We're going back to our Bible study, Nehemiah chapter 7. Let's look at Nehemiah chapter 7. We stopped right before Christmas or sometime at Christmas, whatever that day was. And we're getting close to the end of the book. Let's see, I got some stuff right here. Okay, so let's look at verse 1 of Nehemiah chapter 7 and the message tonight is people do matter People do matter. Let's look at Nehemiah chapter 7 it says now it came to pass when the walls the wall was built that I sat down and They set up the doors, I'm sorry, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed. Then I gave my brother, I believe, how do you say this name, brother? Hanani. Hanani and Hananiah, the ruler of the palace, thank you, charge over Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God above many. And I said unto them, let not the gates of Jerusalem be open until the sun be hot, and while they stand by, let them shut the doors and bars, and appointed watchers of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in the watch, and everyone to be over against his house. One second right here. Okay. Verse 4 says, Now the city was large and great, but the people were few therein, and the houses were not. And when God put into mine heart together the nobles and the rulers and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy, and I found the register of the genealogy of them which came up, at the first and found written therein these are the children of the province that went out up out of the captivity of those of those that had been carried away whom nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon carried them away and came again to jerusalem and to judah everyone and to a city and of course give us the names right here in verse seven let's pray heavily father thank you lord for this passage of scripture i pray as we dissect this chapter lord i pray father give us the words may we learn something tonight uh may we take at the heart what you would have to say to us in jesus name i pray amen all right people do matter right It don't matter what nationality, what race of people, what color their skin, what language they speak, people do matter. It matters so much that Jesus left heaven, came to this earth and went crucified for me and you because to God, each one, each individual, it's very important to Him. We are loved beyond measure, and God loves us, and of course we are important to Him. I believe if there's just one human being on the face of the earth, I think Jesus would come to die for his sins, because it matters. I mean, we should think as people, as, I mean, some people don't think, I hear so much bad sayings about people, people just talking down on people. and which is very sad I think we should treat each other with dignity and respect because you know sometimes people look at status you know who you are where you are in life what you have what I don't have and you know just that status but that's from a human perspective how you look at it but in the eyes of God we're all the same we are his children we steward what he gives us right we stewards because one day our mission is over and somebody else will take over all the things that you have and some of the things you have they would say I don't like this I don't like that I don't like this and they give it away to somebody else that's why some people say some people's garbage is other people's treasures right you know what people say you know because it's like I don't like this I don't like this you put it outside before you know somebody came by took the whole thing you will Now only people, people, but some commentators as well. If you have some Bible commentaries, you got the passage like this and is a big skip and you're like, well, I know, well, they don't explain this stuff and you scratch your head, but there is a reason why. Okay. And I believe that one of the reasons is because all the names in this chapter. Okay. Look at, look at the, in chapter seven, if you have a Bible, and looked at verse seven, all the way down to, I'm thinking like verse, I'm thinking verse 60, I believe, is all names. And most of them, we can't even pronounce those names, all right? Me being one of those, you know, okay? So the old names, and you say, what in the world? That's so many names. And you go like this, Lord, forgive me this one. And you flip, go right to chapter eight. right he said all these all these names like uh but they important okay uh but most of us do those stuff you know we're doing reading through the bible we get there like um and we jump to the other chapter right he's guilty here everybody you realize everybody put their hand up except chrissy uh i believe she's going right to that to that chapter she goes praise the lord i'm going right through it Oh, you listen to it. She probably listens to it, and she doesn't have a clue. It's like, blah, blah. It's like, what's the name of that little Snoopy? Is that Snoopy? Charlie Brown. Blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm just kidding with you. Oh, goodness. uh so anyway so now just because many people avoid this chapter and many commentators uh don't say much about it doesn't mean that this chapter is not important in the bible obviously it's here in god put it here for a reason right uh nehemiah 7 is important for seven real several reasons first of all is important because the holy spirit inspired to put it there in the bible of course to be honest with you it frustrates me to see when when who uh you know uh i'm frustrated you want to read and you don't understand the words the names is very hard you know but it's when somebody says that some parts of the bible are not that important i don't agree with that the whole bible is important that's why god put it there so the entire bible is important because it is the word of god even when we have a hard time reading and understanding and i asked brother tom to help me with the words right how you spell that brother how you say that name hey you know iron sharpened iron right I have had pastors in my past who were going through books of the Bible and they would just skip sessions that they deemed unimportant. just trust the lord so now should we deem unimportant those which the holy spirit those passages of the holy spirit give us uh no we look at it and we try to grasp what god says in here because they're important okay so therefore nehemiah 7 has a purpose and it's our job to search for that purpose in the bible if it was not then God wouldn't put it there so this brings me to my second reason why nehemiah 7 is important this chapter the chapter is important because it concentrates on people all right you look at chapter 7 and right there right in verse 7 it starts with a bunch of names right here's one thing you need to remember these are names of people you and i never met these people but these are names of people and god put him here so we can look at it because these are people that lived at one time lived like you and me had a life like you and me pay bills like you and me these were people you know it's like you name being here and somebody goes are you right now you spell that name but no but people god see we see the names of different names of people individually that means god takes account of people that serve him and did things for him you see a bunch of names right here okay so um god had to call um let me go back in him a little bit um excuse me the first two phrases in chapter 7 go back to a significant point of chapter 6 so the first phrase goes back to nehemiah chapter 6 verse 1 where the walls were complete the second phrase goes back to nehemiah chapter 6 verse 15 where the doors were hanged so and now chapter 7 it reveals to us that this was not the completion of the matter right here so the building of the walls and the erection of the doors with not Not when our hands are in on itself God and not calling Amaya Just to build walls, but to build people as well God calling Amaya Primarily to build people to build people needed to be built when he got there This people were down that the walls were down people were trying to survive Listen, why are you building walls if there's no people there? Why are you building houses if there's no people? So it was a purpose why God wanted him to go there and build the walls, because God cares about His people. right so there's people there there's i mean because otherwise it doesn't make any sense build building walls around the city with city with no people so obviously these names are here because god takes account of individual people god had not called nehemiah just to build walls god called nehemiah just because he needed to build the walls and build people as well and with this long list of names in chapter seven you and i i i noticed that that there's there's that people do matter Who cares if the walls have been built, if there was no people within those walls, right? Who cares? It's like, you know, we, we got a building and put a church there, put the seats there, but everything there, there's no people. What is the meaning of that? We do things because it's yes. That's right. We're going to look into that. So it says, who cares if the walls have been built and if there are no people? So people do matter. Listen, Robert, you matter to God. Chrissy, you matter to God. Lois, you matter to God. God cares about you and me. God cares. he loves us as his children in the plural but he loves you individually so people number one people do matter if you follow the outline one thing to keep in mind is that individual people matter to the lord the reason why jesus came and went to Calvary is because every human being is important to the Lord. Also, we must keep in mind that here that Nehemiah was not just interested on walls, but also on people as well. And as we march through this book, we're going to see this to be important. Listen, you are important to me. You matter to me. Because you're people. And I know each one of you are different. You have different temperament. You act, speak different, right? Right, John? Yes, sir. Okay. See, what about the Lord? The Lord uses us differently, right? Because we have different talents, we defend people, we think different. We meditate to God. And Nehemiah in here, he went to build walls, but because there was people within there. Okay? Look what it says in verse 1, I mean, I want to end on myself. Letter A, when people matter, there is a song in the place. Look at verse 1. Now it came to pass, when the walls were built, that I set up the doors, and the porters, and the singers, and the Levites were appointed. Isn't that great? They finished building the walls, they put the doors, and He puts the porters and the singers there. Why? Because there's people there. Listen, if there's no people, there would nobody be singing. Isn't that great? People do matter. He said the poor, so the poor is important. The people in the sunroom is important. The pianist is important. The people in the pew is important. Everybody's important because people do matter. The people online watching, they're important too, even though we don't see them, but they're seeing us. People are important. May we never walk around thinking that nobody's important but us. That's pride. You follow that? Oh, life is about me, myself, and I. Look at me. No, there's people all around us. And they're important to God. So important that He wants us to go tell those who are lost about Him. Obviously, God puts value on them. God doesn't say, Oh, you guys did. No, no. God don't want anyone to perish, but all come to repentance because they import the God. so we see when people matter there's a song in the place and we see here they said when the walls was built verse one and and and i set the doors then the porters and the singers and levi's were appointed so levi's were appointed the singers were appointed the porters were appointed the first thing that amir did when he had complete the walls was was appointed porters and singers In other words, Nehemiah appointed people to sing within the walls and appointed gatekeepers to make sure that no one molested those who had been appointed to sing. So, you know, we're not going to interrupt and let them sing. Now get this, I believe that every place needs a song. You believe that? I believe, listen, music is, get this, wonderful. Isn't it? You ever see a person that don't like music? I'm just kidding. My impression, maybe not the greatest one. But, you know, music does something to the soul. There's something to our spirit. Sometimes, you know, we just need to listen to a little music and before you know it, we're singing right along with it. And we forget about problems and things. It doesn't mean the problems went away, but it helps us. Music is good. That's why God created music. Okay? So, I believe that every place needs a song. By the way, did you went shopping for this Christmas? Did you went to the stores? Did you go to the stores? Anybody went to the stores this Christmas? Did you, brother? Where's the Christmas music? Did you hear music actually? I went to some stores, it was like dead. There was no music. I could name a bunch of them, but I'm not going to. I was in the store like, where's the music? See, I believe every place needs a song. Every house needs a song. Every school needs a song. Every church needs music, needs a song. And it is a terrible, uh, uh, environment when you have four walls with no music in the middle. And this is why people are important. If Nehemiah thought that his only ministry was the program of building a wall, when he got done, he would forget the people. But he built the walls because people mattered to him. and when we see right here in verse 1 that when the walls were built and the doors were built he didn't just say okay i'm done i'm leaving no he points people because people do matter nehemiah recognized that he was building not a not just walls but a people for worship and because people matter to nehemiah there is a song in that place he points people to sing let it be when people matter saints have the opportunity to use their gifts look at verse two Then I gave my brother, Hananiah, and Hananiah, the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God above many. So after the walls were done or built, Nehemiah appointed his brother, Hananiah, and Hananiah, ruler of the palace, with authority over the city of Jerusalem. And immediately we might be tempted to say, ah, he appointed his own brother. That's favoritism. no even though we might think that way in a human thinking look what it says and I have and I give my brother Hananiah the rule of the palace charge of Jerusalem for he was look what it says a faithful man and feared God above many you see that the quality of him that's why he picked him people can say like favoritism. No. In verse 1 and 2 it was Nehemiah's brother Anani who set in motion this whole chain of events. Thus Anani had already revealed himself to be a man of initiative and leadership. And we see look in verse actually Nehemiah chapter 1 verse 2 it says And Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah, and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem." So in addition, Hanani thought he was already a leader in civil government here, and was not chosen for that reason. He was chosen because he had character. so he was faithful and feared God more than others and so both of these men Hananiah and Hananiah were chosen to exercise authority in Jerusalem you know like you know and that's you know a leader when he chooses people they always look what he have and of course some people can go to one point some people can go to another based on what they know and what they do and the qualities come out right here and he didn't choose him just because it was his brother it's because he had certain qualities about him that were good and godly so once again we hasten to add that nehemiah did not throw any man in the position of authority They had to be faithful people who feared God. You know, okay. Tell me if this would be wise. One time there was a man that walked here several years back. And he came to service. He had one service one Sunday. And at the end of the service, you know, I always go out there and greet people on the way out. I always do that every Sunday or every service. I always make sure I walk back there. And he says, Pastor, I would like to talk to you. And I said, sure. He was a visitor. And he came to my office, and we sat down, and he said, you know, I'm a Christian. I said, well, praise the Lord you're a Christian. Praise the Lord. I would like to come here and be a member of the church. I said, praise the Lord. But I want to start teaching. What do you think? It would be a wise idea if I said, next Sunday, you're going to teach Sunday school. I don't know about the qualities, I don't know, even though he professed to be a Christian, I don't know the person. See, Nehemiah appointed his brother and his other men because he knew them. He knew their qualities, their character. He knew they feared God, they knew they're godly men. They could take care of those positions. And that's how you do, otherwise it's very unwise. Imagine I'm sitting there and this guy comes, I'm not saying, well, do that, but say something to me like, oh, good night, you know? You need to be careful. So once again we we can hasten to add the Nehemiah the natural any man in the position of authority and they had to be faithful people we feel like it's a feared God sometimes people get upset because we don't use them more but the reason is most of the time is because they are not reliable neither faithful many times you follow that listen I think, I don't think, I believe that God calls willing people. People who are willing to go. People who are reliable. People that God's gonna know that when God calls, they're gonna say, yes, Lord, and I'm going, and I'm gonna keep at it. Some people are not very reliable. You even talk to them and they say, yes, I'll be there, and they never show up. They're not reliable. You know, they're not committed, they're not reliable. you know we we pray that they will grow we pray that you know they got to that position we say yeah i can rely on you i can give you this and every church needs reliable people believe me right you guys agree with that you agree chris okay oh so but it's true i mean we we uh We need reliable people. Where was I? OK. So there are also people who don't lack character, people who are people of character and integrity. Any pastor or any leader is going to look for some people that are committed, reliable, people that we can count on. so let's go let us see when people matter the kingdom is strength look what it says in verse three and i said unto them let not the gates of jerusalem be open until the sun be hot and while they stand by let then shut the doors and and the bars then and appointed watches of the habitants of jerusalem everyone in his watch and everyone to be over against his house now the city was large and great but the people were there few and their houses were not so when people matter the kingdom is strength nehemiah was smart enough to realize that the protection of the kingdom did not depend upon walls and gates their mistake had been made before The Jebusites thought that the city of Jerusalem was secure just because of its walls and gates. And of course, that mentality proved to be false. In 2 Samuel 5, verse 6, Nehemiah would not make the same mistake. If the city was going to be protected, it was going to have to be protected by people. People would have to stand and watch at the gates. and Nehemiah instructed that those those gates be opened late and closed early and he's going to do that the people so the people need to be reliable to do those things he's going to open the gates the gates not going to open by themselves people he's going to close the gates people because they're not going to in those days no one know a lot we didn't have remote controls and what you pick and the doors go up and doors go down even then sometimes they get stuck a little ice over there a little snow over there cats in the gate and they won't move anymore so you know it needs people for those things okay so people have to stand out and watch the gates and Nehemiah instructed that those gates be open like I said and closed so but even more than then the gates had to be protected so intruders wouldn't come in and that required employing civilian guards who were instructed to guard what matters most to them their houses The interesting thing about many of these houses is that they were in a state of disrepair. It says in the verse, look what it says, I believe in verse 4, it says, And the city was large and great, but the people were diffused, and the houses were not. So and yet, in spite of the fact that these houses were in ruins, of course, because of Nebuchadnezzar did, Nehemiah conveyed to the people that these houses were still unimportant and worthy of protection. And obviously, when people started strengthening their houses, the kingdom itself was strengthened for the kingdom was a collection of homes. Nehemiah had a way of making even the common man feel important. You know what? And that's the key. Make people feel important. Make people feel like they belong. if you make people feel like that this is my church i belong there they're going to do something they're going to be more proactive they want to willing to do things because they belong to you follow that nehemiah's goal he not only build the walls not only the wall everything is done no he's building people and make them feel important listen people need to meet we need to make people feel important We're not going to pat him in the back, not in that, but make them see, look, you matter. You are important. You are a human being. We love you here. When you walk in, we smile because we care. Otherwise, you know, people walk in and say, nobody cares here about anybody. Listen, we as a church, this is one thing we have to always do. We have to love God with our heart, mind, and soul. We have to love people because if we don't love people, what in the world are we doing? So we love God, we love people in Jesus' name. We have to love one another. Some people in the church are not very lovable, neither are you. Right? Neither are you. Listen, when you point the finger at somebody, just look back because there's three pointing at you. Thank you, Brother Tom, I learned that from you. You know, you say, wow, this person is not very lovable, that person is not lovable, neither are you. You're not very lovable and we love you anyway. Right, John? Okay. Love you, John. You know, I'm just playing with you. So, Nehemiah had a way of making even the common man feel important and that is important. to he may not be qualified to be a gatekeeper, he could serve in a necessary and important function in the kingdom at large, he can do something else. And making each individual man feel important by showing that people matter, the kingdom is strength. People feel like, this is mine, I belong here. You know, they don't feel like, oh, well, you know. No, make people feel important, make people like they belong to. Listen, when people feel that nobody cares, they walk in, and they walk out, and they don't want to come back. Right? It's not like, you know, we're going to throw a party to every person that walks in. That's not what it is. But kindness, a smile, loving words, kind words, building up words, All those things making them feel welcome. But listen, this should never be just for those we visit. What about us towards each other? We are a church family. What about, I said, yes, there are people in the family that are not very lovable. Some of them are rude, some of them are like, but you know what? But if we look at each other, ourselves, we go like, how in the world people actually even love me? right if i'm looking in the mirror and say how in the world can people even love me there but people do matter if we make people feeling feel important you know listen people do matter to god because he went he went to that cross of calvary for me and you that's how much we matter to him people should matter to us you're not jesus that said you want to love your neighbor as yourself That's a heavy word right there. Love God with all your heart, mind and soul and strength. And the second commandment is like under this. I'm paraphrasing the whole thing. It says love your neighbor as you obviously people, your neighbor is important. Okay. So number two. establishing citizenship. This section parallels Ezra chapter 2 verse 1 to 64. If you compare the two lists, you will see that some of Nehemiah's names and numbers differ from those recorded early, a century before when the exile returned from Babylon. This does not suggest that there are either errors or contradictions in the Bible, okay? Errors in spelling names or copying numbers could easily creep in over a century, and none of these differences affect any manner of doctrine or duty. Furthermore, the scribes who kept the public records certainly update them after the community was established in Jerusalem. Some people say, oh, see, see, it's an error. It's not errors in the Bible. Azra chapter 2 lists the names of those who set out with Azra but it's possible that other joined the group after Zerubbabel's list was completed for instance in Azra chapter 2 verse 2 lists only 11 leaders and why in Nehemiah chapter 7 verse 7 gives 12 names okay But there's no contradictions, but it's a matter of adjusting things here. So variations such as this one are to be expected in ancient documents. Reading this long list of difficult names might be boring to the modern student today. That's why we skip the page. But these people were God's bridge from the defeats of the past to the hopes of the future. These Jews with a living link that connect the historical past with the prophetic future and made it possible for Jesus Christ to come into the world. Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 are to the Old Testament what the Hebrews 11 is to the New Testament. A list of people whose faith and courage made things happen. That's exactly what it is. So our modern cities are melting pots. But in Jerusalem, at that time, the important thing was to be a Jew and to be able to prove your ancestry. So genealogies were lifelines that link the Jews not only to the heritage of the past, but also to their hopes of the future. not to be able to prove your ancestry means you second class citizen and separation from all that God had given to Israel so it was important these names were important at that time still important okay nehemiah wanted to populate the holy city with citizens who knew they were jews and we're proud of it letter a family issues are given preeminence right here from verse 5 to verse 65 the rest of this chapter we have a list of names here and nehemiah says that this all steam from the idea that god put in his heart he took the his noble and his rulers and his people and he arranged them according to genealogy Nehemiah find the register of Ezra too and use it to place his people in their respective divisions by arranging people according to their families Nehemiah was making the people conscious of their calling and conscious of their inheritance why because they important people are important now please understand that that strength the family does not weaken the church it strengthens the church If our church family gets stronger, the stronger gets the church. If we love each other more, the stronger the church gets. If we care about each other more each and every day, just keep going, we build a strong church. You follow that? Believe me. The more we care about each other, the more we go about as a church family, the stronger the church gets. The more you want to be there, the more you want to be part of it, the more you want to participate. And something goes on. I want to be there. Something goes on. I want to be there. You want to be part of it. You don't want to miss anything. like in your own regular flesh and blood family you know you have some event and if you miss it you feel bad if you miss it you feel whatever maybe you're in another part of the country whatever you're doing but just using examples same thing with God's family the more we we strengthen each other the more we care and love each other the the better the relationship we get to be strong we get to spend time the the more we do that the more we want to be together as a church family Okay, so houses that are characterized by bitterness and anger and houses that contain rebellious children hurt the large assembly of God's people. But if we believe that people matter, we will do our best to strengthen their homes and help each other. That's why the Bible says we ought to edify one another, right? We ought to build one another up. All right, okay, I'm discouraged today. What should you do? Encourage me. You are discouraged, what should I do? Encourage you. Okay, let's go to number three. Encouraging worship. Go all the way to verse 70. Chapter 7, verse 70. And some of the chiefs of the fathers gave on to work. And I believe this name is the Tarjan. Tarhaj. How do you say this, brother? Yeah, that's a hard name. give i mean let's move on give to the treasure of the of the thousand uh drems uh uh drems of gold 50 basins 50 of 530 priest garments and some of the of the chief of the fathers give to the treasure of the work 20 000 grams of gold and 2 200 pounds of silver and it goes on to verse 72 it says and there which the rest of the people give 20,000 grams of gold and 2,000 pounds of silver and three score and seven priests garments so the priests and the Levites and the porters and the singers and some of the people And net net tonight's net animes and also Israel dwell in the city and when the seventh month came the children of Israel were in this city as we serve the Lord we must always do our best but without his help without his help and Blessing even our best work will never last look what it says in psalm chapter 127 verse 1 except the lord build a house they labor in vain that build it except the lord keep the city the watchman wake it uh but in vain Nehemiah knew that there was a desperate need for people to come back to the Lord and turn away from the secret sins that were grieving him. Even though Nehemiah was the official representative of a pagan king from Babylon, he did everything he could to glorify the God of Israel. One of the key lessons we can learn from this long chapter is that people are important to God. You are important to God. I'm important to God. God loves you and loves me. When God wanted to take the next step in this great plan of redemption, He called a group of Jews to leave the place of exile and return to their own land. How many years it took? About 70 years, right? And He gave them encouragement from the prophets and leadership from people who feared God and wanted to honor Him. The Lord didn't send a band of angels to do the job. He used common people who were willing to risk their futures on the promise of God. And again, the same thing today. Even today, God uses willing people. God calls you, God calls me, God calls those who are willing to go. Willing people, willing to say, yes, Lord, send me. Yes, Lord, I go. You know, today, God is still calling people to leave their personal Babylon and follow Him by faith. The church is living in a day of reproach. Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 17 and there are ruins all around us that need to be rebuilt. Look what it says in Psalm 11 verse 3 it says, If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? What can the righteous do? The answer is plain. The righteous can rebuild what has been torn down and start over again. Some people say, there is no, somebody said the other day, there is no hope for New England. New England is just hard and given to idolatry and all that. Do you believe that? I don't believe that. There's hope. Listen, we serve a living God. There's hope for the people in New England. You know what we need to do? We need to commit ourselves and go give them the gospel. If something is going to change people, it's the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what people need. See, if you think that an enemy victory is final, then you have lost your faith in God's promise. There's always a new beginning for those who are willing to pay the price. This chapter also reminds us that God keeps account of His servants. He knows where we came from, what family we belong to, and how much we give and how much we did for Him. When we stand before the Lord someday, we will have to give an account of our lives before we can receive our reward we see this in Romans chapter 14 verse 7 verse 12 but we see obviously if God put the names of all these people in the Bible because God knew them correct All the names of their families, by families, one by one in there. Obviously, God knew them. But look what it says in Romans chapter 14. Actually, if you have a Bible, go to Romans chapter 14, verse 7. And look, let's read all the way to verse 12 in Romans chapter 14. And look what it says, okay? I already have mine open in here, but I can go look at my Bible as well. Let's look at Romans chapter 14 in verse 7. look what it says for none of us live it to himself and no man die it to himself for whether we live we live unto the Lord and whether we die we die unto the Lord whether we live therefore or die we are the Lord's for to this end Christ both died and rose and revived that he might might be Lord both of the dead and the living But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. and see you know everything that we do we know God is going to call us our responsibility to that one last we must learn is that the Lord is able to keep his work going The first group of the Jews exiled left Babylon from Judea in 538 B.C. and in spite of many difficulties in the late rebuild the temple and restore the worship. Eighty years later, Ezra and another group returned and fourteen years after that, Nehemiah arrived and rebuilt the walls and gates. During the days of Zerubbabel, God raised up the prophet Agai and Zechariah to give God's message to his people. So no matter how discouraging the situation may be, God is able to accomplish his purpose if we will trust him and do his will. Now God has a mission for you, has a mission for me, has a job for all of us to do, and God wants us to do it. God's plan keeps on going. Isn't it? Alright. The church of Jerusalem came about. Persecution came about. People went to Antioch and began to disperse. And through the ages God used individuals, one by one through the ages, all the way to today. Now you and I live today. God is using you and me today for His own glory. When we pass out of the scene, do you think it's going to stop? It won't stop. It keeps on going. God continues to use other individuals, other people who receive Him as Savior for His honor and glory. God's plan keeps on marching on. And right here we see it. By all these names we see in this chapter, they are important people to God. God knew them by name. John Wesley was right when he said that God buries His workers but continues His work. we must not be discouraged. And finally, and most important, we must all be sure that we know we are in the family of God. No matter how much they argue, protest, the priests without genealogies could not enter the temple, temple area and minister at the altar but God is not impressed with our first birth what he wants is that we experience the second birth and become his children if you are if you are not certain of your spirit genealogy we need to read john chapter 3 verse 1 to 18 and john chapter 5 verse 9 to 13 and make sure that your name is written down in heaven Luke chapter 10 verse 20 but it's wonderful if we are God's people we are important to him people do matter you follow that people I mean people should matter to us personally because God says to us to love our neighbor as ourselves but ultimately we all matter to God isn't that good to know that isn't that good I mean, I rejoice in the fact that God loves me. I rejoice in the fact that people that express, you know, I love you. I enjoy being around you and all that. Same thing. It is wonderful when, you know, we have friends, we have church family we can rely on, we can worship together, we can grow together. It is a wonderful blessing. And I conclude with this. As we close this chapter, we can make one application here. Those names written in this chapter are not just here to fill out paper. They mean something very important to the Jewish people, even though we don't pay much attention to it. But one thing is true is that we can apply this truth to ourselves as well. God has thousands upon thousands of children in this present age, throughout this whole world, and every name is important to Him. Can you imagine that? Every one of his children are important to him. We have brothers and sisters that we never met. We will meet them when we get to heaven. There's thousands and thousands of brothers and sisters we never met, but God knows them all. God knows them all. May we leave this place tonight with the joy and gratitude of heart that we are God's children. Even you online, I cannot see you, but if you are a child of God, I rejoice with you. To think that we are loved beyond measure, that we never alone, that we are loved by our Creator, to think that God knows us by name. Isn't that great? God knows me by name and knows you by name. That's how much God loves us. Let me give you some verses to encourage you tonight. John chapter 3 verse 1 to 4 says, 3 John 1 verse 4 says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walking in truth. 1 John 4 says, "...ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you, that he that is in the world." 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 5 says, "...ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day, we are not of the night, not of darkness." Ephesians 5 verse 1 says, "...be ye therefore followers of God as dear children." Galatians chapter 3 verse 26 says, For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Romans chapter 8 verse 15 says, For ye have not received the spirit of bondage against the fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Daddy, Father. The Spirit itself bear witness, verse 16, with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if the children then heirs, heirs of God, and join heirs with Christ, if so, be that we suffer with Him that we may be also glorified together. Isn't that great verses of encouragement? We call God Abba, Daddy, and we are His children. people do matter people do matter every single one of them doesn't matter with where they are in life doesn't matter where's their status in life if they have a job if they don't have a job if they're sleeping on the streets if they are have a home and they live in the palace whatever their people do matter and we see in this chapter all those names that people all those families God knew all of them and He knows you, and He knows me, and He knows all of His children, which are thousands upon thousands throughout this world. Shall we pray? Heavenly Father, thank You, Lord, so much for this passage of Scripture, chapter 7. What a wonderful passage, Lord. Lord, how wonderful to know that You know us by name, that You love us, that You care about us. Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful salvation. Thank You, Lord, for Your promises, Thank you, Lord, we are loved beyond our own measure, beyond our own imagination. Thank you, Lord, for that, in Jesus' name, amen.