I've been focusing over the past few weeks on Nehemiah 8 and 9 and have been leading us in prayers that God's Holy Spirit might work in His people a greater desire for the Lord and His Word and for God to send us His servants to preach and teach the Word of God uncompromisingly and clearly, with Holy Spirit authority, power and boldness.
As the Word of God is preached in the power of God, the Holy Spirit will convict men of sin, but for those who are in Jesus Christ there is no condemnation. Today I'm going to touch a little on the confession and repentance that will come as a result of the Holy Spirit's work through the preaching the Word, but for today I would like to focus more on the gift of assurance God makes available to those who are in Christ. In a future post, I hope to look at Nehemiah and reflect more on confession and repentance of sin at that time.
Nehemiah 8:8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” 11 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.
Holy God,
Right preaching, teaching and understanding of Your Word come through Your Holy Spirit, and as Your Spirit moves, we will experience grief, weeping, confession and repentance over our sin and our sinfulness, much like the Israelites did here. After all, Your Spirit is Holy and Your desire for us is to be a holy nation. After all, You loved us so much that You sent Your Son to die for our sin so we might be reconciled to You. Apart from Your provision for us in Christ, we would remain separated from You, but now we are Yours, fully justified in Your sight by Christ's blood and being sanctified through Christ's Spirit. We praise You that in Your great love toward us, Your manifold mercies and You sovereign grace, You called us out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light, and You gave us ears to hear and hearts to respond to Your call, so we might be saved and become Your children.
In a similar manner, we see Israel responding in weeping and grief as they heard Your Word. We see how they were convicted of their sin and their sinfulness. Not long after this (Nehemiah 9) we see Your appointed leaders leading Your people in corporate confession of sin. We thank You that we see these responses here as well as elsewhere in Your Word. May we never shrink back from preaching Your Word, all of Your Word, including the clear teaching of Your holiness and Your call to holiness, confession and repentance of our sin. A true understanding of You and Your Word will produce true confession of sin which will bear fruits worthy of repentance.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a Gospel not only of remission of sins but also of repentance (Luke 24:44-49). We praise You, O God, for Your kindness that has led us to repentance. Apart from Your turning us toward You, we could never turn to You.
Yet, Holy Father, we see how Israel was not supposed to grieve that same day, and then again the second day they were to begin the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. After the grief and weeping here it would make sense for us to go to Nehemiah 9 and say, "Now here's the full-blown confession and repentance of sin," but that's not what we have here.
The first thing we see right after the grief, mourning and brokenness over sin is Your directing Your leaders to help Your people to rejoice in You and Your goodness to them. They were reminded the joy of the Lord was their strength. They were to celebrate Your provision by sharing with others. And during the Feast of Tabernacles they were to commemorate how You were faithful to provide for them in the wilderness. There's a clear affirmation that though all of us have sinned, though all of us deserve to be condemned, though none of us deserves anything (not even a crumb) from Your gracious and merciful hand, though we were not worthy to be children of God, yet You have loved us because You loved us. O, yes, we have greatly sinned, but we do have great cause for rejoicing! You died for us while we were yet sinners, and You made us children of God. We praise You that in Jesus Christ there is complete forgiveness and cleansing, there is no condemnation for those who are God's elect through Your covenant mercies showered down on us in Jesus Christ. It is finished!
Lord God, may all of us come to a greater understanding of the precious gift of full assurance of forgiveness and cleansing of sins for all who have come by grace through faith to believe Your Son is the propitiation for our sins – all our sins: past, present and future. Christ was condemned in our place for our sin, so we might be set free from the penalty and power of sin as well as the guilt of sin to be free to live lives holy to You. Yes, we should and must be grieved over and confess and repent of our sin, not only at our conversion but throughout all our lives. Yes, we must be seeking to be holy as You are holy, for Your will for us is sanctification and without holiness we cannot see You. God forbid we would presume upon Your mercies and trample upon Christ's blood and be deceived and believe we can remain in sin so grace might abound. Protect us from turning Your grace into licentiousness. Yes, we need to be on guard against sin, putting off our sin and putting on Christ. Yet we so desire You would show us the joy and peace You want us to have who have trusted in Christ. O, that we might truly know the breadth and length and depth and height of Your love for us in Jesus Christ. O, that we might know the freedom we have in Christ not only in our heads but also in our hearts. May Your joy be our strength!
Lord God, send us pastors and teachers after Your own heart, those who have been broken by You and have wept in true contrition over their sin and sinfulness and have come to receive the gift of joy of Your salvation. We are distressed when people try to keep Your flock bound and held captive by stirring up false guilt over their sin rather than reassuring them of the all-sufficient work of Christ on their behalf. We are distressed when there is more emphasis on works rather than grace. We are distressed when the gift of salvation is distorted into a quid pro quo. We are distressed when we see Christians who have not known the joy of their salvation. Raise up for us pastors and teachers who will remind us of the boldness, assurance and confidence that is available to all of us who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus' desire is that our joy be full, but how can our joy be full if we never hear that there is forgiveness full and free in Jesus Christ? How can the good news really be good if Christ did not pay the penalty for our sin once for all? How many good works do we have to do to atone for our sin? Chief Shepherd, look with favor on us and guard and protect us from such teachers. May we each be able to rest completely in Your gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. Yes, we must be grieved over our sin and confess it. Yes, we must be walking in good works. Yes, we must be working out our salvation with fear and trembling, but our works will not save us, but such works will grow as fruit of a regenerate heart; they will the evidence of the new life You have imparted to us in Jesus Christ.
We see that after the great conviction of sin, there was very great rejoicing! Very great!
13 On the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. 14 And they found it written in the Law that the LORD had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, 15 and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” 16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. 17 And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. 18 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days . . .
O, certainly there can and should be very great rejoicing in the Christian life. Very great! Yes, we should and must very greatly mourn and weep over our sin, because we have sinned greatly...yet You did a very great thing for us in providing atonement for our sin through Jesus Christ and then imputing Christ's righteousness to us by faith! A very great thing! May we respond with very great rejoicing to Your very great provision for our sin!
Holy God, we confess we have sinned greatly, very greatly.
Forgive us our sins, O very great God!
Yet, Your provision for our sin has been very great. You sent Your only begotten Son to die for us.
Let there be great rejoicing in our hearts! O, let us rejoice with very great rejoicing!
May Your joy be our strength!
O, Holy, Holy, Holy God, we confess we have sinned greatly and yet in Your love, mercy and grace, You provided the sin offering we could never provide: the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect, spotless Lamb of God!
Holy God, we confess we have sinned greatly, very greatly.
Forgive us our sins, O very great God!
Yet, Your provision for our sin has been very great. You sent Your only begotten Son to die for us.
Let there be great rejoicing in our hearts! O, let us rejoice with very great rejoicing!
May Your joy be our strength!
O, what kind of God are You! Holy, Holy, Holy! We were an unclean things and all of our righteousness was filthy rags! We were dead in our sins, helpless, powerless and weak. There was no intercessor. There was no mediator. There was no hope. And yet...in the fullness of time, Holy God, You provided the Lamb to die for our sin, to make us holy, to make us the righteousness of God! You were just and justifier. You are both Judge and Advocate. You are our High Priest and atoning sacrifice! We praise and thank You. We rejoice greatly in the salvation You alone could provide!
Holy God, we confess we have sinned greatly, very greatly.
Forgive us our sins, O very great God!
Yet, Your provision for our sin has been very great. You sent Your only begotten Son to die for us.
Let there be great rejoicing in our hearts! O, let us rejoice with very great rejoicing!
May Your joy be our strength!
O, teach us to rejoice in the salvation You purchased for us on the cross! Even as we weep over our sin, show us Your love, mercy and grace in Jesus Christ! May we never despair over our sin, but continue to look to the cross, to look to Your full provision for all our sin. Help us to know the full assurance of the pardon You purchased for us at Calvary! May we continue to soak ourselves in Your Word and Your truth about who we are in Christ, to remind us of the work You have already accomplished once for all for us. Our sins which were once scarlet have become white as snow because the spotless Lamb became sin for us. You have cast our sins into the sea. As far as the east is from the west, so far have You removed our transgressions from us. You have said You will remember our sins no more! May we come to You unashamed, because You are not ashamed of us. May we come boldly to You and cry out, "Abba, Father!" Speak to us, Holy Spirit, write these truths in our minds and on our hearts that we are the children of God. May we rejoice in the redemption You purchased for us. May we rejoice in You, O loving, merciful and gracious God! Full atonement, can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior! Amen and Amen.
Holy God, we confess we have sinned greatly, very greatly.
Forgive us our sins, O very great God!
Yet, Your provision for our sin has been very great. You sent Your only begotten Son to die for us.
Let there be great rejoicing in our hearts! O, let us rejoice with very great rejoicing!
May Your joy be our strength!
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Please add your prayers as the Spirit leads you. If you are having troubling understanding the assurance of forgiveness available to all who are in Christ, please go to God and ask Him to grant You the gift of assurance God has purchased for You through Jesus Christ. I also invite you to message me and/or to read my posts on my other site on assurance and assurance and fighting for joy.
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