Resilient Rebuilders 8: True Revival
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Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let’s get grain so that we may eat and live.” And there were others who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses so that we might get grain because of the famine.” There also were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. And now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
Then I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. So I thought it over and contended with the nobles and the leading people, and said to them, “You are lending at interest, each to his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. And I said to them, “We, according to our ability, have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. So I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the taunting of the nations, our enemies? And likewise I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let’s do without this interest. Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, as well as the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are charging as interest from them.” Then they said, “We will give it back and will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say.” So I called the priests and made them take an oath to act in accordance with this promise. I also shook out the front of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every person from his house and from his possessions who does not keep this promise; just so may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people acted in accordance with this promise.
Intro
Intro
“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ But he replied, ‘I do not want to.’ Yet afterward he regretted it and went. And the man came to his second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; and yet he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even have second thoughts afterward so as to believe him.
Big Idea: The Gospel means that even if we don't start out with our minds set on doing the will of the Lord, there is room for us to change and be set straight before Him.
Truth
Truth
The following are three observations from this text which can help us better walk with the Lord together.
I. People had forgotten who God had called them to be
I. People had forgotten who God had called them to be
Then I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. So I thought it over and contended with the nobles and the leading people, and said to them, “You are lending at interest, each to his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. And I said to them, “We, according to our ability, have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say.
They were not just any people, but were God’s people.
Because the people belonged to God, having already been ransomed by God, the only One who had a right to ownership to the people was God.
If this was true of Israel before Christ, how much more does it apply to His church today.
Christ has ransomed us all with His blood and so we have no right to use and abuse our fellow believers.
Rather than using one another for gain (usary), we are to die to ourselves in order to lift one another up as Christ has done for us.
As God’s people, they were called to care for one another with the very intentionality, grace, and generosity which God had shown them.
We remember that those of us who are in Christ are not like Cain who refused to be his brother’s keeper but destroyed his brother for his own greed and selfishness.
Part of the reason why the church exists, is for the sake of the church. Jesus gave us one another in order to care for one another and build one another up.
So many Christians throughout history have been infected with the "me" virus. This is the old way of Adam and Eve that seeks after our own interests first rather than seeking after God's kingdom first.
If we are about building God's kingdom, we come to realize that it is really about dying to ourselves so that others might live just as Christ died for us that we might live.
Our purpose is to build one another up, not to exploit the church for our own needs, interests, and desires. This is the sin of usary and the Lord has never been pleased with us when we are engaged in it.
Some New Testament examples of usary would be…
The Corinthians who sought after spiritual gifts for personal gain rather than for the building up of the church and the advance of the gospel.
The so called “super apostles” who demeaned Paul and claimed their own authority so they could exercise power over believers for their own gain.
Ananias and Saphira who lied about their gift in order to gain glory for themselves and status in the church. They lied to the Spirit and exploited the hearts of others rather than walking in humility, service to others, and truth.
Like Christ, we are called to be our brother’s keeper and to die to ourselves in order that others might thrive in Him through our lives and ministries.
Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
Romans 12:9–13 (NASB 2020)
Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
II. God’s word through Nehemiah called them back to a life rooted in Him
II. God’s word through Nehemiah called them back to a life rooted in Him
So I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the taunting of the nations, our enemies? And likewise I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let’s do without this interest. Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, as well as the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are charging as interest from them.”
They were called to walk in the fear of the Lord for the good of everyone and for God’s glory in the world.
Dr. R. C. Sproul once wrote about this passage, that our public conduct should enhance the religion we profess.
When people see the light of Christ through the way we live, it is proof to the world that our God is who we claim Him to be.
But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God.”
They were clearly called to reverse their pattern of sin and to follow after a righteous example.
Nehemiah and his brothers had already heeded the call of God and so they were able to call others to follow after their example.
We would do well to remember that if we are to remove the speck from our brother’s eye, we must first remove the log from our own eye (Matthew 7:5).
Jesus wants all of us to be an example of the sort of person our Gospel is calling them to become.
He wants us to heed the call of John the Baptist, to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. This is why He also gives us the Holy Spirit.
“And if your hand or your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fiery hell.
III. There was real repentance
III. There was real repentance
Then they said, “We will give it back and will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say.” So I called the priests and made them take an oath to act in accordance with this promise. I also shook out the front of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every person from his house and from his possessions who does not keep this promise; just so may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people acted in accordance with this promise.
Though the nobles did not begin well, the finished well and God was pleased with them.
Revival is about coming into agreement with God and rejecting the ways of Adam which are latent within us.
They promised to follow the Lord and the followed through.
Oftentimes, we American Christians obsess over the external signs of revival.
We pine after the signs and wonders and I'm not against those. Sometimes they do come and when God does them it is wonderful.
However, God is not concerned with putting on a show for us. He is concerned with our holiness.
True revival is not in the external signs. Those may well come with revival, but true revival is in the true repentance of the house of God.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
It is the putting away of our selfishness, our idols, and the taking up on the cross of Christ.
Humans by nature are a self oriented people, but Jesus calls His followers to come and die.
We aren't called to make it about us. We are called to go after Christ, His glory, His righteousness, and His kingdom.
In Nehemiah, the revival came relatively quietly but the people truly repented.
I guarantee that Jesus was more pleased with their revival than He is with 1000 of our revival meetings filled with excitement but with little lasting repentance.
What Jesus is after is our hearts. When He gets us, that is what pleases Him.
As Jesus says, “wisdom is justified by all her children” (Luke 7:35).
Likewise our faith is proved by the actions which flow out of it.
What use is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
“Is this not the fast that I choose:
To release the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the ropes of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free,
And break every yoke?
Gospel Application
Gospel Application
Who is God? God is our redeemer.
What has God done? He has ransomed His people out of our slavery to sin and death, paying the price for us by the blood of His only begotten Son.
Who are we? We are those who have been set free because Christ has applied His blood to us. As such, we now belong to God rather than to the old dead world order of Adam.
What is God calling us to do? He is calling us to bring glory to His name by living like those whom Christ has set free. This happens when we actively reject participation with sin, when we care for one another and not only for ourselves, being lead by the Holy Spirit rather than the spirit of this age.
Challenge
Challenge
It is not so much about how we start, but about how we finish. It is about being in Christ and the evidence of Christ in us is that we have the Holy Spirit who is rewiring our desires that we might now reject the ways of Adam and learn to walk anew in the ways of Christ.
It doesn’t matter how strong or tall our rebuilt wall is, so long as there is opposition from within the church. We have to get right if we are to be effective as resilient rebuilders of what is broken in our times.
If you have been walking in disobedience to Christ, it is time to regret that decision, to repent, and to turn to Christ alone to save you.
If you have been walking in false religion which lacks true repentance and works which honor Christ, it is time to repent and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into life rather than you leading yourself into destruction.
It is time for all of us to rededicate ourselves to living as people of God in the world for His glory. We must dedicate ourselves to Him and replace the liturgies of our world which are influencing us with Christ, His Word, prayer, and the daily leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.