"Managing Wealth In A Wicked World"

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Sermon Notes
Sermon Series:  Ezra & Nehemiah
​Sermon Scripture:  Nehemiah 5

The Great Outcry: You Either Love Money and Use People or You Use Money to Love People (5:1-5)

• What was the problem?
  • There was an ________________ crisis.
  • There was ___________________ of the poor.
  • They were charging __________________ interest.
  • They had __________________ their own people.

​The Great Outcry: You Either Love Money and Use People or You Use Money to Love People (5:1-5) ​continued

• What was the problem?
• The core issue: The conflict is not between rich and poor, but between the _________ and the __________.
• What was the outcome?
  • They were ruining their ________________.
  • They were ruining their ________________.

The Great Assembly: Your Spending Reveals Your Soul (5:6-13)

• Feel Nehemiah’s anger…
  • They were treating the people like business instead of __________________.
  • What they were doing may not have been illegal, but it was ___________________.
• See Nehemiah’s control…
  • Politicians ask, “What is ________________?”
  • True Leaders ask, “What is ________________?”
• Hear Nehemiah’s rebuke…
  • He appealed to their love (v. 7)
  • He corrected based on God’s _____________.
  • He them of God’s purpose for Israel. (v. 8)
  • He reminded them of their witness. (v. 9)
  • He pointed to his example. (v. 10-11)
  • He reminded them of the __________________ of the Lord. (v. 12-13)
• Rejoice at the people’s response…
  • They displayed repentance.
    • Repentance is saying, “I was _______________.”
  • They gave restitution.
    • Restitution is saying, “I’ll make it ________________.”
  • They started to rejoice.
    • Rejoicing is saying, “God is _______________.”

The Great Example: Increases your Standard of Giving, not Your Standard of Living (5:14-19)

• The example of Nehemiah…
  • Nehemiah used his position for other’s good instead of personal _____________.
  • There are three ways to live your life.
    • Selfish- What’s mine is ____________. (ungodly rich)
    • Stealing- What’s yours is also _____________. (ungodly rich and government)
    • Steward- What’s mine is ___________. (Nehemiah)
  • You have two choices…
    • You can choose to live for __________ day…
    • Or you can choose to live for the ________ day. “Remember… O my God, all I have done…”
• The example of Jesus…
  • He gave up his rights so that we could receive his ___________________.
  • He gave up his privileges so we could enjoy his ___________________.
  • He gave up his crown to embrace our _______________.
  • He gave up his throne so we could enter his __________________.