May 15, 2025 • 25 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The tragedy that individuals and families, even society, communities and
nations are facing is the absence of a moral frame
of reference.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Doctor Tony Evans says, when we follow God's direction, we
find stability no matter what's going on around us.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
God has called us as Christians to receive instructions from
above that we might live successfully here below.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. As Neemiah's story
draws to a close, he offers one final word, an
appeal for God to remember his faithful service today. Doctor
Evans unpacks that heartfelt request and challenges us to embrace
(00:48):
an attitude of investing our resources in ways that carry
an eternal impact. It's a powerful reminder that finishing well
isn't just about endurance, It's about stewardship with purpose. Let's listen.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
We live in a world in crisis and in chaos,
and increasingly so, our culture has wrestled with problems year
after year that it only sweeps under the rug and
cannot ultimately address. And what's even worse is that some
of those problems are as much in the church as
(01:23):
they are in the society. The tragedy that individuals and
families and churches, and yet even societies, communities and nations
are facing is the absence of a moral frame of
reference applied by the people of God to address the
(01:44):
chaos of the environments in which they live. And no
matter what else you do, at best you can fix
the symptom, you can.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Never eradicate the cause.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Our concern during the Book of Nehemiah has been re
building our community from the inside out. That is, rather
than merely looking at external things that are symptomatic, We've
been looking at causal things that are the fundamental issues
(02:16):
for why they're broken lives, broken homes, broken churches, and
in this case, broken societies. They all stem from the
same root cause. So what I'd like to do today
is simply extract some of the broad principles that we've
already learned in our exposition of the Book of Nehemiah
(02:37):
and apply them to our assembly of believers, our church.
What are we going to do to make a difference
in the world in which we live. Christians operate from
one of two extremes. Some Christians are so heavenly minded
they're no earthly good. They're on their way to heaven,
(02:59):
but they gonna mess stuff themselves and everybody else they
run into on the way there. They have their Bibles
under their arms on Sunday, but it seems to have
very little impact in their.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Lives on Monday.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Other Christians are so earthly minded, they're no heavenly good.
They think secularly, talk secularly, act secularly, react secularly, and
so Heaven can't use them because all they do is
parrot out the non Christian approach to things, and so
they're of no heavenly benefit. God has called us as
(03:35):
Christians to receive instructions from above that we might live
successfully here below our feet firmly planted on the ground,
but our minds in heavenly places, receiving divine truth that
we exercise in history. We want to look at some
(03:58):
of those principles as it related it to the nitty
gritty life. Now, if Jesus Christ comes back, we don't
have to do any anything.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Don't gear ready talk about because if Jesus.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Christ comes back, we won't have any problems. We won't
study war no more. You don't have to deal with
those personalities. But if he doesn't come back, we're in
a mess, and it's a mess is getting worse and worse,
and the Christian Church must come forward to make the difference.
Principle number one is that Christians must pray for change.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
We saw in Neemiah chapter one, verse four through eleven.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
That there was a mission that Neamiah had. As we state,
the mission was to turn the Christian community's heart back
toward God, thus bringing healing to the land along with
moving or removing apathy in the society.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
The mission was theologic nature.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Before you seek political change, before you seek social change,
before you seek economic change, you must always, first of all,
seek spiritual change. If you don't get spiritual change, all
the other changes are only temporary. Neah Maya first before
(05:24):
he tried to fix Jerusalem, fix the problem, and the
problem was that sinful men have rebelled against God, and
it was working itself.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Out in history.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
The problem in your family is that sinful people live there.
The problem, if we have one in our church, is
that Christians are.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Acting in a sinful way.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
And what Nea and Maya did was the very first
thing he did was establish what the causes were. If
you haven't talked about the wickedness of men's heart. If
you've not talked about the fact that do not have
a moral standard that sits in judgment on them.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
If you don't start.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Talking about the fact that sinful men, when they get
in sinful scenarios, do sinful things. It's just some get
videotaped and others do not. If you don't start off
with the fact that the heart is deceitfully wicked above
all things, that who can know it. If you don't
stop by the fact that all of our righteousness, the
(06:25):
Scripture says, is as filthy rags. If we don't stop
with the fact that we are sinful men in need
of divine guidance, then you'll never hit the bullseye of
the problem. You will always search for illegitimate solutions to
symptoms that are not causes. Neil Mayer started right because
(06:47):
he started with praying.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
On God's terms.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
And that's the last thing I want to say about
this first principle is that he prayed in accordance with
the word of God. Principal number two has to do
with something that's repeated over and over again, and that's
the principle of first fruits. We see them in Nehemiah
chapter ten and numbers of other passages in the scripture,
where he talks about the fact that you must not
(07:12):
only pray for change, you must contribute for change. The
principle of first fruits was the principle that had to
do with taking what belonged to God and giving it
to the storehouse of the temple first. Now, the key
here is that these funds or resources were not simply
the benefit just the internal storehouse of the church or
(07:35):
the temple in that case, but these first fruits were
designed to be a revenue base from the church, whereby
the society at lodge would be helped.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
One of the things that must happen.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
By the church, as in Nearmiah's context, is that if
we're going to impact the community in which we are located,
we are going to have to have a first fruits mentality,
a mentality that says we want to use the resources
that God gives us to reinvest them in such a
(08:11):
way that they will roll out into eternal benefits.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Principal number three.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Comprehensive well being, the concept of being whole, concept of
being totally fit to do God's plan.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
In God's program, we.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Have a lot of needs in our community that go
beyond the soul. They don't get me wrong. The soul
is critical. In fact, the soul is first. Housing is necessary,
fitness is necessary, counseling is necessary, medical health care is necessary,
but it's secondary.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
To the soul. And here's why. If a man.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Doesn't have this world's goods, that's bad, but he can
recover from that. If you don't have the house that
you want to live in, that's bad, but you can
recover from that. If you don't have the food that
you would prefer to have, that's bad, but you can
recover from that. But if a man dies without knowing
Jesus Christ, you hid in with a blow, he can
never recover from because when a man dies without Christ,
(09:15):
he's eternally separated from God. One of the things that
we're concerned about is the great plague that is operative
in our communities, particularly in inner city and urban centers,
where many of the things needed for people to function
in a proper way are just not available to them.
Starting with information, what better place than to have the
(09:36):
church as your primary information center in the community where
people can find out about the things relative to their
total well being. Why because the church should be concerned
about the comprehensive wellbeing of its members and operate in
such a way that people can find wholeness. That's the
Old Testament word shaloon. The word shalone the Hebrew doesn't
(10:00):
mean peace, meaning don't be troubled. The word shalone means
well being. It means comprehensive wellness in living, that.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Your whole world is well.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
So today we have shalon or wellness of life. So
the concept of God's peace in the Bible is not
only concerned with whether you have good little feelings on
the inside, but whether your world, your world in which
you live is shaloon, that is, is full of well being.
Your mental, your physical, your attitudinal, and of course foundationally.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Your spiritual life is well. So many of our children.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Die because of inadequate information about prenatal care. Seventy percent
of all the problems, particularly in the minority community, are avoidable.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
They have to do with change in your lifestyle.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
And what other place should you learn how to change
your lifestyle than in the family of God. What other
place should you learn about what you should be doing
and not be doing than in the Church of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Doctor Evans will have more on how a strong Biblical
foundation can bring lasting change to our lives and society
when he continues, in just a moment, don't go away.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
The Bible makes it clear that you know when God
has cursed a.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Land when its fathers are no where to be found.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Doctor Tony Evans says that what becomes of the next
generation of men depends on what happens with this one.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Hour DIDs please to see men in their list who
loved God and who loved them.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
But what does it take to be that kind of man?
You can find out what the help of the Tony
Evans Training Center's free course called Kingdom Man. It'll teach
you to see past the phony images of manhood that
society surrounds us with and become the loving leader that
a wife and family would want to follow. As with
all of our courses, there's in depth study material you
(11:57):
can work through at your own pace, lots of exclusive
content from Tony, tightly focused Q and A videos, and
an online forum where you can collaborate with other students.
It's almost like having a seminary on your smartphone. Check
out the free course called Kingdommen and the growing list
of other subjects waiting for you. Visit Tonyevans dot org
(12:18):
today and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Today's message is the final installment from doctor evans comprehensive
fifteen lesson study on the Book of Nehemiah. The story
of Nehemiah isn't just about rebuilding a city's walls. It's
about restoring lives, strengthening faith, and stepping boldly into God's calling.
Through this series, Tony has uncovered practical insights on leadership, perseverance,
(12:45):
and spiritual renewal, lessons that apply to your personal walk
with God, your family, and even your community. We'd love
for you to own the complete collection of messages as
our gift. They're available instantly on digital download, as well
as in a CD album or on USB flash drive.
When you make a donation to the Ministry of the Alternative,
(13:07):
we'll send the Niemiyah audio series to you as our gift,
along with an added bonus, a copy of doctor Evans's
powerful book, One Nation Under God. If you're concerned about
the direction our country is headed, this book reveals what
you can do about it, not through politics, but through
a kingdom approach. That aligns with God's principles. Visit us
(13:29):
today at Tonyevans dot Org or call us at one
eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two. Make your
contribution and let us send you the Niemiyah audio series
along with Tony's book, One Nation Under God. I'll repeat
that contact information for you after part two of today's lesson.
Here's Tony once again.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Next is the issue of education. Nhemiah, Chapter nine, verse three.
It says this, when Niemiah was teaching the peace people,
and the priest Ezra came out, he said in verse nine,
chapter three, while they stood in their place, they read
from the book of the Law of the Lord their
(14:11):
God for a fourth of the day, and for another
fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God. In
chapter eight, it says that Ezra read the word of
God to everyone who had understanding. Let me give you
a basic principle related to education in the Bible. All
(14:31):
education for God's people is to be bibliocentric or theologically founded.
In the Bible, there is no such truth, no such
thing as truth that does not intersect with God. Why
should the church be concerned about education? I'll tell you
Why Because, for the very first time in the history
(14:53):
of American civilization, your children and my children are being
taught information without ethics. Our children are being taught truth
is neutral and truth is relative for the first time.
If you were raised like me, you always had a
teacher who would tell you reading, writing, and arithmetic, but
(15:14):
should also tell you right and wrong. They also tell
you good and bad. That's not the case anymore. There
used to be a time when God was at least
in the vicinity of the school.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
You could pray in school.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
They stopped that and said, well, no you can't pray,
but you could have a moment of silence. They stopped
that and said, no, you can't have a moment of silence.
Why Because now education has become relative. If we are
going to live in this culture, we must affect education.
We must say that education, education must have a moral
(15:51):
arm to it, and that truth is not neutral and
truth is not relative. That's why we can't solve the
racial crisis because truth is relative. What's right to me
is wrong to you, and what's racism to me is
not racism to you. And I don't feel that way,
that's the way you feel it.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
We need a standard that.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Governs everybody, and that means Christians raise up and begin
to influence the educational and environment. How it means that
we raise up a new generation of people who are
called to the classroom. Neil Maya's whole point was make
sure your kids get a spiritual frame of life from
the point that they begin to understand why, because if
(16:31):
you don't educate them, somebody on the street will. If
you don't educate them, the media will. If you don't
educate them, that peers will.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
So the issue is whether it's spiritual or not.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
The issue is who's gonna be the spirit what's gonna
be the influence that influences our children, because whatever is
influencing them.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Now is not working.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Then the next principle is that must be community business
patronage that is stabilizing the community by buying and trading locally.
You remember that the walls were down, and so the
people did all of their commerce outside of the city.
So what nobody wanted to live in the city. What
Neihamyah did was he brought commerce back into the city
(17:18):
in order to establish a business connection there so that
people would then want.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
To live there.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Whenever commerce leaves of course, population is going to leave
because population is going to filter.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
Out to where commerce is.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Neel Mayah wanted to rebuild his community, and so in
order to do that, he used the temple as a
base for commerce. And so what he has is community
business patronage, or that is buying power that stems out.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Of the people of God.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
The next principle that is there is that there must
be redevelopment in the area of housing. People must live somewhere.
You remember Nearmyah Chapter eleven, verse one and two says
ten percent of the community moved back to the city.
Ten percent of the people would moved to the suburbs.
We must relocate. We must get people who are committed
(18:10):
to seeing these neighborhoods that have been run down because
people have left, to be redeveloped because God's people return,
getting people to actually take up residences in communities that
need witnesses living in that neighborhood. Ten percent of the
people moved back. That ninety percent didn't move back. Now
I can remember what the ninety percent said. I've been
(18:33):
waiting all my life to get in these suburbs. I've
been waiting a long time to move out here. You're
not gonna tell me to move out. I am not
going back to that particular place, all right. Let me
let me make you feel good. Don't feel bad, all right. However,
there is something you can do. You can take some
of the savings that you are saving and look for
investment property in those neighborhoods that are in the inner city.
(18:56):
You can then buy that investment property, fix it up.
Then you can sell it to a member who is
in an apartment and can't afford a house.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
You've just solved a bunch of problems.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
You've taken your suburban benefits and reinvested them in an
inner city environment. You provided somebody who couldn't afford a
home the ability to get a home. You've moved representatives
of Jesus Christ in the neighborhood, and you can stop
feeling so guilty because you didn't want to move there yourself.
The point of it is that there are ways in
which we from where we are situated, can be used
(19:30):
of God to have a presence in the world in
which we live. It is not enough to come to church.
It is not enough to say amen to the sermon.
We live in a world that's going to Hell in
a hand basket, and we've got to have a presence there.
And I believe God is calling some Christians, some Christians
to these environments to re establish a presence in those environments.
(19:53):
Next political activity, we need to influence the political agenda.
The principle is to influence the political environment for the
purposes of God. Like it or not, you're affected by politics.
Christians must be informed politically. Our church must become a
center of information so people know what the Bible has
(20:15):
to say and measure politicians.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Against that standard.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
We need today a new generation of politicians, men and
women who will run for political office.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Because they have a standard.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
You see, one of the great problems we face today
is the absence of leaders. See, if you took a
unanimous vote against the word of God, I'm still gonna
be your leader. You're not gonna be following because I'm
not gonna go with that vote. Because there's a standard
that supersedes the majority. God is the majority and his
standard is the standard that must rule. And so we
(20:46):
need a new generation of politician who is commissioned to
the will of God, who will take a stand for right.
Because much of the political agenda today is the cause
for the mess we're in because it is past laws
that are not in keeping with God's standards. And we
need people who are gonna vote righteously, who are not
gonna be intimidated by people who want to promote unrighteousness.
(21:08):
But it are gonna take a stand for that which
is true and good. Now, if Jesus comes back, we
won't have to worry about it. But if he doesn't,
we're gonna have to save our children. We're gonna have
to save them educationally, economically, politically, socially, and most of
all spiritually.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
But it will take the.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Church having a comprehensive view of impact to make this
kind of difference. My closing word is taken from chapter
thirteen of Nehemiah, verse fourteen, where Neimiah says, remember me,
Old God, Remember me, and when he asked God to
(21:46):
remember him, he says, and do not blot out my
loyal deeds which I have performed for the House of
God and its services. He endo verse thirty one by saying,
remember me, Old God.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
For the good Doctor Tony Evans bringing to a close
the final message from his powerful series on the Book
of Nehemiah, But he'll have one closing thought to share
with us in just a moment, so don't go away now.
As I mentioned earlier, all fifteen full length messages in
this sermon collection can be yours with our thanks. When
(22:20):
you make a donation to help support the Alternative's mission
of bringing live, changing messages to a world in need,
you'll receive the complete two volume Namayah series on digital
download as well as either CD or USB flash drive,
and as a special bonus, you'll also receive Tony's thought
provoking and practical guide One Nation Under God. Today is
(22:43):
the final day we'll be packaging these two resources together,
so take advantage of this special offer right now by
visiting Tonyevans dot org or by calling one eight hundred
eight hundred thirty two twenty two. Our friendly resource team
members are on hand twenty fours to help you. That's
one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two, or
(23:05):
once again, make the arrangements online and get your digital
downloads right away at Tonyevans DOTRG. Confusion and compromise are everywhere,
but believers aren't left to figure it out alone. On Monday,
doctor Evans explains how God's truth keeps us grounded and
delivered from deception. Right now though, he's back with this
(23:28):
final thought to wrap up our series on Nehemiah.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
My prayer is that God will remember us. When he
says remember, he doesn't mean God forget. When he says remember,
he means God help help us. Oh God, this is
a big undertaking. I could stay up here every Sunday,
probably for the rest of my life and preach you sermons.
I could stand up people for the rest of my life
and do exposition of the word of God. But I'm
(23:53):
afraid that's not enough. Exposition of the word of God
won't stop people from moving out of this neighborhood and
allow the continuous movement of commerce.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Exposition of the Word of God alone.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Will not make people kingdom minded in their business careers.
It's got to be exposition match with application. It's got
to be setting up systems in our church that make
a difference in our community, because this is the community
we live in. Must raise our children. May God remember us.
May God help us to make a difference in the
world that our kids grow up in. Because if you don't,
(24:25):
who will? And if not, now, when time is fleeting fast,
our world is falling apart. Our government is looking for answers.
Could it be that we've been called to the kingdom
for such a time as this
The tragedy that individuals and families, even society, communities and
nations are facing is the absence of a moral frame
of reference.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Doctor Tony Evans says, when we follow God's direction, we
find stability no matter what's going on around us.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
God has called us as Christians to receive instructions from
above that we might live successfully here below.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. As Neemiah's story
draws to a close, he offers one final word, an
appeal for God to remember his faithful service today. Doctor
Evans unpacks that heartfelt request and challenges us to embrace
(00:48):
an attitude of investing our resources in ways that carry
an eternal impact. It's a powerful reminder that finishing well
isn't just about endurance, It's about stewardship with purpose. Let's listen.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
We live in a world in crisis and in chaos,
and increasingly so, our culture has wrestled with problems year
after year that it only sweeps under the rug and
cannot ultimately address. And what's even worse is that some
of those problems are as much in the church as
(01:23):
they are in the society. The tragedy that individuals and
families and churches, and yet even societies, communities and nations
are facing is the absence of a moral frame of
reference applied by the people of God to address the
(01:44):
chaos of the environments in which they live. And no
matter what else you do, at best you can fix
the symptom, you can.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Never eradicate the cause.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Our concern during the Book of Nehemiah has been re
building our community from the inside out. That is, rather
than merely looking at external things that are symptomatic, We've
been looking at causal things that are the fundamental issues
(02:16):
for why they're broken lives, broken homes, broken churches, and
in this case, broken societies. They all stem from the
same root cause. So what I'd like to do today
is simply extract some of the broad principles that we've
already learned in our exposition of the Book of Nehemiah
(02:37):
and apply them to our assembly of believers, our church.
What are we going to do to make a difference
in the world in which we live. Christians operate from
one of two extremes. Some Christians are so heavenly minded
they're no earthly good. They're on their way to heaven,
(02:59):
but they gonna mess stuff themselves and everybody else they
run into on the way there. They have their Bibles
under their arms on Sunday, but it seems to have
very little impact in their.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Lives on Monday.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Other Christians are so earthly minded, they're no heavenly good.
They think secularly, talk secularly, act secularly, react secularly, and
so Heaven can't use them because all they do is
parrot out the non Christian approach to things, and so
they're of no heavenly benefit. God has called us as
(03:35):
Christians to receive instructions from above that we might live
successfully here below our feet firmly planted on the ground,
but our minds in heavenly places, receiving divine truth that
we exercise in history. We want to look at some
(03:58):
of those principles as it related it to the nitty
gritty life. Now, if Jesus Christ comes back, we don't
have to do any anything.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Don't gear ready talk about because if Jesus.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Christ comes back, we won't have any problems. We won't
study war no more. You don't have to deal with
those personalities. But if he doesn't come back, we're in
a mess, and it's a mess is getting worse and worse,
and the Christian Church must come forward to make the difference.
Principle number one is that Christians must pray for change.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
We saw in Neemiah chapter one, verse four through eleven.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
That there was a mission that Neamiah had. As we state,
the mission was to turn the Christian community's heart back
toward God, thus bringing healing to the land along with
moving or removing apathy in the society.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
The mission was theologic nature.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Before you seek political change, before you seek social change,
before you seek economic change, you must always, first of all,
seek spiritual change. If you don't get spiritual change, all
the other changes are only temporary. Neah Maya first before
(05:24):
he tried to fix Jerusalem, fix the problem, and the
problem was that sinful men have rebelled against God, and
it was working itself.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Out in history.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
The problem in your family is that sinful people live there.
The problem, if we have one in our church, is
that Christians are.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Acting in a sinful way.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
And what Nea and Maya did was the very first
thing he did was establish what the causes were. If
you haven't talked about the wickedness of men's heart. If
you've not talked about the fact that do not have
a moral standard that sits in judgment on them.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
If you don't start.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Talking about the fact that sinful men, when they get
in sinful scenarios, do sinful things. It's just some get
videotaped and others do not. If you don't start off
with the fact that the heart is deceitfully wicked above
all things, that who can know it. If you don't
stop by the fact that all of our righteousness, the
(06:25):
Scripture says, is as filthy rags. If we don't stop
with the fact that we are sinful men in need
of divine guidance, then you'll never hit the bullseye of
the problem. You will always search for illegitimate solutions to
symptoms that are not causes. Neil Mayer started right because
(06:47):
he started with praying.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
On God's terms.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
And that's the last thing I want to say about
this first principle is that he prayed in accordance with
the word of God. Principal number two has to do
with something that's repeated over and over again, and that's
the principle of first fruits. We see them in Nehemiah
chapter ten and numbers of other passages in the scripture,
where he talks about the fact that you must not
(07:12):
only pray for change, you must contribute for change. The
principle of first fruits was the principle that had to
do with taking what belonged to God and giving it
to the storehouse of the temple first. Now, the key
here is that these funds or resources were not simply
the benefit just the internal storehouse of the church or
(07:35):
the temple in that case, but these first fruits were
designed to be a revenue base from the church, whereby
the society at lodge would be helped.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
One of the things that must happen.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
By the church, as in Nearmiah's context, is that if
we're going to impact the community in which we are located,
we are going to have to have a first fruits mentality,
a mentality that says we want to use the resources
that God gives us to reinvest them in such a
(08:11):
way that they will roll out into eternal benefits.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Principal number three.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Comprehensive well being, the concept of being whole, concept of
being totally fit to do God's plan.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
In God's program, we.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Have a lot of needs in our community that go
beyond the soul. They don't get me wrong. The soul
is critical. In fact, the soul is first. Housing is necessary,
fitness is necessary, counseling is necessary, medical health care is necessary,
but it's secondary.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
To the soul. And here's why. If a man.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Doesn't have this world's goods, that's bad, but he can
recover from that. If you don't have the house that
you want to live in, that's bad, but you can
recover from that. If you don't have the food that
you would prefer to have, that's bad, but you can
recover from that. But if a man dies without knowing
Jesus Christ, you hid in with a blow, he can
never recover from because when a man dies without Christ,
(09:15):
he's eternally separated from God. One of the things that
we're concerned about is the great plague that is operative
in our communities, particularly in inner city and urban centers,
where many of the things needed for people to function
in a proper way are just not available to them.
Starting with information, what better place than to have the
(09:36):
church as your primary information center in the community where
people can find out about the things relative to their
total well being. Why because the church should be concerned
about the comprehensive wellbeing of its members and operate in
such a way that people can find wholeness. That's the
Old Testament word shaloon. The word shalone the Hebrew doesn't
(10:00):
mean peace, meaning don't be troubled. The word shalone means
well being. It means comprehensive wellness in living, that.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Your whole world is well.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
So today we have shalon or wellness of life. So
the concept of God's peace in the Bible is not
only concerned with whether you have good little feelings on
the inside, but whether your world, your world in which
you live is shaloon, that is, is full of well being.
Your mental, your physical, your attitudinal, and of course foundationally.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Your spiritual life is well. So many of our children.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Die because of inadequate information about prenatal care. Seventy percent
of all the problems, particularly in the minority community, are avoidable.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
They have to do with change in your lifestyle.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
And what other place should you learn how to change
your lifestyle than in the family of God. What other
place should you learn about what you should be doing
and not be doing than in the Church of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Doctor Evans will have more on how a strong Biblical
foundation can bring lasting change to our lives and society
when he continues, in just a moment, don't go away.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
The Bible makes it clear that you know when God
has cursed a.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Land when its fathers are no where to be found.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Doctor Tony Evans says that what becomes of the next
generation of men depends on what happens with this one.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Hour DIDs please to see men in their list who
loved God and who loved them.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
But what does it take to be that kind of man?
You can find out what the help of the Tony
Evans Training Center's free course called Kingdom Man. It'll teach
you to see past the phony images of manhood that
society surrounds us with and become the loving leader that
a wife and family would want to follow. As with
all of our courses, there's in depth study material you
(11:57):
can work through at your own pace, lots of exclusive
content from Tony, tightly focused Q and A videos, and
an online forum where you can collaborate with other students.
It's almost like having a seminary on your smartphone. Check
out the free course called Kingdommen and the growing list
of other subjects waiting for you. Visit Tonyevans dot org
(12:18):
today and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Today's message is the final installment from doctor evans comprehensive
fifteen lesson study on the Book of Nehemiah. The story
of Nehemiah isn't just about rebuilding a city's walls. It's
about restoring lives, strengthening faith, and stepping boldly into God's calling.
Through this series, Tony has uncovered practical insights on leadership, perseverance,
(12:45):
and spiritual renewal, lessons that apply to your personal walk
with God, your family, and even your community. We'd love
for you to own the complete collection of messages as
our gift. They're available instantly on digital download, as well
as in a CD album or on USB flash drive.
When you make a donation to the Ministry of the Alternative,
(13:07):
we'll send the Niemiyah audio series to you as our gift,
along with an added bonus, a copy of doctor Evans's
powerful book, One Nation Under God. If you're concerned about
the direction our country is headed, this book reveals what
you can do about it, not through politics, but through
a kingdom approach. That aligns with God's principles. Visit us
(13:29):
today at Tonyevans dot Org or call us at one
eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two. Make your
contribution and let us send you the Niemiyah audio series
along with Tony's book, One Nation Under God. I'll repeat
that contact information for you after part two of today's lesson.
Here's Tony once again.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Next is the issue of education. Nhemiah, Chapter nine, verse three.
It says this, when Niemiah was teaching the peace people,
and the priest Ezra came out, he said in verse nine,
chapter three, while they stood in their place, they read
from the book of the Law of the Lord their
(14:11):
God for a fourth of the day, and for another
fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God. In
chapter eight, it says that Ezra read the word of
God to everyone who had understanding. Let me give you
a basic principle related to education in the Bible. All
(14:31):
education for God's people is to be bibliocentric or theologically founded.
In the Bible, there is no such truth, no such
thing as truth that does not intersect with God. Why
should the church be concerned about education? I'll tell you
Why Because, for the very first time in the history
(14:53):
of American civilization, your children and my children are being
taught information without ethics. Our children are being taught truth
is neutral and truth is relative for the first time.
If you were raised like me, you always had a
teacher who would tell you reading, writing, and arithmetic, but
(15:14):
should also tell you right and wrong. They also tell
you good and bad. That's not the case anymore. There
used to be a time when God was at least
in the vicinity of the school.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
You could pray in school.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
They stopped that and said, well, no you can't pray,
but you could have a moment of silence. They stopped
that and said, no, you can't have a moment of silence.
Why Because now education has become relative. If we are
going to live in this culture, we must affect education.
We must say that education, education must have a moral
(15:51):
arm to it, and that truth is not neutral and
truth is not relative. That's why we can't solve the
racial crisis because truth is relative. What's right to me
is wrong to you, and what's racism to me is
not racism to you. And I don't feel that way,
that's the way you feel it.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
We need a standard that.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Governs everybody, and that means Christians raise up and begin
to influence the educational and environment. How it means that
we raise up a new generation of people who are
called to the classroom. Neil Maya's whole point was make
sure your kids get a spiritual frame of life from
the point that they begin to understand why, because if
(16:31):
you don't educate them, somebody on the street will. If
you don't educate them, the media will. If you don't
educate them, that peers will.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
So the issue is whether it's spiritual or not.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
The issue is who's gonna be the spirit what's gonna
be the influence that influences our children, because whatever is
influencing them.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Now is not working.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Then the next principle is that must be community business
patronage that is stabilizing the community by buying and trading locally.
You remember that the walls were down, and so the
people did all of their commerce outside of the city.
So what nobody wanted to live in the city. What
Neihamyah did was he brought commerce back into the city
(17:18):
in order to establish a business connection there so that
people would then want.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
To live there.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Whenever commerce leaves of course, population is going to leave
because population is going to filter.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
Out to where commerce is.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Neel Mayah wanted to rebuild his community, and so in
order to do that, he used the temple as a
base for commerce. And so what he has is community
business patronage, or that is buying power that stems out.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Of the people of God.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
The next principle that is there is that there must
be redevelopment in the area of housing. People must live somewhere.
You remember Nearmyah Chapter eleven, verse one and two says
ten percent of the community moved back to the city.
Ten percent of the people would moved to the suburbs.
We must relocate. We must get people who are committed
(18:10):
to seeing these neighborhoods that have been run down because
people have left, to be redeveloped because God's people return,
getting people to actually take up residences in communities that
need witnesses living in that neighborhood. Ten percent of the
people moved back. That ninety percent didn't move back. Now
I can remember what the ninety percent said. I've been
(18:33):
waiting all my life to get in these suburbs. I've
been waiting a long time to move out here. You're
not gonna tell me to move out. I am not
going back to that particular place, all right. Let me
let me make you feel good. Don't feel bad, all right. However,
there is something you can do. You can take some
of the savings that you are saving and look for
investment property in those neighborhoods that are in the inner city.
(18:56):
You can then buy that investment property, fix it up.
Then you can sell it to a member who is
in an apartment and can't afford a house.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
You've just solved a bunch of problems.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
You've taken your suburban benefits and reinvested them in an
inner city environment. You provided somebody who couldn't afford a
home the ability to get a home. You've moved representatives
of Jesus Christ in the neighborhood, and you can stop
feeling so guilty because you didn't want to move there yourself.
The point of it is that there are ways in
which we from where we are situated, can be used
(19:30):
of God to have a presence in the world in
which we live. It is not enough to come to church.
It is not enough to say amen to the sermon.
We live in a world that's going to Hell in
a hand basket, and we've got to have a presence there.
And I believe God is calling some Christians, some Christians
to these environments to re establish a presence in those environments.
(19:53):
Next political activity, we need to influence the political agenda.
The principle is to influence the political environment for the
purposes of God. Like it or not, you're affected by politics.
Christians must be informed politically. Our church must become a
center of information so people know what the Bible has
(20:15):
to say and measure politicians.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Against that standard.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
We need today a new generation of politicians, men and
women who will run for political office.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Because they have a standard.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
You see, one of the great problems we face today
is the absence of leaders. See, if you took a
unanimous vote against the word of God, I'm still gonna
be your leader. You're not gonna be following because I'm
not gonna go with that vote. Because there's a standard
that supersedes the majority. God is the majority and his
standard is the standard that must rule. And so we
(20:46):
need a new generation of politician who is commissioned to
the will of God, who will take a stand for right.
Because much of the political agenda today is the cause
for the mess we're in because it is past laws
that are not in keeping with God's standards. And we
need people who are gonna vote righteously, who are not
gonna be intimidated by people who want to promote unrighteousness.
(21:08):
But it are gonna take a stand for that which
is true and good. Now, if Jesus comes back, we
won't have to worry about it. But if he doesn't,
we're gonna have to save our children. We're gonna have
to save them educationally, economically, politically, socially, and most of
all spiritually.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
But it will take the.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Church having a comprehensive view of impact to make this
kind of difference. My closing word is taken from chapter
thirteen of Nehemiah, verse fourteen, where Neimiah says, remember me,
Old God, Remember me, and when he asked God to
(21:46):
remember him, he says, and do not blot out my
loyal deeds which I have performed for the House of
God and its services. He endo verse thirty one by saying,
remember me, Old God.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
For the good Doctor Tony Evans bringing to a close
the final message from his powerful series on the Book
of Nehemiah, But he'll have one closing thought to share
with us in just a moment, so don't go away now.
As I mentioned earlier, all fifteen full length messages in
this sermon collection can be yours with our thanks. When
(22:20):
you make a donation to help support the Alternative's mission
of bringing live, changing messages to a world in need,
you'll receive the complete two volume Namayah series on digital
download as well as either CD or USB flash drive,
and as a special bonus, you'll also receive Tony's thought
provoking and practical guide One Nation Under God. Today is
(22:43):
the final day we'll be packaging these two resources together,
so take advantage of this special offer right now by
visiting Tonyevans dot org or by calling one eight hundred
eight hundred thirty two twenty two. Our friendly resource team
members are on hand twenty fours to help you. That's
one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two, or
(23:05):
once again, make the arrangements online and get your digital
downloads right away at Tonyevans DOTRG. Confusion and compromise are everywhere,
but believers aren't left to figure it out alone. On Monday,
doctor Evans explains how God's truth keeps us grounded and
delivered from deception. Right now though, he's back with this
(23:28):
final thought to wrap up our series on Nehemiah.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
My prayer is that God will remember us. When he
says remember, he doesn't mean God forget. When he says remember,
he means God help help us. Oh God, this is
a big undertaking. I could stay up here every Sunday,
probably for the rest of my life and preach you sermons.
I could stand up people for the rest of my life
and do exposition of the word of God. But I'm
(23:53):
afraid that's not enough. Exposition of the word of God
won't stop people from moving out of this neighborhood and
allow the continuous movement of commerce.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Exposition of the Word of God alone.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Will not make people kingdom minded in their business careers.
It's got to be exposition match with application. It's got
to be setting up systems in our church that make
a difference in our community, because this is the community
we live in. Must raise our children. May God remember us.
May God help us to make a difference in the
world that our kids grow up in. Because if you don't,
(24:25):
who will? And if not, now, when time is fleeting fast,
our world is falling apart. Our government is looking for answers.
Could it be that we've been called to the kingdom
for such a time as this
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