Continuing the Process
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
It is hard to believe that the first month of this new year and this new decade is almost over. Have you done anything different with your life so far this year? How is your 2020 Vision? Have you assessed any needs. developed a plan or worked a plan? The Book of Nehemiah, a 3000 year old story, shows what can happen when one assesses needs, develops a plan and then carries it out. In his example, a forty foot high and two and a half mile long wall can rebuilt in 52 days. What happens after you determine the needs, formulate a plan, and carry out the plan? Well, you continue the process by celebrating the One Who has equipped and empowered you to accomplish the task! That is exactly what Nehemiah has shown us in this the book tucked away in the middle of the Old Testament! The process continues. Do you remember why Nehemiah carried out this process? He did it for the Glory of God!
When God is glorified and His will is carried out, there are ongoing ripple effects that we can learn from and also put into practice. We learn in that the wall was completed in 52 days. A few days later, the people came together to celebrate by having the Law of the Lord read. Listen to this story from .
all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
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. 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.
Ezra the scribe 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.
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. 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.
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. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred 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.
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve.”
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.
The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers 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, all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
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. 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.
Ezra the scribe 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.
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. 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.
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. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred 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.
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve.”
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.
Nehemiah 7:73-8:12
Purpose
Purpose
says that “all the people assembled as one man.” This has nothing to do with gender. We see this is a gathering of humanity. As we read in verse 3, this gathering consisted of “men, women and others that could understand.” This would include children. That is what happens here every Sunday. We gather to worship and celebrate God’s goodness and His grace. We learn about this from God’s word. That is exactly what happened in the day of Nehemiah. They gathered to hear the Word of God!
Why do you come to church? I am sure it is not because of the good-looking pastor! We should be gathering together because we are of one mine and spirit, assembled as one people.
Nehemiah tells us that as the people gathered, they asked the priest Ezra to read from the Book of the Law of Moses. This would be what we have as the first five books of the Bible. It says that he read from daybreak til noon. That means he read scripture for about 6 hours! How did the people respond to that reading? The Bible says they listened attentively.
Do you listen to the word of God attentively?
I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
Psalm 119:
The people had just experienced a great work of God as they saw a need assessed, a plan developed and carried out. They were fresh on the fact that it indeed did work and they were ready to give God the glory for it. They were eager to gather and to hear the Word of God proclaimed. We should be too!
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
There are several things we can learn from this example of the reading of God’s word. First, we see that the people prepared for the reading of God’s word.
Preparation
Preparation
Not only did the people assemble in one place as a group of one, they also took time to prepare for the reading of God’s word. In , we see that Ezra stood on a wooden platform built for the occasion. That platform had to be built, it just did not have to happen. As I have thought about this, I am thankful for the physical preparations that are made each week so that we can have this service. I am thankful for the worship plans, the cleaning that takes place, the printing of bulletins and papers that are used as resources to help us study God’s Word more efficiently. I am thankful for the prayers that are done prior to our gathering. There are many preparations that take place for our worship service. However, there are also many preparations that we can do individually to prepare for the reading of God’s word and your time in worship. Simple things like making sure you are well rested. Getting connected in prayer by saying, “Lord, I need to hear from You today.” Come to church with an open and expectant attitude. Pray before the service, “God, give me a good attitude and help me put the things out of my mind that would keep me from understanding what I need to hear from You today.” I promise you that if you do those simple steps God will meet your needs.
Also in this passage of Nehemiah we see another preparation. As Ezra read the Word of the Lord, he had several people standing with him. These attendants were priests and musicians that helped carry our the tasks of scripture reading and worship. We are fortunate here to have people that will lead in worship and Bible study. We have great opportunities for all ages and we are wanting to do more. Let’s continue to pray for teachers to be willing to teach God’s word and as they prepare to teach God’s word.
Position
Position
Notice the position of the people when Ezra read the word of the Lord. We see three different positions in verses 5-6. As he opened the Book, all the people stood. As Ezra praised God, the people lifted their hands, responded by saying Amen, and then they bowed down and worshiped with their faces to the ground. These three positions are all very unique and give great honor to our Great God. We have become a very comfortable society. If someone shouts “amen” we might be okay. But if someone stands up or bows down during a worship service, we may raise an eyebrow. The point we can learn from these verses is the Word of God should always prompt a response and point us to worship!
We should not raise an eyebrow but gain an understanding that person has learned how great and mighty God is and His word tells us of this on every page!
When they see among them their children,
the work of my hands,
they will keep my name holy;
they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
We are so fortunate to have many ways to access God’s Word. We can pull it up on our phone, on the internet, and we can have it the old fashion way and turn the pages! If you are here this morning and do not have a copy of the Bible, I would love to get you a copy. It is still the best selling book of all times according to rankings.com. We treat our Bibles with great respect. However, please understand, the Bible is not a magical book or one that has spectacular powers, but it is a book written a period of 1500 years, has 40 different authors and consists of 66 separate books, all of which point to an almighty, incredibly awesome and phenomenally loving God! No wonder these people mentioned in Nehemiah’s book stood up, raised their hands and bowed in worship! When the word of God is proclaimed, it should change the position of our hearts and minds in such a way that we respond with a holy reverence. Notice also that not only is the word of God read, teachers and instructors of God’s Word are available to help the people understand it!
In , we have a list of the Levites that helped instruct the people. They helped make it clear, understandable and relevant. I am sure I fall short of having the skills of a Levite, but I am called to do what I can do to help you receive the Word of God in a way that is clear, understandable, and relevant to every area of your life that I can!
There is Power in the Word of God!
Power
Power
God’s Word gives us redemption.
1 Corinthians
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
God’s Word gives us hope.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans
God’s Word gives us inspiration.
Psalm 119:10
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path.
God’s Word helps us with our relationship to others.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
God’s Word helps us in our relationship with God.
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
Matthew 22:
There is one thing that this passage from teaches us. There is a prize.
Prize
Prize
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred 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.
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve.”
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.
Nehemiah 8:9
Hearing, reading, and understanding the Word of God gives us the prize of being able to have strength, joy and celebration. In this time in which we live, it is good to have the opportunity for strength, joy, and indeed reasons to celebrate!
I want to encourage you today as you continue this new year and new decade, to do so by opening yourself to receiving strength, joy, and being able celebrate by opening the Word of God. I guarantee you, it will change your life and make your 2020 vision something magnificent!