SCRIPTURE: Nehimiah 8:1-18

INTRODUCTION:

Most of us are familiar with Nehimiah. During the time of captivity, Nehimiah was the cupbearer for the Persian King. As cupbearer he held an exalted position, and lived in the lap of luxury. Despite his status he became burdened for the plight of his fellow countrymen exiled from their land. He held a desire to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, so that those returning from excile would be safe from attack. In the first chapters of Nehimiah, we see the wall completed, the city organized, and finally, in Chapter 8, the emphasis switches from rebuilding the city, to rebuilding the people. In Chapter 8, we see the beginnings of true revival. Revival starts with the Christians, true revival is not simply an evangelism crusade, but rather it is stirring the coals, and rekindling the fire of God within HIS people. In order to be revived, we must have been alive to begin with. If we are still dead in our sin, we must come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ before revival can take place.

Throughout history we see God’s people coming to a point time and time again where we need reviving! Today we need to be revived! We need our coals stirred so that the fire of God will burn deep within us. Jesus doesn’t want us to be fence sitters. In the book of Revelation the scripture says that it is better to be cold or hot than lukewarm. It says that because we are lukewarm, God will spew us out of his mouth! Let see how Nehimiah lit a fire under the lukewarm children of Israel and got their pot boiling.

The material needs of the city had been met. Now the focus must shift to spiritual well being. This is important for us to remember even today. We cannot tell a starving man about the bread of life, we must satisfy his physical hunger in order for him to recognize his spiritual hunger. What happened to Jerusalem in Chapter 8 of Nehimiah was a by product of the fact that Ezra and Nehimiah put the Word of God first in the life of the city. The people responded to the scriptures and were blessed. May I be so bold as to say that America was put on track by our founding fathers who established this nation based upon biblical principles? May I also say that what has happened to this country is a direct result of our response to the Word of God? Because of the faith of many in our country, God has blessed us beyond measure.

The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to cleanse and revive the hearts of the people of God. We cannot achieve true revival without first immersing ourselves fully in the Word of God. For proof positive, look at our society today. The family unit is being destroyed because we have departed from the Word of God. Crime is becoming unmanageable because we have departed from the Word of God. Our schools are in pitiful shape because we have departed for the word of God. Our churches have become weak and ineffectual because we have departed from the word of God. If God is going to work through us, we must RESPOND to his word!

I. Understanding His Word (V. 1-8)

We must first understand the Word that we read. We have to study it, and ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand what we read. The Bible is not some magical book that changes peoples lives simply be reading it. We cannot make grand things happen by simply committing portions to memory and reciting them. God’s word must be understood before it can enter into a person’s heart and change their lives. Indeed, God places an emphasis on understanding. The word is used six times in these 18 verses.

1. The people were hungry for the Word of God. (v1)

They gathered at the water gate. A central location in the city, a place where many citizens were to be found. They gathered together and implored Ezra to bring the scrolls. Ezra was ready, he had returned to Jerusalem some 14 years before Nehimiah, and was ready to do God’s will. The timing was perfect. It was the first day of the Seventh month, on the first day began the Feast of Trumpets, on the tenth day was the day of atonement, and the fifteenth day was the beginning of the feast of tabernacles.

2. Ezra began his instruction. (v3-8)

First he honored their request, he brought the Word of God before the congregation, and opened it before them. The scroll was important at this time in Israel’s history for several reasons.

1. The people needed to hear because many of them had been born in captivity and were raised in Babylon

2. They had not known God as their fathers and grandfathers had the opportunity to know Him. They didn’t have the same faith in the covenants, or the same understanding of the laws. Their understanding was "tainted" by their interaction with the Persians.

3. They had fallen away from the traditions of old. Tradition is not necessarily an evil thing. Change is not always a good thing. They needed to know what God’s word said to them.

The way for us to get to know God is to read his word, and listen carefully to what He is saying to us! Ezra stood on a raised platform before all the people and opened up the scroll containing the words of moses concerning the law. They had constructed this platform solely for the use of Ezra in the reading of God’s Word, this was just the first of many small things that signified the reverence the people held for God’s Word. When Ezra began to read, everyone stood up! Everyone! Man, woman, child, elderly, infirm, everyone. They stood up not to honor Ezra, but to honor the Word of God. Not only did they stand, they remained standing for hours! From the morning to midday. SIX HOURS they stood listening to Ezra read the word.

In verse 6, they Worshipped the Lord. They bowed before him and placed their faces toward the ground.

In verses 7 and 8 we see Ezra, with the assistance of the priests and levites explaining the Word to the people. They translated and explained the Word of God so that these Jews who had been brought up in Persia would understand.

II. Rejoicing in his Word. (9-12)

Secondly, we must rejoice in God’s word. The New Testament tells us to Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. This can be applied to the reading of the Word. The Jews were so moved by the reading of God’s word they began to weep when the understanding hit them, and they realized their errors. Ezra begged them not to mourn, or to weep, but to realize that this was a day of rejoicing. It was a Holy day!

1. The Law cannot save us. it can only convince us that we need to be saved and then point us to Jesus.

2. Revival was beginning, let’s note the circumstances so far.

a. The people were united! Division among God’s people is the work of Satan, and has no place in the House of God.

b. The people desired the truth of God’s word. They had a great hunger to hear the Word of God. We need to be HUNGRY!

c. The Word of God was read and explained. Ezra didn’t use a bunch of cute stories, and life experiences, he took the scripture, read it to them, then explained to them what he thought it meant. He didn’t water it down for political correctness, nor did he hid the harsh truths from them.

d. The eyes of the people were opened to their own sinfulness and God’s holiness. They realized they were sinners and needed redemption. They realized the laws of God that they had broken.

e. The people responded to God’s Word. When they realized what they had been missing, and the laws they had ignored, they broke down and wept.

3. Nehimiah and the priests put things in proper perspective for them. (10-12)

Guilt and remorse are effective tools only when they bring the people to repentance, guilt is dangerous when a positive response isn’t forthcoming. Without repentance, it does us little good to feel badly about something. If we feel we are in the wrong, we are obligated to do something about it. The Jews were told to go to their homes, eat well, drink well, to be merry. They were told to give freely to those who didn’t have anything prepared. They were told that this day was a day of rejoicing. A day to be happy, to share that happiness. Today was the day their blindness was lifted.

4. The basis for Christian joy is to believe what God says in His Word, and act upon it. If your faith isn’t based on the Word of God, then it is not faith at all, it is simple superstition. Joy that we find outside of God’s Word is not true joy. It will disappear. We cannot base our salvation or worship experiences solely on emotion. When we base our faith on the Word, it will produce a joy that will weather any storm in your life. It is not enough to simply listen to God’s word, we must rejoice in the truth of it!

III. Obeying the Word (V 13-18)

1. Understanding and obeying God’s Word takes time.

We cannot expect to assimilate all there is to know about God and His Word in one sitting. The first day of reading only whetted the appetites of the Israelites. This time however, mere knowledge was not enough. They craved the wisdom that knowledge from God brings. They were not satisfied with a one time only experience, they wanted God to keep revealing things to them. Just as our salvation experience is an ongoing process. We are to continue to have things revealed to us. They confined their attention to the Word of God, and came back to Ezra for instruction because it was he who had previously opened the Word to them. They hadn’t come to argue with him or to debate with him, they had come to learn from his words. Words that God had given him.

2. There quest for knowledge brought results (14-18)

They found written in the Word a commandment for an observance. We call this observance the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is somewhat similar to our Thanksgiving. It was a time when the harvest was brought in and the people rejoiced in what God had provided for them. They were required to live in booths or temporary shelters for seven days, to remind themselves that they had had to live in temporary dwellings before, and God provided for them.

The people were excited about learning of this Feast. The responded by obeying His Word. They became personally involved, they built booths, and were rejoicing in their temporary discomfort. Every one in the city participated. There was no division among them. They also showed a willigness to change. They had not participated in the Feast of Tabernacles for generations, yet they were willing to embrace it because God commanded it. And again the scripture tells us there was great gladness. These folks were happy because they obeyed the Word of God.

CONCLUSION:

They experienced Revival. If you are here and have never experienced a new life with Christ, you cannot experience Revival, you need regeneration. You need Christ to take control of your life and become your Lord and Savious. However, as a Christian, we are continually in need of revival. Christians, are you Hot, or are you lukewarm? Our spiritual temperature has a direct connection with our attitude toward God’s Word. When we understand His Word, Rejoice in that understanding, and follow the commandments in His Word, we will begin to see revival in our own lives.