Day: Day 18
Date: January 25, 2024
I am praying for you all right now, and I thank God for your willingness to go on this journey with me.
The more I see in the book of Nehemiah, the more I understand that this was a catalyst to getting people back on track with their God and their commitment to the Lord their God.
May we do the same!
Nehemiah 9:1 NKJV
Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.
This was to humble themselves before their God with an act of concentration and an outward expression that their commitment to change was real.
Their repentance was deep and continuing.
Nehemiah 9:2 NKJV
Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
They kept separating themselves from the world’s ways of doing things, and they began to understand the need to repent in the gap for the past generations that did not do the same.
We can break generational curses and make a way for ourselves and the next generations to live a life of commitment to our God.
Then the people took yet another step:
Nehemiah 9:3 NKJV
And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth, they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.
They devoted themselves to the Word, confessing their spiritual wickedness and weaknesses, and worshipping ONLY their God.
Look at how they worshipped!
Nehemiah 9:4-5 NKJV
4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the Lord their God.
5 And the Levites, said:
“Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever!
Blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise!”
FIRST, THEY RECOGNIZED THAT HE IS THE ALL POWERFUL, OMNIPOTENT CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH!
Nehemiah 9:6 NKJV
“You alone are the Lord; You have made Heaven, the Heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of Heaven worships You.”
They understood that He is worthy to be praised for who He is and what He has done.
Then they started to worship by recalling memories. They remembered how He chose to partner with those whom He created to bring about His covenant agreement that would last forever.
Nehemiah 9:7-8 NKJV
7 You are the Lord God, who chose Abram, and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and gave him the name Abraham;
8 You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him, to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites—to give it to his descendants. You have performed Your words, for You are righteous.
He intervened against their enemies. And HE HAS intervened against our enemies as well by defeating satan through His death and resurrection.
Nehemiah 9:9 NKJV
You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry by the Red Sea.
They declared and acknowledged His divine intervention when they cried out to God.
We are crying out to God today, and we can raise our level of expectancy for our God to be the same, yesterday, today, and forever. There is nothing impossible for Him!
Nehemiah 9:10 NKJV
You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants, and against all the people of his land. For You knew that they acted proudly against them. So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.
God made a name for Himself as He desires to do again today. For those who are His and through those who are His. That is us! Hallelujah!
Nehemiah 9:11 NKJV
And You divided the sea before them so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors You threw into the deep, as a stone into the mighty waters.
Who divided the sea? GOD DID!
Who threw the enemy into the deep? GOD DID!
The Israelites got fired up and continued to praise Him by remembering how He led them supernaturally through the desert!
Nehemiah 9:12 NKJV
Moreover, You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the road which they should travel.
He communed with them and gave them instructions.
Nehemiah 9:13-14 NKJV
13 You came down also on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from Heaven, and gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments.
14 You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses Your servant.
He provided for their natural needs.
Nehemiah 9:15-17 NKJV
15 You gave them bread from Heaven for their hunger, and brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, and told them to go in to possess the land which You had sworn to give them.
HOWEVER: they also remembered this:
16 But they and our fathers acted proudly, hardened their necks, and did not heed Your commandments.
17 They refused to obey, and they were not mindful of Your wonders that You did among them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion, they appointed a leader to return to their bondage.
They remembered what the past generations did when they refused to keep their hearts right before God. They turned to another plan and appointed a leader that they chose instead of following God.
That was what returned them to bondage. It was THEIR plan, not God’s plan.
When we are fasting and praying, we must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal any areas we have turned to man’s ways of doing things, instead of God’s ways of doing things.
As they confessed these things before God, His presence began to also show them what He was—and is—willing to do.
They realized and acknowledged that God was a God of love, and He had everything they would ever need. He was:
- Ready to pardon
- Gracious and merciful
- Slow to anger
- Abundant in kindness
- A God who would never forsake His people
GLORY TO GOD! That is OUR God!
The Israelites kept going back to remembering their failures, and His greatness:
Nehemiah 9:18-22 NKJV
18 Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, and said, “This is your god that brought you up out of Egypt,” and worked great provocations,
19 Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way they should go.
20 You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.
21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
22 Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations and divided them into districts. So they took possession of the land of Sihon, The land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.
He multiplied them so they could go in and possess what He had intended for them.
Nehemiah 9:23-25 NKJV
23 You also multiplied their children as the stars of Heaven and brought them into the land which You had told their fathers to go in and possess.
24 So the people went in and possessed the land; You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they wished.
25 And they took strong cities and a rich land and possessed houses full of all goods, cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, and delighted themselves in Your great goodness.
I know this is a lot of scriptures today but I want you to see how they spent their day in worship in this time of remembrance.
I want us to recognize that throughout history, the people of God came to God, turned away from Him, and returned to Him. No matter what people do, God is faithful.
GOD REMAINS THE SAME IN HIS CHARACTER AND HIS LOVE FOR HIS CHILDREN.
Nehemiah 9:26-29 NKJV
26 Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against You, cast Your law behind their backs and killed Your prophets, who testified against them to turn them to Yourself; and they worked great provocations.
27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who oppressed them; and in the time of their trouble, when they cried to You, You heard from Heaven; and according to Your abundant mercies, You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hand of their enemies.
28 But after they had rest, they again did evil before You. Therefore, You left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from Heaven; and many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,
29 And testified against them, that You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly, and did not heed Your commandments, but sinned against Your judgments, “which if a man does, he shall live by them,” and they shrugged their shoulders, stiffened their necks, and would not hear.
Do you recognize this as what goes on in society today? Maybe even your own life with God? Good news, we serve a good God.
Nehemiah 9:30-35 NKJV
30 Yet for many years You had patience with them and testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31 Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.
32 Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty, and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy: Do not let all the trouble seem small before You that has come upon us, our kings and our princes, our priests and our prophets, our fathers and on all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.
33 However You are just in all that has befallen us; for You have dealt faithfully, but we have done wickedly.
34 Neither our kings nor our princes, our priests nor our fathers, have kept Your law, nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, with which You testified against them.
35 For they have not served You in their kingdom, or in the many good things that You gave them, or in the large and rich land which You set before them; nor did they turn from their wicked works.
But that was then, and they recognized what had happened.
Nehemiah 9:36-37 NKJV
36 Here we are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, to eat its fruit and its bounty, here we are, servants in it!
37 And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, because of our sins; also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle at their pleasure; and we are in great distress.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Because they go against God and turn to their own wicked ways.
Nehemiah 9:36-37 NKJV
And because of all this, we make a sure covenant and write it; our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it.
Today, instead of a prayer, I want to encourage you to do some things before God.
Recognize that we have an additional Helper, the HOLY SPIRIT, the Third Person of the Trinity who walks with us and guides us.
He is our Helper and He will help us walk out God’s plan with renewed relationships with people. Through acknowledging the sacrifice of Jesus, He
helps us enter back into renewed relationships with others.
Let us remember our great God, our Covenant, and our Great Savior!
Let us partner with the Gift of the Holy Spirit and renew our commitment before Him.
He is listening to the cries of His people if we call upon His name, even today. The people of God need to understand and reconvene in prayer, fasting, and worship as we remember what He has already done and what He will also do as we acknowledge Him and ask Him to show His greatness on this earth.
Many are overwhelmed by all that is happening on the earth today, but we serve the same God, and He is more than able to intervene once again on our behalf!
When we recall what He has already done in our lives by His divine intervention, our faith will arise again.
Right now, I encourage you to remember what He has done for you already and what He is able and willing to do again, even today.
Take the time to:
- Write 3 things the Lord has already done on your behalf.
- Write down what are you believing Him for today.
- Write down what are you willing to do to honor Him today and for the rest of your life.
PRAYER
We thank You, God, as we remember everything You have already done. We are being empowered. Thank You for calling us to this fast and for partnering with us. We are hungry for more of You.
Activate our lives as we set aside this time for You.
You are our mighty God.
We fix our eyes on You, and we declare that our God is a BIG GOD that does impossible things for His people.
We praise You and thank You!
Amen.
WORSHIP/VIDEOS
Remember – Maverick City Music
Communion – Brooke Ligertwood
Oh the Cross – UPPERROOM
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