Revival church held a Sunday service on January 24, 2021, with a total of 22 people in attendance. The sermon was given by Pastor James Lee from the book of Nehemiah 8:9. He encouraged the listeners to have respect for the word of God above all else for the church is for sharing the gospel of God.
Pastor James Lee shared that this was the time when the people of Israel were colonized and the whole nation was destroyed. When Nehemiah heard of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, he was filled with sorrow and offered prayers to the Lord with fasting. At this time he was a cupbearer to the king of Babylon and the king noticed that he was not happy, so the king asked what was troubling him.
After Nehemiah explained the situation of Jerusalem to the king, he did not just allow him to go and help rebuild the temple, but the king even gave him the materials needed for the work. With the help of the Israelites, he managed to complete rebuilding the temple of God and Ezra read the Scriptures to the people.
The plan that the HQ has is to build the church structure this year. After the church is built, it will be used for the sharing of the gospel to the people. The church is a place where we share the gospel just like in the Scripture after they had finished rebuilding the temple of God, they gathered to read in the laws of Moses which were given through the command of God.
According to Nehemiah 8:5, when Ezra the priest opened the book of the law, all the people stood up, this is a way of showing respect for the word of God. We need to learn to have this attitude as Christians. Mostly in Africa, it is like a tradition for the congregation to stand when the preacher comes. This is showing respect but we need to respect the word of God more than the person giving it.