The True Source of Your Spiritual Strength
By Rev. James May
We are living in a time when there seems to be a great lack of strength in the hearts of men. Everywhere you turn you can see the prophetic words of Jesus coming to pass and I am reminded of what Jesus said would be happening just prior to his Second Coming.
Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Luke 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Just a glance at the daily news is all it takes to understand that these scriptures are surely coming to pass. With Russia flexing its muscle once again, invading old territory with the intent of annexation back into the Soviet Union, shooting down civilian jetliners in order to make a statement that they can do as they please and get away with it; with Israel and Hamas in an all-out war in the Gaza Strip; with America and the rest of the Free World sitting back like paper tigers, afraid to get involved and becoming the laughingstock of the world; and with our own nation so deep in trouble that the very fabric of our society is beginning to unravel and the growing threat of a civil uprising, and rebellion against our government, folks we are living on the very brink of a worldwide collapse of unparalleled proportions.
Yet God, in his infinite mercy and great grace, is still reaching out to those who will hear his voice and call upon his name. God desires to save all men, and I for one, am so glad that He has called my name. My joy comes from knowing that I am His and that He is mine. My strength comes from that joy of being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and having the eternal life of God already dwelling in my soul. The Joy of the Lord is my Strength! Because of Jesus, we can face tomorrow without fear! Because of his great Love, we can know that he holds our tomorrow in the palm of his hand and that He will never let us fall.
But how can we know this great Joy? From what source in life do we gain the understanding and knowledge of what this Joy is and how we can obtain it for ourselves? There has to be a source, and it has to be a source that all men can access, or else God would not be fair to all men. It’s no secret! It’s as plain as the nose on your face! That Joy comes from serving the Lord! That joy comes from knowing that Christ is in you and He is your hope of eternal glory and the resurrection life. That Joy comes from learning of his Love for you and the provision that Jesus has made for the salvation of your soul! But where is that source for having all of this knowledge? What is the true Source of your Strength in God?
There are so many Christians today who are living in doubt, fear and unbelief! They’ve forsaken the Source of their Strength and embraced the wisdom of men instead. They’ve allowed their well to run dry, and there is no more spiritual water daily washing over their souls. They’ve allowed Satan to dry up the source of their strength and they ignored their spiritually dead and dry condition for so long that they’ve forgotten what it truly feels like to have the Joy of the Lord, and when that Joy is gone, so is our peace and so is our commitment to the Lord. And with the loss of that Joy, peace and commitment to Christ, also we lose our entrance into the eternal kingdom.
This is no time to play around with the things of God! This is the time to get serious in your relationship with the Lord. Jesus is coming soon, very soon, and we must be preparing for his coming or prepare yourself to face the worst nightmare that you could ever imagine. I cannot stress enough, just how close we are to that day. It’s going to either be a day of great joy, or a day of absolute sorrow. Let’s be on the side of Joy, for the Lord has promised us that “though sorrow may last for the night and the times of great darkness as it settles upon the land and the hearts of men, that JOY COMES IN THE MORNING!”
Yet, what we are experiencing now, is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak, for there are some very troublesome times coming. When you think of all of the tragedies, famines, wars and great calamities that have stricken this world throughout history, and then think of what these last days are going to bring to pass, it is no wonder then that men’s hearts are growing weaker and their strength is waning. The Bible tells us that the last days of earth’s history in this present age will bring such trouble upon the earth that it will be the worst the world has ever seen or will ever see. Surely there are many dark days ahead for mankind who continually spurns the love of God and refuses to serve the Lord.
I want to take you back into the Old Testament this morning for a few minutes and let you see where the True Source of your Spiritual Strength is found! Israel found it again, after having lost it for 70 years in the Babylonian Captivity. It wasn’t until King Cyrus of Persia finally gave the decree that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and begin to rebuild the city and re-establish their system of worship that the path to finding their source of strength could be opened. Their strength lay buried beneath 70 years of oppression, and many had truly forgotten, and many had never heard where their strength as the people of God came from.
Nehemiah had obtained permission to return to Jerusalem along with a sizeable workforce to rebuild the Temple and the city. In a way, he represents Christ to us, for Nehemiah led the people away from the idolatry and captivity of their Babylonian overlords, and set their feet on the road to victory. He led them back to their beginning, to their first love, to their past because the only way The Children of Israel would ever become the nation that God intended for them to become was for them to find their True Source of Strength.
That Source could only be found in the place where they had left it, buried in the past, under a heap of destruction, covered by the dust and debris of lost battles, and forgotten under the rubble of a destroyed life. They had to get back to where that source was and begin to dig it out, dust it off and discover its power to bring Joy once again! It was their only hope!
After working on the wall for many days, the Jews rebuilt large portions of the walls and especially the city gates. One group, known as the Nethinims, was assigned the reconstruction of the Water Gate. The importance of the Water Gate was that it was the gate that led from the Temple complex to the Pool of Siloam where the priests would go daily to get the water needed for all of the Temple
ceremonies. It was a large area, with wide streets and plenty of room for all who come to the Pool to gather water. The Nethinims, who were descendants of the Gibeonites, had willingly became bondservants to the Temple priests, and their duties had been assigned as far back as the time of Joshua. They weren’t Jews, but they were willing to be counted among the Jews and to serve their whole lives.
After the completion of the Water Gate reconstruction, the people began to refocus their efforts from building the walls, to rebuilding their method of worship.
Like all of us, there has to come a time when we get our eyes off of the needs of the flesh and the world around us, and begin to focus again on worshipping and serving God. While this present world is always demanding our attention, we must ever remember that this world is not our home. We are pilgrims and strangers and we have a heavenly home that is far greater than this present world. There must come a point in time when we refocus our vision upon the eternal things of God and get back to our first love. We have to get back to the altar of prayer, repent of the things that we have allowed to slip from our commitment to Christ, and get back to where we can find our Source of Joy and Strength.
Now let’s see where Israel’s source of Joy and Strength came from. The revelation of that source begins at Nehemiah 8:1, And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.
Nehemiah 8:2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.
Nehemiah 8:3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.
Nehemiah 8:4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
What is the significance of the pulpit of wood? First, it put Ezra in a place of prominence, above the people, so that they could focus on what he was saying and not on what anyone was saying. God’s Word demands our undivided attention. If we aren’t listening to what’s coming from the pulpit, then we will never hear the Word of the Lord, and we will never be changed by its power, and we will never learn of the True Source of our Joy and Strength. It all starts with a pulpit and a preacher and, most importantly, the reading and understanding of the Law of God’s Word!
Why do we come to church? To worship – to praise – to allow ourselves to be accountable to others – to fellowship – BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY – TO HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD! It’s not important, who the speaker is behind this pulpit; but it is vitally important that what is heard from this pulpit is the Word of God, for nothing else that comes from this pulpit can bring the Joy of the Lord and give us Strength.
I don’t need your ideas, and you don’t need mine! I don’t need the programs of man, or the dreams of a preacher to build an empire to his own glory, or the patterns that men claim bring success. I NEED TO HEAR FROM GOD ALONE THROUGH HIS WORD AND HIS LAW!
That’s the purpose of a pulpit, and if that purpose is not fulfilled, the pulpit is relegated to the position of being nothing more than a soapbox from which men may share their own thoughts but not necessarily the Mind of God. We have to guard the pulpit. It’s the most important place in the church.
Sadly today, many of our church pulpits are just soapboxes where men try to make a name for themselves instead of bringing the people back to their only Source of Joy and Strength, and as a result, we have churches that are no longer churches, but giant social clubs. Only God and His Word can build a true church. Man can only build a following, draw a crowd and create a worldly minded organization and call it a church.
Nehemiah 8:5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
Nehemiah 8:6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 8:7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
Nehemiah 8:8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
It’s important that when the message is finished that everyone who heard it, also understands it. I know that there are some who hear, who really don’t hear. They don’t listen close enough, but their thoughts are confused and their minds are wandering. Some folks listen to the sermons week after week, even year after year, but they never really hear what God is saying. If we are going to hear the Word of the Lord and gain the Joy and Strength from it that we need, then we are going to have to learn to truly focus on the message coming from the pulpit. Ezra did the preaching. The leaders standing around helped to explain every word that was spoken, but it was still up to the people to hear, learn and understand, and then to apply what was said to their own lives. We can hear the Word all of our lives, but until we stop and apply it, nothing changes.
It’s also important that the Word is spoken plainly and distinctly, so that all can understand who will. Too often we find preachers who try to show off their great verbal or oratorical skills, but what is said is lost in all the show. If I hear someone say, “That was simple and easy to understand”, then I know I’ve done my job. But if hear someone say, “that was a great sermon. I wonder what the point was”, then I know I’ve failed to speak clearly and distinctly. The sermon must be spoken clearly and in terms easy to understand, or its value is lost.
Nehemiah 8:9 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
Oh that we could love God’s Word enough that it would bring tears to our eyes just to hear it spoken! These Jews had not heard from God’s Word in nearly 70 years! You don’t know how blessed you are to own a Bible, or to be able to sit in the church and hear it spoken! We don’t know how blessed we are to be free to worship God, until we lose that freedom! God help us that the day won’t come for such a thing to happen, but from what I see, that day could be coming much quicker than most of us could imagine. When we can’t preach in the church, and Bibles are burned and confiscated, and Christians are looked upon as the troublemakers in society, will you miss these days of freedom then? Will there ever come a day in your life when you might shed tears just to be able to hear the Word, and gather in freedom to worship God again?
Now we find the real source of our Strength in God!
Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
As the people began to weep, first in repentance for having neglected the Law of God for so long, and having failed in their commitment to serving the Lord, then secondly, for joy at hearing from God once again and sensing His presence among them, their weeping had to find its end or they would simply drown in sorrow. But this event was not to be a time of sorrow. Those days were past! This day was to be a day of victory, of the realization of that they were home again, of the realization that once again, God was with them and they were in their Promised Land!
Nehemiah 8:11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.
Have you neglected the Law of God? Do you sense a godly sorrow at the sins of the past? Do you feel like you’ve been so far from God that you might not ever get back? Don’t dwell on the past! It has been forgiven! Look now to the present and the to the future, for what’s past is past, and it’s time to move on! Lift up your head and rejoice, for God is still God and his Word cannot fail! God is with you still!
Nehemiah 8:12 And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.
What a day of rejoicing it would be if there was a revival of the preaching of the full truth of God’s Word in America today! What a revival could break forth! If only we would stand in God’s presence, listen to a true word of God coming from the pulpits of our churches, and let the power of the Word of God wash over us and renew the hope of Christ in us, and restore the Joy of the Lord! America could be strong again, not because of our military might, but because of the Joy of the Lord that would arise across the nation. The Joy of the Lord is our Strength, and that Joy comes from hearing and obeying the Law of God and the Word of God! When we lose the hearing of the Word, then we lose the Source of our Joy and Strength!
Oh that we could see more pulpits, with true preachers of the gospel standing behind them, reading the pure and holy Word of God, giving forth the True Message of the Gospel, and proclaiming the uncompromising Word of God’s Law to the people! What a difference it would make! It’s the pulpit that’s failing America! I pray that it’s not the pulpit that fails you ever here at this church! Lord help us proclaim Your Word to Your People all of the time!
Nehemiah 8:13 And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.
Nehemiah 8:14 And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:
Nehemiah 8:15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.
Nehemiah 8:16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.
Nehemiah 8:17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.
Nehemiah 8:18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.
So what’s this telling us today? Do we need to run outside and cut down the trees, build some booths and sit under them for a week? No, of course not! That was a feast established for Israel alone in the time of Joshua.
The important point to remember here is that we must not forget our roots! We must not cast aside the Old Ways of the gospel, and embrace only that which we feel is relevant to us right now. I’m not talking about contemporary versus tradition music. I’m not talking about tradition church or modern technology or any such thing!
I’m talking about getting to the heart of True Worship and True Preaching of an Uncompromised Gospel from the very Heart of God who never changes. When our message begins to change, and we fail to preach repentance for sin, conviction against sin, coming to Christ in repentance before an altar of prayer, forsaking the things of the world, and committing our whole life, and all that we are to Jesus, then we’ve lost our roots. Without the Cross there is no Christ! Without the shedding of Jesus’ blood, there is no cleansing power! Without the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is no way of salvation! Without dedication and commitment to a life in Christ, there is no overcoming power! Without the indwelling and empowering presence of the Holy Ghost, the church is nothing and there is no victory!
The booths reminded Israel of their days of wandering in the wilderness, living in tents, and not having a permanent dwelling place. The booths reminded them that they were home at last, no more to wander, but now they could dwell in their own land, in their own homes, and in the very presence of God at all times.
Let’s stay connected to the old ways while we look toward the things that are to come. If we stay on a firm foundation in the Word of God, then everything else only becomes a tool to further the gospel and bring the Joy of the Lord to more people, giving them the strength of God to go on to live an overcoming life in Christ! Don’t forsake the old ways! Build on them as you add on some of the new ways that will help build the kingdom of God.
Notice that all of this was happening at the Water Gate! The Water Gate tells us that it is the washing of the water by the Word of God that makes the difference! The Water Gate tells us of that spring of Living Water that comes only when the Holy Ghost dwells in us, and Christ in Us brings forth the Water of Life!
In John chapter 4, Jesus answered the woman at the well and said unto her, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Let’s get to our Water Gate, which is the presence of the Holy Ghost within. Let’s get into that place where we can hear the Word of the Lord come forth, and then pay attention to what God is saying. Let’s hear, learn and understand, and then apply it to ourselves. Let’s bring all of our focus to bear on Jesus and let Jesus be Jesus in us!
When you’ve heard the Word, allowed it to have its effect in your heart, and the Holy Ghost dwells in your heart, and Jesus is truly the Lord of your life – only then will you begin to fully understand what the True Source of Joy and Spiritual Strength is your life! It all begins with hearing the Word, and it grows ever greater as we allow the Word to do its work in us!
The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength; and that Joy comes from hearing and obeying the Law of God as it comes from the pulpit week after week! Let the Word work in you and watch your Joy and Strength to live for God grow ever stronger!
AMEN
