God Rebuilds Hearts | Nehemiah 7:5–8:18

Well, you may be seated.

Good morning, church.

So glad to see you all again.

If you are new here to life, I would like to extend my welcome as well.

My name is Chuck.

I'm one of the pastors here at Life.

And I want you to understand this saying.

This is not just a saying that we say every single Sunday, but we exist that all may know Christ and make him known.

Again, this is not just something novel that we say, but I even stand here today as a testimony of how true that statement is.

The reason why I say this is because this month, my family and I have celebrated 10 years being here at Life.

All glory to God.

Listen, on October 16th, 2016, me and my family walked through these doors.

Now, I don't mean these doors.

By the time we got here, this building was a parking lot.

Where the current parking lot is was just dirt.

And we walked through the doors of where we now have the kids stay.

Looking back over these past 10 years, we and we've had a lot of time this week to look back and reflect on what God has done.

And I will tell you, the most prominent thing that I remember is not a building.

It's not the accessories, it's not the electronics, it's not all the furnishings of this building or even the other building.

It was the intentional word of God that came to bear on our lives through preaching, teaching, and intentional discipleship of having of helping us know Christ and make Him known.

And church, again, I stand here as a testimony that has not stopped.

As you know, we have started our all-in initiative where we're going to expand the worship center.

We're going to make room for our kids and we're going to advance God's kingdom through the ministries that He's entrusted to us and the ones that He has allowed us to be a part of.

But I want to remind you as we continue forward with this vision that it's not about the building.

The building was never the work.

The building is the place for the work.

And I say this because we need to guard against this arrival mentality.

We can get complacent and get comfortable and say, well, the building is done.

We can just kick our feet up and relax.

No.

Again, when the building is done, there's still more work to be done.

And that work is something that only God can do in the heart of his people.

You can't draw that up, you can't hire that out, nor can you finish it by a certain deadline.

This is what God does in his people, and he does it the same way he has always done it.

And today we're going to explore what that work is as we finish Nehemiah chapter 7 and we walk through Nehemiah chapter 8.

Nehemiah 7 · chapter mention Nehemiah 8 · chapter mention

Now, this is a lot.

We have a lot of verses ahead of us, and I'm not going to be able, I'm not going to read every verse, but we will walk through these two chapters carefully.

So if you're not there already, I encourage you to turn with me to Nehemiah chapter 7.

Nehemiah 7 · chapter mention

We're going to read a couple of these verses, but we're going to be explaining a lot more of what is going on as we take this bit by bit.

Now, last week Pastor Andrew stopped at Nehemiah chapter 7, verse 4, where we saw that the city was wide and it was large, but the people in it were few, and the houses and no houses has been rebuilt.

Nehemiah 7:4

So they were unpopulated.

The temple is done, the building, I mean the wall is secure, but yet they were underpopulated.

I want you to think about the state of Israel at this time.

They were a small, struggling remnant surrounded by enemies.

And they could easily fracture or even lose their purpose.

Listen, even the best walls can't hold a people like that together.

So we have to ask the question, what does?

And to see that answer, this is where we need to bring along the book of Ezra.

Originally, Ezra and Nehemiah were one book.

The Jewish people counted them as a single scroll, and together they tell one story.

God bringing his people home from decades of exile in Babylon and rebuilding them.

So when we read these two chapters together or even put them side by side, we pick up on a pattern.

Both books tell the same story in two stages.

I want you to see this.

In stage one, we see God's people build a structure.

In Ezra chapter one through six, they build the temple.

And in Nehemiah chapter one through six, they build a wall.

But in step two, we see that the focus turns from the building to the people.

We see the shift in Ezra chapter 7 through 10, and then in Nehemiah chapter 7 through 13.

Ezra 7 · chapter mention Nehemiah 7 · chapter mention

Church, I want you to notice the pattern.

God uses his people to build the structure, and then he builds his people.

That's exactly what we're going to be covering this morning.

Because the wall is finished, and God is about to build his people.

So how does he do it?

What does he use?

And that question lies within our big idea for today, which is this God's word must shape the life of God's people.

It is his word that in turn shapes our lives because we are his people.

Not a wall, not plans, not even our best efforts.

But it is God's word.

Now, we also need to ask the question: what does that look like for God's word to shape the life of his people?

The answer is found as we walk through this text.

It moves from seeing who we are to how we respond internally and then how we act externally.

So I have three points that I'm going to be walking through as we look at this.

And at the top of these points, we're going to be asking the same two questions.

What did God do?

I mean, what did God's people do then?

And what does that look like for us today?

So we're going to read a few verses, starting with Nehemiah chapter 7, verse 5.

Nehemiah 7:5

It says this.

Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy.

And I found the book of genealogy of those who came up at first, and I found written in it.

And now Nehemiah is going to explain and going to list all of the people that are written in this book that he has found.

But I want you to notice something.

When Nehemiah says, My God put this into my heart, he is not describing a subjective desire to repopulate the city with his own idea or with whoever he thinks should be in this building.

No, we we see this because we've already witnessed how Nehemiah responds to what God puts on his heart.

Go back to Nehemiah chapter 2, verse 12.

Nehemiah 2:12

When he said he did not tell anyone what God had put on his heart, but he waited for objective confirmation by inspecting everything.

And then he revealed to the people what was on his heart.

This phrase that God put it into his heart captures something deeper than mere human decision, but it reflects God's active role in shaping our desires and intentions for his purposes.

Nehemiah knows that the city needs to be repopulated.

And instead of taking things into his own hands, he confirms through the prompting that God has placed on his heart by gathering the nobles.

He gathered the officials, he gathered all of these people to enroll them in genealogies.

And he didn't just say, okay, you're gonna be in here, and you're gonna be in here, you're gonna be in here.

No, he went back to the list that was already established.

The account of all the people of the providence and the account of all the people that were held in captivity was already established.

Again, this is why when we read Ezra and Nehemiah, we can see the connection.

Because this same list is in Ezra chapter 2.

Ezra 2 · chapter mention

Ezra chapter 2 has already listed out all of the people that came from that providence that came from Babylon.

Ezra 2 · chapter mention

So now when Nehemiah goes back to this list, what would be the purpose?

Why not create a new list?

Why not invite other people that you like into the fold?

Well, it's the purpose of the list.

When Ezra wrote this list, it was to establish the validity of the identity of the people of God.

These were the ones that were God's people.

And we know this because it says in the list, when you were looking in verses 6 through 66, we see all of the people that were able to prove their genealogies, that were able to prove that they were once captive and then the Lord led them back.

But we also see that there were some who were lacking in confirming their genealogy.

In verse 61 through 64, we see that there were also people that came from Babylon that wanted a part into this community.

Now that the wall is being built, now that the temple is being built, they wanted part into this community, but they lacked the proper identification to prove that they truly belonged.

We also see that there were priests who couldn't prove that they belonged and they were declared unclean.

Now, this is not Nehemiah being harsh.

This is Nehemiah being faithful to what God had already promised.

God had told his people through the prophet Jeremiah that he will preserve a remnant and bring them back from exile.

We see this in Jeremiah chapter 29 through 30.

Jeremiah 29 · chapter mention

And then when net when so when uh Nehemiah goes to this list, he is again not making up his own of who he wants to be in.

He is confirming what God had already said.

He is confirming the promises that God named his people.

Not a crowd just merely wanting to be there, which goes to show that merely wanting to be involved is not the same thing as actually being involved.

So that's what God's people did.

And they didn't do this because they were leading with their feelings.

They weren't picking whoever they wanted to be in, they went with what was written.

So we face the same question today.

What does it look like for God's word to shape our lives today?

And this is the first point that we have here.

God's word shapes our lives together when we remember who we are as God's people.

This means that our belonging is settled by God's word, not how you feel or not how long you've been in this room.

Now, some people might disagree with me, and I'm fine with you disagreeing.

We can have debates all day long.

But I think a lot of the disagreement comes from a false understanding or a false statement that is plaguing our world today.

You've probably heard it.

Well, we're all God's children.

It sounds kind, it even sounds inclusive, but that's not what God's word says.

Scripture does teach that everyone is made in the image of God.

Genesis chapter 1, verses 26 through 27.

Genesis 1:26–27

But being made in the image of God is not the same thing as being adopted by God and being declared his child.

In John chapter 1, verses 12 and 13, it says this, but as many, I mean, but to all who receive him, who believe in his name, he has given the right to become a child of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of man, nor of the flesh, but of the will of God.

John 1:12

It is given to those who receive him.

Why?

Because Ephesians chapter 2, verse 3 tells us that before we were all children of wrath.

Ephesians 2:3

We were all dead in our trespasses and sins.

We were all enemies of God.

But for those who receive Him, who repent of their sin by placing faith in Jesus Christ, He is giving you the right to become a child of God.

Church, that is not uh, that is not nobody being harsh.

We're not being harsh by saying not everyone is a child of God.

We're being biblical.

And to understand where you came from is the point of the gospel.

Listen, God is holy and he made us to know him, but yet we sinned against him.

We rightfully disobeyed, and that's something that we can't fix in and of ourselves.

But see, this is why God sent his son Jesus Christ, who lived a life that you could never live, but he died a death that you rightfully should have died yourself by hanging on a cross, bearing all of our sins.

And he died.

He was buried in the tomb, but he rose on the third day that we might have life in him.

For all of those who repent of their sin by placing faith in Jesus Christ.

Listen, that is the gospel.

That is what came to redeem us from being children of wrath.

That's why not everyone is a child of God.

Yes, we're all made in the image of God, but it is given to those who receive Him.

You're receiving, trusting, and repenting of your sin and placing faith in the gospel message that is in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross.

So we really need to be honest with ourselves.

Have you turned from your sin and place your trust in Jesus?

I didn't ask if you go to church.

I didn't ask if you were raised in a Christian home.

I'm asking, do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

Here's how the Bible answers that.

In Romans chapter 10, it says, if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

And verse 13 tells us that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

When we're looking at the end of our Bible in Revelation chapter 21, verse 27, it takes us back and reminds us of Nehemiah's list.

Revelation 21:27

Because only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life will enter into the city of God.

Listen, you can't be like the families in verse 61 through 64 who wanted to be along, who were just around, but they never were able to prove that they were truly a part of God's people.

James tells us that our works are the evidence that we have repented of our sin and placed faith in Jesus Christ.

James says that faith by itself is worthless, it's dead.

But church, please, please, please hear me carefully when I say this.

We are saved by Christ's works.

And we receive that by faith alone in him.

But a faith that is alone, I mean, but a faith that saves is never alone.

So it shows up in different ways.

It shows up in us hating sin.

It shows up in us loving God's word, loving God's people, a desire to obey him.

And yes, we will fall.

But Proverbs tells us a just man falls, but has the sense to get back up again.

So we are those that when we repent of our sin, we know that our Father is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Why?

Because I am a child of God.

This is what it means to remember who you are.

We have a past story of what God has saved us from, and we walk in the newness of life.

We are not a crowd that just drifted in to hear the same message.

We are a people God has named in Christ, and that is confirmed in his word.

So notice how this works.

God addresses the heart, and the people respond.

God acts first, and our response produces evidence that he is rebuilding us.

Nobody humbles themselves under God's word and obeys it with joy by nature.

That is an act of God.

So when we see this act, we know that he is at work.

Now I want us to jump into chapter 8 when we're looking at this.

Seven months, I mean, in the the seventh month had come, and all the people were gathering as one man into the square by the water gate, I mean, before the water gate.

And this is the first time that Ezra is present in the book of Nehemiah.

The people ask him to bring the book of Moses, the law of Moses, and read it.

Notice, nobody made him, I mean, nobody made them do this.

They asked for it.

But the question becomes, well, why Ezra?

This is why, again, when we're looking at Ezra and Nehemiah together, we these things start to put together for us.

In Ezra chapter 7, verse 10, it says that Ezra has set in his heart to study the law of God and to practice it and to teach his statues and his judgments in Israel.

Ezra 7:10

This is something that Ezra had already done.

This is something that we as pastors do every single week.

So, no, we don't just work on Sundays.

We are preparing every single week, dedicating ourselves to study the word of God, to practice it, and then here to stand up on Sunday morning and proclaim it to you so that you would walk in obedience as God has already led us in obedience.

This is why they had Ezra read it.

So when Ezra stood on a platform, he had men to his right and we had men to his left.

And the word of God was elevated before the people.

And others stood around ready to help them understand what it said.

Praise the Lord, we still do this today.

We elevate the word of God Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, and we put people in place so that way you don't just hear the word of God, but you actually understand what it says.

In verses 1 through 3 of Nehemiah chapter 8, we see that Ezra was ready.

Nehemiah 8 · chapter mention

I mean, Ezra read from early morning until midday, and the people listened intently.

It's the joy of every pastor.

The people listened intently.

They first needed the word, which is the knowledge of God.

And they actually heard the word.

In verses 5 and 6, we see that Ezra opened the book, and all the people stood, and when he had blessed the Lord, they answered, Amen and Amen.

That is an affirmation of what has been said.

So be it.

I agree.

Absolutely.

Amen and amen.

And then they lifted up their hands and they bowed their heads and they worship the Lord with their faces to the ground.

This shows that before they understood a single word of what was read, they were already standing in reverence before God.

Church, humility before God starts before understanding.

We need to come to God humble.

One of my favorite stories of a person being humble in the Bible is the Ethiopian eunuch who is coming from Jerusalem, reading the scroll of Isaiah, and Philip pops his head up there and says, Do you understand what you're reading?

Listen, there are sometimes my flesh gets the best of me.

When people tell me or make it think that I don't know what I'm doing, pride can start to reel it up.

But the Ethiopian said, How can I understand unless someone guides me?

Listen, there needs to be a humble way about us as we are approaching God's word, willing to receive instruction, willing to seek more understanding.

And this is what they did.

They came ready to submit, not just to evaluate what was said, not just to provide critiques.

They came willing to learn.

But notice that reverence wasn't all they needed.

I want you to look at verse 8.

Verse 8 says this.

They read from the book, from the law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading.

The Levites helped the people understand as they stood in their places.

They did not just receive information.

They received understanding of that information.

And then in verse 9, we see that all the people wept as they heard the words of the law.

They hear God's word because they came to it in humble submission.

And upon hearing this, they are weeping.

But why?

Because God's word doesn't just inform us, it exposes us.

In Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12, it says that the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of the soul and the spirit, discerning the intentions of the heart, I mean, discerning the intentions of the thoughts and the intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

Listen, understanding led to them seeing themselves rightly before what God has declared.

And they wept.

But their weeping was not where God left them.

Look at verse 9 and 10.

Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites said, This day is holy to the Lord your God.

Do not mourn or weep.

He said, Go eat, drink sweet wine, and spend the portions of anyone who has nothing ready.

Why?

For the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Verse 12 tells us why they could celebrate instead of staying in this posture of mourning and grief and pain.

Because they understood what the words were declared to them.

They understood what it meant.

They understood how the word of God pierced them because they were neglecting what God clearly commanded them to do.

Their sorrow was right, but it was not meant for them to stay where they were.

Yes, understanding produced tears.

But then we see it produced joy.

So here's the pattern that we see.

Humble yourself.

Hear the word of God.

Understand it and find strength in the joy of the Lord.

This is what sustained a fragile people.

Not just knowing who they were, but rightly understanding God's word and then being strengthened by the joy of his might.

That's how God continues to build his people.

And this is our second point.

God's word shapes our lives together when we receive God's word with understanding and humility.

And this matters because God's word carries weight.

It's not just neutral information, regardless of what the world tells you.

It grants salvation, it brings judgment.

So that way when we hear it, we're not just learning more information, but you are being confronted with something that you are now responsible to respond to.

So what does that look like for us when we receive God's word?

Well, first, we shouldn't take this for granted.

There are so many times that people ask, Lord, I need wisdom.

Well, check this out.

In Ephesians chapter 3, verse 10, it says, the manifold of wisdom of God has been revealed to the church.

Ephesians 3:10

So if we are if we are desiring wisdom, but yet we don't want to be around the people of God, how are we going to attain that wisdom?

God has provided his church, the gathering of his people to inform us, to give us wise guidance, because we have the information, the knowledge.

We help each other understand.

And then we walk with each other in humble obedience to what that is.

And that is wisdom.

So we should not neglect the church.

Listen, being online is great.

But these people here help you walk in wisdom, helps with the understanding.

And then on top of that, Ephesians chapter 4, verses 12, 11 through 12 tells us that pastors and teachers were given as gifts to the church for the equipping of the saints for the work of the service.

Ephesians 4:12

So you have pastors, you have teachers that are here specifically for you.

Why?

Because this is how God builds his people through the heart of his people.

So I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't give you practical ways of how you can receive more for what God has already given you.

Here are seven things.

Number one, come prayed up.

When you are coming to church, be prayed up.

I love what Pastor Matt says.

He says, we don't come to church to worship, we bring our worship to church.

So we are those that are spending time in the Word of God where the focus is on God, praying in communion to Him, and then coming here rejoicing, coming here in humble submission, coming here ready to receive what it is that He has for us because every single week He has a word for us.

So we come prayed up.

We also come ready to listen.

Put your phones down.

Open your Bibles.

The people stood at the reading of God.

Why?

Because it was a way of having them be more attentive.

Now, if you all stand up, it'll be okay.

You don't need to stand up.

I just want you to pay attention.

I just want you to receive the word of God.

But we need to come ready to listen, not ready to critique, not ready to evaluate, but ready to receive.

Number three, take notes and review those notes.

We give out the Nehemiah journal specifically for you to take notes.

We put pens in your seat so that way if you're not looking, if you're looking for a pen, you can grab one and take those notes.

And then on top of that, review those notes.

Go back throughout the week and say, well, why did I highlight that?

Let me open up the book of Nehemiah and see what I highlighted and why I did that.

Go back and review these things.

We need to seek understanding.

The writing down is the knowledge portion.

The understanding comes back when we review and it becomes more clear to us.

Number four, engage in small groups.

Small groups are where we employ a lot of people to help you understand God's word.

The facilitators of all these small groups use what is called pulpit curriculum, to where we are taking the passage, the message on Sunday, and going deeper into it throughout the week so that way you would what?

Gain understanding.

This is why one of the first questions is what has God been teaching you?

What did God teach you?

We want to know is if you were paying attention, if you were seeking understanding, if you were able to walk in obedience because of what God's word has said.

Number five, go deeper with the Truth to Life podcast.

Listen, I love this podcast, but we're not doing it for clicks.

We're not.

We're not doing it to get famous.

We're doing this for you.

This is for the people that call life home.

We want to help you go further and deeper into God's Word.

This is why the podcast comes out every single week, and you get to see our personality a little bit.

So I highly encourage you to dig in deeper with that.

Number six, engage with the truth for life questions.

At the end of the message, we give truth to life questions.

If not, we repeat them on the podcast because we want you to take this truth and apply it to your life.

Walk in obedience to what God is calling you to do.

Discuss these questions with your friends and with your families.

And then number seven, ask a pastor or leader when something isn't clear.

Don't just walk in ignorance.

God's word calls for you to take responsibility and respond to that rightly.

So if there's something you are not clear on, this is why you have pastors and teachers.

They are a gift to equip you for the work of the service of the ministry.

Now let's go back to the text for a bit.

The people wept and then they rejoice because they had understanding.

But that wasn't the end of it.

On the second day, as we see in verse 13, that the heads of the father's household, I mean the heads of the father's houses, the priests and the Levites, gathered to Ezra to study the words of the law.

And notice that the day after they received God's word, they came back for more.

That's what God's word does for us.

Psalm 19 tells us that it restores our soul.

Why wouldn't I want more?

They wanted more.

They studied, as we see in verse 14, they found it written in the law of God that the Israelites should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month.

And verse 15 tells them that they proclaimed it in all of their towns in Jerusalem.

They heard this word, they said, We need to let everyone know, and they went.

Now watch what the people did with what they had just heard.

We see this in verses 16 and 17.

It says, So the people went out and bought them.

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

And all the assembly of those who had returned from captivity made booths and lived in the booths.

For from the days of Jeshua, the son of Nun to the day of the people of Israel, I mean to that day of the people of Israel, they had not done so.

And they were very, I mean, and there was very great rejoicing.

So what we see here is they read God's word, saw a command that they had been neglecting, and they acted upon it.

God's word told them to live in booths, which were temporary shelters made with branches, for seven days.

So what did the people do?

They climbed up on their rooftops, they built these buildings, and they lived in them.

They left the comfort of their homes.

Why?

Because God's word told them to do so.

And why booths?

Well, in Leviticus chapter 23, verses 42 through 43, Yahweh had commanded them for seven days to live in this booth.

Leviticus 23:42–43

Every native of Israel was to make these booths and they were to live in them.

Why?

So that the generations may know that the sons of Israel lived in booths because God brought them out of Egypt.

It was a reminder of what he has done on their behalf, not anything that they did.

Because he is their God.

These booths were a reminder of where God brought them out of.

And mind you, when they were in Egypt, they were crying out to the Lord.

They thought he wasn't hearing them.

They thought they were completely forsaken.

But in Exodus chapter 3, God says this I see my people.

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

In verse 17, it ends with this.

But in verse 10, we see that it was the joy of the Lord that was their strength.

That shows that these people weren't talking themselves into making themselves feel better.

They weren't having conversation after conversation.

No, they relied upon the joy of the Lord to be their strength.

And we see that even the next day there was very great rejoicing.

Why?

Because they were constantly being immersed with God's word, and God was rebuilding his people through his word.

So what did the people do?

They found what was written, they did it together, and then they rejoiced.

That is what carried these people.

Not just knowing and understanding God's word, but walking in obedience to what God's word says.

They didn't form a committee.

They didn't wait for a better season.

They didn't say, hey, you know what?

Maybe we should stop and pray about this and see if this is the right decision.

No, they knew what God's word says, and they probably prayed, but they continued to do it.

They move forward in obedience.

So, what do we do?

This is point three.

God's word shapes our lives together when we respond to God's word with joyful obedience.

When God's word is understood, the response of a rebuilt heart is not, yeah, I heard that before.

No.

It sounds like the psalmist in Psalm 119, verse 34, where he says, calls, give me understanding that I may keep your law and observe it with all my heart, with my whole heart.

Psalms 119:34

God is the one who gives understanding.

We are the one that receive that understanding, keep it with our whole heart, and walk in obedience.

Even our obedience begins with God.

He is the one that gives us the understanding.

Israel found what was written and they obeyed it.

So what is stopping us?

You know what?

I want to take some time to examine that right now.

Probably gonna step on your toes.

But we need to examine our lives right now.

So here's a test.

I'm gonna give you three verses.

And I just want to see how the Spirit is gonna hit you with this.

James chapter 4, verse 17 says, Whoever knows the right things to do and fails to do it, it is sin for him.

James 4:17

So ask yourself, what is the thing that God's word has already called you to do and you have not done it?

I've heard one pastor say, delayed obedience is still disobedience.

James calls it sin.

Repent and walk in obedience to what he has called you to do.

Luke chapter 6, 46 says, Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I tell you?

Luke 6 · chapter mention

This really isn't about one-time command.

This is whether he is actually Lord of your life and not just a title that you give him on Sundays.

So ask yourself, does your weekday look like you believe Jesus is Lord?

Is there an area in your life where you say Lord with your mouth, but you operate in your own strength?

Matthew chapter 5, verses 23 through 24 says, Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go.

Matthew 5:23–24

First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

Notice that Jesus puts this in the middle of worship.

This implies that our worship is not rightly offered while we are holding something against our brother or sister.

So ask yourself, is there someone you need to go to?

Someone you've wronged or someone you've held something against?

Something that you've been sitting on for months or years.

Perhaps you've been sinned against.

Well, Matthew 18, verse 15 commands you to go.

Matthew 18:15

So either way, we are not growing complacent in this.

Don't wait for a better season.

Yes, you can pray about it, but still go.

Some of you are probably convicted by this.

Praise the Lord.

Don't let up on what the Spirit is doing in your life.

Our God is faithful and righteous to forgive you when you repent and walk in obedience to what he is calling you to do.

So if the Spirit is pressing this upon you, don't run from it.

Don't make an excuse.

Confess to the Lord and repent and then walk in obedience.

And check this out Jesus Christ obeyed the Father perfectly in your place.

And by his Spirit, He enables you to work and to will to do all of His good pleasure.

This is the same Jesus who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.

Jesus enables us to produce the same type of joyful obedience that he walked in.

So this is not even something that you do in your own strength.

We are empowered by the joyful obedience of Christ to live out the commands that he has given us.

So the commands that he, I mean, uh, so so the obedience that you could not give, he gave.

The obedience that he now asks for, he enables.

So we need to be those that walk in joyful obedience to what the Lord has called us to do.

This is what it means for God to rebuild you with his word.

We hear the word of God, we understand it, and it comes to bear on our lives.

And obedience is ascending obedience as well.

Look at verse 15.

Verse 15 shows us that the word of God was published throughout all of their towns.

The word that reached you was meant to move through you.

This is our call.

Matthew chapter 28, verses 19 to 20.

Matthew 28:19–20

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I've commanded you, and behold, I'm with you always, even until the end of the earth.

The obedience that we are called to do doesn't stay just with us.

We are commanded to go.

Hearing is not the finish line.

Obeying and carrying it to others is.

Not even knowing what we were expecting.

But we were discipled.

We were taught to know Christ and to make him known.

And church, for the next 10 years and until Jesus Christ returns or he calls us home, we want to be those who humbly receive his word.

Hear it, understand it, and walk in obedience to what he has called us to do.

Why?

Because God's word must shape his people.

Now I have three truth to life questions for you that I want you to walk in obedience with.

Use these as touch points for yourself, not for your neighbor, not for anybody else, but I want you to truly think about this and answer these questions.

Number one, are you a child of God?

Again, I didn't ask if you go to church.

I didn't even ask if you read your Bible.

I didn't ask if you serve or if you grew up in a Christian home.

Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ because you have repented of your sin and placed faith in him?

And that faith is now producing the works that he empowers in and through you because of the fruit of the Spirit.

Do you know him?

Question number two: where are you lacking understanding?

You may be reading your Bible.

You may be engaging in small groups.

You may be the top listener for the Truth to Life podcast.

But do you understand it?

Are there areas in your life where you are still confused on how to walk these things out?

How to walk this out in obedience?

How to take this from knowledge to understanding to wisdom?

Listen, you have a church body that is here to help.

You have pastors and you have leaders and teachers here to help you understand.

Engage.

And then number three, where is obedience leading you?

Because as you walk in obedience to what God has commanded you, you don't stay still.

That obedience is ascending obedience.

What God is teaching you, we are to call to teach others.

This is why I love the question that was asked of me for the past 10 years that I've been here at life.

What is God teaching you?

Church, this is how we walk in obedience to what God does in and through us from his word.

Remember who you are as God's people.

Understand, receive God's word with understanding and humility, and respond in joyful obedience that He empowers you to do.

We have the opportunity to take communion today.

This is an opportunity where we remember not only who we were, but what he did on our behalf.

Then we also take this time to repent, confess our sins, trusting and knowing that he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So be honest with God as we go to him.

And then this is not a funeral.

We rejoice.

Why?

Because we take communion, trusting and knowing that he will return.

We take it until he returned.

So we are grateful for what he has done.

And we continue to walk in the obedience that he empowers us to do so.

So, church, we're gonna pray.

And then we're gonna come together as a family and partake in communion.

Would you pray with me?

Father in heaven, we humbly come before you, thanking you for your word.

God, I pray that it doesn't fall on deaf ears, but dear Lord, I pray that as you've allowed me to proclaim your word, there have been intentional ears listening so that they can understand and then walk in the obedience that you have called us to do.

And dear Lord, we don't want to be those that try this in our own strength.

So this is why we need you.

God help us.

Because we can't do this on our own.

So we give all this to you as we remember what you have done.

We repent of the sins and the offenses that we have committed against you.

And dear Lord, we rejoice as we are able to take communion together.

Lord, we pray this in your Son Jesus' name.

Amen.