WEBVTT 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:02.879 We are in the book. 00:00:02.959 --> 00:00:04.879 We're going through the book of Nehemiah. 00:00:04.959 --> 00:00:08.240 It's one of the historical books in the Old Testament. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:12.240 We're in chapter 10, so we're a little past halfway. 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:26.160 What we've seen is that the nation of Israel has been in exile for some 70 years, and slowly they're beginning to return to the promised land, and specifically to the city of Jerusalem, the city of David. 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:30.399 They found themselves in exile because of their own unfaithfulness. 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:36.240 Through the covenant of Moses, God said, You are my people, I love you, I'm setting you apart. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:38.560 And we're forming a covenant. 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:44.079 Part of that covenant were the curses and the blessing, blessings of the covenant. 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:47.920 Blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience. 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:56.640 Because of their disobedience, the Lord sent foreign nations to bring those curses and that chiding to the people. 00:00:56.799 --> 00:01:00.159 It looked like the nation of Israel was all but destroyed. 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:04.959 The city of David itself, the temple, had been destroyed. 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:19.840 But now a remnant again was returning, first through the priest Ezra, secondly through Nehemiah, who was set as governor over the people of Israel under the rule of Persia. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:35.280 Ezra was sent to rebuild the temple, and then Nehemiah came and he began the work of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem and kind of the overall work of rebuilding the city and kind of re-establishing the people in the land that God had given them. 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:42.719 But far more than just a physical rebuilding project, this was a spiritual rebuilding project. 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:48.319 Again, the people knew that they were in this mess because of their own unfaithfulness. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:02:01.840 And so, even as the temple was being rebuilt, the place where they met with their God, where they brought their tithes, their offerings, their sacrifices, where they confessed their need, and God met them in grace, love, and forgiveness. 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:09.039 And in the city where, which was to be a light to the Gentiles, where the people of God would dwell. 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:13.199 Even as that was being rebuilt, the people themselves needed to be rebuilt. 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:20.319 They needed to be reminded of who they were, who God had called them to be, and why he had called them to themselves. 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:25.680 And so the people gathered together for a solemn assembly, we're told in chapter 8. 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:34.400 In chapter 9, the Levites began to read the law, the Torah, to the people, and the people are cut to the heart. 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:37.680 They'd forgotten the scriptures, they'd forgotten God's law. 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:43.840 And when they were confronted with all the ways that they had broken God's law and been unfaithful, they wept. 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:51.520 And yet the leaders, specifically Ezra and Nehemiah, told the people, This is a day of joy, not of sorrow. 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:52.000 Why? 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:59.120 Because, yes, we disobeyed and we were unfaithful to our God, but he has never been unfaithful to us. 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:05.759 And so even in this solemn assembly, the Lord is reminding his people that they are his. 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:49.120 It has much to teach us if we will take a look at it. 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:50.479 So let's jump in. 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:56.560 First, point one, this teaches us that repentance is specific. 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:08.479 As we said, God's people realize that they were in exile because of their own unfaithfulness and the unfaithfulness of their forefathers and foremothers. 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:18.319 And as Sam recounted to us last week, if you go back and read chapter 9, they recount their whole history as a people, beginning with Abraham. 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:25.120 And it's this amazing recounting where God's faithfulness is elevated and glorified. 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:34.480 And yet their failures, their presumption and unfaithfulness is named in very specific and repeated ways. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:45.600 And so this gives us a great framework of looking and understanding our own repentance, whether we're repenting to the Lord or we're repenting to one another as human beings. 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:48.399 Alright, so what does this teach us about repentance? 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:54.160 Repentance means being specific about the ways we have sinned and fallen short. 00:04:55.360 --> 00:05:01.680 The tendency, if you're like me, or maybe I should just talk about myself, when I repent, I love to keep it general. 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:05.040 You know, man, I I totally screwed up. 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:06.639 I know that. 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:08.240 No big deal. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:10.079 I'll do better next time. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:13.680 But the reason we keep things vague is because we want to keep things in the dark. 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:17.439 We feel shame, we feel bad, we don't want to feel condemned. 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:21.199 And so, and we also want to kind of work on it ourselves, right? 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:26.720 We we have this false delusion that, man, yeah, I messed up, but I can get it right next time. 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:39.199 But what we see here in chapter 9 and 10 from Israel is that in order to confess truly, we need to bring our sins out into the light. 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:47.759 If we want to be forgiven and we want to be healed, we need to drag them out of darkness and bring them before the Lord. 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:51.920 Now, we who are in Christ, we are fully forgiven. 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:55.279 And yet we still we are still in that sanctification process. 00:05:55.439 --> 00:06:04.399 We long to be healed of our sins, so that we might sin no more, that we might increase in righteousness and obedience. 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:12.639 And the only way to do that is to fully confess, to be specific about where we have sinned and fallen short. 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:16.319 Hidden sins are unhealed sins. 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:22.639 Secondly, this repentance, this teaches us that repentance means taking ownership of our sins. 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:26.000 We're not going to read through it, and you can thank me later. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:30.160 But the first 27 verses of chapter 10 are people's names. 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:34.480 It's the names of the leaders, the Levites, and the priests. 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:35.120 Now, why? 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:39.040 Why is that included in this chapter and in this document? 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:44.319 Because they, the leaders of the people, were taking ownership of how they had fallen short. 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.839 They were saying, we are responsible for the community. 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:55.120 We are taking ownership of where we have sinned, and we will be held accountable moving forward. 00:06:55.920 --> 00:07:00.560 Repentance doesn't give excuses, it doesn't blame others. 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:06.399 It says, we are responsible for our actions, and we will be held accountable moving forward. 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:10.240 Third, repentance means asking for forgiveness. 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:13.519 Again, this is something I can tend to forget. 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:19.120 It takes so much energy, so much humility to name our sins specifically. 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:22.720 Sometimes we think just putting it out there is enough. 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:33.839 But we, my wife and I, Stacey and I were taught early in our marriage that to name where you're reconcile an argument, you need at least three things. 00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:41.040 You need to name where you're wrong, you need to say that you're sorry, and you need to ask for forgiveness. 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:46.639 And then you need to wait and allow the other person to forgive you. 00:07:47.199 --> 00:07:56.639 Now, sometimes when we're dealing with other people, spouses or otherwise, uh, they're not always ready to forgive in the moment. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:06.000 But when we have genuinely confessed, when we've been specific, when we have been contrite, we've asked for forgiveness, we are free to simply wait and entrust them to the Lord. 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:12.560 Now it's it's they are the one before the Lord who must process and offer forgiveness. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:15.680 But with the Lord, we don't have to wait at all. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:18.800 This is the good news of the gospel, beloved. 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:26.240 We know that our God is faithful and just, that if we confess our sins, we are already forgiven in Christ. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:30.000 This is this is the madness of the flesh. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:39.200 Uh when we hesitate, when we wait to confess to the Lord, sometimes we want to maybe try a little bit harder. 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:43.840 We want to we want to polish ourselves up a little bit before we go to the Lord. 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:46.240 It's always a waste of time. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:49.759 Go immediately to the Lord in your sin. 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:53.200 He is ready and waiting to forgive. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:57.360 There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:58.879 The Apostle Paul writes. 00:08:59.120 --> 00:08:59.759 Amen. 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:01.840 Come on. 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:02.799 Amen. 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:04.159 That's right, guys. 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:05.919 Come on, we're all engaged here. 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:11.519 Uh fourth thing this teaches us repentance can be both individual and corporate. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:18.639 We won't spend a lot of time on this, but this seems to have become a controversial point in certain quarters. 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:24.639 Clearly, God's people were able to confess both of their individual sins and their corporate sins. 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:36.799 And we as Westerners and Americans specifically we need to be reminded that this is okay, this is real, that we are more than simply individuals, but we are the community of faith. 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:38.559 We are the church. 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:42.080 Finally, repentance means changing our actions. 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:52.159 When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to John the Baptist when he was baptizing in the wilderness, he charged them to bear fruit in the keeping with repentance. 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:59.519 It's not enough to simply confess where we're wrong, but it is to endeavor to change our actions. 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:12.960 Repentance is metanoia, which means literally to change one's mind or to turn around and go the other way. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:23.919 We fall into ruts, we fall into patterns of behavior, and so we confess our sins, but we commit them again and again. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:28.799 To truly repent means to take action, to act differently. 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:30.879 That leads us to point two. 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:33.759 Repentance is a verb. 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:39.679 Let me read again these verses that Sam read to us earlier. 00:10:39.919 --> 00:11:12.639 The rest of God's people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the land to the law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's law that was given by Moses, the servant of God, and to observe and do all that was commanded by the Lord our God and his rules and statutes. 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:24.240 In these words, in this oath, the people of Israel are echoing what we talked about before, the book of Deuteronomy, the second telling of the law, that talks about these blessings and curses. 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:28.960 Blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience. 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:36.080 So what does Israel now commit to do in this recommitment ceremony? 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:44.080 First, they say in verse 30, they will stop giving our daughters to the people of the land or taking their daughters for our sons. 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:47.679 They promise to stop intermarrying with the people around them. 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:49.360 Now, this may sound odd to us. 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:53.200 It might sound uh distasteful or maybe xenophobic. 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:58.000 Why are the people of Israel so afraid of the people around them? 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:04.480 But in truth, what God is calling the people is to fight for the purity of the faith. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:17.440 You see, God warned his people that if they were to marry the pagan people around them, that their own faith, this true word that God had given them, would become corrupted. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:23.759 And God had given Israel this charge, this mission to be a light to the Gentiles. 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:29.679 You see, God wasn't looking down on the people around them and saying, ooh, stay away from them, they're dirty. 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:31.519 Quite the opposite. 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:46.080 God was saying, I want the people around you to see the glorious, the gracious relationship you have with me, so that they will want to come in and to have the same relationship with me. 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:52.320 And so God calls them to purity, purity of faith, purity of walking before him. 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:57.039 Second, they committed to keep the Sabbath in its various forms. 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:01.120 They committed not to buy or sell on the weekly Sabbath. 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:07.679 They promised to give the land its seven-year Sabbath and let uh to let it lay fallow. 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:12.000 This is all part of the Old Testament law that they had been given long ago. 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:16.879 They also promised to observe the forgiving of debts every seven years. 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:25.279 Any debts that were outstanding among the people of God, they were simply to forgive after seven years. 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:33.519 These Sabbath laws were all meant to teach Israel that their lives were not their own and that God cares for them. 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:34.240 Right? 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:42.080 To not buy or sell on the Sabbath day is to trust that if I don't make money today, that I will be okay. 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:46.559 I can rest from my labor and God will provide. 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:55.600 It also taught them that they needed rest to be whole persons, that they didn't ultimately provide for themselves, but that God cares for them. 00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:04.000 It also taught them that the creation itself needs rest and it belongs to the Lord and not to them. 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:11.600 Third, they committed to support and provide for God's work in the temple through the giving of tithes and offerings. 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:16.399 They were to give monetary amounts that provided for the day-to-day workings of the temple. 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:19.200 They were also to give grain and animal sacrifices. 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:24.080 In those sacrifices, the Levites and the priests were cared for. 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:37.360 The temple was both the place where God, God's people, met with their God, but it was also a place where the broader community was provided for as well, both the priests and the poor. 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:45.440 What's fascinating about all of these is kind of we can step back and say, well, we're Christians, we don't have to obey these laws anymore. 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:47.600 And that's absolutely true. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:55.919 And yet, when we look at the New Testament, all of these same themes are, we are called to continue. 00:14:56.480 --> 00:15:02.720 Jesus taught that we, the church, are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:14.480 We are to be a nation of priests who live our lives in such a way that those who are not Christians would see our relationship with our God and desire that same relationship with him. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:26.159 Paul exhorts the Colossians to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:32.480 And John said, Do not love the world or the things of the world. 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:39.519 Beloved, we don't obey the Old Testament law to have God love us or even to define us. 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:43.120 We are declared righteous in Christ by faith. 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:49.519 And yet Nehemiah 10 invites us to ask ourselves some reflective questions. 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:55.039 Where am I not walking in a manner worthy of the Lord? 00:15:55.519 --> 00:16:02.799 In what ways am I not trusting the Lord with my life or seeking my well-being through my own work? 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:12.480 In what ways am I living my life, uh, living as if my life, my things, my resources are mine and not the Lord's? 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:17.039 Am I an active and supportive member of the body of Christ? 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:22.000 Or am I living as an individual separate from God's community? 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:27.039 These are good reflective questions for all of us to ask on a regular basis. 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:30.879 Just like the Israelites, our hearts are prone to wander. 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:34.000 And that's why we come back to worship week after week. 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:41.919 That's why we receive the sacrament of communion, to strengthen our faith, to remind us of the truth. 00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:46.480 Last point repentance isn't enough. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:51.519 In some ways, Nehemiah chapter 10 is the climax of this book. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:17:01.519 Through Nehemiah's faithful and steadfast leadership, not just Jerusalem, the city, but the people are rebuilt. 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:03.679 It is beautiful. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:12.720 But after chapter 10, Nehemiah returns to Persia to kind of check in with the king there and do some official business. 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:21.440 And when he returns to Jerusalem in chapter 13, he finds that already the people of Israel are breaking the Sabbath. 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:27.119 They're buying and selling again, and Nehemiah is furious. 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:31.200 And humanly speaking, it's absolutely depressing. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:36.319 We want the fairy tale, right? 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:42.079 It'd be nice if chapter 10 ended and it said, and they lived happily ever after. 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:46.000 I have a whole sermon illustration. 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:48.160 I can't tell how much I think I have time. 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:54.319 Have we talked about how they tried to destroy our childhood in the Star Wars series? 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:59.839 If you're my age, right, you grew up with episodes four, five, and six. 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:03.440 Han, Leah, Luke, they defeat the Empire. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:04.640 It's glorious. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:06.799 And it just should have ended that way. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:10.559 Then they went and did the prequels, and we won't talk about those. 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:13.839 But then they came out with seven, eight, and nine. 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:15.839 Man, seven was so good. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:17.039 The Force Awakens. 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:19.279 Love these new characters, love Rey. 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:23.519 But when Luke comes back, what do they tell us? 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:30.799 That after the great victory of episode uh six, uh, he's just a failure. 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:40.160 He's gone, he's a recluse, he's, you know, he's given up on life, basically, and Ray has to go and kind of revive him and ask him to teach her. 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:45.119 It just, you know, if I let it, it destroys the story of my childhood. 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:48.880 This incredible, incredibly beautiful story. 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:54.240 Uh but the truth is, is that that's actually how life works. 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:57.359 Our lives are not fairy tales. 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:05.359 We do have moments of great victory and rejoicing, and then inevitably we fall down again. 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:11.039 What Nehemiah, the book of Nehemiah as a whole, teaches us is a deep and a profound truth. 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:27.119 No matter how sincerely we repent, no matter uh, no matter how many resolutions we make, no matter how specific we confess our sins, we will fall into sin again. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:31.279 We cannot will ourselves to righteousness and obedience. 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:34.319 On our own, we are left hopeless. 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:41.759 And that's why Nehemiah is not the end of the story, and why Nehemiah points us to someone better. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:42.319 Right? 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:47.680 Praise God for the one who is better than Nehemiah, better than any of our own repentants. 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:50.720 Jesus Christ, our Lord. 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:54.400 Jesus is our perfect repentance. 00:19:54.720 --> 00:20:00.079 Jesus took the curse upon himself so that we might not be cut off. 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:03.359 Jesus is the seal of the new covenant. 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:06.960 Jesus is our perfect righteousness. 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:17.839 Beloved Paul wrote to the Corinthians, for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:18.799 Amen? 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:21.599 All right, a little better. 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:29.519 Beloved, we are called to ask those repentant questions, those introspective questions. 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:34.559 We are to seek to live and to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.160 And yet that is not the source of our comfort or our hope. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:41.839 We always fall short of the glory of God. 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:44.880 And yet Jesus is with us. 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:46.160 Jesus loves us. 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:51.200 That in Christ we are fully beloved, sons and daughters of the King. 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:59.039 We obey out of our security and joy not to find our security or joy. 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:03.039 Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:04.000 Amen. 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:09.680 If you have any questions about this sermon or need prayer, there'll be a pastor down front who's ready to meet with you. 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:10.640 Let's pray. 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:12.799 Our Father and our God. 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:16.480 Lord, this is this is attention. 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:20.000 This is this is uh this is difficult for us at times. 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:23.039 Lord, we long to walk in your ways. 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:24.799 We long to be rid of sin. 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:30.319 We long for you to be pleased with us in our actions, and yet we continue to fall short. 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:35.680 And yet, the good news of the gospel is that you we are fully forgiven in Christ. 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:40.480 Uh, when you look upon us, you see Christ and His righteousness. 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:42.079 Lord, thank you for that. 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:50.240 But we ask, Holy Spirit, that you would fill us, that you'd give us both the desire and the ability to say yes to obedience and no to sin. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:56.480 But in all things we rejoice, because in our weakness and in our strength, you are our God. 00:21:56.640 --> 00:21:58.640 And we pray this in Jesus' name. 00:21:58.799 --> 00:21:59.119 Amen.