WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:07.040 All right, uh, this is uh a reading from Nehemiah chapter 8, verses 1 through 12. 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:12.480 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the water gate. 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:19.440 And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:29.920 So Ezra, the priest, brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:44.320 And he read from it, facing the square before the water gate, from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and those who could understand, and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:49.439 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:56.320 And beside him stood Matathiah, Shema, Anayah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Messiah. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:08.400 And on his right and on his right hand, and Meshulem, excuse me, Padiah, Meshael, Malkaijah, Hashim, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshelem on his left hand. 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:17.359 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it, all the people stood. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:19.280 That's why we do that. 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:30.319 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, Amen, amen, lifting up their hands, and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:45.760 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherubiah, Jamin, Akub, Shabatai, Hodiah, Messiah, Kalidah, Azariah, Josebad, Hanan, Peliah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:53.280 They read from the book of the law of God clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. 00:01:53.599 --> 00:02:04.879 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God, do not mourn or weep. 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:08.960 For all the people wept as they heard the words of the law. 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:20.319 Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink sweet wine, and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:25.439 And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:32.080 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, Be quiet, for this day is holy, do not be grieved. 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:43.840 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that Word declared to them. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:45.120 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:46.560 Please be seated. 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:54.159 So this is a short service that's really just a preamble to a party that we're planning on having. 00:02:54.400 --> 00:03:05.360 So here in the middle of the summer, right in the midst of the summer swings, which is what church people call summer attendance, we decided to throw a party. 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:11.280 And this is something that we're wanting to kind of reclaim as a church. 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:21.120 So feasting, rejoicing, celebrating, partying, these are very, very important parts of the Christian faith. 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:25.360 Partying is not optional in the Christian faith. 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:26.960 It is mandatory. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:29.759 So we're trying to practice our faith. 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:35.759 We're incorporating practices into our uh normal Sunday liturgy. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:41.840 So this is one of the practices that we're incorporating into our liturgy, which is we're going to have a party. 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:58.960 So uh in order to better understand what it is that we're about to do, uh selected a text today of uh one of the one of the most famous parties in uh church history, one of the most famous parties in the Bible. 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:01.919 Uh and this is from the book of Nehemiah. 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:12.080 So we have just finished six months of moving through 1st and 2nd Samuel, and we ended looking at the establishment of David's kingdom. 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:20.240 So, to put this in a bit of context for where we've been as a church, uh David's kingdom, uh his dynasty lasts for about 400 years. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:28.879 Things get really shaky with a bunch of these kings, and uh the Israelites and Judah are both exiled. 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:31.519 They're exiled into Syria and Babylon. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:39.920 After that exile, God returns them to the promised land, and they return to Jerusalem, and Jerusalem is in shambles. 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:47.360 And when they discover this, God sends a few faithful people to lead them in re-establishing the city of Jerusalem. 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:54.079 And so one of the ways that they do this is they build the walls, they rebuild the walls of the city. 00:04:54.319 --> 00:05:00.399 And this takes place right after they have completed the building of the walls. 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:04.720 And what do they do when they mark the completion of those walls being built? 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:14.319 They gather everyone together into one place, they build a pulpit, and they read the law of Moses. 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:16.560 They read the Word of God. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:18.480 Everyone gathers together and they hear it. 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:24.560 And as they read it, they move through into small groups and they explain the law. 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:28.480 That way, everybody could understand the sense of what was being read. 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:32.480 They gather large as one man, and then they gather into smaller groups. 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:38.879 It's a really good idea for teaching people the Bible. 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:43.920 And uh they gather into smaller groups to better understand the word that's being read to them. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:54.639 So here's what happens: they gather together, it's this celebratory moment, they read the law together, and as they read it, Nehemiah then stands up and he's like, Everybody, go celebrate. 00:05:54.879 --> 00:05:56.959 And uh they don't. 00:05:57.360 --> 00:05:58.720 They don't celebrate. 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:03.920 Instead, after the reading of the law, everyone is weeping and mourning. 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:06.879 So the today's message has three points. 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:15.680 They are why we don't celebrate, uh, which covers that weeping and mourning, why we should celebrate, and then how we should celebrate. 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:18.319 So, real quickly, why we don't celebrate. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:19.360 Let's get into our story. 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:31.199 So, Nehemiah 8, uh, verse 9 says, And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God. 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:33.199 Do not mourn or weep. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:37.759 For all the people wept as they heard the words of the law. 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:43.040 So that's why I titled this sermon uh Celebrate Good Times, come on. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:48.079 Uh, but it's to be read as uh celebrate good times, come on. 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.920 Because that's the way uh Nehemiah uh described it. 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:58.240 It was it it was either that or everybody dance now were the two title options. 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:00.800 So celebrate good times, come on. 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:03.120 Uh here's what happens. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:05.680 They get, they read through the law. 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:08.720 They read through the book of the law of Moses. 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:11.759 And what happens to everyone's hearts? 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:17.040 They become deeply convicted of their sin. 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:24.000 They read this glory of the book of the law and they reflect back on this time of exile. 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:32.480 They're standing in Jerusalem, which now has a wall, but is is barely the city that they left 70 some odd years ago. 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:36.879 It's it's a shell compared to what it once was in its former glory. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:44.240 And here they're standing in it, and they're seeing, you know, we were exiled, and it was our fault. 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:50.959 And we're in this city that's the shell of what it once was, and it's because of our sin. 00:07:52.160 --> 00:08:01.360 And so Nehemiah, he comes out and he says, Look, uh, this is the time to celebrate. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:06.240 And the reason it's the time to celebrate is because we've been brought back. 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:12.319 And we've been brought back not because we somehow got better during our exile. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:19.600 We've been brought back to the promised land because God has continued to be faithful to us. 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:32.960 See, the reason they weren't celebrating, the reason they weren't driven towards celebrating, why we typically don't celebrate, is because they were thinking, you know, we celebrate when we've seen that we've been faithful. 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:41.679 We'll celebrate, we'll start to celebrate when I see that the reason that we've been brought back out of exile is because we finally got our act together. 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:44.399 And what we'll celebrate then is us. 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:48.240 Nehemiah's like, look, you've got this all backwards. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:51.919 We aren't celebrating our own faithfulness here. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:53.840 That's not what's motivating us. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:58.080 That's not the joy that's going to give us strength and allow us to keep moving. 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:05.759 We're celebrating that we've been brought back to the promised land only because of the faithfulness of God. 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:10.240 That's what Christian celebration is rooted in. 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:12.000 So why do we celebrate? 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:16.240 We aren't celebrating because we see our own faithfulness. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:33.360 In fact, when we come into contact with Scripture, when we read Scripture, we often are filled with just this conviction of sin, and we see that we fall so short of anything that's worth celebrating, but we see there the faithfulness of God demonstrated. 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:38.080 Because even when we fall short, he comes in and is perfectly faithful. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:42.960 Even when we are faithless, he is faithful to us and he brings the salvation. 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:48.399 And it's not ourselves that we are celebrating, it is God's faithfulness that we are celebrating. 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:50.879 So, why we don't celebrate? 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:55.759 Because we're looking to ourselves to be the thing that we should be celebrating. 00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:58.559 Why should we celebrate? 00:09:58.720 --> 00:09:59.440 This is point two. 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:01.600 I told you this is gonna be a fast one. 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:04.639 Why should we celebrate? 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:09.200 That's because the Lord is faithful. 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:11.840 The Lord is mighty to save. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:15.759 The Lord in the midst of our sin comes and rescues us. 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:17.759 And it is that that we are celebrating. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:29.919 So in Nehemiah verse 811, he gathers around and he says, So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, Be quiet, for this day is holy, do not be grieved. 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:33.360 Look at those words that are right together there. 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:42.159 This day is holy, so because this day is holy, don't be grieved. 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:46.559 See, that's not the typical way we think of holiness. 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:53.360 We typically think of the most holy person that you can imagine is not the happiest person that you can imagine. 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:56.320 That's not what that word conjures up in our minds. 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:03.759 Instead, we typically think of someone who's the most broken, the most, you know, experiencing a constant conviction. 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:11.519 Christians, when they talk about things, can be so weird in the way that they'll like talk about sermons and things, like, oh, you gotta listen to this. 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:13.279 It's so convicted. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:16.559 Like we have like a fight club or something. 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:24.080 And we don't consider that our holiness, what does holiness look like? 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:27.840 It looks like a joyful person, it looks like someone who's happy. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:29.279 Don't be grieved. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:29.840 Why? 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:32.320 Because today is holy to the Lord. 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:36.960 And how does God demonstrate his holiness to us? 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:39.120 It's by saving us. 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:48.000 He demonstrates that he is holy by making the sacrifice on our behalf, by being faithful even when we aren't faithful. 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:52.960 God is holy, and that's the reason for us to be happy. 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:54.320 Don't be grieved. 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:55.679 The Lord is holy. 00:11:55.840 --> 00:12:01.200 Now, what they were celebrating is they returned to an unbuilt city and they finished building a wall. 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:02.080 That's great. 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:07.279 It's great to have a wall when you're an ancient city, if ever you find yourself in that position. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:16.639 But what we have to celebrate is so much better than only having rebuilt a wall. 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:27.759 What we have to celebrate as Christians, we just know so much more about how God demonstrates his holiness in saving us. 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:33.039 He does it by fulfilling the whole of the law that was read to them that day. 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:36.480 And he fulfills it on our behalf in Christ. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:43.039 The law demands a punishment for its violation, and Christ takes that punishment upon himself. 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:49.120 The law demands perfect adherence, perfect love for God, and perfect love for our neighbor. 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:53.440 And Jesus lived out that righteousness perfectly. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:56.960 And that righteousness becomes ours. 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:03.919 As Christians, we ought to be marked by celebration, by joy. 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:09.679 A proper, appropriate response to that news is to celebrate. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:18.639 Jonathan Edwards uh it captures this probably better than almost any other writer in church history. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:20.000 He just nails this. 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:22.320 Like if you're holy, you should be happy. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.679 Jonathan Edwards is really good about speaking about this. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:43.200 And in the very first sermon that he that okay, so it might not have been his first sermon, but the the oldest extant sermon that we have of Jonathan Edwards, which is had at Yale or some other no-name university, um, it is Yale. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:46.399 Um I just like to bash Yale because I went to Harvard. 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:48.639 I did not go to Harvard. 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:51.519 I'm just kidding. 00:13:51.759 --> 00:14:03.039 Um the oldest sermon of his it is uh it was titled Why Christians Should Be Happy. 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:06.000 And it had three points, and I'll read them to you. 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:07.759 Uh this is from that sermon. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:10.000 It says, first, here's the reasons. 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:18.480 First, Christian should be happy uh because no worldly evils can do him any real hurt. 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:20.000 Good news. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:23.759 Think of the worldly evils that you're facing. 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:27.200 Sickness, financial struggles. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:30.240 Consider those worldly evils. 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.519 I've got news that we know because of the gospel. 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:35.519 They're not gonna really hurt you. 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:47.519 Secondly, because the Christian should be happy, because of those advantages, spiritual joys and satisfactions he enjoys while here, here being in this life. 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:58.559 You should be happy because as a Christian, you've got a lot of great advantages, incredible spiritual joys that you might experience. 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:14.080 And thirdly, more especially, from the joyful hope and certain expectation of the enjoyment of the perfection of happiness eternally hereafter, which means we've got a lot to look forward to. 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:18.399 Others have summed this up, saying, why should Christians be happy? 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:24.399 The first reason is because every bad thing in our life will turn out for good. 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:26.159 That's good news. 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:34.159 The second, all of the good things, or excuse me, none of the goodness in your life can ever be taken from you. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:37.519 And thirdly, the best is yet to come. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:44.159 I'm gonna zero in on that middle point because I just want to, I'm not putting it up here because it's too long. 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:49.519 And as I was reading this sermon from Jonathan Edwards, I thought, well, he's done this already. 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:55.120 I'm just going to read it to them because I can't write this. 00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:57.759 Here's what he says of that second point. 00:15:57.840 --> 00:15:59.759 This is what I want us to zero in on. 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:08.799 These incredible advantages that we have, these things that we can just consider in the gospel now that are that is news worth celebrating. 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:23.519 He says, How great a happiness must needs it be to a man to have all his sins pardoned, and to stand guilty of nothing in God's presence. 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:25.679 Yeah, that would make you happy. 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:47.440 To be washed clean from all his pollutions, to have the great and eternal and almighty Jehovah, who rules and governs the whole universe and doth whatsoever he pleases in the armies of heaven and amongst the inhabitants of the earth, reconciled to him and perfectly at peace with him. 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:50.159 That would make you happy. 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:56.240 How great a pleasure and satisfaction must it be to him to think of it. 00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:17.759 And not only that God is reconciled to him or has nothing against him, inasmuch as all is pardoned, but also that this same Almighty being who created him, who keeps him in being, and who disposes of him and all other things every moment loves him. 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:54.640 And that with a great and transcendent love, and that he has adopted him and taken him, I get why they cried, alright, I get it, and taken him to be his child, and given himself to him to be his father and his portion, and that takes care of him as one that is very dear to him. 00:17:57.119 --> 00:18:03.119 Continually guides and directs him and will lead him to the fountain of living waters. 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:15.440 This is news worth celebrating. 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:18.960 So our third and final point. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:21.839 How should we celebrate? 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:23.920 How do we celebrate something like that? 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:26.559 How do we celebrate news like that? 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:31.359 Nehemiah 8, verse 12. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:43.599 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing because they had understood the words that were declared to them. 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:47.920 How do you celebrate? 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:50.640 I am just a wreck up here. 00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:58.079 How do you celebrate? 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:06.480 You eat together, you drink together, you make great rejoicing. 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:08.240 The band's gonna come back up here. 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:10.480 We're gonna sing three more songs together. 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:12.400 Sing them freaking loud. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:16.640 This news, how do you respond to news like that? 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:23.680 You eat, you drink, you celebrate, you get a bouncy house, your kid gets a balloon, they get extra ice cream. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:24.960 We party. 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:28.720 This is really good news. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:35.279 So with that, let's pray and go hide and pretend we didn't cry in everybody in front of everybody. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:39.680 Father, thank you so much for this joyful news. 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:49.519 Let us contemplate the glory that you've shown us such a deep love. 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:57.279 Give us a real spirit of celebration today, as we've understood the good news of Christ. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:00.960 That you've shown us in the most amazing way that you love us. 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:04.160 It's not our faithfulness that we look to today, it's yours. 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:05.759 And when we look to that, we'll celebrate. 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:07.440 We lift us up in Jesus' name. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:08.160 Amen.