxerxes with a diplomatic passport, the government checkbook and some security guards.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:57 In chapter 3, the disorganised and apathetic people of God came together under Nehemiah's leadership and worked extraordinarily hard to rebuild a wall.
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 They faced tough opposition from surrounding enemies.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:05 In chapter 4, internal conflicts and exploitation by their own people.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:13 In chapters 5 and 6, the walls are finally built at the end of chapter 6 in remarkable time.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:22 Into chapter 7, we start to see in a very real way the rebuilding of the people of God as leadership is installed.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:23 The people are organised.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:24 The city is secured.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:33 And now the main work of re-establishing the covenant community of God's people comes into full swing in chapters 8, 9 and 10.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:39 There was constant reading and re-reading and explanation of God's word.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:47 The word of God is obeyed as the feasts of God are now re-instituted and they are celebrated with joy.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:51 This in turn leads to confession and repentance and covenant renewal.
00:03:52 --> 00:04:02 In chapter 10, all the work of the reformation of the people of God comes to this high point in chapters 11 and 12
00:04:02 --> 00:04:07 as the city of God is once again repopulated.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:15 And as the city and on its walls are filled with praise and worship to God.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 And so you get to the end of chapter 12 and you say,
00:04:20 --> 00:04:24 the rebuilding work of the people of God is a triumph.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:30 And if it was written by Hollywood, that would be it.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 Chapter 12 would be the end of the story.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 There is, however, chapter 13.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:47 And right from the very first verse, we see a slide.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:53 On that day, the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people
00:04:53 --> 00:05:00 and there was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 because they had not met the Israelites with food and water,
00:05:03 --> 00:05:07 but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:16 And when the people heard this, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:23 Now, on the surface, that seems like they're keen to obey God's word.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:30 But the decree regarding the Ammonites and the Moabites,
00:05:30 --> 00:05:34 prohibiting them from joining the assembly to the 10th generation,
00:05:34 --> 00:05:39 was peculiar to the Ammonites and the Moabites.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:47 There is not a single bit in the Old Testament that extends that to every person.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:48 of foreign descent.
00:05:51 --> 00:05:56 However, what is done here is every person of foreign descent is kicked out.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 It's fundamentally against God's purposes.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:06 The term foreign descent is used in Exodus 12, verse 38,
00:06:07 --> 00:06:12 referring to the non-Israelites who joined the Israelites and left Egypt.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:19 And the law made provision for non-Israelites to become Israelites.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 Think of Ruth, for instance.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:30 And so what we have here at the beginning of chapter 13 is a drift towards legalism
00:06:30 --> 00:06:38 and a lack of concern for the nations that Jerusalem was meant to bless.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:43 Jerusalem was to be the place where God dwelt with his people in harmony.
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 And from there, the world was to be blessed.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:47 All peoples.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:54 Of course, verse 3 there is not the only problem.
00:06:54 --> 00:07:00 I think the central issue of this chapter is in verses 4 to 9,
00:07:01 --> 00:07:05 where we read that the very rooms where all the provisions for the temple worship
00:07:05 --> 00:07:10 are supposed to be stored, a motel room has been set up for Tobiah.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 He's from the goon squad in chapter 4.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:19 He's an enemy of God's people, and now he has a suite in the temple.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:25 He's been brought right into the very centre of God's people
00:07:25 --> 00:07:29 and their community life and their life with God.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:35 Tobiah's presence in the centre of their life is akin to them putting an idol
00:07:35 --> 00:07:36 in the middle of the temple.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:43 It's like Tobiah has become their new leader, their new God, their new saviour.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:48 And so Nehemiah takes the right action in verse 8.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:54 He threw Tobiah's fridge and clothes and mattresses and DVDs and CPAP machine and everything
00:07:54 --> 00:07:55 out onto the footpath.
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 He kicked him out of the temple.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 And what you see as you go through chapter 13,
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 the failure of this reformation is right there.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:10 Verses 10 to 14, they neglect the tithes for the temple and the Levites.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 Verses 15 to 22, they break the Sabbath regulations.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:19 We see mixed marriages in 23 to 28 with the next generation,
00:08:20 --> 00:08:24 the key here, the next generation are not even able to speak the language of Scripture
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 and therefore unable to know their God.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:35 And this is all in the shadow of the magnificent covenant renewal and commitments of chapter 10.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:44 It's sin, rebellion, faithfulness, faithlessness on repeat once again.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:45 Again.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:53 At the centre of it all is the perversion of the temple.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:57 This was the house of God.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:04 The one place where sinners could come and offer sacrifices and enjoy fellowship with God
00:09:04 --> 00:09:08 and reassurance of his favour and his grace towards them.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:16 You also get a sense as you read chapter 13 that
00:09:16 --> 00:09:20 as great a leader as Nehemiah was,
00:09:21 --> 00:09:25 he is frustrated with the failure of God's people once again.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 He pulls out some hair, he bashes a few people around.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:34 The text makes no comment about that at all.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 The focus is on the faithlessness of God's people.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:47 It's almost as if his response is exactly the right response to sin.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 And what do we make of the last line of Nehemiah?
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 Remember me with favour, oh my God.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:06 That refrain, remember me, pops up three times in the last chapter.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 It only occurs once previously in Nehemiah,
00:10:11 --> 00:10:16 and that's in chapter 5 when he mentions his example of sacrificial leadership.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 But three times in this last chapter,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 Nehemiah sounds like a man who is weary,
00:10:25 --> 00:10:29 who is frustrated, who's getting old, tired and cranky.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:33 The wall has been built,
00:10:34 --> 00:10:41 but he cannot effect real change in the hearts of God's people.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:47 The final summary of Nehemiah's mission is in verse 30.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 I assigned them duties, each to his own task.
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 I also made provision for contributions of wood
00:10:59 --> 00:11:04 at designated times and for the firstfruits.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:11 It's like this whole reformation work ends with a whimper.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 And let's just put restart again.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 Have another go once more.
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 The walls are built,
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 but the people continue to crumble.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:27 In other words, you get to the end of Nehemiah 13,
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 and it's not a Hollywood ending in any way whatsoever.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 It's a letdown.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:39 But then again, so is the end of Deuteronomy,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:44 and Judges, and Chronicles, and Two Kings,
00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 and so many other books of the Bible.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 So it is.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 And the issue is sin in the human heart.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 Deep inside of us,
00:11:55 --> 00:11:59 we cannot live up to our own standards,
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 let alone covenant commitments to God.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 You see, what the narrative of Nehemiah should really get to us
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 as we get to this last chapter,
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 it should drive us to look elsewhere.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:18 It should drive us to look for the flawless Israelite.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:22 to a flawless leader and saviour.
00:12:24 --> 00:12:26 Nehemiah ultimately points us to Jesus.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:32 The birth narratives of Jesus tell us that even as a boy,
00:12:33 --> 00:12:37 he is totally committed to the work of his father at the temple.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 He's about his father's business.
00:12:40 --> 00:12:45 The temple, even as a young boy,
00:12:45 --> 00:12:49 was central to him in such a way that he stayed there
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 when his parents headed back home.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 Jesus, throughout his life,
00:12:55 --> 00:12:59 fulfilled every single covenant requirement in his perfect life.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 During his own time,
00:13:01 --> 00:13:04 people marvelled at the perfection of his life.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:07 He had an integrity which was just unmatched.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:11 A flawless man committed to the father.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 He is the true Israelite in whom there is nothing false.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 But John 1 tells us that he's not just,
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 not just a man,
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 but he is God himself coming into this world.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:28 He is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 He is full of grace and truth.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 And so when God,
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 in the person,
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 God the Son,
00:13:34 --> 00:13:34 Jesus Christ,
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 turns up into this world,
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 he does not flex his muscle
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 and go to the palace in Jerusalem.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 He heads to the temple in Jerusalem instead.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:51 And what we see when he arrives at the temple in Jerusalem
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 is another Nehemiah.
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 He clears it out.
00:13:57 --> 00:13:57 He clears it out.
00:13:57 --> 00:14:04 He sits and makes a whip.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 And he clears the temple of those who are trading in the courts,
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 who have taken up residency in the temple.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:21 These people are selling the free gift of relationship with God for a price.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:26 And like Tobiah in the temple,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 they are a roadblock of getting to God,
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 of relating to God,
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 and receiving assurance and compassion from God.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 They're a roadblock to free gift of grace.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 And it makes Jesus angry.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:49 He declares that he will tear down this temple,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 and he will rebuild it in three days.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 He will fulfill the role it was meant to play.
00:14:57 --> 00:15:00 He will be the place where we will come to meet with God
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 and find forgiveness and assurance and compassion.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:07 And he does that by dying on the cross for our sin,
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 for our failure,
00:15:09 --> 00:15:13 for our inability to obey God's covenant requirements.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:17 And he will rise again for our justification and eternal life in his presence.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:25 Romans 5 says of Jesus that those who put their trust in him,
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 with your blood you purchased men for God
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 from every tribe and language and people and nation.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:37 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:45 He shed his blood so that we might have forgiveness of sins
00:15:45 --> 00:15:51 and that we might have his perfect record of covenant obedience
00:15:51 --> 00:15:54 accredited to our account despite our failure.
00:15:55 --> 00:16:00 That is the great triumph of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:06 And that means, friends, as I said right at the beginning of this Nehemiah series,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 God's disposition towards you as his children,
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 if you are Christian,
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 is constant delight
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 because of Jesus.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 The illustration I gave you back then was
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 when I first became a father
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 and I held Isabel
00:16:24 --> 00:16:28 for the very first time.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 First experience of the father.
00:16:31 --> 00:16:35 And Dad had to go off and have surgery
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 and I had Isabel lone parenting
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 for two hours when she was first born
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 and the kid did not stop screaming.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 For two hours.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 I got nothing for you, kid.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 But I remember holding her in my arms for two hours
00:16:53 --> 00:16:56 and she screamed and she screamed and she screamed.
00:16:56 --> 00:17:03 And the midwives, at least on two occasions that I recall,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 came into the room and said,
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 are you okay, Dad?
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 Because that's not stopping.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 And I said to them,
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 I'm loving every minute of it.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:18 I was so delighted in being a father.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 So delighted.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:28 That was before 15 years of this experience of parenting.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:34 And so my tendency is to look to God in the same way
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 that when I fail,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:38 he looks upon me as I do with my children
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 and feel a sense of disappointment.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:44 But that's not how he looks to you in Jesus.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 He looks to you as I did in that moment
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 because my love is flawed.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 His is not.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:53 He has constant delight in his children
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 because of Christ.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59 Delight in you.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 Thank you, Jesus.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:08 And even now, he's interceding for you.
00:18:08 --> 00:18:11 Jesus, the man in heaven, interceding,
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 he is your advocate.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 His pleasure in you is not based on your obedience
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 or your faithfulness,
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 but on the finished work of Christ.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:23 And in Christ, you have every spiritual blessing,
00:18:23 --> 00:18:26 loved by God, forgiven, empowered for new life.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 And yet that may not be your current experience.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:35 You may feel a sense of your sin
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 and you should.
00:18:36 --> 00:18:40 You may feel overwhelmed
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 and conscious of your failure.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:45 That is normal discipleship.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 And that's because we're still waiting
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 for the final triumph of the gospel.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:56 You see, Jesus has saved us for the new Jerusalem
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59 where there will be no temple,
00:19:00 --> 00:19:03 but where we will be with him in his presence
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 with great joy.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 You see, the goal of the Christian,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 the final triumph of the gospel
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 and the end of all things is Revelation 21.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
00:19:14 --> 00:19:17 coming down out of heaven for God,
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 prepared as a bride,
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 beautifully dressed for her husband.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:22 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
00:19:22 --> 00:19:25 look, God's dwelling place is now among the people
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 and he will dwell with them
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 and they will be his people
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 and God himself will be with them
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 and be their God.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:33 He will wipe away every tear from their eye.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 There will be no more death or mourning
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35 or crying or pain
00:19:35 --> 00:19:38 for the old order of things has passed away.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:41 Those who are victorious
00:19:41 --> 00:19:44 will inherit all of this
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 and I will be their God
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 and they will be my children.
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 Jesus guarantees that final chapter
00:19:51 --> 00:19:54 for those who trust in him and overcome.
00:19:54 --> 00:20:00 But we must remember that Jesus is perfect.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 He is the flawless savior.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 He is not like you and me.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 You see, our sense of justice,
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 our sense of right and wrong
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 have been ruined by sin.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:17 And frankly, we read Nehemiah 13
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 and we see Nehemiah acting,
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 pulling beards and beating up
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 and we go, well, that's just wrong.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:35 We not only sinfully overreact to injustice,
00:20:35 --> 00:20:40 we also sinfully underreact to injustice as well.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:45 Even our strongest emotions of compassion
00:20:45 --> 00:20:49 are but a tepid compassion compared to Jesus.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:54 And because of that,
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 we struggle to grasp the depths of his grace
00:20:56 --> 00:20:59 but also his judgment.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 Jesus' compassion and delight in his followers
00:21:04 --> 00:21:07 is unfiltered, perfect compassion.
00:21:10 --> 00:21:13 Everyone who has not been looking to him for hope
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 will in the end experience
00:21:15 --> 00:21:18 his perfect unfiltered anger.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:24 You see, when you read on in Revelation 21,
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 straight after the promise of inheritance
00:21:25 --> 00:21:27 in Jesus forever,
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 we read,
00:21:28 --> 00:21:30 but the cowardly, the unbelieving,
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 the vile, the murderers,
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 the sexually immoral,
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 those who practice magical arts,
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 the idolaters and all liars,
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 they will be consigned to the fiery lake
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 of burning sulfur.
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 This is the second death.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:44 As the only flawless one,
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 his anger and his compassion
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 rise and fall together.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:52 They rise and fall together
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 because of his perfection.
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 Like they did with Nehemiah.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 Righteously committed
00:22:03 --> 00:22:07 to covenant commitments
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09 and angry when he didn't see them.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:17 Access to God
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 and relationship with God
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 had been perverted.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 He was angry
00:22:21 --> 00:22:24 and it's more so with Jesus.
00:22:26 --> 00:22:29 Whether it be eternal life in his kingdom
00:22:29 --> 00:22:31 or eternal death cast away from it,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 Jesus is not weary
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 or frustrated with either.
00:22:35 --> 00:22:37 And if you're not a Christian,
00:22:37 --> 00:22:39 you've got to know
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 this is coming from
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 a heart of sensitivity.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 Know that Jesus offers you
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 life, hope,
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 perfection,
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 joy forever.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 That's what he offers you.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 Not based on any of your performance,
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 but based on his.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 You will not find
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 a greater offer
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 than the gospel
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 of the Lord Jesus Christ
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 and the door
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 is still open to you.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:04 But know that it will close.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:09 And when it closes
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 without receiving it,
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 you will receive
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 the perfect anger
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 of Christ
00:23:15 --> 00:23:17 forever.
00:23:17 --> 00:23:23 So that leads me
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 to
00:23:23 --> 00:23:26 straight into
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 one more glimpse
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 of Jesus
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 that we get
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 in Nehemiah 13
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 and I've never seen
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 this before.
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 In verses 6 and 7
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 we are told
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 Nehemiah
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37 left Jerusalem
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 to return
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 to the throne room
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 of Artaxerxes,
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 the throne room
00:23:40 --> 00:23:42 of the world
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 at that time.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 And then he came back
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 to Jerusalem
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 and it was
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 in that
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 intermediate period
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 that
00:23:51 --> 00:23:53 the people of God
00:23:53 --> 00:23:53 descended
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 into thin
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 covenant unfaithfulness.
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 It was while
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 he was away.
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 If you jump
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 into the gospels
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 you will notice
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 that Jesus
00:24:02 --> 00:24:04 tells many parables
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 that call
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 his disciples
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 to be alert
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 and covenant
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 faithfulness
00:24:09 --> 00:24:11 between his departure
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 and when he returns.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 Matthew 25
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 we just read out
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 one of them.
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 Jesus is the
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 returning bridegroom
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 who will arrive
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 joyfully
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 at the end
00:24:22 --> 00:24:22 of the age
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 extend a warm
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 work unto all
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 the guests
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 who have patiently
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 remained waiting
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 for him
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 and are prepared
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 for his arrival.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 And we are told
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 there that the
00:24:32 --> 00:24:34 kingdom is a door
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 that can
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 and does close
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 and at the end
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 Jesus will gather
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 those to himself
00:24:40 --> 00:24:42 those who have been
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 waiting for him
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 and he will
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 close the door
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 behind him.
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 If you're a
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 disciple of Jesus
00:24:52 --> 00:24:57 the end of Nehemiah
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 drives me to ask
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 this question
00:24:58 --> 00:25:01 if he was to return
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 right now
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 how would he find
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 your lamp burning?
00:25:04 --> 00:25:11 how are you
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 waiting for him
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 right now?
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 I want to ask
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 whether Jesus
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 is the centre
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 of your life
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 or whether
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 Tobiah is.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:24 don't take
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 the grace
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 of God
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 for granted.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 It is so easy
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 in our
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 day and age
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 to drift
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 towards compromise
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 and call it
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 tolerance
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 drift towards
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 disobedience
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 and call it
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 freedom
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 drift towards
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 superstition
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 and call it
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 faith
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42 we cherish
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 the ill
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 discipline
00:25:44 --> 00:25:46 of lost
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 self-control
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 and we call
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 it relaxation
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 we slouch
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 towards
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 prayerlessness
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 and deluding
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 ourselves into
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 thinking that
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 we've managed
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 to escape
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 legalism
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 and living
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 by grace
00:25:58 --> 00:26:02 we slide
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 towards
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 godlessness
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 and we convince
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 ourselves that
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 we've been
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 liberated
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07 and free
00:26:07 --> 00:26:11 friends we do
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 not automatically
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 drift towards
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 discipline
00:26:13 --> 00:26:15 we do not
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 automatically drift
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 towards following
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 Jesus and
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 discipleship
00:26:18 --> 00:26:21 but god
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 has graciously
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 given us
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 the means
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 for his
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 grace coming
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 to us
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 regularly
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 he's given
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 us means
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 they are
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 gifts
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 to keep
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 us striving
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 towards
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 the final
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 triumph of the
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 gospel
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 our heavenly
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 home
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 and here at
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 St. Paul's
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 it is because
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 we treasure
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 Jesus
00:26:44 --> 00:26:47 and his
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 grace towards
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 us that we
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 choose to
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 engage in
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 worship every
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 week
00:26:52 --> 00:26:54 we choose to
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 worship him
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 privately in
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 devotional life
00:26:57 --> 00:26:59 at least four
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 times a week
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 we choose to
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 walk more
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 closely together
00:27:02 --> 00:27:04 with each
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 other
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 teaching
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 serving
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 equipping and
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 caring in
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 community groups
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 and we
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 choose to
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 serve the
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 world
00:27:10 --> 00:27:13 in ministry
00:27:13 --> 00:27:17 when I
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 ask you
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 the question
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 what is your
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 next step
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 that's not a
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 legalistic
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 question
00:27:23 --> 00:27:26 that is God's
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 means of
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 grace to
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 you that you
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 might get to
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 the heavenly
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 home
00:27:31 --> 00:27:34 the final
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 triumph of
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 the gospel
00:27:35 --> 00:27:38 Jesus is
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 yet to
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 return
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 do not
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 let your
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 lamp go
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 dim
00:27:41 --> 00:27:43 and the
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 book of
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 Nehemiah
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 should drum
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 into us
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 a holy
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 distrust of
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 ourselves
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 and give
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 us a
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 clear
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 grasp
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 of just
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 how tenuous
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 our devotion
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 to him
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 is
00:27:55 --> 00:28:00 press on
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 brothers and
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 sisters
00:28:01 --> 00:28:03 do not be
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 overcome by
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 the battle
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 have great
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 confidence in
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 Christ and
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 his gospel
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 we live
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 we serve
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 we sacrifice
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 in the light
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 of the cross
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 and an empty
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 tomb
00:28:13 --> 00:28:15 but we also
00:28:15 --> 00:28:15 live and
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 serve and
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 sacrifice in
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 the painful
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 knowledge of
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 our failures
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 of our
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 disappointments
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 and our
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 inconsistency
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 and may
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 this tension
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 which has
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 existed
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 for more
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 than 2
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 years
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 may that
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 tension
00:28:29 --> 00:28:31 cause you
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 as a
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 disciple
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 of
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 Jesus
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 to cry
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 out
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 with the
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 church
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 as it
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 has
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 for
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 generations
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 please
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 come
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 Lord
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 Jesus
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 come
00:28:39 --> 00:28:41 bring
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 the
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 final
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 triumph
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 of the
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 gospel
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 shall
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 do
00:28:46 --> 00:28:50 you
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 swear
00:28:50 --> 00:28:54 Nur
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 don
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 have
00:28:55 --> 00:28:59 not