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We are continuing, we've been going chapter by chapter for the book of Nehemiah and we're there in Nehemiah chapter 11, let's look at verse number 1, it says And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem, the rest of the people also cast lots to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city and nine parts to dwell in other cities. So when you look at the families that have obviously built the walls around Jerusalem they're now deciding, okay, where are people going to reside? I mean, and you can see here that one out of ten, so one out of ten families would live in the main city of Jerusalem and nine out of ten families would live in other places on the land. And so when I was looking at this I was just thinking about how you know, in order to develop this, it's not a new nation, but a rebuilt nation obviously you need people dwelling in different places, you need people playing a different role. You know, you don't want everybody in Jerusalem because there's a lot of work to be done on the fields, the agriculture, et cetera, the farming and you don't want nobody in Jerusalem otherwise it's just going to be a dead city, they're going to build it for no reason and so they want a good distribution of people and as we go through this chapter there's a lot of detail as to where families resided, what places, what lands and I'm not going to focus that much on that this morning but the point I believe that this chapter is driving to us is that you need to have different types of people doing different types of things to have a functioning community. And so the title for the sermon this morning is A Functioning Community, A Functioning Community. And when I think about New Life Baptist Church, when I think about our church family we are a community in that sense, we are different people, we're working together we have a purpose to serve the Lord, to do the work of God but we need different people playing different roles in our church community. So let's keep going there, verse number two. It says, so basically what I'm going to draw out of this chapter are the different types of people, different kind of characteristics that people have. And I think it's good to identify whether you fit one of these or maybe you fit multiple places in this and you know, see how you can contribute to the house of God here at New Life Baptist Church. So it says here in verse number two, and the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem. And so you saw earlier in verse number one that they cast lots. They decided okay, who's going to be the ones that stay in Jerusalem? But here's the thing, they needed men, they needed families to stand up and say hey, we're willing to live in Jerusalem. I mean don't forget it was a destroyed city. Don't forget it's not completely built. I mean they've got the house of the Lord, the walls are recently built, there are enemies against the city. You know to live in that city, it's not like just living in any city. You know it's got a bad history. There are enemies. There are still buildings, there are still places that need to be rebuilt. But here's the thing, it's not like people were just like oh well, we'll just let someone else do it. You can see that there were people willing, they willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem. And so the first thing that I want to drive here is that we need volunteers. We need volunteers to serve in the house of God. And it says at the beginning of verse number 2, and the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves. And so there is a blessing to be a volunteer. You don't know how much it gives me joy in my heart when people put their hand up and say hey pastor, I would like to do X, Y and Z around the building. Or I would like to serve in this capacity. Hey pastor, I would like to drive this thing, this project. Or I would like to drive this ministry. You don't know how much joy it gives me for people to volunteer. And you know, I feel like ever since we got back from Sydney, there's been a lot of people just willing to volunteer and just to do things. I mean there was so much work being done around the building right now. But again, I'm not like trying to get behind people's backs and go hey, are you able to do this? Can you do this for us? No, people are so willing to volunteer that it blesses my heart just to know that people are willing to do things to serve God. You know, there are people willing to go out soul winning. There are people willing to song lead. There are people willing to read the Bible. There are people willing to preach in my absence. And just all the, you know, that's what we need. You know, we don't want to be a church community that's just waiting to be pushed to do something. Hey, put your hand up. You find something to do in the house of God. Hey, say hey pastor, I'm willing to do that. Sometimes I say well you can't just do that bit or you can't do that. Sometimes I'll tell you look, that's something that can't be done right now or we don't want that done. But hey, if you find that you can put your hand towards something to serve in this church community, please put your hand up and volunteer. And there's a blessing. And guaranteed, of course, there's going to be a blessing from the Lord God that looks upon you that wants to serve in his house. Let's keep going there. Verse number three. Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt at Jerusalem. But in the cities of Judah dwelt everyone in his possession in their cities, to wit Israel the priest and the Levites and the Nethinim's and the children of Solomon's servants. And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah and of the children of Benjamin, of the children of Judah. At Ahai, the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amoriah, the son of Shepataiah, the son of Mahalel, and the children of Peres. And Maasai, the son of Berach, the son of Korhozah, the son of Hazariah, the son of Adariah, the son of Joarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shilonai. All the sons of Peres that dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred free school and eight valiant men. So the next person that I want to look at here is the eight, or the three school, sorry the four hundredth free school and eight valiant men. Okay, you know what else a church community needs? Valiant men. Okay, what's that word valiant, what does it mean? You know by definition it means courage, bravery, boldness. But even our church needs men that are able to stand for the Lord God. That have masculinity. Again, in our society, the society is trying to tear down what a man is. They're trying to make man weak, trying to destroy what manhood is. And the media, the entertainment industry, they call it toxic masculinity. And of course, look, when it comes to men, of course there are going to be some problems. Hey, when it comes to women, there are some problems. We're not perfect people. We're created differently. We're created to compliment one another. You know men, the Bible says, is a stronger vessel. And for ladies, you're a weaker vessel. You know when it comes to the physical body, there's this weakness in comparison to a man. Man is naturally more strong, which is why men should be out there working, providing for their families, etc. But society is just trying to tear down what men is. And for the men that are here, for the adult men, you know we need to set a good example. We've got a lot of young children in our church. We've got a lot of young men in our church. And they need valiant men. They need men that are brave, that are bold, that have courage, that stand up, that lead their homes. You know, that stand for the name of Jesus Christ who are not ashamed for his gospel nor his name. And so we need valiant men. We need men that are able to be that courageous. And again, because there's so few in our society these days. It's strange how things are changing. You know, for men to be more feminine, and for ladies to be more masculine, they're trying to change their roles. And what's strange about that is they're saying, well, you know, there's problems with masculinity, but they're trying to turn women into men. So what's actually happening? They're trying to destroy the family units. They're trying to destroy the very natural, what's the word I'm looking for? The natural inclination that we have within men and within women. Okay, so please be careful with what you listen to, what influences you. Because, especially young girls, you're being influenced by this world to become more masculine, to be self-reliant, to not depend on a man, to not desire to get married one day. But ladies, this is what God has put in your heart is to be the wife of a man. That is what God has put in the heart of a lady. You know, society is trying to deny it, but it's going to give the greatest joy, the greatest satisfaction in life if you fulfill that role. And for men, you know, you've got this MGTOW movement where it's basically all women are toxic as well. It's kind of like the opposite, it's the response against women. And it's like, you know what, instead of getting married and having one wife just sleep around and use and abuse and just don't tie yourself down to one woman because they can't be trusted, they're going to divorce you and take half of your things. So just be a sleazy guy, live for yourself, be selfish. No, that's not what a valiant man is. A valiant man who is courageous and strong and brave is not selfish, he's selfless. He's given himself to his family, he's given himself to his wife, he's given himself to his children to provide, to put a roof over their head and to stand up for Jesus Christ. So we need valiant men. But also the idea of valiant men when it comes to the Bible is that these were men of war. You know, they were ready. We really know there's enemies to Jerusalem. We've seen the Sanballat and the Tobias trying to organize an army of Samaria to go and attack Jerusalem while those walls were being built. And so Jerusalem needed men of war. They needed men there ready in case there's an attack to get ready, you know, to pick up that sword and to go and fight. And you know, the Bible tells us if you can, in fact, keep your finger there in Nehemiah, let's turn to Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6. Because when it comes to the spiritual side of things, we don't need, you know, in the New Testament, we are not a physical nation. We're not trying to fight for our borders and fight for the rights of our land in the New Testament. In the New Testament, there's a spiritual battle. Okay? And we read about this in Ephesians 6.11. And the reason I wanted to turn here, even though, you know, we're looking at the Nehemiah and of course, these valiant men are men going to war, but when it comes to the spiritual fights, men and women, we are all in this fight. We are all battling spiritual weakness in high places. And it says in Ephesians 6.11, it reads, So this is not just for men. Ladies, you need to be valiant as well. You need to, and in order for you to fight, you need to make sure you put on the whole armor of God. The devil is out to hurt you. The devil is seeking to damage you. Alright? You need to have the spiritual armor. And it says there, the whole armor of God. Yes, it's good to have certain pieces of the armor, but really, our desire is to put the entire thing on. It keeps going. Verse number 12. And so notice, our fight is not against flesh and blood. Alright? We're not here to establish our borders of our land necessarily. Okay, that's not the fight of the Christian. The fight of the Christian is a spiritual battle against spiritual weakness in high places. And so this is of course the unseen world. You know, when we look at the world, we see the flesh and blood, we see the physical nations, we see the physical borders, but you understand as much as either, if you've been saved for a long period of time, there are times when Satan or the forces of weakness are out to hurt you, are out to hurt in your life after church, are out to hurt your family, you know, to destroy your testimony, to draw you into the sinfulness, the weakness that this world has to offer. And you need to fight that. You need to fight it. It keeps going to verse number 13. The whole armor of God. Now brethren, we live in an evil day. Definitely. 2022 is an evil year. It's an evil day. Things are getting progressively worse. Things are getting progressively more wicked. You know, sin is even more attractive than it's been in the past. And in order for us to continue to stand, we must put in that whole armor of God. We must be valiant people. Men, women, children, putting on this spiritual armor of God that He's provided for us. Anyway, let's keep going there. I don't want to spend all the time on that. But let's go back to Nehemiah 11. Nehemiah chapter 11, verse number 7. Nehemiah chapter 11, verse number 7. And so brethren, we need volunteers. We need valiant men in our church. Verse number 7. And these are the sons of Benjamin, Salud, the son of Meshelim, the son of Joed, the son of Pediiah, the son of Coliah, the son of Maasiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jesseiah. And after him, Gabi, Salai, Nine Hundred, Twenty and Eight. And Joel, the son of Zikrai, was their overseer. And Judah, the son of Senua, was second over the city. So I want you to notice that a man here in verse number 9, Joel, the son of Zikrai, was their overseer. An overseer in the Bible is a, what we call a supervisor. It's the same thing, right? An overseer, the supervisor, the idea of looking. A supervisor has their vision upon a larger group of people. And again, when it comes to New Life Baptist Church, you know, the Lord God has given this church an overseer, okay? Keep your finger there and please go to Acts chapter 20. Please turn to Acts chapter 20 and verse number 28. Acts chapter 20 and verse number 28. Now, I'm sure, you know, especially for those that have gone to work, you've worked under supervisors. I'm sure, you know, generally speaking, you've had someone over you that watches over the work that you do. Now, the supervisor, you know, if he was, I mean, what is a supervisor? You're watching other people. You're supervising other people, right? I mean, in other words, there's a team. There's a group. And once again, when we look at this community, this church, this functioning community, we must have an overseer. There must be someone directing things, calling the shots. And it says there in Acts chapter 20, verse number 28, Acts chapter 20 and verse number 28. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost have made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which you have purchased with his own blood. So notice that, that each church is given an overseer. And of course, in the Bible, the office of the overseer is the office of the bishop. In fact, the word bishop means overseer. Okay? But notice that. And of course, that's me. That's the pastor. I'm the overseer in this church. But again, my job is to oversee a group of people. It's not the pastor's job to do every single task, requirement that's needed for the house of God. No. There's the supervisor, the supervision. It's a vision. It's someone pointing things, hey, we're heading this way, or we're doing these ministries. We're doing that. And then we need volunteers to say, yes, we're going to do that. Oh, be the guy that does that. All right? And again, I'm not trying to say that I'm something special. I'm just a man. I'm just a normal person, but the office is special. The office is important. Okay? It's something that each church needs. And the job of this overseer, as I said there in verse number 28, is said to feed the church of God. Okay? And so earlier it said, take heed if unto yourselves, and to all the flock. And so the church of God is considered a flock, a flock of sheep. And so the overseer is to feed the sheep. And of course, that's what we think of a shepherd. And that's in Spanish, the shepherd is a pastor, which is the pastor. Pastor means shepherd. And again, you can see just in this verse how overseer and shepherd is one and the same office given to this responsibility. It keeps going there, verse number 29. Why is it so necessary for a church to have an overseer? In verse number 29, it says, for I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. And so Paul knows, look, I've started these churches, you know, I've taught you guys, I've trained you up, but I can't be here forever. You know, Paul's got other places to be, or he's going to pass on in life, he's going to get older, of course, he's going to pass on. And he says, look, when I pass on, his biggest concern is that grievous wolves are going to try to enter into the flock. This is why he's appointed overseas. This is why he's appointed pastors, to protect the flock from the wolves. It says there in verse number 30, also of your own selves shall men arise, look at this, speak in perverse things and draw away disciples after them. Therefore, watch and remember that by the space of three years, I cease not to warn everyone, night and day, with tears. This was such a heavy burden in the heart of Paul, because every day, every night, I'm wanting church after church after church, that you're going to have grievous wolves enter in. And not only grievous wolves enter in, but it says, and also of your own selves. There are going to be people in your own church that have been there for years after years after years that you've always seen as brothers so and so, as sisters so and so, and eventually they show themselves to be the wolves that they are. You don't know these things, you know? That's why we need to hear this warning. And again, why Paul was so adamant to have an overseer, to have a bishop, to have a pastor over church, and one of those main responsibilities is to watch out for wolves and to feed people God's word. You see, the more we feed people God's word, the more you know the doctrines of the Bible, the less you're going to be affected by the grievous wolves, the false prophets that try to come in and hurt a church. And so these things come together. And so as we saw here, a functioning community, a functioning church, we need to have volunteers. We need to have valiant men. We need to have an overseer. Let's go back to Nehemiah chapter 11 verse number 10. Nehemiah chapter 11 verse number 10. Verse number 10 it says, Of the priests, Jedariah the son of Jorib, Jacob, Sarai the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshalem, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahithop, was the ruler of the house of God, was the ruler of the house of God. So, and this is just continues the same idea of the overseer. The overseer in the house of God is the ruler of the house of God. Of course, the house of God here is again in the time of Nehemiah was that second temple, the rebuilt temple, Zerubel's temple. But you know what? Even the overseer, and again, I kind of cringe, but hey, I've got to cover this. You know, this is what we got in this chapter. I kind of cringe. But you know, it is, I am given that title. I'm given that responsibility as the pastor to be the ruler of the house of God. Okay, let me just show that in the New Testament. Please turn to Hebrews 13. Please turn to Hebrews 13 verse number seven. Hebrews 13 and verse number seven please. Hebrews 13 verse number seven. You say, well, I don't want a ruler. I don't want someone over me. Look, we all have someone over us in every capacity of our lives. When you're a child, you've got a father over you. When you're an employee, you've got an employer over you. You know, as a citizen of Australia, you've got a government over you. Right? You say, no, I'm a single person. I live by myself. You've got Jesus over you. Okay? You've got the, you've always got Jesus Christ over you. You've always got the Lord. There's always authority when it comes to how God wants to deal with things. Hey, and it's no different to the church. There's no difference between a ruler and a ruler. There has to be an overseer. There has to be a ruler. Look at Hebrews 13, verse number seven. Hebrews 13, verse number seven. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Hey, remember them that have the rule over you. Who's the one that has rule over me, who have spoken unto you the word of God, the one that is feeding the flock? You know, that is the person that has the rule over you the house of God. Now, please, don't misunderstand this. When church is over and you go about your business, I have no rule over you, okay? When you're living your life and you're doing what you have, I can't just come into your house. I just can't tell you, all right, you've got to do X, Y, and Z. Sister, what are you having for dinner? Sounds good. I'm coming over my family. You know, I just can't direct traffic around. Ladies, I can't tell your husbands what to do and husbands, I can't tell your wives what to do. I can't tell your children what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. I can't tell your friends what to do. Because, don't forget, and again, I'm not some, I'll just make this, I'm not some super duper Christian who can't fall, who can't sin, who doesn't ever have foolishness in their minds. I'm a normal human being like anybody else, okay? We honor, we exalt the office. The office is something that I hope more men are willing to do. We need more pastors. We need more churches serving the Lord Jesus Christ. But it says, remember them that have the will of you. I'm a regular church member. I used to think about this. I need to remember my pastor. I need to pray for my pastor. You know, I mean, if God wants to destroy this church, all he has to do, did it say God? Sorry, if Satan wants to, sorry, if Satan wants to destroy this church, all he has to do is take down the pastor. You know, all he has to do is put the pastor in some major scandal, some major problem, and it can destroy the hearts and minds of people. I mean, how many times do I come across people, you know, that aren't in church or just do not have their heart in church because the pastor has disgraced themselves? You know, they've committed adultery against their wife or something. You know, they've stolen money from the church or something, right? I mean, something major has happened and people, you know, but here's the thing. We need to pray for our pastors. You know, Satan, of course, if he wants to destroy the church, he's going to go after the ruler. He destroys the ruler. It's going to cause the sheep to be scattered. Let's keep going there. Verse number 17. Hebrews 13, 17. It says, Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves. Look at this. For they watch for your souls. Watch the overseer. There it is again, that idea of seeing other people as they must give account. Brethren, I have to give account for this church one day. You know, when we're in heaven, I don't know when this takes place exactly. I don't know if it's at the judgment seat of Christ or some other time, but at some point, we're going to stand before Jesus, all of us, and I'm going to have to give an account for this church. Say, Lord, this is what we've done for you. You know? This is what we've accomplished as a church. Why should we do that? Because it keeps going there that they may do it with joy. I want to do it with joy. I want to be like, all right, I can't wait to tell Jesus what New Life Baptist Church has done for him. You know, I can't wait to tell Jesus what the church in Sydney, Blessed Baptist Church, has done for the Lord. I want to be joyful. I don't want to be, oh, man. You know, as we see churches after church, and pastors going, you know, we did this much soul-winning for you, Lord. We had these activities and we saw these families grow. We saw these relationships strengthened. We saw marriages strengthened. We saw children being more obedient and we saw people knowing your word. And I'm like, man, I haven't done any of that. What did I do? We had puppet show. We had some dancers and singers on stage. You know, we had the smoke machine. You know, we're watching TV, Lord. That would be embarrassing. I would be like, man. So, you know, the reason we need to go for a chapter like this is just to remind ourselves we have responsibilities. We have a task to do. You know, we're not here to just, I mean, it's great to have friendships. It's great to fellowship. It's great to be together in the house of God. But remember, one day we're going to give account, or I'm going to have to give account, and please help me to make it a joyful one. I want to be rejoiced and I can't wait to tell Jesus Christ everything we've done for Him. And then it keeps going there. They may do it with joy, look at this, and not with grief. For that is unprofitable for you. So notice that. We want things to be profitable for you individually. And so after we give account to Jesus Christ for this church, He's going to reward each one of you. You know, I'm going to be able to say, hey, you know, brother so-and-so, he serves in this capacity. Sister so-and-so, she did this and she helped out in this area. And all these great things, Jesus Christ. Hey, when Jesus Christ hears about the great things, and of course he already knows the great things you're doing, but when he hears it in that account, then it's going to be profitable for you. He's going to reward you, not just for your individual life, but how you served in the house of God. And so, brethren, the encouragement there in verse 17 is to obey them that have the rule of you. It will make it much easier. You know, if I've got someone that's just difficult to get along with, pushing back, argumentative, you know, critical about everything, you know, by then I've got a new resurrected body. I can't lie to Jesus. You know, my body itself will have to tell the truth. Hey, this person was a little tough around the church. And it's not going to be profitable for that person. They're not going to earn the reward that they should. Let's drop down to verse number 24, Hebrews 13, 24. Hebrews 13, 24. Just to remind us, salute all them that have the rule over you and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. So just to remind us, hey, salute all them that have the rule over you. Again, they're pastors, okay? You know, please, you know, don't ignore your pastor. Not that, again, no problems here, but again, we're just looking at what the Bible speaks here. Okay, if you've got a, you know, an issue against me, hey, let's just, let's, you know, work it out. We don't want to be argumentative. I don't want to, you know, I want to come to church and be happy to greet each one of you. You know, I don't want anybody ignoring, you know, the pastor or ignoring anybody in that sense, okay? We ought to be willing to salute one another, especially the one that has the rule over them. So the ruler of the house of God, once again, the overseer, is necessary for the function of the community of the house of God. Let's go back to Nehemiah 11, verse 12. Nehemiah 11, verse 12. Nehemiah 11, verse 12. Nehemiah chapter 11, verse number 12. It says, And their brethren that did the work of the house were eight hundred twenty and two, Adariah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pellaiah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pasha, the son of Malchiah, and his brethren, chief of the fathers, two hundred forty and two, and Amashi the son of Azariah, the son of Ashi, the son of Meshilamoth, the son of Imah, and their brethren, mighty men of Valor, and hundred twenty and eight, and their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of one of the great men. Okay, the next group of people that I want to think about here, in verse number 14, again, and their brethren, mighty men of Valor. Mighty men of Valor is the next group that I want to look at. You say, well, isn't this the same as valiant men? And yes, in many regards, it is the same. When you read your Bible, the men of Valor were men of war, valiant men were men of war. Okay, it's the same idea. It's people that are bold, courageous, ready to stand up, but when we think about the men of Valor, it's actually drawing another attribute. Even though valiant and valor sound the same, and they probably have the same root words, they actually mean something different. As I said earlier, valiant means courageous, strong, bold, okay, but the word valor, it's like the Spanish word valor, if you say the word valor in Spanish, it means value, okay. Men of valor is basically men of value is what it's saying, okay. And so my next question is, are you adding value? Are you someone in our church that adds value to, I'm not talking about financially here. I'm just talking, are you helping this church? Are you profiting this church? Are you a valuable member or are you not a valuable member? When I think about this idea of value, it brings me back to my old work, like the corporate world. And when we have meetings, we'd often talk about value added processes or value added tasks. And the idea there was often, as many corporations go through a process, they try to cost cut. They try to figure out, okay, what in our business is not adding value? What in our business is not bringing in the sales or making us profitable? And if there's every time to cost cut, or to not fire people, but retrench people, usually it's because the companies come together and say, okay, we need to cut costs. What's not adding value? And whatever they find that is not adding value or adding very little value, they'll cut those things out of the business, usually the first thing that gets cut off, okay. So I don't want, and again, I'm not saying, okay, if you don't add value, I'm gonna cut you out of the church. I'm not saying anything like that. But I just want you to understand, hey, it's important that you add some level of value. Let me just give an example again. I've used many examples in my workplace, but I remember there was a time when, or there was a time when I was supervising a large call centre. There's about 50 people taking calls, and the idea there, the call centre was what we call the customer service group, and then we had another sales team on the side. And the thought there was, well, sales, they're adding value, because they're contacting customers, they're causing customers to purchase, and all customer service is doing basically is taking calls and processing that order. But they're not really adding value. Customer service is actually costing the business something to process the orders of this customer. And as time went on, as internet progressed and websites were developed and got better with e-commerce, then the idea was, well, do we really need an operator on the phone if people can just go online and place an order, then really, are people on the phone, these customer service, are they adding value to the business? And so again, the idea of the cost cutting, the threat was out there, do we reduce the staff, do we cut the staff, because we need value-added processes, we need value-added tasks. And so what developed through that was, well, maybe we can train the customer service team to be upsellers. You guys know what that term is, upselling? It means someone is going to purchase something already, but then you sell them something else. So let's say someone rings up and they're purchasing an equipment, it needs AA batteries. Well, the customer service team was then trained and say, well, sir, this needs this many AA batteries, we've got this many on the shelf, would you like me to throw in for special discount this much? And it's like, oh, many times they'll take that offer, oh, I didn't realize that we needed to wipe batteries with that, whatever. So you then sell them batteries in that process of that transaction. Now, what has happened there? Now the customer service team is adding value. It's adding more than what initially was going to come in when that person purchased something. And so, hey, now it's a value-added process. These are value-added employees. And so, of course, we're not going to get rid of them because they're bringing in the profit, they're increasing the sales. And I guess I'm talking from a business perspective here, hey, but you know what? You should be value-added employees. But that's not what I'm talking about so much here. I'm talking about value-added church members. You know, what do you bring to this church? You say, well, I don't know if I don't bring much. Well, hey, think about it. Hey, what can you bring? You know what I mean? Look, it doesn't require too much. And I always use this example. You know, if all you can do is clean up after church, pick up some papers, right, vacuum the floor, mop the floor. In fact, Sister Chris is starting to put together a roster, a cleaning roster. You say, well, I don't do much. Well, maybe you can put your name toward the cleaning roster and do something. Hey, you're adding value. You know, you're helping the church, you're helping the place of worship that we can come and praise God openly. You know, so please consider how you add value to the church for the young, for the children. Hey, maybe you can tidy up. Hey, you've got younger legs than the rest of us, you know, after the church service. If there's any hymnals laying around, if there's any Bibles laying around, hey, why don't you make that your effort to go and pick that up and put it all in its right place. Hey, that's adding value to the house of God. Can you please keep your finger there and turn to Luke chapter 19. Luke chapter 19 verse 11. Luke chapter 19 verse number 11. And let's just look at this parable very quickly. Luke chapter 19 verse 11. And I'm not going to expound on this too much because I'm sure you're all very familiar with this parable. But it says there in Luke 19 verse 11, these are the words of Jesus. And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable because he was nigh to Jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said, therefore, a certain nobleman, speaking of himself here, went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. We know that one day Christ is going to return with his kingdom. But then it says here in verse number 13. And he called his servants, ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds and said unto them, Occupy till I come. So ten servants, ten pounds. Each servant gets one pound each. Alright. Drop down to verse number 15. And it came to pass that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Hey, had gained by trading. Notice that. Again, this is a parable of Christ. Christ has given us all one pound each. What has Christ given us all equally? Salvation. The gospel, you know, which has been paid for by Jesus Christ. Each of us has received that. But when Christ comes back, he wants to see what have we gained by this. You know, what can we present to Jesus Christ? Christ, you saved me. This is what I've done for you. Verse number 16. Then came the first saying, Lord, thy pound have gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant, because thou has been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. So hey, is this a value added servant? Of course. He's taken one pound, turned it into ten. Verse number 18. And the second came saying, Lord, thy pound have gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, be thou also over five cities. Is this a value added employee? Yeah. Did he do less? Yeah, he did less, but he's still a value added employee. Verse number 20. And another came saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin. For I feared thee because thou art an astir man, that thou takest up what thou layest not down, and reapest what thou didst not sow. And he said unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant, thou knewest that I was an esteem man, taking up that I had laid not down, and reaping that I had did not sow. Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury. And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give to him that have ten pounds. And notice, what does Christ say to this one servant? You know, that he's there to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, but did nothing with it. All right. He says, thou wicked servant. And look, you know, I'm not saying that if you're, you know, you haven't done much in this church, that you're some wicked servant. All I'm saying is, hey, you've been given salvation. You've been given the Word of God. You have the Holy Spirit living in your hearts. What are you going to do with what Christ has given you? You know, can you go out and win other souls? Praise God. You can be a soul winner. Hey, can you be an encouragement within this church and serve in the local body? Praise God for that. Hey, find what you can do. Find where you add value to this house, to this community, because I want the Lord Jesus Christ to come back and reward you. You know, not to look down and say, boy, you know, we've got a whole church, New Life Baptist Church. They've all been saved, but they did nothing for me. Again, the report, the account that I have to give to the Lord God would not be one of joy. OK, so we want to be people that are valued at men of valor, men of value, people adding value to the community that Christ has given us here at New Life Baptist Church. Back to Nehemiah 11, verse 15. Nehemiah 11, verse 15. Also of the Levites, Shemaiah, the son of Hasheb, the son of Azarikim, the son of Hashebiah, the son of Bunai, and Shebaathiah, and Jezebad, the chief of the Levites, had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God. All right, so we've got this man here who's got the oversight of the outward business of the house of God. What is the outward business? When you think of the inward business of the house of God in the time of the Old Testament, of course that would be the sacrifices, that would be all the ceremonial washings, the whole temple worship process would be the inside business of the house of God. But when it comes to the outward business of the house of God, that would be basically repairs and maintenance. OK, so they built God's house. It's been rebuilt, of course. OK, but you know, things wear and tear. Things break down, don't they? Don't they, brother Matt? Our cars break down. Things break down. Hey, but they appointed someone to have the oversight over repairs and maintenance. And you know what? Right now this church building is going through some repairs and maintenance. We're getting some improvements, some new flooring. Hey, and someone has said, hey, I'll take charge of that. I'll take care of that responsibility, repairs and maintenance. And this is why, you know, I'm so, we're so blessed to have several men who are able, like I have no fault in this area, brethren. Right? I mean, and this might be to my shame, potentially. But you know what? If one of my door handles breaks, I don't know what to do. I'd be like, Caleb, what do we do? Like, you know? OK, I mean, I'm learning as time goes on, but it's just not my forte. But you know, there's other people that have that strength. There's other people that look at this building and go, hey, we can make an improvement. You know, hey, this is breaking down. Hey, we can change this or whatever. Yeah, praise God for you. You're adding value to the church. You know what? Because that business of the house of God was a necessary component for a functioning community in the times of the Old Testament. Hey, well, we've been given this building. Praise God, we've been blessed with this building. OK, so it's just a way how, well, who cares what it is? OK, we don't even need a building, right? The church, other people, we can meet at the local park. But you know what? If we met at the local park and all the rain we've had, we wouldn't be able to have church or we'd get very wet. Praise God, he's at least given us this roof over our heads. And even when this building leaks a little bit, we're not in, you know, weather. We're not in the open elements there. But you know what? God has given us this building and I thank God for each one of you, those that were even here yesterday, you know, doing little things, you know, helping out. Not little things, big things, repairs and maintenance. So, we've got to care about the outward business of the house of God. Keep your finger there and please turn to Titus 3. Please turn to Titus 3. Turn to Titus 3. Let me take a spiritual application here as well. OK? So, praise God for those of you that have an eye that can repair and maintain and make improvements around here. But don't forget that the house of God again in the Old Testament was the temple. What is the temple in the New Testament? It's not in your life about this church. The temple is your own individual body. The Spirit of God indwells each one of us. The New Testament calls our bodies the temple of the Holy Ghost, the temple of God, OK? And it says here in Titus chapter 3, hey, so if the old temple needed some repairs and maintenance, then you need to make sure that you give this body some maintenance as well. OK? You look after this body. Let's look at this. Titus 3, verse 7. Titus 3, verse 7. It says, that being justified by His grace, and that's each one of us that He saved, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Then it says this. This is a faithful saying and these things I will, that they are affirmed constantly. So there is something that we need to do constantly. We don't need to stay constantly saved because salvation is a one-time thing. OK? It's a one-time, but there is something that we need to affirm constantly. What is that? That they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto them. So now that we're saved, do we need some maintenance in our life? Yeah, we need to maintain something. What do we have to maintain? Good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. Don't forget, you do need to work on this temple. This temple needs maintenance. And what do you need to maintain? The good works. You know, listen to what God has to say in His Word and do those works. Alright? And again, this will be profitable to you. If you do what God asks you to do in God's Word, He's going to reward you when you go home to be with Him in heaven. Back to Nehemiah 11 verse 17. Nehemiah chapter 11 verse number 17. Nehemiah chapter 11 verse number 17. It says, And Mataniah the son of Micah, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principle to begin the thanksgiving in prayer. And Bakub, Bak-Bukiah, the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shamuah, the son of Galul, the son of Jethuthun, all the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and four. Moreover, the porters, Akab, Talman, and their brethren that kept the gates were in hundred seventy and two. And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites were in all the cities of Judah, everyone in his inheritance. And just a quick thought there. Everyone in his inheritance. Remember, don't forget that each of these families, they went back to their lands, they went back to everything that belonged to the families that belonged to the, the inheritance that was passed down, that was passed down by their ancestors, were given to them. And just a reminder for each one of us that are saved, we've also received that inheritance. Okay? And the Bible tells us in Colossians 1-12, giving thanks unto the Father, which have made us to meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. So because we are going to inherit, we're going to inherit, we've got salvation, inherit the kingdom, inherit heaven, inherit those homes on high. We need to make sure that we give thanks unto the Father, which is why in verse number 17, back in Nehemiah 11, it mentioned, was the principle to begin the thanksgiving in prayer. Thanking God for the inheritance that they received of the land. But brethren, you know what? We're going to one day receive this inheritance of God's kingdom upon this earth, which reminds us to give thanks unto the Father. Just another quick thought in Hebrews 9-15. I'll just read it to you. Hebrews 9-15, it says, And for this cause, speaking of Jesus, He is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Praise God. Our inheritance is eternal. You know, once we go home to be with God in heaven, we're not going to be like the Israelites of old. They could get themselves cursed and cast out of the land and lose their inheritance for a period of time. No, brethren. Once we have the inheritance, it's eternal. It can never be lost. It's why salvation is a one-time thing. Once you have believed on Christ, you can never lose it. You cannot be bad enough to lose it because you were never good enough in the first place. It was never about your performance. You received the inheritance because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But what I like about this verse, it says there, let me just read it to you. I'll read it to you carefully. And for this cause, He is the mediator of the New Testament. So we're talking about the New Testament. We're under the New Testament, right? But then it said this, that by means of death, by the means of the death of Christ, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the First Testament, the Old Testament saints, that were saved the same way. The sins were forgiven the same way by the death of Jesus Christ. See, just another reminder that Old Testament saints, New Testament saints, will say it the same way because of Christ, because of His blood, because of faith upon Him. Let's keep going to Nehemiah 11, 21. Nehemiah chapter 11, verse 21. But the Nethanims dwelt in Ophir, and Zichar and Gizbar were over the Nethanims. The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzah the son of Banai, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattariah, the son of Micah, the son of Asaph. The singers were over the business of the house of God. For it was the king's commandment concerning them that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day. It's quite interesting. The singers are mentioned here. Don't forget there was a time in this time of worship that they were appointed singers. Certain Levites would have the responsibilities of just being constantly singing, constantly praising, and serving the Lord. Now obviously there were others participating in the singing, but there was an actual office. There was a position for the singers. And it's said in verse number 23, the king's commandment. So for some reason, the king of Persia said, hey, you know what? You need to make sure these singers are paid. You need to make sure they're provided for. And so I just want to take that next thought, the singers. And if you can please keep your finger there, and please turn to Psalm 104. Turn to Psalm 104, verse number 33. Psalm 104, and verse number 33. Now I know not all of us are gifted musically. You know, I'm definitely not. It's, you know, singing, following music is something I had to put a lot of effort in. You know, I grew up, my parents put me in piano lessons, and my brother as well. My brother excelled. He's musical. He's got some music. He's musical. He's got that ear for music. I don't. I really don't. You might think I do, but I really don't, okay? It takes a lot of work for me to sing with clarity. It takes a lot of work for me to follow music. And I guess one of my advantages, being in church a lot of my life, I've sung the same hymns, and I'm very familiar with them. But you know, singing is something that God wants each one of us to do, regardless of what your skill level set is when it comes to music. And it says in Psalm 104, verse 33, Psalm 104, verse number 33, it says, I will sing unto the Lord, look at this, as long as I live, I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Wow, that ought to be you, brethren. That ought to be me. That we're gonna sing to the Lord as long as I live. Now that you're saved, you ought to be singing that new song. Have a heart that is to praise and worship God. Again, we come to God's house to sing him praises. You know, please try your best to be at church on time. And from that very first hymn, that very first song, God wants to hear you sing. You say, well, my brethren doesn't want me to sing. Don't worry about your brethren. We're singing to the Lord. It doesn't matter how bad your voice is. It doesn't matter how out of tune you are, how you just sing to the Lord. Do the best you can. Sing with your mouth, sing with your heart. Make sure your heart is in it, okay? And sing him as long as you live. Let's go to the next chapter there, Psalm 105. Psalm 105, verse number 1. Psalm 105, verse number 1, it reads, O give thanks unto the Lord. Call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the men. Sing unto him. Sing psalms unto him. Talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name. Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Hey, one great way that we can rejoice as we seek God is just to sing in praise. Sing of the wondrous works that is done. There's a lot of great hymns. You know, I think each family have some hymnals. If you haven't got hymnals, brethren, let me know. Because I've still got, I've still got our old hymnals here. Alright, the green ones. So, if you haven't got a hymnal, you know, if your family don't have any, please let me know, okay? I'm happy to give you plenty of these so you can be singing as long as you live. Not just when you come to God's house, but you sing every day of your day, every day that you've got, you know? So please, please let me know if you have a need of any hymnals. Let's go back to Nehemiah 11. Nehemiah chapter 11, verse number 24. Nehemiah chapter 11, verse number 24. And at Hazchul, and at Beersheba, and in the villages thereof, and at Ziklag, and at Mekonoa, and the villages thereof. So we're just seeing again all these places they lived, verse number 29, and at Enrimnon, and at Zariar, and at Jerimith, Zannoath, Adalem, and in the villages, and at Leschich, and the fields thereof, at Azekah, and the villages thereof, and they dwelt from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom. unto the valley of Hinnom, the children also of Benjamin, from Geba dwelt at Mishmash, and at Aijah, and Bethel, and in their villages, and at Anathoth, Nob, Ananias, Hazor, Ramah, Gittem, Hadid, Zeboam, Nebelat, Lod, and Ono, the valley of Craftsman, and of the Levites were divisions in Judah and in Benjamin. Alright, last point that I want to make here, verse number 35. Lod and Ono, the valley of Craftsman. Isn't that an interesting valley? Why would you call a valley the valley of Craftsman? Alright. The valley of Craftsman. Well, I'll just quickly read to you from 1 Chronicles 4.14, which reads, And Mennonothai begat Ophrah, and Saraiab begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim, or Charashim. So this valley of Craftsman was originally known as the valley of Charashim. Then it says this, For they were craftsmen. This is why it's called the valley of Craftsman, the valley of Craftsman. And the last thing that I have here, the last sort of group of people that we need to make up a fully functioning community in the house of God are craftsmen. I say, what's the difference between the guy, you know, the handyman, the repairs and maintenance guy? What's the craftsman exactly? Well, of course, in the times of the Bible, the craftsmen were people that would work with timber or metal, okay? And here's the difference between, you know, your average handyman. Your average handyman that does the repairs and maintenance and the craftsman. The craftsman is someone that has an eye for detail, okay? The crafty. When you think about crafts, what do you think about? Think of arts and crafts kind of thing, right? And so there's this eye of detail. And again, this is something, this is not my forte, okay? Now, when it comes to my daughter, Isabel, she's got a really good eye on craft, you know, design. You know, that's one of Isabel's strengths. I don't have it. You know, some people have it. Again, I know sister Chrissy has it. You know, when it comes to thinking about the building and how we can decorate it and ideas, I just don't have it, brethren. I don't have it. You know, I just, you know, if it's up to me, we just have four walls unpainted. We sit on the floor, you know. I mean, I just don't have that part in me. But you know, some people can see, have an eye and they've got design. They can see, hey, this will make things nicer. This will make things more presentable. Hey, this would make things easier as it were, that crafty side of things. We need you as well, you know, for people that have this eye. You know, I think about, you know, maybe even sister Yasmin who comes and organises the food between services. There's that eye for these things, you know. You know, what kind of variety would be nice for the church family to share and participate of. You know, there are different elements. We all have, the point, brethren, is we all have different strengths. We all have different abilities. And you know what? The pastor doesn't have it all. You know, I definitely don't have it all. You know, praise God, I can preach to some extent. Praise God for that. But again, as we look through this, this list of people, you know, all serving, all making Jerusalem and Judah a functioning society. Well, you know, I want you to think about your strengths. You know, again, you know, we have this idea, okay, preaching, sowing in, and that's it. No, there's so much more, brethren. And those things are important. But there's so much more that we need people to get involved in. Please find what your strength is. You know, because you've got things that other people do not have. You can achieve things that other people in this church cannot achieve. You know, men that preach, you've got sermons in your heart that you preach that I will never preach. Not because I'm trying to avoid it. It's just, it's not on my mind. I don't have those experiences. You know, I've not seen those illustrations or those applications in the Bible like you have. You know, we've all been given different abilities. You know, so please don't think. You know, as we look at this list, they're all important. They're all necessary. You know, God stops to jot this down in this chapter to tell us about all different abilities and how they contributed to society. And so brethren, don't ever think that what you can do in the house of God is nothing in comparison to others. Okay? What you can do is a blessing. What you can do will help our church family, our community to continue to function for the Lord. Alright brethren, that's Nehemiah chapter 11. Let's go to the word of prayer.