WEEKEND Edition, 13/14 February, 2021 “Binding Agreement”

Good weekend to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends all around the world.

I know for some of you recent weeks have brought below zero temperatures and piles of snow complicating every aspect of your life. For others of you in warmer places you haven’t had rain in weeks and things are turning very dry. For many of you the global rush to find an available vaccine has consumed much of your time and for others of you you’re simply tired of bad news coming out of Washington DC and now another impeachment trial.

Life, no matter where you and I live around the world, is complicated and in many ways painful. But my hope for all of us on this “Walking with Jesus” journey, is that this weekend you and God will have a fresh encounter and HE, the Almighty, Sovereign, Creator God will overwhelm you with His Presence and His Power in your personal life situation, as He calls to to align your life with His design for you.

I am so much enjoying our journey through the account of Nehemiah, and today we have come to chapter 10, which really begins with this powerful concluding statement in chapter 9: “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.” Wow! A ‘binding agreement’, sealed with official leadership seals!

If you are married, you likely have a Marriage License which is viewed by the country in which you were married as a ‘binding agreement’ and it probably has official ‘seals’ on it which legitimizes the document.

Perhaps you have a University diploma or Graduate degree on official University paper, signed by the President of your University and legitimized by seals on the document.

Every country in the world has a Constitution and other founding ‘binding agreements’ signed by official leaders and probably with official ‘seals’ legitimizing those documents.

Think about it a moment… how much of your life is governed by ‘binding agreements’? What difference do they make in your life? What would change for you if those ‘binding agreements’ were all thrown into a fire and destroyed or declared by some sovereign authority to be obsolete or invalid?

If you know anything about the founding of the United States then this statement is significant to you: “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary…”. These are the first words of the USA “Declaration of Independence”. It was signed, on July 4, 1776, by 56 courageous men. Before the ink was dry they became criminals in the eyes of Great Britain, from whom they had declared independence as a new nation of colonies. Their lives were difficult, dangerous as they lived faithful to their ‘binding agreement’. 11 years later only six of these men also signed the Constitution of the United States of America. While there are other significant documents which have guided the journey of America, these two ‘binding agreements’ are foundational cornerstones to America’s quest to be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

In the case of the Jewish people, while the current nation of Israel has similar founding national documents, the Almighty God of the universe, gave Moses instructions for God’s people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons, often called the ‘children of Israel’. They are called that because God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. (Gen. 35:10,11) The instructions of God for this people were written down by Moses and given to the people during their time at Mount Sinai. These instructions are considered “binding agreements” because the people, on several occasions in Israel’s history, declared themselves to be God’s people, and vowed to live according to those instructions.

The first of those occasions was at Sinai when Moses told the people this was God’s offer to them: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I… brought you to Myself. Now if you obey Me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Ex. 19:3-6)

What a staggering experience this was as the people stood at the base of Mount Sinai, having been rescued from Egyptian slavery by the power of God in the plagues and the Red Sea deliverance. The people were awed that God desired such a relationship with them, and their response to God was significant: “We will do everything the LORD has said!” (Ex. 19:8) And so God SPOKE his commandments to them audibly. Moses recorded it all for us as a ‘binding agreement’ in Exodus 20 and we refer to it as the 10 Commandments.

But God continued on and gave them many more instructions and principles for building a God honoring society. Nearly 40 years later Moses, at the end of his life, called the next generation to the same commitment. “The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in obedience to Him, that you will keep His decrees, commands and law – that you will listen to Him. And the LORD has declared this day that you are HIS people, His treasured possession…” (Deuteronomy 26:16-19) Again Moses recorded in the books of God’s Law this ‘binding agreement’ between God and His people Israel.

About 40 years later, Joshua did the same with the next generation. He called them to once again confirm their ‘binding agreement’ with God. Joshua declared: “Be very strong, be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or the left. Do not associate with these nations that remain among you, do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. but you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now… If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and you go and serve other gods…the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from this good land the LORD has given you.” (Joshua 23:6-16)

This generation did the same as their parents and grandparents, as they said: “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods…We will serve the LORD our God and obey Him.” (Joshua 24:16-24)

You and I both know what happened. Sadly the very next generation turned away from God (Judges 2:10-15) and as God promised, first came the discipline and then the judgment of God began to fall on His people. That is the story of Israel throughout the whole Old Testament, generation after generation.

Amazingly it happens in our day too, wherever you live in the world! Good times lead to spiritual apathy in people just like you and me! And that leads to sinful rebellion, rejecting God. God then removes His hand of blessing and protection from His people and they find themselves in very difficult times, oppressed by their enemies.

Some God honoring leaders rise up and call the people to realize their spiritual drift and repent. And as the people do that, God responds and rescues the repentant people, and returns His blessing upon them. Then after a while, unfortunately the cycle seems to repeat, generation after generation.

When we come to the accounts in Ezra and Nehemiah, God again has rescued His people. They return to Jerusalem and rebuild the great Temple and as we’ve seen in Nehemiah, they rebuild their city wall. Then with Ezra’s spiritual leadership comes repentance and revival. And now in Nehemiah 10, a new ‘binding agreement’ is written as the people seek to restore their relationship with God, their allegiance to God and their commitment to live God honoring lives.

This new ‘binding agreement’ is recorded for us in Nehemiah 10:28-39. As you read through it my friends, you’ll see there are several very specific commitments made by those people that day, intended to restore their obedience and allegiance to God and the ‘binding agreement’ that God had made with their ancestors nearly 1000 years before!

Now in closing today, may I ask about the ‘binding agreements’ which govern your life? A drivers license, a marriage license, a mortgage or renter’s contract, membership in organizations, credit card or other financial ‘binding agreements’ etc. How much of your life is governed today by ‘binding agreements’?

And what about your spiritual life? If you have trusted Jesus Christ for your salvation, God promises your name is written irrevocably in the “Lamb’s book of Life”! (Rev. 20:11-15) Is your name there? Are you sure?

If you have been legitimately ‘born again’, regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God, you are a new creation in Christ, reconciled into an unbreakable relationship with God (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)! This miracle was accomplished by God in response to your genuine and complete trust in Jesus Christ… the truth of His identity as God the Son; the truth of His sinless life on earth; the truth of His atonement death on the cross when He took upon Himself your sin; and the truth of His victorious resurrection, defeating sin, Satan and death; and the truth of His ascension back to heaven where He “…lives forever and is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because Jesus always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)

One last thought for today. The most powerful ‘binding agreement’ in all of creation is an unseen document. It’s an agreement written in the blood of Jesus Christ, between God and you and me and every repentant sinner! Because Jesus purchased my redemption and yours, if you have trusted Jesus Christ for your salvation as I have, then these glorious things should be powerfully active in your daily reality of life as EVIDENCE of the ‘binding agreement’ that you and Jesus have:

* You are an adopted son or daughter of Almighty, Holy God the Father (Romans 8:14-17)

* You are forgiven of your sin by the Redemption work of the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7)

* You are ‘born again’ by the Holy Spirit of God who now resides full time IN you (John 3:3-7 & John 14:16,17,26; 16:8-13)

* You are guaranteed that God’s heavenly presence awaits you at the very moment of your earthly death. (John 11:25,26; Phil. 1:21-23; 2 Timothy 4:7,8; 2 Corinthians 5:6-8)

Those are only a few of God’s assurances to you. . .now, I invite you to look closely at your life, just as the people did in Nehemiah’s day. How is the glorious work of God VISIBLY manifested in your life, your relationships, your business dealings, your life priorities, your time with God and this weekend, your worship?

Oh my friends, I do hope that you have a great, great weekend, celebrating Jesus and ALL He is doing in your life! But I have to ask you. . .is there something that God is showing you that HE wants to change in your life, so that your life more accurately reflects the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and what God has accomplished in your life? I invite you to look over that Nehemiah 10 and ask God to look deeply into your heart. Does there need to be a new ‘binding agreement’ between you and God?

Today’s Scripture is Nehemiah 10.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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