Nehemiah 1-3, “May God restore us”
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah Psalm 32:1–7
- Please turn to Nehemiah 1, page 398 in the pew bibles
- We are on the down hill run of an epic saga.
- Ezra 1-6, Haggai, Zechariah- Big idea of Restore Worship
- Esther- Providence of God
- Ezra 7-10 Restore the Word
- Nehemiah- Restore the Church
- We are on the down hill run of an epic saga.
- Here is the question, As God restore his people what can we learn to restore our church?
- Main point this morning “May God Restore Us”
Nehemiah 1:1-3
- Last week, “Remnant” to bring His story of restoration
- It has been almost 100 years since we read Ezra 1. The walls are still down. It’s time to finish this thing!
- Providentially uses a man named Nehemiah to continue the work
Read 1:4 There are many Jews that didn’t go Jerusalem. Why does Nehemiah respond with such passion? May God restore our hearts to have a heart like this! A deep passion for the work of God!
Read 1:4-11
- Randall- in Community group. unfaithfulness= Scatter / Return =Gather
- In CG, we usually study after the sermon, but now we are studying before hand, learning how to study scripture inductively.
vs. 8-9 quotes Deut. 30
“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.
If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. And the LORD your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. Deuteronomy 30:1–5
- Why? Nehemiah’s prayer gives light -> Sin,
- they didn’t do what God said vs. 7, “nor have I” – Scatter
- But if you return and do what he said- Gather
- Give success to your servant, I want to be used to restore us back to your covenant, to gather your people
Read 2:1-8
- His heart breaks for the kingdom, He confesses sin, includes himself, prays that God would restore the people to the covenant, and then acts. May God raise up more men and women in our church to do the same!
- May God Restore us
- Explain 2:9-16, observes the wall and establishes a plan
Read 2:17-20
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- Application
- Is confession of sin and repentance a part God restoring us? As New covenant Christians, does this apply to us?
- Application
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8–9
Start with knowing your own heart.
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:23–24
- Nehemiah, he humbles himself and aligns his heart with the guilt of his fathers. May our hearts break for the church!
- May God restore us!
- Do we confess to God? Yes. But what about one another? Yes
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. James 5:14–16a
- Wisdom would agree
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13
- This involves trust. For some of us this means we need to earn it.
- Gossip, backbiting, whispering, How is this overcome?
- See yourself in their sin!
- If someone confesses sin and you talk about it behind their backs you are not communicating that you are better than them. You are a Pharisee.
- He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: Luke 18:9
- Gossip, backbiting, whispering, How is this overcome?
- May God restore us!
- Church is a place where it’s ok to not be ok, but just don’t stay there!
- Confession and repentance leads to something
- Share the burden
- Helps us receive God’s forgiveness and live in his FREEDOM!
- Puts us in accountability to help us not be bound
- Does it lead to blessings like it did with Nehemiah?
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34–35
- Fulfills the great commission. Draws us back to the New Covenant.
- His heart breaks for the kingdom, He confesses sin, includes himself, prays that God would restore the people to the covenant, and then acts.
And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:6
Lead into communion