When God Rebuilds... Ezra/Nehemiah Part 21 Ezra 8:24-36 The Faithful Discharge of Our Christian Duties

                                                                                                                                             June 23^rd, 2024

From The Series: When God Rebuilds…

Part 21 The Faithful Discharge of Our Christian Duties

Ezra 8:24-36

Mountain View Evangelical Missionary Church

Good morning again. We are continuing in the Book of Ezra and today we will see the conclusion of the journey of Ezra and his band of the faithful to the city of Jerusalem. They were on a pilgrimage of sorts, perhaps more of a mini-Exodus, from a Babylonian exile in a foreign land, back to their homeland that was promised to them by Yahweh.

Many of the commentators that I have been reading for my research with this series have time and again drawn the reader's attention to the parallels between the first exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt, and the return of the exiles to Jerusalem.

You may have seen these parallels as well. I hope you have seen this, as I have attempted to draw your attention to this fact. But, there is another parallel for the Christian living in today's world. We too, as follows of Christ are travellers in this world. We are on a journey as well. I have to confess, that I have a strong aversion to the term "we are on a journey". Being on a journey has this "New Age" ring to it. "We are all on a path" is another expression that gets my dander up. The concepts are correct, but I do not care for how the world has coopted and corrupted the use of those terms.

I am going to ask a favour. For this morning, can we use a more biblical term? I am going to use the term pilgrimage for this concept of us passing through life. I will define the word a little later and show you the scriptural proof that this is the word that we should be using as Christians to think about and describe our time on earth as, "being on a pilgrimage".

I know, I know, using biblical terms is so old-fashioned and it's not very seeker-friendly. Those words may not attract new people. I will counter that, we should not be embarrassed or ashamed of what the Bible says or the language that it uses. Some denominational leaders are embarrassed at using the term "Christian". The world sees the term as a pejorative, a put-down of sorts, a negative term.

Scripture tells us in Acts 11:26 that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Antioch was a multi-faith city and the term was used as an insult meaning "little Christs". Of course, to a devoted follower, being that closely identified with Jesus Christ would be anything but an insult. It would be seen as an honour to be called "Christ-like". This is an insult all followers of Jesus should seek after today.

So, this morning, I am going to attempt to draw your attention to the parallels between Ezra and the devoted and show that as devoted Christians, we too are on a pilgrimage, but ours is a reverse pilgrimage. That thought I will explain later.

                I will now ask you to open your Bibles or turn on your devices, and together let us turn to the eighth chapter of the Book of Ezra.

And God’s Word says…

READ EZRA 8:24-36

PRAY

We will dive a little deeper here into these passages and then concentrate on the main application of the message a little later.

In verse 24 we see that Ezra separates a group of men for specific duties. In the original language of this verse, there is a specific word that is used that shows us that there is not one group of twelve, but rather two distinct groups of twelve men each. This is an indication of how much detail Ezra is paying attention to the faithful discharge of his duties.

The one group of twelve are priests whose work involved handling the sacred objects while fulfilling their priestly duties. The second group was the Levites whose work on this journey would be to carry and guard the sacred objects. I mentioned the Levites last week and their duties as guards of the Temple, but Ezra was using the Levites to act as guards on the journey as well. There is a practical lesson for us in this passage if we are quick enough to catch it.

Ezra has the Israelites assemble at the canal that flows toward Ahava to muster there and he realizes that the have no Levites among them. Men are sent to Iddo to request some Levites. The request is granted, then when the Levites arrive at the camp, the entire group goes before the LORD for a period of fasting and prayer seeking the protection of God for their journey to Jerusalem.

Here's the lesson, Ezra seeks first the protection of the LORD, but then Ezra also uses the tools that God has ordained through the previous King David who established the role of the Levites as protectors and guards of the Temple and its objects. They looked first to God, but not just to God. They also used common sense and the tools that they had available to them established by God.

I think that this helps explain the shame that Ezra felt as recorded in verse 22, " ²² I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” By asking the King for soldiers and horsemen to protect them, Ezra would have been going outside the model that Yahweh had established through King David. Maybe the shame was a result of Ezra realizing that asking King Artaxerxes for help was his first instinct. After all, Ezra was established and well-known in the Royal Court and it would be easy to become slightly compromised in his thinking. But Ezra remembers that God has established a system for protection for His sacred goods, and Ezra reaches out to Iddo to take advantage of protection, while not violating God's established order.

One commentator put it this way, "Seeking God means relying on divine assistance; abandoning Him means relying on human assistance." ^[1] This does not apply just to protection for when we are travelling. We are to seek divine assistance in all that we do and have. Which do you think is more reliable? Divine assistance or human assistance?

The same thing applies to us here at Mountain View Church. We can depend upon God to protect our building here, but we should also be as Jesus instructed the disciples to be, "¹⁶ “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16.

What Jesus is saying here, is that we are to assume the best attributes of both animals presented in this simile. We are to be like snakes, cautious, shrewd, alert to traps, and wise with our answers. We are also to remain clean as the doves who were used as sacrificial offerings. In other words, we are to go into the world without allowing the world to soil us with their evils and sins. A real-world example of this would be our church building. We are to rely on God's protection of the property while at the same time making sure that the widows and doors are closed and locked when the building is not being used. We also should recognize that we are living in what author Aaron Renn is calling a "Negative World" for the present-day Christian.

Christians are no longer seen in a positive light by a large segment of society today, especially in large urban centres where there has been mass immigration from non-Christian nations. We have witnessed the vandalism and burning of over 100 churches across Canada with very little condemnation from our ruling party in Ottawa or mainstream media. According to True North Canada News in an article dated February 12, 2024, the number was right at 100, while the CBC in an article from a month earlier, only lists the 33 churches that were burned to the ground trying to minimize the true number. I know there have been several more since February. Two recent fires that didn't make the list in the article were a 130-year-old church in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia and another historic church in Toronto, Ontario. The attacks have occurred in large cities, small towns, and country parishes. They have also crossed denominational lines. A sister EMCC church in Calgary was one of the first attacked in 2022.

Imagine the outrage we would be hearing from mainstream media and the government if this were 100 mosques or 100 synagogues in the last two years. And rightly so. We should all be outraged when any house of worship is attacked no matter the faith. As Christians, we do not use violence or intimidation to spread the Gospel.

I am alarmed at the rise of open anti-semitism that I am seeing here in Canada since the attack on Israel by Hamas last October. There have been many demonstrations against Jewish people and one Jewish school in Ontario has been shot at twice. The answer from the government? Install bullet-proof glass in the classrooms instead of addressing the underlying hate issue.

This is what Jesus meant by being wise as serpents. We must be aware of what is going on around us while not becoming jaded or resentful. We serve a sovereign God and He has a purpose for these things to happen. Perhaps it is to call us back to Him as a nation and to repent for our sinful ways. Perhaps it is a method to cull the less-faithful, or it is a judgment on the individual church. I don't know the circumstances and I don't know the mind of God. I do know that we deserve whatever judgment God deems to pour out on us as a nation.

Turn back with me to today's passage. Look at verse 28, “You as well as these articles are consecrated to the Lord." We once again see this idea of being consecrated to the LORD. Consecrated is a biblical term that means "set apart by God, for God", or "for God's use". As Christians, we are consecrated to God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We are to be set apart from the world for use in the Kingdom of God.

Now, the list of articles and the gold and silver amounts in verses 25 and 26 amount to over 2 million dollars in today's money. No wonder Ezra was concerned about protection for the journey. This is exactly why Ezra gives the chosen leaders the charge to, "Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem".

In verse 30, we see the men accept the articles and the responsibility for their save-keeping along the journey. In verse 31 we see the departure date is given as the 12^th day of the first month, but we have to turn back to chapter 7 and verse 9 for the date of arrival. There it is listed as the first day of the fifth month. A difference of 101 days as the Jewish calendar was a lunar calendar with only 28 days in each month.

Here is a bit of an apologetic lesson regarding the departure of Ezra for Jerusalem. Chapter 7, verse 9 says, " ⁹ He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month," but chapter 8 verse 31 claims, " ³¹ On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem." Whoa, what's going on here? Clearly, this is another example of the contradictions contained in the Bible, right? Well, not exactly. Chapter 7, verse 9 claims Ezra began his journey from Babylon on the first day, and we have seen that the group mustered near the canal and sent for the Levites and then 11 days later the entire group departed from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. It is critical to pay attention to the details when reading God's Word.

Now look at verse 32. In typical biblical fashion, the span of 101 days of the journey is covered in the few words of verses 31 and 32. We see that Ezra gives full credit to the LORD for their safe arrival in Jerusalem. This would have been a caravan of over 1680 men, as well as women, children and enough of their belongings to create a new life in Jerusalem. No wonder, they needed protection from the LORD.

When this group arrived, we saw that they had done three things: First, they rested for three days. I'm not sure there is any spiritual significance to the number three. It might have simply been the actual period that they rested. It may have given the spiritual leaders time needed to attain a state of ceremonial cleanness before their sacrifices could be offered, but scripture does not specifically mention this so it is dangerous to read into this. Second, once rested they weighed out the silver and gold and gave a proper account of all that they were given before the journey to show the faithful discharge of their duties. Finally, they went before their God and offered sacrifices of thanks and atonement for their sins.

We are at that point in the sermon where some of you are struggling to stay awake as that guy stands upfront and drones on and on about a bunch of long-dead Israelites who were practicing rituals that we no longer have to. So, you may be thinking, "Big deal, what does any of this have to do with us today?"

Well, I'm glad you asked, because there are several important parallels between what the faithful in Ezra's day were trying to accomplish and what the faithful of Christ today should be accomplishing.

First, let's talk about our walk with Christ. I have asked this several times already, but let me ask it once again, "How is your walk with Christ going?" We have just read about the journey that Ezra and several thousand faithful took from Babylon back to their ancestral homeland of Judah and Jerusalem. This could be thought of as a pilgrimage. This is a useful image to keep in mind in regard to our time here on Earth and our walk with Christ. First, let's define the word pilgrimage as used in the Bible.

From the Lexham Bible Dictionary: Pilgrimage — a word with three distinct meanings in the Bible:

1. The course of life on earth (Gen. 47:9; Ex. 6:4). Jacob summed up his entire life to that point—130 years—as a pilgrimage (Gen. 47:9).

2. A journey of a pilgrim to a sacred place or shrine, especially of the worshipers of the Lord who went up to the Temple in Jerusalem for special feasts (Ps. 84:5; 119:54).

Notice that these two definitions have Old Testament passages associated with them. These definitions are still relevant to the Christian life today, but there is a third definition that is aimed specifically at Christians and their relationship with Jesus Christ.

3. A long journey or search, especially one of exalted purpose and moral significance. The heroes of faith are described as “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Heb. 11:13). The Christian’s true citizenship, or permanent home, is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). While on earth, he or she is but a pilgrim, a traveller, a temporary resident.

Our lives here on Earth as Christians should be thought of as having an exalted purpose and a moral significance. We too, are sacred, we are set apart by God, for God's purpose. If you are simply living for yourself and going through a day-to-day grind of accumulating more stuff, is that an exalted purpose? If at your workplace, your co-workers see no difference in your behaviour than in their unsaved lives, are you living with a moral significance?

I don't mean living in a haughty judgmental way over others. We are told in Scripture not to be like the secular leaders and to "lord our positions" over others. No, we are to be like the Apostle Paul and show humility towards others, being ever so mindful that when it comes to imperfections, "I am chief among sinners". Be aware that we have what we have simply because of the blessings of God, including our Salvation.

Based on our merit, or our actions, we do not have enough righteousness to stand in the presence of God. Not even in prayer. It is only by being covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, that we can be seen as acceptable before God. We have rebellious hearts within, and it is only through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit when He replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh, that we can be responsive to the workings of the Spirit in our lives. It is then that we are given eyes to see and ears to hear what God is showing us and telling us.

We are three weeks into a month of open rebellion against God and a flaunting of our sexual sins in the face of everyone, and we are supposed to cheer these sinners on with parades and adulations of how "Brave" they are. Pride is the perfect adjective to use for their sinfulness. Pride in their rebellion, pride in their unwillingness to repent, pride in their destruction of the family unit.

Those participating in the Pride events might do well to heed these warnings from Proverbs. Proverbs 8:13, "¹³ To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behaviour and perverse speech." As well as Proverbs 11:2 which says, "² When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." These people are completely lacking in humility. Instead, they are emboldened in their attitudes because of their numbers. Finally, from Proverbs 16, we read this warning, "⁵ The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished." I do not relish in this day of punishment that is waiting for them. My heart is broken for them. They do not know what is waiting for them, because too many Christians have been bullied into silence. How loving is that of us?

We know the fate that is waiting for them, and out of fear of some yelling being directed toward us, we cower and shrink away from the opportunity to show real love towards them by telling them about Jesus Christ. I am just as terrified about the sins in my life as I am about the sins in their lives. Their sins are no worse than mine, their sins are no less forgivable than mine were.

If we love them, and as Christians, I pray that we do indeed love them, then the most loving thing to do is to tell them of the sinfulness of what they are doing and beg them to repent and come to the foot of the cross, where Jesus will forgive them and cover them in their righteousness. But they must confess, repent, and turn from their old ways. Yes, it is true that Jesus accepts all sinners, but He does not accept their sins. Jesus paid for their sins so that they could live a new live of righteousness in Him. Jesus doesn't pull them out of the pig pen of their lives, simply to hose them clean and then throw them back into the slop.

No, Jesus strips them of the filthy rags of their self-righteousness and clothes them in a clean new gown and makes them presentable to the Father as a bride to the bridegroom. Jesus adopts them into the family of God and makes them co-heirs with the Son to the Kingdom that awaits the return of Jesus.

This is the pilgrimage that we are on. In a way, it is a reverse pilgrimage to what Ezra and the Israelites did. According to 1 Peter 1:1, we are the exiles living now, because we are in the world but not of the world. We are of Christ.

Hebrews 12: 22-25 gives us this explanation and warning, "²² But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³ to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵ See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks."

 

This is both the start and the end of our pilgrimage. When we accept Christ as Lord and Saviour, we come to the Mount of Zion, where the Cross of Calvary stands. Where Jesus ended His earthly ministry is where we begin our participation in His ministry assigned to us by Him.

 

Jesus has made the way straight for us. It is an obvious path. It may not be a level path, clear of all obstacles, but He gives us a clear sense of direction and purpose. He extends a clear invitation to join Him in this work.

 

Our destination and reward will be the New Jerusalem where we will spend eternity with Jesus and the Father. What a glorious reward that awaits us.

If you sitting there with a "yeah but," on your lips or in your mind as an excuse for not participating in this work, let me read you some words from Thomas Binney. Binney was a Congregational Pastor in England in the mid-1600s. The term "Congregational Pastor" was used to indicate that his church was not a part of the state church, The Church of England, but was rather what we would call an independent church, much like we are here at Mountain View. We are part of a denomination, but we are primarily governed by the local body and congregation.

Binney wrote, "Obligation and capacity are commensurate." In other words, God does not expect more from us than He has given us the capacity to deliver. "God does not desire to “reap where He has not sown, nor to gather where He has not sown,” but where He has “given much, of them He will expect the more.” Think of the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-30. "He expects not from a brute (or an animal) the service of a man, nor from a man the obedience of an angel; He expects not from him that has one talent the results of five, nor from him that has five the results of ten; but He does expect everywhere, and from all beings, that each shall serve according to his actual and “several abilities.” In other words, all that we have are gifts from God. All of our abilities, knowledge, skills, talents, and possessions. All are to be put to could use for the growing of the Kingdom of God.

Continuing with the words of Binney, "With respect to the power to do something for Christ, this differs in different men, and in the same man at different times. There are differences of talent, wealth, influence, station, opportunity; and there are very frequently growth and accession in all these things as Christians advance and succeed in life. It will often be found, however, that the most able and endowed classes do the least; and of certain individuals, it is sometimes true, that as their means increase their doings diminish.^[2]" Let us never be found guilty of that.

 

Praise God that we are no longer called to observe these rituals listed at the end of the eighth chapter of the Book of Ezra. First, there is no longer a Temple, second, the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross fulfilled all the foreshadowing these Temple sacrifices pointed to. Instead, we are called upon to regularly observe two ordinances instituted by Jesus Himself.  As Christians, we are to be baptized and to observe the Lord's Supper. These are two of our most important duties we are to discharge faithfully.

CONCLUSION

I will close this morning with this anonymous quote which I found in a book of sermon illustrations. "Many fill their life with regrets for being confined to such a narrow sphere of usefulness. If they only were in the ministerial office or had millions of money, they would do so and so; but what can an ordinary labourer, a poor Sunday school teacher, accomplish? Friend, be content to serve God where He has placed you; for there precisely you can accomplish the most. It is better to make the best of what you have than to fret and pout for what you have not. The man with one talent is never accountable for five; but for his one, he must give as strict an account as the other for his five. It may require more humility to attend the one talent than five; and, so far as the improvement or misimprovement of either is concerned, they are both equally important in the sight of God. The king’s million and the widow’s mite are worth the same with the Eternal."

Friends, do not obsess about what you do not have or cannot give to the Lord Jesus Christ, rather be attentive and responsive to what He has given you and do not hoard it for yourself, or worry that you may not have as much as your brother or sister-in-Christ next to you has to offer. Instead, make the most of what the Lord has given you, for His Glory and the benefit of His Kingdom. That will be the faithful discharge of our Christian duties.

Let me dismiss you with this closing prayer:

Doxology:

From the first letter written by the Apostle Paul to the young Pastor named Timothy, "¹¹ But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴ to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might forever. Amen."

Pastor Paul’s Points:

1) We have Christian duties to perform.

2) We are on a reverse pilgrimage of sorts.

3) No Christian is exempt from Christian duty.

 

Questions to meditate on this week:

1.      "Pilgrimage" and "duty" are such outdated words. Do they have a place in my vocabulary?

2.      What comes to mind when I think about my walk with Christ?

3.      Am I living up to what God expects of me concerning work for His Kingdom?

 

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^[1] Donna Petter and Thomas Petter, Ezra-Nehemiah, ed. Terry Muck, NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2021), 202.

^[2] William Jones, Ezra, The Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary (New York; London; Toronto: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1892), 138.

MVEMC Prayer Night Date, June 18th, 2024

                                 MVEMC Prayer Night Date, June 18^th, 2024

Purpose: The purpose of an evening of prayer is to come together, as a body, to seek the will of God for our church in a posture of humble seeking. Frequently, prayer is needed to bend our will to God's will and purpose for our lives, not for God to be a prayer-driven vending machine simply granting our desires.

Instructions: Two themes are presented each evening and there are two corresponding Bible verses for each theme. Read the theme, then look at the first passage for that theme. Each passage is presented in five different translations. Each translation is presented in a slightly different way depending on the work of the translation committee for that translation. Pay attention to the different wording used in the various texts.

Read all five translations slowly pondering over each one, then go before the Lord in a Spirit-led prayer concentrating on the theme. When you have finished with your prayer, take a few moments to pause in silence and listen to what the Holy Spirit may be trying to speak to you.

When you are ready, repeat the process for the second verse of the first theme. After an appropriate time, repeat the first two steps with the second theme for the evening.

Remember to use your own words, but it is acceptable to pray Scripture back to the Lord if you are stuck for words or need a place to start.

Thank you for praying for Mountain View Evangelical Missionary Church!

Theme 1: Unity in our church.

Passage One 2 Chronicles 30:12

¹² Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord. NIV

¹² The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord. ESV

¹² The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of Yahweh. LSB

¹² Also, the power of God was at work in Judah to unite them to carry out the command of the king and his officials by the word of the Lord. CSB

¹² At the same time, God’s hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the Lord. NLT

Passage Two: Ephesians 4:1-3

¹ As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. NIV

¹ I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ESV

¹ Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. LSB

 

¹ Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. CSB

¹ Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. ² Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. ³ Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. NLT

Theme 2: Children for Sunday School

Passage One Psalm 71.5

⁵ For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. NIV.

⁵ For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. ESV

⁵ For You are my hope; O Lord Yahweh, You are my trust from my youth. LSB

 

⁵ For you are my hope, Lord God, my confidence from my youth. CSB

 

⁵ O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood. NLT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passage Two Psalm 71:17

¹⁷ Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. NIV

¹⁷  O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. ESV

¹⁷ O God, You have taught me from my youth, And I still declare Your wondrous deeds. LSB

¹⁷ God, you have taught me from my youth, and I still proclaim your wondrous works. CSB

¹⁷ O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. NLT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When God Rebuilds... Ezra/Nehemiah Part 20 Ezra 8:1-23 The Hand of Our God

                                                                                                                                             June 16, 2024

From The Series: When God Rebuilds…

Part 20 The Hand of Our God

Ezra 8:1-23

Mountain View Evangelical Missionary Church

Happy Father’s Day, again. Thank you for being here this morning. We are now in the eighth chapter of the Book of Ezra and we are continuing the series When God Rebuilds… I pray that I have been able to show you the parallels between the returning exiles in Jerusalem and what we are going through here at Mountain View Church. There are many parallels by the way. God was at work behind the scenes in the lands of the ancient Middle East. I feel that God is at work here in our community and in our church these days.

God was at work in the people who were doing the rebuilding. I can see that God is at work in some of the people here at Mountain View Church. I, and some of the church leadership are seeing growth in some of you over the last few months. We are very excited to see the Holy Spirit at work here at Mountain View Church.

The Israelites were concerned with ensuring that the proper worship was being carried out in Jerusalem at the Temple. We have tried to do the same thing here. Our resources and talents are limited at the moment, but we are still trying to ensure that the proper and ordered worship of Jesus Christ occurs here every Sunday morning.

We have seen that the Israelites were concerned with proper prayer in their worship to Yahweh, and we here at Mountain View Church have tried to steep our services and ministries in proper prayer to Jesus Christ, all for the Glory of God.

We have seen where there were times when the faithful in Jerusalem had to wait on God for the next step to take place. While we too, are waiting on God to call His people back to this church, the leaders are also working diligently to make sure that the foundations are in place to support the growth that we anticipate God will provide. We are reaching out to the community, engaging, talking, teaching, and loving on them to show that Mountain View Church is a family of God’s people that is here for the Glory of God.

I know it may seem like we have been spending a long time in the Old Testament, and I will be honest with you when I first thought of taking this position here, I said that I wouldn’t really be preaching from the Old Testament. I wanted to be like one of my influences, John MacArthur who spent 45 years at his church primarily preaching the New Testament verse by verse. Then God showed me that the Old Testament is the foundation of the New Testament teaching, and the books of the Bible that I have chosen to teach from have been appropriate to where our culture is today and where our church is currently.

We saw in Habakkuk that just as Judah and its leaders had been warned to repent and to come back to Yahweh, our culture here in the West has also thumbed its nose at God and ignored His ways all to the glorification of themselves. The majority of our leaders seem godless in their decision-making and seem wholly dependent on their wisdom to lead us, rather than seeking the face of God for His help.

We are in the middle of an entire month that is celebrating sexual immorality and perversion and it has the audacity to call this open rebellion to God, Pride month. Pride is perhaps the worst sin of all. I have said this in the past, but when do we celebrate Murder Month? When are the celebrations for lying month apart from election time that is? Unless we repent and return to God as a society, we are bound to the same fate as Judah.

At the Armory the other night, a couple of the guys raised the quote they had heard from other Christian Leaders saying something along the lines of, “If God doesn’t do something soon, He may owe Sodom and Gomorrah an apology”. While I appreciate the comparison, of course, these men will know that God doesn’t owe mankind an apology or an explanation for any of His actions. But the point is well taken. The patience and long-suffering that Jesus has shown this world at this time is an amazing testimony to His Grace. But make no mistake, a time of judgment is coming for all of us.

With all that being said, let us open our Bibles and turn on our devices to the eighth chapter of the Book of Ezra. While you are doing that, I will let you in on a little teaser, for the preaching schedule I have laid out. Over the summer months, we will finish up Ezra in about four more lessons and then cover the Book of Nehemiah in about five lessons, hopping over some sections as there is a lot of similarity between Ezra and Nehemiah, and then, Lord willing, we will start the Gospel of John about the second Sunday in September and examine that gospel in detail over the coming months.

READ EZRA 8:1-23

All right, that was a long list of names there, and I’m not going to spend a lot of time going over this list, other than to say that it is a different list from the others listed in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Some critics claim that it is simply the same list from Ezra chapter two with some omissions present. This is not accurate, as we see here another group of returnees that are accompanying Ezra as he heads off to Jerusalem.

These are a different group of leaders in the Jewish community whose families were still living comfortably in exile. Think about the timing involved here. The Israelites were in captivity under the Babylonians for 70 years, then in the year 539 BC, the Persian King Cyrus issued a decree allowing some of the Israelites to return to Jerusalem with the sole intent of re-establishing their Temple and Temple worship of Yahweh their God.

Here in chapter eight of Ezra, we are in the year 458 BC which is another 81 years after the initial return of the group in chapter 2. That is about 150 years after the initial scattering of the Jews by the Babylonians which translates roughly into 7 generations having passed from the time of the original expulsion from the land of Judah.

That is like your ancestors coming to Canada from Europe, say Poland or Hungary in 1873 and landing here and establishing a life and raising six generations here in this foreign land. Now, for the original generation, this would have been a foreign land, but for their children and grandchildren this would have been home and the only known homeland for them. So on and so on for five more generations, then it would be up to that seventh generation to pack up all the belongings and return to the “homeland” and reestablish their religious culture.

I mean, there was no multi-culturalism going on here folks. Imagine the commitment of the Israelites to maintain a separate culture and religious understanding for seven generations apart from your homeland. Currently, in the church in the West, we have a hard time keeping one or two generations in the church.

I have been asking this question of several people lately, “Where are all the children who went through Mountain View Church’s Sunday School program?”

Why aren’t we a multi-generational church? Has this church failed to take seriously the command in the Bible to all parents...

"⁶ Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6. We can ask ourselves, “Is this true?” I believe it is true and accurate if, we are consistently living out a faith in Jesus in our lives. If there is no evidence of Proverbs 22:6 in the lives of our children, then we must question our actions first before we question the accuracy of what the Bible teaches. If the only relationship we have with Jesus Christ is for an hour and a half on Sunday mornings, but the rest of the week we are living just like the world around us, then no wonder our children are walking away from the faith of their youth.

Have we taught our children that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, or do we tell them “Bible Stories” in such a way, that they are seen in the same light as comic books and movies about the ancient Greek gods?

In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet receives these words, “¹³ All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace”, Isaiah 54:13. Isaiah shows us the benefit of raising our children in this manner, “great will be their peace”. Does this mean that they will live a life free from trouble? Of course not, but when they do encounter troubles in their lives if they have been taught that there is a sovereign God in control of all things in the Universe they will be able to face these troubles with peace in their lives. If they think that we are just random bags of chemicals crashing through life in chaos, then no wonder they need drugs to cope with this miserable worldview.

We can see a correlation between the decline in church attendance and the increase in mood-altering drug consumption in the West. An increase in both illegal street drugs and legal prescription medication to help us with our anxieties and worries has accompanied the decrease in people learning about Jesus and turning to Him for comfort. It’s not just hard drugs that are in play here, we also see self-medication through the abuse of cannabis and alcohol that are legally bought in Canada. The Apostle Paul warned us about our freedom in Christ with these words in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “All things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial”. The same concept applies to the use of these drugs and alcohol.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 instructs us to,  “⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ^{y 5} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” As parents have we taken that command seriously?

Let me ask you this question, “Which is a greater authority in your life? What the Bible says, or what some “expert” says on TV or in a book? Which is the greater truth? “²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 or this statement from the World Health Organization, “Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time.”

Do you see what the so-called experts did there? By ignoring what Scripture says on the matter, they have given themselves the freedom to redefine what gender is. It's now a “social construct”. This means that apart from what society says a boy and girl are, we have no idea what gender really means. This allows us to change or bend this definition into whatever pretzel-shaped definition that suits our needs at the moment. If we want to destroy the traditional family unit, what better way than to say there is no such thing as sons or daughters? We can eliminate mothers and replace them with birthing-persons. We can replace the traditional protector and provider in the home, the father, by having the birthing person and their three gender-fluid offspring wholly dependent on the government to provide for them.

We can replace Biblical standards of morality with sexual liberation, which has resulted in more heartbreak than happiness. We have allowed the young men in our society the freedom to use women without any sense of obligation to care for them afterwards. We have told young women, that this is “empowerment”, yet the quest for equality through third-wave feminism has resulted in modern women finding themselves childless and alone in their forties with nothing to bring them comfort but their careers.

This is what the “experts” have given our society today. May I suggest, we stop listening to the experts and go back to what God’s Word has to say on these matters?

Speaking of God’s Word, just in case you were thinking that the verses I quoted you let’s you off the hook because that was the Old Testament and those were instructions just for the Jewish people, let’s take a look at what the New Testament has to say shall we?

John 1:4 says, “⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” While it is true that John is speaking words of encouragement to his spiritual children at the churches where this letter was circulating, I do feel that these words could have come from the Saviour’s mouth just as easily. I don’t think I am guilty of reading into the text here, I think it would bring Jesus no greater joy to see his children and our children walking in the truth.

The amazing thing is that truth isn’t just a concept. Truth is also a person. Truth is the embodiment of Jesus Christ. What does it mean to be walking in “the truth”? One source put it this way, “The Greek term alētheia, translated as “truth” in 3 John 1:4, specifically references “the good news about Jesus Christ, especially as a message that conforms to (and answers) the nature of reality.” The expression to walk in truth is biblical imagery for behaving in a way that agrees with the truth of Scripture, the message of the gospel that Jesus preached, and the Christian doctrines we profess.”[i]

What is the message of the gospel? The message is that, despite mankind being utterly rebellious and undeserving of any favour from God, Jesus voluntarily left His eternal place in the Trinity and added human form to His eternal glorified self and walked among His creation for roughly 33 years. Jesus faced all the same temptations and trials that we face, and yet He remained sinless during His walk so that He could be the perfect sinless and acceptable atoning sacrifice for sin.

Not His sin, for He who knew no sin, became sin for us. Rather Jesus bore the wrath of the Father that was due to us for our sins, and Jesus wiped clean the debt that we owed the Father for all that we had sinned against Him. Jesus who was supernaturally born of a virgin, lived, died the death of a common thief on a Roman cross and was buried in a borrowed tomb, and then raised Himself again after three days only to show Himself to those who knew Him best and encouraged them and then ascended into heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the Father awaiting His return to claim His eternal Kingdom on Earth.

All of this was done, so that we sinful people could be reconciled to a perfect and loving God who is also Holy and Just. This Holiness and Justice attributes of God could not allow Him to look past our sins based on our righteousness. No, what was required was the imputed righteousness of another, the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

So, those of us, who chose to accept this free gift known as Grace and place our faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ, can now have a reconciled relationship with God. He now hears our prayers, and we have become His adopted children and can now spend an eternity with Him. Those who reject this offer, those who refuse to submit to the teachings and authority of God will spend an eternity apart from Him. An eternity apart from the Loving Father will be an eternity like hell.

If Jesus is reaching out to you, respond to that prompt. Bend your knee and bow your head and accept the gift of Grace that is waiting for you. Stop living your life according to your rules or the advice of secular experts. Instead, submit to the teachings of scripture in all of your life. Make Jesus your King, not just your life-ring to keep you from drowning. All of Christ for all of life, not just 90 minutes on Sunday morning.

What does your Monday morning look like? Are you in God’s Word, or does your Bible sit on a shelf until the next Sunday? Over the last several months, we have been learning in the Men’s group that being a godly person requires discipline. It is not something that happens by accident. It takes intentional effort and habits. It takes putting Jesus first in areas of our lives at intentional times.

Jesus should be first in our lives always. I fear the present-day Christian takes Jesus for granted too often. We expect Jesus to just stand by, and wait for us, and we will get to Him when we have a chance. The committed Christian, the one with the most peace in their life, is the one who is putting Christ and kingdom work first. What I mean by that is we place a higher priority on our relationship with Jesus than we do any other relationship. We don’t neglect our responsibilities to others, but we don’t get to Jesus when we have time for Him either. Most of us men shared that we have found that getting out of bed a little earlier and spending 20 to 30 minutes in the morning reading God’s Word and praying was the best investment in time for our day.

When I say “the most peace in their life” I don’t mean they are trouble-free. They just have a firm foundation under them to face whatever trial life will throw their way. Please, I beg of you to take your walk with Jesus seriously.

OK, turn with me back to today’s passage and let’s look at it in a bit more detail. The first couple of verses in chapter 8 refer to two lines of Aaronic Priests who were descended from two different sons of Aaron and then the royal descendants of King David. That’s about all I will say about this list of names.

Look down to verse 15. We see that Ezra has called for those who were leaving with him to muster near a canal that flowed toward Ahava. Little is known about this place. It could be referring to a town or simply a region in the kingdom. It is here when they are assembled that Ezra has a chance to see who exactly is accompanying him on this journey to Jerusalem and Ezra notices that something is amiss.

This brings us to our first point of the morning, that Ezra is concerned with propriety in worship. Ezra notices that there are no Levites among them. At first glance, this might seem a little confusing. Levites were descendants of Jacob and Leah’s third son Levi. Aaron and his sons were also of the tribe of Levi, so technically speaking the priests would have been Levites.

What had happened was, that from the the tribe of Levi there emerged three major clans and each clan had separate and specific duties concerning the Tabernacle and later the Temple. One clan, the Aaronites emerged as the Priestly class and they took care of the priestly duties such as the sacrifices and offerings at the Temple.

Another clan simply known as the Levites, here in Ezra, were limited in their duties to the guarding of the places of worship and the priests. Ezra becomes aware that they have no Levites present in their midst, so he sends leaders from the group and sends them to a nearby city known as CASIPHIA [kuh SIF ih uh] to see a man named Iddo and Ezra even instructs the leaders on what exactly to say to Iddo.

We see in verse 18 that Ezra gives God the proper credit and the mission was successful because they came back with 20 Levites in all and 220 temple servants as well. Now that these individuals were present, we see that Ezra calls for a fast and a time of prayer.

Look at the posture that Ezra was encouraging his people to adopt. A posture of humbleness toward God. This has been another recurring theme that we have been discovering in the men's group. God is consistently concerned with our heart attitude.

In biblical terms, what does the heart represent anyway? According to the Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. "Heart is the inner self that thinks, feels, and decides. In the Bible, the word “heart” has a much broader meaning than it does to the modern mind. The heart is that which is central to a person. Nearly all the references to the heart in the Bible refer to some aspect of human personality.

In the Bible all emotions are experienced by the heart: love and hate; joy and sorrow; peace and bitterness; courage and fear.

The thinking processes are said to be carried out by the heart. This intellectual activity corresponds to what would be called “mind” in English. Thus, the heart may think, understand, imagine, remember, be wise, and speak to itself. Decision-making is also carried out by the heart. Purpose, intention, and will are all activities of the heart.

Finally, heart often means someone’s true character or personality. Purity or evil; sincerity or hardness; and maturity or rebelliousness—all these describe the heart or true character of individuals." End quote.

So, Ezra was concerned about the attitudes of those who were returning with him to Jerusalem and he was trying to ensure an attitude of humbleness directed towards God. I think Ezra was trying to combat the judgement by men against God, anger, or resentment being charged to the Holy God.

We often see people blame God for the consequences associated with decisions that we make. Or sometimes a grudge, or a chip on one's shoulders develops when we experience disappointments in our lives. Instead of embracing the challenges that God tests us with, and looking for new ways to grow deeper with Christ, we instead complain about how hard we have it or how blessed someone else seems to be.

Mankind is so quick to rationalize our bad behaviour and blame anyone else for the circumstances we find ourselves in. Even the ones of our own making.

Two weeks ago we were first introduced to this phrase, "the hand of our God" being placed on one's life or circumstances. What does this saying even mean or refer to? The hand of God refers to the providential intervention by God in our lives. The Bible is clear about this teaching. God is not a cold and distant deity that put the universe in motion and then sits back watching how we all manage to get along. Time and time again, we have seen in the Book of Ezra, how the author gives Yahweh credit for directing the hearts of Kings and His people to get the things that God desires to be done.

Each one of His children are responsible for ensuring that God's plans of Salvation are carried out. It may be through our gifts of hospitality or our gifting of supporting missionaries. Perhaps we have a gift of evangelism or teaching God's Word to others. We may be musically gifted, financially, or technologically gifted. Whatever God has gifted you with is to be put to good use in the expansion of God's Kingdom. There are no wall-flowers or bench warmers when it comes to the children of God. We are co-heirs and coworkers with the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ to accomplish the Father's desires. But all of this starts with our heart-attitudes and they should be ones of humbleness and submission to God's will for our lives.

So, when Ezra was convinced that those present had the proper attitude, they humbly petitioned God for a safe journey for themselves, their children and possessions. Do we have that same attitude when we bring our prayer requests before God? Many of you will be travelling this summer, will you be humbly asking God for His protection over your travels? I would suggest that all of our prayers be taken before the Lord with humbleness and respect.

Look with me now at verse 22 for our final point of this morning's sermon. Ezra admits that he was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen for protection. I find the use of this adjective very interesting. In the Old Testament, shame occurs on a personal, corporate, and national level.

Ezra here, says it on a personal level, "I was ashamed" and we see that it was because he had told the king that "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him,". Did Ezra feel like he had painted himself and his people into a corner by bragging about the protection of God for His people? Perhaps the king had offered some protection and Ezra had dismissed the offer out of hand without first seeking God's counsel on the matter.

Perhaps, sitting here by the canal getting ready to depart, Ezra was having second thoughts and maybe he was thinking how nice it would be to have some men and arms along for the journey. Travel in ancient times was much more dangerous than today. The areas between towns were places where organized bands of thieves looked for their next victim. I don't think that Ezra was doubting the provision of God, I think the shame was a result of him not consulting God about the decision to decline the offer first. God not only determines the outcome, but He also determines the means to accomplish the outcomes.

The same is true of salvation. The Bible teaches that God is sovereign and as such, He can determine who shall be saved. God can also determine how that person shall be saved. The hand of God could determine that person to be invited to a revival meeting where they could hear the gospel. The Lord could determine that a person could watch a stirring sermon on television and be reached by the Gospel message. Perhaps, God arranges for a discussion between two friends over coffee and the gospel is shared. Perhaps you are running late for your regular church and decide to stop in at the church that starts a little later. Or, perhaps you feel led to stop in at the church that you have driven past for several weeks and you find a loving and accepting home. God determines the means as well as the ends.

Just before we wrap up here this morning, do not skip over the warning that is contained in the second half of verse 22, "but His anger is against all who forsake him." When any of us try to do life on our own, apart from God and His forgiveness offered through His Son, Jesus Christ, we will find that His anger will be against us on Judgment Day. Don't be fooled by the platitudes offered by the world, that we are all good, or most of us are essentially good. Even the Pope shared this lie in an interview lately.

The Bible teaches that "³ All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one." Psalm 14:3. According to man's standards, we are all basically good and some of us are just a little misunderstood. According to God's standards, , "³ All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one." That is why we need Jesus Christ in our lives. Not as a good moral teacher, or peacekeeper, or as someone who simply loves everyone. No, we need Jesus as a Saviour to cover us with His righteousness and shield us from our deserved wrath from the Father.

CONCLUSION

I am going to use this passage from Romans as our conclusion and as our doxology for today. We should read this as a warning for the church and the believer today to avoid taking the Grace of Jesus Christ for granted.

Romans 9:22-24 instructs us with these words, "²² What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath" That's us Paul is referring to here. We are the objects of His wrath for no one is good, not one. "—prepared for destruction?" We are the objects prepared for destruction. We all will die. We are all destined to hell as just punishment for our sinful ways. Tough truths to hear, I know and your first instinct is to reject this teaching because it goes against everything that the experts in the world are telling you. Look at verse 23,  "²³ What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy," He is only concerned with the objects of His mercy, those whom He has saved.  "whom he prepared in advance for glory—²⁴ even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?" Those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Let me say a blessing over the food that is waiting downstairs.

Pastor Paul’s Points:

1)            Ezra is concerned with propriety in worship

a)            Absence of the Levites

b)            Proclaimed a fast and petitioned God

2)            He was ashamed…Why?

Questions to meditate on this week:

1)     How is your worship of Jesus?

2)     Do you approach God with a spirit of humbleness?

3)      Are you ashamed of Him, or He of you?

 

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[i] https://www.gotquestions.org/walk-in-truth.html