Gospel Patrons 2 : Awaken
In this sermon, Pastor Kevin explores the theme of spiritual awakening through the story of Nehemiah, emphasizing the importance of being attuned to God's Word, will, and worth. He highlights how Nehemiah's heart was awakened to God's purposes, leading to a revival among the people as they passionately sought and obeyed God's Word. The message encourages believers to cultivate a deep desire for God's presence and to actively participate in His transformative work in their lives and communities.
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Hey, what's up, Rock Church? Conway Crew, man. Hey, it's like it's always good to be here with happy hour. Cause you guys just start fired up right from the get go. Hey, want to say special welcome to our online family.
We love you guys and our J. Rubin Long Crew. Hey, love you guys so much. If I've not had a chance to meet you yet. Hey, my name is Kevin and I'm one of the executive pastors here on the team.
Thrilled to be here tonight. And if I do my job well, then you'll be thrilled too, by the time we get done. Because I believe. I believe God has a word for you tonight. And I'm excited to share it with you.
From Nehemiah chapter 8. And if you don't like it, blame it on God, because that's a joke. Nehemiah chapter 8 will be there. Let's start off with this. Start off with a question for you.
And listen, if you are new to church or not even sure about the Jesus thing first, we're so glad you're here. You're always welcome at the Rock to come as you are. We're thrilled you're with us tonight and you can participate because this is for anyone. So here's my first question. Get me dialed in there.
Here's the question. Have you ever, ever overslept? Anyone? Anyone not ever slept through something important, right? Like, ever had the alarm go off and missed it?
Or slept through it and you know, then missed the bus? Anyone missed the bus growing up? You ever overslept and miss an airplane home alone? Like this morning, I had a flight at 6am I was in Oklahoma City. I had to fly out this morning.
I, like, I don't know if I slept last night because I was afraid I would totally miss the alarm. You ever overslept and, you know, maybe missed an interview? Or at least you were running late, coming in hot because you overslept? Missed the big meeting, Riley? Missed the test?
Anyone missed a test? I did this. So my junior year of high school, I'm supposed to take the ACT test on a Saturday morning at 8am Well, I stayed out late on Friday night. And here's what I did. I thought, because high school brains don't work really well.
So I thought, I'm not going to set an alarm. I'll just wake up, it'll not be a problem. I'll get up and go. And guess what? I did not.
It was an epic failure. Completely missed the test and made my parents very, very not happy with me. Which here's what's totally ironic. Now I have a teenage son who can drive. He's driving, which means we don't have to take him everywhere anymore.
And so, literally, he drives himself to events. Well, just this last week, he shows up late for a private lesson, which his mom and I are paying for because, you know, he plays basketball, he's learning golf. Shows up late for the private lesson. The very next day, he shows up late for a basketball game. Or, like, he showed up right as the game starting.
I'm like, for your entire life, we've taken you to games and you have to get there early. Why are you coming right when the game is starting? And he's like, he's into working out now, so he had to work out before because apparently he wants to look good before he shows up for the game. And he doesn't know how to budget time, so he totally. He does this like, three or four times in a row.
And my wife goes, what is wrong with that kid? Does his brain not work? And I'm like, I know. Like, it's ridiculous. But then in the back of my head, I'm thinking, no.
Like, his brain does not work at all. And it's gonna be Approximately somewhere between seven and 35 years before it ever does work properly. And then at that point, he's gonna be getting old like me, and he'll forget stuff anyhow. So we're always gonna lose with him. Right?
That's just. The pain is real. You ever sleep through something important, something that really, really matters? I also have a friend that I did ministry with. We were on staff together at a church in Dallas, Texas, and he was a Seahawks fan, so I used the word friend lightly.
But he grew up in Seattle, and whenever the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. I think it was 2014, when the Seahawks won the super bowl, he decided that he wants to go to Seattle for whenever they hosted the celebration par that would then end with the procession at the stadium at Lumen Field. So he makes. Like, he doesn't have really any plans. He doesn't even have a ticket to get to the stadium, part of that thing.
But he just decides last minute that he's going to go because he's that kind of guy. So he catches a red eye, is what he does. Like, night before, catches a red eye, doesn't sleep while he's on the plane, he starts up a conversation with a guy that actually has tickets to the stadium to get in, and the guy offers him a ticket. Like, what? Like, how does that happen?
He gets to Seattle, makes it there. He doesn't have a car, right? Can't rent a car, so he has to bum a ride. Or he maybe gets Uber. This has been a few years ago.
Makes it to the stadium. So then he's waiting with all the crazy fans all morning long, like, to get into the stadium. So finally, you know, right before the procession comes, and a little like an hour before the parade, they allow them to go into the stadium. Okay? So he hasn't slept all night.
His phone hasn't been charged. So his phone's dying. So, you know, he finds a plug in over by a concession stand area. And, like, everyone's crazy and they're screaming and they're loud and they're excited. Well, he goes to just decide he's going to plug it in and let his phone charge a little bit before they get started.
And with the crowd yelling, falls asleep, totally fell asleep in the corner. Slept through the entire celebration. Like, they had to wake him up and tell him, party's over. You gotta go gradually. Missed it.
So, like, have you ever suddenly woken up and realized, like, you missed something significant, Right. Something that really matters? I think this is the danger for many of us in our spiritual life that we could be missing so much that God's up to. And so we're in this Gospel patron series, and we're encouraging all of you to be these great patrons for the good news of the gospel. And we're looking at the life of this guy named Nehemiah.
One of my favorite people, one of my favorite stories in all of scripture. And if you've been with us through the series, if not, we started out in week one, and we found out that in chapter one, Nehemiah gets this information that these walls, these gates have been destroyed, and he has his heart broken, burdened for these walls and gates that are destroyed back in the hometown, in the capital city of his people in Jerusalem. And I would say this, that he really. He has his heart awakened. Because, listen, here's why I would say his heart's awakened.
The walls have been destroyed for years, right at this point. So like. Like in chapter one, when his brother comes to him with this information, this news that the walls and the gates have been destroyed and burnt down in ruins. Listen, that is not new news. You realize that, like, it's been a while since the walls have been down.
But I would say this, that God awakened Nehemiah's heart in a new way to something that had been going on for years. He had Just never noticed. And now he did. And it leads to this really, really incredible story. So Nehemiah is a great book on leadership, for sure, of the movement of God.
And if you've been with us on praying and preparing, he makes a crazy ask of the king and he gets the king's permission, which is a wild story. Clay talked about a couple weeks ago, how then he unites the people to work as one. Then he faces some serious opposition. And listen, the whole thing that has gone on up to this point is leading to this awakening and I would even argue revival of, listen, the entire city of all. All the people.
And it's like this really, really spectacular moment that starts with one guy, one guy named Nehemiah, one guy who would be, in our terminology, a gospel patron that has his heart awakened to the things of God. And then it spreads right through the entire city. It's just a great moment. So here's what I want us to do. I want us to look at what was at the heart of their awakening in this section of Nehemiah, and, you know, a couple things to set us up before we jump in.
I had a Bible college professor that would say this. He said revival is just God doing what God has always done. Okay? That's all it is, but in increased intensity and increased frequency. Like, you're aware, God is always on the move, like, all the time.
Revival is just God doing what he's always done, always doing in increased frequency, and it increased intensity. So, and I would argue coming on the heels of a great awakening of God's people becoming awake, not God's people stopping, going through life spiritually asleep, where maybe you show up for church, you check a box, you try to do good, you go into a Bible study, but not really, like, just yearning and hungering for the things of God and like pursuing those things with great passion and with great hope. And here's. Here's what I think's interesting. Like, I would say we're living.
You guys realize we're living in a really interesting, and I would argue a very significant time where we are for sure seeing this awakening among God's people. I just read that in Sub Saharan Africa, they have the greatest percentage of believers in the world right now, like 30%. The gospel's moving. So this awakening
of God's people and this movement of the Holy Spirit around the country and around the world, it's for sure happening. I would argue this.
I would argue that it's happening right here at the rock, right in some ways. Because if Revival is God doing what God has always done in increased intensity and increased frequency. Well, we're experiencing that. You realize that the number of decisions that we've had, the number of baptisms, I don't know where our baptism team's at, but last year we crushed it, like 400 baptisms. We're on track to do it again, right?
It's a gray season, the life change taking place. You guys were in a unique season. God is moving. So how do we continue to cultivate? How do we keep ushering in God's grace?
Okay, well, let's take a look at what Nehemiah or God's people did in Nehemiah. Oh, and second thing, think about this. I want you to consider John Tyson said, the statement. I loved it. God comes where he's wanted.
Just consider that God comes where he's wanted. Did you know, like, okay, first, God is everywhere. So that we're clear, God is omnipresent. He's everywhere. But he draws near, right?
He draws near his manifest presence where he's wanted. Like, meaning this. God is a gentleman, you understand? He's not going to force himself on anybody. You clear?
So, like, when I hear people say, how could a loving God send people to hell? I'm like, God doesn't send anyone to hell. God invites everyone into his kingdom, right? In fact, in some ways, he holds back the
effects of the fall, right? Sin and death and sickness, like those are part of our world, but he holds it back to some extent.
Matthew 5. Jesus tells us that God pours out his general, His common grace on everyone, causes the sun to rise, right? On the good and on the wicked. I just spent last week in Colorado looking at the Rockies. Like, whether you're a believer or not, you can go see the beauty of God's creation.
This is God, like, wooing and inviting and yearning for everyone to come to the wedding supper of the Lamb, right? And to spend eternity with him. That's what he wants. But he's not going to force someone that's not interested. But God does come where he's wanted.
And for those people that yearn for that and for those people that seek his face, you will not be disappointed at all. And so let's see what happens with God's people here in Nehemiah. And understand, here's where we're at. After 141 years of the walls, the city being destroyed, the city is going to spring back to life, right? If you were here last week, think mentioned that it took 52 days for Nehemiah and his crew to rebuild the wall.
Nehemiah actually records this in chapter 6, verse 15, where he writes this, says, so on October 2nd, the wall was finished just 52 days after we had begun. All right, so the wall has laid in ruins. The gate's in ruins for 141 years. Any and every attempt up to this point to re establish the wall has been totally unsuccessful, right? It hasn't worked.
They can't get it up. Nehemiah comes in and he knocks it out in 52 days, right? Not 52 weeks. It didn't take a year. 52 days.
And it's such a guy move. The way he wraps it up, right? And he's like, and 50 days. 52 days, we finished. He doesn't elaborate.
He doesn't paint a big picture. He doesn't hype it up. He's just very matter of fact, right? He's like, and we finished it. Total guy move.
Chapter seven. We're not going to hit it. Mostly a list of names of people that are going to come back into the city. If you go and read through that list and watch the numbers, there are about 50,000 people that are coming back into the city at this point. And so 50,000 converge back into the re established city with the walls and gates.
Now we pick it. Chapter 8. Here's what we read. Verse 1. All the people came together as one in the square before the water gate.
They told Ezra, the teacher of the law. So Ezra's like their preacher, he's like the pastor. They told Ezra to bring out the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded for Israel. So, so to be clear, that's their Bible, right? It's the first five books of our Old Testament.
The Law of Moses. And so first point, if you like to take notes, point number one, here's what we want you to awaken. To awaken to the word. That's number one. And I don't know about you, I love this, right?
I love this section because it says that the people, what do they do?
They told, like they insisted, man. They demanded that Ezra open up his Bible and read it, right? Like they're not waiting for a church service to get started. You've got like all of the people coming into the middle, like of the town square and they are chanting, right? We love our Bible.
Yes, we do. We love our Bible. How about you, right? Like, like 50,000 people. If you were here with Clay a couple weeks ago, 50,000 people doing the wave, right in the City for the Bible.
Like, I don't know how many of you woke up this morning, you got out of bed, and the first thing that popped into your head was like, gee, I really, really hope that the pastor talks about and reads from the book of Leviticus tonight. Right? Like, that's what I'm talking about right there. I need you to give me some Leviticus with the side of Deuteronomy, Right? But this is what.
This is what they're chanting for. And it said. And it said, all of the people, like, the entire town is there. Do you realize what that means? Like, shops are closed, okay?
Gas station closed. The gym is closed. You can't go and get some groceries. You can't go work out. You can't run to the store.
You cannot gas up your car. You know why? Because everybody has come to church, man. And like, they are demanding that Ezra open the Bible and read it. Like, just imagine the entire town of Conway, everyone here.
Awesome. Exactly. Thanks, Riley. You got it. That these are the people that God has burdened their heart for his Word.
And like, man, they just desire to learn the scripture and they're crying out for it. So here we see, they start off and they tell. They call on Ezra. Bring out the law of Moses. Let's get it open, man.
Verse 2. So on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra, the high priest, brought the law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak until noon as he faced the square before the Watergate in the presence of men, women, and others who could understand. All right, so I don't know if you caught that one little section, so I'm going to highlight it for you. It says he read it from when?
Daybreak until noon. That is like 5 to 6 ish hours of reading the word of God and preaching, right? Like this guy. Like, that is every pastor's life first right there. Did you know that?
And we really want to be a good Bible church. So we're gonna put this into practice, right? So at 30 minutes in, Bob, don't be looking at your watch. Cause I've still got about five hours to go. At that point, you're like, is he serious?
I don't know. We'll see, huh?
Goes on. Here's what else he says. And all the people listened attentively. You should highlight, circle that, underline it. Listen attentively to the book of the law.
Yes, please. They're listening attentively. They're listening Enthusiastically, like, that's actually every pastor's favorite verse right there. They're not texting, they're not dozing off, they're not distracted, not seeing scrolling through social media checking out the really cute girl in the aisle over. They are leaning in because they don't want to miss a word.
This is fantastic. Finish it up here. Verse 6. Go on with this. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people lifted their hands and they responded, amen.
Amen. Then they bowed down and they worship the Lord with their faces to the ground. Like, listen, what an amazing, beautiful, incredible picture. This is. Like, can you see that?
Like, I want you in your mind. See this? 50,000 people calling on, begging, yearning for the word of God, hands in the air and just worship face to the ground and like, awe and wonder and repentance. So again,
awaken to the Word and listen. I truly believe that, like the revival, this awakening that gets sparked, that gets ignited right here in this section that listen, it's a result of all of the prayer, right?
If you've been here, all of the prayer, lots of prayer leading up to this chapter, and there will be more prayer after that. But along with, along with the preaching of God's Word in this chapter. Listen, those two things, those two historically have been what God has used to change the hearts and the minds and the lives of his people, to awaken and to transform nations and cities and bring about revival and true change. It is the prayer of the people, right? And a passion for God's Word.
And here's why. Because you understand God's Word holds the keys to life. You want to know how to get through life? God's Word has it. And not just life, but life to the full.
As you awaken to God's Word and really lean in, it's a game changer. Think about this John, chapter six. Jesus goes and he feeds a stadium, essentially, right? It's not a stadium, but more or less a stadium full of people. 15, 20, maybe 25,000 people get fed and listen.
They love it because of course you would like, he takes a little boy's lunchable, multiplies it and feeds the stadium. They think, that's awesome. Love it. Then Jesus goes on and he preaches some very true, but also some really hard words to the people. And many people start to leave, right?
And so, like, Jesus disciples are watching this go on, and they're like, whoa, like, that really turned and went downhill in a hurry. And so apparently some of the 12 are thinking, well, maybe we should Kind of wander off with the crowds, like, maybe this is a good time to slide right on up out of here, right? Because then Jesus asks them, do you want to leave, too? And Peter, of course, who nominates himself as the mouthpiece for the disciples, he's like, no, of course we thought about leaving, but. And he's honest, right?
But where else would we go? And in John 6:68, he says this. You have the words of eternal life. Like, we could try to go somewhere else, but they don't have the words of eternal life. And listen, it may not always be easy, right?
I get. It's not always easy. Life's not easy.
But if you have been a believer for a little while, right? If you follow Jesus for a season, if you've trusted God's Word, even when it's hard, then you have probably learned and you've probably figured out and realized that when we win and when we lose, right? When we're wealthy and when we're sick or poor, broke, when we're healthy and when we're sick, when we're living or when we're dying in relationships, in our pain, in our disappointment, that God's Word has the keys to help us navigate life. And that God speaks to us in that word, right? This is why David, in the Psalms, David would say, I meditate on God's Word through the watches of the night, right?
Which sounds a little bit like a high school crush. Like, I just think about you all night long. But this is what he says he does with God's word. Proverbs 30 tells us that every word of God proves true, right? Psalm 119 tells us that God's Word is perfect and trustworthy.
That Hebrews 4 tells us God's Word is living and active for our finances, for our families, for our addictions, for our struggles, for our anxiety. God's Word, right? If you don't know who Jesus is, go and read John. If your marriage is struggling, read Ephesians 5. If your marriage needs a little spice, read Song of Solomon, right?
Like it's God in there. The words for life and life to the full. And the people come out. They demand. Ezra, open the book, man.
50,000 people, hands in the air, face to the ground, sparking revival as they awaken to God's Word. So number one, awaken to the word. Second, because this really goes with it. Awaken to his will. And this is really, really important.
They are obedient. I want to show you this. They are obedient immediately and joyfully. That's a great combination. Just so you know, they're obedient immediately and joyfully, not eventually, like, when I feel like it, if it lines up with my schedule and it's what I want to do, not reluctantly, like, you know, I'll do it because you say so, but I don't really want to do it.
Like, they're obedient immediately, joyfully, which. How many of you are parents in the room with young children? How many of you would love that if your kids were always like, yes, Mommy, yes, Daddy, I would love to obey you. I will clean my room, I will brush my teeth, I will make my bed, I will take out the trash, I will feed the dog, I will do my homework. This is awesome because I know it's for my good and I love to obey you.
I mean, like, you can at least imagine how wonderful it would be.
God's the same way. He really loves it when we obey him and trust that his plans are good. So awaken to his will. Let's read verse 13. Here's what we're told.
On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra, the teacher, to give attention, right? Not just hearing, but doing. They're going to give attention to the words of the law. They found written in the law which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live. Watch this.
In temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month. And I'll talk about the seventh month festival here in a moment. Verse 16. So the people went out like immediately, right off they go and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the water gate and the one by the gate of Ephraim. Then it says in verse 17, from the days of Joshua, son of Nun, until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this.
And their joy was very exceedingly great. Okay, so again, now picture this. So they seem to be a little bit fired up and excited that they get to obey God's word, right? They're kind of stoked about it. They awaken to his will, and there is this joyful obedience.
They awaken to the will of God. There is this joy filled obedience. And here's what's happening here, that as Ezra opens the Bible and starts to read from the Bible, the people realize like, oh, this is something that we need to do, right? We need to celebrate. We need to honor this thing called The Feast of Tabernacles, essentially, or the Feast of Booths.
It's got two different names. Old Testament celebration. Here's what that's about. So in the book of Exodus, right back in the Old Testament, God's people are in slavery and being oppressed in Egypt to a cruel, harsh dictator named Pharaoh. So they cry out, right?
They cry out for God to come and rescue them. And he did, right? So he delivers them from slavery and bondage, he takes them through the Red Sea. Miraculous parting of the Red Sea. He rescues them from Pharaoh's army.
So he sets them free and then they're supposed to head to the promised land and to the inheritance that God has for them. Except that they don't. Because they complain and they grumble and they complain and they grumble and they complain and they grumble and God puts them in timeout for like 40 years. Because grumbling and whining and complaining and disobeying goes against the heart of God. It is a sin, right?
Like, some of you should tell your kids that, right? Next time your kids complain, you should be like, okay, do you want to go outside and walk around the house for the next 40 years? Just start doing laughs, man. Because that is essentially what ends up going on here where God's going if you don't slap. Stop complaining and grumbling and disobeying.
Well then, okay, you cannot then go into the promised land, right? You don't get to take the Disney trip. And the people keep grumbling and they keep complaining and they keep whining and they keep disobeying. They're like, well, we don't like it out here. We don't like the food, we don't like the weather.
Why did we leave Egypt? It was better back there. Why do we ever come out here? Like, I don't know, maybe because of the oppression and slavery. It seems like you're fairly short sighted on your memory.
And so God essentially is like, hey, take another lap. How about you take another lap? Like, I can do this always, forever, because I'm always.
And so because they grumble and because they complain and because they disobey, they keep for 40 years going nowhere. Nowhere. You ever feel that way? Like, stuck? I just keep trying and I'm going nowhere.
I'm just saying maybe you should examine your heart and maybe find out where you're complaining. And guess what it is they were doing for all of that time that they spent out in the desert, out in the wilderness, hear what they were doing. They were Living in tents, temporary shelters, so that the feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths, it is them Remembering how for 40 years they grumbled and they complained and they disobeyed and God loved them and provided for them and he was faithful, but they still had to live in
tents and they didn't make it into the promised land. Not until two guys came along, Caleb and Joshua, and an entire new generation inherited the promises. So listen, the feast is to remember that they were selfish and they were sinful and they were stubborn and that God was faithful.
And here's what's interesting. Now let's go back to Nehemiah and talk about this, because here's what this shows. It shows this that they are hearing God's word read. And when it comes to this part, that exactly directly coincides with where they are at in their calendar year. Like, right before this festival, they're going, hey, whoa, we need to go and do that right there.
Like, word says do that. Let's go do that right there, right now. So, like, it is perfectly timed out for them to put into practice what they just learned. And they did it. Like, oh, it says, we should probably go do that.
Have you ever noticed if you're a follower of Jesus, that to be true about God's Word? And if you're not, you could try this out. It's really awesome that, like, you're. You're right in the middle of something where you're right now going through something. Maybe it's the health issue, maybe it's the relationship, the addiction, just the anxiety.
And you hear a message or a friend texts you a verse, or you're reading through a passage of scripture and you're like, that is exactly what I needed right now. Like, that totally fits. Like, God is awesome. I was going through this. I was wrestling with this.
I wasn't sure. I didn't know. And God knows and God sees and God cares. Like, God knows that I was about to blow it big time or that I was really wrestling with this, or I was fearing this, or I was about to make the dumb decision and he, like, sent me some advice or encouragement or wisdom or insight to help me get through it. Because he wants me to thrive and not shipwreck my faith.
Because God loves you and he really wants good for you, right? You should obey and awaken your heart to God's will, right? That God's word, it's not just for information. So we learn stuff. I would argue that it's not very much for information.
It is for transformation and encounter with the living God who wants to awaken you to so many great things, Right? And sometimes we're like, I'm just. I'm waiting for God to move, okay? God's, like, waiting for you to obey what he's already said. You know, obedience is never meant to be a burden.
I'm telling you, it's not. Obedience is meant to bring great joy and blessing and more of God's presence into your life and our lives and our church and our city, Right? So awaken to his will. Let's go, gospel patrons. And then real quick, we don't even have time to get into the third point much.
I just want to hit. Our third would be awaken to his worth. So in the following chapter, Nehemiah 9, they're going to go into this really, really long prayer. And in that prayer, they start talking through the story of behind the Feast of Tabernacles, but to God's goodness and God's faithfulness. And I'll just summarize and I'll just give you a few thoughts of.
Because this is a really great thing that sometimes when you're in a hard place. Yes. Ask for relief. Yes. Ask for God to heal.
Yes. Ask for God to show up. Sometimes you just recognize how awesome God is. And that is a massive help of awakening you to all that he would do and his presence. So here's what they basically say.
We'll wrap up here. That there's one God that is so true. One God, creator, sustainer, Savior, promise maker and promise keeper, friend, faithful, powerful, righteous, miraculous, judge, provider, leader, healer, generous, gracious, good, forgiving, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, enduring man. He just. He keeps showing up.
Giver of our children, crusher, enemy, builder of our homes, Blesser of our businesses, Provider of our meals, Chastiser of our sin, Hearer of our prayers, Sender of our Savior, answer to all of our hope, Forgiver of our sins and failings and falling Sender of good news. He is great and mighty and awesome and beautiful and wonderful and all altogether perfect in all that he does all the time for everyone. This is our God. This is what they say. It's a great prayer again.
Sometimes it's good even when you're hurting, just to recognize how awesome God is. So listen. Awaken to his word. Awaken to his will. Awaken to his worth.
Here's what I would ask as we get ready to wrap up. And in response, where are you at tonight? Like, are you just reading for information, but not really expecting to encounter a living God as you read the Word, are you yearning for it like the people did? Like, open the book, man, we gotta get some time. Awaken to his will.
Are you like, you know, I'll. I'll show up, but I'm just gonna do it on my terms. Okay, well, you're not gonna really encounter the presence of God and awaken to all he has if you trust that your way is better than his. Where are you being disobedient because you don't like the cost or like what it might mean, although it could be so much better. And where do you need to awaken to just his worth.
Like, man, it's a hard season, but I'm not going to get sucked down into it. I'm going to realize and look up and see how good God is. So where is he? Because as we do this, I'm telling you, it will spark revival, that will expand into your lives and beyond. Here's what I want you to do.
Stand up. We're going to sing. If you would like prayer, we would love to just pray with you tonight. Right here, back to your back, right? I guess for you.
To the left in the middle, we have our prayer corner. If you would like to take communion, we've got communion cups. If you didn't grab them on the way in, you can get those as well. And I would invite you,
as you sing, to invite God to awaken wherever he needs in you. Because together we could really become an unstoppable movement for the kingdom.
Let me pray. We're going to sing. Heavenly Father, we praise you that you're this awesome God. And here's. We want to be awakened to spiritual things.
We want to be part of a great movement. Everything that you're currently doing right now, we want more of that. More people to know you, more joy in our lives, transformation of our families, our marriages, our health. So, God, I pray that we would fight for these things so that we can encounter the greater things. In Jesus name, Amen.
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Weekly Group Study Guide
Awaken to God's Word, Will, and Worth
Connect:
- Begin the session by asking each group member to share a funny or memorable story about a time they overslept or missed something important. This will help everyone connect and relate to the sermon’s opening illustration about oversleeping and missing significant events.
- Ask: "Have you ever experienced a time in your life when you felt spiritually 'asleep' or disconnected from God? What was it that helped you 'wake up' or reconnect with Him?"
Discover: Breaking Down the Sermon
1. Awaken to the Word
- Read Nehemiah 8:1-6 together.
- Discuss: "What stands out to you about the people's reaction to hearing the Word of God? How does this compare to our own hunger for Scripture?"
- Question: "How can we cultivate a similar desire for God's Word in our daily lives?"
2. Awaken to His Will
- Read Nehemiah 8:13-17.
- Discuss: "What does the immediate and joyful obedience of the Israelites teach us about responding to God's commands?"
- Question: "Are there areas in your life where you struggle with obedience? How can we support each other in pursuing God's will?"
3. Awaken to His Worth
- Reflect on Nehemiah 9 and the attributes of God mentioned in the sermon. - Discuss: "Why is it important to remember and declare God's worth, especially during difficult times?"
- Question: "How does focusing on God's character and faithfulness impact our perspective on our current circumstances?"
Respond: Practical Steps to Live Out the Sermon
1. Daily Scripture Engagement**
- Encourage each group member to commit to reading a chapter of the Bible daily for the next week. Suggest using the Rock’s reading plan which can be located on our Church Center App.
2. Obedience Challenge
- Identify one area in your life where you feel God is calling you to immediate and joyful obedience. Share this with the group and pray for each other to have the courage and strength to follow through.
3. Worship and Gratitude
- Spend a few minutes in prayer, focusing on praising God for His attributes and expressing gratitude for His faithfulness. Encourage group members to incorporate this practice into their daily prayer life.
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COMING SOON