Our Obedience (Pt. 2)

We'll open back with me, if you would, to Nehemiah 8 as we continue in our evening study! through the book of Nehemiah. This morning we looked at the first part of Nehemiah 8 as we! consider together what do we do? What does revival look like? And revival, as we saw from Nehemiah 8 this morning, really is centered on the Word of God. Revival is not something that you plan. Revival is not something that you stir up and build up. Revival happens when the people of God have a fresh hunger and renewal in their mind to desire more of God's Word, both to know it and to live it. And so, by way of reviewing from this morning, the first thing we saw in verses 1 and 2 is that we, as we gather as God's people, everything that we do should be centered on God's

Word. Centered on God's Word. And we put the word gather beside that because that's what we want to do as God's people is gather. And as we gather together, we are centered on the Word of God.

We saw that in verses 1 and 2. From verse 3, we saw a second reality, and that is that we want to have careful listening to the Word of God. Careful listening to the Word of God. And beside that, we put the word submit, that we want to submit our lives, submit our hearts to the Word of God. And so, we gather to read it and to study it, but it must go beyond that. We don't just simply gather so that we can read it. We gather so we can read it, understand it, so that we can live it and live in submission to it. Third, we said there must be a correct explanation of the Word of God. And so, beside that, we put the word understand. That we want people to understand what is read, understand what is taught in the Scripture. That the goal of all who teach the Word is to be clear so that people can rightly understand it. So, let me just zoom out for a minute and remind you of the context. So,

Nehemiah has led the people to rebuild the wall that has taken place. They have a sense of safety and security with the wall being built. And even more than that, the shame and the dishonor of living in the land with the wall being destroyed has been removed as now they are able to enjoy the fruit of their labors. But the rebuilding of the wall was never simply about a structure. The rebuilding of the wall needs to coincide with a revival in the heart. That's true for us as a church. All of our obedience, the things that we do, need to come from and spring forth a desire to know more of God. And we know more of God by knowing His Word. And so, yes, we want to do what He's called us to do, but that only happens as we become the people that He has called us to be. And so, the people gather together. It's their New Year's Day, and they ask Ezra the scribe to bring the book. They say, bring the book of the law of God. And the people gather together. Thousands of them are gathered together on this one particular day. As I mentioned this morning, we don't know for sure how many were there. We can't say for sure, but it would have been thousands and thousands. The high estimates would be between 40,000 and 50,000, but there were thousands of people there regardless. And the people are there, and they have built this wooden platform for Ezra to be on as he would have unfolded the scrolls. And he began to read the book, the book of the law. This is the Old Testament law,

Genesis through Deuteronomy. And he's not reading every single word, but he is reading from it all throughout the book of the law of Moses. It would take us maybe 15 hours to read out loud Genesis through Deuteronomy. The Hebrew text is a little shorter, a little more brief, so a little bit less time to have read that text. But he is going to be there from, it says, early morning to midday. From about 6 a.m. to about noon, the people gather thousands of them and just listen to the Word of God. There's men and women and all who could understand, the text says. And the law is read.

So when the people of God gather, they're centered on the Word. There is careful listening to the Word. There is a correct explanation of the Word. And the way we saw that this morning, what they would do is they opened the scroll and they would read the Word. And Ezra, who was reading it, would then give thoughts and comments, statements of praise of the greatness of God. And the people would respond.

And then the skilled teachers, the trained teachers in the midst, would then go among the large crowd of people, essentially breaking them into smaller groups, simply to say, do you understand what has been read? Do you grasp the meaning of what you have heard today? It says that the whole purpose in verse 8, that they read from the book, from the law of God clearly, and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading. This becomes for us a great way to think of not just preaching, but all of our teaching, including in classes, including in your living room with your children, if you've got young ones at home, that we want to read the Word, explain the Word, and give the sense of the Word. Do you understand what we have read? Do you understand the depth and the meaning and the riches that are here for us? Fourth, there's a cheerful response to God's Word. A cheerful response to God's Word. And just right beside that, the word joy. So the people gather, they submit, they understand, and the response of all of that is they have joy. Look with me in your Bible at verse 9. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites taught the people, and they said to all the people, this day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep. For all the people wept as they heard the words of the law, something fascinating takes place. The people have cried out, bring the book.

We want to hear from God. We need to hear the Word of God. And so they gather thousands of them, and the Word of God is read, it is explained, it is applied. And from nothing more than the clear explanation of the Word of God, the people break out into weeping. They have been convicted of their sin.

They've been reminded how their forefathers sinned. They're hearing the stories of the people of God from long ago, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, and they're reminded that our people have been a sinful people. But it's not just their ancestors. They're able to see how they themselves have disobeyed.

And they are broken. They are crushed under the weight of God, not because somebody manipulated them, not because somebody was trying to stir them into an emotional frenzy, just simply the clear articulation of the Word of God revealing the character of God, showing the will of God, displays the holiness of God. And when they saw how holy God was, and how sinful they were, and how sinful their fathers had been, the people, it says, wept, for they heard the words of the law.

Which reminds us that when we read and study the Bible, we should not be unemotional about what we're learning. There's a sense of being filled with joy. There's a sense of being humbled by our sin.

But God forbid that we would ever read the Word or hear the teaching of the Word and just be cold or numb. But if you look at the end of verse 9, it says, this day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.

This is a fascinating thing that is said to them. Because their mourning and their grieving, their weeping, makes sense. They were seeing God as holy as He truly is. And they were seeing themselves as lowly as they truly are.

And when they looked at their sin, and they looked at the righteousness of God as revealed in His Word, they were broken over the reality of sin. That's a fitting and proper response.

So why then this encouragement from the leaders, do not mourn or weep? It's the first day of the seventh month, it tells us. That's not just a time stamp. There's some significance there. Leviticus 23, Numbers 29, tell us that that day, that first day of the seventh month, it's the Feast of Trumpets. And in the Feast of Trumpets, it's a day to celebrate God.

It's a day to rejoice in the character of God. Their weeping over their sin makes sense. But the very word that brought them under conviction, the very words they would have read in Leviticus and Numbers that would have been read to them, tells them on this very day, this is a day to celebrate and to give praise and to give thanks for the goodness of God, of His deliverance of His people, and of His protection of His own. Which means that they are to even adjust their attitude, how they feel in response to nothing other than just the Word of God. It would be in some ways on our Resurrection Sunday, when we celebrate Easter Sunday every year, it's a day of joy. It's a day of celebration. It's a day of being reminded that Christ has been raised from the dead, that we have life, we have victory. Our sin was paid in full, and Christ has conquered sin and death in the grave. And on that Resurrection Sunday, for those who are believers, that's not a day of gloom and sadness. That's a day of victory, of triumph, for Christ has risen. And it's as if the people have heard the reading of the Word, and they were rightly crushed because of their sin, and yet in the very same day, the Word they read that convicted them of their sin tells them on this day of the year, for no other reason than the goodness and the character of God, this is a day to celebrate. Would they be so in tune with the Word of God that their entire attitude and emotion could change simply because it's what God told them to do?

The psalmist said it this way, why so downcast, O my soul? Put your hope in God. Don't be discouraged.

Don't be afraid. Don't live in fear. Instead, train your heart, train your mind to put your hope in God. One pastor phrased it this way, simply in response to what the Word of God said, the people changed their attitude. That's when you know you truly believe the Word of God. I think of this sometimes when people may talk to me and say that they're convicted for their sin, which is a right thing, and they're broken over their sin, which is a right thing, but there comes a time when in your brokenness and your conviction, you have to move off of that and say, praise God, He has forgiven me.

Praise God, He has delivered me. Praise God, He has set me free. And it is not the will of God for His people to go through life continually, simply grieving and weeping. There's a time and a place for that, but there's also a time to remember that the very sin that has broken our heart was paid for by God, and we today live in freedom. And you didn't know that. Because otherwise, people tend to go through life saying, I just don't believe God could love me. I don't know if I'm going to go to heaven when I die.

I believe in Jesus. I trust in Jesus. I've repented on my sin, but I just feel so guilty. And what you want to understand is, you don't live your life according to your feelings. You live your life according to the truth of God's Word. And those feelings can be deceptive in two ways.

Some people will tell you that they know what they're doing is wrong, but it's okay. They have a peace about it. As you've heard me say before, be careful of that one. Jonah was so at peace running from God, he was sleeping just fine until he would be thrown overboard and swallowed by the fish.

Don't think that just because you have a peace about your rebellion that you're in a good place. But the other side of that, there are other people who have truly been forgiven, truly been set free, but they continue to be brought down by the weight of their sin, and they never get past their own actions to glory in the work God has done. This is a fascinating response.

They read the Word, and the Word broke them. But the very Word that broke them tells them this is a day of triumph. This is a day of hope. This is a day of celebrating the goodness of God. So verse 10, then he said to them, go your way, eat the fat, and drink sweet wine, and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord, and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

How in the world can you find happiness and contentment in your life if your heart feels heavy and discouraged?

Here's how. By obeying the Word of God. The joy of the Lord is your strength. And the people say, but we're aware of how sinful we've been, and we're aware of how sinful our forefathers have been, and we are crushed.

And again, there's a right way to be crushed by your sin, but the purpose of being crushed by your sin is not to leave you there, it's to remind you, you need a covering for your sin. And in the Old Testament, God had made a promise that He was going to send one who would be the covering for sin, Genesis 3.15.

And all throughout the Old Testament, they were anticipating and longing for the Messiah to come, the one who would cover their sin. And what would lift their hearts away from despair, and what would fill their hearts with joy, would be if they really believed the Word of God.

Our grieving is replaced by joy because of the mercy of God. And the question is, would a massive group of thousands of people who have been reading and praying and listening and repenting, will they so believe the promise of God that even in their brokenness, they could find the joy of the Lord?

The joy of the Lord, it says in verse 10, is your strength. Our joy in God is our fortress. Our joy in God is our stronghold.

It's our protection. The way that you overcome emotion in life that is tending to bring you low, is to find your joy in the Word and the promises of God.

This is why this is such a great test for us. Because it all comes down to, do you really believe in the promises of God? Do you really believe that? So back in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve sin, and God makes a promise in verse 15 that I'm going to send one who's going to come, and He's going to crush the serpent's head.

This is our first prophetic mention of Jesus. We don't get His name, but we do get the work that He will do on our behalf. And interestingly enough, in that same passage in Genesis 3, you get verse 15, the promise of a Redeemer to come, and then you get what we know as the curses.

The world that is is not the same as the world that was. It's been changed because of sin. The serpents changed. The animal realm is changed.

The earth's ground is changed. There's differences that come to men, differences that come to women, it tells us there in Genesis 3. And one of the things that happens because of sin is that the earth, it says, will produce thorns and thistles, stickers.

And ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, the ground has produced stickers. If you don't believe me, come into my house.

I'll show them to you because my neighbors don't know how to take care of them, and they mow them and throw them in my lawn. And I'm a little bitter about it.

I'll show them to you. They're there. And for centuries, moms and dads would teach their children, our God made a promise.

He promised to send a Redeemer. He promised to send someone to perfectly pay for our sin. It's not just going to be about the blood of bulls and goats forever.

He's going to send a perfect Redeemer. And for years, boys and girls were taught that, and they would say, how long ago was that promise?

And the answer is, it was a long time ago. It was in the garden. And maybe a little boy would say to his dad, Dad, that promise was a long time ago.

How do we really know God's going to keep His promise? And that dad would say, come with me. And he'd take him outside of the grass, and he could find a sticker, and he could pull that sticker plant up.

And he'd say, God promised the earth would grow stickers, thorns and thistles. And if God kept His promise of the thorns, we have every reason to believe He'll keep His promise to send a Redeemer.

And maybe a mother and daughter were on a walk, and that daughter would say, Mom, I don't know if there's any hope for us. And that mom would say, there is hope. God promised.

He promised He was going to send a Redeemer. And maybe that little girl would say, Mom, how long ago was that promise? And she'd say, it was a long, long time ago. All the way back in Garden of Eden.

And that little girl would say, that was a long, long time ago. How do we know God's going to keep His promise? And that mom could take that little girl and put her arm around her daughter and say, you know what, honey?

When you were growing inside my belly, it was so exciting. I felt you kick. I felt you move. I couldn't wait to meet you.

But you know, every morning for about 10 weeks, I threw up. And then you were born. And it was a wonderful, sweet day. But I've never known pain like that.

And the girl would say, well, Mama, why are you telling me that? And she'd say, because the Word of God that we have tells us that part of what God promised is that in pain, you would bring forth children.

And that mama could say to her daughter, and I'm here to tell you, God kept His Word. But if God kept His Word about the pain and childbearing, we have reason to believe God will keep His Word to send a Redeemer.

And from that point on in Genesis 3.15, everything became this issue. What do you believe about the promise of God?

So in Nehemiah 8, the people have been crushed about their sin, but they have also read about how God brings atonement, how God gives forgiveness, how God has made a promise to remove our sin, so much so that the leaders say, this is a holy day.

This is a day we're focused on the goodness and the character of God. Yes, our sin should cause us to grieve, but we don't grieve as those without hope. We grieve as those who believe in the promises of God.

And because of that, today, we declare the joy of the Lord is our strength. It's amazing. Verse 11, look at it.

So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, be quiet, for this day is holy. Do not be grieved. And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

What seems to be happening here is that their grieving and their mourning was missing the reality of the mercy of God.

And I want to remind you today, even as you are convicted of sin, which we should be as we read the Word, and even as you are convicted of things you've done that are wrong, which you should experience if the Holy Spirit lives within you, that even in your mourning over your sin, do not mourn in a way that leaves out the mercy of God.

It is the joy of the Lord that is our strength. It's been well said this way, the fear of God without joy in God is no refuge from the wrath of God.

Should we live with the fear of God? Absolutely. But in that fear of God, there is also joy in God. And if you don't find your joy in God, then your fear of God, reverence of God, will miss the fact that in Christ, we've been set free from the wrath of God.

Or we could say it this way, grace will take people where fear will never take them. It is the kindness of God, Romans says, that leads us to repentance.

If I were to talk to you about your sin and your iniquity, you should feel the weight of that, but you don't stay there. James 4 says, Be wretched and mourn and weep.

Let your laughter be turned to mourning, your joy to gloom. Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will exalt you. Yes, we're broken over our sin, but we don't stay there because the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Dale Ralph Davis, one of my favorite Old Testament commentators, phrased it so well. He said this, The same word, speaking of the word that they heard read of the Word of God, the same word that saddened them also gladdened them.

I don't even know if gladdened is a proper word or not, but it rhymes and it makes sense. And it's Dale Ralph Davis, so I'm going with it. But the same word that saddened them, gladdened them. The same word that crushed them in their sin reminded them that God makes a way for sinners.

The same word that reminded them of the holiness of God also reminded them of the mercy of God. And so let me remind you, for those of you who teach, and again, for those of you who have children at home, don't forget to lead those that you're shepherding to the mercy of God.

If your child has done wrong, yes, there must be consequence. Yes, discipline is right. Yes, conviction is good. But don't forget to keep driving your children to the truth of the mercy of God.

We don't simply want behavior modification. We want heart change. And it's the kindness of the Lord that leads us to repentance.

There's a word that keeps coming up in this text, and it's the word understood or understand. We keep seeing it.

This is now the fifth time in this chapter that we have seen the Word. Go back to verse 2. So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all who could understand what they heard.

Verse 3. He read from it, facing the square before the water gate, from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and those who could understand.

Verse 7. The end of the verse. They helped the people to understand the law. Verse 8. They read from the book, from the law of God clearly, and they gave the sense so the people understood the reading.

Verse 12. At the end. Make great rejoicing because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Which tells us they've been called to live a life of joy because their joy is found in the Lord. And we put those two parts together and it tells us this. When you rightly understand the Word of God, it leads to a life of joy.

Don't miss that. The biblical help here for those who are struggling and caught in emotion that is leading them to despair is to believe the promise of God.

And the people maybe said, aren't we really sinful? And the Ezra would say, yes you are, but our God is merciful.

Find your joy in Him. But weren't our forefathers really disobedient? Yes they were. But God was merciful.

Find your joy in Him. But aren't our children sinful? I mean, after all, do you and I not know that Psalm 51 says, in sin my mother conceived me?

That we have a sin nature from the very beginning? And the answer is yes. But, in Christ, God has made a way. Therefore, the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Do you believe and understand the promises of God so much that even when you hear of bad news and learn of tragedies and watch all kinds of evil in the world, that you still could say, in spite of that, I have a real joy because the joy of the Lord is my strength.

He has promised to hold me and sustain me and secure me and He has promised to bring me home. John 14, I go to prepare a place for you that where I am, you will be also.

Here's the question. Do you believe the promise of God? A right and clear understanding of the promises of God leads to joy in the hearts of His people.

There's one final thing. Number five. When the people of God gather together, we ought to recognize that there should be conformity to God's Word.

Conformity to God's Word and just right beside that, the word obedience. We gather, submit, understand, there's joy, and we obey.

Watch verse 13. On the second day, what's the second day? Well, the second day comes after the first day. See how brilliant that is?

What happened on the first day? The first day, thousands of people gathered together and said, bring the book. And Ezra brought the book and he read the scroll and the people were broken and the people wept and the people were crushed and Ezra and the leaders made sure they could understand it, made sure they could apply it, make sure they understood the sense of what was there.

And then the people said, this isn't a day to grieve, this is a day to find your joy in the goodness and in the character of God. That was day one. From six to around noon, they listened to the Word.

Day two. How do you know if your heart really is in tune with the Lord? Well, one way to know that would be, does the reading and the preaching of the Word of God make you even more thirsty for Him?

Or do you push yourself away saying, that's enough for me? Look at verse 13. On the second day, the heads of fathers' houses of all the people with the priests and the Levites came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law.

What happens on day two? The fathers, the household leaders, they said, we need more of this. If you come to church on Sunday, and even if you listen and are attentive, and your thought on Monday is, I went to church yesterday, I'm good till next Sunday, that is telling you something is wrong.

Because the people of God live with this reality that the more they learn of God, the more they desire to know Him more. Isn't that true for you? That's why you're here on Sunday night?

I mean, you guys heard a lengthy exposition this morning, and most of you heard in addition to that another considerable amount of time of teaching in your Sunday school class this morning. Why are you back tonight?

Because there's more to learn. Because the more we can hear of God's Word, understand of God's Word, the more clear we can get a view of who God is, the more joy that's in our heart, and the more joy we have, the more it drives us to want to know more of who He is.

This is why the way you respond to the Word of God being read and the Word of God being taught becomes a very helpful test for your soul.

Those who know God truly long to know Him more fully. So on day two, the dads hit the text group chain and say, we've got to meet early to go to Ezra's house.

We need more of this. We need to be taught more. We need a greater understanding. We need to lead out in this. So the second day, the heads of fathers' houses of the people came to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law.

Verse 14, And they found it written in the law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month.

It's the first day of what month? The seventh month. It's the Feast of Trumpets. In their reading and study, they have been reminded from Leviticus 23 of what comes next.

After the Feast of Trumpets comes the Feast of Booths to celebrate God's provision for His people. God led them out of Egypt and provided for them coming out of Egypt and what was established was what was known as the Feast of Booths where the people would go and they would build these temporary dwellings, these temporary tents is a good way to think of it.

And they would live in these tents for several days as a way to remember and celebrate God had brought His people through. And so they read the words and they realize this is the time of year we should be doing this.

The way to obey the Word is immediately. One way to test your heart to see if you really understand the goodness of God is when you read in the Word or hear explained to you in the preaching of the Word what God calls us to do that there is an immediate joyful obedience.

I mean for some of us we just don't read the Bible and for others of us we read the Bible but we don't believe it. And for others of us we read the Bible and we believe it but then we just put it aside.

We wouldn't say that we don't believe it we just don't really do what it says. But the way to know that you understand that's the key word in verse 8 to understand.

The way you know you understand the Word of God is that it produces within you a sense of immediate joyful obedience.

Verse 15 They should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem go out to the hills and bring branches of olive and wild olive myrtle and palm and other leafy trees to make booths as it is written.

So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves each on his roof and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God and in the square of the water gate and in the square at the gate of Ephraim.

Why are they doing this? One reason. It's what God's Word said to do. And for them that was enough.

My test for your soul tonight is the same. When you read what the Word says to do is that sufficient?

You don't need to look around and say who else is doing this? You don't need to say I wonder if I do this what's going to happen as a result? You don't have to say but nobody else seems to even be obeying this.

You just simply say this God you have revealed it in your Word this is your will that's enough for me let me go get the leaves and let me go build the booths. It's enough.

I've read your Word your Word reminded me that you are faithful you provided for your people and what you've told us to do is to build the booths let's build the booths.

We built the wall now we build the booths. all of it as a joyful response to nothing more than the Word of God.

Verse 17 and all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and they lived in the booths this is a short term thing for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so and there was very great rejoicing.

It's not that the people since Joshua had never done this it's that they hadn't done it the way the Word prescribed. There had been some examples of them doing the festival of booths but they did not do it with unbridled joy in the Lord which is staggering reminded us that for God to be pleased it must be sincere.

they said this hasn't been happening around here people have been doing this for years well it's not that no one went through the motions and pretended to they did it's that they did it without the joy in the Lord that was supposed to accompany their obedience so think of that for us it's not just coming to church to sing it's singing with joy it's not just sacrificially giving an offering it's giving an offering with joy it's not just serving each other and bearing the needs of each other it's bearing the needs of each other with joy verse 18 and day by day from the first day to the last day he read from the book of the law of God they kept the feast seven days and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the rule what did numbers tell them to do?

you had the feast of trumpets the first day of the seventh month the day of celebration two weeks later you had the feast of booths for seven days as you built these temporary dwellings to remind yourself of how God provided for his people seven days on the eighth day you had the solemn assembly and the people said we have seen in the word what you have called us to do let's return and do that but you can't just do it without passion for it to be true worship it must come from the heart and so they are to do what God called them to do with a sense of joy in the Lord my friends take that with you this week do what God has called you to do this week with joy in the Lord serve your family this week with joy in the Lord teach your children to pray this week with joy in the Lord serve at your job this week with joy in the Lord pray for those in your Sunday school class in need with joy in the Lord read your Bible this week and pray for your family with joy in the Lord and let everything you do be as a response to what God's word has said when you get to the end of chapter 8 here's what we're left with the people had one request bring the book and they read it and the people responded and they were broken but the word that broke them restored them and the evidence that they believe and understood was immediate joyful obedience obedience so when you train your children to do what you say it's not just a question of did you make your bed that's behavior modification push it all the way to their heart joyful immediate immediate obedience well how would a 12 year old ever enjoy making their bed only if they understood that even that is a way to worship and bring the light to the heart of God this week you're going to have a chance to serve somebody to pray for someone to share the gospel with somebody how would you find joy in doing that if no one's going to know if no one's going to recognize and maybe even the ministry you offer doesn't go well here's how by reminding yourself that immediate joyful obedience delights the heart of God and if the joy of the Lord is your strength then everything that brings joy to him brings joy to you and so now your circumstances have no control over your emotion because you knew that your obedience brought joy to God and because that's true it brought joy joy to you because it's the joy of the Lord that is your strength and the evidence you believe and understand that is that you would live and I would live this week with immediate joyful obedience simply because that's what we found in the book what an amazing chapter what a great test for our hearts

Lord our prayer is that we would commit to obey and do whatever your word says may we listen may we be moved may we respond may we be grateful and if there is anything that hinders us from being moved by the teaching of your word may we confess that as sin and where we find grace and mercy because of the work of Christ on the cross may we live in the joy and the freedom as we are reminded that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus that's your promise may we believe it and the evidence that we do would be our immediate joyful trust in your word may it be true for us even this week in Christ's name

Amen