LIVE - Calvary of Tampa AM Service with Pastor Jesse Martinez | Lord? It's Me

Calvary Community Church of Tampa LIVE AM Service with Pastor Jesse Martinez

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I'd like you to take your Bibles and meet me over in the book of Nehemiah we're going to look at nehemiah's prayer
this morning if there was a key phrase I would want you to bear in mind it is found in verse
5 of chapter 1. where Nehemiah says I beseech thee O Lord God Of Heaven
I've been doing the best that I can to try and teach all scripture and I was
joking with my wife the other day and I said guess what book I'm going to be in on Sunday morning
and she looked at me and she was like someone wrote a book about you she did not understand what I meant I often do
that lack a context in the things that I say it's not just my wife it's many people go what are you talking about
but I said I'm going to be in the book of Nehemiah and she's excited she likes that book it's an encouragement to her
because we've seen Nehemiah as a man of Prayer and a lot of comparisons are drawn
between Nehemiah and Elijah what are some key differences there well Elijah performed Miracles there's no
doubt about that both men were used by God in Great and Mighty ways to bring people back to
faith in him and obedience to him but what is unique about Nehemiah is
that he simply had no miracles there was nothing miraculous about what he did yet
God still worked through him to bring about the restoration of the
walls in Jerusalem now you have to understand Ezra is also just as important to Nehemiah that's why
they're in the Canon together Ezra was the one who received the decree that Israel could go back to Jerusalem if you
recall Jerusalem had been destroyed it was besieged is the word
that's the word we don't use nowadays so I think it's important to understand what that means to besiege a city
usually something that lasts a long time sometimes years depending on how large
the city is and how well off they are on uh supplies and rations but basically
what you'll do is you as the Army who is trying to get in they all had walls in their cities
which is just another very important lesson to learn about fortifying those walls because however strong they are is
going to be how much they can last against the enemy's attacks but most of
the time these armies instead of wasting their Manpower and energy they would cut off all the exits in and out of the city
this is huge because they don't have water being piped in they don't have food that they're growing inside the
city usually that stuff is outside and usually the people that would come and besiege the city these armies they
would burn all the crops around they would cut off the water supply and you're basically
asking the people in the city how long do you want to go without the necessary things for your body
and sometimes that lasts a long time sometimes the people inside the city would resort to cannibalism there's some
things in scripture about that they didn't have anything to eat and they were eating their own children just
terrible things that would happen but the point is to see how long they would wait and then they would either be let
out or of course they'd be overcome by death and that enemy would win regardless
if you study uh Masada in Israel you can see how the enemies have besieged the
Jews that were on top of Mount Masada and they could not go up the side of the mount to get there so they built a ramp
that ramp is still you can kind of see the pathway of it but all of the Jews who were there took their own lives
before the Romans were able to conquer them but besieging was a very common thing and Nebuchadnezzar had besieged
Israel because of Israel's Disobedience and it cost a lot a lot of lives a lot of Bloodshed
a lot of horrible and wicked things done to women and to their children Jeremiah
laments about that uh in in the book of Jeremiah and also Lamentations of Jeremiah goes through some of the things
that he heard as he was uh listening to Israel being really berated and
just taken out of their land and so that had happened because of Disobedience 70 years had gone by just as God said that
it would and we're going to study that later on as we look in nehemiah's prayer but Ezra had received the decree to go
back and re-establish the land and what he did was reestablish the temple I want
you to see that it's in the book of Ezra just a little over to your left there Ezra chapter one
we'll start there in verse two this is on page 529 if you're using a church loan Bible
thus say Osiris the King of Persia the Lord God Of Heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he hath
charged me to build him and House of Jerusalem which is in Judah who is there among you of all his people
his God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and build the house of the Lord God of Israel
he is the god which is in Jerusalem and so Ezra throughout the rest of the book
it is detailed how he goes back to the land he establishes the temple brings
about the purification he has a lot of opposition from people inside of
Jerusalem and from other nations that did not want this to come to pass and then we have Nehemiah and Nehemiah if
you go back to Nehemiah chapter 1 in verse 3. gets a report about the current
condition of the people in Jerusalem they were they were already going back beginning to establish what is now
Jerusalem today and he says and they said unto me he asked for a report in verses one through two verse 13 Verse 3
he receives the report and they said unto me The Remnant that are left of the Captivity there in the Providence are
and I want you to note these two things they're in great Affliction and reproach I believe the the Affliction was
primarily related to the fact that they did not have sufficient rations they did not have sufficient food and water that
actually becomes a heated topic of discussion later on in the book of Nehemiah but also in reproach in that
there were other nations who despised Israel still and rejoice in the Captivity from the Babylonians rulers
now now uh reflected as Persia but they were not happy that they were able to
get back into their land and isn't it funny here we are in the year 2023 and there's still a debate
about who is supposed to rightfully possess Israel these things are going to continue you
can rest assured that they will continue until the Lord comes back and descends upon the Mount of Olives and he brings
all of the world into subjection to his rulership folks will be a very bloody event
there will be no doubt as to what is happening there are a lot of comparisons drawn between the first Advent and the
second Advent the first coming and the second coming the first one he came into the world as a child he submitted
himself into the body of a man he submitted himself even further to the role of his servant and even humbled himself unto death and shame reproach on
the cross they killed him on the side of the room excuse me on on the side of the road just outside of Jerusalem
he was buried he rose again three days later and he was seen of men for 40 days and then he ascended up into heaven he
says I'm coming back and we are in that Gap time we are waiting for the Lord to come back second
Peter chapter three encourages us and reminds us that the Lord is not slack concerning his promises but how many
people count God as lazy or Unfaithful or even deny his existence because the
world still turns as it has before second Peter chapter 3 is a reminder for you and me that this coming today when
this world will be destroyed with fervent Heat and you know how it's described in second Peter
is described in a way that men's eyes will melt out of their sockets and their
tongues will be consumed within their mouths we have that technology today in nuclear bombs
you know how quickly this world would be totally destroyed if Russia decided to send a nuke up into the air and we did
the same Not only would there be a catastrophic event where it where the missile comes
down but the radiation would go for miles and miles and miles and that's a slow death
but if you've ever studied the nuclear bomb the atom bomb and and the mushroom cloud and then what pushes out after it
you get caught in that wave you you literally cook from the Heat
and here's the Bible as many people say and out of touch archaic book accurately
describing thousands of years before what nuclear fallout looks like
what is the what are we supposed to do with that how is that a fun thing to look forward to well you can escape that
by being called up in the Rapture see God is dealing with a different group of people now I was talking with my
brother-in-law about this yesterday the entire world history revolves around Israel
and for thousands of years before Christ came and died God was dealing with
Israel and he was dealing with the world through that judeo lens
but now that Israel has rejected their Messiah as the prophecy in Daniel said they've been they have cut off the
Messiah that dealing with Israel is on hold
God is now dealing corporately through what he calls this new thing the body of Christ
and so the last piece of history is is not dealing with the body of Christ it's
dealing with Israel and the whole world is going to be drawn into that one tiny little sliver of land
I think it's remarkable that Israel in regard to its ability to cultivate products is
literally guys in the middle of a desert I've been to Israel twice now and I've
looked over into the mountains of Jordan and I have traveled through Jordan and I
have seen there's nothing for all the link that is there there's no fertile
ground there's no Lush water supply Israel is literally between the Sea of Galilee
and the Dead Sea now the Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea because it's dead nothing works there ex you know it's
there's there's nothing that comes out of there that is a good thing it's actually receding by the way it's
kind of eerie when you go to Israel and you see these huge Hotel complexes with
spas and all these things but they're totally abandoned because now they're they're like you know half a mile away
from the shore because that Dead Sea is is getting smaller but
the Sea of Galilee it it fertilizes the whole land through the Jordan River up there through Mount Hermon and and you
you can literally tell the difference when you cross over from Jordan into Israel there's Lush grass there's four
there's the uh Cedars of Lebanon in there there's all sorts of stuff trees
you can grow product there olive oil all that kind of stuff it's different because God has blessed that
place that is the land of his chosen people and I think sometimes we get this very Americanized view of scripture we try to
read ourselves into the prophecies for Israel a friend of mine was saying he was reading a book to his daughter the
uh is it The Bernstein Bears or the berenstein's parents I don't know not really up on that
but uh they were talking of it was like a Fourth of July themed book and they were talking about how you know
America came to be and the dad Mr Berenstein bear
he goes as God said I will provide a land for you with milk and honey and I'm
going that ain't America contextually speaking is that talking about the United States of America
no it's not but how do we get to that kind of interpretation because we kind of look at the word of God as a buffet
by the way how many of you are surprised that Golden Corral is open again I was talking to a lady the other day I
thought that place was done I actually thought maybe we should buy that well that'd be cool
first they fed the the physical need but now it's a place of spiritual food how cool would that be
yeah but all of a sudden you see that they're going to rebuild not it's it's there anyway
I have not been I have some people that have been they said it's very good but I don't know I've seen some things there that you can't unsee anyway
uh a lot of people are treating their Bible study as they would a buffet well I prefer
this and I prefer that and they they put all these different things on their plate and maybe they have another plate and when you get down to your your table
and you're ready to eat you just have all these things and it's presented as one meal but they don't go together you know the person that puts all the
dessert first and then wants to feel good about themselves and they like the way this place does green beans so they put green beans on another plate well
green beans and custard don't really go together it's not it's not a good meal for your
body I think in the same way a lot of people take scripture and they um and take a little bit of this promise a little bit of this promise I'm going to
throw them all together mix them together and I'm going to have this brand new thing that's just for me this
is my faith God is a god of he's a personal God so I have my personal faith there's a lot of problems that go into
that kind of Bible study but that's where people are today and that's how you get the Berenstein Bears Dad saying that the land flung of milk
and honey is the United States it's not true Israel is at the center of Bible prophecy
and we are not dealing God is not dealing with Israel right now as he did in that dispensation but rest assured
when the church is raptured out there will be a period of time which I believe the Bible gives a case for seven years
in that period of time where God is going to deal directly with Israel and the whole world will be
punished as a result of this dealing with Israel the Antichrist will come up he'll be accepted there'll be
Supernatural occurrences that happen on the earth you're talking about a third of the Earth's water supply turn to blood pestilence in the in in the form
of they not only devour crops but also inflict pain on the sons of men
can you imagine if a third of the Earth's forests were destroyed you know how our climate would change we'll talk
about climate change take the Amazon and put it in the Sahara and vice versa you would have Cyclones
and hurricanes hitting the United States every single month within three months
I'm talking about the ones that would like destroy the entire Coastline in the Gulf of
Mexico world has balance right now and God's going to totally bring this world into
subjection of him so that at the second coming when he comes down every eye is going to see him and you know what's remarkable about
Revelation 19 when it describes that the armies of the the of the world they
look upon him and they they launch an attack against him I wonder how much they're going to know
about the Bible and about what's coming to pass we know that last three and a half years the Antichrist is going to be possessed
by Satan himself I was talking about this with my brother-in-law the other day I think most important part of Prophecy is
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ that's the most important thing we're trying to figure out who the Antichrist
is let's find out who the real Messiah is and put our faith in him so that we don't have to worry about what happens
in that last seven and a half years it's it's it's going to be very
very difficult and I think what we need to recall from this is that our time is short
and the reason why I looked at Nehemiah is because you have a man who is totally conflicted with the
circumstances his people are in Affliction and in reproach they do not have what they are able to uh what they
need to survive and they're also in reproach from Nations around them but they've gone back into the land this is
what they've wanted he was stricken with grief look what it says here in verse 4. Nehemiah chapter 1
and verse 4 and it came to pass when I heard these words that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days
and fasted and prayed boy that's a I think we can all learn some things here
from the way that Nehemiah reacted to this bad news I'm sure we have all had news delivered to us that has brought us
to our knees it has totally shaken the way that we look at our day
on that day and then the many days coming forward
you know the the the the storms that have been happening recently around here we had some crazy wind on Thursday and
it's even quite Gusty outside I I think it's crazy it reminds me of the last hurricane that we went through
you know we were we we were totally evacuated uh into the proper
zones you know flood zones and stuff so we had a lot of we had some people over at our house uh we didn't know what was
going to happen to the church uh but then you know just as it always does that storm changed Direction and we just
got some pretty intense wind and some light rain and here I am in my house thinking you know these things they
always threaten but they never come through but then you go just a little bit down south and people I can you imagine what
it's like to come back to your home and it is no more it's totally destroyed
it's splintered wood and you have to dig through things and what the you know these valuables that you had they used
to have recognition they used to have a certain shape about them they used to have a certain feeling when you looked at them they're just gar it's just
garbage now I don't know what I don't know what that feels like that total feeling of
Devastation and loss many of you may have experienced that but there is come in a day where we're
going to have that kind of loss where we're going to go through something that just causes us to stop and we can see
with Nehemiah here this drove him to one thing and it was the prayer
there are several prayers recorded through Nehemiah some of them are lengthy like the one we'll look at here others are he like in chapter two he
just says so I prayed and I said great lessons that we can learn here
he was stricken with grief over the condition of his people he is far from them yet desires to be near he is able
to help them but unable to provide that help he is a man who is limited by his circumstances
many a great lessons can be learned from the prayer life of Nehemiah just a few here before we dissect this prayer
one our circumstances do not limit our ability to petition God through prayer
another is God is able to hear our prayers regardless of where we find ourselves you know throughout the entire
book of Nehemiah we are only privy to nehemiah's requests
we don't hear God respond like in First Kings chapter 3
when Solomon young man asked the Lord for wisdom so that he can discern in
judgment we hear the answer of God in David's prayers to the Lord
we hear the answer from God with Nehemiah and I think this is very important for you to take away we see
God's answer in that he was granted leave to go
he was even given Timber of that Nation to go and build the walls
men were able to go with him another note here is that prayer is not limited as a last resort
but should be the first step taken towards a solution and finally Our Lives should be soaked
in prayer not merely dipped in it before meals or at the end of the day
so let's take a look at a scriptural analysis here regarding Nehemiah 1 4-11 let's read the entire prayer and then
we'll just break it down and make some observations Nehemiah chapter 1 starting in verse 4
and it came to pass when I heard these words but I sat down and wept and mourned
certain days and fasted and prayed before the god of Heaven and said I beseech thee O Lord God Of
Heaven the great and terrible God that keepeth Covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his Commandments
let thine ear now be attentive and Thine Eyes Open that thou mayest
hear the prayer of thy servant which I pray before thee now day and night for the children of Israel thy servants
and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against thee both I and my father's house have sinned
We have dealt very corruptly against thee and have not kept the Commandments
nor the statutes nor the judgments which thou commandest thy servant Moses
remember I beseech Thee the word that thou command us thy servant Moses saying if you transgress I will scatter you
abroad among the Nations but if you turn to me and keep my
Commandments and do them though there were out though there were of You cast out unto the uttermost part
of the heaven yet while I gather them from thence and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name
there now these are thy servants and thy people whom thou has Redeemed by thy
great power and by thy strong hand Lord I beseech thee let now thine ear be attentive to
the prayer of thy servant and to the prayer of thy servants plural there
who desire to fear thy name and prosper I pray thee thy servant this day and
Grant him Mercy in the sight of this man for I was the king's cup Bearer you know what that
last statement means that he was the king's cup Bearer that if anybody had any kind of ill will
towards the king that Nehemiah was bearing of the cup Nehemiah would evidence it by dying
he tasted of the Kings drink before the king partook to make sure that no one had poisoned them
people were still being assassinated back in that day and so he was a very close confidante to
the king and you see that expounded on in chapter two but we're not going to go there I want you to direct your attention back
to verse four let's go through this and make some observations here number one there's something particular here that
we don't necessarily do nowadays but there is benefit to it and it is found
there in the last part of verse 4 and More in certain days and fasted what is the purpose of fasting I'm going
to give this to you here and we're going to look at some of the words that Jesus said the purpose of fasting was to increase concentration on specific
religious tasks like Prayer by denying the physical requirements to the body
what is the proper way to fast the proper way to fast involve the denial of food for a short time it also included
humility and the avoidance of drawing attention to the individual fasting
and I want you to see this Jesus talks about this in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6 so hold your spot in
Nehemiah travel with me over to Matthew chapter 6 and we will pick up there in verse 16.
many of you who have a study Bible maybe even a Scofield Study Bible note that Scofield pays attention to paragraph
headings and he's done his best to try and separate thoughts out for you to observe I like the phrase that he uses
here and it says externalism again rebuked
I was talking with my brother-in-law yesterday we were we were talking quite a bit about some biblical principles and
I explained to him that I think one of the greatest sins outside of idolatry in Israel and that can be committed in us
today is that we take pride in being God's people and we actually lured that over other
people this was happening in Israel may I make a case for a group called the Pharisees
that had the nicest of garments they had the privilege to be able to
study the law they were the ones who were able to perform the sacrifices which would make
the individual in a proper standing with God not for eternal life but to avoid chastening judgment
but they had become so external so outward facing that inwardly they were
corrupt there's a phrase for this it's called self-righteous and Jesus rebukes it in his Sermon on
the Mount And he says this particularly moreover when ye fast so we understand
what fasting is now when you are focusing on a Godly task through prayer denying
yourself of food be not as the hypocrites
of a sad countenance for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast what does
this mean by disfiguring your face okay
you gotta look like you don't want to be here or you want to make sure that when
somebody looks at you they go what's wrong and it's not a genuine thing like we'll
see Nehemiah in chapter two he was afflicted by his people's Affliction and
the King asked what's going on we're talking about and you know the difference a pity party
it's almost where you practice it in the mirror you're like
you walk around as though you've been slapped by a concrete brick and you had I didn't
deserve it or you announce I'm I'm fasting I'm denying a food I'm so hungry but praise
God these two things don't exist together this is like having the light on and off
at the same time doesn't work doesn't work and Jesus is saying here for they
disfigure their faces that they may appear unto who to men look at me I'm fasting
verily I say unto you they have their reward a very important principle is taught
here outside of the point of fasting there's a principle that is taught here that if you do
service to God for the reward of men you've got your reward right there I don't think that people will be
rewarded for those profitless works at the Judgment seat of Christ for the
believer if they do it for the praise of men this is the danger of legalism following a set of rules to make one
righteous and then expecting others to follow those rules because you follow them that's dangerous but thou look at what
this says when thou fastest so we've got some more detail here anointine head wash thy face that they
are P that thou appear not unto men to fast but unto thy father which is in
secret shall reward thee openly
so go back to Nehemiah and we see that Nehemiah is in this position of great grief
he is moved he is useless for certain days he Mourns during that time but he
also fasts so that he can better focus on how can I petition my God to deliver
my people should we fast today I don't think there's anything wrong with fasting for
a time in order to better focus on one's prayers to God however it does not make you more spiritual or bring you closer
to God it simply AIDS you in self-discipline we see this word used in
the fruit of the spirit and it is temperance this is a big problem that exists among
all people but it is self-control sadly it has entered into our politics
full force there's a lack of self-control people just say what they want to say
they are not worried about the consequences and do great damage and has in our nation since probably
the 2016 election on hasn't our nation just gone further into division
I mean we're getting to the point where people are beginning to separate themselves again and they prefer it that way
I mean Abraham Lincoln said it very wisely a house that is divided cannot stand
that's a Biblical principle Abraham Lincoln didn't just sit down in
his chair one day and come up with that that's a Bible statement
it's the first thing we do though but there is a purpose to fasting and I don't think it's wrong to fast today to
better focus yourself but recognize the purpose of it as Nehemiah used it that
prayer that he prayed it moved God to action and we're going to see some specifics
about that he was obviously distraught by the condition of his homeland and his Kinsmen he resorted to fasting as a part
of his voluntary submission to God leading up to his prayer here's an application for you a little takeaway
from this this verse here in verse 4. overwhelming circumstances or times of hopelessness may require more
self-control than we are used to exerting only good can come from the believer
solely focusing on his prayer to God remember this from Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 16. let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find Grace
in time of need boy that's a another promise and we're
going to see the significance of promises in just a moment but number two look in verses six and seven
let now let thine ear now be attentive and thy eyes open the thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant which I pray
before thee now day and night so we know in the way that he prayed was continually this was consuming his
thoughts as he made the petition on his uh on behalf of his Kinsmen the
Israelis now listen this is important he says Lord bend down your ear open
your eyes I want you to hear these things of thy servant I'm praying these things days and nights specifically for myself and for my people and confess
this is a very important part that we should not neglect
when we are talking to the Lord in prayer he does two things here and confess the
sins of the children of Israel which we there's the corporate he's he's involving himself I Nehemiah as an
Israeli we have sinned but he also makes it individual which we have sinned
against thee both I and my father's house what does he mean by my father's house my family
we have all sinned it's not just the church that's at fault
it's you and I as well individually we're all going to stand before the Lord not as a family but as an individual and
give an account for our works I want you to note some things here number one confession which is to come
to an agreement on an issue is an essential part of nehemiah's prayer why
well firstly sin brings bondage Israel was led away into captivity because of sin we don't have time to go
to this passage but I want you to note Ezra chapter 5 and verse 12. which tells you very plainly as to why
Israel was in the condition that they were in there's no oh this came out of nowhere no this this was something that
was brewing for a long time second thing I want you to note is that unconfessed sin is best defined as this
The Sinner denying the fact that God says their Sin is Sin it is literally
the child that says no it's not to the parent who says yes it is it's a comic
routine now of the basis form of humor but essentially it is the rebellion of the child against the authority of the
parent you're going to clean up your room no I'm not yes you are no I'm not yes you
are oh that's so cute what if they grow up with that attitude
you're going to obey the law no I'm not now you're in jail well I'm a victim
you didn't learn how to obey God takes this very seriously I want you to see this in first John chapter one
hold your spot in the book of Nehemiah first John
chapter 1 specifically there in verses 5 through 6 8 and 10. let's see what this
says first John chapter 1 verse 5 page 13 21.
this then is the message which we have heard of him Jesus and declare unto you here it is that God is light and in him
is no Darkness at all look at verse seven or excuse me uh verse six if we
say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie and do not
the truth look in verse 8 if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in US then look at verse 10 the culmination of unconfessed sin
if we say that we have not sinned we make him a liar
and his word is not in US now this is specifically talking about those who have believed unto eternal
life you have put your faith in Jesus Christ there is an expectation for you to walk just as our brother Gary
reminded Us in the reading of SEC of uh of Titus Chapter 2 to live soberly and
righteously and godly in this present World we're not waiting to live righteously until we get into the
kingdom we need to do that now because we have the ability to do it through the new nature
and when we have sin that's unconfessed why should we expect God to answer our
prayers when we are calling him a liar
why should we expect God to deliver us out of the circumstances that very likely were a result of our unconfessed
sin this is the person who makes bad gambling decisions or gets into debt and then expects someone to just
wave a magic wand called the Florida Lottery and oh all my problems are gone you know people that usually win the
lottery have like major issues within 10 years you know they're still monetarily involved
the issues are all with the problem with money money is not the solution everything it is self-discipline
I was listening to a psychiatrist earlier this week and I thought this would be very beneficial but he was talking about the difference between
dominance and submission he says people have a choice
they can either be dominated by their circumstance excuse me dominated by their responsibilities and the consequences of their choices or they
can joyfully submit to their responsibilities and bear favorable consequences
what's the difference you have many people in our society today and I'm not talking about just in American side Society I'm talking like
in the world that make bad decisions as a result of disobedience
so now they are dominated by their consequences if you get in the car and you drive drunk and you get pulled over
there is no amount of I'm sorry or I didn't mean to or I know I made a bad decision that will take away the
consequences that are forthcoming God forbid you get in an accident and take somebody's life that person will
not rise back from the dead because you are sorry about what you did that person is now dominated by their
decisions on the other hand those who cheerfully submit to the
responsibilities in which they are held responsible experience lighter consequences
favorable consequences you stay away from alcohol to begin with if you do not drink any alcohol there is
a 100 percent chance that you will not be a drunk driver I know that sounds funny but it's it is
so true if you stay away from pornography there is a 100 chance that you will not become
addicted to pornography these things are basic but we have
become so self-centered in our culture that well if you want to drink then you
should drink if you want to lust after pornography it's not hurting anybody
and they come against the church and against pastors like me who teach from the word of God and they say you're
putting a restriction on people no I'm saying the word is said if you
submit you will have a joyful life if you don't you'll be dominated by your consequences and this psychologist does
not believe in God like I believe in God but he's still coming to Godly conclusions
and there's a difference in our lives are you being dominated right now by your circumstances or have you learned
to joyfully submit to the Lord I don't like doing laundry I don't like doing
every day you know what my job is at the house every day get those same eight
bottles clean and I you know there's a difference between clean and clean
okay I don't have to worry about you know doing it half-heartedly because I want my daughter to have clean bottles but
trust me I've seen the difference between a clean bottle and a clean one what's the
difference how much attention you give to it and it's second nature now we've been
doing this for five months mixing that Liquid Gold that's exactly what I call it it is exactly that
it is the amount of a nice car payment in formula I hope Remy knows one day you know what
I'm saying I'm gonna let her know Dad I want a car we got you one we got you one
but I've learned to you know I could approach that with man I wish I didn't have to do this well I could you know
all this stuff but you can just submit to the responsibilities you have as a father to take care of your child because you love
them and that love is going to be demonstrated in obedience to the things that need to be done I'm not over analyzing the simple things
like cleaning bottles because a lot of people they don't do that and then they wonder why they have larger issues in
their lives it's a matter of what are you going to obey myself
or a set of standards a standards that bring about peace and harmony
and the one thing that Nehemiah did before he asked anything he knew his people were without food he knew they
were with reproach he knew the walls were not satisfactory if a nation wanted
to come against Jerusalem it'd be gone instead of saying save them deliver them
he said we got to get right with you
God is not a genie would you not say dear Jesus and all of
a sudden there he is ready to answer your requests there is a fellowship which must be
maintained and that starts with the confession of sin and Nehemiah does it in two ways he
does it corporately for the whole nation he intercedes for the nation and then he says
me and my father's house we have sinned we have not done was what is instructed
what happens when confession is brought about restoration we're in first John look at verse 1 in excuse me chapter one
and verse 7 but if we walk in the light as he is in in the light we have Fellowship one with another and the
blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin this is not you're saved again this is you are sanctified
not the moment that you believe that kind of sanctification but the sin which was in the way it's cleansed
look at verse 9. if we confess our sins he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness verse 1 of chapter two my little
children these things right I unto you that you sin not and if any man sin I wonder why that's there because we will
sin but with proper confession we have an advocate with the father and here's his name
here's his business card Jesus Christ the righteous that's a promise that is available to
you and me today we should see the example that Nehemiah
said Nehemiah had to confess in order for God to be able to hear him we have an active Advocate right now in
Jesus Christ and you're going to see later on in the message how much better Jesus is
than the high priest than those that were able to bring about that proper restoration for God too
resume what he had promised to them nehemiah's confession was not only
personal but also intercessory for the entire nation of Israel national Revival may I say this please very strongly
National Revival starts with confession of a nation's sin against God and it
ends in obedience that is the difference
between an emotional stirring of an individual and National Revival all of
ninefa repented in sackcloth and Ashes for the things that they had done incorrectly you want to see a Revival in
the United States of America it's not getting the Bibles back in schools it's not silencing people that want to
have social reform it is obeying God's word and coming to the agreement that we have sinned that's
where it's going to start and my proposition for Revival in America is fathers need to be Godly
fathers and mothers need to be Godly mothers that's how you're going to see things change
win people to the Lord and then teach them and if they obey then we'll have a
nation that is revived to God but may I say very confidently I do not believe that is hap that's going to happen
I'm not Doom and Gloom here I'm looking for not the Undertaker but the upper taker
amen I'm looking for Jesus to descend so I can Jesse it's time no problem I've
been dressed and ready to go let's go back to Nehemiah
National Revival starts with confession of a nation's sinning against God it ends in obedience Nehemiah remembered
the promises of the lord I want you to see here in verse 8 remember I beseech Thee the word that thou commandest thy
servant Moses saying if ye transgress I will scatter you abroad among the Nations did they transgress did God
scatter them yes yes I want you to go to the book of
Deuteronomy in chapter 4.
I want you to see these these two things very important because Nehemiah is called I want you to
know this Nehemiah knew the word he knew the word and he was recalling the responsibility that God had for him
and for his people and how they had disobeyed it is always good to know God's word
always you'll never go wrong if you know the word and do what it says
Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 25 when thou shalt beget children and children's children and ye shall have remained long
in the land and shall corrupt them them yourselves and make a Graven image or
the likeness of anything which is about an idol and shall do evil in the sight
of the Lord thy God to provoke him to anger and he's going to bring judgment I call
Heaven and Earth to witness against you this day that ye shall soon utterly
perish from off the land where unto ye go over Jordan to possess it
ye shall not prolong your days upon it but shall be utterly destroyed
and the Lord shall scatter you among the Nations and ye shall be I want you to note this here left few he's not going
to totally destroy them because he's made a promise to them this is not saying never mind this is not God say
you know God's not saying never mind I'm mad at you I'm pulling away your eternal life I'm
pulling away the promise to bring the Messiah through you he said no if then you want to be in this land you want to
have peace and Harmony and be able to eat and provide for your children you're going to obey if you don't obey I'm gonna discipline you
and as a result there will be a few of you left and there is always a Remnant left
we see that in the tribulation period look what it says shall be few left few
in number among the Heathen whether the Lord shall lead you now go back to Nehemiah chapter 1 and
verse 9. we have to remember that God demonstrates
himself faithful when he speaks a promise Nehemiah knew that that's why he
confessed first he's not sitting with his hands in his pocket going why did this happen to us I'm such a good person
I didn't do anything wrong it was my people's fault no he got right with God
and he was a man of compassion he did it for his people too there was one man there Nehemiah and God
honored that man and forgave what Israel had done what what a power in prayer
look at verse 9 but if he's reminding God that he knows I know these promises
if you return unto me and keep my Commandments please mark this and do them
Jay did a wonderful job yesterday explaining to us the difference between memorizing something
and doing what you have memorized and he said as you know growing up as a Jewish kid he would be learning Hebrew and
there would be a there'd be contests in the Hebrew school not official but between him and his friends of how fast
they could say these passages with emphasis on pronunciation
but he said I never learned what those passages meant until years later and I came to a Bible teaching Church what's
the difference you can know all there is to know but it's of zero value to you if you don't
do what it says this is so simple I could have a folder
on my computer of all types of exercises to get this thing looking like an Olympian
but if they stay in the OneDrive folder I'm gonna look like this still
I can have enough to have the qualifications of a personal trainer but if I don't go and do the work
how am I going to expect I just have a thumb drive and bloop reform this body into the body of an
Olympian no that's not gonna work it's not gonna work the NFL draft was
going up and they have all these has beens coming up you know and when they're playing on the field their buff they're coming up like Kansas
City how's it going good barbecue you guys got good barbecue with the 83rd
pick in the NFL draft they can't see as well they're big you know
something changed what happened they stopped doing they stop doing it
it's the same thing with the principles from God and Nehemiah says we're going to keep them we're going to do them
though there were a View cast out amongst uh unto the uttermost part of the heaven yet will I gather them from
thence and bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there Nehemiah says we're confessing and we
are promising to get right and do the things and you know why he said that because Ezra had already gone and started the temple
he had already gone and brought that process into order now looking uh hold your spot and I want
you to see this in Leviticus chapter 26.
we're all through the New Testament our excuse in the Old Testament this morning hold your spot in Nehemiah
Leviticus 26 starting in verse 39 through 42.
here's where God said you get right we're back on schedule
39 page 163. and they that are left of you
shall Pine away in their iniquity in your enemies lands did that happen yes
in Babylon it happened and also in the iniquities of your
father shall they Pine away in them if they felt they shall confess their
iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers and their trespasses which they trespassed against me and that they also
excuse me and that also they have walked contrary to me and that I
also have wakantre unto them and have brought them into the land of their enemies if then their uncircumcised
Hearts be humbled and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity then I will remember my Covenant with them
this is very important Nehemiah got it down to the T
he repeated exactly what the law had said
we had iniquity we're coming back correctly you promised you would restore us
hear my prayer he did not demand it of God he simply obeyed what the word had said
42 and also my Covenant with Abraham will I remember and I will remember the
land this is why I believe where Israel is today is their land no one else's
because God said that land I have set aside for you and so I got no problem with Israel
there but they are not there in belief may I be so clear on that they are not there in belief
I have seen the state of the people in Israel they are a agnostic
opinion right now many of them deny God they call themselves reformed
and then there are those who adhere to the law but not unto eternal life what does it mean to adhere to the law unto eternal
life it's that you put your faith in Jesus Christ he gives you eternal life by having your
faith in him we are out of time so let me remind you
a couple of things here look in verse 10 of Nehemiah 1.
now these are thy servants and thy people whom thou Hast Redeemed by thy great power and by thy strong hand
Nehemiah knew the source of their Deliverance it was not in the fact that he was corporately interceding he had no
faith in himself he had faith in God's power to do what he said he would do let us not forget that this is the same God
who parted the Red Sea and then closed it up on the world's
leading Army of their day who walked them through the desert
up unto the doorstep of the promised land with a pillar of fire to guide them by night and a cloud to shade them by
the day Who provided in their Disobedience provided food from above
in the form of manna many people don't know what that is I don't think we should go and find out
what Manna is we should just know that God provided it he's able to do things that are go on to
be go beyond our understanding here's some takeaways for today and then
I want to look at some things in Hebrews Nehemiah was a man of prayer so should
we all seek to be people of prayer you know what's going to change Tampa Bay you know what's going to change this
church it's prayer if we became people of prayer first and
then action we'd have a we'd have a capacity problem here
doesn't mean we're going to be accepted by our community but we can start really helping people through giving people the gospel
teaching them Godly principles and modeling those principles in the way that we live
second takeaway is confession is a key component of daily prayer we must know that consequences may come in the form
of chastening but that restoration is immediate number three prayer was the maintained
attitude and constant habit of Nehemiah he prayed all the time all the way
through about everything and he prospered because he prayed so should we all seek to pattern
ourselves after Nehemiah and the fourth thing that I want to close with here is that Jesus is coming
soon we do not have to wait until his return to enjoy fellowship with him now
we have communion next week and the function of communion is to
bring us back to an understanding of what price was paid by Jesus for our sin
in First Corinthians 11 Paul details the very tragic side effects of
partaking in that supper unworthily I believe to partake unworthily is
twofold you are at the Lord's supper and you have not believed on Jesus Christ
or you are at the Lord's Supper as a Believer but you have unconfessed sin there is sin in your life that you call
okay that God has said is wrong people get sick
they're unable and they die as a result of that God is still the same God
he's still the same but we have very sweet and wonderful promises because of Jesus Christ
now I want you to bear with me here for a moment go to Hebrews chapter 7 in verse 19.
I meant to spend more time on this but it just Escapes Me
Hebrews 7 19 this is what we have in Christ folks this is for today
Hebrews 7 19 for the law made nothing perfect but the bringing in of a better hope did Nehemiah under the law
still had a god of faithfulness and of mercy and of righteousness salvation's still the same for Nehemiah
as it is for you and me but it was a different kind of Fellowship back then
for the law made nothing perfect but the bringing in of a better hope did by the which will we draw nigh unto God look at
verse 23. and they truly were many priests because they were not suffered to continue by
reason of death why were there so many priests because they kept dying that's the thing with Mankind we die
kind of interrupts any kind of progress 24 but this man Jesus Christ
because he continueth forever amen hath an unchangeable priesthood
wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost what does it mean to be saved to the uttermost to be saved
completely that come unto God by him seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them a part of Jesus's responsibilities now are
to intercede for those who have drawn nigh to God through him what that means is they have come to God by faith
through Jesus Christ they've put their belief in Jesus for eternal life
chapter 9 verses 11 through 12. but Christ being come and high priest of
good things to come by a greater and more perfect Tabernacle not made with
hands that is to say not of this building neither by the blood of goats and calves
but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy Place having obtained he
already got it Eternal Redemption for us
I know for eternal life I don't have to keep any commands I don't have to keep any obedience to be
born again I simply look to the Savior and live
I look and live I did that when I was 12 years old I've
made many mistakes since then I have made mistakes today and I am here to say I promise you I will continue to make
mistakes but praise the Lord I'm redeemed I have obtained eternal life because of the
blood of Christ and if there's anybody hearing my call today it is to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and you will be saved permanently when you believe that he paid for your
sin look at verse 15. and for this cause he is the mediator of
a new testament a brand new one that by means of death his death for the
Redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament they which are called might receive the
promise of Eternal inheritance verse 24.
for Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands he didn't make a
sacrifice that had to be made again he was the sacrifice they are the figures of the true but he
has gone into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God please pay attention to these last two words for us
he's not there as an example he's there as a representative for you and me those
who have believed
sometimes we forget that sometimes we forget that
you can close your Bibles I want you to know today
that if you have no Assurance of where you're going to go when you die you may have walked in here and you've said I do
not know if I were to die today that I would be in heaven if you thought you had to do good deeds
you had to obey a set of commands like the Ten Commandments and that'll bring about righteousness in your life
the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life
that's the gift through this is how you receive it Jesus Christ
there's no amount of good works or reform or repentance in the way that you're sorry for something that will
take away your sin payment somebody has got to die for that sin and Jesus died
on the cross for your sins imagine for a moment you have cancer
and for some of us that is true and you have the solution in a form of a
pill you know that it will cure you all you have to do is ingest it
you look at it but you never take it and you die of that cancer
this is the same thing that is described of those who hear the gospel message they hear that salvation can be obtained
by simple faith in Jesus Christ to believe on him that he paid for your sins yet they do not believe
they say no it can't be that simple no I must maintain good works
the Bible says those that perish having rejected that gift it were it would have been better if they never heard it
so my invitation is very serious this morning please
put your faith in Jesus Christ not in your good works the Bible calls him dead
works the purpose of good works is after
you're saved to have a good fellowship with the Lord so he can bless you and use you in Great
and Mighty ways but to know that you're going to heaven when you die you need to put your faith
in Jesus Christ and in him alone this hand you and me my wallet sin this
hand Jesus Christ look closely for God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever watch this
believeth in him should not perish
but have everlasting life you believe on him you receive
everlasting life believe on the Lord Jesus Christ today please do not wait we are not guaranteed
tomorrow let's go to the Lord in prayer I'd like you to Bow your head so enclose
your eyes if you are here this morning we ask for heads bowed and eyes closed and you for the first time
understand now that in order to get saved to have your sin fully paid
all you had to do was believe on Jesus if that made sense today and you believed on Jesus for eternal life I want to pray
for you I want to pray for you for several reasons but mainly because you've got a
brand new nature the Holy Spirit now seals and indwells you
there's so many promises that are now available to you but I also want to pray for you as an
encouragement to continue learning and growing in the
word but if you got saved this morning for the first time you only get saved once
but if this made sense to you would you raise your hand and let me know it doesn't save you to raise your hand it
just helps me understand and so I can pray for you so before we close is there anyone at
all that would say Pastor please pray for me I put my faith in Jesus Christ I know I'm going to heaven now
anyone before we close heads are bowed please and eyes are
still closed there are several other prayers in the book of Nehemiah it's not that long of a book there are some
chapters that you can set aside because they're just historical records of the workers that Nehemiah took with him
I want you to be a person of prayer like Nehemiah was I want you to learn to obtain mercy and
help in that time of need by the blood of Jesus Christ it is available to you
and if you've got sin in your life today that you have said to God is Not sin and you know that it is would you get right
with him in this moment confess it not to be saved folks but to have a
proper fellowship with him the Bible says he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and if any man sin we have an advocate
to the father Jesus Christ the righteous father thank you for your word thank you for all that can be observed
in the Old Testament I pray Lord that we would be people of wisdom not merely the
collection of facts but the actual application of the instruction from your word I pray for those Lord that are
struggling with sin in their lives today that could be an accurate description of all of us but there may be some
who are calling you a liar by continuing in that sin I pray Lord for restoration
for proper chastening but Lord I pray primarily for you to come back
we're going to keep looking waiting and being found faithful in Jesus name we
pray these things amen