Tonight is the perfect time to do two things. On New Year’s Eve it is appropriate to look back on the blessings the Lord has given to us this past year and rejoice. It is also good for us to look forward to the new year and ask for God’s blessings on our lives and work. God’s Word from the book of Nehemiah will help us in doing both as we rejoice in the New Year.

To really get a feel for the celebration depicted in our verse from Nehemiah, you have to understand the background. God’s people had been taken into exile by the Babylonians. These conquerors removed all the best and brightest of Jews from their homeland and took them to Babylon. These were people like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Gradually God’s people were allowed to go back to Judah and Jerusalem. They rebuilt the temple and rededicated their lives to God. Nehemiah was in the last group of exiles to return. He had a very prominent position in the Babylonian government, but he asked the king if he could return with the Jews to help them rebuild. Nehemiah oversaw the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. The verse we are looking at today is from the dedication ceremony of those walls.

The Jews had abandoned God before the Babylonians swept them away. Now they realized that it was God who delivered them from their enemies. It was God who cared for them while they were in exile. It was God who was blessing their return to the Promised Land. The people understood that it was God who gave them great joy.

And so at the dedication of the temple, the Jews rejoiced. The men, women, and children rejoiced. They had been delivered. They were protected by God. They once again trusted His promises. They rejoiced so loudly that their joy was heard far away from Jerusalem. All would know that they were praising the true God.

As the Jews found themselves in captivity to the Babylonians, we too were in captivity to the devil. Our disgusting sinfulness drove a wedge between God and us. Our sinful pride and arrogance, our laziness, our disrespect, our evil desires and lusts of the flesh – all of this separated us from the Almighty. The devil was more than willing to sweep us away into captivity.

But our loving God will not give up on us, despite our sinfulness. He carries us through the devil’s captivity and is leading to freedom in the Promised Land. God cares for us. He sent Jesus to be born a tiny babe in Bethlehem. Christ Jesus provided a way out for us by obeying God’s will perfectly. Our Savior died for our sins on the cross. He rose from the dead for our salvation. We have been set free and are heading to our eternal home in heaven through Jesus Christ.

We are heading home. Some of our dear ones have beaten us to heaven this last year. We praise God in joy that he has taken Ginny Kelly, Bernice Van Orden, Dorothy Gooding, and Marge Lindsay to be with Him already. Some of us may go to heaven in 2005. Only God knows, but this may be the last New Year’s Eve the world ever sees and all of us may go to heaven through faith in Jesus.

With His blessings, God has given us great joy. We need not fear the evil foe. Satan has been defeated. We need not fear death. Jesus Christ conquered it for us and gives us peace. That peace comes from knowing that no matter what happens, God gives us heaven through faith in Jesus.

And not only has Christ Jesus provided for us spiritually, for which we will be eternally grateful, He is also the Good Shepherd who takes care of us physically. The Jews of Nehemiah’s day built the wall around Jerusalem 52 days. This was a major undertaking. Even some of their own people mocked the Jews as they set out to accomplish the great task. But God was with them and they finished the wall in 52 days. It was a amazing feat that led the people to give the glory to God. Now the people had security in the city. God had blessed these people with many other physical blessings also. He was with them and provided for them.

God has blessed us richly with many material blessings. We live in amazing security compared to the rest of the world. We have tremendous amounts of food. We have many and varied types of clothing. We have beautiful homes to live in. We have such an abundance of material wealth that so much becomes expendable in our lives because we merely want something different. God has blessed so richly, every one of us, and He blesses us for our joy. Let us rejoice in this New Year because God has given us great joy.

We’ve looked back and seen God’s blessings and rejoiced in God’s goodness. Now let us look forward to the New Year. In response to the joy that God has given to us, let us offer great sacrifices to God.

It is quite common for people to make New Year’s resolutions. It is also quite common for people to forget that they are going to lose weight, spend more time with family, and be nicer to people by January 4th. But this year let us take note of what the Jews decided to do as they were turning the page in their lives and let us follow their example.

Our sermon lesson says that they offered great sacrifices. These sacrifices that the book of Nehemiah informs us about were thank-offerings. They were made in response to God’s gracious love. They were made in gratefulness to a loving God.

Just prior to our sermon lesson the people also made resolutions in their lives. These were monumental resolutions, not petty and self-centered ones. The Jews first resolved that they would follow and obey God’s law. This was important because they had completed turned their backs on God and did as they pleased. The Jews also were resolved to no longer marry heathens. They were going to distance themselves from the unbelievers so that they would not be led astray. They were also determined to not work on the Sabbath. They would place God and His Word as their number one priority. These people resolved also to restore their offerings to God. They had lapsed in their giving and now in joy they would return their bounty to God. And finally these people resolved that they would not neglect the House of God. They would look after and take pride in the LORD’S house.

Aren’t those great resolutions? I would subscribe that we can apply those resolutions to our New Year as we give great offerings to God in joy. Let us not be satisfied with a half-hearted effort. Let’s expect more of ourselves. Let’s strive for excellence. Let us give great offerings to the Lord!

First of all, let us follow and obey God’s law. You know your sins. Pray to God for strength to fight temptation. Receive nourishment from the Bible so that you can be strong in the face of these temptations. Surround yourself with things and people that will help you follow and obey God’s law.

The second resolution was that the Jews were not to marry heathens. That was an Old Testament restriction that no longer applies today. But the Godly wisdom of the restriction still does apply. We should not intertwine our lives with unbelievers to the point that we are dragged away God. The unbeliever will not want to do what is God’s will. The unbeliever will not want you to put God first. Let us be resolved to share the joy that God gives us this New Year, without putting ourselves in compromising situations that endanger our faith.

The third resolution was that the people would not work on the Sabbath. Let nothing get in your way of coming to God’s house. Let nothing get in your way of studying God’s Word or having devotions with your family. Put God first. If you do, you have God’s promise that He will bless you.

The next resolution the people made was to restore their offerings. Their giving had fallen down and now they resolved to bring it back up again. Let us also make a resolution to bring up our giving. Let us strive to give our best to God with joyful hearts moved by God’s love. Imagine if in 2005 we had more money than what the church budget called for. Imagine if everyone was willing to give up some of their leisure time to help here at church with evangelism, encouragement, maintenance, and the rest of God’s work. Imagine if everyone sat down and assessed the abilities that God had given them so that they might use those talents to serve the Lord. Let us be resolved to restore our offerings.

The last resolution that was made by the Jews was that they would not neglect God’s House any longer. Let us see this place as God’s house. Let us take the same pride and expend the same amount of effort here at God’s house that we do on our own homes. Some Jews gave money to support the Lord’s house. Some Jews, like the Levites, gave their time and talents. They were resolved to make God’s house special to them again. We have many people in this congregation who already do this, but we need more help. This is where God comes to you with His sacred, Holy Word. This is where your children and relatives are baptized into the family of God. This is where you receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. This is where God’s little lambs are fed during the school day with the Gospel. This is where the visitor sits to hear that Jesus loves him maybe for the first time. Let us be resolved to not neglect the house of Lord.

Nehemiah’s name means, “The Lord consoles.” What a beautiful name to remind us of the consolation that we have in Christ Jesus. We are consoled with God’s love and peace. Following the words of the book of Nehemiah, there was Biblical silence for centuries. The Holy Spirit did not inspire another book of the Bible until Matthew wrote His Gospel which tells us that the virgin gave birth to a Son and they named Him Jesus. The Jews waited for the Savior to come and as they waited they rejoiced in words and actions. We too are waiting for the Savior to come to take us to be with him in heaven. Let us wait for him with joyful hearts offering our sacrifices to God. AMEN.