Sermon Brief
Date Written: February 21, 2013
Date Preached: February 24, 2013
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: Building with God
Sermon Title: Knowing/Learning God’s Word?
Sermon Text: Nehemiah 8 [ESV]
1And 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.
Introduction:
We have seen quite a transformation in the people of Jerusalem since Nehemiah has come into their lives!
When Nehemiah accepted God’s calling and traveled to Jerusalem, he found a people who were content with the status quo… who did not want change… or were scared of change because of how it would upset others…
They feared doing what God had called them to do because they had been threatened and challenged on it… Their faith and reliance upon God had been replaced with an acceptance of what the enemy allowed in their lives!
They were SCARED and beaten down, but NOW in ch8 we find a totally different people! A complete transformation has occurred!
We also know that the source of this transformation was God, but it was only possible because of a man’s willingness to surrender to God’s calling… it was only possible because the people were willing to surrender and submit to God’s calling…
God can do ANYTHING He desires, but here we see that He has chosen NOT to act unless His chosen vessels surrender to His calling… to His desires…
So these people had been transformed because they had surrendered to God and God had blessed! Now they were standing behind a wall that protected them and brought identity back to the people of God!
It was a time of accomplishment and it was a time when they could have fallen into a prideful state where they would think that what was accomplished was all THEIR OWN DOING! But we don’t see that… what is it we DO see?
Well in ch7 we had seen Nehemiah begin to shape the community and take a census and the people were beginning to settle in Jerusalem and back into their homes in the communities around Jerusalem.
After 7 chapters where Nehemiah was the focal point, here in ch8 we find the focus shift and the focal point for this chapter is the people themselves!
What do the people do now that they had accomplished SO much in such a short period of time? What do these people do now that they had overcome such tremendous odds to do something really wonderful?
Do they pat themselves on the back and say what a great job they had done? Do they lift up Nehemiah as leader of the year? NO! These people understand that what had happened was caused and happened because of God!
These people come together for what we may call a worship service… although there may be some slight differences from what we do today! Let’s look at what they did… and what it means for us today!
Well as I mentioned… what happens here is similar to our worship services today, but not exactly what we do…
1st the people gather… they felt a need to gather corporately together! This definitely something that God himself desires of HIS people… for them to gather together corporately! But not just to gather but to gather for a purpose…look what the Bible says about their gathering!
It tells us that, “…and all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate…”
They gathered for a purpose and that purpose was to call on the reading of God’s word and to worship God!
In the book of Hebrews we find that Scripture tells us that we are NOT to forsake the gathering together of the saints… believers…
24And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
For US today this is a great example! Worship is a critical part of our lives as believers! With all the work, with all the victories, with all that was going on in the lives of these people in Jerusalem, they realized how important it was to worship God!
I believe that as believers we SOMETIMES may take our worship for granted! We should NOT… Worship is a privilege and an honor for the believer! God is giving us a DIRECT AUDIENCE to hear and receive our worship… we should honor that and treat it with great respect! Worship is an important part of our walk with God!
And just as these people in Jerusalem TOOK the initiative to worship… SO should we! We must JUMP at the opportunity to offer worship to God! Worship should be a part of our everyday life… we can worship at home BUT this corporate worship we are privileged to have is VITAL for our fellowship!
Our desire to worship God MUST be expressed through an open and willing heart of worship… we should be itching to get to worship on Sundays!
But there is another thing I see in this verse that stands out… I want us to take notice of where the FOCUS of their worship was…
The focus was NOT on the Temple… for YEARS the Temple was the center of EVERYTHING related to worship, but here they worshiped, OUTSIDE the temple. The FOCUS of their worship was God and it was centered on His Word!
As believers, our focus and emphasis cannot be on our building or on any program we have at church… our worship MUST be focused on God and centered on His word!
We find that this sort of marked a shift for the people of Jerusalem as their worship focus moved from Temple centered to Torah (Law) centered… (centered on God’s Word)
Our worship cannot be focused on FACILITIES but it must be focused on our FAITH in God and His word! The power of God’s living and active Word is FAR more important than any building we have or any program we run… Thru God’s word lives are changed eternally!
As we move to v2 we see that the emphasis on God’s word is brought out even more…
2So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.
After the giving of the Law thru Moses the Jews were often referred to as ‘people of the book’ and the Law was taught to everyone… it was a cultural event where everyone was expected to learn the Law… to learn God’s word!
For these people God’s word was not something they could take or leave, it was LIFE! AND we see here that God’s word was not only for the religious leaders or priests… it was for ALL the people!
People that speaks VOLUMES to us as believers today! For the believer today, God’s word cannot be a take it or leave proposition! As believers, we cannot survive without the Word of God leading us and guiding us! We must TAKE in God’s word…EVERY DAY!
How much preacher? How much of my Bible should I be reading each day? Well let’s take a look at v3 to see what I would call a great example…
3And 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.
They read it and listened to it from early morning until midday! There are some translations that give us a timeframe for this and it is around 6 hours! But not only did they read it for 6hr we see that the people gave their undivided attention to the reading of God’s word!
6hrs? And we complain when the preacher goes past 30 minutes!
6hrs? We get upset when the service lasts longer than 1hr!
6hrs listening to God’s word and giving their undivided attention… What does this say about these people?
It tells us that these people understood the VAST importance of God’s word for their lives and they were willing to sacrifice the time to get to know it better!
We must understand here that NOT everyone had a scroll they could read at home! Public reading of Scripture was the main way most, if not all, of the people could hear Scripture! So when it was read it was listened to with ‘open ears’ and attentive hearts! This led to changed lives!
People we don’t need 6hr worship services… I know I don’t WANT to preach for 6hrs (although some of you may not believe that) … I honestly don’t know if ANY of us could actually make it through a 6hr of worship service or Bible reading!
But I don’t believe we are called to do that now… I say that because God has provided us with a great many copies of His word… It is accessible to us today and we can read it at home, at work, at school, on our phones, our iPads, our computers, our Kindles… We can even get it READ TO us by those things…
God’s word is available to us 24hr/day! We don’t need to sit and listen to our religious leaders read us the word… we have it available ALL the time! And so we have to understand the importance of reading and listening to God’s Word with ‘open ears’ and an attentive heart! God’s word DEMANDS our attention… and it WILL change our lives!
In v4 we find Ezra reading God’s word from a high wooden platform:
4And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand.
But we also see there were 13 leaders standing by Ezra as he read God’s word. I believe this signifies a solidarity among the religious leaders on the importance of God’s word… these men were Temple workers/Levites! Here we find them working OUTSIDE of their normal work area… they are OUTSIDE of the Temple!
I believe this tells us a great deal about us as believers as well! You see it is SO VERY EASY to come here on Sunday mornings and stand with everyone and read God’s word in front of all the people here and all these people who think and act like you…
BUT what we need in the church today are CHURCH WORKERS… who are willing to take it OUT into the world! Work OUTSIDE the safety and comfort of these 4 walls!
Another aspect to this verse was that this high wooden platform shows foresight and diligence in preparation to teach God’s word… These men had prepared this platform to be able to share God’s word with the people! This reveals how we should be in our preparation to teach and reveal God’s Word to others!
We must be diligent and work with foresight as we prepare to teach and share God’s word with the people God places in our lives! 6hr of reading shows great preparation on Ezra’s part… 6hr of listening attentively shows great preparation of the hearts of those who came to worship!
Do you PREPARE for worship each Sunday? Do you PREPARE to hear God’s Word? I know that I put great effort into preparing the sermon I am bringing…but do you PREPARE your heart and ears to HEAR what God has to say to you each time you come to worship? We must prepare our hearts for worship!
Which leads me to v5 where we can see that the very simple act of reading God’s Word was not an act taken for granted by these people!
5And 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.
The people’s reaction here reveals a sense of awe and reverence for the Word of God! We should NEVER take the reading or hearing of God’s word for granted!
We have 100s of translations and almost an unlimited supply of affordable published Bibles… The WORD of God is plentiful… this was NOT the case in Nehemiah’s time! Copies of Scripture was scarce and when the people had the chance to hear it read, they took it for what it was… the WORD of God and they treated it accordingly!
Today we have a Bible readily available to us at all times along with some really great insight and commentary ON the Bible. But I find that MANY if not MOST believers find themselves taking God’s Word for granted… as it does NOT seem to be held in High esteem! We cannot allow ourselves to fall prey to humanistic thinking and attacks on Scripture! God’s word is just as relevant today as the day it was spoken into existence by God himself!
We cannot be apathetic OR complacent toward Scripture… God’s word DESERVES our respect and honor!
In v6 we find the people’s honor of God’s word further revealed as we see them offering PRAISE!
6And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
I want us to notice the focus of their praise… I mentioned this earlier! The focus of their praise is NOT on the book, but it is on the ONE who authored the book! Their praise was to God… not the Law or Moses the Lawgiver… it was to God!
Also we can see that these people were in sync with their worship leaders! They were in sync with each other in their worship… their hearts were prepared to worship and THAT is exactly what they did! They worshipped!
But WHY? Why did they worship? Let’ look at v.7-8:
7Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. 8They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
It is because the Word was EXPLAINED and TAUGHT to them so that they could understand it! These people had grown up in a foreign land, speaking a foreign language.
God’s word had been given in Hebrew but they probably spoke Aramaic which was the language of the world at that time! These teachers ‘explained’ what the Hebrew meant in the language they understood! They clarified it and explained it…
To put it in simple terms, Ezra and these 13 Temple workers/Levites who were teaching the people were the ‘bridge’ these people could use to cross over the river of MISUNDERSTANDING… they bridged the gap between the languages!
This is yet another aspect of the intense preparation put forward in this time of worship and how important it is for ALL who participate in worship to be PREPARED to worship!
Now after God’s word had been given we find in v9ff that Nehemiah sends these people out from the worship service… NOT to mourn, but to REJOICE!
Rejoice because you have repented!
Rejoice because you are God’s chosen and He honors His covenant!
Rejoice because God has delivered you and has given you victory!
People I see this as a great MESSAGE for us here at Oak Park this morning… this month… this YEAR! We must come to an understanding about WORSHIP and God’s Word!
Worship is VITAL for the believer; we must NOT take worship for granted!
God’s Word is LIFE for the believer; we must hear it, study it and learn it!
God’s Word demands our full attention!
God calls us to work OUTSIDE of our comfort zone…
We must be diligent in preparing to WORSHIP, preparing our hearts to HEAR God’s Word!
We must HONOR the word of God!
We must be willing to learn or be TAUGHT the Word of God!
When we KNOW the Word of God, we should NOT mourn, but as Nehemiah encouraged these people, we should:
Rejoice because God has offered forgiveness through Jesus Christ and you have received it through your confession of sin and repentance!
Rejoice because of Christ you have been chosen to receive God’s redemption/grace and God honors His calling when we answer!
Rejoice because through Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary - God has delivered you and has given you victory over SIN, DEATH and the Grave!
So today as you leave this worship time… remember to REJOICE in Christ as He has given you forgiveness, grace, redemption and eternal VICTORY!
People, God’s Word is more powerful than ANYTHING we can encounter in this world and WE have God’s Word at our fingertips!
Let us NOT take it for granted…
Let us PREPARE our hearts as we come to hear it taught…
Let us focus our minds as we sit to read…
Let us open our hearts as we take His word IN…
Let us be ‘people of the book’ and allow God’s word to transform us!
We will be starting our Spring discipleship classes on March 17th and I would HOPE that ALL of our members would be planning to attend those classes as we LEARN how to study and know God’s word and how to discipline our actions to apply God’s word IN our lives!
You have an insert in your bulletin that you can fill out… I hope you have already done that and placed it in the offering plate – BUT if you haven’t I challenge you to fill it out NOW and bring it to the Cross and give your TIME to Jesus! Come and let Jesus know that you are willing to invest time into study of His word and knowing God’s word!
As bro Ken comes to lead us… I want to challenge anyone here who feels God tugging at their hearts to come forward as we begin to sing…
He may be tugging at your heart to get to know Him for the very first time… maybe you don’t know Jesus as Savior, come and we will pray with you!
He may be tugging at your heart for you to surrender to the study and discipline of knowing His word better and he wants you to submit to discipleship among the fellowship! Come and surrender to Him this morning!
He may be tugging at your heart because He has called you to give your life FOR Him in an area of service and you have REFUSED! Today I call on you to submit to His calling and come to this altar and repent and give your life to Him!
He may be tugging at your heart to become a part of our fellowship here at Oak Park… Maybe you have NOT made that move because you did NOT know what to do…
Well if you want to JOIN our fellowship, I challenge you to walk down here and talk/pray with me and we will put you on the right path to becoming a member of our church!
As you stand now and Bro Ken begins to sing… I ask you to step out and come…
