Being Spiritually Renewed
Nehemiah 8
INTRODUCTION:
Good morning! How’s everyone doing today? Well, it’s great to see you all — thank you for making our worship service part of your weekly activities. If you’ve got your bible –turn with me to Nehemiah chapter 8.
If you’ve been with us for any of the past month, you’ll note we’ve been studying this fascinating Old Testament book of Nehemiah. It reveals one of the most amazing stories of leadership and godliness in all of the Bible. Nehemiah tells the story of how he returned with a group of exiles from the land of Persia to rebuild the walls of the city of Jerusalem. For years they had laid in shambles…but the time to rebuild had come.
The first seven chapters tell the story of construction. After he arrived, Nehemiah determined the extent of the work to be done and then developed a plan to rebuild. The entire city’s walls were rebuilt in a record 52 days and the people were safe once again.
But Chapters 8-10 are really the heart of the book of Nehemiah. Its here that we discover God’s plans…which went way beyond just rebuilding new walls…He wanted to rebuild the people’s lives — and their relationship with Him. It’s here that the story shifts from the NATURAL to the SPIRITUAL.
Even though they were no longer exposed to threats of enemies, there was yet another pressing issue that required their attention. They needed a spiritual rebuilding (if you will). It was time for the nation to again put their faith in God. But just as they needed some leadership in regards to rebuilding their walls — they also needed leadership rebuilding their relationship with God.
Nehemiah chapter eight records one of the most powerful, joyful and spectacular celebrations of the work of God found in the entire Old Testament.
MESSAGE:
And so, if you’ve turned there…we will be reading at Nehemiah chapter 8, verse 1. And if you would this morning — I’d like for you to stand with me…out of respect for God’s Word.
Nehemiah writes,
1 All the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. 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.
Now, at this point — the walls had been completed…the gates hung, and the people were safe again. But this is where things were really just beginning! Let’s continue in verse 2.
2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
So, this is Ezra…one of God’s prophets — who had been in the city, supporting Nehemiah. Here Nehemiah brings him up — and asks him to read the Word of God (referred to as the Book of the Law — the first 5 books of the Bible). So…
4 Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood…
Now, I’m not going to read all 13 of these names to you today — but I will just say, six of them stood on his right…and seven of them stood on his left. If you would, skip down past this list of names to verse 5. It continues by telling us…
5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
7 The Levites…(and he lists their names again) instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
10 Nehemiah said, “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.” 11 The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.” 12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.
13 On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the teacher to give attention to the words of the Law. 14 They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month 15 and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”—as it is written.
16 So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great. 18 Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.
J. Vernon McGee — and old southern preacher who used to pastor in California used to tell a story of: Two little old ladies were walking out of church one Sunday. One said, “My, that preacher certainly preaches for a long time!” Her friend replied, “No, he really doesn’t preach a long time, it just seems like a long time!”
I wonder what they would have thought about a service where theses people stood for over six hours a day listening to God’s Word being read and taught! And not only that, they came back the next day for more!
This story — told in Nehemiah 8 is clearly an experience of REVIVAL. A time of spiritual renewal.
Now, I will say — this passage (like so many in the Bible) is more descriptive — than it is prescriptive. God isn’t calling us to the habit of day long services…but He would call us to be spiritually renewed!
But notice, at the center of this cry for renewal is the Word of God. One commentator says of this moment in Israel’s history that, “This day was to prove a turning-point. From now on, the Jews would be predominantly ‘a people of the book’” (Ezra & Nehemiah, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries [IVP], p. 106).
I think as we move forward as a church, it’s imperative that we too have a renewal of faith (like they did), where we re-engage with God’s Word. Because if Chapter 8 teaches us anything, it teaches us that…A strong emphasis on God’s Word is a primary mark of spiritual renewal. Nehemiah 8 shows us four marks of spiritual renewal related to God’s Word:
For spiritual renewal to occur…
1. We must LISTEN TO THE PREACHING OF His Word.
You’ll never grow beyond your desire to grow in God. Mark my word…if you’re content where you are — then you’ll never go beyond this place with God. There must be desire and passion to do more, go further, learn more, understand more.
On that day, the people gathered and asked Ezra take the Book of the Law of Moses (which God had given them) and read it aloud. There was an interest in it…a hunger for it…a passion to discover God’s Word again.
At that time, copies of the Law of Moses were probably somewhat rare, and many of the Jews may never have heard it read before. Even in the New Testament, this was the case. If you recall, the apostle Paul instructed Timothy to give great attention (in the church he pastored),
“…to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13).
What’s so fascinating here — is that the people LONGED for the Word of God. And since there was only one primary copy of it in the temple…they had to rely on Ezra to read it to them. But their passion for it was undeniable. I mean, come on…they stood, leaning in, attentively listening as it was read.
Their hunger for God’s Word had increased greatly!
I believe the strength of this church will be witnessed — in direct proportion to the number of people among us, who genuinely hunger and thirst for God’s Word. So, I challenge you — pause your time on FACEBOOK or TWITTER or whatever social media may be consuming your attention today, and engage instead in the daily reading and study of God’s Word.
And it really is so easy for us…because we live in a culture where almost all of us know how to read. And we have multiple translations of the Bible in our language. And we can obtain copies of the Bible for free online. On our phones, on our tablets and iPads.
There’s really no one here today who is unable to obtain a copy of God’s Word. So get passionate about it…read it and grow.
If you want spiritual renewal, it will come through God’s Word.
But along with that, this chapter teaches us…
2. We must LISTEN TO THE PREACHING OF His Word.
Having ears that work does not guarantee that we really hear. Although God created us with two ears that we cannot close and one mouth that we can — we often fail to HEAR.
Anyone who is married has experienced this before. Your spouse is talking to you, but you are distracted by other things…and although you hear their voice…you don’t hear what they’re really saying. Well, in the same way, it is possible to hear the Bible read or preached and not hear a thing. Your mind was elsewhere. That’s why Jesus often said,
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:9, 23).
And again, in Luke 8 said,
“Take care how you listen, for whoever has, to him shall more be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him” (Luke 8:18).
If the Bible contains the very words that God Himself is saying to us, then it certainly behooves us to listen reverently to what He is saying!
The people in our text were both attentive and reverent when God’s Word was read to them.
Verse 3 mentions their attentiveness, and verses 5 & 6 show their reverence. They stood up as if to greet a royal visitor, and then they bowed down in worship (worshipping God — who had given them this written Word).
Let me say clearly: Our attentiveness stems from our reverence.
If we maintain our reverence for God and that fact that He is speaking to us through His Word, we will pay attention to what He says. If we forget that this is the Word of the living God to us, our minds will wander to other things. I realize that preachers can sometimes be boring. But if I lose your attention, direct your mind to the text of Scripture and ask the Lord to open it to your heart.
I recently read a story about Rowland Hill was an 18th century English preacher who was greatly used of God. Shortly before he died, he was visiting with an old friend who told him that he could still remember the text and part of a sermon that he had heard Hill preach 65 years before.
Hill asked him what he remembered. He said that Hill had said that some people when listening to a sermon did not like the delivery of the preacher. Then he said, “Supposing you went to hear the will of one of your relatives read, and you were expecting a legacy from him. You would hardly think of criticizing the manner in which the lawyer read the will. Rather, you would be all attention to hear whether anything was left to you and if so, how much. That is the way to hear the gospel preached” (told by Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students [Zondervan], pp. 391-392).
Folks that’s how we should listen to God’s Word!
So, spiritual renewal comes through reverently hearing God’s Word when it is read and preached.But closely connected to this — is another important POINT. Although you won’t find this in your notes. But it’s this…
THOSE WHO TEACH HIS WORD MUST DO IT WELL!
This is really the other side of the previous point. While you have a responsibility to listen attentively and with reverence, those who teach have an obligation to preach — or proclaim it well to others! Verses 7 & 8 report that these men who stood on the platform with Ezra explained the law to the people, “translating to give the sense — that they understood the reading.”
The Bible tells us that the teachers made the reading of Scripture clear and gave the meaning. This is the role of every preacher and teacher of God’s Word. We must explain it well…making it clear.
What I suppose happened on that day in Nehemiah 8, was probably that Ezra would read a section and then his assistants, the 13 priests mentioned would gather the people in smaller groups and would expound on the sections of scripture he had read — to make the meaning clear. Now, to be fair — much of the Bible is pretty straight forward and easily understood. But there are some sections that are more difficult to read and grasp. But, I like what Mark Twain once said. He said, “It isn’t the sections of the Bible that I don’t understand that bother me — it’s the parts that I do understand that give me the most trouble!”
Most of the Bible is easily able to be read and understood. But there are some sections of Scripture that are difficult to grasp — and it’s for this reason that God has given the church pastors and teachers…men and women who are able to help His people understand and apply His written Word to their lives. And along with that, we are blessed with many excellent study tools to help us learn the Word in times of personal study: study Bibles, Bible handbooks, word study books, commentaries, Bible encyclopedias, and theological books.
To properly apply the Bible, you must properly interpret it.
To that point, let me add…if anyone is going to teach or preach around here — then they must be spend an adequate time in God’s Word (studying and preparing) to bring the best message or teaching possible to this congregation. And it must be BIBLICALLY SOUND…it must be CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD…and it must be APPLIED to the lives of those listening. Just hearing an inspiring message is not enough.
GOD’S WORD MUST BE APPLIED. WE ARE COMMITTED TO TELLING YOU HOW TO LIVE IT OUT!
Along with that…those who teach around here must be committed to take the time and effort to study and prepare. You cannot teach the Bible accurately, clearly, and with proper application to life if you just read a text and say whatever pops into your mind at the moment. And yet many do just that! Even the apostles, who were taught directly by Christ and by the Holy Spirit, had to say no to certain ministry demands so that they could devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4).
In the church this means that those who are not gifted in the area of teaching take on other necessary ministry roles so that those who teach can study and prepare. In other words, our ministries must be based upon the giftings of the Spirit. We find this principle over and over again throughout Nehemiah…but especially in Nehemiah 8.
Until now, Nehemiah has been in the forefront. He was a gifted administrator who could organize and mobilize people to get the wall built. But when it came time to teach the Word, he took a back seat to Ezra, who was skilled in the law of Moses, who had set his heart to study it, practice it, and teach it (Ezra 7:6, 10).
One of the reasons I love this book so much is because it reveals a perfect picture of what TEAM BASED MINISTRY looks like. And that’s something that I am highly committed to.
From my pastoral team–with: Ed Blount, Brad Streetman, and now Lee Athey…to the volunteer teams of men and women serving in every area of ministry around here. This TEAM MODEL of ministry is probably the most BIBLICAL MODEL around. And we will maintain this as we move forward in this MERGER!
So for spiritual renewal, we must read His Word, we must hear His Word proclaimed, it must be taught well, and then…
3. We must BE responsive to GOD’S Word.
It is spiritually dangerous to study the Word without obeying it.
Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians that Knowledge apart from obedience leads to pride (1 Cor. 8:1). Our aim, should always be to allow God’s Word to reshape us — to transform our lives! So, as we close today…let me offer you some suggested responses to the Word of God.
First of all, I would suggest you look at your life through the lens of God’s Word…and when necessary:
A. REPENT.
The people wept when they heard and understood God’s Word (8:9), because they realized how much they had sinned against God. We will see this in more detail in chapter 9. But the fact is, the more the light of God’s holy Word shines into our hearts, the more we will see areas where we do not conform to His righteousness. Spiritual renewal always involves repentance.
Another response ought to be — to…
B. REJOICE.
The clouds of godly repentance should quickly break up, allowing joy to fill our hearts and minds (8:9-10). After Ezra read the Word of God — and the people repented of their sin, Nehemiah stepped in and urged them to celebrate God’s goodness. Verses 9-10 record him as saying,
“This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10 Nehemiah said, “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.”
There’s a time for repentance…but when repentance with done — then it’s time to rejoice! We aren’t called to live in sorrow and repentance.
That’s why Paul urges us to MOVE ON…to ‘forget those things which are behind’ — and move forward!
Beyond that — once we’ve repented, and rejoiced — we ought to…
C. DO GOOD.
In verse 10, Ezra and Nehemiah reminded the people to send portions of what they had to those who had nothing (8:10).
God’s Word should produce compassion and generosity in our hearts for ministry. If we have been TRULY CHANGED by God’s Word — and His Work within us through Christ…then our MONEY & POSSESSIONS will not possess us. Instead, they will be tools by which we can serve God more. We should voluntarily use them to DO GOOD!
Let me add — if you aren’t a GIVER (or an investor) into the work of God around here…then you SHOULD BE!
Paul says in Titus 2:14, that salvation has come to our way,
“…to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.” (NLT)
We ought to respond to God’s Word by being TOTALLY COMMITTED to generosity and doing good deeds for others!
Another response that His Word demands is…
D. WORSHIP.
According to the passage we read earlier, as the 8-day celebration took place…there was great rejoicing along with reverence and attention given to God’s Word.
As the people camped in the temporary shelters, they reflected back on God’s faithful dealings with them…in spite of their sins. And in response, they were filled with gratitude and love toward God and worshipped Him.
Conclusion
Chuck Swindoll tells of a time when he spoke at a family conference. He noticed a young couple with several small children. Although they looked and sounded like a Christian family, it was evident to him that they were very miserable. He knew that divorce was on the back burner of their minds.
But as the week progressed, he saw that couple change as they listened to the teaching of God’s Word. The husband hung on every word. The wife had her Bible open and followed the messages closely. At the end of the week, this couple came up to Swindoll and his wife and said, “We want you to know that this week has been a 180-degree turnaround experience for us. When we came, we were ready to separate. We’re going back stronger than we have ever been in our marriage.” But that joyous news was dampened by another family’s response. Chuck continues,
At the same conference with the same speakers, the same truths, the same surroundings, the same schedule, another father was turned off. He wasn’t open. He attended the first few sessions, but by and by the guilt became so great and the conviction so deep that he went home. He had stayed awake the entire night before and reached the decision to leave and not come back. His family left hurting—perhaps even more than when they came.
What was the difference? Swindoll says, “attitude.” The couple who benefited had teachable hearts. The other man did not. (Hand Me Another Brick [Thomas Nelson Publishers], pp. 152-153)
Some people come to church with reverence for God and His Word, saying, “God, teach me! I want to know You more!” Others come to the same service — dominated by their sin — unwilling to repent and move forward with God. These people may even walk out angry over the things that are preached and proclaimed. The difference between the two is AN OPENNESS TO GOD — and the work of His Spirit.
If you want spiritual renewal, check your heart!
Renewal comes to those with responsive hearts. Is that you today?
Let’s pray!