Turn Back to God
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Scripture
Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much, that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year, when I was in the fortress city of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile. 3 They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”
4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens. 5 I said, Lord, the God of the heavens, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands, 6 let your eyes be open and your ears be attentive to hear your servant’s prayer that I now pray to you day and night for your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins[a] we have committed against you. Both I and my father’s family have sinned. 7 We have acted corruptly toward you and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances you gave your servant Moses.
8 Please remember what you commanded your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples. 9 But if you return to me and carefully observe my commands, even though your exiles were banished to the farthest horizon,[b] I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have my name dwell.” 10 They are your servants and your people. You redeemed them by your great power and strong hand. 11 Please, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to that of your servants who delight to revere your name. Give your servant success today, and grant him compassion in the presence of this man.[c] At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.
Context
This week, we are beginning a new sermon series through the book of Nehemiah, which is found in the historical section of the Old Testament in your Bible. It’s worth noting, that for a long time in history, the books of Nehemiah and Ezra were included together, as these two books were very much intertwined and we see the priest Ezra make an appearance a few times later in this book. By and large, it is expected that Nehemiah himself penned this book of the bible under the Holy Spirit’s instruction and inspiration.
This historical recording of the events that happened in Jerusalem, took place during very dark times for the Jewish nation. As, they had been at this time dispersed and held captive as a people under the judgement of God for their rejection and treachery as a people against Him; despite that fact that centuries He sent out prophets to call them back to Him and to repentance. This captivity would be from one of the great powers of the time, Babylon and at first happened under the kingship of Nebudcadnezzer, whom God would use as an instrument to disperse the Jewish people. Now, here we are almost 150 years later (in the mid 5th century BC), with the exile still happening, and the people feeling very much fallen, defeated, and far off from God. King Artaxerxes I of Babylon/Persia sat on the throne, and had an Isrealite sitting well within one of his most important positions in his court. God was about to move in way they hadn’t seen in while (because they had not sought God, until now).
From this book, we see continued themes of God’s Love for His people, a need for repentance, and our reliance on God over and over again. From today’s text alone, it is quite clear that God wants His people closer to him, which means what for You? That God is always calling you into a closer relationship with Him. So, let’s see that unfold for Nehemiah and the people of Israel and what that means for us and jump into the text where, I want to see and understand these truths about God and your relationship with Him.
Message
The first truth I want you to see and understand about your relationship with God is that: God gives consequences for sin 1-3
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year, when I was in the fortress city of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile. 3 They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”
We begin this book with a very clear indication about who wrote this book and when it was written. This was written in the Jewish month of Chislev, our November/December in the 20th year of the king's reign, while his cort was in their winter retreat of the fortress city of Susa. While there, one of Nehemiah’s kin, his brother Hanani came from Judah. Interested in how his people were doing, Nehemiah asked him how the survivors and remnants (those that were not taken away/remained in Jerusalem) were fairing. Afterall, there had been interesting news ever since Ezra the priest had come onto the scene. Now, the report was not good, as Nehemiah would have been well aware, the King had been put against the Jewish people because of lies spread by the old kings and kingdoms that were enemies of Israel. Hanani told him how terrible the situation was, the people were in deep distress, suffering frequent attacks and raids, and by the king's decree they were not allowed to protect themselves by rebuilding their city and its walls (which we read about in Ezra chapter 4). As a result of these attacks, what progress had been made was undone, and the people were vulnerable, distressed, disgraced, and humiliated. Ultimately, the ones Israel had to blame for this, was themselves; as God had warned them to stop their idol worship (putting things above Him) and had given them many many many opportunities to turn away from their sins. Yet they did not, and their sin only worsened as they leaned into their depraved minds and desires. We see this unfold in several of the books of the prophets, but especially in Jeremiah and Daniel.
Actions, by their own reality, must have consequences; whether they be good or bad. As anyone who has ever had a part in raising (or for that fact being) a child, you know that doing good gets you rewards (good consequences), but doing wrong gets you punishment (bad consequences). Just as it was or is for you and your parents, teachers, bosses, whoever it is or was with authority over you, so it is with God. If you continue unrepentant in your sin, there will be a natural consequence to follow. For the Isrealites, they had more opportunities to get it right and more sins that we can count or measure. So, they received a consequence (being removed from their promised land and their kingdoms driven out ) so that they would realize their need to get it right, and rely on God and worship Him only once again.
For you, as a child of God, your consequences for your continuation in sin and need for repentance will look often like this is in some way shape or faction. So, if you find yourself going through any of these, I urge you to take immadent and honest action to return to God. Here are a few: 1, you notice a lack of closeness with God, your prayers go continually unanswered and you feel bitter, betrayed, and unseen by Him. 2, the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) are not presenting themselves in your day to day life. 3, your want or will to gather with other believers (the church) is lessened and no longer a joy. 4, You find doing any spiritual discipline (such as bible reading, prayer, singing worship songs, etc) difficult to want to do even though you are capable of it. 5, you find yourself willfully and knowingly violating the commands and statues of God. All of these come down to something (sin), and a natural consequence for them is a lack of closeness to God, a closeness that your whole being longs to have. So, don’t let sin separate you from God as it does, instead understand that God is always calling you into a closer relationship with Him. and put away whatever it is that is keeping you from having one.
The next truth I want you to see and understand about your relationship with God is that: God will receive your honest repentance 4-7
4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens. 5 I said, Lord, the God of the heavens, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands, 6 let your eyes be open and your ears be attentive to hear your servant’s prayer that I now pray to you day and night for your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins[a] we have committed against you. Both I and my father’s family have sinned. 7 We have acted corruptly toward you and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances you gave your servant Moses.
Hearing this report from his brother, Nehemiah was greatly troubled. He sat down, wept, cried, mourned for several days. He was desperate for his God, our God from this news. To show his desperation and seriousness of it, he took fasting (in this case most likely from food and drink) and focused his time and energy on honest and heartfelt prayer of intervention and supplication to God. His prayers went roughly like this: “God of heaven who keeps His covenants (Promises) to your beloved people, here this request by your servants (who previously rebelled against you, but now I and we bow before you), I and all family have sinned against you in terrible, rude, disrespectful, dishonoring ways. We have acted as a corrupt and terrible people against you, not keeping your commands, statues, and ordinance you gave to us through Moses. In essence, Nehemiah is praying a prayer of repentance (confession, turning away from sins, and asking for forgiveness) from the wrongs he, his family, and all the people of Israel have done against God, this is in spite of God showing them time and time against that He alone is worthy of all worship, adoration, and praise, and that He is God worthy of relying and trusting in. God provided Himself faithfulness, and the people have proved themselves faithless.
These people, needed to turn back from their wicked ways, which on the surface they may not have seen as wicked, or the slow descent into it was so gradual, they didn’t notice. In Canada, their is a remote town called wabus, in the Labrador region. This town was remote and unreachable for quite some time. That was until a single unpaved road was built to it. To get out of Wabash, once you are there, is only one way, to turn around and go back the way you came. Just like Wabash, we all find ourselves (more often then we like to admit) in a town called Sin. God Himself built a single way out of it, that is turn around (repent) and walk back to Him.
Repentance, is not just something you can do if you aren’t serious about it. You have to mean it, then you have to do work of doing it, you have to turn around and rearrange your life, how you think, do, and act if you really mean it. Feeling bad about sin, or admitting to that whatever it is, is sin, is not repentance, while it is a necessary part of the journey, that is just the feeling of guilt, that is in no way all of it. Empty are words are just that, empty, not genuine, and you aren’t fooling anyone, and you especially aren’t fooling God. So mean it, do it, and make changes that will last. And here is the thing, God WILL receive that honest repentance of yours, no doubt about that. Be honest, and seek Him, and you will find yourself in a close and sweeter relationship with Him, which is just what you desire and what He does as well because God is always calling you into a closer relationship with Him. So, put away the big and small sins and offer to Him your honest repentance and turning towards Him.
Another truth I want you to see and understand about your relationship with God is that: God will restore you from your sin. 8-11
8 Please remember what you commanded your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples. 9 But if you return to me and carefully observe my commands, even though your exiles were banished to the farthest horizon,[b] I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have my name dwell.” 10 They are your servants and your people. You redeemed them by your great power and strong hand. 11 Please, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to that of your servants who delight to revere your name. Give your servant success today, and grant him compassion in the presence of this man.[c] At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.
Nehemiah’s prayer continues, he calls up God, as one of His people, to remember (that is, bring about) what He said he was going to do. Well, the first part had already been, as they had been dispersed for their disobedience as a people, but furthermore God promised, and so He did gather them back to the nation that God had chosen for them. God redeemed them oh so many times (as He did once and for all for His people by the death of Jesus). So, Nehemiah asks for the people of Israel to strongly remember, and love their God once again, that they may be restored. Nehemiah then asks, for help in where his part would play, that he would have success when approaching the king, as he was well placed to be an influencer on the situation, as one of the kings most trusted servants, the cupbearer, which made him a man that the king put the trust of keeping his very life in day by day.
Restoration is such a beautiful thing. From time to time, I come across videos of old cars, tractors, and any other mechanical thing being restored to its former glory and even further. It all starts the same, something broke down in an old junkyard, scrap yard, or an old falling down barn. Someone comes in, finds the thing, in a sad shape, having not been used in anywhere between 20-50 years. Some minor work is done to see if it’s even possible. If so, it’s rolled onto a trailer and taken to shop. The change doesn’t happen over night, even with a professional with all the resources and tools you need, these jobs can take months to do. Bound parts need to be unbound, stuck clamps need to come off, grease or wd40 needs to go into all kinds of nooks and carnies, parts need to be hunted down and replaced, paint and rust needs to be sanded off, and new paint needs to be put on and dried. Then, after some time, hard effort, and with much joy the restorer gets to enjoy something that anyone else would have thought was impossible or useless, a fully restored and unique truck/tractor/engine that is unlike any other on the road or working in a field.
Brothers and sisters, it doesn’t matter how rusty, how dirty, grimey, broken, or overlooked you are. God sees what you can be and has more than enough to get you there. All that has to happen is that you want to be restored. That you want to be restored to God, that you don’t want that separation between Him and you to happen anymore because of the sin that you are holding onto. He wants you to feel that closeness from restoration day by day, minute by minute, second by second. He wants you to delight in Him every bit as much as He does in you (which is way more than we can wrap our minds around). God is always calling you into a closer relationship with Him. To get closer to Him, you must be willing to be restored to Him, that is forgiven of your sins of any manner and kind.
Conclusion
Beloved, that closeness with God, is what you have been longing for deep in your heart. There are all kinds of things that you can look to fill it in the way that you don’t need. A short list can be: drugs, addiction, pride in self, pride in family, pride in you good deeds, stealing, lying. Essentially, anything that causes you to point to it or yourself more than you point to God. Search in those places in vain believer and non believer alike. You will be disappointed, because the only thing that can fill your God sized hole in your heart is God. So, instead of looking in the wrong places, Return to God, and remember these truths about regarding your relationship with Him, God gives consequences for sin 1-3, God will receive your honest repentance 4-7, and God will restore you from your sin. 8-1. He is calling you, yes you even right now to a closer relationship with Him, so will you answer?
With all of that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God, though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do is accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.
With that, Let’s conclude. Brothers and Sisters, I love you all. During our last song together, if you need prayer, or want to talk more about Jesus, or have something you want to talk about, I’ll be here, don’t be afraid to come on down. Let’s pray. Father God, we thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us here in this place. May whatever it is that You are doing in each heart here, continue as we leave to go out into the world this week. Change us, mold us, make us, re-arrange us, that we can be both better lovers of You and better proclaimers of You. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.
