Let's go to Nehemiah. I don't know about you, but to be honest with you, I'm really enjoying going through this book. I know this book is a familiar book to many Christians. Some other books are not as familiar as Nehemiah. Nehemiah chapter 8. We're close to the end of the book, but it's just a very positive Maybe because I've been in leadership before and it kind of goes along with me, but what a great book to study. Take a lot of principles out of it. So Nehemiah chapter eight. And last week we looked at people do matter and people do matter. You matter to me. You're very dear to me and thank you. for your friendship and brothers and sisters in Christ and serving the Lord together. What a blessing. So tonight we're going to look at the importance of God's Word. Is God's Word important? Hey, somebody sent me a sweet little thing this morning. I checked my phone. I got this text message. I share it on Facebook. I share it on the family page on instant message. It just touched my heart so much. I want to read it to you because before we get to our verse right here, it just blessed my heart. And I told my friend, listen, I'm going to share this thing. and that person was very touched by it. But I'm going to share with you just because it was such a blessing. First, I didn't expect it and it just blessed my heart so immensely. It said, It says, My voice shall thou hear in the morning, O Lord. In the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up. Psalm chapter 5 verse 3. It says, Discouraged, look up. Worried, look up. Just pray and look up. When should I feel discouraged? Why should I feel discouraged? Why shall the shadows come? Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home? When Jesus is my portion, my constant friend is He. His eyes is on the sparrow and I know he watches over me. His eyes is on the sparrow and I know he watches over me. I sing because I'm happy. I sing because I'm free. For his eyes on the sparrow is a song and I know he watches over me. It has blessed my heart this morning. I was like, wow, Lord, thank you for that little thing. It was such a blessing. So I share with you. I hope it was a blessing to you as well. All right, Nehemiah chapter 8 verse 1. Look what it says. And all the people gathered themselves together as one man in the street that was before the water gate. And they spake unto Ezra, described, bring the book. of the law of Moses, which the Lord, the Lord had commanded to Israel. And as the priest brought the law before the congregation, both of man and woman and all and all that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the seven months, seven months, I'm sorry. And he read it. They ran before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday. That was a long reading. Okay before the man and woman and those that could understand the ears and in the ears of all the people were attentive into the onto the book of the law and as were the scribes stood up a pulpit of wood which they Had made for the purpose. Let's pray heavily father. Thank you Lord That was not Ezra that brought the book the people asked for it I wonder for it is when you people are hungry for your word and ask for a word from you. Thank you Lord and that you would still sustain us that you would still direct us that you would still the word of life in jesus name i pray amen all right god's word is important isn't it when you're discouraged look up when you worry look up When you need to pray, look up because God's word is that important. God is important to us, should be to us. If I love God so much, then his word is important to me because the Bible is the word of my God. True? So God's word is important. Okay, we got that? You online as well? Is God's word important to you? All right. So Jesus said, whoever he is to hear, let him hear. And he said that several times. in the New Testament, especially in the book of Revelation. He that have ears to hear, let him hear. So God says, if you have, well, let me go back a little bit. God gave us two ears and one mouth. So obviously God wants us to listen quite a bit. Sometimes, you know what, people don't want to hear that you try to say something, they're already talking over you, talking over you. Look, can you please stop and listen? Sometimes the Lord needs to tell me that too. Stop and listen. See, because God's word is important. I believe it's important to you, that's why you're here tonight. Right? That's why you're watching online. If God's word is important, I'm going to stop, I'm going to listen. Not just listen, I'm going to hear it. Because you know, sometimes people listen, goes this ear and goes the other one. What did he say? I don't know. I'll give you an example. We were in a meeting last week. Oh, that hit me hard. We were in a safety meeting and supervisor looks at me, you do it? And I was like, I was like, my eyes are open, but I was like, I have like a little cloud in my head. And I said, oh yes, I do. I had no clue what I said. The following week, guess what? He goes, you're going to do that? I said, do what? What are we talking in the meeting? So what meeting? He goes, you didn't hear what I said, did you? He was like, no, I was listening, but I didn't hear what you said. It went this way, it went the other way. Then he had to remind me, he was like, oh, would you do it? I'm like, yeah, sure, I'd do it. But at that moment, I was not listening. Same thing with, listen, if God's word is that important, then we do hear what God has to say, okay? And the reason why God made us with two ears and one mouth, he could have made us with two mouths and one ear, right? The French author Victor Hugo said over a century ago, England has two books, the Bible and Shakespeare. England made Shakespeare, but the Bible made England. Agree with that? Supporting the view, historians tell that the Elizabethans or Elizabethan England was indeed a country of one book and that book was the Bible. When they arrived in America, the pilgrims, the pilgrim fathers brought with them that same reference for the Word of God. The Bible came with them. When the pilgrims came to America, what came with them? The Bible came with them. They didn't forget the Bible. They took the Bible with them. So God's Word was important to them. Right? If you come to church, bring your Bible if it's important to you because the preacher is going to say, open your Bibles. I say it every Sunday, every time, open your Bibles. It's not my Bible because I got mine is open. Open your Bibles. If you have it on the iPad or on the phone or on paper, I still love my paper Bible because I like to scrub and write things down. But open your Bible. If the Bible is important to us, we take our Bible with us. We go to church, we take our Bible. Okay? Who was I? President Woodrow Wilson. I guess the name is, I'm bad with names. Okay. So if I mispronounce names, it's because I am bad. I'm bad with my own name. Okay. So America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteous, which are derived from the revelation of Holy Scripture. I mean, America was a Christian nation. I don't know if you can call America a Christian nation today, but it started that way. We can say that. Whether the Bible is making any nation today may be belated but one thing is sure the scriptures help to make the nation of Israel. They are a people of the book and there's no other nation ever been and the church today would do well to follow the ancient Israel as example or how to live for the Lord and now I mean they made many mistakes but you know God worked through them and all that that came about them so when God's people get away from the loving reading and obeying the Word of God, they lose the blessings of God. If we want to be like fruitful trees, like the book of Psalm chapter 1 talks about, we must delight in the Word of the Lord. Oh boy, I'll get up in the morning, I don't want my cup of coffee, but don't tell me to read my Bible. Something is wrong with you. You don't have to tell me that you read your Bible. It's between you and God. It's your food, it's your time, it's your one time with Him. I don't have to tell you, oh, you need to read your Bible. It's got to be an automatic food for the soul, for the Christian. I'm not saying like, you might get up at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, you might get up at 11 o'clock at night, but when you get up, You gotta be a time with the Lord for the Christian. Like, you know, you need coffee to survive. Right, Robert? Coffee? I don't know because that's what he does about coffee. Makes me laugh every time he puts something about coffee. But anyway. God's Word should be our delight. We should rejoice in the Word of God. This explains why Nehemiah called for a Bible conference and invited Ezra and the scribe to be the teacher. The walls were not finished and the gates were hung. Everything was finished. The material needs of the city had been met. Now it was time to focus on the spiritual needs of the people in the city. All right, so okay so the gates were put up the walls everything was finished nehemiah like he's going to leave no no nehemiah saw a need the people because a city without people is an empty city i was here today by myself it was an empty empty place nobody was here the church was not here right so Nehemiah said we're going to have a bible study so the walls were not everything was finished so chapter 8 let me give you a little thing right here so chapter 8 to chapter 13 of the book records a spiritual ministry instructing the people the people in chapter 8 confessing sin chapter 9 dedicating the walls chapter 10 to 12 and cleansing the fellowship we see in chapter 13 and we're going to go through that. So it is important to note that Ezra and Nehemiah put the word of God first in the life of the city. What happened in Jerusalem from that point on was a byproduct of the people response to the scripture. Remember the people is the one you ask for the book not Nehemiah and then the people asked for the book we see the way in the verses listen folks the primary task of the church and of the christian ministry is to preach the word of god besides activities besides this music that music this thing this thing the church got to preach and proclaim the word of our gods people need to know thou sayeth the lord People need to know. If we're going to have a church that does not proclaim the word of God, what kind of church is that? People need to know. Even those who never opened their Bible all week long, they come to church, open your Bible. Let's see what the Lord says. Ouch, that hurt, right? Pastor, you just gave me like a little... Where was I? Okay. So the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to cleanse and to revive the heart of His people. If God is to work in and through His people, then they must respond positively to the Word of God. And this chapter describes several basic response. And I want us to look at tonight and this chapter about the response to the Word of God. Number one, if you want to follow the outline, Learning the Word of God, I'm sorry, learning the Word of God begins with the right attitude. Learning the Word of God begins with the right attitude. If we don't have a right attitude towards the Word of God, we will not read it, we will not study, we will not have devotions on it, we will ignore it. It will be a decorative piece in a house. Oh, it looks good in a coffee table. Let me move it to the dining room table. Oh, let me put on the next to the lamp and a side table. Before you know it, oh, it looks good in the shelf. The Bible is not made to be a decorative piece. The Bible was made to be food for the Christian and a sword to those who are unsaved. So they can see the need for the word of God. Look what it says, verse 1. And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate. And they, look what it says, spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the Lord Moses. So you ask the people. So you guys ask, Pastor, where is your Bible? We want to hear from the Lord. That's a great thing. When people want to hear the word of God, that's a great thing. These people, all right, the walls were done, the gates were put up, everything was good. Now one thing they want, the word of God. In this time in Jewish history, that was awesome. That Bible study, like in the street, let's open our Bibles together. Learning the Word of God begins with the right attitude. So these people had the right attitude. Let me give you this. The Bible is not a magic book. I don't believe in magic. First of all, you might think, no I don't believe in magic and the Bible is not a magic book that changes people or circumstances because somebody reads it or recites something. God's word must be understood before it can enter the heart and release its life-changing power. Note that six times in this chapter you can find the word understanding mentioned. We see chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 12 and chapter 13. Noticing in verse 1 that there is a rare mood of responsiveness towards the gospel. The people like one flock went there and they asked for the word of the Lord. They ask. Not many times the Jewish people ask for the word of God but here they're asking. Notice that they're called to Azra to read the Bible to them. Now certainly this was not a sudden impulse right here. After all a platform has been constructed for this occasion. Now I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. They saw the example of Azra. They saw the testimony of Nehemiah. They saw the way these people are positive towards God. Nehemiah, wow, what a leader. What a man of God. I mean, very positive. You know what? When we are positive, always moving forward, you know what? You drive people with you. People like that type of stuff. Okay, you get up in the morning. How's the day? Oh, you don't want to know. It's cold outside. It's snowing. Look at those clouds. They're so ugly and dark. I'm staying indoors. get up in the morning hey it's cold outside I'm gonna bundle up look at those clothes they look kind of ugly but it's okay you know see the see the difference a positive attitude brings people out with you it does all the time Nehemiah is one of those guys you see they build the thing you know the people asking hey all the stuff is done what about God's word let's read it Nevertheless, the people did they have a great general desire to receive the scripture. This was not a formality right here. That was being placed on them by the leadership. No, they ask. Verse 3 says it. They attentively listen. Look what it says in verse 3. They ran before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday. Listen, this was a long Bible study. Before the man and the woman and those that could understand and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the Lord. Listen, those people were not daydreaming. You know, like the pastor is preaching and what am I going to have for lunch when I get out of here? He's taking a little too long. It's got him. I tell you, I preached in the church one time. I am not kidding you. I knew my message because I preached almost, I preached that message quite a few times because you go to another church, another church, when you're on deputation, it's a new message for the new church because they never heard it, you know. So I thought the message was good. I knew the message by heart. I didn't need to look at the whole thing anymore. I knew exactly how much I spent. I saw this guy going like, I mean constantly I'm like, I'm going to stay alert. No, I didn't want to be mean to him. I said, I cannot believe this man is actually, actually clocking me. He was, he was clocking me. He was clocking me so much that the pastor of the church, because he was away, and I feel for him, had to call me on Monday morning. Oh, you took almost an hour preaching your sermon. I said, I knew you were going to call me. I didn't, it was 40 minutes. He goes, no, he told me it was an hour. I said his watch was running way too fast. It was exactly 40 minutes. I was watching your deacon clocking me. That's sad, isn't it? That is pretty sad. These guys were, they were from the morning till noon time. Nobody left. Everybody was You know why? Because their ears were attentive, their hearts were ready. It didn't matter how long they were there. They were receiving the word of the living God. It was important to them. That is amazing. Somebody goes to Boston to the Red Sox, sits there for three, four hours watching a full asleep baseball game and you're like, well, you know, those guys are doing all kinds of nonsense over there. A person who is one hour and a half in church, they are already scratching their heads. You're taking too long. Something is wrong with the heart. If I can go sit and watch the Patriots, I'm not joking, I love sports, and freeze my body in the stands for two or three hours, But I can't sit an hour in a church when it's nice and comfy, even AC or heat and complain and say, I don't believe it. It's supposed to be one hour. Five minutes after the time, not acceptable. You know what? Something is wrong. Something is wrong with our hearts. Okay. We said number one. Number two. learning the word of God demands its recognized authority okay look what it says there in verse one it says as we described to bring the book of the law of moses which the lord had commanded to israel you see what it says right here The authority of the book is that it's God's book, it's God's word. So verse 1 explains it in here very well. It says, learning the word of God demands its recognized authority. Who's the author of the book? Don't tell me it was man. This is the word of the living God. If A person claims to be a Christian, doesn't believe that, that person has a serious problem. If I don't believe that the Bible is the word of the living God, the Bible is not going to change my life. It's just another book. What makes me want to read it, wants to study and want to know it, it's because I believe in its author. Its author is divine, its author is God Almighty, the creator of all. If I don't have that in my mind and heart, guess what's going to happen? just another book unfortunately some christians that's the way they treat the bible just another book it's got to have a learn that who is the author of the book and who he is to me personally he is my god he is my king he is my savior you know i am a servant i'm his child and i love him And now if I love Him, I want to know the character of my Father, the integrity of my Father. I want to know about His Word, what He says, what He doesn't say. Because when I'm in the world living, I want to know how to apply the Word of my Father to my own life. And how many times I call my dad, my earthly dad, Dad, I have this problem. What do you think? Obviously, I value my Father's Word to the point that I call Him and ask Him. You follow what I'm saying here? So if I value my Heavenly Father's Word, then the Bible is dear to me. Okay? Okay, let's go to point number three. Actually, I'm going to go back here a little bit because this is important right here. This is important. I kind of overlook at it, but God is very clear. I need to share this with you. That His law is not to be tempered with. Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 2. I need to say this thing to you. because there's a lot of people out there you know these things about bible translations and all this some bibles have some verses taken out some bibles have you look at one verse and the verses don't even say what the other the other bible says and you people are confused which bible should i have which bible shouldn't i have is is an argument for the ages right now because you know some preachers actually when they preach they use one sunday one bible the next sunday another bible so they accommodate everybody well in here we have one bible the kjv bible and we stay that way okay so this is what God says God is very clear that his law is not to be tempered with you know what tempered with means right Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 2 says and he shall not add unto the word which I commanded you neither shall he diminish off from it that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I commanded you so do to do to do so is to diminish is the to temper with God's word is to diminish his divine authority who is the author of the Bible God who am I to add and subtract shame on me if I do that if God is the author if God is the author is divine who am I a sinful man to go and temple God's word when he says in his word not to do it people have done that okay and look what it says so who are we to alter of the temper with God's Word. To approach the Bible rightly, you and I have to recognize that the Word as God has established His Word and His authority and we have to take God's Word for what it is. We add nothing, we subtract nothing, we study and read God's Word and live God's Word as is. This is the Word of the Living God. Oh but I don't agree with this verse. Well that's too bad. I mean, how else are you going to say it? Oh, I don't agree with, I think God made a mistake on this one. Oh, really? Okay. I have people that told me that. I am not kidding you. I think God made a mistake on that. This verse right here. Oh, he did. Let me see. I don't think he made a mistake. I think you're just wrong. You see, I mean, you think I'm saying this because I'm just saying just to keep space here. I'm saying this because they come to me and say things like that. Like, where in the world? I mean, like, oh, God made a mistake. Which verse? This verse right here. Let me see. Ah, you were the one who's wrong. The God's not wrong. All right, number three. Learning the word of God demands attention. The people attentive. in this particular bible study that they had in the middle of the street right there from noon uh from morning all the way to noon it was not just half an hour and let's go home this was hours you know what the people were attentive you know what learning the word of God demands some people say pastor I cannot memorize God's word why oh you know it's just too hard what do you think you think it's easy for me everything requires work and dedication and commitment I had verses in the Bible that I had to listen my kids when they were in school in private school they have to memorize Hebrews 11 the whole chapter that was that they had the whole semester to memorize Hebrews 11 they have to I believe you know even either write it or quote it I'm not sure what it was but they have to memorize it come home I can't do that you know what you go along with them and you tell your kids you can do it you can do it You know what? You can do it. If you commit yourself, if you put yourself into it, you can do it. Pastor, I can't now my mind... There's a verse in the Bible that says, and Jesus wept. That's a good verse of memory. Listen, learning the word of God demands attention. When the preacher preaches, don't they dream? When the teacher teaches, don't they dream? When you learn, when you're reading God's word, don't wonder what you mind somewhere else. Pay attention, focus on what you're doing and say, Lord, teach me. If you really listen, if you want to learn, we should be walking encyclopedias. I'm talking about Bible people that know our Bible left and right. Oh, that's for the pastor. No, it's for you too. Right? It blesses my heart when I'm talking with a Christian man or woman or kid and they come bring the scripture up. You know what? That's a blessing because I know they are memorized. Ezra is a priest and he's describing verse 9 as a scribe and as much as it was Ezra's desire to communicate the scripture that was his job he did it no matter whether it was a man or a woman Ezra was interested in giving the word of God to anybody who was able to understand it now this brings up a very important point the word of God is fruitless unless you and I bring our mind to the table whether the word of God is presented it demands our undivided attention get this paganism is always characterized by mindless superstitious when you go to liberal churches and people are mindless chanting scripture in vain repetition vain repetition this is not good God says in Hosea chapter 4 verse 6 that is people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge how many Christians are destroyed today for a lack of knowledge They know the songs, but they don't know the scriptures. They know all the music, but they don't know the scripture. Something is wrong. When we have more desire for the music, then we have the desire for the word of God. It's kind of sad. my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Isaiah chapter I mean Nehemiah 8 5 says and Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was above all the people and when he opened it all the people stood up talking about reverence for God's word when he opened the book everybody stood up he said and as you bless the lord and the great god and all the people answer amen and amen with lifting up their hands and their bow their heads and worship the lord with their faces to the ground wow he's talking about serious worship right here Folks, there's no music here. I'm not against music. I love music. I love to sing. You know, I sing even though I'm not the greatest singer, but I do sing because I love my Lord. But you know what? It was all Bible right here. It was the Word of God. This people was in the right place right here. It is amazing how attentive people can be to the music and to the announcements, but literally remove their minds during a sermon. Praise the Lord that we don't have this problem here at church. You say, Pastor, how do you know? Because I watch your eyes. And some of you are afraid to put your eyes somewhere else because I'm gazing at you. Not purposely, but you know, I watch you. You know, I'll tell you what, I'll be honest with you. We have a good church here. We do. Every time I'm teaching you or preach to you, every service, Every all of you are very attentive. That's good. You're taking it in. That's good. But I see some churches, and I've been part of those churches, and people fall asleep in the pews. I had a pastor tell the deacons to go wake up some people. I wouldn't do that, but he did it. So it is amazing. So praise the Lord that we don't have this problem here. So now, the people remained standing while the law was read and explained, Nehemiah 8, verse 7, as was started by his reading and teaching early in the morning and continued through midday. which means the congregation stood and listened for five or six hours and they continued for a week. Verse 18, Luke 17 verse 18, also day by day, also the first day unto the last day, you read in the book of the law of God and they kept the feast seven days and on the eighth day was a Solomon assembly according unto the manner. So no doubt from time to time, He give the people opportunity to rest probably but the people were there to hear God speaking and were willing to stand and listen Let me put it this way Just about Christians if Christians I'm talking about God's people. All right if they were hungry and Thirsty for God's Word today churches will be packed up You follow that You know a sad thing for a pastor and a pastor is to be an encourager, I understand that. But I'm a pastor, right? But I tell you what, none of my pastors ever call me to go to church. Never. But let me tell you this, the sad thing for pastors is when over and over again you call the same person, encourage the same person 20 million times to go to church. Something is wrong with their heart. Something is wrong. It's got to be a desire, hunger, thirst for say God I love you. I want to be there. I want to hear from you. And you're missing out those family reunions on Sunday morning. We're missing out those family reunions on Sunday night or Wednesday night. You know it's every time the church meet is a family reunion. the people affirm his words by saying amen and amen which means so be it okay let's go to number four learning the word of God the man's application look at verse three and he read they ran before the street and was and that was before the water gate from the morning until midday before the man and the woman and those that could understand and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. So the water gate was on the east side of the city. It was brought through this gate that people gain access to the principal springs of water of the Sea of Jerusalem. So it is interesting to me that this particular assembly did not get a like on one in Ezra chapter 3 at the temple. Reddit right here that this congregation get it at one of this centers of city life And this reveals to us that God's Word must not only be preached in a temple God's Word must be preached in the streets All right When you in the store and you get witness to someone you're preaching You give somebody a track you're preaching What are you doing there? You're being a messenger of God. You're going to a restaurant, you're sitting down, you're having a meal, you're giving a track or putting on a table, what are you doing? You're preaching. Even your very life, the way you go to work and the way you behave, the way you talk, the way you live your life, everywhere you go, you're proclaiming God's word because you've been transformed by the power of the gospel. Wisdom needs to be moved from the house of God and find its places in the affairs of men, daily lives. How people are going to come to know the Lord if we don't preach on the streets? How people are going to come to know the Lord if we don't go on highways and byways and tell them about the loving Savior? Isn't that how you got saved? Isn't that how I got saved? Listen, I didn't go to church. Somebody came to my house. Somebody knocked on my door. Look what it says in Proverbs 8, verse 1. Do not wisdom cry and understanding put forth her voice. Verse 2 says, she standed in the top of high places by the way in the place of the path. Verse 3 says she cried at the gates and an entry of the city at the coming and in at the doors Even in the Lord self Deuteronomy chapter 6 insists that God's Word must be lived in the house and in the street So what good is to read? The the word and even understand the word if the word is not going to be applied every day in the ordinary affairs of life Why does God wants was to us to apply his word so you and I can go apply it? in every little things of life. God gives us 24 hours a day, right? We have 24 hours to apply God's Word. By the way we speak, by the way we behave, by the people we come in contact with, you know, we show the love of Christ to somebody, we show the love of God to another person, we are a good word of encouragement in a godly way, you know what? That's preaching, that's application of God's Word. And we do it every day. You know why? That's why it's wonderful to know our Bible, to know the Word of our God, so we can encourage others with the Word of our God. Like today, I shared to you that text message that I got. You know what? It was a blessing to me. I didn't ask for it. Poop showed up on me. I was so blessed, I said, I want to share it. Maybe I'll be a blessing to somebody else. I'll put it on Facebook. You know what? Because you know, I have so many friends on Facebook. I don't know who they are. and may be a blessing to them as well. You see, every day we have the opportunity to get out. If you work in the world, if you don't work in the world, whatever you want, whatever you do with your everyday life, you have an opportunity to be a blessing to someone with the Word of God. Number five, learning God's Word requires assistance. look what it says in verse 4 and as the scribes stood up a pulpit of wood which they made for the purpose you see that in verse 4 The platform from which Ezra preached was big enough to hold 13 helpers there. And then in verse 7 we see that another 13 helpers pan out throughout the congregation. Now this brings up an important point for Ezra to get the Word of God out effectively, he needed help. The 13 men on the platform, we see this in verse 7, you see all the names of these guys, okay. apparently assist Ezra in reading the law Ezra would lose his voice if he read from Genesis 1 all the way to Deuteronomy chapter 34 verse 12 without any break without any assistance from other readers for an example sometimes I need assistance you know what I'll be honest with you my worst days are Thursday morning and Monday is probably the most worst day if it passed away because you labor all day on Sunday and you do i mean listen i i come here on sunday morning i want to worship god i want to be i want to be vibrant i want to be an encouragement to my brothers and sisters i want to proclaim the word of my god and you know i do it with a lot of energy i'll give it all i don't want to give it all to put a show i give it all because i love god that's why you know what but on monday morning i'm i'm frail i'm human uh you know i'm not made out of steel and on monday morning you go like Oh, Lord. Oh, this one is hard. But you know what? But thank you for those who help around. I got a musician there. I cannot play music. She helps me. I got people in the sunroom. I cannot do that. They help me. I got people. Brother Tom over here, he helps me. Sometimes he preaches for me, teaches for me. That's wonderful help. you know Ezra got help from those guys right there in that bible stuff i don't believe he could be there for three four five hours just keep on reading he's human you see all these men that mentioned in here about that so get this even today in synagogues seven or more readers might share the task of reading the scripture on the sabbath The second group of 13 men pan out through the congregation, explain and expound the Word of God that was being read. So the basic meaning of the word translating, understanding, verse 7, means to make clear or distinct. Ezra wanted the people to understand the Word of God with clarity and clearness. So here are two important reasons why every preacher needs help in delivering the Word of God. First, he needs help because fatigue is a human thing, okay? Imagine if a pastor preached every time preaching had to be done it would wear him out. And I can testify this on Monday morning. Human frailty demands assistance in the task. But also assistance is demanded because other people can help us preachers present the Word of God with clarity. Listen, God gives us teachers and we ought to use them. You follow that? Listen, I can, let me put it this way. I can preach something to you about a topic and you don't get it. But sometimes can be another brother that can come and talk about the same topic and you got it. because people are different. The style is different. The personality is different. So the word speaks different. I might say something to you. It doesn't get it right. Another brother comes in. Oh, I got it. Oh, that was so good. I sometimes can be the same message. I bet you if I print a message and give to a brother to teach the same message that I'm going to preach, he's going to come differently. His words are different, his style is different, the personality is different. What I want to say is that learning God's word requires assistance. I appreciate every single one of you around me. I do. You know what? I do appreciate you and I need you. We need each other. Number six, learning the word demands assessment. Look at verse five and verse six. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people and for he was above all the people and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God of all the people, and all the people answered, Amen and Amen, with lifting of their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. What is remarkably apparent in this session is the royal reception that the Word of God received right here. When the Bible was opened, the people stood up in respect for the Word of God. The very opening of the Word of God brought the people to their feet. When a celebrity personality or political figure enters the room, we stand out of respect. They do. See, when the president walks in the room, when he goes to speak to the nation, what they do? Everybody stands up because he enters the room. It's an act of respect. Let me put it this way. Oh, that we have that respect for God's word. I say every time before I preach, please stand as we... I don't know where that came from. See, although we had respect for God's Word like that, but not only did they rise for the Word of God as the Bible has presented, they prostrated themselves on the ground. Now here's the point. These people were people of the book. When Solomon's temple was dedicated, everybody was all concerned about the fancy ornaments that was in the temple. But here, the beauty and glory that overwhelmed the worshipper was the beauty and the glory of the Bible, the Word of God. The entire focus was on the scroll, not on anything else. The entire focus in this whole Bible study was God's Word. the action, the way they react to the Word of God, the respect that they show to the Word of God. That's the only thing there was to see. But like I said before, they were not worshiping the Bible as if it was some relic right here. The veneration of the Bible was there because the Bible was the means by which they found out about God. Listen, we don't worship the book. We love the words that are written here. Because this is just a printed thing, right? You can get God's Word in an electronic thing. You can get God's Word in a phone, in a computer. You can print it on another piece of paper. But still, we're looking at the Word of God. When the Bible was read, they lift up their hands in anticipation that they would receive something from the Lord, the great God. Even they lift up their hands. When the Bible was presented, they said, Amen, do it. And all the biblical meaning of worshiping God right here. Now, the interesting thing here is that most of these responses we find today with regards to music rather than preaching. Again, I'm not against music. Don't misunderstand me here. I love music I love to sing but we see this towards music. It's especially contemporary music rather than preaching They're singing and everybody is waving their hands. Oh we worshiping but when the Word of God is preached and proclaimed is no amens being said It's total silence We stand in concerts for the performer, not the preacher. We raise our hands for the beat, not the Bible. We say amen to the special, but not to the scripture. Now the time has come for us to make an assessment of what is most important to us. The most important thing in getting to know God is one's relationship to His Word. My love for God will drive me to this. The more I love my Lord, the more I search for Him. I cannot teach you that. It has to be a personal desire. That's a personal relationship that we have with Him. Number seven. Learning the Word of God is your appeasement. Learning the Word of God is your appeasement. You see this in verse 8. and verse 9, 10, 11, 12. For the sake of time, you can look at those verses. I said three times in these verses, in the short verses, we are told that the holiness and gloom do not go together. In other words, there is nothing that will contribute to your personal happiness more than a living word of the Bible. Now this should go without saying, but many of us believe that God is a cosmic, many Christians believe or the way they act, that god is a cosmic cosmic kill jewel you makes all enjoyable things illegal immoral and fattening and say no you're a christian you lose all your happiness no more happiness you believe that you christians you guys don't have any fun you know how many times i've heard that You guys would just sit there and feel sorry for each other. But when they're hurting, guess who they come to? And sad when we Christians begin to think that God is a killjoy. That's why we have to be careful with religion in a relationship with our God. When Jesus was born, what did the angels say to the shepherds? I'll bring you good tidings of great joy the world does not understand that joy is the inner joy that lives in us sustains us we can't even explain it when we go to the deep valleys of life we still sustain still going on because God sustains us Some people think that God is a killjoy. Oh, you got to just do this, don't do that. You don't know God. If you think God is this and this, you don't know God. When you and I think of holiness, we should not only think in terms like justice and righteousness, but we should also think of terms like glory and beauty and strength and joy. Holiness is not a reason for mourning and weeping. It is a basics of being altogether joyful. So go your way and live life to the fullest. Enjoy the life that God gives you. The phrase here, eat the fat, is not the same word used of fat in Leviticus chapter 3 verse 17, where eating the fat is condemned. This word literally means rich food, not the animal fat forbidden in the law. The point is that God wants us to be joyful and happy. You got that? Yes, we will cry, but the joy is still there. yes we will go through deep waters but the joy is still there and when the times are right we will experience happiness because the lord will give us that smile put in our hearts but it comes with our relationship with him the more i love my lord the more i want to know his word yes it's some complicated passage in the bibles and some names i don't know how to say it i'm one of them uh i have i mean it's amazing brother tom every time i'm reading to them i look brother tom why you say this i would not say like i just see all that brother how you say this oh goodness see you spoiled me oh see sorrowful people don't do much but people who function in the joy of the Lord have strength and vitility. So the Levites are still the people for the Word of God and there's no reason to cry. It is not an occasion for being grieved. Eat, drink and give to others. So when you properly understand and apply the Word that has been preached to you, it is an occasion for great joy. Number eight, almost done. It is my last point, isn't it? Yes. Okay. Number eight. Learning the Word of God results of having an aim. Look at verse 13. And on the second day were gathered together the chief and the fathers of all the people, the priests and the Levites, and as it is described, even to understand the words of the law. And they found written in the law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in boots and in and in the feast of the seventh month and that they should publish and proclaim in all the cities and in Jerusalem saying go forth unto the mount and fetch olive branches and pine branches and myrtle branches and palm branches and branches of thick trees and make boots as it is written and it goes all the way to verse 18 right here so that people commit themselves to study the words of the Lord that had been read to them And the fact that heads of home I mentioned revealed that there was a desire to lead and guide homes according to the Word of God. Now, as did... Let me put it this way. Learning the Word of God results of having an aim. Okay. Where's your aim? I believe you have an aim, right? You get up in the morning, what's your aim? Spending time with the Lord, right? Throughout the day, what's the aim? To tell somebody about Jesus. You go on living your life. Don't get me wrong. There's got to be an aim. You're living for heaven. When you fall, you ask God to forgive you and you go back to your aim. It's good to have an aim, isn't it? If you don't have an aim, you feel like a lost little chicken running around all over the place. It's a silly example, but you follow what I'm saying. So learning the Word of God results in having an aim. When we know what God says, when we know what God says about the future, when we know what God says about today's life, we begin to understand and put an aim in our minds. What am I living for? As St. Paul says, I press forward to the mark of the high calling of God. I think we all should have an aim. And for the sake of time, I'm going to stop. But I'll tell you why I'll conclude with this. The Word of God gives direction. It provides an aim. What is your attitude towards the Word of God? What is my attitude towards the Word of God? Do you realize it is established authority? Does God's Word demand your attention? This is a question for all of us. Do you apply God's Word to everyday affairs of life? That's a question that you have to ask yourself. Is God's Word that important to me? Do I apply it to my life? Every day in the little things, the big things of life, and when I don't apply, do I ask God to forgive me? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, so much for our lesson tonight. May we have respect and reverence for your Word. Lord, and more than anything, Lord, to know your word and apply your word to our lives. Thank you for my brothers and sisters here tonight. Thank you for those who are watching online, or on social media, or on Facebook, or YouTube, or sermon audio. Thank you for those people. May you bless them richly, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.