Rebuilding Broken Lives Nehemiah 9 Page 411 in Pew Bibles

Rebuilding Broken LivesRebuilding Broken Lives

Nehemiah 9Page 411 in Pew Bibles

Nehemiah 9Nehemiah 91. On the twenty-fourth day of this month the

Israelites assembled; they were fasting, wearing sackcloth, and had put dust on their heads.

2. Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the guilt of their fathers.

3.While they stood in their places, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.

4.Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the raised platform built for the Levites and cried out loudly to the LORD their God.

5.Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said:

Stand up. Bless the LORD your God


Nehemiah 9

What’s Going On…What’s Going On…• The wall is completed and the

reforming and re-forming of life in the city is beginning.

• In Chapter 8 we saw the beginning.– The people got back to the Bible

– There was a fresh start of obedience

• Now, the people are beginning a process of thorough-going repentance

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RepentanceRepentance

• Turning to God and away from self and sin

• It is shifting the sources of our security and meaning

• Repentance is a reorientation of our entire lives

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The Process The Process of of

RepentanceRepentanceWhat do you do after you start?

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1. Repentance Begins a 1. Repentance Begins a Grief ProcessGrief Process

• James 4:8-10 “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people! Be miserable and mourn and weep. Your laughter must change to mourning and your joy to sorrow. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

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What We Need to GrieveWhat We Need to Grieve

• “First, we need love support and comfort.”– “We cannot let down and let go if we are

not being helped up. If there is not enough love to sustain us, both inside and out, we cannot let go of anything, even something bad.”

• “Second, we need structure. We need time and space for grieving.”

> How People Grow, Henry Cloud & John Townsend Page 233 Zondervan, © 2001


• Vs. 1 “They were fasting, wearing sackcloth, and had put dust on their heads.”

• Structure for grieving• Fasting, wearing sackcloth, and putting

dust on their heads were the customs of expressing mourning.

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• FastingFasting– Deuteronomy 8:3 “He humbled you by

letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat… so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

– Fasting can free up time to focus on the Lord and to remind ourselves of our dependence upon the Lord>


• SackclothSackcloth– Grain sack material: coarse, loosely

woven like burlap

– Dark material, made from goat or camel hair

– Worn as a sign of mourning and humility

– Symbolizes that something so big has happened that it takes precedence over my personal comfort and appearance>


• Dust on their headsDust on their heads– Genesis 18:27 “I have ventured to speak to

the Lord—even though I am dust and ashes”

– Genesis 3:19 “You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust.”

– Awareness of humanity and mortality; that there is a God and I’m not Him.>

• A Family MeetingA Family Meeting• Vs. 1 “On the twenty-fourth day of

this month the Israelites assembled”• Vs. 2 “Those of Israelite descent

separated themselves from all foreigners”

>


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Chris ArmstrongChris ArmstrongDescribing “Be Separate” ViewDescribing “Be Separate” View

This article appears in Christianity Today’s Web site at http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2005/oct27.html

Used by permission of Christianity Today International, Carol Stream, IL 60188.

The church must be its own culture. Instead of sweating and straining under a supposed responsibility to engage current cultural trends, we should simply yoke ourselves to Jesus, living as radical Christ-followers.

Yes, this will make us look weird and different—all the better! say these critics. Then the worldlings won't help but notice. Most will just gnash their teeth. But some will stop to marvel. And a few (the way, remember, is narrow) will come to Jesus.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2005/oct27.html

• Vs. 3 “While they stood in their places, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day in confession and worship of the Lord their God.”

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2. The Repentance Process2. The Repentance ProcessTakes TimeTakes Time

That is, of the daylight That is, of the daylight hours – 3 hourshours – 3 hours

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2. The Repentance Process2. The Repentance ProcessTakes TimeTakes Time

• Vs. 3 “While they stood in their places, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the a fourth of the dayday and spent another fourth of the day in confession and worship of the Lord their God.”

>

3. The Repentance Process3. The Repentance ProcessRequires the WordRequires the Word

• Vs. 3 “While they stood in their places, they read from the book of the law of they read from the book of the law of the Lord their Godthe Lord their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day in confession and worship of the Lord their God.”

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3. The Repentance Process3. The Repentance ProcessRequires the WordRequires the Word

• Look it up, let it in, live it out• Ephesians 5:25-26 “Christ loved the

church and gave Himself for her, to make her holy, cleansing her in the washing of water by the word.”

• “All of us can relate, because we have all left stains– Some of the stains are barely noticeable,

some bleed all the way through– Some have been acknowledged, some

remain hidden”• “The word of God was exposing, letting in

light, in regions of the heart that had long been dark AND A DEEP CLEANSING WAS TAKING PLACE”

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John JohnsonJohn Johnson

Sermon on Nehemiah 9 http://i.b5z.net/i/u/720587/f/SermonNotes/commitment/Jan7-8.pdf

http://i.b5z.net/i/u/720587/f/SermonNotes/commitment/Jan7-8.pdf

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4. The Repentance Process 4. The Repentance Process Involves ConfessionInvolves Confession

From two words that mean: From two words that mean: “To cast out one’s hands” “To cast out one’s hands”

Heartfelt expression of longing Heartfelt expression of longing for forgivenessfor forgiveness

• Vs. 3 “[They] spent another fourth of the day in confessionconfession and worship of the Lord their God.”

• Psalms 32:5 “Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You took away the guilt of my sin.”

• Hosea 14:2 “Take words of repentance with you and return to the LORD. Say to Him: ‘Forgive all our sin and accept what is good, so that we may repay You with praise from our lips.”

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4. The Repentance Process 4. The Repentance Process Involves ConfessionInvolves Confession

• Vs. 3 “While they stood in their places, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day in confession and worship of the Lord worship of the Lord their Godtheir God.”

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5. The Repentance Process 5. The Repentance Process Involves WorshipInvolves Worship

To bow down before a superiorTo bow down before a superior


• It’s not about you.

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• It’s not about your sins – as big as they look

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• Repentance is a whole lot more about turning toto God than turning fromfrom sin

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• Vs. 4 “The Levites… cried out loudly to the LORD their God.”

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6. Genuine Repentance 6. Genuine Repentance Always Expresses ItselfAlways Expresses Itself


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Rebuilding Broken Lives Nehemiah 9 Page 411 in Pew Bibles