In the 1997 movie, As Good As It Gets, it starred Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt.
And in the movie, Jack Nicholson, it's not Helen Hunt in the picture,
in the movie, Jack Nicholson has obsessive compulsive disorder.
And he is a very difficult and off-putting person to be around in the film.
He's difficult, people don't like him, but there's one waitress in a cafe who is kind to him.
And he really likes this person.
And then she leaves, this is Helen Hunt's character, she leaves to take care of her son.
And Jack Nicholson pursues her.
And at the end of this movie, there is quite a famous scene,
when Jack Nicholson says to Helen Hunt,
I have a wonderful compliment for you.
Because I have obsessive compulsive disorder, because of you,
I have taken my medicine for the first time.
And Helen Hunt sits there and his face just says,
So what?
And then he says,
You make me want to be a better man.
And every heart melts.
And it's quite a famous scene.
It's really heartfelt.
And sitting behind it,
I'm sorry if I've spoiled this 25-year-old movie for you.
But sitting behind this is that Jack Nicholson has found someone
who is motivating him to change.
His motivation is,
I want to be a better man for you.
Maybe you've had that in your life.
Not that someone says,
You must meet these conditions.
But maybe you've met someone,
and you want to be a better friend for them.
You've met someone,
and you're like,
Actually, I'm going to play the sport that you like,
because I want to spend time with you.
My brother loves board games and card games.
And I hate learning new board games and card games.
But I will do that out of love for him.
But what motivates us in our relationship with God?
Is it who he is?
Is it his love and his compassion and his mercy to us
throughout all our lives and across generations?
Are we aware of what motivates us in our relationship with God?
Or are we motivated by guilt?
What brought you to church this morning?
Was it just a,
Oh, this is what we do as a family on a Sunday morning.
We just go to church.
Are we motivated by a desire to please other people?
Or to make sure that we're good with God?
Are we even aware of what motivates us?
We are coming to the end of the book of Nehemiah.
Janet has read for us chapter 9.
We're actually doing chapter 9 to 12.
But we're going to spend most of our time this morning in chapter 9.
And we see that a section of Israel has moved back
from exile in Babylon.
They've come back to Israel.
The walls have been built up.
The people have been trusting in God.
They've not been afraid of their enemies.
And they've come to the point of remembering
why the walls were broken down in the first place.
Their sin.
And God handing them over to their enemies.
They've sinned for generations.
God patience ran out.
And so they were exiled.
But in God's great compassion,
He's called them back to the promised land.
And so now Israel remind themselves about who they are,
how sinful they are,
and how good God has been to them.
And they recommit to this God.
They meditate on the character of God
and it motivates them to recommit.
And so the challenge for us today
will be to consider what motivates us
in our relationship with God.
duty, compulsion, family,
fear of hell, fear of harm.
Or will it be like Israel
who are motivated by God's love
and compassion to us
to obey Him because of who He is?
There's three points this morning.
Confession, character, and commitment.
They're in the St. Paul's app.
You can be writing those down,
taking notes in your phone.
But as we have a look at Nehemiah 9,
let me pray for us.
Heavenly Father,
as we look at Your Word to us today,
help us to see who You are
and grow in love and trust and obedience of You.
Amen.
First of all, confession.
In chapter 8,
we left Israel celebrating.
They were celebrating and rejoicing,
but now they turn to grief.
And they turn to grief
because before you can appreciate
who God is,
we have to know who we are not.
And so,
in your Bibles,
chapter 9,
verse 1.
On the 24th day of the same month,
the Israelites gathered together,
fasting and wearing sackcloth
and putting dust on their heads.
God's people are owning their own sin.
They know who they are
and who they are not.
And so they put on a burlap sack.
It is very itchy.
I don't know if you've got children
and you've ever tried to dress them
in something that looks nice.
One of my children,
whenever we put something nice on them,
they say,
this is itchy.
This is uncomfortable.
These people,
the Israelites,
are wearing a burlap sack
because they know
that they should feel uncomfortable
because of their sin.
They see themselves as dirty.
It's a wonderful picture of humility.
They put dirt on their heads
because they say,
I am a mess.
I am dirty.
And I am in need of help.
This is the place we should be in
when we find ourselves comfortable in our sin.
We have to acknowledge
that we have sin in our lives
and we are a mess.
And the only one that can help us
and make us clean is God.
In verse two,
they also separate themselves from the foreigners,
not to say that there's anything wrong
with people of other nations,
but it is as if they are owning their sin.
We are Israel.
We are God's people.
And we are going to own our sin
with our God.
And so they confess.
They confess their sins,
the sins of their ancestors.
They're not blaming anyone else
for being exiled,
and they own their sin.
And it's not just saying,
oh God,
we're sorry for all of the sins.
They go through them in detail.
Verse three,
they stood where they were
and they read from the book of the law,
of the Lord their God,
for a quarter of the day.
Imagine if I said,
okay, everybody,
we're going to read up,
stand up.
I'm going to read the Bible
for the next six hours.
And as we do that,
you're just going to be reminded
of all of our sins
and our failures.
And so after they'd read
the book of the law
for six hours,
verse three,
they spent another quarter
of the day
in confession
and in worshipping
the Lord their God.
As they're reading the word,
they would have been seeing
all of the places
that they fell short.
and so they spend hours
in confession.
Now this might seem
a lot to us,
but imagine
if we took, say,
just the Ten Commandments.
Even that's too many.
Let's just take the very first
of the Ten Commandments.
You shall have no other God
but me.
I'm sure we could spend
a lot of time
in confession.
God, I'm sorry
when I made myself God
over you
and I chose selfishness
this morning.
God, I'm sorry
when I made money,
my God,
yesterday when I was
at the shops
and I worshipped
at the altar of work
or possessions
or consumerism.
And Jesus says
of adultery
that lust is just as bad
and murder,
well, anger is just as bad.
Imagine if we went
into detail
and just confessed
the last two days
of our lust
and our anger
and our theft
and our envy
and our jealousy,
we too have
hours to confess.
To appreciate
who God is,
we need to have humility
and take a good,
hard look at ourselves
to understand
who we are
and who we are not.
One of the challenges
of our time
is that we are told
that our views
are valuable
and right.
Our emotions are right
and the view of ourselves
is right
and we are losing
the ability
to say of ourselves
and anyone else,
this is right
and this is wrong.
God sits outside time,
he sits outside culture,
he himself is good
and he tells us
what is good and right.
And so Israel
realise how far
they have gone from God
and they confess.
They read the law,
they have clarity
of where they fell short
but their own sinfulness
is not what motivates them.
They don't go,
we are so sinful,
we're going to work really hard,
we're going to pull up our socks,
we're going to follow God
really hard,
we're going to do
all of the things
God says in the law.
No,
their desire to confess
and their motivation
to change
is based on God's character.
Second point today,
God's character.
In verse 5,
it says that the Levites,
the priests,
they stand up
and praise God
with a summary
of Israel's history
and there's two key highlights.
How awful Israel has been
and how good God is.
I'm not sure if you picked that up
as Janet was reading.
It just says
how good God is
over and over.
Verse 6,
you alone are the Lord.
You made the heavens.
You give life to everything.
God is lifted high
as the one
who is in charge of all,
responsible for all
and has power over it all
and he chose Abraham.
Verse 7,
God chose
to make a covenant
with the people.
God heard that Israel
was stuck in Egypt
and so he saved them.
Then in verse 13,
God gave them laws
and regulations
that are good
and right
so they could follow him.
Verse 15,
God provided
for their physical needs
and gave them land
to live in.
Up to this point,
it all looks good
and rosy.
God has been good to them.
Israel is following God.
It all looks pretty good.
Everything changes
in verse 16.
Whenever you see the word
but in the Bible,
just underline it,
circle it,
put a tab there.
The buts are really helpful.
God has been good.
Israel has been following.
But,
but they,
our ancestors,
became arrogant
and stiff-necked.
They did not
obey your commands.
God has done
everything for them.
They were not humble.
They were unwilling
to bend their necks
to follow God.
And so God
has humbled Israel,
sent them into exile,
forced their necks
to be softened.
Verse 17,
Israel refused
to listen,
failed to remember
the miracles,
failure of memory.
They forgot the God
who made everything.
The God who,
who took them
and made them a people,
who,
who saved them
out of Egypt,
who,
who gave them
good laws to follow,
who gave them
a good land.
They forgot
their God.
And this is where
the beauty of God's
character is revealed.
If you've ever heard
or even thought yourself,
the God of the Old Testament,
I don't know about
the God of the Old Testament,
I like the God
of the New Testament.
He's all about love
and hugs and kisses
and I like Jesus,
he's wonderful.
But the God of Old Testament,
he's angry,
he's wrathful.
If you've ever thought that,
come to this point
in Nehemiah 9,
take a friend
to Nehemiah 9.
Verse 17,
but you are
a forgiving God,
gracious
and compassionate,
slow to anger
and abounding
in love.
Therefore,
you did not
desert them.
God had compassion
on Israel
when they rebelled
and made another God
out of the golden calf.
Verse 19,
God had compassion
on them
and didn't leave them
in the wilderness
to die.
God gave them land
and then they disobeyed again
and yet,
verse 27,
God had compassion.
And it's this cycle
that happens
over and over
and over.
They follow God,
they forget him,
they take him for granted,
they worship other gods,
he sends enemies,
they cry out,
verse 28,
and when they cried
out to you
again,
you heard from heaven
and in your compassion
you delivered them
time after time
after time
after time.
God is beyond
gracious to us.
Even after we commit
the most heinous acts
against him,
against the people
we love,
against friends,
he continues
to be loving
and compassionate.
And even when
his people
are not repenting,
he doesn't destroy them,
he loves them.
Israel,
at this point,
are in a disastrous situation.
They've been exiled,
their country
has been
all but destroyed,
their nation shattered,
and yet,
Israel are remembering
how good
God continues
to be to them.
And verse 31
summarizes
the goodness
of God's character.
In your great
mercies,
you did not
put an end
to them
or abandon them
for you
are gracious
and merciful.
Because of God's character,
his mercy
and his graciousness.
As I read through this,
there's a word
that jumped out
to me
about God's character.
I'm not sure
if you've picked it up,
but it's the word
compassion.
It's there four times
in chapter 9.
God is gracious
and compassionate.
He has great compassion.
Again,
he's got great compassion.
And in your compassion,
you delivered them.
God is gracious
and merciful,
but key to this
is his compassion.
I love this word compassion
because it's made up
of two words,
com
and passion.
compassion.
The word com
means with.
So,
company.
You're with people.
And the word passion
doesn't mean
strong emotions
like we tend
to think these days.
The original meaning
of the word passion
means suffering.
So,
if you remember
the movie,
you know,
10 years ago
whenever it was made,
the passion
of the Christ
means the suffering
of Jesus
on the cross,
the passion
of the Christ.
So,
compassion means
with in suffering.
So,
if you have a friend
who you're grieving,
they sit with you
in your grief,
they are with you
in your suffering,
they have compassion.
God
is described
as someone
who has
compassion.
He is not
absent.
If you remember
that poem
about the footsteps
on the sand,
it is this picture
of God
walking with us
every step
of the way.
God is with
Israel
every step,
when they're faithful
and when they're not.
He is ready
to show mercy
and to forgive them.
He is present
and with them.
And how much more
wonderfully
does he do this
in Jesus?
when he
is present
as a human being,
he knows
our suffering.
He knows
what it is like
to be a human
with temptations,
to love people
and to suffer
on the cross.
God
became man.
He is
compassion.
He is
with us
in our suffering.
He knows
our joys
and our pains.
when Jesus
suffered
on the cross,
he suffered
in every way
like we suffer.
Physical pain,
he was betrayed
closest by those
closest to him.
He was distant
from God,
all so that God
could have mercy
and grace
to us.
God
is with us
and he's with Israel
in their suffering.
His compassion
is what
motivates
Israel
to change.
our third point
this morning,
commitment.
Israel
in verse 37,
cry out to God,
God we are
in great
distress.
In verse 38,
in view of all this,
in view of
history,
in view of
what we have
been like,
in view of
what you have
been like,
mercy,
gracious,
compassion,
in view of all this,
we are making
a binding agreement.
We're putting it
in writing.
We're going to
stamp it with our
stamp.
Our leaders,
the priests,
the Levites,
they're all affixing
their seals to it.
Everybody is on
board.
We are recommitting
to you.
The people know
their history.
They know who
they are
and they know
who their God
is
and they're
motivated by
who he is,
by his compassion.
And so they want
to better represent
God.
They want to
honor him.
They want to
remain God's
people and not
take it for
granted.
And so they
rededicate themselves.
There's something
really significant
going on in
these verses.
They make a
binding agreement.
They put it in
writing.
This is what we
continue to do.
We are people
who have mostly
moved away from
paper,
but still if we're
signing up for
something,
it gets put in
writing.
The leaders,
the Levites,
the priests
sign up for it.
It's representative
that it's not just
some people who
are committing to
the Lord,
it is the whole
people recommitting
to God.
God in his grace
has called them
back to the land
and they've seen
that and they're
saying,
yes,
we want to be
a people following
this God.
We're going to
commit.
And then the
next three
chapters,
10,
11 and 12,
show the people
commit.
Starts with all
the people in
verse 10 and
they remind
themselves of
God's laws that
they're committing
to.
It's as if what
they're saying,
we swear that
we're going to
follow this God
and if we don't
walk in this way,
we'll let God
curse us because
we want to
follow this God.
the first step
towards recommitting
to this God is
to turn back to
him in his
scriptures.
That's what
they've done.
They've spent
hours reading
the law,
remembering the
law.
They're going to
honour the
Sabbath.
They're going to
rest and trust
that God will
provide.
They're not going
to give their
daughters in
marriage to
people of
other nations
because those
other nations
are going to
bring in other
religions,
but they want
to worship God.
They want to
continue to
worship God for
generations.
They're going to
honour God,
God's temple,
the place where
sacrifices are
made.
They would
tithe,
they would
give of
their money.
They're
recommitting not
just with their
Sundays or their
Saturdays,
they're recommitting
with all that
they earn,
their money,
their first
fruits,
their crops,
their animals.
God has
committed to
them and they
are recommitting
to God with
their money,
their success,
their families,
with their time
and with their
worship.
And finally,
at the end
of chapter 12,
we return to
the wall,
which is what
this whole book
seems to have
been about,
building this
wall.
But the wall
was built and
it's almost like
an afterthought
that we come
back to it.
But the wall
that Nehemiah
came to build,
which was
finished a couple
of chapters ago,
it had not been
dedicated.
It had been
finished,
but they hadn't
smashed the bottle
of bubbly on it
like you do with a
ship as you
commission it.
God first
needed to work
on his people
before they could
celebrate what
he is doing.
They've read
the law,
they've confessed
their sins,
they've recommitted
to the Lord,
and now they are
ready to celebrate
what God is doing
in their midst.
And so Nehemiah
orders all the
musicians,
the choirs,
the priests,
he positions them
all on different
parts of the wall,
they offer many
sacrifices,
and in chapter 12
verse 43,
they were rejoicing
because God
had given them
great joy.
The women and the
children rejoiced,
and the sound of
rejoicing could be
heard far away.
I wonder what it
would look like
to have even the
people walking
past church hear
us rejoicing this
morning.
In a couple of
minutes, we're going
to sing our last
song.
What would it look
like for us to be
singing so loud
that people,
two streets away,
could hear us
rejoicing in our
God?
Jerusalem is
becoming the
city of God
again.
Not just the
place, but the
people.
Restoration and
reconciliation with
God and his people
should always be
celebrated.
When a sinner
comes to God,
there is a feast
in heaven.
When someone
commits their
life to God,
we get a big
water tank, we
do a baptism.
It is a good
thing to celebrate.
Brothers and
sisters, Israel
has gone on a
wonderful journey.
God has restored
them to their
land.
They've read the
Bible.
They've confessed
their sins.
They've meditated
on how good God
has been to them,
particularly his
compassion for
centuries.
And God's
character, his
compassion has
motivated them
to change,
motivated them
to recommit.
And so they've
signed up to
follow him again
today.
Maybe today is a
good day for us
to do the same
thing.
Actually, let's
take out that
word maybe.
Today is a good
day for us to
do the same
thing.
To confess our
sins.
To remember
where we've
walked far away
from him.
To remind
ourselves of
his great
compassion for
us in
Jesus.
That he has
dealt with
our sins so
that we can
know him.
And then
remind ourselves
to commit
to him
tomorrow,
the week to
come.
Because he
is with us
when we are
suffering.
When we feel
that we are
far from him,
he is with
us.
When we are
busy and
tired and
stressed,
he is with
us.
When we are
celebrating and
joyful, he
is with us.
When we are
grieving, he
is with us.
He is with
us.
He's not with
us like a
puppy dog who
is just there
to be warm
and comfortable
even though
they're great.
But God is
not just with
us passively to
make us feel
better.
He is with
us like a
parent to a
child who
says, I
know this
is hard, but
I have good
plans in store
for you.
Who carries
us in our
grief.
God in
his compassion
calls us to
walk closely
with him,
trusting him,
living in
obedience to
him.
Jack Nicholson
said to
Helen Hunt,
you make me
want to be a
better man.
God's
compassion in
Jesus means
we get to
be his
people,
reminding
ourselves of
his goodness
and calling
us to obey
him.
Let me pray
for us
right now.
God, your
compassion and
love calls us
to be your
people.
Thank you,
God, that you
are with us
each step.
Help us to
recommit to
you today, to
love your
word, to
confess our
sin, to
choose to
follow and
obey you,
trusting in
you each
day.
Amen.
community, to
never
help us.
That's
right.
Thank you.