Turn to the Old Testament book of Nehemiah chapter 8.
I bless my heart to hear everybody singing in that way.
! If that's all that God had for me this morning, I would be content.
And I hope and pray He has much more for us.
Nehemiah chapter 8.
We're going to read the chapter together, beginning in verse 1.
And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the water gate.
And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.
So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women,
and all who could understand what they heard.
And on the first day of the seven month.
And he read from it facing the square before the water gate from early morning until midday,
in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand.
And the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.
And Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose.
And beside him stood, we'll say six men to his right without reading all those names,
and seven men to his left.
Verse 5.
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people.
And as he opened it, all the people stood.
And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God.
And all the people answered, Amen, Amen.
Lifting up their hands.
And they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Also, thirteen other men that were Levites helped the people to understand the law while the people remained in their places.
This is verse 8 now.
They read from the book from the law of God clearly, and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading.
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people,
said to all the people,
This day is holy to the Lord your God.
Do not mourn or weep.
For all the people wept as they heard the words of the law.
Then he said to them,
Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine,
and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready.
For this day is holy to our Lord.
And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
So the Levites calmed all the people, saying,
Be quiet, for this day is holy.
Do not be grieved.
And all the people went their way to eat and drink,
and to send portions, and to make great rejoicing,
because they had understood the words that were declared to them.
On the second day, the heads of fathers' houses of all the people,
with the priests and the Levites,
came together to Ezra the scribe,
in order to study the words of the law.
And they found it written in the law,
that the Lord had commanded by Moses,
that the people of Israel should dwell in booths,
or tabernacles, during the feast of the seven months.
And that they should proclaim it,
and publish it in all their towns, and in Jerusalem.
Go out to the hills, and bring branches of olive,
wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees,
to make booths, as it is written.
So the people went out, and brought them,
and made booths for themselves, each on his roof.
And in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God,
and in the square at the water gate,
and in the square at the gate of Ephraim.
And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity,
made booths, and lived in the booths.
For from the days of Jeshua, the son of Nun,
to that day the people of Israel had not done so.
And there was very great rejoicing.
And day by day, from the first to the last day,
he read from the book of God.
They kept the feast seven days,
and on the eighth day, there was a solemn assembly,
according to the rule.
Let's pray together.
Father God, we praise you again for Christ,
and we thank you that he was the word of God,
a physical manifestation,
a thing that we could tangibly touch,
and see of who you are.
And we thank you also that your word is the same.
The very words, that it was both written by men,
but inspired by you.
So we could say,
who wrote the book of Nehemiah?
Probably Ezra.
With a bit of Nehemiah's input.
But we could also say,
who wrote the book of Nehemiah?
God wrote the book of Nehemiah.
So I pray, Father, this day that by your spirit,
you will speak to us from your word.
That we will approach it with expectation,
in trembling,
because we get to meet with our God.
We pray this in Christ's name.
Amen.
So to catch some of you up,
which by the way, it's very good to see.
Many of your faces I haven't seen in a while.
It's always hard sometimes to preach,
and catch people's faces I haven't seen in a long time,
because I really want to stop and go,
oh hey!
I'm going to try not to do that this morning.
But to catch you up,
the book of Nehemiah, where we've been,
we've seen that God has brought news to Nehemiah,
who was wintering in Susa,
as cupbearer to the king,
Artaxerxes, the king of Persia.
And he brings news of the state of God's people.
And God's people are in a bit of a shambles
back in Jerusalem.
The wall has yet to be rebuilt.
They've been back from exile now for some 90 years.
And they're still in a poor state.
And the issue for Nehemiah is not that the city is not rebuilt,
but that the condition of the people
are not in good repair.
And in this day, the way that God was glorified,
the way that people saw who God was,
was by how his people were doing.
The same is true today of the church.
This is the way people gaze upon the glory of God,
see the redemptive work of Christ,
is in the state of his people.
Not in the building of cities and grand walls to protect ourselves,
not in massive amounts of trade,
but we have a new set of standards,
a new way by which we live.
And that's this holy calling that we've been called to.
To be holy and to bring about holiness in the life of others.
So, Nehemiah's heart is moved by this report.
God moves in him and grieves him
and moves him to prayer in chapter 1.
We see Nehemiah sovereignly placed in this unique position
as cupbearer to the king.
Certainly, to be able to bring influence,
to be a trusted friend of the king
as the one who tasted his wine.
We've seen him request of the king,
and the king, for no good apparent reason
other than God's work in his heart,
gave permission to Nehemiah
to go back and rebuild the wall,
which was to go against an edict
that he had issued some years earlier
to stop the building of the wall.
Not only that, but King Artaxerxes gives a blank check.
He gives him his own credit
to go and get the materials he needs
for the building of the wall.
It's recorded here in Nehemiah chapter 1, verse 8.
Nehemiah's words,
For the good hand of God was upon me.
We see this work, this sovereign work.
So, Nehemiah's now returned.
He's surveyed the wall.
He's rallied the Israelites to rebuild.
They've rebuilt the wall.
52 days this work was completed.
And yet the work to be done in Israel
has yet to really begin in its entirety.
And here we see the beginning of that.
The bringing about of revival amongst the people.
Now, let's say to you,
we see it recorded here in chapter 8.
Kind of what seems to be the official beginning of that.
And many commentators would say
that we had a physical work taking place
up until this point.
And now here is when the spiritual work begins.
But I say to you that spiritual work
has been going on already.
We see that God has been working
and moving amongst the people.
The fact that they even rose up to build
was a mighty work of God.
The evidences of what God was doing in their heart
is in the building.
And now we see it ramp up
to a whole new level.
This revival that comes about.
But before we move on,
we have a bit of a problem.
I think a problem of definition.
definition.
Because when I say the word revival,
lots of different things may spring up in your mind.
I hope to show you over the next few weeks
what ought to be springing up in your mind
when we see this.
The word revival or to revive
appears throughout the scriptures.
It is used on occasion to speak of those
who have been sick or even dead
and were brought back to life.
But more often it is used to speak
of the bringing about
of a new burning,
a new desire for God
in the hearts of men.
We see revivals happen throughout the scriptures
no less than ten times
in corporate ways.
This being one of them.
Revival in the scriptures
has affected whole nations.
People groups.
We see that to be true
throughout history today,
throughout the history of the church.
our own country experienced a revival
known as the Great Awakening
led by men like George Whitefield
and Jonathan Edwards.
This is the revival
that we are talking about.
A couple of quick quotes for me.
One from Andrew Murray says,
A true revival
means nothing less than a revolution.
Casting out the spirit of worldliness,
making God's love triumph
in the heart.
J.I. Packer said,
Revival is God's quickening visitation
of His people,
touching their hearts
and deepening His work of grace
in their lives.
This is something we should long for.
Revival is when God comes close to earth
and God's people respond appropriately.
Now that's not to say
when we're not in a time of revival
that God's not at work,
that God isn't working amongst His church.
But it seems,
if we look at history,
that God visits in special ways
at particular times the church.
And I think,
this is just Nathan's opinion,
but I think that the American church
is poised for a revival right now.
As we see it on the continual decline,
both in number and in fervency,
I believe it's time
for a new close swinging of God
to bring about repentance
and a return to Him.
In fact,
for the past four or five years,
it's been one of my major prayers
to pray that revival would come
and that God would use our church
to help catalyze such a thing.
So this is what we mean by revival.
A revival is not something
that can be put on a calendar.
All of this sounds good,
and some of you
with the wrong understanding of revival
might say,
well good,
get the church calendar out.
We can make a sign.
That is not revival.
I went to a conference
and the little introduction
to the pamphlet of the conference
stated that we were about to have
a good old-fashioned Holy Spirit revival.
Great.
I'm glad you have the power
to bring such a thing about.
But we don't.
We have no ability of our own
to bring about revival.
Revival is the sovereign work
of the Spirit of God.
So hear that.
Revival is the sovereign work
of the Spirit of God.
However,
I want to show you four evidences
of God-sent revival.
I want to show you four things
from chapter 8,
chapter 9,
and chapter 10
in the coming weeks
that are evidences
of God-sent revival.
And certainly,
if this is what the people of God do
when God comes close,
visits them in a special way,
ignites their hearts,
ought we also endeavor
to live in this way?
We should, right?
We should want to do these things.
Let me give you all four of them
and then we're going to address
the first two today.
If revival is God-sent,
God's people will be praying.
That's number one.
If revival is God-sent,
God's people will reestablish
the Word of God
as the ultimate authority
in their lives.
Number three,
if revival is God-sent,
God's people will recognize
their defiance of God
and view His chastisement
as just.
And number four,
if revival is God-sent,
God's people will turn
from their defiance
to obedience.
These are things
that we are all commanded
to press into anyway, right?
But hear me carefully, right?
This is not a set of presuppositions
that if we do these things,
then revival will come.
These are just the evidences
of the God-sent revival.
So let's look at the first two together.
Just kind of a precursor, number one.
If revival is God-sent,
God's people will be praying.
We see evidence here
of Nehemiah's prayers.
I'll tell you, in fact,
when I set out to preach
through the book of Nehemiah,
I thought it was very timely
for our church
in a kind of a growing
transitioning stage
to talk about the work
and the effort
that needed to go into things.
I honestly,
as many times as I had read
through Nehemiah,
we had done a study together,
the men did,
a couple of years ago
through the book of Nehemiah,
I never saw
how prevalent prayer was
throughout the book.
That God starts
by moving Nehemiah to pray
on behalf of his people.
So we have Nehemiah's prayers.
I believe there are
ten recorded prayers
in the fourteen chapters.
Nehemiah's prayers,
chapter one,
verse five through eleven,
chapter two,
verse four,
chapter six,
verse nine,
and again in verse fourteen.
We see the Israelites' prayers,
chapter four,
verse nine,
and then here in our text,
chapter eight,
verse six,
we see a prayer led by Ezra,
and I have to tell you honestly
as I studied all this
the past couple of weeks,
I wish we had more details.
I wish I had a record
of the prayer that is prayed.
It simply just says,
and Ezra,
bless the Lord,
the great God.
And here's the response
of the people
as they joined in.
And all the people answered.
Thirty to fifty thousand people,
scholars say,
were the Israelites' numbers
at this time.
And all the people answered,
Amen,
or let it be,
so may it be.
And they say it twice
to give emphasis
to that type of thing.
And so here even
at the very beginning,
when the book of the law
is open to be read,
it begins in prayer.
Jesus prayed.
Well,
I'll take an example from him,
shouldn't we?
Just look at one example
of Jesus' prayer.
Luke 6,
12.
In these days,
he being Jesus,
went out to the mountain
to pray.
And all night,
he continued in prayer
to God.
When was the last time
you devoted yourself
to prayer in that way?
Paul instructed
the Philippian church
to pray.
Philippians chapter 4,
last half of 5 and 6,
The Lord is at hand.
Do not be anxious
about anything,
but in everything,
by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving,
let your requests
be made known
to God.
We do not have
because we do not ask.
A.T. Pearson,
a wonderful pastor
and biographer,
wrote my favorite biography
of George Mueller,
which my father handed to me
at an early age.
He said,
From the day of Pentecost,
there has not been
one great spiritual waking
in any land
which has not begun
in a union
of prayer.
He also wrote,
Wherever the church
is aroused
and the world's wickedness
arrested,
somebody has been praying.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
said,
Whether we like it or not,
asking is the rule
of the kingdom.
If you may have everything
by asking in His name,
and nothing without asking,
I beg you to see
how absolutely vital
prayer is.
Jonathan Edwards,
one of the great pastors
of the Great Awakening,
who was a man
who wasn't very entertaining
in his delivery.
We talked a bit about that
last week,
and I may address it
more today.
His preaching
was steeped
in prayer.
Content-driven
and steeped
in prayer.
In fact,
often he stood
at the very back
of their meeting places
and read very dryly
a manuscript.
But it was said
that people would cling
to the pillars
and the backs
of the pews
in the church
in fear
that the floor
would open up
and they'd be swallowed
into hell
because of the great
high view
they had of God's
holiness.
He wrote,
Matthew Henry,
the great commentator,
said,
when God intends
great mercy
for his people,
the first thing
he does
is set them
a praying.
You probably can
remember that one,
I hope.
When God intends
great mercy
for his people,
the first thing
he does
is set them
a praying.
Prayer is vital
for our Christian living.
Certainly,
if we want to see
revival come
on this land.
So if revival
is God sent,
God's people
will be
praying.
If revival
is God sent,
God's people
will reestablish
the word of God
as the ultimate
authority
in their lives.
Beloved,
we neglect
the very
word
of God
to us.
We have
it in abundance.
And maybe the fact
that we have it
in abundance
is one of our
problems.
that we have
so many
different versions
of it.
So many
different study
Bibles.
So many
different bindings
even on our
Bibles themselves.
You may have
your favorite
that you carry
around,
but you probably
have a shelf
of them
at home.
In places
in the world
where the Bible
is scarce,
where the word
of God
there aren't
copies that
exist,
I am told
that people
are desperate
to hear it.
We'll walk
for days.
We'll ride
bicycles.
will sit
for hours
and hours
to hear the
preaching of it.
We'll weep
and rejoice
that they get
to hear
words from
the Almighty
God.
And yet
many of us
struggle to
sit and open
it once a day
and read
from it
for 15
minutes.
We neglect
this precious
gift
that was given
to us.
Paul wrote
in 1 Thessalonians
2.13
And we also
thank God
constantly for this.
that when you
received the
word of God
which you
heard from
us,
you accepted
it,
not as the
word of men,
but as what
it really
is,
the word
of God,
which is at
work in you,
believers.
Paul's
thanksgiving
was overflowing
in his writing
that they
accepted that
this was in
fact the
word of God.
Hebrews 4.12
I hope you're
familiar with,
says,
for the word
of God
is living
and active.
It's sharper
than any
two-edged
sword,
piercing to
the division
of soul
and of spirit,
of joints
and of marrow,
and discerning
the thoughts
and intentions
of the heart.
The word
of God
is the
spirit's
instrument.
It is the
tool that
he uses
to bring
correction
and direction
in our
lives.
The spirit
of God
begins working
in the hearts
of men
by first
drawing
his sword
from its
scabbard.
That is
the word
of God.
It is the
supreme rule
and authority
for our
lives.
Many people
give lip
service
to the
sufficiency
and efficacy
of the
Bible,
but yet
do not
read it.
In their
very actions
they deny
what they
say with
their lips.
Many
people,
as they
look for
direction
in this
world,
will take
small bits
of biblical
wisdom
and add
to it
a bit
of pop
psychology
to arrive
at their
decisions.
Some will
take small
bits of
biblical
instruction
and add
to it
some
business
methodology.
Some will
take small
bits of
biblical
guidance
and add
to it
the opinions
of a
friend.
Beloved,
the Bible
is to be
the guide
and rule
of our
lives.
We need
to re-establish
it as the
ultimate
authority.
Proverbs
8,
32-34,
the Lord
speaks here
and says,
And now,
O sons,
listen to
me.
Blessed are
those who
keep my
ways.
Hear
instruction
and be
wise,
and do
not
neglect
it.
Blessed
is the
one who
listens
to me,
watching
daily at
my gates,
waiting
beside my
doors.
In Luke
11,
28,
Jesus
says,
Blessed
are those
who hear
the word
of God
and keep
it.
God's
people
will
recognize
this.
They
will
treat
the
word
of
God
as
the
ultimate
authority.
And there
will be
no
revival
amongst
people
who do
not
love
and read
and hear
and proclaim
the words
of the
living
God.
We see
that to
be the
case.
This
work
that's
happening
by the
Spirit
is moving
in the
Israelites,
this
mass
number
of
people
to
reestablish
it
in
this
way.
And I
want to
show you
from the
text
today
four
observations
in this
regard.
Firstly,
take a
look at
their
eagerness.
Take a
look at
their
eagerness
to see
from the
word
of God.
The law
we're told
here,
the books
of Moses,
Genesis,
Exodus,
Leviticus,
Numbers,
Deuteronomy.
That's what's
being read
at this
time.
Notice
at the
beginning
of chapter
8,
all of
the
alls,
I've
got them
underlined
here.
Verse
1,
all the
people
gathered.
Verse
2,
both men
and women
and all
who could
understand,
which I
take to
mean
children,
he's adding
this detail
for us,
that even
the children
were there,
those who
could hear
what was
being said
and understand,
and I
would take
that a
step further
to say,
if all
the people
were there,
he doesn't
make a caveat
for nursery
workers.
So it probably
means that the
infants were
there as well
because all
the people
were there
being able
to hear the
instruction.
They weren't
stuck off
in some
room or
a building
someplace else
at a different
gate in the
city,
but they were
all gathered
together so
that all
could hear
the instruction.
Look at
verse 3,
all the
people
were
attentive,
eager to
hear what
God may
say.
Verse 5,
all the
people,
for he
was above
all the
people.
The prayer,
all the
people
answered.
It goes
on in
this way.
The people
of God
were eager
to hear
the words
of God.
Note 2
in verse
1,
that it's
not that
Nehemiah
and Ezra
got together
and made
a plan
to have
a big
rally.
They wanted
a conference
to take
place,
so they
put together
this massive
conference
that they
built the
stage that
he was
going to
stand upon
so that
everybody
could hear
the reading
of the
law.
But the
people
did it.
Verse 1,
and they
told Ezra
the scribe
to bring
the book
of the
law of
Moses
the Lord
had
commanded
Israel.
They told
him to
bring it.
They said
we have
this event
that's going
to happen
at the
water gate
and we
want you
to come
and bring
the copy
of God's
word that
you have
and read
it to
us.
They built
a platform.
There was
some planning
that went
into this
thing.
It wasn't
a spontaneous
gathering
of all
the people
of Israel.
Word had
gone out.
There had
been a
seeking,
a gathering.
Can you
just imagine
from Ezra's
perspective
what a
wonderful
thing
this would
have been?
Because
remember
that Ezra
has been
back in
the land
now for
14 years
faithfully
carrying out
the duty
of a priest.
He had
been teaching
the word
of God
for 14
years.
This is an
encouragement
to me.
I'm going
to continue
to plot
on and
teach the
word of
God to
people in
the hopes
that something
like this
happens one
day.
What an
amazing thing.
He receives
an invitation.
Please come
read the
word of the
law to us.
All of us.
We're all
going to be
there.
We built
you a big
stage that
you can
stand way
up on
because we
want everybody
to hear
the words
of God.
We know
you've been
plotting on
and teaching
these things
and pushing
forward.
And in
fact,
that they
even knew
that they
ought to
gather
was a
work of
Ezra.
Notice that
it was a
very particular
day.
We get the
record here.
It's not
just for our
dating,
but it's the
first day
of the
seventh month.
And the
Israelites
knew,
I would argue,
because of
Ezra's teaching
to them,
that there
was a
prescribed
feast that
was to
happen on
this day.
It's called
the Feast
of Trumpets,
or if you
prefer in
Hebrew,
Rosh Hashanah.
You guys
heard that
term before,
I'm sure.
The Feast
of Trumpets.
And it
was a
day that
the Israelites
were meant
to rejoice.
They were
supposed to
play trumpets
all over
Israel.
It was
meant to
be going
on.
It was
supposed to
be a
big thing
because
nine days
later was
the Day
of Atonement.
The day
when the
high priest
would take
sacrifice
into the
Holy of
Holies
and make
sacrifice
for the
people of
Israel.
this
symbol,
this action
that took
place,
which told
us of
the coming
great
sacrifice.
That is,
Jesus Christ,
the Lamb of
God,
the one that
could fully
and finally
take away
the sins
of his
people.
This was
the day
that they
were coming
together
to celebrate,
built a
stage for it,
and said,
come and
read the
Word of
God to
us.
Notice
in verse
three,
the time
frame that
this happened
in.
First,
that it
happened
from early
morning.
We start
meeting at
1030,
and sometimes
that is a
real struggle.
They had
the whole
family up
and ready
to go.
We don't
know exactly
what early
morning means,
but we do
know that
this event
took place
from early
morning until
midday,
which meant
literally noon.
So five
to seven
hours this
took place.
I try
really hard
to keep
these
sermons
at 45
minutes
for you
guys.
We may
need to
devote
ourselves
in a
higher
degree
to
God's
Word.
We may
be a
little bit
numb to
it,
and not
desire it,
and not
be eager
enough to
come and
hear its
teaching.
And then
notice in
verse 13
that this
didn't end
here.
It wasn't
just this
day,
just this
five to
seven hours,
but on
the second
day,
something else
happens.
And this
time,
all the
heads of
the father's
houses,
they come
together,
and they
said,
I'm postulating
to Ezra,
we can't keep
getting everybody
together every
single day.
It's just not
going to work.
There's no way
that you can
read in this
way all of
these days.
So we're
going to come
together and
let you crash
course us on
the law,
and we'll
take it back
to our
houses.
So notice
that there
in verse
13,
and we
see that
they discover
some things
along the
way.
There was
a great
eagerness
amongst the
people to
hear and
to learn,
to love,
to proclaim
the word
of God.
Notice
secondly,
their reverence.
Verse
five,
Nehemiah
ascends the
stage,
he opens
up the
book that
he has
with him,
and all
the people
stood.
That's the
record.
As he
opened it,
all the
people
stood.
Now,
I'm not
suggesting that
that's something
that we
ought to do,
that we
have to
stand for
the reading
of God's
word.
Many people
do practice
it in this
way.
Many
denominations,
that is a
normative
thing.
When the
word of
God is
read,
everybody
stands.
It's the
practice
done that
way.
What I
care about
is the
heart of
what's
going on
when the
word of
God
is being
read.
I don't
really expect
you to
tune in to
every single
thing that
I say.
The words
that come
out of my
mouth are
the words
of Nathan.
My hope
is,
and my
great desire
throughout the
week is
that I'm
simply
explaining to
you the
same way
men did
here,
the words
of God.
But how
many of you
just zone
out when
the word
of God
is being
read?
I labor
to read
well in
the hopes
that you'll
hear the
things that
are happening
in the
word of
God.
How many
of you do
other
activities
during a
sermon?
Fill in
all the
little
O's
in the
text.
You see
somebody's
Bible
that's
like that?
Some
people doodle,
it helps
them listen.
My wife's
one of
those.
You ever
see my
wife doodling?
She's paying
attention.
That's a
good thing.
How many
of you
get
extremely
distracted
and you
have no
reverence
for the
very
words
of God?
Notice
that the
reverence
goes beyond
just the
standing
and the
listening.
We don't
know if
they stood
up for
this entire
period of
time.
I would
guess not.
That would
be a
challenging
thing to
do.
However,
what's
probably
happening
here,
and again,
I wish
I had
all the
details,
but you
notice that
he had
six men
on his
left and
six on
his right.
I can't
imagine what
it's like
to try to
read to
a group
of 30,000
to 50,000
people.
What kind
of energy
it must
take to
read out
loud with
no PA
system and
simply just
trying to
project yourself
as best you
can over a
group like
that.
I'm sure
that it was
exhausting.
I love
my Sunday
afternoon naps.
I am tired
after I get
up and do
this.
I want to
go rest.
And here
they are for
an entire
morning doing
this.
And so I
think what's
happening,
my best
guess,
is that they're
taking turns
doing this.
That there's a
process by which
the word of
God is being
read.
And Ezra is not
the only one
reading, but he
steps aside and
somebody else
reads.
And in fact,
you saw that
there were 13
other Levites.
And we see that
they have this
process they go
about that they
read from the
book, from the
law of God
clearly, and they
gave the sense
that the people
understood the
reading.
That's verse
8.
And so what's
more than likely
happening is there's
a process happening
that one of these
men on the stage
gets up, reads
from the word of
God, takes a
break.
So maybe everybody
stood, heard from
the reading,
everybody sat down,
and then these 13
Levites would go
amongst the
people and help
them more clearly
understand.
Just expound
upon.
That's what
preaching really
should be.
That's the issue
at hand when we
talk about what is
expositional
preaching.
It's simply that,
just telling people
what the word of
God says, right?
Not piecing it
together to
reinforce what we
want to say, but
simply looking at a
text and saying,
this is what the
word of God has to
say for you.
This is what we're
supposed to be doing
with the word of
God.
This is what God
means with what God
said, and that's the
process that's taking
place here.
But notice that beyond
the standing, right,
however that was, if
they stood the whole
time or stood and
sat, whatever may
have happened, they
worship in other ways
as well.
And it would seem
that it would have
been foreign to
them and probably
foreign to anybody
who's experiencing
revival that they
would hold back
anything from God.
And I am guilty
amongst you of this.
Right?
When I am moved
inside, I tend to
keep my arms down.
Right?
We're a pretty boring
group of people.
And I don't mean that
as an offense to you
at all.
Right?
It may be just
perfectly fine that
we're that way.
But notice the people
here, they lifted up
their hands, they bowed
their heads, and they
worshiped with their
faces to the ground.
Right?
Which was a position
that gave reverence to,
that communicates that
we are not worthy to be
in the presence of the
Holy God.
They gave all of
themselves in their
reverence to the Word
of God being read.
Notice also their
responsiveness.
So their eagerness,
their reverence, and
their responsiveness.
Notice.
Look now further on,
down to verse 9.
The second part there
says,
For all the people
wept as they heard
the words of the law.
All the people
wept.
It wasn't a little
group, first couple
of rows, that really
were being affected
by this.
You know, the
50,000th man in the
very back wasn't
twiddling his thumbs
waiting to get a meal.
Right?
All the people were
being affected by this
reading of the Word.
And as Ezra and
possibly other men
read, they were
seeing and beholding
the holiness of God.
And they were seeing
how very, very, very
short they fell of
this objective.
They're seeing their
own condition.
The way that they
had offended God.
As the Word of God
was being read, an
ever-widening chasm
was opening up.
As if they're standing
or you're still on a
bank that's giving
way and it starts to
crumble and you take a
couple steps back and
it just keeps crumbling,
it just kept crumbling
and crumbling and
crumbling.
The expanse between
them and God got
bigger and bigger and
bigger and they
wept.
They responded to the
Word of God.
They saw it as a
communication.
God was speaking to
them and they
responded.
There should be an
appropriate response to
the teaching of the
Word.
Now notice what's said
to them.
What the instruction
that's given to them
as they're weeping,
right?
There's this weeping and
mourning going on and
Nehemiah the governor,
Ezra the priest and
scribe, and the Levites
who taught said to the
people, and we see it in
three different places,
chapter 9, excuse me,
verse 9, verse 10, and
verse 11.
This day is holy to the
Lord your God.
Do not mourn or weep.
Verse 10, go your way,
eat the fat and drink
sweet wine and send
portions to anyone who
has nothing for this day
is holy to our Lord.
And do not be grieved for
the joy of the Lord is
your strength.
Verse 11, be quiet for
the day is holy.
Do not be grieved.
The day is holy.
The day is set apart.
Don't grieve.
The day is holy.
The day is set apart.
Don't grieve.
It was probably a great
surprise to Ezra, to
Nehemiah, to the
Levites that when they
came together on a day,
remember the day of
trumpets, a day that was
supposed to be a day of
great joy, right?
That's why it was set
apart.
It was prescribed by God
to be a day of rejoicing
and celebration.
Why?
Because the day of
atonement was close at
hand.
So as they heard the law
being read to them, and
as that ever widening
expanse was open to them,
what they're saying to
them is, don't be sad.
Let the joy of the Lord be
your strength.
The fact that in Him we
have the redemption of
our souls.
Yes, the chasm is wide,
but it has been closed by
the goodness of our God.
That's what they're saying
to them, right?
This is a day set aside for
joy.
Now, that's not to say that
they're writing off
repentance, right?
They're not saying
contrition is not important.
We're actually going to see
in chapter 9 a great deal of
repentance over their sin.
But this day was not for
that.
This was a day to
celebrate the person and
work of Jesus Christ.
They may not have realized
that was happening on the
Day of Atonement, but this
is what that day was for.
Fourthly, notice their
obedience.
This will be a full point,
right?
When God sends revival, we
will obey the Word of God.
But let me just point it out
here as well.
Note their obedience.
In verse 14, as they come
back together on the second
day and they open the book
of the law again, they find
something and they found it
written in the law that the
Lord had commanded Moses that
the people of Israel should
dwell in booths during the
feast of the seventh month.
So this is called the feast of
booths or sakat.
It's a time between the feast
of the trumpets and the day of
atonement that the people were
meant to dwell in booths,
tabernacles, temporary shelters,
if you will.
And it was to remind them of
the sustaining work of God
after He led them out of
Israel.
They were led out into the
wilderness where they tarried
for 40 years and God cared for
them and provided for them in
that time.
This was something that they
were required to do as Old
Testament Jews.
And so what did they do?
We see no record of a debate on
whether or not it should take
place.
They just simply did it.
One of the single greatest mark
of Christian maturity is obedience.
Not what you know, but what you do
with what you know.
You understand that the Lord has
commanded something and you simply
do it.
Sometimes, with hesitancy, I teach
you new things because when I teach
you something new, you're held
responsible for the thing that you
know.
You now know something to be true
and therefore you need to be
obedient to that truth.
But yet, I love you and I want you
to be like Christ, so we need to
keep pressing on together.
It's a great mark of Christian
maturity that we are obedient to the
work, the words of God.
And notice the result of this,
verse 17.
Look at the result of their
obedience.
They're told to go away on this
first day, right?
To go and to rejoice.
Something they're intended to go do.
And then the result of their
obedience, the record is,
and there was great rejoicing.
The people of God set the Word of
God aside as the ultimate authority
in their lives.
There will be great rejoicing.
We saw that blessed are those who
hear the Word of God and keep it.
This word, blessed, that Jesus uses
doesn't mean abounding in stuff,
right?
It means full of a joy that bubbles
up from inside of us.
That's not affected by the circumstances
outside of us, but that is something
that abides within us.
This is the type of joy that comes.
Beloved, are we a joy-filled people?
Blessed because we hear the Word of God
and we keep it?
Have we established for ourselves
the Word of God as the ultimate
authority in our lives?
Let's pray together.