Maintaining Zeal for God in a Fallen World

Maintaining Zeal for God in a Fallen World
Nehemiah 13
Rebuilding: A study of Nehemiah
Spring 2008

Big Idea  Maintaining zeal for God in the midst of the battlegrounds of a fallen world requires intentional, sustained action…

Battle #1 – Who will rule our hearts?

Nehemiah 13: 4-9  …Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of God’s house. I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah’s household possessions out of the room….

Spiritual entropy reality – When left to ourselves, we naturally bow to or trust in what is familiar…

Battle #2 – What do we value most?

Nehemiah 13: 10-14  …“Why has the house of God been neglected?” I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts. Then all Judah brought a tenth of the grain, new wine, and oil into the storehouses…

Spiritual entropy reality – When left to ourselves, we naturally value our own agendas first and foremost…

Battle #3 – Will we embrace the gift of limits?

Nehemiah 13: 15-22  …“What is this evil you are doing—profaning the Sabbath day? Didn’t your ancestors do the same, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling His anger against Israel by profaning the Sabbath!”…

Spiritual entropy reality – When left to ourselves, we naturally engage in a frantic fight to survive & live as if we have no limits…

Battle #4 – Will we transform the world?

Nehemiah 13: 23-31 …“In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of one of the other peoples but could not speak Hebrew !”…

Spiritual entropy reality – When left to ourselves, we naturally tend to compromise & choose the path of least resistance in relating to the world around us …

Big Idea  Maintaining zeal for God in the midst of the battlegrounds of a fallen world requires intentional, sustained action…