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The Heart of Nehemiah: The Secret to Rebuilding the Church in America – Part 13
LISTEN NOW! Greg, John, and Pat continue their discussion of the importance of having the heart of Nehemiah which they believe is the secret to rebuilding the church in America. They continue their discussion with Nehemiah 9:34.
“Our kings, our leaders, our priests and our ancestors did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the statutes you warned them to keep.”
They did not pay attention. They ignored God. They continue to discuss the dangers of not warning God’s people even if God’s people will not respond. They continue to discuss how you can’t judge your ministry by how people respond. Your ministry is before the Lord and people just get the opportunity to benefit from it. Of those who claim to know God 97% are robbing God in their tithes according to George Barna. It is possible for a person and or complete nation to ignore God.
You are held accountable before God if you don’t warn them. You want to be one of God’s people who respond. A lot of people have a closet relationship with God while they are publicly rejecting God and what He is doing. Hardships come when we don’t do what God Says to do. Nehemiah 9:35 “Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their evil ways.”
This is much of the American church today. God has so blessed us that our poorest citizen is richer than most in the world. America has been called the bread basket of the world. Yet in the midst of this we don’t credit God and take him out of our schools and bring down his commandments. Nehemiah 9:36-37 “But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.”
Don’t think for a moment America that although the country stays in place that we can be in slavery. Nehemiah is not blaming their captivity for no other reason but for their own sin. He realized that their abundant harvest went to the kings. The direction we are going in is high taxation. Slavery is 100% taxation. When Israel was rejecting God and wanted a king, He told them what the consequences would be. They would be taxed heavily and the king would make demands on them.
The Rule over Our Bodies
Even today laws are coming out regarding what you can eat and how you should raise your children. Nehemiah knew they were in slavery because they left God. They continue to discuss how Nineveh had a set date for disaster but when they responded to God he changed his plans toward them. Will God’s people do what Nehemiah did? There are always contingencies but the good news is that they did respond. If you get serious with God He will get serious with you.
Nehemiah 9:38
“In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.”
They responded publicly and even made a binding agreement. It takes this kind of commitment. You can make a pact with a party, or leader or you can make a pact with God. If we will do this, call out to God, humble ourselves, turn from our wicked ways then he will return back to us. We have to own this and quit blaming everybody. We have to own our sins and the sins of our fathers if we do maybe the Lord will grace us with a third great awakening.
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