4.6.35 7.18.2021 Nehemiah 8.1-8 Revival
Restoring Hope by Renewing our Focus • Sermon • Submitted
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Entice: I am asked all the time and maybe you wonder as well. "What's wrong?" Often time people ask the question about the country. For some that is appropriate and perhaps even necessary. That is not my primary concern. I am called to proclaim the "unsearchable riches of Christ." I am called to lead this local congregation of the saints, this local assembly-point for the Kingdom of God. I do everything I can to not be distracted by lesser concerns.
The question is valid for the Church. As we move forward from the pandemic, we are still moving kind of slow. Like a child emerging from a nap, we are a little groggy, moving a little slow.
The "Worship Industrial Complex" has answers.
Prepackaged sermons (with graphics, illustrations, handouts, and advertisements)!
The latest Top-40 radio, culturally relevant, engaging, entertaining contemporary "Worship" music!
Podcasts, videos, blogs, and seminars to teach your Pastor how to entertain like the Mega-Pastor you hear on KLOVE!
Start a new Church, build a new building…or…
Get a new Pastor!
Engage: We don't need new methods. The methods we are using and the models we are following are largely the problem.
• They entertain but do not enlighten.
• They dumb-down but do not disciple.
• They excite but do not engage.
• The generate wonder but not genuine worship.
• Expand: Today we will look at a story of a group of people who stand in the sun so that they might listen to God's word for the purpose of executing His will.
1 And 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.
2 So 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.
3 And 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.
4 And 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.
5 And 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.
6 And 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.
7 Also 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.
8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
I fear that the 21 century Church does not want it bad enough to do the same thing.
Excite: Because
Explore:
Revival occurs when God's people respond to God's Word.
Revival occurs when God's people respond to God's Word.
Explain: In this text we are reminded of central responses of God's people.
Body of Sermon: We respond
1 As Covenant defined People.
1 As Covenant defined People.
Nehemiah 8:1–4 (ESV)
1 And 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.
2 So 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.
3 And 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.
4 And 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.
One of our persistent flaws as people is that we constantly view the world primarily as if it revolves around us. We are me driven. This narcissism can also become a cultural trait. So, when we think of what makes the Church the Church, we commonly define it with respect to our needs, our wants, our preferences, our concerns. God of course, does not. His definition of Church revolves around His covenant and our call in Jesus. God thinks of the Church in terms of body, discipleship, and service. God thinks of the Church in terms of His continuing mission to redeem the world from the fall. We say the words all the time that "it is not about us." Then we turn right around and make it "all about us."
So one of the principle tasks of Nehemiah, Ezra, and the rest of the post-exilic leaders was to help Judah see themselves as covenant-defined people not culture- derived people.
We are still fighting that battle!
We are still fighting that battle!
The centrifugal force of culture has an enormous allure for us. We want our church to flourish and have impact. Because we want to make a difference we often simply forget that we have been set apart for God's purposes. Revival calls us back from self-centered, culturally derived motives, definitions, and delusions. So Nehemiah and Ezra call God's people together as an…
1.1 An assembly of auditors.
1.1 An assembly of auditors.
•God's people gather to hear God's word proclaimed. This is a primary responsibility of God's people throughout the Bible and continues to be the primary function of the Church. We gather to be reminded of His claim upon us. We gather to remember His call. We gather to refocus upon the charter of saving faith.
While it may be true that there are a variety of ways to approach this responsibility, we must never forget the primary and most elementary reason is to hear His word proclaimed so that we might practice it. Music has become a central defining characteristic of worship in the 21st century. In congregational worship, music should never be entertainment. Music should never become a distraction or substitute for the clear teaching of the Word.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
• All the arts, all the disciplines, all of the creative capacities at our disposal can help us to fulfill the purpose of assembling to attend to the Word of God. When any of those things deflect from the Word, distract from the Word, or detract from the Word they should be dispensed with so that we can assemble faithfully as covenant-defined people for the purpose of auditing and applying the Word of God.
• When we assemble for the right reason we will find then that we are in truth a….
1.2 A congregation commanded by God.
1.2 A congregation commanded by God.
Not merely a mob. Not an audience awaiting entertainment or amusement. No. We are God's covenant-defined, covenant-shaped people gathering to obediently listen and compliantly obey. We listen so that we might do. We pay attention in order that we might practice.
Because we are listening to what God says because we are being defined and shaped by our covenant relationship with Him we also identify
2 As Commitment defined People.
2 As Commitment defined People.
Nehemiah 8:5–6 (ESV)
5 And 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.
6 And 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.
Faith is not merely agreement with what we hear. Biblical faith begins with agreement but then implies that this hearing of God's word is life changing. Believing means that we are defined by the commitment we make to God to continue upon the path of faithful, diligent listening. Once shaped by the commitment we make to Christ we are being continuously reshaped and reconfigured by His word dwelling within us, His word taking deeper root, His word forming a greater percentage of our character. As we continue working through Nehemiah 8 we see this demonstrated through
2.1 Reverence for Revelation.
2.1 Reverence for Revelation.
In our world we are bombarded with a constant flow of information. We try and filter it. We organize and categorize it. We assemble it and seek understanding. In our data-driven information society we are tempted to view all information, all text, all data, all messages as pretty much the same. The Church needs to rediscover the kind of reverence for God's Word which caused these people to stand in awe because the Creator-God of the universe had taken the initiative to address His fallen creatures.
This seems foreign to our approach to public worship, foreign to our appreciation of the Bible, foreign to our ways of acknowledging God's authority amongst us. Maybe it is foreign because we are allowing the world to dictate our understanding of the Bible and how we should approach it. Throughout history the Church has exhibited a profound reverence for the Bible. For nearly sixteen centuries the Bible had a greater impact on culture than any other source of information. It is only within the last 300 years that we have lost respect for and reverence in the Bible. Having dismissed the revelatory power of the Bible is there really any surprise that we lost respect and reverence for God.
That day in Judah Nehemiah and Ezra made it very clear that reverence for God's revelation was at the very center of what it meant to be committed to HIM. A Faith which is beyond definition and description is useless. if you cannot point to it and say "That above and beyond every other message--that is what I believe!"
When we properly reverence God's revealed word we will then respond with
2.2 Worship formed by the Word.
2.2 Worship formed by the Word.
Let me repeat that…Worship formed by the Word. If it is not formed by an accurate reading of Scripture, if it is not articulated with theological fidelity and clarity, if it is not focused on the saving Work of God in Jesus, if it is not God centered and community focused IT IS NOT WORSHIP.
The focus on the individual, the focus on peripheral issues like style of music and physical environment, the reliance on the manipulative strategies of marketing, the emergence of entertainment as the primary standard of "success", the removal or hiding of Biblical content in the name of "visitors", "seekers", or the lost—these are baseless, cowardly excuses for the plain fact that do not read enough Bible, believe enough Bible, or know enough Bible for it to actually form how we worship. Shame on us! Shame on the Church! Shame on our selfish, shallow, silly motives!
They stood in the sun and worshipped.
They stood in the sun and worshipped.
They stood in the sun and listened.
They stood in the sun and listened.
They stood in the sun and obeyed.
They stood in the sun and obeyed.
They stood in the sun and became a community.
They stood in the sun and became a community.
They stood in the sun and experienced revival.
They stood in the sun and experienced revival.
We sit in comfort and complain if we don't "get fed".
We sit in comfort and complain if we don't "get fed".
We sit in comfort and whine if we don't get our way.
We sit in comfort and whine if we don't get our way.
We sit in comfort and sulk if there is more preaching than "play".
We sit in comfort and sulk if there is more preaching than "play".
I hear lots of complaints about a Godless culture. I'm beginning to think the real problem is an immature, feckless, illiterate, shallow, self-centered Church.
The contemporary Church is like Judah before the exile.
The contemporary Church is like Judah before the exile.
It's time for us to be the Church standing at attention in the sun to learn how to worship in a manner formed by the Word so that our worship might please the Word made flesh.
When we get covenant right and commitment right that will mean that we increasingly see ourselves
3 As Content defined People.
3 As Content defined People.
Nehemiah 8:7–8 (ESV)
7 Also 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.
8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
God's people are formed by God's Word. Having a high view of the inspiration and authority of the Bible is practically useless if we do not know and cannot articulate the actual message.
I get asked all the time what does the contemporary Church need? What is wrong? How do we fix it? There is an entire industry which is focused on addressing the same questions. Much of it is, in my Biblically informed, professional opinion; dead wrong.
This will not be fixed by externals.
This will not be fixed by externals.
This will not be fixed by contemporary music.
This will not be fixed by contemporary music.
This will not be fixed by blended music.
This will not be fixed by blended music.
This will not be fixed by traditional music.
This will not be fixed by traditional music.
This will not be fixed by sprucing up the building.
This will not be fixed by sprucing up the building.
This will not be fixed by adding a light show,
This will not be fixed by adding a light show,
fog machine,
fog machine,
dance,
dance,
drama,
drama,
juggler
juggler
trapeze artist
trapeze artist
expensive programming
expensive programming
This will not be fixed by focusing on the externals because the externals are not the real issue. Externals distract us from the central issue which is that we don’t know the Bible well enough to fulfill what God expects. We have not stood in the sun listening in awe to scripture; and that lack of desire to do the hard yet necessary thing is killing the Church.
You cannot be a Biblical Christian and not know what the Bible says! The 21st century has been a kaleidoscopic attempt to get the right results by focusing on the wrong thing. It will not work. If the car is out of gas it does not matter if it is immaculately detailed.
That day in Jerusalem Ezra, Nehemiah, and their assistants demonstrated what it takes to form a content-defined people a Church that knows what and why it believes what it claims to believe.
Like many seemingly insurmountable problems the solution is actually pretty simple. It comes down to
3.1 Reading.
3.1 Reading.
Publicly and privately. At worship (which involves the assembled body) and in devotion (which is you, your family, or partner) the Bible must be at the center of what the Church is doing. We cannot program, plan, entertain, or even serve our way out of our current circumstances. Until we read the word of God like our community life depends on it we will flail and bail. For too long the Church has been a jack-of-all-trades while neglecting the one thing we are called to master. The contemporary Church has become an institutional Martha working hard at what seems important while mocking the Marys in our midst for being old-fashioned, out of touch, and ineffective.
So we must read. Re-read. and read some more. Inevitably during all of this reading of scripture someone will raise their hand and say "um…what's that mean?" That brings us to the second step of becoming content-defined people
3.2 Interpreting.
3.2 Interpreting.
For there to be interpretation means that there are some who will have deeper understanding, a more mature outlook, a broader perspective. Until the last 120 years it was understood that while everyone should read the Bible, and that everyone was responsible for the content of the Bible—there is a need for "pastor-teachers", preachers, interpreters who help provide a clear understanding of parts of the Bible which might seem complicated or unclear. We have democratized the interpretation of the Bible to the extend that we will pay attention to anyone who says what we like regardless of how unhinged it is from the actual text. This is a part of a broader cultural trend called the Death of Expertise.
Now, I love and respect Joe Miller. And I am sure that he has picked up from Justin some of the mechanics of being an orthopedic surgeon. He might even have read up on some of the more common procedures. If I need a hip replacement I'm going to Justin, not Joe. If I need a hip replacement I need an expert.
If we need complicated passages of scripture interpreted we need an expert.
If we need clear, faithful, Biblical preaching we need an expert.
If we want to take the next step to Christian maturity we need interpretation in the context of the local congregation worshipping in this place. In other words we need leaders of integrity who will join God's people out in the sun faithfully interpreting scripture teaching the Church how to apply it.
Because the goal, the purpose, the reason for reading and interpreting is
3.3 Understanding.
3.3 Understanding.
If you have been a Christian for 5, 10, 15 years and do not understand the relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—shame on you and shame on me! If you have been a believer and cannot give simple witness to an unbeliever of what the Cross means…what in the sam-hill have you been doing during worship.
If you have questions ask me and I will try and answer them. If you wonder about this or that…I will help you put together a strategy for Biblical clarity. I readily admit that I am no entertainer, but if you stick with me week in, week out I am going to take you through this process of reading, interpreting, and understanding. You can understand. The Church must understand. There is no more new revelation. This is it. We need to read, interpret, and understand like we are being tested. Because…we are. As someone called to proclaim the Word Paul put it this way to me and my colleagues...
1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
Shut Down:
• If you want the Church to be a circus…hire a ringmaster. If you want church to be a magic act hire a clown. If you want church to be cabaret hire dancers. if you want the church to be entertainment…hire entertainers. If, however, you want church to be an assembly for worship. If you want Church to be a kingdom outpost. If you want the Church to lift praises to the King of Kings. If you want the Church to hear and respond to God…If you want real revival and not momentary amusement you will need preaching. Biblical preaching, Biblical leaders, and Biblical expectations.
• Nehemiah knew that Judah had gone into captivity because of distraction, dalliance, and dereliction of covenant duty. It was not going to happen again. Not on his watch. Not with Ezra to lead the revival.
• Revival means getting the grubby mitts of culture off of Christ's Church. For that to happen we must be hearers and doers of the word.
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