Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Personal Problem

Political Problem

Administrative Problem

Physical & Psychological Problem

Economic and Social Problem

New Information about Nehemiah

Governor of land

Position for 12 years

We can relate to Nehemiah and to the people in this text today !!

Walls and wealth

Building and budgets

Empathy and Economics

Money is NOT the root of all evil, it is the LOVE of money that is at the root of so much sin.

Wealth and Money are not the issue the heart is and Nehemiah 5 illustrates for us the biblical balance.... Neh 5 is going to address our hearts this morning, while it does speak to things like the misuse of our wealth it also speaks of a much larger spiritual issue that I hope to make plain by the end of todays message.

3 Parts, 10 appeals, 1 application

PRAYER

Message

The Problem

Jews against Jews… Christians and Christians

Different kinds of hardships

Wall work / Farm Work

Taxes continued even in the face of labor

Working on walls rather than in fields

Do you think beyond yourself when you think about how you deal with your money and how you go about accumulating money?

Do you ever ask whether what you do with your money harms other Christians or keeps them from being able to devote themselves to the work of the church?

Are you so prideful that you have to be at the very bottom of the barrel before you will ask for help?

Are you willing to let the family of believers help you?

The Solution

Appeal to Community 5:7

Neh 5.7 “7 I took counsel with myself, and 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”

Appeal to Compassion 5:8a

Neh 5.8 “8 and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations…

Appeal to Conscience 5:8b

Neh 5.8 … but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!”

They were silent and could not find a word to say.”

Appeal to Morality/Truth 5:9a

Neh 5.9 “9 So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good…

Appeal to Theology 5:9b

Neh 5.9 … Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God …

Appeal to Scripture/Text 5:9b

Neh 5.9 … The thing that you are doing is not good.

Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God …

Appeal to Testimony 5:9c

Neh 5.9 … to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?”

W. E. Sangster used to pose the searching question: ‘Are some people outside the Church of Jesus Christ because I am inside?’

Appeal to Experience/Practice 5:10

Neh 5.10 “10 Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain.

Let us abandon this exacting of interest.”

Appeal to Commitment/Promise 5:11-12

Neh 5.11-12 “11 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.” 12 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.”

Appeal to Recompense/Punishment 5:13

Neh 5.13 “13 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.”

The Example

Exalting Jesus in Ezra-Nehemiah (Nehemiah and the Governor’s Allowance (Nehemiah 5:14–19))

12 years multiplied by 365 days is 4,380 oxen.

He either had a herd big enough to sustain that or he had the money to buy that many oxen.

He also slaughtered 6 sheep per day, and in 12 years that’s 26,280 sheep.

If you had the means to provide 500 pounds of food every day and you were feeding 150 people, would you feel guilty about it?

Romans 12:4–8 (ESV)

4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

2 Corinthians 9:6–11 (ESV)

6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

Compassion for Others

Reverence for God

Righteous Reward

Our need is to balance all of the Bible’s teaching on the subject of money.

Our need is to see that even if we sell what we have and give it away, we haven’t necessarily done what would please God.

We also need to see that indulging ourselves at the expense of others does not please God.

Our need is to know how to steward what we have for the glory of Christ, the good of others, and the advance of the gospel.

Close

Every one of us is in bondage to our sin we have from birth been slaves, and if we are honest we ourselves have even at times sought to mortgage our own souls to buy the fleeting pleasures of this world.

We are in captivity and need rescue.

Look around you for these your brothers are powerless to rescue you, for they themselves do not have what it takes to redeem us from the people of death.

Yet there is a gracious, generous, loving leader, a ruler who is wealthy who has the means, authority and the desire to not only purchase us out of this bondage but also to care for us in our times of need and distress.

To protect and provide for us.

Nehemiah here in todays text is simply a veil behind and through which we can see a glimpse of the one true king of glory that very Jesus Christ whose own precious blood was spilt to bring us freedom.

He purchased our release, and now offers us the fruit of his very table, much more choice then ox or rams for it is the ever living bread of life and living water which he provides.

Now no longer slaves let us too imitate his glorious example and be a people who seeks to use the blessings which he provides for the service of the kingdom for greater is our reward in Him than any sacrifice we ourselves could ever make.

Our hearts outcry is due to our bondage to sin.

We too must be redeemed and released and only Jesus does this.

As a redeemed member of His kingdom let us now live in accordance to the riches of His glorious grace.

We too without Jesus are in bondage; however when we are set free we should give freely of the riches of grace that He has given to us, for doing so is for His glory and our good.

PRAYER

Group Questions

What stood out to you most from this message?

What does it say about Nehemiah that he would follow the account of the financial oppression of God’s people with indications of his own phenomenal wealth?

What point was he trying to make?