People Over Possessions

Good morning.

My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,

and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today.

A special welcome if you are new or visiting with us.

We are glad you're here.

And we're glad you're here not because you are filling a seat,

but because we are following Jesus together as one community.

And so we're convinced that as we follow Jesus together,

that there is no one so good that they don't need God's grace.

And no one so bad they can't have it.

And so God has something to say to every one of us in His Word,

and every one of us needs to hear what God has to say.

If you've been with us, you know that we are going through the book of Nehemiah.

The book of Nehemiah is a book about a man named Nehemiah

who lived during the 5th century B.C.

And it's a story about him realizing the ways that Israel,

God's people in the Old Testament, had abandoned God and His ways,

and that had been shown through many things.

But one of the ways it had been shown was that God's city, Jerusalem,

which God had set to make a light to the nations for everyone in the world

to see what it's like when God's people follow God's ways,

God's people had neglected and abandoned Jerusalem.

And even though they'd been back from exile for almost 100 years,

the wall around Jerusalem was in shambles.

We met Nehemiah in chapter 1,

and he was weeping and crying and fasting and praying in repentance

over the ways that God's people had abandoned His city.

And then in chapter 2 and 3,

we saw God's people returning to the work of rebuilding the wall.

And last week, we saw the opposition that happens

when we return to God's mission.

And now we come to Nehemiah chapter 5,

Nehemiah 5 · chapter mention

and we have a problem that's a different problem than the wall.

It's been exciting so far.

We've seen God's people coming together,

working hard, putting aside their differences

so that they can have one mission despite their differences.

But now they're going to face a different struggle,

a different problem.

Not opposition from the outside,

but problems on the inside.

Now, as some of you know,

one of my brothers is in the reserves.

He's in the Army Reserves.

He used to be in the Army National Guard.

And so he was only working part-time in that way,

and so he tried to find out

what it was he was going to do for his full-time job,

what he was going to do during the week

when he wasn't a weekend warrior.

And he finally settled on doing military contracting,

and so that's his work that he pursues.

But while he was trying to figure it out,

there were a lot of different options that he looked at.

And one of them was becoming a state trooper.

And so as he explored this opportunity,

he became friends with some state troopers,

and he decided to do what's called a ride-along,

where you join a state trooper for their shift,

you ride along in the car,

you get to see the different things

that they handle and experience.

And he had one man in particular

who taught him a lot of things,

and one of the things he taught him was this.

If someone's car is a mess,

their life is also a mess as well.

And I don't mean that you have a messy car.

Many of us have messy cars.

But he's talking about the fact

that if you're driving along

and you see someone's license plate

and it's been expired for several years,

or they're not able to keep up

basic maintenance on their car,

there's often something else that's going on as well.

I-95, which is a major highway in the East Coast,

is a huge route for drug trafficking.

And there's millions of dollars of cocaine

that's taken back and forth on that road.

And so as my brother explained it to me,

he said,

if you are taking millions of dollars of cocaine

up the highway,

you don't really have time

to worry about your taillight.

In fact, the biggest cocaine bust

in Charles County, Maryland,

happened with, I believe,

this officer that my brother knew.

It was because of a taillight pullover.

And so police know this truth

that physical problems

often point to spiritual problems as well.

You pull someone over

for a physical problem with their car,

a lack of registration,

or a mechanical failure,

and you find out

that they have a warrant for their arrest,

for failure to pay child support,

a warrant for failure to appear in court.

Or perhaps they're smuggling

large amounts of cocaine

from south to north and north to south.

And that's the issue that we see here

as we come to Nehemiah chapter 5.

Nehemiah 5 · chapter mention

On the one hand,

God's people have abandoned his wall.

And that was the repentance

that Nehemiah had in chapter 1.

But they have not just abandoned God's wall,

they've also abandoned God's ways.

They haven't just abandoned God's wall,

they've also abandoned his ways.

And so this physical ruin of the wall

points to a much deeper spiritual ruin

that has happened in Israel.

And so physical ruin

and spiritual ruin are paired.

As the police know,

it's often things that travel together,

often things that travel along.

And so we're going to look

at Nehemiah chapter 5,

Nehemiah 5 · chapter mention

and we're going to see

not the external problems

of their enemies coming in

and threatening them

and attacking them,

not the physical problem

of the wall that's broken down

and shameful,

but the internal spiritual problem

as God's people,

while they're on the one hand

rebuilding something that's physical,

they have deep problems

that are spiritual,

and the two are related.

They have chosen to value

possessions over people,

property over people,

profit over people.

And that's what we're going to encounter

as we come to Nehemiah chapter 5.

Nehemiah 5 · chapter mention

I'm going to be reading

starting at verse 1.

If you have your worship guide,

you'll find Nehemiah chapter 5

Nehemiah 5 · chapter mention

printed there,

or you can follow along

in your Bible.

Remember that as we come

to this passage,

this is God's word.

And God tells us

that his word is a hammer

that breaks a rock into pieces.

In other words,

God's word is so powerful

that there is nothing

that can stand against it.

And so I'm going to read

starting with Nehemiah chapter 5,

Nehemiah 5 · chapter mention

starting at verse 1.

Please read with me.

Now there arose

a great outcry of the people

and of their wives

against their Jewish brothers.

For there were those who said,

With our sons and our daughters

we are many,

so let us get grain

that we may eat

and keep alive.

There were also those who said,

We are mortgaging our fields,

our vineyards,

and our houses

to get grain

because of the famine.

And there were those who said,

We have borrowed money

for the king's tax

on our fields and our vineyards.

Now our flesh

is as the flesh

of our brothers,

our children

are as their children.

Yet we are forcing

our sons and our daughters

to be slaves.

And some of our daughters

have already been enslaved.

But it is not in our power

to help it,

for other men

have our fields

and our vineyards.

Verse 6.

I was very angry

when I heard their outcry

in these words.

I took counsel with myself

and I brought charges

against the nobles

and the officials.

I said to them,

You are exacting interest,

each from his brother.

And I held a great assembly

against them

and said to them,

We, as far as we are able,

have bought back

our Jewish brothers

who have been sold

to the nations.

But you even sell your brothers

that they may be sold to us.

They were silent

and could not find

a word to say.

Verse 9.

So I said,

The thing that you are doing

is not good.

Ought you not to walk

in the fear of our God

to prevent the taunts

of the nations,

our enemies?

Moreover,

I and my brothers

and my servants

are lending them

money and grain.

Let us abandon

this exacting of interest.

Return to them

this very day

their fields,

their vineyards,

their olive orchards,

and their houses.

And the percentage of money

grain,

wine,

and oil

that you have been

exacting from them.

Verse 12.

Then they said,

We will restore these

and require nothing from them.

We will do as you say.

And I called the priests

and made them swear to do

as they had promised.

I also shook out

the fold of my garment

and said,

So may God shake out

every man from his house

and from his labor

who does not keep this promise.

So may he be shaken out

and emptied.

And all the assembly

said amen

and praised the Lord.

And the people did

as they had promised.

Verse 14.

Moreover,

from the time

that I was appointed

to be their governor

in the land of Judah,

from the twentieth year

to the thirty-second year

of Artaxerxes the king,

twelve years,

neither I nor my brothers

ate the food allowance

of the governor.

The former governors

who were before me

laid heavy burdens

on the people

and took from them

for their daily ration

forty shekels of silver.

Even their servants

lorded it over the people.

But I did not do so

because of the fear of God.

Verse 16.

I also persevered

in the work on this wall

and we acquired no land.

And all my servants

were gathered there

for the work.

Moreover,

there were at my table

a hundred and fifty men,

Jews and officials,

besides those who came to us

from the nations

that were around us.

Now what was prepared

at my expense

for each day

was one ox

and six choice sheep

and birds

and every ten days

all kinds of wine

in abundance.

Yet for all this

I did not demand

the food allowance

of the governor

because the service

was too heavy

on this people.

Remember for my good,

oh my God,

all that I have done

for this people.

Please pray with me

as we come

to this portion

of God's word.

Dear Father in Heaven,

we thank you

and praise you

that you haven't

left us alone.

You do not allow us

to stay

in our spiritual ruin,

but you've come to us

in Christ

to meet us

with your grace.

We ask that you

would do that right now,

that you would send

your Holy Spirit

to help us,

that we would be able

to hear

and believe

and understand

and follow everything

that you have for us

in your word.

We ask this

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

If you remember

from last week,

things were exciting

as God's people

came together

and they put aside

their differences

so that they could

work together

as one community,

even as their enemies

came up against them.

God's hand was with them.

Things were moving forward

and yet at the very end

we have this one verse,

verse 22,

chapter 4.

Where Nehemiah asks

everyone to spend

the night

in the city of Jerusalem.

This seems like

a great idea

and it was

because they make sure

that they do not give in

to the voices around them

that are encouraging them

to abandon the work

and yet this has created

a problem.

If all the men

are sleeping in the city

and if they've been

working for months now

on the wall,

what have they not

been doing?

There's no indication

that Nehemiah

has been paying them

on the one hand

and yet on the other hand

they have not been

working their fields.

All this has been

great so far.

It was, remember,

April when Nehemiah

came back to Jerusalem.

He's recruited all these

Israelites to work

diligently.

But now as it comes

near the end of the summer

and the beginning

of the fall,

this is harvest season.

And not only is it

harvest season,

it's even worse than that

because at the end

of the harvest season

is when debtors

would have to pay

their debts.

And so it's all

fun and games

until the debt collector

comes.

It's wonderful

to work on God's wall

on the one hand

except when you've

abandoned your family

fields on the other.

And so there's a real

physical need

that's arisen among

these people

and as they come

to the time

when they have to

pay their debts

they realize

what they're up against.

There's a reason

most likely in verse

one of chapter five

that the wives

especially are upset

about this

because they're the ones

who were left at home.

The men have been

working hard

having great success

and yet it's their wives

who know that the harvest

has not been brought in

in the way it needs to.

They've been faithful

to God's commands

to be fruitful

and multiply

in verse two

but yet that's created

a problem.

They have many sons

and daughters

which means they have

many mouths to feed.

These brothers

that they're complaining

against in verse one

are the rich brothers.

And so there's

those in Jerusalem

who have the resources

to be able to feed

their family

and continue working

on the wall

and then there's those

who do not have

those resources.

And so the poor

have been taken advantage

of by the rich.

There's a variety

of people

in different situations.

So in verse three

we see that there are people

who have mortgaged

their property

to get the food

that they need

for their family.

In verse four

we have people

that have a different problem.

They have tremendous taxes

that the Persian government

is putting on them

that they need to pay.

And in verse five

we meet the worst situation

of all.

There are people

in Israel and Jerusalem

to feed their family

to be able to keep

their property.

They've even been putting

out their children

as slaves

not to the nations.

They've had to put out

their children

to work for other families

so that they can pay

their debts

and continue to have

the food on the table

that they need.

What's happening

is that we have

rich people

who are taking advantage

of this situation

and taking what

the poor people have.

Rather than helping them out

rather than trying

to be there

when they need them

there are Israelites here

who care much more

about profit

and possessions

than they care about people.

They see this problem

this building of the wall

as an opportunity

for them to become rich

rather than an opportunity

to watch out

for their family members.

And this is the scandal

that Nehemiah confronts.

It's why in verse 6

we find out

that he was very angry

because he looks out

on what God's people

are doing to each other

and he sees

not them bringing

God's kingdom

on earth

as it is in heaven

but instead

he sees them using this

as an opportunity

for their profit.

But Nehemiah knows

that God

cares much more

about people

than he does

about possessions

or property.

Nehemiah knows

that God

cares so much more

about people

than he does

about possessions

and property.

And yet he also knows

in this passage

remind us

that our temptation

as people

under sin

who struggle with sin

our temptation

is to instead

care more about

property than people.

Nehemiah knows

that God

cares more

about people

than property

and yet the people

are tempted

to care more

about their property

than people.

Now we're going to

talk in a minute

about specifically

what's going on here.

This is specifically

about predatory lending

and yet generally

we have the principle

of people

over everything else.

I had the chance

a few years ago

to be at someone's house

they were hosting

a time

for a breakfast

there were friends

that were together

gathered to enjoy

some food

and tea

and coffee together

and they were all

working together

to help make this happen.

And at one point

the host asked

one of his friends

would you heat the water

for us

so that we can

make the drinks

that we need

and so this guest

it was early in the morning

he had not fully woken up

he didn't have

all his senses with him

and so he took

the electric tea kettle

off of the electric charger

and he put it

on the stove

the gas stove

and then he turned

on the burner

after he'd put water in it

and so this

tea kettle began

to slowly melt

into the gas burner

and by the time

this had happened

it was too late

for that tea kettle.

Someone realized

there was a

scramble

a shuffle

someone quickly

turned off the oven

pulled the tea kettle

off

the smell

of burned rubber

was filling

the breakfast room

and of course

this half asleep man

was just so embarrassed

and devastated

trying to apologize

offering to buy

a new kettle

repaying

and the host

simply said this

he said

I bought this

tea kettle

and the reason

I bought it

was because

I wanted to have

friends in my house

and so this

tea kettle

has served

its purpose

I would rather

have you here

in my house

with me

having breakfast

with me

than have that

tea kettle

and if I had

to choose

between having

a perfect tea kettle

and having you

here with me

in your friendship

I would choose

you every time

as a friend

tried to

offer to

replace

this tea kettle

the host

just refused

said no

I have these

possessions

for the sake

of this community

I have them

here for people

and so I've

gotten more

than my money's

worth

out of this

tea kettle

because I was

able to have

you in this

house

Nehemiah knows

that God

cares more

about people

than possessions

he knows

that God's

heart

is for the

community

and that

profit is not

the bottom line

that he calls

the people

who follow him

to

Nehemiah's

outrage

is justified

and so he

comes

not just

with anger

but with

charges

in verse

7

they are

using this

opportunity

to gain

money

rather than

showing

mercy

and so

Nehemiah

points out

the shame

of this

situation

you are

exacting

verse 7

interest

each from

his brother

and then he

reminds them

that they've

been doing

all this

work to

buy their

brothers

back from

slavery

to the

other

nations

and so

what they're

doing

with one

hand

they're undoing

with the

other

Nehemiah

doesn't

mention

this

here

but if

you're

familiar

with

Old Testament

Israel

you know

that it

was actually

forbidden

for Israelites

to exact

interest

from each

other

now the

context of

these laws

in Deuteronomy

and Leviticus

was mainly

focused around

protecting people

who were in

great need

people who were

in poverty

from being

taken advantage

of

so commercial

lending

wasn't forbidden

it was typically

practiced

not within the

Israelite community

but they would

have commercial

lending with other

communities

other nations

outside of it

but the goal

the point

of these laws

was for

the poor

to be protected

people who were

in dangerous

situations

who were in

need

would be able

to get the

resources they

needed without

someone using

that as a chance

to extract

even more money

from them

but what we see

here is that

instead of

following the

rules about

not charging

interest for

fellow Israelites

they are doing

participating in

what we would

call today

predatory lending

they are lending

in such a way

that the very

children of their

brothers and

sisters

are having to

work off the

debt

they are lending

in such a way

that the very

lands that these

people need to

support themselves

are being taken

away

and when Nehemiah

brings this in

front of them

they realize that

he is right

it says in verse

8 because of

their shame here

it says they were

silent and could

not find a word

to say

they know that

Nehemiah's

rebuke his

correction is

correct

and so he

commands them

there to return

their fields

and in verse 12

everyone turns

back and says

we will restore

these and require

nothing from them

we will do as you

say

they are not just

breaking even here

instead they are

turning away from

sin and turning back

to righteousness

they are not just

ceasing to gain

money from the

poor

but these lenders

are now actually

going to lose

money

they are giving

back everything

that they had

loaned

and they are not

going to make

any money off of

it

they are giving

back the land

they are giving

back the interest

that was charged

and what was

originally given

as a loan

is now going

to be given

as a gift

we saw Nehemiah

in chapter 1

turning back

from sin

and turning

towards God

and we see

here that that's

not something

that just happens

once

it's not just

something that

happens over

the wall

but it's

something that

God's people

do over

and over

again

this is not

going to be

this is not

the first time

we've seen

God's people

repent

in the book

of Nehemiah

and it's far

away from the

last time

we're going

to see them

repent

but they're

taking part

in the process

of turning

away from

sin

and turning

back to

God

and they're

also highlighting

this principle

not just

that as we've

already seen

God cares more

about people

than profit

but there's

a second

principle here

a principle

against predatory

lending

that accumulation

of wealth

is never

something that

should happen

at the expense

of other people

accumulation

is wealth

is not something

that we do

to take advantage

of the poor

now the Bible

is very clear

God is

eager for his

people to work

hard

to save money

to have

private property

he's just

not eager

for them

to do

that at

the expense

of people

who are

downtrodden

and so

what we see

here

the principle

in today

would be

that places

like pawn

shops

payday loans

even certain

types of

credit cards

are instruments

that the rich

use to take

advantage of

the poor

God is not

opposed to

people making

profit

he's not

opposed to

people lending

he's not

even opposed

to interest

but his

bottom line

is people

his bottom

line is

people over

profit

every single

time

and so

what we see

here is that

previously we

had people

gaining from

others losses

and now we

see as they

turn away from

their sin and

back to repentance

they are losing

so that other

people can gain

they're not

gaining from

others losses

they're now

losing so that

other people can

gain

because they

know that in

God's economy

and God's

world

God cares so

much more

about the

people he's

made in his

image than

anything they

can accumulate

at each

other's cost

Nehemiah

doesn't just

call out the

nobles around

him

he doesn't

just try to

return to

God's ways

and his

mercy

but then he

sets an

example in

the rest of

this chapter

we're told

about his

generosity in

verses 14

through 19

and we

find out that

Nehemiah has

an allowance

that he's

allowed to

collect

he's actually

a governor

he's been

given a

political position

in the

Persian Empire

remember we

talked in

chapters 1

and 2

about the

fact that he

was a

cup bearer

which was

an incredibly

powerful position

in the

Persian Empire

he goes from

one political

position to

another

and as a

Persian official

and as an

Israelite he

has the

right to

take a certain

allowance from

the people

and it's not

even an allowance

that's for his

good it's not

an allowance that

he's going to

use for his

own profit

it's actually an

allowance that's

there for his

responsibilities

we find out that

he's responsible for

serving all kinds

of people

he's responsible for

providing dinner

for those who

serve under him

and then he's

responsible for

entertaining diplomats

and foreign

dignitaries who

come into town

so this is a

right allowance

that he has

there's nothing

wrong with a

government giving

one of their

officials the

resources they

need to carry

out their job

in fact some of

you have this at

your jobs as well

you have expense

accounts so that

you can do

business and not

take it out of

your family budget

but Nehemiah

chooses to do

something very

different

knowing the

poverty of the

people around

him

knowing their

struggle to feed

their own

families

let alone feed

these dignitaries

he decides to

take it out of

his own bank

account

so Nehemiah

takes the money

that he's given

the money that

gets direct

deposited into

his checking

account

it's already been

taxed

he's already

paid the

IRS

and he decides

he has enough

that he's going

to be able to

support all these

tasks that are

before him

not because he

has the right

to

but because he's

so eager

to know that his

brothers and

sisters are not

coming into

greater poverty

because of this

we find out here

that Nehemiah

must be extremely

wealthy

there's indications

previously in the

chapter that he

comes from an

influential family

that may be why

he ended up

being a cupbearer

and so he chooses

here to

use his wealth

for the sake of

the poor

uses his wealth

to care

for those who

would not otherwise

be able to feed

their families

and so he takes

it out of his

very own

his very own

bank account

the author of

Nehemiah is making

clear to us that

God cares about

people he cares

about the poor

and as we come

against the sin

that Israel

struggled with

there's another

reality that is

sobering

and that's the

reality of sin

within God's

people

there's a

tempting belief

that some people

have called the

myth of Christendom

that if somehow

we can separate

ourselves from

all the non-Christians

in the world

if somehow we can

get away from all

those sinners out

there then we will

be free of polluting

influences we'll be

able to be free

from sin finally

if we can just keep

ourselves and our

families away from

people who have

wrong behavior and

wrong ideas then

we'll be safe

and yet here in

Nehemiah chapter 5

Nehemiah 5 · chapter mention

we have the remnant

we have those who

did not rebel against

God who made it out

of exile those who

have returned to

God's cities and

separated themselves

from the nations

and yet the reality

of sin and greed is

still in their

hearts they've not

been able to escape

sin just by escaping

people who are not

Israelites what we'll

have already seen in

the book of Nehemiah

and what we will

continue to see is

sin is not something

that is outside of us

that gets in but sin

is something that is

inside of us that

gets out sin is not

something that is

outside of us that

gets in but it is

something inside of

us that gets out and

so separating ourselves

from other people is

not going to be our

solution it's not going

to be our redemption

and there are reformed

people who claim to

believe in original sin

that still fall prey to

this way of thinking that

somehow sin is these

other people out there

that we need to escape

and yet if that were

true then Jesus would

not have needed to come

and die if all God's

people needed to do is

get out of Babylon and

get back to God's city so

they could be safe from

sin then there would

have been no need for a

savior to come and help

them and so the cure for

our selfishness the cure

for our temptation to put

profit ahead of people is

not to separate ourself

from selfish people

because that in and of

itself is selfish but

instead it's to understand

and realize our need for

the gospel our need for

God and his grace to

come and change our

hearts that we would

actually care about what

he cares about that we

would care about people

more than profit that

would be our bottom line

I mentioned earlier the

laws in Deuteronomy and

Leviticus that for

forbid the charging of

interest to fellow

Israelites the laws don't

just talk about interest in

Israelites and how they're

going to behave as one

community together but it

also in Deuteronomy chapter

Deuteronomy 17 · chapter mention

17 talks about the king

that's going to one day

come to Israel and it

outlines the qualifications

for this king what has to

be true about him there's

many things we find out

he's not going to collect

horses from Egypt but the

very last thing that this

king will not do is he's

not going to amass silver

and gold he's not going to

use his position and power

to accumulate wealth for

himself instead this king

that's going to come the

king that's going to rule

Israel is going to be a

king that looks out for the

good of the people above

himself we see some of that

with the Israelite kings who

come along and yet they also

fail some of them do

accumulate wealth for

themselves most of them do

rather than using their

wealth to serve the

community God's given them

to lead and so the ideal

king that Deuteronomy 17

looks forward to the ideal

king that God's people here

need and the ideal king that

we celebrate as well is Jesus

he's the king who had all

wealth all power he had

everything and no reason to

give it up and yet he lost

all of it he did not just

refuse to acquire excessive

silver and gold as Deuteronomy

17 forbids but he actually gave

up everything he gave up

everything to live life as a

real man in this in this world in

time and space in history and

rather than coming and having

wealth he grew up without without

much of anything he's famous for

being born in a stable and then he

goes on not just to give up his

wealth but everything else so that

he can die and take the punishment

that we deserve the punishment that

we deserve for valuing profit over

people so that he could one day lead

us that we could value people over

profit as we look at this passage

and we see the challenge of our

hearts the challenge that doesn't

come from the world around us but

the sin that's in us there is only

one hope for us we cannot simply

drag ourselves up by our bootstraps

and decide to become more generous

that will simply make us more

self-righteous we can't find a

12-step program to overcome our our

greed and ignoring the people around

us but instead the only way that we

will be able to have the generosity

here that nehemiah has is when we

understand and know and believe how

much we are in poverty and have needed

Jesus to come and save us in the past

and continue to save us now and when

we understand that God has rescued us

that he has refused to charge interest

on us then we will be able to lose so

that other people can gain in 2007

there was a everyday marriage that

happened just like people marry every

weekend in this nation and yet this

marriage made it all the way into

national news it was in Michigan and a

woman named Christine and a man named

Kyle decided they were going to they were

going to marry each other and that's

normal but they decided to do

something that was not normal

rather than simply feeding their

guests who came to join them they

decided they were going to put their

guests to work Christine and Kyle had

met at this church in the neighborhood

they'd met through a neighborhood

outreach ministry and so they were

serving side by side this church was

actually a church that administered to

them as well Christine was a single

mom with two kids Kyle had been

through struggles with addictions and

they met each other in this ministry

and they decided we want to not just

serve our guests but we want to serve

this neighborhood and so instead of

having our guests come and sit down at

long tables what we're going to have

them do is actually serve food to

people outside of the wedding people

in the neighborhood families that need

food to feed to eat to survive and so

they spread the word silently quietly

through the neighborhood that people

would know when to show up at the

church and after the wedding was over

they put on bride and groom cooking

aprons and they went outside and they

served everyone through the line now I

am not saying that if you have a

wedding you need to do this what I am

saying is that what God told Abraham in

Genesis 12 that he was going to bless

him so that he could be a blessing is

true of us as well our great hope is we

look forward to Jesus second coming is

that we would sit around his marriage

feast what's called in Revelation the

marriage feast of the lamb but it's not

just a marriage feast that God has done

for our good but it's also for his

glory and so he invites his people not

just to save us from sin but to save us

to his mission saving us to be that

blessing that he has given to the world

Kyle and Christine understood that God

had rescued them they'd experienced in

their own lives they were experiencing

it as they were marrying each other and

their pastor said this people who haven't

seen them for a while that is wedding

guests will recognize them by the way

they look on the outside but they won't

recognize them on the inside when we know

and understand and believe that God has

rescued us from poverty we will have no

choice but to look to those who are losing

and lose so that they can gain because that

is what Jesus has done for us please pray

with me dear father in heaven we thank you

for your word that reminds us of the way

to go it reminds us of the way of life we

ask that you'd help us today you'd show us

the places where we're tempted to choose

people over profit profit over people and

that you'd move in our hearts that we would

choose people over profit we ask that you do

this not because we desire to prove

something to you or earn something from you

but because we know that we can't and you

have and so we ask these things in Jesus

name amen