The Daily Walk | 06.05.2026 | Pastor Mike Gibbons | Nehemiah 9:3

3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God.

Transcript

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Good morning, First Baptist Wimberly. This is Mike Gippens. Welcome to Friday. Last Sunday, the Israelites were celebrating the Feast of Booths. As we enter chapter 9 this Sunday, we see that the feast has ended, but they were assembling again. And we saw in chapter 8 the importance of the Word of God, and Nehemiah emphasizes that in this chapter as well. So the people of Israel in this chapter confess their sin and repent of their wrongdoing. But I think it's really important to notice that it was the reading and exposition of God's word that started that confession. Let me read verse 3 of chapter 9. And they stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day. For another quarter of it, they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. God's word reminded them of the goodness of God and the depth of their sin and the history of Israel's sin through the generations. It is only as we see God in His greatness, His love, and His mercy that we truly see what we are. We will never see our sin properly without the revelation of God's character and grace. This assembly consisted of a quarter day of reading, understanding, and taking to heart the Word of God. And it was followed by a quarter day of confession and worship. Now, again, there is no expectation that a half day be spent in this as they did. It's not a prescriptive passage, but rather a descriptive passage. That doesn't mean that there isn't a pattern here that we would be wise to take note of. It's only as we see God in His Word and all His grace, goodness, and power that we truly see ourselves. And praise wells up in our hearts, which then expresses itself in a surrendered life to the Creator who loves us. Martin Lloyd Jones has said that the ultimate test of our spirituality is the measure of our amazement at the grace of God. And the measure of our spirituality is the amount of praise and thanksgiving in our prayers. I am praying today that your awe of God and his character from the word drives you to your knees in thankfulness and submission. This is Mike Gibbons, and I love being your pastor.