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#20240901 - Revival - Nehemiah 8 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word recorded live at Calvary
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Church in Aurora, Co. To learn more about the many
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resources available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune
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into our live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co
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dot Church or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
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Amen. I am Chris Kroger, my wife
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Nicole and I have the wonderful privilege of shepherding the
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flock at Roots Church in Monument, Co.
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We have two adult daughters, incredible young women, new moms
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and two incredible son in laws. And yes, you heard that right,
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My wife and I have officially become Nana and Papa.
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Well, actually, I take that back Lolly and Papa, I'm trying to
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get used to this. And so it is all new territory.
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Are you kidding me? We just celebrated 25 years of
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marriage this summer, this summer.
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And here's why I share this. This is, I mean, sure, I'll take
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the applause, but it's really an applause for the Lord Jesus and
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his grace. Because this is for 30 years of
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my life I rejected Jesus, 15 years of drug addiction, 15
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years of alcoholism. I abandoned that woman.
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I abandoned my daughters. And yet, the moment I cried out
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to the Lord Jesus Christ in a motel room on the West side of
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Chicago on July 7th, 2007, He saved my wretched soul.
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And so all the applause goes to the Lord.
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Man, if it's your first time, welcome.
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You grab me a tissue. It's going to be good.
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I can just sense it already. If it's your first time at
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Calvary Church, welcome. God has brought you here this
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morning to speak to you. If you personally are sitting
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here this morning and you have not personally placed your faith
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and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work
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upon the cross for you, He has brought you here this morning to
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save your soul. And He's established this day
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before the foundations of the earth.
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And if you're listening online, if you're listening on Grace FM,
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if you're watching this message later, this word is for you.
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And that word is from God to you as well.
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Over 2000 years ago, Jesus made this promise.
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I will build my church and nothing, not even the gates of
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hell, will prevail. And if you are here this morning
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and you are in Christ by faith, if you have been born again,
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born of the Spirit, born of God, born from above, you and I are
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prophetic fulfilment of that promise.
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Amen. Second Timothy 3, verse 16 and
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17 tells us all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and
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is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
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instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be
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complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
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All Scripture, not some, is given by inspiration of God, and
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is profitable for doctrine, for teaching, for reproof, proving
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and testing, for correction. This word means restoring us to
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an upright state for instruction in righteousness, that the man
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of God may be complete, perfected, thoroughly equipped
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for every good work, the good works that God has prepared
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beforehand. Church, Ephesians 210, the work
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of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ.
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Ephesians 4, verse 12. This is God's heart, this is
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God's work, and this is God's Word, which is why Calvary
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Church, which is why we as the church place such a high value
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on the Word of God. God Himself holds it above His
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very name. So if you would do me a favour,
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would you stand with me again so we can read just a couple
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verses. We're going to be in the Gospel
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of Luke and we do this every morning at Roots Church.
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And I know we read Psalm 85 already this morning.
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But I, I pray that you would just do me the honor and that we
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would just take this moment even now for myself.
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Take this moment to quiet our minds and our hearts upon God
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and His Word and His word to us that we would receive it here
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this morning by faith. Luke chapter 4, verse 18 and 19.
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Man, I love that. I love that you guys don't have
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your phony Bibles. You have your real Bibles and
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you're turning the page. Come on, that was good.
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You know that was good phony Bible.
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Don't you get it? I stole that from another
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pastor, but I tried, OK, 845 loved it.
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I'm just saying, OK, verse 18 and like 19 of Luke chapter 4,
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the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to
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preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the
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broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and
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recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are
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oppressed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
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This is the word of God. And God, we thank you that you
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have spoken. We thank you that you are
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speaking. We thank that you desire to
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speak to each and every single one of us here this morning.
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And God, I pray that you would you would quiet our minds.
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Lord, would you quiet my mind and still our hearts upon who
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you are and what you've done and what this means for us, what
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this means for a lost and perishing world.
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God, I pray that your word would be mixed with faith.
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It is not a question of the seed.
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It is not a question of your word.
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It's a question of the soil, a question of our hearts.
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May you find, may your word find good soil here this morning,
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Lord, that it would take root in our hearts by your Spirit and
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that we would forever be changed.
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And God, I do pray. I pray for salvation.
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I pray that today you would add to the church daily those that
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are being saved. You will, you are, you already
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have at every service so far. And God, your church is
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gathering all throughout the globe, not just us here this
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morning, which is glorious God, but everywhere, brothers and
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sisters gathered together to worship you in spirit and truth
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and to receive your word to us. And so, Lord, we just give you
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ourselves this time, this space, speak to us.
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Please Lord, we deeply and desperately need to hear from
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you this morning. We pray this all in Jesus name,
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Amen and Amen. You can be seated.
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Thank you guys. What a blessing to worship the
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Lord Jesus here this morning. What incredible truths, even
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just that to recognize that God has spoken, God is speaking, and
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that yes, God desires and is speaking to his church and
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desires to speak to us this morning.
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Church, we're living in a time of global prophetic and biblical
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importance and we know as the church we are here, we are alive
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for such a time as this. We've actually been invited into
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this incredible plan of Gods, invited into his plan of
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restoration, His plan of redemption, His plan of
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reconciling everything in heaven and earth to himself.
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It's a glorious time, time to be the church.
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I hope we understand that, right?
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It can be discouraging sometimes.
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You can look around at the world around us if you turn on the
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news too frequently, see the effects of sin upon this world,
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that sin influencing our lives. And then, Oh my goodness, we can
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fall into sin. We can bring that same death and
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destruction and division, and yet God is faithful and God is
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gracious. It's a glorious time to be the
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church. And so even now this morning, as
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Hebrews 3 verse 7 and 8 says therefore, as the Holy Spirit
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says, while it is still called today, if you will hear His
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voice, do not harden your hearts.
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The Bible says that He has entrusted you and I, He has
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entrusted you and I with the gospel.
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He has entrusted us with His voice, His word, His mission to
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seek and save that which was lost.
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And gang, He is seeking and saving still today, and He will
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continue seeking and saving until He comes back for us, His
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Church. Amen.
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The mission of Jesus, the mission of His church has not
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changed. The mission of God is still for
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his people. People are never the enemy, they
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are always the goal. And so the charge remains to
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preach the gospel to a lost and dying world, ministers and
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witnesses. And so we have the prophetic
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word confirmed. Second Peter one verse 19, which
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you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place.
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Oh, thank you, Lord Church, we have the prophetic word
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confirmed. A light that shines in a dark
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place, which we do well to heed. May we receive this promise to
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us even now. May we receive His prophetic
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word to you and to me. A light that shines in a dark
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place, May we heed it for our good and His glory.
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There's an unravelling that's happening.
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You can sense it, even my unsaved family and friends are
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like what the actual heck is happening in this world?
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And yet it's all the grace of God.
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Pastor Ed says it all the time. The world's not falling apart,
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it's perfectly and prophetically falling into place.
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Amen. Sadly multitudes however, are
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ignorant to the times that we find ourselves in.
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Now. We expect this from those who do
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not know Christ, who do not know His prophetic word confirmed.
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But sadly, sadly, many in the church seem ignorant of the
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times and the seasons as well. And this shouldn't be the case.
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Many self professing Christians seem ignorance of the times and
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the seasons in which we find ourselves.
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Many confused, many concerned as though God were distant or
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uninvolved. God is not distant.
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He is here with us now. He is seeking, He is saving, He
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is speaking. Are we listening?
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Are we receiving His word with understanding?
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Have we allowed Him to remove the scales from our eyes?
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Getting every breath is life and death.
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This is not about entertainment here this morning.
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This is about the salvation of souls.
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That's what hangs in the balance.
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And they're our family and they're our friends and they're
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our neighbors and they're our Co workers and they're our
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children. Lord open our eyes.
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Second Timothy 3 verse one through 5 we read but know this,
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that in the last days perilous times will come.
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For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
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boasters, proud blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
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unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, unforgiving,
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slanderers without self-control, brutal despisers of good
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traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than
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lovers of God having a form of of godliness, but denying its
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power. And from such people turn away
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church. These are those days, make no
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mistake. And church, these are
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exceptional, glorious days. Days the prophet spoke of,
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longed for, fasted for, and prayed for.
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We are living in those days. Never has there been a time more
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revelation and faith in God and His Word.
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Never has there been a time of such prophetic fulfillment of
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biblical prophecy in Jesus. God has entrusted you and I for
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such a time as this, and none of it is accidental.
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And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will
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pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall
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prophecy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall
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dream dreams. I only have vision still, and on
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my maidservants and on my my men servants, I will pour out my
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spirit in those days, and they shall prophecy.
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And it shall come to pass that whoever, whoever, whoever calls
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on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
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These church are those days. Amen and Amen.
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You and I will prophecy your sons and your daughters shall
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prophecy. We have the prophetic word
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confirmed. Do we believe, do we recognize,
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do we realize the time and the seasons that we find ourselves
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in and do this knowing the time Romans 1311 that now it is high
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time to awake out of sleep for now our salvation is nearer than
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when we first believed what a glorious prophetic time to be
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the church. As I prayed, as I pleaded with
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the Lord what he wanted to speak to as Pastor Eddie called and
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asked me to teach. And my immediate response is no,
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but thank you for asking no. And I was like what, what, what
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do you want? And he said, I already told you,
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he administered to me this beautiful biblical picture of
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revival in the book of Nehemiah. And so we're going to be in the
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book of Nehemiah. All of that was just warming up
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the book of Nehemiah chapter 8. And it's a picture of revival
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for us. Now, when I say revival, I, I
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know there's probably all sorts of things that run through our
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minds. But today, this morning, I want
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us to look at a biblical picture of what revival looks like.
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What the revival that God is bringing to his church looks
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like. The revival that is happening as
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we speak. The revival that God wants to
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bring to you and to me and to his church right now, if we
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would choose to believe and receive and heed His word to you
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and I, His church today, Pastor Ed says this a lot.
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And so now I say this a lot. And what we see all through the
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Word of God is the Spirit of God working through the Word of God
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and the lives of the people of God.
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And so this weekend we're going to look at a beautiful picture
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of this in Nehemiah chapter 8. Now the backdrop of this text,
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some thousand years after the time of Moses, some 400 years
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before the birth of Christ, the nation of Israel and the Jewish
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people, the people of God, are in a desperate, desperate state.
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The nations have been destroyed, the city of Jerusalem is
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completely conquered by the Babylonians, and this once
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glorious temple of Solomon has been destroyed.
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And for some 70 years, Jerusalem is a ghost town with the
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potential to end up, like many ancient cities, completely
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completely forgotten except for history.
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The book of Nehemiah begins 15 years after the Book of Ezra and
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almost 100 years after the first captives came back to the
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Promised Land, and some 150 years after the city of
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Jerusalem was destroyed. And after all this time the
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walls of the city of Jerusalem are still in rubble.
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Nehemiah is broken. One man is broken over the state
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of Jerusalem and his people. And so he prays and he fasts and
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he confesses and he repents and God answers his prayers.
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Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, rebuilds its walls and the
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walls. After 150 years, the walls of
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Jerusalem are rebuilt in 52 days.
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God's blessing, God's favor just poured out.
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Isn't it amazing what God can do with a man or a woman of God
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that is willing to pray, fast, confess, repent, turn back to
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the Lord and do what He has called us to do?
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And So what happens? This is the backdrop.
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And then we open chapter 8 of Nehemiah and we read this.
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What is their response? Verse 1 of chapter 8.
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Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open
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square that was in front of the Watergate, and they told Ezra
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the scribe to bring the book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord
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had commanded Israel. And so Ezra the priest brought
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the law before the assembly of men and women.
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And all who could hear with understanding, all who could
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hear with understanding on the first day of the 7th month.
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And then he read it from it, from it in the open square that
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was in front of the Watergate from morning until midday,
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before the men and women and those who could understand, and
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the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the
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Law. And so Ezra described verse 4.
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Stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the
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purpose. And beside him, at his right
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hand stood Matithiah, Shima and Anaya, Uriah, Helkaya and
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Messiah, and at his left hand Padaya, Mishael, Malachiah,
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Haishim, Hashbadana, Zechariah and Meshalom.
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O Mai I, I did my best. What do we see here?
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Look what happens. They turn back to the Lord.
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They turn back to the Word of God.
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All the people gather as one man for the reading and the teaching
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of the Word of God. That's what we're doing here
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this morning. God has brought you and I here
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this morning. May there be no mistake.
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It is the Spirit of God who has brought you and I here today.
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People do not gather as one for the things of God unless the
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Spirit of God has moved them and they read the Word for six
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hours. We'll be here for two or three,
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tops. It's the 1045 service.
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Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, verse 5
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for he was standing above all the people, and when he opened
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it, all the people stood up. They turned back to the Lord,
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They turned back to His Word, and what happens?
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They respond to God's Word, all the people.
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When he opened it, all the people stood up, and Ezra
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blessed the Lord, the great God. And then all the people answered
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Amen and Amen while lifting their hands, and they bowed
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their heads and worship the Lord with their faces to the ground.
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They turned back to the Word of God.
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All the people gather for the reading of the Word of God, just
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like we are this morning. What we see, we must also
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respond. Cooperate with the Word of God.
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Is it mixed with faith? Are we hearing with
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understanding? We must cooperate with the Word,
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cooperate with the work. Not resisted church.
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They receive the Word and God and respond, responding with
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Amen and Amen and lifting up their hands and bowing their
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faces to the ground. They're humbled and they respond
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in worship. Our response to the Word of God.
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Church is and always should be the worship of God, worshipping
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God together as we gather corporately, Yes, but also
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living lives of worship, worshiping God with all of our
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lives, ministers and witness, witnesses of this good news.
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Living the gospel, yes, heralding, sharing the gospel of
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the Lord Jesus Christ in Word, but also indeed, are we living
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the gospel? Are you living the gospel?
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Am I living the gospel in our homes, in our marriages with our
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children? Do your children see the power
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of the one true living God in your marriage?
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A picture of Christ's marriage to the church?
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Do your Co workers see the gospel lived out in your life?
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In my life We see this beautiful humble response as they receive
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and respond to the Word of God, the Spirit of God working
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through the Word of God and the people of God and the response
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and the people of God is awe in reverence perspective, eternal
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inspective, perspective in light of who God is in our position.
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God, the true shepherd, us, each and every one of us, his
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children, his under shepherds, humbled, standing, they respond,
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honoring, receiving, lifting their hands, bowing their heads,
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faces to the ground, believing and receiving and responding.
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The Spirit of God working through the word of God in the
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lives of the people of God. Oh, we have more names.
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Verse 7 Also Joshua Bani Shirabaya, Jamin Akub, Shabathi,
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Hodaja Mesa, Kalita Azariah, Josephad, Hannan Pelaya, and the
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Levites helped the people to understand the law and the
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people stood in their place. So they read distinctly from the
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book in the law of God and they gave sense and help them
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understand the reading. That's what your pastors do here
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at Calvary Church, reading the word, bringing understanding.
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They they give sense and help them understand the word of God.
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That's what I hope to do this weekend.
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Every time I am privileged to preach the very word of God that
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we all would leave here with a greater understanding of God, a
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greater worship of God and what's the result We see this
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perspective that comes verse 9 and Nehemiah who was the
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governor, Ezra the priest and scribe and the Levites who
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taught the people said to all the people, this day is holy to
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the Lord your God. Do not mourn nor weep for all
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the people wept when they heard the words of the law.
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And then he said to them, go your way, eat the fat, drink the
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sweet and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared for
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this day is holy to our God. Do not sorrow, for the joy of
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the Lord is our strength. And so the Levites quieted all
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the people saying, be still, for the day is holy, do not be
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grieved. And all the people went their
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way to eat and to drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly,
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because they understood the words that were declared to
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them. Incredible.
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You see the pastors and the leaders, they're bringing
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understanding of the Word, bringing a greater understanding
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of God and his heart for his people, bringing this proper
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perspective. They're thanking God, they're
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praying, they're responding in worship, and what happens, God
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breaks their heart for what breaks his.
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A broken and contrite spirit is a beautiful thing.
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We all, we can't even come to God until we recognize our total
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bankruptcy. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
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for they shall inherit the Kingdom of God, and so He breaks
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their heart for what breaks His. But we see their brokenness.
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May all this brokenness never outweigh the glory and the
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goodness of God. It leads us to the reality that
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God is doing and always moving and always doing a holy work
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among His people, leading us to the reality that God is good,
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God is gracious, and nothing is going to stop him.
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Our knowledge of our sin never outweighing the reality of a
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risen Savior and the grace that he pours out upon you and me by
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His grace through faith. And so the Levites verse 11
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quieted all the people saying be still for the day is holy, do
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not be grieved. And all the people went their
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way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly
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because they understood the words.
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They understood the words that were declared to them.
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They went away praising God because they had a greater
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understanding of God's Word, bringing a greater understanding
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of God Himself, bringing perspective, overwhelmed by the
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grace of God and His grace upon His people, His relentless love
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for His people, and they rejoice greatly.
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Therefore, the joy of the Lord is your strength.
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Even when we're being convicted of our sin, which is actually a
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beautiful and glorious thing, we know the conviction is from God
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to draw us back, back to him that we would confess that we
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would repent. I don't know about you.
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A confession and repentance is like, that's my actual full time
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job, OK? Confessing and repenting all the
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time driving around in my car, confessing and repenting,
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confessing and repenting this morning before I stand up here
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before you church. God, hold not my sin against me,
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for your name's sake, for your glory, for your people.
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May we have a spirit of confession and repentance.
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Maybe that's a word for you this morning.
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Maybe there are areas in your life that there needs to be
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confession and repentance. Amen.
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Confess, repent, turn back to the Lord Church, may we take
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heart in the word of the living God.
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The prophetic word confirmed a light that shines in a dark
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place, which you and I do well to heed in verse 13.
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Now on the second day, the heads of the Father's houses, of all
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the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra
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the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law.
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And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded
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by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths
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during the feast of the 7th month.
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And that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities
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and in Jerusalem, saying, Go out to the mountain and bring olive
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branches, branches of oil trees, Myrtle branches, palm branches,
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and branches of leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.
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Then the people went out, and they brought them and made
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themselves booths. So they obey the word of God,
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each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards,
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or in the courts of the House of God, and in the open square of
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the Watergate, and in the open square of the gate of Ephraim.
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So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the
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captivity made booths and sat under the booths.
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For since the days of Joshua the son of Nun, until that day the
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children of Israel had not done so.
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And there was very great gladness also, day by day, from
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the first day until the last day, he read from the book of
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the law of God. And they kept the feast 7 days.
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And on the 8th day there was a sacred assembly according to the
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prescribed manner. And so we see the the leaders
30:41
gather together, and Ezra is continuing in the word of God
30:46
with them. And as they're studying, they
30:49
realize there are things that they had not been doing for a
30:53
very long time. And so they choose simple
31:01
obedience. Hey, we should probably start
31:05
doing that. Like it's so it's so beautifully
31:08
simple. Like you read it and you're
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like, oh, well, am I doing that? It's why it's so important for
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you and I to be in the word and yielded to the word and
31:18
obedience in our lives. I think of this as as pastor,
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how deeply important this is, you know, like getting into the
31:28
word of God and, and sometimes, you know, we we're like, wait a
31:35
second, why aren't we doing this or personalized.
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Why, why am I not doing this in my life?
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Lord, forgive me. Help me to walk in obedience to
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you, your call upon my life for sometimes why on earth am I
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doing this? Why are we doing this?
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Can I tell you as a church planner like this is deeply
31:58
important because man, people have all sorts of
32:01
recommendations and ideas of what I should be doing as a
32:05
pastor at Ruth's church or what Ruth's church should be doing.
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But I, I have to go to the Lord to really know and to hear,
32:13
Lord, what would you have us do? Shepherd the flock, preach my
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word, make disciples. Boom.
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It's so beautifully simple. They're areas of obedience,
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areas of disobedience in our lives.
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The word God by His Spirit will reveal them to us.
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We see they obey God. Beautiful, simple obedience.
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God said it, so we will do it. I think of the words of Jesus
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and John 14 verse 23 and 24. If anyone loves me, he will keep
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my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to Him and
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make our home with Him. He who does not love me does not
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keep my word, and the word which you hear is not mine, but the
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Father's who sent me. Lord, help us walk in obedience.
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And that's the beautiful reality.
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It's the Spirit of God in you. It's the Spirit of God in me
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that even enables me to walk in this beautiful newness of life
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and obedience that He has called me.
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And you, if you are in Christ too.
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Amen. And there was very great
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gladness. Verse 18 also, day by day, from
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the first day until the last day, he read from the book of
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the law of God. And they kept the feast 7 days.
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And on the 8th day there was a sacred assembly according to the
33:46
prescribed manner. This revival that we read about
33:53
in Nehemiah chapter 8 began by the Spirit of God working
34:00
through the Word of God. And we see that is how it
34:04
continued. They turn back to the Word of
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God. They are obedient to the Word of
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God. This brings perspective, this
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brings joy. The Spirit of God working
34:16
through the Word of God in the lives of the people of God.
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And they continue in the Word of God and God continues to bless.
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And the response you see at the beginning of Chapter 9 of
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Nehemiah, on the 24th day of the same month, the Israelites
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gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting
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dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had
34:40
separated themselves from all foreigners.
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They stood in their places, confessed their sins and the
34:46
sins of their ancestors. They stood where they were and
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read from the book of the Law of the Lord their God for 1/4 of
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the day and spent another quarter in confession and
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worshipping the Lord their God. Humble confession and
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repentance. The people stand and confess
35:09
their sin after the the people had heard and obeyed God's Word,
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after the Holy Spirit had so faithfully already done such an
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incredible work. In the people of God there is
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authentic and ongoing humble confession and repentance.
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Spurgeon says this on repentance.
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It's so beautiful. He says repentance grows as
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faith grows. Isn't that true for you, true
35:41
for me? As we continue and grow in our
35:44
faith, the longer we walk with and serve the Lord, Oh my
35:49
goodness, confession and repentance grows only more, He
35:53
says. Do not make any mistake about
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it. Repentance is not a thing of
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days and weeks, a temporary penance to be got over as fast
36:03
as possible. No, it is the grace of a
36:06
lifetime. Like faith itself.
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Repentance is the inseparable companion of faith.
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Amen. The Spirit of God, working
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through the Word of God in the lives of the people of God,
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brings revival. And what does revival look like?
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It looks like turning back to the Word of God, obeying the
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Word of God, praying and fasting and obeying, Oh my confessing
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and repentance resulting in spirit filled worship and
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adoration of the one true living God.
36:49
It's beautiful. Chapter 9, I'll just read a
36:54
couple more verses. Verse 4 standing on the stairs
36:56
of the Levites, where Joshua and all these others, and they cried
37:02
out with loud voices to the Lord their God.
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And the Levites said, stand up and praise the Lord your God,
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who is from everlasting to everlasting.
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Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all
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blessing and praise you alone. Our Lord, you made heavens, You
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made even the highest heavens and all their starry host, the
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earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is as in them.
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You give life to everything and the multitudes of heaven worship
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you. Incredible, incredible.
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The Spirit of God working through the word of God and the
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lives of the people of God. And you can go and read Chapter
37:46
9 on your own, but it just continues for the rest of the
37:51
chapter. Proper perspective and worship
37:54
of God as a result of turning back to Him, turning back to His
37:59
Word, receiving it and responding to it, obeying it,
38:04
provoking confession, ongoing humble confession and
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repentance, bringing perspective and the worship, the adoration
38:15
of the one true, living God. It's beautiful.
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This is what revival looks like. This is what God is doing in His
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church. Everyone of us, myself included,
38:28
turn to the Word of God. The Word became flesh and dwelt
38:33
among us. We must also cooperate, respond
38:40
to it, receive it, believe it, walk in obedience to it.
38:44
Hearing the Word, receiving the Word, believing God out His
38:47
Word, submitting to the Word of God, allowing the full work of
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God in you and in me and in His church.
38:54
Praying and fasting for a move of God, confessing and repenting
39:00
regularly. Living a life of worship as we
39:04
worship God alone, who is worthy of our worship, who alone is
39:09
worthy of our praise. May we stand up and praise the
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Lord our God who is from everlasting to everlasting.
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And, and remember, you know the story of Nehemiah.
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How did all of this come about? How did it all start with one
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man, One man broken over his sin, broken over the sin of his
39:30
father's, broken over the sin of his people.
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He confesses, he repents and he begs and pleads with God.
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Isn't it amazing what God can do with one man or one woman of God
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that is willing to pray and fast, confess and repent, to
39:53
turn back to the Lord and to do what God has called you and I to
39:58
do, the Spirit of God through the Word of God in the people of
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God revival? I need it, you need it.
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God's church desperately needs it.
40:11
Because from revival, awakening comes as we partner with the
40:19
mission of God, as we go therefore, and make disciples,
40:25
as we share the good news of who Jesus is and what He has come
40:28
here to do for this world. Chuck Smith says it is high time
40:36
for us to put off the works of darkness and put on the Lord
40:39
Jesus Christ. It is time for us to live and to
40:44
walk after the Spirit. May God awaken His church and
40:48
challenge us by His word to righteous, holy living.
40:53
True revivals, Church true awakenings are always marked by
40:58
confession and repentance and turning back to the Lord.
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That the answer is always turn back to the Lord this morning.
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If you have never turned to the Lord, turn to the Lord for the
41:09
first time this morning. Even if you have been walking
41:13
with the Lord for years, the answer is always turn back to
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the Lord. Confess, repent, or press into
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the Lord all the more allow Him to encourage you here this
41:23
morning through His word and by his Spirit.
41:26
His prophetic word confirmed. The verse is that the refreshed
41:33
conference comes from Acts 3 verse 19 and 20.
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Cannot wait to party with you at the refresh conference in just a
41:42
matter of weeks really. But Acts 3 verse 19 says, Repent
41:47
therefore and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
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that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the
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Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you Jesus.
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And revival starts in the same place that judgment does in the
42:14
House of the Lord. It starts with me, it starts
42:19
with you. God must take a man before he
42:22
can take a city. Actually, God can do whatever he
42:25
wants, but it starts with one. It starts with one.
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It's glorious, it's beautiful. Church, these are exceptional
42:34
days, prophetic days, and God has trusted you and I for such a
42:43
time as this. No accident.
42:49
The sure first step of revival. A broken, humble, contrite
42:57
spirit, only possible by being born again, born of God, born of
43:05
the Spirit by faith. The Bible says that God has put
43:11
eternity into every human heart. Ecclesiastes 3 verse 11.
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Now I know, I know. The world has done everything in
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its power to take this from you. They've lied to you.
43:31
They're lying to you. They lied to me, and they're
43:33
lying to me still. That there is no God, there is
43:38
no creator, there is nothing supernatural.
43:41
There is nothing beyond this life.
43:43
That you and I are meaningless accidents, a byproduct of
43:47
millions and billions. And yet everything in you,
43:50
everything in our very core, knows that this is not true,
43:56
because God has put eternity in your heart and mind.
44:02
The true and divine ache of every man, woman and child.
44:06
But what happens? We misdiagnose it.
44:08
We misdiagnosed this longing. We misdiagnosed this ache and we
44:12
try to fill it with anything and everything we can find and Oh my
44:18
goodness, this world. Pedals and pedals and pedals.
44:21
Anything and everything you could possibly imagine.
44:25
And yet none of it, if we are capable of being fully honest
44:29
with ourselves, works. It doesn't work.
44:33
It can't work. That ache is divine and can only
44:41
be filled by the God of heaven and earth, who sent His one and
44:45
only begotten Son for you and for me.
44:49
Man, I remember this. I remember that feeling.
44:53
Do you remember before turning to the Lord?
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Do you remember before you were born again by faith?
45:00
Oh my goodness, 30 years of my life, I refused God wretched in
45:06
my sin ratchet in the the things that I said of Jesus and it
45:13
almost killed me. I almost died in that I knew the
45:17
things I was doing wasn't working.
45:19
I couldn't find it in my wife. I couldn't find it in my
45:22
daughters. I couldn't find it in drugs or
45:25
alcohol. I couldn't find it in in the job
45:28
title. I couldn't find it in Nothing
45:30
Works, but it was a horribly scary place to be.
45:34
But it's glorious and it's divine so that I would cry out
45:38
to the Lord. And Oh my goodness, thank you,
45:40
Lord, that I did. Forever changing the trajectory
45:44
of my life. Finally coming home.
45:46
That divine ache, that divine longing, filled by the Holy
45:53
Spirit, filled by the Lord Jesus Christ.
45:59
The Bible even tells us that we suppress the truth in
46:01
unrighteousness. In our pride, we refuse to
46:03
acknowledge this. Sadly, some of us will remain in
46:06
the state, rejecting Jesus, rejecting God.
46:09
But we do not have to. You do not have to.
46:13
We can instead humble ourselves and choose to receive the truth.
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Instead of suppressing the truth.
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We can allow all of this to lead us to God.
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And all of this is biblical. Acts 17.
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You guys are going through a series through the book of Acts.
46:28
We are too. Oh, it's glorious.
46:31
But in Acts 17, verse 23, we read.
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Therefore the one whom you worship without knowing Him, I
46:38
proclaim to you God who made the world and everything in it.
46:42
Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples
46:46
made with hands, nor is He worshipped with men's hands as
46:50
though he needed anything. Since He gives life to all,
46:54
breath in all things, and He is made from one blood.
46:58
Every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth and
47:02
has determined their pre appointed.
47:05
Your pre appointed, my pre appointed times in the very
47:09
boundaries of our dwelling, so that they should seek.
47:13
So that we should seek the Lord in the hope that we might grow
47:17
for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.
47:22
For in Him we live and move and have our being.
47:27
Do we understand this? How beautiful this is the heart
47:31
of God. Everything in your life,
47:34
everything in my life, the good, the bad, even the ugly.
47:39
I'm sorry for the sin that you've experienced, even the
47:42
sin, the effects of sin in a broken world.
47:46
I'm sorry for what has happened to you in your life.
47:49
But do you understand that all of it, all of it is divinely
47:52
orchestrated? Not so that you would not I out
47:55
to God, not so that you wouldn't know the one true living God,
47:58
but so that you would so that I would.
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He is not far from any one of us and He has done everything
48:06
necessary for you and I to have relationship with Him, to be
48:17
saved by His grace in and through His one and only
48:20
begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one true living God
48:23
over all of creation. God has placed eternity in our
48:29
hearts. Eternity is real and the
48:34
preparation for eternity happens now in this life.
48:38
You can know Him and His love for you.
48:41
You can spend eternity with Him if you would simply humble
48:46
yourself, if you would choose to believe and receive the Lord
48:50
Jesus Christ. And it shall come to bath that
48:54
whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
49:01
Behold, now is the acceptable time.
49:04
Behold, now is the day of salvation.
49:09
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says today, today if you will
49:14
hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.
49:19
Now then, we as ambassadors for Christ, as though God were
49:22
pleading through us, we implore you on Christ's behalf, be
49:27
reconciled to God, for He made him who knew no sin to be sin
49:33
for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
49:39
Are you kidding me? Oh, God calls to you today.
49:45
Be reconciled to me. The worship team's going to come
49:49
up and we're going to close. The Bible tells us that the Word
49:57
is actually near you and I in our mouth, in our heart.
50:03
That is the Word of Faith which we preach, that if you confess
50:08
with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that
50:12
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
50:17
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the
50:20
mouth confession is made unto salvation.
50:26
That is how we're born again by faith as we believe in our
50:32
hearts and we confess with our mouths and something the Lord
50:37
was putting on my heart, I've been praying over and just
50:40
recognizing again the fear of man.
50:45
I almost died in my sin and trespass.
50:48
I almost died eternally separated from the God who loved
50:52
me and gave himself for me because I was afraid of what the
50:55
person to my left would think or the person to my right would
50:59
think or what my family would think or what you would think.
51:03
And it's, it's so foolish. It's not just foolish, it's
51:07
tragic. And so even now, God, I pray
51:12
against the fear of man that would keep us from turning to
51:16
you, perhaps for the first time this morning.
51:18
God, perhaps you are speaking, you are speaking to hearts this
51:24
morning. And so I pray against the fear
51:28
of man, and I pray that you would provoke that awe, that
51:32
reverence, that fear of you and you alone that would reign over
51:36
everything. Even now, in this moment, I pray
51:39
against the fear of man in any of us that would cause us not to
51:42
confess and repent and turn back to a loving and gracious God.
51:47
Turn back to His Word, respond to His Word, receive His Word,
51:53
and live out this incredible call and charge upon us as His
51:58
Church. This is God's word, this is God,
52:03
God's word, this is what God is doing.
52:05
This is the revival that God is bringing in my heart and in your
52:10
heart in His church. If you're here this morning and
52:14
you know God is calling you personally to be reconciled to
52:17
God, would you raise your hand and pray?
52:19
That's me. God is speaking to me right
52:21
here, right now. I know that's me, God.
52:25
I confess and I repent. I am a Sinner and I need you to
52:28
save me. Is that you today?
52:33
Right now, This morning? I can remember this moment like
52:36
it was yesterday. What?
52:39
Man? Still one of the most glorious
52:41
church services I've ever been to.
52:43
And I was by myself in a shady motel on the West side of
52:47
Chicago. But it forever changed my life.
52:50
I finally came to the end of myself, finally came to the end
52:53
of myself and cried out to a God that I didn't know.
52:56
And He saved me in the twinkling of an eye.
52:59
Maybe that's your story this morning, that this morning on
53:05
the 1st of September, God called you to himself.
53:15
Maybe you're listening online. Maybe you're watching this
53:18
sermon days or weeks from now. This word is from God to you.
53:27
If that's you, you can choose right here, right now to choose
53:30
to place your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His
53:34
finished work for you. He loves you.
53:39
He came here for you. Yet while we were still sinners,
53:44
He died upon a cross for our sin.
53:46
He, He lived the life we couldn't live, that we are
53:51
incapable of living. And then he died the death that
53:53
we actually deserve. But out of the third day, he
53:56
rose from the grave, conquering sin, conquering death for all of
54:01
eternity, and proving himself to be God.
54:07
And so this morning you can pray.
54:08
God, I believe I receive. I choose to place my faith and
54:13
trust in you Jesus, your finished work for me by faith in
54:20
Jesus name. I pray if you're listening
54:24
again, even if it didn't happen here this morning, look it, this
54:28
is for you. We believe in our hearts and we
54:34
confess you. Lord Jesus, we praise you and
54:38
thank you. Thank you for your word.
54:39
Again, I pray that You would establish Your Word in each of
54:42
our hearts by Your Spirit and that we would forever be
54:46
changed. God, I pray for revival in my
54:49
heart. Lord, that I would turn to you
54:52
again and again. God, that I would turn to Your
54:56
Word again and again. God, that You would enable me to
55:00
walk in Your Word again and again.
55:04
God, that you would revive my heart.
55:06
You would revive our hearts. You would revive Your church,
55:11
and that awakening would come. The harvest is plentiful,
55:14
Church, the harvest is plentiful.
55:19
We don't have a harvest problem. We have a laborer's problem.
55:22
And so even now that we would you raise up laborers and send
55:28
us into the harvest in Jesus name, Amen and Amen.
55:35
We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study,
55:38
delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
55:41
For prayer, call us at 87730 Grace that's 877-304-7223.
55:51
To listen to this message in its integrity or to join us for our
55:54
live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
55:59
or download our free Calvary Church app.
56:02
Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.