Revival and Renewal
Book of Nehemiah
Chapter 8
The title of this
lesson could have been, "The Revival of a Nation"!
We should clearly
understand that walls can only do so much. What kept Israel safe was
a relationship with God the Father, as a nation.
What will keep
America safe? When the majority of people have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father and be filled with
the Holy Spirit.
I believe there was
a time in America that this was true, but now the Church has become
lazy, and even worse the Church has allowed the world to get inside
the Church and the walls of the Church are crumbling and falling
down.
What worked in the
day of Nehemiah and Ezra will work again today, to revive God's
Church and get back to the business of redemption through the Lord
Jesus Christ.
As Isaiah said send
me.
As Ezra said send
me.
As Nehemiah said
send me.
We of the Church
have got to take a stand and say Lord send us!!!!!
The Word of God
already teaches us God's blessings and it is only by the Word of God
that we can bring revival back to the United States of America and
only by the revival of God's people.
If we want to see
change in America, then we have to get back to the truth of God's
Word and live by God's standards!
We do not need those
books that have eliminated the truth of God, we must have the old
standards and truths of the Scriptures. There are no new
interpretations of the Scriptures. What God said the Jews He is
saying to us, rightly divided.
What God has said
about sin is the same for today!
Let's see how
Nehemiah describes what happened:
*****Neh 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.
How do we revive our
nation?
We must have a
desire to live according to the Word of God!!!!!!
With all the things
that had happened since Zerubbabel brought that first group back to
Jerusalem from the captivity caused by Nebuchadnezzar, these people
had seen that Jehovah God had been the key to success.
God's Word had
proven to be true over and over again!
The men who would
stand up and speak the Word of God would not be charlatans, but they
would be scholars of the Word of God.
A scholar is anyone
to takes the Word of God as the truth, and teaches the fundamentals
and the doctrines of the Scriptures.
We should all be
scholars of God's Word!!!!!
We notice
immediately is was the people who demanded to hear what God has said
and they spoke with one voice.
Ezr 3:1 And when
the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the
cities, the people gathered themselves together "as one man to
Jerusalem".
They had lived under
the pagan laws of the world and there was not much truth in those
things.
Most of them had not
heard the Word of God at all.
Some had preserved
what God had said, and taught as many as they could while in
captivity.
It is hard to
believe anything when you are a slave in a foreign country!!!!!
They went straight
to the one man they trusted with the truth, which was Ezra and said
to him, "teach us the laws of Moses".
These were the laws
that God had given to Moses for the Children of Israel, after the
escape from Egypt.
They did not want
some modern version, they wanted the truth of God, because they were
tired of lies, they hungered for the truth!
*****Neh 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.
Neh 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.
For those who do not
know, the Jews had 613 laws that concerned their daily lives. Much
more that the 10 Commandments that we usually think of.
The very first law
is the one broke most often by us all!!!!!
Deu 6:5 And thou
shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy might.
If we loved the Lord
as we claim, then we would obey Him in all things!
The truth is, the
Lord proves over and over that He is worthy of worship and praise. As
Christians we owe the Lord our lives and our freedom.
So many have
forgotten the truth of God, and are twisted in their thought
patterns. by unscrupulous men who intend to see them fail.
God has blessed His
Word as the instrument of the Church!!!!!
It is Bible truth
that has changed the lives of so many and not the world which only
teaches lies!!!!!!!!
Ezra had remained
loyal to God all his days. He had made sure the Word of God, (by the
Holy Spirit) had been preserved in its purity all his days and on
this day, he had gotten the opportunity to preach, read, instruct,
deliver the pure Word of God, to all those who had gathered in the
city square of Jerusalem, the city of God.
These people had a
renewed trust in their God Jehovah, who had done everything He said
He would about their captivity and their freedom.
When you are on the
receiving end of God's truth, you never forget what God has done for
you!!!!!!
Many of these people
had never heard the Word of God, they had only heard the stories that
others had said about it.
So all these people
gathered for one thing and that was to hear the laws concerning their
way of life.
We can be fools if
we want to, but we all need directions in the purity of life and the
thoughts of our Creator!!!!!
The Words of the
Bible teach us the ways of our Creator and His character, and He
simply ask us to be more like Him and He teaches us how we can do
that.
As Christians we may
not have those 613 laws, but we certainly are to be obedient to the
Ten Commandments and again we may ask ourselves why, but it shows we
are willing to trust God!!!!!!!
Again the greatest
of those laws is to love our Creator, who is Jehovah God to the Jews
and the Lord Jesus Christ to all Christians.
They are One and the
same person!!!!!!!
Ezra had been in
Jerusalem for possibly 13 years or more. He had set up the worship in
the Temple and installed the priests to their functions and the
Nethinims to their functions and he had beautified the inner parts of
the Temple.
The people had never
gathered in the way they had gathered this day!
It was the walls
being rebuilt that had given them security that had caused them to
gather in such a quantity on this day.
Nehemiah was a
worthy "Governor" and "Ezra" was a worthy man of
God. People they could trust.
We have many
similarities in the USA today. We have a worthy President. We have
the pure Word of God. We just do not that feeling of security because
so many fought against the building a wall for security but have
built the many walls of sin to surround us.
The Bible says that
Ezra read from daylight until noon and still this congregation was
inspired by what he read.
There is only One
other who we know that read the Word of God and explained it better
than Ezra and it was the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mat 7:28 And it
came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were
astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29 For he
taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
We might ask
ourselves, when were pulpits first used?
*****Neh 8:4 And
Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for
the purpose; and beside him stood Matthias, 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.
Neh 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:
Neh 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.
This may not be the
time of the first pulpit, but it tells of the need for the pulpit.
We know that radio
has its special place, but most people would rather see who is doing
the talking.
In reality, Ezra was
obedient to the Lord by being bold enough to stand before these
people and give the Word of God.
This is a great
example for every Preacher and also for every Christian.
We can also see that
the government endorsed this event as Nehemiah was now the Governor
of Israel.
This platform was
built large enough to hold 14 men.
The first thing we
notice is that when Ezra open the Book (scrolls) these people showed
reverence to the Word of God by standing.
No one told them to
stand, they just stood in reverence to the Word of God.
I'm sure they did
not stand for the entire 6 hours. It is also to be expected that
these other 13 men would assist Ezra in the reading of the Word of
God.
From this time on,
the Jewish nation stood for the reading of the Word of God, a
practice we observe in my church, named Gethsemane.
Another thing Ezra
and these 13 men did was to "make sense of the Word".
They preached the
message of God and how to apply it to their daily lives!
You see, if we do
reverence the Word of God for what it is, the inerrant, infallible,
non-changing, perfect, Word of God, then we are not true believers.
The Word of God is
not only true, but it is the truth. There is no higher authority than
the written Word of God!
2Pe_1:19 We have
also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take
heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day
dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
For those who sit
quietly in their pews, we see it is OK to say Amen when we hear the
true Word of God and its meaning!
We should never sit
quietly to hear any twisted version or a false preacher, they need to
be run out of our assemblies.
We must remember it
is the people who are the Church, the Bride of Christ!
We can also see the
lifting up of the hands as a form of worship. To worship is to
celebrate the Truth of God, without being ridiculous.
We do these things
in reverence to our Savior.
When we raise up our
hands, they need to be "Holy Hands"!
A proper
appreciation of God’s Word is necessary for spiritual success!!!!!!
Our worship service
should not only be joyous, and unselfish, but be as God demands, "in
Spirit and Truth!
Joh_4:23 But the
hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship
him.
Joh_4:24 God is a
Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in
truth.
You see, now after
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, at His first coming, now
is the time to worship our Father in Heaven, by the means of His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost,
whichever way you want to say it!
We must humble
ourselves before our mighty God, and there is only One, His name is
Jehovah and the Lord Jesus Christ!
For those who had
trouble understanding, these men were provided to help them
understand.
This is the way of
making disciples!
***** Neh 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.
Neh 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.
You see there is no
one who should walk away from the house of God, that does not
understand the truth of the Sermon, nor the application of the Word
of God.
The Word of God is
intended to be applied to our lives and by this, will those who are
lost see a great change in us!
Psa 119:9
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto
according to thy word.
Psa 119:10 With my
whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy
commandments.
Psa 119:11 Thy word
have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
The key to
understanding is to realize that the entire Bible is about our Savior
the Lord Jesus Christ!
Joh 1:1 In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.
Joh 1:2 The same
was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things
were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was
made.
Joh 1:4 In him was
life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the
light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Joh 1:12 But as
many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God.
Joh 1:14 And the
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth.
As we can see by the
destruction of the Temple, the synagogue and the church how hold the
importance for understanding the Word of God!
There was no one in
this assembly was not informed of the truth of God!!!!!!
Remember once we
hear the Word of God, we must make our decision to believe or to not
believe!
Reminds us that day
of Pentecost with the Apostles.
Act 2:1 And when
the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in
one place.
Act 2:2 And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind,
and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there
appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon
each of them.
Act 2:4 And they
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Act 2:5 And there
were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation
under heaven.
Act 2:6 Now when
this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were
confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own
language.
Just so we know,
every man in this assembly heard the Word of God in his own tongue.
That word tongues, has the meaning of language.
Each one in their
assembly heard the Word of God in his own language.
This was the gift of
tongues and not something heard that even God did not hear, not some
mumbling of the Holy Spirit.
We see again that
Nehemiah was indeed the Governor of Israel.
*****Neh 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.
Tirshatha means
Nehemiah was Persian Governor of Judea, Ezra was now the recognized
High Priest and remained a Scribe all his days.
The Levites, the
descendants of Aaron, were the teachers and they taught the people
according to the truth of God.
This day was not to
be a day of sadness but a day of rejoicing.
The Word of God
never brings sadness. It is sad only to those who desire to keep
their sin and refuse to give it up!!!!!!
Giving up your sin
is not a requirement for salvation, but once you love the Lord Jesus
you will want to be more like Him, and Jesus our Savior had no sin at
all, and this is to be our own goal!
Jesus Christ will
help you to do away with your, sin just as He did me and many others
by taking the "I Want To" out of your life.
I do not have a
desire to sin, in fact I hate sin and every true believer will think
along these same lines.
To be Christian is
to be "Like Jesus Christ"!
The day of these
things was most probable a new-moon day.
These people were
sad because they felt the guilt of not knowing the Word of God as
they should have and they felt a danger that God would once again
send them into captivity, but if we will do as His Word says, and He
will never go against His own Words!
There is a great
need for the Christian community to study the Word of God!!!!!!
You cannot study the
Scriptures unless you choose a Bible that is translated from the
original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts.
Be very selective
when choosing your Bible!!!!!
The Bible is its own
best commentary, but you can get some help and thoughts from some of
the commentaries, but again be very selective in choosing those
commentaries!!!!!!
You will also need
at least one dictionary and there are good biblical dictionaries.
We must keep in mind
that these Scriptures were written in a time different from our own
time, yet the Scriptures are just as relevant today as they were
then, but we must consider these things.
It is most important
that we know that the pure Word of God is the truth of God!!!!!!
Heb 11:6 But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.
It was now time to
go back to their homes and meditate on what they had learned this
day.
You see it was
decision time!
*****Neh 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.
Neh 8:11 So the
Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day
is holy; neither be ye grieved.
Every day we spend
time in the Scriptures is a holy day!
We get alone with
God when we pray, and we also get alone with God when we spend time
with God's Word.
We must treat the
Scriptures as the very Word of God because this is the truth!!!!!!
2Ti 3:16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
God the Holy Spirit
inspired all the Word of God in many ways to those 40 or more men who
actually penned those words for us!
When Ezra gave these
words to the people he was saying, this was a joyful day and not one
of fasting and grief.
Sure the Word of God
convicted them of their sin, but it also showed them the means of
redemption.
They need only
repent and return to the Lord!!!!!!!!!
This day was
probably the opening day of the Feast of the Tabernacles.
Lev 23:1 And the
LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 23:2 Speak unto
the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of
the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these
are my feasts.
Lev 23:3 Six days
shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an
holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of
the LORD in all your dwellings.
Lev 23:39 Also in
the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the
fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on
the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a
sabbath.
Lev 23:40 And ye
shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches
of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the
brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
Lev 23:41 And ye
shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall
be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in
the seventh month.
Lev 23:42 Ye shall
dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell
in booths:
Lev 23:43 That your
generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in
booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD
your God.
Lev 23:44 And Moses
declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.
Surely it was a time
to help those who could not help themselves!!!!!!!
It was a holy day so
there should be no signs of mourning, but a day of remembering all
the good things God had for them.
It was by their own
disobedience that they had suffered but those days would be over, if
they remained obedient to the Lord.
Hab 2:20 But the
LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before
him.
Zep 1:7 Hold thy
peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at
hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
It will be the same
when the Lord returns:
Zec 2:10 Sing and
rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the
midst of thee, saith the LORD.
Zec 2:11 And many
nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my
people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know
that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
Zec 2:12 And the
LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall
choose Jerusalem again.
Zec 2:13 Be silent,
O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy
habitation.
It was a day of
peaceful celebration because they had heard the Word of God and they
had understood it!
*****Neh 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.
We must understand
all the great revivals in our history began with a hunger for the
truth of God!!!!!
This comes only by
His Words and those who preach God's Words and not their own
words!!!!!!
There is truly a
sweetness in God's Peace!!!!!!
There is a dire need
today within all societies for all Christian believers to study the
Word of God, and awaken those who do not know the truth of God!
The Word of God does
not only teach the commandments of God, but it teaches us how to be
obedient to those commandments!
Here in the Bible
belt of America many have become insensitive to the Word of God
because it is heard so often, so we treat our Bibles like we treat
other books and we need to get back the joy of the truth of God and
avoid the miseries of this world.
We can still have
the peace of God!!!!!
Php_4:7 And the
peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus.
It is the wondrous
Word of God that keeps us motivated, in the immoral society of today.
We know the truth
and it is not our truth to keep from others, it is indeed the truth
that needs to be heard by all others and explained to all others!
The Word of God will
also arouse us to show compassion to those who are without and those
who are abused by the world today.
You want to make
your life better!
Get into the Word of
God and study and believe!!!!!!
Ask the Holy Spirit
for His help!!!!!
We must understand
that God has no secrets that He is trying to hide from us!
These people had
seen the Temple rebuilt and so what, that it was not as glorious as
the first Temple. Most had not seen the Temple of Solomon.
These people had
seen the city of Israel restored and so what, that there were still
signs of destruction.
These people had
seen the walls of the city restored so they could have that sense of
security that comes with walls.
The Word of God that
also contained much of the history of their nation was again restored
as the Words of Life.
God had met their
needs, so it was not a time to grieve, it was a time to celebrate!
What do we have to
complain about today?
It is still a time
to study the Word of God to know the truth of God.
Jesus Christ is the
God of the Bible.
Col 1:13 Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into
the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 In whom we
have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:15 Who is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him
were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for
him:
Col 1:17 And he is
before all things, and by him all things consist.
We already have the
pure Word of Life. Read it and understand the Love of God!
Amen
Let's Pray!
