Big idea:
When God's people seek him together He realigns and restores them to live under His rule
We are created for community
Corporate prayer is the engine of renewal
Nehemiah 9:1-3
On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. 3 They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.
By confessing together, it's not incidental moment but intentional, public act of alignment
# Each time we confess our sins, we come into alignment with God's word
Confession is like a tuning of our soul, it brings us back to God
Most of the time, we're so out of tune that we downplay it as mistake or struggle rather than agreeing with God and acknowledging our sins
Nehemiah 9:4-5
Standing on the stairs of the Levites were Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani. They cried out with loud voices to the Lord their God. 5 And the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah—said: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.[a]” “Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
The people didn't pray about their problems or struggles but recounting God's story
# Recounting God's Faithfulness restores our identity
Israelites are very forgetful people, felt hopeless, pointless
Problems become a Definition of our lives
We must remember who God is
By recounting God's faithfulness, Is a spiritual formation and alignment of our identity
Corporate prayer redirects the way we live. It renews our Allegiance and Restores God's mission
Nehemiah 9:38
“In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.”[a]
Nehemiah 10:28-29
“The rest of the people—priests, Levites, gatekeepers, musicians, temple servants and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand— 29 all these now join their fellow Israelites the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the Lord our Lord.
Nehemiah 10:30
“We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons.
They do not compromise
Nehemiah 10:31
“When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts.
They were not pressured by the pace of the world
Nehemiah 10:38-39
A priest descended from Aaron is to accompany the Levites when they receive the tithes, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury. 39 The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and olive oil to the storerooms, where the articles for the sanctuary and for the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the musicians are also kept. “We will not neglect the house of our God.”
The temple of God were neglected over the years. So now the people committed to taking care of God's temple., to put God's first
The people did not stop at confession, feeling great but made a covenent
2 Corinthians 5:15
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
# Allegiance is how Peace and Purpose are Restored
They were re-establishing themselves as God's holy people, and chose to embrace Yahweh, not go back to living the way we want
Am I slowly compromising my faith towards God in my career, my upbringing of my children, my family, my daily life?
Something must shift and change, not just our hearts but action to follow
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