Joy IS the Revival!!! (Part 1 of 3)

Nehemiah was an interesting character. He was a royal cupbearer, literally this dude got to taste wine for the king he served. Sounds like a pretty sweet gig, right? Well, not so much. With every sip his life could hang in the balance if someone had poisoned the cup. He was the last layer of defense.

He was serving 800 miles from his homeland when he received notice that his people were in disgrace and shame (Nehemiah 1:1-3) As they return from exile the walls of protection are broken down and the gates are destroyed by fire. Upon hearing this Nehemiah weeps and mourns and prays with fasting before the Lord for days this Scripture says (Neh. 1:4).

His prayer is interesting… He appeals to God who keeps covenant with steadfast love and offers repentance for how he and his people have sinned. He does this before any external circumstances change. God is still keeping covenant, for he made a promise years ago (Genesis 12:1-3 & Isaiah 7:14) to provide one who would pay for all sin and provide life eternal for those who come confessing their sins with repentance. The result is joy that is impenetrable and inexpressibly filled with hope, the enduring hope of Jesus, by His Spirit with us.

The Joy of the Lord is our strength ONLY because of the Grace of Jesus 

We live in challenging times, as did Nehemiah, with those returning from exile who were crushed in despair and grief over what they saw. We too, perhaps understandably, may be standing at the edge of grief and despair. How did Nehemiah (and Ezra the scribe) do it? How did they encourage the people to believe the truth that the joy of the Lord is our strength(Neh. 8:10)? 

I'd like to suggest three heart-anchoring truths from Nehemiah 8:1-18. Today, tomorrow and Wednesday we will explore them. They are: All understood, All rejoiced, and the people were All in. 

Nehemiah 8:1-8 describes the situation in detail. The people had just finished bringing voluntary offerings and rebuilding the wall that surrounded their city. Ezra began reading from the book of the law that had been long since forgotten. He read it from "early morning till midday..." (all you sermon length complainers out there be thankful Ezra wasn't rocking the pulpit of your local church). Curiously, four times in 8 verses we see the word "understand, understood." 

Warren Wiersebe once said, "God's word must be understood before it can enter the heart and release its life-changing power." God's Word is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12) in His people. In fact, these people were so riveted by the Word being read aloud that length (Neh. 8:3), fatigue (Neh. 8:5) and sheer numbers did not discourage them! 

Their response:

1. "Amen, Amen..." literally meaning, so be it. That is a faith filled response! 
2. "...lifting up their hands. And bowed their heads and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground." A HUMBLE and WORSHIPFUL response to the power and authority of God's word when understanding of it happened!!! 

What about you? What keeps you from understanding the Word? 

• Is it busyness (well thats slowed way down, "Thank you God."). 
• Sin? 
• What does Jesus teach us in Matthew 13:1-23 about understanding His Word and the results in our lives?