Standing Firm in Faith: Nehemiah’s Call to Action – Nehemiah 13:15-22a

SPEAKER 01 : 0:08

Welcome to Expository Truths, where we exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with Dr. John Kyle, pastor of Faith Community Church in Vacaville. As Christians, we are called to know the truth and be able to proclaim it. We can know the truth when we know the word of God, which is precise, without error, powerful, and effective for both salvation and spiritual growth. Let’s join Pastor Kyle as he takes us verse by verse through the book of Nehemiah, an incredible book showing us how God sovereignly used the faithfulness of Nehemiah to lead the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in the midst of many mighty and powerful enemies.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:57

Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 13, verses 15 through 22. Nehemiah 13 says, 15 through 22. Now remember, God led Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem to not only be the catalyst in rebuilding the ruined walls of the city, but to also bring the people back to a repentant and passionate faith in the living God, which did indeed happen. And we saw that in chapters 1 through 12. At this point here in chapter 13, many years have now gone by, perhaps even 25 years since the wall has been completed. Remember, Nehemiah left Babylon and he came to Jerusalem and he was the governor in Jerusalem for 12 years. Chapters 1 through 12 cover less than a year of that. And so there are 11 more years in which Nehemiah continued to be the governor in Jerusalem that we know nothing about. After that time, Nehemiah then went back to Persia, and Nehemiah was there for perhaps 12 more years before coming back again to Jerusalem. So again, a lot of time has now gone by between verses 3 and 4 of chapter 13. So at this point, Nehemiah has been gone for over a decade, but now he’s returned to Jerusalem. And look, he’s found some issues. Remember? Like what? Well… The people have reverted in their faith. They have given way to compromise. No good leaders stepped up and led the people in Nehemiah’s absence, and the people weren’t convicted enough on their own to take a godly stand for the glory of the Lord. And so spiritual mediocrity and blatant sin has won the day. How so? Well, the priest, if you remember, the priest Eliashib had given a number one enemy of God’s people. Remember, Tobiah the Ammonite had given him a room to stay in within the courts of the temple, even though those rooms were reserved only for holy use. That was done because of their family ties, and also it was done for economic gain. But here’s a question. What about what God thinks? That was truly wicked behavior, but no one did anything about it until Nehemiah came back and found out what was going on. When Nehemiah found out, he was first grieved bitterly about that, rightly so. And then he threw everything that belonged to Tobiah out of the room. He cleansed the room and he made things right again in that room, rightly so. What else? This, the Levites who were the people who were selected by God to lead the people in worship, talking about the priests and the servants and the singers and the ministers who were supported by the tithes of the people of God. Look, they weren’t receiving those tithes. And so they had to abandon their posts and go home to work in their fields because they had to in order for them to survive. In other words, the people weren’t taking care of God’s workers and they also didn’t seem to care about God’s house. And no one did anything about that wretched and sinful behavior until Nehemiah came back and discovered that very serious sin. What did he do? Nehemiah made things right. See, he couldn’t sit back and do nothing. No, he had to do something because love for God and hatred of sin compelled him to do something. So he contented with the sinful rulers. He rebuked them. He fired the neglectful ones and he hired faithful workers and he made things right for the glory of God. So here’s a question. Can one faithful person really make a difference? You know it. Can one faithful person change a nation for the glory of God? Answer? Absolutely. And while we may not have power like Nehemiah had, and while we may not be governors like Nehemiah was, we can still be faithful people who love God and who hate sin, and who are intent on being bold and godly in the one fast and fading life that God has given to us. We can do that. So you have some passion. Have some conviction. Put God first in your life. Stand against the crowd for the glory of God and honor Him first in your life, like Nehemiah. We need more Nehemiahs today. Are you one of them? I pray you are. In verse 15, we see yet another problem that Nehemiah discovered. Let’s look. Verse 15. In those days, I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath. And bringing in sheaves and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens which they had brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions. Men of Tyre dwelt there also who brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah and in Jerusalem. You see the problem? We should see it, right? The people were violating the Sabbath, which is a very serious violation. Now remember, the fourth of the Ten Commandments is to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, Exodus 20, verse 8. Following this command are statements defining the Sabbath as the seventh day, which was Saturday. “…dedicating it to the Lord your God, forbidding all work on it, applying it to everyone in Israel, and then citing the basis for it. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that’s in them, and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” And so the Israelites, under the Mosaic law, the old covenant, they were to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. The word remember is emphatic, which means that the children of Israel were to not ever grow wax in their observation of this command. Look, the word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word meaning day of rest. The Sabbath day of rest is the seventh day of the week, which to Israel was from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. The call was to keep that day holy, which means to consecrate it, to set it apart and to sanctify it. And so the Israelites were to make a distinction between the seventh day and the rest of the week. See, the Sabbath day was to be different. The Sabbath day was to be dedicated to the Lord. The priests were to do double the daily sacrifices on the Sabbath day, marking the day with increased sacred activity, while the rest of the Israelites were to mark the day with decreased activity, no work at all in honor of the Lord. The penalty for desecrating the Sabbath with work was death. It’s a very serious thing. Note that keeping the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between Israel and the Lord, as Exodus 31.13 says, You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come. And so, as Israel kept the Sabbath set apart… they were reminded that they too were also being set apart, so that you may know that I am the Lord who makes you holy. So keeping the Sabbath was important for the Jewish people. It was very, very important. Now, does this mean that we too as Christians today are commanded to observe the Sabbath law? Answer, no, because Jesus fulfilled all the law when he died on the cross and when he rose from the dead. And we today are no longer under that law as Christians. As Paul writes in Colossians 5, 16 through 17. Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration, or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come. The reality, however, is found in Christ. And there you have it. See, the Sabbath day was meant to foreshadow God’s rest in Christ that’s made available to the Christian. And while having a day of rest is a blessing, it’s a far greater blessing to rest in the salvation that Jesus Christ gives. As Hebrews 4, 9-11 says, There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works just as God did from His. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. The rest spoken of there is salvation in Christ. And if a person has stopped trying to earn salvation, but simply rest in Christ’s finished work, then that person is keeping the Sabbath as God intends. See, Christ is our true rest. But note this. Note that while this law is no longer binding on us today, it still applies to us today. How so? Well, how about this? Set apart a day that’s different from the rest of the week by refraining from unnecessary work and by honoring the Lord with it. Sunday, which is called the Lord’s Day, is a day that the early church corporately worshipped the Lord because Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, Sunday. So Sunday’s a great day for us to apply this Old Testament law. To set aside the day, to rest from work, to worship God with the people of God, to fellowship in a godly way together, and to honor God every day, of course, but in a special way on Sunday. That’s a great application for us regarding this Sabbath law. That said, for the Jews in Nehemiah’s day, the law was very clear. No work, right? Make Saturday different and set it apart from the other days and honor God with this day in a special way. Note that this day was to be more than adhering to a bunch of rules. It was a good way for the people of God to turn their attention to Him and to realize that every good gift comes from Him. It was a way for the people to trust in God as their true provider and for the people to demonstrate their faith in the Lord. I’m not going to work on this day. I’m not going to make any money on this day. I trust God with it. This law also set Israel apart from the other nations who had no such practice. And it showed the people that Israel had different priorities. Israel had different commitments than the worldly and materialistic nations that surrounded her. See, the Sabbath had immense witnessing value. It let other people know how much God mattered to them. In earlier generations, visitors to Israel could hardly have failed to notice how much they honored their God. Because look, His work took precedence over their own. And His demands overruled their desires. See, on the seventh day of every week, Gentiles had seen for themselves how much Israelite farmers and tradesmen and merchants and servants and masters and housewives and children loved their God. And it was a massive distinction between God’s people and the rest of the people. But look, at this point here in chapter 13, there’s virtually no distinction as the Sabbath law has been cast aside. Look what was going on. It was a Sabbath day, right? It was a day of rest, the day that was supposed to be set aside for the Lord. And look, look what’s going on. The people are working. See, instead of the people trying to invest in the eternal kingdom, they’re trying to build up their own earthly kingdom. Instead of resting and focusing on the Lord, the people are trying to make money and focus on themselves, right? Look what was going on. They were treading wine presses on the Sabbath. They were bringing in sheaves, which were bundles of grain. And they were loading up donkeys with all kinds of goods. And then they were bringing them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. On top of that, unbelieving men from the pagan city of Tyre were bringing in fish and other goods. And they were selling them to the people on the Sabbath day. And so very clearly, there was no attempt to keep the Sabbath special. But instead, the seventh day looked much like any other work day when it was supposed to look the opposite. Why would they do this? Why would they do this? Well, first, they clearly no longer held the conviction to honor and obey God and His Word, right? Clearly, they have left their first love, which isn’t your spouse or your children. No, your first love is the Lord. See, He must come first. He must be your all in all. He alone, of course. I mean, who else is going to save your soul from eternal wrath? Who else is going to give you eternal hope and peace and joy and an unfading inheritance? Only Him. But these people have clearly lost their focus because focused people don’t disobey God like this so blatantly. Reminds me of the church in Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2. That church had so many amazing things going for it. They had sound doctrine, which is very good. They knew what they believed, which is very good. They could spot sin, which is very good. They were serving and working hard, which is very good. But look, Jesus says that even while all these great things were true with them, look, He had this against them, and this is devastating. They left their first love. That’s kind of a major problem, don’t you think? Look, when Jesus talks about the Ephesians losing their first love, He’s talking about the love they had for Him when they first believed. And now, after a while, as Jesus looks at their hearts, He sees a love that’s less glowing. It’s flickering out. It’s dying away. It’s in a state of decline. Now, while it’s true that some of the emotion that we first felt may subside the longer that we remain Christians, that emotional excitement should mature into a depth of love that makes your love for Christ even better and deeper and stronger than the first bit of emotion that you had for Him. For example… A couple that’s been married for a long time doesn’t always have the same thrill of excitement that they had when they first dated, and that’s okay as long as that excitement has matured into a depth of love that makes it even better than the first emotional thrill of excitement. The problems come when the depth of love isn’t growing. And what we find is that the Ephesians were in a state of decline when it came to their love for Christ. Think about that. Their faith is now mechanical. There’s not much passion. There’s not much heart. There’s not much unction. Their love is growing cold because they have lost focus. They have turned their eyes to lesser things. Oh, what a tragedy this is. Especially when the Christian’s love for Jesus should always be red hot and growing in its intensity because He’s worthy of it. Let me ask you. Do you remember your first love for Jesus? The love you had for your Savior when He forgave you of all your sin? Remember the joy you felt when God so graciously blotted out your transgressions that condemned you to eternity in hell? Remember the happy moment when the Lord really appeared to you, bleeding on the cross saying, Come and follow me and be saved from the wrath to come. And you joyfully gave up all to follow Him. You’re all in all. Do you remember that? It’s a love that surpasses all other loves. It’s a love that compels a true Christian to be willing to give up all to follow the Lord. It’s a love that drives you to worship. It’s a love that drives you to prayer. It’s a love that drives you to the Word. It’s a love that drives you to service where you just say, I gladly give up all for Him, the One who died for me. And sad to say, like these Ephesians, many Christians have left their first love or else they are in the process of leaving. they have turned their attention away from Him to much lesser things, to things that fade away. Just like the people of Nehemiah’s day who chose to disobey God for their own personal gain. What folly! Take heed to yourself today. This is a warning for all of us. Take heed. Because if we aren’t careful, and if we shift our focus to lesser things, and if we let sin and compromise in, and if we’re not always watching and praying, this could certainly become any of us. Why? Because it doesn’t take much to shift our focus. And for some, all it takes is a pandemic that will keep us from coming to church for a few weeks, and then suddenly, a few weeks turns into a few years, because that’s how it works. For as we said last time, little compromises turn into big ones very, very quickly. Let me ask you, where’s your earnestness for God? Where’s your spiritual zeal and passion? What does your prayer life look like these days? What does your intake of the Word of God look like? Where’s your hunger for godly fellowship, for Sunday worship, for Bible study? How about this? Can you look back and see that you don’t pray or read or serve the way you did years ago, last year, last month? Danger. When we had our first love, it was, how much can I do for Christ? But with many these days, it’s, how little can I do for Christ and still get away with it? Danger. So question, have you left your first love, or might you be in the process of leaving? No, John, I’m all in. I’m all in so long as it doesn’t rain. I’m all in so long as you don’t go too long and ruin my lunch plans. Be out by noon or else. None of you would do that, right? I’m all in so long as I’m not too tired from staying out so late the night before. I’m all in so long as it’s convenient. I’m all in so long as Christ isn’t a nuisance to my spiritually lukewarm life. Take heed. This is a warning. It’s not an accusation, but it’s a warning. Look, I found that the normal Christian’s comfort zone is spiritual mediocrity. And if we’re not watching and praying and intent and focused, then we will gladly settle into that wretched, useless, passionless, lukewarm comfort zone. So take heed to yourself. How did the people of Nehemiah’s day get to this point? Well, many things, I’m sure, but clearly it was materialism. And it was a focus on the things of this fading life over pleasing God and the things that have true eternal value. See, they wanted to make more money. And so they broke God’s law, the very law that was a blessing for them when they kept it. Working and making money for six days a week is good, but we could do better if we worked and made money seven days a week. So that’s what we’re going to do, even if it dishonors God and goes against what He says and what He desires from us, His people. No. No, this is serious. And this isn’t worth it in the end. In Luke 12, 15, Jesus says, take heed and beware of covetousness. For one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things that he possesses. Why beware of this? Because if we’re not aware, it’ll sneak up on you and sneak in and divert us away from the one thing that matters, him. The Greek word for covetous literally means to have more, to lust for more, to grasp for more. This word describes someone who is greedy, someone who is insatiable in his material desires, someone who covets, who hungers, who yearns for more earthly things. And here Jesus says to watch out because, again, if you’re not careful, then this idol will get a hold of you and suck you into its ungodly trap. Ecclesiastes 5.10, He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance with increase. This is vanity. Hebrews 13.5, let your conduct be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have. 1 Timothy 6.9, but those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men into destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil for which some have strayed from their faith in their greediness. And so we find that covetousness is a very serious sin. It’s listed in the Ten Commandments alongside such sins as idolatry, adultery, and murder. It also angers God and it leads down a road of very sinful behavior and it should have no place in the life of the believer. I mean, he is to be our all in all, right? Not money. and not things beware and if you think things make you happy something is spiritually wrong because things can’t truly make you happy if your house is what makes you happy or sad if your stuff consumes you your money your car your clothes something is very wrong spiritually speaking our call and the call of the people in nehemiah’s day to be content in the lord to trust him right to honor him to be faithful to him even if it means that we have less stuff here I heard about an elderly woman in a little old cottage who had nothing but a piece of bread and a little bit of water. And lifting up her hand, she said, as a blessing, what? All this and Christ too. And she was serious. So question, are you satisfied in Christ? The people in Nehemiah’s day clearly were not. And so they chose to disobey God for more earthly goods. It’s a very bad decision. Why is that a bad decision? Because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things that he possesses. See, life isn’t about what you possess, but… who you possess, or who possesses you, who owns you. And we need to remember that. Life is indeed about spiritual things. It’s about eternal things first, whether you’re saved by grace through faith in Christ, and then, are you living out your Christian life for His glory, obeying and pleasing Him, redeeming the time, bearing eternal fruit? Are you doing that? See, these spiritual issues are much more important than how rich you are or how big of a house you have or what kind of car you drive or what name brand you have on your clothes. Because life isn’t about your possessions. They don’t matter. Your possessions don’t matter one bit. They are temporary, they fade, they burn, they rot. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet… Loses soul. The answer? Not good. We do well to remember that today, something the people in Nehemiah’s day seem to forget. They are short-sighted. They are fools. Lord, help us to not be like them.

SPEAKER 01 : 24:02

Thanks for joining us for today’s exposition from the book of Nehemiah on Expository Truths with Dr. John Kyle. Faith Community Church seeks to exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with a commitment to glorifying God through the pure, deep and reaching message of the gospel. Pastor John is the preaching pastor at Faith Community Church of Vacaville, a seminary professor and a trainer of preaching pastors overseas. Join for services at Faith Community Church Sundays at 9 and 1045 a.m. 192 Bella Vista Road, Suite A. To learn more, visit vacavillefaith.org or call 707-451-2026. That’s 707-451-2026. Or visit vacavillefaith.org.

SPEAKER 1 : 25:58

Thank you.