| The Covenant |
Pastor Steve Holt
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Mountain Springs Church
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| 06/24/2007 |
The Covenant
Nehemiah 10-12
Introduction:
- Great things are happening in Israel.
- The Temple is rebuilt, and the wall is rebuilt.
- Ezra gets up to teach God’s Word and a great repentance for sin and rebellion hits the people.
- Remember Nehemiah 9:38 – the people are making a covenant with the Lord.
- We all do this from time to time and we all make oaths from time to time, but don’t make an oath to the Lord unless you are really serious.
- The Old Testament is based on man’s faithfulness to God; and the New Testament is based on God’s faithfulness to man.
- The Jews are really serious about transformation.
- After repentance comes obedience.
- Nehemiah is the first one to sign the document (vs. 1).
- You can read these names (vs. 1-27) in your quiet time…
Vs. 28
- Notice that it says that they were “separated from” but then that they were separated into.
Colossians 3:8-14
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
- You don’t just “put off” something, you then must “put on” something.
- Also notice that they “put on” the Word of God with their wives, daughters and sons.
- The whole family should put on Christ together.
Vs. 29-31
- Devotion mandates separation:
- When you get married, you devote yourself to your spouse and separate yourself from all others.
- When you devote your sons and daughters to the Lord, you separate them unto the Lord.
- You devote your work to the Lord. These people would separate unto the Lord because they would not plant on the 7th year…this meant they had to trust God that He would provide twice as much on the 6th year so they could make it until the 8th year.
- You may remember with the manna from heaven, that God told them to not gather on the 7th day, the Sabbath, and so they gathered twice as much and it did not spoil…it spoiled on all the other days, but God made it last from sundown on Friday until sunup on Sunday.
- It would take a miracle! It all required a miracle of God to obey.
- Every 7th year there was a miracle and watch what God would do…constant perception of two realms: 1) the natural—the process of sowing and reaping, but 2) the supernatural—that God is eternal and He is the one who blesses them.
- The 7th day was to rest. This is the same thing, taking a day off means that we have to trust God to really rest on that day…you need time for rest and rest in the Lord.
- Do you enjoy the Sabbath? You all need a Sabbath rest!
Vs. 32-39
- What they are saying is that since they have experienced the Lord in their lives, they want their whole lives dedicated to Him.
- They are dedicating their vocations and their family and their finances to the Lord.
- Vs. 32 “service of the house of God” vs. 39 “we will not neglect the house of our God.”
Malachi 3:10-12
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,"
Says the LORD of hosts,
"If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,"
Says the LORD of hosts;
12 "And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be a delightful land,"
Says the LORD of hosts.
- This is just like the 7th year of Jubilee, where the believers had to trust God for supernatural blessing.
- The same is true with resting on the 7th day; we have to trust God to bless that day even when we are not working.
- Tithing is the same thing: there are two parts:
- The Natural side of our finances, in which we have learned to manage, save, and give; we have learned the law of sowing and reaping.
- The Supernatural side in which we give God our “first fruits”, 10% in worship to Him…to bless Him.
- Our passage is very clear that God blesses, covers, and protects those who have placed their finances under His stewardship.
- The natural side is that we manage our finances well; we budget and use wisdom.
- The supernatural side is that God promises huge blessings to those who have learned to give 10% to the House of the Lord:
- “…food in My house” – the house of the Lord will have all that it needs to carry on the ministry of the Lord.
- God will “pour out blessings.”
- God will “rebuke the devourer.”
- God will not allow your vine to not bear fruit!
Chapter 11 is the list of the leaders and their families who decided to populate Jerusalem
Vs. 1-2
- The walls are completed, but the houses are not finished yet.
- 1 in 10 will live in Jerusalem by casting lots. Think about that, many of these people already have farms up in beautiful Carmel or the rich valleys along the Jordan River basin.
- But they are willing to go and obey God and to see the great city of Jerusalem inhabited again.
- Joshua had the people cast lots as they divided up the land after conquering the land.
- It’s interesting that the lots fell out according to the prophecies that had been given years before…they were trusting the sovereignty of God.
- Over 3,000 are chosen. Since this is only a 10th of the population, we can see just how small the Jewish population still was.
- Our passage gives the names, their habitations, and their giftings: God is sovereignly choosing leaders, valiant men, men of prayer, singers, heads of houses, etc.
Chapter 12 continues the genealogy of chapter 11, especially the heads of the Levites
Vs. 8, 24 “heads of the Levites”
Vs. 27-29
- There were whole villages of musicians…imagine that? They can beat on their drums out there.
- Musicians love to hang out together.
Vs. 30-31
- The heads of the people are up on the wall.
- They divide up into these two great choirs.
Vs. 32-37
- David is brought to mind 5x in this chapter.
- Probably because Jerusalem was at its zenith under David.
- He is called “the man of God.” Our Bibles give us the last will and testament of David:
2 Samuel 23:1
Now these are the last words of David.
Thus says David the son of Jesse;
Thus says the man raised up on high,
The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel
- Interesting that he did not say, “Giant slayer”, “Kingdom ruler”, yet he controlled more of Israel, over 65,000 square miles, the largest in Jewish history.
- But he, David, saw himself as the “sweet psalmist of Israel” because he understood the heart of God.
- God loves our worship…it is happening in heaven 24/7, if there is such a thing as 24/7; it is perpetual.
- David understood the heart of God for worship.
- The greatest discovery of your life is not how much you can love God, but discovering how much God loves you! David understood this in his life.
Vs. 38-46
- This is how you dedicate something to God: with praise and thanksgiving.
- We need singers around here…God loves singers! God loves choirs!
- Everyone is happy! The joy of Jerusalem was felt afar off.
- So it’s amazing that everyone is happy, everyone is rejoicing, everyone is giving.
- Ex. What would God do through us at MSC if everyone gave tithes…everyone gave worship to the Lord…everyone, thousands of people did things the way God wants us to!! Wow!!
- There is great joy! How much joy we forfeit because we don’t obey God.
- The results: the joy of Jerusalem will be heard far off.
- If the body of MSC, this year, would determine to covenant ourselves that we are going to be filled with the Holy Spirit; instead of keeping everything, we start giving; and stare at the cross in a new way this year…to be led by the Spirit in every area of our lives…We will be heard of all over this city!
This sermon was produced at Mountain Springs Church in Colorado Springs, with Senior Pastor Steve Holt. www.mountainsprings.org
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