A Great Revival Pt 3

Introduction

In a 1989 a in Moody’s Christian Magazine an article written by an exiled Russian Christian by the name of Pavel Poloz. In it he wrote about the Christian in Russia at that time versus America. He said, In Russia, Christians are tested by hardship, but in America you are tested by freedom. And testing by freedom is much harder. Nobody pressures you about your religion. So you relax and are not so concentrated on Christ, on His teaching, how He wants you to live." You see, God doesn’t want you or any of us or a church that is ok with remaining the same and plateauing in our faith and the people around. No, he wants us in a close relationship and commitment with Him. He wants you and us to be the kind of disciples that continually lives and shows that we love God, Love people, and make disciples no matter the cost to self, our pride, our emotions, our need for control. God wants us to let go, let Him take control, and instead of finding worth in other things, sins, and vices, to find our worth in that we are forgiven by God in Christ and that we were each and everyone of us made by Him in pure delight, and delights greatly in you. He wants you and us to experience a renewed vigor and love for Him, a revival of Love for Him in our hearts. A revival of commitment to Him. This leads to knowing and understanding that A greater commitment to God is an action that takes place in revival.

Scripture/Prayer

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.

Context

So far, we have seen great things happen in Jerusalem. Things that before every single person in their would have thought was completely impossible and absolutely never going to happen. Yet, with the Power of God and their submission to Him, His appointed leaders, God’s will and now an increasing commitment to God, what was once thought impossible, is now very much happening and completed. You will remember, before the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, the city in ruins, the infrastructure destroyed, most of the people gone in exile, and those that were left were disheartened. Now, it was a populated city filled with God’s Chosen people who had now realized something. That is, they messed up, they and their forefathers, they had strayed far away from God, and now it was time for them to remember Him, worship Him, and commit themselves to Him and His glory.

In the last two weeks, starting in Chapter 8, we have seen the people turn their attention from the revival and renewal of them as a people by rebuilding the city of Jerusalem, but now we see them going through renewal and revival in worship as they are aligning themselves with their and our mighty God. As we have seen from these examples and historical examples this truth stands true, that A greater commitment to God is an action that takes place in revival. Without this to follow, any action by a church body or group of church bodies, no matter how bold and large in scale cannot be called a revival, because God does revival, and if He is God and He cannot fail, then revival will take place and have lasting effects if it is true.So, for the sake of knowing that, watching for that, and preparing for that, let’s jump into the text and from it I want you to see and understand these actions that are related to committing yourself to God that always happen during a great and true revival.

Message

The first action to see, watching for, prepare for, and do is to:

Put your whole being into it 1-29

Now, before I read and explain this bit, for today it will do well for us to know that verses 1-27 are the names of leaders of the people who put their name on the dotted line, saying and agreeing to this covenant (promise built relationship) that they were entering as a people together with regards to their relationship with God. So, go ahead and skip with me down to verse 28 which reads,

28 The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understand and who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoples to obey the law of God— 29 join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath[a] to follow the law of God given through God’s servant Moses and to obey carefully all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of the Lord our Lord.

So, all the people who had participated in the religious observances and put themselves through the time of mourning that they had in previous chapters, came together and made a solemn oath and agreement together. They put their whole being under it, and as was common in the time, when entering an oath/covenant, came with the expectation and knowledge that if I don’t fulfill my side of the bargain, then something very very bad will happen to me. So, this was a serious matter, it was no simple pinky promise. It was a promise and commitment that was so strong, that you would commit yourself to death and terrible punishment if you did not see it through. So, they put their whole beings into this oath. So, what then was the oath? That they (we) (I) will follow the law of God given through God’s servant Moses. I will carefully obey every last bit of it, all of the commands, everything that was ordered, and every prescribed statute. I will do it. For us, we would commit to being strong and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, the kind that as our church mission says “Loves God, Loves People, and Makes Disciples.”

Perhaps we have all been this person or this child before, the kind that doesn’t put their whole being and effort into whatever it is you are doing. Now this doesn’t always put you into a dangerous place, but in the right place and time, it can put you into great peril. And perhaps there is no more dangerous place to find yourself than the half- hatred half-efforted worship and glorification of God. Why? Because as your bible tells you, He is a God that is jealous (serious) about His own name, glory, honor, and worship. Growing up, I had a step cousin by the name of Robert. We were about the same age and got on pretty well together and most of our boyhood antics and mistakes never really got us into too much trouble or harm. One day, Robert, me, my mom, and my uncle were out riding four wheelers. We only had 3, so Robert and I rode together on the same fourwheeler. Now Robert hadn't driven one much before, and had a little bit of a wild side in Him. So, as you would expect, he went too fast, took his eyes off the road. And boom! Into a tree filled gully we go. Very very fortunately for us, the forewheeler went up and did a wheely, and instead of going headfirst into a tree (which could have killed us) the fourwheeler’s underside took almost all the hit and we landed safely, me on my back and him on me. We walked away with only scratches, but the fourwheeler was damaged forever and only limped back home. Not taking what you're doing seriously, not putting your whole being into it, can have huge and terrible effects, and you DO NOT want to find yourself in a place where you are not taking God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ Seriously.

The people in Israel, after hundreds of years of not taking worship to God seriously, not following Him seriously, not doing what He said seriously, and being seriously sent out because, were now putting their own being into the revival and what that meant to them in place. Lest, they vow to die. So then, are you believer ready for that kind of revival? The kind that puts away the old sinful self and takes on a new self that is more committed to God than ever before. Or….. Would you prefer something else? Something that is sinful and not in God’s will. You know you need a greater and more meaningful relationship with Jesus, so then why do you dwell and linger in the sins and wrongs that keep you far from Him? There is hope, great Hope, a great hope for sure, Your God takes great delight in you, are you ready to take great delight in Him even if it means letting go of what before you had found delight in? A greater commitment to God is an action that takes place in revival. So then, let revival wash over you and commit yourself to your loving and powerful God, let’s keep going.

The next action to see, watching for, prepare for, and do is to: Change what is wrong 30-39

30 We will not give our daughters in marriage to the surrounding peoples and will not take their daughters as wives for our sons.31 When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day. We will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh year and will cancel every debt.32 We will impose the following commands on ourselves: To give an eighth of an ounce of silver[b] yearly for the service of the house of our God: 33 the bread displayed before the Lord,[c] the daily grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbath and New Moon offerings, the appointed festivals, the holy things, the sin offerings to atone for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.34 We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our ancestral families[d] at the appointed times each year. They are to bring the wood to our God’s house to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law.35 We will bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the Lord’s house year by year. 36 We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as prescribed by the law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in our God’s house. 37 We will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings, of every fruit tree, and of the new wine and fresh oil. A tenth of our land’s produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one-tenth offering in all our agricultural towns. 38 A priest from Aaron’s descendants is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to take a tenth of this offering to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God. 39 For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and fresh oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the priests who minister are, along with the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.

So, here is a summary of the oath that they all took together, an oath of their renewed and invigorated commitment to God and His worship during this revival. First, as was God’s command from long ago, they were not to intermarry with outside religions. They had long since broken this command, it led eventually to the worship of other Gods, false gods and idols being raised up in God’s temple and even such tragedies as the people of Israel sacrificing/killing their own children to false gods. Second, they promised to keep the Sabbath Day Holy, that it is it is a Set apart day of rest and worship, no longer will they buy from the outside vendors and allow them in the city that day to sell their warres, furthermore they committed to giving the ground a rest every 7 years and forgive every debt after 7 years as was God’s command. Thirdly, they committed as a people to provide for and participate in God’s worship and to provide for those in God’s service. They all gave an amount for the upkeep of the temple, to give food offerings, to give sin offerings (which is no longer needed because Jesus’ gave the final sin offering), the levites (the family of priests) made plans to gather the wood for the alter and do it at their allotted times, the people committed to giving the best that they had to God’s House each year, the best of their born livestock, and commit their children to God’ service, the levites and sons of Aaron were to come and gather the agricultural offering, and ensure that a 1/10 of everything they gather goes into the temple storerooms for hard times and those working in it. They committed themselves to God, His house, mainly that is His worship.

So then, if they were already supposed to bring this? Why are they committing under oath to do it? Because…. They weren’t doing it! They had gotten everything out of sorts and wrong, and this needed to be corrected and the change in how they lived, farmed, thought, and worshiped needed to be committed to. They had fallen far far away and now it was time to come back during this time of beautiful revival. Now, as you will see in future weeks, there will be growing pains and people who mess up or are straight up insolent. But, don’t let their bad example take your eyes of yourself and what you're doing and the good examples that others are putting on.

They saw that what they had done was wrong, they are making steps and plans to make a permanent change. This reminds me of a story I read once several years ago. It was about a man who was going to visit his friend who lived alone by himself in a log cabin in the woods. He made it to his friend’s cabin before night time, but then a storm rolled in. Before you knew it, rain started pouring through the roof by the bucket load. The man got up, and said to his friend, the owner of the cabin, come on! Let’s fix this roof while we still can before the daylight goes away. The owner replied, “Nah, it’s too close to dark, let’s just live with tonight and get to it tomorrow morning.” Reluctantly the visiting friend agrees and they have a wet and unpleasant night. The next morning, he wakes up and gets ready to work on the roof. Confused, the owner of the cabin said, "What are you doing?” I’m going to fix the roof now, the guest replied.” To which he is shocked to hear, “Why? The roof isn’t leaking now…..” This man had a problem that went well past his leaky roof, he had no will or want in life to change what was wrong.

A greater commitment to God is an action that takes place in revival. A part of this believer and church bodies looking to experience revival, is to change what is wrong in our spiritual lives and how we view, think about, treat, and go about our worship of God. So then, for the sake of our Magnificent and Glorious God, where then does change need to happen?

Conclusion

Beloved, it’s a scary thought isn’t it? That someone who is committed to God, must be prepared to Change and see the world around them do the same. If there is one thing that has been true, it this, that God is always the same, The Gospel of Jesus Christ is always the same, but the ways, places, and means that we deliver it share it, and minister it to an ever changing culture and people will change. For Nehemiah and Ezra, they were not ministering to a people who had not yet fallen so far away that they were forced away from His presence. How they showed them what they needed though similar in that God was the same, was not like Moses, Aaron, and Joshua who saw God as a great pillar of fire and cloud that came and lived among them. Nehemiah and Ezra ministered showing them the history that they had lived through in the exile from their ancestral home and the nearly 1000 years that they as people had lived through since Moses, Aaron, and Joshua’s time. So then, let me urge you, believer, to even today and forever more put your whole being into your worship and commitment to God and don’t be afraid to change whatever it is that is keeping you from doing so. These are critical parts of any revival.

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.

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.