SPEAKER_03 0:15

We can choose.

SPEAKER_02 0:25

You know, there are two things that I wonder about, many things, but two I want to mention to you this morning. One is I'm amazed at how good God has been to me. When I think back over my life, how gracious and good God has been. For the family that God's blessed me with. My two girls and my precious wife. For the privilege of past this wonderful church. For all the good things that have come into my life. I don't understand how God could be so good as He's been to me. But there's another thing that I wonder about just as much or more. And that is why have I done so little for him? Well, it's not that I haven't served him, but in comparison to what he has done for me, realizing that every good thing that's come into my life has directly or indirectly resulted from God and his grace. And yet how little I've really done for him in comparison. Do you feel that way? Do you feel like God has just blessed you abundantly? And yet our service to him is not quite that abundant. God has so enthusiastically poured out gifts upon us, and yet we have not given back nearly as enthusiastically. Revival is when God's people have their consciousness stirred. They remember their blessings and their benefits. They remember how good God has been, and they are stirred to the point that my I have neglected God. I have neglected some priorities. My life is not ordered like it ought to be ordered. I could be doing so much more for God than I'm doing. I need new life, the vigor, the vitality of life, the joy of salvation. I need to be stirred within the inner man. I need just revival. Well, that's what the people of Nehemiah were hungering for. In chapter 8, they hungered for the word of God and they sent for Ezra, and they said to Ezra, Come and read us the Word of God. They sent for God's man to read the Word of God. And as he stood and read the Word of God, they wept openly and unashamedly. They mourned because when they heard God's word, they realized how short they had fallen from God's standards. How they had let God down. They realized how much God had done for them and how little they had done for God, and they wept openly. How long has it been since you've wept over what you hadn't done for God? We're in Nehemiah 9 today as we preach through this wonderful book in the Old Testament. And in chapter 8, they hungered for the Word of God, and in chapter 9, they again are experiencing a moving of God, and it surrounds the Word of God. If I entitled this chapter, it would be Hearing and Heeding the Word of God. You know, as these people listen to their past, they are amazed at how easily their forefathers drifted from God. It's so easy to drift, isn't it? That's the easiest, the most natural thing to do is drift away from those things that are most important. And the Bible in Hebrews chapter 2 says that we keep from drifting by hearing and by heeding the word of God. This week, the young people have been in breaking free and dealing with discipleship. There is no such thing as discipleship apart from the word of God. There is no such thing as victory apart from the word of God. No such thing as spiritual growth and vitality apart from the work of God. The Bible says that the closer we get to God, the more commands that we obey, the more Jesus reveals Himself to us. In other words, Jesus may not give you more light until you obey the light that you already have. He responds to our obedience. If you want joy, it's by obeying the word of God. If you want victory in Christian growth, it is when we get into God's word and walk according to God's standards. Let's look at this passage in chapter 9, beginning with verse 1. Now in the 20th and fourth day of this month, the children of Israel were assembled with fasting and with sackcloths and with earth or dust upon them, and the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God one fourth part of the day, or three hours, and another three hours they confessed. Confessed what? They confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God. It is after confession of sins that genuine worship takes place. Now, let's go to the very last verse in this chapter and see their covenant. They document their priorities, they submit themselves to the authority of God's word, they make a covenant, they write it down, they sign on the dotted line. Verse 38. And because of all of this, because of we, of our exposure to the word of God, because of the rehearsing of the history of God's people, and seeing the faithfulness of God and the mercy of God. And because of all of this, we make a sure covenant and with it, and our princes and write it, and our princes, Levites and priests, seal unto it. Now, I want to talk first from this chapter about the attitude, the attitude that hears the word of God. These people are hearing the word of God. They are hearing it in a new and vibrant way. They are receiving it, and it is becoming life-changing. They are hearing the word of God, and the result of that is revival. Now, what is the difference? It's not just input, it's not just hearing the word of God. It is insight, it is understanding, it is conviction that leads to commitment. What makes the difference? It is attitude. Attitude is the key to life. Attitude is the key to spiritual living. They had a receptive attitude. What kind of attitude did they have? Well, it was first of all one of humility. Look in verse one. They were assembled with fasting. They were willing to do without food in order that they could talk with God and get a word from God. They were not putting their personal desires before God. They were putting God first and with sack cloth. Now, that was a dark, uh, heavy cloth made from goat hair or camel hair, and it was a garment that was loosely fastened to someone who was undergoing distress or grief or a crisis. They wore sackcloth. It was an indication of their seriousness, their sincerity, their soberness. This was important, this was crucial, this was critical. And so they, the Bible says sometimes they sat in sackcloth and ashes. They wore sackcloth, an indication of their sincerity and their seriousness. And then an earth upon them, uh they sprinkled dust upon their heads, and that was a sign of mourning and of penitence. So here are these people who want to hear God's word, they want to get a word from God, they want revival. And so they are clothed with sackcloth and dust on their heads and fasting, showing their humility. They're serious about God. Are you serious about God? Have you ever been that serious about God? Have you ever been serious enough about God that you've done without a meal? Most Christians, I know, eat more after they get saved, not less. And many of us don't know what it's like. We know what we diet, but we don't really do without in order that we can get a clear mind and an attitude to receive God. How serious are we about God and about God's will and God's way in our life? They were serious, they were committed. And they sat in humility and said, God, speak to us. We don't want to move, we don't want to do anything else until we get a word from the living God, a word about our lives. So it was humility. The second part of this attitude was honesty. Notice in the second verse, and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. They had an honesty, they had an openness. If you want revival, friend, it begins by an honesty before God. We have to swallow our pride and admit that we're sinners, and we have to be willing to confess our sins. And notice it says they confess their sins. We always want to confess somebody else's sins and put the blame on somebody else when revival is zeroing in on us as individuals. God, it's me. It's me. I'm in the need of revival. I've sinned. We can't do anything about confession until we first confess our own sins. We can't get anybody else straightened out until we get straightened out. They confess their own sins. Confession means to agree with God. It means to see it God's way. Confession means to put God's word to it and to stop offering excuses, to stop trying to rationalize and say, my life, measured by God's word, is not what it ought to be. I have sinned. I confess my sins. That's confession. Remember when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples? In a way, he is doing that today. He is at the right hand of the Father, and he is cleansing us from our sins as we confess those sins. As we walk through this life, our eyes get dirty, our ears get dirty as we hear what this world is sounding off. Maybe even our hands and feet get dirty. And as we confess that dirt, that fith, that worldliness, that sin, Jesus is washing, cleansing us at the right hand of the Father. Peter, bold Peter, speaks up and says, Lord, I don't want you washing my feet. And Jesus replies by saying, If I don't wash your feet, you'll have no part with me. Wow. Peter says, Wash me all over. If that's the case, just give me a bath. What Jesus was saying is that we cannot be in fellowship with God and have sin, unconfessed sin, in our daily lives. We can't obey God and walk in darkness. We cannot claim to be victorious and have a corner on God if we are living in violation of the word of God. So they had an honesty and openness and they confessed their sins. And they said, we don't want to walk in darkness. We have walked in darkness, but we don't want that anymore. We want to walk in the light of the truth of God's word. Amen. That'd be revived. If we would just walk in the light of the truth of God's word. I was in Oklahoma City listening to the lady teach, and she shared an experience about a young boy that she had come into contact with who was very crippled and deformed. And he could not walk or care for himself. And her heart went out to him. And in talking with that young man, she discovered that the reason he was like this is because his parents were poor and they had no money for a hospital or surgeons. That was surgery, it was a good possibility that he could walk. And so she took that little boy as a project. And she found a doctor, a surgeon, who agreed to do the surgeries free of charge. And then she found a banker and he got some men and they got together and they started a fund and they raised the money for the hospital bills. And this young man had several surgeries, and she herself spent hours with him in therapy trying to teach him to walk. And one day that young man came walking into her office and into her arms. And she saw him run.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

And she looked at us and she said, Do you know what that boy became?

SPEAKER_02 15:24

Say a doctor or a lawyer or a school teacher or a minister. She said, No. He's in prison for committing a crime so terrible that were not for his age, he would have died in the electric chair. And she looked at us with tears in her eyes and she said, I taught him how to walk, but not where to walk. What Nehemiah is saying is that the where is more important than the how. These people knew a lot about the how. They knew a lot about the ceremony, they knew a lot about the religion and how to act religious. But they didn't know much about walking in the light of God's holy word. It takes humility and it takes honesty and openness. And then as we find the attitude in which we receive the word of God, the second thing I want to point out is the attitude that heeds the word of God. What's the attitude that heeds the word of God? That wants you, that causes you to want to obey what God is saying. Well, the first thing they realize God's unwavering faithfulness. In verse 8, let's look at verse 8, Nehemiah 9, verse 8. That last part of that verse, I say to his seed, and hast performed thy words, for thou art righteous. You see, Nehemiah 9 is going back into history. It is a rehearsing of history. It is reminding them of what God has done in their lives, in their history, all the way back to Adam and creation, and then Abraham, and the Exodus, and the Red Sea, and the kingdoms and the captivity. And here's what they said about God: God promises, and God performs. Therefore, God is righteous. You can count on God. God promises, and then God performs what he promises he'll do. And as they rehearsed their history, they saw how that God was faithful, that God's faithfulness is unconditional. That though man let God down over and over and over again, though man became hard, hardness of heart and stiff-necked and rebellious, yet God was faithful. God kept his promises. God kept his covenant. God kept his word. God promises, and God performs what he promises. God is righteous. The redeemed, they were redeemed from the devastation of slavery by the intervention of the Exodus. And they were preserved through the wilderness, all by the power and the grace of God. These people who were no people became a people. The Jews of all people, the chosen of God, God redeemed them. God led them out. God led them through the wilderness. God provided for them. Oh, we could say that about it. Our own lives. We have been chosen in Christ before the foundations of the world. We who were devastated by sin have been redeemed by the intervention of Calvary's cross and preserved and sealed by the Holy Spirit of God. As we look back over our life, we found that God promises and God performs what He promises. God is righteous, the unwavering faithfulness of God. But then the second thing is we recognize man's unbelievable sinfulness. In this attitude that heeds God, we see God's faithfulness, but we see man's unbelievable sinfulness. Look in verse 16. And it's just literally all through here, but they and our fathers dealt proudly and hardened their necks and hearkened not to thy commandments. They refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them. Even though all the miracles God did, they weren't impressed by that. They hearkened not unto the commandments, but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. Then it talks about that God is gracious and merciful. Then in verse 21, 40 years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness. They lacked nothing. Their clothes didn't get old, and their feet swell not. Their clothes didn't wear out, their shoes didn't wear out, their feet didn't swell. God sustained them in the wilderness. Were they grateful? God taking care of two or three million people in the wilderness, meeting every need that they had. Look in verse 26. Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against thee and cast thy law behind their backs and slew thy prophets, which testified against them to turn them to thee. And they wrought great provocations. Then in verse 29, they dealt proudly and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Nevertheless, God was gracious and merciful. Then in verse 34, neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turn they from their wicked works. Over and over and over again. God blessed. Sustained them. God protected them. God fed them. God gave them guidance, a cloud by day, a fire by night. God made every need in their life. Nothing did they lack. But did they appreciate it? Did they obey God? No. Man's unbelievable sinfulness. And now these people realize that we can't have revival until we confess that we have sinned against God. That we have received so much from God, and yet we've given so little back to God. We have let God down, we have broken God's law. We have broken God's heart. We have sinned. My friend, there is no such thing as revival unless there is a sincere desire to put away sin in our hearts and lives. To deal honestly with sin, to call it what it is. They said, we've sinned, we've let God down. We have willfully disobeyed God. We have refused to heed divine warnings. We have failed to glorify God. We have sinned. They confessed that sin. Confession, I am wrong, I have sinned. Contrition. I am sorry for what I've done. And then a commitment. They made a commitment to do differently. And they signed it on the dotted line. You know people don't like to pledge. We pledged everybody but God. We pledged to Sears and Robuck and everybody else. But we don't want to pledge to God. They pledged to God and signed it on the dotted line. I want you to understand something. You couldn't be saved if you didn't make a pledge. God pledged to you salvation when he gave his son on the cross. And you pledged your life to him by faith. When they made the pledge, they were saying, we have put our priorities in order. And there's something about writing it down, putting it on paper, signing it. And the leaders signed it first, but they made a pledge and a commitment. In other words, they reaffirmed some undeniable priorities. They reaffirmed some undeniable priorities. I want you to turn in chapter 10 to verse 29. They make the commitment. They make this commitment, and then chapter 10, they sign it, and chapter 10 is a list of those who signed it. And then in verse 29, it tells about these undeniable priorities. And you'll be shocked at how their priorities ought to be our priorities. Verse 29. They claimed to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and into an oath to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and to do. How many of the commandments? All the commandments of the Lord our God and his judgments and his statutes. They made a general promise to obey God, period. Have you ever done that? Said, I'm just going to obey God. I'm going to walk by God's standard. I'm going to live according to this book. This is going to be my rule, my guidebook. I want to obey God in my life. Listen to me. The smartest thing a man ever does is to put God first and seek to obey him. That's success. Knowing the way and the will of God in your life. They said, we're going to obey God. They made a general promise to obey God. Secondly, in verse 30, they made a specific promise in their homes. That we would not give our daughters and the people of the land nor take their daughters for our sons that sing of intermarriage. They said, we're going to obey God in our homes. Now we talk about church revival and we need it, but we may never have church revival until we first have home revival. We bring all that stuff from home to church and wonder why God can't bless. How about your relationship with your husband, with your wife? Are you living in revival? Are you living in obedience to God? If you've got unconfessed sin in your life, if you have something between you and your wife that's not worked out, not settled, and you're letting the sun go down on your wrath, then you're not living in obedience to God. If you're not the spiritual leader in your home, you're not living in obedience to God.

SPEAKER_01 26:43

You're not spending time with your family, you're not living in obedience to God. What about your home?

SPEAKER_02 26:51

What would it take to have revival in your home, to obey God in your home, to have a godly home? Joshua says, as for me and my house, we're going to serve God. Do you need revival in your home? And then he says, in your business. They made a specific promise to obey God in their business. They wouldn't sell on the Sabbath. They wouldn't disobey God. What God said, that's what they'd do. Have you turned your business over to God, or is your business and God two separate things? You see, real revival means that God gets into your business life, into your social life, into your home life. God doesn't want to be in a compartment. He wants to be God in your life, period. They said, we're going to make a promise to God. A specific promise that we want God to be God in our homes, in our business, in our social life. And then in supporting the church through tithes and offerings. Look at verse 32, and then it goes all the way down through the end of the chapter. We made our ordinances to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of the shekel for the service of the house of God. And then it talks about the tithes in verse 37 and 38, shall bring the tithe of the tithes of the house of our God to the chambers and to the treasure house. Now, they said we're going to make a commitment to support God's work with our tithes and offerings. And they talk about bringing the first fruits, the first of everything they make, the first of everything they raise. They bring that to God. When you look in the Old Testament, tithing was something like 35, 40%. And the first part of everything that came in their life, they gave to God. The first child they gave uniquely to God. They said, we're going to nail it down. We're going to sign it. We're going to obey God in our homes, in our business, in our social life, with our tithes and offerings, we're going to obey God. Are you obeying God by giving the tithe that belongs to Him? You see, you can never experience revival. You can never have real victory and joy if you have an area of disobedience in your life that's contrary to what God's Word teaches. You miss God's best. If you can't tithe, you miss God's best. If you can't obey God at that point, then you miss God's best. They said, we're going to obey God. And then in verse 39, they make a promise not to neglect the house of God. They said, we're going to make a promise, we're going to obey God, and that we're going to be faithful to God's house. See, during all the conflict and things, they neglected the things of worship and they neglected the feast and they neglected the house of God. And they said, We're making a fresh commitment. We've listened to the word of God. We're going to obey God. We're going to be at God's house at the appointed hour. There's a verse in Hebrews. Turn quickly back to Hebrews, right at the end of your Bible. Hebrews chapter 10. Let me tell you what God's Word says. Verse 24, chapter 10, verse 24. And let us consider one another to provoke, to encourage unto love, and to good works. What is this good work? Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is. Some are not assembling together with God's people like they ought to be. But exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin willfully, what's he talking about? He's talking about forsaking the assembling of God's people. When you don't come to church at the appointed hour, you are willfully sinning. If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, what's the knowledge? That you ought to be here. God commands you to be here. Now, not to be here, you are willfully disobeying a command of God. And he says, when you do that, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. What does he mean by that? He says, when you do that, you invite a judgment of God upon your life that can't be taken away. You can say, I'm sorry all you want to, but God is going to judge you because you were disobedient to his word and you willfully disobeyed him. You see, some of you have been operating on the mistaken idea that church attendance is optional. Like people tell me, I'm going to try to be there Sunday if nothing comes up. And I want to say, don't hurt yourself. And we act like it's optional. Folks, listen, if I understand the word of God, what it means by not forsaking the sending of ourselves, when the church has decided that it meets on a regular occasion, then you have a responsibility for God to be there. That means Sunday night and Wednesday night. You say, preacher, are you trying to tell me that God expects me to be at church on Sunday night? Exactly. But not only that, he says when you're unfaithful, you invite a judgment that cannot be removed. Some of you are paying a price in your homes and your family in illness and accidents and this thing or that thing, and you don't understand what the problem is. It's your unfaithfulness to God. It's your just choosing to go to church when you want to, and God is judging your very life for it. There's no choice about it. It's a command. We're to be here. And when we, for selfish reasons, our self-control reasons are not in our place, we sin and disobey God. Selfish reasons mean you thought something else you wanted to do. Self-control reasons means that you have a legitimate excuse, but if you control the situation a little bit, you could make it. When we miss church for selfish or self-control reasons, we disobey God. Say, preacher, I just don't agree with you. I'm not, I'm telling you, this is what God's word says. It's not my opinion. My opinion doesn't matter. We either obey God or we don't obey God. And you know that to be true. Don't look at me like you think I don't know. You know it to be true. Let me tell you how you, let me tell you how to prove it. On Saturday night, how many times, how many of you have children or you know somebody's got children? Raise your hand. All right. Some of you just don't get out at all, do you? How many times do your children say things like, Where are we gonna go tonight? Where can we go? Or who can come over? Can we go to the mall? Can we go get a pizza? Where are we going tonight? Now, my kids hadn't done that since last night. Where are we going? The kids will do that on Saturday night, but they will not do it on Sunday night. You ever notice when you stay home on Sunday night that everybody's cool, nobody talks about it? That's right. The kid on Sunday night doesn't say, Daddy, let's go get a pizza and go to a movie. You'd say, Shut up, kid, we're supposed to be in church. You watch a good television program on Sunday night, and you can't tell anybody on Monday, can you? Because you know you're supposed to be in church. You see, what we do on Sunday night, it bothers us. We don't, you know, we know that it's not, you know, we just kind of sneak around the house, wear tennis shoes, because we know. You see, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. That's what it says. You willfully sin. You know that you ought to be there. He says, when we don't come, we invite the judgment of God upon our life. They said, we're gonna be faithful to God's house. We're gonna obey God. In our homes, we're gonna obey God. In our business, we're gonna obey God. With our tithing offerings, we're gonna obey God.

SPEAKER_01 35:11

With our attendance, we're gonna obey God.

SPEAKER_02 35:20

Revival begins when we simply admit that there are areas of our lives wherein we're not obeying God, and we make a commitment to confess it is sin, call it what it is, and to make a new commitment, say I'm gonna obey God. That's when revival comes. Let's bow together as we pray. How many of you would be honest this morning without anybody looking and say, Brother Fred, God's word has spoken to my heart and convicted me of some things in my life that maybe you weren't aware of? Some areas where you're disobeying God. You'd say, Pastor, I admit there's some things in my life, some areas where I'm disobeying God. Would you help me pray that I'd call it what it is and I'd deal with it today? Pray for me, preacher. I won't embarrass you, I won't point you out. If you'd just raise a hand and say, That's true in my life, raise a hand. God bless you. Many, many, many hands, many hands, many hands. All over the building. God has convicted me of some things in my life where I'm disobeying God.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

Now the question is, are you willing to do something about it? What can you do about it?

SPEAKER_02 36:50

Call it what it is, sin. Confess it to God, claim his cleansing, and make a fresh commitment to start obeying God.

SPEAKER_01 37:03

What about your home life? What would you have to do to have revival in your home? Then why don't you start it? Why don't you begin to obey God in your home? You men to be the spiritual leader, your wife to submit. Your home to obey God. What about your business? What about your tithes, your offerings? You see, you need to decide if they belong to you or if they belong to God. It's easy to disobey God in the air of money. We put ourselves in a place where God can bless us, and God withdraws his protection from us.

SPEAKER_02 37:52

What about church attendance? I hope you didn't misunderstand what I was saying this morning. I was saying that I believe that you cannot come to church just on Sunday morning and stay in fellowship with God.

SPEAKER_01 38:11

That's what I believe. Because if you belong to Jesus, you love to be with the fellow members of the body.

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You want to be here. And you realize when you're not here that you're letting God down, you're disobeying God. My friend, if you disagree with what I say about the importance of church in your life and church attendance, you better check up. You may not even be a Christian if you disbelieve what I'm saying. Because if you're a Christian, you know that what I'm saying is biblical truth.

SPEAKER_01 38:52

Church is a priority for the Christian. You need to make a commitment there.

SPEAKER_02 39:01

Maybe somebody here this morning is not a Christian. What better time for you to say, I need Jesus in my life? I want to be saved. We have counselors who will help you make that decision. There are others who need to move a letter. You want to join this church and serve God with us. We invite you to come. We encourage you to come. Heavenly Father, thank you for every person who raised a hand admitting areas of disobedience. God now give everyone the courage to say it's sin, call it sin, confess it, seek cleansing, and make a fresh commitment to obey God. Father, sin revival and help us to know that revival comes when we admit our sins, confess them, and we begin obeying God in every area of our lives. I pray you'd help people to obey God in joining the church and getting involved. That you'd help others to obey God and give them their tithes and offerings, that you'd help others to obey God in their marriage, in their home, that you'd help others to obey God this morning in their church attendance, their faithfulness. God help us to be obedient to you, to put you first. Not our selfishness, but to put you first.

SPEAKER_00 40:14

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We hope you were blessed by our program today. If you would like a copy of today's program, go to www.fredlowry.com, where you can find this program and other Christian resources by Dr. Fred Lowry.