Let me make this perfectly clear, except for the name, the message you are about to hear involved no wiretapping, no tapes of covert activity by American leaders, or evidence to cause great upheaval in our Nation's Capital. The scriptural background is Jerusalem rather than Washington D. C. and it is during the administration of Nehemiah rather than Nixon. The cause is for national pride and celebration rather than shame and disappointment. It is a time for worship, not scandal.

The worship at Water Gate is worth our examining today as I hope we have come together for the purpose of worship, too. Recall in chapter six, the wall had been repaired, but the gates still needed to be set into place. Water Gate is one of those gates of the Jerusalem wall, near the Gihon Spring in the Kedron Valley. That's where the name comes from. In front of this water gate was a square, a street, a broad place, not far from the temple. In this very large area a multitude of people could and did gather to worship. This worship at Water Gate took place thousand of years before another series of event came to be known by that name.

This morning I want to point out perfectly clearly that their worship involved (I) Body, (II) Mind, and (III) Spirit, and so should ours.

I. Body

A huge group of God's people gathered, probably too large a group for the temple court. The people asked Ezra, the priest and scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given too Israel. For this purpose of reading the law of God they had built a pulpit or a podium, the first mentioned in the Bible, as far as I know. I assume that this structure was not only for holding the book of the law, but also a platform to raise the reader up so he could be better heard by the multitudes. Recall they did not have our modern amplification equipment. Perhaps the structure was also large enough for those listed in the text who were standing near him. Since the scripture was read for hours it is also likely that some of these may have also assisted in the reading.

People were bodily present to worship with their bodies. They were certainly not tuned in to their radio, television, or internet connection. Notice that when Ezra opened the book of God, all the people stood up. The text does not tell us whether or not her asked them to do so. They may have stood out of respect for God or in appreciation for the privilege of hearing the Word of the Lord read. They got bodily involved in worship.

They stood, they answered "Amen" while lifting up their hands. Yes, my friends, these people of the Old Testament were raising their hands in worship. Raising hands in worship is not just a phenomena of a few fanatics in the charismatic renewal movement. After lifting their hands they bowed low and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Do we think bowing and kneeling are appropriate for our Protestant worship?

Are we willing to worship God with our bodies? Are we willing to get actively involved in our worship or do we just come to sit passively? We should realize that we can worship God, read the bible, listen to God's Word, and pray, in more than one posture. For all who are physically able, we might think about worshipping with our body. Well, thinking leads to my next point, worshipping our Lord with our:

II. Mind

I am certainly not suggesting that we merely go through the motions of worship. There should be reason for what we are doing, not merely a meaningless ritual or custom.

Notice very clearly - the Word of God was CENTRAL to their worship in this passage before us. Christian worship should involve our minds, but not be a head trip for our own intellectual capacities. It should be our coming to worship the Lord of the Bible, the only one worthy and deserving of our praise.

It seems too, that those who came to worship, to hear God's Word, were present because they chose to come. They wanted to be there. Do you want to be here this morning? Why did you come? What determined your decision?

The gathering at Water Gate was of all men and women who could listen with understanding. Listening for understanding is important for us, too, and possible through the Holy Spirit. We see too, that they were attentive. They paid attention to what was being read and taught. It was NOT nap time, and notice this worship at Watergate began early in the morning and lasted until midday, probably about six hours. Compare this with modern complainer if a service exceeds one hour! The reading of the Law was alternated with some Levites explaining the Law to the people. Since several were doing this explaining, perhaps they did this in smaller groups of people. Regardless of how they did this, it is clear that they worshipped God with their minds and so should we. That doesn't mean that we will necessarily understand God and His word completely, but we will understand some, grow and mature in our relationship with God as we get to know Him better.

Dr. James Kennedy said, "Most people think of the church as a drama, with the minister as the chief actor, God as the prompter, and the laity as the critic. What is actually the case is that the congregation is the chief actor, the minister is the prompter, and God is the critic."

Worship God in

III. Spirit

In John 4:24 Jesus said, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth."

In this account of worship at Water Gate we see indication of worship in Spirit: weeping, mourning over sin that they are reminded of through hearing God's law. This too, should be the response of those truly worshipping God in Spirit, repent and confess sin, since we are all sinners.

This worship at Water Gate was during a Jewish festival which was to be a time of the joy of the Lord and celebration. Following the celebration we see in the next chapter their repentance, fasting, confessing of their sin, and their continuing to worship. During the festival worshipping with joy and celebration they restored the Jewish Feast of Booths. It was the time for that holiday. This was a worship that involved their bodies, too, for the building of these booths.

Conclusion

I want to make this perfectly clear, our worship, like the worship at Water Gate should involve our I. Body II. Mind III. Spirit.

Most of us have had a variety of worship experiences in our church and other places, too. Some of them probably seemed rather routine, and others may have been more memorable for various reasons. One of a number of memorable occasions for me happened a number of years ago when our congregation brought in one of the best black choirs I have ever heard. With temperatures outside on that summer afternoon in the mid nineties it got hotter and hotter in our sanctuary. Our air conditioning had difficulty keeping up with all the body heat as that huge choir led us in some very lively worship that involved our body, mind, and spirit. Years later people were talking about how they enjoyed that great time of worship.

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