Scripture: Nehemiah 9:1-6, 28-31, 32-35, Luke 24:44-49
Last week, we discussed the attitude that we should
have in worship – that we should see the opportunity to celebrate the Lord’s
presence in our lives as a joyful experience.
Today, we take a look at the attitude and approach that we should take
in preparing our life to come before the Lord in worship and praise. Preparation, regardless of what lays before
us, is always a vitally important aspect of every effort, regardless of the
task we are about to begin.
We pack and check our luggage before leaving on a
trip; we shower and get dressed before heading out to work; we make sure that
we have all the ingredients before beginning to prepare a meal; we make sure
that the lawn mower is full of gas before starting to mow the lawn. And if we are negligent in our
preparations? Our efforts seldom, if
ever, work out to our satisfaction!
So what form of preparation is important for us
before we come to worship our Lord and Savior?
We need to center all of our thoughts firmly on the Lord, and discard
every worldly thought that could possibly interfere with our focus on
Jesus. Nothing about our preparations for
lunch, nothing to do with the afternoon’s plans, nothing about the plans that
are awaiting us on Monday, nothing to do regarding those birthday and thank you
cards that we had intended to send out on Friday, and no chit chat with our
neighbor in the pew! Only prayer and
focus on the Lord Jesus.
And what specifically should we do to center our
thoughts on worshiping our Lord? What
did Israel do to prepare themselves to worship their Jehovah God?
Read Nehemiah 9:1-6
The first thing that we read is that the people
fasted, wore sackcloth, and put dust on their heads. These are signs of sorrow, broken heartedness,
and repentance for the life they had been living.
Second, they separated themselves from all
foreigners – which would be seen as an intentional break with anyone who might
introduce a sinful way or aberrant thought into their lives.
Third, they confessed, not only their own sin, but
the sin committed by their ancestors – they didn’t want to take any chances
that a family member hadn’t repented of all their sin (Exodus 20:4-6).
Fourth, they heard readings from the Law again for
another 6 hours, just as they had 2 days previously.
And finally, they entered worship, including another
round of confession for their sins. Why
more confession? It was important that
after hearing the Law read, they may have come to think of additional sins that
also required repentance.
Worship was led by the Levites, who might normally
have acted more like teachers than worship leaders. But after 6 hours of hearing the Law,
apparently, it was felt that this was enough.
And how did worship begin? With
the Levites crying out “Stand up and praise the Lord your God …”!
And what did we learn about worship and praise last
week? We lift up our hands, proclaim
“Amen”, or a comparable “Hallelujah” or “Praise the Lord” would also be OK, and bow down as a sign of acceptance and
obedience to the word and way as set down by the Lord God Almighty Himself!
As the Levites led the people in worship and praise,
we see several ways of acknowledging God as the Lord and Master for our lives –
we see confession, petition, proclamation, and far more as worship continues
through the next 30 verses (Nehemiah 9:7-38). How would we remember all of these important
issues? There is a great acronym
available to us for prayer, worship, or teaching – the word is ACTS – which reminds
us of: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication (- Petition or
Request).
So how were some of these acknowledgments expressed
through the Levites leadership?
Read Nehemiah 9: 28-31
First, we read that the Levites led the people to remember
the sin that they had committed against their Lord God, and that in spite of
the wicked ways that the people showed to the Lord, God had always been patient with
them. This reminds us that acknowledging
our failures, as well as God’s gracious nature, are both vitally important for
our faith expressions.
Did you notice that there wasn’t any mention of instances
of faithful living on the part of Israel?
There will never be any need to remind the Lord of the times we were
faithful and obedient – He already knows everything that we have done! So the reminiscence of our sin is not for
God’s purpose or information, but for our own – just as our proclamation of His
goodness is to remind us of the Lord’s love for us. And God wants to hear that we are proclaiming
them both.
And in the patience that God shows to us all, He has
also sent His prophets and teachers and word for our lives, that we might know
what He desires for each of us - even though we have ignored, and even
denounced His truth, time and time again.
Read Nehemiah 9:32-35
But the question remains – why would God continue to
be so compassionate and forgiving, when sin demands such a consistent place in
our lives? The answer is found in the
opening verse of this passage – that God has made a “covenant of love”
on behalf of every person who had ever lived, and ever will live, on the face
of the Earth His love is perfect, and
complete, and eternal, and fulfilling, and as a covenant, it will never be
broken by the Lord, if we will only accept it, and show our love to the Lord in
return. For Israel, they remind
themselves of this shared love through the Shema that is lifted up in both
morning and evening prayers, as well as on other special occasions.
The word Shema means “listen”, and the proclamation,
found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9,
begins with the words “Hear, O Israel”.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are
to be upon your hearts. Impress them on
Your children. Talk about them when you
sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you
get up. Tie them as symbols on your
hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
The prayer is calling the people to love the Lord as
much as He loves them. But how much love
does that actually entail?
Read Luke 24:44-49
This passage comes to us after Jesus’
resurrection, and shows us that He never stops reminding us and teaching us
about the extent of the love that God has already shown us, and will continue
to show beyond all time. And here, He
reminds the disciples that everything that they have ever learned about Him is
true, and in that regard, we, too, can never discount the Old Testament as
words that only the Jews should consider as God’s word – for everything that we
read about Jesus Messiah, throughout scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is God’s
own truth.
The Law that was handed down to Moses, the messages
that the Prophets brought from God, as well as the hymns, the prayers, the
petitions that we read of in Psalms are all just as vital to our faith as the
gospels are (Matthew 5:17).
The Lord Jesus also tells those gathered there that
day that they, too, will soon be sent out to proclaim the love of God to all of
the people of Earth, enabled through the gift of God’s Holy Spirit.
And these promises are given to each of us as well
when we love God as much as we possibly can, and claiming the truth of His love
for us, as well as we can possibly understand.
The vastness of God’s love has been proven to us through the life, death
and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
How much more do we need? Repent and worship Him in truth today!
