Sermon Tone Analysis

If you don’t see in the home, you won’t see in school, church.

If you don’t see in the home, you won’t see in school, church.

HP: To foster true holiness, you must devote your closest relationships and home to the Lord!

1.

It is sin and suffering to live, without the LORD in our relationships, especially in marriage!

V.23

What are the two great commandments?

Is it possible to live by only one of them?

Way we were created we could never be satisfied with fellowship in God alone or in other human alone!

We are built for relationship - communication, fellowship, intimacy with God and each other.

Breaking of fellowship with God and with each other -breaks the conveantal sturcture of life!

In our day with so much shallow relationship - important to ask: Do you have two or three people who are close enough that you can level with them?”

It is sin and it brings suffering.

Social relationships, fellowship in the church, and family relationships are vital necessities for life to flourish!

The problem we see here is that when God’s people separate their faith, their LORD, His word and His will from those everyday relationships, the design and blessing of God will fade away!

As we saw two weeks ago, the problem isn’t keeping pure blood lines, people from nations coming to fatih and joining the OT people of God.

The problem goes in the opposite direction, when God’s people give up their faith and Lord in their relationships!

= called to steward your relationship = idea that husb/wife belong to each other;

but first to God and together to God! = co-heirs of the grafce of life!

how to dwell with each other, differences, in role - consideration -Why do dweel with this consideration husband to wife? co-heirs of the grace of life!

Inheritign together from God as one!

Ie.

Covenanted in life together = have agreement - Once did wedding n this church with Missionary pastor - If saying no big diff anyways - better ask how much of a diff doesn’t Jesus make in your life… = co-heirs = submit to one another out of reverence for Christ;

but first to God and together to God! = co-heirs of the grafce of life!

Covewnanted oneness bound in:

Sharing the Spirit who made us one, for the purposes of God in this world, bleonign to each other in that oneness, this why Paul also says something that should apply to marriage:

Why do you think these men were marrying from the surrounding nations?

It’s possible just fell in love - IE SISTER passionate blindness - but much more suggests that they thought they were “marrying up”! Trading nations around them - even priests including high priests marrying - the enemy - how Sanbalat invited in - for economic reasons - say that it was a materialism - all I care about is good business, comfy lifestyle and this marriage provides me with that!

This well-off lifestyle is more important than having a home a family that walks in daily life in faith!

Why do you think these men were marrying from the surrounding nations?

It’s possible just fell in love - passionate blindness - but much more suggests that they thought they were “marrying up”! Trading nations around them - even priests including high priests marrying - the enemy - how Sanbalat invited in - for economic reasons - say that it was a materialism - all I care about is good business, comfy lifestyle and this marriage provides me with that!

This well-off lifestyle is more important than having a home a family that walks in daily life in faith!

Youth Group - pull down..

That is indeed what Nehemiah uses as the warning in the example of Solomon.

“Lord had told them “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods” Neverthless, Solomon held fast to them in love.

“His wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fullly devoted to the Lord his God He followd Molech, .. Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord = ;

and look at the sad result

Saddest thing - Satan WEDGE between each other and Lord - ie Eve with Adam standing by… blame game…

Do you see what happened?

Good legitimate needs that could be met living faithfully - money, home, companionship - got twisted into illegitimate Wants.

Indeed same time period that prophet Malachi was writing, describes how left the wives of their youth, and traded them in for richer foreign wives.

Herbert Scholssberg: All true needs such as food drink companionship are satiable!

But illegitimate wants - pride, envy, greed and insatiable - It’s never enough, till your heart stops beating… !

John Bunyan giant, Lewis’ wicked Witch; offer their victims food that causes greater hunger!

Do well to ask whether our wants are legitimate and ask how they are affecting the relationships God has called me to be serving Him in!

Is there greed, lust, workaholicism, addiction that’s robbing me of the relationships God intends!

But look now at v.24

2. It is sin and suffering to live without the LORD in our family relationships, especially in parenting!

V.23

2. It is sin and suffering to live without the LORD in our family relationships, especially in parenting!

V.23

The marriage part was the beginning of this problem, but our sins seldom, and probably never just effect ourselves, they spill over to poison and harm others.

It is this concern for the religious upbringing of the children that seems to be Nehemiah’s big concern.

But that concern isn’t shared by these who marry unbelievers!

And in our age too a relativism can slip in so that we enter a covenant of life with those who don’t want the Lord Jesus in the picture!

V.24 says: Did not know how to speak the language of Judah.

Why was this such a big deal?

MAYBE think not a big deal yet; but not just language issues = spiritual alphabet = language of faith = 10 Words, Aposltes Creed, Lord’s Prayer = conversation on things of God’s Word; weekly worship -Nehemiah concern was that this was all dispensed with!

What a contrast to Boenhoeffer’s home: family nurture goes deeper than any form of nurture known anywhere else

V.24 says: Did not know how to speak the language of Judah.

Why was this such a big deal?

MAYBE think not a big deal yet; but not just language issues = spiritual alphabet = language of faith = 10 Words, Aposltes Creed, Lord’s Prayer = conversation on things of God’s Word; weekly worship -Nehemiah concern was that this was all dispensed with!

What a contrast to Boenhoeffer’s home: family nurture goes deeper than any form of nurture known anywhere else

The family contains the church in embryo.

Godly families produce stable, growing churches; unstable families produce ungodly churches that often split.

You will be a blessing to your church if you make your family and its worship a top priority after your relationship with God and your spouse.

Because the church is God's salt and light in the world, to preserve culture you must preserve the church; to preserve the church you need godly families.

The family and church are inextricably interwoven with cultural blessing ().[1]

If want to make K of God spread an strong, bust have strategy to have godliness in families taught,

HOUSE TABLE RULES = , , … = all relationships put in Christ’s hands… PREAYER, BE CONSIDERATE OR AFFECTS ANSWER OF PRAYERS… Work, HOusehold of Faith, Family, Slave and Servant - Onesimus - Philemon = welcome back as brother in Lord! HANDLE anger, bitterness, contempt

most hopeful thing = deal with alienation - lonliness, shyness, awkward inexperienced building …

= God delights in turning crosses to crowns, and empty tombs to glorified resurrection lives; where sin abounds, able to make grace abound the more!

Ask why did they faulter here, why not have kids brought up in day to day, week to week exposure to God and His Word?

Relativism rejects Xn conviction that God has proviided us with absolute and immutable moral standards - vs. Right and wrong variable depending on ind, circumstance, local contexts, customs, changing human behaviour.

When these israeli men ignored God’s Word and married other religions = permissive pluralism of our day!

And the unique message of salvation of holiness to God is placed in jeopardy.

= practically don’t want to say God’s word governs what I believe and how I live!

When it comes to family this is critically important.

God designed households, to be an earthly image of His household.

We can’t understand the Fatherhood of God without human fatherhood.

But even more the idea of a household, pateras family, isn’t just coincidentally like God and His Kingdom, no God designs families to reflect his order, priorities values and life.

And if we just do family the way our culture does, a household just for our comfort and convience, no hnour and duty to each othr, no outside purpose to serve, no inheritance to protect and preserve and draw from, that’s how increasingly we will see God’s CHurch, too, just self-serve meeet my needs, inspire and fill me up so I can live my nice indidual life, - not as the household of The living God - with purpose, with comitment.

And that’s how so many see

But now comes the difficult question: what was Nehemiah to do, what are we do when this happens?

V.25,28b

3. SIN MUST BE CONFRONTED AND COMMITMENT TO RIGHTEOUSNESS CALLED FOR

Not an out of control rage - some people think that is what the wrath of God is.

But a measured yet strong anger against what is wrong and subsequent dealing with it!

In this case, shaving of the beard and subjection to lashes as prescribed in OT law for such cases in the civl laws of Deuteronomy.

Not a private individual flipping out: but a leader calling for a steadfast and costly commitment to God’s Ways and indeed the law of the land.

Just a little before - divorce was prescribed by God through Ezra the priest.

Nehemiah doesn’t go so far - but does call for public acknowledgment of the sin and definitively says, we must break with this practice!

Don’t give son or daughters in marriage to those who will compromise their faith and faith of future children!

Martin Bucer interesting chapters on marrying godly spouse when paretns dont agree (won’t to get a head in the world).

But this is the oposite - one in our household or in our care a Nehemiah - not just to each his own…

But he does more he says we are going to re-commit to this oath we had signed, but now make in more specific way:

ATH = keep marriage pure; white ribbon; Ring… But Nehemiah saying even more important keep to pure faith, join self with person of faith!

Lived out, stewarded as faithfulness to God

= 5 premarital questions = track record of solving biblically.

If not lesson of Solomon = start off ind faith… but will stumble… by one sin, “led into sin” of idolatry and almost apostasy =

But even one more action in v.28 doesn’t he.