We are the People of God
Notes
Transcript
Planning
Planning
Passage
Passage
4 Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt. 5 So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there: 6 These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, 7 in company with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah): The list of the men of Israel: 8 the descendants of Parosh 2,172 9 of Shephatiah 372 10 of Arah 652 11 of Pahath-Moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab) 2,818 12 of Elam 1,254 13 of Zattu 845 14 of Zakkai 760 15 of Binnui 648 16 of Bebai 628 17 of Azgad 2,322 18 of Adonikam 667 19 of Bigvai 2,067 20 of Adin 655 21 of Ater (through Hezekiah) 98 22 of Hashum 328 23 of Bezai 324 24 of Hariph 112 25 of Gibeon 95 26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah 188 27 of Anathoth 128 28 of Beth Azmaveth 42 29 of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah and Beeroth 743 30 of Ramah and Geba 621 31 of Mikmash 122 32 of Bethel and Ai 123 33 of the other Nebo 52 34 of the other Elam 1,254 35 of Harim 320 36 of Jericho 345 37 of Lod, Hadid and Ono 721 38 of Senaah 3,930 39 The priests: the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua) 973 40 of Immer 1,052 41 of Pashhur 1,247 42 of Harim 1,017 43 The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua (through Kadmiel through the line of Hodaviah) 74 44 The musicians: the descendants of Asaph 148 45 The gatekeepers: the descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita and Shobai 138 46 The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, 47 Keros, Sia, Padon, 48 Lebana, Hagaba, Shalmai, 49 Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, 50 Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda, 51 Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah, 52 Besai, Meunim, Nephusim, 53 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, 54 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, 55 Barkos, Sisera, Temah, 56 Neziah and Hatipha 57 The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, Sophereth, Perida, 58 Jaala, Darkon, Giddel, 59 Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-Hazzebaim and Amon 60 The temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon 392 61 The following came up from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer, but they could not show that their families were descended from Israel: 62 the descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda 642 63 And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai (a man who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name). 64 These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 65 The governor, therefore, ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food until there should be a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim. 66 The whole company numbered 42,360, 67 besides their 7,337 male and female slaves; and they also had 245 male and female singers. 68 There were 736 horses, 245 mules, 69 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys. 70 Some of the heads of the families contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls and 530 garments for priests. 71 Some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. 72 The total given by the rest of the people was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver and 67 garments for priests. 73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the temple servants, along with certain of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns. When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, 1 all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel. 2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. 4 Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. 5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read. 9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 11 The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.” 12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them. 13 On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the teacher to give attention to the words of the Law. 14 They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month 15 and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”—as it is written. 16 So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great. 18 Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.
Passage structure
Passage structure
Neh 7:4-5 - Nehemiah, under God’s direction, assembles the people for registration and finds the genealogy of the first returnees
Neh 7:6-73 - The first returnees
Neh 8:1-8 - Ezra reads (and the Levites interpret) the Book of the Law of Moses (Pentateuch) to all the people, who listen
Neh 8:9-12 - Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites instruct the people to celebrate, not weep
Neh 8:13-18 - All the people joyfully celebrate the festival of the seventh month (v. 15, also known as the Feast of Booths or Festival of Tabernacles)
Big stuff
Big stuff
Big idea: Live as one people of God, joyfully serving God according to his word together.
Fallen condition focus: We try to create our own identity.
Good news statement: God has given us a new identity as his people.
Big question: Who are we?
Sermon structure
Sermon structure
Intro
Reach Australia, The Quiet Revival
The weakness of expressive individualism and creating your own identity.
Aim of the sermon is to help us see ourselves as God’s people (not just individuals seeing themselves as a child of God)
Secondary aim is for non-Christians to see the goodness of being part of the people of God
1, The people of God are one (Neh 7:4-8:18)
Unity between Nehemiah and the Ezra 2 returnees
Unity between us and the Jews in Nehemiah’s time
Neh 8:1 - they came together as one
Repetition of “all”
Neh 8:1 all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
Don’t include - Neh 8:2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand.
Neh 8:3׃He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
Neh 8:5׃Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up.
Neh 8:6׃Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Neh 8:9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
Neh 8:11 The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.”
Neh 8:12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.
Neh 8:13׃On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the teacher to give attention to the words of the Law.
Neh 8:15 and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”—as it is written.
Neh 8:17׃The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.
Application: Live as part of the one people of God.
To Christians: You aren’t just a Christian doing your own thing. You’re part of the one people of God.
1 Peter 2:9 “9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
United with those in Nehemiah’s time
United with Christians from long ago
United with people in other churches today (Gungahlin Bible Church, Crossroads, Good Shepherd Anglican)
If you don’t recognise this
Too much emphasis on what you can do
Lack of belonging
Lack of mutual celebration and mourning
Lack of purpose
Goodness:
Part of something bigger
Sharing joy with others
Don’t have to do everything yourself (NT metaphor of the body) but can rely on one another
Transition: Knowing who you are shapes what you do
Gamer, pastor, husband
2, The people of God listen to his word (Neh 8:1-8)
Climax of the book of Nehemiah
Explain Neh 1-8 on them all actively listening to God’s word
Broader theology and Bible: The people of God listen to his word.
Application
This is why we spend so much time in the Bible at New Life
Spend time in the Bible
Yes, individually, but the emphasis is on all the people together listening to God’s word
Challenge to the person who comes semiregularly
Gratitude and encouragement to those who do come regularly
Transition: Listening to the word means doing it. And one of the big things in God’s word is celebration.
3, The people of God celebrate his goodness (Neh 8:9-18)
Explain Neh 8:9-18
The wrong response to hearing the Law (vv. 9-12)
Why they wept: maybe because they realised how they had failed to live according to God’s law
Why it was wrong: not because it’s wrong to grieve (which we’ll see next week) but because this day (Neh 8:2) was the Feast of Trumpets and Nehemiah explains that it’s a joyful day.
Celebrating the Festival of Tabernacles / Feast of Booths (vv. 13-18)
Discovering the Festival of Tabernacles in the Law (Lev 23:33–43)
Purpose: Remembering God’s provision for them (the people of God) during the 40 years in the wilderness and God’s continual provision for them
Celebration is about God and his goodness.
Application
God’s provision to us clearly seen in Christ
Central: Justification by faith
Results: Church family, God as our Father, hope, peace, comfort
Challenge to the non-Christian
So we celebrate!
Not the Festival of Tabernacles, but
Baptism
Lord’s Supper
Speaking
1 Peter 2:9 “9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Interview
Singing
Communally, not just individually
‘We Declare’
Because we are the people of God.
Conclusion
Jake Fitzpatrick
Finding identity in soccer
Accident and its effects
Identity as a Christian and a part of the people of God
Feedback with Tim
Feedback with Tim
28 minutes
Good
Intro: individualistic culture
Improve
When addressing the non-Christian, express the cultural feeling about the downsides of individualism - “maybe you’re here because you realise there’s more to life”.
Don’t use the same intro each week about a friend who struggles.
Maybe talk about the number differences between the two lists.
Think about the difference between the unity across time and the unity with other congregations.
When speaking to those who don’t come to church regularly, affirm those trying to go to church who don’t go regularly.
Examples of people celebrating God’s goodness could be real examples.
Better or more personal examples about the goodness of being part of the people of God. E.g., “second favourite thing”, “I really enjoy visiting churches when I’m on holiday because I’m meeting with brothers and sisters”
Include things from interview with Renske
Sermon
Sermon
Intro
Intro
Tim and I were recently at a conference.
The Reach Australia National Conference.
We were surrounded by Christian leaders across the world.
And we were thinking about what it looks like to reach Australia with the gospel.
I like these conferences because I get to hear how God is working in other churches as well.
And lots of pastors and leaders talked about how people in their communities are searching.
People are searching for hope, for purpose, for belonging.
And they’re finding these things at church.
One pastor mentioned how an organisation called the Bible Society carried out a survey in the UK.
Around 25,000 adults were surveyed.
And they found similar results.
It’s all in a report called, the Quiet Revival.
The report shows many things, but one thing is clear.
People are coming back to the church.
Why is that?
There are many reasons and it’s ultimately God’s work.
But let’s focus on just one reason for now.
On page 8 of the report, it says this:
“63% of 18-34-year-old churchgoers say they feel close to people in their local area, compared to 25% of non-churchgoers their age”
What are these non-churchgoers feeling so disconnected?
Well a big part of it is what western society is telling them.
What society is telling all of us.
See, we live in a society that’s marked by something called expressive individualism.
Our society tells us everyone should work out their authentic self and live it out.
Our movies, our workplaces, our media, our conversations…
They’re all about figuring out your true self and living it out.
To be fair, there’s something good about this.
It’s good to recognise that we’re all different.
It’s good to recognise that we all have our unique preferences and skills.
We can all love and serve one another in different ways.
Lots of people who have tried figuring out their true self and tried living it out.
And many of them have found it a bit hollow.
Lacking substance.
Without purpose.
Too individualistic.
If identity and purpose are just things I create for myself, is there any real, substantial purpose in my life?
And is there any real sense of connection with others if we all just decide our own ways to live?
These struggles have led lots of people to look for something that’s not just self-made.
There must be something more.
And the answer, of course, is found in God.
This answer is the gospel.
It’s what we’ll see in today’s passage.
In today’s passage, I hope that we as the church will see that our identity is the people of God.
Our identity is the people of God and that’s a great identity to have.
And I know not everyone here is a Christian.
If that’s you, I’m glad you’re here.
And my hope for you is that you will see the goodness of being part of the people of God.
The goodness of being part of the people of God.
And perhaps that might be part of your journey to putting your faith in Jesus and joining us as God’s people.
As we go through today’s passage, we’ll see three things.
1, The people of God are one
2, The people of God listen to his word
3, The people of God celebrate his goodness
The people of God are one
The people of God listen to his word
The people of God celebrate his goodness
Let’s get into it.
1, The people of God are one
1, The people of God are one
Point 1, The people of God are one.
Our Bible reading today was only on Nehemiah chapter 8, but today’s sermon is also on 7:4-73.
We didn’t read that out because it’s very long.
With all the numbers there, it’s much faster to read it with your eyes than to read it out loud.
One recording of chapter 7 took 7 minutes.
I guess 7 minutes isn’t that long but it’s quite long for a Bible reading.
Anyway, we’re at the point in history when things have settled down.
The obstacles and opposition have been overcome.
The wall around Jerusalem has finally been built.
But Jerusalem as a city is still somewhat empty.
So Nehemiah as their governor is in the process of helping repopulate Jerusalem.
And the first step to do is to make sure they have a proper list of all the Jews so they can figure out who will live in Jerusalem.
But while Nehemiah’s trying to register all the people, he finds another list.
This list was from the first group of people who returned to Jerusalem.
It’s not the group of people who returned with Nehemiah, but the people who returned with Zerubbabel roughly 90 years ago.
Let’s look at Nehemiah 7:5.
The second sentence of verse 5.
5 ... I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there:
We read about the first to return two months ago, didn’t we?!
Ezra chapter 2.
If you have paper Bible, you might want to keep Nehemiah 7 open and also open Ezra 2.
And if you flip back and forth between these two passages, you’ll see that they’re the same!
If you’re using using your phone Bible, I do encourage you to use a paper Bible so that you can see more of the Bible in one go and there are fewer distractions.
But if you still want to use your phone Bible, my tip is to have two Bible apps so that you can compare Bible passages quickly when you need to.
Anyway, these two passages are the same.
There are some minor differences.
Like one man who went by two different names was listed as Seraiah in one list and Azariah in the other.
Some differences in the numbers as well.
The passage doesn’t directly explain those differences.
It could be that the Ezra list were those who registered to go and the Nehemiah list those who actually went.
Or maybe there’s different critieria for counting, like only men being counted in some sections.
Perhaps Nehemiah’s list includes arrivals for shortly after the first group arrived.
We don’t know the specific reason for those minor differences.
But the two lists are effectively the same.
Now, why does Nehemiah include this list from 90 years ago?
Most, if not all, the people in this list are dead by the time of Nehemiah 7.
What’s so special about including this list again?
Well it’s because the people of God are one.
They are united.
They are still one people even across time.
This list isn’t about a separate group of people.
For Nehemiah and the Jews he’s with, this is their history.
This is their people.
The people of God are one.
This might be a bit strange for some of us.
Not all of us feel this way, but many of us raised in western society feel less connection with those in the past.
I didn’t know my greatgrandparents and I don’t feel any connection with them.
But Nehemiah is including this list of people from 90 years ago because they are his people.
And actually, they are our people too.
This history is part of our history.
They worshipped the true God just as we worship the true God.
And Jesus is a descendant of this group of people, the Jews.
The people of God are one.
And we, New Life Presbyterian Church, are part of this people of God.
It’s not only the list of people in Nehemiah 7 that expresses that unity.
It’s there at the start of chapter 8 as well.
Chapter 8 is said to be the climax of the book of Nehemiah.
All the people gather to hear God’s word.
They all listen attentively and they respond accordingly.
But they’re not just listening and responding as individual Jews.
They are one people of God.
Let’s read Nehemiah 8:1.
1 all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. ...
They are one people.
And as one people, they do everything together in this chapter.
Chapter 8 uses the language of “all” much more than the other chapters.
1 all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up.
6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
And this “all” language is used in the rest of the chapter too.
You get the point, right?
They are all involved.
The people of God are one.
That was true then and it remains true today.
So if you are a Christian, you’re not just an individual Christian doing your own thing.
Being a Christian means being part of the people of God.
Our first Bible reading was from 1 Peter 2.
At the start of the letter, Peter says he’s writing to Christians scattered across Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.
Christians scattered across the country we now know as Turkey or the Republic of Turkeye.
It’s easy for Christians separated from one another to feel isolated and lonely.
But Peter reminds them that they’re not just individual Christians.
They are united.
They are the people of God.
1 Peter 2:9.
[emphasise the plural ‘you’]
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
An individual Christian is never just an individual Christian.
You are part of the one people of God.
This means that we as Christians are with those we’ve just read about in Nehemiah’s time.
We are united with those Peter was writing to in 1 Peter.
We’re united with Christians in other churches.
Renske said she sang worship songs with others in a rehab centre in Brazil.
They may have been from a different country and spoken a different language but they are our brothers and sisters.
The Christians at Crossroads, at Good Shepherd Anglican, in the other churches in Canberra, Australia, and the world...
They are part of God’s family too.
We together are the one people of God.
That’s a huge blessing.
It’s my second favourite thing about being a Christian.
My favourite thing is that God has brought me back into a restored relationship with him through Jesus.
And my second favourite thing is that I’m now part of God’s family.
I’m part of the people of God.
As the people of God, we’re part of something bigger than ourselves.
We belong to one another, because we all belong to God.
We have people to serve and be served by, to encourage and be encouraged by.
We see that on Sundays, with people setting up chairs for others, welcoming others, checking in on each other during morning tea, praying for each other...
It happens throughout the week: providing meals for a family with a new baby, yesterday’s prayer meeting where we prayed for one another and for the world, meeting together at home groups to learn from the Bible together...
I see that when I’m on holidays and I visit another church.
And Christians I’ve never met before will welcome me and some have even prayed for me.
All of this is done with a true, unshakeable foundation for our identity.
God himself.
We do this with a unity in our purpose.
God is the one we worship and live for.
The people of God are one.
And we are part of that one people.
That is a massive blessing.
If that is who we are, how do we know how to live our lives?
2, The people of God listen to his word
2, The people of God listen to his word
We’re at point 2.
2, The people of God listen to his word.
As we mentioned earlier, Nehemiah 8 is the climax of the book.
It’s pretty epic.
All the Jews gather together as one people.
They are there to hear God’s word.
What they had at the time was most likely the first five books of the Bible.
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
These were called the Law, or the Law of Moses.
Ezra is there to read out the Law.
And he gets up on a wooden platform so that everyone can see him.
He reads it from sunrise until noon.
That’s maybe five hours of public Bible reading!
Do the Jews get tired and bored of this?
Let’s find out in chapter 8, verses 2 and 3.
2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
It’s a lot of public Bible reading.
But they listen attentively.
They are the people of God and they know that this is God’s word to them.
They belong to God, so of course they listen to him.
God’s word is so important that his people will listen to it.
Now God’s word can be hard to understand sometimes.
So the Levites, in verses 7 and 8, they step up as well.
They don’t just read God’s word but they help the Jews understand it better.
Because God’s word is so important that people work hard to help each other understand it.
The people of God listen to his word.
And this is why here at New Life Presbyterian, we spend so much time in the Bible.
We are the people of God, so we will listen to him speak to us.
And he speaks to us through his word.
This is why we don’t just have the Bible read out loud.
We have it preached to us, explained to us.
So that all of us can understood what God is saying to us.
The clear application for us then is to listen to God’s word.
To spend time in the Bible.
Now what does it look like to spend time in the Bible?
Our Australian evangelical culture has been greatly influenced by university ministries like AFES and FOCUS.
And in those university ministries, there’s a good emphasis on reading the Bible by yourself and reading the Bible one-to-one.
That’s a great thing.
I know people here who meet up one-to-one to read the Bible.
People here read the Bible by themselves.
These are good things.
But let’s not just think of ourselves as individual Christians.
We’re the people of God.
And in the Bible and across church history, the people of God have regularly gathered together to learn from God’s word.
It’s here in today’s passage.
All the people gather together and all the people listen to God’s word, together.
So how do we spend time in God’s word?
We do it together as God’s people when we gather together each week.
Some of us unfortunately come to church only semi-regularly.
If you’re a Christian and you aren’t actively trying to go to church each Sunday, there’s something a bit off there.
And I’m intentional with saying “actively trying to go to church”.
Because I recognise that there are some people who have good reasons for missing church.
Difficult family circumstances, being in hospital, some conditions or illnesses...
If you’re trying to go to church regularly, whether you make it every week or not, I’m not speaking to you.
I’m speaking to those here who call themselves Christian but aren’t trying to go to church each Sunday.
What does today’s passage say?
Verse 1 - “all the people came together as one”
Verse 3 - “all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law”
It’s not, “all the people except Josiah, who went to play golf instead”.
Or “all the people except Leah, who wanted to sleep in”.
“except Isaiah, who went to work in his fields”.
If you’re a Christian and you aren’t coming to church regularly, I don’t want to guilt you to coming church.
But perhaps God is reminding you today about who you are.
You aren’t just an individual Christian.
You’re part of the people of God.
And God’s people come together each week to spend time in his word.
Let’s live it out.
Come to church each week to spend time in God’s word.
Of course, there are also many of us who are very committed to church.
If that’s you, I want to say thankyou.
Thank you for living out your identity.
Thank you for encouraging those around you to remember that together, we are God’s people.
Thank you for making it worthwhile for Tim and me as we work hard to understand and preach God’s word.
Let’s keep remembering our identity as God’s people.
And let’s keep listening to his word.
Come to church each Sunday to hear God’s word and understand it.
Now, God’s people don’t just listen to his word.
They live it out.
There are many things in God’s word and one of the big things is celebration.
Celebration of God’s goodness.
3, The people of God celebrate his goodness
3, The people of God celebrate his goodness
We’re at point 3.
The people of God celebrate his goodness.
The Jews in our passage have just spent roughly five hours in the Old Testament Law.
How do they respond?
They start mourning and weeping.
They’re most likely sad that they’ve failed God and they’ve failed to live according to his Law.
There are appropriate times to grieve and confess sin.
We’ve seen that a few times in this Ezra-Nehemiah series and we’ll see that next week in chapter 9.
But this day isn’t the right day for it.
Verse 2 says it’s “the first day of the seventh month”.
The Law, specifically Leviticus 23, describes the first day of the seventh month as the Festival of Trumpets.
Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites explain to the Jews that this day is a holy day.
A day not for grief but for joy.
Let’s read verses 9 and 10.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
So the people understand that this day is a day of celebration.
They celebrate with lots of food and drink.
And celebration isn’t limited to just that day.
The Festival of Trumpets is in Leviticus 23.
And Leviticus 23 also describes the Festival of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of Booths).
In the Festival of Tabernacles was a week of celebration.
They celebrated by setting up temporary shelters and lived in them.
It was a festival to help them remember God’s provision and protection.
When the Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness after leaving Egypt, they lived in tents.
And God provided for them and protected them.
For the Jews in Nehemiah’s time, this isn’t some arbitrary ritual.
Even though the forty years in the wilderness was around 1000 years back, this is part of their history.
The people of God are one.
God remains the same.
And just as God provided for his people in the forty years, he has provided for the Jews in Nehemiah’s time.
That’s why they’re celebrating with so much joy.
They are celebrating that God has been good to his people across history and God continues to be good to them.
As Christians, we know that God continues to be good to us.
God’s goodness to us is seen most clearly in Jesus.
Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins.
So if we trust in him, God declares us righteous.
We no longer have to fear eternal death or hell.
Wwe know that when Jesus returns again, we have eternal life in the new creation.
Having eternal life itself is amazing, but there’s more!
God is good in giving us brothers and sisters in Christ.
God is good in giving us hope and joy and peace.
God is good in giving us his word so that we know the best way to live.
Now, most of this sermon has been directed towards Christians.
The people of God.
What if that’s not you?
If you’re not a Christian, maybe you’re here because you’ve tried creating your own identity and found something’s missing.
Maybe you’re here because you realise that there’s more to life.
I don’t know why you’re here, but I do hope you can see how good it is to be part of the people of God.
Perhaps you want to join us.
If that’s you, what does it look like to join the people of God?
Well the people of God describe themselves as brothers and sisters in Christ.
In Christ.
Jesus Christ said that he is the way and the truth and the life.
No one goes to God the Father except through him.
So being part of the people of God means relying on Jesus.
It means accepting that you are a sinner.
It means recognising that you need a Saviour.
That Saviour is Jesus, who died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven.
So you join us as the people of God by taking hold of that forgiveness by trusting in Jesus.
If you want to do that, at the end of this sermon, I will lead us in a prayer.
We will ask God to forgive us because of Jesus.
And if you pray that prayer, you can be confident that God has forgiven you.
That you belong to him.
That you are part of the people of God.
If you become a Christian today or if you’ve been a Christian for a while, our common ground is that God has been good to us.
Especially in sending us Jesus and given us new, eternal life.
And that’s something to celebrate!
How do we celebrate?
With the coming of Jesus, we no longer celebrate with the Festival of Tabernacles.
Jesus has given us two other signs to help us celebrate God’s goodness instead.
There’s baptism, where we remember God’s goodness to us in saving us out of our old lives and into new, eternal life.
There’s the Lord’s Supper, where we remember God’s goodness to us in Jesus.
And that’s what we’ll celebrate today.
We, together, will remember that Jesus’ sacrificial death and how he restores us to God.
And it’s not just in these signs that we celebrate.
We can celebrate in our speech.
Let’s look again at 1 Peter 2 verse 9.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Speaking is part of how we celebrate God’s goodness.
Renske spoke of God using her friend’s prayer to encourage someone struggling in their faith.
And they celebrated that!
A friend at home group shared about how he feels like his faith is the best it’s every been.
Praise God!
We praise God with our lips and we celebrate his goodness.
And we celebrate when we sing.
After this sermon, we are going to sing.
I encourage us to sing with loud voices, and to sing not just as individuals but as the people of God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Because the people of God are one.
We listen to God’s word.
And we celebrate his goodness.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father,
All of us have turned away from you. And by our own efforts, all of us deserve your judgement. So we thank you so much that you have been merciful to us. You sent us Jesus so that we could be forgiven. So please forgive us because of Jesus.
And thank you that you sent us Jesus so that we would be your people. Thank you!
So help us to listen to you. Help us to read your word and learn from it together.
And help us to see how good you are and to celebrate that. You are our loving Father who has given us so many good gifts.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
We are now going to celebrate God’s goodness together.
And we’ll do that in two ways.
We’re going to take part in the Lord’s Supper, where we remember Jesus dying for us.
The elders and other ministry leaders will come up now.
They’ll each grab a tray of bread and juice.
All the bread is gluten free.
They’ll each take care of one section of people.
And if you call yourself a Christian, if you’re part of the people of God, please take some bread and juice.
If you’re not a Christian, you can let the bread and juice pass by.
This is an activity just for the people of God.
And you might like to spend this time thinking about what’s stopping you from joining us as God’s people.
It’s good to belong to God and his people.
And as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, I’ll invite the band to come forward to lead us in this song.
It’s a song called ‘We Declare’.
It uses words from 1 Peter 2.
As we sing it, let’s sing in celebration!
And let’s sing not just as individuals but as the people of God declaring his praises together.
