From Physical Rebuilding to Spiritual Renewal
Intellectual Response – Nehemiah 8:1-8
Know your Need
Know the Word
Emotional Response – Nehemiah 8:9-12
Volitional Response – Nehemiah 8:13 -18
Slide 1
Introduction
This week, I finally got to wear this blue striped shirt that I bought about 5 months ago. It is long sleeved and it does not go with all of the pants I own. As it cooled off, I wore it with a pair of jeans.
It felt really good. I love wearing something new.
It really affects, at least for the short term, how I feel that day.
Now I know that even though I was wearing a new shirt, I was still the same person and that additional feeling of confidence was not going to continue unless something changed on the inside of me.
Now while in the short term, the way a person or situation looks can be different from reality, in the long term you cannot maintain that discrepancy.
Either the
external will change back to match the internal or
there will be some change internally.
Nehemiah has helped the Israelites have that new clothes feeling by rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.
That wall has given those in the surrounding communities a different perspective of the Israelites now also.
Nehemiah 6:16
16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.
They recognized that something was going on with the Israelites. God was doing something there.
Had a Wall before
But, the Israelites had a wall before and then they fell into disobedience and disgrace.
A new wall, a set of new clothes, would not be the answer for the Israelites for the long term. It may help in the short term for them to see that things can be different, but something else needed to be going on as well.
They needed some internal reconstruction.
They needed to be moving from Physical Reconstruction to Spiritual Renewal.
It is the Spiritual Renewal that is going to be able to sustain the reality of what has occurred on the outside.
Building the Wall helped show them that change was possible and that God was working and that He could work in their lives beyond just rebuilding a wall, He could rebuild them!
We are continuing on in our Nehemiah study to see just what God did through Nehemiah to initiate this change in the people.
With the Wall now complete, Nehemiah was not yet through with the Vision that the Lord had given him.
The vision was to remove the disgrace of the people of Israel.
This would be symbolized in the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem. But now the wall was complete, but Nehemiah knew that the wall alone could not restore the people from their disgrace just as a new shirt doesn’t change the person.
So what does Nehemiah do?
He calls on Ezra, the priest.
Ezra book named for him too.
Brought back people from captivity also.
13 years earlier.
Ezra brought out the book of the Law of Moses and they gathered and he taught from the word of God.
As I go through this passage I want to take a look at how the people responded so that we can see how we should respond so that we can experience Spiritual renewal.
Let’s read Nehemiah ch. 8. It is on page 346-347 of the pew Bibles.
Slide 2
Nehemiah 8:1-3
8:1 all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.
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.
In honor of this passage in Nehemiah, I am going to preach for 6 hours straight. JK.
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-Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah-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 could understand what was being read.
The first thing we see in this passage is that the people of Israel had
An Intellectual Response
Slide 3
Nehemiah 8:1-8
And that response is evident in 2 ways. And this is the way we need to respond if we are going ot experience spiritual renewal.
Your first response, Just like the Israelites is to
Know Your Need
Slide 4
They told Ezra to bring out the book of the Law because they knew they needed to hear it.
They may not have been sure exactly what they needed to hear
They may not have been sure exactly what they were going to hear.
Was it going to be something that was going to be hard for them?
They may not have exactly wanted to hear from the Lord.
Maybe I would rather just not know and live without the Lord.
They might not have necessarily wanted to change, but they knew they needed to
if they were not going to end up like they were before,
beat down and in disgrace.
Application
We need to know our need for the Lord’s direction.
Because if we don’t recognize our need, we won’t stop and listen and really hear what He has to say.
You may show up to church and sit in the pews or hopefully chairs soon and think, I am glad there were people at church today, they really needed to hear that message.
But whenever the word is being preached, there is a message for each of us.
Maybe it is encouragement to see that you are doing what you should so you are encouraged to keep on.
But more often I bet it is,
Hey, that is something I am not doing that I should be doing.
We need to recognize our need.
We need to take a look at the big picture of our life.
We are too often just living in the moment, not thinking of the past or the future.
Now while there is some wisdom in living in the present.
We do need to live now as if there is going to be a future and we need to be learning from our past.
Gee, I am doing the same thing I have always done. If something doesn’t change now, I am going to be living just like this in the future too.
Many times it is some external thing that helps us to recognize this.
A new shirt or new clothes.
Why do I not have this sense of confidence all the time. This shirt didn’t change me.
A wall
We have wall that protects us now, but we aren’t any different. Something needs to change in us.
The Israelites were living in disgrace. After the wall the Israelites recognized that it was really them that needed to be rebuilt spiritually.
That is the way we often think too.
We often think that changing some external things will fix everything.
If I had more money, my life would be good.
If I wasn’t married to this person, I wouldn’t do the things I do.
If I was married to someone else, I could be a better spouse
If I had better health, I wouldn’t be as crabby as I am.
If we had a wall up we wouldn’t be in disgrace.
The reality is that it is only putting on a new shirt. And while that new shirt or new wall can be a catalyst for change, the fact is is that
You are still the same person.
Jesus told the Pharisees about only changing the outside.
Matthew 23:25-26
25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
While these external changes may bring about momentary feelings of change in you, they won’t produce lasting change other than to show you your need for spiritual renewal.
The Israelites saw this. They intellectually knew that they needed spiritual renewal.
Spiritual renewal will always begin with this intellectual response.
This knowing that things are not right with us.
An understanding that God needs to do something in our life to change us.
After you know your need,
You need to
Know the Word.
Slide 5
Nehemiah 8:2, 7-8
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…7 The Levites-Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah-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 could understand what was being read.
The word of God was opened and read, and it was made clear to them so they could know what was being read.
If someone is going to tell us that we need to do something we need to understand what it is that they want us to do.
We need to understand what is being said.
Some of you may be saying, that is the problem.
I read the Bible but I can’t understand it.
Now this is where you are wrong. You can understand it. You may need some help through teaching, especially if you are new to reading the Bible, but it is not beyond your understanding.
It does, however take time. And that is where the bigger problem is.
We want to open up the word, read it, and know exactly what we are to do, close it and be done with it.
That, however, is not how it works.
It is through
spending time in God’s word,
hearing it preached,
studying it with others in a Bible study,
that we are going to be able to grow in our understanding and that the Spirit of God will guide us in it
John 16:13
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
So we see our need and seek to understand from an intellectual sense.
The second thing we see here is an
An Emotional Response
Slide 6
Nehemiah 8:9-12
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is sacred 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 sacred 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 sacred 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.
After the people were hearing the Word and understanding it, they were realizing that what they were doing was wrong and it affected them emotionally.
They were convicted in their spirit.
The world’s ways
There are things that in this life are viewed as ok by the world.
And maybe some of those things, we don’t even think about.
We go along in living our life not knowing that something we are doing is wrong or that there is something we aren’t doing that we should be.
But then, we come to know what God says through His word and we see and understand.
And we are affected emotionally by it.
The people of Israel here were weeping. They were facing the conviction of their actions as reflected in the word of God.
But Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites were saying don’t mourn or weep, rejoice. This is a day to rejoice. It is a day to celebrate.
A lot of times we face that godly conviction and we feel bad. But we need to rejoice that God has shown us the light in a situation.
Rejoice that God has shown us how we can experience life better.
Do not Commit Adultery
When God says do not commit adultery, he is not trying to rob us of joy. What He is saying is that sexual intimacy is best experienced in the bonds of marriage. That is where you will be able to have the true joy and blessing of that experience.
God says give
When God says give and sacrifice, he is not trying to take away things that bring pleasure. He is saying that your trust needs to be in him and not money or things. When you learn to give, you learn to trust Him and not in things.
And as you do that, you will grow in the peace and assurance that you experience.
God is not out to make life miserable for you. He is out to make life better for you. But that better life requires you being spiritually renewed and reliant on Him instead of reliant on the external things and circumstances.
When we come to this understanding and realize that we haven’t done what we should be doing in God’s strength, we will sometimes feel bad.
But then we should rejoice that God has shown us the light and we have come to the knowledge of what He wants us to do so the rest of our life does not have to be lived in darkness, but can be lived in the light.
Rejoice in that. Praise the Lord. Give glory to God.
Paul tells us in
Philippians 4:4
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Don’t be thinking to yourself, it is better not to know.
Then I wouldn’t feel bad and have to change.
That is a lie of Satan. It is better to know and to change so that you can live better. That is why we should rejoice.
Let the Joy of the Lord be your strength.
Your emotions will be affected but turn your sorrow into Joy as you know the joy that God wants for you.
A final thing we see here is a
A Volitional Response
Slide 7
That is a response of the will.
Nehemiah 8:13 -18
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 scribe 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 booths during the feast 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 booths"-as it is written.
16 So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves booths 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 booths 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 feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.
They knew they needed
to hear the word,
they understood the word,
it affected them emotional,
and they responded with their will to obey the word.
They hadn’t been celebrating the feast of Tabernacles the way that God prescribed them to.
But they heard the word and followed.
It was here that they had a fork in the road.
They probably could have said,
We don’t really have to do it that way.
That is old fashioned.
But they didn’t. They trusted and obeyed.
How will we respond
We are going to face issues as we read the word and as it is preached and as we study.
We are going to come across things that we don’t do that we should be doing or shouldn’t be doing that we are doing.
What are we going to do in those situations?
How will you respond?
Are you going to turn and run away from it so you don’t have to face it?
Or are you going to respond in obedience, trusting that the Lord knows best what I should be doing and how I should be living.
That is your choice today.
Joshua, when He had brought the people into the promised land and he was near the end of his life talked to the Jews about this choice.
They had their external circumstances changed.
They were living in the land of milk and honey. But they still had a choice.
You may be here today and externally things may be going well.
You may have money
You may have a nice home.
You may have a new shirt.
But inside you know things are not all that great inside of you. Listen to what Joshua said to the Israelites.
He gives them a brief history of what God had done in their lives and how he had blessed them.
Joshua 24:11-15
11 "’Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you-also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’
14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
You have a choice today. Who will you serve?
For some of you who have received Christ, it means being spiritual renewed and making a commitment today to serve the Lord.
For others who have not received the Lord, it means beginning your walk with Him. He is extending out His hand to you today and asking you to walk with Him. Are you going to receive it?
You can do that by just telling Him in prayer and responding
Intellectually, emotionally, and volitionally.
Tell Him you recognize that you have sinned and need a Savior.
Tell Him you know the Jesus is that Savior, the Son of God in the flesh.
Tell Him that you now that Jesus died for your sins and rose 3 days later.
Tell Him that you receive Him right now.
John 1:12
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- (from New International Version)
If you need to receive the Lord, pray with me right now.
Pray.
