Join Pastor John Kyle as he unpacks Nehemiah’s pivotal role in rekindling faith and bringing the people of Jerusalem back to God. Through a fervent prayer capturing Old Testament history, we gain insight into the persistent loving-kindness and mercy of God. This episode challenges us to mirror Nehemiah’s commitment to God in our lives and assures us of God’s unyielding presence and promises, even when we falter.
Welcome to Expository Truths, where we exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with Dr. John Kyle, pastor of Faith Community Church in Vacaville. As Christians, we are called to know the truth and be able to proclaim it. We can know the truth when we know the Word of God, which is precise, without error, powerful, and effective for both salvation and spiritual growth. Let’s join Pastor Kyle as he takes us verse by verse through the book of Nehemiah, an incredible book showing us how God sovereignly used the faithfulness of Nehemiah to lead the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in the midst of many mighty and powerful enemies.
SPEAKER 02 :
Please turn in your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 9, verse 17. Nehemiah 9, 17b. Now remember, God led Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem and to rebuild the ruined walls of the city, which was an amazing task. But even more, God led Nehemiah to be the catalyst in bringing the people back to repentant faith in the living God. See, they were spiritually dry. They were living in compromise and in great sin. They were far away from God. And God used Nehemiah to help the city to return to its former glory and even better, to help the people to return to the Lord. Remember, after the wall was finished, the people gathered together in Jerusalem. They read from the law of God, the word of God, and then they wept and rejoiced at the feast of trumpets. Then two weeks later, when they celebrated the feast of tabernacles, they read from the law again. They worshiped and celebrated the Lord, and there was great, great gladness from all the people. It didn’t end there because just a couple of days after that most amazing event, the people again gathered together to observe a national day of repentance where they fasted, they mourned, they wore sackcloth, they put dust on their heads as they cried out to God to express their turning away from sin and turning to the Lord in heartfelt love and worship to Him. It was an amazing time. It was real. God was certainly well pleased by everything that he was seeing. They then prayed. This prayer is a penitent prayer of confession that offers an amazing survey of Old Testament history. Up to this point, the prayer shows us some of the many reasons that we, the people of God, can praise him. Why? Because he alone is God. Because He made everything including you. Because He chose Abraham. Because He saw His people’s affliction and He heard their cry. Because He led Israel out of Egypt. Because He gave His people His law. And because He both fed them and He gave them water when they were thirsty. Amazing. I mean, absolutely amazing. What a God. What a God. But sadly… As we saw last time in this prayer, the people got used to God and His goodness towards them. And in their pride, they refused to obey and they hardened their necks to the Lord who had delivered them and to the Lord who had sustained them and to the Lord who had blessed them in so many amazing and incredible ways. Lord, help us to not be like them. Now what? Verse 17b, let’s look. But… But you are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness. And get this, you did not forsake them. Five truths. First, look, He is ready to pardon. Second, God is gracious. Canoon in the Hebrew, gracious. Third, our God is merciful. Rahum in the Hebrew means to be sympathetic, compassionate, and to have a heart of pity to one who is needy. And that’s how our God is toward us, His people. But what else about our gracious God? Fourth, He is slow to anger. You ever hear people who have said the opposite of that? The God of the Bible, especially the God of the Old Testament, is angry. And He’s mean. And He’s vengeful. And He’s quick to anger. And He’s just not a very loving God. You ever hear someone say that? Man, how wrong are they? It’s so not true. Because biblically, the thing that jumps out is how incredibly patient and slow to anger God truly is. We see this slowness to anger when we look at what happened in the flood. In Genesis 6, there’s just incredible sin going on, rampant sin, wretched sin, unfettered sin, unrestrained sin, where every intent of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually. And look, God endured it, and He endured it, and He endured it, and He endured it, until finally He could endure it no longer. Finally, He said in Genesis 6.3, My spirit will not strive with man forever. In other words, I am very slow to anger and patient and enduring, but now the cup of my patience has filled up. But look, even after that, God gave the people 120 more years to repent. He even had Noah preaching to all the people to repent, 2 Peter 2.5. So even when God’s patience with sinners is spent, He still warns and waits just a bit longer, slow to anger. Yes, He has anger, a righteous, holy anger, but He’s slow to anger. That’s our God. Think of it like this. What would you have done? Hey, if I were God, and I’m not, Don’t we know it? If I were God, I would have been fed up with me four decades ago. No, four and a half, five decades ago. My first year was okay, maybe. If we want to know how slow to anger God really is, just look at how patient and loving and kind He is to you. I’d be sick of me if I were God. How many of us would have done away with this world a long time ago? With this nation? You ever watch the news? People hate God. God is being scorned. His people are being ridiculed. His word is being derided and sin is being exalted. How long, oh Lord? Obviously a little while longer. Because God is indeed slow to anger. He is long-suffering. He’s willing to wait until all His people come into His fold. He’s willing to endure His pent-up wrath until His wise purpose comes. is completely accomplished. And so we see God’s slowness to anger everywhere we look, especially when we look at ourselves. But please don’t take God’s patience as indifference. Please don’t mistake God’s slowness to anger as an acceptance of all this wretchedness that’s going on around us. Please don’t take God’s patience to mean that your rejection of Him and that your sin is not a big deal, because it is. Please don’t do that. Because while God is slow to anger, one of His attributes is indeed anger. And His wrath against sin is still an impending reality. And all sin will indeed be dealt with in the right time. Until that time, how about this? Live for the Lord. Sound the warning for those who are rebellious while there’s still time. Shine the light for the glory of God brightly and praise God for His slowness to anger toward us. Fifth, God is abundant in kindness. Abundant means abounding in, more than enough, vast and plentiful in kindness. So while the mercy of God speaks about God’s heart toward His people, the kindness of God, or better said, the loving kindness of God, that’s a better way to say it, the loving kindness of God shows us… that God acts on that mercy. God isn’t just talk, see? He’s a God of action. And that means everything to sinners like those who rebelled in the wilderness, and it means everything to sinners like us. The Hebrew word for kindness here is the word chesed, and it speaks of the loving kindness of God and how God displays His love with action. The stress here is on feelings of loving kindness showing itself in action and not just existing in thought. Kindness, then, is God’s mercy in action, and it’s abundant. Like the lepers who were begging for mercy, we’re all just as desperate as they were. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. Couldn’t we all say that every second of every day? And look, He does. And He has. Note that this specific word in the Hebrew is a word that describes God’s special mercy and loving kindness toward His beloved people, toward His covenant people, the saved faithful in the Old Testament and us in Christ, us Christians today. Note that all of this in verse 17 is explicitly directed towards the people of God. See, this specific word describes a loving kindness and a mercy that will not let go. God toward us. It’s a persistent loving kindness, an undeserved loving kindness. It’s a word that shows us that while we fall and fail and stumble along, God will always be there to pick us up and to be faithful, ever faithful, even though we are prone to wander. This loving kindness then is seen in the fact that God gave us His Holy Spirit who indwells every Christian today, sealing them until they arrive safely home. See, He doesn’t let us go. He loves us, His children, that much. To save us, yes, and to keep us. And to see us through to glory. As one commentator rightly said, God has said His loving kindness and mercy towards His people is beyond human comprehension. And all we can do, really, is stand in awe of a God like this. This God who is not only gracious and merciful to us, but who acts on that mercy with persistent and unrelenting love for undeserving rebels like us. What kind of God is this? Preacher Thomas Brooks said, It’s God’s free mercy, talking about his covenant loving kindness, which every day keeps hell and my soul asunder. It’s God’s free mercy which daily pardons my sins. It’s God’s free mercy which supplies all my inward and outward needs. It’s God’s free mercy which preserves and feeds and clothes my outward man. It’s God’s free mercy which renews, strengthens, and prospers my inward man. It’s God’s free mercy which has kept me many times from committing such and such sins. It’s God’s free mercy which has kept me many times from falling before such and such temptations. It’s God’s free mercy which has many times preserved me from being swallowed up by such and such inward and outward affliction. And that’s absolutely right. And this mercy, this loving kindness of God is an amazing truth for those who are desperate for it. And He gives it freely. So I understand when the hymn writer said, When all thy mercies, O my God, my rising soul surveys, transported with the view I’m lost in wonder, love, and praise. We can understand that, can’t we? Being transported and lost in wonder, love, and praise. How could we not passionately love a God like this, who’s done so much for us? So here’s a question as we look at the chesed, the mercy and loving kindness that God has specifically for us as children. This, does God love everyone? And then this, a little trickier, does God love everyone the same? On one side, you have people saying that God loves everyone the same. And then on the other end, you have people saying that God only loves us, his children. And I believe that biblically, both of those are wrong. God loves everyone, but not the same. We know from Scripture that God is compassionate, kind, generous, and good to all, even to the most stubborn of sinners. Who can deny that those mercies flow out of God’s boundless love? God’s very nature is to love, and the reason our Lord commanded us to love our enemies is in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He causes His Son to rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. Jesus clearly characterized his Father as one who loves even those who purposefully set themselves at enmity against him. Yes, Psalm says that God is angry with the wicked all the day. But that anger doesn’t have to negate the general love that God displays toward them. That love is often called God’s common grace that He has for people, all people, which is an amazing reality because He doesn’t have to give it so many good things, so many amazing things that God gives to rebels who hate Him. That being said… about God’s common grace and His general love for humanity, it’s important to understand that God loves believers with a different love. He loves believers with a particular love, with a covenant love, a family love, an infinite, eternal, and saving love that seeks us out and that keeps us in. And that chesed love, that agape love that He has for specifically us, His children, is much different than the general love and common grace that He has for the world. We should be able to get a grasp on this as we think about the love we have for our own children. It’s not the same love that we have for other children. Again, God’s love for us specifically is a covenant love. It’s an eternal love. It’s a saving love. And again, that’s very different from the common grace that he shows to the world. So does God love the world? Come on, don’t be shy. Yes. As one said, proclaim that truth far and wide and do so against the backdrop of God’s perfect wrath that awaits everyone who does not repent and turn to Christ. And then, does the love of God differ in breadth and depth and manner in its expression towards us, His children? What’s the answer? Yes, yes. We are saved. We are His children. We only are called His beloved, His chosen, His bride. And that changes things. In light of all that, how incredible is our God? I mean, think about it. He’s ready to pardon. He is gracious. He is merciful. He’s slow to anger. And He’s abundant in loving kindness. Again, who are we to have a God like this? But this is who He is. As Thomas Brooks said, Oh God forbid that my heart should be affected or taken with anything in comparison with my Lord. The more I know Him, the more I love Him. The more I know Him, the more I desire Him. The more I know Him, the more my heart is knit to Him. And I say amen to that. And I pray that’s the case with us today. That maybe we’ve gotten to know God just a little bit more. So that we can love Him more fervently today. Amen. This verse in this prayer is here for a reason in Nehemiah chapter 9. To remind the people of how incredible their God truly is. Lord, help us all to be reminded. But then, look at this. Look what it says. He, look, did not forsake them. What? They rebelled. They grumbled. They… They turned on Moses and they turned on God. They wanted to go back into slavery. They complained about the manna and the quail that God so graciously provided. They took God and His love for granted. They grew indifferent to God and to all the miracles that He was doing in their midst to rescue them and to sustain them. They were terrible. But He did not forsake them. He did not forsake His rebelling children. He didn’t let go of them. He didn’t abandon them, leave them, or give up on them. And good news, He won’t forsake you, His child, either. He won’t. He finishes what He starts. As His saved and beloved child, look, He will not let go of you. Never. Never. Never. As 1 Peter 1.5 tells us as believers, our eternal inheritance is reserved in heaven and God keeps us by His power until we get there. That’s ironclad. He won’t forsake us. And look, He gives all Christians His Spirit to live in us and to guarantee our safe arrival home, Ephesians 1, 3. So no, He will never forsake any of His children. As Hebrews 13, 5-6 says, He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor what? Forsake you. You see that? Never. That means that there are no circumstances ever or anywhere in which He abandons His children. God says, “…a soul that Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to His foes.” that soul though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no never, no never forsake. See, God will not abandon you, His beloved child. He’s not going to leave you. He’s not going to fail to uphold you or let you sink. Never, no, never. He won’t let go of you. He won’t ever relax His hold on you. He knows you. He loves you. He knows what you need much more than you do. He sees all things perfectly. He’s working for your eternal good. and He is always with you. What’s there to fear? And so, when all around me is darkness and earthly joys have flown, my Savior whispers His promise never to leave me alone. How good is that? God is with us every moment of every day. As close as our skin. In every turn of life, tear-stained or drenched in smiles, God is with you. Jesus looks at you and says, I gave myself to you. I gave myself for you. Do you really think that I would ever forsake you in light of that? No, not ever. How do you respond to that? Hey, say it’s too good to be true. No. Say it sounds unbelievable, but don’t ignore it. In your hurts, your fears, your struggles, your temptations, there’s no more wonderful promise than this. I will never leave you nor forsake you. That doesn’t mean that life is going to be a bed of roses and that nothing bad will ever happen to you. No. But it does mean that as His children, We are all under God’s sovereign care and watchful eye. It means that God will bring all His children safely home to glory. It means that Satan can’t have us once we belong to the Lord. It means that God truly will never leave us nor forsake us. And it means that God has us all figured out even when we can’t remotely understand it. God is with us. He’s with you. He’s with me, His child. I am under His loving, watchful eye, even in the tragedies of life, even in the pain, even in the turmoil. God is there with me, guarding me, shielding me, and looking out for my eternal well-being. One day, I will arrive safely home. Can’t wait. Until then, God walks with us on this pilgrim road towards glory. It’s a rough road. Sometimes. It’s a hard road. Bad things happen sometimes on this road. Evil things happen to God’s good people sometimes. But He walks with us through it all, and He will make sure that we arrive safely home, never forsaking us, His beloved children. In the early 1940s, Darlene Rose was a young, newly married woman missionary to the Dutch East Indies. But when the Japanese invaded and took over, all Westerners were imprisoned. As a result, Darlene was separated from her husband and the two were never to see each other again. Darlene was in prison for three years. She was beaten and She contracted malaria and dysentery. Her body was reduced to skin and bones. And among other things, the beatings that were inflicted on her caused her to permanently lose her hair. Eventually she was freed, but later she went back as a missionary to that very same place. Regarding her suffering, she said, I have no regrets. It was a way to know God in a deeper way. He was always there. That’s a biblical fact. That’s a biblical fact. The people in Nehemiah’s day were reminded of this fact in this prayer, and it’s a great reminder for every single one of us in Christ today as well. Lord, help us to draw ever nearer to this most gracious, amazing God that we have. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we love You and we thank You for who You are and we thank You for what You’ve done and we do stand in awe of You, Lord. We often take You for granted. We forget Your goodness. We get used to amazing grace. I pray that this would be a good reminder to us today of how incredible You are and we have You. We are Yours and You are ours and We’ve done nothing to deserve a God like You. Oh Lord, help us to stand in awe of You. To love You with more fervor and more passion. And may it affect the way that we live our lives as we go out today. May our lives be a great praise offering to You. May our lives… the living sacrifices every day for you in light of who you are and what you’ve done. We love you. We ask you to bless us now. May we encourage each other with your truth. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thanks for joining us for today’s exposition from the book of Nehemiah on Expository Truths with Dr. John Kyle. dot org faith community church seeks to exalt christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with a commitment to glorifying god through the pure deep and reaching message of the gospel pastor john is the preaching pastor at faith community church of vacaville a seminary professor and a trainer of preaching pastors overseas Join for services at Faith Community Church Sundays at 9 and 1045 a.m. 192 Bella Vista Road, Suite A. To learn more, visit vacavillefaith.org or call 707-451-2026. That’s 707-451-2026. Or visit vacavillefaith.org.
