Nehemiah 8:1-12, 9
Memory Verse: Nehemiah 9:6 - “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you."
Song: Thank You Jesus For The Blood by Charity Gayle
What leads to revival?
When we ask God to bring revival in our cities,
When we hear a song about how our world needs revival,
When we hear stories of revival happening in other countries,
What exactly are we envisioning?
Billy Graham and Charles Spurgeon are two of the most recent examples of influential leaders of revival events across the world. Hundreds of thousands of people would gather in stadiums to hear them preach the gospel, and vast percentages of those crowds would make statements of repentance and belief that Jesus is Lord.
When we envision these events, we think of eloquent messages, Spirit-filled worship, and outward rejoicing altogether. What about these events leads to such a response to the gospel?
Nehemiah 8-9 describes arguably the first revival event ever, which comes at one of the most important moments in Israel’s history - the restoration of Jerusalem. The once exiled Israelites have every reason to celebrate now that they have rebuilt their holy city.
In their case, their revival event quickly goes from a time of celebration to a time of mourning. Why?
It was not because of the emotional environment of a grand festival nor the great influence of the speaker. Rather, the Israelites mourned when they read God’s word and realized the weight of their sin - how they had continually chosen their own desires over the perfect commands that God had given them.
The pattern of Israel’s journey throughout the Bible goes as follows:
God delivers Israel from suffering, and they rejoice in their deliverance.
God guides and protects Israel, but they forget about God and turn to sinful ways.
God sends suffering upon Israel, and they confess their sin and return to him.
God delivers them, and soon enough, the cycle continues.
In chapter 9, compare God’s works to Israel’s response. When God displays his goodness and power to deliver His people, the Israelites “acted proudly… and did not heed his commandments (v. 17).” My immediate reaction is to wonder, “How could they respond to God like that?” But then I recall my tendencies to forget His commandments, believe that I should decide what is good for myself, and become entangled in sin's deceitfulness. No matter how many times God reminds us of His goodness to us, we have all sinned and are thus unworthy to experience God’s glory.
However, God’s love extends beyond our unworthiness.
In chapter 9, Israel is wrought in shame for their past sins, ravished with guilt and grief over how they have turned from God. And even so, God delivered them from exile and restored their city. He still shows them everlasting love and mercy.
In the same way, God is steadfast in His love for us, even when we rebel against His will. And when we are brought to a place of guilt and shame for our sin, God calls us to fully admit to him that we are wrong and He is right. And in His mercy, God gives us an opportunity to turn from the sin that deceives us and commit to walking in obedience to Him. This is where revival begins.
There is no need for an experience, multitudes, or a perfectly tailored sermon. It all begins with confession. Revival starts only when we confess that we have sinned against our Almighty God,
And God is faithful to forgive. Four hundred years following the revival in Jerusalem, God would display for the whole world His perfect love for us. Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection have made it possible for us to draw near and confess to the Father confidently, knowing that we will now receive His grace, His mercy, and new life with Him. We are called to die with Christ - to lay down the sin which He bore on the cross for us - so that we may live in His righteousness as children of God.
As we continue to approach Christmas day, may we know that the Lord hears our confession and that Jesus’ coming has made it possible for us to experience complete revival truly.
