Pastor Alan is on the road and you're invited. Check out pastorallen.org for more information. But if you live in the Carolinas, you're invited to a men's event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on February 27th. And if you're in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas, join us at the Epic Conference open to all in late February. Plus, catch Pastor Alan preaching at Sojourn Church in Carrollton, Texas on March 1st.
All the details at pastorallen.org. Hmm. Here's Pastor Alan Wright with today's blessing, a biblical faith-filled vision for your life. The greater the troubles, the greater the comfort. The deeper the disappointment.
the deeper the grace. The harder the trial, the softer the mercy. Paul said it plainly, as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 2 Corinthians 1.3. May you know the comfort of God abundantly?
pervasively, sweetly, powerfully.
so that your simplest sorrows and deepest losses are swallowed up into a mysterious grace And healed. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Alan Wright. Oh, how the flesh loves to just ramp up oaths. That's what they decide to do. We're looking at Nehemiah chapter 10, verse 28.
Everybody's all excited about God. They're excited about their new holy living. They're excited about all this joy, and they don't want to lose it.
So they get excited. They're going to ramp up all the oaths. Here we go: Nehemiah 10:28. The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, all who've separated themselves from the peoples of the land of the law of God. They wanted to know just everybody, verse 29, join with their brothers, their nobles, and look at this, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's law.
They join in making an oath with a curse. They all say, we swear we're going to be better. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt.
Excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series Nehemiah, Dreamer, Builder, Warrior, as presented at Renolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. For a limited time, this can be yours for your donation to Allen Wright Ministries. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastorallen.org.
That's pastorallen.org. Or call 877-544-4860. Again, by phone, 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program, but now let's get started with today's teaching. Here.
is Pastor Alan Wright. Today, we are continuing in Nehemiah, and I just want to read this one verse, and just to show you where we're going today. This is Nehemiah 9:38, and it's after the people have had a great revival, tremendous joy, and a long time of praying and exalting the Lord. And confessing their sin, and then they said this, verse 38. Because of all this, We make a firm covenant in writing.
On the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites. And Our priests. If you're new with us, we always start every message with a question, and it is not a rhetorical question. It is one for which we expect a loud answer. Are you ready for some good news?
Beloved, that was good. Beloved, this is what makes the gospel so good. And by the way, if you're new to understanding the gospel, Today's a great day. I'm going to tell you exactly what's so good about the good news. Here's your good news.
We as Christians do not find joy and peace and fulfillment. In other words, the Christian life is not based On your promises to God. It is based and empowered. by God's promises. to you.
And I want to show that to you today. Yeah. There was a guest preacher in town, New York City preacher, who had come to Mayberry. Yeah. One of my favorite Andy Griffiths episodes.
The title of his message was, What's Your Hurry? An ironic message to be preaching to the slowest town on earth. What's your hurry? The big city preacher said. We're so busy, busy, busy, doing, doing, doing.
Why do we have to go and run and do all the time? And as his anecdote, he reminisced and said, I long for the simpler days of my youth. And he sentimentalized about how they used to sometimes just enjoy going to the park with a picnic on a Sunday afternoon and enjoying a good band concert. And afterwards, we got a scene where Andy and Opie. And Barney and Aunt B are all on the front porch rocking on Sunday afternoon after church.
And suddenly Barney pipes up and says, You know what? I think I'm going to do. I'm gonna go down to the filling station and get me a bottle of pop. And then Andy says something he thinks he might do. And Aunt B interrupts and she says, You know, that's the whole point that preacher was making today.
So, why we got to jump in? Everybody's got to do something. You know, why we've got to be so busy all the time, rushing here, doing this, and doing that. Barney says, You know, I did. Really love it back when we used to have those band concerts down at the park.
And Angela says, you know. We hadn't done one of those in a long time. Aunt B said they were wonderful. Andy gets an idea. He says, well, why don't we do one?
Barney said, what do you mean? Today? And he said, well, why not? He said, I could get the boys in the band together. And you could take Gomer and go down and get the bandstand ready.
Aunt B piped in. And she said, We can dust off the old uniforms. They said, Let's do it. And next thing you know, they were making their to do list and getting their assignments.
So instead of resting and enjoying the Sunday afternoon, they jumped up with all a big task list to do. And Barney got Gomer and they went down. The bandstand was so dilapidated. And he said, somebody's got to crawl up under there. And Gomer said, there's spiders under there.
And Barney said, Well, I'm not going. And Barney had to be the supervisor, and he's barking out orders to Gomer, and Gomer doesn't want to go in there, and they're fussing and feuding, and the thing is too broken down. And Aunt B's gotten Clara to come over and dust off the uniforms, but they're all tattered and torn, and they got to start sewing them, mending them. And Clara's in a bad mood. Why are you making me do this?
And they realize they're not going to be able to get them done. Those uniforms aren't going to work. And Andy's gone down and got the boys in the band together at the courthouse, and they sound awful. I mean, it's terrible when people play bad trumpets and trombones and nobody could carry a tone and the thing was awful. And Andy's just about to pull his hair out and he's trying to bark out commands to them to be better.
And he's all frustrated. And after hours of this on Sunday afternoon, they reconvene and give up. And they're sitting on the front porch late afternoon. And the preacher, the big city preacher, was happening back through town. He pulled up in front of the house, rolled the window down, saw him up on the front porch.
And he said, well, I'm glad to see my sermon has taken effect. He said, y'all look so rested and happy as if you'd just been to a good band concert. What is it? There's something in human nature. That even when we have the joy We impose on ourselves A list of rules.
that is likely to rob us of the very joy we already have. Ann and I had a great weekend in the mountains last weekend. It was just. Grandbaby was there for part of it. That was fun.
Twice I put on long sleeves. I mean, it hit 59. I was like, oh. Forgot all about the heat and humidity just a couple hours down the road, and you know, and back into the heat, but up there, it was just so. We had unhurried meals and we had some long walks and we read and we...
We played with Grandbaby and Ann and I were driving back into town and we just felt. You know, we just felt that good feeling that you have. Like, this is joy, and you know, you're more at peace and more in love and just. You know, and so we're pulling back in the neighborhood and we're like, this is so good. I love you.
I love you too, sweet. This is great. And then we start saying, well, you know, we need to do this more. Yeah, we need to do that more.
Well, as soon as we say what we need to do, We hadn't gotten to the driveway and we started making ourselves a list of things we ought to be doing better. You know what, I'm going to eat healthier. I am too. I'm going to exercise more. You know what?
I'm going to read more. I'm going to do this more. Before we even gotten back into the house, we'd already made all these vows of things that are going to happen. Right out of the middle of the peace and joy and love that would fuel all of our good and healthy living. We revert to this.
What is going on with that? What we're going to see today is a vivid picture of this. Because the people of God Under Nehemiah's leadership, first had a reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem, and then there was an authentic reconstruction of their faith. And there was a revival. There was spiritual renewal.
As Pastor Chris shared last week, they gathered, they read the Word of God, they just couldn't get enough of it. They were out there for hours and hours and hours, and then they celebrated and they feasted and they enjoyed being together. And Ezra and Nehemiah said, Go and celebrate because the joy of the Lord is your strength. It is like a fortress, and you run into it and live out of that joy. And they had a long prayer in chapter 9 of Nehemiah, and they exalted the Lord, they confessed their sins, they recounted all the Lord's faithfulness.
And this is what we read at verse 38: because of this. We make a firm covenant in writing. Mm. That's Alan Wright. And we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series.
Parents, are you ready for some good news? You can have a low-pressure, high-expectation home by God's grace. If you want your children to be their best without hounding, threatening, or pressuring them, there's good news. God's grace works in parenting. Shame and pressure offer only fleeting motivation while creating long-term, toxic anxiety in a child's heart.
But children thrive in the environment of grace.
Now, for the first time, Alan Wright has joined with his wife Anne to produce eight video sessions that blend humor, deep gospel insights, and loads of practical advice to equip parents and grandparents to raise their children in homes filled with grace and blessing. Use the videos for personal growth with your spouse or with your small group. The DVD album comes with a detailed study guide as well. When you make your gift this month, we'll send you the DVD album as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Make your gift today and start raising kids by the power.
Of the gospel. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries. Call us at eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty.
That's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. On the sealed document of the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.
And they get everybody to sign this document where they swear to all these things that they're going to do to be better. And it doesn't work. Because ironically, the whole memoir of Nehemiah. ends at chapter 13. on an awfully sour note.
All the oaths that they made in chapter 10 that we're going to see today, they broke in chapter 13. Why? Because trying to live by your oath to God. will never Work. We're going to look into this, and I hope in some way you'll see some of the.
irony and maybe even the comedy of it.
So that we will really get the futility of living by law.
so that it'll point us to the extraordinary gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh, how the flesh loves to just ramp up oaths. That's what they decide to do. We're looking at Nehemiah chapter 10, verse 28. Everybody's all excited about God.
They're excited about their new holy living. They're excited about all this joy, and they don't want to lose it.
So they get side. They're going to ramp up all the oaths. Here we go. Nehemiah 10:28. The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, all who've separated themselves from the peoples of the land of the law of God.
They want us to know: just everybody, verse 29, join with their brothers, their nobles, and look at this, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's law. They join in making an oath with a curse. They all say, We swear we're going to be better. And if we don't, let there be a curse on our heads. See, in ancient days, the way people made covenants was not through legal documents like we would have, you know, and all that.
They would take an animal and slaughter it and put this bloody carcass on the ground, and then they'd stand and pass through this bloody carcass and make oaths to each other. Whether it was nations or businesses or whatever, you get in there and you swear to keep up your end of the bargain. And what you say is, I swear I'm going to do this. I'll do what I say. And if I don't, may my life be like this bloodied animal.
That's what it meant.
So in Hebrew, you never say that the word's not made a covenant. The word is cut a covenant.
So that's what's pictured here. And they just assume, therefore, if we have a good covenant, we've got to have some good curses that will fall on us if we don't keep it. thinking that the way we're going to be better is we make these solemn oaths And then out of dread of punishment if we don't keep it, then we'll really be obedient. You know, we always kind of like that. We want to ramp up our little oaths.
I remember Abby was little and she's like, you know, when we promise something, we're going to get ice cream today.
Well, okay, we'll get some ice cream today. You promise? I promise, sweetie. And then she wanted to Pinky Promise. I don't know what it is about two people that wrap their little pinkies together that somehow that's more binding.
But to her, that's a pinky promise. You cannot break that. As if I could just break my word, but I can't break the pinky promise. Little boys know what this is like if they're ever in a little club in the tree ford or whatever. You know, little Johnny says, little Bobby, can I tell you something you won't tell anybody?
Bobby says, yeah. China says, you promise? Bobby says, I promise. Bye, says you. You swear?
Yeah. Trices.
Okay. I swear. And then if you really want to ramp it up. Baby says, Jai's. You swear to God?
Uh He looks around like, oh now this thing's getting heavy.
Okay, I swear to God. And then you really, really, really need to make sure somebody's going to keep their oath. You had to say. You swear to God, cross your heart, hope to die. You got to put a curse in there with it, you see.
And so finally Kyle's like.
Okay. I won't tell anybody. I swear to God crossed my heart open tonight. That's what the people of God did. They said, they had a revival, they had joy, they had peace, they had holiness, they were starting to live more healthy, they were starting to enjoy everything with one another and with God, and they had this great time of prayer.
And they said, let's make some oaths to God. And everybody say, I swear to God, across my heart, hope to die if I don't keep it. That's what they did. What is that? What is it in human nature?
It feels like we need to make oaths and vows to be better.
Well, they're all noble and honest. really aspirations that they have. Yeah. I mean, there's nothing wrong with having noble, good aspirations or setting some goals for your life. Like, that's a good thing if you feel that, right?
I mean, like, I hope when we leave church and we've worshiped together and we've talked of the love of God, we all feel like, I just, I feel like I want to live a better life, right? That's good, right? But what they did was they they said we got to make them into oaths And now they're switching the locus of power from God and trying to bring it to themselves. Look at all these things. I mean, they're all noble aspirations.
Nehemiah 10:30, we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take the daughters for our sons. This is about we're not going to intermarry with the pagans, and they're saying we will not dilute our faith. And then at verse 31, and they made this: if the peoples of the land bring in any goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. In other words, we will keep the Sabbath, even if it means we don't make as much money. Look at verse 32.
We also take on ourselves the obligation. to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God. They're saying we will pay for the priest's work so that the ministry will flourish.
Well, that's a good one, actually. Nehemiah 10, 34, We the priests, the Levites, and the people have likewise cast lots for the wood offering to bring it into the house of God, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it's written in the law.
So they're going to roll that ice, and, you know, your turn to bring in the wood this week, your turn to bring the wood next, because we've got to get the wood for the fire so we can have the fire at the altar burning so we can offer our sacrifices. And so let's take turns bringing it. We'll do that. And they're all good commitments. But none of them worked.
Alan Wright, our good news message today: How to Ruin a Good Revival from the series on Nehemiah. A stay with us, Pastor Alan is back, joining me in the studio, sharing his parting good news thought for the day. in just a few moments. Unlock the power of blessing your life. Discover God's grace-filled vision for your life by signing up for Alan Wright's free daily blessing.
If you want to fill your heart with grace and encouragement, get Alan Wright's Daily Blessing. It's free and just to click away at pastorAllen.org. I don't want to pressure my kids and I sure don't want to shame them, but I do want them to try hard and be all they can be. That's the desire of every well-meaning parent. For over a decade, Alan Wright has been teaching all over the nation about the toxic effects of shame and the amazing power of the gospel of grace to heal and set free.
Now, for the first time, Alan has been joined by his wife Ann to produce a video series about shame-free parenting. It's called Good News for Parents: Raising Grace-Filled Kids in a Pressure-Filled World. The eight DVD video sessions are chock full of humor, deep gospel insight, and loads of practical advice. Use them for personal growth or with your spouse. They're also perfect for use in your small group.
The DVD album comes with a detailed step-by-step study guide as well. When you make your gift this month, we'll send you the DVD album as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Make your gift today and start raising kids by the power of the gospel. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer.
We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries. Call us at eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. That's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. Or come to our website, pastorallen. org.
Back here now with Pastor Alan in our series on Nehemiah.
Okay, how to ruin a good revival. I've heard it said that Nehemiah was kind of a secular guy to start out with. Maybe we would, in today's language, call him a successful businessman or a successful builder in his own right before all this stuff that we started learning about him happened, right? Is that where you're going or coming from on how to ruin a good revival?
Well, Nehemiah, like all of our Bible heroes, was absolutely human. Born in sin like the rest of us. And so, what we learn when we look at these heroes' lives. is not really a message that's like, hey, be like Nehemiah. It's more of where does this story fit into the whole picture.
of the story of the gospel. And in this particular text, what we find is The people that participated in this, they rejoiced. The joy of the Lord became their strength. They prayed. They repented, confessed their sin, recounted his faithfulness, and they had an authentic revival.
and then suddenly, you know, they felt a need to make up a to do list. It wasn't even a request from God. Just felt like they needed to make some vows and put themselves under some heavy laws.
So that's what we pick up at Nehemiah 9:38. Because of all this, we make a firm covenant in writing on the sealed documents of the names of our principles. And he's just, everybody come in, sign it. We Have a Something in the sin nature that just tends to revert back to a love for the law. And it's the best way you can ruin a genuine revival.
in your heart or amongst a people.
So a lot to be learned here about how our flesh likes to ramp up our oaths. Instead of living by the dynamic grace of God and truly letting the joy of the Lord be our strength, the very important message. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at pastorallen.org or call 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860.
If you only caught part of today's teaching, not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org. That's pastoralan.org. Today's good news message is a listener-supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.
