1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:05,000 Well, last week we had the blessing of being away on 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,720 vacation. We enjoyed a cabin in Tennessee 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:10,800 with some family. And so thank you to all those 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:13,920 who were praying for us for safe travels and and an enjoyable 5 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,440 vacation or relaxing vacation. We appreciate your prayers. 6 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:22,040 As we were on vacation, the Sunday came up and, and we knew 7 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:24,360 that coming up to Sunday, we want to find a church where we 8 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:28,120 can go worship God together. And, and so we found this church 9 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:29,760 and we decided we were going to attend. 10 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:32,720 And I began looking into the church a little bit and I, I 11 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:34,880 noticed that they were going through the book of Nehemiah as 12 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:36,240 well. And I was really excited. 13 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:38,040 I'm like, oh, great, What are the odds of that? 14 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,440 Here's a church they're going through the book of Nehemiah was 15 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,120 really excited. And so we came to the church on 16 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:45,480 Sunday morning and, and everybody was very friendly and 17 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:48,200 we found a seat and, you know, watch the, the countdown timer 18 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,640 as Jonah was mentioning his countdown timers, counting down 19 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,760 the time to the service starts. And I was really excited. 20 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:58,920 And then the timer hit 0 and the worship team began to sing, but 21 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,960 we remained seated. And they they sang a song that 22 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,960 was popular maybe 15 years ago that was on the radio, a song 23 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:08,520 that was not very singable or congregational. 24 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:11,880 And then we stood up and we did sing a song together. 25 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,160 And it was, it was a good, it was a good worship song. 26 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,560 And then we sang a song from the very well known Christian 27 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:25,680 artist, The Beatles. Let it be, let it be, let it be, 28 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,240 let it be. And then the Sir, the pastor 29 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:33,560 came up and he preached a sermon kind of about Nehemiah. 30 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:38,560 I I don't remember one single time in the entire service that 31 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,000 we read any passage of Scripture from the Bible at all. 32 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,440 I may have missed it if if he did, it was one or two verses. 33 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,240 But we did to my remembrance, we did not open the Bible. 34 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,840 And if you go on their website and and the very first thing you 35 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:59,200 see on their website is we are a Bible believing, Bible teaching 36 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,920 church. And yet we didn't open the 37 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:10,560 Scriptures one time. Well, that's kind of like where 38 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,320 we pick up the Israelites in the book of Nehemiah. 39 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,080 They were called to be God's people and they called 40 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,360 themselves God's people, but but they weren't really following 41 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:23,680 God's word. They weren't really following 42 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:27,640 his ways. Instead, they had abandoned the 43 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:30,440 Lord. They had abandoned his ways. 44 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,840 And that is why they were being disciplined. 45 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,040 Why they had been disciplined for years because they had 46 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,520 abandoned God. They didn't hold his word with 47 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,840 reverence and honor, meditating on it day and night. 48 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,560 But now through the leadership of Nehemiah, God brought them 49 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:52,360 back. He brought them back to his 50 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,560 word. And through Nehemiah, through 51 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:59,440 this man who who had a desire to be faithful to God and his word, 52 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,520 they rebuilt the walls. They they were able to overcome 53 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:05,880 the attacks from the enemies. They were able to overcome 54 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:10,120 fighting even from within, and they rebuilt the wall in 52 55 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:15,280 days, a miraculous work that clearly God was behind. 56 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:18,800 And as Pastor Jonah talked to us last week, now they began to 57 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,360 restore the purpose for why Jerusalem existed in the 1st 58 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:26,800 place, which is to be a center place of worship for God. 59 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,760 This is what the Israelites were made to do, why God had saved 60 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,920 them to worship God. And as we're going to see today, 61 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:40,880 the people of God put God's Word back at the center of who they 62 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,680 are as a people. And so that's my title this 63 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,040 morning. God's Word at the center, how 64 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:51,400 God's Word shapes his people. And what we're going to see this 65 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:55,640 morning is when God's people put the Word of God at the center of 66 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,840 who they are. It is powerful and it unifies 67 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:03,600 us, it transforms us, and it will grow us. 68 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:05,840 Let's pray for the Lord to do that this morning. 69 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:12,480 God, we thank You for Your word and we stand on the truth of 70 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:14,800 Your Word. Lord, we have nothing to say if 71 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,279 it is not from Your word. And we thank You that through 72 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:22,840 Your Word we can know truth, that we come to know the God of 73 00:04:22,840 --> 00:04:25,760 the universe. And Lord, we pray that that as 74 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,760 we are a people who center our lives and center our church and 75 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,000 all that we are on your word. We pray, Lord, that you would 76 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,760 unify us together by the power of your spirit, that you would 77 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,560 transform us through the renewing of our minds, and that 78 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:44,160 you would grow us so that we may be glorifying to you as we seek 79 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,400 to build not our own Kingdom, but your Kingdom. 80 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:52,240 This we ask in Jesus name, Amen. So would you open your Bibles 81 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:56,360 with me to Nehemiah chapter 8? We are going to read God's Word 82 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:58,960 this morning. Nehemiah chapter 8. 83 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,960 I'll be reading from the ESV and I will read the whole chapter. 84 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:10,160 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before 85 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,720 the Watergate, and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the 86 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,920 book of the Law of Moses, that the Lord hadn't commanded 87 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:19,400 Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the 88 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,720 law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could 89 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:26,280 understand what they heard on the first day of the 7th month. 90 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,080 And he read from it, facing the square before the Watergate from 91 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,200 early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the 92 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,320 women and those who could understand. 93 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:39,320 And the ears of the people were attentive to the Book of the 94 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,400 Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a 95 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:44,880 wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. 96 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:49,920 And beside him stood Mattathaya, Shima, Anaya, Uriah, Hilkiah, 97 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:54,560 and Mehasaya on his right hand, and Padaya, Mishael, Malkaja, 98 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:58,800 Hashem, Hashpadana, Zechariah, and Mashulam on his left hand. 99 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,320 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he 100 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,920 was above all the people. And as he opened it, all the 101 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:10,760 people stood, And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all 102 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:15,680 the people answered Amen, Amen, lifting up their hands, and they 103 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:19,800 bowed their heads and worship the Lord with their faces to the 104 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:24,080 ground. Also Joshua Baney, Sharabaya 105 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:30,960 Jamin a cub, Shabbati Hodaya May Asaya Kalida Azariah, Josabad, 106 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,720 Hainan Pelaya. The Levites helped the people to 107 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:38,680 understand the law while the people remained in their places. 108 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:43,000 They read from the book, from the law of God clearly and they 109 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,240 gave the sense so that the people understood the reading. 110 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:50,280 And Nehemiah who was the governor, and Ezra the priest 111 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:53,480 and the scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to 112 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:59,120 all the people, this day is holy to the Lord your God, do not 113 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:02,640 mourn or weep. For all the people wept as they 114 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:06,800 heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, go your 115 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,680 way, eat the fat, drink sweet wine, and send portions to 116 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,600 anyone who has nothing ready. For this day is holy to our 117 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:18,360 Lord, and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your 118 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,240 strength. So the Levites calmed all the 119 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:25,000 people saying, Be quiet, for this day is holy, do not be 120 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,560 grieved. And all the people went their 121 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,560 way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great 122 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,040 rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were 123 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:37,760 declared to them. On the second day the heads of 124 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,920 fathers, houses of all the people, with the priests and the 125 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:44,400 Levites came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the 126 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,120 words of the law. And they found it written in the 127 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,240 law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of 128 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:53,240 Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the 7th 129 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:56,480 month, and that they should proclaim it and publish it in 130 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:58,640 all their towns and in Jerusalem. 131 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:02,680 Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, 132 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:06,280 Myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is 133 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:08,760 written. So the people went out and 134 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:11,680 brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, 135 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,480 and in their courts, and in the courts of the House of God. 136 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:17,440 And in the square at the Watergate, and in the square at 137 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:20,520 the gate of Ephraim. And all the assembly of those 138 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,840 who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived 139 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,360 in the booths. For from the days of Jeshua the 140 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,800 son of Nun to that day, the people of Israel had not done 141 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:32,480 so, and there was very great rejoicing. 142 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:37,080 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read 143 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:40,240 from the book of God, the book of the law of God. 144 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,600 They kept the feast 7 days, and on the 8th day there was a 145 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,400 solemn assembly according to the rule. 146 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,720 After having experienced the the discipline from the hand of the 147 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:59,840 Lord, now the people put God's Word back at the center of their 148 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:01,840 lives, the center of their worship. 149 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:06,120 And there are many benefits and blessings that come as we do 150 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:09,440 that as God's people. The first thing we see is that 151 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:14,080 God's word unifies us. Now when you read the history of 152 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,440 the of the Israelites, one of the most, the one of the most 153 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,120 terrifying statements that we read is at the end of the book 154 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:24,920 of Judges that says everyone did what was right in his own eyes. 155 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,680 And this is what led Israel into sin. 156 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:32,520 This is what led them to experiencing the discipline of 157 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:36,560 the hand of the Lord. They turned away from God and 158 00:09:36,560 --> 00:09:39,000 turned away from the blessings that came with it. 159 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,320 But here in Nehemiah, God's people desire once again to 160 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:46,480 center their lives on God's word and be unified in it. 161 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:51,040 Now God's word unifies us when we gather to hear the word. 162 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:52,720 That's what the Israelites were doing. 163 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,200 They were gathering together to hear the word. 164 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:57,160 We see this in verses one through 3. 165 00:09:57,560 --> 00:10:00,960 All the people gathered as one man into the square before the 166 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,120 Watergate, and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of 167 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:07,000 the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. 168 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,320 And so Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, 169 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:13,400 both men and women and all who could understand what they heard 170 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:15,120 on the first day of the 7th month. 171 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,640 And he read from it, facing the square before the Watergate, 172 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:21,960 from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and 173 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:23,680 the women and those who could understand. 174 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:28,000 And the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of 175 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,760 the Law. So they gather as one man, as 176 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:35,760 one body, as one unit, They come together. 177 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:41,080 And what do they come together? Unified in God's Word, they 178 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:44,360 asked Ezra to bring the book of the Law and to read it to them. 179 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:48,600 And so they're looking to be unified in God's Word. 180 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,120 And so Ezra reads the Word in everyone's ear, is attentive. 181 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,720 Everyone who could understand is here to listen to the Word of 182 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:02,080 God, and they are unified as they are reading the same word 183 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:05,120 of God. We're also unified when we 184 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:08,920 worship the Word. So God had given His Word, and 185 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:12,360 His Word pointed them and taught them about Him. 186 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:16,760 And so the hearing of the Word LED them to worship God the 187 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:18,680 Word. And I sort of got to play on 188 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:20,360 words there. We can pass forward to John 189 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:22,720 chapter 1. John tells us that that in the 190 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,440 beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word 191 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:28,880 was God. And so we worship the Word, but 192 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:31,040 we don't worship the words on this page. 193 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:34,280 We don't worship the Bible. The Bible points us to a living 194 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:37,240 God who is to be worshipped. Look at me with verses 4 through 195 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:39,680 6. Ezra the scribe stood on a 196 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:43,080 wooden platform that they had made for the purpose, and beside 197 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:48,200 him stood Marathiah, Shima, Anaya, Hilkiah, Mehsaya on his 198 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:52,360 right hand, Padaya, Michelle, Malkaja, Hashem Hashmadanah, 199 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:54,720 Zachariah, and Mashulam on his left hand. 200 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,400 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he 201 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,000 was above all the people. And as he opened it, all the 202 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,920 people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the 203 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,560 great God, and all the people answered. 204 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:09,400 Amen. Amen. 205 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:12,880 Lifting up their hands and they bowed, bowed their heads, and 206 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:16,280 worship the Lord with their faces to the ground. 207 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,480 So as Ezra stands in the presence of all the people with, 208 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:22,880 with the leaders on his right hand and the readers on his 209 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:26,280 left, the the leaders on his left hand, he reads the word and 210 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:31,120 he worships the word. He worships God as they are 211 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,760 unified together. Now the reason this is so 212 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:39,280 important is because God's Word teaches us who God is and how He 213 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:42,320 is to be worshipped. And so we need to be unified in 214 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,720 God's Word so that we can worship Him rightly. 215 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:51,440 We're also unified when we understand the Word. 216 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:55,360 Look at verses 7 and 8. Now we see Ezra has been reading 217 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:58,800 the law, but now leaders begin to go out and teach the law. 218 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:05,120 Verse 7 and 8 also Joshua Baini Sharabaya Jamin Akab Shabbathi 219 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:10,720 Hodaya Mehsaya Kalida Azariah, Josephad Hainan Pelaya. 220 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:15,880 The Levites helped the people to understand the law while the 221 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,960 people remained in their places. They read from the book, from 222 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,960 the law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense that there's 223 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:26,040 this idea of like line by line, paragraph by paragraph. 224 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:30,440 They gave them the sense so that they understood the reading. 225 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,440 And so notice Ezra doesn't just read the book and then they 226 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:35,680 leave without any application, right? 227 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:39,400 They come to read the word, to worship the Word so that they 228 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:41,960 understand the Word, so that they can what? 229 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:47,640 Obey. Understanding leads to 230 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:50,480 obedience. We can't obey if we don't 231 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,520 understand. And so in all of these things, 232 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:58,560 hearing the Word, worshipping the Word, and understanding the 233 00:13:58,560 --> 00:14:03,840 Word, they are unified together as they seek as one man to bring 234 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:09,000 glory and honour to God. We see this unity, the same kind 235 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:13,320 of devotion to God's Word in the early church, in the book of 236 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:15,760 Acts we read of the early church, and this is after 237 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:19,880 Jesus's life, his ministry, after he had died and rose again 238 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:21,880 and then ascended back to the Father. 239 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:26,200 The Holy Spirit came on all the people as they gathered together 240 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,640 and a huge crowd gathered to see what was going on. 241 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:33,000 And this was the perfect time for Peter to preach this sermon, 242 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,520 this popular sermon, this, this infamous sermon that he preached 243 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:40,960 leading about 1003 thousand people to joining God's family. 244 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,800 And we know that that there were people from all over the place, 245 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,040 different nationalities, different Jews from different 246 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:50,600 locations, but also Gentiles and proselytes and, and outsiders 247 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:54,640 who had come to Jerusalem. And now this is all parts of 248 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,400 this 3000 people that come to faith in Christ. 249 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:00,440 Well, all these different people from different backgrounds 250 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,960 coming together. How are they going to be unified 251 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:04,760 with all these different backgrounds? 252 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,720 How are they going to be unified with all these different 253 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:11,920 different characteristics and traits and personalities and and 254 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,120 histories? How are they going to be unified 255 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,080 by keeping God's word at the center? 256 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:21,120 Acts 2 verse 42 says, and they devoted themselves to the 257 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,640 apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of 258 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:28,200 bread and the prayers. How did all these people stay 259 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:32,560 unified in God's Word? As the apostles faithfully 260 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:37,000 taught God's Word and how the coming of Christ fulfilled all 261 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,480 of the Old Testament, the people were unified. 262 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,040 It didn't matter what background they came from, because they 263 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:47,800 were centered on God's Word. And we too will be unified when 264 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:50,240 we do this. When we put God's Word at the 265 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:54,320 center of all that we do, we will be unified. 266 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:58,920 And that is exactly what we are seeking to do here at LEMC. 267 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:04,480 We believe that God the Father working through his word by God, 268 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:08,960 the Spirit will transform us into the image of God the Son. 269 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:14,960 Therefore, God's word is the emphasis of everything that we 270 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,120 do as a church. Maybe you've been coming here 271 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:19,640 for a while or even just this morning. 272 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:20,640 Just take a look at this morning. 273 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:25,400 We begin with the word of God. We we pray God's word. 274 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:28,360 There's Scripture reading throughout our worship. 275 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,360 There's scripture reading as we study and read the Bible, 276 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,640 there's scripture in our prayers that when when our children 277 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:39,880 meet, our meeting right now, they are studying God's Word, a 278 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:42,400 curriculum that is based on God's Word. 279 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,200 When our youth meet throughout the week, they're going through 280 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:49,080 curriculums based on God's Word. When we meet on Wednesday night, 281 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,760 we come together to study God's Word together. 282 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:58,400 God's Word informs everything that we do, and we are trying to 283 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:03,520 be unified by keeping God's word at the center of everything that 284 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,800 we do. But how about you? 285 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,040 Is God's word at the center of your life? 286 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:15,319 Is God's because it, it, it takes everybody, right? 287 00:17:16,319 --> 00:17:19,040 If, if a few people are centered on God's word and they're trying 288 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:21,200 to bring everybody else along, that doesn't work, right? 289 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:24,480 The, the whole goal of why Ezra was teaching the law is so that 290 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:26,640 everybody could know it and obey it. 291 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:29,560 And so each and every one of us needs to be putting God at the 292 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,880 center, God's word at the center of our lives so that when we 293 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:34,920 come together, we're unified in it. 294 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:38,200 And so I'd encourage you, if, if you're not spending time daily 295 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:40,400 in God's Word, we would encourage you to do that. 296 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,000 One way that we do encourage our church to do that is through our 297 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,480 Bible reading plan. If you already have a Bible 298 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:47,360 reading plan that you're going through, that's totally fine. 299 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:49,440 But if you don't, we would really encourage you to grab a, 300 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:52,640 a booklet that you'll find over there by the water fountain and 301 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:55,480 it takes you through the year. Here's a Bible reading for five 302 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:58,080 days of the week. And, and we believe so much in 303 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,280 the power of God's Word that we want to encourage each other to 304 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:04,160 be in it daily, that it can transform us and unify us in 305 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,520 Christ. And when we put God's word at 306 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:10,400 the center of our lives and our life as a church, we will be 307 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,680 unified. The next benefit that comes from 308 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,680 putting God's word at the center is that God's word transforms 309 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:19,360 us. The Israelites were now putting 310 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:23,400 God's word back at the center and God begins to transform his 311 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,000 people. And I heard a quote this week as 312 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,880 I was watching a social media clip and and he was talking 313 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,200 about God's word. And it says these texts are not 314 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:35,240 designed to be mastered. They master you. 315 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,560 We don't come to God's word to come to some sort of theological 316 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,760 degree or, or so that I can put letters behind my name. 317 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:47,560 I come to God's Word to be transformed, that his Word 318 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:51,440 masters my life. And that's what we're looking 319 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:52,240 for. We're looking for 320 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:55,840 transformation. And what I want to play on is 321 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:58,000 something I heard one of my professors talk about in our 322 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,920 classes is the piercing comfort of God's Word. 323 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:05,760 That's what we're going to see here as we look at Nehemiah and 324 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:07,640 in these people as they hear God's Word. 325 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,320 On the one hand, when we read God's Word, you all have 326 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:13,960 experienced this, right? It pierces your heart because it 327 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,920 exposes your sins. But on the other hand, God's 328 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:22,160 Word comforts and soothes with the truth of how we can be 329 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,840 forgiven through Christ and how we can have a relationship with 330 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:27,880 God. And so that's what we're going 331 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:31,000 to see. The Israelites were transformed 332 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:35,320 by piercing. Look at verse 9 and Nehemiah who 333 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:38,480 was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the 334 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:42,400 Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, this day 335 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:47,480 is holy to the Lord your God, do not mourn or weep, for all the 336 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,480 people wept as they heard the words of the law. 337 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:57,480 As Ezra is reading, their hearts are pierced with the truth that 338 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,960 they have been disobedient to God's word, that they have 339 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:05,800 failed to live their lives in a way that is holy before God. 340 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,880 And their hearts are pierced of this truth. 341 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:12,680 As Ezra read the law, that that's the five Old Testament 342 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:14,840 books, right? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 343 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:19,080 Numbers, Deuteronomy, the Torah. As as Ezra read this, what did 344 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:20,440 they read? They read what we're reading 345 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:21,760 right now in our Bible reading plan. 346 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:25,680 They're reading of how God saved his people from Egypt. 347 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:31,120 These 10 miraculous powerful signs, how He called them and 348 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:34,560 saved them to Himself. They were reminded of how God 349 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:38,320 walked with them for 40 years in the wilderness, giving them 350 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:42,480 everything that they needed. They were reminded of how God 351 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,880 had helped them defeat all of their enemies as they came into 352 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:49,200 the Promised Land. God had been faithful to do 353 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:52,000 everything He said He was going to do. 354 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,760 And as these Israelites are listening to Ezra read all these 355 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,720 stories of their faith, their hearts were pierced with the 356 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:02,920 conviction that they had disobeyed God. 357 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:09,840 As they were reminded of God's goodness toward them and how 358 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:14,280 they had failed to follow Him, their hearts were transformed 359 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:18,040 through piercing. But then something unexpected 360 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,560 happened, right? The Israelites were transformed 361 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,840 by comfort. Rather than experiencing the 362 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,560 judgement of God. They are comforted. 363 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,080 Look at what the leaders say to them next. 364 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,240 Go your way. Verse 10. 365 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:36,320 Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who 366 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:39,920 has nothing ready. For this day is holy to our 367 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:44,680 Lord, and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your 368 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:47,440 strength. So the Levites calmed all the 369 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,760 people saying, be quiet. For this day is holy, do not be 370 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:53,040 grieved. And all the people went their 371 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:56,880 way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great 372 00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:59,960 rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were 373 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:04,160 declared to them. Now it is true that God had 374 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,920 disciplined them for their disobedience. 375 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:10,480 He had punished them because they were failing to walk in His 376 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:13,320 ways. But now we've been faithful to 377 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,440 bring them back, to rebuild the wall, to begin to reinstate 378 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:21,680 their worship, and now to center their community on God's Word. 379 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:26,480 And for that reason, Israel had gathered to celebrate God's 380 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,120 favor. That's why they were gathering 381 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:32,240 to celebrate, to rejoice in what God was doing. 382 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:35,920 And so the leaders are saying, don't mourn, don't weep. 383 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:41,400 The Lord is blessing us. Let's continue the celebration 384 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,720 at what God is doing. He is bringing us back to 385 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,720 Himself so that He can make His name great. 386 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,680 The joy of the Lord is your strength. 387 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:57,240 God isn't angry with His people. He is rejoicing that they are 388 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:01,400 turning back to Him in His ways to worship and obey Him. 389 00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:06,600 But as Israelites put God's Word at the center, God transforms 390 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,360 them through the piercing comfort of His Word. 391 00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:16,240 Throughout Jesus's ministry, He told many parables. 392 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:20,000 And one of the most incredible, incredible parables ever told 393 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,880 that we all know very well is the the parable of the Prodigal 394 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:25,520 Son. Here we have the story of a man 395 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,640 who has two sons. And this younger son comes up 396 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:32,280 and and he rejects his father. He doesn't want anything to do 397 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:34,120 with his father. He doesn't respect him. 398 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:36,720 He doesn't appreciate all that he has through his father. 399 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:40,120 He says, give me my inheritance and I'm out of here. 400 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:44,440 And he goes into a land, a country that is far away so that 401 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,080 he's far out of the reach of the hand of his father. 402 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,400 And he squanders every last penny that he has. 403 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,680 And that's exactly when a famine hits. 404 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:57,400 And so instead of at that point turning back to his father, he 405 00:23:57,400 --> 00:23:59,400 says, I got this. I can take care of myself. 406 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:01,800 And he begins to work feeding pigs. 407 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:05,560 And, and as he feeds the pigs, he's so hungry that he longs to 408 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:10,240 be fed with the pods that are given to the pigs, but no one 409 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:14,880 gives him anything. And finally he comes to himself 410 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:17,040 and he and he says, what am I doing? 411 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,920 What am I doing here when my father's servants are living 412 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,960 better than me? I'm going to go back to my 413 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:28,720 father and I'm going to repent and I'm going to ask him for his 414 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,120 favor. But I'm not going to say you, 415 00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:32,800 you should reject me as your son. 416 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:34,440 I'll just be one of your servants. 417 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,080 And so Luke that chapter 15 speaks of this parable. 418 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,160 He says, and he arose, and he came to his father, but while he 419 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,960 was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt 420 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:49,680 compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 421 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:54,520 And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and 422 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,040 before you. I am no longer worthy to be 423 00:24:57,040 --> 00:24:59,560 called your son. But the Father said to his 424 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:04,280 servants, Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put 425 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:08,320 a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring the fattened 426 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:12,320 calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 427 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:16,800 For this my son was dead and is alive again. 428 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:23,200 He is lost and is found. And they began to celebrate. 429 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,720 The son had been pierced with the reality that he had sinned 430 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:34,080 against his father, but he was not met with the judgement that 431 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:37,200 he expected. Instead, he was comforted with 432 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,080 the joy of his father, who had been eagerly waiting for and 433 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:47,280 praying for his son's return. Maybe you're like the prodigal 434 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:52,360 son at the beginning of the story who you reject God. 435 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,480 You want nothing to do with God and his goodness. 436 00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,280 You don't care anything for his provision. 437 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,000 And maybe you think God is just some evil God who's standing up 438 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,880 there who wants to put all these ridiculous restrictions on our 439 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,320 lives and he has nothing but evil intended for us. 440 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:13,720 And you don't see God as a good thing or a good person or a good 441 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:18,000 God, that he wants to punish you. 442 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:23,000 He's mad at you. Now, it is true that God does 443 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:28,480 hate our sin. It is true that God pierces our 444 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:31,200 hearts through the exposing of our sin. 445 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:35,760 But it's because He knows that your sin will leave you broken 446 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:40,280 and hurt. He wants what's best for you. 447 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,480 And so He wants you to come and find comfort in Him, in a 448 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:48,560 relationship with Him, so that he can satisfy you with His 449 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:53,600 goodness. Turn to Him today and you won't 450 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:57,520 find an angry, judgmental God. You will find a God who has open 451 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,640 arms and wants to welcome you and give you the joy of His 452 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:04,000 presence. Maybe you're like the prodigal 453 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,760 son and you already have been pierced with the reality of your 454 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:11,760 sin. Know that you cannot make it on 455 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,880 your own, though you try. You try to to make your life 456 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:16,720 perfect. I know that I just got to get my 457 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,200 life together and then I can come to God. 458 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:23,680 That is not possible. There is no way that we can 459 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:28,960 atone for all our sins. The minute you think you restore 460 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:32,640 and reinstate all the bad from one sin, you've committed 10 461 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:37,160 more. We cannot earn God's favor. 462 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:44,800 Turn to God. Don't think that you have to 463 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,160 make yourself right before you come back to Him. 464 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:52,320 He is the one who restores you. He is the one who makes you holy 465 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:55,120 and righteous as you turn back to Him. 466 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:02,080 Friend, God loves you. He desires what is best for you. 467 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,720 He doesn't want to punish you, He wants to forgive you. 468 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,240 He wants to clothe you in the righteousness of Christ and 469 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:14,560 celebrate with you. Psalm 1O3 says He does not deal 470 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:18,320 with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our 471 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:20,680 iniquities. For as high as the heavens are 472 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:24,960 above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who 473 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:29,640 fear Him, as far as the east is from the West, so far does He 474 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:31,520 remove our transgressions from us. 475 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:36,960 Turn to God in humble confession and repentance, confessing your 476 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:40,040 sins. Believe that God paid for your 477 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:44,640 sins through Christ on the cross by sending to Jesus, by sending 478 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:47,240 Jesus to die for you. If you repent of your sins and 479 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:50,160 put your faith in Christ, you will be saved. 480 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,280 For the believers here this morning, if you are a part of 481 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:01,400 God's family, you must recognize that I've already said that you 482 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,600 need to be in God's word every day. 483 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:07,160 And it's challenging, right? When we read God's Word, it 484 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:11,560 pierces our hearts, it exposes our sin. 485 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:16,560 But that's where we need to run time and time again to the cross 486 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:20,720 and be reminded of God's sacrifice for us, That through 487 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:24,200 Christ we are righteous. Not through obeying the law, 488 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:28,080 through faith in Christ, we are made righteous, and God's Word 489 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:33,600 comforts us with that truth. This is the transforming power 490 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,320 of God's Word as we put it at the center. 491 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:40,680 And so when we put God's Word at the center, it unifies us, it 492 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:46,840 transforms us, and it grows us. God's Word grows us as the 493 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:49,960 Israelites came, as they put God's Word at the center. 494 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,640 This is what we begin to see as God's people come to their work, 495 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:56,480 to His Word. He grows them so that they can 496 00:29:56,480 --> 00:30:01,520 be more faithful to Him. It grows us as we study God's 497 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:04,120 Word together. Look at me at verse 13 through 498 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,480 15. On the second day the heads of 499 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:10,240 fathers, houses of all the people, with the priests and the 500 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:14,160 Levites, came together to Ezra the Scribe in order to study the 501 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,800 words of the Law. And they found it written in the 502 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:19,520 law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of 503 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,520 Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the 7th 504 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,760 month, and that they should proclaim it and publish it all 505 00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:28,960 in their towns and in Jerusalem. Go out to the hills and bring 506 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:33,440 branches of olive, wild olive, Myrtle, palm, and other leafy 507 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,440 trees to make booths as it is written. 508 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:38,120 And So what do we see at the beginning of this passage? 509 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,840 We see at the beginning of this passage all the heads of the 510 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:45,560 Father's houses come together to study with the Levites and with 511 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:49,080 Ezra. Notice that the the studying of 512 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:52,440 God's law isn't reserved just for the leaders, it's for all 513 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:54,800 the men of the houses. Why? 514 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:58,320 Well, Israel wasn't all living in Jerusalem all the time, so 515 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:00,920 they couldn't just come together and learn from the describe all 516 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,240 the time. These men needed to study and 517 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:06,040 know God's Word so they could take it back to their families 518 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,720 in these other countries, in these other places, and teach 519 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:12,040 their families. That's how God's Word was. 520 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:15,480 That's how they had unity. They taught their families God's 521 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:18,680 Word together. And as they studied God's Word 522 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:25,720 together, God grew them. Next, God's word grows us as we 523 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:30,080 obey God's word together. So as we saw, they studied God's 524 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:33,520 Word and they realized, hey, we need to make booths because 525 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:35,400 that's what God's Word says. It says that we need to 526 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:37,200 celebrate on the 50th day of this month. 527 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:39,800 We need to celebrate the Feast of Booths and we need to make 528 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:43,160 booths to live in. And this is a reminder of God 529 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,800 walking with His people through the wilderness. 530 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:50,080 Look at verse 16 through 18. So we see their obedience. 531 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:53,280 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for 532 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:56,320 themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts, and in the 533 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:59,120 courts of the House of God, and in the square at the Watergate, 534 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:01,120 and in the square at the gate of Ephraim. 535 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:04,000 And all the assembly of those who had returned from the 536 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,600 captivity made booths and lived in the booths. 537 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:09,880 For from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun, to that day, the 538 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:12,040 people of Israel had not done so. 539 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:14,800 And there was very great rejoicing. 540 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,640 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read 541 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:22,520 from the book of the law of God. They kept the feast 7 days, and 542 00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:26,120 on the 8th day there was a solemn assembly according to the 543 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:28,280 rule. And so we see the Israelites 544 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:30,960 obeying God's Word. It says that we should make 545 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:33,240 booths. So they immediately go out and 546 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:35,080 get these branches. So they come and they make 547 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,640 booths. And what is the result of 548 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:42,600 obedience to God's Word? Rejoicing, they rejoiced 549 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:46,640 together that they were unified in God's Word and obeying Him. 550 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:53,520 Faithful to His commands, God used His Word to grow His people 551 00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:56,160 as they studied and obeyed together. 552 00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:58,880 And I already mentioned the early church in the book of 553 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:01,160 Acts. We see this exact same thing 554 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:03,400 there. We already saw how they devoted 555 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:05,920 themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, 556 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:07,720 to the breaking of bread and prayers. 557 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:10,120 They devoted themselves to God's Word. 558 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:13,840 And what did God begin to do in them as they devoted themselves 559 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:17,600 to His Word? Look at verse 43 through 47. 560 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:23,400 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were 561 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:26,360 being done through the apostles, and all who believed were 562 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:28,560 together and had all things in common. 563 00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:31,400 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and 564 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:34,720 distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. 565 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:38,440 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking 566 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,760 bread in their homes, they received their food with glad 567 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:45,640 and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all 568 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:47,960 the people. And the Lord added to their 569 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:52,760 number day by day. Those who were being saved as 570 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:55,800 the early church devoted themselves to God's Word. 571 00:33:55,800 --> 00:34:00,120 As they put God's Word at the center of all that they did, we 572 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:03,120 see God working in powerful ways to grow them. 573 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:08,560 He united them in their worship. He transformed them by them 574 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:11,239 working in their hearts and them serving each other through 575 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:16,920 incredible sacrificial acts. We grew them in number as souls 576 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,760 came to faith in Christ through their message. 577 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:24,639 And so God grew them as they experienced joy in unifying 578 00:34:24,639 --> 00:34:26,880 themselves together on God's word. 579 00:34:28,159 --> 00:34:31,400 And as a church, this is just again, such a good reminder for 580 00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:35,120 us that we have to keep God's word at the center of all that 581 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:38,679 we do. I know I, I've had, I've had 582 00:34:38,679 --> 00:34:40,040 this question asked to me before. 583 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:43,120 Well, what, how, how, what are you guys doing that your church 584 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:45,920 has grown? And I always say to them the 585 00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:49,320 same thing. It's I don't know, I nothing. 586 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:51,440 I mean, the answer is we're focusing on God's word. 587 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:53,560 That's the answer. But what they're expecting me to 588 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:56,440 say is, oh, we have this really great, neat strategy. 589 00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:59,440 If you go to any conference today, a church growth strategy, 590 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:01,520 what they're going to tell you is that you need to find a 591 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:03,800 certain demographic of the people in your community that 592 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,640 you need to target and you need to go after those people and you 593 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:09,240 need to share the gospel with them so that your church is full 594 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:12,280 of 45 year old people who have a wife and two kids and a white 595 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:16,000 picket fence and A2 story home brothers and sisters. 596 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:20,640 That's not the gospel. The gospel is a good news of 597 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:26,120 salvation for all people. And so we run astray when we 598 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:28,400 don't put God's Word at the center of what we do as a 599 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:30,680 church. We want to center everything 600 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:34,440 that we do on God's Word. That's the only reason that we 601 00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:36,920 have grown as a church is because we're centering what we 602 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:40,560 do on God's Word. And God's people are coming 603 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:43,240 together and they're finding sort of my experience when we 604 00:35:43,240 --> 00:35:46,120 attended this church as we visited last week, you go to 605 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,480 these churches and you're like, this seems very shallow. 606 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:51,760 And so people are coming here because we're centering on the 607 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:55,520 truth of God's Word. And that's what's going to grow 608 00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:57,720 us. And our primary concern is not 609 00:35:57,720 --> 00:36:00,960 to grow in number. I know Jake talks about this all 610 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:03,200 the time, that we want to be a people of relationship. 611 00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:06,200 We want to go deep. We want to love the Lord our God 612 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:07,960 with all our heart, soul, and mind and strength. 613 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:10,280 We want to love our neighbor as ourself. 614 00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:12,280 We want to grow in a relationship with one another, 615 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:16,240 and then we want our community to experience the joy and the 616 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:18,920 fellowship of having a relationship with God and one 617 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:22,120 another. And we only want that growth as 618 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:26,880 it comes through God's Word. And so we need to center all 619 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:30,200 that we do on God's Word, and that's how we're going to grow. 620 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:32,920 And so you'll see that as we meet on Wednesday nights, as we 621 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:35,880 meet on Sunday nights, again, as I already mentioned, we come 622 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:39,240 together to study God's Word and to know Him better. 623 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,480 That's what we do. And as we commit to studying and 624 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:46,280 knowing God's Word, and through obedience, God will grow us. 625 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:50,520 Now this begs the question, why is God's Word so important? 626 00:36:52,240 --> 00:36:54,240 And in our church Bible reading plan, we've been going through 627 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:56,840 Exodus. And after delivering his people 628 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:00,320 out of Egypt with a strong and mighty hand, God brings them to 629 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:02,320 a mountain. And he tells them, You 630 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:05,920 yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore 631 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:08,440 you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. 632 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,840 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my 633 00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:16,560 covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all 634 00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:21,280 the peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me 635 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,640 a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation. 636 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:26,480 These are the words that you shall speak to the people of 637 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:29,520 Israel. God commands His people to obey 638 00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:35,160 them because He saved them. Then God gives them, He begins 639 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:37,920 to give them instructions on how to build a Tabernacle, to build 640 00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:41,160 an ark, a table for the bread, a golden lampstand, and then all 641 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:44,400 these articles, these priestly garments that they're to wear. 642 00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:48,480 Why all these rules? There are a lot of instructions. 643 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:55,080 And then God even says in Exodus 25 verse 9, exactly, exactly as 644 00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:58,320 I show you concerning the pattern of the Tabernacle and of 645 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:00,920 all its furniture, so you shall make it. 646 00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:06,480 Why is God so concerned about their exact obedience to His 647 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:10,160 Word? The answer is in is right the 648 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:13,480 verse before. Let them make me a sanctuary, 649 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:20,640 that I may dwell in their midst. God wants to dwell with His 650 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:24,760 people, but He can't because of their sin. 651 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:29,720 And so he sets up this system of worship so that so that their 652 00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:32,960 sins can be atoned for, so that they can be a holy people in his 653 00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,560 presence and he can dwell among them. 654 00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:42,800 But now Christ has come through his life, his death, his 655 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,080 resurrection, He's fulfilled all of the purposes of these 656 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:49,440 ceremonies and these statutes and these these laws and these 657 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:52,440 feasts and festivals. All of these things point us to 658 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:54,960 Christ, and He fulfills all of them. 659 00:38:56,200 --> 00:38:58,480 And through His death, through His life, through His 660 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:00,640 resurrection, He's defeated our enemies. 661 00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:04,840 He's defeated sin and death. He has saved us through His 662 00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:10,120 sacrifice and through faith. We are now righteous, and His 663 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:15,560 Spirit can dwell in our hearts. You see, that's the storyline of 664 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:17,320 the Bible. In the Garden of Eden, God 665 00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:20,760 dwells with his people, but because of sin, they're kicked 666 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:23,560 out of the garden. And all the rest of Scripture is 667 00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:27,360 God trying to come back to dwell among his people. 668 00:39:28,240 --> 00:39:31,160 And now we live in the day and age of Christ, where now God 669 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:35,320 dwells in US. It's not God's presence in a 670 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,320 cloud around us. It's God's presence in our 671 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:41,160 hearts. And one day we will be fully in 672 00:39:41,160 --> 00:39:47,360 his presence, holy, blameless, righteous, never to weep or cry 673 00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:49,760 or mourn or be in pain ever again. 674 00:39:51,440 --> 00:39:56,200 Therefore, brothers and sisters, because of the sacrifice of 675 00:39:56,200 --> 00:40:02,040 Christ, it should be our joy, our longing, our greatest 676 00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:07,040 desire. To obey Him, we should long to 677 00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:11,240 be pleasing to the God who saved us, seeking to bring glory and 678 00:40:11,240 --> 00:40:13,200 honor to His name for His greatness. 679 00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:17,520 But in order to do that, we must put His Word at the center. 680 00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:22,800 We must meditate on His Word day and night so that we can know 681 00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:26,360 it, so that we can obey Him. And when we are faithful to do 682 00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:31,520 that, He will unify us, He will transform us, and He will grow 683 00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:37,800 us. 1st Corinthians 6 verse 19 and 20 says, or do you not know 684 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:41,680 that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom 685 00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:45,320 you have from God? You are not your own, for you 686 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:49,200 were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 687 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:54,680 Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your 688 00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:58,360 salvation, for your redemption through Christ our Savior. 689 00:40:58,720 --> 00:41:01,720 We thank you that you have saved us from sin. 690 00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:05,640 We thank you that you have given us the hope of eternal life and 691 00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:09,680 we no longer need to fear death. There is no condemnation for 692 00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:12,560 those who are in Christ. And so now we look forward with 693 00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:16,800 joyful expectation at eternity in your presence. 694 00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:20,440 And Lord, we pray that through the power of your Spirit that 695 00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:22,560 you would strengthen us to be obedient to Your Word. 696 00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:25,920 We know that we cannot do it in our own strength, in our own 697 00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:27,480 flesh. And so, Lord, we pray that your 698 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:31,120 Spirit would drive us to Your Word on a daily basis, 699 00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:34,840 meditating on it day and night, that we may be pleasing to you. 700 00:41:35,440 --> 00:41:38,520 And we ask, Lord, that as we do that, that you would unify us as 701 00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:41,960 your church, that you would transform us, and that you would 702 00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:45,160 grow us in the likeness of our Savior Jesus Christ, in whose 703 00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:46,520 name we pray. Amen.