Changing Together (Neh 10)

Changing Together: Nehemiah 10 Pray & Intro Text/Theme: In chapter 8 the people listened together to God’s Word and both celebrated and mourned over its truth. Next they rightly blessed God and confessed together. (They extolled God’s greatness and goodness, while also confessing their sins and the sins of their people against the God who in his faithfulness is always both righteous and merciful.) That was ch. 9. Now in ch. 10 the people pledge together to make good on their verbal repentance. They bind their hearts together to be bound in loyalty to their faithful God. (I kind of think of baptism like this. A living symbolism of what has happened in you spiritually and an active demonstration of a commitment of loyalty to you Lord.) Sometimes worshiping our God together and serving our Lord together in ministry can rightly result in an emotional zeal for the Lord and our involvement in his purposes. [ex. mission trip] But soon thereafter that ‘mountaintop experience’ has to move from an emotional high to the spiritual disciplines.  The goal is not to sustain a spiritual high (which is really an emotional high). The goal is to worship God together and serve together in such a way as to produce a sustainable growth process of walking in faithfulness to our God who is always faithful. [ex. Is the aim of exercise in the morning really the feel-good about yourself sense you have after doing it or is its real goal the lasting results that are borne out of regular exercise? I would in fact say the same thing of regularly devoting your heart to the Lord in the morning with Bible reading and prayer.] Nehemiah chapter 10 is an example of confession’s follow-through with change in practice. (Let’s read it. Thru v. 31) I. You know for sure that needed change has gone from your head to your heart when you see the difference in the working of your hands.  “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” was John’s warning to the religious elite who claimed higher spirituality and special adherence to the Mosaic law (in both Lk 3:8 & Mt 3:8) A. Two key points arise from John’s warning: 1. Repentance is indeed a matter of the heart. (motivations based on true understanding) – everyone can do good stuff sometimes, and anyone can put on a religious cloak 2. But the truth of it still comes out. (in word and deed, Lk 6:43-49, two illustrations) – sooner or later, when it is peeled or squeezed, the truth is revealed  when the trials of life squeeze, when the discerning listener peels back the outer covering… whatever the case – ultimately, our fruit is based on who we are, our behavior on what we truly believe B. (If you don’t need to change, then you’re perfect, which is awesome for you. I wish I could say the same—no, I don’t. And as long as on one else knows you, and you don’t know yourself, for that matter, I guess you can go on thinking that. )  If you don’t need to change then you don’t get the gospel. 1. The need for repentance and change on our part flows right out of the center of the gospel. God’s initiation of saving grace through Jesus is the Gospel’s epicenter, for certain. He has always been good. He has always been faithful. We have not been good, and we are anything but faithful. We are weak and broken, but God is merciful and loving. He has chosen to value us and to love us unconditionally. That is all grace. It is also the grace and power of God that steers us to respond in faith and drives us to repent and change. 2. What God is doing when he makes people his own is nothing less than bringing the dead to life. NOW, having been given life and a new standing before him, as we belong to him, he continues the process of transforming us (chastening, disciplining, instructing, molding us) into the image of His Son, our Lord and God. My point is this: Flowing from the Gospel of God’s grace is our continuing need for that grace to keep changing us. It’s not like you get saved and that’s just the fix you needed. No, God has made you his own child, and he desires to keep protecting you and shaping you. God has made the Church Christ’s Bride, and he desires to keep wooing us and purifying us. Don’t you see how intimate this is in relationship to our God? And the closer we get to God the more clearly we see him, and ourselves, and that MUST breed change. (If you were already made complete, there would be no need. But we’re not there yet. God will finish making you perfect when he brings you home. But you’re still sojourning here with a mission from him to bring others to him. And while you obey in that mission he calls you to holiness, and a commitment to change for as long as you have breath.) C. God’s grace to you is like God took a dead stick and planted it and it sprung to life. Now that little scraggly tree still needs God’s grace to sustain it and keep it growing into the towering redwood of God’s character that he desires for it to be. But that little tree has been given a will by God to stay firmly rooted in the grace that is transforming it into His image, or else it will be sickly and useless and get thrashed by life’s stormy winds and frozen by harsh winter nights. And by God’s grace this little guy or gal is planted with other trees, some further along, but growing together into a forest. What tragic nonsense if that little tree should try to go it alone, if it should try to lie back down in the ditch and act like a dead stick again, or (and this is the point I’m emphasizing from our text today) if it should arbitrarily decide to view itself as a completely mature and perfectly flawless redwood tree.  Have I said enough to convince you that God by His continued grace at work wants to change you? II. [Let’s get back to the immediate text of Neh. 10.] The people apply what they’ve learned and verbally confessed. [reread main point] And from our text this morning we can observe the following things about applying the truth we confess so that it changes us. A. Leaders should be the first ones to demonstrate their need for change. (vv. 1-27) They must be the first ones to apply the truth of their commitment with the direction of their feet and the work of their hands. 1. 84 leaders put their names down on this pledge—Nehemiah, followed by the priests, Levites, and other leaders of the people. (BTW, perhaps Ezra’s name is conspicuously missing b/c Seraiah is the acting head of his family.) These signers are leading by example and putting their names down to it. 2. True biblical servant leaders do not think of themselves as “a step and head and a cut above the rest.” (Does that sound like the kind of attitude that Paul encourages of all believers as they imitate the humility of Christ in Philippians ch. 2?) No, God-fearing leaders stand before God as desperately needy of his mercy and as weak vessels for his grace to others. – The thing that will shape you into a Christian leader is Christ’s humility and Christ’s example to lead by serving. Mk 10:43b-45 […] “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” 3. That kind of upfront sacrifice and vulnerability in Christian community is no cake-walk, but it is necessary. And you know, one of my greatest joys is when I see you guys setting this kind of example for me and for others (in this family and outside of it). B. Secondly, Applying change works better in community. (vv. 28-29) – By sharing commitments, consider the automatic force of accountability and exhortation. Changing to grow is not something you’re doing alone. In fact, the body metaphor of the NT indicates that you WON’T and CAN’T grow properly trying to be a lone wolf. (Eph. 4) 1. But application is pointless if it isn’t personal. (In other words, you really do have to actively listen to God’s Word with the intent to be changed by its power (when you read it, and when the Bible is taught). These folks are all committing to these things as a group, but EACH of them has personal responsibility… otherwise the whole thing falls apart. [How many brittle or wayward bricks does it take for the tower to crumble?]– I wonder how many countless hours are wasted by people attending “church” instead of participating in such a way as to BE the church and grow as healthy servants of Christ’s church. I wonder how many times we read our Bibles and our kids memorize verses without it being meaningful bc we aren’t seeking clear understanding and desiring the hard work of change. 2. And of course you can’t apply what you don’t understand. (here v. 28c-29 and the whole emphasis of ch. 8) Right application flows from right commitment flows from right understanding. OR Understanding  Confession  Repentance in Action C. Committing yourself to apply God’s truth is a serious matter. (v. 29) 1. Man, these guys were so serious they took an oath that basically called down a curse of God’s discipline on themselves if they didn’t follow through. 2. Although there were guidelines for swearing oaths in Numbers ch. 30, I don’t recommend it as a practice for today. As believers in Christ, we have already fully committed ourselves to recognizing and worshiping him as the only One worthy to save us and to be our Lord. That means that whatever he says we have committed to do. 3. And it was Jesus who warned about making grand oaths and swearing by this or that to prove your sincerity or truthfulness (and James reiterates this in his letter as well). “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.” (Matt 5:37)  Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with putting your commitment in writing or anything like that. So long as you know that isn’t making it more holy or helping you to keep it. 4. However, perhaps we need to at least see our failure (to follow Jesus fully) as a serious blight on the family name and tantamount to treason against our King. D. (Finally,) Applying change must be specific and deliberate. (vv. 30-39) – They pledge to not only keep all the commandments, but get really specific based on some of those things that have been a particular issue for them in recent memory. 1. Intermarriage problem, not honoring the Sabbath day or 7th sabbatical year, exacting interest from their brothers, and so on. 2. Then because of its renewed importance as the center for worship, READ vv. 32-39 expressing obligations they place on themselves regarding the temple. [see them there…] So it appropriately ends, “We will not neglect the house of our God.” 3. What about you? – Your commitment to apply change needs to extend to all these areas of your life like it did for the people of Israel. a. Home (30) b. Work (31) c. Church body (32-39) 4. Possible practical helps for applying truth specifically. a. Write it down. b. Tell someone, asking them to pray for you AND to ask you about it. c. Schedule the planned changes into your life in a tangible way.