Title Servant's Attitude
Contents
The attitude of a minister (Ne 7:1-73)
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< Dear saints! I pray that the spiritual grace and blessings of our Lord will fill you and your family this morning as well. Neh 7 teaches us what kind of heart and attitude we should have to serve God. This morning, I want to think about the attitude of a minister while examining Neh 7.
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I. loyalty
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< Those who serve God must be loyal. Nehemiah appointed Hananiwa and Hananiah to be rulers of Jerusalem. “Hanaiah is a loyal man,” he said. The first condition of a volunteer is loyalty. Service without a loyal heart is false, deceitful, and detestable. God is not pleased with that service without loyalty. That's why the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:2, "Faith is what we need of those in charge." So what is loyalty?
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II. a clear sense of belonging
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< Those who serve God must have a clear sense of belonging. Verses 5-69 record the genealogy of the Israelites who returned from Babylon. What kind of descendants and how many descendants? Continue the story. It's not interesting to read. But in verse 5 it says, “My God moved my heart to gather nobles, chieftains, and people to be registered according to their genealogy.” What do you mean? It is said that God moved Nehemiah's heart and the Holy Spirit moved him to number the people of Israel and to write these words down. It seems like a meaningless word of no interest, but it is a very precious word that was inspired by God. Who are these people registered in the genealogy? These are the Israelites who returned from the Babylonian captivity.
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Ⅲ. heart to love God
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< Those who serve God must truly love God. So, what is the mark of truly loving God? The following verse 70 records the sincere gifts given to God. The governor, the patriarchs, and the people of Israel thanked God for His grace and offered gifts to God as a token of their love for God. This gift is a banner that says, "Thank you for God's grace. I truly love God." Governor Nehemiah gave 1,000 drachmas of gold, 50 bowls, and 530 priest robes. Some chieftains gave 20,000 drachmas of gold, 2,200 manes of silver, and the people gave 20,000 drachs of gold, 2,000 manes of silver, and 67 priests' robes. This is truly a great gift. Calculated at the price of gold today, gold alone was a large gift worth over 6 billion won. This was a very difficult time. Economic activity was disrupted by the construction of the Jerusalem Wall. The famine continues and there is nothing to eat. It was a difficult time for everyone due to Pasa's heavy taxes. There is nothing left. With no money, the economy collapsed.
Still, the gift to God was ready. This is precious. Governor Nehemiah gave 530 garments to the priests and the people 67. In the old days, clothes were precious. Clothes were the best gift. It was a sign of love for the priest. To love the servant of God the priest is to love God. Governor Nehemiah and the Israelites loved God's servants. This was a sign of love for God. The priest is not because of the individual. Not because you have a reason to be loved, not because you have a reason to be respected. Because of God's name. Because they are the servants of God who have been ordained of God. Because we love God, we love God's servants. Nehemiah and the people truly loved God. That is why he loved God's servant, the priest.
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