Faithfulness, Separation

Now let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Ezra. You might think, wow, Sunday afternoon, Ezra. Whoa, no, don't be afraid.

We're gonna look at Ezra and Nehemiah together. You say, wow, a double. Just a quick verse here in Ezra.

Ezra chapter 2. Ezra comes right after 1st and 2nd Chronicles, right before Nehemiah. I'm actually thinking of a word. It's called separation.

That ought to keep everybody awake for the next 20 minutes. What are we going to say on separation? Is it important in 2016? Well, it is, really. It's not some legalistic thing that was taught years ago and believed by many people.

It's actually our preservation. So we'll see what the Word of God has to say, lessons we can learn. So Ezra chapter 2. I'm only reading this for a little time of expression because there's one man that I want to follow in the book of Nehemiah, along with Nehemiah.

His name is Tobiah. And this is really the first mention of his name in the Old Testament, Ezra chapter 2 and verse number 59. Now, I'm going to start in the middle of the verse because there's a number of difficult words there that would show my complete ignorance.

So verse 59, the middle expression, but they could not show their father's house and their seed whether they were of Israel. And then we are introduced to some more people in verse 60. And I'm thinking of the second group, the children of Tobiah.

So we could put over this person's head, Tobiah, a big question mark. He could not prove if he was a genuine Jewish person. Now, I'm lifting a spiritual truth out of that.

And we're really, today we would say, there's a question whether he's born again. That's how I'm going to apply it, okay? So that's really where I want to start. So let's go to the very next book, Nehemiah.

And we're just going to take a running glimpse through Nehemiah. Nehemiah, I've been studying Nehemiah a little bit. It's fascinating.

You probably know roughly the story of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is a cup bearer and he's out of the land of Israel. He's concerned about his people.

He's concerned about the nation. A number of years have transpired since the captivity into Babylon. The Medo-Persia king Cyrus has come onto the throne.

He's allowed a whole number of Jews to go back to the land. And there's all kinds of reports coming back. And we're really coming up to the third time that there's a group that goes back and Nehemiah is going to be taken up with the building of the wall and the city and so on.

And it's quite interesting. But really, I guess what you want to notice when you go through the book of Nehemiah is whenever God works or uses someone to perform a work, Satan always follows. Now just like my brother mentioned yesterday on the flesh, you'll notice the direction that the flesh came from.

Amalek, behind. I mean generally we're a forward-looking people and we've all had people that have come up behind us and kind of scared us. We just didn't expect them to come from that direction.

Well what we're going to notice in the life of Nehemiah is I've developed quite an appreciation for the man. Like when you just take a running look, which we'll do, this man was used mightily of God. But he was attacked just unbelievably by the devil and by people that he used.

And I just marvel when I get to the end how this man never made it. So that's what we want to take the principle from in this idea of separation will come into the whole story. So let's just start in Nehemiah chapter 2. We're just going to read a couple of verses as we move quickly through, give a little brief outline of what's happening, and here's what we have.

So Nehemiah chapter 2, once again this man Tobiah and this man Senbaal come up in relation together. Verse 10. Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 10.

So at this point Nehemiah has been given permission from the king to come into the land of Israel with all of the material and permission to rebuild the walls of the city of Jerusalem. And here's what we have. Verse number 10, chapter 2, Nehemiah.

When Senbaal the Horonite and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. So here's the second mention of Tobiah. And he discovers that this man Nehemiah is coming with an exercise and the permissions from the king to actually encourage and help the Jewish people in Israel.

And here's the first of a second mention of his name but first in the book of Nehemiah. It grieved them. You know there's a very simple lesson I learned there dear child of God.

An event like this just grieves the devil. The devil doesn't want us here today. The devil doesn't want us encouraged in the Word of God by the Word of God.

He doesn't want our hands strengthened in the things of the Lord. The devil does not want to see you and I at the assembly meetings. He doesn't.

He doesn't want to see at the midweek meeting or the Sunday morning meeting. He doesn't want to see an assembly engaged in gospel outreach. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 weeks of God.

He just doesn't want to see it and it grieves him. So as a result of this grieving process, do you know what's going to happen? Tobiah is not going to sit by and go, oh this is wonderful. I'm just gonna stew here.

No. He's going to actually start to do something to try to interrupt, stop this work of God by Nehemiah. Same thing will happen today.

So we should be prepared when there's some sort of a spiritual activity in relation to the assembly or in my own life. Expect the attack of the devil. Don't be surprised by it because it will come.

Then we come down to verse number 19. But when San Ballat the Hornite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Gishan the Arabian heard it, they laughed us to scorn and despised us and said, what is this thing that ye will do? Will ye rebel against the king? So this whole thing that started with an internal grieving, where did it lead to next? Just verbal laughter, mockery. Oh, you're going to build a wall and you're going to try to isolate yourself from the king and then you're going to work on a little rebellion in there.

All of these different, almost you could almost say like little rumors starting. What was the purpose of it? Just to try to discourage them. That's really all it is.

Do you know really what will test our depth of exercise? Just how much pressure we can put up with. That's really what it is. And sometimes it's a rebuke to us when we want to do something for the Lord, we feel led of the Lord, directed to the word of God, and all of a sudden it only takes one or two people just to throw us off.

You really got to check your own heart and go, wow, I guess I wasn't really too exercised about that, was I? But this is what I admire about this man, Tobiah. He just like an iron face straight ahead. And you're going to discover it doesn't matter what they threw at him, this man just kept on going for the Lord.

Now, there's a number of other things I like about Tobiah which we can't do today. When things got hot, Nehemiah grabbed a few people and banged their heads together. Sometimes you'd like to do that.

And then he grabbed some people and he pulled their hair out and he sent a whole bunch of people running. I know we can't do that today, we have to be politically correct. But sometimes you wish you're back in Nehemiah's day, slap a few heads around and that might straighten a few people up.

But this is this man, Nehemiah, just on fire for the Lord. Now, come ahead, a couple of chapters. Let's go ahead to chapter 6. We're jumping over an awful pile of material here, but I want to move quickly and leave lots of time for people.

What you're going to discover here now is this name comes up again, Tobiah, and Nehemiah has commenced work on the wall. So, a man that started out grieved, then he started to laugh him to scorn, spread little rumors. Now, all of a sudden, he's going to try to join him.

He's going to attempt to join him. Let's read just a few verses. Look at verse number 1. Now, it came to pass when Sanballat and Tobiah and Gershom, the Arabian and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built up the wall and that there was no breach left therein, though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates, that Sanballat and Gershom sent unto me saying, come, let us meet together in some place, in some one of the villages, in the plain of Onan.

But they thought to do me mischief. Look at verse 4. Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort, and I answered them after the same manner. So, that's quite a thing.

This man, in touch with God, I take it a spiritual man, he was able to see, discern, that this so-called alliance, they're just trying to do me mischief. That's what we need today. See where I'm coming with a line of separation? Sometimes what you see out there in that denominational world is, well, you know, we all believe in the same Savior, Jesus Christ.

I know we have a few doctrinal issues, but let's just put our doctrinal differences aside, and why don't we join in a gospel effort? Would that be right? No. Doctrine's important. If you affect doctrine, you affect the person of Christ.

There's a direct link there. And here's this man, Nehemiah, and the first attempt stands against it. Second attempt, third attempt, fourth attempt, he stands against it.

See, what you're going to notice as we kind of finish up our little study here in Nehemiah, Nehemiah was a type of man that bred strength into others. And as long as Nehemiah was around, there were people that were willing to stand behind him. But you know what you're going to discover later on? The minute Nehemiah is taken out of the picture and goes back where he came from, this idea of separation fell apart.

So you and I are very important to one another. We are. I've heard this man minister many a times.

We are either, I am either an excuse for you or an example to you. And not everybody is just going to stand up and say, no. No, that's not popular.

You ever met preachers? And there's a lot out there. And they want to be liked by everybody. So they're going to carefully tip through the daisies in their ministry.

They're not going to touch on the sensitive issues. No, we'll just leave that for the bolder ones. And then we'll check the audience to see if it went well.

If it went well, we'll stand with them. If it didn't go well, we'll stand back and criticize them. You're going to find that Nehemiah's day too.

Dear child of God, you know what you and I need in 2016? We need to stand for truth. Just stand for truth. Don't let nothing shake you off truth.

You're going to discover that things are going to get pretty, pretty intense here in Nehemiah's life. And yet this man had spiritual backbone. He did.

It's sad, you know, when as you travel around, you can't help but see things. I got two eyes in my head and you hear things. I got two ears.

And you know, sometimes what you hear, not referring to this, not referring to lacrosse, I'm referring to wherever I happen to be. This place used to be a good assembly when so and so was alive. Now they're gone.

And what that man stood against, all of a sudden now, you see it filtering in. Now, we're not up here trying to say that the Word of God wouldn't support that every assembly should have one dictator. This is the rule.

No, no, no, we're not. The Word of God wouldn't condemn that. But it's wonderful when you have an oversight.

And those men are willing to stand together. Not just let one guy be the fall guy. Been around long enough to notice that when the difficult decisions have to be made, there's not too many Nehemiah's.

It's almost like you're pushing. There's four elders in the oversight. Three of them are pushing one guy to the front.

You do it. Great to stand in unity with your brethren. Stand for God.

There's a work to be done. And the devil is going to try to disrupt it. So here's this man Nehemiah.

Tremendous to think what he's able to stand against. Then look at number verse 5, chapter 6. Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in the like manner the fifth time. A little different tactic this time.

With an open letter in his hand wherein was written, it is reported among the heathen. And on it goes that thou thinkest to rebel. So now the rumor is getting stronger.

This man is trying now to threaten him. Oh, there was no letter. The whole thing was false.

Oh, Nehemiah, there's a letter circulating around the nations, the heathens around you. Now if this man wasn't focused on God and had conviction from God, man, that could throw you, couldn't it? This is not easy. I'm reading this and it's pretty easy.

But it's not easy. This is not to look for sympathy, okay? But you know, gospel preaching is not easy. Even ministry is not easy.

We all have a heart to deal with. I'm tested on the very things that I'm speaking on. It's hard, as my brother mentioned last night in the gospel.

It's sad. Go someplace, you're asked to go for a gospel message, gospel series, told not to touch certain topics. What do you do? Well, those are the days when I wish I was back at the telephone company, splicing wires 30 feet up in the air.

You're like, oh, Lord, what do we do? And then you start to get up and you start to preach and then you start to notice, you can start to pick out in the audience, this half is with me and this half ain't with me. What do you do? You got to keep going. Because are we not occupied with God's things? We have to.

I mean, we know enough from the Word of God to know that not all of us are on the spiritual plane. Some of us are on the carnal plane. And we don't realize that we can become, when we're acting carnal, we can actually become a tool in the devil's hand to disrupt the work of God.

So that's why this is so important. That's why I think these things are written. We know that.

They're written for our example so we can learn from a man like this. I'm telling on Murray now, spiritual backbone. I remember this was done quite politely, okay? It was kind of three of us were talking together with a gentleman and Murray was talking to him about something and I don't know what all the situation, but he backed down from something and Murray graciously reached his hand over and grabbed his back and was going up his spine and went, just like I thought, a jellyfish.

No backbone. No backbone. Are we like that? No backbone.

Just kind of drift with whatever's flowing. Oh, well. Sometimes that can happen because we just don't know our Bibles.

We sort of let the preachers tell us what the Bible teaches. That's wrong. We need to know what we believe from the Bible so that when the pressure comes, we can actually stand and say, oh, but this verse says this and here's the context.

So it's very important to know that. So here's this dear man, Nehemiah. So let's come a little bit further now.

Same chapter, verse number 17. Oh my, this is a tough one, boys. This doesn't test you anything, Will.

Verse 17. Moreover, in those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters onto Tobiah and the letters of Tobiah came onto them. What was happening here? Well, here we're... Now remember, we started out, this man, Tobiah, could not prove he was a genuine Jew.

He couldn't. So there's a big question mark over his head. Here are genuine Jews.

Do you know what they're doing? While Nehemiah's there, Nehemiah, you're a good boy. I love you, boy. Then Nehemiah's gone and they're writing a letter to Tobiah.

Nehemiah was here today, Tobiah. Guess what he said? He said this, he said that. And then Tobiah would send a letter back to them.

So there was this double-facedness. One day they were happy with Nehemiah. Out the other side, they were conferring with Tobiah.

Almost these secret relationships behind the scenes. Do you want to know the reason why? Just keep reading in the verse. Some of the Jewish people had married relatives of Tobiah.

Oh, there's a tough one standing for God, isn't it? Family relations. Blood. You know what's sad? When blood becomes more important than God's doctrine.

I tell you, brother, you're an elder. Do you know it'll test your devotion to God? When maybe one of your own relatives have to be disciplined. We're just glad we got so-and-so to do it because I'm not going to get involved in this one.

I just might get a little messy, a little dirty. Where's your backbone? Don't let it slide. Remember, we're dealing with God's things.

That's what we're dealing with. What's more important? I was speaking to a preacher, a friend of mine, and you know what he said? He said it from a platform, actually. I was at the conference.

When his daughter left the assembly with her husband and went to a place that would be not scriptural, he sat her down and he said to her, eyeball to eyeball, I do not agree with what you're doing and where you're going. I thought, wow, good for you. That's a test.

Go through the word of God when you get a chance and find out how many people had to pass the blood test before God could use them. What was the first thing God asked Gideon to do? Go and destroy your father's altar. Idle.

Tear it down. Whoa. This could go rough, boy.

Do you know what the amazing thing is? When he actually did it, surprise, the father stood up for him. You just never know what God is able to do, eh? Sometimes we think this is the way it's going to go. This is not going to turn out well.

But the word of God has a principle that runs through it. Them that honor me, I will honor. We have to believe that, dear child of God.

If we don't, do you know what the end result is? I want to echo what my brother Brody said last night. You will wake up one day still with a building called the Gospel Hall but no assembly in it. Because the devil hates the assembly.

Hates it. Will use anything to try to destroy it. You say you're getting worked up.

Yeah, I want to keep you awake on Sunday. I want to keep you awake. I want you to try to grab a hold of what we have in 2016.

We, by the grace of God, are involved in a genuine work of God. It's genuine. It's precious to God.

As I look over to this audience, not only has Christ shed his blood for each individual one of us, but Acts 20 tells me he shed his blood for the church. The local church. That's the context.

It's precious. So let's bring it down to where the tire hits the road. Let's put it on an equation.

There is no blood relation of mine that ever has willingly died for me. But there's a man called Jesus Christ that willingly died for me. He has given me doctrine to follow.

What's more important? Keeping peace in the family or honoring the word of God. This is what this man was tested with. You see what I mean? You just see this thing increasing, increasing.

And there he is. He's just standing. And while he's standing, you know the effect it had on others? It strengthened them.

It did. And God's work was able to go on. You watch where this thing is going to go.

Let's move ahead a little bit. Let's go to chapter 13. Now this is where it kind of comes to an end and kind of a sad end.

Look at what happened. The wall was built an amazing amount of days. There's tremendous revival and things are happening.

Now what has happened before we start reading chapter 13 is Nehemiah, he's gone back. Okay? Gone back to the king, the Assyrian king, the Medo-Persian king, the Persia king. And he's doing his job as the cup bearer.

And this man that he stood against, Tobiah, let's read what happened. Because he discovers this when he comes back. Let's read verse number 4. Now it came to pass when they had heard the law that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.

There was a lot of intramarrying, a lot of problems there. We don't want to touch on that right now. Verse 4. And before this, Elishab, the priest, now you go to chapter 3 and you discover he's the high priest at the time right in Israel.

Okay? And he was working with Nehemiah at the first and I guess things got, I don't know what happened to him, but he slid. Having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God was allied unto Tobiah. And he had prepared for him a great chamber, now notice this, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense and the vessels and the ties of the corn, the new wine and the oil which was commanded to be given to the Levites and the singers and the porters and the offerings of the priests.

Okay, do you know what's happening here now? The walls rebuilt, the cities rebuilt, everything's functioning, the temples, everything's there. Here in the temple are all these chambers. And one of these particular chambers used to be filled with things that were put on the altar for God.

Speaks of worship. Okay? Nehemiah was there in the city, things were functioning great. Nehemiah leaves because of his job and goes back to Persia.

While he's gone, the high priest clears out that room. We don't need that stuff for the altar. And this man, Tobiah, who started out mocking the work of God, laughing at the work of God, who tried four times to corrupt the work of God, who started to spread rumors, he actually was given a bed and a pillow right in the temple of God.

Nehemiah finally does return to the city. And that's the first thing he sees. His sworn enemy is no longer outside the wall.

He's right in the temple. And guess what's been displaced? Things that went on the altar. What is my bottom line? Do you want to know why separation is so important to you and I in 2016? Because if we're not separated from a religious world, secular world, the world of entertainment, you could on and on it goes.

Do you know what it destroys? Your worship. Do you understand that if you do, I understand the sole reason why God saved us. It's to worship.

John chapter 4, the father seeketh such to worship him. I want you to get a hold of that. That is why God saved you and I. You say, how can that be? I thought he saved me to be a missionary way over the ends of the... No.

No, no, no. Go to Mark chapter 3, is it? When the Lord Jesus chose his 12 disciples and just go over the list of the things he chose them for and don't you discover number one is that they might be with him. And then out of that, preach the gospel.

Then heal the sick. Then cast out demons. Do you understand, dear child of God? God saved you so that he could have communion with you.

And from that communion, all activity would flow. But you know what the devil will do? Put the activity first. Let communion suffer.

Oh, great. There's a... You come to a conference and you get all whipped up and you go home and you think, that's it. I'm not living for God like I should.

I'm going to go up and down my streets and pass out gospel papers. I say, wrong. You say, what? What kind of doctrine are you coming off with? Here's what I would say.

Go home and read a little more. Then go pass out the gospel papers. Preserve that time of fellowship between you and your God.

Don't let nothing come in between it. Don't let nothing push it. Don't let nothing make it so small that when you come to the word of God to read... Have you ever seen a dog and you're trying to settle the dog down after he's out chasing the ball? And he's just sitting there like... He just can't settle.

And you ever get down to read the word of God and your mind is just... I got this and this and this. Okay, Lord. I've only got 15 minutes here, God.

Just try to jam something into my mind in 15 minutes. And then you're done and then you're in the car driving and two hours later you're going, where did I read today? Did I even read in the Bible? Can you remember if it was the Old Testament or the New Testament? Do you know who's behind all that? Well, there's a man called Tobiah, but behind him there's a person called the devil. Because when you and I are like that, that's why we can sit in our seat and not say nothing.

This might be a gentle rebuke, okay? I thought this morning as I sat there, I actually prayed and said, oh Lord, with all of these brethren here, why is there so little worship? Why? Oh, I'm not saying you didn't worship silently, but my, if anyone has got a reason to jump off their seat and say, Lord, thanks for saving me, saving us. It doesn't, maybe I thought as I was sitting there listening, I did enjoy those that did, I did. But I thought to myself, maybe us as preachers, maybe we make, and I hate to say this, maybe we make the common person in an average assembly feel like, oh, I couldn't pray after that.

Oh God, help us. I can become very professional at praying. And it becomes just a ditty to God.

That's not what we're after, are we? Brother, do you know what would thrill my heart? I don't care if it takes you two seconds. You just tell me, tell God, I'll hear it, what you're enjoying about his son. I don't care how insignificant you think it is.

Do you know what God called the altar in the Old Testament? He said, it's my table. Do you know where God's altar is today? Hebrews chapter 13, the fruit of your lips, sacrifice. That's why he saved us.

And here's this man Nehemiah. And while he was in his position, while he was standing against this attack of the devil, there was that altar and there was that worship ascending to God and God was being thrilled. And the minute this man was out of the picture, all of a sudden nobody was able to stand against Tobiah.

And as a result, there was less offerings on the altar. Now you go through when you read chapter 13, do you know what you discovered happened as a result of that? It didn't just affect worship. The Levites, because nobody was bringing any offerings in, do you know what happened? The Levites had to go work in the field.

They couldn't live off what was being given. The people in Nehemiah's day, they were acknowledging the Sabbath. When Nehemiah left, this man came in.

You know what happened? They started working on the Sabbath. They started selling on the Sabbath. It's just like everything, everything just turned upside down so quick.

Do you want to know how far away you and I are from falling? Just look at yourself. It doesn't take me long to get out of falsehood with God. So may God preserve us.

May God help us to have spiritual backbone, to stand against a world that doesn't know anything about separation. And can I appeal to my young, younger and older? Listen, I was speaking to a young believer. I won't tell you whether it's a man or a woman.

I'll just say they. You know what she, that, oh, I let it out. That's like trying to sing Jesus Loves Me without the me.

You know what she admitted to God? Lord, I'm watching far too many movies in the run of a week. I need help to cut it out. I need help to cut it out.

I need help to cut it down to one a week. It'd be better if we did zero a week, but okay, let's just start with one. You can literally take a thermometer and put it next to her and you know what you discover? Her spiritual temperature has increased.

Because we say, oh, that's not going to hurt us. Oh, that's not going to hurt us. This is not going to hurt us.

Do you know what it does? It's just a spiritual drain. It's just to buy up. That's what it is.

It's just draining you. Do you know the end result is? God's looking down and going, where's my worship? Where is it? That's why I saved you. That's why I love you.

So God, may the Lord help us analyze our lives. Maybe there's things that need to be cut off, cut them off. Maybe there's things I need to distance myself from.

They've gotten too much of a hold on me. May we learn a lesson from this man, Imai.