Sermon Cloud

Intro: Revival & obsession with the spectacular.  “Revivals” can be confusing.

Big Idea: Compassion comes to those who confess & cry out by faith in Christ.

Context:  Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem to rebuild the wall and restore God’s glory.  Completing the wall, he establishes the safety and worship of the people who return to Jerusalem.  Under Ezra’s direction, a revival occurs among the distressed residents.

Revival is when the Spirit works to strengthen weak Christians, awaken asleep Christians and convert non-Christians through the preaching of Christ crucified & prayer.

-         Revival restores communities that experienced spiritual decline (Christ’s work in us).

-         Indwelling sin creates spiritual entropy and atrophy unless we regularly repent & believe.

-         Ezra has been laboring there faithfully for years, yet they were in spiritual decline.

-         Suddenly they experience revival- God poured out spiritual blessing on his people.

“(Revival) is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit which restores the people of God to normal spiritual life after a period of corporate declension.  Periods of spiritual decline occur in history because the gravity of indwelling sin keeps pulling believers first into formal religion and then into open apostasy.”  Richard Lovelace

Normal Christians experience Spirit-created hunger for God’s Word

-         They listened to God’s Word read & explained ¼ of the day- 3 hours.

-         The prayer indicates that the Levites had studied & understood God’s Word (good Spirit).

-         Only the Spirit produces such a hunger to hear God’s Word.  Ill. My conversion

Spirit-empowered, Word-directed worship that delights in God.

-         They worshipped God another ¼ of the day, 3 hours in heart-felt worship.

-         Kenani- “YHWH strengthens” How does he strengthen?  (8:10 => Ps. 92 & Heb. 12)

-         They delighted in God (glorious name- Neh. 1) as he revealed himself in the Scriptures.

-         Creator- almighty & wise maker, ruler and sustainer of the created order.

-         Covenant Lord- maker & keeper of covenants to accomplish his will & purpose.

-         Redeemer- heard their cries in Egypt & the Promised Land whenever oppressed.

-         Provider & Guide in the wilderness- pillar of cloud & fire, Spirit.

-         He is forgiving, gracious, faithful, patient & most of all compassionate (6 times).

-         Spirit works in us to produce joy to strengthen us as we behold His glory.  App. prayer

⁴ For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands.  Psalm 92 (NIV)

Spirit-created conviction of sin.

-         They came in sackcloth & ashes, fasting before God- outward signs of repentance.

-         Arrogant- thought they knew better than God or didn’t need God.  Ill. kids

-         Stiff-necked- resisted God’s leading (ox & yoke), wanted to return to Egypt.  Ill. Huck

-         Rebellious- breaking God’s commandments, despising them too.  Ill. Cider House Rules

-         It was not a sin that got them in those messes, but a pattern of sinfulness- self-exaltation.

-         God was faithful & gracious to them and they were unfaithful at every turn.  Ill. WSC

Q. 87. What is repentance unto life?
A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.  (WSC)

Therefore, confess our sin to our merciful God (vs. 32-35).  You’re weak, asleep or unconverted.

-         They confessed their fathers’ sins, and their own participation in them.  Ill. family

-         Recognized that God was right to afflict them because of their great sin.

-         Food for thought: this pattern emerges for churches too- we become self-centered.

-         We tend to look for reasons everywhere but ourselves and how we resisted God.

-         Jesus died because we’re so messed up.  Recognize his mercy & confess!  Ill. 95 T

“When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent", He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”  Martin Luther

Therefore, cry out for our compassionate God to deliver us (vs. 32, 36-37).

-         They laid out their misery before God, expecting him to do what he’d done before.

-         They humbled themselves before a God they knew to be compassionate.

-         In our distress, let’s humble ourselves recognizing our need to be revived.

Conclusion: The city needs a revived- spiritually normal- church- not signs & wonders but spiritually hungry, delighting in Christ, sin-convicted Christians who believe & make known the mercy of God in Christ.  God sees our distress and may have compassion.  Will we confess & cry out to Him?