Our hope and prayer for you is though you may not know how everything is working out, you can still have the Understanding of the Word of God when it proclaims His promises. One of the top complaints of unbelievers is that ‘the Bible is hard to understand.’ But, that should not be the case for the believer. Let’s talk about that…
In Nehemiah chapter 8 we find 2 things that confirm the structure of a modern pattern for how we should approach a church service. First, there was Unity. In verse 1 it says that the people gathered themselves together as one man. Their desire was for the Word of God to be preached by a man of God [BTW… there was only one transcription of the direct Word, no other versions suited to their cultural preference, or language of their captivity]. There was a raised pulpit of wood (v4). There were 13 men who stood with the man of God; 6 on Ezra’s right and 7 on his left. The priest opened the book to read and all the people stood (v5). Ezra blessed the Lord and all the people answered AMEN, AMEN! (v6) lifting their hands. It says they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Ever wondered why we do all the things we do at church? Here is a biblical precedent for a lot of it. It is historically consistent evidence of what the Word of God did for them and now does for us when we are attentive (v3). BTW… it says Ezra preached the Word for 4 straight hours. Better hope your preacher doesn’t read that part…
In those verses the word Understanding is used 6 times (6 is # of man=man can understand the Word of God). Verse 2 says that the gathering was made up of men and women and all that could hear with understanding. Now, that tells us several things. All ages who can understand basic conversation can understand clear Bible teaching and Preaching. No need to water it down for the youngsters or segregate them to a worldly ‘service’ attuned to their desires. Get in there together and develop an appetite for the Word. Kids of all ages need good preaching and can understand just as well as adults.
It said they were Attentive (v3), not scrolling past their Bible app to check their social media or ruminating on future lunch plans. There was no tuning out during 4 solid hours of preaching. WHY? Because they understood. It convicted them and they mourned their sinful state but were instructed of a gracious merciful God. In verse 12 it said they went away rejoicing because thy had understood the words that were declared unto them. I believe that Ezra and those teachers (v7-8) did nothing but give straight scripture and it made the difference.
To be fair, there are portions of scripture that we must analyze and compare with the context of other scripture, pray for the discernment of the Holy Spirit, and then spend more time with it in order to understand. The great news is that, though there may be some things that we will understand ‘bye and bye’, the great majority of it can be understood right now, today.
Got Understanding?
We Love You,
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