On July 9, I presented part one of this series in which I wrote…

“The Bible and church history bear witness to the fact that particular people in particular places have experienced extraordinary movements of God.”

and

“Because I long to see this type of abnormal movement, I want to draw attention to one such season from the Old Testament and invite you to join me in pleading with God to bless us in this way.”

I return to this subject today to highlight one characteristic present during the season of extraordinary revival recorded in Nehemiah 8-10.

The public proclamation of God’s Word preceded the season of renewal among the Israelites. As the 50,000 or so people gathered in the city square, a team of men preached from the Book of the Law.

Ezra the priest, with the help of thirteen men from Israel, read from the scrolls containing the first five books of our Old Testament from “daybreak to noon,” and the people stood to listen. Helping them as they read, thirteen other men were scattered throughout the crowd translating these words and explaining them to the people.

This act of reading the Scripture and explaining it to the people is the definition of preaching. More specifically, the twenty-seven member team read God’s Word, made it clear, and gave the meaning so the people could understand and obey it (Nehemiah 8:8). Little wonder God moved. He was exalted as His Word was proclaimed.

To their own detriment, however, many churches have jettisoned biblical preaching in favor of talks on contemporary issues. We should not be surprised that so many churches fail to see God’s extraordinary work. When man’s ingenuity is exalted, we cannot expect to see God’s power.

God, we ask You to lead men all over the world today to take up Your Word, read it, explain it, and apply it to the lives of their listeners. And we plead for to bring a season of extraordinary renewal and rebirth through the faithful preaching of Your Word.