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SERIES: |
...but God |
MESSAGE: |
We’ve Failed...but God |
SPEAKER: |
Skip Heitzig |
SCRIPTURE: |
Nehemiah 9 |
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MESSAGE SUMMARY
Most all of us know that we are not what we should be or could be. Sin has scarred
our lives. We are aware of personal failures. The really good news is that we may fail
but God forgives. The whole reason for the atoning death of Christ was to provide
clemency for transgressions and mercy for our offenses. Nehemiah knew the
history of his people, and after gathering them back in the land after the captivity,
he prays on their behalf. We learn four vital lessons in this prayer about the human
condition and the divine solution.
STUDY GUIDE
Connect Recap Notes: Sunday, May 6, 2018
Speaker: Skip Heitzig
Teaching: "We've Failed…but God"
Text: Nehemiah 9
Path
Most all of us know that we are not what we should be or could be. Sin has scarred our lives. We are aware of personal failures. The really good news is that we may fail but God forgives. The whole reason for the atoning death of Christ was to provide clemency for transgressions and mercy for our offenses. Nehemiah knew the history of his people, and after gathering them back in the land after the captivity, he prays on their behalf. We learn four vital lessons in this prayer about the human condition and the divine solution.
- Failure Is Our Problem (vv. 16, 17a, 18, 26, 28, 33)
- Forgiveness Is Our Provision (v. 17)
- Faithfulness Is Our Promise (vv. 18-21, 30-31)
- Following Is Our Priority (vv. 36, 38)
PointsFailure Is Our Problem (vv. 16, 17a, 18, 26, 28, 33)
- Mourning is a sign of maturity. Acknowledging failure demonstrates spiritual development. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). Blessed means happy.
- Nehemiah 9 is the longest recorded prayer in Scripture. Ezra's prayer acknowledged failure with cries of confession. It is a record of fasting, repentance, and prayer followed by a covenant.
- Godly sorrow produces repentance (see 2 Corinthians 7:10). Failure doesn't need to be the end of the story; you can have a bright future despite dark failure.
- Ezra prayed historically from creation through captivity, showing that the human landscape is marked by failure (see Romans 3:23).
- The story of humanity is the story of sin (see Romans 5:12-21). Sin is in our very nature (see Ephesians 2:1-3). We sin both by nature and by choice.
- Probe: Share a time when you failed. How did you respond to your failure? Did you conceal it or confess it?
Forgiveness Is Our Provision (v. 17)
- "But you are God…" is where failure meets forgiveness. Our penchant for sin meets His pardon for sin.
- God is much bigger than our failures. He anticipated them (see Deuteronomy 28-29; 1 Kings 8:27-52).
- As Savior, Jesus is ready to pardon our sin. His first words on the cross were, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34).
- Ezra's prayer was one of confession. To confess is more than to admit something; confession is saying the same thing God says about sin. That leads to repentance.
- Read 1 John 1:8-9. God is ready to pardon your sin. Are you ready to confess it?
- Notice the words gracious and merciful. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. In mercy, God withholds the judgment you deserve. Grace is getting what you don't deserve. In grace, God adds the blessing you don't deserve.
- Probe: Forgiveness is essential to the Christian life. We receive it from the Lord and we are to give it to others. Read Matthew 18:22. Jesus said we are to forgive abundantly. What does seventy-seven times mean? Why is forgiving difficult for some Christians?
Faithfulness Is Our Promise (vv. 18-21, 30-31)
- God's grace pursues us. God's love is unstoppable, unconditional, unrelenting, and unending.
- When Israel ran from God leading them into captivity, God listened when they cried. When Israel departed from God, God pursued them (see Hosea, a pageant of God's love in the face of Israel's persistent unfaithfulness).
- We all sin but God still loves us. "Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" (Romans 5:20). When sin reaches a high-water mark, grace floods. Sin cannot erect a dam so high that grace cannot overflow.
- Human love is object-oriented. Divine love is subject-oriented and based on God's character.
- Probe: Unconditional means not subject to any conditions, wholehearted, complete, and unrestricted. How are God's love and forgiveness unconditional toward His people? Share a personal story about God's unconditional love and mercy.
Following Is Our Priority (vv. 32, 36-38)
- Notice "Now therefore…" (v. 32). Ezra's prayer mimics Romans 12. Both describe the human condition, acknowledge God's provision, then present a decision to be made.
- Our failure is met by God's forgiveness and faithfulness. Our response is to follow Him.
- Israel didn't just feel badly about their past, they followed God into their future. Do not confuse remorse with repentance. Remorse is a feeling and sensation, but repentance is a change and decision.
- Probe: The Greek word for repent is metanoeo. Strong's Concordance defines it as "the change of mind of those who have begun to abhor their errors and misdeeds, and have determined to enter upon a better course of life."1 Forgiveness is essential but so is repentance. Why is repentance often the first step toward forgiveness?
PracticeConnect Up: "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy" (Psalm 103:8). How does this summarize God's actions toward people? Share a time He has been merciful and gracious to you.
Connect In: Christians should be people of forgiveness. On what basis do we forgive? "Be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32). How is our forgiveness based in His forgiveness?
Connect Out: A prominent oncologist noted the refusal to forgive makes people sick."2 What other benefits does forgiveness offer that you might share with someone struggling with an unforgiving heart? Consider these factors noted by the Mayo Clinic:
- Healthier relationships
- Improved mental health
- Less anxiety, stress and hostility
- Lower blood pressure
- Fewer symptoms of depression
- A stronger immune system
- Improved heart health
- Improved self-esteem3
1Bible Hub, "Metanoia," 2016, biblehub.com/str/greek/3134.htm, accessed 5/7/18.
2Lorie Johnson, "The Deadly Consequences of Unforgiveness," June, 22, 2015, www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2015/june/the-deadly-consequences-of-unforgiveness, accessed 5/6/18.
3Mayo Clinic Staff, "Forgiveness: Letting Go of Grudges and Bitterness," November 4, 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/forgiveness/art-20047692, accessed 5/6/18.
DETAILED NOTES
- Introduction
- Mourning is a sign of maturity
- Acknowledging failure demonstrates spiritual progress
- Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn" (Matthew 5:4); blessed means happy
- Confession brings comfort (see Proverbs 28:13)
- Nehemiah 9 is a worship service
- Very long, filled with confession: a record of fasting, repentance, and prayer followed by a covenant
- Several hours reading the Word, several hours confessing (see v. 2)
- Longest recorded prayer in the Bible
- Illustrates that "godly sorrow produces repentance" (2 Corinthians 7:10)
- Failure doesn't need to be the end of your story
- You can have a bright future in spite of a dark failure
- God meets our failures with His forgiveness and faithfulness
- Failure Is Our Problem (vv. 16, 17a, 18, 26, 28, 33)
- Ezra prayed historically from creation to captivity, recounting the Israelites' history of rebellion against God
- Israelites' problem was sin and failure
- Humanity's problem is sin and failure (see Romans 3:23)
- Hamartia is the Greek word for sin: to miss the mark
- Bible records history of sin, a journal of human failure (see Romans 5:12)
- Sin is mentioned 629 times in Scripture; sin is our nature (see Ephesians 2:3)
- Without accepting this basic truth, the world makes no sense (see Jeremiah 17:9)
- Forgiveness Is Our Provision (v. 17)
- "But you are God " is the but God moment
- Our failure meets His forgiveness; our penchant for sin meets His pardon for sin
- God is so much bigger than our failure
- He expected and anticipated our failure (see Deuteronomy 28-29; 1 Kings 8:27-52)
- Your sin and failure never surprise God
- Jesus' first words on the cross were "Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:34)
- Forgiveness is our greatest need
- Even the secular world acknowledges the benefits of confession
- To confess does not mean to admit; it means to say the same thing about my sin and failure as God says about it
- To confess means to agree with God and implies turning away from sin
- God is ready to pardon—are you ready to confess? (see 1 John 1:9)
- Grace and mercy: two related but different attributes of God
- Grace is getting what you don't deserve; mercy is not getting what you deserve
- In grace, God adds the blessing you don't deserve; in mercy, God withholds the judgment you deserve
- The cross satisfies God's justice to enable the outpouring of His grace and mercy
- Faithfulness Is Our Promise (vv. 18-21, 30-31)
- God's love is so different than any other love
- God's love is unstoppable, unrelenting, unconditional (see 1 John 3:1)
- We keep running, God keeps chasing
- Hosea's ministry to his unfaithful wife demonstrated this kind of love
- Hosea is like God; Gomer is like Israel
- We are like Israel, continually going astray (see Isaiah 53:6)
- You might worry you've exhausted God's patience
- God's patience does have a limit (see Genesis 6:3)
- Your concern shows there's hope
- There is no dam that sin can erect that God's grace cannot flow over and flood (see Romans 5:20)
- God's nature is love (see John 3:16)
- Human love is object-oriented
- Divine love is subject-oriented and based on God's character
- God loves you because He is God and God is love
- His love pursues us, but we can move away from or hide from His love (see Jude 1:21)
- Following Is Our Priority (vv. 36, 38)
- Our response to our failure met by His forgiveness and His faithfulness is to follow
- Romans 12 has a similar format (see Romans 12:1)
- The Israelites didn't just feel bad about their past; they committed to follow Him into the future
- The covenant indicates repentance
- Don't confuse remorse with repentance
- Remorse is a feeling and sensation
- Repentance is a change and a decision
- Closing
- Today might be the day you need to finally surrender your life completely to the lordship of Jesus Christ
- He knows your failures, but He pursues you anyway
Figures referenced: Malcolm Muggeridge, Leonard Ravenhill
Cross references: Genesis 6:3; Deuteronomy 28-29; 1 Kings 8:27-52; Proverbs 28:13; Isaiah 53:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Hosea; Matthew 5:4; Luke 23:34; John 3:16; Romans 3:23; 5:12, 20; 12:1; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 2:3; 1 John 1:9; 3:1; Jude 1:21
Greek words: hamartia
Topic: Repentance
Keywords: confession, covenant, fasting, forgiveness, grace, mercy, pardon, pray, remorse, repent, sin, surrender, unconditional