June 24, 2010

• Are we separating ourselves and confessing our sins? (Nehemiah 9)

  Nehemiah 9:1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. 2 And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God. 4 On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God. 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, "Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise..."

  I would ask you read the whole of Nehemiah 9, and, as you do so, please ask yourself if you are making a separation from the world in your attitudes and actions. Let us keep in mind that as Christians God has called us out of the world to be holy to Him and to heed Him and His words to us... We each need to continue to ask ourselves if we are separating ourselves from the world and confessing our sins to Him and seeking to be holy as He is holy.

  Many of you who are reading this have already received a calling of some sort to serve in the Body of Christ. We see here that though all the Israelites had come to see the need to separate themselves from the world and to confess their sins and iniquities, notice the role God's appointed leaders had. Certainly none of us can expect to be used by God so long as we are not examining ourselves before Him and confessing our sins to Him.

  II Timothy 2:19  But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

  20  Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21  Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

  22  So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

   

  And let us also remember that there can be no true worship of God or true fellowship with Him apart from confession of sin. Our sin ought to grieve us, and yet we can take heart that God the Father has made provision for our sin in His Son Jesus Christ:

  I John 1:5  This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

  2:1  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3  And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4  Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5  but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6  whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.  

  
  

  You may find the prayer below a helpful guide in your time of reflection after reading Nehemiah 9; it is based on portions of Nehemiah 9 plus other Scriptures.

  May the Holy Spirit examine the thoughts and intents of our hearts and give us to desire to purify ourselves as He is pure as we reflect on God's Word together for the sake of His Name and for His glory.

   

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  Holy Father, Send Your Spirit to examine us. Your desire is for us to be holy as Your are holy. You have not only forgiven our sins through the atonement of Your Son Jesus Christ, but You have also credited Christ's righteousness to us. In addition, however, You have sent the gift of Your Holy Spirit to dwell in us to make us holy: to impart both the desire and the ability to walk in Your ways for us, and Your will for us is sanctification.

  Guide us into all truth. Open our ears and hearts to hear Your Spirit speaking to us. May we not grieve or quench Him. We come before You. Examine us. Show us our thoughts and intents of our hearts so we might confess our sins to You and receive Your forgiveness and purification through Christ's blood. We know our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked; therefore, we know we cannot know ourselves apart from Your Spirit revealing our true nature. We praise You, O God, that You love us enough so to discipline us and You are kind to us to show us our sin and to lead us to repentance. We praise You that You are ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love because we are Yours in Christ. Forgive us our sins and cleanse and purify us for Jesus' sake. We have sinned greatly, but we come to You humbly and yet with bold assurance that You will never forsake us, holy God, because we come through our great Savior Jesus Christ.

  How have we acted presumptuously and stiffened our necks?
  How have we not obeyed Your commandments? (v. 16)

  How have we refused to obey You?
  How have we not been mindful of the wonders You have performed?
  How have we stiffened our necks?
  What leaders have we appointed to return to our slavery to sin? (v. 17)

  What kind of golden calves had we made?
  How have we committed great blasphemies against You? (v. 18)

  Holy Father and spotless Lamb of God, You have sent us Your Holy Spirit to abide with us forever and to lead us into all truth. You have given Your good Spirit to instruct us in Your ways, in the ways of holiness. You have sent Your Spirit so we might be holy as You are holy and to bring glory to Jesus as we live lives holy to You.

  Loving Father, You have not withheld Your only begotten Son from us, Jesus Christ, the true Bread for our hunger and the living Water for our thirst. We lack nothing. You have given us Your very Kingdom. And yet how often do we turn like sheep each to our own ways and to the voices of hirelings and away from You, our great Shepherd, and Your appointed leaders?

  How have we been disobedient and rebelled against You?
  How have we cast Your law behind our backs and killed Your prophets?
  Perhaps not literally killed them, but how have we become angry in our hearts with those who have warned us in order to turn us back to You? (v. 26)

  You have given us into the hand of our enemies. We are suffering now for our blasphemies against You. Your Church is not shining as a city on a hill. Our light is a bare flicker now. We are crying out to You, Lord God, in this our time of suffering. Almighty God, hear from heaven, and, according to Your great mercies, deliver us from the hand of our enemies. Deliver us from our desire to live to self and to sin and to the world. Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. O, so many times we have done evil against You. But You have been kind to us. O, loving God, Your mercies toward us are higher than the heavens. You have continued to be longsuffering toward us, not treating us or our sin as we deserve. You have continued to stretch Your arms out to us. You have shown Your covenant love toward us in giving us repeated warnings to turn back to You, so we might make You alone our strength, our wisdom, our righteousness, rather than relying on ourselves and walking in our own ways. You have shown us once and again that the way that seems right to us always ends in death.

  How often have we neglected to hear Your warnings to us to turn us back to You and Your law?
  How often have we acted presumptuously and not obeyed Your commandments, but sinned against Your rules? (v. 29)

  O, righteous Father, how foolish and brutish we have been. We confess we have not been wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. Your commandments, Your rules, Your words: they are all life to us. You have given them to us that we might have life abundant and joy unspeakable and peace that passes all understanding. They are not constricting but freeing. They are all for our good. You are for us. You are our loving Father and are always seeking our good. Forgive us for continuing to turn a stubborn shoulder and stiffening our necks and not hearing and obeying You and Your words to us. For many years You have borne with us, Your Church. You have warned us by Your Holy Spirit through Your Word. You have continued to wash us with Your Word, and we confess we would not give ear. Forgive us, Lord, for turning away from You and Your Word. Turn us, and we will be turned. Open our ears now, so we might hear. Circumcise our hearts, so we might obey You. In Your great mercies do not make an end of us or forsake us. We appeal to You through the one Mediator between You and us, the man Christ Jesus. We have no appeal but His body and blood. For His sake, pour out Your love, grace and mercy toward us once again. We know we are not deserving of anything but wrath and condemnation from Your hand. We can only cry out along with the tax collector, "God, be merciful to us, we are sinners!" Be merciful to us for Jesus' sake! Thanks be to You and You alone, we are Your children, elect by Your sovereign will, and saved by the blood and the life of Jesus Christ our Savior and brought from death to life by the operation of Your good Spirit. Have mercy on us, holy Father. We confess we have sinned a great sin in Your sight by continuing to turn our backs to You and Your Word again and again.

  Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, You who keep covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to You that has come upon us. Our lives as individuals and the life of Your Church is in great disarray now. We are so far from where we ought to be. Yet we must confess that You have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for You have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly. We have not kept your law nor paid attention to Your commandments and Your warnings that You have given us. Behold, we are slaves this day, rather than walking in the freedom You have intended for us. We are slaves to the world's wickedness. We are slaves to self. We are slaves to our own lusts. We are slaves to the lust of the flesh. We are slaves to the lust of the eyes. We are slaves to the pride of life. We are slaves to the ideas of men. We are slaves to the might of men. We are slaves to the power of men. We are slaves to our own cleverness. We are slaves to our intellect. We confess we have not relied on You as we ought. O, may we not love self! O, may we not love the world! Renew our minds so we might love You and You only, so we might wholeheartedly live for the One who died for us. Constrain us with Your love, O Christ. Strengthen us to die to self and to mortify sin by the Spirit.

  Send Your Spirit now to fall fresh upon us. We have looked to the hills for too long now. Our help comes from You, who made heaven and earth. Forgive us, O Lord, for seeking help elsewhere. Thank You for showing us our desperate state and for turning our eyes toward You, for there is no true help apart from You. There is no true help for Your Church apart from You. Keep our eyes fixed on You, the author and finisher of our faith. Strengthen us now to look to You, to heed Your Word and to continue in obedience to You and Your Word by the power of Your Holy Spirit. What You have begun in us by the Spirit, we can never expect to finish in our flesh. Complete the work You have begun in us. O, Lord, Your mercies in Christ Jesus toward us endure forever. Perfect that which concerns us and Your Church. Do not forsake us, we are the work of Your hands. Amen.

  
  

  Please add your prayers of confession as the Lord leads you.

  
  

  • 7:10 PM
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