[Re]discovering the Word
Nehemiah 8:1-8
Image of Frank Worsley and the ship Endurance Just before the outbreak of the First World War, a small ship named the Endurance set sail from Briton with a crew intent on being the first to cross the South Pole. The ship reached Antarctica, but became ice bound in the Weddle Sea. Soon they had to abandon their ship and the 28-man crew took to their lifeboats. They were trapped on the ice for over a year. A desperate decision was made to take four men in a 20-foot lifeboat across the roughest sea in the world to a whaling station on South Georgia Island some 800 miles away. At the helm was a man named Frank Worsely. All he had to guide them was a map, a watch, and a compass, but it was all he needed if he used them well. A mistake as minor as being off by only one degree would have proved disastrous. The four men endured seas that raged higher than a ten-story building. They were constantly cold and wet from the waves that drenched the boat. They had only the most meager of rations. The journey did not take days, but two weeks. But Frank Worsley guided that lifeboat the 800 miles to South Georgia Island and eventually the entire crew of the Endurance was saved. As a result, he became a hero. The whaling captains who sailed those waters considered him one of the wisest navigators in the world. He was brilliant, but all of his brilliance would have been worthless if he not used the compass. Frank Worsley was wise because he used the compass to guide him. The ancients believed that there are two types of people in the world: people who are fools and people who are wise. Being wise is a matter of using the compass you’ve been given to get where you need to go. Fools choose not to use the compass.
The walls of Jerusalem are now complete and the people have gathered but the work is not done. The city and life in it needs to be rebuilt as well. But now the people gather and cry out for the guidance of their lives through the Word of God. You will recall God brought together a team of four people to begin rebuilding Jerusalem and the people of Israel. First is Esther. Jerusalem could never be rebuilt if it were not for Esther who risked her life to stop the genocide of the Jewish people. Second is Zerubbabel who was called to go back and rebuild the temple, where the people of God come together to worship and center themselves on their identity as God’s chosen people. Third is Nehemiah who is called to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem so the city could be rebuilt and once again it would be a safe place to raise a family. In today’ scripture, we have the fourth person take center stage, Ezra, who was called to rebuild the altar and lead the worship of God. Ezra was a priest and an expert in the law of God. In this chapter, we are moving from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem to building the people of God. How does that happen? Being guide by our compass, the word of God.
First, it starts with a desire for the word of God. Mary Jones in the late 1790’s wanted more than anything to own a Bible. Unfortunately, they were not as available as they are today, and they were very expensive. So she began raising chickens to raise the money to buy a Bible. She worked for six years, until she had enough for a Bible. And this 16-year-old girl walked over 25 miles to buy one, but the pastor had only one left, and it was promised to someone else. Well, she couldn’t hold back the tears, and began to cry terribly. When the minister tried to comfort her and encourage her telling her that she would get the next Bible available, he found out what Mary had gone through. He placed the one Bible he had in her hands and made her take it, reasoning that the other person could wait a while longer. And now Mary Jones had her own Bible that she could now read to her heart’s content. God begins to transform us through the Bible when we desire His word for our lives.
In verse 1 the people gathered and called to Ezra to bring the Book of the Law of Moses out to them. The Book of the Law was the collection of laws for living which were given to the Hebrew people before they entered into the Holy Land from their life as slaves in Egypt. Now up to that point, the Hebrews never had to make any decisions for themselves. As slaves, they were told when to get up, when to eat, when to work and when to go to sleep. They never had the freedom to make any decisions for themselves. The only laws they knew were Egyptian laws but that was not how God wanted his people to live. So God gave them a set of laws which would guide their life in a new land and define and shape them as His chosen people.
Now the people that gathered that day in Jerusalem were part of the 42,000 returnees from Persia. Their situation was not too different from that of the Hebrew slaves returning from Egypt as they too had been in captivity and were forced to live and speak as their captors. So when they called to Ezra for the Book of the Law to be read, they were saying, “We no longer want to live as we have been forced to live, but desire to once again not only be God’s people but to live as God’s people.” In other words, we desire to be in relationship with God through our daily lives. So to have your life transformed starts first with a desire for God and His word.
Second, you have to make the time. This may be the biggest challenge of all for many of us because we’re not exactly teeming with loads of free time. In fact, most of us already have too much going. We’re overcommitted and physically, emotionally and relationally overwhelmed. So the idea of adding something new into our lives isn’t the most exciting thing. There are several keys to making the time to read and study God’s word each day. First, you’re probably going to have to give something up to make regular time for it. Second, it needs to be a regular commitment and placed in your calendar as an appointment just as you would for a meeting, a call on a client or a doctor’s appointment. In fact, when you put this in your calendar first, everything else is scheduled around it because it becomes your most important appointment. Third, your time with God needs to be in your best part of the day, that is, the time when you are most awake and productive because God deserves our very best.
Third, you have to read it. Everybody has something in their house they don’t use. GUMC’s grand piano was bought as a repossession from a man who had purchased it, put it in his house and then never played it. Anybody have any exercise equipment that you use to hang clothes on? Everyone here has a Bible somewhere in their home. In fact, the average American home has 3 Bibles in it and has been the best seller every year in my lifetime. And yet while the Bible is the most owned book, it is the most under-utilized thing in most people’s homes. Having a Bible in a bedside table or on a bookshelf does you no good if it is never opened and read. You have to get into it to understand it.
I read a story about Walter P. Chrysler. At the time he was a railroad master mechanic. He was 35 years old and had bought his first automobile, a 4-door Locomobile, by borrowing $5,000.00. The car was delivered to his hometown in Iowa and then towed to a barn at the Chrysler home. Walter Chrysler studied that car for 3 months before he ever attempted to drive it. Using the instruction manual, he took the vehicle apart, spread the pieces on newspapers and made sketches; then he put it back together. His theory was, he had to understand it before he could drive it. A lot of people think they know God and they know God’s word but they’ve never really taken the time to read it.
George Barna conducted a survey of self-pronounced Christians and here’s what he found about their knowledge of the Bible.
• 48% could not name the four Gospels
• 52% cannot identify more than three of Jesus’ disciples
• 60% can’t name even 5 of the 10 Commandments
• 50% thought Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife
• 61% of think the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham
• 71% of think “God helps those who help themselves” is a Bible verse
George Barna concluded his report by saying, “Americans revere the Bible but, by and large they don’t know what it says. And because they don’t know it, we have become a nation of Biblical illiterates.” If you don’t know the Bible then you don’t know how to live for God.
Ezra stands on a platform above all of the people and reads the law of God to them and all of the commandments God chose for His people so the people might once again know God’s word, God’s will and God’s ways for their lives. You can’t place yourself under the authority of God’s word if you are not reading God’s word. So the character of the people is shaped and formed through reading the word of God. Bible scholar James Gray was a young Bible teacher and became deeply impressed by the peace and spiritual poise of a friend with whom he often talked. Since Gray wanted that same stability, he asked his companion the secret of his confidence and positive outlook. "It all started through reading Ephesians," said the man. Gray was surprised by this simple response. He had read Ephesians many times but had never experienced the same strength he saw in his friend. Noticing Gray’s puzzled look, the man explained. "On one occasion, when I was on a short vacation, I took a pocket edition of Ephesians with me. Lying down one afternoon, I read all six chapters. My interest was so aroused that I read the entire epistle again. In fact, I did not finally lay it down until I had gone through it some 15 times." He then said, "When I arose to go into the house, I was in possession of Ephesians; or better yet, it was in possession of me.”
This book doesn’t contain life; it bears witness to the one who is life. The purpose of this book is not that you will find life in this book, but that you will believe in the one who is life. And that first starts with a desire to know God, His will and His ways. John 20 writes, “But these are written down in this book that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
Fourth, I have to act on it. In other words, if this is truth, and if this is the word of God and if this is His will for our lives, then we have to respond to it. In verse 6, it says the Israelites immediately bowed down and worshipped. When they read the word and reflected on the meaning of the word, and heard the voice of God for themselves, then they responded to the truth in it. True worship is the re-alignment of my heart’s focus. It only takes you about 24 hours to lose a healthy fear of God. That means we need to begin every morning reading the written word, reflecting on it, and allowing it to reveal its meaning and guidance for my behavior, thoughts and actions. There’s a lot of things in the world which draw us to worship. You can bow down and worship anything: money, status, power, material belongings or even your job. But you are called to worship and live for Jesus. Yet Jesus said, "You cannot serve two masters." So, when I am confronted with God’s truth, it allows me to redirect my energy, my resources and values, and then make practical life applications. When was the last time you read God’s word and then acted on what it was calling you to do? If you just read God’s word and don’t act on it, then it becomes just another book for you.
The word of God is not written for knowledge. It is written so you can apply it to prosper in God’s purpose for your life. 2 Timothy puts it this way: "All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (here is the part I want you to get) so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." When I realign my focus according to God’s Word, I can take the truth of the word and apply it to my marriage, to healthy parenting, to my work, to my finances, and every area of my life. God does not give us this book to frustrate us but to protect you and provide for you, equip, empower and lead you into the prosperous purpose of his presence and his will, and his godliness in your life.
Fifth, you need to get in a Bible study with other Christians. Verse 8 says: "They read from the Book of the Law, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read." In Hebrew, that means so the people could apply what was being read. Here’s the danger if we limit our study of Scripture only to individual study. I limit my understanding of God’s word. When I read the word of God, I read it through my own lens, that is, through my life experiences, my background, my education, my opinions. And that can become a very skewed perspective. There are two foundations of Methodism which speak to this. First, the weekly study of God’s word with others is absolutely essential to following and living for Jesus. So to be a Methodist means being in a weekly Bible study. You cannot be seeking God and living for His will unless you read, study and discuss God’s word with other Christians and how to apply it to your life today. Second, Methodists are a people of dialogue. No one person understands the truth of God but each of us understands God’s word from our perspective. We learn from each and gain new insights and thus gain a more total understanding of God’s word when we study and discuss God’s word together.
When you look at the last seven days, how has the word of God been an active part in your life? Can you imagine if I would have had only one meal this week? If your only exposure to the word is coming here once a week, and the last time you had the word in your life was last Sunday. That’s like going to a restaurant and reading the menu, but you never get the meal. The word of God needs to become an active part of your daily life. We are doing everything we can to help you grow in the word, or use the word. Talk about Bible study opportunities…
Philip Harrelson tells of how in his college days he developed a love for the Word of God within his own life. He would sit up night after night and pour over the Scripture and cross-referencing different areas in Scripture with a Dugan Bible that I had purchased. Over the years, it has been marked up and has become a very valuable treasure to me. But there is one instance that I can remember quite well in my junior year that happened to me. Generally, I would always try to go to bed around 1 A.M. and when I finished studying for the night, I would leave that Bible open on my desk. Late one night, I went back into the kitchen, and just glanced over in the direction of my desk. It appeared to me as if a light flickered, just a little spark of fire, and began to dance on the open pages of the Bible. The fire grew until, as it gained momentum, the whole room began to be filled with a powerful light. It grew and grew until darkness was absolutely overcome. And then he writes, “I still hold that thought in my life. I still understand the incredible power of God’s Word. I still believe that there are things in His Word that will come to pass in the course of time, if we can pursue them with an intensity that is unparalleled to any other pursuit in our lives.”
