Our scripture reading for today to which I invite you to turn with me at this time is found once again in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. Today we turn to Nehemiah chapter 5. Nehemiah chapter 5. Before the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, right after the book of Ezra, Nehemiah chapter 5. Today marks the sixth in the series of our studies on the book of Nehemiah. And I will not recount all the history that we have studied thus far. But I do draw your attention to the first 13 verses, especially of Nehemiah 5, as these are the verses that will constitute our text for today, but we will, in fact, read to the end of that chapter. Nehemiah 5, beginning in verse 1, hear then the word of the Lord. Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers. Some were saying, We and our sons and daughters are numerous. In order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain. Others were saying, we are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine. Still others were saying, we have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards. Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen, And though our sons are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless because our fields and our vineyards belong to others. When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, you're exacting usury from your own countrymen. So I called together a large meeting to deal with them and said, as far as possible, we have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your brothers only for them to be sold back to us. They kept quiet because they could find nothing to say. So I continued, what you are doing is not right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money in grain, but let the exacting of usury stop. Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, and also the usury you are charging them, the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine, and oil. We will give it back, they said, and we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say." Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, in this way, may God shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep his promise. So may such a man be shaken out and emptied. At this, the whole assembly said amen and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised. Moreover, from the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his 32nd year, 12 years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. But the earlier governors, those preceding me, placed a heavy burden on the people and took 40 shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God, I did not act like that. Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work. We did not acquire any land. Furthermore, 150 Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations. Each day, one ox, six choice sheep, and some poultry were prepared for me, And every 10 days, an abundant supply of wine of all kinds. In spite of all this, I never demanded the food allotted to the governor because the demands were heavy on these people. Remember me with favor, oh my God, for all I have done for these people. Thus far, the reading of God's holy word. And as always, dear friends, I ask and urge you to keep your Bibles open and handy as we look to God's word together today. Dear congregation of Jesus Christ, the following headline caught my eye in the business section of this weekend's USA Today. The article reads, and I quote, UAW members vote down contract with Fiat Chrysler. And the subtitle reads, first time since 1982 that members have rejected national deal. And the accompanying article here reads in part as follows, and I quote this to you. Listen carefully, please. It says, the United Auto Workers Union said Thursday that its members have defeated a proposed four-year contract with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles that its leaders had recommended, dealing the union a serious blow as it works to make deals with Detroit's Big Three. The union said 65% of Fiat Chrysler workers voted to reject the contract. Rejection increases the possibility of a strike, end of quote. Friends, why do I share this particular news item with you? Well, the reason you see is because, in essence, a strike is precisely what Nehemiah was dealing with some 2,500 years ago as he and the Jewish exiles who had recently returned to Jerusalem were in the process of rebuilding the wall. Indeed, no sooner had Nehemiah and the Jews seemingly gotten their opposition from without under control, as you saw in one of our recent studies, they had laid a plan, a strategy for shutting down this outside opposition. But no sooner had they done that, then all of a sudden, Nehemiah finds that he has an uprising within, so to speak. He's battling a work stoppage, as it were, and the work on the rebuilding of the wall, unfortunately, comes to a swift and sudden halt. But, oh my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, listen, as God's people, who are completely dedicated to building or strengthening or rebuilding the walls of our hearts, or of our homes, rebuilding the walls of our marriages and of our families, or of our congregation, or of our nation, or other walls elsewhere in the worldwide church and kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We need to hear and we need to heed and we need to follow in the footsteps of what Nehemiah and the Jews are doing at this particular point in time, especially if we claim to be Christians, especially if we claim to profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Because our text for today teaches us and challenges us in no uncertain terms that not simply must we beware and set strategies for shutting down opposition from without, But we also must take care of a number of matters, so to speak, from within. And we need to make absolutely certain in the words of our text, that like Nehemiah, we are making manifest compassion for the poor. We are making manifest compassion for the poor. Now then, as we begin to work our way through the words of our text together as recorded for us in Nehemiah 5, 1-13, let us first of all consider the problem conveyed. The problem conveyed. For example, look at verse 1 of Nehemiah 5 with me if you would please. Here we read, Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers. No longer is the charge against those who were opposing from without. No longer is there fear or concern those who had been threatening them. Now the Bible says they were raising an outcry against their Jewish brothers. The people had begun to turn on each other as it were. And as we get into verses 2 and following, brothers and sisters, please note that this charge, this outcry, this problem, if you will, essentially contains three key parts or components. The first key part of the problem conveyed is in verse 2. Here we read, Some were saying, We and our sons and daughters are numerous. In order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain. Here we find the first part of the problem. Very simply, there was not enough food. There was not enough food. Now interestingly enough, in Haggai chapter 1, verses 5 through 11, you don't need to turn there, but in Haggai 1, 5 through 11, we read of a famine in the land which had occurred some 75 years prior to this particular point in time. And apparently, famines were actually quite common in Canaan in Nehemiah's day. But brothers and sisters, as we go on in verse 3, we find that famine was also a particular part of the problem here in this day. Indeed, look at verse 3 with me, if you would please. It says, We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine. And so here we find that mortgaging their property, mortgaging their property was the second key element or part of this problem. They needed to mortgage their property in order to help pay down their debts. As we get to verse 4, there's still another part of the problem. Still others were saying, we have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards. And who was the king to whom they paid the taxes? We've met his name already. It is King Artaxerxes of Persia. In fact, dear friends, if you'll drop down to verse 14 in Nehemiah 5, you can see the spelling of his name, King Artaxerxes, and it occurred to me while I was studying this late last night that the word tax is right in the middle of his name. You see that there, T-A-X, he is king, Artaxerxes. That's the one to whom they were paying the taxes, and it became a great burden on the people. And so here again in verse 5 we read, although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen, And though our sons are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved. We are powerless because our fields and our vineyards belong to others." And here we find the enslavement of their children. The enslavement of their sons and daughters was necessary in order for them to deal with the crushing debt which had come down upon them. And so again, in summary, a scarcity of food. having to mortgage their property, the enslavement of their sons and daughters in order to help cover their debts. These three elements help to compose the problem as it was conveyed to Nehemiah. But friends, let me ask you this question. What is wrong with that picture? Practically speaking, what is wrong with that picture? After all, even today, we face difficult economic times. Isn't it true that one individual or one family may fare better than another? Isn't it true that even in our difficult modern economic times, some seem to just do well, more well than others, or seem better at making ends meet than others? Isn't it true that many have said, well, when difficult economic times come, let the chips fall where they may? Why was Nehemiah not satisfied with allowing that sort of philosophy to play out? Well, as our text continues, we find answers to those and similar kinds of questions, especially as we consider now, secondly, the problem confronted. The problem confronted. Let's look at verse 6 together of Nehemiah chapter 5. Here we read, When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I was very angry. Again, why so? Well, basically, because, again, having the enemies without suppressed, or at least checked at this time, the people have turned on each other, the problems now are coming from within, and Nehemiah almost can't believe it, and so he becomes very angry. Verse seven, look with me. He says, I pondered them in my mind. I pondered them in my mind. Literally, the Hebrew says, and some of the other translations translate this a bit more literally, I consulted with myself. That's what the Hebrew literally says. I consulted with myself. Something, by the way, which is very wise for us to do before we ever speak to somebody else. You know, I've been sharing, for some reason, studying Nehemiah brings a lot of the cookisms to mind from Dr. Bob Cook when I was a student up at the King's College. And as I was reading this that I consulted with myself or I pondered in my mind, I remembered another cookism. Dr. Bob Cook used to say to us as students, if I can get it pretty accurately, he used to say, always make sure before you open your mouth that your brain is in gear. Always make sure before you open your mouth that your brain is in gear. And that is precisely what Nehemiah is doing here. In fact, in the book of James, the first chapter, go there with me, if you would, just for a moment, near the end of the New Testament, Hebrews James, in James chapter 1, verses 19 and 20, James 1, 19 and 20, the Apostle James, brother of our Lord Jesus, it is believed, leader of the church in Jerusalem, says this in James 1, 19 and 20. He says, my dear brothers, Take note of this, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. For man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Now friends, ponder that prayerfully for just a moment, and as you do, ponder what we just read there in James 1, 19 and 20. Well, let me ask you this, and ask yourself this. Does that mean then that Nehemiah was sinning when it says in our text that he became very angry? Does that mean necessarily that Nehemiah was sinning when he became very angry? By no means. Not at all. The Bible says that there is such a thing as righteous anger. Such as indeed was exhibited by our Lord Jesus Himself when He overturned the tables of the money changers and cleared the temple of those buying and selling unjustly, as recorded for us in Mark 11, verses 15 through 18. And again in Ephesians 4, 26, the Apostle Paul declares, listen in your anger, Do not sin. In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. And friends, that is exceedingly wise, Holy Spirit-inspired counsel for us in all of our interpersonal relationships and especially, listen, in our marriage relationships. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. And then it goes on to say, do not give the devil a foothold and so on. But friends, it was then with a righteous anger that we read here back in Nehemiah 5, verses 7 and 8. He says, I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. Why do you suppose he singles out the nobles and officials? Well, the reason he singles out the nobles and officials is because those were the ones with the heavy wallets. The nobles and officials were the ones with the deep pockets. The nobles and officials were the ones with all the money. They were the movers and shakers in Judah in that day. Indeed, as I was pondering that, James 5 verse 4 came to my mind, which reads, Look, the wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. He accused the nobles and officials. But in this particular time and context, what was their particular sin, you see? Well, our text goes on to tell us, look with me, please, at verse seven. I told them, you are exacting usury from your own countrymen. Now, what is usury? Well, boys and girls, young people, essentially, usury can refer either to interest on a loan, the interest on a loan. You borrow so much money, but you have to pay that back plus interest. or usury can refer to excessive interest or an exorbitant rate of interest. You're taking notes and you wish to jot it down, the original term in the Hebrew translated here as usury is the word mashah, and you would transliterate it M-A-S-H like mash, and then S-H-A, mashah, mashah, and it literally means to impose a burden for repayment upon, to impose a burden for repayment upon, and that's what they were doing. So it says here, Nehemiah says to them, you are exacting usury from your own countrymen. So I called together a large meeting to deal with them and said, as far as possible, we have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your brothers only for them to be sold back to us. And brothers and sisters, as I was studying this passage this week, it occurred to me that they were over and over and over again repeatedly violating the law of God in a gross and horrific way. They were grossly violating, repeatedly violating the law of God concerning these things. For example, let's go to the book of Exodus and turn with me please to the 22nd chapter. Second book of the Bible, the book of Exodus, chapter 22. And in Exodus chapter 22, verses 25 through 27, notice what God's law declares. Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I'm in Exodus 22, 22, if they do and cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused and I will kill you with the sword. Your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. Now verse 25, if you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, Do not be like a money lender. Charge him no interest. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. Similarly, let's go to the book of Leviticus, the 25th chapter, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus chapter 25, and drop down with me, please, to verse 35. The initial verses here are a bit redundant to what we just read. Namely, in Leviticus 25.35, if one of your countrymen become poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countrymen may continue to live among you. You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit. I am the Lord, your God, who brought you up out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. Don't lose your place. Isn't it interesting that with these biblical principles and laws and precepts, God is saying, remember that we were once slaves in Egypt. He says to them, we were once slaves to sin. And the fact that God set us free solely by his grace, solely through faith, just because he loved us, the Bible says, ought to remind us when we are dealing with others to have the same kind of compassion and concern and graciousness and generosity and all the rest. And so it continues here in verse 39, And he and his children are to be released, and he will go back to his own clan and to the property of his forefathers. Because the Israelites are my servants whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God." And then friends, finally on this score, turn over to Deuteronomy 23 with me. Here we are given one more interesting insight from God's Old Testament law. In Deuteronomy 23, verses 19 and 20, God's law declares, Notice, you may charge a foreigner interest. but not a brother Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess." And so, friends, that was their problem. They were repeatedly and grossly violating the clear and unequivocal law of the living God. Ah, but notice, praise be to God for the fact that after Nehemiah confronts them in this fashion, the nobles and officials, look at the end of verse 8 with me, please. He brings all the charges against them and he charges them with the usury and all that. He calls the large meeting and he says, as far as possible, we have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your brothers only for them to be sold back to us. And notice the next sentence. They kept quiet. They kept quiet. The Hebrew literally says, they kept silent or they held their peace. Why? Text goes on to tell us, because they could find nothing to say. They kept quiet because they could find nothing to say. As I was prayerfully pondering that part of the text, For me, anyway, it became reminiscent of what King David says in Psalm 32, verses 3 and 4, where he talks about having a guilty silence. Do you remember that Psalm? David says, I kept a guilty silence, Psalm 32, 3 and 4. It also reminded me, dear friends, of those who were no longer able with a clear conscience to stone the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. In John 8, verses 1 through 11, Jesus said, let him who is without sin throw the first stone at her. And one by one, beginning with the eldest, the text says in John 8, very interesting, beginning with the eldest, the most elderly, they dropped their stones and they began to walk away. So brothers and sisters, it occurred to me that when you and I also are confronted with or convicted by our own sinfulness, our own sinfulness, one of the first and best things that you and I could do and should do is to remain silent. To just keep a humble, repentant silence before the face of our Almighty God. In fact, it's interesting, in Job 42, turn there with me if you would, right before the book of Psalms. In Job chapter 42, the sorely suffering Job says this to God in Job 42 verses 1-6. It says, Job replied to the Lord, Yahweh, I know that you can do all things. No plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge? Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, listen now, and I will speak. I will question you, and you shall answer me. My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." You see, the problem conveyed, the problem confronted. And now thirdly and finally our text speaks of the problem corrected. Look at Nehemiah 5 verse 9 with me if you would. Here we read, so Nehemiah writes, I continued, what you are doing is not right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? Now think about that. Think about the implication of what Nehemiah is there saying. You know, I have an excellent footnote in my study Bible on that portion of the text, and it says this. Listen carefully as I quote this to you. Failure to treat others, especially fellow believers, with compassion is an insult to our Maker and a blot on our testimony. What an excellent statement. I'm gonna read that again. Failure to treat others, especially fellow believers, with compassion is an insult to our Maker and a blot on our testimony. That's what he's referring to here back in the text when he says, we want to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies. And then two references on that truth are given. First of all, Proverbs 14 verse 31. It says, he who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. And a second reference noted there in that footnote is 1 Peter 2, verses 12 through 15, which reads, And brothers and sisters, those kinds of texts are critically important also for you and me today. Especially when we consider the history of the Church of Jesus Christ generally, and the history of the Reformed Churches, and the Church of Jesus Christ specifically, is it not so that the history of the Church of Christ, the history of the Reformed Churches, is filled with fractures? And it's filled with fissions, and it's filled with schisms, and it's filled with splits, and separations, and all the rest. That's our history, as a Church of Christ, and as the Reformed Churches specifically. That is why I was so struck by the words of well-known pastor and author Charles Swindoll, who commented on that particular text by saying this, and I quote, listen carefully, please. Swindoll writes, do you know who applauds the loudest when churches split? Those who don't know Christ. They say, ah, I knew it would happen. I knew if those so-called Christians had enough time, they'd cut their own throats. End of quote. Brothers and sisters, is it not so that far too frequently that is all too true? That is all too true. And that's what Nehemiah is getting at here. He says, what are you doing? What you're doing is not right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? And then he goes on continuing, look at verse 10 with me. I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain, but let the exacting of usury stop. Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, and also the usury you are charging them, the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine, and oil." Now, commentators differ on what he means by the hundredth part. You know, a hundredth is one hundredth, right? So one percent. And some commentators say, well, they were charging the people one percent. Other commentators said they were charging 1% a month, and so it's really 12%. Well, whatever it is, it was usury, and then he was commanding them to stop. And now look at verse 12 with me, please. People respond by saying, we will give it back, they said, and we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say. And I'm thinking, wow, imagine that. This is a spiritual leader's dream. The people instantaneously, with no bartering or bickering, say, yeah, that's what we'll do. Whatever you said, that's what we're gonna do. We will obey instantaneously. We're not gonna give you any qualifications. We're just gonna do what you say. I'm saying to myself while I'm studying the text, you know, that really does sound too good to be true. And I'm thinking Nehemiah also felt it was too good to be true because notice what he goes on to do. Notice what he goes on to do. They say, yeah, we'll do that. He goes, so I summoned the priests and I made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. They took an oath to make sure that they would do what they had promised. And I got to thinking about that. And I got to thinking about the baptismal vows we take as parents or as a congregation. I got to thinking about the profession of faith or church membership vows we take as young people or young adults or adults. I got to thinking about the marriage vows which we take before God. and his people. I got to thinking about the vows of ordination as pastors and office bearers and elders and deacons and young people, boys and girls. I simply got to thinking about giving someone our word or making a promise, you know, our solemn word. And the weightiness of that was kind of crashing in on me. And a text that came to my mind at the time was in Ecclesiastes chapter 5. If you wanted to turn there after Job's Psalms Proverbs, Ecclesiastes chapter 5, verses 4 through 6, where God's word says this, Ecclesiastes 5, 4 through 6, when you make a vow to God, Whatever it is, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, my vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands, you see? And by the way, if you're taking notes, that same principle is set forth in Deuteronomy 23, verses 21 through 23. Deuteronomy 23, verses 21 through 23. So he made him take a vow. In fact, not only so, let's go back as our text wraps up here. He summons the priests and the officials, the nobles, and he makes them take an oath to do what they had promised, verse 13. I also shook out the folds of my robe." And friends, this was not entirely unlike what our Lord Jesus did in Matthew 10, verse 14, when he was instructing his disciples, you may recall, to shake the dust off of their feet as a sign of judgment against those who would not welcome them or who would not receive the good news of the gospel that they were bringing, that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. He said, if they did not receive you, if they did not receive your message, shake the dust off your feet and leave. And yet they were bringing the words of life. Think of Peter in Acts 4 verse 12, salvation is found in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. The sincerity with which they brought that message. And so the grievous consequence of rejecting the good news of the gospel. And so anywhere back here in Nehemiah 5, he did something similar as Jesus had his disciples do. And as they took that oath, he shook out the folds of his robe, And he said, in this way may God shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. So may such a man be shaken out and emptied. Imagine standing there hearing that. And then the text goes on to say, at this, The whole assembly said, Amen. Amen is a word used some 24 times in the Old Testament. Heidelberg Catechism Question and Answer 129 says, Amen means this is sure to be, this is sure to be. And so it says, they all said, Amen, and they praised the Lord. And I said to myself, this was like the start of the Pentecostal movement way back here in Nehemiah's day. They all said, Amen, they all praised the Lord. But notice, it wasn't just words to them. It wasn't just talk. The rest of the text, friends, goes on to say, and the people did as they had promised. And the people did as they had promised. They were not gonna simply talk the talk. They were also gonna walk the walk. And friends, that same kind of spiritual consistency is critically important for each and every one of us as well. In fact, the great Puritan preacher, Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, put it this way, and I quote, listen carefully, please. Nothing exposes religion more to the reproach of its enemies than the worldliness and hard heartedness of the professors of it. I'm going to read that again. Matthew Henry. Nothing exposes religion more to the reproach of its enemies than the worldliness and hard heartedness of the professors of it. And you see, friends, that is also why our Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 7 verse 21 says this to all those who were listening to Him that day. He says, Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Spiritual consistency, not simply talking the talk, but the necessity of also walking the walk. But friends, as we close, that begs the question, does it not begs this question, does it not? Do you do I? No. A brother or sister. In need. Do you or I know? A brother or sister with some sort of physical financial, emotional, mental, material, or spiritual need. And by the grace and mercy of God, very personally and practically speaking, are you and I ready, willing, and able to do something about it, to do something about it. You know, friends, I was reading just the other day a news report concerning that very horrific, tragic shooting which occurred in a community college campus in the state of Oregon. And according to what I read, it seems that in one of the classrooms, one of the students was an Army veteran, an Army veteran, who had just started taking college courses. And his name is Chris Mintz, M-I-N-T-Z. His name is Chris Mintz. And the article said that when the shooting started, Chris went to the door of his classroom. And in an attempt to protect the other students in the class and to keep the shooter out, he put himself between the shooter and them. And in the process, he took seven bullets. He took seven bullets. Think about that. And praise be to God, he lived. Praise be to God, he lived. My friends, I got to thinking about that. I was prayerfully pondering what Chris did. And it occurred to me that in a certain sense, Chris Mintz's action powerfully portrays the exhortation that Nehemiah was given to the people of Judah and Jerusalem that day. And Chris Mintz's actions also powerfully portray an exhortation which God's word would have each and every one of us as believers in Jesus Christ also hear and also heed today. And that exhortation is this. May God grant to each and every one of us the grace to forsake our own safety. May God grant each and every one of us the grace to forfeit our own rights. May God grant each and every one of us the grace to not only be worrying about ourselves. But rather. May God grant each and every one of us the grace to. To personally. Take a bullet as it were. By practically conveying a heartfelt compassion. physically, financially, emotionally, materially, mentally and spiritually poor and impoverished among us. Amen. Let's bow our heads and our hearts together in prayer. At this, the whole assembly said Amen and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised. Oh Lord our God, whenever and wherever the building or rebuilding of the walls of our marriages, our homes and families, our congregation or of our nation or somewhere else within the worldwide church and kingdom of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is stopped, is stopped. due to the conveying of a problem. May that problem be quickly and effectively confronted and corrected, oh Lord, so that there might continue to be growing and greater unity and compassion among your people. To the end that our witness to the world might be multiplied. And to the end that the work of the building or rebuilding of those walls might eagerly and earnestly, faithfully and effectively resume once again. Hear us, O Heavenly Father, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.