Nehemiah 8:1-18

Join me in the book of Nehemiah, chapter 8.

Nehemiah 8 · chapter mention

We are once again taking another break from our study of the book of Romans, and I must tell you why we are doing so once again.

I find that it's not good for the preaching of a church to follow every cultural whim, to bounce from one topic to another as the zeitgeist of

social media chaos dictates. We could just go from thing to thing to thing.

But something has been going on in our country that deserves some particular attention because of its particular spiritual claims.

On February 8th, at a small private school in Kentucky called Asbury University, a chapel service met beyond its intended conclusion and with little break is continuing to meet even today.

Now, as a little aside, I saw an announcement that they're planning on bringing the meetings to a close and restricting the time and who can attend.

This event, though, is being widely referred to as the Asbury Revival.

And so with the limited amount of time that we will spend together this morning, I want us to think biblically together about what constitutes a revival.

I think probably most of us in the room have seen or heard something of this.

If not for you, then I imagine your social media threads are more fun than mine.

I will not make any comments concerning the events at Asbury.

I think it's a little early to make many comments about it, to give it a really solid assessment.

I want to say just simply this concerning the Asbury Revival that I find it concerning.

I will gladly be proven wrong, and I am praying that it bears much fruit.

I would just be happy to have all of my concerns put to rest.

But I am concerned.

If you'd like to know more about the particulars of that, I'd be happy to speak with you later.

But what I want to do this morning is help us, not so that we can be critical or affirming.

I'm not trying to arm you to get on your social media threads and make pithy comments one way or the other.

But so that we can carefully assess claims made in the place in which we live.

This is a far removed thing from us, but we will need to make assessments of things like this in our day.

We need to be a discerning people.

In fact, we're instructed to be a discerning people.

Many people would say, don't be critical of things that you're saying.

But John instructs us in 1 John 4 and verse 1, beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirit to see whether they are from God.

For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

We're told to be discerning and careful.

Did you know, for example, that there is a church in Dawsonville that claims to be the home of the North Georgia Revival?

This is an event that has been going on now for some years.

Maybe, and I hope that you've been insulated from this, that you're likely to encounter people who would believe these claims.

How are we supposed to think about these kinds of things?

Now, we can't have a problem of definition when we think about revival.

What is meant by that term, revival?

It is used in the scriptures, the reviving of things, dead things made alive, or sick things made well.

But culturally, a lot of things may pop into your mind when you hear this term.

I once attended a conference for a job I held, not by choice, I was forced to go, that claimed, right, on their introductory statement, on literature that was handed out,

we are about to have a good old-fashioned Holy Spirit revival.

Seemed a bit lackluster to me as I attended.

A revival is not an event put on a calendar and planned for.

We do not have the power to bring revival about, nor the power to stop it from happening.

Just this week, a man said to me, I suggested that I think that if revival were to come to our nation, that it would come through the church.

Just an opinion of mine.

That would come through faithful preaching, week in, week out, in a church.

And his response was, yeah, but what if the church doesn't want revival?

And I said, well, I know some churches that do, and we don't have the power to stop it.

Revival is a sovereign work of the Spirit of God.

Making things new.

Bringing life where there was death.

Bringing wellness where there was sickness.

Andrew Murray once wrote, a true revival means nothing less than a revolution.

Casting out the spirit of worldliness.

Making God's love triumph in the heart.

J.I. Packer once said, revival is God's quickening visitation of his people.

Touching their hearts and deepening his work of grace in their lives.

We want to be clear-minded about what revival is and who brings about revival.

It is a sovereign work of the Spirit of God.

But what kind of filters do we need to assess something claiming to be a revival?

These filters should not be based on our experience.

Our thought.

It felt like revival.

Therefore, it must be revival.

It's not a way that God's people should think.

We should rather hold it up to the lens of the Word of God.

That's an issue of the sufficiency of Scripture.

You probably have experienced this in your social media threads.

Much opinion.

Very little Bible.

The Bible is sufficient to help us understand what is and what isn't a work of the Spirit of God.

Paul writes in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16 and 17.

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

Right?

It is an inspired word.

It is inerrant.

It is authoritative.

And then verse 17 says that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Which includes the work of discerning the spirits.

Putting them to the test.

Seeing if something claimed to be a move of God is actually a move of God.

We find, give or take your opinion of it, ten revivals in the Scriptures.

And we're going to look at one of them together today.

And I just normatively don't like doing this, although I do from time to time.

Yesterday, took a big turn from a plan, from a prepared sermon, to do this instead.

I spent four and a half hours watching video of the events happening in Asbury and pulled this together from Nehemiah chapter 8.

Nehemiah 8 · chapter mention

So I hope it will serve us helpfully in these coming moments.

Let me give you an outline quickly and I'll reiterate this as we press on before I read the chapter, Nehemiah 8.

These are evidences of God-sent revival we can find in our text.

If revival is God-sent, God's people will, number one, be praying.

Number two, they will reestablish the Word of God as the ultimate authority in their lives.

Number three, they will recognize their defiance of God and view His chastisement as just.

And number four, they will turn from their defiance to obedience.

They will be praying, the Word of God will be exalted,

and they will be repenting and believing.

So Nehemiah chapter 8.

Nehemiah 8 · chapter mention

Beloved, this is God's Word to us, written for His glory and our good.

We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.

Nehemiah 8.

And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the water gate.

And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.

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.

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.

And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose.

And beside him stood six men to his right hand.

For the time and embarrassment, I'll skip their names.

And seven men to his left hand.

Verse 5.

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.

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 worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Verse 7.

Also, 13 men, not all the exact same, and Levites,

helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places.

They read from the book, from the law of God, clearly.

And they gave the sense that the people understood the reading.

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.

For all the people wept as they heard the words of the law.

Then he said to them,

Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine,

and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready.

For this day is holy to our Lord.

And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

So the Levites calmed all the people, saying,

Be quiet, for this day is holy.

Do not be grieved.

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.

On the second day, the heads of fathers' houses of all the people,

with the priests and the Levites,

came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law.

And they found it written in the law that the Lord had commanded by Moses

that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seven month,

and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem,

go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm,

and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.

So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves,

each on his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God,

and in the square at the water gate, and in the square at the gate of Ephraim.

And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity

made booths and lived in the booths.

For from the days of Jeshua, the son of Nun,

to that day the people of Israel had not done so.

And there was very great rejoicing.

And day by day, from the first day to the last day,

he read from the book of the law of God.

They kept the feast seven days,

and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly,

according to the rule.

Now, a little background for this chapter.

It makes some more sense to us.

In the book of Nehemiah so far, in chapter one,

we see Nehemiah introduced as the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes,

who was the ruler of Persia.

Persia had overthrown the Babylonian empire,

and the Babylonians had carried the Israelites off to captivity.

So this is the returning, this is the post-exilic period of the biblical narrative.

In chapter one, we see that God brings news of the state of Jerusalem.

It's in disrepair.

The walls are still torn down from that Babylonian attack.

And therefore, God's people were in a state of disrepair.

A couple of waves had been sent back,

and Nehemiah is grieved by this.

Not so much because the city is not intact,

because the well-being of God's people is not intact.

So, Nehemiah is moved to pray for the situation,

and God had placed Nehemiah in a very unique position

to be trusted by King Artaxerxes as his cupbearer, right?

The one who tasted his wine to see whether or not it was poisoned.

King Artaxerxes gives permission to Nehemiah.

That's why he's troubled and gives him permission to return back

against an edict he himself had given

to do the rebuilding of the wall.

Nehemiah chapter one and verse eight records,

for the good hand of God was upon him.

So, Nehemiah has returned to Jerusalem.

He's observed the wall.

He's reported to the people

God's sovereign goodness for the task.

We see roughly 30,000 to 50,000 people,

Israelites living in the land in this day.

And the beginning of the building of the wall

has taken place.

The Israelites worked in the face of opposition,

for God had given them, chapter four and verse six,

a mind to work.

And then before we get to chapter eight,

the work is completed.

It took 52 days, an astounding feat.

And the surrounding nations are now afraid,

chapter six and verse 16,

for they perceived that this work

had been accomplished with the help of our God.

And so much good has already begun.

There's a lot happening with God's good favor

leading up to this place.

You could say that maybe the seedbed for revival

was already being laid and prepared,

but yet we see here in chapter eight,

a particular fervency, the pace picks up.

And so let's think about these four points together

as we observe this chapter in the life of Israel.

So number one, if revival is God sent,

God's people will be praying.

And we have not studied all of the book of Nehemiah together,

but there is much praying leading up to this point,

particularly by Nehemiah,

chapter one, verses five through 11,

chapter two, verse four,

chapter six, verse nine,

and verse 14.

You can turn with me if you'd like,

but otherwise just listen.

Nehemiah chapter one,

verse five and following.

This is after he hears the news

of the disrepair of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah prays,

O Lord God of heaven,

the great and awesome God

who keeps covenant and steadfast love

with those who love him

and keep his commandments.

Let your ear be attentive

and your eyes open

to hear the prayer of your servant

that I now pray before you day and night

for the people of Israel,

your servants,

confessing the sins of the people of Israel,

which we have sinned against you.

Even I and my father's house have sinned.

We have acted very corruptly against you

and have not kept the commandments,

the statutes and the rules

that you commanded your servant Moses.

Remember the word that you commanded

your servant Moses saying,

if you are unfaithful,

I will scatter you among the peoples.

But if you return to me

and keep my commandments and do them,

though your outcasts are

in the uttermost parts of heaven,

from there I will gather them

and bring them to the place

that I have chosen

to make my name dwell there.

They are your servants and your people

whom you have redeemed

by your great power

and by your strong hand.

O Lord, let your ear be attentive

to the prayer of your servant

and to the prayer of your servants

who delight to fear your name

and give success to your servant today

and grant him mercy

in the sight of this man,

which is the king.

So we see here Nehemiah praying,

right, being brokenhearted,

both for the sins of his people

and for his own sin,

recognizing that God

had already been faithful

to the scattering,

but also calling on God

to keep his promises

to be faithful in the inn gathering,

that God's name would be known.

So this is the thrust of his praying

we can see in the book of Nehemiah.

We also see the prayers

of the Israelites in the book,

chapter 4 and verse 9,

and then chapter 8 and verse 6,

right, a prayer led by Ezra.

We see in verse 6,

and Ezra blessed the Lord,

the great God.

I would love a record of that prayer,

right?

It was a prayer of blessing

to the Lord, the great God.

And all the people answered,

Amen, Amen.

Yes, let it be so.

And they lifted up their hands

and they bowed their heads

and worshiped the Lord

with their faces to the ground.

So we see in this episode,

God's people are praying

as revival takes place.

Jesus prayed.

It's one to learn from.

Luke chapter 6 and verse 12,

Luke 6 · chapter mention

just one example.

In these days,

Jesus went out to the mountain to pray.

And all night he continued in prayer to God.

Paul instructed the Philippian church to pray.

Philippians 4 verse 5 and following.

Philippians 4:5

The Lord is at hand.

Do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything by prayer

and supplication with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known to God.

God uses the prayers of his people.

God empowers the prayers of his people

to accomplish the will

that he has set forth.

Why?

Because he pleases to involve us

in the process of him doing miraculous things.

I hope that you've experienced this in your life,

praying for some circumstance

or for somebody

and you see God answer the prayer

and all the glory belongs to God,

but you've got to be involved

in seeing his will come to pass.

A.T. Pearson,

who's one of my favorite biographers

because he wrote one of my favorite biographies

of George Mueller,

wrote this,

quote,

From the day of Pentecost,

there has not been one great spiritual awakening

in any land

which has not begun

in a union of prayer.

Wherever the church is aroused

and the world's wickedness arrested,

somebody has been praying.

Charles Spurgeon,

whether we like it or not,

asking is the rule of the kingdom.

If you may have everything

by asking in his name

and nothing without asking,

I beg you to see

how absolutely vital prayer is.

The rule of the kingdom.

Jonathan Edwards,

It is God's will

through his wonderful grace

that the prayers of his saints

should be one

of the great principal means

of carrying on

the designs of Christ's kingdom

in the world.

When God has something

very great to accomplish

for his church,

it is his will

that there should proceed

at the extraordinary prayers

of his people.

And then one more quotation

on prayer.

Matthew Henry wrote,

When God intends

great mercy for his people,

the first thing he does

is set them

a praying.

So,

true God-sent revival

will involve

prayer.

Prayer that precedes it,

prayer that is included

within it.

Oh,

that we would be

a people

that are praying.

Secondly,

if revival is God-sent,

God's people

will reestablish

the word of God

as the ultimate

authority

in their lives.

It grieves me today

that there are many Christians

who take the Bible

and mix in

other authority,

right?

Pop psychology,

business ideas,

the ungodly advice

of a friend.

They mix it all together.

Instagram memes

are really classic

for this.

God's people

will reestablish

the word of God

as the ultimate

authority

in their lives.

Now,

remember,

we're talking about

things that were dead

coming to life

or things that were sick

being made

well.

And I just in a moment

want to encourage you

if you already find

that this is true

in your life,

that the word of God

is the ultimate

authority in your life,

you may not need

reviving.

You may already

have a good

and healthy

fervency

for the things

of God.

Like we live in a

day,

I think,

where people are

looking for experience

over and above

the regular work

of gathering

with the church.

The day in,

day out

revering

God's word,

opening it together,

learning from it,

giving it application

in our lives.

It is just possible

that we don't need

revival

in our

church.

But,

the word of God

must be

the ultimate

authority.

And it will be

the ultimate authority

in a revival.

Paul writes this,

1 Thessalonians 2.13,

and we also thank God

constantly for this,

that when you

receive the word

of God,

which you heard

from us,

you accepted it

not as the word

of men,

but as what it

really is,

the word

of God,

which is at work

in you,

believers.

People who are in

the midst of revival,

who have the spirit

working in them,

will take up

God's word

and see it

for what it

really is,

the word

of God.

God's very

word

to man.

They will not

throw out

parts of it.

They will

want to adhere

to it

in its

entirety.

Hebrews 4,

Hebrews 4:12

verse 12,

for the word

of God

is living

and active,

sharper than

any two-edged

sword,

piercing to the

vision of soul

and of spirit,

of joints

and of marrow,

and discerning

the thoughts

and intentions

of the heart.

And this happens,

beloved,

by the work

of the spirit.

This is the

tool that the

spirit uses

to bring about

revival

in people.

The word

of God

is the spirit's

sword.

The spirit

of God

begins working

in the hearts

of men

by first

drawing this

sword

from its

scabbard.

The word

of God

is the

supreme

rule

and

authority

for our

lives.

Many people

give lip

service to

the sufficiency

and efficacy

of the

Bible,

but yet

they do

not read

it,

they do

not apply

it in

the life

of their

church,

and this

should not

be so.

So note

three things

from Nehemiah

Nehemiah 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8,

three observations

about the

opening of

God's

word.

Notice

first their

eagerness.

We see

a record

in verse

three that

all the

people are

there.

We see

men and

women and

I don't

think there's

any exclusion

for nursery

workers.

I think

they've all

gathered

together in

this place

to hear

God's

word

open.

And then

in verse

one,

they told

Ezra,

the scribe,

to bring

the book

of the

law of

Moses that

the Lord

had commanded

Israel.

Right?

They built

a platform

for him

just for

the occasion

to get him

high above

the crowd

that everybody

might be

able to

hear.

And they're

gathering for

a particular

feast.

In the

Hebrew,

and I just

hesitate to

say these

things,

I'm sure

I'm going

to mispronounce

it,

but Rosh

Shoshana,

the feast

of trumpets.

This is a

feast that

preceded the

day of

atonement.

They would

have known

that they

were to

do this

thing because

of Ezra's

14-year

ministry

amongst

them.

He'd

already been

back there.

They had

rebuilt the

temple and

he had been

ministering God's

word to

them already.

They had

some knowledge

that this

thing needed

to be done

and so

they are

eager and

they invite

Ezra to

come and

to teach.

Notice also

verse 3,

from early

morning until

midday,

and we

don't know

the exact

time of

early

morning,

but it

was likely

around

sunrise,

all the

people,

including

the littles,

get this in

your mind,

five to

seven hours

the law

of God

was opened

and it

was read.

And not

only that,

notice in

verse 13,

there's a

second day,

maybe perhaps

for logistics,

I'm not

sure,

but this

time the

heads of

household

come back

to learn

more and

I would

imagine

then disperse

that teaching

amongst

the people.

They're eager

that God's

word would

be opened

to them.

Notice

also their

reverence,

verse 5,

as he

opened it,

all the

people,

stood.

I don't

think this

is a

prescriptive

thing,

right?

Some

traditions

always

stand

when

God's

word

is

read.

I'm

not

concerned

about

our

bodily

position,

but the

position

of our

hearts

as the

scripture

is opened

to us,

right?

They

revered it,

they respected

it,

they knew

it was the

very words

of God

himself.

And so

they treated

it with

reverence.

they were

hungry for

this thing

that was

being opened

before them.

Perhaps

it's possible

that we have

too much

Bible,

too many

copies,

too much

access.

There are

people in

the world

that travel

great distances

and spend

vast amounts

of time

to be around

the reading

of the

scripture

who longed

to hear it

opened up

for them.

And yet

we,

and I'm

guilty of

this just

the same,

try to

compress

our time

down,

right?

Got things

to do,

places to

go.

We don't

revere the

coming together

and opening

up God's

word the

way I

would suggest

we should.

Notice

also verse

six,

the lifting

of their

hands and

the bowing

of their

heads,

right?

Their

prostrate,

faces to

the ground,

a position

of reverence

which communicates

we are not

worthy to be

in your

presence.

God's

word opened,

right?

Prostrate

on the

ground.

And notice

also as

they're eager

and they're

reverent,

notice their

responsiveness,

right?

They're actually

hearing the

word,

they're

understanding

the word

as it's

being explained

to them

and they

have a

response

to that.

Last part

of verse

nine,

for all

the people

wept

as they

heard the

words

of the

law.

As Ezra

and the

other men

read and

explained,

helped them

to understand,

they recognized

that they

had transgressed

this good

law of this

merciful God

and an

ever-widening

chasm opened

between them

and him.

Like they

wept over

it,

over their

sinfulness.

But,

they are

told not

to weep,

right?

This

celebration,

this feast

of trumpets

preceded a

time,

preceded a

time of

repentance,

but it was

meant to be

a time of

rejoicing because

it looked to

the day

of atonement.

So they're

commanded in

verses nine

and ten

and eleven

to there to

be holiness

and joy,

right?

To look

toward the

future promise

of the

atoning work

of Christ.

Their sins

would be

forgiven,

that their

relationship

with God

would be

restored.

There will

be no revival

amongst people

who do not

love,

read,

hear,

and proclaim

the words

of the living

God.

Ask me

if I think

something is

of the spirit,

I will say

to you,

how much

exaltation of

Christ through

his word is

happening.

This is what

the spirit does.

He exalts

Christ using

the word.

Number three,

if revival is

God sent,

God's people

will recognize

their defiance

of God and

view his

chastisement

as just.

Again,

we see

verse nine,

this weeping,

this concern

as they heard

the words

of the law.

And then we

look further

in Nehemiah

chapter nine.

There's an

extended prayer

there.

The first

two verses

of Nehemiah

nine says,

now on the

24th day of

this month,

the people

of Israel

were assembled

with fasting

and in

sackcloth,

right?

Outward signs

of repentance

and with

earth on

their heads

and the

Israelites

separated

themselves

from all

foreigners

and stood

and confessed

their sins

in the

iniquities

of their

fathers.

There will

be repentance

if revival

is happening.

People will

be confessing

their sin

and turning

from it.

Verse 33

of chapter

nine says,

yet you,

speaking of

God,

have been

righteous

in all

that has

come upon

us.

For you

have dealt

faithfully

and we

have acted

wickedly.

There's going

to be a

preaching of

the word.

There's going

to be a

returning to

God through

repentance

and faith

if revival

is happening.

Second

Corinthians

chapter seven

verse eight

and following

Paul says,

for even

if I made

you grieve

with my

letter,

I do not

regret it,

though I

did regret

it,

for I see

that the

letter

grieved you

though only

for a

little while.

As it

is,

I rejoice

not because

you were

grieved,

but because

you were

grieved

into

repenting.

For you

felt a

godly

grief

so that

you

suffered

no

loss

through

us.

For

godly

grief

produces

a

repentance

that

leads

to

salvation

without

regret,

whereas

worldly

grief

produces

death.

For

see what

earnestness

this

godly

grief

has

produced

in

you,

but

also

what

eagerness

to clear

yourselves,

what

indignation,

what

fear,

what

longing,

what

zeal,

what

punishment.

At

every

point

you

have

proved

yourselves

innocent

in the

matter.

When

revival

comes,

people

will be

grieved

for their

sin.

They

will

repent

and

they

will

turn

to

God

in

obedience.

Jonathan

Edwards

wrote a

great

little

book.

If

this

thought

of

revival

is

on

your

mind

and

you

want

to

read

and

study

more

about

it,

Jonathan

Edwards

was one

of the

Puritan

pastors,

New England,

that was

part of

God's

bringing

about

what's

called

the

great

awakening.

And he

wrote a

great little

book called

A Faithful

Narrative

of the

Surprising

Work

of God.

One of

the

All-Time

Best

Book

Titles,

A Faithful

Narrative

of the

Surprising

Work

of God.

And there

in it

he wrote

about

godly

grief.

There

is a

great deal

of

difference

in the

distinctness

of these

awakenings.

Some

people who

have not

had such

a clear

sight of

God's

justice

in their

condemnation

still mention

things that

plainly

imply it.

They

develop

disposition

to

acknowledge

that God

is just

and righteous

in declaring

that he

will inflict

punishment

on those

who sin.

They know

that they

are undeserving

of his

comforts.

Many times

though they

did not

have such

a clear

sight of

it at

the beginning

they have

very clear

discoveries

of their

unworthiness

soon after

their

conviction

along with

being made

humble

in the

dust

before

God.

They're

grieved

over their

sin.

They see

God's

wrath

as just

before

them.

And in

other places

in the

text he

talks about

them turning

to God

for the

mercy he

shows

in Christ.

So

fourthly

and lastly

if revival

is God

sent God's

people will

turn from

their

defiance

to

obedience.

Verse 14

we see

them discover

the feast

of booths

right?

It's a

feast that

has not

been kept

for a

long time

and they

decide

to celebrate

this feast.

It's a

feast that

was designed

to remind

them of

the way

that God

cared for

their

ancestors

when they

tarried in

the desert

after being

delivered

from Egypt.

So they

set up

booths or

tents,

temporary

structures,

and they

dwell in

them all

over the

city.

The mark

of Christian

maturity.

And this

is why

it is

dangerous to

call something

a revival

that has yet

to be given

time.

the mark

of Christian

maturity

is not

how much

you know

or feel

how expressive

you are,

but what you

do with

what you

know.

Do you

faithfully

pursue God

having turned

from your

sin,

turning to

the righteousness

that is found

in Christ?

Notice the

result of their

obedience,

verse 17.

Now,

this is

obedience.

This is

obedience

brought

joy.

They've been

doing something.

They've been

active.

They've been

going out

of the city

and gathering

up wood

and bringing

it in

and building

things and

celebrating,

cooking food,

doing all

this stuff.

They've been

obedient over

time and

verse 17

says,

there was

great

rejoicing

results in

joy that

couples with

their obedience.

so,

beloved,

we need

to be

discerning.

We need

to have a

biblical lens

for which

to run

claims of

spirituality

in our

day.

We must

be thoughtful.

We must

be hopeful.

We certainly

must pray.

May we be

a people who

pray for

revival,

for our

local

communities,

for our

region,

for our

country,

and for

the world.

May we be

a people who

are discerning

of the claims

of revival

for the

good of

people,

and for

the glory

of our

God.

And may

we be a

people who

embrace

revival,

if and

when it

comes.

Let's

pray together.