The Cost of A True Revival
Neh 9:1-3
Last
week Neh
8, the
Jews celebrated the greatest Feast of Tabernacles since the days of Joshua. They
built their booths & worshipped God. A revival began to sweep the land after
the reading of the Word of God at the Water Gate. Israelites were coming home
again after a long captivity in Babylon and they wanted to know the presence of God in the nation once again.
They were determined to do whatever it took to make things
right with God
We
continue with that same thought by asking two questions:
What did Israel have to do to see God in their
midst once more?
Would they be willing to keep going, or give
up when the price is too high?
Neh 9 has the account of a Solemn assembly and
a national fast kept by the Jews, this was marked by outward acts of humiliation
before God:
by confession of sin;
by reading
the word,
& worshipping
the Lord:
by taking part in a powerful
prayer meeting,
conducted by the Levites.
Here is real worship,
In prayer the Levites celebrated the perfection of God, noted the goodness of
God to Israel, acknowledged all of their sins and then committed to observe the
Lord’s correction because they knew that God’s judgments are always pure and
righteous.
WORSHIP
is our RESPONSE
to God, for WHO
He is and WHAT
He has done, EXPRESSED
in the things we SAY
and the way we LIVE.
Psalms 19:9, "The
fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true
and righteous altogether."
2 days after the Feast of Tabernacles had ended, the Word of the Lord & the
celebration of the feast were still having a major impact upon the People.
We shouldn’t forget or take for granted our
Sunday meetings with God.
What
we see in Nehemiah is a revival in Israel, a revival of Gods people.
One
of my favorite stories is about the Jr. High chapel service, the first question
was simple, if I took a nickel out,
gave it to ______, told him it was
half of what I have in my pocket, how much did I have when I started?
Mat 18:20...when 2 or 3 of you are together because of me,
you can be sure that I'll be there.
Do
you believe that verse? Some
questions don’t take any thought do they?
So
how much did I start with?
What
would happen if God showed up in person today?
What
would be different? What would you ask? How would you respond?
I. Before God shows up, we must HUMBLE ourselves.
A. Confess our sin in true repentance.
1.
It is more than just making a list.
You need to admit, name your sins to God.
2. It is more than feeling
guilt & sorrow (usually
because your caught)
B. It is a heartfelt sorrow for having failed God’s plan.
1.
God set a mark, JESUS exampled
it. JESUS is the mark!
2.
Then our decision must be coupled with determination to never fail again by
God’s help and grace.
C. That is when Revival in Jerusalem started:
1.
They did this by calling a solemn assembly,
a.
covered themselves with sackcloth of humiliation before God,
b.
humbled themselves “heaping ashes” of repentance on their heads,
ashes of SINS offenses; ashes of self-centered & rebellious attitudes
2.
This is not shallow repentance. Ashes
representing DEATH
This
is when we stop blaming anything and everyone else.
When
we are convicted enough to change the way we live.
When
we draw a line, and start living on God’s side of the line.
3. True
repentance we take responsibility for our sinful actions
a. It’s not my parents or upbringing’s fault.
(I’m SINFUL)
b. It’s not the devil,
society, the internet, the woman, the man, my
nature, my debt, the kids, the neighbors, my desires, my past….
c. I made the choice, I
went down a path, I need to change.
D. GOD wants to reveal Himself to us. WHEN HE SHOWS UP.
Passions are turned to purity
Purity
becomes our priority
II. When God shows up, We
will CHANGE.
A. We have the freedom of
choice.
1. We can
choose to go back to our old familiar ways. (not the same)
We may not feel ready to
change, you might be comfortable.
We like things the way
they are, but YOU know God matters.
You have a big decision.
2. We
have lots of reasons and excuses hold back.
We don’t want to say no to God, but sometimes we
won’t say yes
B.
Satan will do all he can to stand in your way.
He will attack you on one
side,
make you think your
comfortable on the other
WHEN GOD
SHOWS UP, WE HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE.
C. We can choose to OBEY
God’s word. Neh 10 they make
promises
vs
3 they read the WORD 1/4 of
the day; Worshipped 1/4 of the day.
1. Look what the Lord has done. 2. We sing the
songs in our churches,
D. The Children
of Abraham separated themselves to the Lord.
1.
We are of the house of Abraham by FAITH.
2.
We should be separated to HIS PLAN FOR OUR LIFE.
A fresh
commitment to God & the freedom
He invites us too!
Invitation
Hymn #307 “Just As I Am”