March 03, 2024
From The Series: When God Rebuilds…
Part 09 Doing Right Causes Friction
Ezra 4:1-5
Mountain View Evangelical Missionary Church
Good morning. It is through God’s Providence
that we find ourselves at the beginning of chapter 4 of the Book of Ezra this
morning. What do I mean by the use of the word “providence”? Maybe you do not
understand this word, or maybe you don’t believe in the concept of God’s
Providence. I would suggest, that if you call yourself a Christian in any sort
of orthodox use of the word, you should agree with the concept of God’s
Providence. Let me define the word for you.
PROVIDENCE — the continuous activity of God in
His creation by which He preserves and governs. The doctrine of
providence affirms God’s absolute lordship over His creation and confirms the
dependence of all creation on the Creator. It is the denial of the idea
that the universe is governed by chance or fate.[1]
This is a biblical definition and is therefore
acceptable to both the Armenian and the Calvinist.
The negative of the definition is almost as
important as the positive. The doctrine of God’s Providence is one of the most
important things that we can grasp to understand one of the main attributes of
who God is. Providence is the denial that the universe is ruled by chance or
fate. Chance or fate are Eastern concepts. Christians worship a God of order,
and they should believe that God controls all things through His providence to
preserve the Creation and to accomplish His goals.
An
Old Testament example of this comes from the Book of Job, chapter 10 and verse 12
which tells us, “You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched
over my spirit.”
Despite all that poor
Job was going through, he still knew enough to trust and depend on the
Providence of Yahweh to watch over and provide for him.
I know we are familiar with the New Testament
verse from Romans 8:28 which says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good
of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
I speak of God’s
Providence this morning because it appears that as a church, we are going
through a period of friction, and the passage in Ezra that we will be studying
today, also deals with a period of friction that occurred in the early days of
the rebuilding of the Temple.
You know, when an
object has been at rest for some time, and a force is applied to it so that it
may begin to move again, friction is generated between the object at rest and
the surface upon which the object is resting. The object is being asked to
change, to move positions from a resting position to a position of movement.
Change brings friction. A body is required to move from time to time or else
the muscles atrophy and death and decay begin.
Change or movement may
cause friction and friction causes heat. As a leadership team, we have been
making decisions that have been uncomfortable for some. Some don’t like change
simply because it is different. Sometimes change, together with the Holy Spirit,
can cause conviction in the lives of Believers and some do not know how to deal
with this conviction from Scripture and the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes change can
bring a shift in the power dynamics and that can cause uncertainty or a
perceived loss of value in one’s life. Sometimes we can fall into habits that
may not be best for us, or that may not be in keeping with our pursuit of Holy
living that we should be striving for as Christ's followers. Friction can come
when someone who loves us comes alongside us and points out these areas where
we have drifted.
Last year, as a
church, you held a vote on the future of Mountain View Evangelical Missionary
Church. The result was an overwhelming majority to keep this church open. Next,
the church held a vote to call a new pastor, and the result of that vote was an
overwhelming majority to call me. Almost every decision that has been made since
that time has been voted on by the Board by a majority if not unanimously.
I say all that to
point out, that while there has been change, I believe that the change that has
happened has been in the best interests of this church and in keeping with the
wishes of the majority of the members of this church. Change causes friction,
and friction causes heat, and as your pastor, I am willing to take the heat for
these changes. You have noticed that some people have not been attending
lately. Be assured that either myself or a Board member and sometimes both,
have spoken with each of these individuals.
There are a variety of
reasons for these people to have made these decisions and let me assure you
that every one of them is welcome to return when they feel the time is right to
do so. I believe, that as a church, we are on the right path and headed in the
direction that God has set out for us.
In a few days we will
have our AGM and the body will once again have a chance to discuss and share
with the leadership team their thoughts and you will be able to vote on the
upcoming budget. I think it might be a good idea over the coming year that we
have some family meetings regularly to discuss things and make sure that we as
a church are keeping to the course that we will chart for ourselves at the AGM.
If you think that might be a good idea, let me or a Board member know, and we
will discuss that at the next Board meeting. Maybe we could have a brief
discussion and a potluck every month or two. That may make more people
comfortable with the changes that I think the Lord will have in store for us in
the future. As we continue to grow, Lord willing, we will see more changes and
meet more new people and these meetings will give the newcomers a chance to get
up to speed with where we are as a church and where we are headed.
I said all of that as
a way of acknowledging that the leadership team is aware of what is going on
and we are speaking with people, I want to encourage you that if you have any
concerns to reach out and speak with me or a Board member and we can discuss
them. I would rather that happen than folks go discussing and gossiping or
making assumptions about what is happening. All of what I said so far also works
as an introduction to today's passage as we will see that the folks in
Jerusalem were also facing some issues resulting from the friction that they
were causing with the rebuilding of the Temple.
What was this friction
that Zerubbabel and Joshua faced? Some of their neighbors heard what they were
doing and wanted to join them in their task. Some of these people were more
than just neighbors, they would have been distant kinsmen some were fellow
Hebrews- descendants of Abraham from the Northern Kingdom.
Open your Bibles and
turn with me to today’s passage, we are continuing through the Book of Ezra,
chapter 4, starting at verse 1. If you did not bring your Bible this morning,
you should find a Bible under one of the seats in the row in front of you. We
should have at least two Pew Bibles in each row now. We are on page 376 of the
Pew Bible.
READ EZRA 4:1-5
PRAY
We see in verse one,
that the leadership of this new endeavor acknowledged that they had enemies in
their work. Not just enemies to the work, but also enemies to their future
existence as a set-apart people of God. At the heart of this issue, the
leadership team was dealing with a central issue.
Communities, like
individual organisms, can only live using certain adjustments to their
environment, in the settlement and growth of this community there arises a
serious struggle to determine what shall be absorbed and what needs to be rejected.
This struggle raises the question: how far is it desirable to admit alien
bodies or ideas and to what extent it is necessary to exclude them?
The anxieties and
disappointments that overshadowed the subsequent history of nearly all of what
became known as the Jewish people, sprang from this one source. Here we are
brought to a very distinguishing characteristic of the Persian period. The idea
of Jewish exclusiveness which has been so singular a feature in the whole
course of Judaism right down to our day is now in its birth-stage. It had to
fight for its life in its very cradle. This is the critical moment that will
result in a thriving culture under successive foreign rulers right down to the
Romans in Jesus’ day. The Jewish culture survived but not unscathed. By the
time of the birth of Jesus, we see in the writings of the Gospels that the work
at the Temple had become corrupted.
But here, at the very
beginning, the leadership tried, and they had the right mindset. They set the
right course here at the beginning. Their determination first appeared in the
anxious compilation of genealogical registers and the careful sifting of the
qualifications of the pilgrims before they left Babylon. In the events that
followed the settlement in Jerusalem, it came forward with determined
insistence on its rights, in opposition to a very tempting offer that would
have been fatal to its very existence.
The leadership had the
fortitude to stay the course for the long-term health of the community. Look at
verse 1, who were these “enemies of Judah and Benjamin” and why did they come
to Jerusalem?
We will deal with the
“why” first. Look in the verse, they “heard that the exiles were building a
temple for the LORD, the God of Israel”. These people who are identified as
“enemies” heard that something exciting was going on and that a Temple was
being built for the God of Israel. Notice their offer to help in verse two and
how it contains a very telling detail. This God of Israel was not currently
their God. They were seeking this God and had even been making
sacrifices to Him for some time.
Exactly how long were
they making these sacrifices? We are told in the passage: “Since the time of
Esarhaddon king of Assyria”. One thing we must recognize right from the start
is that the Bible is not written like a modern history book. It contains history
and historical records, but it is not laid out or written like a modern history
textbook. It does not contain all the information we might like to grasp the
full context of the meaning contained in a passage. The Bible is written in such
a manner that the original audience to whom it was written would understand
much more than we do separated by thousands of years from the original events.
This passage is just
such a passage that makes it difficult to fully understand the significance of
these words. Fortunately for us, this is not a mystery, we just need to work a
little bit to find the answer. King Esarhaddon ruled the Kingdom of Assyria
from 681-669 BC and the events that we are reading here took place between 539
and 536 BC (spoiler alert) when the reconstruction was halted.
These people from the
North were making sacrifices to the LORD God of Israel for over a hundred years
without truly knowing who He was. We understand that they did not know Yahweh
because they admitted that they were still seeking Him.
So, who were these
people? We can turn to 2 Kings 17:24 for a breakdown on the cultural makeup of
these people.
“24 The king of Assyria (Esarhaddon)
brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled
them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria
and lived in its towns.” This was a common practice of the Assyrians. They were a brutal yet
brilliant people. One of their main strategies to keep peace in newly conquered
lands was to uproot large portions of the population and displace them from
their homelands, places where they had roots, and resettle them in a mixing-pot
type of manner to help prevent them from becoming a homogeneous group again and
revolt. If you are thrown into a new land with new people of different
cultures, you will seek out others who are like you and perhaps settle in your
own neighborhoods in the new town, but any one group will lack the numbers to
take a predominate leadership role and cause trouble for your new rulers.
After some time,
your children will intermarry with other cultures, and in just a few
generations you will lose most of your group identity, the things that set you
apart from the other cultures.
The same thing
happens in worship. When new religious practices or beliefs are introduced into
existing faith systems, we call this syncretism. For some systems, this may be
acceptable, but for the One True God it is an abomination, we are warned that
He is a jealous God and that we should Fear the Lord. These are all warnings to
guard against syncretism and stay loyal to the teachings of Yahweh.
These
people from the north, who are later referred to as Samaritans in the New
Testament did not remain loyal to Yahweh. We see this again in 2 Kings 17:28-29
which tells us, “28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in
Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord.
29 Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the
several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of
Samaria had made at the high places.”
So, we see
from 2 Kings what really made these people the enemies of the leadership in
Jerusalem was not just the fact that they were foreign-born, but that they were
worshipping other gods. They claimed to seek after Yahweh, but in reality, they
had already been exposed to Him and they just wanted to add Yahweh to their
collection of other gods that they were worshipping and sacrificing to,
sometimes sacrificing their own children to.
Those were
Zerubbabel and Joshua’s enemies, who are our enemies? Who are the ones who will
try to interfere with the goals and desires that Jesus has for our church, for
our body of Believers here? I find it extremely telling how the Bible describes
the role of pastors and elders as shepherds. I think too many people in
ministry forget that biblical image for their calling.
What are
the primary roles of the shepherd? Well, shepherds are to feed the sheep. We
are to feed the sheep spiritually through worship and the teaching of God’s Word,
and through the regular observance of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s
Supper.
But the
other primary role of the shepherd is to protect the flock. This is where the
friction often comes from. Sometimes the shepherd must protect the sheep from
themselves. Sometimes as Christians, we can go down the wrong path, or walk
away from the herd. Perhaps we forsake the gathering of the saints. Sometimes
we chase after false teachers. Sometimes we isolate ourselves or give in to the
temptations of the devil and succumb to his ways. That’s where a shepherd must
come along and go after the lost sheep, encourage them to come back to the
flock, point out the false teachings, and bring them lovingly back to the truth
of Scripture.
The
shepherd must stand up to the devil and encourage and/or rebuke the fallen
brother or sister. Scripture warns us about goats among the sheep, those who
may not be dangerous but are not of God’s people. The Bible also warns us about
the real danger of wolves in sheep's clothes. These are the false teachers or
those who are swayed by them and try to take the sheep with them. The Bible
also tells us that David had to fight lions as a shepherd. Lions are our
greatest threat, they feed on the sheep, and they destroy simply for their
pleasure and satisfaction.
A true shepherd
doesn’t go after someone else’s sheep. That is why, each Sunday I ask that the
Lord call His people to our church. We have a duty. We are to go out among the
pastures and search for His sheep and bring them back to the flock to be fed
and protected. We have a role in birthing new lambs for the flock by spreading
the Word and telling people about what Jesus did for us. Telling people why we
worship Jesus. Showing them that they too could be a child of God. Loved for
and cared for by Him.
Romans
5:10-11 has this to say to us, “10For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through
the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved
through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation.”
At
one point, we were all enemies of God. It is only through the saving work of
Jesus Christ that we can proclaim a relationship with the Father.
Reconciliation is the real story of the entire Bible. From Genesis three and
the fall of mankind to the final exposure of how the story ends in the last
chapter of Revelation, reconciliation is the overarching theme.
So,
how did Jesus handle His enemies? Jesus is our ultimate example; it makes sense
that we turn to Him for the examples. We don’t have time to turn there this
morning, but we see in the Gospel of John one of the long-term consequences of
the decision that Zerubbabel and Joshua are making here in Ezra.
Your
homework this week, it’s been a while since I have given any homework, is to
read the three accounts from John listed in the bulletin. You go home and read
all the details; I will just give a brief account of each of these pericopes.
In
the first passage listed, chapter 4 from the Book of John, we see the familiar
account of the Samaritan woman at the well. This is the result of the decision
here in Ezra. Animosity had built up between the people in the region of
Samaria and the people of the Southern territory. The Samaritans were so hated
that the Jews traveling from Jerusalem to the northern areas of Galilee would
walk miles out of their way to avoid even putting a foot in the Samaritans’
territory. But Jesus walks right up to this well violates another custom of the
day and engages a woman sitting by herself in conversation. What does Jesus do?
He confronts her about her sinful situation, and He shares the Gospel with her.
Jesus reminds her of the teachings of the coming Messiah and He instructs her that
He is the Messiah. The result? Jesus stayed for two days, and many became
Believers.
The
second passage listed is found in chapter 5 of the Gospel of John. The healing
of the man at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus heals the man and when He runs into
him a little while later, Jesus tells the man to “stop sinning”, or “go and sin
no more” as some translations put it. Jesus didn’t just heal the man physically;
He offered the man spiritual healing as well by telling him to live a better
life. We don’t share the Gospel with people and tell them that it is OK to
remain in their sinful ways. Ultimately, that does the people no good. We are
just making them feel comfortable about themselves while they are still on their
way to Hell.
Paul addresses this very idea in Romans chapter six in the first two
verses, “1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that
grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died
to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” We cannot in love, share the gospel with
someone without confronting the sin in their lives. We don’t have to do it
right away, and most times the Holy Spirit is the one to convict them if they
truly have accepted Jesus. But if we love the person and we see evidence of
habitual sin in their lives we must address it with them.
The final passage listed in the Bible is the
account of the woman caught in adultery. I have one caveat to including this
account. You may notice in your Bible if it is a good one, a footnote
explaining that these verses from John 8 do not appear in the earliest
manuscripts. That does not mean that these are not the inspired words of God
just like the other verses. What it does mean is that we must use extra caution
and discernment when we teach from these verses. There is a similar type of
passage at the end of Mark’s Gospel, but I think this passage is a little
different in the fact that it is perfectly in keeping with what the rest of
Jesus taught.
At the end of the account, Jesus stands and asks
where her accusers went and if no one has condemned her. The woman tells Jesus,
“No sir” and He instructs her that neither will He condemn her, but she is to
go and “leave your life of sin”. Again, leave her life of sin behind.
So, how are we as a church to handle these people
who are enemies of God and of us? We are to be like Jesus. We are to love them
enough to share the Gospel with them, welcome them into the fold, and help and
encourage them to leave their old lives and old sins behind. We are not to be
divisive or show them animosity. We are to give them correct and faithful
biblical teaching. We are not to excuse their sin, and neither are we to excuse
or rationalize our own sins. We are to teach them how to worship God, and how
to serve the Lord, not from a sense of works trying to earn God’s love, but
from a sense of gratitude and understanding of the value of God’s love that we
already possess.
How did the early church handle its enemies? Turn
with me in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 1, starting at verse 10, that is page 924
of the Pew Bible, and let’s look together at how Paul advised the church in
Corinth to handle these types of problems.
Paul first deals with the issue of division from
within the church, and then he goes on to reveal his grand church-growth
strategy to the Corinthians.
READ 1
CORINTHIANS 1:10-17
See
how Paul is addressing the division within the church. What does Paul call for?
Unity! Unity in what? Not unity in the teachings of a particular leader, but
unity in the teachings of Jesus! Church is not a popularity contest. The Body
of Christ is not to be divided behind the talents or functions of a particular
part. The body is not separated into separate silos of ministry, each
functioning in only its particular area without interacting or communicating
with the other ministries or isolated from the body as a whole. That is not
healthy behavior for a church. That is how church splits happen. A disgruntled
person feels neglected or ignored, or perhaps offended by the actions of
another, and instead of seeking reconciliation with the other person, they stir
up discontent or they simply leave, and often times there are a lot of
questions and hurt feelings filling the void that their absence leaves.
Let’s
carry on reading. Now Paul gives his great church growth strategy and the thing
that unifies us.
READ 1
CORINTHIANS 1:18-2:10
Pay
attention to what Paul has just finished saying here. Paul explains that it is
the message of the Cross that unifies us. The belief that Jesus paid it all like
we just sang this morning. The result of that payment on our behalf? The gift
of Grace, of Amazing Grace! A gift so wonderful that we were given a royal
commission, the Great Commission from our King, to go and spread this gift to
the nations of the world. Starting in our backyards and moving outwards, like
the rings formed when we drop a pebble in a pond.
This
act of Kingdom work, this goal that we should all share is what is truly the
unifying thing for God’s people. This goal helps us to take the focus off
ourselves and put it back on Jesus. It helps us to avoid the consumeristic
attitude that so many goats have when they come to church, “What am I going to ‘get’
from church this morning, rather than being like the sheep who think, what can
I do for my Master this morning? Do you understand this difference? It is a
heart attitude. We should be so thankful for what Jesus did for us and so in
love with Him, that we should be tripping over ourselves to see how we can
serve Him and grow the Kingdom. Not for our benefit, but for the benefit of the
lost friends, family, and neighbors that we all have. We should be doing all
these things from an attitude of love simply to bring Jesus Christ and the
Father all the more Glory.
Let’s
go back to Ezra for the final two items. Look at Ezra 4, verse 4. We saw the
long-term effect of these decisions made here in the Gospel of John and Jesus’
encounter with the woman at the well. There was long-running animosity between
the Samaritans and the Jews of the Southern Kingdom and the more pureblood Jews
who returned to settle in the north.
Ezra
4:4-5 tells us of the more immediate and short-term consequences of their
courageous stance, “4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah
and make them afraid to go on building. 5 They bribed
officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire
reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
What ultimately happens here is that the building of the Temple is
stopped in the year 530 BC when Cyrus is killed in battle and the enemies see
an opportunity to strike and petition the new King Cambyses who declares a halt
to the temple construction for a period of 16 years.
Once they were rejected, these enemies worked for three years to try and
stop God’s work in Jerusalem. They succeeded, but just like all of God’s
enemies, they succeeded only for a little while. God’s Providence brought about
a change in rulers so that His work could continue. We see that from time to
time, believers will face obstacles and hurdles to overcome, but we must never
lose faith. These trials can be a time of growing in our faith. We should lean
into our difficulties and lean on Jesus to help us through difficult times.
Remember what Paul said starting at 1 Corinthians 1:20, “20 Where
is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher
of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For
since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God
was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who
believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but
we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to
Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For
the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is
stronger than human strength.”
Lean not on the words of the wise, lean not on the teachers of the Law,
lean not on the philosophers of this world, or the experts, or the doctors, or
the government. For peace in times of trouble and difficulties, lean on the
words of Jesus and His apostles. What the world calls foolishness, it has all
the answers that we need.
CONCLUSION
So,
what about the final question in the bulletin this morning? As Christians,
aren’t we called to be nice to everyone? Pastor Voddie Baucham calls this
concept the eleventh commandment, “Thou Shalt Be Nice”. Is that what Jesus
called us to be really? I know Peter talks about speaking with others with
gentleness and respect, and I agree with those thoughts.
But,
I don’t think Scripture calls on us to be nice at the expense of truth. Even
Peter says to always be ready to give a defense, an answer for reason
for the hope within us. Sometimes defending one’s faith may make someone feel
uncomfortable and we may be seen as not being very nice. Sometimes the truth
hurts. We need more truth in the world at the moment to stem the tide of this
woke craziness that we are experiencing in Canada and the US. Our leaders have
lost touch with reality.
Paul
warns us in Romans 12:2, “2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s
will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
We
are not to conform to this world and its crazy teachings. God’s standards are
the only standards that we are to measure our lives against. We are to submit
to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Jesus
likewise gives us good wisdom in the tenth chapter of Mathew starting in verse
16, “16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as
snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will
be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On
my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them
and to the Gentiles.”
Two words to pay attention to in this passage. Notice the word “nice” is
not used. Instead, we are told to be “shrewd as snakes”, some other
translations use “wise as serpents” and the second phrase to pay attention to
is, “innocent as doves”.
First the shrewd or wise instruction. In the original Greek, the word
means intelligent, and prudent, a close synonym means skilled in letters and
having understanding. When we go about Kingdom work, we are not to be foolish
or naive. Serpents don’t always make their presence known. Often, they will let
predators pass on by relying on their camouflage to keep them safe. Serpents do
not engage every enemy they come across.
The second descriptor is innocent. The Greek here recalls unmixed, pure
as in wines and metals. Pure of mind and without evil. Jesus is warning us not
to mix our theologies with the world’s theologies. We are not to water down the
Gospel in an attempt to be diverse or inclusive. All are welcome at the foot of
the cross, but we must come there on God’s terms, not on our terms, or on the
terms that culture tells us is acceptable.
I
hope you found this message encouraging and useful.
[1]
Ronald F. Youngblood, F. F. Bruce, and R. K. Harrison, Thomas Nelson
Publishers, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1995).
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