Rebuilt walls are of little use without renewed people and in this chapter we see how God began the renewal of his people in Jerusalem and draw some lesson for revival today.

Reading: Nehemiah chapter 8

Nehemiah – name one characteristic that you think is typical of him? …

leadership? yes
prayer? yes
Celebration? not usually – but here is a man who got God’s people celebrating!

Neh 8:17 The whole company that had returned from exile built booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.

We’re going to spend most of our time today looking at exactly what it was they were celebrating so enthusiastically

There is a wonderful promise about God’s word in Isaiah

Text: Isaiah 55:10-11 The Lord says “as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth … so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes forth from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”

In Neh 8 we’ll see what happens when ordinary people like us allow God’s word to take root in its rightful place – the human heart

This chapter is the start of the second half of the book.

Chapters 1: – 7: have been Nehemiah’s own account – written in the 1^st person – “I did this / that” – a very personal account of how Nehemiah masterminded the rebuilding of the derelict walls around Jerusalem

Chapters 8: – 12: have someone else is composing the narrative – it’s a description of what was going on written by someone who was there at the time. “they did this / that”

More significantly

1 – 7 is about the rebuilding of the wall <ppt>
8 – 12 is about the renewal of the people <ppt>

The one is incomplete without the other.

Chapter 8: is an account of a spiritual awakening / renewal / revival

Can I say something about the terms we use to describe this.

Renewal, revival (even spelled with capital R!) Outpouring of the HS / Pentecost experience / awakening are all words to describe what we see in Nehemiah 8

I don’t mind what you call it!

I observe in my travels and discussions with Christians that there is today a real hunger for more of God
I detect the same here – we’re grateful – and I mean really grateful to the Lord for the wonder of what he’s done in bringing Victoria to the stage that it’s in today – but we’re aware that there’s more land yet to be possessed.
I detect some Christians who are weary with well-doing – and the answer is not a rest, it’s a renewal

Isaiah 40:31 <ppt>… those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

I distinctly feel that God is saying that to some of us. We need to renewed, re-energised in your spirit.

This is a deep liberating, life-changing work of the HS that he freely gives to ordinary Christians like us

Principle <ppt> In God’s economy, rebuilt walls are of no use without renewed people

if the people of Jerusalem did not experience a spiritual awakening then history would simply have repeated itself.

… Departure from God’s will, leading to Defeat at the hands of Israel’s enemies

Now do you understand why building the walls was only half the story?

Do you also understand what we believe the Lord is saying to us?

we are thinking and praying about what to do with our premises here – new walls – new roof

what I believe the Lord is saying is that hand-in-hand with this he desires to bring a spiritual renewal / awakening in us – God’s people who inhabit the physical walls

So first Principle for today: rebuilt walls are of no value without renewed people

and the two go hand in hand

How did this work out in Nehemiah 8:

I want to phrase a simple question

What should we say to the Lord in order to be renewed?

The principles are here in Neh 8

Lord we know it’s needed

8:1 “all the people assembled as one man in the square”

looks like an entirely spontaneous gathering – 1st day of seventh month

they just descended upon the place.
difficult to explain why but it seems that either the HS brought them miraculously or the word had gone out around the families.

Heb 10 “Don’t give up meeting together”

We are the body of Christ and that body is incomplete without your physical presence!

We are hungry for you Lord

v1 “They (the people) asked Ezra to read the book of the law”

Here are some people hungry for God!

so much so that they took the initiative is asking for God’s word.

That is my consistent prayer for meetings like this “Lord, make us eager to hear your word”

Lord, we will listen

v3b “Ezra read it aloud from daybreak until noon in the presence of all who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the book of the Law.”

Here is a classic sign of spiritual renewal – a hunger for God and his word

This our first serious encounter with Ezra (so far attention has been focused on Nehemiah)

They stayed all morning – so their physical hunger trumped their spiritual hunger!

Why were they so willing to listen?

because they knew Ezra so well. He was a man of unusual spiritual leadership.

Ezra 7:10 (AV) For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do [it], and to teach in Israel statutes and judgements.

(I want that on my tombstone!)

His life’s aim was to study, practise and to teach God’s law

Many people want to study and teach God’s law – only a minority have a heart to do God’s law.
so the people respected Ezra because his life was consistent with his teaching.

I believe that this is a word for all of us who have any position of spiritual responsibility – deacons home group leaders – teachers in schools

our lives will be effective for God only in so far as we do the law of the Lord.

They were devoted to understanding

We will feed our souls on you

v8 “They read from the book of the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.”

This is important because of the dramatic emotional reaction that followed.

This verse has two interpretations, depending on the way it is translated.

Could either mean that Ezra carefully enunciated his words
or that the law was read section by section and explained each time
(my money on second!)

Which ever – real communication took place so that they understood both at head level (intellectually) and at heart level (spiritually and emotionally)

And then something remarkable happened:

Spontaneously the crowd burst into uncontrollable weeping.
And from the text we get the distinct impression that Nehemiah and Ezra didn’t quite know what to make of it all!

v9 “Nehemiah, Ezra and the levites said to the people “This day is sacred to the Lord your God – do not mourn or weep!” for all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the law.”

In fact it couldn’t have been manipulation or auto-suggestion. That theory is ludicrous! just imagine it.

people standing in a vast crowd in the open air
straining to hear what Ezra was saying (no PA)
He was reading Leviticus and Deuteronomy! (how many have read those in quiet time recently?)

This is not an atmosphere conducive to manipulation – this is God’s Spirit sweeping through an assembled group of tired, but hungry, believers who were drinking in His word.

(How can my heart respond to something that my mind rejects?! )

God can do the same today

And there we would leave it were it not for the fact that I believe God can do the same renewing work in us today.

An example: (‘Korean Pentecost’, Blair & Hunt, p71)

“Man after man would rise, confesses sins, break down and weep, and then throw himself to the floor and beat the floor with his fists in perfect agony of conviction. My own cook tried to make confession, broke down in the midst of it, and cried to me across the room: “Pastor, and tell me, is there any hope for me, can I be forgiven?” and then he threw himself on the floor and wept and wept and almost screamed in agony. Sometimes after a concession, the whole audience would break out in audible prayer, and the effect of that audience of hundreds of men praying together in audible prayer was something indescribable. Again, after another confession, they would break out into uncontrollable weeping, and we would all weep, we could not help it. And so the meeting went on until two o’clock in the morning, with confession and weeping and praying.”

Another example from the 1950s where revival happened among some missionaries (notice this started with God’s people)

(“Signs of revival” Partick Dixon, p190f) A missionary had had a premonition while praying that God was going to do something unusual

“We had hardly started the meeting when we noticed a different note in the prayer of the evangelist who had struck his wife [=an internal difficult situation they had been dealing with], a great pleading note, an earnestness which tended to be extreme, He seemed very agitated, and was soon crying, tears flowing freely. He ended up falling down on his seat. There was a silence for a few moments, then the chief elder, a very tall man, shot up to his full height, his hands stretched out, shaking and shouting at the top of his voice “Thanks, thanks Lord Jesus!” In no time the whole place was as if charged with an electric current. Men were falling, jumping, laughing, crying, singing, confessing and some shaking terribly. It was a terrible sight. …

They went to one another, or called out a name at the other end of the building, asking for forgiveness from some wrong done. Another called out the name of his wife, telling her he was filled with the Spirit and urging her not to hold out against the Lord. One evangelist made public confession that he had made wrong entries in his report book …

On the singing went, every line, every verse with punctuated emphasis, people glancing at their neighbours with a smile, indicating their fullness of joy at the victory of Jesus. There was such a volume of praise that angels must have stopped their ministering to gaze down at the wonderful sight.

(I could give you numerous stories like this from the pages of church history!

Some of us are afraid of opening ourselves to this deep working of the Holy Spirit for fear that the same reaction might ensue

God does not force anyone – The Holy Spirit is the perfect gentleman!
many people experience renewal in the Holy Spirit in the privacy of their own homes
but my dear friends – don’t let our so-called British reserve rob us of the mighty power of God’s Holy spirit sweeping through us personally and Victoria Baptist Church as a consequence!

However I do believe that this deep repentance and heart level response to God is an integral part of spiritual renewal.

It is the gateway to the renewal that I believe God longs to bring

v9 – Levites tried to calm them down ! >>>

What happened?

Renewal begins when men and women break down and weep over their disobedience. It is immediately followed by spontaneous reforming zeal “We want things to change – and change in God’s direction”

When repentance and new life occur – reformation follows.

responded with joy

v12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

Tears of repentance and tears of joy are not far removed from each other.

having allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the gravity of our state before God, we are then in a position to experience the liberation of sin forgiven. Freedom to be the person God made me to be
I cannot truly know what it feels like to be on a mountain top until I have experienced the confinement of a valley.

A desire for more of God

Neh 8:13 On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to give attention to the words of the Law.

It’s significant that ti’s heads of families – i.e. men.

Dear Men – get hold of God – be renewed in him and be the spiritual head of your family as God intends you to be.

they rediscovered truths they had forgotten

v14 “the found [discovered …] written in the Law … that the Israelites were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month … v16 “so the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves booths …”

It seems that this part of the law had been forgotten / lost

or at least it had been relegated in its importance.
That’s what happens in times of spiritual dryness. We don’t actually forget what we’ve learned of the Lord in the past, we simply relegate it to a position of less importance.
It get into the second division of our lives instead of the premier league

Doubtless there were Levites who knew that they ‘ought to have’ a feast of booths, but “well, nobody really bothers with that these days”.

The spiritual atmosphere changed completely

“we must get ourselves right with God” – and the Holy Spirit lays on the people’s heart that here is a feast we must celebrate.

they celebrated!

v17 From the days of Joshua … until that day the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their Joy was very great!

18 Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days,

if you want to know the joy of the Lord, then let the Word of God find its target!

Is 55:11 as a result of the Word of God achieving God’s purpose for it “you will go out with Joy and be led forth with peach and the mountains and the hills will burst in to song before you!”

Joy! Peace! “Only Christians have the capacity never to pretend about anything”

I am never short of people who will tell me what’s wrong with the church (either global or local). More often than not, the blame is placed elsewhere – his fault, her fault, the system’s fault – the church would take off if we do this or that or adopt this structure or that method

well, some of that may be true

Many years ago in the Times there was a fascinating correspondence in response to the question “What’s wrong with the world?” The most profound letter was the shortest. It read “Dear Sir, I am, Yours sincerely”

Pray

Lord I want to take those statements on my own lips

I know I need you

I tell you I’m hungry for you

I will listen to what you’re saying to me

I will feed on you and receive the renewal which is your offer.

My dear friends – please don’t look for revival, renewal awakening in our fellowship here in any other place than your own heart.

allow the word of God to find its target

allow the Spirit of God unhindered access to every part of life

and when it comes to you – share that renewal far and wide with your brothers and sisters.

Then our rebuilt walls will be filled with renewed people. For the one is incomplete without the other.

[time of open prayer for renewal in VBC]

Revival