A Lesson on the Desperate Need to Love Our Neighbors as Ourselves
Rubble to Restoration: A Study in Ezra and Nehemiah • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction:
Introduction:
Love is desperately needed in the world today. Each and every person on our planet is crying out for someone to love them, and what I mean is genuinely love and care for them.
Ponder a moment of the fatherless children throughout our world, how desperately they need the love and guidance of a father. And the motherless children, how desperately they need the tender care and love of a mother. Think of the orphans who have neither… to love and rear them. Think of the single mother or father who struggle to raise their children with little to no help.
Ponder a moment for the slow learner or shy or unpopular classmate who seems to have no friends. Think about the host of people who need someone to reach out to them in friendship and care: family member, relatives, coworkers, or neighbors.
The point is that no matter where we look, there is a desperate need for love. God Himself commands us to love one another, to love our neighbors as ourselves, as the passage spoke we read before service stated. And this is the practical message of our passage this morning.
Recap:
Recap:
In chapter four, Nehemiah faced severe, external opposition to rebuild the wall. We saw how Israel’s enemies attacked the workers.
4 strategies used by them were:
1st: Ridicule and mockery
2nd: Conspiring and plotting attacks
3rd: Fatigue
4th: Intimidation
The application for us is that the enemy still runs the same play against us today in fact. We can guard our hearts and minds through prayer and dependency on God’s promises, along with staying alert and continuing to do the work that God has called us to.
We will see in chapter six, that Nehemiah will again struggle with external opposition. But here in chapter 5, Nehemiah faces the most serious threat of all, and that would be, internal strife.
This strife was so divisive that it threatened to destroy the unifying spirit and purpose of the people. If the strife was allowed to continue, the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the nation would most likely cease. The ramifications of this strife is serious.
And Nehemiah was left with this heavy burden, with the help of God, to solve this conflict. How God used him to restore unity among the people and to guarantee the fulfillment of God’s promises through the Jewish people is the historical subject of our passage this morning.
vv. 1-5) The damages of greed, covetousness, insensitivity, and a hard heart.
vv. 1-5) The damages of greed, covetousness, insensitivity, and a hard heart.
There was a loud cry of protest against the wealthy Jews, because they were creating a serious economic crisis for the rest of their brethren. right in the middle of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, the rich were oppressing the people through exploitation and extortion in order to gain more for themselves.
[1-5] What we find are three groups that were being oppressed by the rich, who were taking advantage of the people.
From our text we understand there was a famine in the land. With so many working on the wall, which undoubtedly caused a shortage of workers for the harvest. As a result, many families were evidently facing a crisis in gathering in the harvest. Remember that the workers from outlying villages had been forced to stay in Jerusalem for their safety because of the threats from their enemies that surround them.
All of these factors contributed to a serious economic and financial crisis for most of the people. The three groups in particular that were being oppressed were:
In verse 2 we see the poor Jews who did not have enough food to survive.
In verse 3 we see the property owners who had to mortgage their fields and homes in order to buy food.
And in verse 4 there were others who had to borrow money to pay their taxes to the Persian government.
The complaint was a loud outcry against these oppressors. Because they were helping by loaning money, but they were charging too much interest and were demanding property as collateral. In some cases, they were even demanding children as collateral, using them to work off their parents debt.
The result was tragic, for seemingly unified people there were those who were losing what little money and property they had as well as their children.
The wealthy were exposing the true core of their hearts. they were selfish, insensitive, and hard-hearted toward others. They were selfish, insensitive, and hard-hearted. Greed and covetousness gripped their hearts. Sadly, they were disobeying the Lord’s commandments, for it was unlawful for Jews, to charge interest on money they loaned to one another:
19 “You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest. 20 To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.
Brotherly love was to be the basic rule between the Jews, a love that was selfless and always sensitive to the needs of others:
25 “If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest. 26 If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. 27 For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.
10 “When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if the man is poor, you shall not keep his pledge overnight. 13 You shall in any case return the pledge to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and bless you; and it shall be righteousness to you before the Lord your God.
These commands of God were established to keep greed and covetousness from gripping the heart of God’s people.
Application:
Hard and selfish hearts cause all kinds of problems within our society. Think what happens when the hearts of family members are hard and insensitive toward one another. Lying, stealing, cheating, slander, prejudice, and the lack of over all appreciation takes place. This type of behavior in the world causes some of the most wicked behavior in the world.
Look at this with me what God’s Word say about hard, insensitive hearts:
3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”
And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”
27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.” ’
Speaking to those who believe they were okay being “religious.”
5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
9 When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
10 For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
11 So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”
This Psalm is harsh, please understand that it is not speaking to salvation, but to the rest we could have in God if we were to follow Him rightly.
2. Listen to what God says about selfishness, greed, and covetousness:
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
So what are we to do?
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
vv. 6-13) The need for repentance!
vv. 6-13) The need for repentance!
[“all we need is love… first though is repentance!”]
Nehemiah became irate at these men and rebuked them.
Although Nehemiah was angry—very angry—he controlled himself. A terrible social injustice was being committed, and the very economy of this newer Jewish community was being threatened. And yet, Nehemiah controlled his anger, exercising restraint by getting alone and pondering the situation.
He wisely and carefully spent time thinking through the action that needed to be taken. And action was needed, for the work that was at hand.
There is nothing wrong, when you are wronged, to be upset or angry… but the Bible is very clear:
26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil.
Nehemiah having though through the problem, called a public meeting to confront the wealthy nobles and officials of the land. Standing face-to-face with them, he laid out a five point rebuke of their sinful, oppressive behavior.
[7-8] He pointed out their inconsistent, contradictory behavior. The people were lead out, originally, as slaves. But had been freed under the edict of King Cyrus, only to turn around and be enslaved by their brethren. All for a quick buck.
Nehemiah warned the wealthy of the land: they must fear God. Fearing God means both to reverence God and to fear His coming judgement. A person who fears God is a person who bows before Him, acknowledging that He is the Creator who deserves the worship and service of all people.
To reverence God means to praise and give thanks to Him for all the blessing and gifts of life. But a person must also fear the holiness and righteousness of God, bear the fact that He will execute justice on the earth.
All people will face the hand of God’s judgment for their evil and wickedness. And it is for this reason, Nehemiah was compelled to warn them. They needed to show reverence by worshipping Him, and they must fear the hand of His judgment if they continued in their exploitation and oppression of the poor.
“When men no longer fear God, they transgress His laws without hesitation. The fear of consequences is no deterrent when the fear of God is gone.”–A.W. Tozer
[9] Nehemiah then challenged them to be witnesses for God. Presently, they were anything but witnesses. Instead of being a testimony of brotherly love to the unbelievers, they were causing the unbeliever to mock the Name of God.
This is such a good leadership quality because Nehemiah doesn’t throw them out or disowns them. But gives them an opportunity to change. To set a godly example for the rest of the people and for the unbelievers watching them.
[10] Nehemiah gave his own personal testimony to them. He, his family, and his associates were lending money and grain to those in need, not charging interest.
Again another great leadership quality… Nehemiah was leading from the front. Practicing what he was preaching.
[11] Finally, Nehemiah called upon these men to repent of their sinful ways. Demanding that they return all property they had taken. This included: fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses.
[12-13] Nehemiah’s rebuke made an immediate impact on the wealthy. They promised to repent and to return the property and interest they had accumulated.
And to hold them to it Nehemiah summoned the priest and placed these men under oath. Also notice in verse 13 that if they were not going to fulfill their promise, Nehemiah symbolically warned them. He shook out the folds in his robe, which was a picture of exactly what God would do with them if they failed to do what they said they would do.
In response, the whole assembly responded with a resounding, “Amen.” Which means “let it be so.”
Application: If we ever fall into this type of sin… taking advantage of other people for our own gain… there needs to be repentance: 180 degree turn.
Family when we sin, we too need to repent. Turning from whatever wickedness we are committing and turn back to God.
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
vv. 14-19) Nehemiah’s example of serving and doing the work of the Lord.
vv. 14-19) Nehemiah’s example of serving and doing the work of the Lord.
Again, the book of Nehemiah is one of the greatest books to study that pertains to leadership and succeeding in leadership. Although he was governor for 12 years during the reign of King Artaxerxes, he did not use his position to build a kingdom for himself.
Rather, he used his authority to serve the people…this is something that we can apply to our lives, as we lead. We have to be leading from the front and be a servant leader.
[14-15] Nehemiah didn’t use the governor’s expense account for his own personal use nor did he collect taxes from the people. Instead, he and his officials paid their own expenses.
This is in contrast to the former governors and officials. Like so many in positions of authority. Nehemiah and his officials, feared and reverenced God and His judgement if they proved to disobedient and selfish.
Secondly, Nehemiah devoted himself to the task assigned to him, rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He and his officials were committed to completing the their task.
[17-18] Thirdly, rather than building the wealth of his own estate, Nehemiah shared his wealth with other. He would in fact support 150 officials and employees who served in his government, as well as many of the exiles who had returned from Babylon.
Each day provided food: ox, sheep, and poultry. He served a large supply of wine every ten days. All this was at his own expense. Throughout the entire 12 years of his governorship, he would never demand provisions from the people.
During this 12 year period, Nehemiah solely sought to please the Lord… can we say the same thing? God had given him a task to do, and Nehemiah was totally devoted to completing his task. In obedience to the Lord’s call, he served the people with an unselfish, compassionate heart.
He served the Lord faithfully. And at the end of his governorship, he asked God to remember him with favor. He had sacrificially served the people, just as the Lord had appointed him to do.
[Youth ministry example: you will not be here (in this position forever) so don’t waste your time]
Application:
Family, there is a work to be done, if you are a true born again Christian. You have been given a ministry to serve in. And when we serve it does something beautiful… it takes your eyes off of yourself and places them on the One who is seated on the throne—God almighty.
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
Here is what the Word says about our calling:
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
So my challenge for us this morning:
What are we as a church rallying around the man or the movement?
Typically churches, especially Calvary Chapels are centered around the man (their pastor). What would happens if something happens to the man? the church is lost, if their focus is the man. What we need to get behind is the work that God has given us… which i would call the movement or vision of our church.
God wants to use our congregation to further His kingdom through evangelism and discipleship. My prayer is that you catch the vision and how important these two things truly are. They are, I believe, the core of what God wants us to do.
I’m going to be honest with you… I cannot not do all the ministering that our church needs. That is why I need help. Come rally around the movement not me, and let us work together for the kingdom of God!
Family, we could use some help in these areas: Children’s ministry, ushers and greeters, cleaning the church, etc.
Also be patient with us as we develop leaders who are discipleship minded. All which should be raising up a person to take over the work of the ministry.
Benediction:
Benediction:
24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” ’
[Prayer]