HSS_2019_Q4_EP11

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We are in the middle

of an amazing series of studies

on Ezra and Nehemiah,

today's topic, Backslidden People.

You say, "That sounds depressing,"

but actually it's good news

because God loves backslidden people,

and He wants to restore them

to a life-changing intimate relationship

with Himself, to experience

His immeasurable unfailing love
like never before,

actually, to transform them,
to transform us

into all that He ever intended us to be

and to use us to bless others.

It's going to be an amazing study,

and I'm excited because one
of our team members, Jason,

is going to be teaching today,
great topic.

And we're glad that you're with us.

In fact, we'd love to hear from you
if you've started

your own in-depth, interactive study
where you live,

because you can take

the same outline that we use,

same outline Jason will be using today,

and you can download it from our website.

Just go to hopetv.org; by the way,

you'll not only see Hope Sabbath School

but lots of other great programs there.

Download the app if you don't have it;

Hope Channel, go to your App Store
or Google Play.

It's a free app, powerful;

it will be a great blessing to your life.

By the way, it's got a geo-locator on it;

it will come up in whatever language

is dominant for your territory - amazing!

You can study the Word of God
with us there.

But download the outline,

start a study group of your own.

We will be excited to hear from you.

In fact, we're always happy

to hear from you,

our Hope Sabbath School members.

By the way, I'm glad you're
here, too, team.

It's going to be a great study, isn't it?

Here's a note from Homer and his wife

in Colorado in the United States
of America.

They said, "We've been watching

Hope Sabbath School ever since it came

on DirecTV channel 368.

We get a lot out of it,

and pray for each one of you on the team.

God bless you all."

Thanks, Homer and Jeannie,

writing from Colorado

in the United States.

You've been watching for awhile
on DirecTV,

and we're glad you're part of our family.

Here's a note from a donor in Guyana.

Now, some of you have been to Guyana.

"Dear Christian friends, greetings

in the name of our precious Savior

and soon-coming King.

I am a beneficiary of what Hope Channel

is doing around the world.

In this regard, I would like

to partner with Hope Channel

to ensure that the gospel

reaches the ends of the world."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "Please receive an enclosed gift

of 1,000 dollars," from Guyana

to help with the ministry

of sharing the love of Jesus

with the world. Amen?

Thank you; we are

a donor-supported ministry,

and I know the blessing

will come back to you as you join the Lord

in His harvest work.

Swein writes from Zambia.

Swein says, "I wish to thank you

for the work you're doing

and how you present the Bible studies

on Hope Sabbath School.

You've really helped me learn

how to present the study to my class."

That's what Jason's going to do today.

We're going to model

what could be reproduced
10,000 times, right?

So, thank you, Swein;

we're glad you've got

a class there in Zambia.

"I've been teaching the Sabbath School
since 2008,

and because of watching

Hope Sabbath School,

all the classes I'm teaching

have appreciated how I handle the study."

That's awesome; it can be multiplied.

"Thanks to Hope Sabbath School.

May God bless you as you continue

to labor in His vineyard."

Well, Swein, thanks for writing

to us from Zambia; God bless you.

Give our greetings

to your in-depth, interactive
Bible study group.

Kofi writes from Ghana and said,

"I asked God to help me

take my Bible study seriously,

and I promised Him not to miss out

on any of the studies this year.

But I'm a student in high school,

I wouldn't get time to read,

and I was working at the house

when I was back from school.

I'm living with my brother and his family,

and we don't get to church early

to learn the Sabbath School.

We also don't study at the house,

but then I found Hope Sabbath School!"

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) "Hope Sabbath School

was the first channel

I saw and subscribed to.

I downloaded the full lesson

as audio on my phone."

By the way, our new app - you can do that.

You can also do an offline download,

and then you can watch the program

when you're offline somewhere

where you don't have a connection;
it's awesome.

"And I listen to it when I wake up

in the morning and while I'm working
or in the night.

I've not missed any of the studies

since I found Hope Sabbath School."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "I downloaded

your theme song on my phone

and use it as my alarm tone.

It touches my heart anytime I hear it.

I want to be a pastor one day..."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "...and visit Hope Sabbath School

and be one of the saints

who will defend God's Word

in the Last Days."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thank you, Kofi,

for writing to us from Ghana;
what do you say?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) God is raising up men and women,

young people around the world.

Joyce writes to us, last one,
from Jamaica.

We have a lot of people in Jamaica

who watch Hope Sabbath...

Anyone with Jamaican roots here, Nicole?

Oh, Enkose, too, Jamaican roots.

"Hello, Hope Sabbath School family!"

(Team) Hello!

(Derek) This is Joyce

writing from Mandeville, "What a blessing

it's been for me to sit

and go through Hope Sabbath School guides
with you all.

I've been watching for awhile,

and I've been truly blessed.

My daughter is now 11 years old,

and she's been listening

to the Scripture songs

from when she was a little girl.

She would run from wherever she was
in the house,

come and sing the Scripture song with me

and then run back to what she was doing."

Get this, "As she got older,

she would sit and watch

the Bible study with me."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "What a blessing.

I've downloaded the study guides

for the very first time,

and I look forward to making copies
and sharing them

with my Sabbath School class."

By the way, we found that the best way

to have an interactive study

is to give everyone a copy
of this outline.

So just make a copy

and give it to everyone,

and they can follow along.

"We now all look forward

to the Bible study every week.

God bless you, Joyce."

Well, thanks for writing to us, Joyce;
glad you're part

of our Hope Sabbath School family
there in Jamaica,

and God's doing amazing things, isn't He?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) And one of the things amazing

that God's doing in these Last Days,

He's calling people back

who have drifted away.

The Bible calls that backsliding,

slipping away, slipping away.

He wants to heals us

because of His immeasurable love,

call us back to Him.

That's what we're going to study about

right after we sing

our theme song from Psalm 25.

♪ music ♪

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Derek) You know, wouldn't it be

a wonderful miracle of God if someone

watches Hope Sabbath School today

who has slipped away,

and they hear the call of God

and the draw of God's love to come back?

Let's pray as we begin our study.

(Jason) Amen. Please bow your heads
as I pray.

Our dear heavenly Father,

today, as we open Your Word, as we see

how, even when we've made mistakes,

whether individually or as a group,

we can still return to You.

Lord, help us to take lessons

from these ancient stories

and apply them to us here now, Lord.

Lord, send Your Spirit,

send Your power with us,

and most importantly, we pray all of this

in the holy name of Jesus,

our Cleanser, our Savior. Amen.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Jason) Here in Ezra and Nehemiah

we have the story context,

the children of Israel

have kind of returned from exile,

and they've returned

even though they've made some mistakes,

and they're trying to get

the worship service going,

and they're trying to sort of reform

the process as they're going along.

Now, unfortunately, as we've seen
in previous lessons,

there have been some difficulties,

and there have been some challenges.

And one of the words

that's kind of been used

to describe this process

is the word backsliding.

Now, backsliding is a word

that not everyone may be familiar with,

and so I just want to ask on the team here

if someone or even several people

can tell me what does

the word backsliding mean,

maybe as a definition

or what it looks like in action?

Someone here on the team, Gladys,

I see you kind of nodding your head,
and you're smiling.

When you think of backsliding,

what comes to mind for you?

(Gladys) When you have

made a decision for Christ

and you somehow backtrack on that decision

and you start slipping away from Him

and creating some distance

between you and Christ.

(Jason) Slipping away,

made a decision, backtracking. Adison?

(Adison) Two words come to mind.

I think of creep and compromise.

(Jason) Creep and compromise,

so, kind of little by little,

and then compromise, making changes

that are not consistent with the decision

that you had made before.

All right, so we have

this idea of backsliding; now, let's look

at how the backsliding happened.

And so I'd like to ask Jonathan

if you could open for us.

We're in Nehemiah, chapter 10,

and I want you to read

verses 30 and 31 and then verse 39.

There are some promises that are made,

and I want us to look

at where the backsliding begins,

which is here with the promises.

So let's look at the start, and then let's

see what happens in the story.

(Jonathan) All right, I'll be reading

from the New International Version,

verses 30, 31 and 39:

(Jason) So, when we read that,

that sounds pretty positive, right?

We're going to do

all these very good things.

What are some of those things
that were listed?

What are some of the promises, Evelyn,
that you saw there?

(Evelyn) They promised that they

wouldn't marry into pagan cultures.

(Jason) They wouldn't marry
into pagan cultures.

Yes, Stephanie, I see you smiling there.

(Stephanie) They would honor the Sabbath.

(Jason) They would honor the Sabbath.
Yes, Adison.

(Adison) They would be faithful

in their tithes and offerings.

(Jason) They'd be faithful

in their tithes and offerings, all right.
Gladys.

(Gladys) They will respect
the seventh year,

which will be when the land

cannot be worked on,

and they had to forgive all debts.

They will respect that.

(Jason) All right, so we have

all these different activities,

and they sound very positive.

They're very good promises.

Now, I want to ask what are your thoughts

on these promises when you hear them

because they sound positive,

they sound beneficial.

Jonathan, you've got

a certain facial expression.

You've got some thoughts on this here.

(Jonathan) It reminds me

of when God comes down on Mount Sinai

and gives the Law,

and all the people are overwhelmed,

and they say, "Oh, all these things

that God says, we will do."

So I don't know if it's

quite the same spirit,

that maybe it sounds like, a bit,

but it sounds like it could be

a little bit of self-confidence,

maybe not recognition of just how prone

we are to go astray.

(Jason) So maybe some self-confidence.

Kenneth, and then I want to ask,

kind of push back a little bit

for the sake of discussion here

because these are legitimate issues,

and these are legitimate problems

that they've dealt with.

And so I want to hear from Kenneth,

and then I also want to hear,

what do we think about this tension

between dealing with legitimate issues

and responding to them

in the manner that glorifies God.

So, Kenneth, yes.

(Kenneth) I think from our previous study

where they made all the sacrifices to God,

you'd be convinced that, okay,

these people are really going to do it.

But with their track record,

just as Jonathan said,

we don't know whether they are

able to keep their side of the bargain

or if they are going to fall back

and off of what they are promising.

(Jason) So they don't know
that they're able,

so what's the problem here?

Why are they not able? Nicole?

(Nicole) As Jonathan even said,

it starts with, "We, we, we, will...
We will."

There's not a, "Lord, help us to...,"

"Lord, lead us to where we need to go."

It's all, "We're going to do something,"

And so I think when we believe
that our own strength

can take us through,

we fail, just really simple, we fail.

(Jason) So is it fair to say

that maybe backsliding can begin

with good intentions about good activities

but from a heart...? Yes, Derek.

(Derek) A story from the New Testament,

Jason, flashed into my mind.

"Even if everybody else denies you,

I wont," that's Peter, you know.

And he's got good intentions,

but he's in a very dangerous place.

And you don't even have to turn

the page in my Bible,

and he's saying, "I don't even know
who He is."

So I think...the Lord has said,

"You're at risk," and he says, "No,

even if everyone else does it, I won't."

I think that the challenge here

is that all of us are

capable of backsliding,

and we have to say, "God,

I need You to hold me close to You,"

you know, "My commitment

is just this, that I'm not going

to resist You at all."

(Jason) Amen. Now, there are

some principles that Jesus referenced.

I think of Matthew 22.

Stephanie, I'd actually like you

to read that for us

because I think referencing

what Jesus has said

and going to the Gospels

might be helpful to get our minds

focused on how we can

avoid backsliding ourselves.

So, Stephanie, if you could read for us

Matthew, chapter 22, verses 37 through 39.

What are some principles here,

so that we can avoid going down this path?

(Stephanie) And I'll be reading

from the King James Version:

(Jason) All right, so we see here

we've got these two, kind of, focuses,

loving God, loving our neighbor.

So, what do you see here, Gladys?

(Gladys) The focus is God first.

The more that we focus on God,

everything else, like we said

in previous studies,

it would look different.

So our focus must be God.

And then when we focus with God,

we can help other people around us.

(Jason) All right. Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I was just going to say

that loving God

and being faithful to God

is something that is placed
beyond our reach.

It is a gift of God itself.

It is not something that we have.

Therefore, we have to ask Him
for faithfulness,

ask Him for the capacity

to make us capable of loving Him.

(Jason) Travis.

(Travis) I would just like to say,

it's listed in here, "Love God

with all your heart, all your soul

and all your mind."

That's the prerequisite

to loving our neighbor as ourselves.

It's the prerequisite to living
a holy life

and keeping the promises of God.

If we have that connection,

it's only then that we are capable.

(Jason) Now, let's...Oh, Derek, you
wanted to share something...

(Derek) I was just thinking, Jesus says

everything else hangs on that.

So, you know, if I'm just,

"My focus is I want to be

so connected with God

that I love Him with all my heart,

and let His love flow

through me to everyone,"

I think that God would say,

"Everything else is going to be okay,"

when you've got those two
clear commandments,

Jesus says "the two great commandments."

(Jason) Amen. Jonathan.

(Jonathan) Sometimes we get
tired very quickly

of trying to be faithful,

of trying to love, either partners,
brothers and on.

This is because we try it by ourselves,

and we should always ask God to help us.

We aren't always able to love.

(Jason) And now let's get into the story,

and I'm going to ask Gladys

if you could read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 13, verses 4 and 5.

We're going to see

a specific situation that happens,

and we're going to see some problems

that gives some evidence of backsliding.

And let's kind of look at what's going on

and what's happening here in the story.

(Gladys) I'm reading

from the New International Version,

Nehemiah, chapter 13, verses 4 and 5:

(Jason) Now, does anything
stand out to you,

anything kind of startling,

when you read this? Jonathan?

(Jonathan) If you look back earlier,

Tobiah is kind of this foreigner.

He's like an Ammonite, I guess, a ruler,

and he was against the Jews,

against them rebuilding the temple,

against, I think, rebuilding the wall.

And now he's related to this priest,

and because of that...

How he's related is a curious question.

And now he has a spot in the temple,

I'm like, "Uh, what?"

(Jason) There are some big problems
going on here.

Backsliding has taken

a whole new level almost. Yes, Kenneth.

(Kenneth) For me, the irony is

there is reform, the temple is cleansed,

and then you give another place

for this same people

for which you established a reform.

So it's like, "You didn't do

what you started initially.

You just went back to zero."

(Jason) Travis.

(Travis) Well, it says that they

were allied together,

and it's quite possible,

and it's been suggested,

that their children were intermarried,

so already breaking some of the promises

that had been made.

And so they have, you know,

"Well, my daughter, your son,

I guess we're all family now."

And all of a sudden...

It astounds me that all of a sudden

it directly affects the temple

and the storehouse right away, so quickly.

(Jason) And Travis alluded to that,
where is Tobiah?

Is he just kind of hanging out,
outside the walls,

kind of watching things? Yes, Stephanie.

(Stephanie) They've actually moved
God's furniture

and brought his furniture in.

And we know from chapter 6

that Tobiah and Sanballat were enemies,

so the idea of them

completely replacing God's...for enemies,

it just baffles my mind.

(Jason) So Travis alluded to it,

but what do you think is going on here?

Why is this all happening

behind the scenes? Yes, Derek.

(Derek) I was thinking of a man

who drifted away from God.

And I just remembered His words

as we're reading this.

He said, "I did things

I never thought I would do."

One step led to another.

If you had told this individual, Eliashib,

that he would move

God's things out of the way

and put a hostile Ammonite official

in the house of God,

he would have said,

"Absolutely impossible."

But you get intermarriage

between children and children;

you get different things happening,

like with Solomon.

And I'm hearing this man's
testimony to me,

that when you start slipping,

you will end up doing things

you never thought you would do.

That's what happened here.

(Jason) So I just want to ask,

and feel free, no one has to,

but has anyone experienced this

in their own life?

Have you ever, you know, been in a way,

you thought, you know,

you started out strong,

you made some good promises to God,

but then, little by little,

maybe you started slipping.

And the next thing you know,

Tobiah was hanging out in your room.

Someone is laughing; is anyone

comfortable enough to share

maybe where they had been

in that situation? Nicole?

(Nicole) I've shared this before,

but I was baptized when I was 9 years old
into this church,

and so I was gung-ho.

I was a Pathfinder; I did everything

at the church that I was supposed to do.

I got to college and thought, "Wow,

the world is so much bigger

than the church that I left."

And I found myself

slowly but gently compromising

and doing things that I never thought

I would do, in college.

And it took the death of my mom

for me to realize that if I didn't

change my ways sooner than later,

I would not be able to see her again.

And so, literally, at her funeral,

I was like, "Wow, I really messed
this thing up,"

and God just slowly reeled me back in.

But, yeah, it's a real thing out there;
it's a real thing.

(Jason) Now you said at the end there,

"God slowly reeled you back in,"

so the unfailing...Yes, some good news,

the unfailing, immeasurable love of God
reeling you in,

Even when you've backslidden,

God can still be there.

Now, let's look further in the story,

and I'd like to ask Evelyn

if you could read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 13, verses 6 and 7,

because, after all, this is

the book of Nehemiah,

and so, what's Nehemiah doing
during this time?

Why is he allowing

all these bad things to happen?

Why isn't he there to stop them?
Yes, Evelyn.

(Evelyn) I will be reading

from the New Living Translation:

(Jason) All right, so, what did

those verses tell us?

What is the situation

going on there, Jason?

(Jason) Nehemiah, he wasn't there.

(Jason) He wasn't there.

So, why isn't he there?

Did he just decide

he needed to go on a long trip?

He just, you know, needed to take care

of his own personal affairs in Babylon?

Or are there other things going on?
Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) Hadn't he originally

asked leave of the king?

And so now he's invested himself

here in Jerusalem,

but he technically needs to go back.

And so it seems like he goes back,

and after talking to the king,

like, everybody realizes that he

should probably stay in Jerusalem,

but he has to go back, at least.

(Jason) Nicole.

(Nicole) Maybe, I don't
remember the story,

but didn't he promise

when he left the king

that he would return

when he finished his duties?

So he was only keeping his word

in terms of returning back home,

which is something that we all

need to learn to do, is keep our word.

(Jason) So, he's keeping his word.
Yes, Gladys.

(Gladys) He's the cupbearer.

So, like Nicole said, he gave his word.

The king asked him before he left,

"When are you going to return?"

So he had to fulfill his word.

(Jason) So he's fulfilling his word,

he's back there in Babylon,

and then during this time,

all these problems begin to emerge.

So, it's possible...Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I just want to say

that I want to highlight the importance

of the presence of a godly leader,

the importance of the presence
of a godly leader.

And also the fact that we,

even without man's supervision,

should be faithful to God,

remain faithful to God.

Sometimes it happens

that if there is a faithful pastor,

then the church remains faithful.

If there is a pastor

that compromises with the world,

then the church compromises.

So we should individually be faithful.

(Derek) What I like about Nehemiah,

because they're absolutely right,

he kept his word to go back, but his heart

was still there in Jerusalem.

It was much more comfortable

for him to stay with the king,

but he's basically keeping his word,

but his plan is, as soon as possible,

he'll be able to go back.

I think what's more important

is how he responds when he gets back,

which means that he's not

just kind of washed his hands,

"Okay, I'm done with that assignment."

His heart is really committed

to what God wants to happen

there in Jerusalem.

(Jason) And on that note, Adison,

let's read what happens when he gets back

because we've seen in verse 7

he came to Jerusalem; he sees this.

But now he's got a certain response,

and so, if you could read for us, Adison,

Nehemiah, chapter 13, verses 8 and 9,

let's see, what is Nehemiah's response

now that he has returned

and sees the situation.

(Adison) And I'm reading

from the King James Version:

(Jason) All right. So, there are

quite a few different activities
that happen here,

but I want us to kind of look at them

in order if you can.

What's the first thing he does?

Does he jump right in,

and, you know, attack Tobiah?

Is his first response one of attack,

or what is the first thing it says

right in the very beginning

that he does, Stephanie?

(Stephanie) It grieved him.
He was in pain...

(Derek) He's mourning.

(Stephanie) ...because of it, yes.

(Jason) So there is some
personal reflection,

there is some kind of emotional response.

There is a sort of, you could almost say,

even an individual focus

before he goes out and does any kind
of attack. Yes, Travis.

(Travis) I would like to just say

that it probably didn't take him

too long to make that decision

because he was a God-fearing man,

and he knew...I mean, he was there

when they made the promises and pledges.

He knew this wasn't supposed to be.

So, while I think he was grieved,

it didn't take him long

to say, "This doesn't belong."

(Jason) Yes, Kenneth.

(Kenneth) Also, I can sense from the fact

that it says it grieved him bitterly.

He wasn't just grieving about it;

somehow he was praying about it

and asking God what to do.

(Jason) Jonathan?

(Jonathan) It just makes me wonder

how many other people saw this

and maybe were disturbed by it

but didn't stand up and say,

"No, this is not right," and, "Let me

talk to others...," and, yeah.

(Jason) Yes, Jason.

(Jason) As we were reading this,

it dawned on me that this was a foreshadow

of what Jesus did in the temple, you know,

dealing with the "den of thieves."

Just that it is in that context
of that grieving,

just wasn't abruptly being angry
for no reason.

I mean, he literally saw

this ungodliness taking place,

and he acted upon that

because the Spirit of God was in him,

and he expressed it in such a way.

(Jason) So he expressed it in such a way.

How did he express it?

What does Nehemiah actually do, Evelyn?

(Evelyn) It seems that his first concern

is to make sure the temple is cleansed.

So, he's like, "Okay, we need

to get Tobiah's things out of here

and clean this place up."

(Jason) Get these things out

and clean this place up. Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) And I'm just thinking,

I like to think and imagine.

To make reformation, it takes boldness.

It takes courage, a sanctified courage.

So he had to go against people's desires

and things like that...

And also, when there is a radical problem,

we also should take radical actions.

(Derek) Yeah, it definitely,

like Jason said, this is like Jesus.

When they saw Jesus cleanse the temple,

it says they remembered,

"Zeal for Your house has eaten me up."

I mean, I think Travis is right,

I don't think it took him

a whole lot of time.

He was bitterly grieving over it,

and he said, "These things

are going out of here."

It almost seems a little later,

I mean, some of his actions,

like he's a little bit wild.

And yet, as was said, you know,

why didn't anybody else do anything?

I mean, this is the pagan official

who was opposed to the things of God

throughout the whole story,

living in the temple!

Nehemiah's willing to take

whatever consequences will come.

(Jason) Now, in verse 9,

what is the last portion

that he does there at the end?

We see that he grieves, he takes action

and kicks Tobiah's stuff out,

he cleanses, and then what else
does he do? Yes, Kenneth.

(Kenneth) He brought back
all the articles of God.

(Jason) He brought them back.

He begins the process of restoration.

And in a way, if you think about it,

this, kind of, is also...You can see this

in one's personal spiritual life.

First of all...Nicole's referenced
her story before,

there is grieving, then there's an action.

You have to get rid of certain things.

(Nicole) Friends.

(Jason) Friends in her case, yes.

There's cleansing, and then little

by little...Yes, Gladys.

(Gladys) Restoration.

(Jason) Restoration, you have

to put back in. Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I was thinking

if maybe there might have been
something like...

They'd just built this temple,

and they had some of the furniture
returned,

but they didn't have maybe all...

It wasn't, maybe, as fancy as...

So, maybe it was simple, and, you know,

maybe, "That room could be

better used," or something,

and it makes me think, like, sometimes

the temptation in life

is to take other things

that seem like they're

better than the simplicity

of God's Word and His ways.

Like, God's Word and His ways

aren't quite as fancy,

aren't quite as well dressed
as everything else,

so it's tempting to put it

in our little rooms

rather than to trust

in maybe the simple things

and let God make them beautiful.

(Jason) That's a very good point.

And so let's also look

at another problem that happened.

Malaina, if you could read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 13, verse 10,

we're finding out additional problems
that take place

in this process of backsliding.

(Malaina) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Jason) So, why is this

a problem, Nicole - what's going on?

Who cares about the Levites

and in the field and all of that?

What's going on here?

(Nicole) Remember, we read
about the promise,

that they were not going

to neglect the house of God.

And there was a whole, kind of, campaign

to make sure that they had

the right people come back

to make sure the temple

was operating properly.

And then they've neglected the priests.

So now, who's doing the spiritual guidance

for this whole community?

No one, so they're all losing their focus

because there's no one there to provide

any spiritual leadership for them.

(Jason) They're losing their focus.
Yes, Gladys.

(Gladys) We also have to remember

that the Levites lived

out of what was brought to the temple.

They didn't have a field of their own.

They didn't have an inheritance, per se.

So, what they had was

what the people gave.

So if they didn't give anything,

they had to go and do something else

to make sure that their families
would not starve.

(Jason) Yes, Kenneth.

(Kenneth) And I feel like the people

also reacted to the poor leadership

of the priests' leadership,

and that is why they refused,

instead of doing something about it,

So their response was to cause

other innocent people to suffer

because of one man's decision

to bring the enemy into the house of God.

(Jason) And this is

kind of the pattern of backsliding.

Step by step, the leaders, the people,

eventually it becomes this process
that we recognize,

whether it happens on the individual level

like Nicole referenced,

or whether it happens

with the whole community
as we've seen here.

So now Nehemiah, we saw

what he did with Tobiah,

but apparently he has to do something

a little more with the community.

And so I'd like to ask Travis

if you could read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 13,

verses 11 through 13.

Let's see what else does Nehemiah do.

How does he address this situation?

(Travis) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Jason) All right, so, there are

some things that go on here.

And, first of all, before we get
into specifics,

I just kind of want to ask,

what is Nehemiah's

sort of general impression
and feeling here?

Does he kind of enter soft and gentle,

and with this colloquial "Kumbaya"
kind of expression?

We're all laughing because...

Nicole, yes, how does Nehemiah
handle this?

(Nicole) He's like, "What have you done?"

Literally he's like, "What have you done
to God's temple?"

And he comes in, and he says,
righteously he says,

"We've got to fix this; we've got
to make this right

because we are representing God
here on Earth.

So he comes in with righteous indignation,
we call it,

and says, "No, you can't do this."

(Jason) "No, you can't do this."

And it's interesting, the New King James,

the version I have,

it says he "contended with them."

And so...Yes, Derek.

(Derek) Someone said to me, one time,

"Be more concerned about what God thinks

than what people think."

And it's clear to him

that this needs to be addressed.

And there probably are some people

whispering in the background

saying, "Who does he think he is?"

But he's not preoccupied

with what they think or say

but what God has told him to do,

and he addresses it courageously.

(Jason) Now, I want to ask,

this idea of contending,

because the word contending

means to argue, debate, fight.

And we kind of have this idea

sometimes in the church

that good Christians, they don't contend.

They're just nice, peaceful,
and all of that.

So I'd like to ask some people
on the team,

what would you say to someone

who says, "Good Christians don't contend,

don't fight, don't cause problems"?

Kenneth, you kind of have

a questionable expression there?

(Kenneth) I would say,

even when we are contending

we do it in the Spirit of Christ.

(Derek, Team) Yes.

(Kenneth) We don't do it like the way
the world would do it.

We do it thinking that, yes,

we may not understand everything,

but there are some core things

that we can all understand.

For instance, we all love

to seek the souls of men

into the Kingdom of Heaven.

That one we can't negotiate

because that is what God gave us.

But as to the carpets

of the church or the pews,

we can have some different preferences,

but in all, we should treat

each other with love

so that it doesn't go

beyond what we are supposed to do.

(Jason) Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I was thinking of a quote
from an author that I appreciate

that says, "When Christ spoke

His words of condemnation,

He spoke them with tears in His voice."

And I think that before you
say some things,

you have to make sure that you're

coming with the same heart of compassion

and making sure it's coming
from the right place

because there are so many things

in our hearts that are

not necessarily the right grounding

as a starting point.

(Jason) Travis.

(Travis) We related this

to the cleansing of the temple

when Jesus chased out the money changers

and nobody stopped Him

because they recognized His authority.

I think there was a certain recognition

of Nehemiah's authority here

because it doesn't say

that people got in his way

and tried to stop him.

He set them in their place.

He appointed people here;

he appointed people there,

and he got everything

pointed back in the right direction.

So he came with a recognized authority.

(Derek) That's such an important point,

and the love of God

in our hearts is so important.

John the Baptist confronted evil, too,

but it says some people even wondered

if he was the Christ.

I mean, he was so reflecting

the love of God and the character of God.

And I think there are some people

who love to come in

and just criticize everyone,

and they think that's

their mission in life,

when our mission is actually to reflect

the immeasurable, unfailing love of God,

which may mean, in love,

with tears in our eyes,

confronting a person who's

doing something destructive.

But they're not going to have any question

about our motive or where our heart is.

By God's grace, we've earned
that, what, "right"?

That's what Jesus earned,

John the Baptist earned.

Nehemiah had earned the right,

by the way he lived,

to confront that evil.

(Jason) Now, one way that you can also see

whether your contending

is from a spirit of God

is the reaction, the effect that happens.

And so, what do we see here?

What is the effect

of Nehemiah's sort of battle
with the leaders?

What ends up coming out of this?
Yes, Gladys.

(Gladys) It seems that everything

began to be back in place.

You know, the Levites returned,

the tithes were brought back.

So everything started to go

in the way that God intended it to go.

(Jason) And what happens here?

There's some kind

of organizational reference that's made,

some kind of situations.

So, Travis, tell me,

what goes on here in this situation?

How does the organizational process
take place?

(Travis) Well, first off, the Levites

had nothing to live on.

So, when they were sent back,

and the temple service is set back up,

then he begins to set things
back in place,

the sacrificial services and that,

and then establishes the Sabbath

with the congregation.

(Derek) And then, I think

what you're looking for,

in verse 13, he sets up treasurers.

He says, "Let's get this organized,"

because who knows, whether, in addition

to Tobiah living in the temple,

they weren't siphoning off some things

that were coming in.

"So, let's have godly people

who will monitor this,

so that the people that are

supposed to get these offerings and gifts

actually receive them."

(Jason) Jonathan, and then we'll
have to move to the prayer.

(Jonathan) It just struck me
how a lot of the things

that were backsliding

were actually organizational procedure.

I mean, it was given by God

and was having real effects,

but it was like they weren't doing this.

And so it makes me think

that organizational procedure

can be important, and grounded well
is important.

(Jason) So God is a God of order,

and organization can be part of His plan.

All right, and so I'd like to ask Jason

if you could read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 13, verse 14.

Nehemiah, it's actually recorded,

that he has a little bit of a prayer here.

So read the prayer, and then I want

to hear some thoughts on that.

(Jason) My pleasure, and I'm reading

from the New King James Version,

and the Bible says:

(Jason) All right, so, what are

your thoughts, Gladys, on that prayer?

I see you had some kind
of expression there.

(Gladys) He wants to make sure

that he's faithful to God's house,

and that was one of the things

that he established before.

He wanted God's house to be a priority

in the lives of his people

and just be restored...

He said, "Please remember me
because I did this."

(Jason) Kenneth.

(Kenneth) To summarize, I see

that as a prayer of dedication
of these leaders

so that in a way, God

will also remember them,

while he's crying out to God,

and they will also hear the prayer

that God wants them to do something,

and they shouldn't allow this good deed

that they are trying to do

in the house of God to go away.

So it's a prayer, it's a charge,

and it's also a dedication.

(Jason) Travis.

(Travis) I would like to suggest

that this prayer isn't even about him

asking for a blessing at all on himself

but rather on the temple service

and the things, the restoration,

because, "Lord, I've been faithful to You;

answer my prayer that this

will continue," you know,

"that the things I've set in place,

that they will work."

(Derek) So I'm reading four times

in his letter that he says, "Remember me,"

three times in chapter 13,

"Remember me, O my God,

concerning this also,"

"Remember me, O my God, for good."

And I'm a little uncomfortable with it.

I am, and that just tells me again

that God uses imperfect people.

You know, it's like telling

the king of Persia, "Remember me

when you're doing the distributions."

I'd like to read it all

as totally wonderful,

and write a careful description

of why this is what Jesus would have said.

But I, kind of, you know,

"Chalk this up, Lord, remember me,"

So, I may be wrong, but I do know

from reading the Scripture,

Peter is a great example,

that God called an imperfect person

to help lead His church.

(Jason) That's true.

(Derek) And Nehemiah, I would dare say,

was not perfect either,

and I'm just wondering why three times

in one chapter he's saying,

"Remember me, God."

(Jason) We definitely know
he was imperfect.

One thing, though, that he did well

was restore, and with some of the reforms.

And so I'd like to ask Stephanie,

if you could read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 13, verses 15 and 16.

We have more problems,

more backsliding that's gone on.

And so let's see what this backsliding
is now, here.

(Stephanie) And I'll be reading

from the King James Version:

(Jason) So what's going on here, Gladys?

(Gladys) Yes, the same thing

that they promised before,

that they will keep the Sabbath,

that they would not buy on the Sabbath.

That's the same thing

that they were doing.

People were actually pressing the wine,

and they were bringing loaves

and selling them in Jerusalem,
in the holy city.

(Jason) On Sabbath. Yes, Kenneth.

(Kenneth) I'm beginning to see

that perhaps because they've
been in captivity,

after they came back,

they needed a lot of instruction

to be in accordance with God.

And probably something that I

would have suggested for Nehemiah to do

was to read the law,

the book of the law, to them,

so that they would know the ways of God.

Because now it's like, from one thing,

they do this, and then he takes action.

But probably if there had been some time

for him to instruct them

just like some of the kings did.

After they found the book of the law,

they instructed the people,

then the people started following
the reforms.

But now it's like they do this,

then they go overboard.

And then he responds to it.

So that's what I'm sensing

from the Scripture reading.

(Jason) Well, if we know

one thing about Nehemiah,

he is going to respond.

And he is going to...

(Derek) Do something.

(Jason) Do something.

So, Kenneth, can you read for us

Nehemiah, chapter 13,

verses 17 through 22,

and let's see here,

how does Nehemiah deal with this issue.

(Kenneth) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Nehemiah 13:17-22:

(Jason) All right, there is a lot there.
Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) So maybe we should have people

outside the church making sure

everyone's keeping the law

and Sabbath just right?

Shutting the door if they...I don't know.

It brings up lots of questions.

It's like, "Okay, what is the principle,

and what are the right ways?"

(Jason) It brings up lots of questions.

Stephanie, what are your thoughts

as you read this and as you

see the situation unfolding?

(Stephanie) I was just thinking,

if I had been one of those people

that was at the door on Sabbath,

and he talked to me like that,

I wouldn't have come back either,

just being honest about it.

But I think, like Jonathan's saying,

there is a balance, right?

But apparently he needed

to make a very clear reform

to let them know, "This is
not acceptable."

And actually in Nehemiah,

earlier in Nehemiah,

Ezra did speak to them from the law,

and they did understand

the Word of God, so...

(Jason) Derek.

(Derek) I'm so thankful that Jesus came,

because, even though there's

this strict enforcement,

which they've obviously slipped away

from remembering the Sabbath

and not doing their will

or their work on His holy day,

the Sabbath was meant to be a blessing

not just a time to not do things.

And so you see Jesus coming,

and He's not saying, "If you do that,

I'm going to lay hands on you."

That's what Nehemiah said, right?

Jesus is saying, "Folks,

you need to understand,

the Sabbath was made for man,

not man for the Sabbath.

By the way, it's good

to do good on the Sabbath."

So He's restoring the beauty,

and I'm just so glad He came.

And, again, I know that God
used Nehemiah,

and we do need to guard

what we do on the Sabbath.

But we also need to say,

"Okay, that's what we shouldn't do.

What should we do?"

And the answer is,

we focus on our relationship

with God who loves us

and has set aside this special time.

So Jesus really comes,

I guess you would say, as a radical...

(Stephanie) Reformer.

(Derek) Reformer, yeah,

and a restorer of what God
really intended.

(Jason) And you quoted there,

Mark 2:27 and 28, about the Sabbath

being made for man,

giving us some practical principles

to help us understand

the purpose of the Sabbath.

Even if men, well intentioned
or otherwise,

Nehemiah may have had a little bit,

not quite fully divine,

you could say in some ways, understanding.
Yes, Jonathan,

(Jonathan) I guess I feel like I'm torn,

because on one hand I'm like,

"Man, that's really tough."

But is it fair, do we go too far,

if we look at somebody and say,

"Oh, because their actions

seem too strong for us,

that they're not Christlike,

or they're not following God.

I mean, it was Christ who gave...

We had it on here, like,

someone would stone this person

if they cooked over a fire.

So Christ Himself gave to Moses

some very strong things,

including on the Sabbath.

So it seems like there is a place

for strong boundary-making.

Now, should we be

very cautious about that,

and I think on both sides

there's caution that should be made
about judging.

(Jason) Travis, you want to try
to help us?

(Travis) I think we're being a little hard
on Nehemiah; I do.

He's not the Sanhedrin

or the Jewish leaders

in Jesus' day, condemning everybody.

The Jews understood very clearly

in Deuteronomy the Sabbath commandment,

"Keep the Sabbath because I am

the Lord your God who brought you

out of the land of Egypt," out of bondage.

It was a memorial that God

has freed us from slavery.

And He was just now doing

the exact same thing again,

bringing them out of Babylon,
out of bondage.

And I think he's just, like, pleading,

like, "This is a memorial for us

to remember that God

has just redeemed us.

He took us out of Babylon.

He's restored the temple.

He's restored Jerusalem."

Like, "Please!" you know?

This is how I picture it.

(Jason) Nicole.

(Nicole) I'm not going to be mean
to Nehemiah.

What I do want to say, though,

is that we can fall in the same trap

of believing that we are doing

what's best for what we see around us

and not really being led by the Spirit.

So I just want us to be cautious,

that we are seeking the Lord

whenever we want to talk

about what someone's doing

that we don't think is right

because that's where it comes

from a spirit of love.

And whether or not this came

from a spirit of love I don't know
because I wasn't there.

Reading the words, it seems kind of harsh.

But if it comes from a spirit of love,

and God is leading him in this direction,

then we have nothing to say about what did
or did not happen (just my two cents).

(Jason) And we just have to trust
that God is working.

And whether He's working

through Nehemiah's imperfections

or Nehemiah's strong zeal,

guided by the Holy Spirit,

either way, God is still working;

God is still moving.

I want to look very quickly

at one little story

from the life of Jesus.

Jonathan, if you could read for us

Mark, chapter 3, verses 1 through 6,

I just want to look real quickly here

at this little story

and how it may give us some lessons

for the way to deal with the Sabbath

and how Jesus dealt with the Sabbath.

Mark, chapter 3, verses 1 through 6.

(Jonathan) All right, I will be reading

from the New International Version:

(Jason) Very quickly, what are
some principles we see here

about how Jesus dealt

with the issue of the Sabbath?
Yes, Kenneth.

(Kenneth) The first principle

is that He makes sure He places

how God wants man to relate

to each other and to Him

on the Sabbath day.

(Jason) Yes, Stephanie.

(Stephanie) He did good on the Sabbath.

(Jason) Do good on the Sabbath. Jason.

(Jason) It's about life, preserving life,
rather than killing.

(Jason) About preserving life
rather than killing.

(Derek) I just think that Jesus knew

that they would react

in a very hostile way.

But the truth about the character of God,

that the Sabbath was a time

of healing and blessing,

was more important

than the hostility of His enemies.

He just had to tell the truth about God.

(Jason) Amen. And I want to challenge you.

Maybe you've made some choices in life,

maybe you've backslidden

as we've referenced here.

Whether it's in keeping Sabbath

or giving tithe and offerings,

whatever you've done,

I want to challenge you

that, maybe as you read through the story,

ask the Holy Spirit to guide you

and ask Him to show you

how you can return to God's love.

We've read here about His

unfailing, immeasurable love,

and just let God change you

and return you, restore you,

back to how He created us to be.

(Derek) Thanks so much.

Well, we've all been challenged.

You know, the truth of the matter is,

it's easy to look at other people,

but we've all slipped away in some ways.

But instead of seeing God
chasing after us,

to see Him reaching out in love

to draw us to Himself,

that is a picture that can
change your heart.

Let's pray; our Father in Heaven,

thank You so much for the truth revealed

in the life of Jesus.

Sometimes we see truth

in the Old Testament,

but we don't see a full revelation
of Your character.

I'm so thankful that Jesus came

to be the full revelation
of Your character.

Jesus said, "If you've seen Me,

you've seen the Father."

And, Lord God, wherever we've
slipped away,

as Jason has said, may we hear

Your loving call to come back

into a life-transforming relationship
with You.

We thank You that You're

longing and waiting,

and we thank You that You will welcome us.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) If you've been blessed today

as we've studied the Word of God,

we'd love to hear from you.

Write to us at [e-mail].

We're all on a journey, aren't we?

And it's a journey towards a God
who loves us

with an immeasurable and unfailing love.

Go out and share that good news

with those around you.

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