The God We Worship
Nehemiah 9
Introduction:
- In chapter 8 we observe a great move of the Holy Spirit as the Word of God is preached from the Book of Moses, the Pentateuch.
- The Pentateuch is the first 5 books of the Bible.
- As they preach the Word, chapter by chapter, the Spirit of God comes in mighty power and the Jews are deeply convicted of sin.
- This is continuing in chapter 9.
Vs. 1 The Heart Attitude
- This is the 24th day of a revival in Jerusalem.
- It has now moved to fasting, prayer, and worship.
- This is the heart of the people as they come to the Lord: humility, brokenness, and expectation.
- There is power in prayer and worship accompanied with fasting:
- Fasting sharpens our focus.
- Fasting pinpoints the issues and disciplines us to seek God.
- Fasting often speeds up the process of God’s leading in our lives.
- But this message is not about fasting.
Vs. 2-3 The Signature of Revival
- The signature of revival is repentance! The signature of repentance is the study and understanding of God’s Word, the Scriptures.
- All the Great Awakenings in America, the 1st and 2nd, were accompanied with great repentance of individual and corporate sins.
- Repentance and confession means that we understand the heart of God and just how much He really is pained by our sin.
- You can’t repent if you don’t have a heart and love for God, because sin is an affront to God.
Vs. 4-5 Worship is Blessing God
- This is true Word and Spirit, Spirit and truth worship: Blessing God.
- Ex. We don’t come to worship to get a blessing…we come to give a blessing to God!
Revelation 4:8-11
The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:
"Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!"
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
11"You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created."
- In worship you are taking your eyes and mind off of yourself and your circumstances and giving glory, honor, and power to God.
- Worship is not singing songs, it is a mindset, a heart focus: what you are focusing constantly on, what you gaze at, that is what you are worshipping!
Vs. 6 The Direction of Worship
- When revival comes, our focus and energy is for God!
- God alone becomes the passion of our lives.
- You begin to “line yourself up” with all the hosts of heaven (Rev 4) who are worshipping God 24/7.
- Let’s look at the God we worship…
Who is The God we Worship?
- Ezra recounts the history of God’s leading and miraculous power in Israel…
Vs. 7-8 A Covenant Keeping God
- He chose a nobody named Abraham, a total pagan, an idolator.
- Out of nowhere, He chose a nobody, to go to a no name country.
- And Abraham obeyed! Abraham obeyed!
- God initiated…and Abraham obeyed!
- Abraham had no name, no fame, and God gave Him a purpose for living.
Genesis 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said to Abram:
"Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father's house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
1 Corinthians 1:26-29
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
- God has made a covenant with us through His Son, Jesus.
- God’s not looking for eloquence, smarts, or wealth…He is looking for faithfulness.
- God is looking for FATT people: Faithful, Available, Teachable, and Trustworthy.
Vs. 9-10 A Prayer Hearing God
- Like the history of the Jews, God hears the cries of His people.
- God will hear your prayers.
- God’s loves the prayer “Oh God, Oh God, Oh God!” because He wants to make a name for Himself through you.
- God wants to bring glory to Himself through you and me.
Vs. 11-12 A Leading God
- God will always lead us, even at night.
- No matter what you are going through, God will lead you, if you will listen.
Vs. 13-14 A Speaking God
- God still speaks from heaven! He mainly speaks through the Word of God.
- As we study and meditate in God’s Word, we can hear His voice.
Vs. 15 A Generous God
- Remember the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
- God knows what you need…ask Him for all your needs.
- I have found the Lord to be very generous.
Vs. 16-19 A Gracious and Merciful God
- Even in our sin and our rebellion, the Lord is full of mercy and grace.
- God really does love you! He really loves you!
- He is slow to anger…abundant in kindness.
Vs. 20-21 A Spirit Filling God
- Our manna, our water is the Spirit of God.
- When you give your heart to Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit and He is the power source in your life.
Vs. 22-25 A Kingdom Possessing God
- Ezra is speaking here of the possessing of the Promised Land under Joshua in Numbers 20-Joshua 24.
- Canaan was compromised of nation states and tribes that the Jews had to conquer one by one.
- It’s the same in our lives…God wants to possess the kingdoms of your life and take over! God wants dominion in the nations of your heart:
- Kingdoms of lust
- Kingdoms of envy
- Kingdoms of pride
- Kingdoms of fear
Vs. 26-35 We can Miss it! God is not Mocked
- But if we don’t obey God, we can miss it…we can miss our inheritance.
- The Jews never possessed all the land God promised them in Joshua 1…Why?
- Notice what our passage says:
- In Vs. 26 they cast the law behind their backs…loosing the reverence and passion for God’s Word.
- Instead of possessing and having dominion over their enemies, their enemies had dominion over them!!
- Vs. 29b - “they shrugged their shoulders, stiffened their necks, and would not hear.”
- A picture of cheap grace: “Hey, I’m forgiven and God is good, so I’m just gonna do whatever I want.”
- Instead of blessing, God has to bring discipline! Spiritual parenting!
- God’s perfect plan is that you would possess the enemies’ camp.
- Instead God’s permissive plan is that He can’t bless us so He has to discipline us.
- God will let you go after the gods of your life.
Vs. 36-38 A Covenant for all Time
- A covenant was an agreement that they would obey God and He promised to bless them.
- They realize that they are still in bondage to nations and kings because of their sin.
- But now they want to serve God.
- They realize that they are missing the great blessing that God wants them to have
- If you know the Lord, you have been given these great and magnificent promises:
Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
2 Peter 1:3-4
as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2 Corinthians 1:20
For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
This sermon was produced at Mountain Springs Church in Colorado Springs, with Senior Pastor Steve Holt. www.mountainsprings.org
|
Email This Page