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Because in our passage this morning, which I should probably turn there, the walls have been completed. The Israel has returned home. All of the people are back home from exile, and now we see finally worship in chapter 8. After this grand restoration, we see worship. So I'm going to read really 73b, the second half of verse 73 of chapter 7, and then all the way through chapter 8. I'd encourage you to follow along if you're able. There's a Bible in front of you in the pew back. It'll also be up on the screen. It says this: When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people gathered together at the square in front of the watergate. They asked the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had given Israel. On the first day of the seventh month, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding. While he was facing the square in front of the water gate, he read out of it from daybreak until noon, before the men, the women, and those who could understand, all the people listened attentively to the book of the law. The scribe Ezra stood on a high wooden platform made for this purpose. Matathiah, Shemah, Anaya, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Masaia stood beside him on his right. To his left were Padiah, Mishel, Malkaijah, Hashem, Hashbadana, Zachariah, and Meshelem. Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up. Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, with their hands uplifted. All the people said, Amen, amen. Then they knelt low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Jeshua, Bani, Sherubiah, Jamine, Akub, Shabbatiah, Hodiah, Messeh, Kalitah, Azariah, Josebad, Hanan, and Peliah, who were Levites, explained the law to the people as they stood in their places. They read out the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read. Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people, said to all of them, This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep. For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your strength. And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still, since today is holy, don't grieve. Then all the people began to eat and drink, send portions, and have great celebration, because they understood the words that were explained to them. On the second day the family heads of all the people, along with the priests and the Levites, assembled before the scribe Ezra to study the words of the law. They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in shelters during the festival of the seventh month. So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make shelters, just as it is written. The people went out, brought back branches, and made shelters for themselves on each of their rooftops, courtyards, court of the house of God, and the square by the water gate, and the square by the Ephraim gate. The whole community that had returned from exile made shelters and lived with them. The Israelites had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua, son of Nun until that day. And there was tremendous joy. Ezra read out of the book of the law of God every day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. This morning we specifically ask that you would reveal your word to your church by your Spirit and pray all of these things for Christ's name's sake. Amen. For um for centuries, God spoke to his people through prophets, through priests, through his written word, and the people heard him. They heard his law, they heard his command, but something, as we hopefully all know by this point, was still missing. Because despite hearing directly from God, mind you, the people still are incapable of perfect obedience. But then, at just the right time, he did not just speak his word again or anew or fresh. He became it. And that is what we're doing on Easter Sunday. We are celebrating that the word became flesh and did not stay dead in the grave. That is why we are here this morning. That's why, in fact, we are here every Sunday morning is to celebrate that he rose, and because he rose, the word does not just inform us. This is not just instruction that we do for fun. The word transforms us. If you take nothing else away from the text this morning, the goal of Christianity is not just hearing the word. It's being changed by the word made flesh. Again, I'm gonna repeat that. If you take nothing else away, the goal of Christianity is not just hearing the word, it's being changed by the word made flesh. We're going to see, we've just read in this text, people hear the word and praise God, respond appropriately to the word. But um, something I'm gonna get to in a little bit. Unfortunately, the book of Nehemiah doesn't end here. In fact, the story of the Bible doesn't end in Nehemiah chapter 8. That would be a really good place to end if you asked me, but that's not how humanity works. There's still the problem of sin. Hearing the word is not enough. We must be changed by the word made flesh. But on this Easter Sunday, we're gonna see the Word of God in human flesh, Jesus Christ, and how He is the fulfillment of what is being anticipated in Nehemiah chapter 8. Firstly, I'm gonna walk through the segments of this chapter, then we're gonna look at how Jesus Christ is its ultimate fulfillment. Firstly, we see a desire for the Word. The people have a desire for the Word. Before anything happens, they want it opened. I'm gonna reread again that's seven seventy-three B of chapter seven through eight, verse six. When the seventh month had come and the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people gathered together at the square in front of the water gate. They asked the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had given Israel. On the first day of the seventh month, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding. While he was facing the square in front of the water gate, he read it out from the from daybreak until noon before the men, women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively to the book of the law. The scribe Ezra stood on a high wooden platform made for this purpose. Matathiah, Shimah, Anah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Messiah stood beside him on his right. To his left were Padiah, Mishael, Melkaijah, Hashem, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshelem. Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up. Ezra blessed, blessed the Lord, the great God, and with their hands uplifted, all the people said, Amen, Amen. They knelt low and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. First and foremost, before worship happens, the word is opened. The people gather together. They have just been assembled in chapter 7, and they ask for Ezra, who was, again, the acting high priest at the time, to bring out the law of Moses. The Pentateuch is a Greek word that means five scrolls. If you've ever heard the word Pentateuch, it's referring to the first five books of the Bible. Again, that's Genesis, Exodus, Liticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Ezra would not just be reading random stories. He's not just picking the ones that he likes. Whenever you see the law of Moses referred to in the Old Testament, that would be a reference to the first five books. In those books, you see the creation story, you see the Mosaic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, you see the establishment of the nation of Israel, you see their rescue out of slavery in Egypt, you see their providence, God's providence through the wilderness, and then ultimately just prior to the capturing of the promised land. It is the very identity of Israel in written form. That is what they're asking to be read. It's not just fun stories, it's not just for a devotion. It is their identity. Again, for us, if you've ever read through this, when you get to the second half of Exodus, that's when the Bible reading plans really start to slow down, don't they? It can be a bit hard to trudge through. And that's what these people are asking to be read aloud. It gets repetitive, becomes a list of laws and customs, but that's what the people of Israel delighted in. That was the covenant that God gave them. This was the covenant established with them, a part of their national identity. And so since they're restored to the land that God promised them, worship naturally follows. But even the king of Israel, while there isn't a king now, even the king of Israel, before there ever was one, was commanded to write and dwell on the law. Look at Deuteronomy 17 with me. Deuteronomy 17, you see instruction that God gives to the king of Israel prior to a king. When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to obey all the words of this instruction and to do these statutes. He was instructed to delight in the law, the part that for us is very hard to delight in. He was to write it. If you've ever handwritten scripture, it is a very spiritual practice, but it's hard. And he was to read it all the days of his life, to study them, observe them, and only then would he be a righteous, good king. And again, another important factor to this is that they had all just returned from captivity. They had not had access to the word like they had in captivity. They were in Babylon, exiled, away from Jerusalem. Many of them did not have the law. They haven't heard the law in hundreds of years, some of them. So naturally, this is a special moment because Jerusalem is finally restored, the walls are rebuilt, so enemies are less of a threat, still a threat. But now worship can take place. Again, we don't know exactly when this takes place after the conclusion of chapter 7, certainly a short time after. And Ezra reads for hours. It says that he begins at daybreak and reads until noon. And then later on he's reading more on the second day, and then the third day, all through the celebration of booths. He is reading from the law. It's a lot of words. It takes a long time to get through. And they all listen attentively, he says. All of Israel's here. Men, women, all Israel, they listened attentively to the book of the law. Ezra, with other leaders, other Levites, opened the Bible, read it aloud publicly. If you want to know why reading the scriptures together is so impactful, aloud together, is still a practice within churches. It's because people of God have been doing that for thousands of years. Or at least if churches aren't doing it, should be doing it. There is a special practice to just reading the Bible together. That's what God's people have been doing for literally thousands of years. And that's what we see here. They read for hours. That's what they worship. Ezra blesses God. Everyone lifts up their hand and says, Amen, amen. Again, that's a transliteration of a Hebrew word, by the way. It just means affirmation, truly, certainly, so be it. Israel is unified in the Word of God, and because their desire for the Word, Ezra teaches it to them, which is exactly what we see next, because they don't stop. He doesn't just read the Word of God. We see explanation. Secondly, I know I'm going semi-quickly through this chapter, but there's lots to get to. Secondly, we see the exposition of the Word. The exposition of the Word. I'm going to read verses 7 through 12 for us. Explained the law to the people as they stood in their places. Not just reading it, they explained the law. They read aloud, or read out the book of the law of God, translating and giving meaning, so that the people could understand what was read. Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites, who were instructing the people, said to all of them, This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep. For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have not prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve because the joy of the Lord is your strength. And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still, since today is holy, do not grieve. And the Levites, or excuse me, then all the people began to eat, drink, send portions, and have great celebration, because they had understood the words that were explained to them. Here again, we don't just see reading of the word, we see preaching of the word. That's what's happening in front of the water gate. The Levites are preaching the law of Moses to the people of Israel. They explain the law to the people, read it out loud, translating and giving it meaning. That's preaching. As a reminder, Levites were a tribe set apart for temple service, but they weren't just workers in the temple. They were also to be teachers of the law. They served in so many ways, responsible for helping God's people on what he said, what he had commanded, and that's what we see here. Again, the word I use, that, well, not just me, I didn't make this up, by the way, it's been used for a long time. Exposition simply refers to something being brought forth, something being exposed. That's where we get that. So if you ever heard the term expository preaching or expositional preaching, that's what I'm referring to. Usually it's synonymous with just reading and preaching verse by verse, which to be clear is what we do here. But it actually refers to the heart of preaching. Are you preaching the text, what the word says, or are you adding the text as a tack-on to what you want to say? That's what expository preaching is. And that's me personally why I preach expositionally at this church. We are all in on expository preaching because what else would I preach? What else is there to teach but what is sitting in front of me? There is nothing else for me to bring to you. My job as your pastor is to expose this book to you, to reveal it to you. I'm not saying I do this perfectly. I'm not saying I would do this better than any of you, but that's my job. That's why I pray before every sermon, Lord, reveal your word to your church by your spirit, because this is not my work. And I'm not just patting our church on the back, by the way. There are thousands of churches who do this. I reached out to some pastors this week and got lists of what the text they were preaching, some prayer requests from their church. There are hundreds just in the country who I heard from, just preaching through the Bible, explaining the truth of the gospel. Be in prayer for churches who just preach the text. Because that is what matters. Let me clarify too. That's not just my job, by the way. That is your job. That is your role. This is true for you too. If God ever calls you to teach, to disciple, to walk through the scriptures, to pastor, your job is not your agenda. It's simply to expose the word of God that others may understand. That is what we do. Even in your personal devotions, in your Bible study, you are not reading thinking, what does this mean to me? That is not expositional. No, what does it mean, and how do I live in light of that? That's what they're doing. That's what the nation of Israel is doing here. They're reading the text, they're translating it, they're explaining it, and they're teaching it to the people, and the people are understanding. That is expositional preaching. Praise God for his word. And just a reminder, the Israelites had been in captivity hundreds of years. Some of them likely did not speak Hebrew, or certainly read Hebrew if they spoke it. The common language would have been Aramaic. That was the common tongue at this time in this area. Again, they're still under the Persians. That's why he's referring to in verse 8 that they had to translate this. Not all of them spoke Hebrew. This is why translation is so important today, because there are still people who do not have a written Bible in their language. That is still the case. Like, praise God for Bible translations, largely thanks to the Protestant Reformation, by the way. But do not take your many English Bibles for granted, of which there are many. The goal of our church here is to expose the scriptures. You have access to the Bible, so take advantage of it. Spend time in Scripture. You also see Israelites weirdly crying at this point. You're like, why are they crying? And the Levites have to say, Don't be sad. Well, once you understand the scriptures and the law, you realize how wicked you are. You're like, oh my word, we haven't been doing any of this. There's so much that we've been missing. So they're weeping. They're seeing their sinfulness. That's what reading the scripture does. It reveals your level compared to God's, and we never meet it. Again, they weren't going to a prosperity gospel church here. They weren't going to a motivational speech here with a Bible story attached to it. They were reading the text. They heard the word exposed. And when that happens, you do not want to stay the same as you were. You should not want to stay the same as you were, which actually is what we will see thirdly. So we've seen the Bible read. We've seen the Bible explained, exposited. But thirdly, we see obedience to the word. The people react to this. After all, in verse 10, he says, Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your strength. It is not a burden to be confronted by your sin, it is taking the burden off. It is a joy. And so because of that you see obedience. I'm going to read verses 13 through 18 again. On the second day, the family heads of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, assembled before the scribe Ezra to study the words of the law. They keep going. This is the second day. They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in shelters during the festival of the seventh month. So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, Go to the hill country, bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make shelters, just as it is written. The people went out, brought back branches, and made shelters for themselves on each of their rooftops and courtyards of the house of God, the square by the water gate, and the square by the Ephraim gate. The whole city that had returned from the exile made shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua, son of Nun, until that day, and there was tremendous joy. Ezra read out, again more Bible reading, the book of the law of God, every day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance. Again, in verse 13, it tells you that this is going on for multiple days. On the second day, the second day we see more exposition, more preaching, more studying, but after studying, they found written in the law commands regarding this described here as the festival of shelters, the festival of booths, as some of your translations may say. It refers to a command where Israels were to live in temporary built shelters to remind them of God's provision throughout the journey in the wilderness for 40 years before they entered the promised land. God took care of the people, he provided them all they need. You remember that by building a tent and living in it during this time, roughly again a day after a week. It was to remind them of his faithfulness, despite their rebellion. That was the point. So it implies that many of them have forgotten because they read it, they found written in it, they're like, oh my gosh, it's the seventh month. We have to go tell people that we should be doing this. So they spread the word. They go sharing the word of God, saying, Hey, this is what we're supposed to be doing. Get branches, make tents, and live in it. Just like the law says. So the people do that. They obey. They've heard the word read, they've had it explained, they've understood, so they obey. They listen. Verse 17 the whole community that had returned from exile made shelters and lived in them. Again, if that sounds weird, it's because you weren't there. The festival of Booths was a specific reminder about God's provision. This is not for fun. This is a worshipful experience. These festivals, these celebrations, they were worship. And he says the Israelites had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua, son of Nun, until that day, and there was tremendous joy. This hadn't been celebrated since Joshua. Certainly, this isn't saying that they haven't observed this particular festival since then, but there had not been such a sweet time of worship, of celebration, of renewal. There was a revival, so to speak, going on in Israel, in Jerusalem, by this water gate. You saw the desire the people had for the word they They asked Ezra to read the law of God aloud. Then we saw teaching, we saw exposition, we saw understanding. Once that happens, only one thing can follow: obedience. They said, we are not observing what we should be, we are not being obedient to the law, and they did something about it. There is a revival in Israel. But can I give you very quickly some bad news? Because I said it before, but unfortunately, Nehemiah doesn't end in chapter 8. In fact, the Old Testament doesn't end with Nehemiah chapter 8. Or chapter 9 or chapter 10. We have 13 chapters in the book of Nehemiah. And in chapter 13, yet again, sin creeps in. Again. I'm not going to preach that text yet, but here's what I'll say. Even after everything we see here, restoration, renewal, worship, the law of God being studied, the people still return to sin. That shows me and shows you that external obedience to the word is not enough. That alone is not enough to change your heart. I am not after external obedience to my sermons. That is not why you come here. That's not why I preach. The word can be heard, it can be understood, it can be obeyed, but apart from a deeper transformation of your heart, you will fall right back into sin. You have the same struggles, same temptations. There is still something needed. Something that Jeshua, Zechariah, Arubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah could not fix. But can I give you some good news? Because Jesus has risen. He is the solution to the problem. He is the anticipation realized from Nehemiah chapter 8. Because when I read a book like Nehemiah, I see myself. And I hope you do too. Because it's like this. That's Ezra Nehemiah. It's just like this. Like God's doing his work. God is moving in all of the chapter, but the people are all over the place. They're doing really great. Then you'll read a couple chapters later and they're doing terrible. I see myself. There are times in my life that are like chapter 8, where I'm doing great. I'm worshiping God and feeling like I'm a good husband, a good dad. I feel close to the Lord. And then there are times in my life where I'm chapter 13. I feel far from God. I'm not in my word. I'm not praying. My life isn't fruitful. My passion for Christ is not evident. Far from God. But guess what, church family? Because in chapter 8 of your life and chapter 13 of your life, Christ is still Lord. And Jesus is still your Savior. He did not change. I want to see now. I want to transition and show you where Christ fills the gaps. The people of Israel are worshiping, hearing the word, they're obeying the word, but we know it's not the final solution. It shows us what God's people should be, but it doesn't tell them what they will be. Simply hearing the word of God is not enough. You must be transformed by the Word of God made flesh in Jesus Christ. So let's look this morning at how Christ is the answer. Fourthly, this morning. Christ secures full access to worship. Christ secures full access to worship. I know this because he told me. John chapter 4. This is where he told me. The conversation with the woman at the well. Sir, the woman replied, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say the worship or the place to worship is in Jerusalem. And Jesus told her, Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know because salvation is from the Jews, but an hour is coming and is now here. When the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. The woman said to him, I know that the Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When he comes, he'll explain everything to us. Jesus told her, I the one speaking to you am He. Like this short conversation reveals so much about what Jesus does for his people. But, Jesus says, an hour is coming and is now here when true worshipers will worship the Father in Jerusalem, in a particular place, no, in spirit and in truth. No longer will worship be tied to a single location, or be tied to a specific people, or be tied to the law. Now worship is for all to be done in spirit and in truth. This has always been true of God, by the way, even under the old covenant. God declares that the heart of worship is what matters. But even still, the people fell into the trap of thinking that their actions were the primary importance there. Jesus is here rather to establish worship in the spirit. Worship unlike any other. Because you see true worship in Nehemiah chapter 8. You see that. But it's the people of Israel reading the law aloud together. That's worship, absolutely. But Christ expands your worship. It is now accessible to everyone in spirit and in truth in any place, at any time, in any season. When we gather on Sundays to worship God, it's only done through the power of the Spirit within us. We worship God with the help of His Spirit, not on our own skill or ability. Philippians 3.3 makes this so clear, for we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh. Praise God that his Spirit helps us in our worship. He enables our worship, but we also worship in truth. It's not about a feeling, it's not about your mood, it's not about if you've had your coffee or not had your coffee yet in the morning. You worship despite all that. It's what you know about God. That's what enables worship. It's not how you feel. In Nehemiah 8, they are truly worshiping, but they're in Jerusalem, they're reading the law, there are Jews who had been restored to the promised land. But because of Jesus and his sacrifice, a people of every tribe, tongue, and nation will worship Jesus. Not in this Jerusalem, but in the new heavens and the new earth in their very hearts. Secondly, though, well, fifthly, I should say, secondly, about Jesus. Fifthly, Christ grants true knowledge. This text gets me. I was crying reading over this text when I was prepping, so I will do my best not to do that for you. But fifthly, Christ grants true knowledge. Ephesians 3, 8 through 12. Should be up on the screen. Hopefully I didn't mess that up. There we go. This grace was given to me, the least of all the saints, to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ, and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. This is so that God's multifaceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens. This is according to his eternal purposes accomplished in Jesus Christ our Lord. In him we have boldness and confident access through faith in him. There is an element to the church in which we reveal, as Paul says, the truths, the mysteries of God. We are evidence of God. At least we should be, and I hope you believe that. Like the church is the evidence of God. Jesus, upon his death and resurrection, was not only the perfect sacrifice for you and me, which would be enough. He reveals perfectly the very character and nature of God in human flesh, the plan of God, the salvation of man, the truth of the law, the love, the justice of God. He revealed, as Paul says, the mysteries of God. But we don't just see God's character now through the law, as the Israelites did. We don't just read instructions all day long and try to obey. Christ is the very wisdom of God made manifest. You can know God truly. You can know God truly through the personal work of Jesus. You don't have to just read the law and try your best. You don't have to do that. You don't have to study as hard as everyone possible. You can know true things about God by looking to Jesus. John 1, 1 through 5. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning, all things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that light was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it. And what did that word do? Verse 14 of John 1, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. That is the truth that Paul's entire mystery, or excuse me, ministry was to proclaim the truth of the mysteries about God to those who had not yet believed, to those who did not know, and guess what? I know my ministry is different than Paul's, but I am a part of that same ministry. I am proclaiming the truths of the gospel to people who know and to people who don't know. Because while we have different roles, my Savior is the same, my gospel message is the same at Paul's, and He's the same for you too. The gospel message is the same for you too. You can understand truths about God and you can explain them. You can teach people, you can remind yourself we a sinful people have been chosen by God to represent him on earth. Like again, if I'm God, I'm doing it totally different than that. I'm not doing it that way. But he's chosen you and me to make known the mysteries of himself and the truth of the gospel to those who are perishing. All of that is revealed in Jesus. Like we get to be a part of that ministry. Praise God. Sixthly and finally, Jesus is access to true and proper worship. He gives you full access to God. Jesus also is the mysteries of God revealed, is the truth about God revealed. But second, Christ was obedient on our behalf. We saw that the people obeyed the word. They did for a time. But then you're going to keep reading and they stop obeying the word. 2 Corinthians 5.21. He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Like, do you know what Christ accomplished on the cross? Because you could spend years thinking upon the cross and still think of something that Christ did that you hadn't thought of before. Like he wasn't only a sacrifice. That is absolutely what he was. He was the very righteousness of God who took on sin and then was slain, that his righteousness might be put on you. That is wild. A sinful people, that the perfect person, the one who fulfilled the law, did all of the work that we could not, died, so you could be counted righteous. That is the gospel. Like simply reading the word, understanding the law, even being obedient to the law, not enough. Not enough. Because you could never be perfectly obedient. They could never live up to the standard. We could never be perfectly obedient. I'm not saying they were bad and we were good. I would have done the same. But Christ was obedient for you. He was obedient when you wouldn't have been. If it wasn't enough, he wouldn't be perfect. He wouldn't be the perfect sacrifice. And so guess what? When God looks at his children, he sees Jesus' work applied. He sees the blood that has washed us clean. That's what he sees. Are you sinful in this room this morning? Yeah, all of you are. Me too. But when God looks at those who have placed their faith in Jesus, he sees Christ's righteousness. Praise God, he does not see mine. Because I don't have any. Mine apart from Christ is nothing. And friends, all of that, all of those realities about God, about Jesus, are accessible through faith. Something so simple. Jesus' perfection is sacrifice, his resurrection, all attainable to anyone who would believe. Anyone. That's what Easter is about. It's not about what we can do for God, as I think we often think of it. How nicely we can dress, how punctual we can be about going to church, how well behaved we are, how good of a Christian we are. It is about what Christ has done for you and me. That's what Easter is about. Like Nehemiah 8 is a wonderful passage. Do not misunderstand. It's full of worship, exposition, understanding, but it's not the solution. Only Jesus can bring true heart change. So if that's you, if you feel like you're in a Nehemiah 8 season, because you're on fire for God, you're close to God, you feel like you know the Bible well, you're teaching people, you're understanding, remember that it is all the work of Christ in you. It is not your righteousness that has done any of that. It's not your ability that has done any of that. I'm not saying none of you are gifted. Not saying that. But without Christ, none of that would be the thing. If you had no Jesus, your story and my story wouldn't end with chapter 8 either. But if you are here, maybe you feel like you're in a Nehemiah 13 passage. A season of sin, of doubt, a season of longing for something more, uncomfortability, regret, embarrassment, guess what? Christ came to die for you too. He died for you too. He didn't come for a certain type of person, a certain class of person, a certain level of ability. He came for everyone. So if you are here this morning and you have not, believe in the gospel message. Place your faith in Jesus. I'm not saying this because it's my job. I'm saying this because that is the call for everyone. To believe in the gospel message, in what Jesus has done for you. And it's so simple. He just believed that Christ, being fully God, became fully man, lived a life you could not, sinless, fulfilled the law, and because of that, was killed. But three days later, today on Easter, rose from the grave, defeating death on your behalf, that you would walk free. And guess what? If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. That is it. That's all I'm asking. You will be saved. This morning our response is going to look a little different. We always have a time of response. But if you notice, there's a few things up here, and Harold and Rita graciously were handing these out, and they did all of this, by the way. So thank you guys for doing that. On this Easter Sunday, we want to remember specially what Christ did on your behalf. You should have received a pamphlet. In that pamphlet, you have an explanation of the gospel and what Christ has done for you. Here's what we're asking. During this response time, I'm not going to have a prayer prompt on the screen, but you have a little note card in there. You have a note card. So during this response time, we'll have music going. Take your time. There's no rush here. Write down something that you need to lay at the cross of Christ. It could be a confession of sin, a prayer request. It could be a praise of thanksgiving. It could be just grief you've had, something you need God to do for you. These aren't, I'm not reading these, by the way. No one is reading these. These are completely anonymous. Write down what God would have you write down. When you're ready, after you've prayed, just put it in the box. Just lay it in at the foot of the cross. Just do that. They're also interactive. Like, please, like, feel free. They made all of these, by the way. Like the cat of nine tails that Jesus was whipped nearly to death with, the crown of thorns, the nails that placed him on the cross. Interact with that. Like that's what we're encouraging you to do to remember specially. So again, write down something. I don't care what you write down. Just put it at the feet of Jesus. That's what we're asking. When you're ready, just return to your seat, or excuse me, don't do that yet. When you're ready, grab the elements. I do want to preface this, please, because we ask that you be a believer in Jesus Christ. There is no shame in not coming up and taking this. If you don't know, just don't participate. You be a believer in Jesus Christ, baptized as a believer in Jesus Christ in order to participate. But when you're ready, grab the elements and we'll do that together. I also want to say one more thing. If you don't know what to do or how to respond, just find somebody. Interact with each other. Pray for one another, confess something to one another. Like just interact. Like do not be afraid. If you don't know what to do, if you don't know what to write, find somebody. Find me, I'll help. Whatever it needs, whatever you need. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for Easter. We thank you that the righteousness of Jesus is applied to me. It's applied to us just through faith. That is something we will never be able to comprehend fully. And this morning, we just ask that you would remind us of that truth. That there is nothing I can do, there's no performance I need to reach, not a level I need to get at in order to achieve your righteousness. You grant it to me upon faith. I pray that those who are here who have not placed their faith in Jesus would do that, that they would believe in the gospel message that you came for them, died for them, and rose for them. Please, by your spirit, convict them, take out their heart of stone, and put in their heart of flesh. And I ask for those who have believed that you would give us encouragement, that it is not about our performance, it's not how much we do for you that matters, it's what you have done for us. I pray that this response moment would be genuine, that people would respond the way you would have, that you would lead us by your spirit in this moment. We pray all these things for Christ's name's sake. Amen.