Title: Repentance/Nehemiah 9:1-3
Content: Repentance
Neh 9:1-3 970810-2
(Nehemiah 9:1) On the twenty-fourth day of the month, the children of Israel
All gathered together/ fasting/ clothed in sackcloth and daring in dust/ (Nehemiah 9:2) and stood apart from all the Gentiles/ and confessed their sins and the transgressions of their ancestors/ (Nehemiah 9:3). The fourth quarter stood in his dwelling and read the book of the law of the LORD his God/ the fourth quarter of the day confessed his sins/ and worshiped the LORD his God/
Nehemiah's people had a revival of spirit back to the Word of God, as we saw in Chapter 8. While they kept the Feast of Tabernacles, they read and listened to the Word of God for a week.
Even after the Feast of Tabernacles had passed, they did not scatter, and they followed the words of repentance. This was more thorough repentance than Mizpah's repentance movement through Samuel.
The sequence presented here is very instructive.
First, there was the Word of God.
Next, there is prayer and confession. There is also worship to God.
The Word was from the first meeting on July 1st, during the 14-day period of preparation for the Feast of Tabernacles, and during the 7-day Feast of Tabernacles, we devoted our efforts to listening to the Word.
Now the people live a life of obedience to the commands given in this Word. It is the same with them keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. Not only that, but they repent by examining all aspects of their lives that are far from these words. How do you repent?
All the people of Israel are gathered.
The repentance movement is all together.
As they fast, they pray in sackcloth and on their knees in dust. This is typical repentance.
If you read and listen to God's Word, you will surely receive grace. The evidence of receiving that grace is obedience and repentance. They had this reaction.
This time we participated in the meeting and all received the word of grace. However, it is not important to receive the word of grace, but to follow God's warning through his servants, follow the command, and proceed according to the exhortation. Did you shed tears of repentance on the spot? It is a very precious grace. However, if there is no change in your life after leaving the place, you have not received grace, but you are merely moved by your emotions. Even if I am alone outside the atmosphere of the meeting, I can't see the lecturer, but I have to go to the point of fixing and changing my life by living and working on me.
What was the first sin that came to mind for them? They got married in a foreign country in violation of God's command not to marry foreign women. He also had fellowship with Gentiles. I repented from this. Perhaps the leaders pointed this out in the pulpit.
Today, this word can be received as a word that should not be married to a foreign country. However, to say that you cut off with strangers does not mean that you should not associate with people of this world, but rather that you commit a sin following the customs of a foreign country and pursue the pleasures of the world.
We, too, must immediately repent of these apparent sins.
It was not easy to say that we should abolish foreign marriages and cut ties with foreign people. the pain of breaking bones
There is. However, he obeyed the word of God and came to repentance.
What is God's command to me to obey? Is there anything that God's grace is being stopped by not obeying that command?
What is the sin of not approaching God? There is no sin that does not lead to repentance, but we must repent of this sin. I am having trouble with repentance. But you must repent.
(Nehemiah 9:3) On this day, the fourth quarter of the day they stand in their places and read the book of the law of the LORD their God, and the fourth quarter of the day they confess their sins and worship the LORD their God.
On the fourth quarter of the day, they stood in their place and read the book of Jehovah's law, and on the fourth quarter of the day, they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God in the middle.
They listened to God for 4 hours during the day and repented for another 4 hours.
This order is important.
The Word and prayer always go together.
But the Word must come first, and then prayer must follow.
However, the believer must learn to speak and grow spirituality through prayer at the same time.
In order to give the right prayer to God, we must listen to the voice of God speaking to us. But in order to close the horseshoe, you must pray.
A person who neglects prayer and focuses only on the Word becomes a knowledgeable, doctrinal person, and a hard worker. This man loves theological debates, tormenting and confusing souls. They become like Pharisees who do not know much about spiritual matters.
Also, those who neglect their words and put too much effort into prayer are prone to fanaticism and unhealthy mysticism.
However, those who devote themselves to prayer, confessing, and humbly dealing with God's Word in order to know God's will, humbly dealing with God's Word, and then examining their words and deeds for errors in the Scriptures, will worship and worship their souls. You will be lifted up inwardly, and will grow in grace and truth, and will become a successful disciple of Christ.
Revival is through the Word.
There must be immediate obedience and repentance when the Word is heard and a response occurs within us.
So, the revival movement is to return to the horses and bear the results of repentance and obedience.