Intro:

• Many of you are carrying the weight of uncertainty and anxiety
• As a kid watching the movie Bambi - Animals run when the forest is on fire
• ‭‭John‬ ‭14:27‬ ‭NLT‬‬ - I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

Intro to message

• The time is 445 B.C. 
• Lasts week message with Zerubbabel was around 520 B.C - So this is 75 years later .. All this time they had been there without rebuilding culture, without building on truth.
  • This shows you can be a God worshipper and be ignorant 
• This was the condition:
  • They were God worshippers
  • They were ignorant of His Word
  • Their children were ignorant of His Word - It was a generational ignorance

Tell the story

• They came together with ONE mind to restore the Word
• Ezra brought out the Torah before the men, women, and children
• From early morning until noon he read
  • When He opened it they all rose
  • They all worshipped in thrill of the moment 
• They clearly explained what they were reading
• Everybody started weeping
• They told them not to weep but to have a feast
• They came back the next morning and studied it deeper
• They uncovered the festival of shelters and celebrated it - camp out
•  A few weeks later they all came back in sorrow and mourning
• They stood for three hours as the law was read
• They repented and signed a contract 

Nehemiah 8:2–9:4 (NLT) — 2 So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion. - When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet. 6 Then Ezra praised the LORD, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. - 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage. 9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the LORD your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!” 11 - 12 So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them. 13 On October 9 the family leaders of all the people, together with the priests and Levites, met with Ezra the scribe to go over the Law in greater detail. 14 As they studied the Law, they discovered that the LORD had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters during the festival to be held that month. 15 He had said that a proclamation should be made throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, telling the people to go to the hills to get branches from olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees. They were to use these branches to make shelters in which they would live during the festival, as prescribed in the Law. 16 So the people went out and cut branches and used them to build shelters on the roofs of their houses, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of God’s Temple, or in the squares just inside the Water Gate and the Ephraim Gate. 17 So everyone who had returned from captivity lived in these shelters during the festival, and they were all filled with great joy! The Israelites had not celebrated like this since the days of Joshua son of Nun. 18 Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God on each of the seven days of the festival. Then on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, as was required by law. 1 On October 31 the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors. 3 They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the LORD their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the LORD their God. 4 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani—stood on the stairway of the Levites and cried out to the LORD their God with loud voices.

If you want A Bible Revival 

1. God’s Word must be LIFTED
   1. Ezra story
      1. They all unanimously agreed that they needed it
      2. They put Ezra on a platform
      3. They all stood when it was opened
      4. They all worshipped because they had it
   2. Put it on a pedestal
      1. Above any other books
      2. In your schedule - Don’t be reading Harry Potter and not the Bible
   3. Surround it with elders
      1. Recognize it’s AUTHORITY above any other book
      2. 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
   4. Let everyone stand when it’s being read
      1. Show RESPECT like you would for something sacred
      2. You don’t take it sitting down but at ATTENTION
   5. Make men, women, and children listen
      1. The Bible is the bedrock of a great family
      2. Some think it’s for women, or for men, or for just children
2. God’s Word must be LEARNED
   1. They were completely ignorant of the Scriptures (Like most today)
   2. The Word needs to be read aloud
      1. Imagine family times when God’s Word is read aloud by each person.
      2. Something about it being said in the open makes it REAL
   3. The Word needs to be listened to
      1. Subject yourself to the teaching of God’s Word
      2. Listen to it in your car, in your headphones
   4. The Word needs to be explained
      1. When someone is taught in the Word, it’s worth listening to them. They bring things out about it that are beautiful.
   5. The Word needs to be studied 
      1. Surround yourself with the tools to study the Bible effectively
      2. LOGOS Bible software
      3. Blue Letter Bible
3. God’s Word must be LOVED
   1. The scene on October 8, 445 BC was an emotional one
   2. They cried
      1. The Word should produce a sorrow at how bad you’ve missed it.
      2. The Bible says it’s like a mirror. Have you ever looked in the mirror and said, “Wow, I look horrible!” That’s what the Word does
      3. They realized how far off they had been. 
   3. They rejoiced
      1. They held a feast, they gave gifts and rejoiced because they had heard and understood God’s Word. 
   4. They repented
      1. It says that after all the festivities they clothed themselves in burlap and grieved 
4. God’s Word must be LIVED
   1. They took actionable steps that day
   2. It’s interesting that the thing they implemented was the CLOSEST thing to them... Festival of shelters.
      1. Where do you start? Start where it hits the closest to home! 
   3. They SIGNED A COVENANT
      1. If we ever do this again, may we be cursed.

All of this zeal from this moment is what created the strict adherence to the LAW - Pharisees

By the time of Jesus, they were so reliant on honoring God’s Law, that they couldn’t see Jesus.

All of the Word is to point us to JESUS

• Let’s LIFT Jesus
• Lets LEARN from Jesus
• Let’s LOVE Jesus
• Let’s LIVE Jesus

They had gotten to a point of desperation, that’s why they cried out for the Word. If you are at a point of desperation...