Who's that again?

I’m limited. How about you, are you limited?

I can’t do everything

I really want to be great, do a lot of good stuff but what I keep finding out is I’m limited. I have a 24 hour day and even though I only sleep somewhere between 5 to 7 hours usually, I can’t seem to remember to create dynamic lesson plans at my teaching job, pray for every person in the church daily, exercise, stretch, eat healthy, email my leaders about issues that are so important, evangelize everyone, visit, be an engaging father, enjoy my hobbies.

Is anyone else getting tired after hearing just parts of this list?

The only goal I accomplished this quarter of school was to leave with all my paperwork completed. Well a lot of it.

I’m limited.

Today, you may come with completely different goals. You are trying to be there for your family or your friend. You’ve attempted to do everything each and every doctor, specialist, therapist told you to do. Frankly, you don’t have any more time left.

You and I are limited.

It makes perfect sense to me than that for many, many people think that God is also limited. There is no way he could care about them. How can he care about the war in Ukraine, the loss of polar bear habitat, children in Iowa’s cancer hospitals, refugees of the earthquake in Morocco, and the fact that you, here in Stockton, are in financial hardship and anxious?

Jesus told us,

Matthew 10:29–31 CSB

29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. 30 But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

God knows you. God is unlimited. God cares about you. Look at the person next to you and say you matter to God.

You matter to God.

These are not empty words. Individuals matter to God.

Have you heard of

Ginnethoi

(Geen-Toy)

We have been going through the Bible to take on the attitude of Christ Jesus. The book we have been looking at is Nehemiah.

Ginnethoi is in Nehemiah.

I really wouldn’t expected you to know who He was but God does. God chose to include him in a list of people and places that is the scripture of Nehemiah we come upon today , in Nehemiah 11 and 12 there are lists that includes such exciting verses as Neh 11:2-4

Nehemiah 11:2–4 CSB

2 The people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem. 3 These are the heads of the province who stayed in Jerusalem (but in the villages of Judah each lived on his own property in their towns—the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants— 4 while some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin settled in Jerusalem): Judah’s descendants: Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of Perez’s descendants;

Nehemiah 11:8–9 CSB

8 and after him Gabbai and Sallai: 928. 9 Joel son of Zichri was the officer over them, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command over the city.

It goes on to more excitement:

Nehemiah 11:33–34 CSB

33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,

A long list of people and places that most of the time when we read such lists as Americans in 2023 we say

who cares?

Why do we say who cares? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care about this list either. I apologize but I can’t think about how

Nehemiah 11:31–32 CSB

31 Benjamin’s descendants: from Geba, Michmash, Aija, and Bethel and its surrounding villages, 32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,

is going to make a major difference in your life this week or at any time in your history, except for this, to realize, God is not limited like us. God cares about individuals. He cares about leaders and followers. He cares about people who worked on the wall and in the temple. Enough to name them. Even

Nehemiah 12:4 CSB

4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,

But when you read or hear a fly-over verse these in the Bible like and your eyes might glaze over because you are limited do know that God knew these people by name and even those who were not named were heard.

Judges 6:7 CSB

7 When the Israelites cried out to him because of Midian,

God heard the cries of individuals. These are prayers of tears. These are prayers from individuals who are part of a people called the Israelites.

God is not limited. He hears the prayers of His followers.

Let’s accept by faith the whole testimony of God. If you accept by faith that Jesus died for you, than also accept by faith, with full belief that God hears you. That God loves you.

When Jesus says

John 14:27 CSB

27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.

The you, really is you. If you believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and rose again, that you call Jesus as Lord. Calling Jesus Lord means that He is bigger than any boss,famous person, official, you surrender to Jesus because Jesus is God, than his promises are to you!

Your name. You as a person

John 15:9–11 CSB

9 “As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

We can remain in Jesus’ love. We can hang out in Jesus love.

Take a second with me, Did you love the weather this Saturday. I loved it. A little cold. overcast, a few leaves changing color. Fall means holidays, one of my favorite things to do is sit in a room and hang out with friends, laughing, telling stories, watching a football game. I remain with my friends. I am present and they are present with me.

Jesus calls us to be present with Him. The facy words: To abide in Him.

I know though, that so many of us in the midst of our depression, in our hard lives, in our anxieties, we might forget, God enjoys us. Jesus knows our name. He knows the hairs on our head. Matt 10:30

Matthew 10:30 CSB

30 But even the hairs of your head have all been counted.

You matter to Him and he just asks you to

Hang with him and trust Him.

The fancy words are Abide and obey.

Look at the person next to you and say Abide and obey.

Now before you get all worked about obedience and how much you fail God; it is vital that we take this moment to remember when Christ died for us

Romans 5:8 CSB

8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Not when you got your act together. Not when you stopped being overwhelmed. Not when you were in a better place.

NOW! AND BACK THEN! AT ALL TIMES! GOD LOVES YOU ENOUGH TO DIE FOR YOU!

It’s real. It’s true. God loves you.

There is an epidemic in our church and in our city and in our time. We forget that we are loved.

When you’re hurting and depressed your more likely to try and get others to feel what you feel. You are more likely to hurt others.

For others, when a person approaches who actually does genuinely love. That approach of love can be so difficult to accept because we forget that God loves us and others are capable of love. We forget that anyone genuinely loves, and so as not to get hurt, we think why not take advantage of this attention for as long as you can before they fall out of love.

But God tells us through His Bible, God doesn’t stop knowing you. God doesn’t stop loving you.

Matthew 18:12–14 MSG

12 “Look at it this way. If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine and go after the one? 13 And if he finds it, doesn’t he make far more over it than over the ninety-nine who stay put? 14 Your Father in heaven feels the same way. He doesn’t want to lose even one of these simple believers.

You matter to God. He goes after you. He put people in your path to bring you to Him.

Losing you is worse than misplacing your phone. Worse than losing your keys. God values you.

I want you to do something.

As we see in the book of Nehemiah people matter to God. He knows them by name. He lists them at this special time as the wall is completed and Jerusalem is being resettled.

Individuals matter to God. Let them matter to you.

In your own life there are people who God put into your path to bring you into relationship with Him. Use the app, a piece of paper, or just an email to yourself and start to write some names down.

Write the people of your spiritual history down.

I could begin with my grandparents who took their kids to church.I could name my parents but I also could name Lavonne Leffingwell, my nursery sunday school worker. Norbert Hiramoto my boys sunday school teacher. There are many more. Roger Williams my youth pastor.

So many names that might not matter to anyone else but I know the history and the impact that God used them in my life and I know that God knows their name.

God loves them. God loves me. God loves you and knows your name just like he knew the names in

Nehemiah 12:26 CSB

26 These served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe.

God loves you. Abide in Him.