1. Stone of Separation

2. Nehemiah 7

3. A city is more than walls, gates, and houses. A city is people.

4. Work was not finished The people existed for the walls (1-6)
The walls must exist for the people (7-13)
The walls were to protect and separate
God’s people were to be different than their neighbors

5. “Daddy, have I ever seen a Christian?”

6. “You are the light of the world
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill that cannot be hidden”
We cannot allow the world to be a light to us
From “ekklesia” comes the English word “church”
It means “calling out of”
We are called out of darkness and into the light
We are building a spiritual house not a physical one

7. The Stone of Separation

8. They selected
Nehemiah needed the eyes of other men to help oversee the city
If the walls were going to stay up, the men needed to be built up in their relationship with God
Hanani (7:2) was the one that informed Nehemiah of the destruction in Jerusalem
Hananiah (7:2) was a faithful man who feared God more than many

9. All the completed work could of been undone if the men were not right with God
The best way to keep worldliness out of God’s people is to select godly leaders
Nehemiah selected men to oversee the city
We select men to oversee the church
Strong biblical leadership is necessary for a church to build up

10. They stationed Jesus said, “I am the door” (John 10:7)
The only authority who can come into the church is the Word of God
The Bible has given us guidelines to knowing “who is my brother and sister”
When the gates were in place, Nehemiah set up guidelines by which to open and close

11. “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot” (7:3)
“While they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors” (7:3)
“Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house” (7:3)

12. What about our guidelines?
We must make sure that Jesus is the only door
We must not have an open door policy (II John 9- 11)
We must make sure that we leave no unguarded place

13. They searched
God put into Nehemiah’s heart the need to gather all the people and search the genealogies
In the list there are: various families and clan, priests, Levites, temple singers, gatekeepers, and various temple servants
They searched to see who did not belong there
The search uncovered a problem in the priesthood

14. Some of the priests were not in God’s book
Three things kept them out
Prohibited marriage (7:61-63)
A pagan birth (7:61-63)
A pagan name (7:61-63)

15. We must separate from the world to be known as God’s people and God’s church