Well, good morning, everybody.
And thanks so much for your welcome.
I'm glad to have had correspondence with Graham.
! It's lovely to be back here.
We've been a few times, Margaret and I,
and lovely to be with you.
Thank you for allowing me to operate down here.
Can you manage okay?
I'm not much to look at anyway, so it's good.
And I don't have this huge platform that they built in Nehemiah Chapter 8.
Did you hear that?
Fantastic platform for the preacher,
just like you have immediately behind me.
Thank you.
In Weakness during those three weeks.
Fantastic children's program, youth program, seminar program,
Bible teaching and worship.
So if you haven't been, you're very welcome.
We'd love to see you.
It's free of charge.
You can commute up and down every day,
or you can find somewhere to stay.
We'd love to see you there.
It's one of about 80 events around the world,
and Margaret and I help with what's called the Keswick Fellowship
because it's rippled around the world to different countries in Africa and Asia and Europe,
and there are events running all through the year linked to the Keswick family.
So that's the advert over, but we'd love to see you in the summer.
And the reason for the choice of this passage, Nehemiah 8,
is because in correspondence with Graham,
I understand you're looking at a wonderful psalm,
Psalm 119, which is, of course, a great song, a great poem,
all about the Word of God.
So we thought maybe it would be good looking at this very dramatic story
in Nehemiah 8, which tells us about the dynamic power of God's Word
and the importance of hearing and responding to God's Word.
Now, of course, you're seeing that all through Psalm 119,
but here's a particular event which illustrates it.
Now, I recently read a comment from the retiring General Secretary
of the World Evangelical Alliance,
and he addressed the biggest crisis facing evangelicals all around the world.
You might want to guess what the biggest crisis is.
Well, you could say it's secularism,
or you could say it's the advance of Islam,
or you could say it's persecution.
But on the screen, you'll see what he felt was the biggest challenge
facing Christians like us all around the world.
The biggest crisis is the growing lack of biblical literacy worldwide.
Beyond all theological differences, financial problems,
and political questions, he said,
our biggest problem is that Bible knowledge is fading away.
I don't know if that's your assessment of the biggest challenge that we face.
It's true that around the world, the church is growing rapidly,
especially in the majority world of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
But despite growing numbers,
that doesn't always mean there's going to be growing understanding
or knowledge of the Bible.
And even here in the West,
where we have a much stronger tradition
of having the Bible and having it taught,
Now, the latest figures that I've read
are that 70% of Christians in this country and Europe,
70% of Christians only read the Bible
when they're in a church meeting like this.
And that's a slightly worrying statistic
because what we see in Psalm 119,
and certainly in this story now,
is that this word of God is dynamic.
It's life-changing.
It's essential for us to live as we should as God's people.
At the same time as that crisis,
you know as well there are new opportunities.
And this is something I read just a week or two ago
in the Evangelical Alliance Idea magazine.
It's written by Paul Woolley,
who works for the London Institute.
And he says that those coming to church today
are not simply looking for community.
He's writing about the growth,
the number of people who are deciding to go to church.
We're in a very small church in a rural area,
but people are coming.
And they don't quite know why,
but they want to be in a church.
It's an interesting phenomenon
in different parts of the country.
And he says, increasingly,
they are looking for truth.
They want a moral compass to navigate complexity.
They long for clarity in a world of shifting narratives.
They want scripture to shape everyday life
in work, in family, in relationships,
and in society.
And of course, the good news is that
that is what the Bible does.
That is what scripture does,
because God's word is dynamic and life-changing.
Martin Luther once said about the Bible,
here's the phrase,
the Bible is alive.
It has hands and grabs hold of me.
It has feet and runs after me.
And that idea of a dynamic word,
which can change us,
is picked up many, many times in the scriptures.
As you know, there are lots of dynamic descriptions.
Jeremiah said that the word of God
was like a fire in his bones,
or like a hammer that would break rocks.
And you'll know Paul, of course,
described God's word as the sword of the spirit.
That's repeated later in the New Testament.
Jesus said that the seed,
the word was the seed,
which could produce a phenomenal harvest,
just a small, vulnerable seed,
has a great impact.
And maybe you remember the story
of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
And they were joined by Jesus.
They didn't recognize him.
And Jesus chose not to introduce himself,
but instead to introduce himself
through the scriptures.
And Luke tells us,
he explained to them what was said
in all the scriptures concerning himself.
In other words, it's through the Bible,
through the scriptures,
that we come to encounter the living Lord Jesus.
That's why it's so important
that we give our energies
to understanding what God's word has to say.
That's true in this series in Psalm 119.
And right now.
Well, in Nehemiah 8,
we have a great story
about the impact of this living word
on the community there in Jerusalem.
Now, God's people had returned home
after years and years of exile,
away from Jerusalem.
And now they were back home.
What really mattered
was that they truly became God's people.
They truly understood God's word for them.
So very quickly,
let me just give three bullet points
which introduce and explain this story.
The first thing to notice
is the foundation of God's word.
The section we're looking at
is right at the heart of Nehemiah's memoirs.
The whole book is his account
of how things were going.
And right at the heart, of course,
is the story of the foundation of God's word.
They rebuilt the walls all around Jerusalem,
but the real foundation for them
as God's people,
as the community of God,
would be his word.
Three things to mention.
First of all, it was central.
The seventh month,
which is referred to in the passage,
was a month of great religious festivals.
And the first thing they did
was call for the book,
call for the law of God.
They wanted to hear God's word.
And you'll notice there, verse one,
all the people came together
as one in the square before the water gates.
They told Ezra, the teacher of the law,
to bring out the book of the law of Moses,
which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
And verse three says,
everybody listened attentively.
Now that they were back home in Jerusalem,
and now they were there with the word of God,
this was going to be the new constitution.
This was going to be the thing
that would shape them as God's people.
So it was central.
And that's how it should be
for every congregation,
every Christian congregation and church,
for every believer.
It should be central to our lives
because of its dynamic role
in introducing us to Jesus
and to God's purpose.
Second thing to notice is it had authority.
They told Ezra, the teacher of the law,
to bring out the book of the law of Moses,
which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
So he mentions the human author,
that's Moses.
But do you notice he also refers
to the divine author,
the book of the law of Moses,
which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
So it had authority
because it was the law of God.
It was the revelation
or the teaching which God had given.
And that, of course,
is vital for our own understanding.
So when we open the Bible,
as we are now,
or when you do at home
or on your phone on the way to work
or wherever you access God's word,
it's very important to remember two things.
And this is a verse in 1 Thessalonians
on the screen,
which helps us.
It's in 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 13.
We thank God continually
because when you receive the word of God,
which you heard from us,
you accepted it not as a human word,
but as it actually is,
the word of God,
which is indeed at work in you who believe.
It's a fantastic description
of why we take the Bible so seriously.
First of all, it's authoritative, he says.
It's the word of God in your Bibles.
You can really underline that
because he says it with emphasis.
He writes it with real emphasis.
It's the word of God.
But notice that the other phrase which follows,
it's not only authoritative,
it is powerful.
He says,
it is at work in you who believe.
I found that hugely encouraging
that when we read the Bible
here in the church
or individually or in groups,
it's not simply taking in information.
It's the word of God,
which is at work in us.
It's powerful to change us.
I have a good friend
who's a pastor in Harare in Zimbabwe.
And some years ago,
I was with him
and he just had a visit
from some of Robert Mugabe's security forces.
Robert Mugabe was a previous president
in Zimbabwe.
And the security forces
had gone around all institutions,
including churches,
just before the elections
because they wanted to cover all bases.
And so they asked the pastor, Gary,
do you have any explosives,
any arms,
anything explosive in the church?
And my friend said,
yes,
come on in.
And he brought them in.
You'll know where I'm going probably.
And he went into the church office
and he gave them all Bibles.
And then he prayed with them
that they would experience
the power of this explosive book.
And I quite like hearing him say that
because that is the truth about God's word.
It is powerful.
It's authoritative because it's from God.
It is powerful
because it is at work in you who believe.
It's another good reason
why it should be central
in our lives and our church.
And the third thing to mention
about this foundation
was that this word was for everyone.
When Margot read the passage,
I'm sure you noticed
how this is repeated so many times
because if it's going to be
the foundation for their families,
for their life together,
for their economic activity,
for their new constitution
as God's people,
it was essential
that it was clear
and accessible to everyone.
So for one thing,
verse one,
everyone was present.
All the people came together as one.
Then Ezra read
before the whole assembly,
verse two,
which was made up of men and women
and all who could understand.
That's repeated in verse three.
Verse five,
all the people could see him
with this fantastic pulpit
that they built.
And it was read,
notice it was not read in the temple,
which you'd expect,
wouldn't you,
in Jerusalem,
read the Bible in the holy place.
It was read downtown
in the city center.
It was for everyone.
And then the story
also underlined several times,
everybody understood.
They made the law clear,
verse eight,
giving the meaning
so that the people
could understand
what was being read.
And then the reason
for the response
of the people,
which we'll look at
as we finish in a few minutes,
verse 12,
because they now understood
the words that had been
made known to Israel,
made known to them.
It's possible,
I think we should applaud Margot
for all those names.
I mean,
she did a great job,
didn't she?
Repeated twice.
They were Levites
and they were mingling there
with all the people.
The reason why
they were doing that,
possibly they were translating
because there would be
multiple languages
and maybe they were translating.
Some people think
maybe they were just
holding small discussion groups,
making sure everybody
in that huge crowd
downtown Jerusalem
really understood
what was being read.
So that was a big concern
and I know that's exactly
your concern here,
that what we teach
and how we understand
the scriptures
should really sink
into people's hearts
and minds
and truly be understood.
It's because the word of God
leads us into God's presence.
We come to know Jesus
in that way.
One other illustration
also happens to be
from Zimbabwe.
There was a general secretary
of the Bible Society
in Zimbabwe
and I did hear him
tell this rather remarkable story.
He was,
I should have jumped ahead,
Margaret,
I'll probably come back
later to that.
I'll give you one example
of accessibility
I noticed I should have said.
It's for everyone.
I'll come back
to my story in a moment.
Just a couple of weeks ago
we received a video
and I thought it's worth
mentioning what's happening
in terms of the Wycliffe
Bible translators,
this idea of it being
for everyone.
They're working,
coordinating Bible translation
in Nigeria
and there are 500 languages
in Nigeria
and in the message
that they sent us
just a week or two ago
they said
if they carry on
with the translation
into 500 languages
they won't have
a complete New Testament
in these many languages
until 2180.
That's more than 150 years.
So they're appealing.
We need to make
the Word of God accessible.
We need more workers.
We need more funds.
And that's true
of many agencies
trying to make
God's Word accessible
around the world.
And of course
it's true in our own culture.
We want more people
to engage
and understand
and live by
the Word of God
making it accessible
for families
and for adults
for those
with learning difficulties
for those
that are visually handicapped
every way we can
to make the Word of God
accessible.
Well that's the foundation
of God's Word.
Let's come to a second
big theme
which is really interesting
to see the hunger
for God's Word
when you read this passage.
The account tells us
a good deal
about the people
who were in Jerusalem
when this event happened.
First thing is
they were expectant.
They were eager
to hear the Word.
You can see that
from the very first verse.
They were the ones
who called Ezra
to bring out the book.
In fact,
ages ago,
I think maybe 20 years ago,
a man called Jim Packer
who's a British theologian
wrote a book
and he commented
on this verse
and he said
it was rather like
going to a pop concert,
a big music event,
he said.
It must have been
like the crowd.
And they said,
this is Jim Packer
suggesting,
we want Ezra.
We want Ezra.
Saying it over
and over again,
louder and louder
and you get some idea
of the feelings
being expressed
in Jerusalem that day.
Well, it takes
a bit of imagination
but he's right
that there was
a large crowd
longing to hear the Word.
They appealed to Ezra,
bring out the book
of the law.
And the same sense
of expectancy
and eagerness
is expressed
in verse 3,
all the people
listened attentively
as I've mentioned.
Now, verse 5,
all the people
stood up
as they opened
the book.
They wanted to
pay attention
to this Word
and it reminds us,
of course,
that when we come
to open God's Word,
whenever we do so,
we must have
the same sense
of faith
and expectancy
which these people
demonstrated.
It's interesting
that even Jesus'
own ministry
was frustrated
when there was
no sense
of expectancy
or faith
in his audience.
He was in the synagogue
he began to teach
but people
were not listening.
So this attitude
of expectancy
is so important
and expectant faith
is the soil
in which God's Word
will produce
good fruit.
It's the lesson
for a church congregation.
It's the lesson
all the way
through our lives,
listening with that
kind of expectancy
and faith.
And the second thing
is to notice
that they were
really committed.
You can see
their spiritual hunger
when you read it
through.
They were ready
for all kinds
of inconvenience.
And if you just
analyze the text
you see that they
stood from daybreak
till noon.
Verse 3.
So that's probably
about five hours
they were standing
to listen to this word
without a coffee break
in sight.
They were totally
committed.
And again,
this kind of response
is to do
with the work
of the Holy Spirit
in our lives.
That's what we
must pray for.
The expectancy
and the commitment
which realizes
we long to hear
what God has to say.
We want to be changed
by the dynamic power
of God's Word.
And the third thing
we notice about them
is their humility.
Verse 6.
Ezra praised
the Lord,
the great God
and all the peoples
lifted their hands
and responded
Amen,
Amen.
Then they bowed down
and worshipped the Lord
with their faces
to the ground.
I do wonder
if there is something
to learn
from the attitude
of the people
that day
which is recorded
in verse 6.
All the people
lifting their hands.
All the people
bowing down
to touch the ground.
There was a reverence,
a humility,
a desire
to hear
what God has to say.
And again,
these are prerequisites
for truly
being impacted
by the Word of God
in our own lives.
In fact,
I think
those verses
are a good example
of the fact
that we don't
venerate the book
as such,
the Bible.
Martin Luther again
used to say
that the Bible
is the cradle
in which we find
the baby.
In other words,
we come to the Bible
in order to encounter
Jesus,
as we've said,
so that he
will have preeminence
in our life,
so that we live
our lives
shaped by knowing
the Lord Jesus.
So the Bible
is the cradle
which introduces
us to the baby,
to Jesus himself.
And here I come back
to what I was just
about to say
about the
General Secretary
of the Bible Society
in Zimbabwe.
His name is
Gaylord Camberini,
and he once
offered a man
a New Testament.
And the guy
said,
no,
I'm not interested.
I don't want to read
the New Testament.
He said,
in fact,
if you give me
the New Testament,
I'll roll up
every page
and make cigarettes.
So Camberini
said to this guy,
well,
let's do a deal.
I'll give you
the New Testament
if you promise
to read every page
before you smoke it.
And so
that's what happened.
Well,
some years later,
15 years later,
this man
who was rolling
the cigarettes
actually had become
a believer,
and he was speaking,
giving his testimony,
and Camberini
came into the conference.
And so the speaker
said,
well,
that man
gave me
a New Testament
15 years ago.
And he said,
I smoked Matthew,
and then I smoked Mark,
and then I smoked Luke.
But when I came
to John 3.16,
my life completely changed.
We read it
in the Breaking the Bread
service
just early
before this service.
God so loved
the world
that he gave
his only son
that whoever
believes in him
will not perish
but have eternal life.
he encountered
Jesus
through reading
those pages.
And that,
of course,
is what's happening
the world over.
And that's what
happens to us
if we read it
with the humility
and the reverence
and open hearts
and expectancy
we meet the Lord.
Well,
the final section,
the final thing
I want to mention
is just to see
what was that impact.
How did it influence
the people
in Nehemiah's day?
So what about
the impact?
And there are three,
again,
three simple things
which I want to underline.
What's important
to remember,
of course,
is that
the scriptures
themselves
are given
not just to inform
or to instruct,
although they include
that element,
but as we've said,
they are to change us.
It's so important
to see that the Bible
is powerful
and dynamic
to change our lives.
I love the illustration
which Isaiah gave,
which you might remember.
he was talking
about the water cycle.
I used to be
a geography teacher
so it appeals to me.
The rain falls,
waters the earth,
it germinates the seeds,
the harvest begins to grow
and then the water
evaporates back up.
That's the water cycle
that Isaiah
was telling people about
in Isaiah 55.
And then this is what
Isaiah adds
after that illustration.
It's on the screen.
So is my word
that goes forth
from my mouth.
It will not return
to me empty
but will accomplish
what I desire
and achieve the purpose
for which I sent it.
God will fulfill
his purpose
through the word
which he gives.
It's authoritative
and powerful
as we said
a moment ago.
And certainly
in Jerusalem
there were several
responses
to God's word
being read
over those hours.
And perhaps
you identify
with these as well.
First of all
they were celebrating
God's grace.
Verse 9 shows
their first response.
For all the people
had been weeping
as they listened
to the words
of the law.
In other words
they realized
as they heard
God's word
that they'd failed
that they'd sinned
they'd disobeyed God.
But Ezra and Nehemiah
moved pretty quickly
to set that failure
within the context
of God's good purposes
for his people.
So verses 9 and 10
This day is holy
to the Lord your God.
Do not mourn
or weep.
Go and enjoy
choice food
and sweet drinks
and send some
to those
who have nothing prepared.
This day is holy
to our Lord.
Do not grieve
for the joy
of the Lord
is your strength.
So they were saying
the first response
to God's word
should be
joyfully
to accept
everything
which God
has done
for them.
It was a special day
a day
to recall
God's grace
towards them
and so the people
went to celebrate
and they went
to eat and drink
with great joy
is how this little
section ends
in verse 12.
And I think
that's a lovely way
to approach
the Bible.
if you're not
motivated to read
Scripture
day by day
then it's worth
remembering
God has good
purposes for us.
He has plans
for us
and they are
to completely
change our lives
and make us
who we really
were made to be
and therefore
all of his actions
towards us
are for our
well-being.
So coming
to Scripture
celebrating
God's goodness
and God's grace
is a very important
response
when we open
the pages
of the Bible.
Then secondly
we come to another
confessing
their sin.
We can understand
this because
their understanding
of what God
had said to them
did lead to confession.
We haven't time
to look at it
but if you have
a moment later today
just to look
into chapter 9
Nehemiah chapter 9
you discover
that there is
a long confession
of faith.
It's beautifully written
there's a statement
about God's goodness
then there's a statement
about the people's
behavior
their failure
their sinfulness
and then there's
a statement
about God's mercy
and grace
and that little cycle
is running all the way
through chapter 9
and it reminds us
of the way in which
Paul does the same
in the New Testament
where he's talking
about the gospel.
He does explain
our sinfulness
he does explain
the consequences
of God's judgment
but then he says
this is from
chapter 3
verse 24
but we are justified
freely by his grace
through the redemption
that came by Christ Jesus.
So just as God's people
confessed their sins
and remembered God's grace
and mercy
we must do exactly
the same
and God's word
helps us to do that
not only to understand
our own sinfulness
but it's the mirror
to our hearts
but also
then
to understand
God's grace
and forgiveness
he sets us free
from those things
of the past
just as the people
in Nehemiah's day
experienced that
nothing should hold us back
despite those failures
God
is the one
who's faithful
we can count
on his grace
all of that comes
from hearing God's word
and then the third
and the final
thing to mention
is
very interesting
it's a commitment
to obey
again if you have time
to read chapter 8
9 and 10
that's the flow
of what's written
in Nehemiah's memoirs
celebration
confession
and then commitment
so if we've experienced
God's forgiveness
we've experienced
his restoring grace
then we'll want to commit
our lives
to live for him
and so Nehemiah
in chapters 8 to 10
moves
from that
confession
and celebration
to a commitment
to obey God's word
it's an agreement
that all the people
made there
in chapter 10
they said
we will obey
carefully
all the commands
regulations
and decrees
of the Lord
our God
and that's
the significance
of this story
this movement
from hearing
God's word
celebrating
God's goodness
knowing God's grace
and then
obeying
God's laws
that is what God
is looking for
in our lives
as well
it is truth
in action
in fact
you might say
well I find it
very difficult
to understand
the Bible
at times
but I always remember
Michael Wilcott
who wrote
a couple of commentaries
on the New Testament
and he had a lovely phrase
and here it is
on screen
our understanding
of God's word
has to do
with our obedience
not our brains
as we obey
what God calls us
to do
so we truly
begin to understand
God's purpose
for us
and for our families
our church
our society
for the world
at large
understanding
comes
truly from
obeying
God's word
we're not called
simply
to hear the truth
but to do it
in fact
authentic Christians
I think
are those
who speak
this message
but whose lives
embody
the message
and I have a good friend
I finish with this
and he sometimes
uses this illustration
as we look
at God's word
and he said
well
I've been looking
at you in Edinburgh
and you're reading
the Bible
like this
but you should
read the Bible
the Chinese way
which is like this
we read it
and as we do
so we're saying
Lord
I'm willing
to obey
I hear what
you're saying
I'm willing
to change
I'm going
to obey
your word
so
I hope in these
few moments
looking at this
remarkable story
and as you
go through
this fantastic
Psalm 119
we'll learn
from the people
of Jerusalem
and the Old Testament
believers
who listen
to Psalm 119
eager to respond
to this
dynamic power
of God's word
and to obey
everything
which the Lord
says to us
thank you very much
for listening
patiently through that
let's pray together
dear father
we thank you
for the wonderful gift
that you have given us
in your word
especially for the way
in which we have it
in our own language
we have it in so many
different formats
it's accessible
to all of us
24 hours a day
and so we ask
you'll forgive us
for those times
when we've neglected
to take it seriously
we fail to see
that this is
the dynamic word
through which
you're able
to change
our lives
and our families
and even our society
so we thank you
for the lovely story
of your people
in the Old Testament
who were eager
to hear that word
ready to put up
with all kinds
of inconvenience
to ensure
that they truly
understood
and then they were
willing to obey
we pray that here
at Brunsfield
as we go through
Psalm 119
as we personally
read your word
day by day
you will transform us
by the Holy Spirit
as we understand
your word
more fully
we pray too
that you'll help us
to make it accessible
to everyone
we pray for all the
families here
at BEC
we know it's a
challenge
to introduce
your word
to children
and teenagers
we pray that our
families will take
seriously the living
word of God
which will shape
the lives
of their families
we pray too
for those
in our neighbourhood
who need to hear
the good news
of the gospel
need to hear your word
please bless every effort
that we make here
to open up the good news
of the gospel
and by your spirit
please win people
for the Lord Jesus
we pray for Wycliffe
who we've just mentioned
and many other agencies
around the world
who are working hard
to make this word
of God
accessible to people
of all languages
we pray you'll bless
their efforts
and continue to win
people for the Lord Jesus
through all that
they're doing
we pray for Scripture
Union in Scotland
for those who are
working hard
not only to produce
materials
but also to help
in schools
and in other settings
so that the word
of the Lord
will speed on
and triumph
we ask dear Father
that your word
will enter hearts
and minds
even today
and change us
and change Scotland
and change the world
for the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ
in whose name we pray
Amen
Thank you.