Building an Altar in the Temple of God
Ezra Generation of Worshippers • Sermon • Submitted
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Tension in the Body
Today when we examine the field of church and worship we find a fractured body one that in many ways holds the value of personal belief above the word of God.
200 denominations in the US 45,000 Christian Denominations globally. Many of these splinters as a result of personal dissent with the body.
However many denominations exist today there is a call that is resounding to return to a right worship of the Lord.
We are in the final laps of the final mile of the return of the Lord. In this return is a call to stand in worship of the Lord.
This generation of worshippers will see the return of a powerful move of God. But not before it restores the a right posture in worship
We are a generation of worshippers called to re-establish right worship to the Lord.
We are a generation of worshippers called to re-establish right worship to the Lord.
How Did We Get Here?
How Did We Get Here?
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.
Examining the book of Ezra
The people of God go through cycles of;
falling away
repentance
revival
idolatry
repeat until they are exiled
Teetering from the start a people who are prone to wander
God makes use secular to bring about His will
Cyrus acknowledges God, and the need to rebuild a house of worship for the Lord
Cyrus commands the kingdom to not just allow the exiles to return but to give them provision...
Founding fathers wanted a place where they were free to worship God
they came to USA and have a space to do as such
There are times in which the church has enjoyed presidents who favor the church and other times in which we are on the brink of a government who will try to stop the work
The road to the building of this temple is paved with moments of concern and fear… but not devoid of God
We have seen many churches that have brought about great revivals
In this we have seen churches that have faced severe opposition
None the less God has been at work building His church...
Altar as the Foundation
Altar as the Foundation
When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem.
Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.
They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening.
Unify the Body
they came together as one
the infighting in the body has to come to an end
They built and set the Altar in its place
We have seen what God does to foreign altars and gods
today the call is to build the right altar
Jesus in HIs rightful place
Continuous offering;
not just Sunday
They kept the incense burning on the Altar
weve lost sight of this...
Take note the Altar is established before the foundation as the land is being prepared
Call into Service
Call into Service
Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the Lord.
These priests are the same that raise worship during the laying of the foundation
There was a selection process to ensure the proper stewarding was done
v.11 they sang responsively
they saw the Lord at work and responded
652 plus several sons of the priests were disqualified
These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but they were not found there, and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
The reason for their exclusion is their inability to prove their lineage
They married into foreign lands
We cannot be found flirting with foreign marriages
Today there is a return of the exiles the foundation has been laid and there is a call to those who have been marked for service
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
you have been called into His Royal priesthood to proclaim His excellencies
He has made of you a Holy Nation you are no longer exiles stop living lie you captors
Abstain from the fleshly
Your character will tell of who God is. We have been commissioned to re-establish worship but it starts by properly seating the altar of worship in our lives that our incense would arise daily.