Untitled Sermon (6)

1. God’s Word Unifies Us

When you read the history of Israel in the book of Judges,

one of the scariest statements at the end of the book is…

“Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

This is what led to all the chaos and sin, and ultimately God’s judgement,

as His people turned away from Him,

to follow their own ways.

Here in Nehemiah,

God’s people desire to once again centre their lives on God’s Word,

and be unified in it.

EXPLAIN

Transition

“God’s Word Unifies Us”

when we gather to:

a. Hear the Word

The Israelites gathered together to “Hear the Word”,

which unified them.

Nehemiah 8:1–3 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.

The Israelites gathered together as one man…

they gathered as one body.

And they wanted Ezra to read from:

“the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel.”

So Ezra read the Law to both men and women,

as well as all who could understand (children and foreigners).

And as he read,

everyone’s ears were attentive.

Summary

God’s Word… God’s commands… God’s covenant…

are to be the centre of His people when they gather.

When we “Hear the Word” together,

it unifies us.

Transition

We are also unified when we…

b. Worship the Word

God had given His people His Word,

and His Word pointed them and taught them about Him,

and so the hearing of the Word led them to Worship God, the Word.

Nehemiah 8:4–6 ESV

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.

As Ezra stood in the presence of all the people,

with leaders on his right and left,

reading God’s Law to them,

he led them in worshiping the God… the Word!

The reason it is so important to centre our lives on the Word,

is because it teaches us who God is,

and how we are to live and worship Him!

Summary

As Ezra read the Law, they came to be reminded of the great God they serve.

As Ezra leads in worship,

the people respond in worship,

and they are unified.

Transition

We are also unified when we…

c. Understand the Word

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.

After Ezra had finished reading the Word,

and the people had worshiped God, the Word,

the leaders went around to the people, and continued teaching,

to make sure that they understood what was being read.

If the people heard the Word but did not understand it,

then how were they supposed to obey it?

Understanding leads to obedience!

Summary

As the Israelites put God’s Word back at the centre of their lives as God’s people,

they were unified as they devoted themselves to:

Hear,

Worship, and

Understand the Word.

ILLUSTRATE — Unity in the early church

The early church had this same kind of devotion to God’s Word.

In the book of Acts we read of the early church.

After Christ rose from the dead and ascended back to heaven,

the Holy Spirit came on the disciples as they gathered.

A huge crowd gathered to see what all the commotion was about,

and taking advantage of the opportunity,

Peter preached a sermon,

leading to about 3,000 people joining the church.

We know that there were people from many different places, cultures and backgrounds.

How could they come together when they had so many differences?

They were unified as they put God’s Word at the centre!

Acts 2:42 ESV

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

How did all these people stay unified?

When they came together,

God’s Word was at the centre.

Summary

The apostles faithfully taught the Word of God,

and as they understood God’s Word together,

they were unified as they worshiped the same God!

APPLY

We too will be unified when we gather with God’s Word at the centre of all that we do.

As we grow as a church,

we have people coming from different backgrounds and cultures,

and we run the risk of having disunity and quarrelling.

How do we fight against this possibility?

By keeping God’s Word at the centre!

That is exactly what we are striving to do here at LEMC!

We believe that God the Father,

working through His Word by God the Spirit,

will transform us into the image of God the Son.

Therefore,

God’s Word is the emphasis of all that we do as a church!

When we gather on a Sunday morning:

We begin with God’s Word/prayer…

We sing songs that are based on God’s Word…

We read God’s Word throughout our singing…

We pray pastoral prayers based on God’s Word…

We preach God’s Word/biblical sermons.

When we gather on Wednesday Nights:

We study God’s Word.

We may at times study books, or learn disciplines/principles based on God’s Word.

When our children and youth gather on Sundays and throughout the week:

They are taught from curriculum’s based on God’s Word.

As we centre all that we do on God’s Word,

God will unify us!

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Personal Application (bring to point #3???)

How about you?

Is God’s Word at the centre of your life?

As we strive for unity here at LEMC,

it is important that you keep God’s Word at the centre of your life.

Each and every day you should be seeking to:

Hear from God in His Word…

Worship God…

as you come to know and understand Him in His Word!

One way you can join us in centre-ing your life on God’s Word,

is by reading through the Bible with us.

At the beginning of this year we began a new church-wide Bible reading plan.

How many of you are reading through that with us?

Amazing!

If you have another Bible reading plan that you’re doing that’s fine.

But if you don’t, we welcome you to join us as we centre our lives on God’s Word.

Summary

As we faithfully put God’s Word at the centre of our lives as the people of God,

He will unify us through the power of His Spirit,

as we seek to make His name great!