Change isn’t just about starting over.

It’s about facing what’s been ignored.

In Nehemiah 9, the rebuilding effort takes a deeper turn. The walls are up—but now the focus shifts inward. The people stop, reflect, and begin to confront their own story—where they’ve been, what’s gone wrong, and what needs to change.

This message explores what real renewal looks like—not surface-level improvement, but honest reflection that leads to lasting transformation.

It’s a moment where people choose to stop pretending, remember their past, and move forward with intention.

Along the way, we’re reminded of something bigger: a God who remains patient, faithful, and present—even when people fall short again and again.

If you’ve ever wanted a fresh start, but weren’t sure where to begin, this episode points to a different path—one rooted in honesty, humility, and a decision to move forward differently.

Because real change doesn’t happen by accident.

It happens when we’re willing to face the truth—and respond.

Scripture Focus: Nehemiah 9

00:00 Welcome and Setup

04:18 Nehemiah 9 Overview

06:56 Why Change Starts with the Heart

09:19 A Moment of Collective Reset

14:07 Honest Reflection

19:06 Recognizing What Matters

21:44 Remembering Your Story

24:36 Discipline and Growth

26:44 A New Commitment

31:44 Looking Back to Move Forward

33:14 Final Takeaways

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OC Church of Christ

Dr. Gregg Marutzky:

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Good morning church.

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Good morning.

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You know, uh, it is slippery out there,

but it always sort of surprises me

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when we say it's cold here because I

lived in Boston, I lived in Nebraska.

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If this is cold, that's deep freeze.

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It's, but, uh, it is slippery

and we have to be very careful.

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Thank you for being here this morning.

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Yeah.

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Thank you for coming to

hear the word of God.

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We're finishing up our Nehemiah series.

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A couple more lessons, but, uh,

I believe that God is always

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sovereign in, uh, the sermon series.

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I love how different subjects come

up and I wouldn't have thought to

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preach those, but it seems like

it meets needs and it's important.

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Maybe not right at the moment,

but down the road for the church.

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Uh, these different

topics are very important.

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But I wanna start off

with something humorous.

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You know, when it's cloudy

outside, we can be cloudy inside.

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So let's, let's get bright

and happy on the inside.

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All right.

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So, you know, Easter had an incredible

impact on people and, and, uh, there's

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this story about a fellow that, that went

to the Easter service and was so moved.

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So the next morning he,

uh, he couldn't, uh.

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Uh, just get out of his mind how much he

needed to change and be a better husband.

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He had, he was just convicted that he

was just not that good of a husband.

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And so he, uh, uh, was working in

the morning, but then, uh, he decided

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to take the afternoon off and, and

pray about things and, and he was

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just moved to go and buy his wife

some flowers and some chocolates,

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and he went and got her a dress.

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And he was just gonna come

home and surprise her and,

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and, and just recommit to her.

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Tell her what a a, a, a hu a terrible

husband he is been, he was gonna

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confess all his, all the things he

needed to change and convince her

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that he was gonna be a better husband.

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And then the other side of the

story is he left the water on

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in the sink in the kitchen.

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They had just gotten new wood floors.

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And so his wife came down to go to

work and the sink had overflown and it.

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Ruin the floors, and

she's about to call him.

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She's so upset.

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But then she gets a call from her

mother and her father had just

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gotten rushed to the hospital,

and so she just forgot about this.

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The, the, the floors,

she turned off the water.

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She went to the hospital.

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He had had a stroke.

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And so, so, uh, it was, it was serious.

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And then when she's at the hospital,

it seems like when it rains, it pours.

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Things just keep coming.

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And so she got a call from school and.

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Uh, her, her son was probably a little

bit like me when he was in school and

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he had got into trouble in PE class.

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He got into a scuffle and so he got

expelled and so she had to go from the

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hospital to the school to take his, the

son home, and then she gets home and,

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uh, she's just so mad at her husband,

but she just doesn't want to talk to him.

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She doesn't even call him all day.

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And so then he comes home and he rings the

doorbell and she comes to the front door.

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She's like, why is he

ringing the doorbell?

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And she opens the door and he

gets down on his knees and he

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says, honey, I'm just so sorry.

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I've been a terrible husband.

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I was so convicted of church yesterday.

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I just want to your forgiveness.

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I want to start over.

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Here's, here's some flowers, here's

some chocolates, here's a gift.

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And, and she goes, just stop.

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I can't believe it.

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You won't believe the day that

I've had you left the water on.

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You ruined the, the floor.

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I had to go to the hospital.

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My dad had a stroke.

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I had to go to the school.

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Our son got expelled and

here you come home drunk.

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Uh, I wasn't sure whether

to tell that story.

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But I did hear it at a, at a preacher's

luncheon, so, uh, it's not original to

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me, but I won't tell you who told me it.

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Turn your Bibles over to

Nehemiah chapter nine,

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Nia, Nehemiah chapter nine.

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And if you wanna raise your

Bible or raise your right hand.

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I want us to say our form,

formative statement of faith,

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our confession of faith.

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Say it with me, beginning with,

uh, Jesus is the son of God

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and then Jesus is the Lord.

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Let's say it together.

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Jesus is the Son of God.

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Jesus is Lord.

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You know, if that becomes something we

just do from now on, it's probably needed.

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I've seen other ministers say, have

their congregations say different things.

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And I've been wrestling

with this for years.

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And then it just hit me a few weeks

ago, a few months ago, I thought,

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you know, this is what we need to

confirm over and over and over who

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we're serving, why we're serving

him, that he's Lord, he's son of God.

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And so, uh, thank you for

indulging me with that, and then

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we'll see how it goes in about.

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A year or so, I'll write up a

research paper on it and say, our

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congregation was just transformed.

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It was so amazing.

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Give glory to God.

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Amen.

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I want us to understand why we're

studying this Old Testament book.

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We're moved into the, into our building.

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It's a new start for us.

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We've had to do physical building.

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We're trying to do spiritual building.

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It really comes from this verse, a verse

like it in, uh, one Corinthians 10, one

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through 12, if you'll read with me, these

things happen to them as examples, and

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were written down as warnings for us

on whom the culmination of the ages has

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come, so that if you think you're standing

firm, be careful that you don't fall.

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No temptation is overtaken you

except what is common in mankind.

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And God is faithful.

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Amen Into that.

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He will not let you be tempted

beyond what you can bear.

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But when you are tempted and we're

all tempted, he will also provide a

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way out so that you can endure it.

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I love that verse.

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I look for that way out.

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Sometimes I don't think it's fair.

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I don't know if I can endure this.

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This seems like too much, but I claim

that promise and I look for the way out.

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And there's always one

when I look hard enough.

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Amen.

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But he says, the things that happened

in the past to God's people are

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examples and their warnings, and I've

gotta thread the needle this morning.

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Let me just be honest with you.

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All right?

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We're gonna be talking about repentance

and confession and corporate revival.

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And corporate spirituality, but

in an audience like this, there's

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always a, an array of people.

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Jesus said, there's four

different kinds of hearts.

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All right.

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You got the, the weedy heart,

the thorny heart, the, the, the

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rocky heart and the good heart.

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And I think in any kind of audience, we

have people that are just so good hearted.

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I mean, they, they just need to

encourage, do so more and more

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they're like the thessalonian church,

that they were just doing great and

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they just needed to be said, told,

just keep doing what you're doing.

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Amen.

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I mean, you're an example and a model

to have all the rest of us just do it.

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And then there's a lot of us right in

between that from being really good

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hearted to then this other extreme

that we just, we just are sort of dull.

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We're a little bit calloused in the heart.

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Maybe 'cause of sin, maybe

not 'cause of sin, maybe just

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because we've just, you know.

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Been a Christian A.

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Long time and we, we haven't kept growing

or just, there's all kinds of reasons.

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Or maybe we're going through a

crisis of faith, or maybe we're just

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stubborn or maybe we're just prideful.

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First 20 years of my Christian

life, that's what I got

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challenged about constantly.

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Greg, you're prideful.

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In fact, Greg, I think you're the

most prideful person I've ever met.

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And you know what I'd always

think when they'd say that to me?

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No, you're the most prideful person.

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That's why it took me a while to change.

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That's why it took me a while to change.

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But I want to thread the needle.

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I don't wanna discourage you.

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If, if you take things so to heart and

you're very soft hearted, I want to

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encourage you this morning if you're

stubborn and dull and hardhearted.

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I wanna, I wanna, I

wanna get through to you.

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I want the Holy Spirit

to get through to you.

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All right.

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But I, I just want to encourage

the church this morning.

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And so let's begin in verse one

of chapter nine on the 24th day of

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the same month, so this is right

after the, the Feast of Tabernacles.

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This is just right after the, the,

the, the festivals that they've had,

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the Israelites gathered together,

fasting and wearing sackcloth

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and putting dust on their heads.

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So right after the feast, these

Jews felt like it was time for us

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to really dig deep spiritually that

we really need to examine ourself.

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And there's a, there's just a an

amazing thing that happens when

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there's this corporate movement among

the whole church where we're really

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trying to be as spiritual as we can be.

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And, you know, I went to the

movie, uh, yesterday evening

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'cause uh, Mike and Natalie went

to it called The Great Awakening.

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And uh, after his buildup on this text,

I thought, I gotta go see this thing.

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And I asked Kathy if she'd go and

she, she, uh, she wasn't inclined,

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so I had to go by myself, you know.

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But, uh, it was great.

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It was about, about, uh.

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Benjamin Franklin and what

a brilliant person Dr.

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Franklin was.

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You know, and it was about, uh, George

Whitfield and their relationship.

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And George was this, uh, this young

man that started out to be an actor.

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And then he got a scholarship to Oxford.

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He met the, the Wesley brothers,

Charles and uh, John Wesley.

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Uh, they were there at Oxford and.

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Then he started preaching in the Church

of England and he was just too radical.

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He had this deep, booming voice and

he, people just felt like he was

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screaming and, and he was pretty, uh,

negative towards the Church of England.

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He called it the, the darkness

in a dead church, and he wanted

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him to come alive and he.

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His, his, uh, line was

always, oh, wake up.

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You sleepers.

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Wake up, you sleepers.

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And, and I mean, that sounded loud to you.

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I'm sorry about that.

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But I mean, his, even in the

movie, I thought, did his,

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they got some effect going on.

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Boy, that was loud.

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That sort of shook me in my chair.

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But he had this booming voice and he,

and he got kicked outta England and

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he came to America and he preached in

Boston and New York and Philadelphia and.

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25, 30 5,000.

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35,000 supposedly came out

in Philadelphia, and the city

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was only 25,000 at the time.

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He, and he, he just got up on one of

these big balconies with the, the brick

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behind him and down just down the street.

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And it, and, and, uh, Benjamin

Franklin heard him for the first

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time and it started a relationship

and he asked Franklin to publish

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his sermons in his newspaper.

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They'd go back and forth and Franklin

said he wasn't really a, a, a a, a

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churchgoing guy or a spiritual guy.

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He was a virtue guy.

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And he believed, believed in Socrates.

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He didn't believe in Jesus, but he

didn't believe in Be born again.

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And Whitfield was always trying

to get him to be born again.

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And so the, and I, I don't wanna give

away too much of the movie though.

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I just gave away a lot of it right there.

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Right.

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But what's beautiful is how it turns out

at the end, and some things that you'll

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learn about Franklin, but also Whitfield.

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He died young, but he initiated, he and

Jonathan Edwards, the great awakening,

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the first great awakening in America,

and we're having a great awakening right

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now, especially among young people.

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On campuses, the spirit is

being poured out and people are

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getting fired up and excited.

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And, and I've been praying for this

for the last 40 years, I felt like

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in the seventies when, when I was a

college student, there was a great

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awakening and the spirit was just moving.

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And I believe it's happening again.

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And, and Nehemiah talks about it here

in chapter nine, and there's such

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a power of corporate spirituality.

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When a lot of people all of a

sudden come alive spiritually

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and take God seriously and.

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It starts with worship,

it starts with repentance.

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It's, it includes confession

and prayer and praising of

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God, and fasting and sacrifice.

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We see all these, we're gonna see all

these things in these verses and you'll

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be encouraged, guys, I, I know you're

looking at your Bible and see that there's

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40 pa verses almost in this chapter.

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We're not gonna go

through every one of them.

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I, I cut out 21 verses, aren't you?

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Aren't you happy?

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All right, so we'll get done early.

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But some very important stuff.

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Verse two, it says, those of the

Israeli's descent had separated

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themselves from all foreigners.

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So they took Ezra as a me message and they

stood in their places and confessed their

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sins and the sins of their ancestors.

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So there's something powerful about,

uh, corporate confession, and that's

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what Benjamin Franklin witnessed

after George Whitfield would preach.

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All the people would just start

confessing their sins and repenting.

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And then verse three, they stood where

they were and read from the book of the

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law of the Lord their God for a quarter of

the day, and they spent another quarter.

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So half the day in confession and

in worshiping the Lord their God.

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Amen to that.

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You know, they've took worship seriously.

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I hope you love coming to worship.

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You know, I just sort of sit here

waiting for the spirit to move on me.

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I keep, I, I, I, I, I don't know which

song's gonna get sung next, but I think,

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oh, I hope this is one that gets to me.

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I hope this is one of those that has

Holy, holy, holy three times, because

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those are the ones that always get to me.

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All right?

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Different songs get to different people.

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He says in second Corinthians seven,

verses 10 through 13, godly sorrow

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brings repentance that leads to

salvation and leaves no regret,

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but worldly sorrow brings death.

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You know, I've thought a lot about this

'cause I, I believe in positive ministry.

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I gave a lesson to the LA leadership

at our ministry meeting last Saturday.

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On positive ministry, and I really believe

that we should be motivated by the mercy

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and the grace and the kindness of God,

that that's what leads to repentance.

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But I also know there's times we

need conviction from the Holy Spirit,

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and I, and I recognize that until

you get serious and get cut to the

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heart and have this godly sorrow,

you can't really change and repent.

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Right.

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And there's been times

in my life I, God let up.

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You seem to be so hard on me.

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You know, I repented.

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It's time for the rejoicing.

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It's time for the forgiveness

and the, and the mercy.

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But you seem to still be squeezing me,

Lord, how long you gonna squeeze me?

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And I remember one time

thinking, this is too much.

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I've repented back off God.

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And don't say that to him

because he comes on a little

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stronger then when you do that.

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But then I got to a point that if

I need God to squeeze me this much,

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this must reveal how stubborn and

hardhearted or prideful I am at times.

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And so then I finally fully surrendered

and then the refreshment come.

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It's just this spiritual outpouring

from God, and it's this godly

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sorrow that leaves no regret.

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Verse 11, see what this godly

sorrow has produced in you.

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What earnestness?

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What eagerness to clear yourselves.

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What indignation, what alarm,

what longing, what concern,

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what readiness to see.

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Justice.

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Sun.

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You're totally surrendered

and at every point you proved

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yourself innocent in this matter.

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I try to look at myself in the mirror.

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Greg, do you have godly

sorrow or worldly sorrow?

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Are you earnest meaning you're,

you're, you're really devoted,

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committed, earnest to change?

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Are you eager to change?

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Are you, I'll get around to it.

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Do you have indignation,

anger towards what?

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Towards sin and Satan.

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I get angry at Satan

tempting me and dogging me.

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That's who I need to say back off.

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Not tell God to back off alarm.

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You know, there needs to be a time

in your life that you're afraid,

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Hey, what if I don't change?

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I've been there before thought.

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Wow, God, if it's taken this much

for me to change, can I change?

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You know, sometimes God always knows.

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So let him work in your life.

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Then a longing.

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When you start feeling that forgiveness

and that change, you want more.

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You have that longing, give me more God,

and you're concerned, will I get all

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the way there, or am I gonna have to go

through this again and again and again?

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And I've been a Christian A.

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Long time, 1977.

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I know most of you weren't around.

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All right?

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And I've had to go through the

cycle of godly sorrow many times.

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It's always worth it, isn't it?

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It's always worth it.

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And then you just get to this

surrendered point, ready for

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justice, and you're innocent.

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So in verse four, what happens?

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You praise says standing on the stairs

of the Levites, where Jesu banning cad.

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Miel she, AYA Bunny, AYA.

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Banney and two of them banies.

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All right?

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And Ken Ani.

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Ken Ani, they cried out with

loud voices to their God.

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So these are the leaders leading in

corporate worship and corporate praise.

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And then he goes through

the list again of Levites.

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And here's what they said.

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Stand up and praise the Lord your God,

who is from everlasting to everlasting.

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Blessed, be your glorious name.

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There's our song, and may it be

exalted above all blessing and praise

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when you get to the point where

all you do want to do is honor God.

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And that's, that's not that easy.

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We're pretty focused on

ourselves, aren't we?

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You know?

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It takes a while for us to get to

focus off ourselves and onto others,

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but listen to how he describes God.

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God is eternal.

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Stand up and praise God.

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Everlasting to everlasting.

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God is Lord.

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Blessed is his glorious name.

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God is creator.

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You made the heavens even the

highest heavens God is life.

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You give life to everything

and the multitude.

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See, this is why we praise God.

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Never forget how great God is.

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You take your eyes off of God.

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You're just.

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Going through the motions of church.

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You're just going through

the motions of that.

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Ben Franklin did for a long time

of just being a virtuous person.

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He thought that was good enough.

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Nah, we need God.

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We need the Holy Spirit.

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We need focused on the

almighty, the everlasting.

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The everlasting, right, the glorious name.

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And then verse six, he says,

you alone are the Lord.

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You made the heavens and even the

highest heavens and all their starry

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hosts, the earth and all that is on it.

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The seas and all that is in them.

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You give life to everything and the

multitudes of the heaven worship you.

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If all the planets and all the aliens

out there, I guess are worshiping

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God, then I guess we should amen.

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I don't know if Jesus visited

them, but he visited us.

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Right, and so we need to be

worshiping and it says in the

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highest heavens, I guess that's way

out there in those outer galaxies.

381

In verse nine, you are the Lord God who

chose Abraham and brought him out of

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Irv the Chaldeans and named him Abraham.

383

And now he goes through 20, so 20

or so verses on salvation history.

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And what you and I need to learn from

this restoration recitation, I mean

385

of history over and over in the Psalms

and here in Nehemiah and a lot of the

386

prophets, a lot of the books is you

need to know your spiritual biography.

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You need to know your spiritual story.

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When did God initially reach out to you?

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When did God try to change your mind?

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Yeah.

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When did your heart begin to

get softened and get filled?

392

When did you start falling

in love with other people?

393

When did you start wanting to serve

and give to others and you need to

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figure out your spiritual biography?

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When I was training as a chaplain,

they made us write pages and pages,

396

like the 20 page paper on our spiritual

biography, and I thought, that's too long.

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How about five pages?

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Nope.

399

Not gonna pass you if you

don't tell us your whole story.

400

You mean I gotta tell the bad stuff too?

401

Yeah, the whole story.

402

I don't even know you guys.

403

You don't go to my church.

404

I don't want to tell you that stuff.

405

I'll tell the brothers that love me.

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Oh, gotta tell us.

407

And so it was pretty interesting and

I could tell, you know, that we're

408

open people here in our church.

409

We share our lives.

410

I, some of the other chaplains I

didn't think should have passed.

411

Anyway, that's, that's a long time ago.

412

Long time ago.

413

And then verse eight,

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this promised land.

415

You found his heart faithful talking

about Abraham again, and you made a

416

covenant, a promise God did with him.

417

To give his descendants the

promised land, the land of the

418

Canaanites Hitite, Amorites, pre

parasites, uh, BB sights and gsites.

419

All right.

420

Why?

421

Because you have kept your

promise, because you're righteous.

422

I love the song on Caleb.

423

Love that you forgive me.

424

Not because I'm good, because you're

good God, because of your righteousness.

425

What a great song.

426

I sing it out not for

anybody to hear, but.

427

But for God.

428

So salvation history, and if you

read those verses, you'll see the

429

parting, the red sea, the giving of

the commandments, the giving of the

430

man and the quell, the pillar filer,

the sacred cloud, the water coming in

431

the desert, and so many other things.

432

It's a great salvation.

433

Salvific, history of the Jews.

434

And then verse 90 in nine 30,

let's pick it up there again.

435

For many years you were patient with them.

436

By your spirit, you warn

them through your prophets.

437

Yet they paid no attention, so

you gave them into the hands

438

of the neighboring people.

439

Now, why does God do that?

440

Why does he discipline us?

441

According to Hebrews chapter 12, it

says He disciplines those he loves.

442

He's treating us as sons and daughters.

443

So when I've felt like God needed

to back off of me, that's because

444

God cared about me and loved me.

445

All right.

446

They've done research.

447

Parents just let their

kids do whatever they want.

448

Unfortunately, some of the worst kids

are produced in those kinds of homes,

449

and parents can be too overbearing.

450

And some of the worst kids are

produced in those homes too.

451

You gotta strike that balance

and thread that needle.

452

It's not that easy.

453

I'm not down on any parents.

454

It's an on the job, uh, on the

learning, on the job situation.

455

Verse 31.

456

But in your great mercy,

there's a key word.

457

You did not put an end to them or abandon

them, and he won't do it to us either.

458

Stay in there 'cause of his great mercy

for you are a gracious and merciful God.

459

When we read this history and we

see that people are so prone to sin.

460

When we look at ourselves in the mirror,

unfortunately we're prone to sin.

461

Even religious people, even Christians,

even disciples, you sin more

462

than you probably want to, right?

463

At least if you're good hearted.

464

If you're not good hearted,

you think, nah, I don't sin.

465

I'm good.

466

I'm so good.

467

Compare yourself to Jesus.

468

All right?

469

Not to your friends or to your family.

470

Compare yourself to Jesus.

471

All right?

472

And you can't say that you can't.

473

Please don't say that.

474

All right?

475

You may get an awakening.

476

Verse 32.

477

Now, therefore our God, the

great God mighty and awesome

478

who keeps his covenant of love.

479

Do not let all this hardship seem

trifling in your eyes, the hardship

480

that has come on us, or our kings

and leaders, or our priests and our

481

prophets, or our ancestors, or all

your people from the days of the

482

kings of, uh, Assyria until today.

483

They decide that God is good and they're

gonna renew their commitment to him.

484

So it's a covenant renewal, and this

is what causes these reawakening,

485

these great awakenings in verse 33.

486

In all that has surpassed,

uh, has happened to us.

487

You have remained righteous.

488

You have acted faithfully

while we acted wickedly.

489

So always keep in mind God's

good and God's faithful.

490

If you don't keep those two

things in mind, God, you'll,

491

you'll never make it spiritually.

492

But every once in a while,

we all need reawakening.

493

You know, the, the Stone Campbell heritage

or the Restoration churches, it went, it

494

was a part of the second grade Awakening,

not the first one with John Whitfield,

495

but the second one with, uh, Campbell

Brothers and Barton W Stone and others.

496

And the emphasis with, with, uh.

497

The first great awakening

was God loves you.

498

I mean, the people had just felt like God

was an angry God and not a loving God.

499

And so Whitfield's

message was one of grace.

500

Well, the Second Great awakening

really took off because it was about

501

letting the Holy Spirit transform you,

and so they'd have these revivals.

502

Until they just, the spirit would

move and they'd all repent and

503

they'd all want get baptized.

504

And that's how our movement, the

restoration movement started.

505

And so these covenant renewals are so

very important and I, I want our church

506

to have the spirit poured out on us.

507

Don't you?

508

Don't you want to have a corporate

revival and have a corporate spirituality?

509

I wanna be able to tell people.

510

In fact, in the, in the little

luncheon afterwards today, I, uh,

511

uh, Marcel asked me talk about our

church culture and our church culture.

512

I'm gonna tell the guy here you, I don't

wanna say too much 'cause I want you

513

to come to the luncheon, but, but, uh.

514

Our, our, our corporate identity

is that we're scriptural.

515

We're Bible based and spiritual.

516

We really do take sin seriously and really

believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.

517

So it says in verse 35, even while

they were in their kingdom, and join

518

your great goodness to them in the

spacious and fertile land you gave

519

them, they did not serve you or turn.

520

From their evil ways.

521

So this is a lesson guys Always turn

to God when God's being good to you.

522

Otherwise he's gonna

have to discipline you.

523

Verse 36.

524

But see, we are slaves today.

525

Slaves in the land you gave our ancestors

so that they could eat its fruit.

526

And the other good things that produces,

they came to the realization they weren't

527

blame shifting, that it was their fault

that the walls had been broken down and

528

spiritually they were where they're at.

529

And then verse 37.

530

Because of our sins.

531

It's uh, it's abundant.

532

Harvest goes to the kings.

533

You have placed over us.

534

They rule over our bodies and

our catalysts as they please.

535

We are in great distress.

536

Taxes.

537

Let's not talk about it.

538

Verse 38.

539

In view of all this, we're making a

binding agreement, putting it in writing.

540

And our leaders, our Levites and our

priests are affixing their seals.

541

We haven't made an Orange County seal yet.

542

We got a new logo, but I,

I want us to make a seal.

543

And when you get baptized, I wanna put a

gold seal on there and then stamp it, you

544

know, and, and those of you that didn't

get a gold seal when you got baptized,

545

we, we, we will make it retroactive.

546

You tell us the date, Kathy and I

assign it, and we'll give you your seal.

547

But this was an oath.

548

This was a vow to God that all

the leaders, all the levies

549

said, we are not gonna wander.

550

We're not gonna be hard hearted.

551

We're gonna be soft hearted.

552

And we want the spirit to be

moving and God to be blessing us.

553

And so, God, we're making an oath

today to be pleasing to you, and

554

you already made it when you said,

Jesus', Lord, you made that oath.

555

When you said Jesus son of God,

I'm not trying to trick you, all

556

right, but you already made it.

557

That's the oath of Christians,

that Jesus is Lord.

558

Amen.

559

Salvation history.

560

What's my salvation History?

561

Your salvation history,

sin and separation.

562

Lostness.

563

I don't know how much of

my story my daughter knows.

564

You know, I've been pretty open

in sermons, but we haven't sat

565

down and had one of those talks

where I confess my sin to her.

566

That would be so heartbreaking,

you know, to have to do that.

567

But she probably knows she's

lived with me a long time.

568

But that's your story too.

569

And I don't know her story.

570

I don't want to know her, hers or

the other daughter, or definitely.

571

No Uhuh Senate separation,

572

but then faith came along in conversion.

573

I remember the night I got

baptized, I was at a camp and the

574

counselor in my cabin said, we got

a newborn baby in here tonight.

575

He's pure as it driven snow.

576

How's it feel, Greg?

577

You're gonna go to sleep totally

pure tonight, and that has stuck

578

in my mind all these years.

579

I'm so grateful.

580

He said that Conversion Discipleship

Church mission, trying to grow in the

581

fruits of the spirit transformation.

582

That's your story and my story.

583

Let's close.

584

What are the morals of this story?

585

God's faithful.

586

Even when we're di disobedient

and unfaithful, God is faithful.

587

God is righteous, God is everlasting.

588

All those things we just read,

God provides provision for us

589

even when we're rebellious.

590

That's the whole story of the

wander wandering in the wilderness.

591

God still takes care of evil people.

592

God is so good.

593

God is patient.

594

When we go astray to

wait for us to return.

595

Yeah.

596

You know,

597

my dad left the church for 35 years.

598

My first memory in life was his

baptism at a gospel meeting.

599

Just vaguely have this memory.

600

I was only about four or five.

601

I, I, I don't even remember how old

I was, but that's my first memory.

602

And then when I was in junior high, he

quit going and he didn't go for 35 years.

603

Then he came back three years before he

died of cancer and he totally changed.

604

And I sat there with my brother who's

an elder in the church during that

605

funeral, and I turned to him and said,

we're both tears rolling down our eyes.

606

And I said, Sam?

607

I said, Sam, is this surreal to you?

608

It's sure.

609

Surreal to me.

610

I never thought this would be dad's

funeral where we'd be so happy.

611

It's not over till it's over, guys.

612

God will wait.

613

God will wait.

614

God disciplines us in love

to help us come to our sense.

615

God recognizes our cycle of rebellion,

regret, repentance, and revival.

616

God maintains a remnant of followers

throughout every generation.

617

There's those George Whitfield that

call us back and keep working on the

618

Ben Franklins until they come around,

but you gotta go to the movie to see it.

619

God desires a covenant with his

people for a continuous relationship.

620

He makes his promises that we can claim

and then God chooses a group of people.

621

May he choose the OC church who seeks

spiritual spirituality and not profanity.

622

What is profanity?

623

Taking the sacred and making it common.

624

Syncretism just blending into the world.

625

You gotta be a counter-cultural

to be a Christian.

626

Amen.

627

You're not gonna be the most popular

worldly guy at your church, I mean at

628

your school, not hopefully at church.

629

You're not gonna be worldly either,

but you can't be popular here.

630

Amen.

631

Just be spiritual.

632

Amen.

633

Corporate spirituality.

634

May that be what the

OC Church is known for.

635

God bless you.

636

Amen.