The Joy of the Lord!

9 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. 10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. 11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. 12 And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.

Nehemiah 8:10 KJV 1900

10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

neh 8.

INTRO: It is not healthy for an individual to never be happy or joyful ...

God never intended for us as Christian to be miserable or always filled with guilt feelings. Some people really struggle with their relationship to God because they can never seem to feel good about how God feels about them!

When they hear a message about forgiveness they immediately respond by thinking, "Yes, I need to confess more" instead of hearing how wonderful it is that God has forgiven and forgotten their sins!

They forget that the word GOSPEL itself means, "Good News" or verses like:

"There is therefore NOW NO CONDEMNATION TO THOSE IN CHRIST..." or

"All things are possible..." or "We are more than conquerors..."

"All things work together for good to those who love the Lord" or "God so loved..." or "Who shall separate us from God's love ... NOTHING SHALL!"

One thing that will help many is to limit your time with toxic people.

ILLUS: The glum, sour faces of many Christians. ... They rather give the impression that, instead of coming from the Father's joyful banquet, they have just come from the Sheriff who has auctioned off their sins and now are sorry they can't get them back again. -- Helmut Thielicke, Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 4.

Joy is brought by

PROP. SENT: God desires his people to know HIS JOY! The very strength of our faith and our fruitfulness comes from God's joy in our lives as a character trait! This is why God's Word declares that it is the "Joy of the Lord that is our strength!" Also, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."

I. Unity and Desire (Review)

Nehemiah 8:1–3 KJV 1900

1 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. 2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.

A. Unity

Nehemiah 8:1 KJV 1900

1. It is a worthy thing to note that they assembled together as ONE man!

a. This concept is very similar to the picture in the book of Acts when it stated that they were all together in "ONE ACCORD."

b. When God's people are so blended in unity there is almost a guarantee of God's Spirit to move in a great way ... look at the day of Pentecost!

2. In David says that "it is beautiful when brethren dwell together in unity, like precious oil ... there God commands His blessing, even life for evermore!"

Psalm 133:1 KJV 1900

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!

3. Worship should be a time of both brokenness AND great joy ... not just a time of mourning!

4. When we gather together today to worship it should be with a sense of joy and anticipation ... Paul said to the Philippians, "Whatever is good, pure, joyful ... of good report, to think on these things!"

5. There is nothing sad about being related to God through His Son Jesus Christ!!

6. We are all equals in the church, we are brethren coming together in unity!

B. Unusual!

Nehemiah 8:2–3 KJV 1900

2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.

Nehemiah 8:2 KJV 1900

2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

They want to understand and the Levites were there to help.....

1. The interesting comment in verse 2 is that it was the people requesting Ezra to come to them in the public square and read the Word of God to them and teach them!

a. Can you imagine people begging to have the Pastor get together with them for more preaching!

b. The next unusual item that appears is that the whole assembly of people that made up the crowd was not just the men ... it was women and children as well!

c. This could not have taken place in the temple due to restrictions of who could enter; it was held in the public meeting place in town!

d. This makes it unusual as well ... they wanted God's Word proclaimed to the entire town from the center of the city for all citizens to hear!

2. Now here is the real catch; Ezra read the Word of God for 6 hours straight!

a. And they stayed around for all 6 hours of the message!

b. Not only that but it later states in the chapter that they all stood for the entire time ... without complaining of length or heat, or boredom or hunger!

c. The final interesting or unusual feature was the last line of verse 3, "And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law."

d. They were actually soaking it all in for the entire 6 hours of standing!

e. These were hungry people for spiritual things; it will be no surprise that God then tells them to celebrate when they at first begin to cry!

3. We should be so unusual today!

Joy is brought by

II. Worship and Understanding

Nehemiah 8:4–8 KJV 1900

4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. 8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

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A. A large gathering

Nehemiah 8:4 KJV 1900

1. Evidently the people had so taken the lead on this thing that they had built a large wooden platform for the occasion, the Hebrew wording for this text suggests this event was a sudden or spontaneous event not planned by the religious leaders, but by the people themselves!

2. The people had anticipated a large gathering and so built the platform to enable the priest to be above the crowd so he could be seen and heard easier - they didn't want to miss a thing!

a. This is actually where our concept of a platform in church buildings comes from!

b. And for the same reasons ... not to elevate the pastor's ego ... just his body and voice!

3. Notice in verse 4 that his associates were on the platform with him ... to give support and be examples of leaders for the people.

a. This was an unprecedented event ... the planning of it by the people.

b. The construction by the people.

c. The desire by the people.

d. The hunger for the Word by all the people, men, women, and children!

e. This is really where revival comes from ... a hungry congregation!

ILLUS: Peter Buehler, who helped lead John and Charles Wesley to experience conversions, once said, "If I had a thousand tongues, I'd praise Christ with them all." Charles Wesley expanded this stray comment into lines that became the well-known hymn "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing." -- "The Golden Age of Hymns," Christian History, no. 31.

B. They wanted to understand

Nehemiah 8:5–6 KJV 1900

5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

1. They all stood for 6 hours as the Word of God was read!

a. Notice Pastor Ezra's response to this sight; "HE PRAISED THE GREAT GOD!"

b. And suddenly all the people "LIFTED THEIR HANDS AND RESPONDED, AMEN! AMEN!" (In Hebrew a repeated word meant special emphasis!)

c. This service was going places, the Pastor was hot with joy ... and they followed suit by joyous shouts of PRAISE and agreement. (The meaning of the word "amen.")

2. From Praise they entered into worship ... as they all bowed down and just worshipped God as a whole group!

a. Imagine the unbelievable sight of this ... especially for Old Testament times, rarely had such a hunger existed in the people of Israel like this.

b. At other times they had gone through long periods of time where their worship was nothing more than ritual ... and uneventful! In the past it had often been religious practice but without passion. We don't need more religion; we need more PASSION in our relationship with God, healthy passion, the kind that is balanced!

C. Understanding

Nehemiah 8:7–8 KJV 1900

7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. 8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

1. Here's where the balance part comes in; passion alone would lead to emotionalism without content!

2. Just as ritual without any passion leads to cold dead orthodox faith.

3. What brings the balance ... the Word and the desire to understand it!

4. You will note in the text that the Levites scattered throughout the congregation during Ezra's reading of the Word and explained to all those who desired the understanding of the text ... what does this mean for you and how does God desire your response? etc.

a. They moved among the people "MAKING IT CLEAR AND GIVING THE MEANING SO THE PEOPLE COULD UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS BEING READ!"

b. We still do this today! This is the point of preaching, to teach the meaning of God's Word and suggest ways that this can be applied to our life and lifestyle today!

Key - c. Preachers who only tell you what the text says but not what it means to you haven't finished their job!

5. We don't need sermons that simply inform us just how bad the world is, we need sermons that also tell us what we can do to make it a godlier place!

6. Preaching is not just a conclusion to a time of worship ... it is the focal point of where our worship is going ... to God ... then God speaks to us from His Word, a worship service is a two way conversation and fellowship with a Real and Mighty God!

The Gestapo made him strip. He stood there totally naked. As they cut away his wedding band, Viktor said to himself "You can take away my wife, you can take away my children, you can strip me of my clothes and my freedom, but there is one thing no person can ever take away from me -- and that is my freedom to choose how I will react to what happens to me!" Even under the most difficult of circumstances, happiness is a choice which transforms our tragedies into triumph. -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 278-279.

Joy is brought by

III. Uplifting Spirit 2

A. Uplifting!

Nehemiah 8:9–12 KJV 1900

1. There should be a fitting conclusion time to a service as well, here the people begin to respond to the understanding of the Law of Moses by weeping. vs 10

a. Probably because they became aware of their failure to live up to God's Word in the past.

b. It is awesome to understand who God is; they were struck with their past failures!

2. What is so disconcerting about this is their reaction to the Word of God because of their PAST failures as a people of God!

a. After all, the past is over and they are no longer the people like they were in the past, captivity had taken care of that change, these were exiles in return and those who had rebuilt the temple and the city walls!

b. They had changed but didn't fully realize who they were NOW.

3. They saw their old failures and began to weep, Ezra saw who they were NOW and immediately jumps in to correct their response!

vs 9

4. His instruction is simple and to the point: "DO NOT MOURN OR WEEP!"

a. Their focus was wrong ... they were looking at the OLD Israel ... They were the new and renewed Israel!

b. It was not a time to focus on failure or past mistakes but to rejoice in a revitalized faith as to who they are NOW as God's people!

vs 10

5. Nehemiah instructs them as to the proper response to the 6 hours of sermon he and the Levites had just preached!

a. REVIVAL TIME GUYS!

b. REJOICING IS THE PROPER RESPONSE ... GO AND REJOICE TOGETHER!

c. DON'T GRIEVE; THIS IS A NEW DAY AND YOU ARE A NEW PEOPLE!

d. FOR "THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH" ... there it is! They needed newfound strength as they were starting out as a new people! vs 10

b. But there comes a time when we need to move beyond sorrow, when our sins are already forgiven and we are new creatures in Christ, to celebrating that new life and realizing the "joy of the Lord is our strength."

c. To continue to stew in sorrow after our sins are forgiven is to mock the cleansing power of Christ and to put ourselves into false bondage again.

8. Some Christians could learn from this, they are always so mournful over their past they never feel good about themselves as a Christian ... they never really appreciate who they ARE NOW in Christ ... they still are mourning and feeling burnt out by Satan who likes to remind them of their past errors and what a failure they are (what they once were would be more accurate!).

b. If you have committed your past sins to Christ for forgiveness then for HEAVEN'S SAKE FORGIVE YOURSELF AND GET ON WITH SOME JOY AS A CLEANSED SAINT, not a condemned SINNER!

9. It is unhealthy to be joyful all the time (wait until chapter 9 when they do have some things to cry about!), BUT IT IS ALSO UNHEALTHY TO NEVER be joyful as a saint of God!

a. Miserable Christians are not much of an attraction to the FAITH!

b. They will not lead many to Christ unless they find someone who loves being miserable as a Christian too!

c. And they will be weak as a Christian ... unable to cope often with life and struggling even with minor issues that others more joyful can easily cast aside or overcome!

d. Sorrowful saints find that motivation is next to zero so they never do anything that gives them joy and then they are mad at others who are happy and can do everything!

e. What's part of the answer: Notice Ezra told them to get TOGETHER and celebrate ... Christians having some joyful times together with other Christians can be a great buffer against pining and self pity! Make sure you pick joyful ones to fellowship with ... they have obviously learned to appreciate their relationship with God and can help you with yours!

Nehemiah 8:13–18 KJV 1900

13 And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. 14 And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: 15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. 16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. 17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness. 18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

1. What is the universal truth for us in this passage?

a. That it is possible to lose the joy and passion of worship and our relationship with God if we forget the MEANING of the Gospel and the meaning of our practices!

b. Why does it state in verse 17 "...the Israelites had not celebrated it like this since the days of Joshua, son of Nun."

c. In Joshua's day it was celebrated with great joy because it was new, the meaning fresh ... and the victory great since they were in the Promise Land ... they had left the past mistakes back in the wilderness!

d. What it means here is that they had rediscovered the fresh meaning of an old celebration ritual!

2. We can fall into the same ruts of worship too ... and forget the meaning of what and why we are here! When this happens tiredness and boredom set in and there is great loss of joy, the purpose of being together as the church falls aside over petty issues and sidetracked minds!

key vs 18

3. The final verse says it all ... "DAY AFTER DAY, FROM FIRST TO LAST THEY ... CELEBRATED." IT EVEN WENT on for 8 days! We should have such a problem with worship!

4. Like the writer of Ecclesiastes stated, "There is a time to cry, and a time to laugh." Just make sure there is a time for both or you'll become a very BITTER SAINT instead of a BETTER SAINT!

CONCLUSION: Real revival always comes from spiritual hunger to understand God's Word. When God fills this "hunger" we find ourselves flooded with fresh joy, thus fresh strength! If you know Jesus ... and desire to know His Word, then look out, He will pour out His joy and we will celebrate!

Our Worship should bring the Joy of the Lord!

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