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Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. I want to introduce you to a concept called visiting day.
Now, visiting day is A day typically in an institution where people are allowed to come in and visit. Prisons have visiting days, schools, not that they're the same.
Sometimes they are, but parents are allowed to come in for an open house and see what the kids are up to. Our SOM even has visiting day where you can see what the curriculum is going to be like.
Sometimes even Churches. Can be like visiting day. I'm going to explain that. This is from an unknown author called Visiting Day. He had been looking forward to this moment.
All day long, after six days of labor, it finally arrived. Visiting Day. The man with the keys arrived to swing open the large. Heavy. Doors.
The cold gray hall sprang to life in the warm glow of light. He could hardly control his emotions. The families began to arrive. He peers from the corner of the room. longing for the first glimpse of his loved ones.
He lives. for the weekends. He lives. for these visits. As the cars arrive, he watches intently.
Then Finally, they arrive. for whom he would do anything. They embrace and eat a light lunch and reminisce on how things used to be. At one point, they break into singing. with interruptions of laughter and applause, but all too soon it's over.
And a tear comes to his eyes as they depart. And then the men with the keys closed the heavy doors. He hears the key turn in the lock marking the end of a special day. There he stands alone again. He knows that most of his visitors will not contact him again.
Until next week. And as the last car pulls away from the parking lot, Jesus retreats into loneliness as he waits till next Sunday. Visiting day. To some churchgoers. Sunday is visiting day.
Pack everybody up in the car and we'll go visit Jesus. We'll spend an hour. Thinking about him, singing about him, talking about him, reading about him, visiting him. As it were. And then it's over.
When we began chapter 12 last week, we noticed, we discovered that worship is not an event, it's not a day. It's not just an activity, it is rather a lifestyle. Worship is the overflow of a life. That has been changed by an encounter. with the living God.
Think about that. Worship is the overflow of a life. that has been changed. By an encounter. With the living God.
If you bump into a cup or a glass or a bucket. If you bump into that. What's going to come out? Whatever is inside. If people bump into you, what comes out?
Whatever's inside. Could be praise. Prayer Counsel, the gospel, it could be cursing, anger, anxiety. Whatever is in you will come out. Charles Spurgeon said: when your heart is full of Christ.
You will want to worship. That comes out. I don't know if I've told you this before. I think I have in previous studies, but. I really learned to worship.
In a mortuary Now I got to explain that. I was a part of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa as a young saved man, but my pastor's brother, Chuck Smith's brother Paul. in another town in the area. Would have the Christian communes that were in that area all come to. A mortuary chapel, and the reason we chose a mortuary is because they had a chapel.
and the chapel wasn't used on Sundays. And so we get into this chapel and they would make sure the caskets are around the corner so we wouldn't see them. But we had church in the mortuary chapel. And we used to even joke. And say, boy, this place.
really comes alive on Sundays, doesn't it? Truth is, I came alive. I came alive. understood what real worship was this Overflow of a life that has been changed by an encounter with the living God, and I couldn't get enough of it. And so I found myself Singing those songs.
In the gas station where I worked, or at home or at school. that it wasn't something that was confined to visiting day. But it was something where I would have regular visits. throughout the week.
Now Nehemiah chapter 12 You have it opened, I trust. We examined A worship experience, a dedication of the city of Jerusalem. As people gathered together to dedicate their town to God and to worship Him. And it's based on a revival that broke out. You may remember back in chapter 8, they listened to the word of God, it changed them.
There was a devotion to spiritual matters. And last week in chapter 12, we looked at four elements, four characteristics that marked their worship. And what we're doing is comparing their worship to ours.
So we notice four of those elements. Their worship was biblical. It was vocal. It was musical. And it was joyful.
It was biblical, that is, it's based on. The scriptures. They consulted the Bible to find out what to do. Second, it was vocal. They gave voice to what they felt, they sang.
A third, it was accompanied by musical instrumentation. And finally, It was joyful because God Put a joy in their heart, cause them to rejoice, we read.
Well, now we continue with this. And we have four more elements in chapter 12. And the first is that their worship was thankful. Thankful. I'm going to take you back down to verse 27.
Of chapter twelve Where it says, Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought out the Levites. in all their places to bring them to Jerusalem. to celebrate the dedication with gladness. Both with, here's the word. Thanksgiving.
Or thanksgivings, plural. and singing with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. Take it down to verse 31.
So It says, Nehemiah, so I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall and appointed. Two. Large Thanksgiving Choirs. Verse The other Thanksgiving choir. went the opposite way and I was behind them with half the people.
On the wall, going past the tower of the ovens as far as the broad wall. Go down to verse 40.
So, Two Thanksgiving choirs Stood in the house of God, likewise, I and half the rulers with me. You've got two. Levitical Choirs Called Thanksgiving Choirs. It seems that their job, they had only one job. And that is to Thank God on behalf of the people.
Just to sing songs of thanksgiving to God.
Now we don't know the tune, we don't know the words, but I'm gonna guess That they probably used the book of Psalms because that was their hymnal. In the book of Psalms, there are different genres. You've noticed this as you've gone through the book of Psalms: that there are praise psalms, there are Lamenting psalms, there are imprecatory psalms, and there are thanksgiving psalms. In fact, Psalm 18, Psalm 30, Psalm 32, Psalm 34, Psalm 40, Psalm 52, Psalm 66, Psalm 92, Psalm 100, Psalm 116. Psalm 118 and Psalm 138, all 12 of them are called Thanksgiving Psalms.
The most famous of those is Psalm 100. It's the most famous because it's the only psalm in the entire 150. Psalm Book of Psalms that has a superscription at the very beginning. It says a psalm of thanksgiving. It is specifically used to thank God and be grateful for what he has done.
That's what the Thanksgiving choirs were doing. Let me just read a verse from Psalm 100. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving. And into his courts With praise. B thankful to him and bless his holy name.
Those are Thanksgiving Psalms. Probably they sang those. Did you also know that in the Old Testament there were offerings called thank offerings? A thank offering was actually a peace offering that you gave to the Lord or you offered. Just because you're thankful, you have gratitude in your heart.
No particular reason, your heart is filled with gratitude, and you give them a thank offering, and you bring your family around the tabernacle and you. Enjoy. This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Your support helps reach people every day with biblical truth that brings clarity, hope, and direction in difficult times. And this month, we'd love to thank you with a timely resource centered on God's power to restore what's broken.
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Now, if you're looking for a way to go deeper in your Bible study, here's a great way to do just that. Learning your Bible matters. I'm committed to teaching God's Word and I want you to understand the depth of Scripture for yourself. That's why I want to invite you to join me in a 90-day true-the-entire Bible reading challenge using the UVersion Bible app. We call it Jesus People Grow.
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Now, here's more from Pastor Skip.
Now, what are these people so thankful for that Nehemiah says we need two choirs thanking God?
Well They're thankful that they're back in Jerusalem. after seventy years of captivity. They're thankful that God keeps his promise to bring them back to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity. I'm sure they're thankful for the reading of the word of God that brought conviction to their hearts in chapter 8 and gave them a spiritual refocus. And all of that to say this.
Thanksgiving was not an emotion, it was a decision. To appoint two choirs to thank God is a decision. Not an emotion. It's not like you have to wait for. A certain feeling to arise in your heart.
Okay, now I feel so thankful, I'm going to thank him. Thanksgiving was baked into their worship system. There were Thanksgiving psalms and Thanksgiving offerings, and now There were Thanksgiving choirs.
Now I want to apply this to us. Did you know that A consistent practice. of gratitude is beneficial to you. Even physically, There are physical benefits. When you are grateful.
Scientists tell us that our brains release Two important chemicals. Dopamine. and serotonin. And those are like happiness boosters.
So the more you appreciate things, the more your brain rewards you with happiness. It just works that way. What are the benefits? Improved sleep is one of them. One study noted that people who spend 15 minutes Every evening writing what they call a gratitude journal, just writing.
Things are grateful for. Sleep better. Sleep longer. have reduced worries and anxious thoughts that keep them awake. Also, better heart health.
is traced back to Gratitude. It'll lower your blood pressure, improve cardiac function by activating your parasympathetic. nervous system. which helps you rest. and digest.
Also, According to a 2024 Harvard Lead study. You'll live longer. A study of 50,000 women who were under this survey. Those with the highest gratitude scores Had a 9% lower risk of dying over the next few years than all the rest. Gratitude.
And yet. Only a fraction of the human population. really ever bothers to thank God personally. Remember the story of Jesus in the New Testament? He healed.
10 lepers.
Now, if you had leprosy, that's a life. altering disease. You're going to die from it in those days. Leprosy, there was no hope for them. Ten lepers.
He healed all 10 of them. How many came back to thank him? You got 10 lepers, you got one coming back, that's 10%. 10% of that case study. Came back to thank him.
You thank. All of them would. Jesus said, where are the other nine? But only one came back. Thanksgiving is a choice to replace complaining.
with gratitude.
Now, before we move on to the next aspect of their worship. I'm going to give you a challenge. I want you to try this the next few days. Learn to turn every thought that comes into your mind, that is every major conscious thought. I know you have thousands upon thousands of thoughts every day, but when you have a.
A definite thought that comes to your mind, a concern about something. Learn to convert it. into gratitude.
So every every complaint Uh every prayer. Need that comes, learn to turn that into an utterance of thanks.
Now, when you try this at first, it's going to be a little awkward because you're not used to doing it, but eventually you'll get the hang of it, and I believe you'll see the changes.
So, for example, You're experiencing physical pain.
Now, I start with this because that's something I live with. I live with a chronic pain condition. But how about turning that into something like this? This is a prayer I prayed yesterday. God, thank you that I can still walk.
Thank you for that. You drive by something in Albuquerque, you go, I can't believe this city always had to, you know, there's always something bad about it. How about saying, God, thank you for the opportunity? to make things different in my city. Um maybe you failed at something.
And you feel like such a failure. How about saying, God, thank you that I can learn from my mistakes and not live there? But change that. Even in your prayers, remember in Philippians chapter 4, in everything, he said, by prayer and supplication with. Thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God.
Learned a churn. Your thoughts. Your prayers Your concern. Your condition. into an utterance of thanksgiving.
So think. And then Thank. Think about it and then thank God. Turn it into that.
Now, again, to worship leaders who may be listening. If you're writing a song list and you're leading worship in a church, Make sure that your song list focuses more vertically than horizontally. Don't make the songs about us and we and my and me, but him and he and thou and thee. And thanksgiving to God, pointing upward. That's what worship ought to be.
There, worship was thankful.
Next, their worship was communal. Communal, that's the second. Or it is the sixth, if you started counting from last week, their worship was communal. What do I mean? I mean, everybody did it.
There were priests, there were Levites, there were leaders, there were singers, there were sons of the singers. We are told in this chapter Now there are choirs. Giving thanks. Let me take it down to verse 43 because there are more. Also, that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God made them rejoice.
With great joy Here it is, the women and the children also. Rejoice so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard Afar off Although worship is a lifestyle more than an event, people who have the lifestyle of worship. Find it necessary to gather together with other people who share that lifestyle of worship. To gather regularly, to gather frequently, to worship. Not just privately.
But communally.
Now, you know that in the Old Testament, Israel had three feasts they had to go to Jerusalem for every year. I just want you to think of what that would look like. You live in a village, let's say 20 miles away from Jerusalem. You know that three times a year, everybody goes up to worship.
So, this is what it would look like. You get out of your house with your little bundle, your backpack, you get the kids, you're walking down your path from your house.
Soon, you see another family out of their house, and another family meeting you on the same path. You make it to the main road, there's another village of several people who have gathered.
Now you're on the main road with a caravan of people reciting psalms and singing hymns and talking together. You're doing something. Together. They all came, they were all involved, they were all participating, and they were all. Singing.
There's something important about getting together. in our worship. In Psalm 22. I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly. That's what this is.
Today, an assembly, I will praise you. Psalm 68. Bless God in the congregations. The Lord from the fountain of Israel. Psalm 111.
I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. Psalm 116. Don't worry, I won't keep this up. This is the last one for this Point. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all his people.
You see, there's great value. in corporate worship, in public worship. Yes, we need private worship. And yes, what we do privately. is what spills out publicly.
But what we get When we gather together like this, is a little thing called inspiration. I get inspired by others' relationship with the Lord. And I'll confess something to you. When we are singing. at the beginning of our service for about thirty minutes.
Sometimes I close my eyes. Oftentimes I open my eyes and I look around. And I see people with their hands raised or They're really into it, and that inspires me. What is around me inspires me. In a very, very different way.
By the way, that is what the reformers. Beginning with Martin Luther and the others, that's what the reformers wanted. They wanted to take worship that was done only by the priests. In the Catholic Church, going through the weekly Mass, the drama of the sufferings of Christ that they alone did. And he wanted to take that worship and move it into the congregation.
So that all the congregation was experiencing and worshiping and singing. We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, here's a reminder. When you give fifty dollars or more this month, we'll send you City in Shambles, Pastor Skip's complete study through Nehemiah on C D and Digital Download, as our thanks. These messages offer practical biblical insight for anyone burdened by the brokenness they see in the world around them, helping you respond with faith, prayer, and hope instead of fear or despair.
Your support helps keep this Bible teaching ministry on the air, connecting more people to God's Word. You can give today at connectwisgift.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time. Make a connection, never foot. Of the crossing.
I can't so burn.
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