Revived By the Word

And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord , the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and 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 mourn or weep." For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved." And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. On the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, "Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written." So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.- Nehemiah 8:1‭-‬18 ESV

Revival is different from emotionalism. It is joyful repentance in sleepy, nominal Christians. They are filled with zeal for God. This in turn awakens other sleepy, nominal believers. Corporate worship is thick with the Spirit of God without the assistance of assembly presiders. It cannot be accounted for by demographic shifts.

Perhaps we can commit this season to reassessing our relationship with God. We can rededicate ourselves to walking with God. We're not talking about our check attendance. We're talking about our walk with God.

Treasuring the word of God

The people asked the priest to bring out the scriptures. It was not the leaders. They heard from the Bible from early in the morning to midday. They were attentive. Not only that, but they were engaged. They shouted agreement. They lifted their hands in praise. They bowed their heads.

Corporate worship with expository preaching is at the heart of how God changes lives. This is not man's invention. We need an attitude of humility before the word of God. Don't tune out. Don't critique the preacher. It is not just about the quality of the preaching. It is also about the quality of the listening. We should listen to sermons listening for the voice of God.

Strengthened by the word of God

The word is not just about commandments, it is mainly about the gospel. The stubborn grace of God in face of the stubborn sin of his people is what Israel heard. The word of God is there to flood us with joy. This joy is not here today and gone tomorrow. It is like the boyantcy of a float in the water. No matter how hard you push down, the float pushes upwards. So as the circumstances push down, the joy of God keeps us afloat. Christians are not immune to life's troubles. Sometimes, you may feel like you are drowning. But God's word has a joy that will lift us up from the depths.

Doing the word of God

The next day, the people gathered together with the priest. This was not just a flash in the pan. So after the sermon, they had a Bible study. They rediscovered the festival of booths. When they found out, the people observed this festival. Because of the action of the people, God blessed the people. The point of hearing the word is to put it into practice.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. - James 1:22‭-‬25 ESV

Do not confuse conviction with action. Conviction is good, better than straight apathy, but it is insufficient. We need to put the word into practice. There are doubtless many areas in our lives to greater obedience to God. Pick one area where you feel God convicting you to change. Trust in God and obey. This is the way to joy. Abandon fear and complacency for the way of God. Seek God's kingdom a bit more and seek our own kingdom a bit less. May this week be the week where we turn towards God and away from ourselves.