Nehemiah arose in the night. God put something in this man’s heart and he kept this vision. Prayer and worship can be so real that we need no one around. Do you see the distress we are in? People who rely on popular opinion cannot serve the living God. We are free to enjoy the reality of God. (Nehemiah 2:11-18; 13:4-15)

Speaker(s): Pastor Thomas Schaller
Sermon # 11684
7:00 PM on 5/22/2019

P. Schaller

Praise God. Praise the Lord. Praise the name of God. Praise Him. Thank you, God.

God came from very far away to this world to save you. And he went through horrible things to do it. He came as a man. He persevered. He was patient. He was humble. He walked with the Father. He had spiritual life. Christ was spirit. If you touched him, something happened. If you touched the hem of his garment, his word, – if his word touched you, even if he wasn’t in the house, the centurion said say the word.

God cares so much about you. He is so capable of going through everything for you. He faces the devil. No problem with Christ. Death did it. Done. No problem with Christ. We are going to heaven. In heaven, there is righteousness and holiness and perfection and then there is no more.

Let’s do a few things. There is no more. In the Scripture it says no more sorrow or pain. There will be no more medications. There will be no more police stations, no more hospitals, no more crime, no more beer, no more addiction, no more homelessness, no more cursing, no more hatred, no more broken hearts, no more confusion, no lost child, no abuse, no lying and no more war. No more losing hair! No more weight loss programs, no more lotions and vitamins, no more health clubs, no more death, sorrow, no more Tylenol P.M. No more pain, no more aching joints, no more amputations, no more confusion about sexuality, abortion, sin, gambling, no more – you know what people are missing in life? Righteousness. That’s the whole problem in the world. They don’t have righteousness. That’s who God is. He’s righteous. The average person doesn’t know what the word means. Righteousness is what you are missing on your vacation. You go on vacation and don’t get refreshed. Righteousness is where we get our power. That’s why Jesus was so amazing. He was righteous all the time. No lie in him. The spiritual power of Christ. That’s amazing. Halleluiah.

It’s so sad people will be going to hell. This is incredible and it’s a constant meditation of mine. I can’t get away from it. I’m shocked. I’m saddened. I’m grieved by it. I can’t believe it. I do believe it. That’s why it affects me. I know it’s true. This world is not what people think it is. They are deceived. They don’t realize the game. They don’t know the things at stake. No man cares for my soul. A man loses his soul but gains the whole world. He gains the whole world but loses his soul. Here we are on a Wednesday night fellowship.

We have a big weekend coming up. A banquet here and the tickets are sold out. More than 300 are coming. Gradation is Saturday afternoon at 1. Then there are barbeques and picnics in the afternoon. Then we have Sunday services. Getting together with you guys a believing people who love righteousness and hate iniquity and are growing in faith. Not perfect.

Our God came so far away to save us because we are so precious in his eyes. We are loved by God more than you can ever imagine. His eye is on you more than you can imagine. His ear is close to your heart more than you can imagine. He hears you before you pray. He knows your need. He hears, cares, and restores. Anyone vertical tonight, you’re alive and conscious, it’s the grace of God. One medical doctor said you shouldn’t ask why someone drops dead from a disease, but why is anyone standing vertical! Why is anyone alive? All the systems that make this work so we can be alive and vertical and conscious of God. We are bringing glory to God. The angels are jealous.

Billy Sunday said the angels would give a bushel of diamonds to be a mother. That’s what he said about being a mother. Wow! What would an angel give to be a human being? I think they are jealous of us that we have this experience, privilege, grace, this Spirit of God, the worship, made in his image. We see God and you don’t see him. You see his handiwork and yet you believe. You walk by faith and the angels come and visit us in our assembly because of the reality of God in our presence. Paul said the glory of God is resting on us. God has broken generational curses. What is a generational curse? My great, great grandfather was an alcoholic and my grandfather was and my father was and by God I am also. That’s what someone could say. My grandfather committed suicide, my father did the same and I live with that shadow. I have that in my history as a shadow. Whether it is psychological or spiritual or physical. We would say there are things in the order of God that can happen to human beings but Jesus Christ came to break generational curses.

Is 28 your covenant with death and hell is disannulled. You are not who your relatives were. The curse is broken at the cross. I am free from my generational curse. I am liberated through J.C. I am not me. I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me. I do not frustrate the grace of God. I’m strong in the grace of God. You’ve got to learn to resist the devil. That would be our message. It will probably be a short one because this is a long one! Say hold it! Hold it! That’s not true. I’m not my sin. I’m not my father’s sin or my grandfather’s sin. That’s not in my family anymore. It’s over and gone. My God came so far, all the way from heaven and to this world. He went all the way. His arm reaches all the way to the gutter. He goes all the way to us and promises us the kingdom. We are in a world where we need to recognize who the enemy is and deal with him. Do one of these (hit your fist in your hand). What is a generational curse? Ask your neighbor? I’m closing this part.

P. Scibelli said I have so many of those in my family background. Probably P. Morello is the only one that can top those. He’s got more than P. Scibelli. He’s jealous. Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands. What happened in P. Scibelli’s life? He got saved and started to think with Christ and lives by faith. A living J.C. lives in us and sets us free from demons and the past. When past sins come back to your mind – I believe that can happen. The devil does that. He can bring my past back to me somehow. He can make it real to me. I say that’s me. God will say, no. That’s not you. You’re not your past. You’re not your past. It’s over. Walk by faith in me. I don’t remember your sin anymore and I don’t want you to remember it. God doesn’t remember your sin and doesn’t want us to remember it. That is not me. Moses, you killed a man and buried him in the sand. The wind blew and the man was uncovered and you were found out. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not my sin. God is with me. I’m on a mission. I’m having a good time up here.

Christ did so much for the believer. It’s unbelievable what Christ has done for us. Our life is embracing it and taking ahold of it. God is very pleased with you when you live by faith and believe what he said. You believe what God has said and walk that way.

Neh. 2 I have two points to make tonight.

One is about your vertical relationship with God. We had that last Wednesday on the hill top prayer of Moses with his hands in the air. When his hands were up, the Jews defeated the Amalekites. When their hands were down, they were run over by them. There is an invisible world behind your life. There is God and angels and the Holy Spirit that dwells in you. From the message last Wednesday, it affected my life. I am praying in the afternoons and I’m taking time to get quiet and in Ps. 40:1 wait on God. Waiting on God. It’s starting to move in my spirit and I’m thinking about it. I’m very encouraged. I’m refreshed as a pastor. Thanks for your prayer and love and thank you God for your grace.

Neh 2:11 this is a man of God. vs. 12 I rose in the night and nobody knew this. He kept it in his heart. But it was real in his heart. I didn’t have to talk about it. It was in my heart. I didn’t have to advertise it. I didn’t have to have people support me in it. I didn’t need any people to support me on what God put in my heart. I didn’t need anything from anyone. My God had put it in my heart to go to Jerusalem and ride my donkey at night, early morning and think about it. vs. 13. I was riding my donkey around in the night time. I didn’t want anyone to see me. God was with me in it. I was thinking about it. I think prayer and worship can be so real you don’t need anyone around you. The other night I could come down for the prayer and in this case because I’m in the church a lot, I’m not going there to see people see me pray. I don’t want any interference in my heart regarding my motive. Sometimes as a leader, you are there to encourage other people. I don’t want to do that. I want to walk before God and lead me and guide me without people. If you can follow that, I’m sure you can. Private prayer. Jesus did it. Waiting on God. Nobody knows. It’s personal. It’s beautiful. He’s getting something moving in his heart. Wouldn’t it be terrible if the only time you ministered was when the cameras were rolling? Wouldn’t it be terrible if the only time you ministered was in public? So narcissistic you need people to pay attention to you. Wouldn’t it be a horrible thing for any of us to have that kind of motivation? Christ is not caring about the people. He’s caring about them but not what they are saying or doing or supporting or rejecting him. It doesn’t matter. He is in another place.

vs. 14-15. Can you imagine you have a song leader that can’t song lead anymore so he goes, I’m leaving the church. You’re leaving the church because you’re not center stage? Or a pastor isn’t preaching for months or years. We had that in Europe. A pastor was asked to step down but it didn’t change his ministry because it’s something in his heart. You have a vertical relationship with God. Most people understand this because this is how most people live. It is I want to be there because God is there. I want to be walking with God whether people notice it or not. I want something running deep in my veins because there has to be something there that didn’t come from people. God uses people and he gives gifts to the Body. We are fascinated about how much is going on without anyone knowing about it.

vs. 16-17. Do you see the distress we are in? Do you see the distress we are in in the United States of America? Do you see the problems we have with our young people, with our little ones in kindergarten and first grade in public schools? Do you see the problems we have in our society? It’s amazing. Yes, we see it but at the same time we are above enjoying the riches of Christ. I am free. Halleluiah. I am free. This is the spirit of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is concerned. That thing isn’t burying me. I’m above it. God is with us. We can preach the gospel. We can have a Bible college. We can learn to live by faith. God is good to us. Ever go to the lawyer’s office and see the volumes of books and medical office where the doctors are. I go out of there and say thank you, Lord. You just gave me one book. One book to meditate on, embrace, believe, one book that changes our life. How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed to this book. I need a preacher. I need someone like Nehemiah. This isn’t about something with people getting behind me and Go Fund Me. I need many likes. Whatever! Are you kidding me? People controlled by people or under the influence of popular opinion, how can they be servants of the living God? He sent Christ as the unique Son of God.

vs. 18. I told them we can do this thing. I told them I believe in it. I told them God had called me and his hand is on me. I’m confident of it. I told them the gospel is reality that sins are forgiven, that we can be disciples that we can send missionaries into different parts of the world and have an impact because God is with us. I told them that because I believe it.

Very precious little portion in Neh 13. I want you to see something that happens to all of us. I want to lead you in the thought. Things are going well, get established and something slips in. Something happens and Nehemiah wakes up and realizes, what’s going on? What happened? You said that? Who is in charge of the money now? What are you teaching? What did he say in the classroom? Are you sure? Nehemiah has done a great job and the Jewish people are behind him and a lot of catching up to do to get fresh and have God’s heart and mind in Jerusalem, but it’s a process. He’s kind of surprised when he realizes some of what is going on. An enemy has a store house in the temple. Nehemiah didn’t realize that.

Neh 13:4, He was allied to Tobiah. Who’s Tobiah? An enemy. Sanballat and Tobiah. Who is allied to him? The priest. The priest has a friendship with a guy that is the enemy and he has a room in the temple. Nehemiah didn’t realize this. vs. 5-6. What’s in that chamber now? Pool table, video game. I don’t know what that guy had in that chamber. His mother in law’s furniture. He had his own stuff and it was made for the priest to store the offering and things. Nehemiah said I wasn’t in Jerusalem while it was going on. While the cats away the mice will play. We get too relaxed in the house of God and things slide in. Where did that come in? From a movie we saw a few weeks ago and not a clear message. Something slipped in in the house of God. Playing bingo instead of a prayer meeting. In Jesus’ day, they were buying cows and goats and making money. What? Where did this thing come from when Nehemiah said what is going on? How did that happen? Where did it come from? Way back here with a walk with God when nobody is looking and nobody is watching. When a man of God goes into a prayer room for no other reason but he meets God there. God puts in his spirit this fire, this fight, this truth. When he faces a thing that doesn’t seem right, there is something in him that says, wait a minute! That’s thievery. That’s lying. That’s hypocrisy. That’s risqué. That’s inappropriate. That’s ungodly.

A word to the ladies. You know when you dress provocatively. You know what that is. Why do you dress inappropriately in the church or anywhere? Do you know what it does to a man? Do you know how distracting that is in the house of God? You know what that is. Please don’t do that. It doesn’t help people. How can a man come into a church and the whole service he is distracted by a woman’s body? That’s his weakness and that’s his life maybe. Human beings are to be modest. We are Christians that are godly and we are modest in the way we are.

vs. 7. I understood it. It occurred to me. I got to say it takes me time sometimes to understand where I stand on some issue. There might be something that comes my way and I’m a little bit slow but I’m good. I might be slow on the draw but once I draw that gun, I’ll hit the target. I’m slow at the draw but if I got it right, I’ll hit the target. Then I understood. Abortion is murder. Why are we so slow on that? There are women in our country, like a third of them in child bearing age, all kinds of numbers and statistics of those who had an abortion and some have three or four and come to the church and already suffering from some kind of affect from what they did. Are we bringing it up? Yes, we are. It’s not right. The fire regarding that issue is building up in me by the help of other believers and what others are saying about it. We are recognizing what it is. Help for a woman and a man who is just as guilty who pressures the woman to get an abortion one time, two times, three times. Then I understood and the fight in me was there.

Nehemiah had it. He understood something about it. Many other things we could say regarding the age we live in. I don’t trust any of us in this issue. I believe the church is sliding in the world. Just like the world is going, the church is the same. I don’t trust the Christian in that sense. The Christian goes to church and applause and enjoys it and goes out and talks the same way. He doesn’t have any moving of the Spirit in a vertical relationship where he is compelled by prayer and faith and freedom and love. To have something moving in his spirit that is from God and it is the Holy Spirit. He’s the priest but it doesn’t matter who he is. He could be the pope. It doesn’t matter if he’s a priest or pope or pastor. He is a man and he can be wrong. Everyone on this platform and building, every one of us can be wrong. I want to know what God is saying and what the H.S. is saying and also I want to be in an anointed ministry. That’s where you will get offended and God will challenge your faith.

Pornography is filthy and sinful and unacceptable. It’s abuse of women. How can women enjoy the fact that men are gawking after them or lusting after them and dishonoring them as people? If I am a woman, I should be honored and respected. I’m a lady. I’m a fine lady. I have purpose and design and direction in my life. Any man wants to be around me, I expect them to be a godly man and not treat me like an animal. Dogs live like dogs and human beings live like God designed us to live with a sense of propriety and divine order.

vs. 8. There is not enough grief in the world for the wicked that is going on. I can’t believe the insanity of these dumb, idiotic leaders. Mushrooms legal in Colorado. Now we will have more drug addictions, more young people in suicide. This transgender stuff – I heard in Maryland, the gender on the birth certificate that that can be changed. The birth certificate says a male and you can change it to female. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? I’d never vote for any party that embraced anything like that. I’d never vote for anyone that has a mind like that…..Christians will be divided over the issue. Christians will be talking about it. Do you have a vertical with God? Have you had any private personal time with the living God and God will show you.

It occurred to Nehemiah and if it occurred to him, vs. 10, he cleansed the chamber in vs. 9. He got rid of the guy’s toys. Everything is on the side walk. It’s in the dumpster, Tobiah, and you’ll be there too. You’re in trouble with our leader. His name is Nehemiah. He got your number. That’s not being judgmental but discerning and recognize the kind of world I want to live in. We are sensible and have wisdom and holiness and are encouraging and loving our families. Our families are to be blessed and I know all the time they are not. I understand that. God has it all under control. He’s not done with our families members. Don’t worry about it.

vs. 10-11. Why is the house of God forsaken? Why is the house of God forsaken? I said it to the leaders. Why is nobody in the house of God? What has happened? It is empty. Where are the priests? They are out farming because they have no food for the temple. Tobiah used the store house for his stuff. We need the priest. We need to provide for our priests. They have a service if you catch the drift of what this is saying. vs. 15. I got mad about it, working on the Sabbath. That’s not right either. I want to have cold water thrown on me. Do you see what is going on? Wake up. Come on. We go, yeah. That’s right. We got here by prayer and that’s the thing that is needed. Our Bible school has to be fervent and anointed of God. God has to call and raise up people, men and women of God. Families need help. Our families need help. Moms need help. Our children and the teenagers and the Sunday school teaching. We say I’m not giving up. I got too much in this. I’m not backing up. I call a lie a lie. I’ll challenge the devil. He’s barking like a dog. He’s Goliath screaming for 40 days. Who’s Goliath? He’ll be bird feed in a minute. There is something at stake. There is something that needs to be said. There is authority from God and the pulpit and our Bible. There has to be some difference between us and the world. There has to be a message of grace revealing who we are. By the grace of God, have some difference in you and deny ungodliness.

It’s at night and you’re thinking about it. I can’t go to that party. I’m not going. There is something going on in my heart. I don’t care who is there. That’s not my life anymore. I’m not turning on the TV. One time in a hotel, I turned on the TV and pornography came up right away. I’m trying to turn it off. I threw the blanket on the TV. I don’t want that in my mind. It gets in my mind and stays there for years. It’s been years I never turned a TV on in a hotel room. I don’t want any of that. I’m not a perfect person. I want to say something about this subject. It’s got to be born from somewhere else.

It has to be born from Jesus Christ in your heart. You have to make some time and effort. Ride around and think about it and say God’s good hand is on me. I’m serious about this thing. It will happen.

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