Thank you for reading the sermon today. I hope that you are all doing very well. I have been feeling a little bit better.
For the past few weeks, we've been studying what we can learn from the life of Nehemiah. He felt the need to serve the Lord by rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem. He governed the people in the way of right, and he was particularly focused on making sure the the needs of the poor were taken care of. He worked to bring about justice for those who were oppressed.
Today, we will conclude our study of Nehemiah. I want us to focus on Nehemiah's devotion to following the commandments of the Lord. One of the things that was especially important to Nehemiah was that the people honor the Sabbath. He gave strict instructions that no work or commerce was to be conducted on the Sabbath day. When the people started to work and do business on the Sabbath, this angered Nehemiah. He reminded them that not following the commandments of the Lord was what got them into a mess in the first place.
Nehemiah always strived to do the right thing in accordance with the law of the Lord. He wanted to make sure that the festivals found in the Torah were honored and conducted in the right way. He made sure the the priests and Levites did their duty and were treated in a proper manner by the people.
I think that we have a lot to learn from Nehemiah. Just as he was dedicated to following the commandments given by the Lord, we need to make sure that we are following all that has been revealed to us by the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to this world to be the full revelation to us of what God is like. He is the one that we are to follow and listen to. We need to make it our business to learn what the Lord Jesus taught and how He lived His life as an example for us in this world.
The Bible tells us who are followers of Jesus that we are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. That means that we are to be diligent to follow Him and to follow His way. We need to be zealous in following the Lord just as Nehemiah was. Jesus expects each of us to diligently seek to serve Him and do what He taught us to do to the best of our ability as we our empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
In Nehemiah's day, there were a lot of temptations and things to lead one off of the path of righteousness just as there are in our day an age. It is always easy for people to follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing. We are called to move in the opposite way of this world. We are called to follow Jesus. We know what the way and teachings of Jesus are from the Gospels. Let us all make sure to read and study the words of our Lord.
Nehemiah asked the Lord to remember that he was trying to do what was right. The Lord does remember and rewards those who strive to serve Him and do what He has called us to do. Amen.
Prayer Requests.
My health is doing some better. Please keep praying that I will continue to improve. My job seems to be going better as well. I am still looking for just the right job, but I haven't quite found it yet.
Please pray about the weather situation in my area. We are supposed to have very strong winds. Please pray that these winds don't cause any damage.
Continue to pray for those who have been hurt by natural disasters around the world. People in Pakistan and areas hit by hurricanes still need our prayers.
There are many areas in this world suffering from disease outbreaks. Ebola is a problem in parts of Africa. Coronavirus is still a worldwide problem. There are cholera outbreaks in several countries. Let us pray that these diseases will go away and that those who are sick will recover quickly.
Keep praying for peace around the world. Let us focus our prayers intently on Ukraine this week.
For our prayer focus countries, let us pray for those in the nations of Afghanistan and Gambia. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will have a message for the Advent season. I will post the verses on Monday, and I hope to have a midweek post. May God bless you all.
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