Nehemiah chapter 13, we read in verses 7 and 8 of the chapter, verses 7 and 8. Then I came to Jerusalem and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God, and it grieved me sore. Therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. Ludwig van Beethoven was a German musician famous for writing many symphonies and concertos. By the age of five, he could play the violin proficiently. And by the age of 13, he had become an accomplished concert organist. In his early 20s, he studied with the Austrian musician Joseph Haydn, who we mentioned last week in our introduction. And he also studied with the infamous Mozart as well. During his lifetime, he wrote nine symphonies, five concertos for piano, one violin concerto, six string quartets, amongst many other compositions. Ludwig van Beethoven was no stranger to great accomplishments in life. But whilst he had many great accomplishments, This did not immunise him from agony and problems as well. By his late 20s, although he was in the music industry, his hearing began to deteriorate very quickly. His fingers also, from playing the piano so much, they became so thick that he couldn't even feel what he was playing. By his 50s, Beethoven was tone deaf, and yet despite all of this, the loss of feeling, the loss of hearing, he still continued to compose. It was said of Beethoven that during the first recital of his Ninth Symphony that he couldn't even hear as he was conducting the orchestra and he was only actually aware of the applause from the audience at the end of it whenever he was told to turn around and bow to the audience. Despite all of the difficulties that Beethoven faced, yet he was determined not to let them crush him and crowd him. In writing to a friend on one occasion, Beethoven stated, I will seize fate by the throat. It will not bend me nor crush me completely. Oh, that I would have the pleasure of living my life a thousand times over." You see, Beethoven, although he had many issues to face, we find that he dealt with those issues head on. And he dealt with them just as they arose. And here in Nehemiah, this is exactly what he did in this chapter, chapter 13. We saw last week how he landed back from a time of leave as he was back in the palace in Persia, and how he then returned to Jerusalem, and he was confronted by many issues. We saw last week how all of these issues were sourced in one main issue, or one main root problem, and that was the problem of a loss of love. As he returned to Jerusalem, he faced many problems. He saw the Scriptures neglected. He saw separation neglected. He saw the service of God neglected. And he saw the Sabbath neglected as well. Also in this chapter, we find that he faced another problem. There were Jews there, and they were engaged in marrying other nations. And all of these issues, they stemmed from one main issue, the issue of indifference or the issue of a loss of love. But how did Nehemiah deal with these issues? Well, we find that in this chapter, he grappled with the issue and then he grabbed the issue by the throat. Like Beethoven, he wouldn't, as it were, lie under the issue, but he dealt with the issue as it arose. You see, the issue of indifference is not to be shirked at or shrank from, but it is to be sorted, to be faced and dealt with head on. Have you been suffering from a loss of love? Maybe there's been indifference that has crept into your spiritual life. There's been apathy, there has been that loss of love, that taking the spiritual eye off the ball as it were. And today you've come to the house of God and your heart is smitten you, and you say, well preacher, how do I deal with this problem? Well, thank God that we have lessons on how to deal with this problem here in this chapter. Nehemiah, as he faced the problem, he then, I believe, gives us a step-by-step plan as to how to deal with indifference. And so, as Nehemiah dealt with these different problems, these five problems, I want to very simply speak on the subject, how to deal with indifference, how to deal with indifference. I want you to see firstly here that there needs to be investigation. Investigation. Verse 7 we read, And I came to Jerusalem and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house. of God. The early chapters of Nehemiah we discovered that it only took them 52 days to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. But it seems that after the walls are finished that the book's time span stretches out. We can't be absolutely sure how long Nehemiah was away from Jerusalem and how long he spent back in the palace or back in Persia But it seems from reading this chapter carefully, he had been gone a long, long time. And whenever Nehemiah the leader returned, what was he confronted with? He was confronted with the indifference of the people. And notice the first thing that he did as he faced the first two problems. The problem of separation and also the problem of neglecting to pay the Levites. What did he do? He explored or he investigated the problem. Verse 7, I came to Jerusalem and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah. I imagine Nehemiah entering the temple and there seeing Tobiah in a place where he definitely shouldn't have been. And what did he do? Well, rather than getting angry immediately, we're told there that he understood what had happened. He understood the evil. In other words, he did some groundwork. He investigated to see how all this had come about. Then as he walked outside, And as he saw the Levites there working away in the fields instead of laboring in the house of God, again we read in verse 10, I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given then. Again, he understood. He understood the problem. And in dealing with the issue of indifference and the issues that resulted from the loss of love, he investigated and explored why it happened. He investigated why had it actually taken place in the first place. And if we're ever to know restoration from indifference, there needs to be firstly an investigation about indifference. You need to search out the matter and understand where it all went wrong in the first place. Wonder are you suffering from indifference? There's that loss of love, that lack of love that has crept into your heart and into your soul. But the Lord's teaching you that if you're ever to know a true restoration from that loss of love, And you need to come before the Lord and ask yourself why. Why did it all happen to begin with? Why am I in the place where I currently find myself spiritually today? You need to do the groundwork as it were. Dig deep into your heart and into your soul. And maybe find and decipher where it all went wrong in the first place. Maybe was it the prayer life? Maybe you neglected the place of private prayer? Maybe perhaps it was in the Bible reading? You let it slip one day, and then the next day, and then the next day. And before you know it, there's been a very long stretch of time, and you haven't been feeding yourself spiritually. Oh, you need, as it were, to do that spiritual investigation within your heart. The Psalmist David was constantly examining himself, Throughout the Psalms you read of him examining himself and proving himself. In Psalm 26, verse 2, we find that such an incident occurred. There he states in prayer to the Lord, Examine me, O Lord, and prove me. Try my reins. and my heart." You'll notice there he uses three different words to explain how he tested himself. Examine me, prove me, try my reins and heart. In other words, he was constantly giving himself a thorough spiritual investigation. You even notice how he examined himself. He prayed to the Lord, Lord, try my reins and my heart. The reins here in the Hebrew, it refers to the organs. Again, the heart, it refers to the inside, the very innermost core of the being. And David here, he wanted to conduct a thorough test of his spirituality before we'll ever know improvement. We need to firstly experience interrogation, to spiritually interrogate ourselves and see where it all went wrong. Oh, the Lord knows how you stand. The Lord knows if you have ever truly been saved before or not. And the Lord knows if you're suffering from a loss of love. We read in Psalm 69 verse 5, O God, thou knowest my foolishness and my sins are not hid from thee. The Lord knows our foolishness. The Lord knows where we are and how we are before him spiritually. But he wants us to know it. He wants us to really understand where we are in our spiritual walk. And here if you, the Lord's teaching you and he's teaching me that if we're to ever recover from this state of spiritual indifference, that we need to dig deep. We need to do the groundwork. We need to investigate where it all went wrong in the first place. You know, before I went into the ministry, I worked in the engineering industry. I worked for a company that made medical devices for approximately 15 months. And you know, as you went into work on Monday morning, It was difficult enough, you know what it's like, but there was one thing you didn't want to see on Monday morning, and that was the red sheets of paper. And the red sheets of paper, they were basically what had happened or what had went wrong over the weekend with the product. Because whenever you had this sheet of paper, this problem with the product, you had to drop everything that you were doing, no matter how important, and you had to get to the bottom of the problem. We had to use a statistical a technique called a root cause analysis. We had to phone the customer, we had to phone maybe the doctor, we had to go down to the lines, we had to discover all possible avenues of where the problem actually begun. And you know the Lord wants us to do that today. He wants you to do a root cause analysis, spiritually speaking, to see where you really are. and to see where perhaps the problem happened in the first place. Investigation. But I want you to see secondly here, thinking about how to deal with indifference, there then needs to be indignation. Indignation. Verse 8, we read, it grieved me sore. Therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. Whenever Nehemiah reached Jerusalem, I believe he had the shock of his life. He had left all measures in place. He had set up watchmen on the walls. He had done all of his administrative duties accordingly. And he had put all measures in place to ensure the spiritual and physical welfare of Jerusalem whilst he was away. But you imagine the shock that Nehemiah would have got as we find that he returned to Jerusalem. And as we saw last week, the scriptures were neglected. There should have been that set-aside time for the public reading of the Word of God, but as soon as he entered Jerusalem, he found that this was not the case. Perhaps Nehemiah, wanting to encourage himself, after he saw this practice neglected, that public reading of the Word, perhaps Nehemiah then decided to enter into the house of God, the temple, and seek some encouragement and privately worship the Lord Himself. Imagine the shock that Nehemiah then got as he was going through all of the rooms of the house of God, walking through the corridors, and he saw an old enemy. He saw Tobiah, that man who had previously cursed him and slandered the work, and he saw one of his most extreme enemies sleeping in the house of God. We're told here as he saw Tobiah, that in verse 8, it grieved me sore. In other words, he was angry. He was angry in the correct fashion. He was angry because of the sin that was happening in the house of God. The house of God was to be a sanctified place, a special place, a separate place. It was no place for the enemy of the gospel. And so here we find that as he deciphered Neal or Tobiah there in the house of God, he was angry with a holy indignation. Then after this, he went out into the fields. He maybe looked out beyond the walls of Jerusalem. What did he see? Well, verse 11 tells us that he saw the Levites out working when they should have been engaged full time in the service of God. What was his response? Then contended I with the rulers and said, why is the house of God forsaken? Again, we find that as he was angry when he sought to buy it in the house of God, he was also angry with the rulers as to why the house of God was forsaken. And in discovering sin, there needs to be passion, not passivity. A holy anger over the sin of indifference. You know, whenever you do that spiritual investigation, And you discover the root cause of the sin of indifference. It's so easy to react with indifference, isn't it? So easy to just look at it and just to leave it there. Maybe spiritually speaking, sweep it under the carpet and hope that it doesn't ever arrive again. But I wonder this morning that as the Lord has perhaps dealt with your heart in the last few weeks, I wonder, is there that holy indignation, that holy anger, that holy passion, that brokenness, that mourning over sin? Indeed, in Ephesians 4, verse 26, we read, Be ye angry, and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Now, if you understand this verse, the context helps greatly. What's the context? Well, Paul in writing to the church at Ephesus, verse 19 gives us the context. He speaks of those who are past feeling, who are beyond past feeling. And in other words, he's speaking of those who weren't moved by their sin. They had reached a stage where they were so indifferent, they were actually indifferent about being indifferent. And Paul, he states then, that it's possible to be angry over a sin, the sin of indifference, in the sense then that it is right that you're angry with sin. You see, neglect shouldn't settle you down, it should stir you up. Cause you to have a holy hatred for the sin. of indifference. I wonder as you're starting to get to the bottom of the problem, wonders of that brokenness, wonders of that grieving. Now that sense of, oh Lord, how could I ever have let you down in such a fashion? Does it move you to be incensed that you could ever do such a thing to the Lord? Neglect certain areas in your life? The one who gave himself for you? The one who shed his precious blood that you may go free? Oh, when we look at the cross at Calvary, it demands passion, not indifference. A lecturer once stated, passivity is an enemy. And when we discover our sin, we need to realize that there shouldn't be that passivity, but that activity. Not just to shake our heads and say, oh, that's terrible, but to shake ourselves. and to do something about it. Oh, this morning, as you're doing that spiritual investigation, is there indignation? Is there that holy hatred of the sin that you've committed? Investigation, indignation, also thinking about how to deal with indifference, I want you to say then, evacuation. The next step is evacuation. Verse 8, we read, it grieved me sore, therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. You imagine it. You imagine Nehemiah walking through the house of God, maybe going to a little room that he hadn't been in in a while. He expected maybe to see some showbread there, some other implements for temple worship. Whenever he got there, he saw Tobiah. Tobiah obviously had made himself very comfortable. He had set up home in the house of God, because we read here of the household stuff. It was as if he was actually at home in the house of God. Elisha had said, come right on in, there's plenty of room, Tobiah. And so he had settled down in the temple. What did Nehemiah do? As he saw Tobiah living in the temple, Did he go up to him and say, oh Tobiah, it's nice to see you and we're glad that you're here? He didn't even ask him anything. Look at how he dealt with it. Therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. He didn't even give Eliashib or Tobiah a chance to explain themselves. He got all of his household stuff. His bed, his sheets, his quilts, whatever he was using, and he simply threw them out the front door of the temple. Again in verse 23, as he discovered the Jews were marrying those from other nations around them, intermingling with unbelievers, what did he do? Verse 30 of chapter 13, thus cleansed I them from all strangers. He separated them from their strange wives. And when indifference is detected, it needs to be destroyed. It needs to be taken and cleansed by the blood of Christ. And perhaps you've been doing this work even this morning as you sit here. this work of investigation. Maybe perhaps you've even been brought to that place where you're now understanding the root cause. Maybe there's then been that indignation. Well as Nehemiah, as he as it were held no punches as he threw out the household stuff of Tobiah from the temple, so you need to take that sin that so easily besets you and as it were throw it out of the house of your life. Come to the cross and confess it to Christ and seek its complete evacuation from your life. Christ himself, of course. He had a holy hatred for sin. You remember how he reacted in the beginning of his earthly ministry? In John chapter 2, as he went to the temple, as he was seeking to observe at the time of Passovers, and he saw there that the house of God was being misused, it was being abused, they were gambling, using it as a marketplace. How did he respond? Well, John 2.15 tells us. He made a scourge of small cords, and he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep and the oxen, and he poured out the changer's money and overthrew the tables. He whipped them. He drove them out of the house of God. When sin is deciphered, it then needs to be driven, to be removed at once. You know, when we decipher sin in our lives, we tend to, as it were, forget about it, or maybe block it out of our minds. That's our natural reaction, our natural inclination as to how to deal with sin. But the Lord is teaching us that by the Spirit, By the help of the Spirit of God, we need to take that sin and evacuate it from our lives and take it to the feet of Jesus. We need to come to Christ, come to His cross and seek cleansing and forgiveness. There was investigation, indignation, evacuation. I want you to see fourthly, in thinking about how to deal with indifference, there was then rectification. rectification. Verses 12 and 13. Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries. And I made treasurers over the treasury, Shalami the priest, and Zedek the scribe, and of the Levites. Whenever Nehemiah discovered the issue of the people not tithing and not coming to the house of God, he confronted it head on and they began to tithe again. But I think this shows the mark of Nehemiah. He didn't just deal with the issue, as it were, head on and deal with it in a hard fashion. He also put steps in place to ensure that the issue wasn't an issue again. Verse 13, we read, I made treasurers over the treasuries. In other words, he appointed individuals over that job, over that area in their life. And he appointed them to look after the tithes, the giving of the temple. He ensured that whenever the people came and tithed of their substance, that it was distributed appropriately amongst the Levites. You see, yes, he discovered the problem and he removed the problem, but he also provided a God-given solution to ensure that the problem didn't occur again. And whenever indifference is discovered, you need to do the same thing. As you maybe seek confession and forgiveness, you then need to put things in place or principles in place to ensure that it doesn't happen again. If your cause of indifference, for example, is through a lack of prayer, well then you need to put steps in place into your life to ensure that you seek the face of God every day. If, for example, you find it difficult to pray in the morning, well, then ensure you pray in the evening, or vice versa. Again, if the cause of indifference has been a lack of Bible study, well, then ensure that you get a plan and that you stick to the plan. You need to put measures in place, whatever those measures may be, to ensure that it doesn't happen again. Nehemiah did this throughout the chapter. We find that as he discovered not only the problem of the neglect of the service of God, but also the problem of the Sabbath, he dealt with the issue, and then he put measures in place to ensure that it wasn't a problem again. Verse 19, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath. And some of my servants said, I at the gates, that there should be no burden brought in on the Sabbath day. Whenever he discovered there were those from the nations around bringing in their goods through the gates to sell on the Sabbath day, what did he do? He shut the door. And not only did he shut the door on the Sabbath, but he actually appointed people to ensure that the door was always shut on the Sabbath. Again with the problem of mixed marriages, the issue of the priests and Levites marrying non-Jews, verse 30. We read that he appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business. And it seems that there were those who guarded the sanctity of the priesthood and the Levites. There were those who watched over the priests to ensure that they didn't marry non-Jews. When wrongdoing is sensed and wrongdoing is separated, wrongdoing then needs to be safeguarded. You need to ensure that it doesn't happen again. And I wonder, I wonder, are you resolved as you leave the house of God today to do it? You know it's so easy when you sit under the Word and the Lord deals with your heart and there's that indignation, that anger, but then you go home and you forget all about the Word. But I wonder today, would you not go that extra step and put principles in place in your life to ensure that this loss of indifference doesn't occur again? Investigation, indignation, evacuation, rectification, one last thing quickly, supplication. Verse 14, we read, Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for the offices thereof. Nehemiah put safeguards in place. He put those on the walls to guard the gates. He put those in place to watch over the priests. But ultimately he realized that safety was in the Lord. And throughout this chapter, as he put the principles in place, and as he dealt with the issues, time and time again, he was bringing the matters to God. Verse 14, remember me, O my God. Look again at verse 22. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also. Verse 31, how does he close the book? Remember me, O my God, for good. In other words, he was saying, yes, Lord, we've done all the right steps. Lord, we have deciphered the problem. We have been broken hearted over the problem. Steps are in place, but ultimately, Lord, we're leaving it with you. And he was constantly engaged in prayer, constantly bringing up each individual matter before the Lord in prayer. And whilst there is safety and safeguards, Safety is ultimately found in supplicating the Saviour. If you are to be kept from straying again, then ultimately you need to be constantly engaged in prayer. Like Nehemiah in this chapter, Lord remember me, remember me for good Lord. Lord, remember me concerning this also. Every issue, whether it was the Sabbath, the Scriptures, the service of God, whatever it was, he was constantly bringing it to the Lord in prayer. And child of God, that is the greatest safeguard. That is the greatest safeguard to ensure that you do not slip into a state of indifference again, is to have a constant walk with God, a constant looking to the Lord in prayer, how to deal with indifference. I trust that these few thoughts, investigation, indignation, evacuation, rectification, supplication, will be of help to you in your walk with God. May God bless His word to your hearts.