Sunday Setup – Nehemiah 13

Hey, Cross Church. Welcome to the Sunday setup. This is our time each week where we digitally gather together across our platforms to prepare our hearts uh to hear God's word this weekend. And we start doing this by praying through a piece of scripture. And this Sunday, we actually wrapping up our series through the book of Nehemiah. And we're come to the very last chapter in this book in Nehemiah chapter 13. And it's just been an incredible journey just following this amazing leader that God has moved through Nehemiah as he's had a vision for what God wants to do as he's led people to do that. As they finished a project, then he shifted his focus to the people and how God's hand continues just to move through this. And Nehemiah chapter 13 uh ends probably how we wouldn't have written it. It ends how history actually played out. It's not a fairy tale ending. It's not every perfect thing is wrapped up, but it brings closure to the story of how God used this man. And this is a pretty dense chapter, and we're going to read this whole thing and then have a couple prayer prompts through it. But here's how it starts in Nehemiah 13:1. It says this, "At that time, the book of Moses was read publicly to the people. The command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabitete should ever enter the assembly of God because they did not meet the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they hired Balam against them to curse him. But our God turned the curse into a blessing. When they had heard the law, they separated all of those of mixed descent from Israel. Now, before this, the priest Eleesab had put in charge of the had been put in charge of the store rooms of the house of our God. He was a relative of Tobaya and had prepared a large room for him where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, and the tent of grain, new wine, and fresh oil prescribed for the Levite singers and gatekeepers along with the contributions for the priests. While all this was happening, I being Nehemiah was not in Jerusalem because I had returned to King Art Xerxes of Babylon in the 13th year of his reign. It was only later that I asked the king for a leave of absence so I could return to Jerusalem. And when I returned, I discovered the evil that Eliashab had done on behalf of Tobiia providing him a room in the courts of God's house. I was greatly dispos displeased and I threw out all of Tobaya's household possessions out of the room. I ordered that the rooms be purified and had the articles of the house of God restored there along with the grain offering and frankincense. I also found out that because the portions for the Levites had not been given, each of the Levites and the singers performing the service had gone back to his own field. Therefore, I rebuked the officials, asking, "Why has the house of God been neglected?" I gathered the Levites and singers and stationed them at their posts. Then all Judah brought a tenth of the grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil into the storehouses. I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses the priests Shelam, the scribes Zadok, and Padiah the Levites. uh with Hanan, son of Zakur, son of Mthi to assist them because they were considered trustworthy. They responsible for the distribution to their colleagues. Remember me for this, my God, and don't erase the deeds of my faithful love that I have done for the house of my God and for its services. At that time, I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in stores of grain and loading them on donkeys along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling on food on that day. The Tyrans living there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. I rebuked the nobles of Judah. And I said to them, "What is this evil that you are doing profaining the Sabbath day? Didn't your ancestors do the same so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on the city? And now you are rekindling his anger against Israel by profaining the Sabbath. When shadows began to fall on the city gates of Jerusalem just before the Sabbath, I gave orders that the city gates be closed and not opened until again until after the Sabbath. I posted some men at the gates that no goods could enter the Sabbath day. Once or twice the merchants and those who sell all kind of goods camped outside Jerusalem, but I warned them, "Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I'll use force against you." After that, they did not come again on the Sabbath. Then I instruct the Levites to purify themselves and purify the guards and and guard the city gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also my God and look on me with compassion according to the abundance of your faithful love. In those days, I also saw Jews who had married women from Asod and Aman and Moab. Half their children spoke the language of Asad or the language of other of the other peoples, but they could not speak Hebrew. I rebuked them. I cursed them. I beat some of their men and I pulled out their hair. I forced them to take an oath before God and said, "You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or yourselves." Didn't King Solomon of Israel sinned in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations. He was loved by his God and God made him king over all Israel. Yet foreign women drew him into sin. Why then should we hear about you doing all this evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women? Even one of the sons of Jehod son of the high priest Elisha had become a son-in-law to Sandalot the Horonite. So I drove him away from me. Remember them my God for defiling the priesthood as well as the covenant of the priest from the Levites. So I purified them from everything foreign and I spine assigned specific duties to each of the priests and Levites. I also arranged for the donation of wood at the appointed times and for the first fruits. And the book of Nehemiah ends with this phrase, remember me, my God, with favor. The book of Nehemiah doesn't really end on a happy note. a lot of the progress they had made as they rebuilt walls, as they rebuilt people, it starts becoming frayed and undone in this time. And Nehemiah has a step back in as a leader. But he uses some of these phrases over and over again of remember me, my God. And he says, "My God, my God, my God." There was this personal relationship he had with him. And I want us to start our time as we prepare our hearts for Sunday and as we pray through this piece of scripture is this first one just thinking about that phrase my God of why is our God my God and who is my God that we worship that the pe that scripture and the Bible tells us about and here's our first prayer prompt really simple is you are my God because you are my God because you created everything uh you You are my God because you saved me. You are my God because you are loving, cuz you are gracious. That you are my God because. Pray those prayers to our God. Heat. Heat. You are my God because you are not a false and distant God like our world often follows. But what we see throughout scripture and we've seen throughout history is you are a intentional God. You are a powerful God and you are a personal God who comes and who makes relationship with us through your son Jesus Christ. And you are my God because you've initiated a relationship, God. You've paved a path for us to restore ourselves despite our sin back to you. and you are my God because you Lord are all holy. But God, it is not just enough to just acknowledge you as God, but we also have to be faithful in following you as our God, as my personal God. And Nehemiah continues and he ends the book with remember me my God with favor. Nehemiah lived a life trying to be in the favor of God, to be faithful to what God had called him to do, to live in step with the vision God gave him, to serve him even when he failed, even when the people failed. Is he wanted a favorable life for God? And as we reflect on that, does our life always look favorable towards God? Are we following Jesus like we should? Are we loving our neighbors like we should? Are we displaying the fruits of the spirit like we should? And as we reflect on why our God is our God because he's all powerful, all great, all loving, the second prompt goes to our action step is God, help me live a favorable life in God, help me live a favorable life in loving my neighbors when I'm frustrated. God, help me live a favorable life in putting my family above my work. God, help me live a favorable life in seeking your word instead of filling my my schedule and things with social media and stuff that doesn't matter. God, help me live a favorable life in pray that prayers to our God. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. God, help us live favorable life to you by, God, focusing on the things that truly matter, by prioritizing our quiet time, by seeking our church family, by just living on mission for you rather than caught up in the busyiness and the stress and the anxiety of our world. God, may as we wrap up this book and we read of just this amazing example of Nehemiah and how you your will was done through his life, not because of him, but because of your power and because of just his service and faithfulness and his willingness. and God that we can be like Nehemiah and just be willing to be used by you, willing for the work of Christ to be facilitated through our church. And God, just let us have this mindset that we want to be remembered by you with favor. that our lives will be remembered as something that honors you and not just remembered as someone who worked hard for their own glory, that sought their own needs, that filled their own life with stuff they wanted, but that we can truly have Jesusfilled lives that are reflected to the world around us. God, we thank you for your word. God, we just thank you for this time that we can pray together in many different places. is. And Lord, we just ask that you bring us together on Sunday with our hearts prepared to hear your word so that we can praise through it, that we can pray through it, that we can preach through it, and we can practice it this next week. Lift all this up in Jesus name. Amen. Hey, thank you for joining us. We'll see you this Sunday. Heat. Heat.