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Trinity Community Church
Trinity Community Church
The Passion Project - Revival at the Water Gate
Join Pastor Kelly Kinder in The Passion Project for Revival at the Water Gate, where the aftermath of Jerusalem’s swiftly rebuilt walls sets the stage for a spiritual revolution. Nehemiah may have orchestrated the external restoration, but Kelly highlights how Ezra steps in to guide the internal renewal. At the heart of this story is a gathering at the Water Gate—a communal hunger for God’s Word that sparks a deep, lasting transformation.
Rather than being forced, men and women crowd together because they long to hear Scripture read aloud. For six straight hours, they listen, fully engaged. Kelly emphasizes that this remarkable focus underscores the people’s desperation for divine truth. By demanding, “Bring the Book,” they acknowledge the one source capable of healing their spiritual emptiness.
Ezra’s elevated wooden platform symbolizes the rightful place of God’s Word—lifted above all human opinion. As he opens the Scriptures, the people stand, then bow in reverent worship. Thirteen Levitical priests circulate, ensuring everyone grasps the meaning behind the text. Understanding triggers a tidal wave of tears, revealing both awareness of their distance from God and renewed hope in His mercy. Kelly points out that Scripture can mirror our brokenness and simultaneously move us toward joy, reminding us that true strength lies in “the joy of the Lord.”
Yet this revival doesn’t stall at emotional catharsis. The very next day, leaders return to study further, discovering a forgotten command about celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. Their immediate obedience results in overwhelming joy, demonstrating that revival extends beyond initial conviction to ongoing action. Kelly stresses this crucial progression: from hearing and understanding the Word to letting it radically shape everyday life.
Throughout his message, Kelly draws parallels to our world today, where spiritual famine abounds but genuine hunger for God’s Word can still spark a profound awakening. Whether you’re yearning for personal renewal or longing to see transformation ripple through your community, the pattern remains the same: approach Scripture with reverence, humility, and an open heart, and then align your actions with its commands. As Kelly reminds us, it all starts with one simple step—“Bring the Book”—because revival finds its truest spark when the Bible moves from neglected text to guiding light in our lives.
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You know I'm so excited about what God is doing, and as we've been spending time in our prayer and fasting time, I just expect God to do some wonderful things. He already is. As I'm listening to the rain on our roof, I'm reminded of what Isaiah said. He said as the rain comes down and waters the earth and I'm kind of paraphrasing your soul is my word. It provides bread to the eater, and those who sow will reap. When we get things in right alignment with what God calls us to do, we'll reap a harvest for it. So let that remind you that God is wanting to do some great things. But you have to participate. You have to cooperate with Him, and so we are continuing our series today in Nehemiah. It's been great, and I think this is just such a remarkably practical book and it fits really with so much of what's going on around us in our times today. It's really great.
Kelly Kinder:And when I'm thinking about what is going on all around us and we're looking at all this stuff, this chaotic world we're living in, it's not different, I think, for most generations. Every generation longs to see God move and work and change our hearts, to see it transformed, and so I think there's always this deep desire and longing and I hope that that's in you today, that you come looking to meet God here and to see Him work in extraordinary ways. We're talking about renewal in this series a little bit and restoration and really about reviving our hearts. Here's what Andrew Murray says about that. He says a true revival means nothing less than a revolution, casting out the spirit of worldliness and selfishness and making God and his love triumphed in the heart and life. And Charles Spurgeon, he said what would this heart feel if I could but believe that there were some among you who would go home and pray for a revival, men whose faith is large enough and their love fiery enough to lead them from this moment to exercise unceasing intercessions, that God would appear among us and do wondrous things here, as in the times of former generations. And so you know, this is something I think that every generation, every person who calls themselves a Christian and as a follower of Christ, wants to see God work and move. So I want us to kind of go back and do a quick review, kind of set the idea of where we've come in this book and I put a chart up there just to kind of give you a perspective and just kind of overview for this and let's kind of just see the big picture here again.
Kelly Kinder:So our journey through Nehemiah so far has set the stage for the first stage of the work which Nehemiah has done and God desires to do. And what was it? He rebuilt what? The wall, the wall. And now it's not about just rebuilding the wall. The wall was rebuilt and it was a miracle really in 52 days. That's astounding and Tyler talked about that a little bit bit how large the city was and how much had to be done, and yet they completed it in 52 days.
Kelly Kinder:Now the work is about rebuilding and restoring and reforming, if you will, the spiritual life of the nation, revival and, as we come to chapter 8, nehemiah's roles in fact have. You can look at a few of the things there that show about what his role had been, from going from cupbearer to the king in Susa, to the rebuilder of the wall, the one that led that, and then finally he is now at this point of being governor over the province and at this point the leadership, as it were, changes. It goes from him to Ezra the priest. But Nehemiah is still pretty much involved. He's still just he's there but he's sort of taking a back seat. Ezra is now leading this spiritual movement that is happening in the lives of God's people and is hopeful that it will move forward. And, by the way, that's sort of directed and reflected in this narrative. It changes now from Nehemiah's first person account this is his kind of personal diary to like from I did this to they or they did this a third person, and so we know it's a transition. We're now in the second half of the book and, as we said, you really need to read these books together.
Kelly Kinder:Ezra and Nehemiah originally were in the Hebrew Bible as one single book and we talked about that in the very first message. Something else worth noting about Ezra, this priest, is that we find in this book, in his own book by his name, ezra, chapter 7, verse 10,. It tells us that God's hand was on Ezra and there's a reason for that. It tells us right there in Ezra 7.10,. Ezra has set his heart to study the law, the law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach it, and to teach the statutes and rules in Israel. Here was a man who was a primo Bible teacher and he had set his heart and his passions to study the word of God and to share it with the people. So here's a guy who has a skill and passion for the work and his heart is really in it.
Kelly Kinder:Let me give you some key elements as we're looking at the rest of this book just real quickly. Chapter 8 through 10 shows a revival of the people through the reading and study of the Word, a confession of sin, which comes in our next chapter, and then a renewal of the covenant where lives are changed. Chapter 11 and 12 through 26, the repopulation of Jerusalem, the city of God, by the people. 26,. The repopulation of Jerusalem, the city of God, by the people, and then chapter 12, 27 through 47 is this final rededication of the walls and the city. Chapter 13 is Nehemiah's final work and chapter 13 is really a surprising turn of events and I won't give it away unless you just read ahead, but stay tuned for that. It's quite surprising what the end of the book shows us, turn of events and I won't give it away unless you just read ahead, but stay tuned for that. It's quite surprising what the end of the book shows us.
Kelly Kinder:So we begin the second part of the book today with this message I'm calling Revival at the Watergate. Revival at the Watergate and in light of the scripture as we're going to read today, would you all stand? We don't do this very often, but we're going to see this morning why we do this in fact on occasion. And let's read together Nehemiah 7, beginning I'm just going to begin in verse 73 and the latter part, and we'll read through chapter 8.
Kelly Kinder:When the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns and all the people gathered as one man into the square before the water gate and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it, facing the square before the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law, and Ezra the scribe, stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose and beside him, mattathiah Shema, ananiah Uriah that they had made for the purpose, and beside him Mattathiah Shema, ananiah Uriah, hilkiah, massiah, and on his right hand, badiah, mishael, malchijah, hashum, hashbadana, zechariah and Meshulam. Okay, you got to clap for that right. No, I'm kidding. On his left hand.
Kelly Kinder:And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it, all the people stood and Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered Amen, amen. Lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Here we go again. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Here we go again.
Kelly Kinder:And also, all the Levites helped the people to understand the law. While the people remained in their places, they read from the book from the law of the people remained in their places, they read from the book from the law of God clearly and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading. 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. 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. So the Levites calmed all the people, saying be quiet, for this day is holy, do not be grieved. 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.
Kelly Kinder:On the second day, the heads of the father's houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law, and they found it written in the law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths or tabernacles during the feast of the seventh month and they should go, 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. So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his own 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. And all the assembly at the water gate and in the square at the gate of Ephraim and all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths For from the days of Yeshua, the son of Nun, to the day that the people of Israel they had not done so and there was very great rejoicing 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 and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly.
Kelly Kinder:According to the rule, you can be seated, so let's pray. Father, we're thankful that your word gives us life and, as we have said, it rains down on us and gives us ability for you to take the seed that we sow that, that it becomes, for you and for us, eternal life. Lord, we thank you for what you're going to do this morning. We ask you, as we hold our hearts in our hands, we ask you to hold hold our hearts as well, and that they would catch on fire for you, and we ask that in Jesus' name, amen.
Kelly Kinder:So I want to say that the starting point, or the beginning point for any true revival is the Word of God. Some of us may argue with that and say no, no, it's prayer, it's prayer. But I'm thinking of the beginning point, the actual beginning point, and the scripture says that all things were created by God in Colossians 1. It says they were created by God, things in heaven and in earth, things visible and invisible. So you want to see God do something that we don't see. I mean, it's sort of spiritual. This is where we're really focusing. The Word does inform our prayers, though, and this is what I'm getting at. Without the illumination that comes from the Word of God, our prayers are sort of off kilter, and we don't really know necessarily how to pray. And so when we feast and feed upon God's Word, when we feast and feed upon God's Word, our lives are transformed for his glory.
Kelly Kinder:So I want to give you this and this is going through just Nehemiah, chapter 8, for what I call movements or steps that are a catalyst for revival, and all focused on the word. And you know when I use that word I use the word catalyst intentionally and I looked up old Daniel Webster and he gives us a couple of words meanings for the word catalyst. If you were in your chemistry class you know a catalyst was something enabled a chemical reaction to proceed at an unusually faster rate, he says, under different conditions than otherwise possible. So think about that as the catalyst is the Word of God, or here's this one. It's an agent, he says, that provokes or speeds significant change or action, and this is what the Word does. Certainly I don't think we're trying to and I don't want you to hear that what we're calling for and what this is calling for is something that will sort of force God's hand.
Kelly Kinder:Revival is a sovereign work of God. He chooses when this happens. But we can get ourself in the flow and I picture this almost like as God's doing what he's doing in the earth. We get to choose whether we will join him and so that flow is. He's constantly, it's moving and we sometimes we can stand on the banks and look at the, at the movement of what God is doing and just kind of say, wow, that's really cool, that's neat. Or we can jump in. We can jump in.
Kelly Kinder:Here's what God said Is not my word like a fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. You think about that. We read that too quickly sometimes. The word is like a fire. It consumes things, consumes the things that don't need to be there in our life. It burns things up and it sets things on fire to burn. And then it's like a hammer and I think of that. You know I use the hammer I have sometimes to crack nuts and sometimes God needs to crack some nuts in our lives and so it's really he says it essentially is a powerful thing in our lives. I don't want us to see these. Look at these.
Kelly Kinder:The first thing to note and the first step to revival. I think we see here in Nehemiah, the restoration of God's word awakens us, it awakens our faith. Look at chapter 7 again and it says there, in chapter 7, verse 1, it says and all the people gathered as one man into the square before the water gate and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book, the book, the Bible, and it says in verse 3 he read from it. And, facing the square before the water gate, from early morning until midday, and the ears of all the people, verse 3, were attentive to the book of the law. And so what we see here is a spiritual hunger for spiritual realities which lead the people to ask Ezra to bring them this book. Bring the book and read it to us. And the people of God realize, essentially, that they need to be right with God. Do you need to be right with God this morning? They need to be right with God if they're going to ever prosper as a nation, and the proof, I think, of their hunger is obvious, isn't it? It says and we see it in just how willing they were to, I guess, take the time to listen to it Six straight hours. Can you imagine that's amazing. Six straight hours the Word of God is read aloud to these people and I just think that's astounding. But they were willing to sit there and listen because they were hungry.
Kelly Kinder:In the past, god's prophets had moaned and lamented about the fact that there wasn't that going on in the people in that day they had really poor listening skills. Here's what Hosea said, the prophet my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Do you think that's true? Maybe today we look at the condition of things around us and we look at the condition of churches in our group we call Christians and you think something's wrong. People don't know. And that's what he says my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. But here in this patch is for nehemiah and these people. This day is different. This day is different.
Kelly Kinder:Verse three describes the people's attentive ears. It could be translated, I think, more poetically like this and the ears of all the people were toward the book of the law. And so what you're picturing is they're so intent on getting the law read to them, the scriptures read to them, that, so they're sort of leaning in like this. So you get this picture of their very close attention. Their ears are opened and they have become active listeners. See, there's a difference between being an active listener and a passive listener. Passive listener comes and said oh, that was nice. An active listener says tell me more, what does that mean?
Kelly Kinder:And so that for us today, I think many people Christian people really fail to realize the place and the importance of the Bible in our daily lives. We just really don't get it. I think we're often spiritually ignorant because we don't know what God's provision is for us and we live our lives wondering why don't I have this or why is my life like that? A man asked his friend do you know the difference between apathy and ignorance? And the man thought for a minute and he said I don't know and I don't care. And we're often like that and I'm constantly amazed, as I listen to people talk and share their life with me, at how we try to handle problems and difficulties and struggles in life on our own and with our own human wisdom.
Kelly Kinder:You know, the Bible says there is a difference between earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. The heavenly wisdom comes down from God and it changes us. Earthly wisdom, it says, is demonic. So the Bible gives us heavenly wisdom. But the Bible also speaks this heavenly wisdom in terms of practical things, things like our marriage, our family, our finances, our friendships. It talks about wisdom for singleness. It talks about our purpose. It talks about our identity. It talks about things like fear and anxiety and anger and unforgiveness, and sometimes we deal with those things with earthly wisdom. We need heavenly wisdom, heavenly wisdom for those issues. The Bible, you see, wakes us up to reality. See, when you realize your life isn't working, when you realize your life isn't working, then you're ready to hear God speak.
Kelly Kinder:So the first catalyst to revival the restoration of God's word. Restoration of God's word, put it back in place. And some of us need to pick up our Bible, pull them off the shelf and begin to read them again. Some of us need to get involved in the reading program that the Bible is being offered here through the church and is shared through the church, and a regular way to help you kind of stay committed to reading the Word of God. Here's a second thing. Second catalyst the elevation of God's Word corrects vision. So we have the restoration and now the elevation of God's Word in verses four through six, and it gives us some further insight, I think, into the morning scene where Ezra is really he's reading the law and, as it was described kind of as a hole in verses 2 and 3, and now it says, before the people came together, a high wooden platform, literally a tower of wood, has been built for this special occasion. And our text goes on to tell us in verses 5 and 6,. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it, all the people stood, just like we did today, and Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered Amen, amen, lifting up their hands, and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Kelly Kinder:You know, if you were to go visit some of the oldest churches in the world, maybe some of the churches in Europe, you would find a few, some still around, with these very high pulpits where there are stairs, where the person who is speaking has to climb stairs to get into the place to speak. That point is well illustrated in a word from Alistair Begg. I think he does this so well. It speaks to this issue. He says this. He says I have a vivid recollection as a small boy of sitting in St George's Tron Church in Glasgow waiting for the commencement of morning worship.
Kelly Kinder:At about three minutes to 11, the Beatle the name for the parish official would climb the pulpit stairs and place a large Bible on the lectern. Would climb the pulpit stairs and place a large Bible on the lectern, having opened it to the appropriate passage, he would descend and the minister would in turn ascend the stairs and sit in the cone-shaped pulpit. The beta would complete his responsibilities by climbing the stairs a second time to close the pulpit door and leave the pastor to his task. To close the pulpit door and leave the pastor to his task. There was no doubt in my young mind that each part of that procedure was marked with significance. There was clearly no reason for the pastor to be in the pulpit apart from the Bible upon which he looked down as he read. I understood that, in contrast to his physical posture, the preacher was standing under scripture, not over it. Similarly, we were listening not so much for his message but for its message. We were discovering, as JI Packer has suggested, that preaching is letting texts talk, that preaching is letting texts talk.
Kelly Kinder:Sadly, much of what now emanates from pulpits would not be recognized by many Christians of past generations as anywhere close to the kind of expository preaching that is based on the Bible, christ-focused and life-changing, the kind of preaching that is marked by doctrinal clarity, a sense of gravity and convincing argument. We have instead become far too familiar with preaching that pays scant attention to the Bible is self-focused and constantly and consequently capable of only the most superficial impact upon the lives of listeners. Worse. Still, large sections of the church are oblivious to the fact that they are being administered a placebo rather than the medicine they need. They are satisfied with the feeling that it has done them some good, a feeling that disguises the seriousness of the situation. In the absence of bread, the population grows accustomed to cake. Pulpits are for preachers. We build stages for performers. Let that sink in.
Kelly Kinder:Begg goes on and I want to kind of give you the rest of this. This is a long reading section, but it's something we need to hear. He goes on to say some years ago, and he gives a couple of illustrations here worth sharing. Some years ago I enjoyed the privilege of speaking at a convention in Hong Kong. The meetings were held in an Anglican church that had a pulpit we did not use. The organizers felt it would be best if we were not six feet above the congregation but on the same level as the people, so they provided a lectern to hold the preacher's Bible. As he spoke. I was sharing the event with a kindly older man who had never met before. We both spoke each morning.
Kelly Kinder:Some mornings I would preach first. Sometimes he would. Whenever he began a message, his first action was to pick up the small lectern and move it off to the side, where it would neither impede his movement nor create the impression that he was preaching to the people. Instead, he said he was delivering a talk and he wanted to be sure the listeners could relax and benefit from his conversational style. When it came time for me to preach, my first action was to put the lectern back in its place, central to the occasion. The congregation laughed as this pattern repeated itself over and over over the course of five days. I would use it, my colleague would remove it.
Kelly Kinder:Before the week was out, two incidents occurred that may or may not have been related. First, I explained to the congregation that the reason I replaced the lectern each time was not simply so I might have a place for my Bible, but because I did not want to forego the symbolism of having a central pulpit with the word in its deserved primary place. After all, I observed if the preacher were to fall down or disappear, the congregation would still be left with its focus in the right place, namely the scriptures. I know that my preaching partner did not take this as a personal rebuke, which is what made the second incident all the more telling. A day or two later, he confided to me that he felt he had lost any real sense of passion or power in the delivery of his messages. It was very humbling for me as a young man to sit and listen to as he poured out his heart and with tears reflected upon his diminished zeal. It is far too simplistic to suggest that his removing the podium each time he spoke was a symbol of faltering conviction regarding the priority and power of Scripture. Yet I have a suspicion that its removal was more than simply a matter of style or personal preference.
Kelly Kinder:The layout of many contemporary church buildings, including my own at least, flirts with the danger of creating the impression that we have come to hear from man rather than meet with God. It is imperative that we acknowledge and remember, and help each other acknowledge and remember, that we gather together as a church not to be entertained, but to hear and heed the word of God. So here in Nehemiah 8, the word of God is given its proper place. And so what are they doing? They're giving the word of God its right place. They see it as a divine authority. It's over their lives.
Kelly Kinder:So, by the way, this is what Paul commended the Thessalonians for, this Thessalonian church. He says to them we thank God constantly for this that when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it, not as the Word of men but to you or just another talk. It's a difference, there's a difference, and so the principle here is this how highly we view the scriptures will really determine how well you live your life. How highly you view the scriptures will determine how well you live your life, and it's always true. So the first catalyst to revival, the restoration of God's word, then the elevation of God's word, then, thirdly, here we see the explanation of God's Word which brings an encounter. This is so cool Verses 8, chapter 8, verse 7 through 12.
Kelly Kinder:And so we see, as the scriptures are being read by Ezra here, in verse 7 and 8, he sends out 13 Levitical priests, and you can picture this All the people are out there in the square at the water gate and they're probably sitting in circles that are listening to him read. And he sends out 13 Levitical priests and they are assigned to all these groups, and the reason that they're there is to instruct the people as the Scripture is being read, and their specific task is to what Verse eight says, to make the word clear, that is, to make it distinct. So, as you sometimes imagine, when you hear people sometimes communicate, you didn't catch something and you kind of wonder I missed that? What did they say? This is what the scribes are doing. They're telling the people. Okay, he said this and something else says in verse 8,. Their task was also not only to make it clear but to give the sense, a word that means to give insight, to so explain it, tell what it means. We use the word interpret, interpret, and so the purpose for them is also to kind of explain some things, and all the while, the word it probably doesn't interrupt what Ezra's doing. He's still continuing to read the word and maybe I don't know maybe somebody in one of those groups kind of raises their hand and the scribe goes over and he quickly says something that will help them move along in the reading, to help them get it. But the purpose, their overall purpose, is to help them understand, and that word is used three or four times in this passage. And so now notice what happens Verses 9 and 10. As they begin to understand and they begin to get it. God begins to open their ears and everyone begins to understand God's word. And this is so significant. Don't miss this. This is an encounter. This is an encounter.
Kelly Kinder:The people, it says, begin to weep.
Kelly Kinder:You say, why is that? Why are they weeping? And I think it's for two reasons. Number one they're starving spiritually. They just may not have known it, and it made me think of that.
Kelly Kinder:You remember, you see some of these videos where people are at this in World War II, the Allied forces come in and they discover that there are these concentration camps that the Germans had put in place. And the Allied forces, the Americans, come in and they discover these camps where these people are behind the fences and they've been starved to death and their faces are emaciated, their eyes are sunken back in their sockets, and they come to these people and they're starving and they're starving. And so now, in this sense, this picture, and maybe in your mind, this is what happens to us when we fail to feed on the Word of God and we don't even know it. So that's one reason they're weeping because they're getting fed, even seeing those World War II films, when they start passing out food, tears begin to flow in those World War II people who were behind the fences. Number two I think another reason to weep is that their hearts are overwhelmed because they're actually understanding.
Kelly Kinder:God is speaking to me. Has God spoken to you in the Scriptures? There's nothing like it. When God speaks, in some ways, what does God's Word do for us? It encourages us, it instructs us, just like it did them. It convicts us and ultimately, that conviction ends up making them sorrow over their sin. And if we fail to be in the word, we don't even know our condition before God. And this is where they were weeping, as God is speaking to them, things they need to know, and so, by this point, they're just a mess. This is what revival is, folks Brokenness, the realization that God is doing something he's not done before and you can't explain it. This is the beginning of revival.
Kelly Kinder:Verse 9, it says, in response to Nehemiah, a few people, who was the governor, and Ezra, the priests and scribes, the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people as a group this day is holy to the Lord. Don't weep or mourn. I mean there'll be time for repentance and confession later, but that day's not today. This day is a holy day. Why? Simply this because God is with you and he's for you, he's not against you, and sometimes we kind of carry that with us. This is the day of feasting and celebration, and it's holy, it's a day joy, and that's why he ends up this verse 10. The reason not to weep is stated pretty clearly, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Kelly Kinder:I brought two tools with me today. One is the word of God and the other is a scan tool that I use to scan the codes on my car. So a few years ago seems like it's at least a year, year and a half maybe we bought a car and it's had trouble ever since. It's a constant repair job. So I use one of these to kind of figure out, as you do on your car, you see that check engine light. You do on your car. You see that check engine light come on in your car and if you're a wise person you don't let that go. You find out what it is and this contraption. Actually, you plug it in in the car after you see the codes and it tells you everything you can't see with just that little light on your dashboard. Everything you can't see with just that little light on your dashboard. And for my car it's got a bunch of them and I'm working through them little by little. And you know, I get one thing done and I plug it in and there's something else.
Kelly Kinder:And so this has been going on a year and a half, you know, and I'm thinking am I ever going to get to drive this car? Went on a year and a half, you know, and I'm thinking am I ever going to get to drive this car? And so yesterday I was telling my wife I said I think I fixed it. The light has gone off. And she said well, I bet you this will be a joy day for you. And I said until the check engine light comes back on.
Kelly Kinder:And so this is a little bit like our life. Our life is like the car, and sometimes our focus is on all the things that are wrong with what's going on in our life. We get so discouraged and focused in on the problem and we've just got to fix it. If we could just fix it, if we could just resolve this issue, then everything would make us happy. But this says something different. This talks about where we get our joy. Because if I fix the car, there will be something else. That happens. But same is true with our life.
Kelly Kinder:If your life is fixed, something else comes up. Doesn't it think about how joy is a tremendous source of strength for us? Think about it. If a person is down, if you're discouraged and depressed, any difficulty or problem is enough to cause you to what? Have a bad day and shut down, right. I mean, it doesn't take much sometimes and you see people walk in and you go. Something's wrong. Maybe you saw some people like that today.
Kelly Kinder:That's why the Bible tells us a joyful heart is good medicine. But a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Isn't that true? That could be true for anybody, but a person who's up, a person who's up, that's different. They will accomplish far more than the person who's down. Joy provides strength. A person who, for example, suffers from physical issues or pain, guess what? They're filled with joy and they'll survive much better and far longer than the person who is focused on the issue. It's just true. Focused on the issue, it's just true. Or if you think about that, you can, even if you're in pain, sometimes, if you're full of joy, you forget the pain. You say, okay, that went through the day and I didn't even feel what I felt when I got up this morning.
Kelly Kinder:So there's a joy, there's a strength in our joy, but it's not an outward circumstances, and the reason that our joy is sometimes up and down. Up and down is because our focus is on the wrong joy. This is the joy of the Lord and so for everyone who is in Christ, the source of our joy, if we don't focus on getting it from our outward circumstances and we focus on the one who is full of joy, then we'll see this, because joy is the essence of who God is. He is a joyful God and when we tap into him through the Spirit of God, then we can live above our circumstances. It's his joy that he gives us through the Spirit of God. It's it's his joy that he gives us through the spirit of god and, and, if you will, joy gives us the ability to live above our check engine lights. I don't know what yours is today, but so think about this the word of god, just like this is for my car, the word of God is your scan tool for your life.
Kelly Kinder:The difference here is this book doesn't bring you down, it builds you up if you just get in it. Scripture says the Scriptures, acts 2, they're able to build you up and give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified. And so these people in Nehemiah, as the word was explained to them, they were built up and they it says in verse 12, all the people went their way to do just that to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing and notice the reason, because underline that because they had understood the words that were declared to them. And one of the things that such an encounter with the word of God brings is this deepening and intensifying of our affections for God. And sometimes we don't realize how much they are affected by what we find in Scripture, this kind of encounter. Let me give you one more example of this, because I think this is such the important part of this passage.
Kelly Kinder:It's recalled in that story of the two disciples on the Emmaus Road. And if you remember those two disciples, this is after the resurrection and they're walking along the Emmaus Road after the resurrection, from Jerusalem on the way to Emmaus, and they have a guy walking alongside them. They don't recognize him, but this is Jesus and they enter into a conversation with Jesus and the disciples say we had hoped that we were going to be able to put our confidence in this Jesus and really see some things happening. And for them Jesus was a non-starter and they were disappointed in Jesus. They put all their hopes in Jesus, jesus, they put all their hopes in Jesus but, as they would find this would be the most significant encounter of their lives, and they're prevented from recognizing Jesus. And I looked this up the distance from Jerusalem to Emmaus is about seven miles and it would have taken, in their conversation, about two to three hours, depending on how fast you walked.
Kelly Kinder:But he's listening to their complaints and saying I thought it was going to be this way, but it's not, and we're really disappointed. And then Jesus, he tells them essentially I'm going to paraphrase this he essentially tells them you really don't know your Bible or believe it, do you? That's really what he says. And then he says this it says the scripture says this and, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted same word here to them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. All the scripture you read is about Jesus.
Kelly Kinder:And so it's late in the day when they get to Emmaus and they invite this stranger who they don't know, is Jesus to eat and stay overnight with them, and the gospel account in Luke tells us this. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it, jesus. Then Jesus broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened and they recognized him and at that moment he disappeared. And they looked at each other and they said didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the scriptures to us? That's an encounter and you can have it and I can have it, and everyone who desires to follow Christ can have it, if we just choose it. See, there's a profound emotional and spiritual impact when we encounter the living Christ through the Holy Scriptures, and it's our choice. So it's still the case. Our hearts can be set on fire by the truth of God's Word, and I had a.
Kelly Kinder:There's a picture I put up here for you Augustine, who was one of the early church fathers who had been transformed by the word of God. He was so influential in the church, including our own, the way we view theology and everything, and he has this person who painted his portrait later on, philip de Champagne, a few bit later, and it shows Augustine there, and in his right hand is a quill. He's wanting to write something and in his left hand his heart is in his hand and out of the heart comes fire. And I don't think you can see it, but he's looking up to where the spotted light is and it says, there in the light, veritas fire. And I don't think you can see it, but he's looking up to where the spotted light is and it says, there in the light, veritas. Veritas, which means truth. His heart is set on fire by the truth and he's expecting what he is going to do is be able to write based on what God has done in his heart. And God can do that for all of us Everything we do, the things we live for, the things, the places we work. Our hearts can be set on fire simply because God has done a work inside of us through his word, the catalyst to revival require number one, the restoration of God's Word, the elevation of God's Word. Number two, and then third, the explanation of God's Word. And then the fourth one, the continuation in God's Word which transforms our behavior, and we see it in chapter 8, verse 13,.
Kelly Kinder:Back in Nehemiah it says on the second day here's the second day, the heads of the fathers houses of all the people, with the priests. And the second day here's the second day the heads of the 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. They moved from hearing it and getting it explained to them, and now they sit down and go let's get a little bit deeper, let's dig deeper and see what it actually teaches and it says. 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. And we're going to focus on the feast, but I think the point of the feast and all this here is on the second day they began to study the word and we can read the Bible, but unless we get into it for ourselves, if we're all depending on what is getting shared by listening to radio or people who teach the Bible studies and we just sit there as listeners, passive listeners, we haven't gone far enough.
Kelly Kinder:We need to get into the Bible for ourselves, study it for ourselves, and I believe the point of this text in this place here is simply for us to see that these people, who had begun to move from hearing the Word to actually studying it, ultimately realize they had failed to actually apply the Word. They had failed to actually do it. And we can go all our lives thinking, boy, I know a lot of the Bible, but how much do we put into practice? See, the Bible says don't look at the mirror like you'd look at yourself and turn away and forget what you look like. Don't be just hearers of the word, actually be doers of it. So the people here's the response and they said, okay, we will. So the people went out and brought them, that is, the sticks and bows, and they made booths for themselves.
Kelly Kinder:And then it says for from the days of Joshua, the son of Nun, to that day, the people of Israel had not done so. They didn't either know that they needed to do this or they just had chosen not to do what God's word had said. But today they did. Today they did and notice the last thing there in verse 17, and there was very great rejoicing. You see, what happens in revival is there are people who've discovered what God has called them to do through the scriptures and they actually turn their lives around and they make a change. Next week we're going to talk about chapter 9, a bit of that, and how we turn our lives to align it with the Word of God as we've discovered it. And so they began to obey what they discovered and, living in that perfect I would just call it the perfect will of God, there was very great joy. There always is joy when we live in God's will, and this is the transformation of true revival. Notice the last verse and this is sort of a summary verse and day by day, from the first day to the last, he, ezra, read from the book of the law. They kept the feast seven days and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the rule.
Kelly Kinder:We'll find out more a bit about this as we go forth, but here's the thing we want to see revival. We have to live in the word if we want to be changed by the word. You want your life to be different. You want your circumstances and issues to sort of change or have a different perspective on them. You have to live in the word. Jesus said it like this. He said for those who are my true disciples, they will continue in my word. So you see, there's a kind of a progression here.
Kelly Kinder:For these people that led to revival. Same will be true for us. They had a hunger for the word, so that caused them to realize the mistakes of having ignored the scriptures or God's word. They had a respect for the word. They saw that the word had a divine authority over their life. They had a respect for the word. They saw that the word had a divine authority over their life. They had an understanding of the word which brought a change in their affections. And then they decided well, we're going to obey the word. They went back and they began to correct all the things that were not right with their lives. And we will too when we get into God's word.
Kelly Kinder:You know, I just think, I don't know. It seems like God wants to do some things in us. We see all around. I hear people say I see stirrings of revival. God's just sort of stirring the waters, and I think he wants to do that here too. Let's not let him pass us by, and let's ask him to help us. Let's pray, and we'll be dismissed. Father, we're thankful for your word today and I pray for everyone here, including myself, lord, that we won't be merely passive when it comes to your word and think things are interesting or entertaining, but, lord, that they will be life-changing as we put ourselves before your book, into your book. Lord, we ask you to do this in the mighty name of Jesus. Change our hearts, o God. God, we pray in Jesus name, amen.
