Author: Jinson Thomas

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/defining-mission.mp3″]

We’ll be looking at a familiar passage today which is known for the miracle in it but it’s not a common passage when people talk about mission. I thought it’ll be good for all of us to study it together and understand what its implications can mean for us today.

Luke 5:1-11

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,  and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Let’s set this up by talking a little bit about the context of this passage. A couple of verses before we get to this passage, Jesus says “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” (Lk 4:43)

I think it’s interesting that Jesus plainly states his purpose to preach the good news and a couple of verses later he chooses his first disciples. It’s definitely connected. But don’t think that Christ is helpless when he looks at the huge task of getting the good news declared to all towns and therefore, he needs to urgently recruit some people to help him out. Acts 17:24-25 says “The God who made the world and everything in it, being the Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

Psalm 19:1 says “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork”. The heavens and sky are also used by God to declare His glory.

In Numbers 22, God used a donkey to communicate with Balaam. A donkey spoke in clear legible language to communicate with a person! If God can communicate through a donkey, let’s not ever think that God is dependent on us. He is not dependant on us and yet He choses to use us. That in itself should humble us and make us grateful for the privilege to join God in His marvellous mission.

What we understand from the relation between the passage in Lk 4:43 and Luke 5 is that Christ is extremely passionate about the mission (must preach the good news) and His disciples are also defined and described by that mission.

With that let’s look at our main text. We see how an eager and hungry crowd come toward Jesus in order to hear the word of God. Jesus is standing by the lake of Gennesaret and he sees two empty boats because the fishermen were washing their nets. Jesus climbs up the boat which belonged to Simon Peter and asks him to put it out a little from the land. This isn’t the first time Peter encounters Jesus though.

In John 1, we learn that two disciples follow Jesus when John the Baptist points at Jesus and says “Behold the Lamb of God”. Andrew was one of the disciples and he finds his brother Peter, tells him that they’ve found the Messiah and brings him to Jesus. (John 1:40-42)

On another occasion in Luke 4:38-39, Jesus comes to Simon’s house and heals his mother in law who has a high fever.

Peter so far has seen Jesus perform miracles, heal people, drive out demons and teach with authority but he hasn’t yet followed him. It’s like he’s in an environment where he’s being exposed to the person of Jesus but doesn’t yet see the significance in actually following him. Many of us who grew up in a Christian environment would relate to this story because growing up we’ve read stories in the Bible, hear people talk about Jesus, we are taught songs about Jesus but don’t get how that makes any difference to our lives. If you are there at this point, I hope the conversion story of Peter encourages you. It wasn’t a co-incidence due to which Jesus got into Peter’s boat. Rather it was an ordained and planned event that was going to transform his life forever! Wow!

Verse 4 & 5

And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

Could you imagine being in Peter’s shoes right now? He was an experienced, skilled fisherman. He just spent the entire night trying to catch some fish to no avail. Jesus on the other hand was a carpenter. I’m sure Peter must’ve wondered “I know Jesus heals people and all that but I know this trade better than him. I’m pretty sure that it’s not going to change anything”. Out of respect Peter heeds to Jesus’ request but probably didn’t expect or believe anything different to take place.

Think about something that you’re good at. You’re skilled at it because it’s a task that you do every day. You’re almost an expert in this field or task. Now what if someone with no experience in that task or field comes and tells you to do the opposite of what you think or believe, what would your response be?

Coming back to the text, Peter probably doubted Jesus at that point but he still exhibited trust by putting down the nets. Do you ever imagine what would’ve happened if Peter didn’t listen to Jesus? Instead you see him trusting and obeying what Jesus asked him to do.

Verse 6 & 7

And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

What an amazing miracle they’ve just witnessed! It’s absolutely unheard of! How could it be possible that from no catch they suddenly caught so many fish that the two boats are now sinking due to the weight? In their many years of fishing they’ve never caught so many fish. They now realize that this Jesus does not only heal people of their sicknesses but also controls nature and circumstances according to His will!

Verse 8 & 9

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken

I find it interesting that before this miracle, Peter refers to Jesus as Master and now He is Lord. Peter understands the difference. Maybe earlier Peter only saw Jesus as an overseer and a Teacher but now He sees him as one with supreme authority. He realized that he wasn’t dealing with a Teacher and a Prophet but He was dealing with God Himself. I think that’s where Jesus gets offensive to people. People are okay with Jesus as long as He is a moral teacher or as long as he is a Prophet who talks about the future but they are reluctant to accept Him as God. And isn’t that strange? Why can’t Peter enjoy the abundance of his catch? Why is suddenly fearful and talking about his sin? This astonishing miracle opened his eyes to perceive the holiness of God and the sinfulness of himself. In essence what he probably meant is “Jesus, I know you are Holy and sent from God. I can’t be around you because I am so sinful! I am unworthy and unqualified to be with you!”

If you are there today, being overwhelmed in your sin and feeling absolutely unqualified to be on Jesus’ mission, here are 3 things this passage tells us today:

1) Mission is rooted in a relationship with Christ

Verse 10 ….And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

Those 4 words “Do not be afraid!” changed everything! Can you imagine how Peter, John and James felt at that very moment? They expected condemnation and judgment from Holy God. Instead they received compassion and forgiveness! “Do not be afraid” Such sweet words from Jesus for sinners like you and me. The reason why we are recipients of God’s immense love and forgiveness is because Jesus completely paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross. The judgment that was deserving of criminals like you and me because we sinned against God in our thoughts, words and actions was borne by Christ who committed no crime. Apart from the sacrifice of our Lord all that is left for us is condemnation! When you stare at yourself in disbelief and grief because you understand how sinful you are…Christ speaks a better word…Christ says “Do not be afraid. I got this”. That’s why Rom 8:1 says “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Why would anyone not want that?

One of the reasons why Christians ignore mission or aren’t passionate about God’s mission is because they don’t have a pattern of continuous repentance and faith. So they’re living with unconfessed sin and have forgotten everything about the freedom and joy they have in Christ. If we look into our lives, would we say that a pattern of turning from sin and completely depending on the life and work of Christ is THE defining factor? Or are repentance and faith merely random events in your life?

2) Mission is empowered by the qualification of Christ

Not just that Jesus also empowered and commissioned them to “catch men”

What does “Catch men” mean? It obviously doesn’t mean kidnapping! That would be wrong. The word “catch” in the Greek actually means make someone captive or imprison them. It’s talking in a spiritual sense. We have been given the task to “apprehend” people with the beauty of Christ’s love and sacrifice. That’s what happens when we share the good news. We tell people of how we were “apprehended” by Christ’s compassion and love for us and how we’ve been set free from the sin’s penalty and condemnation. Its good news because it’s a free gift available for them too!

What if we get the feeling that we’re unqualified to “catch men”? Well, it is Christ who qualifies you. Firstly, he qualifies us by cancelling each and every sin and by giving us His righteousness. Then He qualifies us by nurturing us through His Word as we read and obey it each day. I’m sure Peter and the others thought Jesus should’ve approached some of Pharisees who were much more knowledgeable to be his disciples. No, that’s not the way it works in God’s kingdom. In Acts 4:13, Peter and John were standing before the big shots in the Jewish religious circles and a very interesting description is made of them. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they had recognized that they had been with Jesus”. It is the relationship with Christ that qualifies you.

One thing that all believers know is how Christ transformed their lives. It’s a truth we can’t forget or deny. Yet many still don’t want to share their testimonies. We still wait for that moment when we will be ready to share our faith. Isn’t Christ’s qualification enough for us? If we have a real relationship with Christ, then we are qualified to share.

3) Mission is defined by the call to follow Christ

Verse 11 –  And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
I always keep thinking. These were fishermen who had their livelihoods entirely dependent on the amount of fish they caught. Were they acting foolishly by just leaving everything and following Jesus at a time when they got so much? Wasn’t that terrible business decision making? Why couldn’t have they waited for a few more years and then followed Jesus during retirement?

I think it’s because till now their identity (everything that defined and directed their course of life), their purpose (driving motivation), security (what can secure their lives), longing of their hearts (maybe the trade or the abundance could satisfy) surrounded around fishing and what it could provide.

They just met and had an encounter with Jesus who in one miracle showed them that He was the answer to their longing for a true identity, true purpose in life, true security and true satisfaction. It’s like the treasure in Matt 13:44. A man finds a treasure hidden in the field. In his “joy” he sells all that he has and buys the field. If you found the answers to the deepest questions in your life, would you hold back from giving yourself completely to the solution to those questions? That’s why it wasn’t foolishness but conscious and a joyful response by Peter, James and John to leave everything and follow Jesus. That’s where mission begins.

It’s a question of willingness to follow Jesus. Only a true follower of Jesus will be on Mission. Only a follower would want to trust and obey Jesus. Could it be possible that you don’t want to be on mission because you aren’t really following Jesus?

[otw_shortcode_info_box border_type=”bordered” border_color_class=”otw-black-border” border_style=”bordered” shadow=”shadow-down-right” rounded_corners=”rounded-10″]This sermon is part of our Expository Preaching Collective on the Book of Nehemiah. Follow the link below to know more about What Expository preaching is and Why is it important to us. (Click here)[/otw_shortcode_info_box]

We have come to the end of Nehemiah! It’s been a wonderful process for all of us as we’ve seen God’s love and grace in rebuilding and restoring the hearts of His people. The story on the exterior might seem to be only about rebuilding, repopulating and governance but it was really about renewal of their hearts!

It’s been exhilarating recounting the experiences of Nehemiah, the people of Judah and learning to apply them to our lives. We’ve learnt a great deal on prayer, repentance, purity, obedience, giving ourselves to the work of God, worship, fighting sin, standing firm in opposition.

And yet when we come to the end of the book instead of finishing with a triumphant message, it closes with the sad reality of people’s failing commitment to God.

23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”

28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

30 Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; 31 and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

This morning I want us all to go to Doctor Scripture for a checkup. Doctor Scripture will be doing a thorough check up of our hearts today. Our prayer is that the truths of this passage will illuminate us to know what’s in our hearts and turn to Christ for him to perform the surgery:

The first thing that we discover about our heart condition is that:

1. We are forgetful: Prone to forget our identity in God (v23-27)

23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?

“Wow! Really?” might be our response when we read this text. These were the same people in Chapter 10 swore…entered into an oath and curse to walk in God’s Law. I thought these were the people who separated themselves from the peoples of the land to the Law of God!

I thought they were the ones who stood for half a day confessing their sins to God and made a firm covenant in writing on a sealed document! Let’s look at Chapter 10:28-39 to see what all they had committed to. By Chapter 13 we find that all those commitments were forgotten and broken.

A couple of weeks back we saw how they neglected the house of the Lord and did not support the priests and the Levites, last week we saw how the people ignored the commandment to keep the Sabbath and now we see how they intermarry with the women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab.

The Israelites witnessed first-hand how intermarriage with the people these nations always resulted in disobedience to God. Association with these nations always meant that the Israelites were led to sexual immorality and idolatry. There was no good that came out of these relations. It’s like that old sinful indulgence that we immerse in when we seek pleasure and comfort apart from God. Somehow for this sin there’s always an exception. When it comes to this sin we always compromise.

We love this sin so much that we don’t mind ignoring the commandments of God or the commitment to God. Just know that this comes at a huge risk. We learnt a couple of weeks back how our sin damages and contaminates our worship of God. There’s another thing at stake here. Identity!

V24 says: And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.

Is anything wrong learning another language and culture? That’s why context is essential. In Ancient Times, the way nations used to conquer other nations was not just by power and might but also by teaching them their language and culture. That’s how they would brainwash them in order to make them slaves.

Daniel 1:3-8: 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family[a] and of the nobility, 4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

In Daniel’s time we see how the attempt was made to brainwash him and the other Israelites by educating them with the literature and language of the Chaldeans. Not just that, their names were changed: because that would also totally change their identity!

Now we may think…what’s the big deal about identity? Everything! It affects everything you do. Just imagine if you were literally brainwashed and sent out to roam within the city without any ID, what would that be like? Wouldn’t it be disastrous? You wouldn’t know where to go? You wouldn’t know who was in your family? You wouldn’t know what to do? Neither would you know your rights and duties as a citizen.

In the same way if you forget your identity in God, you forget your identity as a child of God, rescued by God to serve God and glorify God! If losing your identity physically is devastating, how much more dangerous is it to lose your identity in Christ?

• You forget that Christ has totally and completely forgiven ALL your sins.
• If we confess our sins, he isfaithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.(1 John 1:9)
• You forget that there is absolutely no condemnation for those who are in Christ! (Rom 8:1)
• You forget that in the presence of God there is fullness of JOY! (Ps 16:7)
• You forget that Christ chose and appointed you to go and bear fruit! (John 15:16)

We miss out on all of that by forgetting our identity! And Satan knows that so from the start he’s always tried to play around with our identity. He asked Eve “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat of any tree in the garden?” By v5 he convinces her that her identity apart from God is more attractive. And from v6 we see how the whole of humanity and creation fell with that loss of identity.

And just like how Satan subtly tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit. He didn’t tell them explicitly that he was trying to confuse their identity in God. Similarly what are some sins we entertain assuming that they are innocent?

For eg: Culture around us will tell us we need to be secular, there’s no harm in marrying an unbeliever. Will you still go ahead and pursue a relationship knowing how it’s going to impact the way you view your identity? Another one, what we watch often on TV or on the Internet heavily impacts the way we view our identity. We may think it’s so innocent. It’s just a TV show.  But through the TV show they’ll subtly or overtly express ideas that are so unbiblical and we end up consuming them.

That’s why you see that from the way people dress, to the way people talk and the way people behave…all of that is being influenced by media. As believers we must be careful with what we watch because of the way it impacts our identity.

2. We are powerless: No amount of human effort can transform people’s hearts (v25 & 28-29)

25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

Perhaps one thing we can definitely understand from Nehemiah’s ministry is that he was very zealous. In this case however even though the intent was to remove and cleanse the evil that was in the nation, it still was abusive. The last chapter did talk about Nehemiah’s reforms but in his zeal did it actually lead people to repentance? So no matter what he tried, he still couldn’t change people because the problem wasn’t just in their behavior and action, the problem lied in their hearts! SIN!

Jesus clearly understood our hearts and described it perfectly. In Matt 15:19, Jesus says: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person.”

It’s what’s in your heart that needs to be healed first. How have you approached your fight against sin? How have you approached your devotion to God? Is it by doing certain things, by completing a list or is it by having your heart transformed? Have you come to that place where you admit that no amount of human effort can actually change you? Only God can change your heart! If you are in that place waiting, help is there.

3. We are self-righteous: We always assume that we are more righteous than who we truly are (v30, 31)

Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; 31 and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

Nehemiah undoubtedly was active in removing the evil that was in the nation and bringing things to order but he ends the entire episode with no mention of his own faults. We see a humbled and penitent Nehemiah in Chapter 1 where he’s pleading and confessing his own sins alongwith the sins of the people. Now there’s no confession in his prayer.

This happens a lot when you’re leading or discipling other people. Often you’ll think that the passage you read only applies to the person you’re leading. You’re always thinking of ways you can apply that Scripture to the other person. It’s all good but is that Scripture reading you? The root issue is because we often think we’re more righteous than whom we truly are.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (1 John 1:8, 9)

The true display of the Spirit’s work in a person’s life is not in the denial of sin but in the growing awareness of sin and repentance! That’s why repentance is not a one-time activity for a believer, it is a continuous lifelong activity until the believer becomes like Christ!

Guess what…even the most hardened unbeliever thinks he is more righteous than he is. That’s why even after the gospel is shared, he won’t budge because he doesn’t think it’s required for him. Only the person who truly sees his sin for what it is knows why he needs Jesus.

Have we identified the sin of self-righteousness in our hearts? Have we been denying the actual presence of sin in our lives or has it been brought to the light in confession?

We’ve just seen three different truths about our human condition: We are prone to forget our identity in God, no amount of human effort can transform people’s hearts, and we think we are more righteous than we are. Where we failed is where Jesus succeeded.

He was completely aware and in sync with His identity with the Father, his effort is complete and can transform people’s hearts, he was the only person who lived a life that was considered perfectly righteous by the Father! Our frail and wicked lives were the reason why we deserved to die. But Christ showed His compassion and love by dying in our place on the cross.

Three days later he rose from the grave to give us our true identity: united with God forever, to give us a new heart and to give us a new righteousness! His own righteousness! We receive it in repentance and faith! If we ask ourselves, which of the three has been the hindrance this past week:

Forgetting our identity, Our Self-Efforts or Our Self-Righteousness? Can we turn from it and run to Jesus receiving what He has already done for us?

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/161009_1100-mp3cut.net_.mp3″]

[otw_shortcode_info_box border_type=”bordered” border_color_class=”otw-black-border” border_style=”bordered” shadow=”shadow-down-right” rounded_corners=”rounded-10″]This sermon is part of our Expository Preaching Collective on the Book of Nehemiah. Follow the link below to know more about What Expository preaching is and Why is it important to us. (Click here)[/otw_shortcode_info_box]

How many of us would generally evaluate the risk involved before we take any financial decision for ourselves or our families? It’s interesting that when it comes to moral issues specifically sin; we don’t usually put any thought to it. The harm in making sinful investments outweighs and outdoes any of the great mistakes we may make in our career or finance because it deals with the worship of God negatively. I believe today’s passage offers a sober warning and reassuring hope for us. It tells us two things about making sinful investments:

1) Sin damages the worship of God individually
2) Sin contaminates the worship of God corporately

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Read Nehemiah 13:4-14 (Click text to read)

1) Sin damages the worship of God individually (v4-7)

In these few verses we see two main characters being described. Eliashib and Tobiah. Let’s try and find out from Nehemiah what we can know about them.

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Eliaship:

• Eliashib was the high priest at the time. His grandson was the son in law of Sanballat the Horonite. (v28)
• He had a huge responsibility of leading the people in spiritual matters.
• He had the responsibility of ministering to them and ministering on their behalf by offering sacrifices in the temple.
• He also had the responsibility of looking after the Levites and the priests by making sure that the tithes and the offerings that were brought to the temple were distributed to them.
• Eliashib was related to Tobiah.

Tobiah

• He was an enemy of the people of God.
• He hated the idea of Nehemiah seeking the welfare of the people of Israel. (Neh 2:10)
• He despised and jeered at the people while they were rebuilding the walls. (Neh 2:19)
• He accused the people of rebelling against the King.
• He and his counterparts became very angry when they saw that the work of the walls continued in spite of their threats. (Neh 4:7)
• Even toward the end of the rebuilding process, we see how they tried to deceive and make Nehemiah afraid in order to somehow make the work to stop. (Neh 6:19)

We know how the broken walls were a picture of the spiritual state of the people of Judah. They were in shame and in spiritual ruins. But God lovingly pursued them and repaired their hearts! Therefore when Tobiah tried to attack the people of Judah and attempted to stop the work, he wasn’t just being an enemy of the people he was being an enemy of God!

Now this enemy of God was given the storage place that was meant to store tithes and offerings that supported the ministers who were given the great responsibility to lead the nation in worship! By whom? Eliashib the high priest. Nehemiah returns back after his absence to discover the “wickedness and evil” that was done by Eliashib. Now what made this act to be really evil? Not only was it because he was the enemy…there were some more reasons to this:

i) Disobedience to the direct command of God. (Deut 23:3-6)

As a nation, the Moabites and Ammonites always intended to harm & destroy the people of God. It came through sexually immoral practices and marriages that led people into idol worship. God loves his people too much to allow them to be harmed by these nations and that’s why he commanded them to not enter the assembly. God is a loving protective father!

ii) Failure in guarding the sanctuary kindles the wrath of God (Num 18:1-7)

It’s clear from this passage that the fury of God will pour out on outsiders and the priests for ritual trespasses. We might think “what’s the big deal”. It’s just a room in a temple. Why should God become so angry? Well would you be able to enter the President’s office as and when you like? No. You require special permission. What stops anybody from just entering the presence of God? God’s holiness and our unholiness!

You know the Bible tells us in 1 Cor 6:19 :

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?

2 Cor 6:16 :

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.

This verse tells us that this temple is devoted exclusively for the Living God! It cannot be shared with idols! Cannot! Plus, it’s His stamp on us signifying His very close union. It’s a very special relationship that he shares with us.

Eph 2:21 calls us a “holy temple”. We are set apart and pure!

Now the question is how have we been guarding our temple? Just like Eliashib, have we allowed relatives like Tobiah in this temple? And these relatives are the sin idols we identified last week. We’ve known this sin and indulged in it too long. Now it’s too hard to part ways with it. Are there relationships in our lives which are tainted and scarred with sin? What are the habits and sin patterns that we have continued to give shelter to? What about our speech? Has sin penetrated through our conversations? What consumes our thoughts throughout the day? We inevitably worship what we end up thinking about most. What about pleasure? What is it that you delight in the most? Is it God or is it sin? What is it that has been your source of security this past week? If this one thing or person was taken away from you, you would find it so hard to survive. Is there a comfort in this life that you cannot live without? How much do you end up thinking about yourself during the day? Is sin and self the core foundation of your pleasure and excitement each day?

Brothers and sisters, let’s understand this clearly. Our God hasn’t changed. He is still Holy as He was in OT. If we are keepers or guards of the temple that is there in us, we will need to give an account for it. Don’t allow yourself to be deceived. There is grace but is should never be used as a license to sin!

2) Sin contaminates the worship of God corporately (v10-11)

10 I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. 11 So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations.

The sin of Eliashib was now affecting other people as well. The Levites and singers who were dependent on the tithes and offerings had fled to their fields because they needed to find an alternative to sustain themselves. At what cost? The worship of Almighty God!

Brothers and sisters, let’s understand that sin is not just something that we’ll need bear the consequence of but what’s at stake is “the worship of God”. Let’s come out of the self-centered view of sin where it only affects us: it affects the worship of God corporately too.

How? By dwelling and continuing in sin:

a) We pollute the image of God in our minds: God is probably thought about as someone who doesn’t really judge sin, who doesn’t really have a high view of holiness etc. We’ve made God out to be like one of us.

b) We corrupt the image of God to each other and the world: If the “people of God” love sin, live in sin, breathe sin what image of God are we sharing with the world? It’s not a great, wonderful, glorious God. God is zealous about His glory. And that’s why God has also graciously provided church discipline as a way of maintaining the purity of His people. And also, people’s sin eventually finds them. Secret sin never quite remains a secret for too long.

Our sin obstructs and damages our worship & our sin contaminates other people’s worship. Worship is to bow down out of reverence to someone. The first reference in the Bible was in Genesis 22 when Abraham says that he is going on top of Mount Moriah to “worship”. God’s desire and design for us was to fall down in worship at the gaze of His glory and wonder. What sin did when Adam and Eve fell was to blur that image. So instead we started worshipping people, possessions and pleasures only to bring upon us judgment for forsaking life and choosing death! The reality is by our sinful nature, we have chosen death! Even the most righteous man on the earth currently would still find idols lying in His heart. But God is so faithful and merciful…he sent His only Son to this earth. He worshipped God fully and perfectly. It was pure and pleasing worship! He then died for us all – ungodly, idol worshipping and hypocritical people so that the blinders could be opened in order to recognize our God as the God of glory! Our response is repentance and faith. What does that look like according to today’s passage? What should the approach to sin and idolatry be in our life?

Let’s compare it with Nehemiah’s response.

1. Angry (v8)
2. Threw the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chambers. (v8)
3. Cleansed the chambers, put back the vessels of the house of God with grain offering and frankincense. (v9)
4. Appointed reliable men as treasurers. (v13)

I believe these are parallels for us today:

1. It needs to begin with hatred toward the sin. Motivated by the zeal for the worship of God personally and corporately.
2. Drastic measures need to be taken to uproot the idols from our life.
3. We must replace the idols with elements of worship (Scripture, prayer, service, witness)
4. We must have reliable resources to help us maintain the standard of worship: We cannot truly claim to be repentant of habitual sins apart from Christian community. Eg: my struggle with pride. In God’s grace He has graciously provided means of grace of dealing with our toughest struggles with the help of community.

Which idols of yours have been challenged head on this morning? Do you understand how the glory of God is being compromised by your sin? Do you see how your sin is affecting the worship of your other believer brothers and sisters? Let’s turn to Christ and accept His way of turning away from idols. What is God calling you to do today?

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/160925_1103.mp3″]

[otw_shortcode_info_box border_type=”bordered” border_color_class=”otw-black-border” border_style=”bordered” shadow=”shadow-down-right” rounded_corners=”rounded-10″]This sermon is part of our Expository Preaching Collective on the Book of Nehemiah. Follow the link below to know more about What Expository preaching is and Why is it important to us. (Click here)[/otw_shortcode_info_box]

Nehemiah 12:44-47

44 On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. 45 And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. 46 For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs[b] of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.

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I want to start by asking this question: What are some ways by which we can care for the people whom God has appointed to minister to us? Often our church experience and expectations end up being very consumerist. We may think that the elders/ministers exist for us but as we will see today, as much as we require being cared for, so do the elders and ministers and I believe this text helps us with that.

[bctt tweet=”Making much of God by caring for our leaders. (Nehemiah 12:44-47)” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

We can care for our leaders/elders in 3 ways:

• Valuing our elders
• Encouraging our elders
• Supporting our elders

Value our elders

On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. (v44)

On the same day, we learn that men were appointed over storerooms meant for gathering tithes and offerings for the priests and Levites. As we learnt last week, it was a day of celebration! They celebrated the presence of God, they celebrated the work of God and they celebrated God being known through them. A continuation of this celebration was the celebration of the ministers. The end of v 44 says that “for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered”. Great joy for the men who served and ministered for them/to them.

So men were appointed to gather all the collection, tithes, wine, grain and oil to distribute it among the Levites and priests. Now why did the Law require them to be provided for?

From Deut 18:1-5 we learn that the Levites didn’t have a portion of land or inheritance in Israel. The food offerings that were brought into the temple were their inheritance. In fact, God tells them that “the Lord is their inheritance”. What an amazing privilege!

Why was this asked from them? It says in v5 that God chose them out of all the tribes to stand and minister in the name of the Lord. What a great and unique privilege. When we think about serving a normal human it may not seem like a huge deal but when we think about serving and standing and ministering in the presence of a Holy God…this is huge! And it’s interesting how in 1 Pet 2:9, it tells that we are a kingdom of priests as His redeemed. What an awesome privilege we get to minister and stand in the presence of God to a lost world.

So what did it mean for the people of Judah to rejoice over the Levites?

1. They acknowledged the privilege that the Levites and priests had to serve the Lord.
2. They recognized how important their role was in worship.

This attitude towards their spiritual leaders was only possible because of a repentant heart. Early on in this book we see how the people repented and were in right relationship with God. They gave prominence to the Law of the Lord and sought to obey all that the Lord had commanded. This resulted in finding extreme joy and value in the people God placed over them to lead them in worship.

This brings us to an important question: how do we view those who have been given the responsibility to lead and minister to us?

It’s not a norm these days. Sometimes in some circles people the perception is that only those who don’t have any career option in life, they end up in ministry. Otherwise, it’s perceived that pastoral ministry is a smart and easy way to get rich. These abuses in ministry have caused us to be skeptical. However, Scripture clearly tells us to respect and esteem those who labor among us.

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. (1 Thess 5:12, 13)

And so it starts with the attitude of valuing our leaders. But how do we show them that value? By submitting to their authority through Scripture. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Heb 13:17)

Elders are those that keep watch over our souls and so being obedient to their instruction through Scripture is important to God. Sometimes people end up agreeing to everything that the pastor advices them but doesn’t really intend to make any changes in their lives. Does this mean that the person is submissive? I don’t think so. It’s like if your boss at your workplace asks you to specifically do something, and if you don’t do it. A failure to do it would mean disrespectful to the authority of the boss. Therefore, similarly the attitude we show to our elders is best displayed in our obedience and submission.

Encourage our elders

And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. 46 For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs[b] of praise and thanksgiving to God. (v45, 46)

The next two verses is the result of encouragement being given to the ministers in Nehemiah’s time. When they were being encouraged, they were able to perform and excel in their God given roles.

1 Pet 5:1-5:

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,[a] not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;[b] not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

This passage gives a very good description on the responsibilities of an elder. And there is a huge responsibility! Elders are called to be under-shepherds of the flock of Jesus. And that’s what makes the responsibility big. However, I would like to look at these verses from a different angle. What if we looked at these verses from the perspective of someone who needs to submit to the leadership of an elder. What can it mean for us to not make it hard for the elders so that they can lead willingly and eagerly? What can we do to encourage the elders to be examples for us? And the moment we start thinking that way it changes the way we view the church. Coming back to the point of being a consumerist in church. Sometimes we need to step back and realize that elders also need the spiritual encouragement and accountability as much as we do. Most of the cases of ministers caught in adultery have taken place due to a life of no accountability. When was the last time you encouraged your elder telling him how he’s blessed you through his service? When was the last time you checked up on how your pastor was doing spiritually? I think this is key to ensuring that our elders are taken care of.

Supporting our elders

And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron. (v47)

Another thing that we need to do is support our spiritual leaders. We see in this passage how the whole nation was faithful in giving to ensure that the ministers could focus on serving in the Temple. In the next chapter we in fact see how the failure of having to support them led to a lot of problems. So coming to the question whether it is right or wrong to support those over us?

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” (1 Tim 5:17, 18)

I personally wrestled with this question for a long time. And again I don’t think the question here is bi-vocational ministry or exclusive ministry better. I think we need to look at it in this way: if supporting a minister helps him to be more effective and focused in doing what God has called him to do then that should be done. And it’s not that this is should ever be a burden on the congregation but it should be done willingly and also as a way of honouring the people appointed over the church.

I think this point of support doesn’t only apply referring to financial support but also support in terms of being involved in executing the vision of the elders. Especially as the elders think of strategizing and finding way to get the gospel out, where people come alongside and cooperate in terms of that vision. That’s certainly good support!

Finally, I think what we need to realize that the main reason that prevents us from caring for and submitting to our leaders is due to our sin! It’s not them…it’s us! Resisting authority is a result of the fall and that’s why we desperately need the gospel. The gospel…the death of Jesus on the cross nailed the sin of selfishness and pride and ego and allows us to humbly be led by our elders. And humble submitting to our elders magnifies God – why because there is submission within the Trinity as well. The Son submits to the Father and the Holy Spirit submits to both the Father and the Son. All three persons in the Trinity are equal, yet we find submission. How can we then not view, rejoice, care for our elders with that in mind?

[otw_shortcode_info_box border_type=”bordered” border_color_class=”otw-black-border” border_style=”bordered” shadow=”shadow-down-right” rounded_corners=”rounded-10″]This sermon is part of the Expository Preaching Collective on the Book of Nehemiah. Follow the link below to know more about What Expository preaching is and Why is it important to us. (Click here)[/otw_shortcode_info_box]

Growing up I always thought serving God was a very attractive thing. Be it in the experience of leading thousands of people in worship song or preaching before a crowd. My Christian experience was defined by commercial and cultural Christianity. However, the more I read God’s Word, the more I realized how wrong that idea was. People suffered and were rejected while serving God! I believe today’s passage teaches us two things about service to God:-

1. Serving God is unpopular yet pleasing in the eyes of God
2. Serving God is unattractive yet beautiful in the plans of God

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1. Serving God is unpopular yet pleasing in the eyes of God (v1-2)

Though the temple had been rebuilt and the city walls repaired, Jerusalem still remained to be an unpopular place to live in. Why was that so? Nehemiah 2 actually describes how bad the condition was earlier:

I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” (Nehemiah 2:3)

[bctt tweet=”What does it mean to serve God? (Nehemiah 11)” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” (Nehemiah 2:17)

These two verses clearly show how unpopular the city was for inhabiting. The gates were burned down and the temple was destroyed. The word “derision” meant that rival nations were mocking them and ridiculing them. Total and utter disgrace and shame! Even though the city was restored, people were still hesitant to settle in a place which was considered as a place of disgrace and shame.

Why did Nehemiah and the other leaders deem it necessary to re-populate the “holy city”?

As we’ve been discussing the whole issue of repopulation in Jerusalem, it wasn’t because there were better job opportunities out there, it wasn’t because their life was going to get more comfortable, neither was it because it was a land occupied by their ancestors…we realized that the primary reason for inhabiting the city of Jerusalem was to re-establish the worship of the One True God. In the OT, Jerusalem was the place where the temple was located and built. Prayers were offered by turning towards the city. God would demonstrate his forgiveness, justice, grant help, shower mercy and grace from this temple and city. The whole idea was of God dwelling among His people and meeting with them in Jerusalem. You can see how this city was of extremely great importance to both God and His people. There was a very close relation between the “land” and “worship”. When the people contaminated their worship by worshipping idols, they were removed from the land and the worship of God. Why? Because God as our Creator and Savior desires our utmost affection and obedience. It can’t be shared with anyone else as if anybody else could replace or substitute God. Here’s what Solomon prayed when the temple was being dedicated way before the people were exiled into Babylon:

“If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). 52 Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. 53 For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.” (1 Kings 8:46-53)

We know what happened after that, how God lovingly pursued them and brought them back to their land. A return to Jerusalem meant that the people could once again worship and relate to God as before! It’s a huge deal.

With what the recruitment policies were the people relocated to Jerusalem?

Firstly, the leaders of the people volunteered to live in Jerusalem. (v1) Such a great example of the leaders leading from the front! People were afraid, skeptical and uncomfortable to move to the city. So what did the leaders do? They volunteered to move first and settle down. And that works wonders when it comes to motivating the others to do the same. They didn’t want to be leaders who were only asking others to make uncomfortable choices, they were the ones who took the initiative and showed the way.

Secondly, they cast lots to bring 1 out of every 10 people to live in the city. You could say that this was a fair way of choosing volunteers because people were being picked randomly and so it removed the whole argument of partiality.

Thirdly, we also see a group of people who in addition to the ones who were picked by casting lots “willingly offered to live in Jerusalem”. (v2)  No compulsion but they willingly decided to step into uncomfortable grounds. It says that those people were commended and blessed because they volunteered to move to the city of Jerusalem.

What would you do if you were in the shoes of the people of Judah and Benjamin? Would you be skeptical and stay back or would you willingly offer yourself to the work of God?

If we had to contextualize this situation in our day it would be something like this: there are places in the country and in the world where they haven’t even heard of Jesus. If God calls you out, would you volunteer to serve in the place of greatest need? It would mean forsaking your idea of a comfortable life out here, it would mean abandoning your ambitions, it would mean moving away from family, it would mean starting from scratch in a new place and so many other things.  

To top it all, this new place might not be comfortable or safe to live in. Would you still do it for the sake of the gospel? This is a serious question we need to ask ourselves. How far are you willing to go to serve the Lord? Let’s put it in another way: To what extent are you willing to relinquish your comforts, ambitions and possessions for the service of God?

These questions were to uncover the idols in our hearts but I don’t want to leave it there. Rather I want to share how the gains of our service outweigh the pains during the service.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:8-16)

When we look at Abraham’s example, do you think he was the biggest loser or the biggest winner? Winner! Such an amazing thing is written. God says “I am not ashamed to be his God!” That’s an astonishing statement of appreciation. In abandoning everything he gained everything! How awesome! Just imagine if the CEO of your company comes to you and says “I’m proud to be your CEO!” And this is God…God who says that. Isn’t that amazing? Being acknowledged by the Almighty God! God is magnified when you live out radical lives for the sake of the gospel! And He is so delighted in that! It pleases Him

2. Serving God is unattractive yet beautiful in the plans of God (v3-24)

In Nehemiah 7:66, we learn that there were 42,360 people who returned from exile but most of them were occupying the outskirts of the Jerusalem rather than be in the city. When you sum up the number of people who moved into the city, the total comes up to 3044 which is a little over 7% of the entire population. I’m sure when Nehemiah and the leaders planned to cast lots they expected at least a minimum 10% of the people to be in the city.

Another startling figure was that the number of Levites (284) was few in comparison to the number of priests (1192). Priests were selected from the tribe of Levi. Shouldn’t the number be the opposite?

Josephus, a Jewish historian noted “But Nehemiah, seeing that the city had a small population, urged the priests and Levites to leave the countryside and move to the city and remain there for he had prepared houses for them at his own expense”.

What could be the reason even after the leaders moved in, after casting lots and people volunteering to live in Jerusalem, after Nehemiah even prepared houses for them at his own expense that the numbers of inhabitants were less than expected?

Could it be that the life in exile was more appealing than the menial tasks of temple service? Isn’t it true that sometimes we think that service to the Lord is boring or tedious task in comparison to the excitement and entertainment of the world?

Haven’t we noticed a trend where you’ll find thousands of passionate people who would turn up for a worship concert but only a handful of people who would go and share their faith? There are other times when we end up making the Sunday Gathering to be a mega event. We’re there at any cost but neglect the importance of meeting with other believers during the week for encouragement and accountability. And I’m not saying that it’s easy or simple but very often we conveniently excuse ourselves from things that aren’t attractive to us. We excuse ourselves from things that are hard and messy. Like discipleship. Walking with another believer is messy because you’re dealing with your own sin and the sin of the other person. And you might end up hearing about the same struggle every single day in some seasons. It’s too much so you consider avoiding it. Another example is how some people are unwilling to move to a new place and start a GC or plant a church due to the fear of losing their identity or prominence in a new setup? Suddenly their role looks very different. Instead of maybe preaching every Sunday, they might need to arrange the chairs. That fear is the reason behind their refusal. What we need to address is our attitude toward serving the Lord.

Let’s ask ourselves this question: what is something about serving the Lord that appears to be menial to you at this point? Usually these things would make you uncomfortable and so you would generally find an excuse to opt out of these settings.

Let’s stop and think: was it an attractive choice for Jesus to die for us on the cross? No, yet He did it. Hebrews 12:2 says : looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Phil 2:5-11: Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[b] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In God’s Sovereignty, this thing that seemed so unattractive (the cross) turned into something so beautiful! On the cross, God turned the most heinous crime & the most excruciating experience into something wonderful by restoring broken and rebellious sinners to Himself. On his body he nailed every bit of condemnation caused by your sins. Completely paid off and so there’s no wrath to be afraid of if you’ve trusted in His work. Just as Jesus looked at the joy set before him, let’s look at the joy set before us and pursue all those things that we may have thought as unattractive but it is beautiful in God’s plans.

My prayer is that our response to serving God would be the same like that of Isaiah:

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa 6:8)

After Isaiah was confronted with the holiness of God, understood his own sinfulness and cleansed by the mercy of God, his response was “Here am I. Send me!” A willingness to serve God in the midst of unpopularity because we know it’s pleasing in the eyes of God. A willingness to serve God even when it’s unattractive because we realize how God will use it beautifully in His great plans to accomplish His purposes.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Recounting-the-faithfulness-of-God.mp3″]

[otw_shortcode_info_box border_type=”bordered” border_color_class=”otw-black-border” border_style=”bordered” shadow=”shadow-down-right” rounded_corners=”rounded-10″]This sermon is part of the Expository Preaching Collective on the Book of Nehemiah. Follow the link below to know more about What Expository preaching is and Why is it important to us. (Click here)[/otw_shortcode_info_box]

The context of this text is that it is the eighth day of solemn assembly after the Feast of Booths. The Israelite’s prepare themselves for this solemn assembly by fasting, wearing sackcloth, having dust on their heads and separating themselves from foreigners. Why did they do this?

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[bctt tweet=”Recounting the faithfulness of God. (Nehemiah 9:6-38)” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

They were setting apart themselves for God. The people of God were commanded to not intermarry with foreign nations in the OT. They disobeyed God and intermarried with foreign nations which led to spiritual decline. They began worshiping foreign gods and idols as a result of intermixing with other nations. Therefore this act of separating themselves from them meant that they were separating themselves from anything or anyone that might contaminate their worship and loyalty to God.

I believe today’s passage talks about recounting the faithfulness of God. And whenever that’s truly done it leads to:

1. Sincere Confession
2. Serious Commitment

Sincere Confession

V6-38 is a prayer of sincere confession to God. And it happens when they hear and review God’s grace and power right through redemptive history.

• In Creation

You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. (v6)

God created everything brought everything to existence. Nothing existed without him. He made the heavens, the starts, the earth and sea and everything in it. He sustains everything. (Heb 11:3, Col 1:17) We see God’s power at work when we consider how He created everything out of nothing and continues to sustain everything.

• In Abraham

“You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham. 8 You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous. (v7-8)

In God’s sovereignty he chose and purposed to call Abraham out of his land and family to make a covenant with him and to give him the Promised Land. In wasn’t because Abraham did something, it’s was out of God’s sovereign will and mercy.

• In Egypt

You saw the suffering of our ancestors in Egypt; you heard their cry at the Red Sea.[b] 10 You sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his officials and all the people of his land, for you knew how arrogantly the Egyptians treated them. You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day. (v10-11)

God’s justice and compassion is viewed here as he responds to the Israelites cry for help. They were being oppressed and mistreated. God sees their suffering and responds by performing miraculous signs and wonders against Pharoah and the Egyptians.

• In Exodus

You divided the sea before them, so that they passed through it on dry ground, but you hurled their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters.(v11)

God acted by protecting the Israelites while they were on the brink of the Red Sea with the army of the Egyptians chasing after them. God divided the sea and allowed the Israelites to pass on dry ground and hurled the pursuers into the sea.

• In the desert

By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take. (v12)

But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands. 17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, 18 even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies. 19 “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. 20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. 21 For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen. (v16-21)

We see God being their guide by personally directing them to the Promised Land. He not only directed them but also provided for them throughout the 40 years by supernaturally giving them bread from heaven and water from a rock. We also see God’s grace when he endured their rebellion and sustained them for 40 years despite their disobedient and arrogant response. Here’s a definition that helped me understand the difference between Grace and merciful. Often the two words are mixed but biblically it actually is different.

Mercy: God withholding the punishment that we deserve

Grace: God giving us blessings that we don’t deserve

• At Mt. Sinai

You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good. 14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses. (v13-14)

God wanted to relate with the people personally, hence he spoke to them and communicated laws and regulations that are just and right. But why did he do that? He wanted the Israelites to understand what it meant for them to relate to a Holy and Awesome God!

• In their possession of Canaan

“You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Sihon[c] king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. 23 You made their children as numerous as the stars in the sky, and you brought them into the land that you told their parents to enter and possess. 24 Their children went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites, who lived in the land; you gave the Canaanites into their hands, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with them as they pleased. 25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness. (v22-25)

We see God’s favour and goodness being displayed through God’s promise and encouragement to go and possess the Land. God displaced kings and were given all nations and gave them over to Israel. Not just that they were given all kinds of good things to enjoy without having to work for it. And sometimes we forget that. Everything that we have has been graciously given to us by God. All our accomplishments, our possessions, our education, money everything belongs to God and he’s given it to us. And it’s critical that we know and acknowledge it in our hearts.

• In the Era of Judges

“But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. 27 So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.28 “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time. (v26-28)

In the book of Judges it tells us of a very rebellious nation that disregards God and turns away from him time and time again yet we are able to see great compassion in the response of God when he sends them deliverers during their time of oppression.

• Of the prophets

For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. (v30)

Still we see God’s patience and correction at work when he continues to send them prophets to warn them and turn back to Him. But they wouldn’t listen and in their disobedience they were exiled.

• Their present condition

But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.(v31)

God did not destroy them or abandon them even after they rebelled so much but lovingly brought them back into Jerusalem and rebuilt the walls so that they could inhabit the land and re-establish the worship of Yahweh.

In all of this we see on one hand God who is faithful, righteous, compassionate, forgiving, gracious and merciful. On the other hand, it talks about a people being extremely rebellious and sinful. What was the source of their problems?

One thing that repeatedly gets mentioned in this text is the arrogance of the people. We’ve often thought or said these things:

1. Who are you to tell me what to do?
2. Why should I change?
3. I think I know better when it comes to living my life, my desires and decisions, my pleasure and plans.

And we’re actually guilty of saying and thinking these things when it comes to submitting to God’s law. We all fail and are guilty of being arrogant toward God. That’s why we’re no different than the Israelites. All of us have acted arrogantly and rebelliously toward God and deserve His just wrath and punishment. But the message of the cross is One of a great exchange. It’s like the judge giving up His Son to die for a criminal who deserves to die. A great exchange took place on the cross for us. It’s on the basis of Christ’s death that we experience life in a relationship with God. And that’s what God wants us to do in response…not work our way but humbly accept God’s way of saving us through the death of His Son. When we accept His sacrifice we are pardoned and justified just like the criminal who has been set free because His penalty was fully paid by the judge’s Son.

James 4:6: That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble”

Serious Commitment

“In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.(v38)

The verbs that are used here: making, binding, putting, writing, affixing make it very evident that these people were very serious about their commitment. They were in a culture where breaking a covenant was a big deal. Especially making a covenant with God meant that if they obeyed God and were faithful to Him they would enjoy blessings but if they turned away from Him they would have a curse. Here’s an example to show what covenant making meant in Near Ancient History. (Genesis 15)

How can we apply all of this today? By asking ourselves:

• What is something that God wants you to confess today?
• How does a Christian today show sincerity in one’s confession? Here are a few handles to help you:

1. God’s Word: Allow the Word to be the basis and fruit of your confession. Only the Word can bring about real conviction and confession. Secondly, true confession will result in fidelity to the Word as well.
2. Private/Silent Prayer: This reveals the honesty in repentance.
3. Confess to other believers: This reveals the seriousness of your confession. (James 5:16)

Public confession/Corporate Confession: This is an expression of confession but will only be fruitful if the attitude toward a public confession is genuine and authentic. It can’t be done with the right motivation until the other three points in this list are happening first. Saying confessional prayers as a corporate body is deeply spiritual because the whole congregation identifies themselves as sinners who are in need of a Savior and trust in His provision to help and deliver them.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/remembering-god-2.mp3″]

[otw_shortcode_info_box border_type=”bordered” border_color_class=”otw-black-border” border_style=”bordered” shadow=”shadow-down-right” rounded_corners=”rounded-10″]This sermon is part of the Expository Preaching Collective on the Book of Nehemiah. Follow the link below to know more about What Expository preaching is and Why is it important to us. (Click here)[/otw_shortcode_info_box]

Our text for today is Nehemiah 8:13-18

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A little bit of background to the text

After the rebuilding of the walls in Jerusalem takes place, the people repopulate the land. They then assemble together as one man at the square before the Water Gate. They tell Ezra to read the law of the Lord. While Ezra reads the Law, the Levites help the people understand the meaning of the words of the Law. When the people hear the words, they are convicted of their sins and begin weeping. A couple of weeks back we looked at the key ingredients for genuine repentance:

a) Sight of sin
b) Sorrow over sin
c) Confession of sin
d) Shame of sin
e) Hatred of sin
f) Turning from sin

The people are told not to weep but to rejoice because the day is holy to the Lord. In other words, even though the desired intent of teaching from the law was sorrow for sin but the purpose was always a restored and renewed relationship with God. The goal of repentance is always a restored relationship with God. Restore to me the joy of your salvation (Psalm 51:12) is the prayer that David prays in the confession prayer of Psalm 51.

[bctt tweet=”Remembering God – His Provision, Protection & Blessings. (Nehemiah 8:13-18)” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

That’s why they rejoiced, celebrated and sent portions of food because they understood the words that were spoken to them!

Repentance -> Restored relationship with God -> Rejoicing

And that’s how we arrive at v13. 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.

You see an interesting thing take place out here. The leaders of the people come together alongside the priests and Levites in order to study the words of the Law! When does this happen? The very next day.

Why did they have to do it? Was it forced upon them or was it voluntary? Voluntary.

What does it tell us about their repentance the previous day?

i) It tells us that their repentance was genuine indeed. Matthew 3:8 says “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance”. In other words there is nothing known as fruitless repentance or unfruitful repentance!

ii) It tells us that their commitment to God was serious. They really wanted to know and obey God’s Word.

I think there’s a powerful point that we can learn from this. Your fruit: the seriousness toward knowing and obeying God’s Word provides the evidence to show whether your repentance is true or not!

Often we confess and repent during camps, revival meetings and church services. The message was powerful, tore open our hearts, we feel convicted and even we grieve over the sin. However, the real test for the repentance is not in the moment but the next day or the next week. If it was merely an emotional regretful feeling, it won’t produce any fruit the following day. You may feel compelled to stick to some list of rules in order avoid feeling guilty but it produces no change. True repentance will display itself in the seriousness and urgency of obedience! Understand what is being said here: obedience is both serious and urgent! You will relentlessly pursue the things of God if the repentance is true. You will want to reflect immediate obedience in your life if your repentance is true. Not delayed.

If we have to ask ourselves this question honestly, do we genuinely repent at the hearing of God’s Word? Is it real? Do we see any difference the day after? The week after? Does it lead us to seriously know and obey God’s Word? True repentance will produce things like: “I want to know God more, I want to obey Him, I want to grow in my understanding of God, I want to study His Word, I want to depend on Him more and more”…and guess what: not just on Sunday but it’ll be your heartbeat throughout the week! I’m not saying that you won’t have rough times during the week and neither am I saying that you’ll feel super excited every day but I’m saying that your spiritual life will certainly get more serious and committed if the repentance is true. What is God asking you to REPENT of today?

And by repent, we mean TRUE REPENTANCE? Producing urgent and serious obedience?

So what did these leaders see and notice written in the Law?

Neh 8:14-16: They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”—as it is written.

So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim.

What is the Festival of Booths? Also known as the Festival of Tabernacles.

There are two main texts that help us understand what this festival was about. 

Lev 23:33-44:

a) Starts on the 15th day of the seventh month and goes on for a week.
b) 1st and the last day are Sabbaths – days of rest.
c) Take branches from luxuriant trees, palms, willows and other leafy trees and build temporary shelters.
d) Live in it for 7 days!
e) It was meant to be a feast of rejoicing!
f) Lasting command to have this celebration every year for generations to come.

Now we may look at this festival and wonder “what a strange festival! Why did they have to do it year after year?”
And the answer lies in v43: so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

The reasons why God wanted them to celebrate in this manner and live in temporary shelters were:

1) Remembrance of God’s provision and protection

Where were the Israelites before they came to the Promised Land? In the wilderness? Before that? In slavery in Egypt. They were being mistreated and oppressed. The Word says that the cries of the people reached God. And God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and rescued them in a mighty and awesome way. (Ex 2:23-24) The Pharaoh wasn’t willing to let go of the Israelites and God sent plagues and after the 10th plague, Pharaoh yielded. When the people left Egypt Pharaoh thought he made a huge mistake by letting them go. He and his army chased after them until they came to the Red Sea. God performed an astonishing miracle by parting the Red Sea and allowing the people to walk on dry ground. The Egyptians pursued them but by that time the waters came back to their place and drowned all of the enemies and not a single one of them was left. They witnessed first-hand how God rescued them from the clutches of enemy and death.

After that for 40 years they roamed around in the wilderness but God provided them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead them. He provided them with food and water. Their clothing didn’t wear out and their feet did not swell. He protected them from all their enemies and in fact routed all of them. He patiently endured their rebellion. He punished them but didn’t totally destroy them and brought them to the Promised Land as He promised their fore fathers.

By all of them living in temporary shelters made of branches and leaves they were to remember how God rescued them, provided for them and protected them the whole time. God’s marvelous acts are to be pondered upon, proclaimed, praised and retold! That was one of the purposes of having this festival.

2) Reminder that they are owned by God

V43b: I am the Lord your God!

The intention of this festival was also to remind them that they are now owned by God. They belong to God. This isn’t just God’s right because he created them but He also saved them for Himself. He is their Master. He is their Lord! I know culturally when we think of master/slave relationship it is seen as bad because we’ve seen a lot of expressions of abuse. But in this case, God being our Owner and Master is a good thing. It is the best thing! You see that in the way God takes care of His people. They enjoyed great blessings when they were faithful to God. God took care of their physical and spiritual needs.

3) Recognize that God is the source of all blessings

Deut 16:15: For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.

V16b – 17: No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: 17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.

This feast was to be celebrated after the harvest. And as you can see in these verses…God desired that they would acknowledge God’s goodness and thank Him for that. Also, celebrate and rejoice in the knowledge of God’s goodness. They were blessed abundantly so that they could recognize God as the one who blesses and give Him the thanks that was due. In return they were filled with joy!

This was a pretty cool thing right? Why don’t we have this festival now?
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. (Heb 10:1)
This festival of booths was a shadow of the One who was coming – Jesus. How come?

i) Jesus rescues us from our slavery to Sin.

We were bound and helpless. In fact the Bible tells us that we were dead in our sin and hopelessly heading for Hell. Dead to God. We were powerless to fight sin and also destined to face the penalty of sin. God’s wrath was upon us due to our rebellion. Like the Israelites we cried out for help! Was there anybody who could help us come out of the grave? God loves us so much that He sends His one and only Son into the World: Jesus. He lives the perfect life. He deserved to be honored for His life; rather He chose to be dishonored by dying on a cross. For whom? For you and for me.

God’s fury that was directed on us because of our sins was absorbed by the precious Lamb of God. God’s pure Lamb died because of us. We are responsible. But that was the only way sin and death could be dealt with and we could be alive in our relationship to God. Alive! Through faith in Jesus we experience life! Oh shouldn’t this be remembered?

ii) Jesus now owns us.

You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Cor 6:19,20)
You are slaves to righteousness (Rom 6:18)

How did he purchase us from our slavery to sin? Ephesians 1:7: we have redemption through His blood.

I think it’s safe to say, your maker and Savior knows what’s best for you. It is in your best interests that He owns you. Anybody else would seek to take advantage of you but not your Creator and Redeemer. But it’s important for us to understand what that means. We belong to Jesus. He owns us! He brought us with a price. Let these words resonate in our ears and hearts. What does this mean for each and every of us? Do you see Christ as truly Lord, Owner and Master of your Life? Or would you say He’s competing for authority?

iii) We now recognize that God is the source of all blessings

Believers should acknowledge the goodness of God through words, attitudes and actions of thanksgiving. It’s interesting how in the Bible: giving thanks to God is viewed as a sacrifice (Heb 13:15) and an imperative: Give thanks in all circumstances, for this the will of God in Christ Jesus for you( 1 Thess 5:18).

What is your attitude toward God when it comes to acknowledging in your heart who is responsible and the source of the blessings? Or do you believe it is because of your effort? What is your attitude toward praising God among other people?

The Feast of Booths was meant to be a reminder of what God did for them but in Neh 8:17-18 we see how the Israelites didn’t celebrate it frequently as God commanded until then. What happened as a result of that? They sinned more and more because they forgot what God did. What can we learn from this? Even though we don’t have the Feast of Tabernacles to remind us of God’s provision and protection, Ownership….what are some ways in which we can intentionally remember and celebrate the acts of God?

i) Memorize Scriptures that communicate the love and goodness of the gospel.
ii) Singing songs and hymns that are flowing with the truths of the gospel.
iii) Frequently sharing your testimony which declares the power of the gospel.
iv) Giving thanks to God privately and publicly which humbles you before God.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/covenant-relation-with-god.mp3″]

[otw_shortcode_info_box border_type=”bordered” border_color_class=”otw-black-border” border_style=”bordered” shadow=”shadow-down-right” rounded_corners=”rounded-10″]This sermon is part of the Expository Preaching Collective on the Book of Nehemiah. Follow the link below to know more about What Expository preaching is and Why is it important to us. (Click here)[/otw_shortcode_info_box]

Read Nehemiah 7:5-73

v4 – Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt.

v5 – So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there….

v73 – The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the musicians 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

The city walls have been rebuilt, and miraculously in a record 52 days! However, when Nehemiah looks around he sees that the land is spacious and large but there’s nobody living in it. (v4) God then stirs his heart to bring together all the nobles, officials and people and get them registered so that they can begin to inhabit Jerusalem. He’s helped by a genealogical record of the first returnees. (v5)

[bctt tweet=”What does it mean to be in a covenant relationship with God?” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

I believe this passage highlights the covenant keeping character of God. That’s why the context is very essential.

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With regards to this, we can learn two things:

1) God zealously desires His worship
2) God lovingly pursues His people

1. God zealously desires His worship

At the outset when we look at this passage it may only seem like a story about repopulating and inheriting the land. Prior to this, the story may have appeared to only be a story of rebuilding broken walls. And that’s what we may think when we look at the surface: Construction and Inhabitation. However, when we dig deeper we find out that there’s something very significant that we can know about God and about ourselves through this passage.

The truth of the matter is that by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and by re-populating the city, the ultimate goal was to establish the worship of Yahweh!

Firstly, when we look at their history we understand that the very reason why they were exiled was due to idolatry! The people’s hearts were corrupted and they quickly turned away from God. Most of the Kings who ruled over them were wicked and caused them to worship idols. Every practice that was considered wicked in the eyes of the Lord was now being practiced among the Israelites – people who were supposed to be set apart for God!

1 Kings 14:22-24
“And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.”

So God gave them up to their enemies in order to be captured and they were exiled.

2 Kings 24:18-20
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

Verse 20 is a very depressing statement when we look at Judah because they were the people of God, God shared a very special relationship with them, God dwelt among them, through them God was going to bless all the other nations. However, we see how miserably they failed in their worship of God. After everything God did for them, how they responded in disobedience and rebellion. It echoes the statement in Genesis when it talks how Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden because of their sin.

I remember reading through 1 Kings and 2 Kings and just feeling so depressed. The kings who were put in their place by God to lead people to worship were the very ones who turned the people away from God. At some moments I would think “Why do they do that to God? Why do they need to bow down to other idols? Why can’t they obey God? They deserve to be judged”. Just then I realized how my heart also bows to other idols. The biggest idol factory is located in our hearts. Every time we look at our family, friends, relationships, jobs, money, food, things we can buy, our possessions, fame, pride and find greater pleasure in them than God, we are bowing down to idols. Every time we find our identity in the affirmations of people and in the things that we do, we bow down to idols. Every time we find our ultimate security in our bank account, our homes, our jobs and relationships we bow down to idols.

But why would God give up His people and judge His people for worshipping other Gods? Why does He demand His full and complete worship?

And sometimes we feel God is being too harsh on this disloyalty thing. So this illustration helps me understand why the worship and fidelity to God cannot be shared or compromised:

What would you do if your 5 year old child went about calling everyone else “Daddy” or “Mommy”? You may warn him a few times but it’s going to get you really angry beyond a point because that title of a “Dad” or “Mom” belongs to you. It cannot be shared with anyone else. If that’s the relationship and the expectation of a child from the parent, can we actually reserve our worship for anyone else except our God, the one who fashioned and created us?

Secondly, when we look at the professional group of classes of people returning from exile: Priests, Levites, singers, gate-keepers, temple servants, we can infer that worship was a priority and was being emphasized.

What did Jerusalem mean to God and the people?
1. It signified God’s protective reign over His people.
2. It meant that God would dwell among His people.
3. It would be the place where God would meet His people (forgive, demonstrate justice, provide help, show mercy and grace) 1 Kings 8

The idea of the temple and Jerusalem was that it would be like God’s throne from where He would rule His people.
The main reason why the people were brought back into the city of Jerusalem to settle in was not because they were homeless, or because there was a better opportunity for living out there, but because He wanted to re-establish His worship among the people.

It’s so encouraging to know that we worship God who is zealous about His Worship. What would it mean for us to see his worship of the One true God be established in our lives personally? It would mean that we need to repent of the idols in our hearts. How can Christ be the One in whom we find our ultimate pleasure, identity and security? What would it mean for us to see the worship of the One true God be established in Mumbai? It’s a huge question. We’re all trying to figure it out. Definitely through the gospel and by confronting the idols of not only wood and stone but also of the culture.

What idols do you come across through your conversations with your friends, family and colleagues?
What creative ways can you use to confront them?

2. God lovingly pursues His people

v5 – Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it

Nehemiah makes it explicitly clear in this book that it’s not his own initiative but the desire that God put in his heart to bring all this about.

…..And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. (v5, Nehemiah 2:12)

Not only does God zealously desire His worship but He also lovingly pursues His people when they fall away. As we read in those passages in 1 and 2 Kings, Judah and Israel blew it. Yet God was so patient with them. He didn’t immediately destroy them but delayed the judgment. King after King came and acted wickedly against God. If we were in God’s place, we would’ve probably destroyed the people and created a new nation all over again. But no, God keeps His covenant that He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are His people. So what does He do? He remains faithful to His covenant and keeps a remnant for Himself. They are exiled but not completely destroyed. And then He pursues them with love and brings them back to the Promise Land. It’s walls are broken and gates are burned, so God rebuilds the walls…(for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God – Neh 6:16). Isn’t that so amazing and loving of our God?

That’s a picture of the gospel right there. We all deserve the judgment of God as a result of our sin. But God lovingly pursues us. He comes to us. God became man – Jesus. Lived the perfect, impeccable life. Unlike us he didn’t sin. He worshipped God fully and completely. But He shows His love for us by dying in our place as our substitute. So that by His sacrifice every single barrier that separated you from God: sin, Satan and death could be completely defeated. He remains faithful till the end.

Praise God for loving kindness and faithfulness!

Doesn’t that encourage us today? You may think you’ve blown it in your relationship with God. But the encouragement is in knowing that God lovingly pursues us. What He desires is repentance and full trust in what Christ accomplished for you.

Also, another application as we go about sharing the gospel and making disciples is in knowing that it’s not our initiative that changes people but it’s the loving pursuit of our God that’s going to change them. The moment people realize and see what God has done for them, how He’s pursued them in spite of their rebellion, that’s what’s going to transform them. So the pressure is off. You don’t need to feel the pressure of having those “numbers” but can freely, gladly and willingly share about His love and faithfulness! And God who is faithful will bring that about.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/our-defense.mp3″]

If you were asked this question “How complete is your defence against those who would side-track you?” what would your honest answer be? One thing we tend to forget as Christians is that we’re constantly in wartime. There is a battle going on! Scripture is very clear about the battle:

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:11-13)

[bctt tweet=”What’s Your Defense Strategy? (Nehemiah 6:1-14)” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

And this attack can come in two forms:

1. From within (Indwelling sin)
2. From outside (other people who distract us from doing what God calls us to do)

Therefore, it becomes very critical for us to know what our weak spots are and to also have a defense strategy in place to tackle that. And this passage from Nehemiah provides us with a good defense strategy.

1. Dedicated focus on the things of God

When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages[a] on the plain of Ono.” But they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer. (Nehemiah 6:1-4)

As the rebuilding project is almost over we see how Sanballat, Tobiah and their cohorts deceptively try to pull Nehemiah aside with the intention of harming him. They knew that if the leader of Judah was attacked, it would immediately stop the rebuilding work. So they ask Nehemiah to meet them on the plain of Ono and made it seem like it was a well-intentioned discussion among the leaders of different nations. Nehemiah suspected otherwise because these were the people who fiercely opposed him and the work in Jerusalem from the start. They consistently discouraged, despised and deceived them from continuing the work. He knew that they were pulling their last straw to get him and his people to stop the work. What is fascinating is the response Nehemiah gives to his enemies. Even if the proposed meeting was sincere and well intentioned, Nehemiah doesn’t allow the good to get in the way of the better. He says in v3: I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you.

He understood the seriousness of the task at hand and was determined to finish what God called him to do! We see a man with a single minded focus! He couldn’t afford any lapses because he knew that it would cause the entire work to stop.

What would it mean for us to have that kind of dedicated focus on the things of God? In fact we see a great deal of focus when people work out in the gym, play games or when we try to meet the deadline or sales targets but the sad truth is that we don’t show that kind of focus when it comes to God. That’s why many young people show a great deal of enthusiasm and focus to serve God until they get married. After that serving the Lord finds no place in their lives. Another thing we see is how young Christians claim to have such a burden to reach out to the lost in their city but the moment an attractive oversees job offer comes their way, they’ll abandon that calling to follow their desires. Why is it that we don’t have a dedicated focus? It’s because we lack a passion for the glory of God. There are competing desires and passions in our heart. A passion for the glory of God will drive us to have a dedicated focus on the things of God.

2. Dependence on the promises of God

Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter 6 in which was written: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem[b] says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king 7 and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together.”8 I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.” 9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.” (v5-9)

Sanballat and the other enemies were trying to instil fear in the hearts of the people with this unsealed letter. Obviously nobody wants to be perceived as opposing the King. By frightening the public, they were hoping to make them stop working on the walls. In spite of these threats, Nehemiah didn’t jitter. We know that because in these verses he doesn’t react by either trying to talk to the King and sort things out or meet with Sanballat to discuss further steps. Rather he responds by rubbishing their allegations. Secondly, you see him firmly trusting in God’s plan of rebuilding the walls. (v9) This has been a consistent pattern of his life. (Neh 2:8,12,18,20; 4:20)

At all times, either good or bad, before beginning his mission or during the mission, he always turns to God for help and trusts in His providence. What would it look like for us to exemplify that kind of prayer life and trust on God’s promises? Sometimes we may think that Nehemiah was a superstar of the faith and he was able to that. The truth is we all have access to the same God. So what if we had a prayer life and a trust like his? Would that completely turn our lives around?

3. Discernment through the Word of God

One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.”

11 But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” 12 I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. (v10-13)

The prophecy of Shemaiah was intended to put fear in his heart and cause him to sin because the OT law forbade people other than priests from entering the sanctuary of God (Num 18:7). If Nehemiah gave into fear, he would’ve broken the law, disobeyed God, received the taunts of the enemy and then be discredited as a godly leader of the people. And that could put all of the work to halt. Instead you see Nehemiah recognizing that Shemaiah was a false prophet because he knew what the Word said and a true prophet would not contradict God’s law and make him sin. What can we learn from this? How can we distinguish between what’s really God’s will for us and the words of a false prophet or a misguided person?

We can do that by asking two questions:

• Does it contradict God’s Word? Scripture is the final, decisive authority to know what the will of God is. We know that from different Scriptures (Prov 30:5, 6; 2 Tim 3:16) Anybody who contradicts or rejects the teaching of Scripture cannot be considered a true prophet/reliable witness of God.
• Does the counsel/advice lead me to love, trust and obey God? We know from John 14:15 that God is interested in the obedience of His people. A person’s love for God is characterized by his obedience. If the counsel isn’t leading us to love, trust and obey God then it’s clearly not in line with what God wants in our lives.

Therefore, it makes it ever so important to know what Scripture says in order to know the will of God.

What are the weak spots in the walls of your heart that need shoring up? It needs to be identified and then defended by dedicated focus on the things of God, dependence on the promises of God and discernment through the Word of God.