God, thank you so much for your presence.
God, thank you for your word, the Bible.
And as you have throughout the history,
throughout time, you've spoken to your people.
God, I pray that once again you would speak to us,
that we might not just hear my words today,
but that we would actually hear from you.
Those who know you and are so familiar
with the Christmas story
might have a fresh encounter with you.
And that those who are still wrestling or struggling
or just not even believing that you're real.
God, in your love and mercy,
would you do what only you can do
and reveal yourself to us,
that every one of us in this room
would know you personally and intimately
in a way that sets us free and brings us to life.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Please be seated.
Have you ever walked into a room
in the middle of a story
and found that what you're hearing
is extremely bizarre?
And you kind of like make a face
or maybe you say something
and they're like,
oh no, you don't understand.
And you realize that
coming into the middle of a story,
you've misunderstood what you're hearing.
Or have you ever thought that
you found that you really thought
you totally understood what was happening,
but then once you find out that,
again, you walked in the middle of a story,
that there's actually so much more depth
and vibrancy to a story
than you thought you knew.
Well, that has definitely been
a real experience for me.
And I believe it's actually an experience
that every one of us experiences
every year at Christmastime,
though many of us don't even know it.
And that's because if you were to ask someone,
what's the beginning of the Christmas story?
They might start with the angel
appearing to Mary
and telling her about
how she is soon to conceive
a miraculous child, God's own son.
Or maybe those who really know their Bibles
will start with the scene
where Mary's cousin-in-law was in the temple.
He's a priest.
An angel comes to him
and tells him about his wife
coming pregnant with John the Baptist
as the child.
So there might be various ways
that you start the Christmas story,
but we always start with the New Testament,
with the Gospels accounts.
However, if that's how we tell the Christmas story,
we're actually starting
in the middle of the story.
And as a result,
either we're misunderstanding
what the Christmas is all about,
or though we might get it,
it is so much smaller
than the real vibrant story of Christmas
if we were only to start at the beginning.
And so today I'm going to be preaching
a Christmas message
from a page of the Bible
that I've never heard
a Christmas message from.
So if you have your Bibles,
turn to Nehemiah 13.
You might have trouble finding it.
No shade thrown your way.
Nehemiah is found
in the first half of the Bible,
a bit before Psalms.
It's before Job.
It's before Esther.
Right before Esther.
You can find it.
Or you can just go to the index
at the start of your Bible.
It's a rare book.
What you might not be familiar
with the fact that Nehemiah,
though it's in the middle
of the Old Testament,
it's actually the final pages
of the Old Testament.
The Old Testament has historical books,
and it has poetry,
it has prophecy,
but Nehemiah is the final,
it takes place as the final moments
in the history of the Old Testament.
So the final words of Nehemiah
are the final moments
of the Old Testament.
And so I'm going to be preaching
from the final moments
of the book of Nehemiah,
which is the final moments
of the Old Testament,
but if we're really going to try
to start not at the middle
of a story,
we really should back up
to the very beginning.
Many of you will be familiar
with the account
that the Bible tells us,
that at the very beginning
of a time,
there was a being named God
who created the universe.
And he created it
in perfect harmony,
that there was no decay,
there was no despair,
there was no death.
Everything was in harmony.
But humankind rebelled
against this good and loving God,
and in so doing,
we broke the universe,
and introduced decay,
and grudges,
and gossip,
and lies,
and mistrust,
and even death.
And that not only
did we break the universe,
but in our rebellion,
the good and loving,
just judge of the whole earth,
God,
pronounced judgment
and a curse
upon all that is.
But beautifully
and mercifully,
in the very moment
that he pronounces this curse,
judgment upon the universe,
he gives a promise.
He promises that he will
restore harmony
to the earth.
We get this little glimpse
of this promise.
And then as the story,
the true story
of the Bible unfolds,
you see that God
brings more and more clarity
as to how he's going to
restore harmony
and love to the world.
Part of the breaking
of the universe
was in our rebellion,
in our sin against God,
because he's pure
and we've defiled ourselves,
there's this distance
between us and God.
That before,
humankind used to walk with God,
but now he's invisible to us,
for he's too pure
for our broken eyes to see.
And so as the story
of the Bible unfolds,
we see,
and this isn't myth
or legend,
but we see in real history
that God called
a people to himself,
a people group,
the people of Israel.
And he gave the people
of Israel
his holy ways
of harmony and love.
And more than anything,
he not only gave them
his ways,
his good laws,
he not only gave them
a good country to have,
but the most significant
and special thing,
most magnificent of all,
which made them
the holy people,
is that he gave them
his presence.
And so in the center
of Israel,
there was a temple.
And in the temple,
there was not an idol
to remind them of a God,
but rather the very presence
of God himself
in a very thick and real way.
And yet the people of God,
the people of Israel,
as you can read
through the Bible,
they continue to rebel
against them
and defile themselves
and do horrific things.
And they end up
offering children
burning up the children
as a worship to God,
which is a horrific,
ungodly practice.
And they do all manner
of evil things.
And God is a good God,
a just God.
And so he continues
to call them
to turn away from that.
And as he does,
he warns them,
if they are not
to walk in God's ways
of love and harmony
and justice,
that he will punish them,
that he will remove them
from their land,
that he will take away
his presence from them.
And over time,
he finally did that.
And it's recorded in history
that the Babylonian kingdom
ripped the people of Israel
from the land,
took them from Jerusalem,
and they destroyed the temple.
And it's recorded for us
in the Bible
that God removed his presence
from the temple,
from his people.
But along the way,
even in the warnings
of judgment,
even before judgment came,
God includes in those warnings
his tender love
toward them
and all the earth,
saying that even though
he would judge them,
even though he would punish
the people of Israel,
he will restore
not only the people
of Israel to the land,
but also that he will bring
healing to the whole earth.
And most significant of all,
that he will restore
his presence to his people,
that he will bring the people
back to Israel,
and that he will restore
his presence in the temple
and throughout all the earth.
And so along the way,
we finally get to the book
of Nehemiah,
the final historical book
in the Bible,
in the Old Testament,
and what we see here
is that there are
three great leaders.
First Zerubbabel,
then a man named Ezra,
and then Nehemiah,
of whom this book is named.
Zerubbabel was a priest
and he helped rebuild
a broken temple.
And then Ezra was a scribe
and he helped call the people
back to holiness
and to knowing God's ways.
And then came Nehemiah.
He's the most vibrant of all.
And he helped them rebuild
the wall of Jerusalem.
And he not only helped them
rebuild the wall
to reestablish the city of God,
but he calls the people
to holiness.
And this book is so upbeat.
If you haven't read it,
I recommend it.
You see that in record time
the people come together
and rebuild the wall.
And then he calls the people
back to the holy feasts
and they have this incredible,
massive celebration
of the Passover.
And he calls the people
to repentance.
And the people,
with one voice,
confess their sin.
It's beautiful,
it's humble,
and it's holy.
And then the people
not only confess their sin,
but they covenant themselves
afresh to God
and say,
God, we will follow you.
We will observe your holy ways.
We will do the Sabbath
and we will love you.
And they turn away
from their defilements.
And there's so much hope.
And if that's not enough,
the people gather together
and they sing worship.
They declare their love for God
through song.
And it's so loud.
It says that the noise of Jerusalem
was heard very far away.
That's how loud they sang.
Thank you.
And so,
there's so much hope.
And then we come
to the final pages
of this hope-filled book,
the final pages
of the Old Testament.
And yet,
it all just crumbles
in Nehemiah's hand.
Nehemiah discovers
that the priests,
that people aren't giving
to the priests
in the temple
the food that they're deserved.
And so the priests
have gone away
and that the temple
is forsaken
and that the people
aren't following God's ways.
And he begins to panic.
Verse 10,
Nehemiah writes,
I also found out
that the portions
of the Levites
had not been given to them
so that the Levites,
the priests,
and the singers
who did the work of God
had fled each to his field.
So I confronted the officials
and said,
why is the house of God forsaken?
And I gathered them together
and set them in their stations.
Go down to verse 14.
Remember me,
oh my God,
concerning this
and do not wipe out
my good deeds
that I have done
for the house of my God,
the temple,
and for his service.
In those days,
I saw in Judah
people treading wine presses
on the Sabbath.
They're violating the Holy Sabbath.
Down to verse 17.
Then I confronted
the nobles of Judah
and said to them,
why is this evil thing
that you are doing
profaning the Sabbath?
What is this evil thing
that you're doing
profaning the Sabbath?
Did not your fathers
act in this way
and did not our God
bring all this disaster
on us
and on this city,
Jerusalem?
Now you are bringing
more wrath,
more judgment
on Israel
by profaning the Sabbath.
He continues on
writing about
the horrific things
going on
and how he's trying
to fight against it.
In verse 25,
he writes about
how the people
of God
have married foreigners
who do not believe
in God
and this is one
of the practices
that actually led
originally to them
being removed
from the land
and he's panicking
over seeing the people
turning back
to these evil things.
In verse 25,
and I confronted them
and cursed them
and beat some of them
and pulled out
their hair.
He didn't just
pull on their hair,
he pulled out
their hair
and I made them
take an oath
in the name of God
saying,
you shall not give
your daughters
to their sons
or take their daughters
for your sons
or for yourselves.
Did not Solomon,
king of Israel,
sin on account
of such women?
Among the many nations,
there was no king
like him
and he was beloved
by his God
and God made him
king over all Israel.
Nevertheless,
foreign women
made even him
to sin.
Shall we then
listen to you
and do all this
great evil
and act treacherously
against our God
by marrying foreign women?
You hear Nehemiah's
heart is in his throat.
You hear the panic
in his voice.
He's yelling
at the people.
He's seeing these people
turn from sin
and walk in God's ways
and rededicate themselves
and rededicate the temple.
Yet he just sees them
turning again
to these evil,
defiling practices.
He's tried so hard
and he's yelling at them.
He beats them
and he pulls up their hair.
You'll see
if you read through
the whole chapter
in this whole book
that multiple times
he forces the people
to divorce these people.
They weren't supposed
to marry.
And as you're looking
at Nehemiah,
you must be asking
the question,
is this how a man
of God acts?
And the answer is no.
He actually,
in his zealousness
to try to make
the people holy,
he actually starts
himself sinning.
In no place
does the Bible
commission a man
or a woman of God
to be pulling out
people's hair
or to be beating people.
In fact,
the book of Malachi
is the book of prophecy
that takes place
at the same time
as this.
And Malachi,
God through,
the prophet,
is actually saying,
guys,
stop doing divorce.
This is unholy.
And yet,
you see Nehemiah
forcing the people
to divorce
in his zealousness
to try to make them holy.
See that Nehemiah
is going beyond
God's ways
and actually turning
from God's ways
and trying to turn
the people to God.
He's panicking,
he's freaking out,
and he's doing things
he shouldn't.
What's happening?
Well,
I mentioned that so much
of this book
is hope-filled,
but there's actually
a moment
that if you and I
aren't familiar
with the true big story
of the Bible,
we might miss.
But the people
would not have missed it.
You see,
among all the hope
and the joy
that they have rebuilt
the city,
that they've rebuilt
the temple,
and that they dedicate it
to God
and commit themselves
to him.
And if you're not
familiar with the Bible,
or even if you are,
but whatever,
you may have missed
the fact that even
as it sounds all happy
and you keep reading,
there's actually
this haunting moment
that they're still
in the midst of
when things begin
to crumble.
But it's a haunting
moment that they're
even in the midst of,
even while they're
feasting
or while they're singing
and making such noise
to God.
And the people,
the Jewish people
who were reading this
would not have missed it.
And that's because
centuries before
when they built
Solomon's temple
and Solomon,
the leader,
like Nehemiah,
the leader,
Solomon dedicates
the temple to God
and there's this
rush of wind
and this thick cloud
of God's presence.
It's hard to explain,
but it's like there's
this thick fog
that comes into the temple
and it's holy
and the people
can feel
and get this glimpse
of the presence of God
and King Solomon,
the great king
and everyone else,
falls on their faces
in worship.
King Solomon acknowledging
that there's a king above him,
God the king.
And it's this holy,
sacred,
special moment
that they record,
they write down,
eyewitnesses write down.
And that's what they expect.
And they expect it
not just because
it happened before,
but because in the prophecies
and before this,
God said that he would
restore the people
to Israel,
that he would rebuild
the temple,
reestablish Jerusalem,
but most important of all,
he would return his presence
to the temple,
to Israel,
to the earth.
And so they've done everything,
they've seen it,
the people came back
to Israel
and they rebuilt the temple
and all that stuff,
every part of the prophecy
has come true
except for one,
the most important thing,
the presence of God.
They rededicate the temple,
this is the moment
that they were waiting for,
for God's presence
to rush in
for that thick cloud
that descended in the past.
But nothing happens.
And they continue on,
they sing
and it's recorded for us
to the beautiful noise
of their singing
filled Israel,
but where's God's presence?
This is the most significant thing.
Where is God's presence?
And so if you go back
to verse 11,
so he confronted the officials
and said,
why is the house of God forsaken?
You hear panic
in Nehemiah's voice.
Why is the house of God forsaken?
And on first reading,
it sounds like he's simply speaking
of how they have neglected
the house of God.
But the people
who were first reading this,
the Jewish people
would hear in this as well,
why is the house of God forsaken?
Of the presence of God.
That's the thing
that causes the most panic
for Nehemiah.
Where is the presence of God?
A temple without God's presence
is just an empty room.
Where is the presence of God?
What you see
as you read through this book,
Nehemiah,
the final pages
before the New Testament,
is that the people
have tried so hard.
Nehemiah and the people of Israel
have tried so hard
to be moral.
They've tried so hard
to obey God,
to be good people,
to be religious people,
and yet you see it crumbling
that these people
who have promised
to not marry the pagans
have once again
started marrying pagans
and having sexual relations
with them.
And the people
who've covenanted
to obey the Sabbath
are now forsaking the Sabbath
and they're neglecting the temple
and they're just,
despite their best efforts,
perhaps you can relate to that.
You've promised yourself
to do better.
You've promised yourself
to not turn to
whatever dirty habits.
You've promised yourself
not to gossip
or tell lies.
You've promised yourself
to be more holy
and yet you find yourself
returning to defiling things.
We try so hard.
And the pages of Nehemiah,
the pages of the Old Testament
end with this.
Thus I cleanse them
from everything foreign
and I establish the duties
of the priests and Levites,
each in his work.
I provide for the wood offering
at appointed times
and for the first fruits.
Remember me,
oh my God, forget.
And it ends.
It doesn't end with
the people walking in holiness.
It ends with Nehemiah's effort.
I did this and I did that.
Remember me, God.
As it ends,
there's this hauntedness,
this question
that remains unanswered.
Where is God's presence?
That is a question
they would have been asking
those days following
the dedication of the temple.
And a question
that continues to be asked,
unanswered,
as those days turned into months,
turned into years,
turned into decades.
And finally,
four centuries go by.
The people of Israel
had been used to
the voice of God
through the prophets
and the poets
and through the
anointed kings sometimes.
Always God had found a way
to break through
their defilement
and break through
their busyness
and to speak into their lives.
And yet here,
as they're waiting
for God's presence
to return,
there's no cloud,
there's nothing,
nor is there a voice,
nor is there a prophet
or a seer
or anything,
and they wait.
It was in that context
of brokenness,
in that context
of the people's best efforts
that are still
not good enough,
trying to be holy
but defiling themselves,
trying to be moral
but still failing
themselves and God.
Silent,
panic,
waiting,
where is God?
That the Christmas story
bursts open.
That there is a priest
who's in the,
in a sense,
in the empty temple
in a temple
without the thick presence
of God
and he's just doing his job
as they've done for years
in silence,
not expecting God
to ever speak
and all of a sudden
this angel shows up.
They haven't seen angels
in centuries.
This angel shows up
and speaks of this
miracle son
named John the Baptist
who's going to prepare
the way for the Lord.
And then months later
an angel shows up
to Mary
and says that she will
have a son
to name him Jesus
because he will save
the people from their sin.
And then an angel
shows up to Joseph
and says
that this son,
one of his names
he will be called
is Emmanuel,
God with us.
that is the name
that is the answer
to the question
where is God's presence?
We find there
that this baby Jesus
is not simply a prophet
nor will he be
some moral teacher
but that he is
the son of God,
God himself.
That as,
that Jesus the baby
is brought into the temple
for dedication
that that is the moment
long foretold
where God comes back
into the temple.
And you can see it
where there's Anna
the prophetess
and,
and Simeon,
Simon
as they wait.
They've been waiting
for years,
praying,
waiting for God's presence,
waiting for God's presence.
And you can read about it
in the Christmas story
where they rejoice.
They hold the baby
and rejoice
that God has come back
to the temple.
That it's not a cloud
or some kind of
inanimate matter
like that
but it's actually
God himself.
Jesus,
Emmanuel,
God is with us.
That's the context
of Jesus.
That's the context
of the Christmas story.
That's the miracle
for all of you
with nativity scenes
in your homes
of the little baby
in the manger
that it's God
has come
not just to Israel
but to the earth.
That people,
as people walk
with Jesus
through Israel
that they are once again
walking with God
as we used to do
in the garden.
And you can read
through the gospel stories
the teachings of Jesus
as he once again
declares and reveals
God's holy ways
and moral laws
and the ways of harmony
and love and justice.
But if you simply
were to end the story there
then just as you
started the Christmas story
in the middle
so we end the story
before it ends.
Because the reason
for Jesus
to enter into the earth
not just like a cloud
but as a human
is because God himself
had decided
just as it was prophesied
at the beginning
of time
that he would crush
our enemies.
That he would
defeat death
through his own death
on the cross.
That he had come
not simply to teach us
moral laws
but to bring
our forgiveness
our reconciliation
to God.
Peace on earth.
that God had come
to die on the cross
and then
because he is
the very author of life
he could not stay dead
but he came back
to life
and he lives today.
That's the context
of the Christmas story.
There are some of us
perhaps many of us
in the room
that are living life
like in Nehemiah chapter 13
where we are trying
so hard
to be good people
we're trying to
even be holy people
we promised ourselves
to do better
some of you are making
New Year's resolutions
where you're promising
yourself to do better
this year
you'll finally
hit the gym
this year
you'll finally
stop this bad habit
whatever it may be
we're trying so hard
but you must
I must
we must
hear
the beauty
of the Christmas story
that God
himself is with us
every religion
whether it's Islam
with it's five pillars
Judaism with it's
613 laws
is about
doing enough good
to climb our way
up into heaven
in Islam
you must follow
the five pillars
they're all good things
do these five pillars
and if you do these things
you can earn your way
up to heaven
it's like every good thing
you do is like
a rung on a ladder
you're trying to climb
or Judaism
the 613 laws
you do these things
and if you do them
well enough
it's like you're
climbing a ladder
or the eastern philosophies
they're not so much
about what you do
but learning to think
in an enlightened way
it's not so much
about your moral deeds
as much as your
your enlightened thoughts
your enlightened thinking
and if you can
if you can learn
to think right
it's like every right
way of enlightenment
is like another rung
on the ladder
you can climb your way
up into nirvana
to heaven
in a sense
even in those of
us in the room
who might be
secular atheists
you're not
it's not heaven
you're climbing to
but success
and everything you do
all your achievements
and your degrees
and your philanthropy
and all the good stuff
it's like you're trying
to climb your way
out of meaninglessness
into significance
but if you and I
are honest
and the Bible
is very honest
our best efforts
all every step
on the ladder
it's like the
rungs and ladders
break before us
and we slip down
and we climb
and we try
and it breaks before us
and the ladder
we cannot climb
that ladder
up to heaven
that our greatest
achievements
still leave us
feeling empty
and that our best
habits
and our best
success
it still crumbles
in our hands
our lives are like
the book of Nehemiah
where we try so much
and we do some things
that we still find
ourselves with
an emptiness inside
and so many of us
in this room
are exhausted
from trying so hard
to climb to heaven
and this is where
you and I need to hear
the Christmas story
the true story
of Jesus
that what separates
Christianity
from all other
religions and philosophies
is that it's the only one
that says
you don't climb to heaven
but that heaven
has climbed down
to us
that the gospel
that Jesus
turns the ladder
on its head
instead of us
climbing up
heaven climbs to us
that Jesus
the Christmas story
is about God
climbing down
into the brokenness
and decay
despair
and even death
of the human condition
that it's not about
what we try
to do
but it's what
he has done
and that's where
Christianity is not
about
a new way of thinking
even if it changes
our way of thinking
and it's not about
a moral code
although there's
moral things in it
but at the heart
of Christianity
at the heart
of the Christmas story
is not a philosophy
but rather
an event
it's news
something has happened
and the thing about
news
an event
is that it's true
regardless of how much
you believe it
or how you feel about it
the reality is that
Christianity isn't about
getting you to think
differently
but rather
the fact that
God himself
has come into the earth
in the story of Christmas
that it's true
he's come into the earth
and that there's
eyewitness accounts
there's good historical evidence
that God himself
that Jesus
died on a cross
and came back
from the dead
and so all that's
left for us to do
is nothing
but receive
his presence
nothing
but to receive
his forgiveness
and so in a few minutes
we're going to have
communion
where we're going to be
remembering Jesus'
death and resurrection
and I want to invite you
to
as you come up here
to take communion
to forsake that
effort
that trying to
do enough
to get God
to like you
and to receive
his love
to receive
his forgiveness
some of us
you're not out of place yet
you're not a Christian
you're wrestling
with these things
I want to invite you
I want to challenge you
that there's a better way
than just trying
really hard
to live a good life
that the only way
to live a life
that's so fully alive
the only way
to live a life
where you're
at peace
with others
and yourself
is to
have peace
with God
and the only way
to peace
with God
is to receive
his forgiveness
by asking him
for it
he's already
provided
forgiveness
we just need
to ask
and finally
it should
break our hearts
those of you
who have received
the forgiveness
of God
those of you
who are Christians
it should break
our hearts
that there are
so many people
who are living life
as if it's still
the time of Nehemiah 13
who are living life
as if God hasn't
broken into the earth
who are exhausted
there's still so many
who are exhausted
by trying so hard
I want to especially
highlight the fact
that the majority
of Jewish people
around the globe today
are like
Nehemiah 13
and the years following
where they're still
waiting
with panic
and exhaustion
waiting
for God
to come back
to the earth
waiting for the presence
of God
to come back
they've missed
the fact
that he already has
that the Christmas story
is the climax
of all that there is
about
for the Jewish
it's the climax
of creation
it's the climax
of what it means
to be Jewish
that God has come
and so I want to
invite the
musicians
to come back
to the stage
and we're going
to sing a Christmas
song many of you
know well
O Come O Come
Emmanuel
and ransom
captive Israel
I want to invite
you to sing
this song
as a prayer
of intercession
both for Jewish
people who don't
know the promised
Messiah
as well as for
any of your friends
or family
who just don't
know that God
has come back
to earth
in the body
of Jesus
and so I want
to invite you
to stand
I'll say a prayer
and then we'll sing
God thank you
that you love us
way too much
to be content
to just watch us
from a distance
but that you have
broken into
human history
in real time
in real space
2,000 years ago
that you came
to earth
as Jesus
that you did
what we couldn't do
living a perfect life
and that you
gave your life
for us
on the cross
and have come
back to life
and that today
we're not here
to simply remember
a great teacher
of the past
but to be
in your very
presence
and so
God I pray
that in your love
and tender mercy
that you would
lead us
in the fullness
of what Christmas
is all about
you bringing
us
peace with God
your very presence
may we treasure that
more than anything else
and may we live
in the rest
that that brings
in the name
of your son
Jesus we pray
amen
all love
so
to be
and
listen
to