Extraordinary Change, Part 3
by james on Aug.06, 2009, under biblical reference, extended sermon idea
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 another characteristic present during the season of extraordinary revival recorded in Nehemiah 8-10.
The people were moved by overwhelming grief over of their sin.
Twice in a little more than 3 weeks, the crowd gathered, listened to the reading of the Law, and responded with weeping and mourning because of their sin. On the first day of this extraordinary movement, Nehemiah interrupts their weeping to call them to celebrate a great festival. Yet the contrast of their disobedience and God’s holiness had immediately moved them to extreme sorrow and repentance.
On the 24th day of the month, the people gathered again, heard from God’s Word, and once again began to weep, mourn, and confess their sin. Again, the contrast of their sin and God’s perfection overwhelmed them.
In an age when sin is commonly referred to as a “shortcoming” or a “mistake,” their reaction seems strangely foreign. Perhaps the reason we fail to see an extraordinary movement of God is our ordinary view of sin.
God, we ask You to penetrate our hearts with the gravity and severity of our sin. And we plead for You to give us an accurate view of our sin that will usher in an extraordinary renewal and rebirth.
August 7th, 2009 on 11:07 am
I believe you are right on with how people (including myself) treat sin as ordinary these days (it reminds me of how homeowners treat foreclosure these days as being “normal”, with no stigmatisms anymore therefore creating a regular flood of foreclosures).Maybe we could see God at work in our lives if we felt the severity of our sins daily!.
August 19th, 2009 on 12:49 pm
I received the following from a WestHillsblog reader and thought I’d share…
Two things come to mind; first, as we read in Genesis just prior to the flood God saw how sinful man had become and the bible says that “The Lord was grieved” and that “his heart was filled with pain” (Genesis 6:6). Have we (I include myself) forgotten that sin grieves the heart of God? Have we become too casual and thereby become desensitized to, as you put so well, the gravity of sin. Coupled with this I believe is the concept of the “fear of the Lord”. Have we lost or forgotten what it is to fear the Lord? To stand in awe and reverence of Almighty God. Jesus says in Matthew 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (See also Isaiah 8:13). One of my favorite verses is Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter; Fear God and keep his commandments.” Second, in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he talks about Godly sorrow vs worldly sorrow (2 Cor. 7:10). Godly sorrow bringing repentance which leads to salvation while worldly sorrow brings death. When we are confronted with sin, how do we respond? With Godly sorrow as God intends or do we respond with worldly sorrow, (sorry we got caught).
Just some thoughts.
Kurt