Today we want to resume our current series titled, When Considering a Building Project, Take a Lesson from Nehemiah. So let me invite you to open your Bibles with me to the book of Nehemiah chapter 8. Nehemiah chapter 8. The year was 1974. It was the scandal of the decade. Corruption reaching up to the pinnacle of American politics. The very president of the United States, President Richard Nixon. The scandal involved the arrest of five men for breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee housed in what was called the Watergate Building in Washington, D.C. It was later proven that these five men were linked to President Nixon and a cover-up that he was involved in, resulting in the only resignation of a United States president in the history of our country. I remember it well. The word Watergate is infamous in American history and politics. But did you realize that there was another Watergate that is famous for another reason? The year was 444 B.C. In the land of Israel during the time of Nehemiah's reconstruction of Jerusalem's broken down walls. For it was at that Watergate in Jerusalem that one of the greatest spiritual revivals in the history of the nation of Israel occurred. As described, Ezra read the Word of God to a humble and responsive crowd of Jews who were hungry to hear, to believe, and to obey the very Word of God. We read about this Watergate revival in Nehemiah 8, and we begin at verse 1. Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Watergate, and they took Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the water gate from morning until midday before the men and women and those who could understand and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. So, Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose. And beside him, at his right hand, stood a bunch of other men. Verse 5, And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people. And when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, Amen! Amen! while lifting up their hands and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also, several other men helped the people to understand the law and the people stood in their place. So they read distinctly from the book in the law of God and they gave the sense and helped them to understand the reading. and Nehemiah who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not weep or mourn nor weep, for all the people wept when they heard the words of the Lord. Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord, Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still, for the day is holy. Do not be grieved. And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions, and rejoiced greatly because they understood the words that were declared to them. Now this great Watergate revival we're going to study tonight and Sunday and perhaps next Wednesday night as well, is all about the convicting and cleansing power of the Word of God when respected, when read, and when responded to by faith. And the same is true in our day. For we have far more than the law of God to read. We have an entire Bible. Sixty-six books rolled. Together, over 1,500 years, by 40 different authors in three different languages, there for us to read. There for us to respond to. And to learn what the true and living God is like. To understand His plan of salvation. To then understand His plan for the Christian life. For apart from the Word of God, you will never know the will of God relative to your own life. In fact, what can the learning and application of the Word of God accomplish in your life? Let me mention seven things fairly quickly. Number one, it can bring you to salvation. It can bring you to salvation. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3.15, and that from childhood, you, Timothy, have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for, here's the key word, Salvation to everyone or through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Wise for salvation. Salvation. And by the way, that's the first issue between an individual and God. It's not what church do you go to. It's not what ritual have you partaken of. It's not What do you think of even creation? The whole first issue is what do you think of Jesus Christ and have you been saved? And how are you saved? We're told, through faith. Faith in who? Faith in Christ Jesus. That's how you are saved. You see, understanding the Word of God, at least in particular the Gospel of Christ, allows you to understand His plan of salvation. As Jesus Christ said regarding Himself, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And you see, the life of Christ can save no one, for the penalty for sin is death. It was the death of Christ that provided salvation for us. His life demonstrated His deity, His life demonstrated His compassion, His life demonstrated in some ways His humanity without sin. But it's through His death that salvation has been provided. And His resurrection from the grave, as now as a living Savior, He offers salvation to us. And this is the message we must know and we must believe for ourselves. You know, I was reminded of that when I did a funeral yesterday up on the Iron Range for Mary Ann Pekice. Now, I've known Mary Ann for some 30 years. She was saved in 1973 and I happened to be saved in 1973, though we never met each other until about 1980. And when we met each other, we hit it off right away. She died in her 80s. I think she was 81 when she died last week. And her background is Roman Catholic. In fact, at one time, she was a Roman Catholic nun here in Duluth. And she eventually left there, married, had children. And through a backyard Bible club, her children heard the gospel and eventually got saved and then brought things home to her. And she ended up getting saved. Incredible, but true. In fact, she wrote a booklet, or at least we put it into a booklet, her testimony, which is available if you'd like to pick one up. The enlightening personal testimony of a former Roman Catholic Sister of the Order of Saint Benedict, Marianne Piquis. And you know, having met her and then conversed with her over the years, she made it very clear to me she wanted me to do her funeral. One, because of my background. Two, because she was confident I would get the Gospel clearly. And she had a lot of Roman Catholic relatives that would be coming. There were also individuals that had a Baptist background that came that claimed to be saved. And frankly, the response was very good to what was said. Those who were saved really appreciated the clarity. And even those who weren't saved came up to me after and didn't make a claim to be saved. And they just said, you know, We really appreciated what you said today. You made it very simple and very clear. Every funeral should be like this. And in fact, I was able to give some of them some additional literature as well. You see, with Mary Ann's Roman Catholic background and having then come to trust Christ 30 some years ago, when she died, 2 Corinthians 5.8 happened. Absent from the body was present with the Lord. She went to be with the Lord. And you know what? She knew she was saved. And she knew she was saved forever because she knew it didn't depend on her. In fact, this is what she said. Now, at that funeral, Dennis, I want you to make sure that you tell people what God has done for me, not what I have done for God. And I want you to preach the gospel. And you see, it was through her understanding the essence of John 3, 14 and 15 that resulted in her salvation. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent of the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You see, with her background, she knew God was holy. She knew she was a sinner. She knew she could earn or deserve hell. She knew, though, that Jesus Christ was God. She knew He had become a man. She knew He had died. And she knew He rose again. And she even knew He had died for the sins of the world. But what she did not understand was the very thing I did not understand as well until I was saved. That on the cross, Jesus cried out, It is finished. And He had paid it all. That He had taken care of all of my sins. And if He had taken care of all of my sins, what were left for the church to remove? Or infant baptism to remove? Or confirmation to take care of? Salvation was not on the installment plan basis based on the works of the church or my works, but was based solely on the work of Jesus Christ. As no church can save you and no ritual can save you. And she came to understand the finished work of Christ. The substitutionary death of Christ. And she loved to talk about that. Jesus said, it is finished. I agree, God. And if God agrees it's finished, the question is, do you agree? Do you agree? You see, on that cross, I looked at a cross every Sunday morning. And during the Apostles' Creed, I said, He died and He rose again. But what I didn't understand is on that cross, He was dying for me. He paid for my sins so beautifully. There was nothing left for me to do but to put my trust in Him alone. What a wonderful message of salvation. That it wasn't a reward for good people or good works. It was a gift for sinners. And you know, when I was there yesterday, I ran into a gal, a lady who I haven't seen for a few years. A lady I've known from the past. In fact, by the grace of God, I was instrumental in her getting saved many years ago. And what was very interesting about this particular lady, and I haven't had this kind of experience normally. is that several years ago, her and her husband and her two children and her two older sisters all came down to our house here in Duluth on a Friday night, and Nancy made a wonderful supper for them. And when we were done, we moved to the living room and I began to explain the Gospel. And as I was explaining the Gospel, her 14-year-old son says, I get it. Christ died for me. I'm saved. And she said, he goes, I finally understand that one verse I memorized in Awana years ago. But to him that worketh not, but believes on him who justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counter for righteousness. I just continue to explain about 10 minutes later, his sister says, I believe, I get it, I'm saved. A little while later, their dad says, I finally know and I'm assured I'm going to go to heaven. A little while later, one of the aunts says, I understand, I'm saved. At least three people get saved through one with the assurance all in the same night. Because they finally understood these very truths that I just shared with you. You see, the issue is, are you trying to be saved by your works? Many are. Others are saying, well, I think we need to add Christ to the formula, but our works are necessary too. That just means you don't believe it's finished. It's not until you're in Category 3 here, where your faith is in Christ alone, because you believe on the cross, it's finished, He did enough, and therefore, your trust is in Christ alone, that salvation becomes yours. Because that is what the verse said, 2 Timothy 3.15. You have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ. So, the first thing the Word of God can do in your life is it can bring you to salvation. But secondly, as a result of being saved, it can then produce in your life spiritual growth. Spiritual growth. 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, the following verses say, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. that the man of God may be complete here. The word complete means mature, complete, well-rounded. And you see, being saved is wonderful. Now your destiny has changed, but God doesn't take you home right away because He wants you to grow now that you have been born again. It starts with being born again, but it doesn't end there. That's not the end, that's just the beginning of a new life in Christ. And as a result of being saved, God now moves you from being justified before God, knowing one day you're going to go to heaven either by death or by rapture, and now there's stage two of salvation in which God wants to save you from the power of sin, and He wants you to mature as a believer from being a babe in Christ to a spiritual adolescent, to being a mature believer. And this comes through the intake of the Word of God, learning to walk by faith under the power of the Holy Spirit so that Jesus Christ can be glorified in your life. If you take away the Word of God from that formula, you cannot grow. Thirdly, it can equip you for service as a believer. You've been saved, you're growing, now God wants to use you by His grace to bring honor and glory to Him and to serve as an ambassador for Christ. So verse 17 says that the man of God may be complete, catch this, thoroughly equipped for every good work. You see, you're not saved by good works, but as a result of getting saved, God has a plan that includes good works and serving Him and in doing so, ministering to the needs of others as well. But don't put the cart before the horse. Many people think, well, if I live a good enough life and I minister to others, maybe one day I'll get to heaven. No, no. That's all backwards and that's Satan's lie. No, you first are saved by the grace of God, saved as a gift from God, and then you can grow and as an outflow of that walking growth in the Lord, you can serve not in order to go to heaven, but because you're going and you want to impact others for the cause of Jesus Christ. But again, if you're going to be equipped to do the will of God, you must know the Word of God. Otherwise, you will serve based on your own thinking instead of the Lord's. Fourthly, it can provide comfort and hope. And by the way, we need both. Romans 15, verse 4 says, for whatever things were written before were written for our learning. that we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. Notice the word comfort. Notice the word hope. Notice the word Scriptures. You see, the Scriptures are what really comfort someone in a time of need. That's why in that great Thessalonian passage that brings up the rapture, how does it end? Therefore, comfort one another with these words. And we need hope. Hope is a confident assurance A future blessing by God. And we need hope. We need hope in this life, and we need hope as it relates to the next. Not in the sense of something iffy, but something guaranteed. But because it's future, we now hope for it. And you know, I was reminded of both comfort and hope this week when I was out in North Stonington Bible Church. In the last year, they've had seven deaths in that church. Charlie Mathis's wife, Pat, as many of you would know Pat, because they used to live here, died this past year, among others. But Jay Chappell's two grandchildren were both killed in a motorcycle accident there in May. Both James and Levi, I think it was 22 and 15 years old, both killed the same day. Terrible, terrible. Tragedy on the one hand, and yet tremendous comfort to be found. And I spent time with both their families when I was out there. And because of the Word of God in their soul, in a time of difficult trial, they have found great comfort and hope. They know they're going to see their kids again because they were both saved by the grace of God. They know that God is in control. They know His grace is sufficient. They have found comfort. of hope from the Word and promises of God. In fact, James' mother told me, you know, I'm just so grateful for my dad, Jay Chappell, who just taught us the Word of God over and over and over again. In fact, notice on both their tombstones, there's a verse. Philippians 1.21, 2 Corinthians 5. Where do you find comfort in a time of trial? Where do you find hope in a time of someone's death, including your children's? When they know the Lord and you know the Word, you find comfort from the promises of God. And by the way, it's not until you are prepared to die that you're really prepared to live. That was true with me. When I was saved at the age of 18, for the first time in my life, I knew I was going to heaven and I knew I deserved to go to hell, but it was a gift I had received through faith in Christ. But now for the first time in my life, I finally had a purpose bigger than me. Because my whole life was about me. I was kissing myself in the mirror. And thus now, Philippians 1.21 says, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Because it's His love that now constrained me when I recognize what He's done for me that now compelled me to want to live for Him who died for me. You see, the Word of God can provide comfort and hope for us. If you died tonight as a believer, would your life have mattered? Or would it be on the tombstone, life wasted, reward lost? Now, keep in mind, not gift lost. You can't lose your salvation. But for those who faithfully serve the Lord after they're saved, there is a reward in heaven waiting for them. that will determine how they serve the Lord in the eternity future. You might say, oh, hey, I'm just college age. Well, the fact is, one wasn't even college age, just 15. The other was stationed in Minot, North Dakota, in the military as a young 20-year-old. There's no guarantee they're going to live beyond today. Capture the moment the Lord gives you. to serve Him before it's too late. Let your life count for Jesus Christ. Which leads us to number five. The learning and application of the Word of God can protect you from Satan's wiles. Can protect you from Satan's wiles. And by wiles, we're talking about methods. We're talking about strategies. It's what the Bible says in Ephesians 6, 10 and 11, to put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. And you see, as you think of that, you see the sword of the Spirit there. And according to Ephesians 6, 17, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And the particular word there for word is the Greek word rhema. It speaks of the specific sayings of God. That you know particular truth and particular promises. that can be taken out of the reservoir of truth that is being built in your thinking, so the Spirit of God can even lead you to say, that verse right there applies right here, I want you to believe it. And remember, when Satan tempted the Lord Jesus, what did he do three times? He says, it is written, it is written, it is written, and quoted very specific verses out of all places in the book of Deuteronomy. which most of us haven't read in a long time. You know, Scott sent us a picture of this snake. Now that is just incredible, is it not? There in Myanmar, one of the believers brought a picture of this 50-foot python they found in the jungle. This particular backhoe had killed it. And if you notice closely, the head of that python is as big or bigger than the man in that backhoe. And if you notice closely, it's wider here. It's probably got a wild boar or something in there. 50 foot wide. How would you like to run into that at night in your backyard? But you know, as I thought of that huge snake, I couldn't help but think of the huger snake. That old serpent, the devil. as he's called in Scripture, who is far more dangerous than even that 50-foot python there in the jungles of Myanmar. And to think of the value of the Word of God, 1 John 2, 12-14 says this, I write to you, little children, particular Greek word for all believers, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." Notice, what is true of all believers? Your sins have been forgiven you. Why? Because of Jesus Christ. I write to you, fathers, those are mature believers, because you've known Him from the beginning. I write to you, young men, that's adolescent believers, they've been saved for a while, they've grown, because you have overcome the wicked one. They've tasted some spiritual victory in their life. I write to you, little children, this is a different Greek word than up here. These are different Greek words. And it speaks of an immature believer, because you have known the Father. You know that God is your Father. I have written to you, fathers, mature believers, because you've known Him from the beginning in a personal, intimate way. I've written to you, young men, adolescent believers, and I'll catch this. Because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one. You see, if you haven't tasted some spiritual victory in your life because of the intake of the Word of God being mixed with faith, you're clearly still just an immature believer. You might have been part of this church for years. You may have grown up in a Christian home. But have you tasted and seen the Lord as good? Do you know the Word of God? Is it on the launching pad of your thinking? Has it been mixed with faith? Have you seen some spiritual victory over Satan who uses the world to entice your flesh to move in a direction that's inconsistent with the will of God? For you see, God's objective is from the point of time you're born again to the point of time you go home to be with the Lord, that there's ongoing growth here again. From being immature, to being an adolescent, to being a mature believer made more and more in the likeness of Christ. But too often, this is what happens in believers' life. Because they're not serious about learning the Word, or they don't mix it with faith, as they learn to walk in daily fellowship with the Lord. But the Word of God will accomplish its objectives if we're willing to allow it to do that very thing. Number six, it can transform you as you behold Jesus Christ through the Word of God. It can transform you, by the way, on the inside. You see, we're not talking about some legalistic external conformity on the outside here. We're talking about what the Word of God can do internally, for through the Word of God you behold Jesus Christ. You see Him not only as the Savior you've trusted, but your Lord who you are to yield to every day, and your life whom you are to rely upon. You see Him as the one who's coming again for you. You see Him as head of the church. You see Him for who He is, so that He could become, in a practical way, your all in all. 2 Corinthians 3.18 says, But we all, with unveiled face, behold, He is in a mirror, the Word of God, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as by the Spirit of the Lord. Our part is to behold. His part is to then transform us into that very image. And He does it by means of the Spirit of God, using the Word of God in our life. You know, the seventh thing I could mention of the value of the Word of God, of learning and applying your life, it can strengthen and stabilize you in trials. It can strengthen and stabilize you in trials. And by the way, all believers face trials, don't they? If you didn't have one today, buckle up for tomorrow. They happen in all of our lives because we live in a fallen world. Sometimes we bring on our own trials due to sinful choices. Other times it's undeserved suffering and yet, nevertheless, real. What's going to strengthen you? What's going to sustain you? What's going to stabilize you in the trials you face? Well, Psalm 119.92 says, unless your law, the Word of God, had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. I'd have been blown away. I wouldn't have been stabilized. I wouldn't have been strengthened. I wouldn't have grown. And you see, God allows trials in your life to mature you and to take those truths that you're hearing here on the blackboard of Bible teaching and apply it to the blacktop of your life. And you're not going to apply everything. In fact, not everything is even applicable. For example, for those of you who are single, how would you apply the verse, husband, love your wife? You obviously won't. You say, I'd like to. Well, at the right time. But not until then. How do you take the passage, I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them that have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as those that have no hope. Until you have a loved one who is saved who dies. So there are some passages that are applicable under certain conditions. There are some passages that are just frame or reference truths that we need to understand, understand the big picture. And there are some verses that are extremely practical and applicable to us every day of our Christian life, including every trial that we face. As you think of even Job in the Old Testament, what sustained Job in his horrific trials? Well, he tells us, Job 23, verses 10 through 12. But he, God, knows the way that I take, and when he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot is held fast to his steps. I have kept his way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lip. Now notice this. I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. That was the key. He treasured the word of God. He treasured the Word of God and it gave him a divine viewpoint on his trials to know that the Lord knows the way that I take and when He has tested me, I shall come forth as God. What a positive outlook to the tremendous trials that he was facing. Now, if all of this is true, these seven things, and we could have done at least another seven or more of the value of the Word of God in your life, How should you value the Word of God and clear, sound, scriptural teaching? Well, he just told you. I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. In other words, the Word of God is more important to me than eating my next meal. Now, that's uncommon for believers. Just take a look at the person next to you. Most of us are not shorting ourselves any meals. And yet here, he says, I have treasured the words of his mouth. By the way, do you treasure them? You know, when you treasure something, it's something you highly value. You don't just take your treasure and put it outside your front door and hope anyone walking by takes something out of it. No, you treasure it. Do you treasure the Word of God? Do you treasure clear, sound, scriptural teaching? The psalmist said in Psalm 119, 11, Thy Word, and this is the New American Standard Version, I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against thee. Do you treasure the Word of God? Yeah, it's right up there with duck hunting, bear hunting, moose hunting. Deer with a bull hunting, deer with a rifle hunting, and fishing. It's right up there. And I say that because, you know, I'm not against any of those things, but some believers I don't see for months around here. Because they're always doing things that are not immoral. Just in light of eternity, they're basically worthless. And they just cut out the Word of God, They're not laying one on the town. No, no. They're just busy, soil-free believers where the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things choke the Word of God out of their lives. If you go hunting this Sunday, that's between you and the Lord. But I want you to ask yourself this one question simply. As you look at your life and overall, do you treasure the Word of God? Is it important to you? You say, yes. That's kind of important. It doesn't get top billing. And it's been said by many, your love for the Lord is measured by your love for His Word. No wonder Psalm 19, verses 10 and 11 says that the Word of God is more to be desired, are they, than gold, ye that much find gold. Sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward in knowing and keeping the Word of God. Do you desire it more than gold? Are you saying, man, my objective in life is to get as much as I can so I can retire at 39 with my backside comfortable? Because the bottom line for me is a buck. Is that how you say it? Because if that's how you think, you're as worldly as the day is long, though you may not lay one on the town. In fact, if you laid one on the town, it would be a step up and you'd catch on quicker to where you're really at. That's the case. You see, Proverbs 23, 23 says, buy the truth and do not sell it. Also, wisdom, instruction and understanding. You know, when you think of buying something, how about buying the truth? And don't sell it, don't forsake it. And again, we see this great value placed on the Word of God, and placed on sound biblical teaching. And in our day, it's a spiritual jungle out there. It's hard to hear a clear gospel, let alone Christian living by grace, and a dispensational approach to the Word of God, and on and on we could go. And though we're not the only church on the planet, and we're thankful for every church that's preaching the Word of God and teaching the gospel, the fact of the matter is, they're few and far between. And you see, the bottom line is if there's ever going to be a spiritual revival in your life, or in our church, or in another church, whenever that's needed. And you know, by the way, when you revise something, that means it's almost dead. You know that. I hope we're not almost dead here. But the point I'm after is if there's going to be fruitfulness and growth and love for the Lord and love for others and service and so forth, it's going to involve right front and center the Word of God. And that's what it did in Nehemiah's day. And that's why as we've looked at the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem in Nehemiah chapters 1-7, we saw the preparation for the work in chapters 1 and 2, the progress of the work in chapter 3, the problems in the work in chapters 4-6. And we saw that by the grace of God, in 52 days those walls were built. But why was the rebuilding of the wall not enough for the people and not an end in itself? Why are we going to read here about the reading of the Word of God for hours there? Because the rebuilding of the wall only addressed the external physical condition of the city, not the internal spiritual condition of the people. And this is so important to remember. You know, so often churches invest in a building, have a nice building. Question, what's going on with the people? Are they saved? Are they growing? Are they fruitful? Are they getting fed the Word of God? What another's going on? Is there a vision for the lost? In fact, in some churches you could walk in and just ask, when's the last time someone's been saved around here? And they would say, what in the world are you talking about? In other cases, they just consist of everyone above 70 years old saying, well, I was saved 65 years ago. OK, that's really wonderful. Anyone been saved lately? Any life here? And I say that because you see, we see an example from the early church at Acts 2.42. that they kept on devoting themselves, number one, to the Apostles' doctrine. Flowing out of that was fellowship, then breaking of bread and prayer. But you take away the Apostles' doctrine and you've just taken away the vital ingredient for all the other things to happen. And you know, I'm cognizant of that here at Duluth Bible Church. And I was so pleased at how you rose to the occasion this past month to help paint many parts of this building in three days. But you know what? To paint a building in three days versus to see someone grow. Obviously, to see someone grow is going to take a lot longer. In fact, leading people to Christ is simple in comparison to helping them really grow and get established in the Lord. In fact, even as I thought of this very thing, the external versus the internal. You know, I thought of even Christian homes. And you know, there's various options you have available as a parent regarding your children and schooling. Some parents in our church send their kids to public school and some private school, some homeschool. And let me just say something to the homeschoolers for a minute. That if your mentality is this, that I'm homeschooling my child to protect my children from the world, That's not wrong in itself, but if you don't go beyond that, you're going to miss it. I am convinced the greatest university is the home. And as Christian parents, we're to train up our children in the nurture and admonition of the home. And too often, we think, I'm going to protect my kids from the world. But frankly, if you're not training them up so that you lead them to Christ by the grace of God and help them understand how to think biblically, You just have a moral kid who doesn't even know how to walk in the Spirit, or to live for Christ, or to think in terms of the will of God, and as a result they are totally unprepared to really face the challenges of the world out there once they leave the umbrella of your home. And that's why kids in Christian homes sometimes just go hog wild once they get out of their home. Why? Because inside, they haven't been responding to the Lord. Now, sometimes the parents have done a good job, but the children aren't responding. But in other cases, they've been content with this external conformity. They've been content with the walls of Jerusalem just built. But what's going on on the inside? And you see, that's what we have here in Nehemiah. The walls are built, but what's going on on the inside? And that's why we see The re-instruction of the people in chapters 8 and 9. They need instruction from the Word of God. They need to be spiritually fed. They need to grow. And in doing so, they're going to be humbled. And they are going to be convicted. They're going to mourn. They're going to weep when they see how far away they have strayed from the Word of God. And yet, that conviction and cleansing will have a very purifying effect upon them. and an impact that will last for a long time. Now, the elements of the revival at the Watergate are several. As time permits, we will cover as many as we can tonight. Number one, it started privately with God using primarily the diligence and ministry of one faithful believer by the name of Ezra. Now, I'm not suggesting Nehemiah wasn't walking with the Lord or wasn't concerned about spiritual things. He was, as the chapter will bear out. But before Nehemiah, there was a man who went back to Jerusalem to help rebuild the temple. And that was delayed by virtue of Artaxerxes hearing false rumors about what was going on. And his name was Ezra. Now, what was true of Ezra? In Ezra 7, verses 6-10, this is what we read. This Ezra came up from Babylon, and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses. Please note that. Skilled scribe in the Law of Moses. He knew the Word of God, and he knew it with skill, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his requests according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him, just like Nehemiah. Some of the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers and the Nethanim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was the seventh year of the king. On the first day of the first month, he began his journey from Babylon. And on the first day of the fifth month, he came to Jerusalem according to the good hand of his God upon him. Notice the Lord, again, the Lord was directing and providing. Now catch this. For Ezra, had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel." First the vertical, then the horizontal. He prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. Now, we say, well, what about everyone else? Well, for the most part, they were in spiritual apathy. Just like the temple was basically destroyed and the walls were broken down, the people were spiritually like that too. So here comes a man who's responding to the Lord. He's responding to the Word of God. And he's desirous of seeing the Word of God applied in his life and taught to others. And this should encourage you. Parents, this should encourage you. That by the grace of God, you can be a great impact in the life of those children. You say, well, my husband isn't really with it. In fact, my husband might not even be saved. Or vice versa, my wife's not really with it. Guess what? One plus God equals a majority. And God can use you. It doesn't matter if others are failing around you. You say, well, you know, I have this good Christian friend. He's been one of my best friends. And he's flaked off and he's left the Lutheran Church. What would you do? Would you flake off too? Well, you know, my friend... Do you ever walk with the Lord yourself? Do you discern the will of God as it relates to your life? Are you just a pied piper following the leader? Or do you follow the ultimate leader, the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you willing to be that one person who could make a difference in the life of others like Ezra did? You see, it all started privately with God using primarily the diligence and ministry of one faithful believer named Ezra. And God says, hey, I've got one I can work with here. Secondly, it involved the willingness by the people to publicly assemble to hear the Word of God. In verse 1 of chapter 8 we read, Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the water gate. They gathered together as one man. This shows the idea of a large crowd that had gathered, some public assembly of one kind. A lot of people in one location. And by the way, that location was the Watergate here. The Watergate. Now, I just want to point out something. The Watergate is here, but the temple area is over here. Now you would think he would have done it right by the temple. You know, the place where the Shekinah glory of God had resided. But no, he didn't. They did it at the water gate. And you know, I take away from that the idea that the important thing is not the place this is going on, but that the Word of God and people are being ministered to again. And as I've said before, our emphasis at Duluth Bible Church is not on brick and mortar and having the nicest building in the city of Duluth. It is on the Word of God, ministered to people, addressing their needs, and then a body concept that ministers one to the other. Now, when did this occur? Well, it's easy to skip the last verse of chapter 7, But it gives us some indication. Verse 73, So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethanam, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities. Now, the seventh month in the biblical holidays of the Old Testament was a very significant time. It was then that these fall holidays would occur. The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Tabernacles is when this would occur. So, this was connected to this feast day. They assembled all together publicly. Now, why is this reminder needed in our day? Hebrews 10, 24 and 25 tell us this, and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some, but exhorting one another in so much the more as you see the day approaching. You know, if we're going to consider one another here in order to stir up the love and good works, we have to connect with one another. You see, this participle, not forsaking, is a participle of means. How do we consider one another? How do we stir them up to love? How do we stir them up to good work? By not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some. You see, they had that problem in the early church too. But, the idea here is by exhorting one another. And so much the more as you see the day approaching. You see, when we get together and the Word of God is taught, you're exhorted. And when you're with one another, you can encourage one another as well. And as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. And not that all ministry happens here. Hopefully it happens out there as well. But we're reminded again of the importance of public assembly. To worship the Lord, to hear His Word, to minister one to the other. Now, in our day of technology, We have audio ministry, video ministry, live webcast ministry. And I don't mind the live webcast ministry. I'm thankful for it. But I know there's a right and wrong use to it. There are those out there in our country who don't have access to a good local church and they appreciate that. There are some in our city who belong to our church who are shut in and have physical disabilities or maybe they get a cold or they're sick and they have a chance to watch this and that's really good. But at times this can be misused and people just sit home and you know there's no real good reason but they just like to sit and eat chocolate chip cookies and drink their hot chocolate and turn me off as they want to and so forth and so forth. And that isn't good. Because, you know, it's not merely hearing the Word, it's worshipping together, it's fellowshipping with one another. It's getting to know one another, caring about one another. Exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. So you see, as we think of this revival, it started with one man, primarily. It involved a willingness by the people to publicly assemble to hear the Word of God. And thirdly, it involved the people requesting to meet together. It was initiated here by the people. Verse 1 says, Now the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the water gate, and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded Israel. They told Ezra the scribe to bring the book. Now, by telling them, I'm assuming they requested this, but this is what they wanted. Now, what does this indicate about the people? That they are hungry to learn God's Word. 1 Peter 2 tells us, as a believer, to desire the sincere milk of the Word that you might grow thereby. Jeremiah 15, 16 tells us, Thy words were found and I did eat them, and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. I want to ask you, are you hungry to learn the Word of God? Is it a priority? Are you willing to take sides against your flesh and yield to the Lord and come out and hear the Word of God? You'll be glad that you do. In fact, you know, Larry Chappell, pastor at North Stonington, said, It was all those years of sitting under his dad, hearing the Bible taught over and over again that has been the number one reason of his own growth and equipping for service. Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, Isaiah 28. We see here the people requesting to meet together. This is what they wanted. And fourthly, it involved the people wanting to hear the Word of God, and in particular, the Law. They wanted to hear the Word of God. They told Moses the scribe to bring the book. What book? The book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. They didn't want to hear Uncle Remus' fairy tales. They didn't want to hear just anecdotal stories one after another. There's a place for stories, but they only should illustrate the Word of God. They wanted to hear the Word of God, and in particular, the Law of Moses. Now, what is significant to remember about this? That while all Scripture is for us, not all is to us, and as a believer living presently under the dispensation of grace in the church age, we are not under law, but under grace. He said, well, what do you mean by dispensations? Well, what we mean is this, that as you interpret the Bible in a normal, grammatical, historical, contextual way, that you will recognize that God's plan of the ages involves different people. and different administrations during different periods of time in which they were given revelation and responsibility and so forth. And as a result, they were to respond to that truth and that therefore, how God dealt in the past is not necessarily the same as He deals today. In the Garden of Eden, there was a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Have you ever found that tree, Seth? No. Under the law, you are not supposed to dress with mixed threads. Do you have mixed threads on today? Under the law, you were to keep the Sabbath. Have you been doing that? Or did you work last Saturday on your yard? Why didn't you bring a sacrifice with you last weekend? Why? Because you recognize that while all Scripture is for us, not all is written to us. And therefore, there's a difference between truth given to the Church versus truth given to Israel, or truth regarding the coming Kingdom of God. You have to rightly divide this. But notice, they wanted the book, The Law of Moses. And what does this underscore regarding both the authority and sufficiency of God's Word? That the Scriptures unmixed with human philosophy and a religious tradition is all that was requested and all that is really needed. They didn't say, oh, we want the book of the Law of Moses and can you add some other things too? No, no, no, no, no. No, the Scriptures were the final authority, the sole authority, and they were sufficient to address the spiritual needs they had. You see, one of the problems with Judaism over time is they added to the Torah the Talmud and religious traditions so that Jesus Christ said in Matthew 15, you make of none effect the Word of God And by the way, that's what happened in the early church as well. Pretty soon, ritualism came in and Greek philosophy was mixed with the Word of God. And today, look at the mess we're in. You see, the Reformation, at least in part, was a return to the Word of God. And the key phrases in the Reformation was, by grace alone, by faith alone, by Scripture alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. Though they still had baggage. But they were making headway. And in our day, we're challenged with this as well. You know, such as not the Bible and so-called science. I want the Bible, but that's not enough. I want so-called science as well. And I love that picture. I think that's just so humorous. I'm not against legitimate science, but so often what is pawned off as science isn't really science at all. Not the Bible and human philosophy. We don't need that either. As if God needed an editor. Or we needed human wisdom mixed with divine. Nor do we need the Bible and religious tradition. No, what do they want? We want the book. The book. And by the way, do you know that's what the word Bible means? It means the book. The book of books. But what is important to remember personally about biblical subject matter? They wanted the law because that's what they had. But you know, all Scripture is profitable to study, though not all is directly written to you, nor may it be of equal interest by you. I mean, you know, they read Genesis or Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. I mean, how many of you are requesting I teach on Leviticus? Now, I'm not saying that would be wrong. But let's face it, that was under law for Israel. There's truths that can be derived from there, but it's not directly written to us. And frankly, some subject matter is more interesting than others. But you still need to hear the Word of God, line upon line, precept upon precept. Now, I say that because some people are like, oh, Romans 6. I want to hear Romans 6. And if it's not Romans 6, I really don't want to hear it. That's really being open to the Word. Oh, I want to hear about marriage and parenting. And if it's not about marriage and parenting, we're going to learn about God's plan for the ages. I'm not really all that interested. Oh, really? Well, God wants you to be interested in His plan for the ages. And how you look at the future affects how you live now. Don't you want to hear that too? And that's why when you come here, it's not like every time you come, I'm just going to give this wham-bang message that just meets you right where you're at in every way. You know, just tailored for you, your husband called in advance. No, no, no. Though sometimes you're going to say, wow, that's just what I needed. I've had people tell me, did my wife call you? You know, the Lord knows what we need. But again, it's that cumulative effect of building up that reservoir of truth over hearing the Word of God over and over again on various subjects that allows the Spirit of God to use that in time of need wherever we're at and what we're on. Now, how is this in striking contrast to the norm for our day in Christendom, generally, and the Evangelical Church specifically? You know, in some churches, you never need to bring a Bible ever there. Never. It's not going to be taught. They might give a lit service to a scripture reading, maybe a little sermonette for Christians, but you really don't need a Bible. In fact, in some churches, they discourage you even bringing a Bible. Some Bible doctrine is downplayed and replaced in our day with 45 minutes of singing and drama. We don't want to teach the Bible because how do we worship that? Did you realize in this passage in Nehemiah 8, where we're going to look at, that as they heard the Word of God, it says they bowed down and worshipped. They worshipped. Because the Word of God should lead you to worship. In our day, sound doctrine is disdained by many. And so often it's just not taught. In fact, someone shared with me the story here recently that in our recent Bible conference when we had the Friday night over at the Woodland Middle School and Randall Price spoke on Search of Noah's Ark, and I got up and gave the gospel after about a ten minute presentation, that somebody they knew that they invited said they talked all the way home about that ten minutes and said they learned more Bible in that ten minutes than they had learned in their church. all those years. Unfortunately, that's the order of the day. I had a friend of mine who attended a conference in Seattle here this past month. And it was the role of Scripture in Christian formation and education put on by the North American professors of Christian education. These are all the Bible colleges and Christian schools, at least most of them in the United States. They have their big gathering there. And this person told me as he listened to the different messages that the most conservative Bible teacher or educator there that he heard, and he's not the only one, but the only one he heard of all those, said we really should include the Bible in our curriculum. Now, you thought it was bad out there. It's even worse than you think. In fact, I was told recently by someone in the know that even at Dallas Theological Seminar, which used to be a bastion for good, sound, dispensational Bible teaching, but unfortunately to a large degree has departed, that in their Old Testament department, that the professors, almost to a person, denied the universal flood in Noah's day. That there was no such thing. that just hyperbolic language. When it says it went to the height of the highest mountain, it really didn't. That's just kind of a figurative expression of literary genre that says it was a bad local flood. Can you imagine if it was a local flood? It went to the top of Mount Erat. That would have been the most incredible miracle, almost, that God has ever done. Just think about it. But that's what happens when you don't interpret the Bible in a normal, grammatical, historical, contextual way. And again, unfortunately, the Church of Jesus Christ has moved far away from that. I was talking to a man just the other day who attended a Christian writers' conference last weekend. And he said it was really interesting. One of the speakers there was just sharing about what's selling among Christians in our day, in contrast to the past. You know, in 1982, what was the number one and number two bestsellers among Christian bestsellers? It's kind of interesting. You think about what would it be. Number one was Strong's Concordance. And number two was Halley or Haley's Biblehead. Now, both of those are designed so you could study the Bible better. 1982, 30 years later, what's the number one bestseller? Christian books. Heaven is for Real. A young boy emerges from a life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven. Number one New York Times bestseller. Where have we come? We've moved away from the Word of God to now someone's mystical experience. Is there a great need for doctrinally sound teaching? In fact, is there a great need for doctrinally sound publications? I ask you, does a dog bark? Does a cat meow? Do teenagers eat a lot? The answer is obviously yes. Yes. There's a great need for this, is there not? There's a great need to just go back to the Word of God. By the way, do you treasure the Word of God? Do you taste and see the Lord as good? Is it the joy and rejoicing of your heart? Do you look forward to coming tonight and hearing the Word? and you're just going through the motions playing church. If that's true, you need to admit that to the Lord. And let the love of Christ kindle afresh a desire for the Word of God in your life which can have such a transforming effect. We'll look at this more Sunday. Let's pray. Thank you so much for the Scriptures. We know they can bring someone to salvation. And if there's anyone here who's never been saved, may they realize it's not a matter of changing churches. It's not a matter of changing religions. It's not a religion at all. It is a personal relationship with you through Jesus Christ that you want them to enter into through simple childlike faith. in Jesus Christ who died for their sins and rose again and did it all. So there's nothing left for us to do to be saved but to trust in Him alone. And should anyone be here tonight who has never been saved, maybe even right now they realize it's not a matter of saying a prayer raising a hand, or signing a card, or making a commitment. It's not a matter of repenting from their sins, though they have many. It's not a matter of asking Jesus into their heart, though He comes in when they believe. May they realize it's a matter of putting their trust in the only Savior God ever provided, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You that Your Word can bring us to salvation, but then it can nourish us for spiritual growth. It can equip us for service. It can transform us on the inside. It can do so many things. May we ever value it. May we treasure it. May we buy the truth and sell it not. May it be a great priority in our life. Not the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things. Choke the Word of God out in our life. And if it is, may we be quick to confess that. Admit that. Let you tear the mask even of hypocrisy that may be going on in our life off us. And may we deal with you. a very realistic way. And I just want to thank you, Lord, that even when we sin and we go astray, you said if we confess our sins, you're faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness so that we could have fellowship with you again. We just thank you for that. May we value the public assembly of your word. May we underscore the word of God as being not only authoritative and sufficient, and the personal authority in our lives I would pray. And though indeed we are dismayed at the condition of Christendom and evangelical Christianity even in our day, Father, may this not cause us to be arrogant or puffed up or think we're better, for we know that apart from the grace of God, Your grace, so will we. Lord, may we take it to heart and realize this is where Duluth Bible Church can go to. And so, Father, thank you. for the great revival at the Watergate in Jerusalem in 444 B.C. and may indeed there be a tremendous working of your spirit in our hearts and lives and in our local church as well. Through the Word of God and whatever is done, may you receive the glory through your name. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Before you dismiss, let me mention a couple of things. First of all, I invite you to join us this Sunday. Eight o'clock service, duplicate service at 1045, 930 Bible hour in between. Secondly, it'll be next Wednesday night. We're going to take a congregational survey to get a sense from you again about your thoughts on publication ministry. the investment of this money in that direction, a part-time staff person, a full-time publication director, as well as