Transcript

Lessons From The Book of Ezra-Part Three

Ezra 6:16-22
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Pastor Randy Smith

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Last week I centered all of our discussion around priorities. And when we consider priorities, it is very common this time of the year for some people to reveal one of their biggest priorities. Late in the third month of the year is "March Madness" - "The Big Dance" where 65 college basketball teams face off over a span of three weeks to determine the national champion. Brackets are completed, money is wagered and dozens of hours are spent in front of the television.

It was recently brought to my attention that one lady took her love for college basketball a little too far. You see, she was a Kentucky fan. And as any Kentucky fan will tell you, there is no greater rivalry in sports than when Kentucky plays Louisville. Tickets for this game are priceless. So you can imagine the surprise when this particular woman was seen sitting alone.

Someone noticed the empty seat and with great surprise said, "Ma'am, I have rarely seen an empty seat in Rupp Arena, let alone at a game between these two teams. Whose seat is this?" The woman responded that she and her late husband had been season-ticket holders for 28 years and the seat had belonged to him. "Well, couldn't you find a friend or relative to come to the game with you?" the observer asked. "Are you kidding?" the woman replied, "They're all at my husband's funeral."

Misplaced priorities!

It's easy to have misplaced priorities as we go through life and the building project is no different. God has an established expectation for what we should be doing and why we should be doing it. He has revealed it to us in the Bible, and it is therefore incumbent upon us to search His Word and be sure that our will is in line with His. He sets the standards. His priorities must become our priorities and not the other way around.

So as we have been working in the book of Ezra, last week I presented to you four priorities during a building project. I said we must be committed to: living a pure life, teaching the Bible, obeying the Bible and worshipping God. In many ways all four of these are interconnected. In other words, we cannot be committed to teaching the Bible without the desire to obey the Bible. And we cannot claim we are worshipping God if our lives are marked by unrepentant sin and impurity. So we must prioritize these truths as we pursue a building project, and we must remember that these priorities are the primary reasons that we are undertaking this great endeavor in the first place. The building is only a tool to help us grow in these priorities and help others experience these priorities for the first time.

Today, as we look forward to our upcoming baptisms, I would like to shift our focus from priorities to expectations.

It is wise to know what we are getting into. Too often false or unrealistic expectations breed disappointment and discontent. Oftentimes we see only through our idealistic lenses the positives that this endeavor can produce (especially coming off the wonderful banquet we enjoyed last night). There are many positives, but it is also necessary to realize that there could be many bumps and obstacles along the way. They can blindside us very quickly. We must be prepared for them and not allow them to detain the work, discourage our spirits, or disunify our fellowship.

So with that said, using the book of Ezra, I begin with the first of three expectations.

1. EXPECT OPPOSITION

Expectation number one: Expect Opposition.

In his book, Preparing to Build, Steven Anderson said, "Expanding facilities to do Kingdom work can put your church on the front lines of spiritual battles" (p. 32).

It is entirely unrealistic to think that we can encroach upon Satan's territory without the evil one putting up a fight. So the Bible informs us to not be "ignorant of his schemes" (2 Cor. 2:11). He is powerful, but he is also predictable. And though on our own we are putty in his hands, by God's grace we can "stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph. 6:11).

Satan will try to disrupt any movement of God. We see this throughout the Bible. And as we search the Bible he often raises up unknowing adversaries to accomplish his dirty work. Sometimes they come from within the ranks. Paul told the Ephesian elders, "From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them" (Ac. 20:30).

Sometimes the adversaries come from without. This was the case for the Israelites when they sought to reconstruct the temple. Let's examine this opposition and seek to discern these diabolical methods and schemes.

I am beginning to read in chapter 4, verse 1. "Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' households, and said to them, 'Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.' But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' households of Israel said to them, 'You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us'" (Ez. 4:1-3).

As soon as the two southern tribes of Israel returned to the land, they were approached by foreigners presently in the land to offer assistance. And though these folks played it cool, we will soon see their request was not genuine. Despite their claims, they did not worship the same God. They were idolaters. Idolatry led the Israelites off to Babylon in the first place and now that they returned, they no doubt wanted to avoid it altogether.

Most likely they were the same individuals who "terrified" the Jews in Ezra 3:3 when they observed the first signs of construction. These were "enemies" as verse 1 indicates (most likely Samaritans), and this was Satan's attempt to infiltrate his slimy paws into the Lord's work.

He first tries to disguise his servants as angels of light (2 Cor. 11:14). The Jews resist the temptation to compromise. But refusing their assistance only provokes increased antagonism that soon becomes less subtle. The enemy is now angry.

So we go from the temptation of compromise to the temptation of discouragement, fear and frustration. Beginning in verse 4, "Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia" (Ez. 4:4-5).

Since the enemy could not get them from within, the attacks mounted from without. The masks are off, the gloves are dropped and the opponents reveal their true colors. First they sought to "discourage" the people. Literally that means they tried "to weaken the hands" (Ez. 6:22; Neh. 6:9). They attempted to bring them down, weaken their spirit, discourage their hearts-anything that would get them to throw in the towel and abandon the project. They also sought to instill fear. Possibly this was done when they "hired counselors" (as verse 5 says), bribes given for Persian officials to intimidate the people. Scare tactics. Also they sought to bring frustration-a form of anger that gets us to run away from our problems.

Continual waves of discouragement, fear and frustration. The enemy was relentless. Verse 6 informs us that the harassment continued into the reign of another Persian ruler. "Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem." Satan is the great accuser (Rev. 12:10). And verses 7-23 show that efforts to thwart the Jews also extended into the reign of Artaxerxes I (464-424 BC). What efforts Satan puts forth to stop the Lord's work!

Was this opposition successful? Yes! We learned last week that the people quit. They gave up for 16 years and began to take greater interest in their own homes (Hag. 1:2-6). You see, when we are not doing the Lord's work, Satan will leave us alone. He has no interest in professing believers who live carnal, passive and undisciplined lives.

But the moment you begin to serve the Lord is the moment the Lord begins to bless. And the moment the Lord blesses, Satan begins to battle. And whether we realize it or not, the evil one is alive and active in our lives and using the same tactics today as he did back then. Listen, he will try to infiltrate our ranks. He will try to discourage us. He will try to scare us. He will try to frustrate us. And he will try to accuse us.

Be alert! And may Satan never use any of us from within as a tool. How will you know? I'll tell you. When you feel the sinful wellspring of complaining or grumbling or fear or worry bubbling up from within your hearts, beware!

But when these attacks do come to our church may we all remember that God has given us all the tools we need to be victorious. We must not allow these attacks to defeat us individually or as a church. We must press on knowing "greater is He who is in [us] than he who is in the world" (1 Jn. 4:4). God is bigger than any troublemaker. We must believe that God is in control and by "taking up the shield of faith [we] will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil" (Eph. 6:16). We must be continually "[praying] in the Spirit" (Eph. 6:18). James 4:7, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

We must understand that God uses Satan's insidious plans to work for the good of His people when they persevere. Our God will always prevail (see Ez. 8:31). For these storms that Satan sends our way, if responded to correctly, become the sunlight that reveal our weaknesses and God's sufficiency.

2. EXPECT DISSATISFACTION

In addition to opposition, we also need to expect dissatisfaction.

"I was hoping the exterior of the church would be white." "I don't like to worship in a multipurpose room." "There is not enough classroom space." "It takes me two additional minutes to get to church." "I wasn't expecting to pay this much." And the one I'm waiting for, "I liked the old church better."

God led the Israelites out of Egyptian captivity, the place where they were sentenced to hard labor, the place where their babies were killed. And it didn't take long as they were heading to the Promised Land for them to cry out to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?" (Ex. 14:11).

Anderson said, "You are not going to please all the people when you build, so don't get upset when everyone is not happy. Do what you know is the right thing to do and resist giving in to an overly vocal minority" (p. 148). I am confident if God gives us a new church that it will not meet the perfect satisfaction of the approximately 250 adults that call this place their home. What some people like others will dislike and vice versa. This is natural, and this also occurred with the Israelites.

Once the foundation was laid Ezra 3:11 informs us, "They sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying, 'For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.' And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid." It was an exciting time indeed. Reason for everybody to rejoice, right? Think again!

Verses 12-13, "Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away."

There was a lot of noise happening!

While the young folks were praising and thanking God, the old folks that remembered Solomon's temple saw how much the new temple paled in comparison. The splendor was missing. The ark was absent. They were dissatisfied. "I was expecting more. This temple is nothing like the one that I remember!" And I'm sure that spirit did not help the morale of the younger folks who were really quite excited.

Haggai in his prophecy asked the question, "Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?" (Hag. 2:3). To which I am sure the people responded, "Yes, it is nothing because it's not as beautiful, and the ark is missing, and God's Shekinah glory is not present!" To which God says through Haggai, "'Take courage, Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD, 'take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,' declares the LORD, 'and work; for I am with you,' declares the LORD of hosts" (Hag. 2:4; cf. 2:9; Psm. 126). What more do they need? God is indeed with them, and therefore they should be thankful for that alone. And a thankful spirit always drives away dissatisfaction.

It is impossible to please everyone, but if we keep our mind on our priorities (that we learned last week!) any elements of dissatisfaction will take care of themselves and fade off into the background.

3. EXPECT JUBILATION

So while we need to expect opposition and expect dissatisfaction, we also need to expect that God will mature us through this adversity.

But the final expectation that I wish to present to you this morning is a very positive and encouraging one. When successfully embarking upon the Lord's will, we can also expect jubilation. Despite the effort and the sacrifice and the speed bumps along the way, God is faithful to bless the work of His servants. And as it often is, the greater the endeavor, the greater the blessings. So in many ways, as I say so often, we pursue this project for God's glory and the jubilant joy He has in store for us.

As I read in Ezra 3:12, the young people "shouted aloud for joy…when the foundation of [the temple] was laid before their eyes" Unable to contain themselves, verse 13 says, "The sound was heard far away."

Twenty-one years had now passed and it seems even the naysayers had a change of heart once the temple was completed. Ezra 6:16 says, "And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy." Verse 22 is interesting, "They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the LORD had caused them to rejoice" (cf. Neh. 12:43).

"The LORD had caused them to rejoice!"

Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). We cannot manufacture true joy; it is a gift of God that comes as we walk in His will. There are many things in the world that promise "happiness," but we know that their pleasures are superficial and their enjoyment temporary. Only with God do we get that unspeakable joy that we all crave deep down in the center of our soul. This is the joy that we are called to pursue, and we are foolish if we settle for anything less.

The Israelites endured a lot. They made great sacrifices in their personal lives. They persevered through much opposition and much dissatisfaction. But through it all, "The LORD had caused them to rejoice."

Not many years later, the Jews encountered the same opposition and disappointment when they sought to rebuild the Jerusalem walls (Neh. 2:10, 19; 4:3, 7; 6:1ff). But their leader, a man by the name of Nehemiah, made a profound statement. He said, "The joy of the LORD is your strength" (Neh. 8:10).

Let me tie all three sermon points together. The power to overcome adversity is the joy our Lord provides when doing His will. The enemy is relentless, but the joy of God enables us to overcome with greater determination.

May we have that expectation!