149: Mike Robinson - Exhortation: Remember Me O My God for Good

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1. 0:13

   Welcome to good for selfie and talks. I’m Levi and I’m Chris and I’m Brian, thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one taco week to help us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post a new episode of the start of each week with a short intro before. Hand to kind of set the stage for the talk. You’re about to listen to and now let’s talk more about this week’s talk.

2. 0:50

   Hello, everyone. This is brother James diliberto and we’re back with our second week of the July, summer holidays. Hope that the GCT team are having a great break and we’re continuing to enjoy these classes by new speakers for the podcast. This week, we have brother Mike Robinson, my brother-in-law and he is going to talk to us from way back in 2009 during him and Tim keating’s. Shin for the Manitou and youth conference workbook. And the class for this week is Mike’s, final exhortation during the youth conference study day.

3. 1:31

   That was getting everybody ready for the week leading into Manitoulin that Year. Mike was working on this study on Ezra Nehemiah. The return of the Exiles for years. I can actually remember Mike giving early versions of some of these classes when I was in person with him, Him at the Seattle, youth weekend that some of our listeners may have remembered back in 2006.

4. 1:56

   And we had a really great time that weekend and by the time he gets to this study day, he had been just talking about this so much. And he was so passionate about the lessons from Nehemiah, they’re very applicable, very personal. And he’s got just so much to contribute. This class is really wonderful.

5. 2:17

   The main thing in this class that he does, and I love is, He goes through this question that Nehemiah asks, remember me, oh my God for good. This kind of pleading prayer and he asks us, you know, is this a crazy question? Does God work this way? Can we ask something like this?

6. 2:34

   Well let’s get right into it and listen to Mike’s answer and find out. So this is Mike Robinson. Remember me, oh my God for good. Good morning, my dearly beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. Me and Sarah have come from Echo Lake, Ecclesia in New Jersey and we’d love to pass on the love and the greetings of your brothers and sisters there who are remembering the Lord Jesus Christ. As we do this morning and this Ecclesia and across this continent and it’s really going to be this morning, isn’t it a remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we’re going to get to that point actually and kind of a backwards way.

7. 3:16

   We’ve read Nehemiah 13. And for the young people, it was the second time you’ve heard that this weekend, we’ve read it yesterday as well. The youth conference study that we’re doing this year, brother. Tim Keating and myself are working on putting together the book this year for conference in the study is the Exiles returning.

8. 3:33

   I would have Babylon it of Persia who have come back to the land in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah at the time of haggai Zechariah Malachi And there’s a phrase that came up a few times throughout Nehemiah in the phrase, was remember me. Oh my God, for good, remember me? Now that’s backwards, you were here to remember.

9. 3:58

   Jesus Christ, are we not? We’re here to remember God’s incredible plan and yet in Nehemiah chapter 13, nehemiah’s prayer. To God is Remember Me, Lord, remember the things I have done. Remember the works that I have done in your name to cleanse Israel, to get them back on the spiritual track that’s focused on you.

10. 4:21

    Remember me. Oh my God. For good. And this actual phrase, remember me comes up three times in Nehemiah chapter 13, we’re going to take a look at those briefly here. We’re going to be skipping around a bit, but we’re going to stay mostly in Nehemiah. This really is the end of what we have as far as what’s recorded from Ezra and Nehemiah.

11. 4:52

    This is the last chapter and right up till the end. They’re struggling, aren’t they? Where are we in the historical record? The children of Israel had come back under Cyrus’s? Decree, that was definitely overseen, by God’s Sovereign, will that he would make a proclamation for all the Jews and others. The Nephilim are included in the list of those who came back the gibeonites as well. Came To help to build the Temple of the Lord and to restore the land of Judah.

12. 5:21

    Again, to a people that have been dispossessed from their land for 70 years, as Jeremiah had prophesied, and now they came back and incredible feat. The really incredible has it ever happened ever before that, a people taken out of their country had been tried to be assimilated into a totally different culture. Totally different religion, totally different language of people had stayed turret for 70 years. Well, not all of them did, but many of them did and they come back.

13. 5:51

    So we had under the rubble and Joshua and under the the help of the Prophet Zechariah and haggai, the encouragement of them, they started building the Temple even though there was bumps, there were valleys and they were Hills they succeeded in doing this. And next comes well, and within that time, period is a stir, back in shushan and some incredible Feats that happen. They’re showing once again that God is in control and that he we’ll see his promises to the children of Israel fulfilled. And he sees that and then we have azra coming back. We have him restoring once again, Temple worship with another decree from a pagan Heathen King, that God had his hand on that said, I’ll give you all the things you need to repair that Temple and to restore. Once again, the worship of the Lord in the land of Jerusalem. And so what we had again, was a rest restoration and then another wave under Nehemiah, who hears about the state of Jerusalem, not having any walls to protect himself, And he goes there with a purpose in mind, the gather, the people and to say, look at the distressed, we’re in, let’s gather the wits that we have.

14. 6:56

    Let’s let’s strengthen our faith and let’s build and he does it, and they build those walls. And from what we see from archaeologists like this man, Sir, Charles Warren 200 feet high walls that were built in 52 days. That’s a big feat for a people who were Goldsmith’s who are perfumers and even the women were helping at all, working together to build this wall, and incredible work of the Ecclesia of the Exiles. And here we are today.

15. 7:26

    Brothers and sisters doing the same thing. And we come to this chapter Nehemiah 13, the back end of all the events and the last phrase in the whole book as Nehemiah recounts, the story is and what goes on in his life. He says, remember me. Oh my God, for good. Now, although that phrase. So remember me.

16. 7:45

    Oh my God. For good. Only comes up three times in the Amaya. The principle of remembrance comes up many times in the Amaya’s life and let’s just take a look at these. You know, if you look them up, it starts out in chapter 1. After he’s asked his brother Han and I what’s the state of Jerusalem in? Well Nehemiah, the state of Jerusalem is horrible. The people are in distress.

17. 8:06

    The walls are broken down. The gates are burned with fire. We’re in a bad State Nehemiah. We don’t know where to turn everywhere. We look, there’s enemies after us. We’re scared to sleep at night in case they come up and attack us. Us. We’re scared for our families and the safety of our children. Need my, we don’t know what we’re going to do and Sonia. My is in great distress and what does he do? He prays to the Lord fervently, that’s Nehemiah chapter 1 and we know his prayers beautiful.

18. 8:33

    It’s in the same kind of vain as Daniels prayers as Asura’s prayers, who prayed about the moral problems? The Ecclesia was having his time. It’s in the same theme sometimes in some ways as John 17, Christ’s prayer of unity of strengthening of the disciples that they might be one with Christ. And with God, as he was one with his father.

19. 8:56

    In chapter 1 Ezra. Sorry Nehemiah chapter 1 We had Nehemiah saying, remember, I pray the word that you commanded. Your servant Moses. Saying, if you are faithful, I will scatter you among the Nations, God. I want you to remember this. 4:14 he says, and I looked in a rose and said to the Nobles, the leaders into the rest of the people do not be afraid of them.

20. 9:20

    Remember the Lord great and awesome and fight for your brethren, your son’s, your daughter’s, your wives, and your houses petitioning, the rest of the Ecclesia to remember, how incredible and awesome God had been through their history in 13:14. Remember me? Here’s this, here’s one of these occurrences. Oh my God, concerning This and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services and 13 Verse 22. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, that they should go and guard.

21. 9:55

    The gates to sanctify the Sabbath. Remember me. Oh my God, concerning this also. And spare me according to the greatness of your mercy. It’s you more remembrances right at the end verse 29, remember them? Oh my God, those who had to file. Those who had had marriages with those outside. The boundaries of the Ecclesia, remember them? Oh my God, because they have to file the priesthood and the Covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. And then finally verse 31, remember me. Oh my God, for good.

22. 10:30

    And I have a question for you, brothers and sisters this morning. And the question is, do we ask God to remember us? And maybe there’s a question that we need to ask before we come to an answer on that one. And that question might be, how can we the average ordinary disciple totally aware of our weaknesses?

23. 10:54

    Even begin to base our prayers upon our way of life like a Nehemiah did because that’s what he does. Doesn’t he in chapter 19 chapter 13. Remember me for what I have done for you. Oh God, how does that work into our minds? How does that work into our total understanding of the word of God? Does that make sense to us?

24. 11:14

    Perhaps, because we don’t answer this first question. We don’t even get to the second question that we do. We remember to ask God to remember us, because we’re not sure if we can we can actually We asked him this. We have nehemiah’s example. But then again, we might doubt if we’re like Nehemiah. The think of the man, think of the man in Nehemiah, the man is an incredible example of putting his heart. His soul and his mind into reforming, Israel, working hard and diligently a man of great intelligence. So that it seems that he handles every situation correctly. That’s that’s what we see.

25. 11:48

    That’s what we feel. When we read Nehemiah. So of course, he could say, God, remember my good works. Please don’t wipe those out because he had many good works.

26. 12:03

    He has bragging rights, we might say, it seems like it, doesn’t it? But I don’t, I feel like, I don’t sometimes that’s why we need to be here. What have I done being fully aware of my faults and my blatant unrighteousness, which aligns myself. Sometimes more with allyship, the high priest, who had connections With the world or with tobiah, sometimes doubted or Ashley always doubted. The promises that were given to the children of Israel and worked at opposing them.

27. 12:33

    Maybe sometimes, that’s what I’m like. I’ve not single-handedly LED an occlusion in a successful Reform movement nor have I been so decisive. When tough problems and taken my family or my Ecclesia or me by the throat as Nehemiah did I’m speaking as a representative of all of us, of course. And first we must understand this, very important principle in the truth in God’s word.

28. 13:02

    Brother, Cyril henin, he said, God does not require moral perfection from his children. And if that were the case, there would be none that could stand before him, the laws whole purpose was to break down those under it so that they would realize it was absolutely impossible to live a perfect life. But instead of giving up and throwing in the towel, the individual that was crushed by this realization would be led to Christ in whom there is forgiveness and righteousness that is given to us by God.

29. 13:37

    And to quote, brother, Cyril, 10. And again, the Christian then is not a man who considers himself To Be A Cut Above others. But rather one who can recognize himself to be a sinner. And, as such seek his perfection in Christ, it is this belief and condition of mine, which constitutes righteousness in the biblical sense.

30. 13:57

    End of quote, Abraham, is our example of this, isn’t he? He’s in line with Nehemiah. He is brought out by God into a starry night and he’s told by God, I want you to look up the Abraham. He’s told that his seed would eventually be like those stars that he saw in the sky coming through one that was not Ishmael but through two very old people.

31. 14:25

    And Abraham was not justified by any of his great works. And he liked me and Maya had many of them. In fact, so he had in common traveling from Irv to Cal these many years before Nehemiah set foot on those same trails.

32. 14:41

    But because he had complete trust and faith in what God Said and this sets the tone for our understanding of how God justifies us. Does it depend on our own righteousness, of course not. It is based on our belief that Jesus was raised from the dead and that God has extended forgiveness of sins to us. And that’s exactly what Romans 3 is teaching us when we read there in verse 21 to 26, but now the righteousness of God apart from the law We’re at a distance from the law is revealed being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all. And on all who believe for there is no difference for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God. Even the Amaya Even Abraham being justified freely by his grace through the Redemption that is in Christ. Jesus whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time, his righteousness that he might be justified.

33. 15:54

    And the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. And did Nehemiah understand these ideas coming out of Romans or out of the New Testament that we can look back on. Did he understand a messiah would come?

34. 16:09

    Yes, he did brothers and sisters. Sometimes I think we struggle with that in the Old Testament. Thinking about these men who didn’t know nearly as much as we do. Now, we’re looking back on four, gospels, and all these books that are written afterwards to help us explain that, we need to have faith in Jesus.

35. 16:25

    Nehemiah was a man who had profits in his time. In one of these prophets was Zechariah and I think we need to see what Zechariah has to say about the Lord Jesus Christ. I would have given me a Maya, the same faith that you and I possess. But looking forward, instead of backwards. Take a look over at Zechariah and we know that Zechariah was contemporary.

36. 16:48

    We know from Ezra 5 verse 1, and Ezra 6, verse 14, that Ezra and Nehemiah came in a very critical time when the nation was losing interest in building. The the temple, they just laid the foundation, they put the altar on its base, and then they sat back because there were so many problems from the Nations around them, they were being opposed and so Zechariah and haggai were sent by God the stir up.

37. 17:10

    The people and encourage them, give them visions and really they, they work as a great team. Shaggy, I comes with a strong message, rebuking them saying, consider your ways, you’re sitting here and you’re paneled houses, while the city of God sits empty and for Lauren consider your ways, think about what you’re doing. And then you had Zechariah on the other side working with Hagee, I his brother, his spiritual brother working with him and saying, let me show you some incredible visions of the future.

38. 17:40

    You’re building this small Temple of just think of the future. When a king priest will sit on a throne, when the Lord Jesus Christ will be your king. When all nations will flow to them to Judah to Jerusalem, think of that time. And now build and together, they work with a vision with a rebuke, they work together and I think that’s the same in our lives, isn’t it?

39. 18:04

    The two things really compel us and work with us. So in Zechariah, what do we have? When we have some little snapshots that I’m sure Nehemiah would have read in been encouraged by take a look at Zechariah, 3 verses 8 to 10. And here’s Zechariah is speaking to Joshua, who was the high priest at the time, right before Nehemiah? He says to him hero, Joshua, the high priest you and your companions, and Joshua is the high priest you and your companions, you sit, before you for, they are a wondrous sign for behold.

40. 18:36

    I am bringing forth my servant the branch for behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua upon the stone are seven, eyes, behold? I will engrave. It’s inscription says, the Lord of hosts and I will remove the iniquity of That land in one day in that day says the Lord of hosts. Everyone will invite his neighbor under his Vine and under his fig tree and Nehemiah knew better than to think that that prophecy stopped at Joshua.

41. 19:03

    The high priest. He knew there was no way under the law that a high priest could be a king. And yet, here we have a king priest. Not only that but it says that I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. When does that ever happen? You could say, well, maybe the day of atonement.

42. 19:20

    But even then, how is there any reconciliation between the people and their God? When only one man could enter into the most? Holy the high priests Zechariah 6. Verse 11 to 13.

43. 19:35

    Another Vision another prophecy. Take the silver and gold make an elaborate Crown. Set it on the head of Joshua, the son of josedech, the high priest, then speak to him saying thus, says, the Lord of hosts saying, behold the man whose name is the branch from his place, he will Branch out and he will build the Temple of the Lord.

44. 19:54

    Yes, he shall build the Temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory and shall sit and rule on his throne. So he shall be a priest on his throne and the Council of peace. She’ll be between them both both offices. Priest and King. What an incredible Vision. Nehemiah this man that we’ve been looking at this weekend, definitely saw the Lord Jesus Christ. He saw the attributes that we saw in his life Zechariah 9, verse 9, finally Rejoice greatly o Daughter of Zion. Shout o daughter of Jerusalem.

45. 20:28

    Behold your king is coming to you. He is just and having salvation lowly and riding on a donkey on a Colt, the foal of a donkey in a time when there was no King, when there was no King in Judah, this prophecy is given and Nehemiah would have been encouraged by this brothers and sisters. He knew the mercy of God, he knew the Salvation that this King, the branch would bring that the iniquity would be gone in one day so Nehemiah understood all these things. He also understood that forgiveness was an integral part of praying to God and have been given salvation by God’s grace and his first prayer.

46. 21:14

    Makes this totally clear in Nehemiah chapter 1. He says there in verse 6. Please let your ear be attentive and your eyes open that you may hear the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you now day and night for the children of Israel, your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against you.

47. 21:43

    We have sinned against you. Taking the sin upon himself. For my father’s house and I have sinned. So, based on the understanding that asking God, to remember, us is a display of our understanding that he has Justified Us by faith and that we are forgiven. We can now ask the questions. Do we ask God, to remember us for good? It’s what we want.

48. 22:14

    Isn’t it? What do we ask him? Do we feel strange going into his presence and recounting to him? What we have tried to do in faith to bring glory to his name. Do we relate to him our experiences in the Ecclesia, both bad and good, how we instructed the younger, how we encourage the week, how we strengthen the faith, how we exercise patience when it was hard?

49. 22:39

    How we helped an older person to their chair. Ask them about their life in the truth. Do we use the access that we have been given the full advantage going boldly into the most holy to be there in fellowship with God and his beloved Son, the pour out to him, how we want to be remembered for good and not for evil? And we should because in the annals of scripture, we have not only Nehemiah asking God to remember him for good, but we have quite a few incredible individuals that we would love to be associated with Moses asked. God to remember him.

50. 23:19

    Sampson when he standing there between the pillars. Praise to God and says O, Lord God remember me, I pray thee and strengthen me. I pray thee. Only this once oh God. Hannah for Samuel, 1 verse 11. She vows a vow. If thou will indeed look on the Affliction of thine handmaid. And remember me and not forget, thine handmaid, but will give into thine handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the Lord, all the days of his life.

51. 23:51

    Hezekiah in his struggles with his life. Going to be shortened. He says, I beseech thee. In Second Kings, 20 verse 3. Remember now O Lord, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that, which is good and eyesight. We remember, Joe. And Joe 14, verse 13, do that, that Woods tied, me in the grave that that would keep me secret until thy wrath be past that. That was the point me a set time. And remember me, And then there’s David and there’s Jeremiah and there’s so many brothers and sisters that ask God specifically remember me?

52. 24:34

    And there’s one more that we need to consider this morning that will bring us right to the table of Our Lord. We come to a scene just outside of Jerusalem that we’re all familiar with and our savior, this King priest. This man who would take away the iniquity in one day by the power of God. This man that was bruised for our iniquities who represented Us in the last moments of his life. After years of Total Service and Obedience of Desiring to do God’s will He is there between two men, two thieves. The one is like Nehemiah.

53. 25:17

    The other is like the enemies of Nehemiah. The one understands that he is there because he deserves death, since he has done something deserving of it and he is not named, but we can see his heart and the exchange that he has with Jesus, in these last few moments of their lives. And this will bring us to the emblems powerfully brothers and sisters. The exchange takes place in Luke chapter 23, Luke 23, verse 42, 43.

54. 25:56

    We’re jumping into the context, says there, but the other answering rebuked him saying, do you not even fear God, seeing you, are under the same condemnation and we indeed justly for. We receive the due reward of our Deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong that he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom, And Jesus said to him, assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise. We find ourselves in the same position brothers and sisters. The Nehemiah found himself into.

55. 26:35

    We deserve the sentence of death on us because we have earned the wages through sin. Jesus, did not. And when we realize that Jesus is the reason that we can ask God to remember us for good, we appreciate his life and his death, he died that you and I and the thief and Nehemiah and all who call on his name and full faith may have life.

56. 27:03

    So we under God and understand that God will justify his by his grace because of our faith in Jesus. And we believe that God wants us to give him no rest concerning. Our hope in the resurrection and giving glory to him, God loves us to remind him to remember us for good. We now remember Jesus. And in so doing ask him to remember us when he comes into his kingdom.

57. 27:29

    The closes one passage, I think that fits so well. Malachi chapter 3 verse 16 to 17 in the same general period as Nehemiah, was working with an Ecclesia that had tons of struggles, tons of problems as it fought against opposition on the outside and within Malachi’s message at the end is Malachi 3, verse 16 and 17. Then those who feared the Lord, spoke to one another and the Lord listened, and he heard them. So, a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear the lord, and who meditate on his name. They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts on the day that I make up my jewels and I will spare them as a man, spares. His only son who served him.

58. 28:19

    Remember us. O Our God for good. Thank you for listening to the good christadelphians talks podcast. We hope this talk helped you in your walk. If you would like to hear more, please subscribe for new episodes and leave a review and apple podcast or whatever service you are using to. More people find the show when they search for it.

59. 28:51

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60. 29:32

    God, bless and talk to you next week. Thank you for listening. God, bless and talk to you next week.