SPEAKER_00: Well, good morning, church.
SPEAKER_00: We are going to be in Nehemiah chapter 5.
SPEAKER_00: If you need help finding that, we got some Bibles for you.
SPEAKER_00: If you wanted to have that Bible, you can take it home today.
SPEAKER_00: We'd be happy to give it to you as a gift.
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah is the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, then the Psalms.
SPEAKER_00: If you find the Psalms, you're close.
SPEAKER_00: Just keep going to the left.
SPEAKER_00: As you're turning there, thank you, Pastor Mike, for leading us to pray for our nation.
SPEAKER_00: Both Pastor Mike G and myself got an email from the president of the Southern Baptist Convention saying, I am asking for all of our churches this Sunday to pray over our nation as we step into this milestone of 250 years old as a nation.
SPEAKER_00: That's pretty young, don't you think?
SPEAKER_00: That's pretty young.
SPEAKER_00: But God's not done doing great things in this land and all across the world.
SPEAKER_00: So keep praying.
SPEAKER_00: We've also prayed, and I love to use this time right before I preach to pray for another preacher.
SPEAKER_00: We've prayed for a pastor named Zach Crook, and he preaches and leads in Innis, Texas at Tabernacle Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_00: He is being treated right now for cancer, and uh he keeps having good days and bad days.
SPEAKER_00: He sent out a group text to some pastors saying, Hey, good news, the cancer is shrinking.
SPEAKER_00: Bad news, my immune system is shot.
SPEAKER_00: So as we pray for Pastor Zach today, would you pray?
SPEAKER_00: And if you remember him during the week, pray that God would give him strength.
SPEAKER_00: Pray that he would endure and persevere.
SPEAKER_00: He's still preaching once a month.
SPEAKER_00: He preaches from a stool.
SPEAKER_00: He hates it.
SPEAKER_00: He said, Aaron, I hate preaching from a stool.
SPEAKER_00: I would hate that too.
SPEAKER_00: But he's still leading his family and leading that church.
SPEAKER_00: Would you pray that God would supply the strength that he needs to endure the season that he's walking through?
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray and we'll be in Nehemiah chapter 5.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Already this morning, as we sing these songs, these truths over one another, that we are reminded of your goodness.
SPEAKER_00: We are reminded of the free gifts of grace and salvation and forgiveness of sin.
SPEAKER_00: I thank you, God, even that we're reminded of what you call us to, a transformed life, that we're made new from the inside out, or we're wholly surrendered.
SPEAKER_00: And even as we approach this time, as we walk through the book of Nehemiah, there are truths for us to glean, that we might be more yielded to you.
SPEAKER_00: And so, Holy Spirit, I ask that you would be leading in this time.
SPEAKER_00: That the truth of the scriptures and the power of the Holy Spirit would come together and change us, that we might walk differently as we grow in our journey of faith.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I do pray for Pastor Zach, and I thank you, God, that he continues to walk through his suffering with such great joy.
SPEAKER_00: And what a testament to what happens when you provide abundant life for us.
SPEAKER_00: That no matter what today's circumstances bring, we have a hope for eternity.
SPEAKER_00: And there is a joy in knowing you both now and then.
SPEAKER_00: And so I pray for Zach.
SPEAKER_00: I pray for his bride, I pray for his kids, that as a family, they would continue to look to you as they walk through this suffering.
SPEAKER_00: That you would give him strength that is supernatural, that doctors might say, and church members might say, and people in the community might say, How, how in the world are you continuing to go on with this life?
SPEAKER_00: And he'd say, Because God is giving me a miraculous amount of strength.
SPEAKER_00: Would he point back to you and give you all the glory?
SPEAKER_00: I pray that as he does step into the pulpit, you would use him to preach, not because of his personality or preparation, but just as a messenger of your truth and who you are.
SPEAKER_00: Would you do mighty things at Tabernacle Baptist Church?
SPEAKER_00: Do mighty things in the ministry of Pastor Zach.
SPEAKER_00: We pray that in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah chapter 5.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, this is a chapter about generosity.
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah in particular is incredibly generous.
SPEAKER_00: And I just have a confession for you right off the front.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're like me and you would be bold enough to raise your hand.
SPEAKER_00: Has anyone ever accused you of being cheap or chintzy or a penny pusher, penny pincher?
SPEAKER_00: That is me to a T.
SPEAKER_00: It's me to a T.
SPEAKER_00: And I think sometimes that can be good as we steward those things for the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that can be bad if we're more focused on possessions over our relationship with the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: If we're more focused on possessions over people.
SPEAKER_00: I'll give you one example.
SPEAKER_00: My wife is not that way.
SPEAKER_00: My wife is incredibly generous.
SPEAKER_00: My wife is always pushing me to be more generous, to hold everything that God has given us with open hands.
SPEAKER_00: And so I'll never forget a time.
SPEAKER_00: We've been married for almost 20 years.
SPEAKER_00: December will be a big milestone for us.
SPEAKER_00: And we were early in our marriage, it was a student minister.
SPEAKER_00: She was at home.
SPEAKER_00: We're single-income family.
SPEAKER_00: I was still gaining experience.
SPEAKER_00: The church was being generous, but again, I was a student minister, single-income family.
SPEAKER_00: We had three kids at home.
SPEAKER_00: She was meeting some teenage girls at Chili's.
SPEAKER_00: I can't remember if it was two or three that was there, but of course, she's the adult in the room, and so she's paying for these teenage girls.
SPEAKER_00: Incredibly generous.
SPEAKER_00: She pays for people all the time.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what the total bill was.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if they ordered from the two for 20 or whatever.
SPEAKER_00: But she calls me and says, Aaron, we've shared the gospel with this young man.
SPEAKER_00: He's a college student.
SPEAKER_00: We've asked how we could pray for him.
SPEAKER_00: He's seen us studying our Bibles.
SPEAKER_00: And I really, I'm feeling led by the Lord to give him a large tip.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Okay, well, what are you thinking?
SPEAKER_00: And she said,$100.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, okay, well, like what's the bill?
SPEAKER_00: Like it's like$45.
SPEAKER_00: And so you're going to give him$100 total.
SPEAKER_00: And she said, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I want to pay for our bill and give him$100.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, that is like a 200% tip.
SPEAKER_00: Are you sure?
SPEAKER_00: She said, yes, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, okay, do it.
SPEAKER_00: Be generous.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord will supply our need.
SPEAKER_00: She's always challenging me in that way.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if this sermon will be challenging to you, but it certainly is challenging to me because what we see in the text here is Nehemiah has a reverence for God.
SPEAKER_00: And that is the thing that challenges him to be more generous to the mission of what God has called him and his other Jewish brothers and sisters to do.
SPEAKER_00: Let me give you just a quick review from last week and we'll read chapter five.
SPEAKER_00: We left off with everyone on the wall.
SPEAKER_00: They all had a job to do.
SPEAKER_00: There were those that were had a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other.
SPEAKER_00: There were those that were high class and low class.
SPEAKER_00: There were those that served different roles, priests and perfumers.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone had a job to do, but also there was unity in diversity.
SPEAKER_00: All different kinds of people collectively surrounded together, unified on the mission God has called us to fortify this city.
SPEAKER_00: We want God's people in God's place because we want God's presence in the temple.
SPEAKER_00: And so we are going to give everything we have to make sure that this city is fortified.
SPEAKER_00: That's what we left off in chapters four and a little bit of chapter three.
SPEAKER_00: Let's read chapter five together.
SPEAKER_00: Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.
SPEAKER_00: For there were those who said, With our sons and our daughters, we are many, so let us get grain that we may eat and keep alive.
SPEAKER_00: There were also those who said, We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.
SPEAKER_00: And there were those who said, We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards.
SPEAKER_00: Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children, yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved.
SPEAKER_00: But it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.
SPEAKER_00: Look at Nehemiah's reaction, verse six.
SPEAKER_00: I was very angry when I heard their outcries and these words.
SPEAKER_00: I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials.
SPEAKER_00: I said to them, You are exacting interest each from his brother, and I held a great assembly against them, and I said to them, We, as far as we are able, have brought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us.
SPEAKER_00: They were silent and could not find a word to say.
SPEAKER_00: So I said, The thing that you were doing is not good.
SPEAKER_00: Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations of our enemies.
SPEAKER_00: Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain.
SPEAKER_00: Let us abandon this exacting of interest.
SPEAKER_00: Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil you have been exacting from them.
SPEAKER_00: Then they said, We will restore these and require nothing from them.
SPEAKER_00: We will do as you say.
SPEAKER_00: And I called the priest and made them swear to do as they had promised.
SPEAKER_00: I also shook out the fold of my garment, and said, So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise.
SPEAKER_00: So may he be shaken out and emptied.
SPEAKER_00: And all the assembly said, Amen, and praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And the people did as they had promised.
SPEAKER_00: See the contrast here between these that are taking advantage of their less fortunate Jewish brothers and sisters, and Nehemiah's generosity.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 14.
SPEAKER_00: Even their servants lorded it over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God.
SPEAKER_00: If you underline in your Bible, underline that.
SPEAKER_00: It happened in verse 9, it happens again in verse 15.
SPEAKER_00: Because of the fear of God, I also preserved in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.
SPEAKER_00: Moreover, there were at my table a hundred and fifty men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance.
SPEAKER_00: Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because of the service was too heavy on the people.
SPEAKER_00: Remember for my good, oh my God, all that I have done for this people.
SPEAKER_00: Now I want to set up the context.
SPEAKER_00: If you're taking notes, just write this the context of the conflict.
SPEAKER_00: Why are they crying out to Nehemiah, saying, This is an outcry?
SPEAKER_00: We can't handle this anymore.
SPEAKER_00: We've all come together to work on the wall and we've all made sacrifices.
SPEAKER_00: But some of us are sacrificing a lot more.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, some of our kids are being sold into slavery because we have debts we can't pay.
SPEAKER_00: We can't pay the taxes.
SPEAKER_00: Now our fields are owned by somebody else, and we're being charged interest by our Jewish brothers, Nehemiah.
SPEAKER_00: Can you please put a stop to this?
SPEAKER_00: Here's the context.
SPEAKER_00: There were rich rich Jews versus the poor Jews.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, they're all making sacrifices, but the poor Jews, it cost them so much more to focus on the work of fortifying the city.
SPEAKER_00: It was a loss of food, they were in famine, a loss of their fields.
SPEAKER_00: Now they're owned by other people, even a loss of family, because their sons and daughters are being sold into slavery.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 5, they even make mention of this.
SPEAKER_00: We are of the same Jewish descent.
SPEAKER_00: We are brothers, and yet we are shackled and burdened by the tax and the interest that are being given to us by our other Jewish brothers.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the deal: the rich Jews had the attitude of, huh?
SPEAKER_00: Business is business.
SPEAKER_00: It's not personal, it's business.
SPEAKER_00: Business is business.
SPEAKER_00: And yet God had brought these people together, all trusting in his promises, to say, we want his presence in this land.
SPEAKER_00: And there should have been an exception to the rule.
SPEAKER_00: This was not business is business.
SPEAKER_00: They should have seen something is happening with our Jewish brothers and sisters where they're being put down and kept down.
SPEAKER_00: Business is business was the wrong attitude.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, the Proverbs addresses this.
SPEAKER_00: Chapter 14 Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his maker.
SPEAKER_00: But he who is generous to the needy honors him.
SPEAKER_00: There's something about respect for the person that's made in the image of God.
SPEAKER_00: That when they're down, you don't kick them while they're down.
SPEAKER_00: And these rich Jews were doing just that to their brothers.
SPEAKER_00: Here's an application for us.
SPEAKER_00: We're not in this special season of building a wall.
SPEAKER_00: That's not where we are in 2026.
SPEAKER_00: But I wonder if you would ask the Lord to show you the things that you value, if you value people more, or if you value possessions more.
SPEAKER_00: Because what's happening with these rich Jewish noble elites is they certainly value the possession over the people.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: They value the what they can build in their storehouses and their bank accounts over the people that are being oppressed.
SPEAKER_00: It's really easy to point our finger at these well-off Jews and say, oh, those dirty rats.
SPEAKER_00: I can't believe them.
SPEAKER_00: But what about pointing the finger back at us and saying, Lord, would you show me if there's any area of my life where I am valuing possessions over people?
SPEAKER_00: And if that's true, Holy Spirit, would you help me turn away from that and continue walking?
SPEAKER_00: Walking in a way that honors you.
SPEAKER_00: That you wouldn't ever have the attitude of business is business.
SPEAKER_00: But Lord, everything I have is yours.
SPEAKER_00: And by the way, it's not sinful to have things, to have money and bank accounts and retirement and possessions.
SPEAKER_00: That's not sinful at all.
SPEAKER_00: What's sinful is when you value those things over people that God is calling you to minister to.
SPEAKER_00: So you just ask yourself, what do I value most?
SPEAKER_00: And then realize that there's a context and a connection, not just valuing people over possessions, but having a right, reverent fear of God that motivates all the things that you do, including how you spend your money.
SPEAKER_00: So we've got the context.
SPEAKER_00: Now we transition into kind of these three themes throughout the rest of this chapter.
SPEAKER_00: The first is a resolution to the conflict.
SPEAKER_00: The second is repentance and the value of the action behind the repentance.
SPEAKER_00: And the third is this theme of reverence.
SPEAKER_00: Let's look at them.
SPEAKER_00: Resolution, verse 6 through 13.
SPEAKER_00: I love this.
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah steps in.
SPEAKER_00: Did you see verse 6?
SPEAKER_00: I was very angry when I heard their outcries.
SPEAKER_00: He steps in because these Jewish nobles are taking advantage of their brothers.
SPEAKER_00: It was written in the law in Deuteronomy not to be doing the same thing they were doing right here.
SPEAKER_00: Deuteronomy chapter 23.
SPEAKER_00: You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest.
SPEAKER_00: You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
SPEAKER_00: They should have known the law.
SPEAKER_00: And they were ignoring it.
SPEAKER_00: But Nehemiah finds a resolution.
SPEAKER_00: What he does is he brings this big assembly together and he gives these noble, elite Jewish people a talking to.
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm talking about?
SPEAKER_00: You ever had a talk-in to?
SPEAKER_00: My kids were here, they'd be like, oh dad.
SPEAKER_00: They all get a talking to, and the priest and the nobles make a promise.
SPEAKER_00: We'll pay it all back.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna pay it all back.
SPEAKER_00: And then this interesting thing happens in the text.
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah gives resolution by saying, You will.
SPEAKER_00: He demands it, right?
SPEAKER_00: You will do this.
SPEAKER_00: And they make a promise.
SPEAKER_00: And did you catch what happened in verse 13?
SPEAKER_00: Also, I shook out the fold of my garment and said, So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise.
SPEAKER_00: So may he be shaken out and emptied.
SPEAKER_00: This was a common thing when you did a blessing or a curse.
SPEAKER_00: In this case, it's a curse.
SPEAKER_00: It's an illustration.
SPEAKER_00: He's he's shaking out, right?
SPEAKER_00: All all, I don't know if it's dust or crumbs, I don't know what's going on with Nehemiah, but he's shaking it out, saying, Would these people also be shaken out if they don't keep your word their word to you, God?
SPEAKER_00: I am asking you to curse them if they don't keep their promise to you, oh Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Because I am sick and tired of these lesser, well-off, or poor Jewish people that are making the same sacrifice to build this wall, they're getting taken advantage of.
SPEAKER_00: I think an application for us here is how do we respond when we're corrected?
SPEAKER_00: Because Nehemiah gets them all together and says, What y'all are doing is dead wrong.
SPEAKER_00: And they respond by making a promise.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna pay it all back.
SPEAKER_00: Don't worry, Nehemiah, you're right.
SPEAKER_00: We see wisdom in that, and thank you so much for correcting us.
SPEAKER_00: But can I tell you, in my pride, oftentimes when I'm corrected, that's not my response.
SPEAKER_00: That's not my response.
SPEAKER_00: I start to make all kinds of excuses in my head.
SPEAKER_00: I start to justify myself.
SPEAKER_00: My response is not, oh Lord, would you show me, is there any wisdom in this person coming to me and bringing correction?
SPEAKER_00: Would I would I hear their correction with humility and ask you, does something need to change in me?
SPEAKER_00: Now, I I can't imagine how hard it was for these elites to pay back the interest that they charged on loans or give back fills that they took possession of.
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, you can't pay, I'll have your field.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_00: If you ever played Monopoly, that's a brutal way to play, but it's a good way to win the game.
SPEAKER_00: You can't pay me rent, just give me your property.
SPEAKER_00: These Jewish people gave it all back.
SPEAKER_00: Was that hard?
SPEAKER_00: Was that a sacrifice?
SPEAKER_00: I'll never forget I had a friend in seminary, and it was brought to their attention that they weren't filing their taxes correctly.
SPEAKER_00: They were getting some money under the table, and it was too much money to be getting under the table.
SPEAKER_00: It was their only source of income.
SPEAKER_00: And if they got audited, the IRS was gonna find out where'd you get all this income from?
SPEAKER_00: And they they self-elected, they didn't get audited, they self-elected to go back and pay back taxes from when they started seminary.
SPEAKER_00: You have to imagine a seminary student on a limited income and they're pinching pennies and trying to make ends meet.
SPEAKER_00: And what am I gonna do?
SPEAKER_00: And how how am I gonna pay for this and how am I gonna pay for that?
SPEAKER_00: And they said, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: It's all the Lord's, anyways.
SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be very difficult for me to go back since I started seminary and pay back taxes and penalties, but Lord, I'm just gonna trust that you're gonna take care of me.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's hard to obey the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And I respected this individual so much because it seemed like, oh, it's kind of a gray area, you know, you'd probably be fine and you might not get audited.
SPEAKER_00: And they said, No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: I gotta do what's right.
SPEAKER_00: I gotta honor the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: There's resolution.
SPEAKER_00: Also, we learned something about repentance, verse 12.
SPEAKER_00: I called the priest to make them swear to do as they had promised.
SPEAKER_00: And then later in verse 13, the people did as they had promised.
SPEAKER_00: Once we've been shown an error of our action, in in this case, they've been shown an error of their way.
SPEAKER_00: They walk in repentance.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, you're right, Nehemiah.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you're right.
SPEAKER_00: But I don't think Nehemiah trusted them to actually follow through.
SPEAKER_00: Which is why he makes them swear.
SPEAKER_00: See, it's one thing to say, I'm sorry, I was wrong.
SPEAKER_00: It's another thing for action to back up your repentance.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: When we are moved to a godly sorrow that leads to repentance, there is an action that comes behind that.
SPEAKER_00: We see this in the New Testament.
SPEAKER_00: Little kids in the room, this one's for you.
SPEAKER_00: I wonder if you know this song.
SPEAKER_00: We got some kiddos on the front row.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know this song?
SPEAKER_00: I'm looking at Wyatt.
SPEAKER_00: Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.
SPEAKER_00: You know that one?
SPEAKER_00: That's another short guy in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah is only knee-high.
SPEAKER_00: Zacchaeus was we.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know how we he was, but he was a pretty short guy.
SPEAKER_00: And he has a face-to-face encounter with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Zacchaeus is a tax collector and he's skimming off the top.
SPEAKER_00: And something changes.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, Jesus, I want you to be in my house.
SPEAKER_00: I want more relationship with you.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says, Go and make right all the wrong that you have done.
SPEAKER_00: Do you remember what it says in the text?
SPEAKER_00: In Luke chapter 19, Zacchaeus stood and said, Lord, behold, I'll give half of all my goods to the poor.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone I've defrauded of anything, I will restore it fourfold.
SPEAKER_00: You see the action behind Zacchaeus' repentance.
SPEAKER_00: Repentance should equal action.
SPEAKER_00: What's the change?
SPEAKER_00: Now that the Holy Spirit has brought this to mind and you ask for forgiveness, and you're wise.
SPEAKER_00: Clean by the way, we don't earn our forgiveness.
SPEAKER_00: We're washed clean by the blood of Jesus, but then we act and we respond to our repentance.
SPEAKER_00: So, what actions might you take this morning from hearing things like this in this text?
SPEAKER_00: Would it be a confession?
SPEAKER_00: You call it accountability partner?
SPEAKER_00: Say, I just need I need to confess this sin.
SPEAKER_00: Would you put something into practice?
SPEAKER_00: Say, Holy Spirit, show me what needs to change.
SPEAKER_00: Would you lead?
SPEAKER_00: And as you lead, I will obey.
SPEAKER_00: Would it be a commitment to hold all your possessions loosely and say, God, what kingdom purposes do you want me to invest in?
SPEAKER_00: That's one of the reasons why Bart's here tonight at 6 o'clock to talk more about that.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I think a New Testament application of that kind of generosity has been seen in giving tithes and offerings to a local church.
SPEAKER_00: I don't preach about this a whole lot, but when it's in the text, I have no shame to stand up here and say, if you are a believer, and further, if you are a member of this church, it is an expectation that you invest in the mission and the ministry of this church.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I never look at someone's giving record.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what people give.
SPEAKER_00: But I do know that the Lord knows that.
SPEAKER_00: And there is more joy when you hold your possessions loosely and say, God, what kind of things do you want me to invest in?
SPEAKER_00: And how can I start with my local church?
SPEAKER_00: Chris and I made a commitment to that when we got married.
SPEAKER_00: And we said, we're just going to baseline start at 10%.
SPEAKER_00: We hope that that grows over time.
SPEAKER_00: We want to give tithes and offerings.
SPEAKER_00: The New Testament expectation is not a tithe, it's just generosity.
SPEAKER_00: And can I tell you that when we had nothing to pinch together, it was actually easier to give?
SPEAKER_00: It became a lot more difficult to give generously as the Lord grew our income over these last 20 years.
SPEAKER_00: And we file our taxes and we look back, we're like, man, we could have done a lot with that money that we gave to the church.
SPEAKER_00: When we didn't have anything to pinch together, it was just like, Lord, it's all yours here.
SPEAKER_00: Here you go.
SPEAKER_00: I remember one time I got laid off in the recession of 2008.
SPEAKER_00: I was by vocational.
SPEAKER_00: I was a student ministry and worked for an engineer.
SPEAKER_00: And my sweet bride said, I gotta go to the maternity store and I need a couple hundred dollars to buy some clothes because I'm growing and this baby's growing.
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Lovely, we don't have it.
SPEAKER_00: And lo and behold, the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: We never saw a name on an envelope.
SPEAKER_00: We opened our mailbox and there was an envelope with hundreds of dollars in it.
SPEAKER_00: I said, Here, go buy maternity clothes.
SPEAKER_00: We didn't have much to give, but we were giving it, and the Lord supplied our need.
SPEAKER_00: I hear sometimes in local church ministry, well, when I have more, then I'll give.
SPEAKER_00: Can I tell you it's more difficult to give when you have more?
SPEAKER_00: It really is.
SPEAKER_00: That's true in my life.
SPEAKER_00: Just my personal testimony.
SPEAKER_00: When you have little and you give little, but you're still giving out of a sacrifice.
SPEAKER_00: When you have more, you're attempted to say, Well, the little was enough, right?
SPEAKER_00: But God expects you to give more.
SPEAKER_00: I wonder, I wonder how action would be put behind repentance this morning.
SPEAKER_00: And lastly, there's a theme of reverence.
SPEAKER_00: Look at this repetition, the fear of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: In verse 9, the reason that they ought not to have been taking advantage of the poorer Jewish brothers and sisters was not just because it was wrong.
SPEAKER_00: It was wrong.
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah says, it's because you should be fearing God.
SPEAKER_00: If you feared God and you had reverence for him and you were more concerned about his glory, then there's no way you would be treating people like this.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: A reverence of God.
SPEAKER_00: And then later in Nehemiah's testimony, he says in verse 15, I did not do those things because of the fear of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't I didn't put extra taxes on these people.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't put a financial burden on them.
SPEAKER_00: I could have asked them to pay for my room and board, but I didn't do that.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because of the fear of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I was motivated because I saw God as awesome and big, and because of those things, I wanted to be more generous.
SPEAKER_00: One brother tells us about the fear of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: He's quoted as saying this.
SPEAKER_00: This is what the fear of the Lord defined is to live in awe and devotion to God and with kindness and integrity towards men.
SPEAKER_00: So in two cases, we have this idea that the fear of the Lord should be motivating an open-handed, surrendered generosity.
SPEAKER_00: A few points of application there.
SPEAKER_00: Number one, reverence should motivate the rich Jews towards generosity.
SPEAKER_00: They should have been more generous towards the poor because of their reverence for God.
SPEAKER_00: In verse 9, it was their lack of the love for the Lord that Nehemiah's appealing to here.
SPEAKER_00: Why do you not fear God more?
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah gives him this exhortation.
SPEAKER_00: Reverence spurs on generosity.
SPEAKER_00: I think there's this connection in Matthew 6.
SPEAKER_00: Where your treasure is there, your heart will be also.
SPEAKER_00: God wants a cheerful giver.
SPEAKER_00: It's about the heart.
SPEAKER_00: It's so much more about the heart than the number.
SPEAKER_00: I hope you know that.
SPEAKER_00: Where your treasure is there, your heart will be also.
SPEAKER_00: If these rich, noble Jewish people that were just taking property and taking loans and charging interest, if they treasured God most, they wouldn't have been treating their brothers and sisters that way.
SPEAKER_00: Where was their treasure?
SPEAKER_00: Is it the Lord?
SPEAKER_00: Where your treasure is, your heart will be also.
SPEAKER_00: So if we treasure the Lord above all things, it helps us fight the temptation to treasure our possessions too much.
SPEAKER_00: Let me get really practical on this, okay?
SPEAKER_00: We take a missions offering in November.
SPEAKER_00: It goes towards the Lottie Moon Christmas offering that funds IMB missionaries.
SPEAKER_00: It goes towards the Reach Texas, it's a local missions giving, and then it usually goes to another local thing.
SPEAKER_00: Christ's Breadbasket has been won.
SPEAKER_00: Gideon's International has been won.
SPEAKER_00: We've given to local things that happen here in our community.
SPEAKER_00: And every year we make a goal, and it's a big goal.
SPEAKER_00: $75,000.
SPEAKER_00: You know, we have a pretty big budget that should be fairly easy to attain.
SPEAKER_00: And the first year I was here, man, we blew the goal out of the water.
SPEAKER_00: And then the next year, it's just kind of lackluster.
SPEAKER_00: And then this last year, it was actually really low.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm so grateful for the work of our finance committee who said, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: We have some reserve accounts for missions.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to make the goal out of our reserve accounts.
SPEAKER_00: The reason that we made our goal, church, is because we had a generous finance committee.
SPEAKER_00: All right?
SPEAKER_00: I just want to challenge you now.
SPEAKER_00: It's May.
SPEAKER_00: You know this time is coming.
SPEAKER_00: You know that we're going to make a big deal about missions in November.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to watch the IMB videos.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to see testimonies about missionaries all over the world.
SPEAKER_00: There's almost 4,000 SBC missionaries all over the world, and they never have to raise a penny.
SPEAKER_00: Because churches like ours are giving through their budget, which we do generously, and special offerings like the one in November.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the challenge.
SPEAKER_00: Do you think you could double your monthly tithe and offering to this church?
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: So if you give$100 a month, could you double that and give$100 to the missions offering?
SPEAKER_00: If you give$1,000 a month, could you double that and give another$1,000 to the missions offering?
SPEAKER_00: If you give$5,000 a month, could you double that?
SPEAKER_00: It gets more hard the more you have, right?
SPEAKER_00: I just said that.
SPEAKER_00: And then give an extra$5,000 to that missions offering this November.
SPEAKER_00: I know that that is going to take discipline.
SPEAKER_00: I know that that's going to take sacrifice.
SPEAKER_00: I know it's going to take planning, which is why you can't just do it and say, oh, here, let me write a check.
SPEAKER_00: It's May, start planning now.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe come and hear more about our missions and church planting endowment.
SPEAKER_00: The design, the whole design of that is that the principal amount continues to grow and build.
SPEAKER_00: And we give extra off of the dividends.
SPEAKER_00: Our church last year, I don't want to be misquoted.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe Pastor Mike can correct me.
SPEAKER_00: I think it was 280,000, maybe 315, somewhere in that range, that we gave from our budget and from special offerings to missions.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to continue to be very generous with our budget.
SPEAKER_00: What happens with that endowment is we get someone that makes a request, hey, I know this missionary or there's this church being planted, I know y'all aren't partnering with them, but they're asking for some extra funds.
SPEAKER_00: And we can take that to our finance committee and say, hey, could we give extra and above from what we've already got set aside for missions?
SPEAKER_00: And we do, and you're gonna hear a testimony later of someone that we're funding.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm excited for you to hear that testimony.
SPEAKER_00: So these noble Jewish people should have been motivated by reverence for God.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the last part, and I love Nehemiah is such an example to us.
SPEAKER_00: Reverence motivated Nehemiah's generosity.
SPEAKER_00: So the contrast in this text is not these rich Jewish people taking advantage and kicking people while they're down.
SPEAKER_00: They're brothers that are in the same fight.
SPEAKER_00: They the same brothers that have a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other.
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah's the contrast of that and says, look, these people, they're making all kinds of sacrifices.
SPEAKER_00: The last thing I want to do is put a financial burden on them and say, Hey, by the way, I'm coming to lead you.
SPEAKER_00: Give me the tax that I'm owed.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, by the way, I'm I'm I'm eating high in the hall.
SPEAKER_00: Every single night I'm eating high in the hall and I don't need to pay for it.
SPEAKER_00: You pay for it.
SPEAKER_00: That would have been terrible.
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah does the opposite.
SPEAKER_00: He does not take the governor's tax.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't take the expense.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I did the math for you.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you're interested in numbers.
SPEAKER_00: He said, an ox every night for dinner.
SPEAKER_00: Six sheep every night for dinner.
SPEAKER_00: And he could have easily charged the community for that.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, he said, I'm gonna pay for it out of my own pocket.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know what the math on that for 12 years is?
SPEAKER_00: 4,380 oxen he paid for out of his own pocket.
SPEAKER_00: 26,280 sheep.
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, I got that.
SPEAKER_00: Just charge it to my account.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that not generous?
SPEAKER_00: And connect it to this it's motivated by his fear of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Not just because he throws money around saying, I'm Nehemiah, I got all the money to give to everyone.
SPEAKER_00: He says, No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: Because of the fear of God, verse 15.
SPEAKER_00: Because, Lord, I saw you as bigger than me.
SPEAKER_00: Because, Lord, I know you are awesome in your glory and you're doing something in this place.
SPEAKER_00: You're bringing your people to your place so that your presence can rest right here.
SPEAKER_00: God, I believe in what you're doing.
SPEAKER_00: I fear you.
SPEAKER_00: I give reverence and awe to you.
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm gonna hold all my possessions with an open hand.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna feed these people 150 men at my own expense.
SPEAKER_00: Talk about some good barbecue.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you ever walk out of H E B and you smell Kelly's barbecue.
SPEAKER_00: That's me.
SPEAKER_00: Every time I pass that Kelly's barbecue food truck, it smells so good.
SPEAKER_00: That's what's going on here.
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah's got some barbecue going every single day, and you know who's paying for it?
SPEAKER_00: He is.
SPEAKER_00: You know why?
SPEAKER_00: Because he reveres his maker.
SPEAKER_00: He says, God, everything I have is yours, anyways.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna pay for this out of my own account.
SPEAKER_00: Are you generous with everything God has given you?
SPEAKER_00: Hospitality is such a good application here.
SPEAKER_00: We open our homes.
SPEAKER_00: It's not cheap to feed people all the time.
SPEAKER_00: We have members of this church that feed people in their home multiple nights a week.
SPEAKER_00: That's not cheap.
SPEAKER_00: And they do it gladly.
SPEAKER_00: I hope they continue to do it out of a reverence of God because sharing a meal and opening their table and opening their home may have a positive effect in the ministry of their household.
SPEAKER_00: I remember talking to a church member at a former church who said, Every single week we have people in our home.
SPEAKER_00: Every single week we feed them.
SPEAKER_00: And it gets old because I keep going to the grocery store, I keep paying the bill, I keep feeding them, and it gets a little bit old.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I feel not appreciated.
SPEAKER_00: It's a thankless job to host, and I'm just tired, Pastor.
SPEAKER_00: And then their attitude changes, but if one person comes to Jesus, because we open our homes, I'll keep doing it.
SPEAKER_00: You see how that reverence for God motivates a generosity?
SPEAKER_00: That's what's happening with Nehemiah.
SPEAKER_00: And I think that we can learn from that.
SPEAKER_00: We pray a prayer, Lord, all I have is yours.
SPEAKER_00: You're the giver of all the good things that I have, so teach me to be generous when it comes to giving back to you.
SPEAKER_00: You can learn a lot in Nehemiah chapter 5.
SPEAKER_00: The question is, what are you gonna do about it?
SPEAKER_00: What are you gonna do about it?
SPEAKER_00: Is there conflict right now stirring in you?
SPEAKER_00: But the resolution comes with making an obedient plea to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: What about the way that you respond to repentance?
SPEAKER_00: Or what about the way that you show proper reverence to God?
SPEAKER_00: There's reason that Christians can be so generous.
SPEAKER_00: It's because the Father has already been so generous with us.
SPEAKER_00: He has graciously given us all things in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Read Ephesians chapter 1.
SPEAKER_00: In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.
SPEAKER_00: What more could we ask for?
SPEAKER_00: But let me take you to this Psalm in Psalm 130 because it connects this idea of forgiveness and the reason that we stand in awe of God and we walk in the fear of God.
SPEAKER_00: Psalm 130, verse 1 through 4 says this.
SPEAKER_00: But with you there is forgiveness that you might be feared.
SPEAKER_00: See that connection, reverence, and forgiveness.
SPEAKER_00: Personally in this room, do you know that you stand forgiven because of the blood of Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: And if you don't know that confidently, would you talk to a pastor or minister?
SPEAKER_00: Would you talk to one of us?
SPEAKER_00: We would love to help you make that commitment to say, Jesus, you be my king.
SPEAKER_00: And if there's any other thing that God has taught you from Nehemiah chapter 5 this morning, would you respond with obedience?
SPEAKER_00: This time of response is open.
SPEAKER_00: You can pray by yourself, you can pray with a minister, or pastor, you can go take a walk on our property.
SPEAKER_00: It's a beautiful morning.
SPEAKER_00: Say, God, what needs to change?
SPEAKER_00: I want to make sure I'm honoring you, that I'm living in awe of who you are, that I'm showing you proper reverence.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I thank you for the things that we learn, even from the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: It's not the same.
SPEAKER_00: Time, there's some specific promises to the people in the book of Nehemiah, but there are some applications for us.
SPEAKER_00: Truths that are still true today.
SPEAKER_00: And so help us now in this response time.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to see how we can live more surrender to you.
SPEAKER_00: Share the things that we have.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to see how we can walk in gratitude.
SPEAKER_00: Because God, you don't mark our iniquities.
SPEAKER_00: After we received Christ, you don't keep a record of our wrong.
SPEAKER_00: So we might fear you, we might stand in all of you.
SPEAKER_00: And it's responsible, Lord, help you freely.
SPEAKER_00: Don't be worried about what others might think.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to give you the crazy.