Spiritual Renewal

Which of these houses would you want to move into right now? The one that hasn’t been remodeled by Chip and Joanna, or the one that has been remodeled by them? This should be an easy question. Of course, everybody wants their house done by the Fixer Uppers. But, what if they had only done the outside of the house. They changed the exterior of the house and the landscaping, but they didn’t do any work on the inside. The house still has no kitchen. Only one working toilet. Missing several walls. A whole bunch of trash left by the last people.

Which of these houses do you want to move in to now? Probably neither. Because no matter how nice you make the outside look, you do all your living on the inside. A great exterior does not make up for a terrible interior.

ICEBREAKER: What is your least favorite show that your parents always want to watch?

We actually all make decisions like this all the time, though. Some of you probably made some New Year’s Resolutions earlier this month. And if you are still keeping them, good job. You should have created a habit by now. But how many times do we make resolutions or decisions to change something about the outside of us: our weight, our muscles, our endurance, our style, but we neglect to worry about what is going internally. What is going on spiritually. Who cares if you are in great physical shape if you are not living for the Lord? Who cares if you are the most popular girl in school if your heart is not being conformed to the image of Christ?

Our guy Nehemiah realized and knew this, too. So if you haven’t been here the past two weeks, let me get you caught up. We are going through the book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament. At this time, the Israelites are in exile. Because of their sin and because they stopped following God and his Law, they were overthrown by the Babylonians. Then the Babylonians were overthrown by the Persians. And now King Artaxerxes rules over the Israelites. Nehemiah, an Israelite, was the King’s cupbearer. He heard that Jerusalem was in ruins. All of its walls had been destroyed. And God sent Nehemiah to rebuild the walls. In a miracle, the King granted Nehemiah permission, and even helped him, to return the Jerusalem with a group to rebuild the walls. Last week, we saw the wall go up. In only 52 days, they completely rebuilt the walls around the city. Even though they were being physically attacked during the building, God worked a miracle in the building process, as well.

Have a student recap the story of Nehemiah so far.

And so now the walls and gates are rebuilt, but Nehemiah knows something. He knows that it was never the walls that protected them, but it was God. And he knows that if the Israelites do not return to following God and his commands and his Law, they will end up back in the same place.

Physical renewal means nothing without spiritual renewal

Nehemiah knew that the Israelites needed a spiritual renewal. They needed to turn their hearts back to God. And so Nehemiah called for his friend Ezra.

Nehemiah 8:1–3 CSB

1 all the people gathered together at the square in front of the Water Gate. They asked the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had given Israel. 2 On the first day of the seventh month, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding. 3 While he was facing the square in front of the Water Gate, he read out of it from daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively to the book of the law.

Nehemiah 7:73–8:3 CSB

73 The priests, Levites, gatekeepers, temple singers, some of the people, temple servants, and all Israel settled in their towns. When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, 1 all the people gathered together at the square in front of the Water Gate. They asked the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had given Israel. 2 On the first day of the seventh month, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding. 3 While he was facing the square in front of the Water Gate, he read out of it from daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively to the book of the law.

Nehemiah 8:5–6 CSB

5 Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and with their hands uplifted all the people said, “Amen, Amen!” Then they knelt low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Nehemiah 8:5

When calling the people back to God, where do they turn? The Word of God. Because when you are reading the Bible, it is not Nehemiah or Ezra calling the people back to God, but it is God himself. It is not Nehemiah or Ezra who do the work of renewal, but it is the work of God. If we don’t turn to the Bible, but instead just try to change things ourselves, we are just turning into moralists.

How long did the Israelites stand listening to the Word be read? What is the longest you could imagine listening to the Bible?

Turn to the Word

Here is what we don’t want. Spiritual renewal is not simply becoming a more moral person. Or a person who follows the rules better. Or a person who acts better. Or a person who gets in trouble less. Or a person who is less mean. Rebekah…

Why did Nehemiah have Ezra read the Bible instead of giving a moving speech?

Because, to be honest, it does not take a work of God to make somebody more moral. It does not take a work of God to make somebody follow the rules better. That is a outside change. That is an exterior change. You can decide that you want a better reputation, and so you are going to change how people perceive you. You are going to change how you present yourself. You are going to change what people see. But that’s all exterior. I can hold the door open for you while simultaneously hating you. I can obey my parents while calling them fools. I can show respect to my teacher while having no actual respect for them. There is nothing inherently spiritual about becoming more legalistic.

How do we try to change our appearance/exterior without making internal/spiritual changes?

And when we are convinced to make these changes by people, or by ourselves, or from peer pressure, that is all the changes become. A front. An exterior. A mask. Legalism. But the house remains disgusting on the inside.

That’s why Nehemiah and Ezra don’t call the people together and give them a great pep talk. They don’t call the people together to convince them to listen to them. They don’t call them together to chastise them. They don’t call them together to listen to their words.

No.

They call them together to listen to the Words of God. They call them together to be changed by the Word of God. If you want spiritual renewal in your life, Christian, get into the Word of God. Let God speak to you. Don’t rely on me talking to you. Don’t rely on your Sunday School teacher or your family group leader. We are here to help, but we aren’t God. We are not a substitute for hearing God’s Words directly from him. Directly from what he has spoken through the Bible. The people wanted spiritual renewal so bad that they stood from the sunrise until noon listening to the Word of God being read. And they were listening to the part that none of us even like reading. Leviticus and Numbers and the Law. But they were so hungry for being changed by God that every single one of them stood for at least 4 hours, maybe longer, to hear from God. We get upset on Sundays when the sermon goes 5 minutes long. And we are sitting down in air conditioning.

What keeps you from regularly reading the Bible on your own? How could you overcome that challenge?

If you reading the Bible is not part of your normal routine, then its time to make a change. If hearing God’s Word is not part of your normal routine, then its time to make a change. I know, change is hard. I know, its hard to wake up earlier. But, you know what, you can start small. Because I know if you start small, you will want more. I know probably all of you listen to music while getting ready in the morning. Listen to the Bible instead. There are several apps out there that are audio versions of the Bible. Listen to the Bible. Make the commitment that you will read the Bible for 15 minutes before you go to bed. Instead of laying on your phones for 30 minutes before falling asleep, read the Bible. Start small, and I promise that you will begin to want more. The more you get of God, the more you want of God.

But I can hear some of you saying, I’ve tried reading the Bible. But I just don’t ever get what I’m reading. I don’t understand it. Well you wouldn’t be alone. They had the same problem in the Bible.

Nehemiah 8:7–8 CSB

7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, who were Levites, explained the law to the people as they stood in their places. 8 They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.

Nehemiah 8:

So don’t come to your leaders to get your fix of the Bible. Come to your leaders with your questions from what you’ve been reading from the Bible. Do you know how happy and ecstatic all your leaders here would be if you texted them or came here on Wednesday and said, “Hey, I was reading this past week, but I’m not sure what this means. Can you help me understand?”

But here’s a word of warning, reading the Bible can mess your life up. It can show you things you need to change. It will probably even convict you. And when it does, we need to do actually do what it says.

Turn to the Word… and DO IT

When God says to do something, then go do it. Its a simple thing really. Now, I didn’t say it was easy. I just said it was simple.

Nehemiah 8:13–15 CSB

13 On the second day, the family heads of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, assembled before the scribe Ezra to study the words of the law. 14 They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in shelters during the festival of the seventh month. 15 So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make shelters, just as it is written.”

Nehemiah 8:

Nehemiah 8:17–18 CSB

17 The whole community that had returned from exile made shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. And there was tremendous joy. 18 Ezra read out of the book of the law of God every day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly, according to the ordinance.

Nehemiah

The Israelites had wandered so far from God that they had forgotten one of the 3 biggest celebrations that they were supposed to practice. This celebration was intended to be a reminder of God bringing the Israelites through the wilderness. It is a celebration of God’s faithfulness. It says they found this written in the Law. When they got back into the Word, they began to rediscover all that God had intended for them. And they celebrated with more joy and excitement than it had ever been celebrated. And they continue hearing from the Word every day.

How far from God had the Israelites gone? (They had forgotten about major spiritual milestones. This would be like Christians forgetting about Christmas or Easter) Were they too far removed from God for him to take them back? Is that encouraging or discouraging to you?

And then the story moves into chapter 9. I’m not going to read chapter 9 to you, but I would highly encourage you to do so yourself tonight or this week. It is a beautiful prayer of confession. Confession for their whole country. They remember all that God has done for them, and they ask forgiveness for not staying faithful to God when he was faithful to them.

Something else I’ve discovered. The closer I grow to God and the more I get into his Word, the more sinful I am. And I know that sounds weird and backwards, but let me explain. Because the same thing is happening to the Israelites here in Nehemiah. The closer I grow to God and the more I get into his Word, the more sinful I am. I don’t mean that I sin more. In fact, the opposite is true. I do sin less. But, I notice my sin more. God points out and convicts me of my sin more. And things that I could previously ignore, I can no longer ignore. Things that weren’t a big deal, become a big deal. Things that I could write off as “Oh, that’s just who I am.” I can’t write off. The more I know God, the more sin I have to deal with. But, that is not a reason for mourning. But it is a time of joy because God is purifying us and bring us closer to Him.

So, in light of all that has happened over the past two chapters, or really the past 9 chapters, the Israelites make a vow.

Nehemiah 9:38 CSB

38 In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement in writing on a sealed document containing the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.

And you can read the details of the vow starting in 10:30, but here is the synopsis of it.

To not intermarry

To honor the Sabbath completely

To give financially to God to support the Priests

To participate in God’s celebrations and festivals

To give their firstfruits, of everything, as an offering to God.

But really, to make it even simpler, they made a vow to follow the Laws of God as laid out in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

What vow did the Israelites make? (Starts in )

Have you ever made a vow to God? Did you keep it? Why or why not?

The Israelites made the commitment that they would not live as their ancestors did, but they would remain faithful to the covenant that God made with them. They would live faithfully as God’s people. Now we will see next week if they stay true to their word, but for now, that is where we will stop the story.

You can make all the changes in the world that you want, but none of that matters if God is not making changes within you. Physical changes mean nothing without spiritual renewal. And if you truly desire spiritual renewal, the first place to turn is the Word of God. Allow God to make those changes within you, and the spiritual renewal will bring with it changes to how you live.

CHALLENGE: Determine one change you can make to hear/read God’s Word more. Commit to this change for the next week. After one week, evaluate if you could keep this change up.