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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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THE PEOPLE
EVIDENCED THE RESULTS OF REVIVAL (Pt. 4) (Neh 9:26‑37) 8/22/10 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. THE EVENTS AFTER THE
FEAST OF TABERNACLES (9:1‑5) II. EVIDENCES OF REVIVAL
(Cont.): A GREATER CAPACITY FOR PRAYER (9:5b‑37) A. Exaltation and Attributes
of God (5‑8) B. Acts of God (12‑15 C. Confession of Sins (16‑17a) D. Mercy of God (17b‑25) E. Cycles of Sinful Man’s
Relationship with God (26‑31) 1. Rebellion
(26) a) It is at
this point that we see the sad reality of the never‑ending cycle of a
merciful God with His rebellious children. b) Nothing reveals man’s sin nature more than
his continual bent toward sin even after repentance, deliverance, and
restoration. c) They “cast God’s Law behind their back.”
This phrase is akin to casting God behind their back (1Ki 14:9; Eze 23:35).
In other words, they turned their back on God and His Law (Je 2:27). d) As for their extreme rebellion toward God,
they killed the prophets who were sent by God (1Ki 19:10). Jesus made several
references to these rebellious acts (Mt 23:37; Lk 11:47; cp. Ac 7:52). 2. Retribution
(27a) a) Israel
continued to rebel and sin until the Lord disciplined them. b) Many times God would use other nations as
the instrument with which He dealt with His children. 3. Repentance
(27b) a) Israel
was handed over to tormentors, which tormented them. But in the midst of
their torment, Israel cried out to God. b) Time and time again, after being
disciplined, the children of Israel would repent and cry out to the Lord for
mercy. 4. Restoration
(27c) a) As a
result, God would deliver them from the hand of their oppressors. b) The writer alludes to the time of the
judges in Israel’s history when God gave them heroes and deliverers such as
Othniel, Ehud (Jud 3:9, 15), Shamar, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, etc.. 5. Repetition
(28‑31) a) Sadly,
this entire cycle continued over and over (Jud 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 8:33‑34).
God warned them continually that He would hand them over completely to the
other nations (Le 26:33; De 4:277; 28:36, 64; Ne 1:8; Je 16:13; Je 50:17;
Ez 11:16). b) They did not heed God’s warning and God
delivered the Northern Kingdom to the Assyrians in 722 BC and the Southern
Kingdom to the Babylonians in 586 BC. F. Summary and Basis of
Appeal (32‑37) 1. God had
mercy upon Israel and they were allowed to return to their homeland in 538
BC, but they were still under the rule of a foreign king. Ezra and the
priests confessed their sins and cried out to God once more. Thus, we have
not only their confession of sin, but the basis for this prayer. 2. Prayer of Confession: a) God is
Righteous and Faithful (32) b) God is Just in His dealings with His
children (33) c) Confession of sin (34‑35) 3. Prayer
of Appeal: a) They are
reaping the consequences of their sin (36 cp. Ga 6:8‑9) b) They are slaves and cry out in distress
(36‑37) III. STEPS TO BREAKING THE
CYCLE OF SIN (Ga 5:16 ‑ 6:1) A. Prayer of confession of
your sin (1Jn 1:9) 1. Just
like Ezra and the priests, the believer must confess his sin immediately to
maintain fellowship with God. 2. John used a third class condition (ean with the subjunctive). It is a
condition that is not only generally true, but one that when carried out, has
an effect. 3. If the believer confesses his sins, then
God will forgive and cleanse them from their sin. 4. To confess sin is to say the same thing (homologéō) which means to agree with
God and acknowledge our sin before Him. 5. When the believer acknowledges his sin
before God, God is equally faithful to forgive their sin every time, and
their fellowship is unhindered. B. Prayer of appeal to God
for growth (Col 1:9‑10) 1. Just
like Ezra and the priests prayed for deliverance from their enemies, the
believer can pray for spiritual deliverance and growth for himself and other
believers. 2. We are to pray to: a) Be filled
with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding (9) b) walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to
please Him in all respects (10) c) bear fruit in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God (10) C. Humbly prepare against the
desires of the flesh (Ga 5:17; 6:1) 1. Having
trusted in Christ as Savior, the believer has received the Holy Spirit, been
placed into Christ, has a new nature, and has crucified the flesh (24). This
is the basis for victorious living for the believer. 2. However, the believer
still possess a sin nature, which desires are against and opposed the
desires of the Spirit. The believer’s life becomes a battlefield of these two
opposing forces. 3. The believer can have victory by yielding
to and walking by the Spirit, but will have to remain vigilant against the
flesh in this life. 4. A mature believer will know what
particular areas in his life he is most susceptible to and will especially
prepare for those times of temptation. D. Recognize the deeds of the
flesh (19‑21; cp. He 12:1) 1. The
deeds of the flesh are obvious to man and his conscience. Paul names them in
detail. 2. Paul is referring to the habitual practice
of these sinful lifestyles that characterize the unrepentant unbeliever, who
will not inherit the kingdom of God. 3. Unfortunately, because the believer still
possesses the sinful nature, he is susceptible to these sins, especially if
he does not walk by the Spirit. 4. The believer must be aware of this list
as well as all sin, so that he does not fall prey to and become entangled in
sin. E. Pursue the Fruit of the
Spirit (Ga 5:22‑23) 1. The
believer must not only be aware of sin and his propensity to it, but must
also know what it is that the Spirit is attempting to produce in his life. 2. Paul gives a detail description of the
fruit that the Spirit produces in the believer. 3. A Spirit‑filled believer is a
Spirit‑fruit‑filled believer. This fruit (singular) is the
evidence of a believer who is spiritual and walking in the power of the
Spirit. F. Walk in the Spirit (Ga
5:16, 18, 25) 1. Gal 5:16
tells the believer how to have victory over the flesh and break any cycles of
sin. 2. The believer is told to “walk by the
Spirit.” As he does this, he does not carry out the desires of the flesh. 3. To walk by the Spirit means to stay in
step with the Spirit. The believer is to yield to the admonitions of the
Spirit contained in the Word of God. Every moment is a moment that the
believer says, “What does the Spirit desire for me to say and do according to
the Word of God.” 4. It is not enough to say “no” to sin, but
the believer must say “yes” to the Spirit’s power, fruit, and direction from
the Word of God. |
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