November 6, 2025 • 46 mins
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Christian Warrior Mission trains believers to stand firm in a collapsing world.
We are a discipleship ministry, home-based warrior church, and working farm that comes alongside local churches—not to replace them, but to strengthen them by equipping men and women to lead, protect, provide, and disciple according to God’s Word.
We train across the Seven Battlefields:
Faith • Family • Fitness • Fundamentals • Finances • Fellowship • Fidelity
This is not a place for spectators, excuses, or passive Christianity.
This is where believers learn to pick up the Sword of Scripture, fortify their households, and lock shields with other warriors in Christ.
We build households that stand. We strengthen churches. We prepare saints for real-world battle.
No retreat. No surrender. Christ is King.
Join our Live Warrior Church Service Tuesday Nights at 8 pm EST on X, YouTube, Facebook, Rumble, and LinkedIn.
Daily Bible Studies Monday- Friday on X, YouTube, Facebook, Rumble, and LinkedIn
About the Host:
Jason Perry — former Navy SEAL, SWAT officer, and paramedic; CEO of Trident Shield; Pastor of Christian Warrior Church. From a 44-acre homestead, Jason trains believers to meet spiritual and practical threats with courage, clarity, and a shepherd’s heart.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:28):
Alright, good evening, everyone.
Happy Lord's Day to you.
SPEAKER_00 (00:33):
Um let me get a sound check and we will roll.
Happy Lord's Day to you.
SPEAKER_01 (00:44):
Alright, you guys can hear me.
Happy Lord's Day to you.
I hope you guys had a greatSunday and that um and you had a
great week.
I know we sure did.
Lauren, my amazing, incredible,awesome wife, couldn't ask for a
better one, but she did amassive uh underestimation on a
(01:13):
family project.
Um she wanted to do a walkwayout front, and she watched all
these uh you know social mediavideos of people doing things
really fast on the internet, andit's like and all you hear is
(01:35):
these sounds of and it justflies up so cool.
Well, none of those videosshowed the digging, so we ended
up having to dig it all up byhand with a pickaxe and a
shovel, and we went down abouteight inches um for a pretty
(01:57):
good sized walkway.
And um my back is completelygarbage from like from the
ground till about mid-shin.
I am I'm useless.
That's just where my back injuryis.
And if I spend a lot of timedown there, well then I'm toast.
Um, I'll have a back attackwithin a you know, that day or
(02:20):
within days, and I'll be out.
So Lauren had to handleeverything from on the ground.
It was my job to move and pourand do all the rest of the
stuff.
Um, and with a lot of huddlingand uh and a lot of um learning
(02:41):
and relearning, a lot ofpatience, and a lot of uh
sanctification, we built apretty darn cool walkway.
Um, you know, we did 16-inchpavers for most of it uh with
you know some uh pea gravelsurrounding it and uh and then
(03:08):
some like retaining wall stonesor fireplace, fire pit stones on
the outside lining it.
And then towards the end, youknow, was it imperfect?
When Lauren figured it out, shemeasured it, but she didn't
center it, center the walkwaycoming in on the door.
(03:29):
So one of the improvements Irecommended was that we center
the turn, you know, the walkwaywalks in front, you know,
parallel to our house and thenturns perpendicular and walks
into our house.
That should be centered on thedoor.
So we had like a weird leftoverspace at the end.
(03:49):
So I had to go back to HomeDepot for like the fifth time.
And because whatever program wewere using severely
underestimated all the sand.
I think we had about 100 bags ofsand in the end, but um well,
pretty darn close to it.
But uh I went and I got these uhseven and three-quarter inch
(04:10):
pavers um that were the samecolor as you know, as the
concrete 16-inch stones, and itworked out great.
It looks fantastic.
My wife did an amazing job.
I love working with her.
You know, she's never one ofthose people you have to drag
through things.
In fact, I won't work with mywife when I got to drag her
(04:31):
through stuff, uh, which israre, very rare.
But if I feel like her heels aredigging in, done.
Right?
My wife, otherwise, is just amachine.
And um and I love working withher.
It's how our security companybecame so formidable because we
would work 90 hours a week.
(04:53):
Like we would just sleep andlike work, work, work, work out,
sleep, and then would be work,work, work, work, work, work,
work.
You know, that was that was it.
And we were able to outcompetelike multi-million dollar,
billion-dollar firms, becausethey would go to they would stop
on the weekend and we would getanother 40 hours a week.
(05:17):
You know, another 40 hours donethat weekend, or pretty darn
close to it.
Well, definitely 40 if youconsider Saturday night.
So, I mean Friday night.
So, yeah, um, so it was great towork with Lauren.
Um, you know, as long as we'renot trying to figure out who's
saying and doing what, likedebating on who's in charge, or
(05:40):
once we both we know whose planwe're going on on the given
project, it's smooth sailingafter that.
And she is such a joy to workwith.
Um, she doesn't get down, she'sthe most patient person I've
ever seen.
And to do this with atwo-year-old toddler who is um
determined to blow up ourproject at every step of the
(06:04):
way, and two girls that reallywant to be included in
everything and slow it down somuch.
You know, here we are shovelingsand, and then, you know, my
three and a half year old orthree and three-quarters,
whatever, she's gonna be four inDecember, has this little
(06:24):
shovel.
Well, that's like this big thatwith this much sand in it, and
she's like, turn, that meansit's her turn.
So we all have to stop shovelingfor her to come up and put a
little shovel in.
And the team guy in me waslosing his mind.
But my wife, she just impressesme so much.
(06:45):
So um, Shield Maine, she is inmore ways than one.
So, again, happy Lord's Day toyou.
I know that was a pretty uhelongated hello, but welcome to
Christian Warrior Mission, ahome church, community,
ministry, and farm forgingChristian Warriors for today's
challenge.
Christian Warrior Missionsforges men, women, and families
(07:09):
into battle-ready disciples ofKing Jesus, locking shields and
advancing on every front, soChrist is honored.
His people are protected, andhis kingdom surges into every
sphere of life.
Advance on every front, everyday.
No excuses, no retreats.
Some announcements.
We have Reformation Day comingup.
That is Friday, October 31st.
(07:31):
We are going to celebrate theLord of light.
And we are going to reclaim thatday from darkness as Reformation
Day, the day that Martin Luthernailed his challenge to the
Catholic Church on the on thechurch door.
So that's what we're going todo.
(07:51):
And there'll be wholesomecostumes.
You know, we'll be singing,cider cocoa, beverages, um,
food, um, bonfire, games,goodies for the kids,
everything.
So here comes my wife.
She's not she's gonna see if shecan not make it on camera.
She's in her uh fashion assassinright now.
(08:17):
So, all right, so we got that.
We also are going to schedule acrossfield day if you want to
come down and help us reclaimthe crosshill mountain, whatever
you want to call it, pavilionfrom the jungle that is
overtaking it.
And then big days on thecalendar from the farm side is
(08:40):
we are processing Karen in twoweeks, next week, in a week and
a half, and pork chop shortlythereafter.
Once we figure out our freezerspace situation, we might have
to get another freezer.
unknown (08:52):
Definitely.
SPEAKER_01 (08:54):
So we definitely have to get another freezer.
So we'll be doing that.
Um, so all good stuff.
All right, so in addition, um,as you guys know here, we fall,
we deliberately pursue thefollowing seven battlefields.
We fight these every day.
All right, and this is a part ofthe Christian journey.
(09:14):
I just characterized it this waybecause this is the only way
where I don't just spin aroundin circles sucking at
everything.
Faith, we fight forrelationships, we deliberately
pursue a relationship with ourLord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Family, we deliberately pursuerelationships with our family,
like deep, meaningful,Christ-centered relationships.
(09:36):
Fitness, we fight ourselves tobe the best vessel for the Holy
Spirit we can be, and to befunctional and um and just be
good stewards of this body thatGod gave us.
Fundamentals, we try to becomethe best asset we can be, trying
(09:57):
to sharpen the skills we haveand learn new ones.
Always trying to become a betterasset to yourself, your family,
and your community.
Finances, we fight to rule ourwar chests, to be free of the
slavery of debt and materialismor greed.
Fellowship, we fight for godlyrelations.
Fight to have people who aredragging to have the people in
(10:21):
our life be people that are thatare lifting us up to heaven and
not dragging us down to hell.
And then fidelity.
We fight ourselves for to befaithful to Christ and our
spouses and all that we do.
For our word is our word, and wemean it.
And our eyeballs are gods, ourears are gods, hearts are gods,
(10:45):
and of course, those of us whoare married, our eyes are only
for our spouse, our hearts areonly for our spouse.
So let's go to prayer and startthis.
King Jesus, Captain and KingsmanRedeemer, you have gathered this
company under your banner,consecrated our hands and
(11:06):
hearts, drive out the leavengreed, bitterness, and
partiality, teach us to fear Godthat frees the oppressed and
binds the strong men.
Make us quick to repent,courageous to confront, eager to
restore, establish the work forour hands, the guarding of your
(11:26):
people, and the glory of yourname.
Amen.
Now, if you're looking for anexample of how to pray, you need
to look no further than theLord's Prayer in Matthew 6, 9
through 13, when the disciplesasked Jesus how they should
pray, and gave the followingexample.
Pray then in this way (11:48):
our Father who is in heaven,
hallowed be your name, yourkingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our dailybread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven ourdebtors.
And do not lead us intotemptation, but deliver us from
the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom and thepower and the glory forever.
(12:08):
Amen.
All right, we are in Nehemiah 5this week.
And um we've taught Nehemiah 1,2, 3, and 4, and now Nehemiah 5.
To refresh you on the setting,this is it.
It is the Persian Empire underArtax Xerces the first, 465 to
(12:31):
424 BC.
Capitals and distances are theplaces that we covered in the
first one.
Nehemiah begins in Susa, thewinter capital, and the trek to
Jerusalem is 900 miles, a threeto four month caravan through
hostile terrain.
So that's what he had to travelto get there.
All right, it's not like todayyou hop in a car and you can
(12:54):
drive 2,000 miles in like notime, or hop in a plane and
cover it in a couple of fewhours.
No, this was slow moving.
The province is Yehud, Judah, isa small taxed Persian province
with a ruined capital, sparsepopulation, and mixed
(13:14):
hostilities on every side.
The bad guys in this, theadversaries in this, are
Sembalat, the Huronite, likelythe governor of Samaria.
Dobiah, the Emmonite official,with deep ties in the Judah's
elite.
Geshem the Arab, who controlsthe southern trade routes.
(13:36):
A rapid review of Nehemiah 1through 4.
Nehemiah 1, what happened?
News of Jerusalem ruins, a ruinbreaks Nehemiah.
He fasts and prays a covenantprayer.
The takeaways from it are wefear God, confess specifically,
own the problem, start withprayer before plans.
(13:57):
Nehemiah 2, what happened?
God grants favor for Nehemiahwith our taxerces.
Nehemiah secures letters,meaning permissions and
authority, as well as supplies.
And then he goes and he surveysby night and rallies the people
to build despite being mocked.
(14:19):
The takeaways for us are askbully, gather intel.
Gather intel quietly.
Answer taunts with theology andjurisdiction, like he did.
Nehemiah 3, what happened?
Families rebuild by namesections to a common standard.
Doors, bolts, bars, we heardthat repeated over and over
again.
There was a standard.
(14:40):
Zeal and negligence were bothrecorded.
If you sucked, the Bible saidit.
And if you were good and youexceeded and you were zealous,
you were recorded.
Build your section, qualitymatters, scriptures, names both
heroes and slackers.
Nehemiah 4, one of my favoritechapters in the whole Bible.
(15:06):
What happens?
Enemies escalate from mockery tocoordinated plots.
Nehemiah answers with prayer andplanning, posts guards by
families, splits the workforce,builders along with spear
bearers, issues a triumph, atrumpet rally SOP, and
establishes the readinessposture, uniform on, weapons at
(15:28):
hand, right?
Always armed, always ready togo.
From dawn until the starsappear, work never stops.
Vigilance never drops.
All right.
One of the key lines is do notbe afraid of them.
Remember the Lord.
This is Nehemiah 4.14, who isgreat and awesome.
And fight for your brothers,your sons, your daughters, your
wives, and your houses.
(15:49):
And the other words there arefurther on down is 420, Nehemiah
4.20.
For our God will fight for us.
All right.
That's when you heard thetrumpet, you would rally to the
spot, and your God would fightfor us, is what Nehemiah said,
which is really great becausetoo many today rely on God to
(16:12):
fight for them all the time andthey do no part.
Here, Nehemiah had them, hadthem trained, had them armed,
had them being vigilant,disciplined, everything.
And they didn't rely on God forany but to bless and for nothing
but to bless their work.
So when they would rally tofight, risking their lives,
doing the right thing, carryingthe armor, ready to go spill
(16:35):
blood, ready to die, God wouldfight for them then, not instead
of them doing that.
All right.
Um and then we see in 423, noneof us took off our clothes.
Each took his weapon even towater.
Okay, so no matter what theywere doing, whether they were
(16:55):
watering or bathing or anything,they had their weapon on them
all the time.
I'll tell you when I used tobodyguard a billion, you know,
billionaires.
Um when I shower, I have my gunwith me in the shower because
there's billions of reasons toget me.
So again, just think about that.
How vulnerable you are whenyou're showering.
(17:21):
So foundational pillars forChristian warriors from Nehemiah
for battle actions, worship towork to warfare.
Okay, prayer fuels progress,progress answers scorn.
Family first defense, crewsarrayed by household, fathers
guard what they build, kidsstand shoulder to shoulder.
(17:42):
Nehemiah was genius.
He put men in strife and to inand warriors to guard and fight
for and work for what they caredabout most, their families.
So instead of going to fight afar-off war, they were fighting
what they cared for right thenand there.
Everything they cared for.
(18:03):
Sword and trial doctrine, buildwith one hand, keep a weapon in
another.
So mission and security arenever separated.
Trumpet protocol, a clearsignal, a known rally point and
confidence, how God will fightfor us.
Readiness, Patra, habitualpreparedness, gear on, weapon
near, water watch.
Readiness is liturgy.
(18:25):
Readiness is liturgy.
Leadership from the front.
Nehemiah is one of the greatestexamples, other than Jesus, in
the whole Bible of what a leadershould be.
Never in my life have I workedfor such a man.
As we're going to see today inNehemiah 5, as he tackles
internal struggles, not externalstruggles, but internal
(18:46):
struggles.
Every leadership you everbooked, you ever bought was
wasted.
All you need is the Bible inNehemiah 5.
Well, four and five.
It is absolutely a master classin how to do everything as a
leader.
So they're all ripping it offand they're all trying to put
their own brand on it.
But Nehemiah, who's one of thebest ever to live.
(19:12):
Because Nehemiah works, watchesarms, and speaks courage.
He sets the tempo.
So stubborn silversteadfastness, post the guard,
keep the watch, continue thework until the stars appear.
Calm under pressure, faithfuland routine.
Now we go to chapter five whereexternal pressure could not stop
(19:33):
the work.
Now the enemy attempts tosabotage within through famine,
economics, predatory lending,and leadership compromise.
unknown (19:45):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (19:45):
Actually, I'm pretty good.
I think I got about 25% in this,so I judged it.
Thank you.
So Nehemiah 5.
Nehemiah stops the oppression ofthe poor.
So we're going to read first,we're going to start with verses
(20:06):
1 through 5.
So Nehemiah 5, 1 through 5.
Now there arose a so Nehemiahstops the oppression of the
poor.
Now there arose a great outcryof the people and of their wives
against their Jewish brothers.
For there were those who said,With our sons and our daughters,
we are many.
So let us get grain that we mayeat and keep alive.
(20:28):
There also were those who said,We are mortgaging our fields,
our vineyards, and our houses toget grain because of the famine.
And there were those who said,We have borrowed money for the
king's tax on our fields and ourvineyards.
Now our flesh is the flesh ofour brothers.
Our children are as theirchildren.
(20:51):
Yet we are forcing our sons anddaughters to be slaves.
And some of our daughters havealready been enslaved.
But it is not in our power tohelp it, for other men have our
fields and our vineyards.
A great outcry, a legal lamentrises against their Jewish
brothers.
The crisis now is internal.
(21:13):
It's not the threat outside.
We have four pressures (21:16):
food shortage, mortgaging field
(22:42):
houses because of the famine,borrowing for the king's tax,
and debt slavery.
We have no power to redeem.
And the Torah, which is whatthey should have been living by,
brotherhood forbids predatorylending.
You are not allowed to chargeinterest, according to the
Torah.
(23:03):
The Bible calls interest evil.
Our whole entire banking systemthat the Bible was against.
(23:26):
Yahweh hears the oppressedcovenant members.
So external enemies failed.
So Nehemiah now, picking it upin verse 6 through 8.
I was very angry when I heardtheir outcry and these words.
I took counsel with myself, andI brought chant uh charges
(23:49):
against the nobles and theofficials, and I said to them,
You are exacting interest eachfrom his brother.
And I held a great assemblyagainst them and said to them,
We, as far as we are able, havebrought back our Jewish brothers
who have been sold to thenations, but you even sell your
(24:09):
brothers that they may be soldto us.
They were silent and could notfind a word to say.
Holy anger bridled, I becameangry.
Self-counsel, I consulted withmyself before public action.
Okay, this is in verses five andsix.
Public charges, you are exactingursary interest from each from
(24:33):
each brother.
Sin plainly named.
Okay, he just said you'recommitting a crime against God,
named it what it was, didn'tbeat around the bush.
They know there's they're introuble.
So the his logic is we redeemedour brothers from Gentiles.
Will you sell your brothersback?
SPEAKER_00 (24:54):
Result, they were silent and they could not find a
word.
They were convicted.
SPEAKER_01 (25:01):
On a heart note, you can see here, Nehemiah is so
wise.
Like, I can't wait to meet thisguy.
I took counsel myself.
I consulted my heart, literally.
Shows governed emotions.
Now listen to this.
Anger is only a good servantwhen yoked to wisdom.
(25:22):
Let me say that again.
Anger is only a good servantwhen combined with to wisdom,
when it is controlled by wisdom.
Nehemiah moves from privatedeliberation to formal charges
(25:42):
to a great assembly.
And this is like people werelike, Well, might be like, why
didn't you take him to a minute?
Because this was public sin.
Public sin needs to be handledpublicly.
Public sin harming many requiresa public form for correction and
protection.
The verb brought back echoesLeviticus 25, 47 through 49.
(26:09):
Godly households spend capitalto free kin, not bind them.
Nehemiah frames lending inside akinsman redeemer logic, not a
prophet logic.
Power and proximity.
The nobles and officials havethe means and the leverage to
(26:31):
help.
They test, the test of power iswhether we lift our brothers or
leverage him.
Do we lift our brothers orleverage him?
Strategic threat, internalpredation bleeds the workforce
and hands propaganda toSandballot and Tobiah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:53):
Moral rot is a security risk.
SPEAKER_01 (26:59):
So as the church community, anger that serves the
flock names the wound, names thelaw that it violated, and names
the remedy.
Imitate the pattern, pause,pray, plan plain speech.
Okay.
(27:19):
Spirit bridled anger confrontsfamily-level injustice in the
open, applying kinsman redeemermercy so the work can continue.
All right, go on to verses fivethrough nine through eleven.
So I said, The thing that youare doing is not good.
(27:39):
Ought you not to walk in feet inthe fear of our God to prevent
the taunts of the nations our ofthe nations our enemies?
Moreover, I and my brothers andmy servants are lending them
money and grain.
Let us abandon this exacting ofinterests.
Return to them this very daytheir fields, their vineyards,
(28:04):
their olive orchards, and theirhouses, and the percentage of
money, grain, wine, and oil thatyou've been taking from them.
SPEAKER_00 (28:11):
Give it all back.
SPEAKER_01 (28:20):
What he's saying is, ought you not to walk in fear of
God?
Like you are violating, likeIsrael just got all their people
back, or they're starting to gettheir people back, and you're
victimizing your own people.
Walk in fear of our God to avoidthe reproach of the nations.
Injustice discredits themission.
(28:42):
He commands now return this veryday.
SPEAKER_00 (28:46):
Fields, vineyards, olive groves, houses.
Nehemiah includes himself.
SPEAKER_01 (28:56):
Repentance starts at the top.
SPEAKER_00 (29:13):
Reproach of the nations.
SPEAKER_01 (29:15):
Herpa, I think I'm pronouncing that.
It's got this may be her pay.
Disgrace, shame.
Internal injustice arms theenemy's mockery, as we saw in
one through three, and slandersYahweh's name among the
outsiders.
I see this in 1 Peter 2 12.
(29:38):
Fear of God defined.
The same ethic anchors 515.
True reverence restrains whatpower and policy might
technically allow.
Application principle.
If it harms the brotherhood, thefear of God says no.
Covenant economics.
Nehemiah applies Leviticus 25,relief and redemption for kin.
(30:02):
And Deuteronomy 15, remission ofprinciples.
This is not coerced leveling.
It is a family mercy insideGod's own household.
The legal mechanics of therestitution of this.
The verbs are concrete.
Return, restore both propertyand the recruit percentage, the
(30:28):
accrued interest, money, grain,wide, oil.
Repentance is measurable.
Urgency this very day sets adate stamp on repentance.
Leaders should make rightimmediately, not after the
project.
Now, some things we have to takeinto consideration here.
(30:50):
Some lending was likelysurvival-based during famine tax
season.
The fix is not a denial of need,but non-exploitation and swift
release once crisis abates.
Nehemiah's restoration is apreview.
(31:12):
Freedom for the bound, good newsfor the poor, debts ultimately
canceled at the cross.
The fear of God produces urgent,measurable restitution that
repairs witness before thenations and restores brother to
strength.
(31:32):
It repairs, it heals.
Nehemiah 12, so picking upverses 12 and 13.
Then they said, We will restore.
These and require nothing fromthem.
We will do as you say.
(31:52):
And I called the priests.
So Nehemiah is not trustingthem.
I called the priests and madethem swear to do as they had
promised.
Right?
So he's invoking the church,bringing them in and making the
priest make this an oath to God.
And here's the here it is.
I also shook out the fold of mygarment and said, Okay, so this
(32:15):
is a curse now he's putting onthem.
So may God shake out every manfrom his house and from his
labor who does not keep his thispromise.
So may he be shaken out andemptied.
And all the assembly said, Amen.
They're all agreeing that theywill be cursed if they don't do
this and praise the Lord.
And the people did as they hadpromised.
(32:38):
They vow before the assembly,before the priest, repentance
becomes public.
God empty the pockets of any whobackslid.
Okay, that's the shakeout, thegarment shake.
People say amen.
They praise Yahweh and do theword.
(33:02):
Priests as witness.
Nehemiah called the priests andmade them swear.
Priests serve as covenantofficers.
They bind the promise before Godand community.
The response includes bothrestoration and cessation.
We will restore and requirenothing from them.
(33:22):
Repentance stops the practiceand repairs the damage.
The symbolic meaning of the foldof the garment functions like a
pouch.
To shake it out is a visibleprayer that God empty the
promise breaker of results andresources.
It parallels covenant curseenactments of Deuteronomy 28,
(33:43):
Ruth 4, 7 through 8 for symbolictransactions.
The congregation's Amen echoesthe covenant Amen pattern of
Deuteronomy 27, 15 through 26and Nehemiah 8.6.
Praise follows repentance andthen obedience, right?
The correct order for renewal.
(34:05):
Repentance, obedience.
Praise follows repentance andobedience.
Community teeth.
Public goals created socialaccountability.
Leaders and people may appeal tothe vow if backsliding appears.
This protects the weak andstabilizes the work.
(34:29):
When sins are public andstructural, repentance should be
public and specific, including adated plan and named stewards.
Godly repentance is public,specific, symbol sealed, and
immediately actionable.
Hold on with me, we don't havemuch more.
(34:51):
Verses 14 through 16, Nehemiah'sgenerosity.
Moreover, from that, from thetime that I was appointed to be
their governor in the land ofJudah, from the 20th year to the
32nd year of our taxerces theking, 12 years, neither I nor my
brothers ate the food allowanceof the governor.
(35:14):
The former governors who werebefore me laid heavy burdens on
the people and took from themtheir daily ration, 40 shekels
of silver.
Even their servants lorded itover the people.
But I did not do so because ofthe fear of God.
I also persevered in the work onthis wall, and we acquired no
(35:36):
land, and all my servants weregathered there for the work.
Twelve years of restraint.
Nehemiah refuses the governorhis allowance, refused to take
what is entitled to him becauseit puts a burden on the people.
On top of that, he works on thewall and buys no land.
(35:56):
He could exploit his position.
It's legal for him to do this.
But he'd no profiteering incrisis.
He refuses to make a profit incrisis.
Imagine if we had politicianslike that.
And why does he do it?
SPEAKER_00 (36:12):
Because he fears God.
How many of us fear God?
Not enough.
Not nearly enough.
SPEAKER_01 (36:22):
Persian governors received a food allowance and
could levy provisions.
Prior administrations laid heavyburdens and extracted 40 shekels
of silver plus perquisities.
Even their servants lorded itover the people.
Nehemiah rolls back these customprivileges to ease the people's
(36:43):
load.
He models self-denial and power,not because policy forbids the
benefits, but because the fearof God restrains what is
technically permissible.
Leadership that fears God asks,Will this burden the flock?
SPEAKER_00 (37:02):
Before it asks, Am I entitled to this?
See the difference there?
SPEAKER_01 (37:07):
Before it asks, is this going to hurt the flock?
Before am I entitled to this?
No land acquisition.
We acquired no land during atime when the distressed sellers
are vulnerable, meaning everyonethere is poor.
And Nehemiah could have suckedup all the land because he had
(37:28):
money and instead took theirland instead of you know giving
them money.
He instead took none.
This rejects disastercapitalism.
SPEAKER_00 (37:46):
And honors kin redeemer mercy.
These are his brothers.
Do we love people enough likethat?
SPEAKER_01 (37:58):
Hands in the work.
All my servants were gatheredthere for work.
Administrative staff werereallocated to the mission.
Visibility matters.
The people saw their leaderssweat.
Former governors took Nehemiahgives.
(38:21):
Nehemiah's servants build.
The text spotlights a reversalof culture under God's fearing
leadership.
To work for men like that.
Dear Lord, we all well, we allwork for Jesus like that, but I
can't even imagine it.
So anathema.
(38:41):
It's anathema in the military,it's anathema in the corporate
world, it's anathema everywhere.
Nobody takes care of theirpeople like that.
No one that I've encountered.
Transparency about benefits,purchasing and work assignments
prevents quiet exploitation.
(39:03):
Household parallels.
Heads of homes.
Set a family cap ondiscretionary comforts while any
in your care are burdened.
God-fearing leaders denythemselves, refuse profit from
crisis, and put their own handsand teams to the work.
(39:23):
Last section.
Moreover, there were at my table150 men, Jews and officials,
besides those who came to usfrom the nations that were
around us.
Now what was prepared at myexpense for each day was one ox,
six choice sheep, and birds, andevery ten days all kinds of wine
(39:49):
in abundance.
Yet for all this I did notdemand the food allowance of the
governor, because the servicewas too heavy on the people.
Remember for my good, oh my God,all that I have done for this
people.
Hospitality is governance, adaily table of 150 plus
prisoners at Nehemiah's expense.
(40:11):
Remember, listen to his prayer.
Remember for my good, oh my God,not wages, but covenant appeal
under the fear of God.
SPEAKER_00 (40:22):
The ethic is this leaders feed, not fleece.
SPEAKER_01 (40:29):
Scale and logistics of this.
One ox, six choice sheep, andbirds per day is a serious
supply chain, herb management,butchering, storage, cooks.
Okay.
Nehemiah converts administrativebudget into human fuel for the
mission.
As farmers, Lord, I can't evenimagine that.
SPEAKER_00 (40:54):
Killing a bull every day.
Six sheep, plus all thechickens.
That's the birds.
SPEAKER_01 (41:06):
The cost is absorbed, the board and burden
is really is relieved.
He still refuses the foodallowance because the service
was too heavy on his people.
The calculus, if the people areloaded, leadership if the people
are loaded, leadership lightens.
SPEAKER_00 (41:34):
Open table, open doors.
SPEAKER_01 (41:35):
The guest list includes officials and those
from the nations around.
The table becomes diplomacy,intelligence, and discipleship.
Hospitality stabilizes a tenseperimeter.
We do not do enough hospitality,my brothers and sisters.
Hospitality is not optional.
1 Timothy 1, 3 and 2, Titus 1.8.
(41:59):
They requires it.
Nehemiah's table meets elderstandards at scale.
SPEAKER_00 (42:08):
Theology of remembrance.
SPEAKER_01 (42:10):
Remember for good is not merit banking.
It is a covenant appeal.
Leaders pour out and entrust thereward to God.
A governor feeding many at hisown expense foreshadows the
great greater governor, thegreatest governor, who spreads a
table at his own cost, Christ.
(42:31):
Our tables preach this.
Our stewardship principle isturn perks into provisions,
transform line items that padleadership into supplies that
strengthen workers and welcomestrangers.
Large hospitality requiresguardrails, budget, menu, team,
(42:52):
prayer.
The purpose is to fuel formission, not feasting for
status.
God-fearing leaders turnpersonal privilege into public
provision and trust God alone toremember their work.
In closing, Nehemiah 5 teachesus that the wall is not merely
(43:14):
stone and timber.
It is covenant life.
When the fear of God rules theheart, brothers are not
leveraged but lifted.
Debts are not tools of power,but occasions for mercy.
Leaders do not take theirallowance, but take up the work.
(43:34):
Today is the day to return thisvery day.
To restore what we havewithheld, to release what we
have bound, to repair what wehave broken, to reopen our
tables.
Let the world see that our Godis great and awesome, not only
in how we fight our enemies, buthow we love our own.
(43:57):
Fear God, free your brothers,finish your section of the wall.
Some quotes of some famouspeople who I think who get this.
Martin Luther.
John Chrysostom, if you cannotfind Christ in the beggar at
(44:19):
your church door, you will notfind him in the chalice.
Charles Spurgeon, where there isthe fear of God, there is the
bridle for the mouth and thecurb for the desires.
And then Dietrich Bonhoeffer,the church is the church only
when it exists for others, notdominating, but helping and
(44:39):
serving.
And then Hudson Taylor, God'swork done in God's way will
never lack God's supply.
Let us pray.
Captain of our salvation, greatand awesome God, teach us your
fear that frees the captive andsteadies the hand.
Where we have taken, move us toreturn this very day.
(45:02):
Where we have leveraged abrother's weakness, make us
quick to restore with joy.
Purge greed from our camp.
Plant generosity in our hearts.
Make our homes open tables andour lives open ledgers.
Give our leaders courage to denythemselves and strength to feed
the flock.
(45:23):
Knit our households into ashield wall, faithful, watchful,
and ready.
Establish the work of our hands,free the brother, fill the
table, finish the wall for thehonor of King Jesus.
Amen.
Now may the God of peace whobrought up from the dead the
great shepherd of the sheepthrough the blood of the eternal
covenant, Jesus our Lord, equipyou in every good thing to do
(45:47):
his will, working in us thatwhich is pleasing in his sight
through Jesus Christ, to whom bethe glory forever and ever.
Amen.
God bless you.
Sorry we're so late tonight.
Alright, good evening, everyone.
Happy Lord's Day to you.
SPEAKER_00 (00:33):
Um let me get a sound check and we will roll.
Happy Lord's Day to you.
SPEAKER_01 (00:44):
Alright, you guys can hear me.
Happy Lord's Day to you.
I hope you guys had a greatSunday and that um and you had a
great week.
I know we sure did.
Lauren, my amazing, incredible,awesome wife, couldn't ask for a
better one, but she did amassive uh underestimation on a
(01:13):
family project.
Um she wanted to do a walkwayout front, and she watched all
these uh you know social mediavideos of people doing things
really fast on the internet, andit's like and all you hear is
(01:35):
these sounds of and it justflies up so cool.
Well, none of those videosshowed the digging, so we ended
up having to dig it all up byhand with a pickaxe and a
shovel, and we went down abouteight inches um for a pretty
(01:57):
good sized walkway.
And um my back is completelygarbage from like from the
ground till about mid-shin.
I am I'm useless.
That's just where my back injuryis.
And if I spend a lot of timedown there, well then I'm toast.
Um, I'll have a back attackwithin a you know, that day or
(02:20):
within days, and I'll be out.
So Lauren had to handleeverything from on the ground.
It was my job to move and pourand do all the rest of the
stuff.
Um, and with a lot of huddlingand uh and a lot of um learning
(02:41):
and relearning, a lot ofpatience, and a lot of uh
sanctification, we built apretty darn cool walkway.
Um, you know, we did 16-inchpavers for most of it uh with
you know some uh pea gravelsurrounding it and uh and then
(03:08):
some like retaining wall stonesor fireplace, fire pit stones on
the outside lining it.
And then towards the end, youknow, was it imperfect?
When Lauren figured it out, shemeasured it, but she didn't
center it, center the walkwaycoming in on the door.
(03:29):
So one of the improvements Irecommended was that we center
the turn, you know, the walkwaywalks in front, you know,
parallel to our house and thenturns perpendicular and walks
into our house.
That should be centered on thedoor.
So we had like a weird leftoverspace at the end.
(03:49):
So I had to go back to HomeDepot for like the fifth time.
And because whatever program wewere using severely
underestimated all the sand.
I think we had about 100 bags ofsand in the end, but um well,
pretty darn close to it.
But uh I went and I got these uhseven and three-quarter inch
(04:10):
pavers um that were the samecolor as you know, as the
concrete 16-inch stones, and itworked out great.
It looks fantastic.
My wife did an amazing job.
I love working with her.
You know, she's never one ofthose people you have to drag
through things.
In fact, I won't work with mywife when I got to drag her
(04:31):
through stuff, uh, which israre, very rare.
But if I feel like her heels aredigging in, done.
Right?
My wife, otherwise, is just amachine.
And um and I love working withher.
It's how our security companybecame so formidable because we
would work 90 hours a week.
(04:53):
Like we would just sleep andlike work, work, work, work out,
sleep, and then would be work,work, work, work, work, work,
work.
You know, that was that was it.
And we were able to outcompetelike multi-million dollar,
billion-dollar firms, becausethey would go to they would stop
on the weekend and we would getanother 40 hours a week.
(05:17):
You know, another 40 hours donethat weekend, or pretty darn
close to it.
Well, definitely 40 if youconsider Saturday night.
So, I mean Friday night.
So, yeah, um, so it was great towork with Lauren.
Um, you know, as long as we'renot trying to figure out who's
saying and doing what, likedebating on who's in charge, or
(05:40):
once we both we know whose planwe're going on on the given
project, it's smooth sailingafter that.
And she is such a joy to workwith.
Um, she doesn't get down, she'sthe most patient person I've
ever seen.
And to do this with atwo-year-old toddler who is um
determined to blow up ourproject at every step of the
(06:04):
way, and two girls that reallywant to be included in
everything and slow it down somuch.
You know, here we are shovelingsand, and then, you know, my
three and a half year old orthree and three-quarters,
whatever, she's gonna be four inDecember, has this little
(06:24):
shovel.
Well, that's like this big thatwith this much sand in it, and
she's like, turn, that meansit's her turn.
So we all have to stop shovelingfor her to come up and put a
little shovel in.
And the team guy in me waslosing his mind.
But my wife, she just impressesme so much.
(06:45):
So um, Shield Maine, she is inmore ways than one.
So, again, happy Lord's Day toyou.
I know that was a pretty uhelongated hello, but welcome to
Christian Warrior Mission, ahome church, community,
ministry, and farm forgingChristian Warriors for today's
challenge.
Christian Warrior Missionsforges men, women, and families
(07:09):
into battle-ready disciples ofKing Jesus, locking shields and
advancing on every front, soChrist is honored.
His people are protected, andhis kingdom surges into every
sphere of life.
Advance on every front, everyday.
No excuses, no retreats.
Some announcements.
We have Reformation Day comingup.
That is Friday, October 31st.
(07:31):
We are going to celebrate theLord of light.
And we are going to reclaim thatday from darkness as Reformation
Day, the day that Martin Luthernailed his challenge to the
Catholic Church on the on thechurch door.
So that's what we're going todo.
(07:51):
And there'll be wholesomecostumes.
You know, we'll be singing,cider cocoa, beverages, um,
food, um, bonfire, games,goodies for the kids,
everything.
So here comes my wife.
She's not she's gonna see if shecan not make it on camera.
She's in her uh fashion assassinright now.
(08:17):
So, all right, so we got that.
We also are going to schedule acrossfield day if you want to
come down and help us reclaimthe crosshill mountain, whatever
you want to call it, pavilionfrom the jungle that is
overtaking it.
And then big days on thecalendar from the farm side is
(08:40):
we are processing Karen in twoweeks, next week, in a week and
a half, and pork chop shortlythereafter.
Once we figure out our freezerspace situation, we might have
to get another freezer.
unknown (08:52):
Definitely.
SPEAKER_01 (08:54):
So we definitely have to get another freezer.
So we'll be doing that.
Um, so all good stuff.
All right, so in addition, um,as you guys know here, we fall,
we deliberately pursue thefollowing seven battlefields.
We fight these every day.
All right, and this is a part ofthe Christian journey.
(09:14):
I just characterized it this waybecause this is the only way
where I don't just spin aroundin circles sucking at
everything.
Faith, we fight forrelationships, we deliberately
pursue a relationship with ourLord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Family, we deliberately pursuerelationships with our family,
like deep, meaningful,Christ-centered relationships.
(09:36):
Fitness, we fight ourselves tobe the best vessel for the Holy
Spirit we can be, and to befunctional and um and just be
good stewards of this body thatGod gave us.
Fundamentals, we try to becomethe best asset we can be, trying
(09:57):
to sharpen the skills we haveand learn new ones.
Always trying to become a betterasset to yourself, your family,
and your community.
Finances, we fight to rule ourwar chests, to be free of the
slavery of debt and materialismor greed.
Fellowship, we fight for godlyrelations.
Fight to have people who aredragging to have the people in
(10:21):
our life be people that are thatare lifting us up to heaven and
not dragging us down to hell.
And then fidelity.
We fight ourselves for to befaithful to Christ and our
spouses and all that we do.
For our word is our word, and wemean it.
And our eyeballs are gods, ourears are gods, hearts are gods,
(10:45):
and of course, those of us whoare married, our eyes are only
for our spouse, our hearts areonly for our spouse.
So let's go to prayer and startthis.
King Jesus, Captain and KingsmanRedeemer, you have gathered this
company under your banner,consecrated our hands and
(11:06):
hearts, drive out the leavengreed, bitterness, and
partiality, teach us to fear Godthat frees the oppressed and
binds the strong men.
Make us quick to repent,courageous to confront, eager to
restore, establish the work forour hands, the guarding of your
(11:26):
people, and the glory of yourname.
Amen.
Now, if you're looking for anexample of how to pray, you need
to look no further than theLord's Prayer in Matthew 6, 9
through 13, when the disciplesasked Jesus how they should
pray, and gave the followingexample.
Pray then in this way (11:48):
our Father who is in heaven,
hallowed be your name, yourkingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our dailybread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven ourdebtors.
And do not lead us intotemptation, but deliver us from
the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom and thepower and the glory forever.
(12:08):
Amen.
All right, we are in Nehemiah 5this week.
And um we've taught Nehemiah 1,2, 3, and 4, and now Nehemiah 5.
To refresh you on the setting,this is it.
It is the Persian Empire underArtax Xerces the first, 465 to
(12:31):
424 BC.
Capitals and distances are theplaces that we covered in the
first one.
Nehemiah begins in Susa, thewinter capital, and the trek to
Jerusalem is 900 miles, a threeto four month caravan through
hostile terrain.
So that's what he had to travelto get there.
All right, it's not like todayyou hop in a car and you can
(12:54):
drive 2,000 miles in like notime, or hop in a plane and
cover it in a couple of fewhours.
No, this was slow moving.
The province is Yehud, Judah, isa small taxed Persian province
with a ruined capital, sparsepopulation, and mixed
(13:14):
hostilities on every side.
The bad guys in this, theadversaries in this, are
Sembalat, the Huronite, likelythe governor of Samaria.
Dobiah, the Emmonite official,with deep ties in the Judah's
elite.
Geshem the Arab, who controlsthe southern trade routes.
(13:36):
A rapid review of Nehemiah 1through 4.
Nehemiah 1, what happened?
News of Jerusalem ruins, a ruinbreaks Nehemiah.
He fasts and prays a covenantprayer.
The takeaways from it are wefear God, confess specifically,
own the problem, start withprayer before plans.
(13:57):
Nehemiah 2, what happened?
God grants favor for Nehemiahwith our taxerces.
Nehemiah secures letters,meaning permissions and
authority, as well as supplies.
And then he goes and he surveysby night and rallies the people
to build despite being mocked.
(14:19):
The takeaways for us are askbully, gather intel.
Gather intel quietly.
Answer taunts with theology andjurisdiction, like he did.
Nehemiah 3, what happened?
Families rebuild by namesections to a common standard.
Doors, bolts, bars, we heardthat repeated over and over
again.
There was a standard.
(14:40):
Zeal and negligence were bothrecorded.
If you sucked, the Bible saidit.
And if you were good and youexceeded and you were zealous,
you were recorded.
Build your section, qualitymatters, scriptures, names both
heroes and slackers.
Nehemiah 4, one of my favoritechapters in the whole Bible.
(15:06):
What happens?
Enemies escalate from mockery tocoordinated plots.
Nehemiah answers with prayer andplanning, posts guards by
families, splits the workforce,builders along with spear
bearers, issues a triumph, atrumpet rally SOP, and
establishes the readinessposture, uniform on, weapons at
(15:28):
hand, right?
Always armed, always ready togo.
From dawn until the starsappear, work never stops.
Vigilance never drops.
All right.
One of the key lines is do notbe afraid of them.
Remember the Lord.
This is Nehemiah 4.14, who isgreat and awesome.
And fight for your brothers,your sons, your daughters, your
wives, and your houses.
(15:49):
And the other words there arefurther on down is 420, Nehemiah
4.20.
For our God will fight for us.
All right.
That's when you heard thetrumpet, you would rally to the
spot, and your God would fightfor us, is what Nehemiah said,
which is really great becausetoo many today rely on God to
(16:12):
fight for them all the time andthey do no part.
Here, Nehemiah had them, hadthem trained, had them armed,
had them being vigilant,disciplined, everything.
And they didn't rely on God forany but to bless and for nothing
but to bless their work.
So when they would rally tofight, risking their lives,
doing the right thing, carryingthe armor, ready to go spill
(16:35):
blood, ready to die, God wouldfight for them then, not instead
of them doing that.
All right.
Um and then we see in 423, noneof us took off our clothes.
Each took his weapon even towater.
Okay, so no matter what theywere doing, whether they were
(16:55):
watering or bathing or anything,they had their weapon on them
all the time.
I'll tell you when I used tobodyguard a billion, you know,
billionaires.
Um when I shower, I have my gunwith me in the shower because
there's billions of reasons toget me.
So again, just think about that.
How vulnerable you are whenyou're showering.
(17:21):
So foundational pillars forChristian warriors from Nehemiah
for battle actions, worship towork to warfare.
Okay, prayer fuels progress,progress answers scorn.
Family first defense, crewsarrayed by household, fathers
guard what they build, kidsstand shoulder to shoulder.
(17:42):
Nehemiah was genius.
He put men in strife and to inand warriors to guard and fight
for and work for what they caredabout most, their families.
So instead of going to fight afar-off war, they were fighting
what they cared for right thenand there.
Everything they cared for.
(18:03):
Sword and trial doctrine, buildwith one hand, keep a weapon in
another.
So mission and security arenever separated.
Trumpet protocol, a clearsignal, a known rally point and
confidence, how God will fightfor us.
Readiness, Patra, habitualpreparedness, gear on, weapon
near, water watch.
Readiness is liturgy.
(18:25):
Readiness is liturgy.
Leadership from the front.
Nehemiah is one of the greatestexamples, other than Jesus, in
the whole Bible of what a leadershould be.
Never in my life have I workedfor such a man.
As we're going to see today inNehemiah 5, as he tackles
internal struggles, not externalstruggles, but internal
(18:46):
struggles.
Every leadership you everbooked, you ever bought was
wasted.
All you need is the Bible inNehemiah 5.
Well, four and five.
It is absolutely a master classin how to do everything as a
leader.
So they're all ripping it offand they're all trying to put
their own brand on it.
But Nehemiah, who's one of thebest ever to live.
(19:12):
Because Nehemiah works, watchesarms, and speaks courage.
He sets the tempo.
So stubborn silversteadfastness, post the guard,
keep the watch, continue thework until the stars appear.
Calm under pressure, faithfuland routine.
Now we go to chapter five whereexternal pressure could not stop
(19:33):
the work.
Now the enemy attempts tosabotage within through famine,
economics, predatory lending,and leadership compromise.
unknown (19:45):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (19:45):
Actually, I'm pretty good.
I think I got about 25% in this,so I judged it.
Thank you.
So Nehemiah 5.
Nehemiah stops the oppression ofthe poor.
So we're going to read first,we're going to start with verses
(20:06):
1 through 5.
So Nehemiah 5, 1 through 5.
Now there arose a so Nehemiahstops the oppression of the
poor.
Now there arose a great outcryof the people and of their wives
against their Jewish brothers.
For there were those who said,With our sons and our daughters,
we are many.
So let us get grain that we mayeat and keep alive.
(20:28):
There also were those who said,We are mortgaging our fields,
our vineyards, and our houses toget grain because of the famine.
And there were those who said,We have borrowed money for the
king's tax on our fields and ourvineyards.
Now our flesh is the flesh ofour brothers.
Our children are as theirchildren.
(20:51):
Yet we are forcing our sons anddaughters to be slaves.
And some of our daughters havealready been enslaved.
But it is not in our power tohelp it, for other men have our
fields and our vineyards.
A great outcry, a legal lamentrises against their Jewish
brothers.
The crisis now is internal.
(21:13):
It's not the threat outside.
We have four pressures (21:16):
food shortage, mortgaging field
(22:42):
houses because of the famine,borrowing for the king's tax,
and debt slavery.
We have no power to redeem.
And the Torah, which is whatthey should have been living by,
brotherhood forbids predatorylending.
You are not allowed to chargeinterest, according to the
Torah.
(23:03):
The Bible calls interest evil.
Our whole entire banking systemthat the Bible was against.
(23:26):
Yahweh hears the oppressedcovenant members.
So external enemies failed.
So Nehemiah now, picking it upin verse 6 through 8.
I was very angry when I heardtheir outcry and these words.
I took counsel with myself, andI brought chant uh charges
(23:49):
against the nobles and theofficials, and I said to them,
You are exacting interest eachfrom his brother.
And I held a great assemblyagainst them and said to them,
We, as far as we are able, havebrought back our Jewish brothers
who have been sold to thenations, but you even sell your
(24:09):
brothers that they may be soldto us.
They were silent and could notfind a word to say.
Holy anger bridled, I becameangry.
Self-counsel, I consulted withmyself before public action.
Okay, this is in verses five andsix.
Public charges, you are exactingursary interest from each from
(24:33):
each brother.
Sin plainly named.
Okay, he just said you'recommitting a crime against God,
named it what it was, didn'tbeat around the bush.
They know there's they're introuble.
So the his logic is we redeemedour brothers from Gentiles.
Will you sell your brothersback?
SPEAKER_00 (24:54):
Result, they were silent and they could not find a
word.
They were convicted.
SPEAKER_01 (25:01):
On a heart note, you can see here, Nehemiah is so
wise.
Like, I can't wait to meet thisguy.
I took counsel myself.
I consulted my heart, literally.
Shows governed emotions.
Now listen to this.
Anger is only a good servantwhen yoked to wisdom.
(25:22):
Let me say that again.
Anger is only a good servantwhen combined with to wisdom,
when it is controlled by wisdom.
Nehemiah moves from privatedeliberation to formal charges
(25:42):
to a great assembly.
And this is like people werelike, Well, might be like, why
didn't you take him to a minute?
Because this was public sin.
Public sin needs to be handledpublicly.
Public sin harming many requiresa public form for correction and
protection.
The verb brought back echoesLeviticus 25, 47 through 49.
(26:09):
Godly households spend capitalto free kin, not bind them.
Nehemiah frames lending inside akinsman redeemer logic, not a
prophet logic.
Power and proximity.
The nobles and officials havethe means and the leverage to
(26:31):
help.
They test, the test of power iswhether we lift our brothers or
leverage him.
Do we lift our brothers orleverage him?
Strategic threat, internalpredation bleeds the workforce
and hands propaganda toSandballot and Tobiah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:53):
Moral rot is a security risk.
SPEAKER_01 (26:59):
So as the church community, anger that serves the
flock names the wound, names thelaw that it violated, and names
the remedy.
Imitate the pattern, pause,pray, plan plain speech.
Okay.
(27:19):
Spirit bridled anger confrontsfamily-level injustice in the
open, applying kinsman redeemermercy so the work can continue.
All right, go on to verses fivethrough nine through eleven.
So I said, The thing that youare doing is not good.
(27:39):
Ought you not to walk in feet inthe fear of our God to prevent
the taunts of the nations our ofthe nations our enemies?
Moreover, I and my brothers andmy servants are lending them
money and grain.
Let us abandon this exacting ofinterests.
Return to them this very daytheir fields, their vineyards,
(28:04):
their olive orchards, and theirhouses, and the percentage of
money, grain, wine, and oil thatyou've been taking from them.
SPEAKER_00 (28:11):
Give it all back.
SPEAKER_01 (28:20):
What he's saying is, ought you not to walk in fear of
God?
Like you are violating, likeIsrael just got all their people
back, or they're starting to gettheir people back, and you're
victimizing your own people.
Walk in fear of our God to avoidthe reproach of the nations.
Injustice discredits themission.
(28:42):
He commands now return this veryday.
SPEAKER_00 (28:46):
Fields, vineyards, olive groves, houses.
Nehemiah includes himself.
SPEAKER_01 (28:56):
Repentance starts at the top.
SPEAKER_00 (29:13):
Reproach of the nations.
SPEAKER_01 (29:15):
Herpa, I think I'm pronouncing that.
It's got this may be her pay.
Disgrace, shame.
Internal injustice arms theenemy's mockery, as we saw in
one through three, and slandersYahweh's name among the
outsiders.
I see this in 1 Peter 2 12.
(29:38):
Fear of God defined.
The same ethic anchors 515.
True reverence restrains whatpower and policy might
technically allow.
Application principle.
If it harms the brotherhood, thefear of God says no.
Covenant economics.
Nehemiah applies Leviticus 25,relief and redemption for kin.
(30:02):
And Deuteronomy 15, remission ofprinciples.
This is not coerced leveling.
It is a family mercy insideGod's own household.
The legal mechanics of therestitution of this.
The verbs are concrete.
Return, restore both propertyand the recruit percentage, the
(30:28):
accrued interest, money, grain,wide, oil.
Repentance is measurable.
Urgency this very day sets adate stamp on repentance.
Leaders should make rightimmediately, not after the
project.
Now, some things we have to takeinto consideration here.
(30:50):
Some lending was likelysurvival-based during famine tax
season.
The fix is not a denial of need,but non-exploitation and swift
release once crisis abates.
Nehemiah's restoration is apreview.
(31:12):
Freedom for the bound, good newsfor the poor, debts ultimately
canceled at the cross.
The fear of God produces urgent,measurable restitution that
repairs witness before thenations and restores brother to
strength.
(31:32):
It repairs, it heals.
Nehemiah 12, so picking upverses 12 and 13.
Then they said, We will restore.
These and require nothing fromthem.
We will do as you say.
(31:52):
And I called the priests.
So Nehemiah is not trustingthem.
I called the priests and madethem swear to do as they had
promised.
Right?
So he's invoking the church,bringing them in and making the
priest make this an oath to God.
And here's the here it is.
I also shook out the fold of mygarment and said, Okay, so this
(32:15):
is a curse now he's putting onthem.
So may God shake out every manfrom his house and from his
labor who does not keep his thispromise.
So may he be shaken out andemptied.
And all the assembly said, Amen.
They're all agreeing that theywill be cursed if they don't do
this and praise the Lord.
And the people did as they hadpromised.
(32:38):
They vow before the assembly,before the priest, repentance
becomes public.
God empty the pockets of any whobackslid.
Okay, that's the shakeout, thegarment shake.
People say amen.
They praise Yahweh and do theword.
(33:02):
Priests as witness.
Nehemiah called the priests andmade them swear.
Priests serve as covenantofficers.
They bind the promise before Godand community.
The response includes bothrestoration and cessation.
We will restore and requirenothing from them.
(33:22):
Repentance stops the practiceand repairs the damage.
The symbolic meaning of the foldof the garment functions like a
pouch.
To shake it out is a visibleprayer that God empty the
promise breaker of results andresources.
It parallels covenant curseenactments of Deuteronomy 28,
(33:43):
Ruth 4, 7 through 8 for symbolictransactions.
The congregation's Amen echoesthe covenant Amen pattern of
Deuteronomy 27, 15 through 26and Nehemiah 8.6.
Praise follows repentance andthen obedience, right?
The correct order for renewal.
(34:05):
Repentance, obedience.
Praise follows repentance andobedience.
Community teeth.
Public goals created socialaccountability.
Leaders and people may appeal tothe vow if backsliding appears.
This protects the weak andstabilizes the work.
(34:29):
When sins are public andstructural, repentance should be
public and specific, including adated plan and named stewards.
Godly repentance is public,specific, symbol sealed, and
immediately actionable.
Hold on with me, we don't havemuch more.
(34:51):
Verses 14 through 16, Nehemiah'sgenerosity.
Moreover, from that, from thetime that I was appointed to be
their governor in the land ofJudah, from the 20th year to the
32nd year of our taxerces theking, 12 years, neither I nor my
brothers ate the food allowanceof the governor.
(35:14):
The former governors who werebefore me laid heavy burdens on
the people and took from themtheir daily ration, 40 shekels
of silver.
Even their servants lorded itover the people.
But I did not do so because ofthe fear of God.
I also persevered in the work onthis wall, and we acquired no
(35:36):
land, and all my servants weregathered there for the work.
Twelve years of restraint.
Nehemiah refuses the governorhis allowance, refused to take
what is entitled to him becauseit puts a burden on the people.
On top of that, he works on thewall and buys no land.
(35:56):
He could exploit his position.
It's legal for him to do this.
But he'd no profiteering incrisis.
He refuses to make a profit incrisis.
Imagine if we had politicianslike that.
And why does he do it?
SPEAKER_00 (36:12):
Because he fears God.
How many of us fear God?
Not enough.
Not nearly enough.
SPEAKER_01 (36:22):
Persian governors received a food allowance and
could levy provisions.
Prior administrations laid heavyburdens and extracted 40 shekels
of silver plus perquisities.
Even their servants lorded itover the people.
Nehemiah rolls back these customprivileges to ease the people's
(36:43):
load.
He models self-denial and power,not because policy forbids the
benefits, but because the fearof God restrains what is
technically permissible.
Leadership that fears God asks,Will this burden the flock?
SPEAKER_00 (37:02):
Before it asks, Am I entitled to this?
See the difference there?
SPEAKER_01 (37:07):
Before it asks, is this going to hurt the flock?
Before am I entitled to this?
No land acquisition.
We acquired no land during atime when the distressed sellers
are vulnerable, meaning everyonethere is poor.
And Nehemiah could have suckedup all the land because he had
(37:28):
money and instead took theirland instead of you know giving
them money.
He instead took none.
This rejects disastercapitalism.
SPEAKER_00 (37:46):
And honors kin redeemer mercy.
These are his brothers.
Do we love people enough likethat?
SPEAKER_01 (37:58):
Hands in the work.
All my servants were gatheredthere for work.
Administrative staff werereallocated to the mission.
Visibility matters.
The people saw their leaderssweat.
Former governors took Nehemiahgives.
(38:21):
Nehemiah's servants build.
The text spotlights a reversalof culture under God's fearing
leadership.
To work for men like that.
Dear Lord, we all well, we allwork for Jesus like that, but I
can't even imagine it.
So anathema.
(38:41):
It's anathema in the military,it's anathema in the corporate
world, it's anathema everywhere.
Nobody takes care of theirpeople like that.
No one that I've encountered.
Transparency about benefits,purchasing and work assignments
prevents quiet exploitation.
(39:03):
Household parallels.
Heads of homes.
Set a family cap ondiscretionary comforts while any
in your care are burdened.
God-fearing leaders denythemselves, refuse profit from
crisis, and put their own handsand teams to the work.
(39:23):
Last section.
Moreover, there were at my table150 men, Jews and officials,
besides those who came to usfrom the nations that were
around us.
Now what was prepared at myexpense for each day was one ox,
six choice sheep, and birds, andevery ten days all kinds of wine
(39:49):
in abundance.
Yet for all this I did notdemand the food allowance of the
governor, because the servicewas too heavy on the people.
Remember for my good, oh my God,all that I have done for this
people.
Hospitality is governance, adaily table of 150 plus
prisoners at Nehemiah's expense.
(40:11):
Remember, listen to his prayer.
Remember for my good, oh my God,not wages, but covenant appeal
under the fear of God.
SPEAKER_00 (40:22):
The ethic is this leaders feed, not fleece.
SPEAKER_01 (40:29):
Scale and logistics of this.
One ox, six choice sheep, andbirds per day is a serious
supply chain, herb management,butchering, storage, cooks.
Okay.
Nehemiah converts administrativebudget into human fuel for the
mission.
As farmers, Lord, I can't evenimagine that.
SPEAKER_00 (40:54):
Killing a bull every day.
Six sheep, plus all thechickens.
That's the birds.
SPEAKER_01 (41:06):
The cost is absorbed, the board and burden
is really is relieved.
He still refuses the foodallowance because the service
was too heavy on his people.
The calculus, if the people areloaded, leadership if the people
are loaded, leadership lightens.
SPEAKER_00 (41:34):
Open table, open doors.
SPEAKER_01 (41:35):
The guest list includes officials and those
from the nations around.
The table becomes diplomacy,intelligence, and discipleship.
Hospitality stabilizes a tenseperimeter.
We do not do enough hospitality,my brothers and sisters.
Hospitality is not optional.
1 Timothy 1, 3 and 2, Titus 1.8.
(41:59):
They requires it.
Nehemiah's table meets elderstandards at scale.
SPEAKER_00 (42:08):
Theology of remembrance.
SPEAKER_01 (42:10):
Remember for good is not merit banking.
It is a covenant appeal.
Leaders pour out and entrust thereward to God.
A governor feeding many at hisown expense foreshadows the
great greater governor, thegreatest governor, who spreads a
table at his own cost, Christ.
(42:31):
Our tables preach this.
Our stewardship principle isturn perks into provisions,
transform line items that padleadership into supplies that
strengthen workers and welcomestrangers.
Large hospitality requiresguardrails, budget, menu, team,
(42:52):
prayer.
The purpose is to fuel formission, not feasting for
status.
God-fearing leaders turnpersonal privilege into public
provision and trust God alone toremember their work.
In closing, Nehemiah 5 teachesus that the wall is not merely
(43:14):
stone and timber.
It is covenant life.
When the fear of God rules theheart, brothers are not
leveraged but lifted.
Debts are not tools of power,but occasions for mercy.
Leaders do not take theirallowance, but take up the work.
(43:34):
Today is the day to return thisvery day.
To restore what we havewithheld, to release what we
have bound, to repair what wehave broken, to reopen our
tables.
Let the world see that our Godis great and awesome, not only
in how we fight our enemies, buthow we love our own.
(43:57):
Fear God, free your brothers,finish your section of the wall.
Some quotes of some famouspeople who I think who get this.
Martin Luther.
John Chrysostom, if you cannotfind Christ in the beggar at
(44:19):
your church door, you will notfind him in the chalice.
Charles Spurgeon, where there isthe fear of God, there is the
bridle for the mouth and thecurb for the desires.
And then Dietrich Bonhoeffer,the church is the church only
when it exists for others, notdominating, but helping and
(44:39):
serving.
And then Hudson Taylor, God'swork done in God's way will
never lack God's supply.
Let us pray.
Captain of our salvation, greatand awesome God, teach us your
fear that frees the captive andsteadies the hand.
Where we have taken, move us toreturn this very day.
(45:02):
Where we have leveraged abrother's weakness, make us
quick to restore with joy.
Purge greed from our camp.
Plant generosity in our hearts.
Make our homes open tables andour lives open ledgers.
Give our leaders courage to denythemselves and strength to feed
the flock.
(45:23):
Knit our households into ashield wall, faithful, watchful,
and ready.
Establish the work of our hands,free the brother, fill the
table, finish the wall for thehonor of King Jesus.
Amen.
Now may the God of peace whobrought up from the dead the
great shepherd of the sheepthrough the blood of the eternal
covenant, Jesus our Lord, equipyou in every good thing to do
(45:47):
his will, working in us thatwhich is pleasing in his sight
through Jesus Christ, to whom bethe glory forever and ever.
Amen.
God bless you.
Sorry we're so late tonight.
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