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Consecration and Celebration
Nehemiah 10-12
Chapter 9 was all about
confession as the people got right with God.
ill.--one day a lady
approached CH Spurgeon and asked for prayer for her problem with
exaggeration. He said, sure,
I'll pray for you to get the victory over lying.
She was offended and said, I'm no liar!
He replied, lady, you'll never get the victory until you call it what
it is.
And true confession leads
to consecration
and celebration.
The last verse of chapter
9 leads us to this transition...
v. 38
'seal unto it'
After their prayer of
confession, they literally write out on paper the steps they are gonna take
and how they're gonna live in response.
And they sign their names to it.
Chapter 10 lists 84
leaders who sign it. Look at
the first one...
v. 1
Nehemiah is the governor, and he signs first, setting the example.
It's one thing to cry out
in repentance at the altar and feel deep regrets and cry tears, but it's
another thing to get up and change...which is TRUE repentance.
ill.--a man always ended
his public prayers with "Lord, clean the cobwebs out of my life."
But his life never changed.
Week after week he prayed that prayer.
One other member got tired of hearing it so the next time the man
prayed for the Lord to clean the cobwebs out of my life the member added,
"And Lord, please kill the spider!"
These people in our text
are committed to getting to the bottom of their problems and really doing
business with God. They put it
in writing and signed their names!
3 aspects of their
consecration:
1.
The application of the Word.
They've heard the
Scripture and it was convicting, and now they want to obey it.
James 1:22
But be ye doers of the word, and not
hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
There's no point to coming
service after service if you aren't going to apply it.
Why read the Bible if not open to change?
·
They
applied the Word to their marriages.
v. 30
We are not gonna be unequally yoked together.
God knew an unequal yoke
would lead to constant conflict.
Jews couldn't eat pork,
but the Gentiles could.
They would fight over
money, because the Jews had to give 3 tithes:
a temple tax, the firstfruits, and what we call the tithe today.
Constant conflict would
lead to occasional compromise.
The believer would get tired of fighting over whether they go to church or
the lake today, and would eventually give in and compromise.
Then comes complete
conformity, where the believer abandons their faith.
These are the same reasons
your NT says not to marry an unbeliever.
2 Corinthians 6:14-15
14 Be ye not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with
Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
1 Corinthians 7:39
The wife is bound by the law
as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty
to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
How many times has a young
lady told me she's gonna marry a guy and "I'm gonna get him saved"?
That's unscriptural.
Never does God recommend marriage as a mission field.
And that's unwise. Most
of the time the believer doesn't pull the unbeliever up, but the other way
around. We all know some
exception, but realize they are just that...an exception, not the rule.
ill.--it's much easier to
make hot water cold than cold water hot.
It's much easier to pull someone down than to pull someone up.
·
They
applied the Word to Sabbath keeping.
v. 31
We're gonna keep God's day holy.
And they signed their
names to it!
·
They
applied the Word to their giving.
v. 32
'the house of our God' is used 9 times in this passage.
v. 35, 37
Every great revival renews
interest in the house of God, and in giving to it.
When someone says they have had revival but it doesn't bring them
back to church something is wrong.
And if it hasn't reached your wallet it hasn't reached your heart.
Jesus said it. [where
your treasure is...]
the application of the Word...
2.
The occupation of the city.
We must let our light
shine where God puts us.
Go to chapter 11...
v. 1
Once the walls were built Nehemiah had to deal w/ another problem.
There weren't enough Jews living inside the walls.
Many lived in villages just outside the city.
Nehemiah needed more Jews
to protect the city, and also to be witnesses to the many Gentiles around
the area.
He asked for volunteers,
and then drafted more as needed.
One in ten needed to come to town, sell their house and move!
Can you imagine the church split we'd have today!
v. 2
These volunteered. Every
church has both groups. Those
who volunteer and those whom we have to twist their arm.
Which receives the bigger blessing?
The former, so let's take a lesson.
And look for a tough job in the church, not just an easy one.
Get dirty, do for Jesus what no one wants to do!
Consecration means making
tough changes, and doing hard things.
3.
The delegation of the people.
The work of the future is
built on the work of the past.
Chapter 12 tells about
people who came before them and laid the foundation they are now building
on.
v. 1
Zerubbabel had led a first wave to return and rebuild the temple.
They sacrificed and should not be forgotten.
What would be here at this
location if not for those who came before us?
Now, the
celebration!
v. 27
A party's gettin' started!
Notice the emphasis on joyful praise in the remainder of this
chapter.
Singing is mentioned 8
times, thanksgiving 6 times, rejoicing 7 times, musical instruments 3 times.
They organized 2 separate choirs, one led by Ezra and the other by
Nehemiah. They marched around
the wall, one went clockwise and the other counter wise.
They met in the middle.
It wasn't quiet or solemn.
It was a celebration.
Church doesn't have to be boring.
Most churches begin at 11 o'clock sharp and end at 12 o'clock dull!
It doesn't have to be that way.
Some criticize us for
clapping after a special or a baptism.
Listen, these are times for celebration!
I'm glad to be a part of a
church where Jesus Christ is celebrated!
v. 43
You could hear this celebration for miles!
This was the shout heard round the world.
It was a holy hootenanny, and I'm sure some were even doing the
Baptist boogie!
Confession leads to
consecration and celebration!
When we get right w/ God we cannot help but celebrate and rejoice.
It's time God's people got back to singing on the wall!
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