“How to Find Joy” – Nehemiah 8:1-12

Well, we are officially kicking off the holiday season today with our Thanksgiving meal.  How do you feel about that?  It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were just doing the same thing, doesn’t it?  That means, of course, that Christmas will be here in like 30 minutes and I know that through every bit of it you will be singing “Joy To The World”, aren’t you?

As you wait in line to buy those presents you’ll be singing “Joy To The World”.  As you swipe your smoking credit card or filling out that check you will be singing “Joy To The World”.  Paying those bills and singing “Joy To The World”.  Fighting traffic and singing “Joy To The World”.  You will be singing that because since it is the holiday season we don’t have anything to worry about, do we?

We don’t have to worry about bills as we go shopping.  We don’t have to worry about our friends and family that are sick.  We don’t have to worry about what is happing in Syria or Paris or Washington D.C. or anywhere else.  “Joy To The World”!  We don’t have to worry about the poor, the addicted or the incarcerated.  All is well.  “Joy To The World”, right?  Not so much.

There are plenty of things that we could worry about.  We know we shouldn’t worry and that it kills our joy but there is so much that we could choose to worry about.  Did you know that Jesus tells us in John 15 that He loves us and because He loves us He wants us to have joy and that He wants our joy to be complete; mature; perfect?  Sometimes during this time of year that is hard to do.  So, how do we find joy?

First, it is vitally important to realize that there is a difference between joy and happiness.  You will probably be happy on Christmas morning, at least for a little while, when you open up your Christmas gifts.  Happiness depends of your circumstances.  We are never commanded by God to be happy.  In fact, not a whole lot is even said about our happiness.  God will always be more concerned with your holiness than your happiness.

But we are commanded to have joy.  James 1 says to consider all things as pure joy.  Well, how is that even remotely possible in this nasty, cruel world in which we live?  How can we find joy?  Well, while happiness is based on your circumstances, joy comes from your outlook; your vision; what you see in spite of the circumstances.  You might say that joy comes from having good vision.

As your outline says, joy comes from seeing Who God is, seeing who you really are and from helping others.  Why do I say that?  I say that because I read that in Nehemiah chapter 8.  Yes, we are going back to Nehemiah just briefly.  We just finished looking specifically at the prayers of Nehemiah and we saw that through prayer we can expect God to give us everything we need to do what He has called us to do.

I love the book of Nehemiah.  It is just so practical and applicable to us at Christ Fellowship today.  I get so much out of it and I was not terribly surprised to read that W.A. Criswell said Nehemiah chapter 8 was his favorite chapter in the whole Bible.  It’s in the 8^th chapter that the focus of the book begins to change from wall-building to life-building.

It’s easy for us to forget that these were real people and that this is a real story not a fairy tale.  They had real lives with real jobs.  They had financial and physical problems just like some of us do.  They had newborn babies with colic.  They had teenagers with bad attitudes.  Their roofs leaked and their backs hurt.  So, you can imagine that it was hard for these people to find joy sometimes.

So, before we read chapter 8, verses 1-12, I want you to picture what is going on and I think you will really be able to relate to what is going on.  In the fall of the year all the people gathered together for a Bible study.  Most of them probably couldn’t read and if they could they would have been able to read and understand only Aramaic.  So, Ezra, the spiritual leader of the nation, brought out what had been written so far of the Bible.  This would have been the first five books of what we call the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  They call this the Pentateuch.  It was all written by their forefather Moses and it would have been written in Hebrew.

Chapter 7 tells us there were 40 thousand-something people at this Bible study.  You know, sort of like how it is at Christ Fellowship on Easter.  J  Let me just say real quickly that while this is a beautiful passage of scripture there are long lists of names that I can’t pronounce and I was torn between trying to read them because it is scripture but I’m afraid it would be too distracting from what the passage is trying to say so I will reverently just call them “these men” if you don’t mind.

Let’s read it.  Nehemiah 8:1-12.  It’s on page 347 in most of the Bibles in the pews.

All the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel. ² So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. ³ He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. ⁴ Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. ⁵ Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. ⁶ Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. ⁷ The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. ⁸ They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read. ⁹ Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. ¹⁰ Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ¹¹ The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.” ¹² Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.


The last time I preached at the biker church I heard two ladies talking as they were walking out the door.  The first one said, “That guy sure does preach a long time.”  The other one said, “No he doesn’t.  It just seems like it!”  Well, if you think I preach a long time you wouldn’t have liked Ezra.  It says in verse 3 that he read from daybreak to noon.  The thing is most of these people had probably never heard any of this.  They had been slaves and prisoners and had just recently gotten back to their homeland and this was the first time they had ever heard scripture read.


If you notice, that second long list of names were the guys who were explaining what was being said.  Evidently they were translating it from Hebrew to Aramaic and also explaining the meaning of it.  I’m sure Ezra had to stop reading pretty often and let everybody catch up and understand and the beautiful thing is when they did understand…it was life-changing. 


Truth has that effect on people.  I say often that truth is enough.  Truth is enough to bring joy, which the very last verse says they had.  Truth is enough to save you.  It is enough to change you and when you hear truth it will open your eyes to see Who God is, who you are and how we get joy from helping others.


Verse 8 says, “They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.”  We don’t know what passages exactly were read.  I don’t know if 6 hours is even enough to read the whole Pentateuch when it is also explained to a crowd like this but I’m sure they got through most of it.


I have an idea that they definitely hit the high spots in Genesis and Exodus.  Can you imagine adults hearing for the first time about the power of God in the creation story in Genesis 1?  They had always wondered how things were created.  They must have known that there was a Creator just by seeing what was created.  Now they know the truth of God’s awesome power.  They begin to see Who that Creator is.  They begin to see Who God is.


Then they hear about the sovereignty of God as the story of Adam and Eve is read and explained to them.  Then the story of Noah reveals how God could grieve over the sins of man and will eventually punish that sin.  The story of Abraham must have been fascinating to them.  They had grown up hearing some stories about him but now they see that the stories are not as much about Abraham as they are about the love of God for His chosen people Israel and how God made a promise that His people would always be blessed and that anybody who did not stand with Israel would not be blessed.


They started to develop a vision of Who God is and it must have been eye-opening.  They get to the end of Genesis and into Exodus and they hear those incredible stories about their ancestors being in slavery in Egypt and they hear how God’s power brought plague after plague until finally Pharaoh let the people go.  They see that only God is sovereign and no earthly king can stand up to Him in any way.


God loved His chosen people so much that He went to great lengths to protect and provide for them as they left Egypt and wandered in the desert.  Ezra and the others explained how creative God is and how loving and merciful and generous the King of Kings is and it had to have opened their eyes to see God in a new and life-changing way.  What joy it must have given them to hear and understand that the All-Mighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-Seeing Creator of the universe was not just powerful but also that He loved them so much that He had provided a way out of their worst trouble.


Verse 6 says they praised the Lord, the great God.  They all agreed by saying “Amen!” and they all worshiped.

They began to see Who God was and it brought great joy.  The early church leader Augustine was once accosted by a heathen who showed him his idol and said, "Here is my god; where is thine?" Augustine replied, "I cannot show you my God; not because there is no God to show but because you have no eyes to see Him."  These early Bible students were developing their vision of God based on the truth of scripture and it brought great joy.


But then they moved into the books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy; those books most of us dread reading through because there are so many lists and names and laws that we can’t relate to but can you imagine hearing this with the ears of somebody who had never heard it before and had never known what God expected of them?  Can you imagine always wondering what was right and what was wrong?  How would you know without scripture?  How would we know even today if we didn’t have the Bible?  That is what the Law was for.  The Law, as found in those books, would have shown the people how to please God, much less how to get along with other people.  That had to bring joy!


But can you imagine?  For the first time in your life you have seen Who God is and now, through the Law, you start to see who you really are and how far the gap is between you.  No wonder verse 9 says they were all weeping as they listened to the words of the Law!  No wonder they had fallen on their faces and were crying, mourning and worshiping.  When you see the truth of Who God is and who you are, you will be changed. 


You cannot be proud when you see that.  You can’t be hard-hearted and stiff-necked.  When you see Who God is and what He expects and then you see who you are, it will bring tears but it will also bring joy.  He ought to scare you because of His power and sovereignty but He will also bring great joy because you know that when God gives a law it is because He wants to protect you, not hinder you.


It should bring you joy to know that when God tells you to do something, even when it seems like it will be uncomfortable or even painful, that He gives the power to do what He has told you to do.  It should bring you joy to know what God expects and when He says we are to be holy, we should do what Nike says:  Just do it!  Be holy.  Be different.  Be peculiar and set apart.


Nehemiah left his comfortable position in the king’s palace to go thousands of miles to build a wall – because God told him to – and God provided everything he needed the whole time.  Ephesians 3:20 says that God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”  I don’t know about you but I believe that and it brings me great joy!  It brings me great joy even in the midst of my greatest problems.


I can have joy when our leaders in Washington stray away from what is biblical and condone homosexuality and abortion because I know that Romans 13:1 says that the authorities that exist have been established by God.  That doesn’t mean that He is pleased with them or that I should vote for them but I can have peace and joy because I know God is in control even when I don’t understand how.


I can have joy in ministering to the poor, addicted and incarcerated because I know that God has called this church to do that just like He called Nehemiah back to Jerusalem and I know that God will provide.  Why should we worry?  This church, like that bunch of Bible students so many years ago in front of the Water Gate, sees Who God is and who we are and we have joy.


Now, real briefly, let me point out one more thing that will bring you joy.  Look again at verses 9 and 10.  Tell me this doesn’t apply to us today.  Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. ¹⁰ Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”


Woohoo!  Time to eat, right?  Food brings us joy too, doesn’t it?  Yes, it does but do you know what is even better?  Some of you can relate to this better than others.  Some of you know the cure for depression and the cure for the holiday blues.  You know the joy that comes from giving to somebody that doesn’t have anything.  When God gives you something and you are able to turn around and give it to somebody in need, that’s a great feeling!


We are going to do just that today.  We are going to go eat our Thanksgiving meal right after this.  Not much longer, I promise.  I hope you will eat all the choice food you want.  Notice that nothing is said of vegetables there.  We’re talking about joy after all.  And I don’t know if they had tea back then but it says to drink the sweet drinks so they must have.  So, eat all you want and drink all the sweet tea you want and then we are going to take whatever leftovers we have to some of the people here in our community who may not have as much as we do.


So remember that this day is holy and sacred.  It is a different day and we are a different people.  We have a vision; we see some of Who God is and who we are and we have great joy just like those people in Nehemiah’s day.  We as believers in Jesus have great joy because we see the truth in the book of Romans that says we are all sinners and we all deserve hell because of it and yet we see that God has provided a way out of our worst trouble just like He did for the Hebrews.


That way out is a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ and if you don’t have that way out; if you don’t have that relationship with God through His Son Jesus then I need to talk with you and pray with you right now.  Ask God to be Lord of your life.  Ask Him to forgive you of your sins and then repent of those sins and the Bible says that all who confess God as their Lord will be saved.  Do that today and know great joy!