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Nehemiah 13:15-31

Set Apart for Revival

  • Rich Jones
  • Weekend Messages
  • May 14, 2023

In Nehemiah 13:15-31, Nehemiah was concerned with the things that made Israel most like the world. God wanted His people to be set apart for His glory. God wanted His people to find that nearness to God was their good. It was in the shadow of the Almighty where their souls would find revival, where they would experience the work of God which is beautiful on their soul.

  • Sermon Notes
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  • Scripture

Set Apart for Revival
Nehemiah 13:15-31   

May 13-14, 2023

Nehemiah was the governor after Israel had returned to Jerusalem after they were exiled in Babylon those 70 years. He led them to rebuild the walls, to rebuild the gates and to set guards at every station; to be prepared for any opposition it would arise.

He then began to rebuild the people spiritually. He gathered them at the main square of the city and had Ezra read the word of God to them. Day after day they gathered, hearing the word of God. That would be the foundation on which Nehemiah word rebuild the people.

The same is true today. God uses His word to build faith and life in those who believe in His name. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ,” Romans 10:17.

Nehemiah then gathered the people again in the square of the city, this time to confess the sins of their fathers, the iniquities of their forefathers — and to declare the glory of God. Nehemiah wanted them to see both. They stand in stark contrast.

He wanted them to see that in their national history, decisions were made by their fathers and forefathers along the way that brought them to the national tragedy they had to become. But he also wanted them to see the glory of God, that God never give up on them, that God’s heart was to give them a future and a hope. Nehemiah was rebuilding their faith.

If they could look back, they could see that the decisions of their forefathers to walk in stubbornness, to be stiff-necked and to turn a cold shoulder to God resulted in national tragedy, then perhaps they could see that revival would lead them to national prosperity in the future because God’s favor and blessing would follow.

After that recounting of their forefathers and the declaring of God’s glory, Nehemiah had the leaders sign their names to a document attaching themselves to the word of God and renewing their commitment to walk according to that word.

Nehemiah then had to leave Jerusalem, to return to Babylon and report back to the king of Persia. While he was gone, however, things began to fall apart almost immediately.

When he returned to Jerusalem, he discovered that they were reverting and sliding back toward the very things that led their fathers down the road of destruction. He immediately began to set them back on course, to bring them back to revival.

What concerned Nehemiah most, however, were those things that made them most like the world. God wanted His people to be set apart for His glory. God wanted His people to find that nearness to God was their good. It was in the shadow of the Almighty where their souls would find revival, where they would experience the work of God which is beautiful on their soul.

I. “Come away My Beloved”

  • The kingdom of God is distinct from the kingdoms of this world. God called you out of the world, to be set apart for His glory – – and also for your

Psalm 3:3, But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.

  • That’s what makes you distinct and different from the world, God has placed His glory on your life. God has placed His name upon you. His glory becomes your glory.
  • You carry God’s name. God’s name is powerful.

Revelation 3:12, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”

Revelation 14:1, Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

Illus – When we adopted our boys from Russia, they took my first name as their middle name and took our family name as well.

  • One of the Ten Commandments was not to take God’s name in vain. But the literal meaning is not to “carry” God’s name in vain.
  • That’s what makes you distinct, you “carry” God’s name, it is written upon your soul.

A. God restores the soul

  • They had already signed a document attaching themselves to the word of God, committing themselves to abiding by that good word.
  • Verse 15 – “I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the Sabbath and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.”
  • God never meant the Sabbath to be a burden, he wanted that day set apart for the restoring of the soul, for the renewing of relationship to God, that your soul might find rest.

Isaiah 58:13-14, “If you call the sabbath a delight and honor it… Then you will delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth… the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

  • When the Pharisees saw the disciples make their way along while picking heads of grain, they accused them of doing what is not lawful on the sabbath. Jesus rebuked them in return…

Mark 2:27-28, Jesus said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. The Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath.”

  • The leaders of Israel turned the sabbath into a crushing burden, and then defined relationship to God according to whether people could carry that burden on their shoulders…

Matthew 23:4, “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”

B. Find rest for your soul

  • Life is difficult, it’s filled with troubles and burdens and the soul is easily wearied by all the trials we endure.
  • And if you’re not careful, your faith can turn into old religion…

Illus – There is an old song that captures this perfectly…My Eyes are Dry, by Keith Green.

My Eyes are Dry 
My eyes are dry, my faith is old.
My heart is hard, my prayers are cold;
Oh I know how I ought to be;
Alive to You and dead to me.

But what can be done
with an old heart like mine?
Soften it up with oil and wine.
The oil is You, the Spirit of love.
Please wash me anew
In the wine of Your blood.

  • That’s why God set apart a day that you might experience again the beautiful work of God on the soul.

Isaiah 40:29, 31, He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might he increases power… Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not faint.

II. God Calls You a Holy People

  • Nehemiah corrected the people strongly because this was such an important distinction with God.
  • Verse 25 — Nehemiah’s reaction was certainly strong, perhaps too strong. Remember when I said that Nehemiah was an example of leadership? You’ll have to ignore this fault right here.
  • Interestingly, when Ezra heard that they had intermarried with the worldly nations, his reaction was also strong… but different.

Nehemiah 9:3, When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my beard, and sat down appalled.

  • Why was this such an important issue with God?

A. God loves you

  • God didn’t want them to intermarry with the peoples of the lands because He knew what this would do to their soul.
  • Marriage is the closest, most intimate of all relationships and it is impossible not to be influenced by a spouse. Intermarriage would draw them away from God.

1 Kings 11:1-2, King Solomon loved many foreign women from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Yet Solomon held fast to these in love.

  • God is very concerned about the condition of your soul because he knows what you do not know. He knows how ugly it is. He knows how poisonous it is to your soul. He knows how much it will hurt and destroy.
  • God loves you and wants you to have life, and life to the full. He wants to keep you from that which will steal, kill and destroy.
  • God sees it for what it is.

 Luke 16:15, “That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

  • This is an understanding of deep proportions. If we could grasp the meaning of that statement, it would transform our soul. What the world calls beautiful, God finds detestable. What the world highly desires, God calls an abomination.
  • God is bold to proclaim sin for what it is. People are holding on to cheap imitations, God has something far more glorious in store for you than that! That’s why He’s so bold to proclaim it!

1 Corinthians 2:9, “Things which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

B. Holiness is received and fills the soul

  • Israel was God’s chosen people, He called them a holy race …

Deuteronomy 7:6, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; for He has chosen you to be a people for His own possession of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

  • In a similar way, God calls you who are followers of Jesus Christ a holy people…

1 Peter 2:9, You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…

  • You probably don’t think of yourself as a royal priesthood, or a holy person. Most people don’t. They are very much aware of their sin and cannot comprehend the idea that they are holy.
  • But you are. If you are following Christ, God Himself has taken residence in your life. If God Himself is residing in your soul, doesn’t that make you holy?
  • In other words, holiness is something you receive. You cannot become holy by your own effort. In fact, every one of us was born in the nature and condition of man.

Romans 3:9-12, We have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.”

  • This is nature of man. This is the condition in which each person is born.

C. Holiness is beautiful

  • When God calls you a holy people, it’s not just a theological truth, it’s a transforming power. We live by much more than theological truths; we live by the transforming power of God.
  • Many cannot understand, many do not grasp the depths of this truth. Please dive deep into this understanding. It will transform who you understand yourself to be.
  • When God calls you to be holy, he is calling you to live according to that which fills your soul.

1 Peter 1:14-16, Do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance, be like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in your behavior, because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

  • When God calls you to be holy, He’s calling you to something beautiful. Holiness is beautiful on the soul.
  • What is holiness?

Illus – I used to teach a class called What a Christian Believes; part of that class was on the nature of God. And I asked the question, “What is holiness?”

  • Holiness is God’s nature. Every aspect of God’s nature is an aspect of His holiness. I submit that everything God is is beautiful on the soul.
  • God is love, God is patient, God is kind, God is gracious, God is forgiving, God is peace, and every aspect of God is beautiful.
  • The more God fills your soul, the more the soul is made beautiful by His glory. Holiness and that which is beautiful is something you receive.
  • God calls you to be separate from the world. “Child, you are Mine,” says the Lord of hosts. “I love you and want to do that which is beautiful on your soul.”

Ephesians 5:18, Be ye filled with the Holy Spirit

Set Apart for Revival
Nehemiah 13:15-31   

May 13-14, 2023

Nehemiah is the governor there of Israel in Jerusalem. He has been since he's arrived there.

He was in Babylon serving the king, but he heard that the walls were broken down and the gates burned with fire.

It burdened him so greatly that he went there himself, challenged the people to rise up and build.

In many ways, it's a picture of revival. He built the wall with his good leadership. He set forth the gates. He put guards at every station because there was a lot of opposition.

Then after building the city and building the walls, he wanted to build the people, to build them spiritually. This was such a wise decision.

What he did was this. He gathered the people all together there in the main square of the city. He had Ezra, the priest, stand before them and read the Word of God.

Now, they had never heard the Word of God, so this was an amazing moment for them. It says that they explained the meaning so that they could understand it.

He wanted them to understand the Word of God. They gathered day after day after day.

His idea, and it was such a wise idea that it was, was to build a foundation spiritually in their lives by using the Word of God to do it.

Now, the same is true today. God uses His Word today to build life and to build faith in those who believe in his name.

I tell you, when you build your life on the word, faith is built, life is built. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.

That's why I believe it's so important to do what we are doing here at Calvary Chapel, which is to teach through the whole of God's Word from the beginning all the way to the end.

Then when we finish, we're going to do it again. That is the foundation of a spiritual life. God sends His Word in power and God will transform spiritually when we take God's Word and write it upon our hearts.

Anybody agree with me? Yes, let's give the Lord praise. Absolutely right.

Then after this, for many weeks, he did this. Then he gathered the people again in the square. This time, with a different mission, a different idea.

He wanted them to do two things. One, to confess the sins of their fathers, their forefathers, and to declare the glory of God.

They had been hearing about what God had done for Israel, but they'd come to recognize that their national history was impacted by the decisions made by their forefathers.

That those decisions that their fathers and forefathers made along the way brought them to that place of national tragedy where they had been defeated and exiled.

Now, though they're in Jerusalem, they're slaves, you might say. They're under the heel of Persia. He wanted them to see the consequences of those decisions.

If they can only look back and see that the decisions of their fathers and forefathers brought them to this place of national tragedy.

That if they could turn the course around, if they could bring spiritual life, that that would, in fact, bring great prosperity and blessing because the principles of God were revealed to them in the Word and they began to understand it.

"I see it now, all of those decisions that our fathers made brought about the national tragedy that we have today.

If we start making decisions based on the Word of God, then God will bring blessing and prosperity and favor. He will pour out great things upon our people and our nation."

Now by the way, that's actually a great lesson for us to understand. If you think about our forefathers of this nation, did they not found the nation on the principles of God's Word? They really did.

Many of them were believers, and grounded and founded our nation very strongly on the principles of God's Word.

Then generation by generation-- Here's an example, our national debt. I'm sure that you are following that this country has been growing a debt of tremendous size.

This is the decision by the leaders of a country. The thing is, this is going to have a tremendous impact. The children and the generation that comes after them are going to be saddled with a tremendous debt.

This is the decisions that fathers have passed down to those that come behind them. It's also true spiritually that when we turn our back away from the Lord, is our nation not walking away from God?

Do we not see that this nation is growing weaker and weaker as the country is walking farther and farther away from God? Anybody agree with me? Yes, absolutely.

Let's give Him praise for His truth will reign in our nation when there is revival. Amen? That's what we must pray for. Let's give the Lord praise for that. Exactly right.

After recounting all of that sins of their fathers and declaring that God's glory was still for them, then Nehemiah had the leaders sign a document, put their names on this document by which they would commit to the Word of God.

They were attaching themselves to the Word of God saying, "We commit ourselves to doing these things." Then Nehemiah had to leave.

He went back to Babylon, report back to the king as he said that he would. While he was gone, then things began to fall apart almost immediately. That's where we pick up our story here in Chapter 13.

When he returned to Jerusalem, he discovered that even though they had signed that document and committed themselves to the Word of God, that they were reverting and sliding back toward the very things that had led their fathers down the road of destruction.

He immediately began to set them back on the course to bring them back to revival. What concerned Nehemiah the most is what we're going to look at here, starting in verse 15.

Those are the things that make them most like the world. God wanted His people set apart unto himself for his glory.

He wanted his people to find the nearness of God would be their blessing and their good. It is in the shadow of the Almighty where souls find revival.

That's where they would experience that work of God that is so beautiful that God wants to do. Let's read it. Again, he's just coming back now from Jerusalem, and he's correcting the course, for they have fallen back.

Notice in 13:15. "In those days, I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the Sabbath." We're going to, of course, look at the fact that God called them to be separate from the nations, to be distinct.

God gave to Israel the Sabbath day to be distinct, that they would be separate and be different. Yet, he says, "They're treading wine presses on the Sabbath.

They're bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys as well as wine and grapes and figs and all kinds of loads.

They brought them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day that they sold food.

Also, there were some men from Tyre or Tyre. This is up in the north by the coast there. They were living there.

They were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and sold them to the sons of Judah on the Sabbath, even in Jerusalem.

Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah. I said, "What is this evil thing that you are doing by profaning the Sabbath day?

Did not our fathers do that same thing so that our God brought on us and on our city all of this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath."

Then it came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, that I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the Sabbath.

Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load should enter on the Sabbath day.

Now, once or twice, traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise would spend the night outside of Jerusalem.

I warned them. I said to them, "Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do it again, I will use force against you."

From that time on, they did not come out on the Sabbath. I commanded them, the Levites, that they should purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to purify and sanctify the Sabbath day.

For this also, remember me, oh my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of your loving kindness.

Again, this is his journal, you might say, writing out. Then he says, "Oh, God, bless me. I'm doing this for your name."

Then, verse 23. Another issue arose. In those days, I also saw that the Jews had married women from Ashdod there at Gaza, today the Philistines. From Ammon and Moab,

Their children, half of them spoke the language of Ashdod. None of them spoke the language of Judah, but the language of his own people.

I contended with them. I cursed them. I struck some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear by God you will not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Did not Solomon, King of Israel, sin regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by God.

God made him king over Israel. Nevertheless, those foreign women caused even him to sin. Do we then hear about you that you have committed all this great evil by acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?

Even some of the sons of Joiada, of the son of Eliashib, the High Priest, was the son in law to Sambalib, the Horanite. I drove him away from me.

Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

Then thus I purified them from everything foreign and appointed duties for the priests and the Levites, each to his task.

I arranged for the supply of wood and appointed times and for the first fruits. Oh, remember me, oh my God, for good. I've done it all for your name, in other words.

All right. These are the verses I want us to look at and understand some principles here to apply to our lives.

Starting from this perspective. Come away, my beloved. This is, of course, the words that we hear out of the Song of Solomon. It is a picture of God's heart toward his people.

I. "Come away My Beloved”

He wants his people to come away from the kingdom of the world and be distinct unto Him. That's why he says it that way. Come away.

It's a picture of God saying, "Come away from that because you are my beloved. I love you." Therefore, he says, "God has called you out of the world and set you apart for his glory, but also for your glory."

This is an interesting thing. Notice what David wrote in Psalm 3:3, "But you, O Lord, are a shield about me.

You are my glory, and you are the one who lifts my head."

God, if there's any glory in my life, any acclaim, any fame at all, it's you. That's what makes you distinct and different from the world.

It's actually true today. It's what makes you distinct and different from the world. God wants you to be different, distinct. God has placed His glory on your life.

God has placed His name upon you. His glory is therefore your glory. He's given His glory to you. He's placed His name upon you. You carry God's name.

What an interesting thought is that. You carry God's name. God has written his name upon you. You're distinct. You're different.

You're called out and he wrote His name. God's name is powerful. Notice Revelation 3:12. "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he will not go out from it anymore.

I will write on Him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God. I will write my new name upon him."

Then there's this in Revelation 14:1, "Then I looked. And behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with him, 144,000."

These are Jewish Messianic believers in Christ who are witnesses for the Lord Jesus in the Tribulation.

He says, "I looked, and behold, standing with the Lamb were these 144,000, having his name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads."

God will write his name and the name of His Father on their foreheads. By the way, isn't that an interesting thing?

Doesn't that remind you of the fact that during the Tribulation, or rather during the latter days, that the Antichrist will require people to have a mark of the beast either on the back of their hand or upon their forehead, which is the number of his name, the name of the Antichrist?

You see how the enemy uses those things of God as a way of himself trying to gather power unto his name? See, the name of the Lord is powerful.

He writes his name upon your life. You believe it? Let's give the Lord praise.

When we adopted our boys from Russia, in Russia, they have a tradition. That is that the children all have the father's name as their middle name.

Even today, I think it's still the tradition. All of the children, whether they're boys or girls, all carry the father's name as their middle name.

If you want to give someone an address, you want to speak to them respectfully, then you say his name and His Father's name together.

There's this. I thought this is actually beautiful. When we adopted our boys, we changed our names so that my name is now their middle name.

Alexander Richard Jones. Doesn't that sound powerful? Alexander Richard Jones. Michael Richard Jones. I just love the picture of that.

When you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God writes his name upon your life. You belong to Him. You are distinct. You're separate. You're called out.

You're now brought into the Kingdom of God. You're brought into a relationship. Now you are adopted as sons and daughters. You have a name. God places his name on your life.

By the way, one of the Ten Commandments is that you are not to take God's name in vain. You no doubt have heard that.

One of the 10. Don't take God's name in vain. Now, a lot of times when people hear that, they think it means that you shouldn't use God's name as a cuss word. Well, that's true, too.

I suggest to you that it's much, much deeper than that. It is true. You should not ever use God's name in such a disrespectful way.

By the way, why do people do that? You know why I think they do that? Because they're intimidated by that name.

That name is a powerful name. They're intimidated by that name. They try to make that name common by making a cuss word.

Would you notice that they don't use that of other gods? They don't say they hit their thumb with the hammer and they don't say, "Oh, Buddha." They don't do that. No.

The Name of God is the powerful name. That's the name that they're intimidated by. That's the name that they're afraid of. Amen?

Yes. Let's give Him praise. I suggest you-- Yes, that's true. You ought not to use God's name that way, but it's much deeper than that.

Do not take God's name in vain means do not carry God's name. That's literally what it means. Don't carry his name in vain. Empty.

Don't carry his name with emptiness. No, you carry his name. If God's name is on your life, then you carry that name with honor. It is something of honor.

God's name is written on your life. Is that not a position of honor? You're in the kingdom of God now. He's adopted you as a son or as a daughter.

It is an honorable thing to have God's name written on your life. Would you agree with me? It's an honorable. It's a privilege to have God's name written on your life. Carry that name with honor.

That's why he says, don't carry that name in vain. See, he's calling you to be distinct and separate unto Himself.

Then He gave to Israel-- An aspect of that also is found in the Christian walk. That God gave them a day to be set apart, to be different, for the restoring of the soul.

A. God restores the soul

There is a reason for the Sabbath day, and that is for the restoring. God restores the soul. He wants this day to be set aside for the restoring of the soul.

What is interesting, they had already signed this document attaching themselves saying, we will do what God's Word says.

Verse 15, "I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on this Sabbath, bringing in sacks of grain, leading them on donkeys."

God never meant the Sabbath to be a burden. God wanted it to be a day set apart for the restoring of the soul, for the renewing of a relationship to God that your soul might find rest.

In so doing, God, when He restores your soul, He is sharing His glory. He's adding to your soul His very presence to increase. He's restoring the soul.

Notice this in Isaiah 58:13-14, "If you call the Sabbath a delight and you honor it, then you will delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. The mouth of the Lord has spoken."

Isn't that a good word right there? It's such a promise. Look, I want the Sabbath to be a delight. Now, the Jewish leaders had made it a burden, and they started to create all kinds of rules.

They wanted to judge according to these rules and these burdens, whether or not you were right with God by how well you adhere to these rules.

They broke them up into 39 rules. Each of the 39 rules have 39 rules. They added to them burden upon burden upon burden.

That's not what God mean. He wanted it for a day of restoring the soul. Even today, when you go to Israel, they have Sabbath elevators.

A Sabbath elevator is an elevator that stops on every floor, so that you don't have to push a button. I just don't think that's what God meant when he established the Sabbath day. Anybody agree with me?

I remember Matthew and I were in Israel with some pastors. We were told that the Sabbath was coming. We were told, "Oh, by the way, we will not have the bus. We will be walking everywhere we go because it's the Sabbath."

I said, "Well, why can't we not have the bus?" There's a rabbinical law that says you cannot start a vehicle because that's starting a fire.

Each of the spark plugs make fire, okay? We can do that. We are going to walk all day. I said, "Wait, wait, wait."

I also read that you're only allowed to walk so far on the Sabbath thing. The leader of the guide said, "Oh, that's outside the city." Wait, I didn't read that. No, that's the rabbinical interpretation.

Outside the city, you can only walk so far, but inside the city, you can walk. I said, "We're going to walk miles upon miles tomorrow because it's the Sabbath, and this is because we're not supposed to work." I just don't think that's what God meant. Anybody agree with me?

When the Pharisees saw the disciples as they were making their way through a field, picking some of the heads of grain, they accused them of doing that which is not lawful in the Sabbath.

Jesus rebuked them in return. Mark 2:27-28. Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath." It was made for men to serve, to bring something into your life that's good. A restoring of the soul.

The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. The leaders of Israel turned it into a crushing burden and defined relationship to God according to whether people could carry that burden.

Jesus rebuked them for it. Notice in Matthew 23:4, they tie up heavy burdens and lay on them men's shoulders but they themselves are unwilling to move with much as a finger.

B. Find rest for your soul

That burden, that's not what God wanted. God wanted the restoring of the soul. It's to find rest. God wants to rest. Find rest for your soul because life is hard.

Life is difficult. Life is filled with troubles. Life is filled with burdens. The daily stuff of life is burdensome. Anybody understand what I'm saying?

The soul is easily wearied by all of the trials and all of the troubles. Trying to pay the bills, trying to handle this thing and that and thing, and this pressure and that trouble.

The soul can be wearied by all of the troubles and the trials of life. If you're not careful, your faith can turn into old religion.

That's the caution. If you're not careful, your faith can turn into old religion. There is an old song that captures that very well.

Perhaps some of you remember an artist by the name of Keith Green, one of my favorites back in the day.

He wrote a song called My Eyes Are Dry.

He captured the danger of old religion. Be careful. Old religion. The words go like this, "My eyes are dry, my faith is old. My heart is hard. My prayers are cold.

Oh, I know how I ought to be, alive to you and dead to me, but what can be done for an old heart like mine? Soften it up with oil and wine.

The oil is you, your spirit of love. Please wash me anew in the wine of your blood." Wash me anew. It's a day of reviving.

That's why God gave it for a day of reviving, that you might experience that beautiful work of God. When you wait.

Just draw near into the penance of the living God and wait. God is in this place. God is moving in this Word. God is sending his spirit.

God is in this place. God is refreshing because He sends his Word in power. You're dwelling in the shadow of the Almighty.

You've come to be refreshed in God's Word and God's spirit and God's life will refresh. God will bring rest to the weary.

Isaiah 40, "It is He who gives strength to the weary. And to Him who lacks might, He increases power." Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.

They will mount up with wings like eagles and they will run and not get tired and they will walk and not faint. You've come to wait and God will meet you in this place.

II. God Calls You a Holy People

Then there's this-- back to our study in Nehemiah. God calls you a holy people. The next section, as He's bringing that correcting to the course, God calls you a holy people.

Nehemiah corrected the people for they had intermarried. In the book of Ezra, they come and they say, the holy people have intermarried with the nations around them.

What a great way of saying it. The holy people of God have intermarried. Now, interestingly, notice in then verse 25, Nehemiah responds to this when he recognized it.

He says, "I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair." Now, do you remember when I said that Nehemiah was a really great leader?

Yes. This part here, not so much. This part is not recommended. Do not do this at home or anywhere else for that matter, because that's not the way that God wants us to be in our modern walk with Christ.

Anybody agree with me? That is not the example to follow there. I just thought I would bring that out in case somebody said, "Well, Nehemiah did it."

Interestingly, when Ezra the priest heard that they had intermarried with the worldly nations, he also had a strong reaction.

This is Nehemiah 9:3, "When I heard this matter, I tore my robe and pulled some of the hair from my beard and sat down appalled. That's actually Ezra 9:3.

Why was this such an important issue to God? Why was this so important? They had committed to the Word of God. The Word of God said that they ought not to intermarry with the nations around them.

A. God loves you

Why was this so important? I submit that it was important because God loves you. God loves them. God loves you.

God didn't want them to intermarry with the peoples of the lands because He knew what it would do to their soul.

See, here's my point. Marriage is the closest, most intimate of all relationships. It is impossible not to be influenced by a spouse. Intermarriage would draw them away from God.

Nehemiah brought up Solomon. It says in 1 King 11:1-2 that King Solomon loved many foreign women from the nations.

Concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, "You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods."

Yet Solomon held fast to these in love. That was the example that he brings up. Even Solomon faltered and it influenced him.

We saw it. Solomon did. He collected foreign women. He had a thing for foreign women. He collected foreign women like some collect foreign cars.

He had a thing for foreign women. It brought his heart away from the Lord. See, God is very concerned about the condition of your soul because God knows what you do not know.

See, God knows how ugly the world is. God knows how poisonous the world is to your soul. God knows how much it will hurt and destroy, but God loves you.

He wants you to have life and life to the full. God wants you to have a spiritual life that is overflowing with the glory of God.

He wants to keep you from that which will steal and kill and destroy life. See, God sees what you do not see. God sees sin as it is.

In fact, let me give you a verse that is one of the most powerful verses I know in this regard. This is Luke 16:15.

What a powerful word. Jesus says, "That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God." This is a deep understanding.

If we could only grasp the meaning of that statement, it would transform your soul. For what the world calls beautiful, God calls detestable because God sees it for what it is.

God knows what we do not know. God knows how dangerous, how poisonous, how hurtful it is to the soul. It is poison to the soul.

When we were in Africa some years ago, we were in the DRC, the Congo in Kinshasa. We were speaking at a pastor's conference and in various different churches.

Then on our grand last gathering Sunday morning, they gathered all of the churches together for one big church gathering.

As we were driving there, I saw this creek. The creek, it's turned into garbage. Everybody throws everything in it. They use it for a toilet.

It's just tragedy that a creek would be just so ugly. I'm giving this message and I said, "You know this creek?" They all knew the creek very well.

I said, "You know this creek? They said, "Yes, yes." I said, "Would anybody drink this water?" Right away you go. That's what they did. "No."

In Africa, they're very demonstrative. They all shouted together, "No." Thank you. Then I said, "Well, what if we maybe took some of that water and put some sugar in it?"

It's sweet. It's sweet to the taste. "Now, would you drink it?" They all shouted, "No." "Why not?" Here's the question. Why not?

Because you know what's in it. That's why you won't drink it. Because you know what's in it. That's what God says. "I know what's in it."

This thing, this poison, this thing, this thing that you think is beautiful, I know what's in it. I know the root of it.

I know the background of it. I know the demonic nature of it. You think it's sweet. I think it's poison. God is bold.

God is bold to proclaim sin for what it is. Why is God so bold? He loves you. He knows that people are holding on to cheap imitations.

They're drinking the water from the creek just because it's sweet. God has something far more glorious for you than that. That's why he's so bold.

God says, "I want you to be set apart. Set apart for glory." You have no idea. God wants you to do something and you have no idea.

Oh, in fact, 1st Corinthians 2:9, "Things which eye has not seen, things which ear has not heard and which have not even entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him."

B. Holiness is received and fills the soul

Oh, you have no idea what God wants to do. He wants to bless your life. Yes, let's give him praise. Absolutely right.

He says, "I don't want you to do that because I call you a holy people." That's a great word, "holiness." "I call you holy," He says. Holiness is received. It's something you receive.

You're not born holy. There's not a person born holy. God called Israel a holy people.

Deuteronomy 7:6, "For you are a holy people to the Lord, your God. He has chosen you to be a people of his own possession."

Out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth, He called Israel to be His chosen people. Separate, Called out. Distinct.

By the way, does God say something similar to you? Yes, we know what He said to Israel. What does He say to you? I submit that He says something very similar.

Notice 1st Peter 2:9, "You--" Now, He's speaking to you. He's speaking to the Church that he calls-- By the way, he calls the Church the Bride of Christ. Isn't that a beautiful description?

1st Peter 2:9, "You--" speaking to the church. "You are a chosen race. You are a royal priesthood. You are a holy nation.

You are a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness. He called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

Walk in the light. Be distinct. Come out. Come away. Now, you probably don't think of yourself as a royal priesthood or a holy person. Most people don't.

Why? Why do people not think? Well, because they're very much aware of their sin. They cannot comprehend the idea that they're holy.

May I submit it this way. God has written His name. God has given you His Holy Spirit. You carry His name, you carry His holiness, and you carry His glory. He's given it to you.

Holiness is something you receive. You cannot become holy by your own efforts. No. Every one of us was born in the nature and condition of man. Romans 3:9-12.

We've already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. As it is written, there is none a righteous. Not even one.

There is none who understands. All that have turned aside. Together, they become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one.

That is the nature of man. That is the nature in which each person is born, but God gives to you a gift. I write my name on your life. I brought you unto myself. I write my name.

C. Holiness is beautiful

"You carry my Name," He says. "You carry my glory. You carry my holiness." I submit that holiness is beautiful. Holiness is beautiful.

If a pastor gave a message and announced to everybody, "I'm going to give a message on holiness," I think a lot of people would go, "Oh boy, here we go. I don't know if I want to hear a message on holiness."

I submit that holiness is beautiful. When God calls you a holy people, this is not just a theological thing. It's a transforming power.

You live by more than theological truths. You live by transforming power. Many cannot comprehend or grasp the depths of this truth, but please dive deep into misunderstanding.

It would transform you if you could only understand who God says that you are. I called you out, I called you away, I called you out of that, and then I wrote my name on your life.

I called you my own child. He says, "Child, you're mine." I've written my name on your life. You carry my holiness, you carry my glory."

When God calls you holy, He's calling you to live according to that which He gave to you. When God calls you, He's calling you to something beautiful.

Holiness is beautiful on the soul. Holiness is who God is. It's His nature. Every aspect of God's nature is an aspect of His holiness.

I submit that every aspect of God is beautiful. You carry my holiness, He says. God is love, God is joy, peace, patient.

God is forgiving, God is kind, God is gracious, God is compassionate, God is forbearing. All of these things are beautiful and I give them all to you.

The more God fills your soul, the more your soul is made beautiful. The more that God fills your soul, the more your soul is made beautiful.

God calls you to be separate. God calls you to be distinct. God calls you to be His. You have no idea. He says, "What I want to do in your life. I want to do something you have no idea."

He says, "I want you to desire more. I've written my name. I give it to you, and it's beautiful."

Let's pray. Father, we love you, we honor you. We thank you for what we see in your words such powerful truths such as this.

That you've called us out of the world to be distinct, to be different. That you would write your name upon our lives, that you would allow us to carry your name.

You've given us your glory, you've allowed us to walk in that, to carry that glory. You've given us holiness. How beautiful is that, that we would walk in the beauty of holiness?

Oh, Church, how many want to walk in the fullness of God? I've called you out. I called you mine. I want to do something.

You have no idea. Oh, I want to bless. No eye has seen, no ear has heard what I want to do.

Church, how many today would say, "Lord, here I am. Do that in me. Do that in me, Lord. I want the fullness of that.

You called me out. You've called me to be distinct, different, you wrote your name. I want to walk in the honor of that name."

That's a glorious name, that's a beautiful name, that's a powerful name. I want to walk in the honor and the glory of that name. Church, how many want to say that to the Lord?

Would you just raise your hand as a way of saying that as a declaration to the Lord? I want to walk in the honor of that name that you've written on my life. I want to walk in the honor of that name.

Father, we love you. We thank you, and pray that you would just pour life, and the beauty, the beauty of your presence. Make it known to us now in Jesus' name.

Nehemiah 13:15-31    NASB

Sabbath Restored

15 In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food. 16 Also men of Tyre were living [a]there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem. 17 Then I [b]reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing you are doing, [c]by profaning the sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers do the same, so that our God brought on us and on this city all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath.”

19 It came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut [d]and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the sabbath day. 20 Once or twice the traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem. 21 Then I [e]warned them and said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will [f]use force against you.” From that time on they did not come on the sabbath. 22 And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the sabbath day. For this also remember me, O my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

Mixed Marriages Forbidden

23 In those days I also saw that the Jews had [g]married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. 24 As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them was able to speak the language of Judah, but [h]the language of his own people. 25 So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin. 27 [i]Do we then hear about you that you have committed all this great evil by acting unfaithfully against our God by [j]marrying foreign women?” 28 Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, so I drove him away from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, [k]because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

30 Thus I purified them from everything foreign and appointed duties for the priests and the Levites, each in his task, 31 and I arranged for the supply of wood at appointed times and for the first fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

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