#8 “Book of Nehemiah”
Series
"TAKE TIME TO REJOICE!"
TEXT: Nehemiah
8:1-18
INTRO: It is not
healthy for an individual to never be happy or joyful ... God never intended for
us as Christian to be miserable or always filled with guilt feelings. Some people really struggle with their
relationship to God because they can never seem to feel good about how God feels
about them!
When they hear a message about
forgiveness they immediately respond by thinking, "Yes, I need to
confess more" instead of hearing how wonderful it is that God has
forgiven and forgotten their sins!
They forget that the word GOSPEL itself
means, "Good
News" or verses like: “There is therefore NOW NO CONDEMNATION TO THOSE IN
CHRIST..." or "All things are possible..." or "We are more than
conquerors…” (Greek: word in Romans
8·37 is “υπερνικομεν” (“hupernikomen”) meaning, "SUPER
CONQUERORS") or "All things work
together for good to those who love the Lord" or "God so loved…" or
“Who shall
separate us from God's love ... NOTHING
SHALL!”
Some believers never believe anything
good! They live out their life in
Christ in fear and discouragement and because they are so down on themselves
they often are down about other Christians as well. Misery loves company as the old
saying goes!
ILLUS: The glum,
sour faces of many Christians. ... They rather give the impression that, instead
of coming from the Father's joyful banquet, they have just come from the Sheriff
who has auctioned off their sins and now are sorry they can't get them back
again. -- Helmut Thielicke, Leadership, Vol. 1, no.
4.
This joyless life kills all sense of
motivation, so fruitfulness turns into fruitiness and fruitlessness, they are
miserable when other believers are so happy! They feel cheated; but they have really
cheated themselves!
PROP.
SENT: God desires
his people to know HIS JOY! The
very strength of our faith and our fruitfulness comes from God's joy in our
lives as a character trait! This is
why God's Word declares that it is the "Joy of the Lord
that is our strength!" Also, "A merry heart
doeth good like a medicine."
I. ASSEMBLY OF GOD 8:1-3
A. Unity
8:1a
1. It is a worthy thing to note
that they assembled together as ONE man!
a. This concept is very similar
to the picture in the book of Acts when it stated that they were all together in
"ONE
ACCORD."
b. When God's people are so
blended in unity there is almost a guarantee of God's Spirit to move in a great
way ... look at the day of Pentecost!
ILLUS: If we can
convince people that we are onto something that's full of joy, they'll stampede
one another to follow us. -- William Treadwell, Leadership, Vol. 1, no.
3.
2. In Psalm 133 David says that “it is beautiful
when brethren dwell together in unity, like precious oil ... there God commands
His blessing, even life for evermore!”
3. Worship should be a time of
both brokenness and great
joy ... not just a time of mourning!
4. When we gather together today
to worship it should be with a sense of joy and anticipation ... Paul said to
the Philippians, "Whatever is good, pure, joyful ... of good report, to
think on these things!"
5. There is nothing sad about
being related to God through His Son Jesus Christ!!
6. We are all equals in the
church, we are brethren coming together in unity!
B. Unusual!
8:1b-3
1. The interesting comment in
verse 2 is that it was the people requesting
Ezra to come to them in the public square and read the Word of God to them and
teach them!
a. Can you imagine people begging to have the
Pastor get together with them for more preaching!
b. The next unusual item that
appears is that the whole assembly of people that made up the crowd was not just
the men ... it was women and children as well!
c. This could not have taken
place in the temple due to restrictions of who could enter; it was held in the
public meeting place in town!
d. This makes it unusual as well
... they wanted God's Word proclaimed to the entire town from the center of the
city for all citizens to hear!
ILLUS: How often
Christians assume they have worshiped God simply because they have been in
church! We are told that the church
building is "God's house" (an inaccurate designation borrowed from the Old
Testament temple) and conclude that worship must take place there! Not necessarily. God was not pleased with
the worship at Jerusalem (the Holy City). Nor is he impressed with beautiful
cathedrals. --
Erwin W. Lutzer (1941- ) - Edythe Draper, Draper's Book of Quotations for the
Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry
12101.
2. Now here is the real catch;
Ezra read the Word of God for 6 hours straight!
a. And they stayed around for
all 6 hours of the message!
b. Not only that but it later
states in the chapter that they all stood for the entire time ... without
complaining of length or heat, or boredom or hunger!
c. The final interesting or
unusual feature was the last line of verse 3,
"And all the
people listened attentively to the Book of the
Law."
d. They were actually soaking it
all in for the entire 6 hours of standing!
e. These were hungry people for
spiritual things; it will be no surprise that God then tells them to celebrate
when they at first begin to cry!
3. We should be so unusual
today!
II. ARTICULATION OF GODLINESS 8:4-8
A. Unprecedented! 8:4
1. Evidently the people had so
taken the lead on this thing that they had built a large wooden platform for the
occasion, the Hebrew wording for this text suggests this event was a sudden or
spontaneous event not planned by the religious leaders, but by the people
themselves!
2. The people had anticipated a
large gathering and so built the platform to enable the priest to be above the
crowd so he could be seen and heard easier – they didn't want to miss a
thing!
a. This is actually where our
concept of a platform in church buildings comes from!
b. And for the same reasons ...
not to elevate the pastor's ego ... just his body and
voice!
3. Notice in verse 4 that his associates were on the platform
with him ... to give support and be examples of leaders for the
people.
a. This was an unprecedented
event ... the planning of it by the people.
b. The construction by the
people.
c. The desire by the
people.
d. The hunger for the Word by
all the people, men, women, and children!
e. This is really where revival
comes from ... a hungry congregation!
ILLUS: Peter
Buehler, who helped lead John and Charles Wesley to experience conversions, once
said, "If I had a thousand tongues, I'd praise Christ with them all." Charles
Wesley expanded this stray comment into lines that became the well-known hymn "O
for a Thousand Tongues to Sing." -- "The Golden Age of Hymns," Christian History, no.
31.
B. Unbelievable! 8:5-6
1. They all stood for 6 hours as
the Word of God was read!
a. Notice Pastor Ezra's response
to this sight; “HE PRAISED THE GREAT
GOD!”
b. And suddenly all the people
“LIFTED THEIR
HANDS AND RESPONDED, AMEN! AMEN!” (In Hebrew a repeated word meant special
emphasis!)
c. This service was going
places, the Pastor was hot with joy ... and they followed suit by joyous shouts
of PRAISE and agreement. (The meaning of the word "amen.")
ILLUS: When
Handel wrote the "Hallelujah Chorus," his health and his fortunes had reached
the lowest possible ebb. His right
side had become paralyzed, and all his money was gone. He was heavily in debt
and threatened with imprisonment. He was tempted to give up the fight. The odds
seemed entirely too great. And it was then he composed his greatest work --
Messiah. Could we not say of Handel
that the Spirit entered into him and set him upon his feet? -- Peter Marshall, Sr., "Who Can Take It?," Preaching Today,
Tape No. 131.
2. From Praise they entered into
worship ... as they all bowed down and just worshipped God as a whole
group!
a. Imagine the unbelievable
sight of this ... especially for Old Testament times, rarely had such a hunger
existed in the people of
b. At other times they had gone
through long periods of time where their worship was nothing more than ritual
... and uneventful! In the past it
had often been religious practice but without passion. We don't need more religion; we need
more PASSION in our relationship with God, healthy passion, the kind that is
balanced!
C. Understanding
8:7-8
1. Here's where the balance part
comes in; passion alone would lead to emotionalism without
content!
2. Just as ritual without any
passion leads to cold dead orthodox faith.
3. What brings the balance ...
the Word and the desire to understand it!
4. You will note in the text
that the Levites scattered throughout the congregation during Ezra's reading of
the Word and explained to all those who desired the understanding of the text
... what does this mean for you and how does God desire your response?
etc.
a. They moved among the people
"MAKING IT
CLEAR AND GIVING THE MEANING SO THE PEOPLE COULD UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS BEING
READ!"
b. We still do this today! This is the point of preaching, to teach
the meaning of God's Word and suggest ways that this can be applied to our life
and lifestyle today!
c. Preachers who only tell you what the text says but not
what it means to you haven't finished their job!
5. We don't need sermons that
simply inform us just how bad the world is, we need sermons that also tell us
what we can do to make it a godlier place!
6. Preaching is not just a
conclusion to a time of worship ... it is the focal point of where our worship
is going ... to God ... then God speaks to us from His Word, a worship service is a two way conversation and fellowship
with a Real and Mighty God!
ILLUS: Dr. Viktor
Frankl, author of the book Man's Search for Meaning, was imprisoned by the Nazis
in World War II because he was a Jew. His wife, his children, and his parents
were all killed in the holocaust.
The Gestapo made him strip. He stood there totally naked. As they cut away his wedding band, Viktor
said to himself "You can take away my wife, you can take away my children, you
can strip me of my clothes and my freedom, but there is one thing no person can
ever take away from me -- and that is my freedom to choose how I will react to
what happens to me!" Even under the
most difficult of circumstances, happiness is a choice which transforms our
tragedies into triumph.
-- James
S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc,
1988) pp. 278-279.
III. ABUNDANCE OF GLADNESS! 8:9-18
A. Uplifting! 8:9-12
1. There should be a fitting
conclusion time to a service as well, here the people begin to respond to the
understanding of the Law of Moses by weeping.
a. Probably because they became
aware of their failure to live up to God's Word in the
past.
b. It is awesome to understand
who God is; they were struck with their past failures!
2. What is so disconcerting
about this is their reaction to the Word of God because of their PAST failures
as a people of God!
a. After all, the past is over
and they are no longer the people like they were in the past, captivity had
taken care of that change, these were exiles in return and those who had rebuilt
the temple and the city walls!
b. They had changed but
didn't fully realize who they were NOW.
3. They saw their old failures and began to weep, Ezra saw
who they were NOW and immediately jumps in to correct their
response!
ILLUS: The praise
chorus "We Exalt Thee" took on a whole new meaning when I heard my
three-year-old daughter singing her version: "We exhaust thee. We exhaust thee,
O Lord." -- Tammy Lindsey,
4. His instruction is simple and
to the point: “DO NOT MOURN OR
WEEP!”
a. Their focus was wrong ... they were looking
at the OLD
b. It was not a time to focus on
failure or past mistakes but to rejoice in a revitalized faith as to who they
are NOW as God's people!
5. Nehemiah instructs them as to
the proper response to the 6 hours of sermon he and the Levites had just
preached!
a. REVIVAL TIME
GUYS!
b. REJOICING IS THE PROPER
RESPONSE ... GO AND REJOICE TOGETHER!
c. Don't GRIEVE; THIS IS A NEW DAY AND YOU ARE A NEW
PEOPLE!
d. FOR "THE JOY OF THE
LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH" ... there it is! They needed newfound strength as they
were starting out as a new people!
6. They had just finished
dealing with the consequences of the old sins; rebuilding, and it was not a
time to mourn the past but celebrate the new and to rediscover some joy after
many months of hard labor and threats from the enemy!
a. There was a proper time for
tears and sorrow; that had already come earlier in their
captivity.
b. But there comes a time when
we need to move beyond sorrow, when our sins are already forgiven and we are new
creatures in Christ, to celebrating that new life and realizing the “joy of the Lord
is our strength.”
c. To continue to stew in sorrow
after our sins are forgiven is to mock the cleansing power of Christ and to put
ourselves into false bondage again.
7. Finally they understood this
and did they ever celebrate, in fact they ended up doing a double festival one
right after the other! BOY DID
THEY FEEL STRONG!
8. Some Christians could learn
from this, they are always so mournful over their past they never feel good
about themselves as a Christian ... they never really appreciate who they ARE
NOW in Christ ... they still are mourning and feeling burnt out by Satan who
likes to remind them of their past errors and what a failure they are (what they
once were would be more accurate!).
a. There is no strength is
unhealthy mourning!
b. If you have committed your
past sins to Christ for forgiveness then for HEAVEN'S SAKE FORGIVE YOURSELF AND
GET ON WITH SOME JOY AS A cleansed SAINT, not a condemned
SINNER!
9. It is unhealthy to be joyful
all the time (wait until chapter 9 when
they do have some things to cry about!), BUT IT IS ALSO UNHEALTHY TO NEVER
be joyful as a saint of God!
a. Miserable Christians are not
much of an attraction to the FAITH!
b. They will not lead many to
Christ unless they find someone who loves being miserable as a Christian
too!
c. And they will be weak as a
Christian ... unable to cope often with life and struggling even with minor
issues that others more joyful can easily cast aside or
overcome!
d. Sorrowful saints find that
motivation is next to zero so they never do anything that gives them joy and
then they are mad at others who are happy and can do
everything!
e. What's part of the answer:
Notice Ezra told them to get TOGETHER and celebrate ... Christians having some
joyful times together with other Christians can be a great buffer against pining
and self pity! Make sure you pick
joyful ones to fellowship with ... they have obviously learned to appreciate
their relationship with God and can help you with
yours!
B. Universal
8:13-18
1. What is the universal truth
for us in this passage?
a. That it is possible to lose the joy and passion of worship and
our relationship with God if we forget the MEANING of the Gospel and the meaning
of our practices!
b. Why does it state in verse 17 "...the
Israelites had not celebrated it like this since the days of Joshua, son of
Nun."
c. In Joshua's day it was
celebrated with great joy because it was new, the meaning fresh ... and the
victory great since they were in the Promise Land … they had left the past
mistakes back in the wilderness!
d. What it means here is that
they had rediscovered the fresh meaning of an old celebration
ritual!
2. We can fall into the same
ruts of worship too ... and forget the meaning of what and why we are here! When this happens tiredness and boredom
set in and there is great loss of joy, the purpose of being together as the
church falls aside over petty issues and sidetracked
minds!
3. The final verse says it all
... “DAY AFTER
DAY, FROM FIRST TO LAST THEY ... CELEBRATED.” IT EVEN WENT on for 8 days! We should have such a problem with
worship!
ILLUS: “Euangelion”
(which we call gospel) is a Greek word, and signifies good, merry, glad, and
joyful tidings, that makes a man’s heart glad, and makes him sing, dance, and
leap for joy. -- William Tyndale (C. 1494-1536) - Edythe Draper, Draper's
Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc., 1992). Entries 5088-5091.
4. Like the writer of
Ecclesiastes stated, “There is a time to cry, and a time to laugh.”
Just make sure there is a time for
both or you'll become a very bitter SAINT instead of a BETTER saint!
CONCLUSION:
Real revival always
comes from spiritual hunger to understand God's Word. When God fills this "hunger" we find
ourselves flooded with fresh joy, thus fresh strength! If you know Jesus ... and desire to know
His Word, then look out, He will pour out His joy and we will
celebrate!