Category: Sermon

[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/2016/09/gods-redemptive-work.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 this morning is Nehemiah 10:1-39.

In our study on the book of Nehemiah thus far we saw how God worked in the hearts of his people as he gathered them and re-established his worship back.

The broken walls of Jerusalem is now re-built, people are safe and are now enjoying God’s goodness upon their lives. The first thing they do is go back to the Law of God, repent of their past sins and in the last sermon we saw how they re-count the blessings of God from creation onward.

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[bctt tweet=”Giving ourselves towards God’s continuous work of redemption” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

Recounting the blessings of God leads them to sincere confession of their sins and a serious commitment to the things of God. While re-counting the blessings one of the thing they understood was that it was their arrogance that kept them away from enjoying God’s favor throughout history.

The definition of ‘arrogance’ is having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities. It is somewhat like the attitude our seniors in the workplace throws at us when our ideas or suggestions are better than them.

In a spiritual sense it our words, attitude and expressions that shows up when we think of ourselves more supreme or important than others, even God, when we make our needs and necessities more important than God and his kingdom.

The Israelite’s would time and again find themselves in that position. When God gave them manna from heaven they wanted the cucumber of Egypt. When God gave them prophets, they demanded for a king.

Sadly this is exactly how we respond even today. When God miraculously gives us a job we don’t deserve we grumble and demand for more salaries. When God gives a small shelter for our family out of nowhere we demand that he gives is 2 BHK flat instead.

Our arrogance shows up in many ways and if we are not careful in dealing with it we will never enjoy God’s blessing and favor.

We also heard the definitions of mercy and grace. Mercy is ‘God withholding the punishment we deserve’, Grace is ‘God giving us blessings that we don’t deserve’.

Our arrogance doesn’t always shows up when we demand more things and material blessings. Our arrogance can also show up when we refuse to accept God’s unmerited grace and mercy when our life entangled in sin.

It’s when we look at our current sinfulness and say I don’t think God can forgive me of this sin. When we refuse to go back to God in repentance and ask for forgiveness to the point where doubt our salvation.

That’s Arrogance!

When I was a teenager I was an arrogant boy, one day my father was quite upset with me for not taking my studies seriously and in anger he said I’m worthless and just want to live on his money. I was quite upset that day and later in anger I went and told my parents I don’t want their money of possessions and my Mom felt very bad when I said that.

The point for my parents rebuking or correcting me was not to say that they don’t love or that they don’t want me to inherit their wealth and blessings.

We have to remember that our Christian journey is not going to be an easy one, we will face challenges, hurdles and find ourselves in a place of discontentment and discouragement. We will even fall into sin and make mistakes that hurt God and others, but that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love us anymore, or that he is not capable to forgive us when we go to him in humility.

Psalms 116:5 says “The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion”

1 John 1-9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”

We should never let our arrogance keep us away from God’s blessings.

In chapter 9 the people of God confesses their sins and makes a commitment to follow the ordinances of God.

They make a firm covenant in writing on a sealed document.

Chapter 10 begins with the names of all the Levites, princes and priests who signs the document of the covenant beginning from Nehemiah himself.

Verse 29 says “They join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God and to observe the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes”

What they meant by that was God if we fail to observe your commands henceforth let your curse be upon us. Of course this kind of prayer or request doesn’t sound appropriate to us who are in the new covenant, but what I want you to notice is the seriousness of their commitment to God.

Later in the rest of the chapters we see how the people give themselves towards God’s continous redemptive work in their lives.

The first area of decision they make is “we will be faithful to God when it comes to our marital relationships”

Verse 30 – “We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.”

The second area of decision is “we will be faithful to God when it comes to doing business”

Verse 31 – “And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.”

The third area of decision they make is “we will be faithful to God when it comes to supporting God’s work”

Verse 32-39

All these areas of decision were made in the Old testament context and we do have an New testament interpretation to each of them. But in today’s sermon instead of going into the detailed new testament interpretation I want to talk about the importance of giving ourselves towards God’s continuous redemptive work in our lives.

In the story of Nehemiah the people of God didn’t just repent and confess their sins at once but continued to give themselves to God work in their lives, making changes in their beliefs, lifestyle etc.

They changed their views about marriage, they changed the way they did business, they understood the importance of giving towards the Kingdom work.

Some key questions we should asking ourselves at this juncture is

Q: How are we doing in the aspect of giving ourselves to God’s redemptive work ?
Q: Are we seriously making changes in our daily lifestyle as the God convicts us?

• The way we think about relationships
• The way we think about success
• The way we spend our money
• The way we bring up our children
• The way we serve in the church
• The way we think about music and entertainment
• The way we approach our professional life
• The way we approach friendship
• The way we look at the poor and needy

Are we changing in these areas as the Gospel is impacting our lives, are we living for his glory?

Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

I like the translation in New Living Translation, it says

“Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

We often hear Christians crib and complain about their circumstances & situation. When we sit down and talk to these very people we will realize that even after believing in the gospel, giving their lives to Christ, going to Church every Sunday their core beliefs and the way they think about life hasn’t changed.

That is why even today in India you will hear born again Christians still talking about dowry, achieving success at any cost, doing business just as the heathens do. They have not allowed the gospel to impact their lives, they have failed to give themselves towards God’s continuous redemptive work.

As it says in Romans 12:2 A true Christian will always be at rest in the good, pleasing and perfect will of God whether in lack or in abundance, in riches or in poverty, in good health and bad health, in times of joy and in times of pain.

Why? – Because they do not conform to the pattern of the world, but let God transform them into a new person by changing the way they think.

What we have received from God on the day we believed in Jesus and surrendered our lives to him is a precious gift.

Romans 8:28 says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.”

2 Cor 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!”

Eph 1:3 – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

John 10:10 Jesus said “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Our failure to give ourselves to God’s continuous redemptive work keeps us from enjoying all these benefits of the Gospel that came with the package.

It’s like the story of the man who was gifted a free ticket to travel in a ship, but throughout the journey he stayed inside his room and never came out to have lunch or dinner because he didn’t have money. On the last day of the journey when the captain noticed the man and asked him why he did join others for food he said he didn’t join them because he didn’t had money. The captain looks at him shockingly and tells him that the ticket that was gifted to him was inclusive of food.

When we fail to give ourselves to God work in our lives we are just like that man who never enjoyed the delicious meals that were served on the ship because he was unaware of the benefits that came with the ticket.

So, How do we give ourselves towards Gods redemptive work.

To help you remember the points I’ve put it into 3 C’s, hope that helps

• By showing COMMITMENT.

2 Pet 1:5 says “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge”

In Acts 2:42 when the people heard the gospel and accepted the truth we immediately see them continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

We have to show commitment to God in devotion, in reading of his word, showing accountability to one another, in serving him wholeheartedly etc.

To be committed is not easy; it requires a lot of effort, lot of energy.

We will have to go against our natural tendency to sleep for longer hours, refrain ourselves from all forms of entertainment that steal our time from God. For some of you it could mean that you go to sleep early so you can wake up early and spend time in prayer and reading and meditating on scriptures.

When we are committed to God we will make every effort to get closer to him, We will sneak out time from our busy schedule during work to meditate on God’s word, read spiritual articles.

Once George Whitefield was asked by someone after his sermon “How many people do you think got saved during your sermon”, he looked backed and said we will come to know only after 5 years.

It is our commitment that will reveal our seriousness and affirms our belief in the Gospel.

• By being COURAGEOUS.

It requires courage to do what the Word of God tells us to do. In Joshua 1:8-9 take a look at the sequence in which God instructs him. In verse 8 he says “ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”  And immediately in verse 9 he says “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for theLord your God will be with you wherever you go”

When the whole world is going in one direction we have to choose the other and we need courage to do that.

I don’t think it was easy for the Israelite’s to stop giving their daughters in marriage in the men in the land or take daughters from their men. I’m sure they were been mocked and made fun of. When they stopped doing business during Sabbath I’m sure they lost businesses etc.

I remember the day I had to tell my father that I am not leaving my family behind and going to gulf to work like he did because that is not what God is asking me to do. A Christian friend of mine refuses to do business with clients who sell products that are ungodly.

We have to be courageous to follow God and his word, that shows that we are giving ourselves to Gods redemptive work in us.

• By maintaining CONTINUITY.

This is one area where the Israelites miserably failed again and again. They failed to continue pursuing God and walking in obedience with Him even after making an oath never to sin again.

Later in Isaiah 1:10-17 God is again angry with his people.

We should never let our arrogance come in our way from going back to God no matter how many times we mess up because of our sinfulness. Never give up on pursuing God – maintain continuity and you will see how the Gospel transforms you in due course into the likeness of Christ.

Heb 12:1-3 says

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Remember Christ and his sacrifice just so that we don’t grow weary and lose heart.

 

 

[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/dealing-with-sin-1.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 this morning is form the book of Nehemiah 9:1-5 (Click verse to read).

The walls of Jerusalem is now re-built, people are protected from their enemy nations, no fear of the enemy nation invading and destroying their homes and killing their people.

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But most importantly they have arrived at a place of rest, where God is their Savior and Keeper. God has gathered them together to re-establish His worship.

[bctt tweet=”The Seriousness of Sin and ways to deal with it. (Nehemiah 9:1-5)” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

In chapter 8 we saw that the first thing they do is to go back to the Law of God, the Law of God was read out in the open assembly. When the Law was read they wept and mourned out of conviction of their Sins – and conviction lead them to repentance – True Repentance.

The leaders than explain the meaning of the words spoken in the Law and they end up rejoicing in the Lord.
Last Sunday we saw how they celebrates the festival of the Booths, also called as the Festival of the Tabernacle. They celebrate this particular festival as a reminder of what God did for them when He brought them out slavery in Egypt. They remembers the goodness and the blessings of God over their lives and rejoices and praises God for His great work in their lives.

In chapter 9, especially in the verses 1-5 we see a seriousness in their actions while dealing with their Sins.
Just when we think that they are done with the reading of the Law, repenting of their Sins and reminding themselves of God’s goodness in their lives, on the 24th day of the month the Israelite again assemble and this time they are fasting, wearing sackcloth, and put had put dust on their heads.

Wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads were done in the Old testament times as a symbol of mourning and repentance. Someone wanting to show their grief and repented heart would often wear a sackcloth. Sackcloth was a coarse material usually made of black goats hair, making it quite uncomfortable to wear.

They even separate themselves from all foreigners, stand and confess their sins and the guilt of their fathers and end up worshiping God even more.

Why do you think they went back to God again, repenting of their sins?
What do their actions teach us?

The first thing we learn from them is that are damn serious about dealing with sin, not just their sins but even for the sins of the fathers.

Their actions are a good trigger for us to ask some serious questions about ourselves.

• How serious are we in regards to dealing with the remaining sins in our lives?
  Are we too casual about them?
• Do we feel happy with the fact that God has forgiven our sins for eternity and therefore use that freedom as licence to continue sinning?
• Are we happy by just confessing our sins once twice and then go back again when everything seems normal?
• Has sin become a pattern in our lives and it pricks no more, feels no more?
• What is the state of your heart right now?

Imitating Christ

We all have heroes. We all have people we want to be like. One of the most startling realization I came to as a father is that my sons wants to be like me. They follow me; they watch me; they imitate me. Overtime, I see my strengths reflected in them, and far worse I see my weakness reflected in them. I even see an imitation of my most annoying habits, like repeating the same sentences again & again till I annoy Jane to get my point across.

Meanwhile, I can also think back to my own childhood and remember all the ways I attempted to imitate my own father to please him by just being like him.

In the same way, do you know that when we gave our lives to God that he gave us both the responsibility and the desire to be like Christ – to be more like him than anyone else.

Romans 8:29 says

“For those He for knew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son”

God saved us so we could be confirmed to the likeness of Christ. So we can imitate him and be like him.

We need to be conformed to his image in our thoughts, in our emotions, in our intellect, in our behavior – in Every way.

We should desire to see how he lived and live like him. We should want to see what he valued and value those things.

We should want to see what he hated and hate those things, We should want to see how he responded to life’s events and respond in the same way.

But let’s be honest here. We are long, long away from our goal, we behave badly, we respond badly, we are a sinner. We are marred and marked by sin, and therefore Christlike-ness is far far away from us.

• How can we pursue such life?
• How can we become like Christ?

In the Old Testament the people would go into fasting and mourning, separate themselves from ungodly things and ungodly people, put sackcloth, offer sacrifices to God in the form of grain, animals etc.

But today, we been in the new covenant relationship with God, how can we eradicate sin and imitate Christ?

I can’t tell you to offer such and such sacrifice for the kind of sin you have committed. In case one of you comes and tells me that you stole your neighbors cow and is guilty of sinning against him, I can’t give a solution saying go offer 2 chicken on the alter and your guilt will be washed away.

Because as you know that a perfect sacrifice for all our past, present and future sins have already been offered to God. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten son (as a sacrifice), that whoever believes in HIM will perish but have eternal life”

Jesus died for our sins and a perfect sacrifice and no other sacrifice will ever please God anymore.

And the truth is that today in this new convenient relationship all I can do is to point you to the perfect sacrifice and encourage you to put your trust in him and his finished work by which he has eradicated all our sins and put it to death.

Therefore my first encouragement to you today to help you pursue holiness and imitate Christ is

1. Stop playing dead when you are alive in Christ

John 11 tells the story of Jesus’ good friend Lazarus. As this passage begins, we see a group of people coming to Jesus to tell him that Lazarus is sick and nearly dead. Jesus makes his way to his friends hometown, but by the time he gets there, Lazarus has already died. Everyone is sad and mourning and quietly accusing Jesus “You know, if only you had gotten here a little bit sooner, you could have saved him. After all, you are the miracle man”. But Jesus wasn’t in a hurry because He already knew how this story would end. He had something he needed to show everyone, and a lesson he needed to teach them.

In Lazarus, we see an amazing picture of what happened to us when we became Christian. When Christ saved us, he brought from death to life – spiritual death to spiritual life. Our heart and soul had been dead to God, lifeless and rooting. And suddenly God brought life, just like he brought life to the body of Lazarus.

Jesus called out to Lazarus and with a word brought life to this dead man wrapped in strips of linen like a mummy and Jesus said, “Take off those grave clothes”. People ran and started peeling them off. They took off the clothes that marked him a dead man. It would be absurd to leave him wearing the clothes of a dead man when he was alive.

You see, living people don’t act like dead people, and dead people don’t act like living people.

It was time for this living man to behave like a living man. It was time for this man to stop acting like a dead man or a woman.

Colossians 3:1-11 (Click the verse to read)

When we sin we are literally behaving like a dead man, trying to get in a dead man’s clothes.

Now, is it possible for us to stop playing dead while we are alive?

Yes, of course!

Romans 6:18 says “We have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness”

Before we became a believer sin was our master, we did what our sinful mortal bodies required us to do. But the day we gave our life to Christ we became slaves to righteousness. Sin does not have any hold over us as it did before. We now belong to God and do what the Holy spirit leads us to do.

Moreover in Philippians 4:13 Paul says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens us”.

It wasn’t possible earlier with all our good works and acts of righteousness because we were slaves to sin. But in Christ it is possible.

Lets the visuals from the example of Lazarus remind us that whenever we sin we are trying to wear a dead man’s clothes.

My second encouragement to you is

2. Give yourself 100% towards sanctification

When God saved us, he immediately justified us. We were declared innocent.

Romans 4:5 – “But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who declares the ungodly to be righteous, his faith is credited for righteousness”

But remember God was not finished with us in that moment. There is still the matter of sanctification – of growing holiness.

We read that in Romans 6:22 – “But now, since you have been liberated from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification – and the end is eternal life”

How it is that we are Sanctified?

The primary way God sanctifies us is through the truth of his word. In John 17:17 Jesus is praying for his disciples saying “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth”.

It is through the word of God that we are sanctified. When the truth of God enlightens our hearts and minds and our response is heartfelt repentance and turning around from sins that’s when sanctification takes place.

And therefore it is important that we immerse ourselves in the word of God day in and day out.

Some practical things you can do is

i) Pick up a daily bible reading plan that suits you and make it a habit to read your bible daily. I use a bible reading plan called “Read Scripture” by Crazy Love which is available in an app.
ii) Read spiritual books that enlighten you with the word of God. I tell you it is such a blessing.
iii) Encourage one another with the word of God as often as possible instead of just talking about the weather and sports.

We also find another clue in Colossians 3:5-10, it says

“Put to death therefore what is earthy in you”
“Put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge after the image of its creator”

In the knowledge after the image of its creator – The knowledge of God revealed in his word and his works.

In practice the putting off of the old self and putting on of the new self happens when we genuinely repent of our sins as the word of God convicts us.

As we already discussed the 6 ingredients of True repentance which is

I] Sight of Sin
II] Sorrow over sin
III] Confessions of sin
IV] Shame of sin
V] Hatred of sin
VI] Turning away from sin

Let today’s passage from Nehemiah 9:1-5 remind and encourage you to seriously deal with your sins, imitate Christ and live in the light of God’s glory at all times.

[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.

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 from Nehemiah 8:1-8.

Let me give you a brief background of the story before jumping into the text.

God’s people lived in disobedience to His Laws and rebels against Him. Instead of worshiping the one true God they started worshiping man-made gods; and God gave them away into the hands of their enemy.

In the year 586 BC Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple of God was burned down by the enemy nation. Men, women and children were taken captives and given to slavery. They were taken away from their land and the walls that protected them were broken down.

But then 70 years later God brings them back to Jerusalem.

Last Sunday we looked at why God gathers His people. He brings them back to re-establish His worship because He zealously desires His worship above everything else and He pursues us lovingly.

He calls a man called Nehemiah and assigns him the task of re-building the walls of Jerusalem so that the people are protected and secure.

Against all the opposition and trouble Nehemiah with God’s help completes the re-building of the wall in 52 days. It couldn’t have been accomplished without the help of God.

We also learnt how the story of Nehemiah is a reflection of God’s redemptive work through His son Jesus Christ.

When God created the first man and women they sinned against Him and rebelled against His authority. In return God gave them away to Sin. And therefore every human being born in this world is born sinful, without a relationship with God who is our heavenly Father.

Because of Sin we deserved death – Romans 6:23

We became salves to Sin – John 8:34

God was unable to relate with us because of our fallen state.

But the good news is that God still loved us and to mend this broken relationship He sent His only begotten son Jesus Christ to died in our place for our Sin.

Romans 5:8 says “God demonstrates His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners Christ died for us”

John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world He gave His only son Jesus, to die in our place for our sinfulness”

Whoever believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life is what God promises.

Yes, Jesus died in our place. But on the third day he rose again defeating death and is now seated on the right hand of the Father interceding for us.

Jesus is the better Nehemiah who came to re-establish our broken relationship with God for ever.

Nehemiah chapter 8:1-8 gives us another interesting picture on what Jesus accomplished for us.

Verse 1 says “And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the water gate”

What I found interesting is the word “one man”

In Ephesians 2:14-16, 22 we see this word mentioned again by Paul.

“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and mightreconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility….. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

There are two things we learn from the above passage.

1. United in Christ

That Jesus didn’t just save us from sin, slavery and death as individuals but He also unites us together to one another and presents us before the Father as one man, one unit.

He has broken down all the walls that separated us from one another. The walls of religion, caste, language, color etc.

The day we believed in the good news of the Kingdom and surrendered our lives to the one true living God, he broke every diving walls of hostility.

It implies that as a child of God I no longer have to live in isolation. We now have brothers and sisters in the Lord to stand with us through every circumstance in life.

And that is why we are called –

• To love one another – John 13:34-35
• To admonish one another
• To encourage one another
• To help one another
• To be patient with one another
  – Thessalonians 5:14

2. Built together as God’s dwelling place

Ephesians 2:15 – We are built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. God dwells in the unity of His people.

Nehemiah 8:1 says the people came together as one man.

They came together and read out the Law of Moses that the Lord had given. They basically read out from the book of Leviticus where God instructs His people how to worship Him and obey Him.

What is clean & unclean in his sight, what sacrifices were acceptable to Him and which ones were unacceptable, guidelines on following the Sabbath etc.

Last to last Sunday we spoke about the Old testament Law and how it has been fulfilled in Christ and that we are no more are bound to that Law and its practices anymore. The Law is still important as it now points us to Christ and the Gospel.

What we learn from the act of the these people in Nehemiah is

1. They set their hearts on seeking God’s word as a community
2. They gave God’s word the highest prominence in their lives
3. They put effort in understanding God’s heart and his purposes for them

The first things that stands out as an application for us is to set our hearts on Gods words as a community, giving his word the highest prominence ever and to put effort in knowing Him and knowing His purposes for our lives.

Let’s ask ourselves how are doing this aspect, are we committed to the Lord and His word more than anything in this world.

When we come together to see and savour His word He dwells among us and commands His blessings over us. He unites our hearts even more bringing uniformity in our thoughts and actions.

Our seeing and savouring of God’s word then transcends into service. Service to God and service to one another where Love is prevalent, Joy is the norm and Peace is the outcome.

God is doing a beautiful thing among us, lets engage with one heart and one soul bringing Glory to His name.

AMEN!

[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/2016/07/are-we-still-bound-to-law.mp3″]

Our text for today is from Nehemiah 6:15 – 7:4, but before getting there I want to share something important that will help us process what’s been preached from this book.

Even though the book of Nehemiah is actually the story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall, you must have noticed that we often link it to Jesus & the Gospel. One might argue why is that so? Can’t we just talk about Nehemiah, his courage, his leadership ability, his perseverance etc?

[bctt tweet=”Are we still bound to the Law and its practices? #law #nehemiah ” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

The reason we do not look at the OT passages in its literal sense is because the bible tells us that everything in the Old Testament passages are a mere shadow of the new covenant in Christ which means all the stories – whether Creation, Exodus, the Great Flood, Job, Esther, Nehemiah – all the people Adam, Eve, Moses, Abraham, David, Samuel etc – all the OT ordinances  Passover, Tabernacle, 10 commandments etc — they all point to the fulfillment of Gods promises in Jesus.

In Colossians 2:16-17 Paul while addressing to the church with regards to complaints from some believers on following the old testament commands about food, drink, Sabbath etc says these words

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Christ is the fulfillment & completion of God’s redemptive work for every human being and therefore when we read and study any passage from the OT we have to see it in the light of the Gospel, the finished work of God or else we will make an error and pick up ideas & thoughts that are not really relevant or applicable to us.

In John 5:46 Jesus himself says these words ^“For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.”

The truth is without Christ and his finished work on the cross there is no other way humanity can find fulfillment in Life.

In the same way the story of Nehemiah is a reflection of Jesus. Jesus, as the better Nehemiah also bore the burden of temptation on behalf of the people (Nehemiah for the Jews & Christ, fully & completely for us).

Nehemiah goes and prepares a place for the exiles to return home to Jerusalem. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. Just as the Jews were living as exiles in a place that was not their home, so are we living as sojourners / exiles in this place. Can you see the connection?

With that thought in mind now let’s read our passage. Nehemiah 6:15 – 7:4

We will divide the passage in 3 parts

Part 1 (v15-16) – Completion of the wall

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.  And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

Part 2 (v17-19) – The nobles bounded to Tobiah by an oath

Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife.  Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.

Part 3 (7v1 – 4) – Nehemiah guarding what God accomplished

Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.

Part 1: Completion of the wall

Now, finally we read that the wall is complete. The task for which Nehemiah was sent is done. And the most amazing thing is that it was completed in 52 days. This wall is said to have been 4.5 miles long, 24 ft at the base and just over 26 ft. tall. It was made using hands. No power tools. No machinery.

It was a humongous and an impossible task. The verses say when the enemies heard the news about the walls been completed, they were filled with fear.

Why would they be filled with fear? Because they perceived that the work had been accomplished with the help of God.

Part 2: The nobles bounded to Tobiah by an oath

The second part of the story tells us that even after the walls were completed with the help of God, the nobles in Judah were bound by an oath to Tobiah, an Ammonite. He was the one who conspired against Nehemiah and wanted to stop the re-building of the wall, which we read in the previous chapters.

How were the nobles bounded to Tobiah?

You see, Tobiah married a daughter of Shecaniah, a Judahite leader, and had given his son, Jehohanan, in marriage to the daughter of Meshullam, another Judahite leader which appears to be done for political reasons, which is why the nobles found themselves bound by some oath.

Tobiah because of his association with the nobles must have promised these Judahites that he will deliver them and give them a good future under his leadership. Maybe that was the reason why the nobles regularly sent letters to Tobiah to keep him updated with the work that was happening and vice versa, they would also speak praises of Tobiah in the presence of Nehemiah.

After receiving news from the nobles, Tobiah in return would send threatening letters to Nehemiah.

The truth which the nobles failed to understand was that Tobiah was not God’s plan for the redemption of His people. It was Nehemiah.

Part 3: Nehemiah guards what God accomplished

In verses 7:1-4, regardless of what was happening with the nobles, Nehemiah guards what God accomplished for them. He appoints gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites.

He appoints his brother Hanani the governor of the castle, a faithful and God-fearing person. Nehemiah even gives instructions on how the gates should be guarded.

Application

How does this passage point us to Christ and give us a picture of the Gospel?

Completion of the walls (Application)

The completion of the wall is what God accomplished for us through Salvation by sending His only son to die for us. The words of Jesus on the cross “It is finished” speaks of the finished work of God in us. Salvation through Christ is the completion of the redemptive work of God in all our lives.

Was it a humongous and an impossible task? Yes it was.

Could it be accomplished by human efforts? No, it couldn’t.

Jesus accomplished it in 3 days (through His death, burial & resurrection) just as he promised to build the temple in 3 days which was a confusing statement for the people then but we know that he was referencing his body.

The work that God did in our lives is often shocking and cause of concern to our unbelieving family members, relatives & friends. They will even fail to believe that a man/women like us can change to this extent.

They have to admit that it is only God who can do this amazing work.

The nobles bounded to Tobiah under an oath (Application)

After reading about the nobles being bound to Tobiah, I was drawn to the passage in Romans 7:1-6, in which Paul is writing to the church in Rome.

Or do you not know, brothers —for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Even after what God accomplished for us through Christ by GRACE we can still be bound to the Law and its practices (just like the women bound to her dead husband or like the nobles bound to Tobiah)  in a way that we feel obligated to do things and say things that are unpleasant to God.

Romans 7:4 says “we have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.”

In Jesus the law has been fulfilled and we are released from it, having died to that which held us captive.

Matthew 5:17-18: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

The law was kept perfectly by Christ. And all its penalties against God’s sinful people were poured out on Christ. Therefore, the law is now manifestly not the path to righteousness, Christ is. The ultimate goal of the law is that we would look to Christ, not law-keeping, for our righteousness.

Romans 10:4 – For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

And therefore we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Galatians 3:24 – So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

Just like how Tobiah was not Gods plan for the redemption of his people, it was Nehemiah. In the same way the Law was never Gods plan of redemption, it was Jesus.

The Law produces Religion & God hates religion.

Timothy Keller in his book “Center Church” says there are in fact 2 ways to reject God.

“You can reject God by rejecting his law and living any way you see fit. And you can also reject God by embracing and obeying God’s law so as to earn your salvation. The problem is that people in the last group – who reject the gospel in favour of moralism – look as if they are trying to do God’s will.”

If you’ve seen our FB page last week you will see 9 posts on Religion vs Gospel which I picked up from Timothy Keller’s book. You will see how the Gospel is so different from Religion and the kind of response it expects from us. I would encourage you to read it as often as possible.

One of my favorite is the first one which is Religion says “I obey, therefore I’m accepted” but Gospel says “I’m accepted, therefore I obey”

Nehemiah appoints Guards (Application)

In the light of what has been shared so far what do we do?

1. Guard what God has accomplished

Galatians 1:6-9

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you,let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

Just like Nehemiah we have to guard what God has accomplished for us. Not to let false teachings and doctrines turn our hearts from the truth.

2. Cherish the truth of the Gospel

Galatians 2:15-16

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;  yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

We should remind ourselves of who we are in Christ. Because Christ redeemed us from sin, we are no longer slaves to sin (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are adopted sons and daughters of the Most High (Romans 8:15). God loves us like he loves his Son (John 17:23). God looks at us and sees the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). In Christ, we are now the heirs of his Kingdom (1 Peter 1:4).

3. Apply & Preach the Gospel to your everyday life

Paul Tripp quote:

Preaching the gospel to ourselves is a spiritual discipline that is both proactive and reactive. It’s reactive as we encounter temptation and frustration and seek to restock in the moment, or as we reflect back on our sin and circumstances and try to evaluate them with a gospel lens.

But it’s also proactive — it goes on the offensive — when we feed our souls in some regular rhythm before the events and tasks and disappointments of daily life begin streaming our way. Make it a daily practice to 1) gaze on the beauty of Christ, 2) remember who we are as a child of God, 3)rest in his power and provision, and then 4) act in reliance upon him.

[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.