WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.459 We're going to be looking at parts of chapters 00:00:02.459 --> 00:00:06.240 eight, nine, and 10, and think about the theme 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:10.759 of living on the edge with indifference, indifference. 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:17.420 I pastored in the Cincinnati area in the 1970s, 00:00:17.420 --> 00:00:20.500 and it was during that time that the big red 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:24.500 machine was so effective in wiping out ball teams 00:00:24.500 --> 00:00:27.440 from across the country, including some in this 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:31.339 area. Something happened to the big red machine 00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:33.899 along the way somewhere. The wheel sort of came 00:00:33.899 --> 00:00:37.000 off and it got dismantled. But I'll tell you 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:39.520 back in those days to go to that ballpark and 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:43.200 watch those guys play to see Pete Rose and Johnny 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:45.359 Bench and those other guys play with something. 00:00:46.740 --> 00:00:49.700 It's just one of those things that you had to 00:00:49.700 --> 00:00:53.200 be there to really appreciate. Have you ever 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:56.039 noticed that about life, that it's very difficult 00:00:56.039 --> 00:01:02.420 to expressed to someone else what you have experienced 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:05.260 when it's been very, very meaningful and touching 00:01:05.260 --> 00:01:13.560 to your emotions. For example, you go to Mississippi 00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:17.040 or to the New Orleans area right now. We had 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:19.219 a couple of young folks in our church who've 00:01:19.219 --> 00:01:22.799 done that. And when I saw them last week after 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:24.959 coming back from their two -week tour there, 00:01:25.099 --> 00:01:28.799 it was almost as though they had traumatic stress 00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:33.019 syndrome on their faces. Next Sunday, in fact, 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:35.480 we're going to be in conversation with them during 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:39.000 this service as they try to share with us what 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:41.280 they saw and what they experienced there. But 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:43.700 I know what they're going to say. You just have 00:01:43.700 --> 00:01:48.939 to see it yourself to believe it. What we're 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:51.359 looking at today in Nehemiah is one of those 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:58.920 occasions. It was October the 2nd, 445 BC. The 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:01.079 great project to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:04.640 was completed. In only 52 days, the workers were 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:06.840 able to rebuild the wall under the leadership 00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:10.759 of Nehemiah and under the good hand of God which 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:14.800 was upon them. The workers on this day put the 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:19.590 final stone into place. That last gate was put 00:02:19.590 --> 00:02:22.949 into its setting and so once more the city of 00:02:22.949 --> 00:02:25.550 Jerusalem was protected from its enemies. It 00:02:25.550 --> 00:02:28.509 was an awesome day. You just had to have been 00:02:28.509 --> 00:02:35.490 there. The pagans were watching. They were demoralized 00:02:35.490 --> 00:02:38.490 and fearful because of what they saw happen. 00:02:38.569 --> 00:02:42.870 They knew that this could only be done with God's 00:02:42.870 --> 00:02:46.960 help and that God was now with his people. After 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:49.419 they had finished that work, the workers settled 00:02:49.419 --> 00:02:54.860 back into their own villages. But something was 00:02:54.860 --> 00:03:01.080 wrong. The wall was done, but somehow the people 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:06.419 were unsettled in their spirit. A great work 00:03:06.419 --> 00:03:08.780 had been accomplished, but there was an emptiness 00:03:08.780 --> 00:03:15.599 that was within them. They had done God's work. 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:23.939 And now God was at work in them, preparing them 00:03:23.939 --> 00:03:28.060 spiritually for the repair of their spiritual 00:03:28.060 --> 00:03:33.340 relationship with him. Less than a week later 00:03:33.340 --> 00:03:36.080 on October the 8th, which was New Year's Day 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:39.340 actually for the civil calendar of that nation, 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:42.740 there was a large congregation that gathered 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:46.460 again within the walls of the city. we read about 00:03:46.460 --> 00:03:49.400 it at the beginning of chapter eight. When the 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:52.479 seventh month came and the Israelites had settled 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:57.180 in their towns, all the people assembled as one 00:03:57.180 --> 00:04:02.680 man in the square before the water gate. They 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:06.379 told Ezra the scribe to bring out the book of 00:04:06.379 --> 00:04:09.460 the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded 00:04:09.460 --> 00:04:13.060 for Israel. And so on the first day of the seventh 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:16.639 month, Ezra the priest brought the law before 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:20.180 the assembly, which was made up of men and women 00:04:20.180 --> 00:04:23.060 and all who were able to understand. So that 00:04:23.060 --> 00:04:27.160 means children were there too. He read it aloud 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:31.839 from daybreak till noon as he faced the square 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:34.000 before the water gate in the presence of the 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:36.939 men, women, and others who could understand. 00:04:37.459 --> 00:04:41.579 And all the people listened attentively to the 00:04:41.579 --> 00:04:50.600 book. of the law. What seems apparent here is 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:56.540 that they had done this work for God and now 00:04:56.540 --> 00:04:59.720 they began to realize in their hearts that they 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:04.480 needed a different kind of work. God had helped 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:06.839 them to rebuild the physical walls of the city 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:10.000 but they needed a work done in their hearts, 00:05:10.060 --> 00:05:15.970 in their relationship. with God. Have you ever 00:05:15.970 --> 00:05:21.810 noticed that things naturally dissipate or decay 00:05:21.810 --> 00:05:26.610 or grow more random or they lose their energy? 00:05:27.990 --> 00:05:30.250 Yes, I know, I feel that way too as I get older. 00:05:30.250 --> 00:05:33.709 I lose my energy, don't you? But take a tea kettle. 00:05:35.209 --> 00:05:37.389 It boils the water in there as long as the heat 00:05:37.389 --> 00:05:40.589 is on but turns the heat off, what happens? Well, 00:05:40.589 --> 00:05:48.670 it gradually cools down. Or you get yourself 00:05:48.670 --> 00:05:51.129 lined up there and you're gonna take a shot at 00:05:51.129 --> 00:05:53.209 this little white ball that's down in that little 00:05:53.209 --> 00:05:56.009 piece of wood on the ground before you. And you 00:05:56.009 --> 00:05:58.569 take that mighty swing of yours and that ball 00:05:58.569 --> 00:06:02.310 lofts up in the air and it drops about 10 feet 00:06:02.310 --> 00:06:06.410 in front of you. And then it rolls another 15 00:06:06.410 --> 00:06:16.480 feet downhill. But it stops. Why is this? Well, 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:20.600 it's just one of the laws of physics. It's the 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:24.180 law of the world in which we live. Things tend 00:06:24.180 --> 00:06:29.000 to dissipate. Do you know that you and I can 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:36.480 be busy doing work for God, but still be far 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:41.899 from God in our hearts? and in need of spiritual 00:06:41.899 --> 00:06:46.740 renewal. That had happened to God's people in 00:06:46.740 --> 00:06:49.600 that day, and it still happens to God's people 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:53.500 today. You see, it's not enough for us to be 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:58.620 busy, involved in God's purposes, even good purposes. 00:06:59.660 --> 00:07:03.800 We need something more than that. We need and 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:12.180 we're made to know God personally. Even Christian 00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:16.259 service and life in the church becomes very dry 00:07:16.259 --> 00:07:21.199 and unsatisfying apart from a growing intimate 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:25.500 relationship with Jesus Christ. And that doesn't 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:29.839 just happen. Just as you have to intentionally 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:32.759 turn the water on and keep it on under that tea 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:37.740 kettle, you have to be intentional about your 00:07:37.740 --> 00:07:41.319 growth. and your relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:07:42.459 --> 00:07:46.319 The Jews help us understand the spiritual journey 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:48.220 that's involved in this and we want to track 00:07:48.220 --> 00:07:51.620 along with them here in this text in Nehemiah. 00:07:52.420 --> 00:07:55.779 They give us first of all a pathway to spiritual 00:07:55.779 --> 00:08:01.819 renewal. A pathway to spiritual renewal. Step 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:05.879 number one is to awaken to reality. to awaken 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:09.319 to reality. Now this is really assumed in our 00:08:09.319 --> 00:08:14.180 text. It's not specifically stated, but what 00:08:14.180 --> 00:08:16.959 we see happen here is that the hearts of God's 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:20.620 people began to be aware that they had a need. 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:26.360 You know, our hearts too easily become spiritually 00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:30.980 cool and they drift away from the... intimate 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:33.720 relationship with Christ that we know at any 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:37.539 given point. Some of us, about a year and a half 00:08:37.539 --> 00:08:40.460 ago, when the Life Action team was here, made 00:08:40.460 --> 00:08:43.580 significant commitments and decisions in our 00:08:43.580 --> 00:08:47.299 lives. But unless we have tended after those 00:08:47.299 --> 00:08:50.600 commitments, in a year and a half, they cool 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:55.200 and our hearts cool. Jesus spoke to the church 00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:59.009 at Laodicea. in Revelation chapter three. And 00:08:59.009 --> 00:09:04.909 he said to them, I know your deeds. But he says, 00:09:05.049 --> 00:09:10.470 you do not realize what your true heart condition 00:09:10.470 --> 00:09:15.169 is. You see, it's possible to have all kinds 00:09:15.169 --> 00:09:18.710 of deeds in our lives doing even good things, 00:09:18.970 --> 00:09:23.529 things for God and for our hearts to be lukewarm. 00:09:26.269 --> 00:09:29.129 These Jews had achieved a great success in the 00:09:29.129 --> 00:09:31.950 rebuilding of the wall of the city, but they 00:09:31.950 --> 00:09:35.350 knew that something was missing inside, and this 00:09:35.350 --> 00:09:41.389 morning maybe you feel that way too. A writer 00:09:41.389 --> 00:09:46.889 named Pam Hogwide shares her own experience in 00:09:46.889 --> 00:09:50.710 an article from the internet. She says, at my 00:09:50.710 --> 00:09:55.690 home group, I listened recently as one by one 00:09:55.690 --> 00:09:59.990 each person told about his or her dissatisfaction 00:09:59.990 --> 00:10:04.809 with church, or rather doing church. Without 00:10:04.809 --> 00:10:07.769 any prompting from our leader, this spontaneous 00:10:07.769 --> 00:10:12.389 time of sharing brought out into the open thoughts 00:10:12.389 --> 00:10:16.529 of discontentment in the body of Christ. One 00:10:16.529 --> 00:10:20.590 person said, I've been feeling really empty at 00:10:20.590 --> 00:10:25.450 church lately. What is it? Her question floated 00:10:25.450 --> 00:10:27.590 around the room, provoking others to attempt 00:10:27.590 --> 00:10:31.990 to identify what it was. Someone wondered if 00:10:31.990 --> 00:10:35.049 it was the structure of the Sunday service. We 00:10:35.049 --> 00:10:37.870 go to church, we sit in a pew, and we listen 00:10:37.870 --> 00:10:42.470 to a message and then go home. Someone else thought 00:10:42.470 --> 00:10:44.929 it was all about the programs that the church 00:10:44.929 --> 00:10:48.309 had become so good at putting together. I don't 00:10:48.309 --> 00:10:51.230 want programs, she said. I want hospitality. 00:10:55.269 --> 00:10:57.809 The discussion we had at my home group was not 00:10:57.809 --> 00:11:00.289 a gripe session about the particular church we 00:11:00.289 --> 00:11:03.850 attend. She says, we, like many others, were 00:11:03.850 --> 00:11:06.929 giving voice to the disillusionment we find ourselves 00:11:06.929 --> 00:11:11.370 in as the collective body of Christ. This is 00:11:11.370 --> 00:11:15.700 like an awakening of sorts. of people who are 00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:18.240 rousing themselves up out of the pews all over 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:21.480 the country and are declaring, I can't play church 00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:25.620 anymore. There's a growing awareness, he says, 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:28.580 that church is not about a place or a building. 00:11:29.059 --> 00:11:31.159 The perception of many believers I've talked 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:34.740 with is that American Christians have mastered 00:11:34.740 --> 00:11:40.080 going to church rather than being the church. 00:11:41.300 --> 00:11:44.120 One blog I sometimes check out, she says, is 00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:47.379 hosted by a guy who grew up in a very large church. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:49.879 He watched his church begin operating more like 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:54.179 a business than a church. He says it seems that 00:11:54.179 --> 00:11:57.899 many of them, churches, are pushing the American 00:11:57.899 --> 00:12:05.100 dream over the love of Jesus. Maybe there's something 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:07.019 like that going on in your heart this morning. 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:12.580 An awakening of sorts. My friend, whenever that 00:12:12.580 --> 00:12:16.120 happens, believe me, it is the work of the Holy 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:21.659 Spirit. Because those kinds of thoughts don't 00:12:21.659 --> 00:12:24.679 come from ourselves. We're prone to think the 00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:29.419 other way. Any time there is a stirring in our 00:12:29.419 --> 00:12:33.080 hearts, as there was here in the day of Ezra, 00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:36.899 Nehemiah, it is the work of the Spirit of God 00:12:36.899 --> 00:12:42.100 unsettling us, preparing us for something. Step 00:12:42.100 --> 00:12:46.139 number two. First, awaken to reality. Do you 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:49.879 know what reality is in your life? Where is your 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:55.559 heart with God? Have you listened to your own 00:12:55.559 --> 00:13:02.019 heart lately? Or is your life so noisy and so 00:13:02.019 --> 00:13:07.539 busy that you really haven't had time and yet 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:14.549 somehow, In the din of all of that, God is at 00:13:14.549 --> 00:13:19.190 work, and you sense being unsettled. The second 00:13:19.190 --> 00:13:24.350 step after that is to listen to God. As you see 00:13:24.350 --> 00:13:28.009 here, Ezra begins to read the book, verse five. 00:13:28.289 --> 00:13:30.690 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see 00:13:30.690 --> 00:13:33.570 him because he was standing above them, and as 00:13:33.570 --> 00:13:41.139 he opened it, the people all stood up. And it 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:43.960 says, Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:46.159 all the people lifted their hands and responded, 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:51.419 amen, amen. Then they bowed down and worshiped 00:13:51.419 --> 00:13:55.000 the Lord with their faces to the ground. It says 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:57.320 the Levites then, and it lists a number of them, 00:13:57.620 --> 00:13:59.879 instructed the people in the law while the people 00:13:59.879 --> 00:14:02.139 were standing there. They read from the book 00:14:02.139 --> 00:14:05.519 of the law of God. making it clear and giving 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:08.440 the meaning so that the people could understand 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:11.720 what was being read, which may signify that there 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:14.299 were interpreters involved because people spoke 00:14:14.299 --> 00:14:18.559 different languages. And so they were listening 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:22.879 to God. At the end of verse nine it says, for 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:26.179 all the people had been weeping as they listened 00:14:26.179 --> 00:14:29.279 to the words of the law. They were listening 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:35.330 to God. I'm afraid that too often our lives are 00:14:35.330 --> 00:14:40.129 busy. And therefore our hearts grow dull to the 00:14:40.129 --> 00:14:43.389 voice of God and it's lost and we don't hear 00:14:43.389 --> 00:14:47.789 him speaking to us as he once did. What must 00:14:47.789 --> 00:14:52.830 we do? It is absolutely vital, child of God, 00:14:53.370 --> 00:14:59.750 for you to pull away from all of the stuff. that 00:14:59.750 --> 00:15:02.929 is now filling your heart and filling your mind 00:15:02.929 --> 00:15:07.750 and to be intentional and to give God your undivided 00:15:07.750 --> 00:15:16.970 attention. You must listen to God. You must get 00:15:16.970 --> 00:15:19.909 into the word of God and open your heart and 00:15:19.909 --> 00:15:28.299 say, oh God, speak to me. And he will. There's 00:15:28.299 --> 00:15:31.100 first this awakening, this sense of unsettlement 00:15:31.100 --> 00:15:34.460 that comes to your mind, and then you intentionally 00:15:34.460 --> 00:15:39.200 listen to God. The third step of spiritual renewal 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:43.779 is repent of wrong. With the hearing of God's 00:15:43.779 --> 00:15:48.200 word here, you see weeping began. As they heard 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:51.759 the word of God, they became aware of their sin. 00:15:51.820 --> 00:15:55.340 There was conviction of wrongdoing in their hearts. 00:15:55.659 --> 00:16:00.840 They were sorry. And they turned from their sin. 00:16:02.860 --> 00:16:04.919 That's kind of interesting to me that in the 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:07.840 midst of the weeping, the priest stopped it. 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:11.100 They stepped into the situation, they said, this 00:16:11.100 --> 00:16:14.240 is not the time to weep. We are gathered here 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:18.220 for the feast of tabernacles. You should not 00:16:18.220 --> 00:16:21.080 be weeping, you should be joyful and we're going 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:26.100 to have a party. And so they did. They stopped 00:16:26.100 --> 00:16:29.529 the weeping for that moment. And they observed 00:16:29.529 --> 00:16:34.769 this feast for several days. But then, on October 00:16:34.769 --> 00:16:42.710 the 20th, 445 BC, they again gathered, this time 00:16:42.710 --> 00:16:47.070 for an official assembly to confess their sins 00:16:47.070 --> 00:16:49.970 before God. And that's what chapter nine is all 00:16:49.970 --> 00:16:53.720 about. On the 24th day of the same month, they 00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:56.980 gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth 00:16:56.980 --> 00:17:00.440 and having dust on their heads. These were symbols 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:04.119 of their repentance. And what we have in the 00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:08.220 most part of chapter nine is a record of this 00:17:08.220 --> 00:17:11.200 prayer that is prayed confessing their sins to 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:17.680 God. It is one of three great prayers of confession 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:21.029 in the Bible. I wish we had time to go through 00:17:21.029 --> 00:17:23.690 it this morning, but they recount the sins of 00:17:23.690 --> 00:17:27.829 the nation through its history. And the hard 00:17:27.829 --> 00:17:30.750 times had come upon them as a people with their 00:17:30.750 --> 00:17:33.289 captivity and the destruction of their city, 00:17:33.309 --> 00:17:36.109 which they had now begun to rebuild. And in verse 00:17:36.109 --> 00:17:39.029 33, they sort of sum it up this way, in all that 00:17:39.029 --> 00:17:42.269 has happened to us, God, you have been just. 00:17:42.589 --> 00:17:47.329 You have acted faithfully while we did wrong. 00:17:48.779 --> 00:17:53.539 They repent of the wrong. But they don't stop 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:57.539 with the repentance. There's a fourth step that 00:17:57.539 --> 00:18:02.779 we see in chapter 10. The fourth step to spiritual 00:18:02.779 --> 00:18:07.859 renewal is to reorder your life, to conform to 00:18:07.859 --> 00:18:11.700 what pleases God. In chapter 10, we have the 00:18:11.700 --> 00:18:15.119 record of some 80 individuals who set their name 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:18.099 to a document. It is sealed with the seal of 00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:21.359 the nation. And what this document basically 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:26.380 is, is an agreement with God. It is drawn up 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:29.559 and signed. The leaders commit themselves, the 00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:32.079 people commit themselves to live differently. 00:18:33.420 --> 00:18:36.500 They say, we're going to change our godless ways. 00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:41.339 We're going to restructure our lives, pleasing 00:18:41.339 --> 00:18:45.480 to God. We're going to stop intermarrying with 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:49.240 pagans. We're going to stop neglecting the Sabbath 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:53.160 day. We're going to bring the contributions that 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:56.099 God has commanded to the house of the Lord, and 00:18:56.099 --> 00:18:59.720 we will not neglect, they say, the house of our 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:07.049 God. a reordering of the life according to God's 00:19:07.049 --> 00:19:11.950 priorities. My friend, those are the steps to 00:19:11.950 --> 00:19:16.009 spiritual renewal. It begins with an awakening 00:19:16.009 --> 00:19:19.849 of the conscience and then to a new listening 00:19:19.849 --> 00:19:24.740 to God in our hearts. That results in conviction 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:27.880 that comes to us and God begins to expose what 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:30.440 the issues are that have concern to him in our 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:33.539 lives and then we repent of those things and 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:37.319 we reorder our lives to what God wants and that, 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:43.160 that brings spiritual renewal. Do you need spiritual 00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:48.180 renewal this morning? When spiritual renewal 00:19:48.180 --> 00:19:52.900 comes, it's evident. It's not something that 00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:55.420 you just talk about, it's something that makes 00:19:55.420 --> 00:20:01.720 change. There are certain positive replacements 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:06.059 that take place in the life. Let's think about 00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:08.259 the proof of spiritual renewal for a moment. 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:14.799 First of all, misery is replaced by joy. In this 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:18.859 great prayer, the people speak of the distress 00:20:18.859 --> 00:20:23.099 that they feel. the distress that has come upon 00:20:23.099 --> 00:20:26.220 them because of their sin and their rebellion 00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:31.099 against God. But we see that distress replaced 00:20:31.099 --> 00:20:36.079 by joy. In fact, it says great joy. There was 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:40.420 a joy as they were able to experience the forgiveness 00:20:40.420 --> 00:20:43.380 of God in their lives. No longer were they weighed 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:46.380 down by their sins. No longer were their hearts 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:49.460 now convicted. but they were filled with joy 00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:53.859 and release and fellowship with God. That's what 00:20:53.859 --> 00:20:56.220 happens when the heart is awakened in spiritual 00:20:56.220 --> 00:21:02.940 renewal. Misery is replaced by joy. Secondly, 00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:08.519 indifference is replaced by enthusiasm. Indifference 00:21:08.519 --> 00:21:11.940 is replaced by enthusiasm. It had been years 00:21:11.940 --> 00:21:15.759 and years since any public reading of God's word, 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:18.279 and remember in those days they didn't have personal 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:20.819 Bibles like you and I are privileged to have. 00:21:21.819 --> 00:21:26.700 The law of God was kept in scrolls, and to hear 00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:28.940 the law of God, the scrolls had to be opened 00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:32.279 by a priest and read. It had been years since 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:36.480 this had happened. There was no concern in their 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:40.759 lives for Sabbath observance. They had great 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:44.539 apathy about the work of God in the temple. There 00:21:44.539 --> 00:21:46.759 was indifference in the hearts of the people 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:50.660 of God. But when spiritual renewal came, there 00:21:50.660 --> 00:21:55.539 was enthusiasm. There was passion. It chases 00:21:55.539 --> 00:21:59.819 away indifference. Renewal brings passion for 00:21:59.819 --> 00:22:03.819 God, passion for his word, passion for pleasing 00:22:03.819 --> 00:22:09.960 God, passion for doing the work of God. Indifference 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:15.579 is replaced by enthusiasm when spiritual renewal 00:22:15.579 --> 00:22:19.160 is real. There's a third proof of spiritual renewal. 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:24.900 Compromise is replaced by consecration. Compromise 00:22:24.900 --> 00:22:29.259 with pagans was common among them. They had lost 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:34.079 their unique identity as the people of God. They 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:37.279 had conformed to the ways and the activity of 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:41.839 the godless who lived around them. They lived 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:45.059 like the pagans. They conducted themselves as 00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:49.319 part of that pagan culture. But when their hearts 00:22:49.319 --> 00:22:52.059 were renewed, when they were repentant of their 00:22:52.059 --> 00:22:58.029 sin, and when they had been forgiven, When their 00:22:58.029 --> 00:23:02.009 hearts were alive with fresh power from God, 00:23:02.490 --> 00:23:07.490 what happened? Their lives were cleaned up. They 00:23:07.490 --> 00:23:10.190 consecrated themselves. They set themselves apart 00:23:10.190 --> 00:23:13.849 from the worldly pagans. They said, we're going 00:23:13.849 --> 00:23:16.730 to order our lives in a holy manner. We're going 00:23:16.730 --> 00:23:20.190 to see ourselves for who God has called us to 00:23:20.190 --> 00:23:24.880 be. We're going to live that out in our world 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:27.680 and who cares what the pagans think about it 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:31.980 Because this is who I am as one of the people 00:23:31.980 --> 00:23:36.059 of God And so they set themselves apart to holy 00:23:36.059 --> 00:23:39.599 living. That's what spiritual renewal brings 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:46.519 Consecration replaces compromise in the life 00:23:48.589 --> 00:23:52.890 and then ignorance is replaced by insight. The 00:23:52.890 --> 00:23:55.829 people of God were blinded by their sins. They 00:23:55.829 --> 00:23:59.069 were ignorant of what God had called them to 00:23:59.069 --> 00:24:03.549 be about. You know, sin does that. Sin puts blinders 00:24:03.549 --> 00:24:08.750 on. Sin deceives. I talked recently with a wife 00:24:08.750 --> 00:24:13.529 whose husband has gotten involved in an affair. 00:24:14.849 --> 00:24:17.910 This is not related to our church. It's in a 00:24:17.910 --> 00:24:25.230 different context. Married over 30 years, faithful 00:24:25.230 --> 00:24:28.650 in the church for those years, and suddenly an 00:24:28.650 --> 00:24:34.349 about face. And the husband now is thinking he's 00:24:34.349 --> 00:24:36.869 doing the will of God by leaving his wife and 00:24:36.869 --> 00:24:40.230 divorcing her and marrying some younger lady. 00:24:42.509 --> 00:24:47.400 Talk about the deception of sin. Sin makes us 00:24:47.400 --> 00:24:55.039 stupid. Sin causes us to act crazy. Sin causes 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:58.180 us to think like we thought we would never do. 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:05.059 Sin changes us. But when spiritual renewal happens, 00:25:05.220 --> 00:25:07.920 that ignorance is replaced by insight and suddenly 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:11.599 we see. Here the people of God saw the importance 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:14.900 of keeping the feast of booze or tabernacles. 00:25:15.529 --> 00:25:18.890 and they obeyed God without hesitation. They 00:25:18.890 --> 00:25:22.029 saw their sin and when you read this prayer you 00:25:22.029 --> 00:25:24.029 see how they go back to the beginning of their 00:25:24.029 --> 00:25:27.369 nation and they perceive the terrible pattern 00:25:27.369 --> 00:25:30.589 in the history of their nation and the times 00:25:30.589 --> 00:25:33.210 when their people turned away from God again 00:25:33.210 --> 00:25:38.190 and again and again and yet they also saw down 00:25:38.190 --> 00:25:41.069 through that long history of hundreds of years 00:25:41.069 --> 00:25:46.349 the faithfulness of God. God gave them insight. 00:25:47.009 --> 00:25:53.890 Insight replaces ignorance. And then finally, 00:25:54.069 --> 00:25:59.029 old patterns are replaced by new patterns. They 00:25:59.029 --> 00:26:02.069 had gotten into some bad habits, allowing their 00:26:02.069 --> 00:26:06.529 daughters to intermarry with pagans. The habit 00:26:06.529 --> 00:26:11.289 of neglecting the Sabbath, the Lord's day. the 00:26:11.289 --> 00:26:13.890 habit of forsaking their support for the temple 00:26:13.890 --> 00:26:18.490 of God. And so because of what God was doing 00:26:18.490 --> 00:26:21.329 in their hearts, they said we need some new patterns, 00:26:21.750 --> 00:26:25.349 and so they put new patterns in place. They made 00:26:25.349 --> 00:26:29.970 new commitments. They said we're leaving behind 00:26:29.970 --> 00:26:33.150 our indifference and our apathy toward God and 00:26:33.150 --> 00:26:36.259 his work. We're going to set priorities that 00:26:36.259 --> 00:26:38.380 are pleasing to God, and I wish we had time to 00:26:38.380 --> 00:26:41.160 go through and just see all of them in their 00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:44.940 commitment in chapter 10, but we don't. But inevitably, 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:47.440 when God is stirring the heart and spiritual 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:50.500 renewal begins to take place, one of the fruits 00:26:50.500 --> 00:26:53.940 of that is that old patterns are replaced by 00:26:53.940 --> 00:26:59.200 new patterns. Spiritual renewal brings about 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:05.769 change, life change. You say, well how do I know 00:27:05.769 --> 00:27:12.589 if I need revival? How do I know if I need spiritual 00:27:12.589 --> 00:27:15.890 renewal? The answer is simply do a heart check. 00:27:16.650 --> 00:27:19.710 That's what it boils down to. The psalmist said, 00:27:19.769 --> 00:27:25.950 search my heart, oh God, and see if there's any 00:27:25.950 --> 00:27:30.089 wicked way in me. We can ask ourselves questions 00:27:30.089 --> 00:27:35.460 like, do I have a worshiping heart? Am I spending 00:27:35.460 --> 00:27:40.019 time sitting at the feet of Jesus every day, 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:46.039 listening to his word, worshiping him? Does Jesus 00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:50.400 occupy the center of my thoughts throughout the 00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:56.059 day? Do I freely express my love to Jesus and 00:27:56.059 --> 00:28:00.799 my thanks to him? Do I have a worshiping heart? 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:06.359 Do I have a pure heart? Do I love righteousness 00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:09.920 and hate evil? Am I quick to agree with God when 00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:13.440 I'm convicted about my sin, or do I try to excuse 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:18.720 myself? Do I guard my heart against ungodly influences 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:22.819 and habits? Can I honestly say that there's no 00:28:22.819 --> 00:28:26.680 unconfessed sin between my soul and the Savior? 00:28:28.180 --> 00:28:32.099 Is my conscience perfectly clear toward all others? 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:35.539 Do I have a pure heart? Do I have a broken and 00:28:35.539 --> 00:28:41.480 contrite heart? Do I grieve over my sin and how 00:28:41.480 --> 00:28:44.339 that sin affects God? Not how it affects me and 00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:47.839 makes me feel bad, but how that sin affects God. 00:28:49.960 --> 00:28:53.640 Am I aware of the needs of others even more so 00:28:53.640 --> 00:28:57.119 than my own needs? Do I have a broken and a contrite 00:28:57.119 --> 00:29:01.299 heart? Do I have a surrendered heart? Have I 00:29:01.299 --> 00:29:04.599 ever consciously surrendered my entire life to 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:08.180 Jesus as Lord? Am I willing to go anywhere, do 00:29:08.180 --> 00:29:14.960 anything, be anything that he asks of me? Do 00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:17.119 I have a surrendered heart and then do I have 00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:21.259 a forgiving heart? Is my heart free from bitterness 00:29:21.259 --> 00:29:24.960 and anger toward all who have wronged me? Have 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:29.509 I truly forgiven those who've hurt me? Am I carrying 00:29:29.509 --> 00:29:32.710 someone else's grievance against another person? 00:29:33.910 --> 00:29:36.750 Have I gone, have I done rather all I can to 00:29:36.750 --> 00:29:40.349 reconcile with those individuals with whom I've 00:29:40.349 --> 00:29:44.769 had conflict in the past? Do I have a forgiving 00:29:44.769 --> 00:29:50.430 heart? Then do I have a praying heart? Do I pray 00:29:50.430 --> 00:29:55.950 regularly, specifically, earnestly? Do I pray 00:29:55.950 --> 00:29:59.470 with other believers for God's will in our lives, 00:30:00.990 --> 00:30:03.970 for God's will in our church, in our world? Do 00:30:03.970 --> 00:30:07.269 I pray for the lost in my world of influence? 00:30:09.130 --> 00:30:11.690 Do I have a praying heart? And then, do I have 00:30:11.690 --> 00:30:16.789 a caring, burdened heart? Do I really care about 00:30:16.789 --> 00:30:23.000 those who are lost and going to hell? Do I grieve 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:28.240 over the effects of sin in our world? Do I allow 00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:30.680 my heart to feel the burden of the heart of God 00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:35.700 for others? Do I have a desire for God that his 00:30:35.700 --> 00:30:38.279 kingdom might be advanced throughout the world? 00:30:40.900 --> 00:30:43.019 Those are the kind of questions I need to ask 00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:49.869 myself in a heart check. Do I need revival? Tim 00:30:49.869 --> 00:30:55.329 Bascom writing in his book The Comfort Trap says, 00:30:55.809 --> 00:31:00.730 we're too comfortable to be spiritual. That's 00:31:00.730 --> 00:31:03.490 an interesting thought, isn't it? We're too comfortable 00:31:03.490 --> 00:31:06.269 to be spiritual. We think we will be able to 00:31:06.269 --> 00:31:09.630 pursue God better without danger or hardship. 00:31:11.009 --> 00:31:13.509 And yet it works in just the opposite way. Nothing 00:31:13.509 --> 00:31:16.930 is more difficult than to grow spiritually when 00:31:16.930 --> 00:31:20.779 comfortable. That's why the believer Alexander 00:31:20.779 --> 00:31:24.380 Solzhenitsyn's reaction to his exile in the Soviet 00:31:24.380 --> 00:31:29.180 labor camp was to bless it. Do you remember that? 00:31:30.119 --> 00:31:33.640 He continues, because it was there that Solzhenitsyn 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:37.160 discovered that the meaning of earthly existence 00:31:37.160 --> 00:31:42.099 lies not as we have grown used to thinking in 00:31:42.099 --> 00:31:46.579 prospering, but in the development of the soul. 00:31:50.859 --> 00:31:56.640 We want to be comfortable. What is the condition 00:31:56.640 --> 00:32:07.359 of your heart? Are you busy, but barren and indifferent 00:32:07.359 --> 00:32:12.700 to spiritual things? Perhaps the most dangerous 00:32:12.700 --> 00:32:17.940 weapon, the most dangerous spiritual weapon against 00:32:17.940 --> 00:32:25.109 your soul. It's not hatred. It's not anger. It's 00:32:25.109 --> 00:32:38.670 not lust. It's apathy. Apathy. I'm eager to see 00:32:38.670 --> 00:32:40.990 the film on Narnia coming out in a few weeks. 00:32:41.130 --> 00:32:44.400 Perhaps you are as well. C .S. Lewis's great 00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:46.279 work is going to be on film, and from everything 00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:49.019 that we've heard, it's going to be a magnificent 00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:53.160 experience to watch it. I encourage you to go, 00:32:53.180 --> 00:32:55.140 I encourage you to take your friends to go see 00:32:55.140 --> 00:33:01.200 it. C .S. Lewis made a powerful statement, and 00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:04.259 with this I'm going to close. He said, Christianity 00:33:04.259 --> 00:33:11.119 if false, Christianity if false is of no importance. 00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:21.160 and if true, of infinite importance. The one 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:29.059 thing it cannot be is moderately important. And 00:33:29.059 --> 00:33:35.460 yet, isn't that where we tend to live? Making 00:33:35.460 --> 00:33:43.269 Jesus moderately important in our lives. And 00:33:43.269 --> 00:33:46.670 if that's the case, then we do need spiritual 00:33:46.670 --> 00:33:50.009 renewal. And we need to go down that pathway 00:33:50.009 --> 00:33:54.809 that these Jews went down and have our hearts 00:33:54.809 --> 00:34:00.829 awakened, convicted, repentant. We need to weep 00:34:00.829 --> 00:34:05.150 for our sin, then experience the change in our 00:34:05.150 --> 00:34:08.849 lives as we reorder ourselves according to God's 00:34:08.849 --> 00:34:15.210 priorities. God help each of us to come to that 00:34:15.210 --> 00:34:20.250 place in our lives today where our hearts are 00:34:20.250 --> 00:34:25.590 passionate about Jesus. We say as a church that 00:34:25.590 --> 00:34:30.010 we exist to develop passionate followers of Jesus 00:34:30.010 --> 00:34:37.250 Christ. Not moderate followers, passionate followers. 00:34:38.789 --> 00:34:43.880 That's who we say we are. God help us to be that, 00:34:44.119 --> 00:34:52.579 amen. And now Father, if we're listening to your 00:34:52.579 --> 00:34:57.539 word today, the Holy Spirit has spoken. And you 00:34:57.539 --> 00:35:01.320 know exactly what we need to hear. You have been 00:35:01.320 --> 00:35:06.699 stirring our hearts, preparing us. You have been 00:35:06.699 --> 00:35:10.780 doing the work. You've brought us. to the edge 00:35:10.780 --> 00:35:17.519 of the path to spiritual renewal. And I pray 00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:20.019 that each of us will be willing to walk on that 00:35:20.019 --> 00:35:30.059 path. And may we weep and repent of lukewarmness, 00:35:31.159 --> 00:35:34.940 indifference and apathy, of making you moderately 00:35:34.940 --> 00:35:38.960 important in our lives. May we see the terrible 00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:44.599 sin that is Come back to you and set our lives, 00:35:45.139 --> 00:35:49.599 right With our heads bowed and our eyes closed 00:35:49.599 --> 00:35:55.300 What does that mean to you? What do you want 00:35:55.300 --> 00:36:00.440 to say to God this morning? Right where you are 00:36:00.440 --> 00:36:02.539 would you talk to him in the quietness of this 00:36:02.539 --> 00:36:12.099 moment? Maybe you don't know where to begin, 00:36:12.179 --> 00:36:20.519 but you can say to Him, I see my need. My eyes 00:36:20.519 --> 00:36:32.239 are opened. Lead me, Lord. Father, we acknowledge 00:36:32.239 --> 00:36:34.400 to you that it is only by the power of the Holy 00:36:34.400 --> 00:36:37.860 Spirit continually at work in our lives that 00:36:37.860 --> 00:36:41.900 we do not drift. into apathy and indifference. 00:36:43.099 --> 00:36:45.980 So easily do we find ourselves moving in that 00:36:45.980 --> 00:36:50.659 direction with the current of our world. I pray 00:36:50.659 --> 00:36:54.960 today that you will reclaim us. I pray that just 00:36:54.960 --> 00:36:56.860 as you worked in the hearts of those people of 00:36:56.860 --> 00:36:58.880 God in that ancient day, so you will work in 00:36:58.880 --> 00:37:01.400 Los Gatos Christian Church in my heart, in the 00:37:01.400 --> 00:37:03.599 heart of every person that hears this message, 00:37:05.480 --> 00:37:08.239 that we might see the reality, be awakened to 00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:16.730 what we are. and get on the pathway to renewal 00:37:16.730 --> 00:37:23.329 and revival. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.