by Bud Lambert
After the complete destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in 586 B.C., Israel had to rebuild itself physically and spiritually. Zerubbabel helped them rebuild the temple, Nehemiah helped them rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and Ezra helped them rebuild their spiritual lives. Like Israel, Christians sometimes need a spiritual renewal too. Turning to Nehemiah 8 in your Bible, let's notice four essential ingredients which Israel used in their spiritual revival which we can also use in our own.
One ingredient is godly fellowship: "...All the people assembled as one man in the square" (v. 1). The church is Christ's spiritual body ( Ephesians 1:22, 23). And just like our physical bodies, if a member of Christ's spiritual body is separated from the rest of the body, it will die. If your spiritual life is weakening, spend more time in Christian fellowship. It may be you are spending too much time with the world and not enough time with God's people.
Another ingredient is listening to God's word (vs. 2, 3, 13): "And all the people listened attentively to the Book of Law" (v. 3). God's word is spiritual food ( I Peter 2:2). And just like our physical bodies, if we don't eat, we become weak and eventually die. If your spiritual life is weakening, try spending more time listening, reading, and studying God's word. You may be spiritually malnourished.
Another ingredient is worshiping God: "Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground" (v. 6). When people fail to worship God, the best of men can become the worst of men ( Romans 1:15-32). If your spiritual life is weakening, it may be you're not spending enough time worshiping God.
A final ingredient is obedience to God (vs. 13-18). "They found written in the law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month...so the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves booths" (vs. 14, 16). If you are fellowshipping, listening, and worshiping, but your spiritual life is still weakening, it may be you are just playing church and not really spiritually connected to God at all. God spiritedness requires obedience to God in every area of our lives.