The In our day the word tolerance is a popular term it's widely promoted and while the Bible

encourages us to bear with one another in love, as we'll hear today on Truth for Life,

Alistairbegg explains that sometimes it's more important to stand firm against the

prevailing tide.

We're learning an important lesson in leadership from Nia.

Now let's go back into Chapter 13 again then of Nehemiah. Let us see that this is a word for us,

not for them, because I think most of us have been prepared to notice the link here insofar as we are not all that we

would like to be. We're not what we once were. We're not what we're going to be, but we're

not all that we would like to be and it's sometimes helpful just to admit that to

one another. Now you will notice that NEMIA's strength of leadership is revealed in his

response to these circumstances.

He addresses first of all this issue of unhelpful associations.

Now the first three verses provide a helpful background to the event that follows because they

speak to the issue that the people of God having discovered in the law of God you can

read this in Deuteronomy 23 had realized that they weren't supposed to do certain things.

Juteronomy 23, no Amanite or Mobite or any of his descendants

may enter the Assembly of the Lord, even down to the 10th generation.

Kind of categorical.

No way you're coming in here.

Now the people had understood that. Remember they said we make a binding agreement

to be committed to all the law of God and part of that involved this and here they are in a

relatively short period of time. They say, hey you know what? It doesn't really matter I mean, it's not a big issue, it's not a huge issue. I mean, it's just one guy in a couple of rooms and it won't really have much of an effect.

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