June 23rd, 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 12th 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?
[1]
Donna Petter and Thomas Petter, Ezra-Nehemiah,
ed. Terry Muck, NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Academic, 2021), 202.
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