Trinity Evangel Church

Automated transcript of the sermon audio, generated with OpenAI Whisper (small.en). It has not been checked against the recording and may contain errors, especially in names and Scripture references.

Raise your hand if you heard the name Jerry Rice. That's pretty impressive. There are some who were even the generation behind me who raised their hand anyway. I think that his last season in the NFL was in the late 90s. So he is widely regarded as one of the best football players of all time. He had good size as 6'2", 201 pounds. But neither his size, nor his speed, ignore any of those sort of tangible attributes were exceptional. Many of the things that made Jerry Rice exceptional were the things that he cultivated, not just the things that he inherited. For instance, he was an exceptional route runner.

He would do double and triple moves in order to create separation from defenders. And no matter how disciplined the defensive back might be, it is really difficult to stay in the hip, as they say, of an offensive player when he's juking you at a high rate of speed, much so to do so while he makes repeated efforts to get rid of you. Jerry Rice could take over a game, and Jerry Rice was a receiver.

Receivers play offense in football, and I think in life too. The best receivers would think of their game planning in terms of attacking defensive backs. They would game plan in such a way as to get them off their step right at the line of scrimmage. And then the defensive back would be at their mercy. And this is interesting when the effectiveness of a defensive of a receiver, a wide receiver, really depended on whether or not the quarterback gave him the ball. receivers make no mistake, are weapons. And though he is at the mercy of the quarterback to get him the football, the receiver is important nevertheless.

In fact, it'd be silly to suggest otherwise, to suggest that just because his role is to deal with whatever it is that he is given, that he's of less importance. He's what they call a skill player, one of those who's tasked with touching the ball in any given play. And Jerry Rice would make it his aim to exhaust defensive backs even on running plays. On running plays, when he was nothing but a decoy, he would get the defensive backs out of the play by sprinting down the field, making them chase after him just to take that guy out of the play and to exhaust the defender. Keep him guessing, keep him guessing, keep him guessing.

But the receiver is important, receiver though he may be, and he has work to do to get himself in position to receive well. And in doing so, as a guy who's played quarterback at recess a few times, I can tell you that a good receiver can make the quarterback's job an absolute delight. And he can make a defensive back's work maddening and frustrating. I've seen plenty of games where it seemed like the defense had no answer for that receiver, and where a receiver took over a football game. Because you just knew that the quarterback was going to drop back, close his eyes, and just hawk the ball as far as he could. And there was nothing the defense could do about it, but that receiver was going to come down with it.

That is called weaponized receiving. Likewise with feasting. Feasting is weaponized receiving. And tonight we're continuing our study of building and battling in the negative world. And as Sean mentioned, in May, my thoughts turn even more than typical to feasting. I got to talk about it at our assembly last Thursday. And even some of the thoughts I have tonight are similar to what I shared then. Indulge me, not all of it's the same. I've written about it lots of May's as we get ahead of the fundraising feast, which is far more about feasting than it is about fundraising. And I just believe that this is such an important part of the culture that we're trying to develop here.

And as we're looking to build and battle in the negative world, the sort of culture that we are looking to build here in our lifetimes is a Christian community of jealousable worshippers. And they will evidence that jealousability. They will evidence that they have been blessed by God and will make that blessed life look good. Their lives will provoke then the right sort of jealousy among a dying generation around them. Others will want the blessings that we have, that these jealousable worshipers enjoy, and a feature, I believe, of such a community is that they will know how to feast. Now, the coming generation of jealousable worshipers will feature then frequent, and I'm suggesting formidable feasting.

But most immediately, this formidable feasting here and now will help us to build the sort of community we're talking about. So let me say that again, to be clear. As I'm talking about formidable feasting tonight, I'm talking about something that I believe will be a feature of a jealousable culture that we're trying to build later in our lifetimes, but down the road. But I also am suggesting that practicing formable feasting and being formable feasters will be something that will help us to get there. So it is a device for building and battling here and now, not just in our hearts, but in our world. I'm going to consider this tonight under two big headings.

First, I would like to look at the features of formidable feasters, as in the persons themselves. And then I'd like to consider features of formidable feasting as in the practice, the act of feasting itself. But first, perhaps it would be helpful to identify what we mean when we say formidable. And I will not try to improve upon the dictionary definitions from Oxford and from Merriam-Webster. So first, Oxford says the formidable means inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable. And the notion of that describing our feasting excites me. The notion of that describing our persons excites me.

According to Merriam Webster, it means something I think even more fun. It's got a three-fold definition. First, causing fear, dread, or apprehension. Second, having qualities that discourage, approach, or attack. And then third, tending to inspire awe or wonder, impressive. So formidable is an adjective that applies to both the people and the practice of feasting. So first, we're going to look at the features of formidable feasters. In Psalm 23, verse 5, David says, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Surrounded by the enemies of God, David worshiped and has worshiped involved receiving with intentionality from the hand of God.

David absolutely terrified his adversaries and why. David was a formidable feaster. He was marked by the attributes that I'm suggesting here. What sorts of things are we talking about? Well, the ECS other graduation requirements provide us a pretty good list. And I'm not going to try and improve upon that, just like I'm not trying to improve upon the dictionary definition for formidable. So I'm suggesting six attributes that should sound familiar to many of you. First, formidable feasters are stout because they require a substance of character. I already mentioned that a generation, a community of formidable feasters will really know how to feast, and they're feasting.

That is not the same thing as partying. It's more than that. Their feasting is not shallow, empty-headed, vapid partying like the world does. It's not this sort of hedonistic affair that the world champions so much, that they advertise in the beer commercials and so much. In fact, that is as much like feasting as balsa wood is like iron. Formidable feasting rather than flows from a character that is weighty and mindful. You can't be a flyweight and feast well and I'm not talking about how well you hold your alcohol or your pot roast. I'm talking about substance. I'm talking about what praise from you means. So a person of character who confers a blessing or a compliment has more effect than a liar who gives a compliment or a blessing.

And what does praise to God from you mean? Praise from the righteous, from the godly is more than praise from the wicked or ungodly. And the feasting of a stout feaster, likewise, means much more. So a formidable feaster must be stout. I also would argue that a formidable feaster is generous because he knows that it is more blessed to give than to receive. If you are selfish, your feasting will never be formidable. Feasting comes from a generous heart. Gluttony comes from a selfish heart.

And if you come to the banqueting table selfishly, whatever it is that you're doing, not feasting. Generous people are ready givers of themselves and of their resources because they understand that all the good things that they enjoy are undeserved blessings. This is the gospel. And people who are properly oriented to understand grace are themselves gracious. They are big-hearted and generous. Third, formidable feasters are copious because it's impossible to feast too much. Copious means abundant in supply or in quantity. Formidable feasters feast a lot and while feasting is work it is way more work to have the right heart than it is to have the right menu or the right place settings or to make sure that the meat is not overdone. If feasting is weaponized receiving and I'm suggesting that it is and if it's receiving good gifts in such a way as to show off the giver of those gifts? Can this be done too much? So, remembering that feasting is more than eating, it's easy to make a distinction. Over-eating is

easy. Over-feasting is impossible. Formidable feasters are prodigious because God's blessings are great. They are great in expanse. Prodigious means remarkably or impressively great in size extent or in degree. In the Old Testament the feast lasted for a week and I'm not suggesting necessarily that we try to do that although if we did it would gain the attention of the watching world. Still, feasting involves food and it's more about a mindset than than it is about the menu, mindset of a menu. And while that may be the case, it is also a fact that a Big Mac is just not as compelling as a steak.

In other words, while fast food has its place, it's all awful, that's fine, it does not require the same level of feasting copiousness that is required of a steak, of tri-tip, tri-tip, smoked chicken, chocolate cake, and whiskey. Receiving these things well receives some muscle, some skill, some care. Formidable feasting builds our worship capacity. So the practice actually enables us to be able to do more and also shapes us into certain kinds of persons. Frequent feasters become fit feasters and fifth feasters are formidable. Formidable feasting expands our worship capacity, it glorifies God, it roots us and it grounds us so that we're not easily blown about. And what else? Formidable feasters are thankful because they understand grace. The blessings that we enjoy are undeserved and thankful is on the other side of the same coin as generous and just as the generous man knows that it's more blessed to give than it is to receive.

So likewise the formidable Feaster recognizes that his thankfulness is itself a gift to the givers. So the way that you receive things that are given to you not only by God but even by other people influences not only their enjoyment but whether or not they ever give to you again. Now God is not stingy, but you have the capability of receiving well and being a vehicle of blessing you're doing so. How much more so in God is the giver of that gift? Ought our hearts to be right in our thankfulness and our receiving those. When we realize that all the good gifts that we receive and enjoy are completely undeserved, that too humbles and orients us. And the result is that we are more apt to receive still more blessings in the end. If you are at a feast full of grateful people, the atmosphere is sweet even if the meal is scanty. From Passover to Thanksgiving, and those are different times, places, different stories, feasts themselves recognize the existence of a giver. Thanksgiving presupposes somebody

to whom you're giving thanks. And when we feast, we recognize and praise the provision of God. When we feast, we are recognizing the provision of God and celebrating it. And so feasting that is formidable does this on purpose, does this with intention and joy, where the focus is on the giver of those good things to us. I'll also mention this in the next piece, but a feature of this is singing the right songs in cooperation with your feasting also is a good way to orient us as to who the giver of the good gifts actually is. So then, unsurprisingly, formidable feasters are jovial because they know that laughter is war. That's the motto of our school and it's also a good orienting motto for life. Joviality is an outflow of thankfulness and generosity. They all go together like the ingredients of a chocolate chip cookie. Without it, the world won't care a whit about our feasting. If you cannot be jovial in your feasting, why would they want to do what you're doing? That is not compelling at all. They will not care about our feasting. They will not care

about the receiving so-called that we are doing. They will not care about about our efforts to honor God through our feasting, dour feasting is an oxymoron. There's no such thing. Whatever it is, if it's dour, it's not feasting. I think it's Ben Merkel is the one who said that you can tell if the feasting's being done right if transitioning to the inclusion of the singing of Psalms is natural. So if you can move right into singing Psalms as a feature of your festivities, then you're doing it well. Now, that does not necessarily mean that if you don't sing Psalms, you're not feasting, but it at least shouldn't be awkward if you try.

So singing Psalms, a praise to God, should not be out of place with the sort of feasting that we're talking about. People, the world will not understand this. And in many cases, the fact that they don't care that much is a more of a testament to our doing it badly than it is to their spiritual deadness. I mean, it's impossible to separate the two, but they're disinterest from the fact that they don't love God. But I mean, even if they don't love God, if we're doing it well, it should at least make them curious. So formidable feasters must be ready to sing, they must be jovial, and that's what, so that sort of six-fold picture is what formidable feasters look like.

I told you the second I would look at features of formidable feasting.

going to do that now. And I want to then return to the definition provided to us by Merriam-Webster and break it down or apply just a little bit. The first, you may recall, was causing fear, dread, or apprehension. Something that is formidable causes fear, dread, or apprehension. Formidable feasting then does the same. The presence of the formidable feaster provokes fear in his enemies. Of a degree, and so of course this all presupposes the existence of somebody to actually be threatened by her feasting, if you love God and if you belong to Christ you have enemies. Whether you acknowledge that or not, whether you like to think about that or not, it is not something that you get to escape. It is a reality and no matter how often or how little we actually think about them. But thinking about the devil himself, a pretty simple illustration, it's not hard to imagine why the devil would be threatened or cranky if we are gathering to consciously receive good gifts from God and to honor him through that receiving. Why was David

so intimidating to his enemies? Because God was with him. When God wasn't with him, David didn't do well. And we know from the early chapters of 1 Samuel that as a person, I mean yes he was courageous, when he was alone in the desert as a youth he killed the bear and the... yes. But really he was not compelling. When he was anointed and when God was with him, he was formidable. If we will be marked by these things, we must plead with God to be with us and we must work to cultivate holiness, a love for him, so that that is evident. God would come and go in the Old Testament and by way of his spirit and David prayed that in Psalm 51, take not your spirit from me, and he will not take a spirit from us. That is a permanent gift, but God does the work.

God does the work. And so we are at His mercy to be with us and then effect in us this sort of formidable capacity to feast. And now, just like the wide receiver who can work on his routes or work on his hand strength, there are things that we can do.

And we need to work to be the sort of people that God is with such that when we are feasting it elicits the right kind of fear, dread, or apprehension on the part of the enemies of God. There's an interesting scene that now the parallel here breaks down immediately because it actually it ended badly for Israel. But you may recall in a season before Israel had a king when Samuel was actually the judge. In chapter 4 they're under the judgment of God and they go to war. Round one the Philistines win and then they bring the Ark of God into the camp and then they start cheering and the Philistines hear it and they go oh no. Can't like what what what chance do we have now? Now little did the Philistines know that at that point Israel was being judged by God. He was about to chastise them and he did actually give them over to the Philistines and then the Ark of God went into the hand of the Philistines and that was bad for them too and that's the scene where Dagon falls down before the Ark and all the rest. But at least the Philistines had it right. That is when

they hear the merry-making and the presence of God with the people of God then the effect on the part of our adversary should be a, oh no, oh no, I would much rather be on that side than this one. Formidable feasting appropriately causes fear, dread, or apprehension. When the enemies of God see or hear worshippers praising him, it understandably makes them nervous. At least it should. Conversely, consider for a moment what if the enemies of God were completely disinterested in what we were doing. What if they were glad that we were assembling? Why would that be? Because they think that our worship is completely impotent or God is not. And if the enemy is not threatened, his focus and his attention will be elsewhere. Webster also says that something that is formidable has qualities that discourage, approach, or attack. Just like those Philistines were discouraged from approaching or attacking Israel. I suggest that some such qualities as those that we just discussed, stoutness, thankfulness, joviality, and so on, are the sorts of

things we're talking about here. Those are the qualities that discourage, approach, or attack. And it is part of why the motto laughter is war is so potent for us at the school is because joyful warriors are actually hard to beat for a couple of reasons. But among them is they have a deep rooted optimism because they're on the winning side and it's settled. So joviality, thankfulness, the rest, generosity, those will affect an affect that discourages approach or attack. The Feaster, who is feasting formatively, enjoys an orientation of his loves and of his fears. So feasting well orients our loves and fears. It orders them rightly.

It's also part of how it is a tool that we can use to build, is feasting orders our loves and our fears. If the Feaster is feasting well, he's worried about outside threats. And another thing that's worth observing is that feasters are rarely alone. Just like soldiers on the battlefield, feasters enjoy a sort of strength in numbers. Singing Psalms alone in the car is a healthy devotional practice. Singing Psalms with your people in church at the city park, that's warfare. Which party is more vulnerable? The one alone or or the one with many, which is more formidable.

Webster also says that something that is formidable tends to inspire awe or wonder. It is impressive. Now we might call that jealousable. It provokes curiosity, wonder, and then makes those who don't enjoy the blessings that we are receiving want the blessings that we're receiving. And just like it is, It is Christian faithfulness to boast in the Lord because in your boasting you're not talking about yourself You're talking about the giver of the good things you're enjoying likewise Feasting is not about the Feaster nearly as much as it is about the provider of the feast So it ought not to be confused. This should not be confused with admiration because it's not like they look on and then they love us They don't get our enemies don't get the warm fuzzies when they see us praising God The stout jovial man is not easily rattled. The prodigious copious man is not easily caught off guard. The thankful man is not easily discouraged or distracted.

But the unbeliever looking on will understand none of that. So it will impress him, ideally, if he's paying attention. But he won't understand it. And perhaps, perhaps, he'll be given to ask. So now that, imagine amassing this group of feasters, formidable feasters, what happens? What happens at that table? Maybe somewhere, maybe in Marysville, maybe tonight. There's a small knot of fearful Christians who are assembled together, nibbling away guiltily on stale peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and praying earnestly that they would not enjoy it too much, lest it become a sort of gluttonous idolatry. The devil has made a mental note to deal with him later because they're not a problem right now. At the moment he's distracted by a merry group across town enjoying their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, similar cuisine to the first one, they're or even every bit of stale.

With laughter and song, the lights are on, and the windows are open. The passersby crane their necks to see what the big deal is. Which of these do you think poses the greater curiosity to a dying world? Which of these causes greater anxiety to the devil? Which of these offers something on which you can build?

Which of these feasting parties understands better the sense of Ecclesiastes 9-7. Go eat your peanut butter and jelly with joy and drink your wine, your glass of milk with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Well, just because you're a receiver doesn't mean you're not a force to be reckoned with, and God is dispensing blessings all over the place. There are particular blessings in store that land in the lap of the faithful and those who feast well are well positioned to receive those blessings from God. These people are both a threat to their enemies as well as an aroma from life to life to those who are being saved. Our formidable feasting will not only be a feature of a jealous community we want to build but it will also help us to get there from here. Let's pray together. Father make us like this we pray and we do recognize that it is not about the peanut butter jelly or the pizza or the steak or the macaroni and cheese or the cold cereal.

It is about our hearts orientation and if we can actually be deeply and genuinely grateful for whatever it is that you give, that is a gift and then that makes us hard to beat by your grace. And we pray that as we do faithfully boast as we do receive well we would not do so to puff ourselves up we would not do so because of any sense of self-importance but rather because you are kind so we pray to help us to find good and clear application even as we have opportunity to discuss now we pray in Christ's name amen. So leave time for for questions and if you don't have questions I'll make you ask questions because I've got some for you. Okay I'll get the party started why did I not talk about more, and actually I did, I did reference a handful of foods, but I didn't really talk about any menus, why not?

You said it's about the nail. It's not about the nail. It's not about the food. I mean, it is about the food, but it's more about the people and the fellowship and the attitude of gratitude and the joyfulness and the gratefulness and all of that laughter and fun in the face of the enemy. Yeah, which of the two can the world ape? The menu is easy to mimic. Maybe in some cases the world has better food than us, but just like part of why I love Thanksgiving so much because they have to try really hard, secularists do, to have a thankful attitude toward the cosmos for aligning properly in such a way as to spontaneously generate a turkey for me.

No, rather, we're giving a nod to the giver of good gifts. So while they can eat turkey, we can eat turkey. They don't love the giver. We do. Yeah. Fantastic. Really good question, Reva. Give us some more. Yes, sir. Mr. Harsh. Oh, livestream. Hello, everyone joining us online. Hey, I've read Proverbs 17, 1, but the feasting you're talking about is very different from the feasting that's... It's better it is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. I know that you said you can't have dour feasting. This seems like a different kind of feasting.

of feasting, like you could use the word music in a couple of different settings and they could be totally different types of music. How would you unpack this particular passage? Yeah feasting is not... I am offering a different sort of working definition for the kind of feasting that we're trying to practice have be a feature, like a building block for culture, because obviously the idea of feasting is not unique to the Judeo-Christian tradition. It is not unique. It's not unique to us at all. It's just what was happening in pagan mead halls or what was happening in a house without thankfulness or fellowship may be called feasting.

It's just not the feasting I'm talking about. So what they're talking about there is a bounteous meal with strife, no thanks. I'd rather have that stale peanut butter and jelly with friends and singing, right? I'm trying to think of how to word this. It's always been a little bit of a disconnect for me in some ways. So I'm wondering if you can elaborate on it.

Like when you say formidable feasting provokes fear our enemies. Are you speaking both in a spiritual sense, like those watching from the spiritual realm, because I think what we would be used to is inviting in the enemies, the unbelievers, to feast with us and to show them Christ in that way. And a lot of our feasting is done behind closed doors where people may not even know we're in their feasting. So I'm wondering if you could just expand on that thought of provoking fear in our enemies when a lot of what we do is with the body and justifiably so, eating together, drinking together, but then how that translates into those in the outside world who may not even be able to see through the wall at what we're doing.

There's actually a lot of facets to what you just talked about. Yeah, like on one hand, what is the point of trying to live what we call jealousably, if not to provoke the right sort of people with the right kind of jealousy. And then ultimately, onto the fullness of the Gentiles, we want for them to want what we have, not because we're awesome, but because God is. And there's a whole other category of people who are actually bona fide enemies of God who are never going to be saved. Now, we don't know they are. We evangelize, then we give the gospel freely, broadly, but still until the very end, God will have enemies and then finally death will be defeated.

And so in a spiritual sense, yes, but also in a real sense. I think that there, I mean, you see it in the news, there are a lot of secularists who just can't understand what it is about those blasted Christians that drives them bonkers. But there was a great deal of spiritual warfare going on during the COVID shutdowns. And we know that now. We knew it then, you can see it even more clearly now, but it came as no surprise to me even in the moment that the BLM riots and the rest happened while so many congregations were not assembling on the regular, praying for their communities, and then sharpening one another, in Christ's likeness and beholding Christ together.

So what happens in the churches has ripple effects outside, whether they see it, whether they like it, it just is. So there are going to be some who just hate what we're doing, whether they can say why in any sort of intelligent way or not, they're going to hate it. And then there are others, And then in the spiritual realms, absolutely. We know that there's no reason to suspect that demons would ever be excited about what we do here on Sunday mornings or evenings.

Or what you all do around your dinner table. Like, they hate that. So yes, in a spiritual sense, absolutely. But also, I would say, in a more tangible, real sense too. to. We have physical neighbors to this property who are mad about singing and playing. You have extraordinary neighbors who are mad about singing and laughing and playing choices. Yes, not hypothetical. Yes, Madeline? So, it really stuck out to me when you were talking about being thankful feasters and I I find that we exercise that term a lot in our family. Who in your life sets the greatest example of a thankful feaster? And how do they do this?

Well, that's a really good question. And I think it is perhaps a kindness from the Lord that nobody stands out.

What I mean is that in micro, and we're looking to try to grow this, I actually get to spend well over 90% of my time around Christians. So I happen to be one whose work enables me to spend around people who like me love the Lord and who are actually trying to advance the same things from a mission standpoint that I am to. So while it is an area where we can continue to grow, I do spend a lot of time at the school with people for whom an attitude of merriment is something we're constantly working on. So to have, because again I'm not trying to say like we've got a dial we actually need to grow in this, but I do between a lot of the students and like all of the teachers get to be with people who have a feasting mindset on the regular and how do they do that by laughing heartily at a at a scanty meal and if we we yeah and with that said we need to get better and excel still more so that that is more consistent in our interactions across the board. Not just with one another with students but at home with our

families with our with our neighbors. We are out in the world. But yeah, I'm I don't mean to be vague there. I can't think of a person who just leaves everybody else in the dust in terms of of enfleshing thankful feasting. I guess yes sir first of all dad you're doing a great job getting the mic. Sure the people at home loving hearing just parts of that. That's why I said good job.

So Mr. Tsar in terms of like your house being one of those, your house has also had not just this property has had the cops called you or your house has had the cops called from neighbors and I don't think we've actually had the cops called have we we did yeah we did have we did yeah here we did uh-huh but your your neighbor has was it was it a threat or there's a lot of words yeah but so in terms of so we get you know we can look at negative feedback on our feasting at about most of the time it's about a hundred percent of it it's false feedback are there lines where you know parents are not actually paying enough attention to their kids or it is actually just being obnoxious I'm not saying that we're doing that, but do you think there are some lines that like you've thought of before or what some of those ditches would be because we do still want to be pleasant even if we are allowed, but what do you think there are some lines and where would those be? Yeah, well Jocko says that discipline

equals freedom, right? So, I mean, I was looking for a way to squeeze Jocko and when feasting, yeah right now. But I believe that feasting is a Christian discipline and just because it's a discipline doesn't mean it's not fun. So there are absolutely, and you know, 1 Corinthians, we're exhorted to do all, whether it's a liturgy in church or beyond that, the principle applies to do things in an orderly fashion. So just as feasting is not just partying, so it is hospitality needs to be a feature of it on the part of the host and on the part of the guest. And that, so when I mentioned that a receiver with a former fester has a thankful heart and he can be a means of blessing to the giver by how he receives, the same thing can happen.

If you go over to somebody's house and turn your kids loose and they destroy the home of the person that you're visiting, that is violating the spirit of hospitality as a guest. It does not mean that you need to have your child actually on a chain either. That would be bad. That would be bad. So like so many things, just because it is joyful, fun, and free does not mean that it is without any sort of structure or boundary. And then also a heart of hospitality does give consideration to all parties, and that That means that when you are the guest, you are thinking about how to make your host's life a delight too.

So it goes both ways. If we are having, now there are going to be times where it is, okay, let's just, the kids are free to run around, the rooftop, the fences are high. generally speaking, practicing wisdom is in order and that doesn't need to come at the cost of those different attributes that we talked about here. I don't think that's any... In fact, to a watching world that's going to provoke even more curiosity. Wow! So, the stories are legion of... What was I thinking? I heard an anecdote about the Fight Lab Feast conference being in Nashville or something like that. And they said, I've never seen so many people drink so much beer and not get drunk.

You know, they're just making merry and having a great time. And then the world is like, that does a square with my experience. you know. So if we can make Mary, if we can have fun, if we can feast and do so in a controlled fashion at the same time, they'll say, how do you do it? Okay, so if feasting is a big way we're commending the works of the Lord to the next generation by showing them how to do it, that's obviously one big way. So showing them how to be grateful receivers ourselves. But that comes with being a grateful giver as well and training them how to do that. And it involves being sturdy as kids do weird stuff like try to help each other feast.

You're saying for children to be grateful givers. Have you said it? Uh huh. As we train them to do that, how, what are your best hot tips for dad's comfort? about for parents to make themselves sturdy as their kids are learning how to give and receive and doing it really awkwardly or in ways that involve a lot of what looks like waste. Well, that's a good question and at least if I understand the question correctly and I think and any of the other parents are welcome to chime in, I will give a simple answer that I try to practice that is actually be excited when your kids give you stuff. Recognizing that, I mean at this stage in her life, I think that giving things away Julia's way of throwing things away. So, which is something she doesn't want anymore.

She goes, no it's for you. It's like, oh thanks so much. It's clearly precious. So to try to affirm a spirit of generosity in the bud and just not being too fussy, then you can do things like, that was really thoughtful, can I help you beautify it a little bit? So then do it with them and then make it even more more special than they buy in, it actually looks better and it's something that's more worth giving. What are the hot tips from you parents? There's a lot of parents in the room. How do you cultivate a spirit of generous and thankful giving in your children? Is it fair to say, Maggie, am I doing that justice?

Not a plate full of food that they could actually eat, but a plate full that the entire family could eat. So I think a lot of it is the parents going along with their kids as they are learning to receive and to give and giving advice. Learning. Parents being involved. Like when you get in a group, are you free from your kids? You know, because now you get to spend time, sort of like even being here at church, are you free from your kids? You get to talk to other adults that you don't get to see very often, and meanwhile your kids are learning to grow on their own. Taz being adults. Or the behest of their friends.

So I think it's the parents being cognizant that little kids still need a lot of hands on advice and cautionary kind of conversations as it's going on. Well, you got the microphone, you're next anyway, so. Okay. All right, go ahead. We do a lot of evaluating, like in leadership, we get the questionnaire of one to ten, how are we doing? How do you think as a body we are doing in the feasting area? I think we're pretty good. I think we're pretty good with some room to grow.

But I think too that trying to be intentional about it is like I don't know anywhere else that talks about feasting like this, like literally. I do know that, and actually I appreciate this about some of the folks over in Moscow where feasting is a part of their culture. That is really good. But for them, they're further along down the road and they talk about it like you and I would talk about breathing. It's more natural. So for us, we're trying to forge a mindset where we actually do these things on purpose rather than they're happening to us. Because of that, I think the frame of reference is very, very limited.

There's a part of me that wants to say in some ways we're off the charts, just because what's the comparison? by how well we're doing, does everybody get what we do? No, no, I don't think so. I think it is more a, well that's pleasant. I think I like what's coming from the room I'm in. I don't know how it got here. I don't know how to manufacture it. I don't know how to make it happen next week. And so to that degree we have some work to do. But for where we are on the timeline, where we are in terms of this generational work, I think there's lots of reason to be encouraged. Any of the other elders are welcome to chime in or give a 7.24.

No, I'm kidding. Going back to your first question that you proposed. Yeah, about the menu or whatever? Yeah, about the menu. Does the menu matter? I don't think we would say like flavor doesn't matter or quality doesn't matter in the sense of even like we we it's the the state of the heart that matters when we're singing and yet we get together to learn to sing better we want to sing with competence we want to be skillful in our worship, the Bible calls us to do so. And in a similar way for our meal preparations, for our aesthetics on the table, right, all of that, for that to be pleasing to the eyes, to the smell, to the taste, all of that, we would think is important and we would want to grow more and more in that.

And so even when Proverbs talks about, you know, better as dinner verbs where love is than a fattened ox with hatred with it or whatnot that kind of conditional comparison but the best is a fattened ox and love right yeah so how would we balance that with not being pretentious and persnickety and fussy and picky about these minute details how do we care about flavor and competence and doing a good job on the skill level of feasting while not being while not ruining all the fun in it all as well. Yeah so that is that's a really good question and it's easier said than done I think it's it's about cultivating gratefulness because if you are if you are grateful then that is going to cover a whole host of mediocrity sins.

Now, there is a sense in which the menu doesn't matter. But the menu, but I also said that a steak is more compelling than a Big Mac. So there are things that we can do to make feasting sweet. And so, yes, it is more important, and it is harder work for our hearts to be right, But then, provided the heart is right, go overboard. Like, make it awesome. Make it beautiful. It's aesthetically pleasing. It's pleasing to all of the senses. It smells wonderful. It tastes delightful. Like, ribeye is better than London broil. It just is. I mean, and it sorta winds in between there somewhere. But, and, you know, is, there are some things, There are some things, so the, you got, there's times through the two buck chuck, which is now like what, four buck chuck? I don't know.

The inflation and there's times where really nice Cabernet, you know? Absolutely. What we talk about as a family with our, with our dinners on Saturday nights, for instance, is getting a running start to Sunday morning and the, and, and, and, you know, giving mince on Sundays. So the Sundays are sweet. Corporate worship is sweet. We want for it to be something that is alluring, appetizing. And I think the idea is that it's alluring and appetizing not because of the chocolate, but because the chocolate is received with a grateful heart. So I think, so that's why I said it's easier said than done. The idea is help your kids to be thankful, model thankfulness yourself, like be genuinely thankful, be spent, all those gospel principles that if I jump in and do more than my share of the cleanup, aren't the kids just gonna take advantage of that? What if they do? You know, once in a while.

Like, if it has a norm every day, that's bad, but if it is a big-hearted effort to practice the gospel and to give, give, give like God does to us, then that is going to have its effect over time. So I think you scratched a number of things, but the biggest is just to practice and then try to cultivate thankfulness. Then when it is a Sabbath dinner of macaroni and cheese, it's like this is a big party. This is good. There's times for that too. You kind of touched on this in a couple of questions, but when teaching a child to be grateful, or to give, to be generous, is it more effective to ask things from them or to give to them?

Because I can think of like a rebuttal to both of those that someone's like, well, if you ask for things from your children, aren't you teaching them to be needy? And it's like, well, if you're giving your children so many things, aren't you making them a spoiled brat? And obviously, it seems like it would be a balance, but how would you do that, part A? Also part B is then when you are around people who are not children, who you're not directly in charge of, and you're just trying to share with them this culture, how would you apply that? So like asking things from or giving. Yeah, I would just say that there's a place for both.

There's a place for both. For little tiny guys, I mean, ask, oh, that's really cool, Spider-Man action figure. May I see it? And he lets you see it. And then, hey, thanks for sharing. Then give it back. Don't say, thank you very much and run away. Hey, I said thank you. I mean, I'm teaching and thankfulness. But then when they do give you a firm and praise that, that hey, you did something really, really good there.

Coaching in terms of sharing with playmates, I'm like hey, this is how it works. For our kids, part of the deal, when they have friends come over, unless the parents of the kids who come over want their kids helping to clean up after themselves, We say, you are free to go, this is part of the deal. We wanna train our kids that this is the way it works. You have people over, you clean up after them, so we totally got this. If you want to train your kid to help clean up after them, self by all means go ahead, but otherwise, you guys do not need to feel any obligation to stick around. So all of those sorts of things have their place.

I don't know, yeah, the frame of the child changes as a child develops to, you know, when does a child start understanding what it's like to be giving away and never getting it back? Like, you know, I'm giving you a gift. So he does know what it's like to grow up in a culture where that's a norm. So where that is a normal feature, where he sees generosity practiced, it is definitely not always the case that that translates, but it does a lot. And then the second part was with regard to adults, and then ask the question again. It was just the same thing in how do you communicate that kind of culture to someone else.

But it seems like when I was thinking about adults, I'm like, okay, well, it seems more obvious that it would be that you would just give to them, them and that they would understand that better. If you just kept giving and giving, in that they would take that differently than childhood. But how, because you probably wouldn't invite someone over and then you're like, I'm really going to show them what generosity is like because they're not used to that. And so I'm going to ask to borrow their car. Or something.

Yeah, but so would you say that showing, moving past showing a child, but showing an adult or someone your own age generosity that you would just keep giving to them in a myriad of ways? I think so. I mean, I think if I understand the question correctly, I think with an older person, I'd be more inclined to just model it without any strings attached and then leave the... I mean, because God does that with us all the time. So then let it have its effect. And there's no guarantee that it will, but that's OK, because it's more blessed to give than to receive. So part of it is to fix your own heart, to make it so that you're actually OK, just giving, just blessing without.

So don't enter into the transaction. I'm not expecting anything in return for this. I'm just giving. And then you'll find that not only are you happier, but they're probably likely to be more grateful. who you want to bless with this. Or even if they get 40% is going to be saving, but you just set aside for gifts that you're going to get later at birthdays or Christmas or whatever for your friends. And then you get the other part for your spendants. In a budget from what they earn, or even just providing them with opportunities and saying, hey, this is a family project, you can think about what you want to do with this, with this, for who your grandma was.

That's good. One more part that I just thought of. So with gratefulness and teaching gratefulness, it would seem more applicable to really young people. But should we be concerned that when there's an abundance of gift that you will lose gratefulness? So like saying, if you got your children 20 Christmas presents instead of three, or if you gave them so many dessert options instead of one. Or if you presented more options that they might forget about, some of the other ones, should we be concerned about that at all or just load it up? You should absolutely be concerned about it. But from my experience, there is no hard and fast connection related to it.

If you give them more than two gifts, they're not going to be thankful for them. People can be miserly with no money or miserly with a lot of money. Little kids can be grabby and stingy with lots of gifts or with little, with few gifts. They can be deeply grateful for 100 gifts or none. So it is, so that sounds like a Christian cop-out, but it is, it actually is more about cultivating genuine gratefulness. And I don't know, generally at Christmas time, we go big.

And that is because the advent of Christ is a big deal. And we want them circling that on their calendar for the rest of their lives. That the lead up, the four weeks leading up and then same day. So birthdays, we don't go nearly as big of birthdays, but really the heart behind it is what's more important than the actual stuff. Yes, Sariva? I think on that note real quick is gifting children, especially little ones, lots of things, the secret is like giving them time to enjoy and savor each one as they are receiving it. I don't know. That's just a side note. But back to clarifying my food doesn't matter. It does.

The thing is, don't let the food be the block to the feasting. I have feasted amazingly on lentil stew, and I have feasted amazingly on steaks and presented things of different levels. And we were invited. Philip and Nellia are a great example of this because they invited us over for a little dessert. And it was like the most amazing smorgasbord table full of all the sweet and savory things you could ever imagine. And it made me rethink what it is to present a bountiful gift to friends. And sometimes I do only have brownies, but they presented a whole new opportunity for me to think about it in that way. But lentils are great, too.

They can be. I was just thinking about discussion about example and how you lead by example. And certainly our attitudes are a big one. But also as you're raising little ones and modeling, sorry, and modeling prayer and teaching them how to pray, teaching them how to pray with a thankful heart for the little things as well as the big things is really, I think, helpful to frame their perspective as they then go about their day, seeing opportunities for, like, reflecting in their own heart about how they can be thankful for things that they see that are small or big. So I would say, like, family prayer time, discussion time, like, where do you see God showing up, you know, what can you be thankful for?

Because sometimes you get in kind of a rut and it's really hard to see, or you had a really bad day and it's hard to think about what am I thankful for, like where did I see God? But if it is like a regular practice and discussion, then that I think bubbles up into their prayer life and then you can really hear where they're thankful or maybe opportunities to cultivate more more thankfulness. Because if they're just always, you know, kind of perfunctory prayers or not specific, like there's an opportunity to have discussion and drill down into that a little bit more. That's a good word. So as we talk about formidable feasting, you mentioned that the neighbors around us don't see it as jealousable. So as we have that vision to be formidable, how do we spill into other parts of the community other than just the local neighbors here?

question. How do we do it? So here there is Jim I think was a one of the first I heard pray for it to for us to be an unignorable presence in Marysville and that's a I like that and that that presupposes a couple of things that there is something that they can't ignore if they want to and then that they're at least paying attention enough to not ignore. So there's a couple things there. We remain, I think that what we have is pretty great and worth trying to export even though we are recipients of grace. So whatever we have is awesome and it's not actually because of us. I can say that without the slightest hesitation our boasting would be in the Lord and he has given us some really great things that he will give to you too. For that we remain a pretty well-kept secret. I think we have we have some work to do but I do think the needle is moving the right way little by little as some of it happens and just as as as we do things here but as we we export our worldview and our different cul-de-sacs and communities and spheres of influence we do it at the school as

well. And so then ideally some of the same sort of mission worldview philosophy pieces would trickle out into other churches too. So it is nowhere near as fast as we would like no doubt, but I do think it's happening little by little and with, but yeah, you put finger on the on a weakness. Remember as we're seeking to be jealous there's there's two kinds of people in the non-Christian world those who are yet to be saved and those who will never be saved. We're gonna always irritate those who are never gonna be saved and so some of your neighbors may always say you could be the most jealous of old Christian ever they're just gonna hate and so be it. But then there are those who are being saved. Now those who are being saved may look like those who will never be saved for a while. So we never know who's never gonna be saved until they die and then it becomes evident. And so we just continue to live our lives, live the justable life and let it manifest itself in their lives. But however it's gonna manifest, just

you make sure we're not being jerky, but if people are gonna be mad at us for seeing Happy Birthday in a parking lot. You know, that's their deal, not ours. Alright, well, good questions. We can put a pin on it, or put a bow on it, or mix metaphors. Let's stand together.

Nehemiah 7 isn’t just another list of names, it is the same list as Ezra 2. It’s not just a long and detailed record, it’s a repeated record. It’s covering the identical ground. It’s a copy and paste genealogy, if that metaphor had been invented in 445 BC.

Did Nehemiah not realize it? Actually, he deliberately included it; he says so. He was excited about it. This is exactly the list he wanted for such a time as this. What was his logic?

Ezra put this list early in his account. Ezra 2 is the record of the first wave of 42k-plus returnees from Babylon with Zerubbabel after Cyrus’ repatriation decree in 538 BC. There is another list in Ezra 8 of those that returned from Babylon with Ezra himself in 458 BC. Ezra 10 has a list of names of those who had married, then put away, foreign wives. Nehemiah 3 has the list of the families and groups that built certain sections of the Jerusalem’s wall in 445 BC. And now in Nehemiah 7, a little over 90 years after the first return, Nehemiah references the original list of names, most of whom were likely dead. Why?

He wants the current generation to remember their families, to remember the risks and pains of travel and resettling and rebuilding, and to remember that they have inherited the responsibilities. They had shoes to fill. In a similar way, so do we.

Nehemiah led a people who have been taunted and threatened. They’ve just now got doors installed in the gates, the wall is all done. Now they can go home and tend to their own matters, right? What else do they need to do? It turns out, they have a lot of hard part ahead. It’s been said that “if you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one.”

The rest of Nehemiah’s account in chapters 8-13 describe the rebuilding of the intangibles. The walls are working, the culture needs work. There has been some renewed altar sacrifices and temple worship, there’s been some family business and local farming again. And yet in some ways they have just now got to the foundational part of the project.

What does this re-listing do?

Nehemiah describes the dedication ceremony of the wall in 12:27ff. Here at the start of chapter 7 Nehemiah describes his appointments of particular men to lead in the protection of the city and one of his polities that would help. There are three layers of appointment.

Gatekeepers were first employed at the temple. The singers and the Levites were also temple employees, and could function as backup guards. Even with all the doors installed, security personnel were necessary, and these were the first appointed responders until more men could be trained.

Nehemiah gave…charge over Jerusalem to two men (verse 2), a high level appointment. Later in the Roman Republic, rule by two was called a duumvirate. Hanani was Nehemiah’s brother, and was the one who originally reported the desperate conditions to Nehemiah (1:2). Hananiah is a second man, one who had been governor of the castle referring to the royal palace. He had experience and he was trustworthy: a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. Why both? A focus on the few to guard the many.

An identified vulnerability required a notable policy. Nehemiah ordered in verse 3 that the gates not be opened with the sunrise, as was typical, but only opened in the middle of the day, when the sun is hot, and most everyone was up. That said, the afternoon has its own after-lunch drowsy temptation, so…keep the doors shut. And, even with the gates closed, they were to be manned with more appointed guards.

Verse 4 explains the facts on the ground. The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt. It had not become a population center again yet. The ESV takes it too far in saying “no houses,” when the translation might be more basic, “houses had not been built.” But verse 3 just said some of the guards were to be stationed in front of their own homes. The point is, most of the effort had gone to the defense budget, not to dwelling places.

Nehemiah noted, God put it into my heart, just as God had stirred up Cyrus’ heart (Ezra 1:1). It was time not merely to provide for the protection of the city, but to provide for the city’s repopulation. It was time to bring the city back to life. So in the Lord’s providence Nehemiah got the idea, really the conviction, to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people and identify not just who belonged but who had responsibilities to bear.

“Guys, you are the important men. You have inherited the important mandate.” Here is the roll call.

It seems that Nehemiah expected that he would have to collect his own information and make a new record. That would give him an idea who should take up residence within the walls.

Instead, he found the older record of the families who returned: those who came up at the first. Verse 6 specifies further, these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. This “book” is the legal list, but also an historical narrative. It’s a family tree of relationships, but even more, a reminder of inherited responsibilities. The city belonged to some and not others, so did the work of investing in the city’s ongoing renewal.

While I believe verses 6-73 to be part of the profitable inspired Word, I read it all in October in Ezra. We don’t need to hear each name again, but we are profited by thinking about why the list is here again, as we’ve been doing.

There are only a few differences between Ezra’s record and this copy. The variations in names and numbers are explainable by copying errors. But note that Nehemiah copied his paperwork, he had to handwrite his own version in order to include it.

Ezra’s copy of the genealogy praised God with the specific names of those God brought back from Babylon. The LORD promised judgment, captivity, and return. God is faithful, see the families.

Nehemiah’s copy reminded his generation who they were, how they got there. It put them in a mind to thank God and put them in a mind to pick up the work. What progress God had given in 90 years. And also, what promises God still had for them, including the return of the King. The wall was good, listening to the Law and walking according to it in the next chapter even better.

The community had new walls, which put them in a better place than their fathers who had returned. The risks were part of the ongoing project.

What responsibilities? To worship the Lord and walk in His ways. To build and battle while waiting for the King.

So we must learn to see ourselves as part of a the Lord’s long project. We are learning how to honor Christ, so that we can carry and advance that Christ-honoring culture. We must not cut ourselves off from our fathers, and we must pick up our responsibilities for the blessing of the world until Christ comes. Take stock. Maybe our genealogy isn’t quite as specific, but we’ve still got shoes to fill.

What will your future people remember about your risks of faith (see also Hebrews 13:7)? Will you pick up the baton, and then keep running until you can hand it off?

You are not the first to fight the seed of the serpent. Remember the battle, keep your weapons close. You will not be the last to work for the seed of the woman. Remember your calling, put your tools to use. Church, not one of you is alone. Remember your people in Jesus' name.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (Romans 16:20 ESV)

More than a story of courage in the face of enemies, the rebuilding of the Jerusalem walls is a story of God's kindness to His people. That divine kindness enabled their courage, grace enabled stamina and unity, so Nehemiah and the builders did work. But the finishing of this project was reported among the nations as a reason to watch out for God. As the psalmist put it elsewhere: “Then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’” (Psalm 126:2)

We've been "enjoying" a few chapters of opposition narrative. Nehemiah took his life in his hands by asking Artaxerxes for a policy reversal, which he got (Nehemiah 2:1ff). But since Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem it's been one problem after another. The state of the walls was bad. The neighboring peoples got mad. The way some of the lending-class were treating the borrowing-class was not rad.

One of my favorite resources that outlines and gives brief background for all the books in the Bible is Talk Thru the Bible. Highly recommended. The authors outline the various kinds of opposition starting in chapter 4.

We saw the intimidation in the first part of chapter 6. Sanballat and Geshem invite Nehemiah to an off-site meeting four times, which he declines. With the fifth invite they threaten that if he won't come, they will spread the news that Nehemiah intends to crown himself king and lead Israel in rebellion. It will be “reported among the nations.” All of that was intended to get Nehemiah to fear and fold.

We learn about two more types of sabotage in verses 10-14, before a report on the completion in verses 15-16, with an interesting follow-up in verses 17-19 about some of the connections and communication that have been going on the whole time, all aimed to keep Nehemiah from finishing. One practical lesson we're noting is: don't do liars' work for them. They're lying to get you to feel bad and stop. So don’t stop, or feel bad.

The main character here is Shemaiah, though really, the main characters are Tobiah and Sanballat who hired Shemaiah. Shemaiah was their paid puppet.

Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple. For they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night." (verse 10)

Nehemiah knew their family, and this didn't help their reputation going forward. Shemaiah was confined to his home. We don't know why. It seems like he could leave, as in, he was not physically debilitated, since he wants to re-meet in the temple. But his confinement enables a private scene, drawing Nehemiah away from the war room, so to speak.

Based on Nehemiah's summary in verse 12, Shemaiah must have been a prophet or some sort of religious figure, and since he wanted to meet in the temple, perhaps he was related to the priests.

Shemiah’s phrasing and repetitions are hush-hush, and he sounds scared. Shemaiah is trying to convince Nehemiah that he should be afraid, the "They" are coming to “slay thee” (KJV). Apparently there’s only one safe place to hide: the house of God.

I mean, Why? If the They are outside the walls, why would they care if Nehemiah was in his temple? False gods (and their worshippers) don't have to respect the true God (and His worshippers). If the They are inside the walls, isn’t such a murderous motivation past the point of appeal?

Plus, it was against God's law for a non-priest to go into the temple (Nehemiah might have remembered the leprosy King Uzziah got from his wrong visit, 2 Chronicles 26).

But I said, "Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in." (verse 11)

He was supposed to be leading the men to build and battle, and now he was going to flee to a bunker? And if it was his own individual life he was concerned about, he wouldn't save his life from God if he went where God said not to go.

Nehemiah put it all together as they talked:

And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. (verses 12-13)

They aimed to discredit him.

Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid. (verse 14)

A few comments to make here. First, praying to God to do justice is right. Second, a whole team of religious figures were working against the rebuilding. Third, by way of application, this sort of makes me think of the number of pastors arguing against Christians during Covid craziness. I haven't read Shepherds for Sale or _ Stockholm Syndrome Christianity: Why America’s Christian Leaders Are Failing_, but I know enough of the gist to know that professing religious leaders love to make the people afraid. They are doing the liar’s work for them, sometimes they are even funded by the liars.

If Nehemiah caves, the city’s restoration—and with it the stage for the promised Son of David—stalls. Integrity here is not private virtue; it safeguards the story of redemption.

After the build up of all this opposition the final report is almost a let down.

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul, in fifty two days. (verse 15)

I mean, we knew it from chapter 3. There are few small finishing touches at the start of chapter 7. I think, though, that without this verse, we would easily have assumed that it took years. It took less than two months, done before winter in 445 BC. It had only been six months since Nehemiah asked Artaxerxes for permission. The wall itself is projected to have been between 1.5 and 2.5 miles around. It was impressive feat. People noticed.

And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. (verse 16)

This is the great twist. The enemies have been trying to make Nehemiah and the people afraid, they themselves are made afraid. The threateners become the threatened. The rebellion was going to be reported among the nations, now the rebuilding is reported among the nations. They fell greatly in their own esteem, “they lost their confidence” (NASB). We might wonder how Nehemiah knew it, but he did.

And they knew that it was with the help of our God. To finish this size of project this fast demonstrated supernatural blessing. What other great things could that God do?

This follow-up might have been more appropriate as an up-front. Nehemiah describes some relationships and communication that’s been happening for a while.

Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecanaiah the son of Arah: and his son Jehonan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. (verse 18)

In those days wasn’t just after the wall was built. This is how some of the enemies knew so much about what was happening. Tobiah was related by marriage to some, especially of the nobles, in the city, and the political loyalties were greater than loyalty to Nehemiah. Nehemiah’s been fighting against this subterfuge the whole time. Some of them nobles had refused to work from the start (Nehemiah 3:5).

Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid. (verse 19).

Various men included in Nehemiah’s decision rooms were constantly and consciously working against him. They tried to influence Nehemiah to give Tobiah a break, while taking any information they could get and passing it along to Tobiah. One commentator called them the “Tobiad party.”

Point of application: Don’t do the liars’ work for them.

Pattern: Great sacrifice for a great project, with credit to God. Great courage and stamina, from dependence on God.

Prayer: Lord, remember the schemes of men, vindicate Your name, and strengthen our hands for the work.

In any moment of a project you might not feel great. Maybe you're just trying to survive it. So, let your survival make observers say, GOD HELPED! Maybe you are wondering if your plans were too big. So, let those who watch your adjustment still say, GOD HELPED! Maybe your plans were big, and you need to expand them more. So let those who watch it swell to success say, GOD HELPED! Indeed, God, help us!

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

In order of testimonies:

What's better than Easter? It's got history and theology. It's not just not darkness and death, it's power that defeats death and wins like the dawn. It's lost souls found and broken hearts healed. The world couldn't stay, and hasn't been, the same since that Sunday morning. Easter vindicated all that Jesus said. It demonstrated God's justice and mercy and purpose. We believe in our hearts that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead and we are saved.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Blessed be God who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing. Blessed be the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. Blessed be Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior, whose appearance in glory we wait for.

For those with eyes to see, we live in a world dominated by resurrection. It is not merely an idea, but what idea has been enfleshed and then had more consequences? We say that nothing is certain except for death and taxes, but resurrection is more powerful. Our God is the living God, He gives us living hope, and whoever believes in Jesus, “as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38).

It is true and good news that Jesus was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. And we celebrate God who can and did do this, and we consider how, in doing this, God will finish saving us. We who believe are saved, but we are not done being saved. You are not now what the resurrection guarantees you will be. You might be weak in faith, but the Author has determined the end of the story. The saints will persevere in faith, yes, and the saints will be presented to Christ in splendor. That’s why Christ died and rose again (Ephesians 5:25-27).

How do I know? Because of Easter. It is the image of the empty tomb that sticks. Easter is the victory of resurrection.

Let us consider one apostle's trifecta of faith-and-joy-building-praise that depends on the resurrection of Jesus.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3 NASB)

This will be our text, but not to ignore the context. Including that this is Peter's letter to Jewish believers that were scattered to places that were driven from their homes due to believing in Jesus. There is a lot about suffering in 1 Peter because God makes faith pure and genuine through trials. Context also requires us to notice that verse 3 is not the complete sentence, which arguably includes verses 3-12 (though all English translations break it up). Add the observation that verse 9 ends with a similar thought to verse 5, namely, about the coming salvation, and we know that verse 3 isn't all there is. We'll have reason to reference some of the surrounding support as we go.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is found twice elsewhere in the New Testament, and both other uses are by the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 1:3; Ephesians 1:3). Interesting that all three times it helps open a letter. Start with praise.

This is a way of talking that Jesus introduced when He talked to Mary Magdalene on the morning of His resurrection. “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17)

This God is the subject of verse 3. The Person of interest in verses 6-9 is the Jesus Christ, and in verses 10-12 it is the Spirit of Christ working in Old Testament prophets. But the God and Father of Jesus is at work, regenerating and readying for a final revelation.

The main work is this: second life. God...has caused us to be born again. We call it regeneration. The construction of the sentences emphasizes this as a characteristic of God; He is "the-one-causing again-births" God. You'd pronounce the original word anagenésas (ἀναγεννήσας), and connecting it with genesis would be appropriate. Genesis is a beginning, a birth. The ana is again or second, so this means to be re-begotton, re-born, born again, re-generated.

In the Bible this particular word is only used here and in verse 23, "born again...through the living and abiding word of God." Otherwise, it's rarely used in Classical Greek because being born again wasn't a ubiquitous idea for them. God put the “imperishable seed” inside us and it continues to grow and change us and make us fruitful.

There are three parts of this God of re-birthing in the rest of verse 3.

What moved God to do it? God caused us to be born again according to His great mercy. Mercy is kindness expressed to those in need. All men have sinned, alienated from the life of God, callous and greedy and impure (see Ephesians 4:18-19), foolish, disobedient, full of envy and malice, hated by others and hating one another (see Titus 3:3).

God’s mercy is concern in clothes. Our new life grows from the soil of God's characteristic kindness. It is His, divine not human. It is great, as in much, large in measure, extensive. His mercy is not dispensed from shot glasses.

“All the wickedness in this world that man might work or think is no more to the mercy of God than a live coal in the sea." —William Langland

He is "the Father of mercies." His mercies are new every morning, His mercies causing new life to live. “Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:10).

What was God aiming for in re-birthing us? God caused us to be born again to a living hope.

The same preposition, expressing another aim, is also found two more times in the sentence. Verse 4: "to an inheritance" and verse 5: "to/for salvation ready to be revealed."

Our hope breaths, it pulses. Our hope is transcendent, as in, more than biological or limited to the physical realm.

This hope is given by God, but not like a spiritual gift that only some believers get. Some may appreciate it better, but all who are born again are born for this kind of hope.

Hope drives us, not doubt, despair, skepticism, pessimism, fear, anxiety, panic. We are no longer those “having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Hope has pull, an expectancy, an energy.

What means did God use to re-birth us? God caused us to be born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This was written by a guy who was there. Peter witnessed Christ’s sufferings and ate fish Jesus roasted. It is an eye-witness testimony.

The same power is at work in us that was at work raising Jesus.

what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead... (Ephesians 1:19-20)

This is right after Paul referenced "the hope to which He has called you.” Peter is about to talk of our inheritance in verse 4, and Paul refers to the "riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints" (verse 18). Such understanding of such power requires God Himself to open our eyes to know it.

You know what many prophets tried to figure out from their own writings (1 Peter 1:10-11), you know things that the angels are trying to figure out (1 Peter 1:12).

Hope is not a mood, hope is a Man. 1 Timothy 1:1 - “Jesus our hope,” and Hope is alive. We have living hope. There are real problems, but hope is a greater reality.

The great reality is not death, and it’s also more than life. It is resurrection from death to life. The great reality is not a tomb but an empty tomb.

So, YES, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be His mercy. Blessed be His purpose. Blessed be His power. Blessed be the one from whom and through whom and to whom we have life.

Live in the hope of the empty tomb. It is the great reality.

The greatest worth is knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. May you know Him and the power of His resurrection, not only sharing His sufferings, but pressing on to live and abide in Him. He chose you for resurrection and life, that His joy would be in you, and that your joy may be full.

[M]ay the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:17–20 ESV)

Four times in Nehemiah 6 Nehemiah refers to the same temptation: fear. All three paragraphs (at least as the ESV divides the chapter) end with Nehemiah’s observation that the aim was to make them afraid (verses 9, 14, 19); make the builders afraid, make Nehemiah himself afraid. If they could make Nehemiah afraid then he would discredit himself and the people would have no one to follow. If they could make the people themselves afraid they would drop their hands from the work. To borrow some apostolic language, Nehemiah and the wall builders were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within.

Here is the principle: Most anxiety leads to inactivity rather than overactivity. Panic paralyzes. Fear of man weakens a man.

Three of the main men working against Jerusalem's rebuilding are listed in the first verse. We find out in the last couple verses of the chapter that there are internal ties to Tobiah that have been adding to the problems all along. The first part of the chapter, verses 1-9, focus on Sanballat and Geshem's deceptive invites and their threat of disinformation campaign.

Nehemiah sees through the intimidation. And though we only see one quick prayer for strength, we do see his pattern of courage rather than quitting. This morning we'll take the first half of the chapter, and we see that if he had quit, he’d have done the liars’ work for them.

The last update was that the wall was at half-height because the people had a mind to work (4:6). That stirred up enemies, which stirred up new defense safeguards, which stirred up some internal strife. Now the haters come back as the project is 90% complete. The last 10% is always tough.

Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates) (verse 1)

No breach means that the only open gaps were at the gate locations, as the gate doors weren't yet installed. Only guarding identified entry points was more feasible.

In chapter 4 representatives from every side surrounding Jerusalem gathered, and there were rumors that they planned to attack. Maybe it was more bark than battle, but now, even if they wanted to strike, it would be a lot more difficult. So they adjust to a different line, more personal, and deceptively diplomatic.

Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono." But they intended to do me harm. (verse 2)

The location of Hakkephirim is uncertain, but the plain of Ono was 25-30 miles northwest of Jerusalem, on the way to Samaria where Sanballat was from. It's also uncertain as to who was in control of this area, but Sanballat probably proposed it to appear as a neutral meeting ground.

What did Sanballat and Geshem want? How did Nehemiah know that it wasn't good? One clue is that if they really wanted peace, why didn't they come on into town, bring a gift basket? Or, why not at least say something positive in their invitation? It’s a “strike the contractor and the builders will be scattered” sort of strategy.

And I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?" (verse 3)

Nehemiah declines, politely. It probably was a bit extreme to say that all the work would stop if Nehemiah himself wasn't on site. But it's also true, he was busy because this was a big project.

And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. (verse 4)

They really wanted to "meet." The messengers were wearing out the path, but got nowhere with Nehemiah. So Sanballat tries another tactic.

In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. In it was written, "It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, 'There is a king in Judah.' And now the king will hear of these reports. So come and let us take counsel together." (verses 5-7)

The first thing to note is that this is an open letter. The plan was to put pressure on Nehemiah by his own people. It's one thing for Nehemiah to resist the invitations, but could he resist the potential internal wave of panic?

It is reported. You know, people are talking, and "They" see what’s going on. Even Gashmu saith it (KJV). This is the only place in Scripture that Gashmu is named, and most scholars argue that it’s a variant spelling of Geshem or just a misspelling by a copyist (which the ESV/NIV “fixes” in their translation). It’s likely the same guy. And Sanballat says, “Geshem says it.” Maybe Geshem was more familiar with Artaxerxes, or had more frequent interaction with Persian authorities. Something about his word would be heard.

Sanballat describes two types of rebellion: national and personal. The first is exactly what the letter from a decade ago accused the Jews of doing (Ezra 4:12-13). To say that Nehemiah was setting himself up to be king would be quite a an affront to Artaxerxes, from cupbearer to crown-bearer.

We should remember that there were prophecies about a king coming to Jerusalem. And, in fact, some of us are still thinking those prophecies are going to be fulfilled. The Lord promised David a son who would rule from Jerusalem on an eternal throne (2 Samuel 7:16). No mention is made of Nehemiah being from the Davidic line, and Nehemiah has made no moves to be more than governor. So there is some truth to the prophetic expectation about a king coming to Judah, just not as Sanballat tried to spin it.

Then I sent to him saying, "No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind." (verse 8)

Sometimes you can (and should) ignore rumors (for example, Ecclesiastes 7:21). Here, Nehemiah denies them. There's no basis. "You're making it all up.” One translation has, “it is a figment of your own imagination.” For that matter, if all this was true and if Nehemiah had gone to visit Sanballat, wouldn’t Artaxerxes think Sanballat was in on the rebellion?

And then Nehemiah summarizes the whole episode.

For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done." (verse 9b)

Losing heart leads to stopping work. Anxiety leads to inactivity.

But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

The direct address, O God, is not in the text. Translators add it to match some of the other "arrow prayer" types found in the book of Nehemiah. But Nehemiah was asking for help to double-down.

In verse 6 “reported among the nations” is meant as a threat. Will see that the truth also gets reported in verse 16 and the nations will be the ones who are scared.

Calling God's people bad things is still a tactic to get God's people to quit whatever good they're doing. Unsettle, discourage, derail. Forms of emotional sabotage abound.

As a reminder:

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11–12 ESV)

In this case, Jesus doesn’t say to fight lies with truth, or even to fight lies with courage, He says to fight lies with rejoicing. Liars aren’t stopping you, they’re trying to get you to stop. Don’t do their work for them.

Maybe you don’t know what to do. Ask God who gives wisdom to all without disapproval. Maybe criticisms of the good you’re doing are many, or insistent. Ask God who gives strength. Stay out of meetings that are traps, and don’t drop your hands from the work. Delight in the Lord.

[A]ccording to the riches of his glory may he grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. (Ephesians 3:16–17a ESV)

Automated transcript of the sermon audio, generated with OpenAI Whisper (small.en). It has not been checked against the recording and may contain errors, especially in names and Scripture references.

Well good evening. Thanks for coming out tonight being a part of this before I get started just This will be a little bit of a different kind of message. It's still in our build battle and bless series It's just something that God's been laying on my heart. It's kind of a different way of thinking about things It's gonna be again a little different than what you're used to hearing. It's not gonna be particularly long We'll see what the discussion is afterwards and in some ways the wrong audience is before me tonight I say that because people usually show up on a Sunday night or people that really care a lot, they care enough at least to come out on a Sunday night. And my message is really targeted at good Christian brothers and sisters, but who I would suggest may not have the level of care that they ought to have. And yet that will hopefully be more clear why I say that. I'm not saying it by way of of condemnation, my way of judgment, but I'm trying to say it by way of kicking myself

in the pants and trying to kick all of us in the pants, that I think God's doing something. And I don't think we care as much as we should care about what he's doing. And again, hopefully that will be clear as we go into the message. But again, thanks for being here and listening to these words tonight.

If only I had known, how many times have you heard that statement or you have said it to yourself. Most of us, on at least one occasion in our life, regretted not knowing something in advance that would have altered the decisions that we made. Some very simple examples from life that you can all identify with. Students, if I had known the teacher was going to give a pop quiz, I would have read the chapter. If I had known traffic was going to be like this, I would have chosen a different route. Mickey Mantle, the baseball legend, said if I had known I would live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself. And Chuck, that one was for you.

I put that one in there. Many a parent has thought if I had known the years would fly by so fast, I'd have spent more time enjoying my kids. Those who have lost a loved one unexpectedly often say if I had known our time would be cut short, I'd have created more memories together and spent less time focusing on the mundane. The number of reasons people have for saying if only is countless, and those reasons typically fall into one of three categories, procrastination, indifference, or ignorance. When I agreed to take this session in our Build, Battle, and Bless series, I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go with it.

We've already covered a lot of good and practical ground regarding the need and opportunity to apply a Kyperian square inch principle in every area of life. But it seems like there is still a lot of questions in people's minds about why there's There's so much emphasis on Kyperianism, dualism, the future of Israel, getting our eschatology right, all of those theological debates and discussions we have, and there's a fair number of our people within our own flock who are still scratching their heads and saying, aren't we majoring in the minors? Can't we just get on with the real important stuff? Some even get a little irritated and think all of this talk is, like I said, just majoring on the minors, and that we should be focusing on some other things.

I suggest to those who feel this way that they are being too short-sighted and one of my missions tonight is to try to explain why I say that. If we don't understand God's grand plan and how we fit in, it's gonna be hard to know what the best use of our talents are. Our life becomes a make it up as we go, sort of life. Worse, it's possible that what we think is a productive life is in fact counter-productive to God's purpose. And more on that later. We all know the basics. Obey the 10 commandments. Love your neighbor as yourself. Share Christ with unbelievers. But beyond that, we aren't guided by any bigger vision.

For many, the only goal is to get to the finish line and enter that eternal rest. Just kind of want to keep my nose clean and get to the finish line. But beyond that, it's sort of a just muddle through life. Confusion over all the theological wrangling going on leads us to ask ourselves, who can know? Or does it really matter in the final analysis? And so our theology becomes, it will all pan out in the end, so don't sweat it. and we don't bother ourselves with the discussions. Jesus loves me, this I know, that is all I need to know, is the sum total of our theological position. What if we could know more? What if we could anticipate more of the future, such that it governs what we are now doing and how it affects the level of care we have right now?

And that's one of my hopes for this message, is that it will amp up our level of care. What if not knowing has some big implications? What if we could avoid feeling sheepish in the end, thinking to ourselves, if only I had known? I think these questions scratch at a big reason why we lack more fire under our Hyperion keisters. If you don't know what a keister is, You can look it up later. To flesh out what I'm getting at, let me give you a proposition. Follow, you're not sure what a keister is? It's your behind, in case you're not okay. Under our kyperian keisters. To flesh out what I'm getting at, let me give you a proposition followed by a thought exercise based on that proposition.

So I'm gonna give you a proposition. This is just an exercise in my brain that I've been meditating on for some time. And then we're going to discuss some implications from that. So here's the proposition. Before the world began, God determined to create a people for his own glory and allow them to share in that glory through his son, Jesus Christ. You OK with that much so far? That's actually 2 Thessalonians 2.14. I have a verse to back that one up. God's glory is being manifested through marys of divine attributes like love, justice, mercy, et cetera. Romans 1, 20, if you need a verse. To showcase those attributes, He has spoken into existence creation.

And from day one of creation, up until the time when all things are brought into complete subjection under Christ, He is authoring a glorious story. This story birthed every other story that's ever been known or ever will be known. In a sense, you can say he is showing off his glory. This is totally appropriate, of course, when you're God. You get to show off. Now up to this point, if you adhere to Orthodox Christian teaching, you shouldn't have any major theological points to quibble over what I just said. That's pretty cut and dry. Now, if God is showing off his glory to creation by displaying his attributes in the context of this story, are you following me?

God's putting on this big story to show off his glory, his attributes. It's likely he really cares about the story and he wants us to really care about the story and pay attention to what he's doing. That's my proposition. And then here's a thought exercise based on that proposition. Imagine a time in the future when the story is over and God asks you, what you thought about it? What'd you think about the story? Will you be able to recall with relish the details of the story or will you have to admit that you fell asleep during parts of it? Maybe you'll have to admit that you didn't track the story because that well because parts of it were frankly difficult to follow, and all of your Christian friends are always fighting about what was really going on anyhow.

And so you just sort of like tuned out. Hopefully, you'll remember the parts where you got saved and other bits and pieces from your own life. But will that be enough reminiscing to appreciate the story the way God wants you to? Consider how you feel when you're trying to make an important point, but your listeners just aren't that engaged. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to have to admit that you missed the story, knowing then how important it is to God?

If only you had known, adding to what I've said thus far, what if God had intended you to play a part in that story, but you flubbed your part because you didn't know what it was or even considered that you really had a role to play in it. Wouldn't it be especially embarrassing in light of the fact that he gave you a pretty good written outline of the story that you could refer to as it was unfolding? And if you didn't get that, that's the Bible. I think you see where I'm going with this. If God is telling a story about his glory and he is, who's he telling the story to? Obviously we along with the rest of creation are the audience. If ever there was a story that needs paying attention to, this is it. Now for all you good Calvinists in the crowd you might be thinking, wait a minute, since God is sovereign I can't flub my role. I did exactly what he determined I would do. And in one sense that's true, but I don't believe you're going to be able to shirk your accountability for not knowing and

try to play that card with him. Romans 14 12 says, so then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. In 2nd Corinthians 5 10 reminds us, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body whether good or evil. Now this is a judgment every believer must go through where his life will be examined. Those deeds deemed good will result in rewards and those deeds deemed evil will be burned up even though our salvation is still secure. 1st Corinthians 3 13 through 15. The Bible affirms that God is telling a story. Psalm 19 1 through 4 you know it well. The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech and night to night reveals his knowledge. There is no speech nor are there words whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of of the world.

And then we're told in Hebrews 1, 1 through 2, long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God is telling His story. So what are the implications? If my proposition and thought exercise have any merit to them, then there are some important implications for us to consider. Some of them have already been touched upon by the other elders in their messages in the series. The first implication that comes from asking ourselves whether being indifferent to or ignorant of God's story is to ask ourselves, is that an affront to God?

Is it an affront to God for us to be indifferent or ignorant of the story that he's telling. We know from Malachi, and in fact, can we say, are we robbing God? We know from Malachi 3.8 that it is possible to rob God by withholding tithes and offerings. It's said right there, you're robbing God. So I asked the question in the same way, is it possible to rob God of the glory that's due him by missing the story? If he's telling a story and he's saying, wake up, pay attention, this is awesome, and we're indifferent or we're ignorant, are we robbing God of glory?

Does he care if we're paying attention to what he's doing in history? Do we rob ourselves of being able to fully bask in the glory of this story in the same way someone who skips watching the big game can't revel in the victory the same way those who were engaged in watching the game. God tells Ezekiel in 38-23, I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord. In this passage, he's speaking of something yet to happen, but it reveals his intentionality of getting creation to pay attention more than just a casual acknowledgement that he's doing his thing while we are doing our thing.

Does it matter to God if we watch, quote unquote, the game as he plays it or is it okay to wait for the highlight reel later? This first implication then leads directly to a second one. The second implication is that we need to try to get our theology right about things like eschatology and Israel. The reason I say this is because if we don't get it right, we could find ourselves working at cross purposes with what God is trying to do. For example, if God wants to use his church to make the Jews jealous, which helps trigger their repentance as a nation, but we're supercessionists, people who believe that God is done with Israel as a nation, we're supercessions when it comes to Israel. How is that supposed to work?

In this situation, we are at odds with God, and we are basically our sand in the gears of what God is doing. Remember my proposition. God is trying to show off His glory, and and he wants us paying attention. Therefore, it is wrong to be indifferent to what he is doing, and it's wrong to be wrong about what he's doing. Now, before you tie me at the stake, let me say that these theological issues that I'm arguing we gotta get right are not the dividing line between Christians and non-Christians. These issues are disagreements brothers and sisters in Christ and we should treat each other as such and I'm of course right now I have in mind a big cubby dispy as an example that debate that goes on these are brothers in Christ having these debates and we should treat Jars Christians I have much appreciation for those who are on the other side of the debate for me provided they are equally concerned about not being sand in the gears of what God is doing.

My concern has more to do with those who wish we'd stop talking about this stuff because it's too hard to figure out and they see these debates as non-essential. My argument against this is that God is doing something and we are supposed to care about that something and work with it, not against it, nor be indifferent to it. So if you have found yourself ever in the situation where I can't figure it out, can we just stop talking about, can't we just say we all love Jesus and just have a big kumbah service and be done with it? And I say that's wrong thinking. We need to keep working hard to try to figure out what it is God is doing, because he's given us his word.

I believe we can figure it out, and then I think it dictates what we're gonna be doing with our lives and amping up our level of care and what we need to be doing to try to play our part in that process. I don't want to be indifferent or opposed to what God's doing and I assume you don't either. Ultimately it comes down to caring about what its word is revealed and doing the hard work of understanding it. There's a third implication to consider if you are dispensational. This This life is basically a job interview for our future in the eternal state. Think about this life now is your job interview for the eternal state.

Now I'm not saying if you fail the interview that you lose your salvation. That would be heresy. But our time on earth is a time of testing our faithfulness which will affect rewards and responsibilities in the new earth. And I think Philip did a pretty good job of emphasizing this in his recent message. Now we're not told with exacting precision what life will be like in the new earth, but there are clear indications that our roles in it will partly be based on how we use our talents in this life. In Jesus' parable found in Matthew 25, he tells the faithful servant, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little.

I will set you over much, enter into the joy of your master." And then in a similar passage in Luke, we find these words, well done, good servant, because you have been faithful and a very little, you shall have authority over 10 cities. In addition to these parables, there's the passage already mentioned in 1 Corinthians 3, 14 that talks about only the works that are good will receive rewards in the eternal life. The conclusion from this third implication is that what we are doing now has significant bearing on what our experience will be in the new earth. Now we know that there won't be any sin there, so we're not going to be feeling envy or greed.

But is it possible we'll have a moment at least where we'll think, if only I had known? Will we have that brief moment? Boy, I wish I had known. Might have done something different in this life. If it isn't clear already, the point I'm trying to make is that we have every reason, even duty, to concern ourselves with God's purposes beyond the basics of personal holiness and evangelism. He is showing off his glory right now in the form of a story we all have a part in. Because they believe a proper reading of the Bible leads to dispensational theology, the elders have been doing their best to try and call each one of us to consider what it means for us personally to live a kind of blessed life that makes the Jews and others who are called of God jealous.

I mean, it's obviously, if you're surprised that our elders take a dispensational view, you've really been asleep. You've been really indifferent.

That's the position we have taken, and as a result, that's a reason why we're beating the drums we're beating about us getting out there and living the kind of life that is jealous of all that living that yeshaun's awesome messages on living the blessed option and so we're trying to get our people to amp up their level of care and saying what does it mean to me personally to live a life that looks blessed in such a way that the community says wow that's different it's their attention it's incumbent on every believer to work to the best of their ability in as many spheres of life as they can so that God will pour out his blessing on those efforts. It requires tremendous vision and faith and work to set, as Sean again used the term, imaginative coordinates and ask God to do more than we can ask or think. Again, if I'm just checking off 10 commandments, check. Sharing Jesus with my neighbors, check. You know, trying to be personally holy, check. There's more that there's more that we're called to do. I

have often repeated the statement that the Bible can be summarized as boy comes kills the dragon and gets the girl. I first heard it from Doug. I'm not sure if that's where he if he originated or not. I still like the statement but it does not go far enough. That makes it sound like winning souls is God's end end game. But Revelations in 21 and 22, if read literally, especially 22, shows the true end game of a perfected creation freed from the curse, endlessly enjoying the glory of God forever. The end game is God's glory and thus living in a perfect new world, new earth, free from sin. Let me just encourage you, as I'm beginning to close, just read from a revelation 21 verse 22 through 22.3. Just listen to the vision. You've read it before, but just just imagine this. And I saw no temple in the city for the temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it for the glory of God gives it light and its This lamp is the lamb, but by its light will the nations walk.

And the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of water of life, brightest crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb through the middle of the street of the city, also on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.

The leaves of the tree were the healing of the nations.

No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and the lamb will be in it and his servants will worship him. If this scene is literally true and God's redemptive plans includes national Israel and the Church's job is to enjoy the spiritual promises made to Abraham, thus provoking the Jews' jealousy, then we have a lot of work to do now, we have to level up our care and our work and our efforts. This is more than just keeping the lights on in our homes and our churches. It's doing hard things that often seem really crazy, like trying to start a college in this dinky little church and beyond. But more importantly than doing more, we need to be more. We need to be a people who across the board are characterized by sincere worship, genuine thankfulness, and sacrificial labors. Each one of us needs to be praying and seeking God to show us what is the next square inch where we can bring the lordship of Christ to bear along with its blessings. If we miss the story, we miss the glory. I told you it would be short, hopefully

hard-hitting. And with that, I'll open it up for any comments or questions. And again, And I understand that my argument on the theology side of things were we have to keep the debates going, the discussions, because we've got to get it right so we get the story right so that God gets the glory and we don't get to heaven and he's like, y'all missed it.

And I don't really personally want to be working against his purposes because, again, if I'm right that the dispensational understanding that the future of Israel is the proper understanding I don't want to be a super sessionist working against God's purposes even though I love my super sessionist brothers who are trying to get it right but I'm gonna keep arm wrestling with them till the day I die that that day I think they got it wrong so you said the promises of Abraham we should be working on and what I'm in the Old Testament reading, but like what are those? There's one time just referring to their spiritual blessings. When God made his promises to Abraham said to Israel and into other nations, you know, through Israel then the blessings would flow out to the other name all the nations of the earth and so that's us and so those spiritual blessings. There were other kinds of blessings that were specifically made to Israel, certain land promises and other things that are not for all of us, but these spiritual blessings, Ephesians and other passages

that come to mind that also refer to these spiritual blessings. Obviously our salvation is a big one, but and so I'm not saying we're not working for those. Those are being given to us and so are we living the kind of blessed life that would then cause our community, our neighbors, the Jews, others to say, oh, these people are obviously blessed. What is it? We're never going to appeal to those who are perishing. There's a set of people that are just not going to be saved, and we'll stink to them. But there are the Jews, and then there are the people who are yet to be saved that God has called. And those are the audiences that we're trying to get their attention through us living that blessed option, that blessed life.

But that blessed life has to get out into the world, out into the community, again, in many forms, many ways, building better businesses, better schools, running for political offices, you name it. Just our nation's history. It was Christians building everything. And somewhere along the way, we handed it over to the unbelieving world. and they've really screwed it up. And so we're now content largely, our community involves our stained glass aquarium, as I like to call it, and then our homes. And beyond that, we're safe. I mean, if I was Satan, I'd say, you know, okay, I surrender, there's X number of Christians, they're safe, they're in their little stained glass aquariums, I know where they're at, they're not a threat.

I'm saying we have to figure out how to get out there into our communities where we're a threat to Satan. We're intimidating. I hope this church annoys the bejeebers out of Satan, which is also to invite a lot of attack. Okay, so we have, you've quoted Doug a few times. So you have Doug who you love him and he's sanding God's ears. And say the last thing. Doug? The last part you just said. By your what you're saying like he's sanding God's ears. Years. Okay so he's sanding God's ears but Gary. Here's. But is he more, is he like, is that body of believers in Idaho more jealousable than we are? I would say in many ways yes. But how can they be if they're in in your view if they're wrong?

There's a lot of ways to go here and I want to be careful because I want to take the most charitable approach to all of it. Yes. You knew I was going to ask. The Moscow mood is very jealousable. I mean it's very attractive. Yes. Okay. But again, I'm going back to my opening supposition, my opening proposition. If a big part of God's master plan is to go full circle and bring the nation of Israel back around into the fold, which I believe, and our elders believe, then in that way, you know, Doug is missing it. And so at that particular point, which is a big point, Doug's going to have to stand there and look a little sheepish and say, wow, I miss that part of the story.

And so I'm just saying that I want to, I just want to know what God's doing. There's lots of ways we can go have attractive looking lives and still be at cross purposes to what God is doing. So I don't know if you're trying to draw a line. I don't think you can go so far as to say, if we don't get all of our theology perfect, it's not an all or nothing proposition. It's like, well, your life's gonna just look miserable if you get some of your theology wrong. I don't think that's a true, I don't think you can go there, that'd be a true false statement. But I'm just saying to my focus and my brain is simply, God, what are you trying to do?

And I just, it stands to reason that maximum blessing from God will come from maximally cooperating with what God's trying to do. That seems like a very reasonable statement to make. Yeah, I mean, I'm not disagreeing with that. So I totally believe that God cares about everything. Everything. And so there's lots of aspects of our life that we don't really give a rip about that God actually cares about.

And so if you're in business, what the first thing that you need to solve. You know, so like let's say the school right now, the ECS, we have two things that we need to solve. We need to have either more students or less payroll. So like there can be a whole bunch of other things, you know, like what is the, what if, what is our uniform code? Like those don't really matter even though they matter to God. There's things that we have to address first, right? And so if if God cares about everything and it seems like we're putting a bunch of our effort into just making sure that we have all of this dispensational versus covenantal dialed in to the letter, but then we forget 20 other things that we should be actually concerned about, which which is first? Yeah, well I would say the covenantal dispensational theology is on a first order of importance. Now again not from a salvific standpoint, okay, but in terms of working with what that the big picture of what God's trying to do. Now any given, back to your earlier

comments about school focus on school issues or whatever else, God cares about everything but we're finite so we can't care about everything at the same time.

But we should constantly be looking for ways that we can personally be expanding what we care about. You and I are at an age where a lot of the world says time to just take it easy and get your Winnebago and head to Florida. We're the kind of people that are saying no to the day we die. What next Lord? Next opportunity? Next square inch? That's the mindset we're trying to get into our people is constantly asking yourself, I can't do everything but what can I care about next and care about more and that caring though can't be divorced from what God's doing so to the best of my ability I have to take this and say what God what are you doing and then how do I how do we fit into it and so you know big my my exhortation to us as our churches when I do hear people say these theological debates are non-essential, we're all going to go to heaven anyhow. That's, to me I say that's wrong thinking. We should keep trying to figure that out so that we can best align ourselves with what God's purposes are. And then again what that means to Trinity Evangel Church, what

our little piece of that equation is, God will hope, you know, He is revealing, He'll continue to reveal. So I would not, I don't believe there's a, for me it would be Ron in my head to say well you know we've got challenges to make sure the school is viable for another two years so I don't have time to think about these theological issues. I said no I've got to be wrangling with the theological issues because again part of what we're trying to do with our ragons is we're trying to make them the kind of people that are working with with God's plan, God's vision. So if they're not clear, they'll go out there and be nice people.

Maybe someday there'll be a Mary'sville mood, but if it's still this unclear, not really knowing what God's doing, is that really maximizing God's glory? If we're still ignorant when we don't need to be ignorant of what God's doing, I'm not sure I'll admit it. I'm not saying I'm trying to move to Idaho or to be a covenantal. I'm really more saying there's so we it feels like and I could be the only one that thinks this it feels like we are trying to actually go and you can throw stones at me that we're going we're trying to have our truth tubes exactly in line and at the expense of being super jealousable in all the areas.

And like I don't know what we get, like I want all of it. I have a theory about that. Okay. Alright, so at Jealousable Lordship we've talked a lot about worldview, So, Veltanshong, meaning life operating system, and I think what you're talking about, about the truth tube, what we're trying to do is we're trying to align, so how we read the Bible does actually affect then what we go do right after reading. So, depending on how you read your Bible is going to influence how you live.

Now, we want to read our Bible in a way that's going to, well, we think that reading our Bible a certain way produces a certain kind of person that produces a certain kind of jealousable behavior and lifestyle. So we do actually have to get that is the first priority is to get our worldview lined up first. Well also we're still swimming with the school and the college and everybody else's stuff that we're trying to do. So it might feel like we're drowning and it seems like a weird thing to connect to but that is our that's the boat. So you You know, an analogy, we're already on a boat, we're in the water, and it is, we've got a lot of holes in the boat.

The worldview is the thing that's gonna keep patching up the boat, keep making it better, so we can keep going faster and farther and not keep sinking. So we do need to actually have our worldview lined up before we can just go out and make things jealousable. So I get like where you're coming from, but our, that is what has to happen first, is we have to get our standard set up first and people want to stop talking about the standard. Just, well, everybody loves Jesus, Jesus loves us, we can move on. That's, is that enough though for us to live jealousably? So we do have to have some more conversations about our theology in order for us to keep having a jealousable community and to start doing those things.

Because enough people are just like, let me live my life, don't bother me. Well, God is not interested in just not bothering his people. He likes to bother us because we're his creation. But, I mean, yeah, this is why we're here having conversations about it, because it's good. Jim, I think I hear you talking about the difference between the important and the urgent.

And as finite creatures, can you hear me okay? Yeah. As finite creatures, it seems to me over my lifetime, as I watch people and I watch myself, that we tend to get more tied up over the urgent, which maybe is not the important. It might be for a time, it might be for a period, it might be for some people in some situations, in some ages, in some stages, but the overall. So in a way it's a lot more than worldview. I think you're getting at it when you're talking about the big picture of what God is doing. And for us as finite human beings, that's pretty tough to understand. And yet that's exactly where he wants us to be, is to be open to that and looking for that.

But you and I and everybody else here has a whole lot of stuff in their lives that is urgent. I mean, it seems life shattering. I got to deal with this tomorrow and this the next day and this next week. But how does that fit into the big picture? As well as how I am doing it. Do I run over somebody? Do I railroad somebody in order to accomplish what I think is really urgent, even maybe if it's something that's basically very important. How I do it makes a whole huge difference. Don't you think? Well, yeah, the principle of the urgent versus the important. OK, go back to the basics. I think we all agree in this room.

We want to glorify God. would that be a fair statement? Okay, okay, hey, let's go home, we agree. My proposition is to glorify God. I have to try, I have to do the best of my ability, understand what he's doing, and enter into that. Now that is partly filling up my truth, well it starts with filling up my truth tube. You know, the criticism we have about truth tubers in this church is not that truth tubing is bad. That is necessary, but that's not the end game. We fill up our truth tubes for a purpose, for a reason. But if our truth tube is incorrect, that's going to then lead to activity that while it's not maybe damnable, as far as I send you to hell, it is not working according to God's purposes.

So I say doing my best to figure out what God's doing and to cooperate with it is both urgent and impotent. And I've got it, that's what my energy has to go in. So that's why when people say, ah, all this theology, who can understand it? Just I love Jesus, you know, Jesus, you know, that's what they dumb down their theology to just, I love Jesus, I gave my life to Jesus when I was four years old and I'm going to heaven and I'll tell people about that and that's good enough. I'm saying that's not good enough. And so when I hear people kind of get frustrated and irritated because we keep having these discussions, don't get frustrated and irritated.

Just say, I'm still lost, I still don't get it. So I want to avoid that ditch and I do want to avoid the ditch of those who would paint somebody like the Wilson camp as like the enemies. They're not the enemies. There's a lot we're learning from them, a lot we appreciate. But I think, again, there's some important things they've gotten wrong.

I have to be fair. It's always possible I and our elders are wrong. We don't think so. I've shared with some of you. I mean, it doesn't make me a scholar. But I purposefully, a few years ago, set on a quest to say, to inundate myself with the word of God, to see what would happen if I just flooded my soul with it. So I'm on a personal reading three times a year through this thing. I'm on about my 10th pass in the last three years right now. And every time I start, I say, OK, Lord, I want to try to not approach it like a dispensational, like a covenantalist, I just want to approach it like a letter, like I just wrote it, and I just read it. Let it speak. I keep landing on the dispensational viewpoint. I get more and more convinced of it. When I read a plan, that's where I land. And again, I respect people who don't, but if they're saying, we want to get it right too, we want to maximize and glory of God, then we are definitely brothers in Christ, but we'll continue to arm wrestle till one of us persuades the other person.

Along these lines, I'm wondering, we've talked a lot, Shawn's talked a lot about having grace for our brother or sister who maybe has a different conviction about what goes into to the body, having grace for the weaker brother who maybe has something with his conscience that doesn't allow him to eat something. And I'm just wondering, does that cross over into the theological, weaker, stronger brother situation, knowing that God made us all, and we're all going to have different experiences and perspectives and opinions about how we see the word of God. And I just wonder, I'm not saying it's wrong to be pursuing clarity for what God wants.

Absolutely, I want clarity. But it can come across to maybe someone who is less interested in that as more divisive when it's pointing fingers at our fellow brothers of like they're getting this wrong, but I'm getting it right. And I guess I feel like there's so much in, we're in lockstep with communities like over in Moscow because we're passionate about Christ, we're passionate about people coming to a knowledge. And I guess I'm just wondering if we can have grace for people in their diets and what they put in to their bodies, like shouldn't we also have and understanding that God covers over, like he will ultimately clarify for us, without it being like a, it shouldn't make us be pointing the finger at another brother.

We should have a grace that covers over that. Well, where I would agree with what you're scratching at is, if I were to take a position that I cannot have fellowship with our brothers and sisters over in Moscow because of this, I would be wrong. I can absolutely have fellowship and receive them and be glad. I've been able to spend some time with Doug. I had dinner, we were at a dinner and I sat right next to him and very enjoyable guy.

So absolutely, and even in these theological discussions and debates that I am advocating for, it's always gotta be done in a spirit of love gentleness, understanding that the good men will disagree, but just because we disagree means one of us isn't reading it right. One or both of us aren't reading it right. It is the Word of God, so we need to keep wrestling with it until we try to get it right. That's what I'm arguing for, but to do it in a gracious, kind, not judgmental, harsh way, but for the sake of us trying to hopefully get to the end and God says good job you paid attention to the story you understood what I was doing you worked with the story his glory was maximized in our lives as opposed to Jesus loves me this I know that's all I care to know you know kind of thing yeah I mean obviously people can do a lot of good things and not know why they're doing it. Chuck, why do you care so much about politics? That's not even Jesus. Why do you care so much about trying to get people to eat right? Well, it's because you've learned that actually people can

go about doing a lot of things that might not actually be good for them in in the long run. So actually our country ran decently well and ran well enough that people stopped learning how it worked and stopped caring, somebody else will do it. And then Here we are, here we are in the story of people weren't paying attention. So lots of people in their health, well there they are. They weren't paying attention.

Maybe they weren't even sinning, but they weren't paying attention. When we think about if Jesus doesn't come back for another 50 years, We'd actually like some people to be paying attention so that they don't have the same problems that we have, so that we don't have the same problems that we have had to repent from, from missing the part of the story. And even with the, well, can't we just be nice to them? I mean, to have listened to what you just said tonight, Jim, and conclude that your exhortation was for us to not be nice and poke them in the eyes every time you see them. Like, that's not what you said. Yeah, you weren't paying attention.

We're, we are, we are trying to answer faithfully and build wisely. That is our job. And so like sometimes it's helpful to point out what we're not doing on purpose. Sometimes it's helpful to say, and these are the steps that we're taking, and some people are going to just enjoy it and not be able to describe it. That is both okay and dangerous in the long term. We can't actually reproduce if we can't explain what we're doing. So we're talking about it so that we can get it right. And even the truth tubes illustration, the contrast in my mind is with a quote that Bunyan gave about how we're like flowers in a garden.

So, rather than just collecting up water in a rain gauge, a tube, we are like in a garden and the rain comes down and it nourishes the soil for our roots, but also some of it goes off of the leaves and goes into our neighbor's roots that's beneficial. So we're living and we're sharing. We're all together. We're not isolated and we're not just trying to win by having more than somebody else. But, I mean, there are certain theologies that I would say are actually trying to put a rain cover over top of the goodness of God's Word that then are prohibiting some of the good blessings from getting down to us and getting into the soil.

So we're actually trying, super sessionism, whether you care about that word or not, that is a cover over the garden that is keeping certain blessings out. It is a cover over the garden that is actually limiting thankfulness and praise and blessing. So yeah, I think we should want to get that cover off and be able to explain to other people why we don't like that cover, why we're trying to get scripture as opposed to default, like the number of conversations where the appeal to the authority is a book other than scripture. Like not just where the other book is a help to understand scripture, but where the other book has become an authority that is appealed to first.

is actually that's putting a cover over top of the garden and keeping rain out. So we're trying to, we're trying to get ourselves in the right position to have a good answer to God and so that our grandkids also have a good answer for why they are where they're at. Why they are seeking God's blessings and seeking it from God's word the way that we're trying to talk to them about to do. So we talk a lot about worldview and that our worldview in our theology is why we do the things we do. And then we talk about being inconsistent. So I was going to ask, how does that actually happen for people to be inconsistent? Is it where you know something but you don't actually believe it because what you believe is what you actually do?

Or can you somehow believe something and then do something that doesn't fit with that? So like when we talk about inconsistency in our work and in our knowledge, is that because they actually don't believe it, or how are they inconsistent? How can you describe that?

I mean, there's probably lots of ways to be inconsistent. I mean, probably in this particular arena of this debate, of these theological debates, I would put it more in the camp of sincerely held beliefs that when probed are inconsistent. I think they're inconsistent with a literal reading of the Bible, and they're even inconsistent in the practical application without diving into a whole other series.

If I'm a person who, again, hues more to the covenantal view of things, but I'm really advocating a Kyperian life and really enjoying the things of Earth, okay, which we've got friends that do that, and they do it admirably. But their theology says, but that stuff is all just shadow and type. It's not the real deal. It all just points to you to something, an eternal reality. We would suggest that there's some inconsistency in that way of thinking and operating that the goodness and the gift is not in the loaf of bread you just pulled out of the oven, you know, that that what you just pulled out of the oven is just a type of a spiritual reality yet to be realized even though they still enjoy the loaf of bread. We're saying a better understanding is that no God gave you that loaf of bread and it in of itself is an end point of receiving God's goodness and God's glory and enjoy it And it can certainly make you think of other spiritual realities, but it in itself is good to be enjoyed.

And Philip, if he was here right now, he'd be jumping up saying amen. But that's just one example. So now there are other people out there who will say one thing and then do something else. And those are inconsistent, but they know they're inconsistent. They're not doing what they say they believe. But we're more concerned with making sure that what we believe is then consistent with what we're actually doing with our fingers and toes. But again, the the big takeaway, so I don't want you to lose them, is we all care about the glory of God. He is telling a story. We have a role to play in it, so you have to ask yourself, what's he trying to do? What's What's he trying to do?

If as our leadership teaches, if the dispensational thing is true, we need to then consider in what way are we trying to live a kind of jealousable blessed life that God is using to help make the Jews jealous. None of the elders today, as far as you know, They're going, they're not taking Israel today and their government and saying, Rah-rah, everything that Israel today does is admirable. And we can still criticize what their government's doing today. But then as a nation, we can love them because God loves them. And we can be excited and praying and again saying, hey guys, we're enjoying the fruit. We're enjoying the blessings that was first given to you.

those blessings were supposed to come down through you to us and you blew it and now we're reaping the benefit and we're hoping they're gonna wake up and say oh we want some of that and we believe that in time God will actually do that he'll universally change our hearts so but that's again a part of what we're trying to do what we believe it's not that it's not the sum total of what we're all about because I believe that same blessed life is also what's going to make those who are being saved, the Gentiles, also want to come to Christ. But we've got to get back to where the Christians are the shakers and movers in our community, and that we're just not kept safe in our stained glass aquariums.

You know what I mean by stained glass aquarium? Our little church buildings, we have our little social. That is a dispensational error that is inconsistent with what a dispensational liturgy of the Bible's written about. So if anything, we're actually trying to repent from our group's kinds of sins. Dualism, yeah. Not make other people repent necessarily. Yeah. We are trying to identify it so that we are repenting where we need to repent before other people are repenting where, or whatever their issues are. Yeah, good, good, you can go on. so that we can not justify our virtuous hiding out in our bunker, waiting for Jesus to rapture us out of here in the last home country out of Vietnam.

So like our group is the kind that we keep talking about it. Yeah, and thank you, because that is a huge important point, because it really is, our bigger beef is with ourselves in our broader dispensational camp, the hunker in your bunker, wait for Jesus to come group, is we believe is dead wrong. Okay, well hopefully if nothing else, I've been able to amp up your little level of care, maybe more care to not affirm me as an elder next time, but yeah.

We need to be a passionate people that really, we are a good people. We're a sweet fellowship. There's not a church on the universe that I'm aware of I want to be anywhere else than here. But I'm also, Shawn has referred to the term that I've used often, we're a YAC, which stands for Yet Another Church. Just another nice little stained glass aquarium at 9015 44th Drive, Northeast Marysville, that Satan says, okay, I got those 300 souls corralled. They're contained, they're safe. I want us making Marysville a place that you know where Satan is annoyed, the pagans that hate God out there are very upset with us and the blessings of God are just pouring through the veins of our community. So alright.

The number of good things people can take for granted demonstrate the advanced stage of community. To whom much has been given, much can be assumed. So it’s not good to take anything for granted. But the fact that some of the descriptive virtues of leadership in Nehemiah 5 seem obvious to us is a sign of blessing.

For building purposes, chapters 4-6 show that opposition shouldn’t surprise us. In chapters 4 and 6, enemies heap condescension onto already calloused hands. As if it weren’t hard enough to clear the ground and construct a wall around the city, outsiders on every side wanted the project to fail. Enemies mustered to insult, maybe even to injure. They caused heartburn. Nehemiah regrouped and reassigned some to build and others to battle and rallied all of them to be ready. He also stopped any commuting from villages outside the walls for sake of focus and fortification.

This last policy was apparently not resisted or resented, but it also ended up being the catalyst to expose a big problem. The problem wasn’t only an external military threat but also an internal economic threat. People were hungry, some were even selling their kids as debt slaves. The oppression was coming from inside the walls. Brothers exploited brothers. It was an inside jab.

Nehemiah’s response includes: not covering up the problem, calling out the guys who should have known better, getting them to agree to change in public, distinguishing between normal conditions and unique ones, and providing and example of paying out of pocket instead of grabbing at others’ expense. These are leadership qualities/practices that we might take for granted but that the Lord remembers for good.

We could divide the chapter between the present problem in verses 1-13 and Nehemiah’s governing pattern in verses 14-19. But we’ll work through the three paragraphs. Verses 1-5 are the problem, verses 6-13 are the response, and verses 14-19 are a summary of Nehemiah’s approach to using his authority.

We’re expecting trouble from Sanballat and Tobiah, but your own brothers?

Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. (Nehemiah 5:1 ESV)

The great outcry came between the wall being half-height (4:6) and being finished (6:15). The problems didn’t originate during the 52 days (see also 6:15), but the timing of this season of wall building hit during harvest (Elul 25, around our August/September). There was not a lot to harvest. The men were busy not working in their fields, and their loan payments were coming due. The wives were picking up the slack on the home front.

There were at least three groups facing shortfalls.

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.” There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. (Nehemiah 5:2–4 ESV)

There were those in verse 2 whose large families were out of food; they didn’t have land, they got paid for labor, and they weren’t getting paid for the wall labor. There were those in verse 3 who had to mortgage their assets to buy food, meaning they were putting up their property to borrow against. And there were those in verse 4 who had to borrow money to pay their property taxes.

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, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.” (Nehemiah 5:5 ESV)

They’re saying, “We thought we were all in this together. We are a community, we have mutual obligations. But some are taking advantage. We are even selling our kids as slaves.” The daughters (who are referenced twice) are particular vulnerable.

It doesn’t explicitly say that Nehemiah was surprised, but this wasn’t like oil on his beard (see Psalm 133:2). I think just as Sanballat’s anger was rooted in insecurity, Nehemiah’s anger is rooted in “Come on, guys, are you for real?!” He would have assumed that a community fighting together would not be fighting each other. But it was true. Co-laborers were jabbing each other for money.

I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. (Nehemiah 5:6 ESV)

So I took counsel with myself. He talked himself off the ledge of wanting to grab their throats and shake some sense into them. He composed himself and put his thoughts into a plan. It was bold, and it worked.

I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say. So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. 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 that you have been exacting from them.” (Nehemiah 5:7–11 ESV)

This charge is in public, which was a risk. It could have ruined his relationship with the moneyed class. But Nehemiah points out that 1) we’ve already spent money to free/redeem our brothers from the nations, why treat them this way in our own nation? 2) they are brothers. 3) how we treat one another affects how other people view God. 4) we can do better than this. Now is a season for gifts not loans, let alone high interest loans.

It was an inside jab. The taunts of the outsiders were plausible, credible. We tend to think our witness is one-to-one (which it is), but it is also group-to-group.

There are times for better terms. Loans, contra Dave Ramsey, aren’t unbiblical (for one example see Exodus 22:25-27; and there were times and rules for working off debt as a slave according to Exodus 21:1-11). But these conditions weren’t normal. At this point in their identity as those who fear God the wall was more important than individual bank accounts. Nehemiah must have been one of the loaners, and he said he was going to return ownership and forgiving the interest.

Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised. 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. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised. (Nehemiah 5:12–13 ESV)

The brothers agree, Amen, so let it be. Nehemiah gets them to commit on camera, so to speak. He even brought priests in as witnesses. Going back on this agreement would be unrighteousness.

The symbolism of I shook out the fold of my garment is like turning out one’s pockets. God’s judgment would be making them empty if they did not keep this promise.

This final paragraph shows that how Nehemiah handled this crisis fit with his use of his authority overall. These verses look back after the fact, and give us some new information prior to another round with Sanballat and Tobiah in chapter 6.

For twelve years Nehemiah governed in Jerusalem. At no time did he support himself from the people even though he had authority to do so (verse 14).

In fact, previous governors had made it tough on the people (verse 15). Even the servants of the authorities took for themselves. This explains a pattern of economic hardship that lead to this crisis. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.

He also wasn’t asking others to do what he wasn’t willing to do. His risks, his resources, were dedicated to the project (verse 16).

This was all true, and costly. He still had official and extra hospitality responsibilities to fulfill.

Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. 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. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. (Nehemiah 5:17–18 ESV)

Not quite the same as Solomon’s daily allotment (compare 1 Kings 4:22-23: Nehemiah had 1 ox, 6 sheep, plus birds, and Solomon had 10 fat oxen, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep, plus more), but this was in rebuild times. Nehemiah had visiting dignitaries to feed, plus his own household.

Nehemiah wrote verse 19 as a private prayer, not as his Twitter bio. He was doing all this in integrity, and for God’s reward.

Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people. (Nehemiah 5:19 ESV)

The same quick prayer-plea occurs again (13:14, 22, 31).

They weren't acting like Christians, because of course they weren't “Christians.” But they at least should've been acting like they were on the same team. Nehemiah urges them to remember their duties to each other. He calls them not just to build up the walls but to build up the community. Don’t give the outsiders plausible reasons to taunt. (At least make them make something up.)

In terms of Nehemiah’s example, he shows that authority leads, it confronts wrong, it goes first, it doesn’t demand without skin in the game, it shows costly hospitality, it does more than it expects of others.

God kept blessing Nehemiah, and giving him wisdom. Fear of the Lord solves a lot, actually. Remember for our good, O our God, all that we have done for one another.

It is GOOD to want to be remembered. Of course, it does matter: remembered by whom and for what. The Lord sees. The Lord looks. He forgets our sins but never our sacrifices. Do all to the glory of God. Do your work this week so that He will remember for your good.

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. (2 Thessalonians 3:16 ESV)

We already know the wall around Jerusalem got rebuilt. Nehemiah gave us a tour in chapter 3, including the names of families/groups who got credit for their sections. Why go back, and why three more chapters (from 4:1 to 6:19)? It's reasonable for us to ask about the placement and the proportion? Why this order? Why so much attention?

Well, did you think building was going to be easy?

These lessons on expecting snark and setbacks, on expecting to adjust plans and to be tired, are easy to track and easier to ignore. We want patient progress and we want it NOW. We love the idea that we can do difficult things without difficulty, or, others have the idea that if it's difficult then it must not be right. To them, “peaceful and quiet life” means no big projects.

But some things are worth disturbing others over. Some things are worth your life--schedule and budget--being disturbed.

As Christians we are not building a physical wall around our city. But by way of application, we can see how Jerusalem's walls provided them with identity and consecration. They had a way of worship, and that shaped their way of life. The walls brought them together in the months of coordinated effort and then afterward in a community mindset.

These verses in Nehemiah 4:7-23 are for our encouragement and endurance in hope so that we also can live in harmony with one another and with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (see Romans 15:4-6).

Nehemiah names opposition in verse 7 and references them again in verse 15. The wall was up to half the height according to verse 6, and some of the neighbors are big mad. Now they muster a mob.

But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. (Nehemiah 4:7–8 ESV)

Do you have a good guess as to why there are four groups mentioned? Representatives come from all four directions; Arabs were south, Ammonites were east, Ashdodites were west, Samaritans were north. Sanballat is named first; he seems to be the chief agitator. They hold council on how to mess up the building, if not to kill (see verse 11, though that might have drawn Artaxerxes' less-than-pleased attention), at least to cause confusion.

And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. (Nehemiah 4:9 ESV)

They prayed and assigned men for defense around the clock. More on the particulars later in the chapter. There’s a Benedictine motto for this: ora et labora = “Pray and work” (Fensham). Or we could call it the Oliver Cromwell principle—“Trust in God, and keep your powder dry.”

Thus far the external pressure, now we see some of the internal panic.

In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.” (Nehemiah 4:10–12 ESV)

It was said. The message of uncertainty spread fast. There is too much construction trash, and the grunts are getting worn out. “We’re never going to get this done.” In Hebrew the meter in verse 10 is a bit different, more poetic than prose. One commentator translated it into an English jingle:

The strength of the burden bearer is drooping,

Do observe that this concern is sandwiched between news of enemies plotting (verse 8) and news of enemy propaganda (verse 11). The work seemed harder knowing they were surrounded. “Did you hear?" And it does sound bad. They are going to sneak in and kill us while we sleep.

Verse 12 reminds us that not everyone was living inside the walls. So what if enemies attacked the smaller villages while the builders weren't home? There was a call to return home Ten times, again and again, pressure all around.

Nehemiah's first after-prayer-response (APR):

So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” (Nehemiah 4:13–14 ESV)

It seems that gathering in the lowest parts was to let the enemies see that there were men ready to fight/defend. It was a show of force, a visual deterrent.

While gathered, Nehemiah also gave them a speech, he rallied them to a better fight. He started with the other leaders' (to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest); keep them encouraged and they would multiply Nehemiah's confidence and message. He urged them all to courage which comes from faith, or from remembering the object of their faith, as well as the courage that comes from remembering who the battling was on behalf of. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome!

The gathering made clear that now the Israelites were alert, so the element of surprise was gone (and who knows if they were really going to try anything anyway).

When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. (Nehemiah 4:15 ESV)

The temporary regrouping worked. The rest of the chapter explains the policies and precautions put in place until the project was completed.

One apparent change: a division of labor. Some men were taken off the wall work and put on guard duty (verses 16-17a).

Another change: the men that were doing demolition/clean up and material supply kept a weapon in hand (verse 17b). One hand for holding/steadying, one hand for throwing/swinging.

The builders themselves needed both hands, but if they hadn't already, each man was armed with a sword strapped at his side (verse 18). Less convenient to move around, but a required part of his EDC.

Add to that a clarification in communication (verses 19-20). A trumpet—not our three-fingered of course—was the shofar, typically made of a ram’s horn. It produced a pitch that, depending on terrain and weather, might be heard up to a mile away. Trumpets have been parts of military comms for generations, up until the 20th century when bugles were replace with radio technology.

Our God will fight for us. Obviously not let go and let God. But keep the gun powder dry. Trust God to bless their building and battling.

A recap in verse 21.

So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. (Nehemiah 4:21 ESV)

Sunrise to sunset, dawn to stars.

And then another policy change.

I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” (Nehemiah 4:22 ESV)

Men had been commuting. This new rule meant maybe a more equitable shift sharing, plus more hands in case of attack. It also kept the number of men known. What if the men were ambushed on the back or forth? It would have taken time to realize some were picked off.

So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand. (Nehemiah 4:23 ESV)

Vigilance and personal sacrifice. Nehemiah slept, but in his clothes. He slept, but with his sword at the ready. He slept, but his main concern was the project. He risked his place before Artaxerxes, and he wasn’t finished taking risks.

Threats? Yes. Scorn? Yes. Difficult? Yes. Doubts? Yes. Tired? Yes. Hurt or killed? None that we know of.

There’s still more challenges described in Nehemiah 5 and 6. And in terms of application, again, we’re not building physical walls, but we are recognizing our identity as the Lord’s and seeking to live as a consecrated people for Him.

TEC's mission: we are laboring in joy to cultivate a Trinitarian community of worshipping, maturing disciples who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord over all the world. As we confess that Jesus is Lord, we are learning and laboring, as well as equipping and encouraging our kids, to live out our faith. We are trying to make a profit for our Master when He returns. Church, this is about the church as people, not church as our building/property. We want to make disciples in Marysville who live like, and like for, Jesus in all their vocations, with their own vocations/visions for how to advance the name of Jesus.

We are laboring to cultivate a Trinitarian community, in the midst of cultural rubble. We have to unlearn some modern ways and even unlearn little-faith and individualistic faith.

“as more and more of us see Him, we will also see the cultural fruit of seeing Him.” —Doug Wilson, Angels in the Architecture

Christians, this is your work. Are you worshipping? Are you maturing as disciples? Are you acknowledging that Jesus is Lord in all your work? Remember the Lord who is great and awesome!

What is your AWR (after worship response)? It should be going out in gladness. The joy of the Lord is your strength. He is glad with you in Jesus, your godliness should be shown in gladness. And in His strength, you build and battle. Pray and work. Our God will fight for us!

[May] the God of all grace himself, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:10b–11 ESV)

One of our modern poets said, “Haters gonna hate.” (For what it’s worth, according to some DeepSearch I did, this was long before Taylor Swift’s “hate, hate, hate.” The first use as a lyric is credited to a group called 3LW on their debut album in 2000 in a so-called song titled "Playas Gon' Play.”) Now you know.

The point is, you might think that there’d be no reason to pick on a small group of people just trying to pick up their place. You might think you’d leave them alone, especially if you knew they had state permission and even some state funding to help their rebuild. But the way of man is to despise the weak and despise them even more if it looks like they are starting to get ahead. The way of man is not to rejoice with those who rejoice, but to ridicule those who rebuild. When a man feels threatened, the last thing he wants to see is another man’s blessing. Haters gonna hate.

In Nehemiah 3 we read the overview of the repair of the walls of Jerusalem. Ezra’s rebuild focused on the temple and when the Jews tried to work on the walls they were cut off by an official decree from Artaxerxes. About a decade later Nehemiah’s story opens with news from Jerusalem about the broken walls and he risks his position (if not his life) to request a policy reversal and a new commission to build. Wall-building is the main plot concern in Nehemiah. Chapter 3 listed the who and where and what of the wall work. Forty some groups worked and joined and installed the gate hardware. The chapter implies the kindness of God to bring about the coordinated effort.

Chapter 4 could be seen as out of place. On the timeline, it happens during chapter 3. There’s more to the story than coordination, there was coordinated opposition. We might think that if it got done, which it did, why go back and detail the taunting? It’s to show that God’s work done in God’s way provokes God’s enemies. It shows that the coordinated effort was helped by the pressure. And it shows that hatters gonna hate in vain when the Lord builds the house.

Nehemiah introduced us to Sanballat and Tobiah in chapter 2. After some progress, the displeasure of the locals comes out twice. Now the anxiety is getting louder.

There are two parts in verses 1-6, and though we covered 32 verses in the last message, this is worth slowing down for. We’ll see the insecurity and the imprecation.

There’s double irony to “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” First, that’s usually said because some words were a threat, if not actually some hurt; hurt isn’t only physical. Second, if words don’t have power to hurt, what gives words power as a defense?

But, hearing what others are saying takes faith. It’s not that we don’t take what haters say seriously, but we ought to hear what they say accurately.

Sanballat speaks from the anger that comes from insecurity.

Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” (Nehemiah 4:1–2 ESV)

Sanballat’s responses have been intensifying, from displeasure (2:10) to despising (2:19) to now greatly enraged. So he starts mouthing off at the Jews. Where exactly he stood when he gave his speech is uncertain, but since Nehemiah quotes him, and since Nehemiah refers to “the presence of the builders” (verse 5), Sanballat must have been near-ish the walls.

He does not stand by himself. It’s easier to mock when you’ve got your mob with you. Here he’s got his brothers and …the army of Samaria. He’s preaching to the Ridicule Choir, rallying the base. Even if some of their hearts were starting to doubt, who was going to speak against the narrative?

Sanballat asks five snarky questions all intended as propaganda to make himself and his men feel better. He’s mocking, and trying to boost his own morale.

The group gathers momentum and Tobiah joins the fun.

Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” (Nehemiah 4:3 ESV)

A fox is nimble not clumsy, and not very heavy. A fox isn’t an elephant, right? Walls needed to be thick to survive siege-works/battering rams.

At least one archaeologist found a section 8 feet thick, so Tobiah is smack talking, not giving a measured observation. It’s taunting (see verse 4), the proverbial discouraging word. They say the left can’t meme, but these were pretty good.

Nehemiah’s response to the provocation is prayer. It’s more than lament, and more than a cry for help. It’s a call for judgment.

Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders. (Nehemiah 4:4–5 ESV)

Let them have a taste of their own mockery. Let them see how it feels. We’re rubber, they’re glue, let what they say get them stuck in no good. Turn back their taunt, their sneering insults.

Their opposition is wicked, so judge as their wickedness deserves. This isn’t a prayer against their salvation, though it isn’t a prayer for their conversation either. It’s a prayer that God see the sin committed against God. The walls are God’s walls, the project is for the sake of God’s people, so the attack is really an attack on God. While talking in the presence of the builders it was provoking God to anger.

So much for the prayer, and verse 6 is the progress.

So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. (Nehemiah 4:6 ESV)

I mean, we knew it from chapter 3. But even with the bark of the dogs, the people kept building.

The people had a mind to work. I have a mind that loves this phrase. More than imprecatory prayers against God’s enemies, I pray for this blessing among us. It is a “heart” to work, motivated, committed.

How did the people get this mind? They must have been stirred by Nehemiah’s rhetoric, his confidence and communication. Even that resonated with their heart’s-tune for their city and their history. Additional motivation must have come by seeing the opposition, because some conflict/threat gets the heart rate up. (Think when the lion chased Shasta and Aravis and everyone went a little faster than they thought they could.) All these ingredients were used by God as instruments, and since the Lord stirred up kings hearts directly, He is ultimately behind this working and willing as well.

Look for increased taunts (and attempts at emotional sabotage) when things start to go well. It’s a sign of health. Look behind/beneath the taunt at the insecurity, as well as how much of that is hostility against God. Righteous Derangement Syndrome is real (Proverbs 29:27).

It’s part of what this Scripture is for: that we would be encouraged to build.

Maybe you don't seek out scoffers but they come and post on your wall anyway. Maybe you don’t have scoffers because you aren’t righteous enough to irritate them. In both cases, in ALL cases, PRAY. Pray that God give you a mind to work, and then work. Let Him (bring and) deal with the haters.

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV)