WEBVTT 00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:07.660 Where we've been studying from the book of Nehemiah, and we're to a position within this book where we're going to begin 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:11.800 to talk about the pain of progression in the Lord. 00:00:13.540 --> 00:00:18.680 Sometimes with following after God, there is a price that we have to pay. 00:00:19.780 --> 00:00:26.820 Matter of fact, if our faith is really going to count for anything, we've got to expect to make sacrifices for the Lord after 00:00:26.820 --> 00:00:29.040 all Jesus did for us. 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:33.480 So I'm just going to ask a simple question. 00:00:34.760 --> 00:00:40.160 have you, in your personal life, discovered something worth devoting your life toward? 00:00:43.260 --> 00:00:45.520 The book of Nehemiah and the chapter in which we're in. 00:00:45.540 --> 00:00:54.520 We're going to discover a group of people working together who have found a cause in order to devote their life toward, as 00:00:54.520 --> 00:01:01.640 a person or an individual in this world you are ultimately going to devote your life to some sort of 00:01:01.640 --> 00:01:02.100 cause. 00:01:03.540 --> 00:01:05.860 For some people, it's pleasure. 00:01:05.880 --> 00:01:07.640 For some, it's friends, family. 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:08.380 For some it's. 00:01:09.160 --> 00:01:10.720 Some are adrenaline junkies. 00:01:10.720 --> 00:01:12.400 Some just crave after fun. 00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:17.800 But you will devote your life by the end of this, by the end of your life, to some sort of cause. 00:01:19.460 --> 00:01:22.250 This morning, I might as well just propose to you as a church family. 00:01:22.540 --> 00:01:23.240 Why not make it? 00:01:23.360 --> 00:01:23.460 Jesus. 00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:28.960 So everything in this world that you devote your life to is going to cost something. 00:01:30.380 --> 00:01:34.600 And Jesus has taught us that following after him will cost something. 00:01:34.600 --> 00:01:37.600 After all, Christ said, take up your cross and follow me. 00:01:38.740 --> 00:01:42.020 But the good thing about God is the price that he desires for us to pay. 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:46.560 God wouldn't ask us to pay that price if it wasn't worth the sacrifice. 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:55.720 You think about when this country first started and the sacrifice that people made in order to establish this country, and the men that signed the Declaration 00:01:55.720 --> 00:02:02.760 of Independence, seeking our freedom as a nation, people who desire to religiously worship and set themselves apart from the oppression of 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:04.520 other countries in which they were under. 00:02:05.480 --> 00:02:12.340 And when those men signed that declaration of Independence that cause for freedom, they literally put their lives on the line. 00:02:12.340 --> 00:02:18.360 It was as if they were signing their death warrant against other nations who had their foothold in America. 00:02:20.600 --> 00:02:28.260 I read in an article called The Resource Magazine that their conviction resulted in untold suffering not 00:02:28.260 --> 00:02:29.960 only for them, but for their families. 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:38.640 When you make a decision in your life to follow after a cause, the sacrifice isn't only bought by you, but also it affects the loved ones 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:40.050 around you. 00:02:40.460 --> 00:02:46.140 Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:50.100 12 had their homes ransacked and burned. 00:02:50.180 --> 00:02:52.300 Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary War. 00:02:52.300 --> 00:02:53.830 Another two had their sons captured. 00:02:55.040 --> 00:02:59.060 Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds of hardships in the war. 00:02:59.500 --> 00:03:04.840 Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British Army. 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:12.420 He sold his home and property to pay for the debt and died in poverty at the Battle of Yorktown. 00:03:12.720 --> 00:03:16.820 The British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. 00:03:16.920 --> 00:03:24.040 Nelson quietly ordered George Washington to open fire on his home, and the home was destroyed and Nelson died 00:03:24.040 --> 00:03:24.860 bankrupt. 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:29.900 John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:32.440 His 13 children also fled. 00:03:33.380 --> 00:03:36.140 For a year he hid in fields and in caves. 00:03:36.820 --> 00:03:43.960 Finally, when he was to return home, he found that his wife had died as children vanished, and just a few weeks later, he died 00:03:44.040 --> 00:03:44.420 himself. 00:03:47.340 --> 00:03:50.140 Have you found a cause worth giving your life to? 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:56.260 Anytime there is an expense to a journey. 00:03:57.060 --> 00:04:02.200 We've got to weigh the cost even when it comes to relationship with Christ. 00:04:03.940 --> 00:04:08.180 In Matthew 1626, Jesus proposed a question to his disciples. 00:04:08.200 --> 00:04:14.220 He said, for what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, but lose his soul? 00:04:16.579 --> 00:04:20.060 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 00:04:22.340 --> 00:04:29.520 Each and every day I'm faced with a temptation to stray from the cause that Christ has called me to in my personal walk in 00:04:29.520 --> 00:04:30.420 relationship to him. 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:32.260 All of us are. 00:04:33.760 --> 00:04:36.200 And in those moments, we weigh the cost. 00:04:38.900 --> 00:04:43.140 What's more important to me in the condition of my soul and walk with Jesus in this world? 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:50.720 Where is my weakness and temptation that may cause me to stray from the cause that Christ has set before me as a follower of him? 00:04:52.440 --> 00:04:53.700 Our walks with God. 00:04:54.580 --> 00:04:58.040 I would propose a worth giving everything to in Philippians chapter three and verse eight. 00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:05.140 This is the way the Apostle Paul put it said, yet doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of 00:05:05.140 --> 00:05:12.200 the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win 00:05:12.200 --> 00:05:13.040 Christ. 00:05:16.280 --> 00:05:24.500 You know, one of the things that is difficult for me to swallow as a minister for the gospel of Christ, God 00:05:24.500 --> 00:05:31.500 also calling you to the same position to go out into this world and preach his gospel is to realize, as I'm sharing the good 00:05:31.500 --> 00:05:35.920 news of Jesus with other people, the sacrifice that it might cost them. 00:05:38.580 --> 00:05:45.740 Choosing to take a take a stand for Jesus and your own personal life isn't always easy because we battle against the flesh, but there's other pressures that 00:05:46.320 --> 00:05:47.410 come along with that. 00:05:48.700 --> 00:05:52.640 Nehemiah could relate to those pressures that came along with following Christ. 00:05:53.700 --> 00:05:58.330 You remember in chapter one, Nehemiah's heart breaks for the city of Jerusalem and the people of Jerusalem. 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:00.310 He wants to see that city re-established. 00:06:00.820 --> 00:06:02.300 He wants to see it returned to his former glory. 00:06:03.060 --> 00:06:09.360 It is, by the way, where God has manifested himself to the nation of Israel, but not just to the nation of Israel, but to the world. 00:06:10.780 --> 00:06:11.490 And it laid desolate. 00:06:13.140 --> 00:06:17.350 And Nehemiah, just like Jesus, his heart broke for the city, and he desired for it to be rebuilt. 00:06:17.580 --> 00:06:22.180 And he goes before the king of Persia, and he asks for help to rebuild this kingdom. 00:06:22.260 --> 00:06:24.560 And then he travels to Jerusalem, and the king says yes. 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:30.840 And he begins to speak to the people there, convincing them that God is behind the calls to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. 00:06:30.980 --> 00:06:32.080 God has paved the way. 00:06:32.080 --> 00:06:34.000 They have the favor of the king and they need to rebuild. 00:06:34.380 --> 00:06:41.460 But it tells us in chapter two, beginning in verse 14, as Nehemiah arrives on the scene, as he gets ready to share with the people of Israel who are who are 00:06:41.460 --> 00:06:48.980 left behind from the Babylonian captivity, and some who have journeyed back for the cause of rebuilding Jerusalem, that there are some men there who 00:06:48.980 --> 00:06:50.760 begin to oppose the cause. 00:06:52.620 --> 00:06:57.740 A man by the name of Sanballat and Tobiah are the first to greet him when he arrives into Jerusalem. 00:06:59.260 --> 00:07:01.120 And what they present to him is discouragement. 00:07:03.520 --> 00:07:10.660 It's as if today we had the news media show up and all the bloggers on television or on the internet come, and they begin to type 00:07:10.660 --> 00:07:15.920 up stories about how horrible Nehemiah is and how desolate the nation of Jerusalem is, and how it's going to remain that way. 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:18.470 And the people may not live up to the cause of rebuilding. 00:07:18.580 --> 00:07:21.560 Actually, they're not even going to succeed in what God has called them to do. 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:26.100 They met a face of opposition in words of discouragement. 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:33.180 As Nehemiah presented with opposition in his life. 00:07:33.200 --> 00:07:37.320 We ourselves face opposition. 00:07:37.320 --> 00:07:41.430 What I want to go through as we look to this passage of Scripture together, is just to understand. 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:48.820 As we break down chapter four, I want to look at three key areas in which the people of Israel face threats from 00:07:48.820 --> 00:07:52.260 outside sources that would hinder their walks with God. 00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:58.460 Trial number one that they experienced came in the form of ridicule. 00:08:00.640 --> 00:08:03.980 I stand for Jesus brings opposition. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:13.600 When you take a stand for Christ, you automatically oppose other people's agendas and cause they're both 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:16.560 liberal people in this world and legalistic people in this world. 00:08:16.640 --> 00:08:21.560 They came into our church family this morning, wouldn't enjoy us as people. 00:08:23.540 --> 00:08:26.060 We stand for certain issues related to Christ. 00:08:26.140 --> 00:08:27.360 We defend the weakness. 00:08:28.540 --> 00:08:31.040 Unborn children don't have a voice. 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:35.980 We as a church believe that unborn children should have the opportunity to experience life. 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:40.000 And so liberalism will fight against the church. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:47.020 The voice and the stand for Jesus causes us to be oppressed against legalism, a religious system 00:08:47.020 --> 00:08:50.840 of rules that man makes up for you to follow in order to please God. 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:52.920 That God doesn't even declare within His Word. 00:08:53.220 --> 00:08:56.860 We come to accept tradition as if it were God's Word when it's not. 00:08:57.800 --> 00:09:04.280 And because we don't meet a certain criteria agenda among religious people, we receive criticism. 00:09:06.940 --> 00:09:13.980 In case we're unclear about the goal and focus of this church, our desire and our focus for each individual who represents Alpine Bible Church, who are 00:09:13.980 --> 00:09:17.540 part of this church this morning, is to be conformed to the image of Christ. 00:09:17.760 --> 00:09:19.560 And let me just tell you, that's God's goal for you, too. 00:09:20.520 --> 00:09:24.780 That's where we channel all people here to grow in your relationship with Jesus. 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:29.650 But let me just warn you this morning, standing for Jesus brings opposition. 00:09:31.660 --> 00:09:34.400 Whatever form it is, it brings some sort of spiritual oppression. 00:09:34.420 --> 00:09:41.420 It's interesting when you look at this verse, speaking of the nation of Israel in chapter one and verse 1 to 3, you see the same people who 00:09:41.420 --> 00:09:43.340 greeted Nehemiah when he arrived in Jerusalem. 00:09:43.540 --> 00:09:46.140 Are the same people still causing frustration for Nehemiah. 00:09:46.700 --> 00:09:48.600 Sanballat and his presence is there. 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:50.260 Tobiah in his presence is there. 00:09:50.260 --> 00:09:57.480 As you read commentaries on the issues of these two men, it's as if Sanballat represented the liberal side of a cause. 00:09:57.540 --> 00:10:00.100 And Tobiah represented the conservative side. 00:10:00.140 --> 00:10:07.160 Some commentaries even say Tobiah may have been a follower of Judaism, but he's got 00:10:07.160 --> 00:10:14.560 his own desires for the nation of Israel, and it contradicts what God wants to do, and it contradicts what Nehemiah 00:10:14.560 --> 00:10:15.140 wants to do. 00:10:15.180 --> 00:10:18.120 And someone who should be a friend has become a foe. 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:27.500 Today we see that in the form of legalism or liberalism within the church, always fighting that battle just to be 00:10:27.500 --> 00:10:28.150 biblical. 00:10:29.940 --> 00:10:34.580 The Bible tells us that we battle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:40.880 And we must understand as people, every issue that we face in the flesh is something that is being fought spiritually in this world. 00:10:43.760 --> 00:10:47.860 Count the cost for following Jesus because there's always opposition. 00:10:49.020 --> 00:10:55.090 In Luke chapter 14 and verse 27, it says, whoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 00:10:55.560 --> 00:11:02.560 For which of you intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and count the cost, whether we have sufficient needs to finish 00:11:02.560 --> 00:11:02.760 it. 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:06.980 Now anybody can pick a religion out of convenience. 00:11:06.980 --> 00:11:10.580 When it becomes inconvenient, just stop following it and follow something that feels good to them. 00:11:11.640 --> 00:11:17.860 But true followers of Jesus know that following after him will come after us. 00:11:18.040 --> 00:11:18.580 Come at a sacrifice. 00:11:20.740 --> 00:11:23.860 But Christ would never ask you to pay the price if the sacrifice wasn't worth it. 00:11:25.660 --> 00:11:26.730 Count the cost. 00:11:27.820 --> 00:11:29.020 Good things and God. 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:31.020 Things don't happen in this world without change. 00:11:31.040 --> 00:11:35.480 And Nehemiah knew that his people needed change in their worlds in order to see Jerusalem re-established. 00:11:35.880 --> 00:11:37.920 This is where the Messiah is to return. 00:11:38.020 --> 00:11:40.720 In order for the Messiah to return, Jerusalem needs to be established. 00:11:40.900 --> 00:11:42.940 And the scriptures talk about when the Messiah comes. 00:11:43.140 --> 00:11:44.320 He'll enter into the temple. 00:11:44.540 --> 00:11:47.670 And the temple, just for the first time, has been erected once again. 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:54.020 And Nehemiah has a desire to see that Messiah come and rebuild the nation and the city of Jerusalem. 00:11:55.580 --> 00:11:56.430 But it will come at a cost. 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:06.420 Church family, by being here today and saying that you're a follower after Jesus, saying 00:12:06.420 --> 00:12:09.460 that you want to stand and follow after him and proclaim his name. 00:12:09.460 --> 00:12:10.200 It's going to come at a cost. 00:12:12.160 --> 00:12:16.520 We can't leave on Sunday and expect to live a life of convenience Monday to Saturday. 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:21.930 Just as Jesus picked up his cross, he tells his disciples, go and do likewise. 00:12:24.920 --> 00:12:30.700 If your faith isn't costing you something, maybe we should ask this morning if it's genuine. 00:12:32.460 --> 00:12:33.520 That's a hard statement, isn't it? 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:40.360 I hate to be so negative on with a stand like that or sound so forceful on it, but it's the truth. 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:42.840 Jesus didn't call half hearted people into following him. 00:12:43.880 --> 00:12:45.080 He wanted committed followers. 00:12:46.900 --> 00:12:54.380 Nehemiah knew in order to rebuild this wall in Jerusalem, what was going to have to happen if they faced opposition is that the people needed to be committed 00:12:55.180 --> 00:12:59.090 and at the very least, be able to stand up against the ridicule of the people around them. 00:13:00.500 --> 00:13:01.130 Count the cost. 00:13:01.180 --> 00:13:03.660 And it says here, in this, in this passage of Scripture. 00:13:03.660 --> 00:13:10.310 Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry, and he mocked the Jews. 00:13:11.100 --> 00:13:15.830 He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria, and said, what are these feeble Jews doing? 00:13:16.560 --> 00:13:18.220 Are they going to restore it for themselves? 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:19.570 Can they offer sacrifices? 00:13:19.900 --> 00:13:21.060 Can they finish in a day? 00:13:21.820 --> 00:13:23.900 Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble? 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:25.140 Even the burned ones? 00:13:26.140 --> 00:13:28.900 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and said, even. 00:13:29.020 --> 00:13:29.600 What are they building? 00:13:30.460 --> 00:13:34.140 If a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down. 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:44.200 Sanballat and Tobiah represent some powerful motivational men within the area, and what Sanballat and Tobiah are doing by criticizing the 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:49.410 nation of Israel as they're beginning to build opposition not with just themselves, but with others as well. 00:13:50.160 --> 00:13:53.700 People who oppose your cause seek to find favor with others around them. 00:13:54.940 --> 00:14:00.780 And so Nehemiah's response to this situation we find in verse four, Nehemiah begins to pray. 00:14:02.300 --> 00:14:09.420 You know, as we begin to study this passage of Scripture together, what we're going to notice is as near as Sanballat and Tobiah begin to make accusations against the 00:14:09.420 --> 00:14:11.880 people of Israel, the people of Israel never seek to fight back. 00:14:12.780 --> 00:14:16.980 They never personally go after them and sought to attack them in their cause. 00:14:18.940 --> 00:14:25.260 It says here that Nehemiah prayed the solution to ridicule. 00:14:25.260 --> 00:14:28.520 If I could just encourage you this morning is to think spiritually. 00:14:31.060 --> 00:14:32.240 Easier said than done. 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:38.020 Somewhat simplistic in its definition, But hard to live in our lives. 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:41.180 Think spiritually. 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:46.880 Have you ever been in an argument with your spouse, a coworker, or a friend? 00:14:48.740 --> 00:14:53.170 How many times within those arguments are heated discussions friendly debates? 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:54.380 Maybe. 00:14:55.480 --> 00:15:01.140 Have you stopped for a moment to realize that something bigger at stake may be taking place than your own personal pride in an argument? 00:15:01.140 --> 00:15:04.080 There may be a spiritual battle being waged here. 00:15:06.880 --> 00:15:13.920 Maybe it's a little easier when the opposition looks so fearsome as Tobiah and Sanballat comes against a desolate people of Israel, as they're trying 00:15:13.920 --> 00:15:14.860 to rebuild a wall. 00:15:15.760 --> 00:15:23.020 But in your personal lives, do you begin to think spiritually as you endure attacks from outside sources, ridicule 00:15:23.020 --> 00:15:24.440 from those around you? 00:15:26.460 --> 00:15:33.800 It says Nehemiah begins to pray, and he thinks spiritually about the situation because Nehemiah knows, 00:15:34.020 --> 00:15:41.280 according to Ephesians, Even though Ephesians wasn't written that we battle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and that God's 00:15:41.280 --> 00:15:48.280 ultimate opposition for us to stop his work is Satan, and he would love nothing more than to distract us 00:15:48.280 --> 00:15:51.200 to the spiritual cause that we are living in a physical world. 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:59.560 Anybody ever done something to you that offended you so bad, or hurt you so deeply that all you could think about were those wounds that you carried on the inside? 00:16:01.780 --> 00:16:05.000 I know in the few years that I've lived in Utah, I've even experienced it here. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:10.240 Do you know what happens to you when you experience those things? 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:11.240 You begin to dwell on it. 00:16:11.280 --> 00:16:14.400 And you don't think spiritually is that it becomes the focus of your life? 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:15.360 Why did that person do that? 00:16:15.660 --> 00:16:22.840 And you begin to stop thinking about what God wants to do in your world and through your world and in that situation, just about the hurt that you're experiencing, 00:16:25.640 --> 00:16:26.820 but not for the people of Israel. 00:16:28.420 --> 00:16:30.240 If they stopped, the wall wouldn't be built. 00:16:31.300 --> 00:16:36.120 They understood the cause, and they understood the cost, and they were committed to the expense that they had to pay. 00:16:36.400 --> 00:16:37.960 And so Nehemiah prays here. 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:45.010 Oh our God, how we are, despite Despis'd return the reproach on their own heads, and give them up for the plunder in the land of captivity. 00:16:45.540 --> 00:16:51.400 Do not forgive their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out before you, for they have demoralized the builders. 00:16:53.700 --> 00:16:57.260 Let me just say, as a church family, this isn't a good prayer to duplicate. 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:00.960 For one reason. 00:17:02.660 --> 00:17:05.280 Today we live under a covenant of grace. 00:17:05.300 --> 00:17:07.160 Nehemiah lived under the covenant of law. 00:17:07.260 --> 00:17:14.819 God was seen as a just judging king who sought after those who offended and sinned against him, and 00:17:14.819 --> 00:17:15.880 living under law. 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:17.640 God made a promise to the nation of Israel. 00:17:18.060 --> 00:17:24.520 In Genesis chapter 12 and verse three, he says, I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you. 00:17:24.520 --> 00:17:29.100 And in his prayer, Nehemiah is reminding God of the promise that he had given to the people of Israel. 00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:33.180 God bring your judgment. 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:41.740 Can I just tell you, though, as a people, if we were to live in a nation that identified itself under God and ruling under God as the people of Israel, or a nation under God, 00:17:41.740 --> 00:17:48.860 if someone were to come against us and fight against us and try to bring opposition to get us to stop from doing what we're doing, the prayer the 00:17:48.860 --> 00:17:50.900 people on behalf of God should be God. 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:51.780 Bring judgment. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:52.580 Stop this. 00:17:52.580 --> 00:17:54.440 Don't allow the merciless to be harmed. 00:17:54.440 --> 00:17:58.280 God, bring freedom to your people and stop our enemies. 00:18:01.360 --> 00:18:02.760 Jesus showed up on the scene. 00:18:02.760 --> 00:18:10.020 He spoke to the individuals though he said in Luke chapter 627 but I say to you, love 00:18:10.020 --> 00:18:10.500 your enemies. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:13.480 Do good to those who hurt you. 00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:14.660 Bless those who curse you. 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:21.920 Pray for those who mistreat you, even to the point when Jesus hung on the cross, sitting there surrounded by his enemies, being cursed 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:25.740 by his name, he said, father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. 00:18:28.580 --> 00:18:35.780 And those are difficult words for us as a people, but for us to see the change that we want to make in the world, we've got to live that 00:18:35.780 --> 00:18:37.190 change within ourselves. 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.500 Asking God to bless even our enemies. 00:18:45.500 --> 00:18:50.040 And the moments that you are offended in your life and you realize taking a stand for Jesus brings opposition. 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:52.720 How difficult is it to pray for your enemies? 00:18:54.140 --> 00:18:59.540 But how good is it for you to understand the spiritual sensitivity in the moment by praying for those who oppose you? 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:08.180 It's the miracle of God that worked in your heart and mind to change your perspective on what God wanted to accomplish in your world, and it's only going to be God that can change the 00:19:08.180 --> 00:19:10.560 heart of man who is turned against him. 00:19:11.820 --> 00:19:14.570 Here are the results of Nehemiah's prayer because he's thinking spiritually. 00:19:14.800 --> 00:19:15.550 It says in verse six. 00:19:15.600 --> 00:19:21.520 So we built the wall, and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. 00:19:23.080 --> 00:19:24.440 The people began to work together. 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:31.720 They were spiritually focused, and so they weren't distracted for the cause of which Tobiah and Sanballat were trying to attempt to distract the people of Israel. 00:19:34.040 --> 00:19:35.520 Here's the encouragement for you this morning. 00:19:37.180 --> 00:19:44.280 If you take a stand for Jesus and you're facing opposition in your life, the encouragement to you this 00:19:44.280 --> 00:19:47.040 morning is that your relationship with God is being noticed. 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:50.580 And that's exactly what Jesus wants you to do. 00:19:52.040 --> 00:19:56.320 So the Bible tells us that the goal of Christ in your life is to conform you into his image. 00:19:56.340 --> 00:20:00.760 And if people begin to mock you because you're looking like Jesus, they did the same to him. 00:20:00.980 --> 00:20:06.280 But you're seeing accomplished in your life the very miracle that God wants to work in your heart and in your mind. 00:20:08.560 --> 00:20:12.510 Trial number two that came along for the nation of Israel is that they began to experience threats. 00:20:14.600 --> 00:20:17.320 I like men when it comes to threats. 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:23.900 At first, we logically begin to reason with one another, and if that doesn't work, we just beat each other up and whoever loses wins, right? 00:20:24.380 --> 00:20:26.760 I mean, whoever wins, wins. 00:20:27.580 --> 00:20:28.560 Whoever loses, loses. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:29.460 That makes sense. 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:33.840 I was watching this television show just recently. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:35.640 It was called how the states were formed. 00:20:35.980 --> 00:20:37.200 And they got to the area of Missouri. 00:20:37.260 --> 00:20:44.420 And apparently in America when we had the Louisiana Purchase, it was a very defining moment for America, because at that, at that time, 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:51.600 the North and the South were trying to divide between slave states and free states, and all of a sudden they had the Louisiana Purchase, which purchased 11 states in 00:20:51.600 --> 00:20:52.480 the Midwest. 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:56.020 And so now the country had to decide, okay, what are we going to make these states? 00:20:56.080 --> 00:20:58.440 Are we going to make these slave states or free states? 00:20:58.740 --> 00:21:00.960 Well, Missouri, you've seen the arch before. 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:02.620 It's the gateway to the West. 00:21:02.620 --> 00:21:03.400 That's what the arch represents. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:11.380 That became the place of debate as to whether or not these extra countries that are being added would be the free states or the slave states, to 00:21:11.380 --> 00:21:17.280 the point that they literally began to fight and have duels over whether or not these were going to be free states and slave states. 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:25.020 There was even one city around Saint Louis, Missouri, where there were over 200 duels held over whether this is going to be a these are going to be slave states 00:21:25.020 --> 00:21:25.900 or free states? 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:33.660 I could imagine logically coming to that conclusion in my own life, where I felt the need to put a bullet in another guy because he didn't agree with me, but nonetheless, 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:33.980 it happens. 00:21:35.260 --> 00:21:36.020 They begin to threaten. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:37.740 We have no form of defense. 00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:38.960 We can't ridicule them. 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:40.560 We can't use our words to stop them. 00:21:40.780 --> 00:21:47.980 So we'll go to the physical measure in order to threaten the people from doing and living the cause that God has called 00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:48.380 them to. 00:21:50.560 --> 00:21:57.600 It says in verse seven, now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the ammonites, and the remember all these people for just a moment, it's going to come in handy in a 00:21:57.600 --> 00:21:58.130 little bit. 00:21:58.220 --> 00:22:03.830 But we have this group of people heard that they repair the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed. 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:11.080 They were very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance 00:22:11.080 --> 00:22:12.240 in it. 00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:16.800 Israel began to experience threats. 00:22:19.320 --> 00:22:20.240 We follow after Jesus. 00:22:20.280 --> 00:22:25.060 Not only do we find ridicule in our in the opposition, but many times we oftentimes find threats. 00:22:26.760 --> 00:22:31.060 The 1040 window is an area of the world where the population of Christianity is around 2%. 00:22:32.300 --> 00:22:40.080 To say that you stand for Jesus in the 1040 window, which is predominantly Muslim and Hindu countries, many times results 00:22:40.080 --> 00:22:41.340 in your life ending. 00:22:43.880 --> 00:22:51.220 As a Jew or a muslim who comes to know Jesus when you declare that before your friends living in those countries, what happens is you 00:22:51.220 --> 00:22:55.110 are turned against literally within Judaism. 00:22:55.460 --> 00:22:58.820 They'll hold a funeral for you because you went after Jesus. 00:22:58.840 --> 00:23:02.300 And so the family says, you are now dead to us because of your stand. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.530 They live under the threat of rejection from the ones that they love. 00:23:07.540 --> 00:23:09.090 If they choose to take a stand for Jesus. 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:11.540 Now in America, we don't always face that. 00:23:13.420 --> 00:23:16.280 But maybe some of us in our personal lives have to deal with that. 00:23:16.360 --> 00:23:21.580 If we choose to follow Christ, there is ridicule and there are threats. 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:26.830 Israel began to face it from all sorts of people coming together. 00:23:26.840 --> 00:23:33.940 It's interesting when you take a stand over a particular issue, how people who wouldn't otherwise have gotten along all of a sudden agree with one another for 00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:36.600 one cause, and that is to defeat you. 00:23:38.760 --> 00:23:41.180 And here we find Israel living under those threats. 00:23:41.220 --> 00:23:48.620 And so the solution that Nehemiah leads to in this passage of Scripture, as he begins to act physically, and 00:23:48.620 --> 00:23:54.060 we shared last week that some of some people in this world are not interested in being spiritual beings. 00:23:54.120 --> 00:23:55.040 But it's too late. 00:23:55.040 --> 00:23:56.680 You already are a spiritual being. 00:23:57.400 --> 00:24:04.580 It would be, more correctly to say in our personal lives that we are a spirit who has a body rather than we have a body that occasionally 00:24:04.580 --> 00:24:06.020 we minister to the spirit. 00:24:06.020 --> 00:24:07.940 But God has created you when he created you. 00:24:08.060 --> 00:24:12.700 In Genesis chapter two, he in Genesis chapter one it says, he breathed into you the breath of life. 00:24:13.260 --> 00:24:19.340 He formed you with his hands, and he breathed into you the breath of his own breath to create your life, making you a living being. 00:24:19.640 --> 00:24:23.350 And in so breathing the spiritual side of man came, and then so forming with his hands. 00:24:23.540 --> 00:24:27.010 No other creature was formed by God's hands but being formed with his hands. 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:29.540 You have a physical body as well. 00:24:31.120 --> 00:24:38.120 And so in the physical world we see spiritually, we see in this world physically what God desires for us to 00:24:38.120 --> 00:24:38.620 experience. 00:24:39.220 --> 00:24:46.280 God gave us the physical part of man to see the spiritual side of what God wants to communicate to us, and us to understand about 00:24:46.280 --> 00:24:46.580 him. 00:24:47.600 --> 00:24:52.440 And so for us to understand this world spiritually, what it requires for us to do is to begin to act physically. 00:24:55.480 --> 00:25:02.500 And one of the things that I ask people when we get together for maybe even a counseling session, there's some kind of problem that they have in their 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:02.900 lives. 00:25:03.500 --> 00:25:08.140 One of the first questions I ask is, are you doing your daily devotions with God? 00:25:08.140 --> 00:25:09.420 Are you spending time in His Word? 00:25:09.420 --> 00:25:11.020 Are you attempting to grow close to him? 00:25:11.380 --> 00:25:16.860 Are you doing something about your relationship with God in order to grow closer with him? 00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:19.240 The nation of Israel. 00:25:19.260 --> 00:25:20.620 It's not enough just to pray these. 00:25:20.740 --> 00:25:22.340 This ridicule isn't going to go away. 00:25:22.360 --> 00:25:26.640 They need to take a stand before these people that says we are serious about our walks with God. 00:25:28.020 --> 00:25:35.040 They received these physical threats and it tells us in verse nine, but we pray to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and 00:25:35.040 --> 00:25:35.400 night. 00:25:36.580 --> 00:25:41.560 Nehemiah didn't go looking for a fight against these people, but he was prepared for the response that they might bring upon him. 00:25:43.320 --> 00:25:48.120 God has called all of us to be ready to give an answer to the questions, and for the hope that is in you. 00:25:49.280 --> 00:25:51.200 That's the responsibility of the whole church. 00:25:52.260 --> 00:25:55.580 What God has called us to do is this world brings ridicule and threats. 00:25:55.780 --> 00:25:56.060 God is. 00:25:56.300 --> 00:25:57.030 God is just. 00:25:57.120 --> 00:25:58.040 But God is wise. 00:25:58.040 --> 00:26:05.940 And we can produce that wisdom back into this world, declaring to him how important it is that they walk with God to physically 00:26:05.940 --> 00:26:06.940 do something. 00:26:08.940 --> 00:26:11.580 I like that we have the Halloween carnival coming up as a church family. 00:26:12.020 --> 00:26:15.120 We do a lot of outreach, I think, in the community for a church this size. 00:26:16.840 --> 00:26:18.960 Whenever we have the opportunity, we take this. 00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:22.580 We take the chance or take the opportunity to stand for God in the community. 00:26:24.020 --> 00:26:31.380 Whether people opposed us and ridicule them or whether they oppose us, and by physical threats, we as a church family go out into this world and we give 00:26:31.380 --> 00:26:35.260 them answers to who Jesus really is and what he's meant in our lives. 00:26:37.080 --> 00:26:44.100 The nation of Israel stood next to this wall with staff in hand, ready to fight, but continuing to do the work that God has 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:45.020 called them to do. 00:26:46.580 --> 00:26:52.320 Rather than rather than get distracted, they begin to physically respond to the opposition around them. 00:26:53.680 --> 00:27:00.720 It says in Matthew 1624 then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:02.920 his cross and follow me. 00:27:05.540 --> 00:27:06.980 Encouragement for you this morning. 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:09.650 As you know, you're a real follower of Jesus. 00:27:10.840 --> 00:27:17.500 When your faith begins to cost you something, the church moves forward on the sacrifice of the saints. 00:27:19.020 --> 00:27:26.040 Jesus on the death of his cross, by his sacrifice, brought to this world freedom in him, to those who come to him and trust him in 00:27:26.040 --> 00:27:27.860 the sacrifice that he made upon that cross. 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:33.640 His disciples, 12 of his disciples, of the 1211 of them were persecuted for their faith. 00:27:33.700 --> 00:27:34.380 Ten of them were killed. 00:27:34.440 --> 00:27:37.380 One of them was thrown into the island of Patmos and exiled. 00:27:37.740 --> 00:27:44.140 And by the sacrifice of those saints, the church moved forward in the early church for the first 250 years. 00:27:44.140 --> 00:27:51.220 125 of those they met fierce persecution being thrown into the arenas, with animals being chained together by those 00:27:51.220 --> 00:27:55.640 animals in the coliseums fought by gladiators because of their stand for Jesus. 00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:58.520 The sacrifice of the church is what led the church forward. 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:01.520 And today. 00:28:04.060 --> 00:28:07.340 We question why the church in America is declining. 00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:17.260 Might I suggest to you it's because Jesus is more a Jesus of convenience than one of sacrifice, that 00:28:17.260 --> 00:28:24.280 we can read the words of take up your cross and follow me, but never make the application to our personal lives, always inferring that it must 00:28:24.380 --> 00:28:25.700 mean someone else within that church. 00:28:28.380 --> 00:28:31.620 Jesus was honest and he said it several times throughout scripture. 00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:34.380 To follow me comes at a cost. 00:28:36.460 --> 00:28:43.460 Encouragement to you this morning is if you're receiving ridicule and if you're receiving threats, then your faith must be genuine in Christ because it's 00:28:43.520 --> 00:28:46.800 costing you something as it costed your savior. 00:28:49.380 --> 00:28:55.020 Number three, trial number three that we face is the last trial we'll look at today is doubt. 00:28:57.220 --> 00:28:59.800 It always happens in opposition in our lives. 00:28:59.880 --> 00:29:01.060 It begins external. 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:05.420 The fight always starts external or most times starts external. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:12.580 But eventually we begin to internalize the pressure that we feel when Satan showed up in 00:29:12.580 --> 00:29:19.780 the Garden of Eden with Eve, he began to preach lies to Eve, externally, declaring to Eve something contrary to what God wanted to understand. 00:29:19.820 --> 00:29:26.380 But Eve began to take the words of Satan and internalize the truth as if she were to obey it, as if it were the truth that they were to follow. 00:29:28.780 --> 00:29:32.850 In verse ten, this is what it says is the nation of Israel began to receive this persecution. 00:29:32.860 --> 00:29:35.240 It continued on not just from ridicule but on to threats. 00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:41.940 It says thus in Judah it was said, the strength of the burden bearers is failing those who are building the walls it's talking about. 00:29:42.120 --> 00:29:45.900 And yet there is much rubbish, and we ourselves are unable to rebuild the wall. 00:29:46.100 --> 00:29:49.160 Our enemies said they will not know or see until we come among them. 00:29:49.760 --> 00:29:51.460 Kill them and put a stop to the work. 00:29:52.040 --> 00:29:59.100 When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, they will come up against us from every place where you may turn. 00:30:01.280 --> 00:30:08.320 The nation of Israel began to face problems, and the situation in which they were under began to look bigger 00:30:08.320 --> 00:30:11.600 than their God was Capable of meeting that need. 00:30:14.300 --> 00:30:21.480 Sometimes in our own lives, we act as if God's not big enough to handle the problems that we face, as if he may cause us or call 00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:26.260 us to live at a certain expense or cost, but not be able to meet the needs in those situations. 00:30:26.520 --> 00:30:28.700 And we forget his promises to us. 00:30:29.420 --> 00:30:34.820 God clothes even the lily of the field, and he says to you, don't worry about where you're going to eat or where you're going to sleep. 00:30:34.980 --> 00:30:37.280 He promises to take care of your needs. 00:30:38.780 --> 00:30:40.080 Blessed are the poor and meek. 00:30:40.080 --> 00:30:44.120 Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 00:30:46.580 --> 00:30:52.860 God is more sufficient than meeting the needs that we have for the nation of Israel. 00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:59.390 They began to notice that Sanballat was a man who lived in the north, and those who followed him were from the north and the Arabs. 00:31:00.060 --> 00:31:07.080 In verse seven you saw who opposed Nehemiah, and the people were from the south, and Tobiah and the ammonites lived in the east, and the 00:31:07.080 --> 00:31:09.340 whites lived in the West. 00:31:09.340 --> 00:31:13.140 And so literally, the nation of Israel is encompassed by opposition. 00:31:13.280 --> 00:31:20.170 Anywhere that they turned and they began to doubt the cause in which God had called them to live in their lives. 00:31:20.200 --> 00:31:26.860 And so Nehemiah's solution to the people of Israel comes in verse 14. 00:31:27.420 --> 00:31:31.060 And that's simply this allow your convictions to motivate you. 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:37.080 Allow your convictions to carry you through the circumstances of rough times. 00:31:39.180 --> 00:31:46.680 It's an interesting stat when you study church statistics, young people in high school, when they go 00:31:46.680 --> 00:31:53.060 on to college and their college years, the majority of those teenagers walk away from God. 00:31:54.480 --> 00:31:57.040 They're choosing their personal lives, not to follow after him anymore. 00:31:57.040 --> 00:32:04.380 And the reason they begin to notice is they study those statistics, or because they never took the opportunity to make their faith their 00:32:04.380 --> 00:32:04.700 own. 00:32:05.980 --> 00:32:08.300 They never really got a conviction to follow after God on their own. 00:32:09.320 --> 00:32:14.780 They were just living under the umbrella of parents and carrying the same conviction that their parents carried, but never internalized it to make it personal. 00:32:15.660 --> 00:32:22.840 And let me just say, whenever we waver in our walks with God, whenever we allow ridicule or threats to stray us from standing for Jesus and 00:32:22.840 --> 00:32:29.960 just seeing the purity and love that Christ has for our lives, it's because our conviction and understanding of God's truth isn't greater than the opposition 00:32:29.960 --> 00:32:30.800 that we face. 00:32:32.500 --> 00:32:35.680 And the nation of Israel was facing that here in the. 00:32:35.800 --> 00:32:37.650 And began to doubt externally. 00:32:37.800 --> 00:32:43.120 They saw the pressure and they began to internalize it, and they just lost sight of what God called them to do. 00:32:43.180 --> 00:32:45.380 And so this is what Nehemiah does for them in verse 14. 00:32:46.740 --> 00:32:49.440 He said, when I saw their fear, I rose. 00:32:49.440 --> 00:32:52.940 And I spoke to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people. 00:32:53.740 --> 00:32:54.680 Do not be afraid of them. 00:32:55.780 --> 00:33:03.020 Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers and your sons, and your daughters, and 00:33:03.020 --> 00:33:10.020 your wives, and your houses near me is a reminder to the people of Israel, is to remember 00:33:10.020 --> 00:33:12.360 what God has done in your lives. 00:33:12.580 --> 00:33:14.280 Don't lose sight of the power of God. 00:33:14.280 --> 00:33:16.000 Remember what God has called us to do. 00:33:16.040 --> 00:33:20.290 Nehemiah shared in the end of chapter two and verse 18 and 20 of the book of Nehemiah. 00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:21.760 God is behind us. 00:33:21.760 --> 00:33:22.960 God has blessed us. 00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:27.840 God has provided everything that we need to build this wall, and we have the favor of the King to do it. 00:33:29.240 --> 00:33:35.600 God is obviously at work here and the nation of Israel, when they saw that God was at work, began to stand and say, let's build the wall. 00:33:36.560 --> 00:33:41.050 And so Nehemiah is reminding the people, listen, we are the people of God, and God has called us to this work. 00:33:41.240 --> 00:33:42.360 Remember your convictions. 00:33:42.580 --> 00:33:43.860 Remember what's important. 00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:45.480 Forget about the opposition. 00:33:45.840 --> 00:33:48.160 What would it cause you to lose your soul? 00:33:48.340 --> 00:33:51.100 Whatever it is in this moment, it's not more important than God. 00:33:52.980 --> 00:34:00.160 Remember God, but not just God, because the seriousness of your walk with God doesn't 00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:01.520 just affect you. 00:34:03.120 --> 00:34:10.159 Nehemiah says, remember your family choosing to stand for your own personal convictions and taking that stand regardless of the 00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:17.199 opposition, ridicule or threats that brings in your life is important not just for you, but it affects your family and friends 00:34:17.199 --> 00:34:18.020 around you as well. 00:34:19.540 --> 00:34:23.239 Say, if one man began to give up, then his family becomes weaker. 00:34:24.560 --> 00:34:26.860 But you want to see someone fight for a cause. 00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:29.300 Remind them of their family that's standing around. 00:34:30.580 --> 00:34:31.639 And that's what Nehemiah does. 00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:40.520 See, your stand for Jesus isn't just important to you, and thinking about the pressure you might feel because you stand for him isn't just significant to 00:34:40.520 --> 00:34:40.679 you. 00:34:40.739 --> 00:34:42.940 You're making a decision for your family as well. 00:34:44.199 --> 00:34:48.980 So when you choose to stand for Jesus, that stand brings opposition upon your family. 00:34:49.080 --> 00:34:55.500 But when you choose not to stand for Jesus, that stand can bring some opposition to walks with God upon your family. 00:34:58.180 --> 00:35:01.380 And so Nehemiah reminds him of their family, but not only their family. 00:35:01.380 --> 00:35:03.500 It says, for your houses as well. 00:35:03.740 --> 00:35:06.180 Nehemiah starts reminding them of a legacy. 00:35:09.160 --> 00:35:12.380 What about the future? 00:35:13.020 --> 00:35:14.340 And I've buried them. 00:35:15.060 --> 00:35:21.500 A few grandparents I've seen die, and something that always rings true about their lives with me. 00:35:21.500 --> 00:35:24.260 All of my grandparents is their consistent walk with God. 00:35:25.860 --> 00:35:29.620 My parents grandparents love or have loved Jesus with their lives. 00:35:31.640 --> 00:35:38.840 And I can't help but think that relationship that they have towards Christ, that legacy that they've set, has begun to trickle in effect, the rest 00:35:38.840 --> 00:35:41.380 of the family, starting with their kids and on to their grandkids. 00:35:41.880 --> 00:35:46.520 And now Stacey and I have a great grandkid for my grandparents. 00:35:48.420 --> 00:35:49.200 What about that legacy? 00:35:51.080 --> 00:35:54.320 You know, I look at us as a church family and I think about Nehemiah. 00:35:55.520 --> 00:36:00.320 He built a city, and he was thinking about not only that generation building the walls, but what about the future of Jerusalem. 00:36:02.340 --> 00:36:04.340 And I think about our church here today. 00:36:05.940 --> 00:36:10.880 What's it going to take for our church to continue to stand 100 years from now? 00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:17.940 When we talk about Alpine Bible Church, if we're still talking about Alpine Bible Church, what mark is going to be prevalent among the 00:36:17.940 --> 00:36:18.180 people? 00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:29.600 I think it'll be this they followed their convictions, and they were willing to pick up their cross and make that sacrifice in 00:36:29.600 --> 00:36:32.400 order for us to stand for Jesus. 00:36:32.580 --> 00:36:36.650 It requires each one of us to look at our lives and say, is my faith really counting? 00:36:38.400 --> 00:36:40.940 And by counting, I mean, is my faith really costing? 00:36:42.640 --> 00:36:48.260 Jesus changed this whole world by giving of himself one life. 00:36:49.120 --> 00:36:56.160 The disciples, the early church literally reached the whole world for Christ within the first hundred years, because they were willing to lay it all 00:36:56.160 --> 00:36:56.860 on the line. 00:36:56.860 --> 00:37:00.580 And all I'm talking about here this morning is just the northern end of Utah County. 00:37:03.140 --> 00:37:10.360 Could you imagine what this place would look like if we saw genuine followers who sought nothing more than just to follow after 00:37:10.360 --> 00:37:10.960 Jesus? 00:37:11.120 --> 00:37:18.140 No matter what the costs are expensed, just put their eyes straight on him and say, Jesus, because you have burdened bear the burden 00:37:18.140 --> 00:37:19.250 for my sins. 00:37:19.380 --> 00:37:23.570 I'm picking up my cross and whatever the cost, I am following after you. 00:37:26.400 --> 00:37:31.560 This morning's a simple message for us to succeed. 00:37:31.620 --> 00:37:38.700 It requires us to think spiritually, to remember our convictions, and then to physically act upon it as 00:37:38.700 --> 00:37:39.520 the nation of Israel. 00:37:41.900 --> 00:37:43.640 How much are you willing to pay for that price? 00:37:45.620 --> 00:37:52.080 If you're going to live for something in this world, you might as well make it Jesus, because your life's going to be dedicated to something. 00:37:54.480 --> 00:38:01.980 What opposition in this world or source of threat or ridicule would you face that would cause you to waver in 00:38:01.980 --> 00:38:03.200 your relationship with Christ? 00:38:06.500 --> 00:38:13.620 You know, in America, there are many people who come to know Jesus at some point would have said that they followed Jesus or professed Christ 00:38:13.620 --> 00:38:15.620 or trusted in him. 00:38:15.800 --> 00:38:16.980 He became their Savior. 00:38:17.520 --> 00:38:18.200 They're born again. 00:38:18.200 --> 00:38:19.600 Whatever word you want to put with it. 00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:22.680 There are many people who would claim that in their relationship with Christ. 00:38:23.800 --> 00:38:26.620 But there are few who follow it to the end. 00:38:28.360 --> 00:38:34.520 Your Bible is full of words, of encouragement to you to continue and remember to place Jesus first in your walk in all things. 00:38:36.500 --> 00:38:38.340 Pick up your cross and follow me. 00:38:38.420 --> 00:38:40.210 Run the race of endurance. 00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:41.440 Buffet your body. 00:38:41.440 --> 00:38:48.620 It says in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse one, for the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross. 00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:58.320 If it wasn't worth the price, Jesus wouldn't ask you to pay the sacrifice as 00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:00.110 we get ready to close this morning? 00:39:00.740 --> 00:39:01.500 I'm going to go ahead and invite. 00:39:01.760 --> 00:39:04.300 There's a couple of guys that are going to hand out communion for us together. 00:39:05.220 --> 00:39:07.050 This is a good ending for us as a church family. 00:39:09.500 --> 00:39:14.500 This is an opportunity as we think about the sacrifice that Jesus has made for us as a church. 00:39:15.540 --> 00:39:18.980 We can turn and say to him, God, I am giving myself back to you. 00:39:20.720 --> 00:39:23.180 Communion is to be observed by believers. 00:39:23.180 --> 00:39:23.640 Believers. 00:39:24.740 --> 00:39:32.100 It reminds us of the price that Jesus paid, the shedding of the blood, and the expense that he had on the cross as his body was broken. 00:39:33.380 --> 00:39:38.650 It says in First Corinthians 1128, but a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 00:39:38.680 --> 00:39:44.480 For he who eats and drinks, eats, and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. 00:39:45.500 --> 00:39:51.940 I'm going to go ahead and pray for us, and I'm going to ask the men soon as I'm done praying to pass out the communion. 00:39:52.940 --> 00:39:54.060 God, we just thank you for your sacrifice. 00:39:55.060 --> 00:39:56.060 God, we thank you for your love. 00:39:57.340 --> 00:39:59.800 God, we pray as a church that we be little Christs. 00:40:01.120 --> 00:40:06.360 What it means to be a Christian and mimicking those same sacrifices that you've made. 00:40:07.960 --> 00:40:13.060 God, when our personal lives are being attacked, when we're being ridiculed or threatened, I pray that we can stand for you. 00:40:14.400 --> 00:40:21.460 And this morning, I pray that this communion serve as a reminder for us that as you were broken for the stand of your 00:40:21.460 --> 00:40:24.260 glory and the freedom that you brought to people. 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.560 God, may we see our lives be used as a sacrifice for the freedom of others. 00:40:30.720 --> 00:40:31.240 We thank you. 00:40:31.240 --> 00:40:31.900 And it's in Jesus name. 00:40:32.400 --> 00:40:32.950 Amen.