Book of Nehemiah - The Pattern of Sound Teaching

MESSAGE FOR PEOPLE TODAY FROM THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH

Please watch the Video Before Reading the Lesson Plan

Church: Thyatira                                       Lesson 23 of 39                          Theme: Covenant

Background Information:

We asked in the book of 2 Samuel, “How can the creation know how to remain faithful to a covenant?"

Statement of Faith to Say Amen to for the Book of Nehemiah:

I can be awakened to build an internal temple that teaches how a covenant is different than a contract because it is relational and personal and includes a sacrifice.

Essential Question:

How can I live among people in peace who are unfaithful to the new covenant sacrifice by Christ?

Book of Nehemiah:

Have students read pages 104-109 in the book, The Pattern of Sound Teaching.

After students read the information ask them, "What do you want to talk about?"

Remember the Issue:

Remembering to love the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman that God has blessed is important. When the world tries to separate what God has joined together and blessed, God will “stir up” our spirit to awaken us to turn to God and away from the world. When we turn to God, this is how we accept spiritual gifts from God.

When someone excludes the message of how we are not to interrupt a covenant relationship from the message Jesus brought, they will try to influence people who are faithful to the new covenant relationship to be unfaithful. In the book of Nehemiah, men from the tribe of Judah (the stronger partner in the covenant) traveled back to Babylon and explained to Nehemiah that the remnant of Israelites in Jerusalem were in great distress because the wall and the gates around Jerusalem had been torn down and the people were not protected. Nehemiah was awakened to realize that he needed to teach people how to obey God’s commandments so they could be faithful to the covenant that was made with Moses. While the people had been living in Babylon, the Levitical priests and the twelve tribes of Israel had not been learning or teaching about how God protects the people He is in a covenant relationship with. In Babylon, there was no relationship between people and the false god.

Remember the Truth Jesus Brought:

In the story of Nehemiah, the Israelites were awakened to believe the covenant between Moses and God includes a sacrifice. They came to this awareness because of the miracles of God. If the people were not obeying the commandment, God would not protect them. Nehemiah realized that the covenant was at stake. He also realized that the remnant of people left in Jerusalem would not be able to turn to God and obey the commandments with the walls and gates being torn down because the neighboring nations would encourage the people in Jerusalem to break God’s commandments. When Nehemiah went to teach the covenant, a bigger problem was discovered: A lot of Israelites had married people who were worshipping false gods. The Israelites were convicted by Nehemiah of how serious the covenant was, and when the person they married refused to obey the commandments of God this created another issue because people serving false gods were not taught how a covenant relationship was “till death do us part.” The Israelites remembered the blessing of the covenant and renewed the covenant.

Today, we need to awaken to understand that husbands are to love their wives even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. Wives are to obey their husbands. This is a way we can learn the new covenant relationship with love. The world is not telling people that we are to be building an internal temple with God's commandments where the man is the stronger partner who teaches and protects the woman with love. The husband mirrors the tribe of Judah teaching the other eleven tribes. The wife mirrors the other eleven tribes obeying Judah.

Remember the Rock God Established:

God said He would gather His people and bring them back to the place where God had chosen to put His name, Jerusalem. The condition was that the people had to turn to God and keep His commandments. Nehemiah went to the king, and he let Nehemiah leave Babylon to help the people of Jerusalem. When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he told the people he had a plan to rebuild the wall, so they would not be vulnerable. The people cheered and began the project. Nehemiah was attacked by the enemy, but he finished building the wall in fifty-two days. When it was complete, the people made a covenant with God and sealed it with a stamp of each leader.

We can learn from Nehemiah that the enemy will attack a covenant relationship from the outside. For example, in a marriage. The enemy can also attack a covenant relationship from the inside, for example, with finances. The people made a public promise of faith not to make the wrong choice again with God’s commandments, money, or marriage. The list included (1) Always obey God’s commandments, (2) Never give our daughters as wives to people from the neighboring lands, (3) Never accept the daughters from the neighboring lands for our sons, (4) Never sell things on the Sabbath, (5) Always cancel all debts on the seventh year, (6) Always help with the offerings, (7) Always pay a yearly one-third shekel for service to the house of God, (8) Always cast lots for the people to bring a wood offering to God’s house, (9) Always give first fruits, and (10) Never neglect the house of God. The people made a public confession to do all of this. The people entered into a covenant with curses and blessings. When the people would stop obeying the commandments, they would be cursed. When they obeyed, they were blessed.

In the New Testament, husbands are told to love their wives as Jesus loved the church. Wives are told to obey their husbands as the church obeys. There is a promise that God will bless these two people when these two people enter and remain in the covenant with these conditions. The New Testament blessing also involves giving in measures of what you have. This is the only way you can test the Lord to bless you: through giving to the church. This is another promise that God will bless you in measure of how you give to God. A man and a woman will learn how to love one another in the house of God. A man will learn to protect his wife while the wife will learn to obey her husband. This is part of the new covenant blessing. We give to the church, so the church can teach the new covenant blessing.

Activity:

Complete the BLOG below.

Conclusion:

God offers a blessing for new covenant faithfulness.

Next Lesson:

After God reminds, “stirs up,” and awakens a man and woman’s heart with the spiritual gift of a new covenant blessing they receive a new heart, and they will be two who bear witness to the world. This is a witness testimony that aligns with the Chief Cornerstone to increase their faith in God.

BLOG: Write a statement of faith on how the Spirit of God will fill and sanctify your heart by cultivating and conditioning the seed of faith where a husband loves his wife as Christ loved the church and a wife is to obey her husband as the church obeyed Christ to grow into faithful fruit that will fill the first spiritual stone pillar of sanctification in the church of Thyatira.

PROMP STARTER (optional)

My statement of faith to be sanctified through the infilling the first foundational pillar of sanctification in the church of Thyatira is defined as not what I take up, but what I give up that is valued as important, such as awakening to know ________________ is a thing of the world that I can give up for the sake of _________________________, as being regarded as more important because it is spiritual. The goal of sanctification is Christlikeness. Christlikeness is where the seed of hope begins to have green fruit of the spirit that can be identified as ________________________________.

Melody's Statement of Faith (I modeled my statement of faith; you can use it for yours and tweak it if you want):

Sanctification comes after justification. It is a “work” in progress where I will begin the process of growing my seed to be sanctified as faithful fruit of the spirit. Being sanctified involves being separated from the world and filled with the Spirit of God. Sanctification includes accepting God’s spiritual gift of two New Covenant blessings to make us more like our Lord, Jesus Christ. The goal of sanctification is Christlikeness. Christlikeness is coming into being with green faithful fruit of the spirit now, not just a seed. The green faithful fruit of the spirit is how Christ is growing in my heart to be more Christlike.

Because your statement of faith is an important part of salvation, please write a statement of faith on how the Spirit of God will cultivate and condition your seed of faith into green faithful fruit of the spirit to fill the first stone pillar of sanctification in Jesus' Church of Thyatira, in the comments section below.