There are very few things as precious to me as the Word of God. There was a time in this country when many felt that way. In the excellent work, Rebirth of America, published by the Arthur Demoss Foundation, it is noted: Shortly after the birth of this great nation it was there was a shortage of Bibles. It was so important to them that a special committee was assigned to undertake the task of importing Bibles. 20,000 Bibles were brought into the United States from Holland, Scotland, and other countries. But 3 years later there was a request for more Bibles. One man petitioned congress to help and he began printing Bibles in the city of Philadelphia Today the Bible remains one of the best sellers. Many homes in fact have more than one copy of the Bible.

My expression of concern is that many, even though they own a copy, do not respect the Bible like they should. The Psalmist showed us the right attitude:

(Psa. 119:11-16) Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

Our text from Neh. 8 should remind us of the preciousness of God's Word.

I. A DESIRE FOR GOD'S WORD . (Neh. 8:1-2)

    1. The time frame

       A. The seventh month;

         1. Our story opens with God's people in the city of Jerusalem.

         2. Is in a new year and time for a fresh start.

       B. The people assembled in one place and they were of one purpose and one

           mind.

         1. What happens when God‘s people are of one mind. (Acts 2:10)

    2. The tremendous hunger for God’s word

       A. Their cry It was to Ezra:

         1. A man of God called by God

         2. A man trained in the things of God

       B. Their want To hear the Word of God.

         1. Notice what Jesus said, (Matt. 5:6). Blessed are they which do hunger

             and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

    3. The towering results of a desire for God’s word

       A. Reveal (IICHOR. 7:14)

       B. A surrender to God (Acts 9:1-6)

       C. A surrender to God’s calling

II. A DIGESTION OF GOD‘S WORD . (Neh.8:3)

    1. The Patience of the people

       A. From morning until the middle of the day, perhaps as long as 6 hours,

           Ezra read the Word of God; and according to verse 7, the Levites helped to

           explain it.

       B. We should always be attentive to what God has to say; the salvation of our

            souls depends upon it.

       C. The congregation determines the out come of sermons.

    2. The attention of the people

       A. It is amazing to me that throughout all of this, the people continued to pay

           attention.

       B. That's a wonder to me since it's hard to keep the attention of my brethren

           for 30 minutes.

       C. In reality, a lot of this has to do with one's attitude in the assembly.

       D. We can read from the Bible; we can teach and preach from the Bible; we

            can have classes in order to study the Bible more in depth; but if we don't

            pay attention to what is said in the Word, then how is it going to benefit

      E. Notice (Acts 17:11-12) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica,

          in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the

          scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them

         believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a

         few.

         1. Investigation and study made the difference.

III. A RESPECT FOR GOD‘S WORD. (Neh. 8:4-6)

    1. The Reverence for the word of God

       A. A people who had a deep and abiding reverence for the word of God

       B. The standing of the people" All the people stood up."

         1. How many churches have you been in where "all the people stood up"

              when the Word of God was read?

         2. Just think of the souls that could be saved if men would reverence the

            Word of God as these people did.

    2. The pricking of their hearts

       A. We would have a lot more people making statements like the apostle Paul

            did: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" (Acts 9:6).

         1.. Those kinds of questions come about when we are confronted by God;

              and that occurs today through the written Word; even today as people

              are "pricked in their hearts" (Acts 2:37).Now when they heard this, they

              were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the

             apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

       C. God's Word continues to endure and is just as applicable to men today as

            it was when it was written.

    4. The reason reverence and respect

       A. Because it is inspired of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).

       B. Because it tells us of sin and the love of God in sending Jesus to die for

           our sins (Rom. 5:8).

       C. Because it is the means by which we are saved (Rom. 1:16-17; For I am

           not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto

           salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the

          Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:

          as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (James 1:21).Wherefore lay

          apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with

          meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

       D. Because it will serve as the standard in the Judgment (John 12:48).He

           that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him:

          the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

IV. A RESPONSE TO GOD‘S WORD. (Neh.8:7-9)

    1. The Conviction

       A. The weeping of the people

       B. Again, by means of God's Word the people were being convicted of their

           sins. And we do know something of the sins of the people in Nehemiah's

           day:

         1. They had not obeyed the marriage restrictions set forth in (Deut. 7:1-6),

         2. They had failed to keep the sabbath (Neh. 13).

         3. They had forsaken God's House (Neh. 10)

    3. The change

       A. With God's Word having been preached, they were now aware of their sins

            which led to a change.

       B. Today: a change cannot take place until we realize our sins. (Isa. 53:6) All

           we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;

           and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

A man was out walking in the desert when a voice said to him, "Pick up some pebbles and put them in your pocket, and tomorrow you will be both sorry and glad."

The man obeyed. He stooped down and picked up a handful of pebbles and put them in his pocket. The next morning he reached into his pocket and found diamonds and rubies and emeralds. And he was both glad and sorry. Glad that he had taken some -- sorry that he hadn't taken more.

And so it is with God's word.