Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Getting the benefit from the Word of God. It like
drinking tea. It all depends on how long you leave
the bag in the wook.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Doctor Tony Eavens says, a quick dip in the word
won't do. You've got to let it steep.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
We bring our Bibles to church and look spiritual, but
then we go home and put it up on the shelf.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
That's weak tea.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. When Nehemiah led
the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, it wasn't
just a construction project. It was the beginning of a
spiritual awakening. Today, doctor Evan shows how real revival isn't
(00:40):
triggered by programs or politics, but by a return to
God's word. Let's join him as he explains.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Nehemiah have done a tremendous thing as governor of Jerusalem.
He has rebuilt the city's infrastrtion. He solidified the nation
in fifty two days. Nehemiah is a man of God
(01:08):
in government, for in God's economy, the two were never
meant to be mutually exclusive, or as we saw last time,
the Bible teaches that politicians are ministers of God, says
the King, and all those were in authority. It was
(01:31):
God's intent that they even carry out the political realm
under his tutelage, that even if they were not Christians
in terms of their personal commitment, that the standard of
God would be the governing authority by which they would operate.
(01:51):
For the even non Christians who believe in the Ten
Commandments that there is a standard. Many of our foundings
were not Christians, but there was in principle a perception
that there must be an environment that had a theological
(02:13):
orientation if this new nation was going to.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Achieve its goals.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
You see, if you want to fix a nation, or
we don't have to go that broad a community, or
we don't have to go back that broad a church,
maybe not even that broad a family or a life,
(02:43):
you must have a frame of reference. Neh Mayah understood
that you don't build society.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Just by building walls. You have to fix people.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Now, as we enter into chapter eight, this becomes critical because.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
To see in chapter eight we're going to see the
Watergate revival. Something happened.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
In verse one, it says in all the people gathered
as one man at the square, which was in front
of the watergate, and they asked Ezra, the scribe, to
bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the
Lord had given to Israel. The people gathered as one
(03:28):
man in the square because they saw that community change
in fifty two days, and they say, were missing something.
If God can do that, because we listened to the
word of God and we worked together as a community
of Christians, and he can accomplish that in fifty two days, Ezra,
(03:52):
get out here and tell us some more. I want
to know what else God can do. I want to
know what else.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
God can fix. The reason why.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
You need to see a miracle in your life from
time to time is to remind you that there's a
lot more where that came from. And so the people
gathered there, and as the describe, brought the Book of
the Lord of Moses, which the Lord had given the Israel,
and he read from it from the square. How long
(04:22):
did he read early morning until midday? We talking six hours.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Folks.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
When you are set for a revival, you can't get
enough for the word of God, You say, but I
can't hear the word of God for six hours? Can
you watch TV for six hours. Hello, can you work
in your yard for six hours? These folks could be
(04:51):
in the square from morning to midday because they saw
God brand new. They said, I didn't spend all these
years losing out. Let me make up some time, Ezra,
talk to me. Getting the benefits from the word of
God is like drinking tea. It all depends on how
long you leave the bag in the water. So if
(05:13):
you just dip the bag in like we do on Sunday,
we just dip ourselves in and dip ourselves out, that's
gonna be weak tea. We bring our bibles to church
and look spiritual, but then we go home and put
it up on the shelf. That's weak tea. If you
(05:33):
want to have strong tea, you drop it and leave it.
You let the water soak through the bag, and the
bag soak through the water, and the color begins to change,
a metamorphosis a car and it has the tea changes
and it has a deeper tange because you've let.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
It soak there for a while.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
It's not enough to hear the pastor preach. You gotta
soak in the scripture. And they understood that the beautiful
thing about the scripture is it doesn't matter what level
you're on. The Bible is so deep that theologians can't
reach bottom, and the Bible is so shallow that kids
(06:15):
can't drown. It covers all the continuum of truth in
the Word of God. And so from early day the
presence of men and women and all that can understand.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Did the people sleep? Where they napping?
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Where their eyes getting heavy, where they're rocking and shifting?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Hello, where wives nudging husbands? Get up? Get up? No?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
The Enniverse three says that all the people were attentive
to the Book of the Law because they understood like
they had never understood before, that God was talking and
that better listen. Such respect was given for the Word
(07:12):
of God that they lifted it up. They built a
pull pit what we have here a podium. The podium
was to elevate the word. Ezra mounts the podium with
his pastoral staff, some to the right and some to
the left. And then the text says Ezra opened the
book in the sight of all the people, and he
(07:34):
was standing above all the people, reflecting the elevation of
the Word. And when he opened it, all the people stood, Lord,
have mercy. He didn't say, please stand, it says. When
he opened the book, everybody stood. Why they stood because
(07:56):
they understood it was more than a book opening. They
understood that this was the God who had built the
wall in fifty two days. They said, let's get up.
When the president walks into the room, they say, ladies
and gentlemen, the president of the United States, what do
they do get up? When a dignitary walks in from
another country? They get up. Well, when Ezra opened the book,
(08:20):
God had walked in, they got up. They understood that
this is the word of God, worthy of reference, worthy
of respect, worthy of acknowledgment, worthy of agreement. They stood
up for God represented in his word. According to verse six,
Ezra opened with prayer, and he blessed the Lord, the
(08:44):
Great God prays and all the people answered, Amen, Amen.
You know what amen means. Amen means so be it.
Amen means I agree. Amen means you can count me
in that I buy what you say. That what you're saying, yes,
(09:09):
rad is what I buy.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Amen. He says, Amen.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
So now you got unity. And while lifting up their hands,
and let me explain the lifting of hands. The lifting
of hands in the Bible was when the Jewish person
raised his.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Arms, palm up, palm up.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
The reason why they raise their hands, palm up, was
to say I am now ready to receive. It wasn't
because the preacher made a good point and they said, gohad.
It was because they were now saying, fill my cup.
My hands are open, I'm coming to you empty. I
(09:57):
thought I knew something. I know nothing. My hand open.
Teach me, tell me, instruct me, guide me, Oh Thy
great Jehovah. That's what they were saying when they lifted
up their hands. But notice when they raise their hands,
(10:17):
they bow their heads. They went high and went low
and worship the Lord with their faces to the ground.
This is the same reason that Moses had to take
off your shoes when God shows up.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
There's too much leather.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
When God shows up, you don't have the right to
have a quarter inch a leather.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Between you and the ground.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Get as low as you possibly can go, Take off
your shoes.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Humble yourself, Humble yourself.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
When we come together as one man, that is, as
a congregation of people, God calls us to humility, and
you come through the door to worship. You don't come
to gift to God. You come to give him praise,
but you come to receive from God that which He
has to give.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
When doctor Evans returns in just a moment, he'll show
how the leaders in Nehemiah's day help the people understand
God's word write where they were. But first, I want
to tell you about an empowering book from Tony that
explores how we can bring positive spiritual influence to our culture.
It's called One Nation under God. If you're concerned about
(11:28):
the direction our country is headed, this book offers a clear,
kingdom focused strategy for making a difference, not politically, but spiritually.
We'll send this book out to you as our way
of saying thanks when you make a contribution in support
of our ministry, and right now, along with the book,
we're packaging all fifteen full length messages in Tony's two
(11:50):
volume teaching series on the Book of Nehemiah. This in
depth study explores how God uses ordinary people to bring
restoration and renewals that apply to your personal life, your family,
and even your community. Get all the details and make
your request right away at Tonyevans dot org or call
(12:10):
our twenty four hour resource request line at one eight
hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two. That's one eight hundred,
eight hundred three two two two. We'll get back to
doctor Evans right after this.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Are you hungry for more of God, more of his truth,
more of his power, and more of his wisdom applied
in your life, then you need to connect with the
community of passionate believers who are growing in God's Word
through the Tony Evans Training Center with exclusive video and
audio teaching from doctor Tony Evans. This interactive online steady
experience allows you to explore theology, big local history, and
(12:47):
real life application of the Kingdom Agenda anytime anywhere. Visit
Tonyevanstraining dot org to get started today. That's Tonyevans' training
dot org.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
And then something interesting happened. In verse seven, we're given
a lift of leaders and we're told in verse seven
that they explained the law to the people while the
people remained in their place, and they read from the
book from the Law of God, translating to give the
sense so that they understood the reading. That's what we
(13:24):
call exposition. They explained it so the people could understand.
That had two reasons that people couldn't understand. One is
that the Bible was written in Hebrew, but they were
raised in Babylon, so they spoke Arabic, so they had
not been used to reading the Hebrew text. There's a
(13:44):
second reason that been such a long time before they
had read some of this material, they didn't know what
it meant.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
So what Ezra does.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Is break them up in the small groups to make
sure that everybody who needed clarity got it.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
And so.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
In verse seven the people were addressed so that their
understanding could be developed.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
And then we come to verse nine.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Then near Mayah, who was the governor, will call that
the state, and Ezra the priests will call that the church,
because that's what you have here, Church and state. And
the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people,
this day is holy to the Lord your God, do
not mourn or weep.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Now, why did they say that, because for all the.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
People were weeping when they heard the words of the Lord.
When the last time the Bible made you cry, you.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Know you in for a revival.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
When understanding the Bible makes you cry. Why were the
people crying? Because it dawned on them that they have
spent all this time going nowhere, And you don't need
the Book of Neil Maya, staying this point that people
who live year after year after year in misery with
(15:09):
no progress, that people who go from one mate to
another mate with no progress, They go day after day,
month after month, year after year with no progress, when
if they would have listened to God the first time,
(15:30):
they could have saved a lot of time. We wouldn't
have a generation of juveniles like we had it today.
If we would have cried a generation to go, we
wouldn't have the madness and economic disparity, if we would
have taken God seriously a generation ago.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
But you can't cry now after you understood it, and
weep now you.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Gotta dry your eyes because verse ten, they said to them,
go eat the fat, drink the sweet, and some portions
of him who has nothing prepared for this day, is
holy to our Lord. And then he gives you a
statement that can solve any problem. Do not be grieved,
(16:17):
for the joy of the Lord is your strength. What
you focus on governs how you feel. Rather than finding
our chief joy in the Lord. Let me tell you
what we do. We find our chief joy in those
(16:38):
temporary things that give us short term feelings of escape.
And so what we do is we turn on the TV.
To what escape, We enter into an illegitimate relationship. To escape,
(16:59):
we get oh with drugs alcohol to escape when the
text says, if you focus, it's properly situated on the Lord,
he will give you his joy, and his joy will.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Give you strength. He says, focus your attention, change your attention.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Then verse thirteen and on the second day, the heads
of the fathers, of the households of all the people,
the priests that Levice gathered to Ezra the Scribe that
they might gain insight into the words of the law.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Okay men.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Verse thirteen says the men said, we better take our
rightful position. We better take responsibility for leadership. We've given
up our responsibilities too long. And so the men came,
the heads of the households came, and they said, we
better get on track. Because they understood something about the
(17:56):
law of God. It's hierarchical. They understood that if it
doesn't flow through the leadership of the family, it won't
get down to the kids. Verse fourteen says they found
written in the law how the Lord had commanded through
Moses that the sons of Israel should live in booze during.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
The feast of the seven months. This is called the
Feast of Tabernacles.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
The Feast of Tabernacles spoken to us on the Vindicus
twenty three, was an annual celebration whereby for one week
each Israelite family had to make little shacks or huts
or booze or tabernacles tents, so to speak, and they
would pitch it on their rooftop, and all the family
(18:41):
had to go in and live inside the tabernacle for
one week. Israel was in the wilderness for forty years,
the Bible says, in those wilderness, wandering in all those
forty years, their shoes did not wear out.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
He put them in a booth to.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Remind them that there was a time when you had nothing.
What he was telling israelis one week a year. Remember
that when you go back into your houses, I'm the
one that takes care of you. And the reason why
you're not making it now is because when you go
back into your houses, you taking care of you. You
running your own life, You're leading your own existence. He says,
(19:22):
Get up in that booth and remember the wilderness. Remember
when I took care of you. When I was growing up,
when something was wrong, my mother gave me castor off.
Did your mama give you castor up? That was the nastiest,
(19:43):
stinky medicine I have ever had. I hated to tell
Mama I was sick because it didn't matter what was wrong.
She gave me castole. She said, boy, hold your nose.
(20:09):
I put my fingers over my doe. She said open
your mouth. And I opened my mouth and the castorole
would go in my mouth and I hold it in
there for a while. She say, swallow it. I'm not moving,
tell you swallowing. And I swallowed that nasty castorrole. But
(20:30):
there's something about castor role. When I had a headache.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Castle all fixed it.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
When I had a stomach ache, castor all fixed it.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
If I had a splitter in my doe.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Castorole fixed it because castarole was what all purpose medicine.
You're not praying with me today. This is all purpose medicine.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
It's good for your personal life.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
It's good for your family life, it's good for your
church life, it's good for our community life.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
It's all purpose medicine.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Now, what's making you sick today is that your personal life.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
That's making you sick. Your family life making you sick.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Is there something going wrong that you can't fix, I'm
here to offer you some divine castor of his name
is Jesus Christ, and it can fix whatever is wrong
in your life. What's wrong in your life today? Would
you give your life to Jesus? Would you turn yourself
(21:42):
over to Christ? Would you stop living in your house
and move up to your booth and let God take
you through your wilderness and sustain you.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Will you submit your will to the Christ who died
for you and the rose.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
If you have yet to take this step of asking
God to fix what's wrong in your life, but aren't
sure exactly where to begin, Doctor Evans is back with
a little follow up information and a challenge about encountering Jesus.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
You're not a Christian because you're religious, or because you
go to church, or even because you believe in God.
You're a Christian because you've accepted Jesus Christ as your
personal sin bearer.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Being religious, doing good works.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
That's nice, but it's not sufficient when God demands perfection.
Two Corinthians five, pot. Twenty one says he who you
know sin became sin for us that we might become
the righteousness of God in him. So what God has said,
is he placed your sin on the cross, on the Christ,
and then judge Christ for your sin. If you will
(22:49):
go to Christ, he will take Christ's righteousness, which is perfect,
and he will credit it to your account. So you
will stand before God as though you've never sin, not
because you're sinless, but because you've got to say him,
that's credit.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
On your account.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
If you will receive Jesus Christ right now, if you
will invite him into your life, leaving that he died
for you and rolls for you personally, he will credit
your account with perfection because He's already credited your sin
on the Jesus Christ. So go to Christ right now
and get this free gift of salvation that he's offering
all who come to him for it.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Find out more about what it means to be a
real Christian. Visit Tonyevans dot org and follow the link
that says Jesus. You'll get a straightforward explanation from Tony
and some free resources to get your new life started
off right again. That's Tonyevans dot org. And while you're there,
don't miss your chance to take advantage of the resource
(23:44):
package I mentioned earlier. All fifteen messages from both volumes
of Tony's current sermon series on the Book of Nehemiah,
along with his inspiring One Nation Under God book. They're
yours with our thanks. When you make a donation to
help keep this listener support program coming your way, just
visit Tonyevans dot org to make the arrangements, or call
(24:06):
our resource center at one eight hundred eight hundred thirty
two twenty two where team members are standing by to
assist with your request. That's one eight hundred eight hundred
three two two two, or online at Tonyevans dot org.
Does it ever feel like your prayers are going unanswered?
Like they're just bouncing off the ceiling? Tomorrow, Doctor Evans
(24:29):
reveals how the breakthrough you're hoping for may depend on
a change that needs to happen inside of you. Be
sure to join us for there
Getting the benefit from the Word of God. It like
drinking tea. It all depends on how long you leave
the bag in the wook.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Doctor Tony Eavens says, a quick dip in the word
won't do. You've got to let it steep.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
We bring our Bibles to church and look spiritual, but
then we go home and put it up on the shelf.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
That's weak tea.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. When Nehemiah led
the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, it wasn't
just a construction project. It was the beginning of a
spiritual awakening. Today, doctor Evan shows how real revival isn't
(00:40):
triggered by programs or politics, but by a return to
God's word. Let's join him as he explains.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Nehemiah have done a tremendous thing as governor of Jerusalem.
He has rebuilt the city's infrastrtion. He solidified the nation
in fifty two days. Nehemiah is a man of God
(01:08):
in government, for in God's economy, the two were never
meant to be mutually exclusive, or as we saw last time,
the Bible teaches that politicians are ministers of God, says
the King, and all those were in authority. It was
(01:31):
God's intent that they even carry out the political realm
under his tutelage, that even if they were not Christians
in terms of their personal commitment, that the standard of
God would be the governing authority by which they would operate.
(01:51):
For the even non Christians who believe in the Ten
Commandments that there is a standard. Many of our foundings
were not Christians, but there was in principle a perception
that there must be an environment that had a theological
(02:13):
orientation if this new nation was going to.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Achieve its goals.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
You see, if you want to fix a nation, or
we don't have to go that broad a community, or
we don't have to go back that broad a church,
maybe not even that broad a family or a life,
(02:43):
you must have a frame of reference. Neh Mayah understood
that you don't build society.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Just by building walls. You have to fix people.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Now, as we enter into chapter eight, this becomes critical because.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
To see in chapter eight we're going to see the
Watergate revival. Something happened.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
In verse one, it says in all the people gathered
as one man at the square, which was in front
of the watergate, and they asked Ezra, the scribe, to
bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the
Lord had given to Israel. The people gathered as one
(03:28):
man in the square because they saw that community change
in fifty two days, and they say, were missing something.
If God can do that, because we listened to the
word of God and we worked together as a community
of Christians, and he can accomplish that in fifty two days, Ezra,
(03:52):
get out here and tell us some more. I want
to know what else God can do. I want to
know what else.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
God can fix. The reason why.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
You need to see a miracle in your life from
time to time is to remind you that there's a
lot more where that came from. And so the people
gathered there, and as the describe, brought the Book of
the Lord of Moses, which the Lord had given the Israel,
and he read from it from the square. How long
(04:22):
did he read early morning until midday? We talking six hours.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Folks.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
When you are set for a revival, you can't get
enough for the word of God, You say, but I
can't hear the word of God for six hours? Can
you watch TV for six hours. Hello, can you work
in your yard for six hours? These folks could be
(04:51):
in the square from morning to midday because they saw
God brand new. They said, I didn't spend all these
years losing out. Let me make up some time, Ezra,
talk to me. Getting the benefits from the word of
God is like drinking tea. It all depends on how
long you leave the bag in the water. So if
(05:13):
you just dip the bag in like we do on Sunday,
we just dip ourselves in and dip ourselves out, that's
gonna be weak tea. We bring our bibles to church
and look spiritual, but then we go home and put
it up on the shelf. That's weak tea. If you
(05:33):
want to have strong tea, you drop it and leave it.
You let the water soak through the bag, and the
bag soak through the water, and the color begins to change,
a metamorphosis a car and it has the tea changes
and it has a deeper tange because you've let.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
It soak there for a while.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
It's not enough to hear the pastor preach. You gotta
soak in the scripture. And they understood that the beautiful
thing about the scripture is it doesn't matter what level
you're on. The Bible is so deep that theologians can't
reach bottom, and the Bible is so shallow that kids
(06:15):
can't drown. It covers all the continuum of truth in
the Word of God. And so from early day the
presence of men and women and all that can understand.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Did the people sleep? Where they napping?
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Where their eyes getting heavy, where they're rocking and shifting?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Hello, where wives nudging husbands? Get up? Get up? No?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
The Enniverse three says that all the people were attentive
to the Book of the Law because they understood like
they had never understood before, that God was talking and
that better listen. Such respect was given for the Word
(07:12):
of God that they lifted it up. They built a
pull pit what we have here a podium. The podium
was to elevate the word. Ezra mounts the podium with
his pastoral staff, some to the right and some to
the left. And then the text says Ezra opened the
book in the sight of all the people, and he
(07:34):
was standing above all the people, reflecting the elevation of
the Word. And when he opened it, all the people stood, Lord,
have mercy. He didn't say, please stand, it says. When
he opened the book, everybody stood. Why they stood because
(07:56):
they understood it was more than a book opening. They
understood that this was the God who had built the
wall in fifty two days. They said, let's get up.
When the president walks into the room, they say, ladies
and gentlemen, the president of the United States, what do
they do get up? When a dignitary walks in from
another country? They get up. Well, when Ezra opened the book,
(08:20):
God had walked in, they got up. They understood that
this is the word of God, worthy of reference, worthy
of respect, worthy of acknowledgment, worthy of agreement. They stood
up for God represented in his word. According to verse six,
Ezra opened with prayer, and he blessed the Lord, the
(08:44):
Great God prays and all the people answered, Amen, Amen.
You know what amen means. Amen means so be it.
Amen means I agree. Amen means you can count me
in that I buy what you say. That what you're saying, yes,
(09:09):
rad is what I buy.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Amen. He says, Amen.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
So now you got unity. And while lifting up their hands,
and let me explain the lifting of hands. The lifting
of hands in the Bible was when the Jewish person
raised his.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Arms, palm up, palm up.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
The reason why they raise their hands, palm up, was
to say I am now ready to receive. It wasn't
because the preacher made a good point and they said, gohad.
It was because they were now saying, fill my cup.
My hands are open, I'm coming to you empty. I
(09:57):
thought I knew something. I know nothing. My hand open.
Teach me, tell me, instruct me, guide me, Oh Thy
great Jehovah. That's what they were saying when they lifted
up their hands. But notice when they raise their hands,
(10:17):
they bow their heads. They went high and went low
and worship the Lord with their faces to the ground.
This is the same reason that Moses had to take
off your shoes when God shows up.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
There's too much leather.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
When God shows up, you don't have the right to
have a quarter inch a leather.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Between you and the ground.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Get as low as you possibly can go, Take off
your shoes.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Humble yourself, Humble yourself.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
When we come together as one man, that is, as
a congregation of people, God calls us to humility, and
you come through the door to worship. You don't come
to gift to God. You come to give him praise,
but you come to receive from God that which He
has to give.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
When doctor Evans returns in just a moment, he'll show
how the leaders in Nehemiah's day help the people understand
God's word write where they were. But first, I want
to tell you about an empowering book from Tony that
explores how we can bring positive spiritual influence to our culture.
It's called One Nation under God. If you're concerned about
(11:28):
the direction our country is headed, this book offers a clear,
kingdom focused strategy for making a difference, not politically, but spiritually.
We'll send this book out to you as our way
of saying thanks when you make a contribution in support
of our ministry, and right now, along with the book,
we're packaging all fifteen full length messages in Tony's two
(11:50):
volume teaching series on the Book of Nehemiah. This in
depth study explores how God uses ordinary people to bring
restoration and renewals that apply to your personal life, your family,
and even your community. Get all the details and make
your request right away at Tonyevans dot org or call
(12:10):
our twenty four hour resource request line at one eight
hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two. That's one eight hundred,
eight hundred three two two two. We'll get back to
doctor Evans right after this.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Are you hungry for more of God, more of his truth,
more of his power, and more of his wisdom applied
in your life, then you need to connect with the
community of passionate believers who are growing in God's Word
through the Tony Evans Training Center with exclusive video and
audio teaching from doctor Tony Evans. This interactive online steady
experience allows you to explore theology, big local history, and
(12:47):
real life application of the Kingdom Agenda anytime anywhere. Visit
Tonyevanstraining dot org to get started today. That's Tonyevans' training
dot org.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
And then something interesting happened. In verse seven, we're given
a lift of leaders and we're told in verse seven
that they explained the law to the people while the
people remained in their place, and they read from the
book from the Law of God, translating to give the
sense so that they understood the reading. That's what we
(13:24):
call exposition. They explained it so the people could understand.
That had two reasons that people couldn't understand. One is
that the Bible was written in Hebrew, but they were
raised in Babylon, so they spoke Arabic, so they had
not been used to reading the Hebrew text. There's a
(13:44):
second reason that been such a long time before they
had read some of this material, they didn't know what
it meant.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
So what Ezra does.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Is break them up in the small groups to make
sure that everybody who needed clarity got it.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
And so.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
In verse seven the people were addressed so that their
understanding could be developed.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
And then we come to verse nine.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Then near Mayah, who was the governor, will call that
the state, and Ezra the priests will call that the church,
because that's what you have here, Church and state. And
the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people,
this day is holy to the Lord your God, do
not mourn or weep.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Now, why did they say that, because for all the.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
People were weeping when they heard the words of the Lord.
When the last time the Bible made you cry, you.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Know you in for a revival.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
When understanding the Bible makes you cry. Why were the
people crying? Because it dawned on them that they have
spent all this time going nowhere, And you don't need
the Book of Neil Maya, staying this point that people
who live year after year after year in misery with
(15:09):
no progress, that people who go from one mate to
another mate with no progress, They go day after day,
month after month, year after year with no progress, when
if they would have listened to God the first time,
(15:30):
they could have saved a lot of time. We wouldn't
have a generation of juveniles like we had it today.
If we would have cried a generation to go, we
wouldn't have the madness and economic disparity, if we would
have taken God seriously a generation ago.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
But you can't cry now after you understood it, and
weep now you.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Gotta dry your eyes because verse ten, they said to them,
go eat the fat, drink the sweet, and some portions
of him who has nothing prepared for this day, is
holy to our Lord. And then he gives you a
statement that can solve any problem. Do not be grieved,
(16:17):
for the joy of the Lord is your strength. What
you focus on governs how you feel. Rather than finding
our chief joy in the Lord. Let me tell you
what we do. We find our chief joy in those
(16:38):
temporary things that give us short term feelings of escape.
And so what we do is we turn on the TV.
To what escape, We enter into an illegitimate relationship. To escape,
(16:59):
we get oh with drugs alcohol to escape when the
text says, if you focus, it's properly situated on the Lord,
he will give you his joy, and his joy will.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Give you strength. He says, focus your attention, change your attention.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Then verse thirteen and on the second day, the heads
of the fathers, of the households of all the people,
the priests that Levice gathered to Ezra the Scribe that
they might gain insight into the words of the law.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Okay men.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Verse thirteen says the men said, we better take our
rightful position. We better take responsibility for leadership. We've given
up our responsibilities too long. And so the men came,
the heads of the households came, and they said, we
better get on track. Because they understood something about the
(17:56):
law of God. It's hierarchical. They understood that if it
doesn't flow through the leadership of the family, it won't
get down to the kids. Verse fourteen says they found
written in the law how the Lord had commanded through
Moses that the sons of Israel should live in booze during.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
The feast of the seven months. This is called the
Feast of Tabernacles.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
The Feast of Tabernacles spoken to us on the Vindicus
twenty three, was an annual celebration whereby for one week
each Israelite family had to make little shacks or huts
or booze or tabernacles tents, so to speak, and they
would pitch it on their rooftop, and all the family
(18:41):
had to go in and live inside the tabernacle for
one week. Israel was in the wilderness for forty years,
the Bible says, in those wilderness, wandering in all those
forty years, their shoes did not wear out.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
He put them in a booth to.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Remind them that there was a time when you had nothing.
What he was telling israelis one week a year. Remember
that when you go back into your houses, I'm the
one that takes care of you. And the reason why
you're not making it now is because when you go
back into your houses, you taking care of you. You
running your own life, You're leading your own existence. He says,
(19:22):
Get up in that booth and remember the wilderness. Remember
when I took care of you. When I was growing up,
when something was wrong, my mother gave me castor off.
Did your mama give you castor up? That was the nastiest,
(19:43):
stinky medicine I have ever had. I hated to tell
Mama I was sick because it didn't matter what was wrong.
She gave me castole. She said, boy, hold your nose.
(20:09):
I put my fingers over my doe. She said open
your mouth. And I opened my mouth and the castorole
would go in my mouth and I hold it in
there for a while. She say, swallow it. I'm not moving,
tell you swallowing. And I swallowed that nasty castorrole. But
(20:30):
there's something about castor role. When I had a headache.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Castle all fixed it.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
When I had a stomach ache, castor all fixed it.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
If I had a splitter in my doe.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Castorole fixed it because castarole was what all purpose medicine.
You're not praying with me today. This is all purpose medicine.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
It's good for your personal life.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
It's good for your family life, it's good for your
church life, it's good for our community life.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
It's all purpose medicine.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Now, what's making you sick today is that your personal life.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
That's making you sick. Your family life making you sick.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Is there something going wrong that you can't fix, I'm
here to offer you some divine castor of his name
is Jesus Christ, and it can fix whatever is wrong
in your life. What's wrong in your life today? Would
you give your life to Jesus? Would you turn yourself
(21:42):
over to Christ? Would you stop living in your house
and move up to your booth and let God take
you through your wilderness and sustain you.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Will you submit your will to the Christ who died
for you and the rose.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
If you have yet to take this step of asking
God to fix what's wrong in your life, but aren't
sure exactly where to begin, Doctor Evans is back with
a little follow up information and a challenge about encountering Jesus.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
You're not a Christian because you're religious, or because you
go to church, or even because you believe in God.
You're a Christian because you've accepted Jesus Christ as your
personal sin bearer.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Being religious, doing good works.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
That's nice, but it's not sufficient when God demands perfection.
Two Corinthians five, pot. Twenty one says he who you
know sin became sin for us that we might become
the righteousness of God in him. So what God has said,
is he placed your sin on the cross, on the Christ,
and then judge Christ for your sin. If you will
(22:49):
go to Christ, he will take Christ's righteousness, which is perfect,
and he will credit it to your account. So you
will stand before God as though you've never sin, not
because you're sinless, but because you've got to say him,
that's credit.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
On your account.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
If you will receive Jesus Christ right now, if you
will invite him into your life, leaving that he died
for you and rolls for you personally, he will credit
your account with perfection because He's already credited your sin
on the Jesus Christ. So go to Christ right now
and get this free gift of salvation that he's offering
all who come to him for it.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Find out more about what it means to be a
real Christian. Visit Tonyevans dot org and follow the link
that says Jesus. You'll get a straightforward explanation from Tony
and some free resources to get your new life started
off right again. That's Tonyevans dot org. And while you're there,
don't miss your chance to take advantage of the resource
(23:44):
package I mentioned earlier. All fifteen messages from both volumes
of Tony's current sermon series on the Book of Nehemiah,
along with his inspiring One Nation Under God book. They're
yours with our thanks. When you make a donation to
help keep this listener support program coming your way, just
visit Tonyevans dot org to make the arrangements, or call
(24:06):
our resource center at one eight hundred eight hundred thirty
two twenty two where team members are standing by to
assist with your request. That's one eight hundred eight hundred
three two two two, or online at Tonyevans dot org.
Does it ever feel like your prayers are going unanswered?
Like they're just bouncing off the ceiling? Tomorrow, Doctor Evans
(24:29):
reveals how the breakthrough you're hoping for may depend on
a change that needs to happen inside of you. Be
sure to join us for there
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