Pray with me. Our Father, thank You again for Your love and Your faithfulness to us. Help us to grasp the heights, as we were just saying, of Your plan for us, of Your great love for us. Help us to understand Your Word. We can only attain the understanding if Your Holy Spirit moves among us, gives us that understanding, Lord. Make us wise into salvation. Help us focus, Lord, on what You desire to accomplish in us for the glory of Your Son and the advancement of His kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right. Let's open our Bibles to the book of Nehemiah. Continue our study, which is actually part two. of chapter 5 and I think this is really appropriate for us to spend some time looking at this particular passage as your bulletin does not indicate because I did not edit that but we are in the chunk of verses 14 through 19 which I think is great as a standalone sermon because it really focuses in on the example that Nehemiah sets for the people and I think we will see how that really factors well into leadership. So I pray that you would all pay attention to the Word of God this morning, because as I regularly remind the men, is that pastoral leadership is not the only kind of leadership there is, nor is it by far the only kind of leadership that matters. We are all going to find ourselves in a position of leadership in some sense, right? In some way, the Lord will call us to lead something. It is inescapable. And so Nehemiah provides a great example for us to follow as we pursue Christ-likeness together, and in particular, Christ-honoring leadership. So let's read the chapter in its entirety, and then we can get started on our exposition of it. Nehemiah chapter 5, Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. For there were those who said, We, our sons and our daughters are many, therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live. There were others who said, We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our houses, that we might get grain because of the famine. Also there were those who said, We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. Now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be as slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already. And we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others. Then I was very angry when I had heard their outcry in these words. I consulted with myself and contended with the nobles and the rulers and said to them, you are exacting usury, each from his brother. Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. I said to them, we, according to our ability, have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations. Now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us? Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. Again, I said, the thing which you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? And likewise, I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please let us leave off this usury. Please give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oil that you are extracting from them. Then they said, we will give it back and we'll require nothing from them. We will do exactly as you say. So I called the priests and took an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. So I shook out the front of my garment and said, thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied. And all the assembly said, amen. And they praised the Lord. Then the people did according to this promise. Moreover, so here's our text for the day. Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the 20th year to the 32nd year of King Artaxerxes for 12 years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor's food allowance. But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides 40 shekels of silver. Even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God. I also applied myself to the work of this wall. We did not buy any land and all my servants were gathered there for the work. Moreover, There were at my table 150 Jews and officials besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. Now that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep. Also birds were prepared for me. And once in ten days all sorts of wine were furnished in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the governor's food allowance because the servitude was heavy on this people. Remember me, oh my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people. So that's what we're going to focus on this morning, Nehemiah's example, which I believe is one worthy of following, whether male or female, child or grown-up. This is a stellar example of leadership, and we will explore how that is so. So we use Last Lord's Day to navigate our way. Verses 1 through 13, we have titled this sermon, Each to His Brother, Restoring Justice and Compassion in the Covenant Community. And when we say restoring justice, we mean, of course, the justice of God. what is righteous actions each to his brother as God's Word stipulates, right? Using God's Word as a standard. Not natural law, not the observable creation, but what God has to say about how we treat one another. Now, this is especially important Given the context both then and now, we can rejoice all day long about victories from external threats. But if we are an absolute mess and a spiritual catastrophe on the inside, we find out in this chapter of Nehemiah 5 that our enemies will rejoice over us. They will say, we don't even have to lift a finger because they're just destroying themselves from the inside. And of course, that is what the enemies of God would wish for us. They want to see us destroy ourselves. We just collapse from the inside, then they can come in and take us as spoil. And of course, that is unbecoming of those who claim Christ as Lord and Savior. We should be servant To no one in that sense, to be slave to no one. We are only slaves to Christ and we serve one another. But to see the heathen come in and take over and lord over us, and in some sense see them vindicated, see their accusations vindicated. by saying, oh, it's only a matter of time before they turn on each other. We can just kind of step away and wait for an opportunity to come in and take the spoil. That should not be spoken of amongst God's people. We should walk in such a way. We should relate to one another in such a way that it is clearly evident to all, even perplexing to all, especially those on the outside, of how we are able to love one another, to love one another well, especially through inner conflict. And so the points that we made last Lord's Day were this, one, that we should protect our brother's well-being. This is God's people in view. God's people should protect their brother's well-being. We should speak up for one another. We should recognize the various challenges that we are facing. Now, in this case, we find the people on the verge of poverty, even though they have been successfully constructing the wall. They have been living up to their duty. They have been doing what's expected of them. They've been working hard on the daily. And of course, that becomes, and so that their reproach would be removed. What is a city without walls? That is a reproach to any city in that time because that city could be invaded. That city was defenseless. It's basically a people inside, within no walls, within the city saying, hey, come and attack me. I'm open. And so by building the wall, they not only remove their reproach, but in a sense, they put reproach upon the enemy who comes by and says, there is no way for you to build this wall, right? And even if you build it, it'll be torn down easily. You're not gonna build anything of any quality. So there's constant mockery, constant scoffing, constant doubt. You could even say the ancient version of gaslighting, just trying to live rent-free in the head of the people so that they will doubt the goodness of the work at hand. But then they build anyway. They set their hearts to the work, chapter 4 says. And we find much accomplished in this construction project. And so now we turn our gaze inward, within the walls of the city, to the people of God, and we find there is much more work to do. So we would say, what good is it for the church of the living God if we are set free from the affliction of the enemy only to turn inward and see all kinds of strife, all kinds of division, all kinds of gossip, basically a people who can't seem to come to grips that we are to love one another. And instead we're exploiting each other. We are taking advantage of one another to enrich ourselves, to promote ourselves, rather than together ensure that in our midst, Christ is being exalted. Christ is being glorified. His kingdom is being proclaimed and advanced. Instead, we find things like this, mortgaging our fields. We have nothing to eat. We're out of money. We're out of resources. Even our children are being sold off into slavery. That's what we find in Nehemiah. And so he confronts this. And that's the second point we went over is that God's people must confront injustice within the community. Yes, this is one of the most difficult things you will find that you must do within the community of God's people. It is very difficult to go and confront people over their sin, especially when the sin is obvious and evident. You find that when it has come to that point, there is a lot of kickback, there is a lot of projection, there is a lot of excuse making, and also there is a lot of offense. You ever notice that when you try to confront someone on a sin, even a small one, that more often than not, there is offense taken. There are usually accusations that come as a response. I think the most common one is, how dare you judge me? Things as simple as that, that basically are expressions of a rejection of that exhortation, of that rebuke. And we are reminded again and again, especially in the New Testament about life in the new covenant community, that we are to exhort, we are to rebuke, we are to constantly instruct. And that is so sin cannot take root. That is so sin cannot infiltrate and fracture and divide the community and turn Christians against one another. That is, in the end result, we fail to love one another. We fail to love God through loving one another. And so we have to confront unrighteousness within the community. And specifically, we have to confront that unrighteousness that is expressed in a willingness and sometimes an eagerness to take advantage of one another when the one another's are in dire circumstances. And so people are using this, taking advantage of this famine to for personal gain, rather than as an opportunity to be generous toward one another. And so, when Nehemiah speaks, remember it says here in verse 6 that he was very angry when he saw this, right? This is the same anger that Sanballat expresses earlier. He's angry when he sees the wall built. Now, righteously, Nehemiah was very angry when he heard this outcry. It's like, great, we've managed to stifle the cries from outside, right? all of the naysaying, all of the unbelief, all of the mockery and insult, only to turn inward and see this. That is a reason to be angry, right? We talk about how a righteous man should be angry whenever he sees the work of God reversed in the community of God, right? And in this case, what these actions are doing are basically reversing this freedom from the exile. reversing the reality of being called back from exile, and again, historically, this freedom that the Jews were called out of, in which the Jews were called out of slavery from Egypt. All of that is being basically undone. All of that is being denied. And so how much greater folly is it? How much greater of an insult is it? How much greater of a reproach do the people of God cast upon themselves when we engage in any behavior that in word or deed reverses the liberty that we have in Christ, that basically says, no, you are still a slave. You are not free. Think about our scripture reading this morning. Paul asks that rhetorically. Am I not free? Well, yes. All that we know about the gospel, if we are in Christ, absolutely we are free. That is one of the most self-evident things about being in Christ. And if it is that self-evident, it is a grave sin for us to commit against each other those things which undermine the freedom that we have in Christ. An immediate example of that is just the great grievance that it is against the work of the Holy Spirit when any so-called Christian leads another believer into sin. What are we basically saying? You have not really been delivered from sin. Come, let's sin a while. Let's enjoy sinning. God will forgive us. That is how an unbeliever reasons. And so when a person does that, they are insulting grace. They are undermining the regenerating work, the justifying work of God in the life of a sinner. They are saying that it has no effect. And when that happens, especially at large in the community of Christ, We are essentially saying to the world, yeah, the things that you assumed about us were true. Among them, yeah, the gospel really doesn't have any life transforming effect. That's just wishful thinking, it's hocus pocus, but it's not real. It's myths, it's fairy tales. Because the world is watching what we do. And rather confounding them by our acts of love and righteousness, we are confirming them by their accusations that we are merely hypocrites playing a grand game of pretend. And so in our actions toward one another, we desire to demonstrate, to confirm the work of God amongst his people. And one of the ways we do that is when we do commit wrongs against one another, we are committed to restoring what is right. And then we lead one another through internal conflict. That's the next thing we do. We lead one another through this eternal conflict. And in this, we follow Nehemiah's example. And here we come to verses 14 through 19. Okay, so just follow along with me as we move through this text. Again, we're not gonna exhaustively study it, but I want to list off some, I think, very practical actions that a leader often must take. And as we say, in any leadership capacity, you are going to draw unwanted attention, right? The microscope is on you, right? People are watching carefully. People are looking for a way to accuse. People are looking for a way to malign. People are looking for a way, especially, to misrepresent. Those are some of the greatest frustrations of any kind of leadership, whether it be church leadership or vocational leadership, household leadership. It's going to draw certain attention. that may not be desired. And yet, regardless of the mistakes that people make in their assessment, we are called to particular actions. We are called to particular sacrifices, right? We are called to a, I would even say, a particular endurance. We can't allow these things to disrupt the work of leading and leading well. And so I think the first thing in view here, and once again, I would say with this point, keep in mind, there are degrees of application to this, but I think it is immensely helpful to any godly person who wants to lead well. So what's the first thing? The first thing we can see here in the life of Nehemiah and in leading people through conflict is forsaking entitlement. Forsaking entitlement. So let's look at verse 14. Moreover, this is Nehemiah speaking again. He's continuing on his speech. Now, he's exhorted, he's rebuked, he has corrected the behavior, he's exposed it, and now he's saying, by the way, Everything I have just said, right, everything I've just commanded and instructed, I have not lived inconsistently with this. Now, I've told you guys before, one of the greatest stumbling blocks in leadership is hypocrisy. If you think people look for hypocrisy in the church, how much more do they look for it in church leadership? Okay, so Nehemiah is able to say, okay, I have not lived inconsistently with anything I have just said. He says, moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the 20th year to the 32nd year of King Artaxerxes for 12 years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor's food allowance. So food allowance implies an entitlement. This is what was owed to him. This is what he was entitled to as governor. You will notice that when you are in leadership positions, there are certain perks. You realize that every election cycle, we kind of have to deal with those accusations as we watch all this so-called corruption be exposed in candidates from either side. This, you know, this candidate talks about, you know, generosity and civic and financial responsibility and living with integrity, and then it comes up, uh-oh, it's exposed. that he took a ride in some private jet to some, in some cases, to some private island, where all kinds of skullduggery ensued. Out come these accusations. Wait, he tells me to do this, and yet he's doing this behavior. What gives? And what we see is deflection. So yeah, what about this? Let's talk about something else. But in the case of Nehemiah, we see for 12 years, he has forsaken certain entitlements. Entitlements are a big deal in our own society. You may not know this, but you should know. Based on the sources I read, based on the objective, unbiased sources I read, entitlement spending totaled 55% of federal expenditures in fiscal year 2023. From what I could garner, that's about $1.6 trillion. That's a lot of money. And that is down from 66% in 2021 at the height of the pandemic. We spend a lot of money on entitlements. Entitlements are things that are owed. And one of the problems with entitlements is that once you're entitled to something, you start looking for other entitlements. You start looking for other things that Are yours by right? You know, we talk about the Bill of Rights, you know, in our own Constitution. And yet entitlements are enticing, right? Once an entitlement is given, especially from the point of view of the government, of the governing authorities, they look at the citizenry and say, hey, you over here, you make this amount of money, so you're entitled to this. This belongs to you by right, you can claim this. You just go to an office somewhere, maybe fill out some paperwork, and this will be given to you. That's why we're at a place, and among other reasons, why our government plays God. The government provides, the government controls, the dispensing of goods and services, and the government further decides what those goods and services are. The government, in a sense, is the standard now, but decides, here's what people are owed, here's what people are entitled to. And so the entitlements keep growing. What is seen as owed to people, what belongs to me by right, I can claim this. keeps growing and growing and growing, and it never stops, and that's one of the greatest reasons why government spending is out of control. See, when we spend too much, we lose. We spend too much, there are actually consequences. When we spend above budget, we know the pain of that, right? We know the pain of debt and having to pay off certain things, and if we don't pay them off on time, there are penalties. Unfortunately, our own government does not seem to understand what that means. And so, I say that because here is a man who has entitlement. Here is a man who can claim certain perks of the job. Here is a man who has every opportunity to exploit the current situation and enrich himself. And yet he does not do it. He has not taken part of this wicked scheming of exploiting these households up to selling the sons and daughters into slavery and even purchasing them. Nehemiah has not done that. He's not taking advantage of his position. And we see this from his example of refusing to take the fullness of this food allowance of the governor. And I assure you, the food allowance of the governor would be a substantial one. And yet, he denies himself that right. It's easy when we think about what is entitled to us to fall into the sin of greed, the sin of envy, and then look to exploit our brothers and sisters, even our brothers and sisters in Christ, for personal gain, rather than seeing times like these as opportunities to serve and to give generously. That needs to be the mindset of every Christian, especially in difficult times. We have to direct our minds upward, knowing that God owns everything, and God will provide for His people. And if we have that attitude, if we have that truth firmly cemented in our own hearts and minds, I believe that the church can endure anything, because we're looking to God first as his people, and we consider how we can continue to love and serve one another, even in the lean times. And I assure you, historically, that is a common test for the people of God. When things get tight, when things get difficult, are we able to still consider one another's needs, and even meet those needs? We have a great example even in the Apostle Paul, and of course, this is from our scripture reading. Paul says this, my defense to those who examine me is this, do we not have a right to eat and drink? I think the answer is obvious. Yes, Paul does have a right to eat and drink. Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord in Cephas? Well, absolutely, we can get married. Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? I think he's asking these questions and they have obvious answers and he's using this to correct his detractors in the Corinthian church. Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? He is commenting on things basic to the human experience. If you raise cattle, you have a right to eat steak. If you have a chicken farm, you have a right to eat the eggs. If you run a buffalo farm, you have a right to eat buffalo wings. That's where you work. Thank you for that courtesy laugh. He's asking questions that the answer to which is obvious. And then he goes, I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the law also say these things? This is consistent with what God's word reveals. These are familiar. For it is written in the law of Moses, you shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing. God is not concerned about oxen, is he? Or is he speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake. It was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. Then you go down another verse, and he says, if others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, here it is. Here's his denying this entitlement. We understand that Paul is entitled to these things. Nevertheless, we did not use this right, and here's the reason, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ." So, if you have a right to certain things, and then you ask the question, what time is it where it is appropriate for me to deny myself this certain entitlement? Even though I may be able to claim a right to it, what is the occasion? What is the occasion that I just let go? of what seems to be owed to me? And I think the answer is very clear here in Scripture. We endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. And there may be times, and you kind of have to recall your own experience, right? Where God has you right now, okay? If there are certain things that you feel entitled to, that you believe you're entitled to, even if Scripture permits it, you have to also follow that up with Will claiming this here and now cause a hindrance to the gospel of Christ? And if it does, the gospel is always the greater priority. You may be shocked to hear that. The gospel, advancing the cause of Christ and His kingdom, is a greater priority than your entitlements. Remember that in the grand scheme of things, Christ is entitled to all, Christ is owed all. So if by claiming anything, you somehow rob Christ of his glory or set a stumbling block in front of the cause of the gospel, you are in sin. Do nothing to hinder the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? There's an entitlement. So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel. And then he says this, even though I have a right to these, he says, but I have used none of these things. And then you go to Nehemiah, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor's food allowance. And he said, and then go back to Paul, first Corinthians nine. And I am not writing these things. So it will be done. So in my case, for it would be better for me to die than to have any man make my boast an empty one. Those are strong words. For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. See, so he's comparing his responsibility to the gospel with his entitlements. I mean, he's not sitting here saying, woe is me if I set aside this thing that I can claim, even claim righteously. He says, Here's the priority, it is preaching the gospel, and woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. So we understand Paul's priorities. We understand Nehemiah's priorities. It is time, friends, that we understand our own priorities. And he says this, for if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward, but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? Here it is, that when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. And like I said, many of us will go through life and we will not experience this to the degree that Paul does, but this is Paul's own conviction. This is what he does. He was a tent maker, right? He was a bivocational minister. And that was the call he made. He says, in doing this, I am not a hindrance to the advancement of the gospel. And so Paul understood what his priority was. And so he forsook certain entitlements. And once again, we see this fully in Christ. He is our great exemplar when it comes to self-denial. Mark 10.45, for even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Many of us just gloss over that passage. For even the son of man did not come to be served. The thing that he deserved the most, the thing that was owed to him the most was our service, our love, our loyalty, our greatest devotion and affection. And then what happens? It says here, he did not come to be served. I mean, if we were there and we saw the Son of Man, our first inclination should be what? How can I serve you, my Lord? But he says this, he laid aside that heavenly prerogative but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." He does the extreme opposite of what we would expect. He had every prerogative to come and say, no, you guys owe me. Watching you in heaven for these past few millennia and seeing all the ways you catastrophically screw it up. You owe me some explanation. You owe me some service. You owe me some sacrifice. and we would have no right to deny him. And yet, what do we hear? Instead, I am going to give my life as a ransom for many. The ultimate example that can never be duplicated, that could never be equal. And then we find the great reward in that, in Philippians 2, that Christ, who emptied Himself, taking on the form of a bondservant, was then exalted. After He submitted Himself willingly to the death, even the death of a cross, the Father exalted Him. And so in any level of leadership, remember that you are called to serve, not to be served. And that will inevitably draw you into situations where you have to put aside, even painfully, certain things that you may otherwise be able to claim as a privilege of that station. It's amazing what this communicates. It communicates Christ-like humility and a willingness to serve. We see this in the life of Nehemiah. He had the right to collect his food. He had a right to take advantage of this. He could take advantage of the situation. He could, even while the people starved, he had available all kinds of resources. He could keep his belly full. He could keep his bed soft. He could exploit the resources that were available to him. But he chose not to. Rather, he chooses to get his hands dirty. He willingly, from his own expenditures, sees the walls built, assists others, even doing some of the building himself. I mean, this is when leadership is its most exemplary. It's when you're not merely telling people what to do, but showing them. what to do. You're there with them, right? You're not just managing, you are working alongside of them as occasion may require. Here's another one. This kind of denial of certain rights and prerogatives and entitlements I think does bring unity. It brings unity and it prevents division. When you as a leader are working alongside your people, the people you are leading, that has this galvanizing effect. And I think among other things, the people who are working for you see you as someone who does not see himself above the actual labor. You're willing to labor yourself. You're able to work hard yourself. And nothing unites a group of people, large or small, that when the leader does the work as well. I mean, don't we see that in, that's the entire basis for the church acting in self-sacrificial love. As we look to Christ, who sacrificed himself, gave himself up on our behalf, hung on a cross, died and was risen, so what? So that we could die in him and also partake in his resurrection life. And the Lord did all of this while we were just busy sinning. While we were just busy dying. It's a wonderful way that we can understand ourselves as united in Christ. And that, above all, it is the cross and the reality thereof that prevents Division. And I think Nehemiah exemplifies this very well. He is with his people, right? Verse 16, I also applied myself to the work on this wall. More on that later. But he is with his people, not standing. He's beside them, not above them. Paul says the same thing in Romans 14, 21, where he encourages believers to not let their freedom in Christ become a stumbling block to others. He says, it is good to not eat meat or to drink wine or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. And this stumbling in view is a catastrophic stumbling into apostasy. He says, don't do that. Guard the heart and conscience of your brother in such a way that he will not stumble into apostasy by going back to the life from which he was presumably delivered. And again, this is not something we, I think the example that Paul is describing in here, it is not something that we are called to do every time, but sometimes, and we have to be wise to this, sometimes occasion may require. But for Paul, it was easy. He was more than willing to never even eat meat again. I don't know how anyone can stand that, but for Paul, it was easy. as long as the gospel was advanced. And so in Nehemiah's case, he never exploited the people, he never took advantage of their poverty and of their dire circumstances, but rather he served alongside with them and was able to help them in their affliction. Listen to Richard Baxter from his book, The Reformed Pastor. If any of you are in leadership in the church on any level, not just a teaching elder, but leading on any level, I think this is a godly counsel we can take. But he says this of pastors, a true pastor is one who takes no more from the flock than what is necessary for his own sustenance. So the welfare of the sheep comes before his own comfort. Of course, we have this self-denial in view that brings the people of God together. Here's another. Here's another outflow of the denial of entitlements. Demonstrates the priority of God's mission over personal gain. Once again, sort of an obvious outflow of this reality. We've already talked in depth about this, so I won't belabor the point. But this, in fact, is what happens. When you are in the act of self-denial, when you deny yourself certain entitlements, certain rights, it does demonstrate. What an example to show your people, in any leadership capacity, that you demonstrate what your priorities are. that advancing God's mission is much more important compared to your own gain, right? Back to Philippians 2, speaking of Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of men. What greater example can we find of God to make to man than to become man? This is amazing. became one of us, dwelt among us, tabernacled among us, only to lay his life down for us. Jesus, who deserved all honor and glory, humbles himself and gives himself up for us. Here's another reminder from Paul from the book of Acts. Now we would think if we spend more time giving than receiving, eventually we'll be empty. And so there's something about the Christian life and service that is almost, it's like counterintuitive, right? We find that if the Lord is supplying us, our cup will always be overflowing. We'll always be able to be giving to others and giving generously. It also teaches us an eternal perspective. I think this is very helpful. We see this in Nehemiah's prayer at the end, Remember me, O my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people. After he finishes speaking, he then prays to the Lord. And I think when we, again, we deny ourselves certain entitlements, certain rights, certain privileges, we are able to communicate to one another, but not only does God's mission matter here, but even God's eternal glory and honor are at stake. And then we know that all things will be supplied to us, and we know that glory and paradise await. Again, we were never designed to have it all here. We advance it here. But our treasure ultimately is reserved for us in heaven. And that is why Paul can write to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 12, 15, I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? Here's the second thing. is reverencing or fearing God. Now, Nehemiah actually mentions this a couple times in this chapter, and we can spell it out a little more. He says, even their servants domineer the people." So you have really a pretty jolting expose of what the governors did before him. They were taking advantage of the people, right? This is a perfect description of what the Pharisees would do to the people hundreds of years later. Lay heavy burdens on them, right? And if you lay a heavy burden on someone, what are they going to do? They're going to go to the leader. whether civil or spiritual, and seems like sometimes it doesn't really matter if all of them are corrupt, and say, I have this heavy burden. How can I be relieved of this heavy burden? Here, you can give me some of your resources, give me your inheritance, give me your money, give me your shekels, give me your bread and wine, and they'll just clean you out. He says, I never did this. I didn't domineer the people, but I did not do so because of the fear of God. So that is something a leader must have within. He must have a fear of God. He knows that he is ultimately accountable to the Lord himself. Now that is a great check and balance. You know, we talk about our own governmental system with checks and balances. It's like the executive branch is looking at the judicial branch, and the judicial branch is looking at the legislative branch. They're all looking at each other, and they're never looking up, right? What does God think about us? What does God think about these unjust laws that we are passing? We're just looking at each other, and we're all equally depraved. But the true leader, the godly leader, fears the Lord. He is aware of God's holy standard. He is aware of God's perfect justice. He is aware that God sees all and knows not only our actions, but the very heart that perpetuates those actions. And so beginning with start, our leadership needs to begin with God, with his presence, with his holiness, with his love and zeal for his own righteousness. That's why it says in Proverbs 9, 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Even Joseph asked that in response to taking advantage of being alone with Potiphar's wife. He says, how then could I do this great evil and sin against God? That was the first question. How can I do this evil rather than how can I get away with this? No, no, no, no one's watching, but God is watching. How can I do this evil and sin against God? So the leader's first priority is to walk righteously before the God that he knows is there and is holy and is just. It is a God he ultimately loves and loves by obeying him. And so this is how Nehemiah conducts himself. And it leads him to, you think about how it leads him to dealing with integrity with others, being honest, walking openly, being able to make an accounting of how he has treated others rather than taking advantage of them. Listen to what John Owen writes. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and that fear causes men to behave in a manner worthy of the dignity of the one they fear. Ultimately, that is the Lord himself. Also leads us into humility in our leadership when we fear the Lord. We talk about the fear of the Lord as a fear that clings, right? Not a fear that cowers, but a fear that clings, a fear that says, I fear God so much, I'm afraid of letting go of him. Again, it's almost counterintuitive. We typically try to keep our distance from that which we fear, but when it comes to the Christian's relationship with the Lord, we cling. We say, woe is me if I let go of the Lord. Woe is me if I turn my back on him. Woe is me if I deal unjustly and crookedly, especially toward his people. And that fear leads to humility, a humble grasping of the Lord that refuses to let go, that refuses to forsake Him, knowing that the Lord also holds Him in His hand. And so He humbly serves alongside His people. And so in any leadership capacity, friends, we should demonstrate humility, viewing ourselves in light of God's holiness and our absolute helplessness before Him, knowing how much we need Him. Been reading this book by Thomas Watson to Andrew every night. He seems to be enjoying the Puritan works. But The Godly Man's Picture, I recommend this heartily to any man. First read Ryle's Thoughts for Young Men, then read Watson's The Godly Man's Picture. And he says this, a humble man is as free from pride as the heavens are from clouds. A humble man is always in the fear of God. That's a great picture there. That a humble man is one who is not captured by his own need for self-indication or self-exaltation or the approval of mere men. We also find in this narrative, this chapter, a willingness to confront sin, to confront it boldly and courageously as Nehemiah does. That's what the fear of the Lord does. The fear of the Lord prevents us from being neutral or passive in the face of the sins of others. And that's why Nehemiah can say in verse 9, what you are doing is not good. A third thing. We've talked about forsaking entitlement. We've got reverencing God, and then thirdly, we have laboring diligently. We'll go over this one briefly, hopefully. Laboring diligently. We find this in verse 16. So along with the previous two characteristics of noble leadership worth following, we see Nehemiah say this, I also applied myself to the work on this wall. We did not buy any land. and all of my servants were gathered there for the work. So Nehemiah didn't give himself time. This is a great lesson. He didn't give himself time to sin against his people. He was too busy laboring beside them. That's a good lesson for any Christian to learn. We fall into sin typically when we're idle, when we're just not spending our time working. We're spending our time sitting around. And that's what many of the nobles did. That's what many of the important people did. Rather than applying themselves to the work, They saw themselves as above it, most likely, and then they used that to buy land and exploit the people. Whereas Nehemiah, leader that he was, used the time to apply himself to the work on the wall. Once again, leading by example and not merely in word. And so he does not merely oversee, he labors alongside his people. Now, this is one of those things, you know, when we look at how Proverbs describes work. Most of you have read Proverbs. Talks a lot about our labor, talks a lot about the sluggard, about laziness. And again, they're Proverbs, not promises, as it were. But listen to what Proverbs has to say about the working man, right? The man who is diligent versus the lazy man. 13.4, the soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat. Proverbs 14.23, in all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. That is a biting rebuke for some. We sit there and we dream about all the things we want to accomplish, and then we don't actually accomplish anything. We're too busy thinking about it. We're too busy dreaming. And if you're dreaming, you're sleeping. Rise, sluggard, and get to work. Proverbs 21.5, the plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty surely comes to poverty. One more, Proverbs 12, 11. He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who pursues worthless things lacks sense. Whew, that's an indictment for many, maybe even some in here. But the general maxim is that good things, prosperity, comes upon those who are hardworking, industrious, diligent, endure hard work, and what happens? Poverty comes to the sluggard. Poverty comes to the lazy, those who just can't get out of bed and get to work, who cannot seize the day, generally speaking. But there are times, and such is the case in the experience of Israel, where they are working hard and they still face the challenge of poverty. That's why I say we all need to have the collective grace toward one another here to understand that there will be fat times, there will be lean times. But I think we still apply the wisdom of Proverbs and say, yes, we still will work diligently, even if we're barely making ends meet. And we will strive to share and to be generous toward one another. We could say in Nehemiah's time, these people were anything but sluggards. They were all applying themselves for the most part. They were working diligently and daily on the wall. And yet sometimes, even in spite of that diligent labor, they will find themselves in want, and of course, we apply ourselves in such a way where we can meet one another's needs. We never know what's going to happen. I realize we are going to enter a Trump economy. Many of us are very excited at that prospect. But I would say, again, maybe be modest in your initial celebration. Let's have sober minds here. We don't know what is going to happen in 2025. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Remember, life is a vapor. One thing we can be sure of is that God is good, and he cares for us, and he'll meet our needs. But the details, a lot of those details, we have no idea what's going to happen. We don't know if there's going to be an economic collapse right around the corner. We don't know if there's going to be another pandemic. We just do not know. But we do know our duty toward the Lord and our duty toward one another. We labor in such a way to provide for our own households and when the occasion calls to be able to be generous toward one another. But all are called to work diligently and to work humbly. And so he's going back to the text. So he applied himself to work on the wall. He did not take advantage of anybody. He says, moreover, there were at my table 150 Jews and officials beside those who came to us from the nations that were around us. Now that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep. Also birds were prepared before me. And once in 10 days, all sorts of wine were furnished in abundance. Yet for all this, I did not demand the governor's food allowance. So there he's kind of back. He's giving like almost this parallel description. He opens with talking about the governor's food allowance and then repeats it. In all of these things, in spite of all the opportunity I had, I did not demand the governor's food allowance because the servitude was heavy on the people. So this means serving or sharing generously, and we think we see this expressed in verses 17 through 18. This is the... This is the example that Nehemiah sets. Now, I realize there can be an apparent conflict here. I would call it a paradox. On one hand, what are we to do? We are to be generous. We are to, as the Lord says, let our light shine before men. that they may see our good works, and in this case, serving generously, so that we may glorify our Father who is in heaven." If we are being generous, I think there's a very definitive observable sense in which we want people to know that we are willing to give. We're willing to give, we're willing to share, we're willing to give generously. How are we going to do that if people don't know what we're doing? That is what we would call letting our light shine. However the knowledge comes about that you or someone you know is being generous, then I would say, leave that up to the providence of God. On the other side, we have this issue of doing, being generous in a humble way. We say, what we call, don't let your, what is it, don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing or don't your left, I don't know which hand is not knowing what the other is doing. But both hands are involved, we know that. But while we let our light shine, we don't do so in such a way that draws self-exalting attention to ourselves. If you go to Matthew 23, we see Jesus describing what not to do in His great rebuke of the Pharisees and scribes and spiritual leaders of Israel in the first century. What does he say that they love, right? They love the attention in the synagogues. They love to be greeted in the marketplace. They love, they love, they love, right? But they have no love for God. They have no love for the people that is described. It's not evident. Why? Because everything they love means things that are drawing attention to themselves. They want to be known for how blessed they are. They want to be known for how spiritual they are and apparently righteous they are. But they have no love for the people. So yes, let your light shine, but when you shine the light, you are shining the light ultimately on God who uses people to give out of their abundance. So it's just a reminder to when the Lord has given you in abundance, especially in the lean times, don't fall into the temptation of this sort of false humility. Well, I'm not going to give because I don't want to brag. I mean, come off it, honestly. Give in proportion to how God has blessed you. That's a simple principle. And if you have the opportunity, sometimes even more so. Think of it from the standpoint that all things belong to God, and you are merely a steward, you are merely a manager of it. But we are all called to love one another in serving and giving to one another generously. And that kind of goes back to the initial point of even though we have certain entitlements, even though we have certain rights that we can claim, instead of claiming those rights, instead we give. We give from those things, right? Using, imagine this, a culture where you use your entitlements to bless others. that you have the kind of mind that has compassion toward those who have little or none, and you say, well, the Lord has given me all this, so I have opportunity, so I will bless, first and foremost, the household of God. I will use the things that God has given me to steward them generously so that others' needs are met. It's a very simple principle in all of Scripture. And Nehemiah was able to do this. And I think the church has to be aware of the temptation of closing our hearts against our own brothers, against, again, I'd say coming to premature judgments. I think there's sometimes an assumption where if someone has none, it means they're lazy. Now, in some cases, it means just that. That person has to get out of bed and go labor. But in many cases, people are working hard, and they simply just are not making enough to make ends meet. And that is where the people of God can come together and take counsel and see how we can encourage that person by meeting their needs and encourage them even, again, occasion may require perhaps they need to seek more better employment or add a job on top of that. We live in those times where many of us do have to work more than 40 hours a week. There's no law against that. Just don't work on the Lord's Day. Be here and let's work and feast. I think we can all agree to that. That's right. Day off. Amen. So with that, Praying dependently, finally in verse 19. Okay, let's land our plane here. He says this, in light of all of this, right, he sees that the servitude is heavy on the people, so he has compassion and he helps meet their needs and satisfy the afflicted. And then verse 19, as is common in Nehemiah's life, he turns to the Lord. Remember me, oh my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people. Okay, so he's asking the Lord, he's basically saying, Lord, I have done right to this people. And what he's doing here is he is relying on the Lord to confirm his righteous deed, right? Ultimately, we say we want the Lord to judge us. We want the Lord to evaluate us. The Lord knows our hearts. The Lord sees the deeds that no one else sees. And so he's praying to the Lord to confirm the good that he has done. Remember me, oh my God, for good, according to all that I have done for the people. And Nehemiah is, is trusting in this prayer, he is addressing to God his trust that the Lord will see the good that he has done and will give the proper reward in his proper time. The Proverbs does say that the generous man will prosper. Generous man will prosper. And so that should be a similar prayer of us, right? We turn to God ultimately, knowing that while other people may not notice, and while other people may notice and even accuse us of some kind of nefarious plot to exploit people, right? We know that God sees our heart and he will, in his own way, in his own timing, vindicate the good we have done. And we're counting on the Lord. Lord, yes, please reward me. in proportion to the good that I have shown. We are leaving that judgment to God alone. So that means that if the Lord does indeed confirm the good, He will, in an objective way, in His own time, demonstrate that. And I would say our prayer even more so is we would say this. This is the beauty of being on this side of Christ's death and resurrection. Our prayer together can be this. Remember, oh my God, for good according to all that Christ has done for his people. We look to how God has in Christ given us every good and perfect gift. And our prayer should be, Lord, how can I faithfully exploit everything that you have given me in Christ? All the good gifts, all of the blessings, all of the abundance, even Christ himself. Remember me, God, not in light of so much of what I have done. Remember me in light of what Jesus has done. And I guarantee you we can expect great and wonderful things from the Lord, a marvelous work from him amongst his people, a refreshing of our hearts, a willingness to be generous toward one another and not exploit one another for personal gain and not pray on one another and not constantly demand entitlements, right? Rather than demanding our rights, rather than demanding what we're owed, we demand what Christ is owed. I pray that that is our mindset together this morning as we continue to serve one another. But this is Nehemiah's example, a man who is self-denying, God-fearing, hardworking, generous, and prayerful. What a knife, what a scalpel that cuts sharply against the pride and selfishness that seems to so often afflict us. May we have his attitude. May our hearts draw us one to Christ who provides all of these things that we can be generous toward one another. Let's end there and let's pray. Our Father, once again, we come to you knowing that you are good, that you are with your people. And Lord, these are hard things to teach, and these are hard things for which to examine ourselves. When we talk about leading well and personal integrity, giving up entitlements, self-denial, being generous, when it's so easy to constantly reach and grasp for more, for our own comfort rather than your glory, for our own comfort rather than looking out for the needs of others. Lord, may we be a generous people, prosperous, even in the lean times, so that we can let our light shine, so that our boast can be you, and not in what we have gained. Lord, let us not parade our prosperity. Let us not use our opportunities to exploit and take advantage of one another, even reducing one another to poverty, but let us exploit our opportunities to bless each other. Lord, I believe we are entering a time The conviction to love one another is going to be so important. Help us not to forget one another. Help us ultimately, Lord, to not forget Christ. Not forget our Savior who, though being God, took on human flesh and dwelt among us, and though had a right to claim everything, laid aside those heavenly prerogatives, those heavenly privileges, and died. What an example to follow. How great a Savior that we can look to and offer our praise and thanksgiving, and yet fear Him, Lord, to draw near, to fear Him, to cling to Him, and using that humility to serve one another, to see how we can lift others up, to see how we can strengthen the hands that are weak. in a time that calls for so much endurance and wisdom. Lord, we can't do it without you, so please help us, we ask. For the sake of Christ, in his precious name we pray, amen.