Faith Baptist Church

 Never The Same Again                                      
                                             Nehemiah 9:1-6 (#16)  Click Here to listen (mp3)”Never The Same Again,” is today’s title in the series, “You Can Make A Difference.”

Nehemiah chapter 9  (Read verses 1-6)

One sunny afternoon a 12 year old boy and his dog were playing in the woods behind their house in Naples, Florida, when the boy felt a searing jolt of heat pulverize his lower leg.  He looked down to see the massive head of a an eastern diamondback rattlesnake attacking him through his shoe.Several hours later, his father found him lying unconscious in the kitchen.  Recognizing snakebite, he grabbed his son up, threw him into the family car, and headed for the nearest clinic.  On the way his car broke down, and he found himself standing in the middle of the highway pleading for passing motorists for help.  Finally, a Haitian farm worker in a rickety truck pulled onto the shoulder. But the poison had been in the boy for so long by then, and the sheer volume of the venom was so great, that the doctor at the clinic said simply, “I’m sorry, but there is nothing I can do.”  If there were a glimmer of hope, he needed to be transferred to a hospital several miles away.

Several days later, in that hospital, to everyone’s surprise, the boy opened his eyes. But a greater surprise was yet to come.  The physician said he had never seen anyone survive with so much venom, for so long.

The boy shared chilling details of trying to get free as the snake quailed around his leg; finally, his barking dog deterred the serpent, which slithered away into the brush.

”I tried to make it home,” the boy said, “but I started to fall, when a person in white stood by me and picked me up. He carried me into the house and told me that I was going to be sick for a which, but that I would be well again.”

The doctor and the family glanced at each other, speechless. “We are not religious people,” his dad offered, “we do not go to church.”  But no matter how they tried to cast doubt—“Maybe it was just delirium due to the poison”—the boy just shook his head, telling them in vivid detail about the stranger dressed in white, and his words of comfort.The article that reported the story concluded,

“There is one young boy growing up in America who believes he was carried by the arms of God.”

Most of us will never experience a miracle as dramatic as that, but the intervention of God in our lives is no less real or significant. Most of us will never experience a miracle as dramatic as that, but the intervention of God in is no less real or significant.One of the most miraculous, divine interventions is when God visits a person— a church, a nation, in spiritual revival. In recent centuries, God’s people in Wales has experienced repeated visitations. Between 1762 and 1862, God moved among people with 15 distinct waves of spiritual awakening.  In these stirrings, the Holy Spirit added 110,000 converts to the churches.In 1905-06, it happened again.  Listen to this description:        

“The country was dotted with little hamlets, but there was no one to
          preach. Nevertheless the people would slog for miles through the bogs
          to heard the Bible read out loud. Different volunteers would stand up
          and read very slowly, while the people strained in their pews to get the
          meaning of each word.  Says the reporter, there were ‘great meltings
          and subduings’ in the hearts of all the people, crowded together,
          weeping and straining to just be baptized in the Word of God.”

That could well be a description of the Great Awakening at the Water Gate— and all true revival—It begins with a longing for to hear the Word, a yearning for a new beginning; a desire for change.  The people say to Ezra, “bring the Book!” 

Chapter 8 emphasizes the place of the Word in revival.
Chapter 9—The priority of prayer and revival.

The Word and prayer are conjoined twins, they always go together.  Have the Word without prayer and you have light but no heat; prayer without the Word you have heat, but no light. 

H.A. Ironside, late pastor of Moody Church, writes:

        “One who gives himself preeminently to the Word, neglecting prayer, will
         become heady and doctrinal—likely to quarrel about ‘points,’ and be
         occupied with theoretical Christianity to the hurt of his soul and the
         irritation of the brethren. On the other hand, one who gives himself to
         much prayer while neglecting the Word is likely to become exceedingly
         introspective, mystical, and sometime fanatical.  But he who reads the
         Word of God reverently and humbly, seeking to know the will of God,
         and then gives himself to prayer, confessing and judging what the
         Scriptures have condemned in his ways, words and thoughts, will have
         his soul drawn out in worship also, and thus grow both in grace and
         knowledge, becoming a well-rounded follower of Christ.”

Three weeks pass, and after the celebration of the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles, the people are at the Water Gate again.  There is a second six to seven hour service, then, the Praise Team—comprised of eight Levites—steps forward and lead the people in an incredible prayer of praise.  It is a poetic Psalm.
 
…It is the longest prayer recorded in the bible.
…a model of revival praying…that releases the floodgates of God’s
     presence and intervention in our lives,
…It is the both the spark and evidence that revival has come.

”Prayer” is like “revival,” means different things to different people.

…To some it is a nebulous talking to God, often fraught with
      misunderstanding, and even superstition.

…Others think if they figure out the magic formula and pray “the right way,”
        then they are certain to get what they want.

   They are like Linus, who, kneeling in prayer, says to Lucy, “I think I’ve
      made a new theological discovery.”

      “What is that?” Lucy inquires.    “If you hold your hands upside down, you get the opposite of what
    you pray for.”It is a magnificent example of Jesus’ instruction on prayer:  “Our Father, who art in heaven, hollowed be your name…”

The issue is change.  You look your life, is there an area where you know you need the touch of God, you need transformation.  Things……you are ashamed of. 
…Things that you wouldn’t want God to write on the screen.
…Things…tendencies, habits, addictions, attitudes, that if they get out of
    control, or continue to be out of control, you know it has the power to take
    you where you don’t all want to go.We find ourselves like…

*The murderer in medieval times, whose punishment was to have the dead
  victim strapped to his back, where the corpse rotted and infected him,
  resulting in death.

*We are like the duck near Dallas that made the news. Somebody had
 shot him with an arrow, which regretfully, stuck in the animal but didn’t kill
 him. Mr. Quack Quack walked around—business as usual— with an arrow
 stuck through him. He became a tourist attraction.

  We are shot-through by sin. We become disfigured because we’ve been
  content to live with it, or have no idea how to get free.

Or, scariest of all, you don’t think about it…You just drift along slave to
your urges and temptations.

You say to yourself, “The bible talks about being a new creation in Christ,” but I still see a lot of the old…is change really possible?  Revival is about change…deep lasting change. It happened at the wall; How did it happen?

 Before we look at the Process of Transformation, let’s think about the Pinnacle of Transformation. 

This marvelous prayer teaches us timeless Principles about prayer.1. Prayer is, first and foremost, about God. The theme of the prayer is, “What A Glorious God We Serve.” The theme of the prayer is, “What A Glorious God We Serve.” In Verses 1-6—The focus is: The Greatness of God
Verses 7-30—The Goodness of God
Verses 31-38—The Grace of GodGod is revealed as the……God of creation (v 6)
…God of grace (vv. 7-8)
…God Who answers prayer (v 9)
…God of deliverance (Vv 10-12
…God of revelation (vv 131-14)
…God who supplies needs (v 15)
…God of mercy (vv 17, 19, 27-28, 31)Jane, a character in Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town, got a letter addressed to her farm, town, country, state, and then, the envelope continued, “the United States of America; Continent of North America; Western Hemisphere; the Earth; the Solar System; the Universe; the mind of God.”

This prayer reverses the order. If I start with the mind and will of God, all details fall into place.

Revival comes when you stop being self-consumed, and start being God consumed.

It’s not about you…what “isn’t about me”?  Nothing…It’s about His purposes, His glory. I love the last line of verse 10, “So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.”

Sometime ago, I took the Corolla in for a front-end alignment.  I have no idea what the mechanic was doing under there, but I trusted him that He knew all the settings and how to read his equipment.

Prayer is confidently acknowledging that He alone knows the settings, and that He is up to something good, something eternal.

Your confidence in God rests in your knowledge of God…His attributes and character. There is so much psychology in contemporary preaching;  what we need is more theology—Truth about God!

”What is God like?” is the most important question we can ever asked. For, as Tozer said, “What comes to your mind when you think about God is the most
important thing about us.”  
 
Prayer is, first and foremost about God.Then notice,  Prayer Reaches In Four Directions This praise prayer spans history from creation to their present day and then looks into the future.First, in verses 5-6, The People Look UP In adoration and praise.Verse 6—“You alone are the Lord. You have made heaven…” He talks about the earth, the heavens, the seas.Jesus was walking along one day and the people began to praise him. They shouted, “Hosanna,” meaning, “Lord save.”  The Pharisees tried to stop them. Jesus said, “If they don’t praise me, the stones will cry out in praise.”  He was saying, “There is something about the elements of the universe—The wind, the rain, the sunset, the seas, that have My signature on it.”  And as we study them, they elicit praise!A mountaineer went down to Charlotte to find work.  He came home nearly weekend, but on one occasion, he stayed, and decided to visit a church near his apartment on Sunday. It was a formal, dignified church. He thought everybody worshipped like he and his church family did. The dignified, robed preacher said something off of his written manuscript, and the mountaineer said, “Amen!” It shook the preacher up and he lost his place in his reading. A couple of minutes went by, and the pastor said something the fellow liked, he yelled, “Praise the Lord.”

Finally, one of the ushers tip toed down to him, and said,

“Sir.  Excuse us but you’re disturbing the pastor with your outbursts.” 
“Oh?” he said, “Well I’ve got religion.”  
“Well, you’d didn’t get it here”, he said, “So be quiet.”Praise is a sure sign that revival has come to your heart.

B. In Verses 7-31, They Looked Back With Heartfelt Thanksgiving For All
    That God Had Done For Them In The Past

C. In 32-37—The Looked Around At Their Present Situation And Brought
     A Petition Before the Lord.D. And in verses 9:38, They Concluded With A Looking Ahead And A
    Commitment To Future Obedience.They passed a clipboard around and signed a pledge of faithfulness to God.  Governor Nehemiah was the first person to sign it! Everything begins with the commitment of leadership!They passed a clipboard around and signed a pledge of faithfulness to God.  Governor Nehemiah was the first person to sign it! Everything begins with the commitment of leadership!Reviewing the history of Israel, there is a sharp contrast woven throughout the prayer: God’s majesty on the one hand, and man’s depravity on the other.  It reads, “you” vs. “they”…”you” vs ”they.”  The pronoun “you” is found 65 times.They passed a clipboard around and signed a pledge of faithfulness to God.  Governor Nehemiah was the first person to sign it! Everything begins with the commitment of leadership!Reviewing the history of Israel, there is a sharp contrast woven throughout the prayer: on the one hand, and on the other.  It reads, “you” vs. “they”…”you” vs ”they.”  The pronoun “you” is found 65 times.These people—people like us— experienced a deep, life-changing encounter with the living God. It was no emotional rush; a shallow, flash-in-the-pan burp! They were set free; transformed. They passed a clipboard around and signed a pledge of faithfulness to God.  Governor Nehemiah was the first person to sign it! Everything begins with the commitment of leadership!Reviewing the history of Israel, there is a sharp contrast woven throughout the prayer: on the one hand, and on the other.  It reads, “you” vs. “they”…”you” vs ”they.”  The pronoun “you” is found 65 times.These people—people like us— experienced a deep, life-changing encounter with the living God. It was no emotional rush; a shallow, flash-in-the-pan burp! They were set free; transformed. In verses 1-3, you discover a prescription for transformation. First,1. We Learn That Transformation Prayer Is Uttered In The Context of
     Humility and Purity.Before a single word was uttered, there were three strange actions:
”……with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.

”I fasted”— What is that? It means missing a meal to zero in on your walk
   with God.  It’s mentioned quite frequently in Scripture. Richard Foster, who
   has called the contemporary church back to fasting and prayer, writes:        “More than any other discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us.
         This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be trans-
         formed into the image of Jesus Christ. We cover up what is inside us
         with food and other good things, but in fasting these things surface. If
         pride controls us, it will be revealed almost immediately.”Chuck Swindoll notes:     “When our motive is right, it is amazing what we can accomplish with the
      Lord when we occasionally save the time of fixing, eating, and cleaning
      up after a meal and invest it on our needs. The more responsibility we
      shoulder, the more time we need for contemplation before our Father.”“Sackcloth” was a rough, irritating material made of goat-hair; a sign of
       mourning.Sprinkling dust on the head was a sign of deep distress.But why is humility important?  Because we have a tendency to be self-sufficient; we pride our selves on our will power.