Reader comment: I watched them enter the church and leave the church, the MSM commentators had no info about what was being said inside.
If you are not familiar with Nehemiah, Let me give you a short lesson. Nehemiah was an Israelite living outside of Israel since the scattering to Babylon. Cyrus came into Babylon and sent the Israelites back to their home land to rebuild their temple. Nehemiah's friend visited him at his work in a Palace, tasting the Kings food. (a very trusted position) Nehemiah learned that the building was impeded by enemies attacking the Israelites. Nehemiah was very sad and prayed to God to help. This lead to his employer , the king, giving him time off to travel and help, also a band of men to guard him in his travels and permission to cut down trees and gather supplies needed to build a wall. (God's strong favor) While building the wall, he also made sure the Israelites also learned the Tora and Repented. The people wailed with repentance. There are many other lessons in this short book.......................G
Donald Trump heard a sermon Friday morning from a Southern Baptist pastor who has history of inflammatory remarks about Muslims, Mormons, Catholics and gays.
If you are not familiar with Nehemiah, Let me give you a short lesson. Nehemiah was an Israelite living outside of Israel since the scattering to Babylon. Cyrus came into Babylon and sent the Israelites back to their home land to rebuild their temple. Nehemiah's friend visited him at his work in a Palace, tasting the Kings food. (a very trusted position) Nehemiah learned that the building was impeded by enemies attacking the Israelites. Nehemiah was very sad and prayed to God to help. This lead to his employer , the king, giving him time off to travel and help, also a band of men to guard him in his travels and permission to cut down trees and gather supplies needed to build a wall. (God's strong favor) While building the wall, he also made sure the Israelites also learned the Tora and Repented. The people wailed with repentance. There are many other lessons in this short book.......................G
Donald Trump heard a sermon Friday morning from a Southern Baptist pastor who has history of inflammatory remarks about Muslims, Mormons, Catholics and gays.
The sermon was delivered by Robert Jeffress, senior
pastor of First Baptist Church, who compared Trump to the story of the biblical leader Nehemiah who
helped rebuild the city of Jerusalem and its walls after the people of Judah
had been exiled from the land of Israel.
Israel had been in bondage for decades,
Jeffress explained, and the infrastructure of the country was in shambles, and God did not choose a politician
or a priest but chose a builder instead. The first step of rebuilding the nation, Jeffress said,
was the building of a wall around Jerusalem to protect its citizens from enemy
attack.
“You see, God is not against building
walls,” Jeffress said in his sermon at St. John’s Episcopal Church in D.C.
Nehemiah, according to the biblical
account, completed the project in 52 days. Why was Nehemiah so successful in
building the wall and rebuilding the nation? Jeffress said that Nehemiah refused to allow his
critics to distract him, noting how some people still don’t believe
Trump will succeed in his agenda.
Nehemiah,
Jeffress said, had two antagonists named Sanballat and Tobiah. “They were the
mainstream media of their day,” he said. “They continued to hound and heckle
Nehemiah and spread false rumors while he and the Israelites were building the
wall.”
He noted that Nehemiah answered his
critics by saying: “I’m doing a great work. . . . Why should I stop the work
and come down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3). Trump’s work, he said, “is a work far
too important to stop and answer your critics.”
Nehemiah faced setbacks, Jeffress
noted, including an economic recession, terrorist attacks from enemies and
discouragement among the citizens. “The true measure of a leader is what it
takes to stop him,” he said. “And knowing you, I believe it’s going to take a
lot to stop you.”
Jeffress was an early supporter of
Trump, a Presbyterian who courted evangelicals during the election. Jeffress
said in his sermon that it was one year ago this weekend that he was with Trump
on his jet flying around Iowa. After sharing Wendy’s cheeseburgers, Jeffress
said, he believed Trump would be the next president and that it would be
because God placed him there.
Jeffress said Trump has assembled an
“unbelievably talented group of advisers” and has Vice President-elect Mike
Pence by his side, “a great and godly man.” “Mr. President-elect, I don’t believe we have ever had a
president with as many natural gifts as you,” he said. But, Jeffress said, “we
need God’s supernatural power.”
He said Trump’s slogan “Make America
Great Again” resonated with Americans and that “Psalm 33:12 gives us the starting point for making that
happen: ‘Blessed — great — is the nation whose God is the Lord.’”
Jeffress sermon seems, on the one hand,
to be encouraging Trump’s hubris, said Daniel Silliman, a historian of 20th
century American religion and culture who teaches in the history
department at the University of Notre Dame. On the other hand, Jeffress was
trying to direct him towards spiritual humility.
Evangelist Billy Graham’s consistent
advice to presidents was that they should pray and take comfort in the
knowledge so many people are praying for them, something President Reagan took
seriously. Edward L.R. Elson, the minister of the National
Presbyterian Church in D.C. who baptized President Eisenhower after he was
elected, made a similar point that he needed to turn to a higher power.
But Jeffress’s sermon was pretty
political compared to those who have preceded him, Silliman said. “With the
Daniel citation, Jeffress suggests God (like the people who supported Trump) is
waiting to see if he delivers on his campaign promises,” Silliman said.
“There’s less emphasis on loving mercy and walking humbly before God and more
on building the wall.”
Following the example of President
Obama and George W. Bush before him, Trump attended the private service at St.
John’s Episcopal Church, which is near the White House. The morning worship
service on Inauguration Day tradition began with President Franklin D.
Roosevelt in 1933.
Jeffress has said in the past that
Obama paved the way for the antichrist. He drew wide attention when he
condemned Mormonism as a “cult,” telling Christians not to vote for Mitt Romney
during the 2012 Republican primary (though he later support Romney over Obama
in the general election). Jeffress has also said Islam is an “evil religion,”
that the Catholic Church was led astray by Satan and that gays live a
“miserable” and “filthy” lifestyle.
His remarks have led even some in his
own denomination to decry him. During the inauguration, five pastors and one
rabbi will deliver prayers and readings.
The full text of the sermon is below:
When God chooses a
leader: Nehemiah 1:11
Introduction: President-elect and Mrs.
Trump, Vice-President-elect and Mrs. Pence, families and friends, it’s an honor
to be with you on this historic day.
President-elect Trump, I remember that
it was exactly one year ago this weekend that I was with you on your Citation
jet flying around Iowa before the first caucus or primary vote was cast. After
our Wendy’s cheeseburgers, I said that I believed that you would be the next
President of the United States. And if that happened, it would be because God
had placed you there.
As the prophet Daniel said, it is God
who removes and establishes leaders.
Today ─ one year later ─ God has raised
you and Vice-President-elect Pence up for a great, eternal purpose.
When I think of you, President-elect
Trump, I am reminded of another great leader God chose thousands of years ago
in Israel. The nation had been in bondage for decades, the infrastructure of
the country was in shambles, and God raised up a powerful leader to restore the
nation. And the man God chose was neither a politician nor a priest. Instead,
God chose a builder whose name was Nehemiah.
And the first step of rebuilding the
nation was the building of a great wall. God instructed Nehemiah to build a
wall around Jerusalem to protect its citizens from enemy attack. You see, God
is NOT against building walls!
And the Old Testament book of Nehemiah
records how Nehemiah completed that massive project in record time — just 52
days.
Why was Nehemiah so successful in
building the wall and rebuilding the nation?
I. Nehemiah Refused
To Allow His Critics To Distract Him
Someone has said there are three
guaranteed ways to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.
Any true leader is going to face criticism.
President-elect Trump, you have had
your share of critics from the day you announced you were running for
President, but you’ve confounded them at every turn. First, they said you
couldn’t win the nomination, but you ended up garnering the most votes of any
Republican in history. Then they said that was a fluke, but you couldn’t win
the election. And you handily defeated your opponent. And now your critics say
you can’t possibly succeed in your agenda.
Nehemiah had his own share of critics.
Two of his chief antagonists were named Sanballat and Tobiah. They were the
mainstream media of their day. They continued to hound and heckle Nehemiah and
spread false rumors while he and the Israelites were building the wall.
At one point, they said, “Nehemiah, you
need to stop the project and come down from the wall and have a meeting with
us.”
Nehemiah’s response was classic: “I’m
doing a great work . . . why should I stop the work and come down to you?”
(Nehemiah 6:3)
President-elect Trump, you, Vice
President-elect Pence, and your team have been called by God and elected by the
people to do a great work. It is a work far too important to stop and answer
your critics.
II. Nehemiah Refused
To Allow Setbacks To Stop Him
As you read through Nehemiah’s journal,
you’ll find that he faced tremendous obstacles as he attempted to rebuild the
nation: an economic recession, terrorist attacks from enemies, and
discouragement among the citizens.
But none of those setbacks was enough
to stop Nehemiah.
Some years ago two sports commentators
on television were discussing the late Hall of Famer Walter Peyton, the running
back for the Chicago Bears. One commentator said, “Can you believe that during
his career Peyton has run more than nine miles with a football?”
The other commentator replied, “What’s
even more amazing is that every 3.8 yards of those nine miles Peyton got
knocked down by a guy twice his size! But he got back up every time and kept
moving forward in spite of those bruising hits and hard knocks.”
President Trump, you, your team and
your families are going to face some bruising setbacks. But remember . .
The true measure of a leader is what it
takes to stop him. And knowing you, I believe it’s going to take a lot to stop
you.
(Finally)
III. Nehemiah Sought
God’s Help To Empower Him
Nehemiah was a gifted leader, but he
knew he could not succeed without God’s divine help. And that is why as he
began the great work, Nehemiah knelt before God and prayed:
“O Lord, let your ear be attentive to
the prayer of this your servant who delights in revering your name. Give your
servant success today . . .” (Nehemiah 1:11)
Mr. President-elect, I don’t believe we
have ever had a president with as many natural gifts as you. As you know, the
reason I endorsed you within weeks of your announcement that you were running
was because I believed that you were the only candidate who possessed the
leadership skills necessary to reverse the downward trajectory of our nation.
And beginning with Vice President-elect
Pence ─ a great and godly man ─ you’ve assembled an unbelievably talented group
of advisers around you.
But the challenges facing our nation
are so great that it will take more than natural ability to meet them. We need
God’s supernatural power.
The good news is that the same God who
empowered Nehemiah nearly 2500 years ago is available to every one of us today
who is willing to humble himself and ask for His help.
No comments:
Post a Comment