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Your greatness, not our own. God, we thank you for the gift of salvation. We thank you for the gift of your word. We just asked this morning, you would remind us that we have a living faith, that our God is not dead, that he is alive, and that he continues to work in us and through us and in our world even today. So, God, would you help us this morning to hear your word and to believe it and to live live it out and to do what you would have us to do, to be the people you would have us to be? Would you continue to shape us and form us into the likeness of your Son by the power of your Spirit through your word? It's in Christ's name that I pray. Amen. You may be seated.

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Read through nothing.

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But all of Genesis and first five of the Bible is what would that be referring to? And in chapter 10, again, there we are, we see the response. We finally see the people come together and do something about the worship that has taken place. So again, this is uh Israel uh Nehemiah chapter 10. I'm gonna read the full chapter for us, as with some other parts of Ezra and Nehemiah. There's gonna be a lot of names this morning, so I will try my best. Please do not grade me or keep track of all of the ones that I mess up. But I'm gonna read, actually starting in verse 38 of chapter 9, and I'm gonna read all through verse 39 of chapter 10. So again, please, and I'd encourage you to follow along. Please grab the Pewack Bible in front of you if you don't have one. It should also be up on the screen in front of you. Verse 38 of chapter 9. In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement in writing on a sealed document containing the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests. Those whose seals were on the document were the governor Nehemiah, son of Hakaliah and Zedekiah, Sariah, Azariah, Jeremiah, Pasher, Amariah, Malkaijah, Hattush, Shebaniah, Malek, Harim, Meramoth, Obadiah, Daniel, Daniel, Ginathon, Barak, Mashalem, Abijah, Meseman, Mezziah, Bilgai, and Shemiah. These were the priests. The Levites were Jeshua, son of Azaniah, Binui, son of the sons of Hinad, Cadmiel and their brothers, Shemiah, Hodiah, Khalidah, Peliah, and Hanan, Micah, Rahob, Hashbiah, Zakar, Sherubiah, Shemiah, Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. The heads of the people were Parash, Pathanmo or Pahath Moab, Elam, Zatu, Bani, Buni, Azgad, Bebai, Adenijah, Bigvi, Aden, Atur, Hezekiah, Azur, Hodiah, Hashem, Bezai, Hereth, Anathoth, Nebai, Magpiash, Meshelam, Hezer, Mesh Meshabazel, Zadok, Jadwa, Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaya, Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashab, Halahesh, Phil Pillah, Shobek, Rehum, Hashbana, Messiah, Ahijah, Hanan, Anon, Malek, Harim, Bana. We made it. Thank you. I appreciate it. The rest of the people, you could have just done that at the beginning. The rest of the people, the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understand, and who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoples to obey the law of God. Join with their nobles, their noble brothers, and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the law of God given through God's servant Moses, and to obey carefully all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of the Lord our God. In verse thirty we see the details, the specifics. We will not give our daughters in marriage to the surrounding peoples, and will not take their daughters as our wives for our sons. When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day. We will also not leave the land uncultivated, or we will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh year, and will cancel every debt. We will impose the following commands on ourselves to give an eighth of an ounce of silver yearly for the service of the house of our God, the bread displayed before the Lord, the daily grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbath and new moon offerings, the appointed festivals, the holy things, the sin offerings to atone for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. For we have cast lots among our priests, Levites, and the people for the donation of wood by our ancestral families at the appointed times each year. They are to bring wood to our God, our God's house, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law. We will bring the firstfruits of our land and every fruit tree to the Lord's house year by year. We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as prescribed by the law, and we'll bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God. To the priests who serve in the in our God's house, we will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings, and of every fruit tree, and the new wine and fresh oil. A tenth of our land's produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one tenth offering, and in ag in all our agricultural towns. The priests from Aaron's descendants is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to take a tenth of this offering to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God. For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and fresh oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept, and where the priests who minister, along with the gatekeepers and singers, we will not neglect the house of our God. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. This morning we ask that you would reveal your word to your church by your spirit. We pray all of these things for Christ's name's sake. Amen. I'm going to be honest with you guys. I almost wore a thunder jersey today, but I did not, so I didn't feel like that would be appropriate. I did have a jacket because Alexa told me it was going to be 40 degrees when I woke up. And now I'm just wearing a black shirt because it is not 40 degrees outside, but I think the Lord in his providence knew I would be holding a baby who had just eaten a sucker and didn't want it to show all over my shirt. That is why I'm wearing what I'm wearing. I'm sorry I'm not dressed up. But Carmen has become very interested in mirrors. I think, I don't know if Sabrina, if you've noticed this either. Every time she passes by a mirror, she's at that age where she has to look. She needs to see what she's looking at. But when she looks in a mirror, she notices what she likes. She notices what's good about her appearance. She notices what's pretty about her appearance. When she notices something off, it's not a mistake, it's funny. It's just her being silly. When we look in a mirror, at least I can speak for myself and certainly I'm sure some of us in here, we notice immediately what's wrong. That's why we look in a mirror because we try to fix it. And I absolutely we we should all be a little bit more like the four-year-old when we look in a mirror, but that's not what I'm preaching on today. I mention all of this because the mirror has been placed before Israel. In all of our previous chapters, the worship service, the reading of the law, the explaining of the law is a giant mirror set before the nation of Israel, revealing everything that's wrong, revealing all their sins, all of their mistakes, revealing where they've gone wrong. But when you notice something in a mirror, you fix it. You say, My hair is messed up. I am fixing my hair. Chapter 10, they're fixing it. They're doing their hair in front of the mirror, they recognize where they've gone wrong, and they make a vow, they make a fresh commitment to fix it, to renew what has been destroyed or what has been lost. This is the main idea today. If you take nothing else away, should be up on the screen. I encourage you to write this down. True worship reveals sin and leads to repentance. Simply put, true worship reveals sin and leads to repentance. Worship, despite what we often think, is not a static moment. It's not something that just happens and then goes away. It is not something that is even temporary. Worship ought to change us. It ought to move us in a Godward direction. When we worship, we will not stay the same. We will look more like Jesus in the process. It is a part of how God sanctifies his people, is through their worship. I'm not just talking about singing songs. I'm talking about all-encompassing worship, the way we live, when we read scripture, when we hear the word preached, when we teach the word, God will sanctify us through worship. The worship through chapters 8 and 9 resulted in good things, and our worship ought to do the same for us today. Again, in our chapter, we're going to see the people of Israel dedicate themselves to renewal. They commit to make a fresh vow to God to follow the law. So let's look at this together. I'm going to share two aspects to what they do here in this chapter. Firstly, we see the decision for renewal. The decision, where they decide to renew. I'm not going to reread all those lists of names, but I think I did all right. But I'm not going to do it again, mainly for sake of time. But I am going to read verse 38 in chapter, or I should say, yeah, I'm going to read verse 38 of chapter 9. In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement in writing, on a sealed document containing the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests. Now I'm going to skip to 28. The rest of the people, the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understand and who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoples to obey the law of God, join with their noble brothers to commit themselves with a sworn oath, to follow the law of God given through God's servant Moses, and to obey carefully all the commandments, ordinances, and statutes of the Lord our God. Again, in this section, as has been the case in many instances in Ezra and Nehemiah, we see that list of names, but don't miss what's happening. Because sandwiched in that list of names, after the long worship section we saw in the previous few chapters, the people are choosing to do something about their sin. They're encountered with the reality that they have fallen short and they're going to do something about it. But the key to understand why is only found in chapter in verse 38 of chapter 9. In view of all this. In view of all what? Remember chapter 9? It was a prayer, a confession, a request, all in light of the character and faithfulness of God. Therefore, since Nehemiah is a retelling of God's faithfulness, Israel's rebellion, and still God's steadfast love, that means the confession and recognition of that frame chapter 10. Because of God's faithfulness, in view of all this, we are making an agreement. That's what's happening in Ezra chapter 10. Specifically, a binding agreement. Something written in a sealed document signed by the people. That's what's happening. And throughout the remainder, verses 1 through 28 of chapter 10, the list of those leaders and priests and Levites are given. But for the main part of this section, I want us to focus specifically on verses 28 and 29. Because these verses show us that this is a collective agreement. It's not just the leaders of Israel or just the Levites. It says, the rest of the people, daughters, wives, sons, everyone who's able to understand and who has separated themselves from the people to follow or obey the law of God. This is a corporate decision. All of Israel's gathered in Jerusalem at this time. They're all worshiping together, and they're all agreeing to commit to the law of God. And I feel like a brokered record saying this. But the Mosaic law, that is the law that's given to Moses, was specifically tied to the covenant. That was a part of the old covenant. You cannot understand the Old Testament if you remove the law from the equation. Exodus 19, verse 5 and 6 make this abundantly clear. Now, this is God speaking to Moses. These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites. The blessings of God were tied to Israel's obedience. I actually talked about this in our class this morning. That when Israel did good, material blessing. When Israel did bad, the opposite. Curses and being sent away from the land. And we we know how that all went. Even last chapter, the Levites reminded everybody in verse 26, but they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They flung your law behind your backs, their backs, and killed your prophets who warned them in order to turn back to you. They committed terrible blasphemies. That's how the history of Israel goes. They obey the law for a time, God blesses them, they turn from the law. So, what is the response supposed to be? What do you do when you encounter the reality of your sin? When you're faced with the sins of your past or the guilt that sometimes feel overwhelming, when you encounter how sinful you are, where do you turn? The answer that at least we see here and we should emulate today is repentance. Do not misunderstand this chapter. It is a chapter of repentance. They are turning from their sin to follow God. Repentance can be defined simply as a changed mind. That's quite literally what the word means. And I've heard people use that, but it's so much deeper than just changing your mind about something. Spurgeon says it this way: Repentance is a discovery of the evil of sin, a mourning that we have committed it, and a resolution to forsake it. It is, in fact, a change of mind, but of a very deep and practical character. You are changing your mind about the evil of your sin, regretting it, mourning it, but forsaking it. That's what repentance is: leaving your sin. You turn around and you pursue Christ. That's what the Israelites are trying to do. You can feel how desperate they are. They're writing their names down in a sealed document. They want to pursue God. They do. They've worshipped God, they've recognized their sin. They even put on sackcloth and ashes in the beginning of chapter 9. And they've turned toward a recommitment back to following God. So their repentance is corporate. They all agree. It's intentional. It's something they sign and seal, and it's unified. They all enter into this agreement. But again, this decision only flowed from a recognition of God and a recognition of sin. That's what matters. And here's what I need us to understand: that the same is true for us. Our worship of God ought to reveal how deeply sinful we really are. Because when you worship God, you encounter God. Worship is not only an emotion-filled song. It's not what worship is. Again, it is emotion-filled. Do not misunderstand me. It's not just singing, it's not being overcome by your emotion. True worship is transformative, it is all-encompassing. And in every aspect of worship, you are encountering God. You cannot encounter God and walk away unchanged. It cannot happen. It does indeed change the person who's worshiping. Romans 12, 1 through 2. Paul makes this abundantly clear. Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true or spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Worship is an all-encompassing lifestyle. It is not static, it is dynamic. It is offering your very self to God. And the result, unless you want to argue with the scriptures, is transformative. People who worship in the Bible are not the same. They don't stay the same. Repentance, renewal, and a longing for God. That's what happens. This is why we're very intentional, not just about archers, but believe that all churches should be very, very intentional about what they sing on Sundays. Because it matters the truth that you sing. The songs we sing are not only just true, they are meant to be a mirror, like I talked about earlier. They should show us where we fail. They should magnify God and in doing so reveal how sinful we are. Because when you look in a mirror, unfortunately for all of us, it doesn't show you what you wish to see, it shows you what's there. We all know that's true. The songs we sing, the truths I preach, the truths you teach, whatever comes from our church should reflect only the truth about God and the truth about ourselves. Nothing else should come. This is why true worship directly leads to transformation, as Paul says in Romans. Because it's truth. It's the truth about God, it's the truth about ourselves. It's not just the only way we honor God, it reveals something about ourselves, specifically our need for repentance and to turn to Him, for Him. That's all what we see in chapter 10. People unite under a recognition of God, a recognition of their sin, and finally a recognition of what to do. They're like, I know what to do now. We need to recommit to the law. The reading of the law performed by Ezra, the teaching of the law by the Levites, again, that's just a giant mirror set in front of the nation of Israel, just revealing all their sin, every missing piece. Just as Paul says Romans 3.20, the knowledge of sin comes through the law. That's what's happening here. People are realizing where they're missing. So let me say something that might make you feel a little uncomfortable. Because I'm going to be very clear. If you've been coming to church for years and years, I'm not just saying this church, any church, if you've been a believer for years and years, you go to church over and over, and you rarely, if ever, feel a deep conviction of your sin or a need to repent, then you need to ask yourself, am I actually worshiping God? If you never experience any conviction, you rarely experience conviction. Are you just attending or are you worshiping? That's what you need to ask yourself. I'm not saying that every time you go to church, you need to be you know walk out crying, or I haven't done my job. It's not what I'm talking about. But true worship will not make you comfortable. I know that much. When you encounter God, which is what worship does, you will not walk away this. Same. So ask yourself this morning: Have I truly been worshiping God? Do I need to, like the Israelites, recommit to something? Do I need to establish some sort of pattern of renewal this morning? And that's exactly what the people do. They respond rightly. They see God, they see their sin, they do something about it. They commit to renewal. But that raises the important question. What does renewal look like? That's what we see secondly. We saw the decision for renewal. It was all in light of the character and faithfulness of God, but now let's look at the demands of renewal. What does it require? The demands of renewal. I'm going to reread verses 30 through 39 for us. Here are the details. We will not give our daughters in marriage to the surrounding peoples, and will not take their daughters as wives for our sons. When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them, on the Sabbath or a holy day. We will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh year, and will cancel every debt. We will impose the following commands on ourselves, to give an eighth of an ounce of silver yearly for the service of the house of our God, the bread displayed before the Lord, the daily grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbath and new moon offerings, the appointed festivals, the holy things, the sin offerings to atone for Israel, and for all the work of the house of the Lord our God. We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and our people for the donation of wood by our ancestral families at the appointed times each year. They are to bring wood to our God's house to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law. We will bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree in the Lord's house year by year. We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock as prescribed by the law, and we will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in our God's house. We will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough to the priests and the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings and of every fruit tree and new wine and fresh oil. A tenth of our land's produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect one tenth's offering in all agricultural towns. The priest from Aaron's descendant is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to take a tenth of his offering to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God. For the Israelites and Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and fresh oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept, and where the priests who minister are along with the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God. Here we see the specifics of the vow, and I want to highlight three elements. Three elements to this vow. Three subpoints, if you will. I don't know if you're a type A note taker, but there you go. Three sub-points. Firstly, is a separation from the peoples around them. But here, specifically, it's in relationship to marriage. We already saw earlier, everyone who committed to, you know, separate themselves from the surrounding people are a part of this. And here it comes up specifically in the relationship to marriage, to be separate from the people around them. And we've seen this issue come up before, even in Ezra. He's already dealt with the issue of Israelites marrying other people not of the nation of Israel. Just as a reminder, lest we think this is a racial issue alone, the nation of Israel was to be utterly set apart than the peoples around them. They were to be unlike the nation surrounding them. They were to be set apart just as God is set apart from us. They were not to be the same. Not that they could ever be as God is, but they were witnesses to the reality of God. They were to be different. They were to be holy. When the Israelites began to marry people of other nations, the issue is not race, the issue is idolatry. Every time. Deuteronomy 7, 3 and 4. You must not intermarry with them. And you must not give your daughters to their sons or take daughters for your sons. Why? Because they're not Jewish? No. Verse 4. Because they will turn your sons away from me to worship other gods. Then the Lord's anger will burn against you and he will swiftly destroy you. Nothing to do with race. We see people of other races included in Jesus' own line. God is a bad racist if he's racist. And he is not. This is an idolatrous issue. Do not integrate with people who hate God. That's what he's commanding the Israelites to do, and that's what they're renewing themselves to do. God makes it clear, it will lead to idolatry. I think all of us are more influenced by the relationships in our lives than we care to admit. Most behavior is mimicked. It is. And you are absolutely influenced by your spouse. Do not pretend you'd be better than the Israelites were. God knew this. Do not marry outside of the nation of Israel, he says. Makes sense then why this is the first commitment. So that's the first element. Be separate, specifically in relationship to marriage. But secondly, just a reminder of the reality of the Sabbath. Keep the Sabbath. Verse 31. When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or any holy day. We will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh year and will cancel every debt. The command to keep the Sabbath day holy, that's found in the Ten Commandments, obviously. And on the seventh day, God rested, so you rest. Do not work. Simply cease is what that word means. Just stop. Stop working. First and foremost, this was a reminder, the Sabbath was a reminder that God is the one who gives us rest. He is the one who blesses us with rest. God gave the law to the Israelites, yes, but God gave them rest from the law. At the same time, in the middle of the law, he says, here you get to take a break. You don't have to do it. I think we flip the Sabbath in our minds where it's almost like more instruction. It's the opposite of that. It's no instruction. Don't work. That's what he's telling them. You notice the instructions, the specifics, the additions regarding the Sabbaths, especially that you see in the Gospels when the Pharisees approach Jesus, all man-made. They add that in. Oh, you can't do this or that. It's rarely, they're actually quoting the Old Testament. Rarely. The Sabbath was it was not a burden. It was a relief. Not a burden. It was a relief. It goes hand in hand with the separation aspect. The fact that merchants of other nations are coming trying to sell things, we're not going to buy on the Sabbath. That would have been a big deal to other people. They would have recognized that. That would have been a mark of the difference between Israel and the surrounding nations. We do not buy on the Sabbath. We don't engage in commerce on the Sabbath. But then there's also weirdly, a lot of us don't recognize this, to leave the land uncultivated, just don't do anything with the land on the seventh year. That is also an extension of the Sabbath. Exodus 23. I think I have this up there, Terry, I don't know. Exodus 23, 10 and 11. He says, sow your land for six years, gather its produce, but during the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated. So that the poor among you, your people may eat from it, and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. Can you imagine going to a farmer and be like, I'll give you six years on the seventh, you can't eat nothing. Leave it, let people do, let animals go wild. That would be very difficult. Hence the aspect, rest. That is trusting in God. Don't work on it. You'll be alright. I will take care of you. That's the point of the Sabbath. Don't work to uphold the law. I've got you. It was a relief, not a burden. It was not a recommendation either. It was a command. And the Israelites were vowing to practice the Sabbath. So you see separation, you see Sabbath. Thirdly, which this takes up the largest portion of the vow, is just support the work of the temple. Support the work being done in the temple. They vow to give silver on an annual basis. Again, the service in the temple was used by all people. It's not just like some people were in the temple sometimes and it was just kind of cool that it was there. No, it was a blessing to all the people there for sacrifices, festivals, offerings, atonement. It was used for all, therefore, all must give. The work in the temple was the very work of God. Before this point, we know that the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant set. Again, this is the rebuilt temple. It's one thing to rebuild it, it's another thing to keep it going. But they also agreed to bring wood, bring the first fruits of their crops, their livestock, even the first batches of their dough. Like they're just going to bring bread to the Levites. They also give a tithe of the land's produce. That just literally means a tenth. Simply put, the people vowed to give their work to God in their community. Again, one thing to rebuild the temple. Now you've got to keep it going. And you gotta, they have to do something about that. They have to give to make that happen. This is absolutely a testament for us today. How does God work today? Ask you a very simple question. How does God primarily work today? Through his church. If you don't believe me, read the book of Ephesians. Ephesians 3.10. 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 means we, me, you, ought to give generously. While a tithe, that just again specifically means a tenth, is not commanded in the New Testament. Cheerful giving is. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. Again, I think we confuse that. Our tithes is the thing that's commanded. Tithe just means a tenth. That's what you see in the Old Testament. That's not commanded in the New Testament. It's great practice to give, I think a spiritual practice to give a tithe, but cheerful giving is what is commanded. You must give to the work of God. If you believe even an ounce of God's work is being done in this church, you must give. I'm not asking for myself. Give. That's how the Lord uses his church to do his work. So give. That's what the Israelites committed themselves to do. And it's all summed up in the final sentence of this chapter. We will not neglect the house of our God. That is the temple. It will not be neglected. So much, they know, they just talked about it. So much of Israel's history was just neglecting the law of God, neglecting the temple, neglecting the prophets. We will not do that again, they say. We will give, we will maintain the work. This shows me that repentance and renewal, you're gonna worship, that's great. If you're gonna repent, it takes work. It is not easy. It takes also specificity. I think something I've been absolutely guilty of is you'll pray a prayer of confession, you'll be like, just generally that I would stop being prideful. Okay, right. How? Like, what will you stop doing? They're being specific here. We're not gonna marry, we're gonna give these very specific things, we're not gonna buy on the Sabbath. They're being specific. I remember coming home from Falls Creek in high school. Maybe some of you experienced like that camp high. You're like super duper on fire for God, and you're like, yeah, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to be the best Christian I could be, but I was never specific. Like, I don't know what I was gonna do. I just felt good about my faith. That's fine. I'm not saying that's a bad feeling. But the problem for me, I was never specific about what to do next. I didn't have a goal. I understand I'm supposed to be doing things for God, but what am I supposed to be doing? The Israelites were specific: separation of marriage, keep the Sabbath, give to the temple. Great. We've got that. So, what are the specifics God is calling you to? Like what things in your life need to stop? Or what things in your life need to start? Be specific. How is he convicting you? But there is another element to understanding this vow. These are not supposed to be new things that they're doing. They didn't just make this stuff up on the fly. They are not thinking of new ways to serve God. That's not what this is. It is just a renewal, a reapplication of the Mosaic covenant. The covenant's already established, the law's already there, they're just committing themselves to follow the law that is already there. A specific, practical commitment to obedience. Notice the categories: marriage, there's holiness, there's separation involved. There's Sabbath, that's trust in God, that's rest in God, and there's provision for the temple, that's worship. They're committing themselves to separation, rest, and trust and worship. And then the summary, we will not neglect the house of our God. We will not neglect it. It's not new, it's not new ideas, it's not a fresh, fun way to do ministry at our church. Just what God has given us, we will commit to. That's what our church is to do. I think a part of a church plant, we have lots of ideas and we just try things. But the reality is we have the template. We have 2,000 years of church history, we have the scriptures, we know what to do. It's renewed commitment, not new ideas. The nation of Israel should have already been doing these things. And that's not to say that this vow is like pointless or unnecessary. Well, if you should have been doing it, then just what's the point of this? No, far from it. This is how the people reminded themselves of the importance of following the law. This was a good thing. If the covenant is central for the nation, then the only thing they can do is commit themselves to it. Good thing. Now I've spoiled this before, but it does bear repeating that once again, Nehemiah does not end in chapter 10. That this chapter of renewal and repentance, we are still gonna see the people fall into sin. We are still gonna see the nation at least to some degree turn away. Because they can renew their commitment to an external covenant, but they cannot give themselves new hearts. I could literally any time I preach in the Old Testament, I could just end with Jeremiah 31. But I'm I've not done that every time for your sake. But I'm gonna do it today. Because this is probably my favorite set of verses in all of Scripture. I'll just be honest with you. And that seems like almost sacrilegious to say, but it's true. Jeremiah 31, 31 through 34. This is why I'm a Baptist, too. This is why I'm a Christian. All of my faith is summed up right here. Look, the days are coming. This is the Lord's declaration, God's voice, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, the separated nations, both of them. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant that they broke, even though I am their master, the Lord's declaration. Instead, what's different? This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, the Lord's declaration. I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother saying, Know the Lord, for they will all know me. From the least to the greatest of them. This is the Lord's declaration, for I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin. Genuinely, one of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture, the promise of the new covenant. The promise that God is going to make not a new law, but a new covenant. One in which all who are a part of it will know God. Everyone in the new covenant is not going to be like the nation of Israel. They're not going to turn away. They're not going to be exiled. They're not going to be forgotten. They're not going to have the law on tablets. They're going to have the law in themselves. They are not going to have to teach each other about God. You're not going to have to have a Nehemiah chapter 9, for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest, and they will follow. A covenant where all who are in it will never be removed. If baptism is a sign of the covenant, that's why we baptize believers. Because you cannot be removed. In church family, all of the promises we read in Jeremiah 31 are fulfilled and available in Christ Jesus because of his work. Because he did what the Israelites in Nehemiah 10 could not. He committed to follow God's law, but he did it perfectly. And not only that, he died as if he didn't, but rose again because he did. That you and I can experience the promise in Jeremiah 31. You don't just have to look to Nehemiah chapter 10 and say, oh God, new day, I've got to recommit myself to God and regret the decisions I made. That's not the case. Everyone a part of the new covenant will know the Lord. So I want to leave you with two reminders, because these go hand in hand. Firstly, worship should lead to repentance. I already said that, but I'm going to say it again. Worship should lead to repentance. Again, I'm not going to say that you're going to walk out of church crying every day. That's not what I'm saying. I'm not that good of a speaker, to be honest with you. But also it's unnecessary. But the spirit will move. If you worship, the spirit will move. You will be convicted. But there's a second part of this, and this is the second reminder that absolutely matters. Repentance is not how we earn grace. It is how we respond to it. The order is what matters. When you worship, you repent, but repentance is not earning grace, it is responding to grace that has been given. That's what you see in Jeremiah 31. What's the problem in Nehemiah 10? It's hard to find a problem, but it's there. They're responding. That is how they earn God's grace, is by following the law, recommitting themselves to the law. That's why they were in exile in the first place. They did not follow the law. You don't have to do that. You don't have to perform, you don't have to be the best Christian in the entire world. You don't have to check boxes. You just need faith. Worship will lead you to repentance. You repent, but it's not the way you earn grace. So be like the Israelites in Nehemiah and let worship shape you. Let it encourage you, let it convict you. But from that conviction, repent and repent specifically, but do not forget that it is all Christ's work in you. So find the things in your life God hates and hate them too, but remember that we have what the Israelites in Nehemiah 10 did not, and that is the Spirit living inside of you, aiding you and pushing you on, continuing in Christ until the end. We're going to have one more week of this, which again, thank you to you guys for doing this. This is great. I hope this has been a blessing. Just interact with the elements for what Christ did for you. He was sold for silver, by the way, had a crown of thorns placed on his head, was beaten nearly to death, and then was killed on the cross. Bring your confession, bring your conviction, and just place it in that box. I'm not reading it. Nobody's reading it. It's just between you and God. What is the thing God hates in your life that you need to hate? Place it in the box. Write it on a sticky note. Do whatever you need to do. But we're going to have a time to respond and encourage you to use this. Just pray to yourself. I think I have a prayer prompt up on the screen, I hope. And when you're ready, Daryl's gonna lead us in the Lord's Supper. Again, I do ask, I say this every time, but please, we ask that you be a believer, being baptized as a believer in a good standing in the local church in North. Partake. But would you pray with me and then we'll respond? Heavenly Father, we thank you for the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Because they are a story about us. They are a story of ups and downs, they are a story of difficulty, but they are your story. And here we see that your people are called to repent. Like when we worship you, we should have a desire to repent. So give that desire to us this morning. Show us specifically the things in our life we need to get rid of that we need to kill and mortify. And help us follow you. We ask that you do all of this in a way the Israelites of Nehemiah could not through your spirit. We thank you for giving us your spirit. We thank you for sending us your son. And we just ask that we would commit anew to him again this morning. We pray all of these things for Christ's name's sake. Amen.