God's Faithful Watch
The Work of Revitalization • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The Work Of Revitalization
The Work Of Revitalization
Good morning everyone and welcome. If you are visiting today I am Pastor Ben and it is my humbled joy to bring you God’s word today. If you are visiting today we would ask that you would fill out one of the visitor cards on the back of the pew in front of you and put it int he offering plate when it comes by you.
Last week we in our study through Ezra 4 we familiarized ourselves with the attacks of our adversary. We learned that often he will temp us to traverse down the wrong path through persuasion or seduction. And if we make it past that, he will then cause us to become complacent through instilling fear in us through persecution or oppression.
As we looked through out the Scriptures what we found is this is his consistent scheme. He persuaded Eve. Solomon wrote of the forbidden woman having lips like honey and speech smooth as oil but her path is the path to death.
As we looked at Ezra 4 last week we saw how this played out with the adversaries that initially offered help, but when they were denied turned towards intimidation and violence to halt the building of the temple. We saw how they went as far as writing a slanderous letter to the the king who ordered them to stop building.
We saw how Ezra broke his chronological order to show us a thematic unity. This was to inform us of a few things that could be directly applied to the work of revitalization.
First it is remembering that we are in a spiritual battle. That there are two family lines to be concerned about. The family of Yahweh, and the linage of Satan.
The second point is that revitalization is not simply for our time and generation, but is to be a multi-generational prospect. What we do today is a foundation for those who come after us.
Finally, while we plan and prepare for those yet to come, we look back to see Yahweh’s faithfulness to previous generations to trust in his faithfulness to our generation.
When it comes to our faithfulness to God, there was several principles as well. We need to know what we are doing and why. We need to know what we are responsible for. We determine this by knowing the roles that God has placed us in. And finally, when we hit rough stretches we need to check our hearts. What are they really set on. After all that is the primary goal of revitalization. The transformation of human hearts.
With that let us do our heart work by turning to our focus verse.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Please pray with me. Father we thank you for this day, and the opportunity to gather together. You have blessed us so very much. From the very breath in our lungs, to the work you have given us to do. May we take no gift for granted. Lord this is your day and your service. We ask your blessing upon our time. That through it we grow closer to you. Lord you are all that matters. May you open our hearts and our minds to receive your word today. In Christ name we pray, amen.
Well the title of our message today is God’s Faithful Watch: The Motivation to Continue On and we will be looking towards Ezra 5-6. If you brought your own Bible or want to follow along on your device please turn there now. If you are using the blue pew Bible it is on page 432 or you can follow along on the screen. For our reading today we will read 5:1-5; 6:1,6-8, 13-22.
Let us hear the word of the Lord.
1 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.
2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?”
4 They also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?”
5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.
1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored.
6 “Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away.
7 Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site.
8 Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River.
13 Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered.
14 And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia;
15 and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
16 And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
17 They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
18 And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their divisions, for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.
19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover.
20 For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves.
21 It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel.
22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
May the Lord bless the reading of his word. As we consider God’s Faithful Watch this morning we will consider three biblical truths this morning. The first two are how God provides, and the final one is what our response to this faithful watch is to be.
Internal Provision
Internal Provision
If you recall at the close of our passage from last week we read that the work of building the temple ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius.
24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
While we do not know exactly how long they were ceased from working we know it was at least two years. What brought the work to a close was the fact that they had been intimidated by their adversaries. Eventually the onslaught became so much that they ceased working. As we pick back up in our passage for today, we see that part of what brought them out of this slump were the prophets that God has provided them.
1 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.
Fortunately for us we have the writings of both Haggai and Zechariah so that we can see what it was that they did. This helps us to understand what Ezra means when he says they prophesied to the Jews.
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.”
3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet,
4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?
5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.
6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
Haggai does not mince words. He gets direct to the point of the issue. How can you live in houses while the House of the Yahweh lies in ruin? This type of living this type of prioritizing will leave you wanting. You will work and receive little. You will eat and eat but never get your fill. You will earn only to lose.
Looking to what Zechariah had to say.
3 Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.
4 Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.
5 Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’ ”
As the Jews sit not building the temple, complacent in their fear. Zechariah comes to them and says live like our fathers did and we will receive what they did, death. Live as Yahweh has commanded you and find life. Talk about a couple real motivating speeches. Called out for living for themselves, told that they are headed the same ways as those that came before them.
What is interesting is seeing how Ezra describes what the prophets did. In verse 2 Ezra classifies it as support.
2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
This section of our Bibles is written in Aramaic. This word here for support does not indicate physical support, but rather emotional support. The idea here is that by telling the Jews the truth of the situation they were in, they were being helped in accomplishing that which God has called them to do.
This is an aspect within our culture that we tend to despise. We have heard the phrases. Who you are to tell me how to live? The Bible says thou shall not judge. God knows my heart. And there are many other like it. We do not like to be corrected. Yet, God’s word shows time and time again that an aspect that he gives us is brothers or sisters in Christ to help us along in our walks. To help us see the things that we do not see.
I have recently began listening to a podcast call “It’s Good to be a Man.” On one of the more recent episodes, the host talked about how while he was in Bible college on of his professors told him that he was a brittle man. He was offended at this because we was a taller well built man, that knew he could physically handle himself and was not easily intimidated. He eventually asked his professor what he meant by that and his professor explained that it meant he did not take correction very well.
That character is an epidemic in America. We do not take correction well. Yet, God’s word calls us to receive correction.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law,
12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
24 Correct me, O Lord, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
Correction causes us to grow. Correction brings about that heart transformation. Yet, many of us would rather be bitter. We would rather be crass. We would rather be lazy. We would rather keep ourselves at the center of our world then others. We do not want to listen when Yahweh provides someone who sees something that we are not. We are far too fragile, always wanting to be the victim, instead of reflecting and considering and chancing growth.
The Jews needed to be called out of their complacency. Yes fear instilled by the adversaries placed them there, but they willingly went. This is why it is important for Christians to do life together, not simply hang out for an hour or two on Sunday morning. Men you need to be with other Christian men so that when Satan comes against you, your brothers can come to your aid. And that might mean correcting a wrong thought or behavior pattern.
Women you need to be gathering with other women. Not to gossip but to grow in Christ, to encourage each other when Satan comes after you. As individual Christians we need to be humble enough to take correction from our brothers or from our sisters as it just might be an internal provision from them Lord to help us to continue on our way closer to him.
External Provision
External Provision
In our message last week we saw how Ezra described ongoing oppression. In line with that description we see pushbask again this week.
3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?”
6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king.
In Tattenai’s letter he includes that Cyrus gave the decree for the temple to be built and suggests that the royal records be searched to verify that is is the case. As we moved into chapter 6 of our text we see that Darius followed through with this investigation.
1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored.
In verses 3-5 we read a very similar decree from Cyrus as we read in chapter 1:2-4. However there is one significant difference. What we read in this passage is that this project was to be financed by the royal treasury.
4 with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury.
In commenting on this section Daniel Akin states,
Exalting Jesus in Ezra-Nehemiah The Decrees of Cyrus and Darius (Ezra 6:1–12)
In view of both the opposition to the rebuilding and the decree that Darius issues in response to this in verses 7–12, it does not appear that the rebuilding effort had previously been financed by the royal treasury. Stop and consider what brought that part of Cyrus’s orders to light: opposition! The opponents to the rebuilding of the temple succeeded only in getting the work financed.
Now let’s think for a minute to how the royal treasury is funded. It is funded by the peoples money, through tribute to the king or taxes in essence. So there may be the thought by Tattenai as reading Darius’ response of okay, fine. But it is being funded by the tribute the Jews would give towards the treasury. Yet, look at Darius response.
8 Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River.
Not only was the royal revenue going to cover it but specifically that which is provided by the providence that Tattenai oversees. Not only were the Jews given the blessing of the king to continue building Yahweh’s temple, but their adversaries were now financially responsible to see it completed.
So what are we to understand of this? Are we to take this to mean that those who are opposed to the church are going to fund the church’s endeavors? Our God is capable of doing anything but I do not think that is to be the main take away we get from this passage.
Recall our first main point last week about the existence of two family lines. That the lineage of Satan work to interrupt the work of Yahweh’s children. Another OT passage that more clearly spells the principle out that we need to see here is from Genesis.
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
What is meant to be evil against you, God will use for your good. This is a promise from God.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
The principle that we are to see from our reading in Ezra is that Yaweh will work for good what others intend to be evil towards you. This external provision continues to operate to help you grow in Christlikeness. The difficult people you deal with. The loss of a job. The loss of a love one. The financial struggle. The illness that strickens you. All of these operate within God’s greater purpose for your good. But you will not see it that way until you understand this.
One of my mentors, he was a southern baptist preacher for 42 years before he passed away. This lesson was one he wanted me to understand. To be able to see the good God will produce from a horrific event. 19 years ago he had a granddaughter who was just entering her senior year of high school get killed in a car accident when she was broadsided by an SUV that was traveling 30 mph over the speed limit. As he recalled that event to me, he told me that even at that point, they asked God to begin to show them the good that was to come of it.
How often in our struggles do we pray Lord show me the good that can come from this. We pray, Lord deliver me. We pray, Lord provide for me. We pray, Lord be near me. But do we ever pray, Lord teach me. Our minds have to shift in how we understand the trials of life.
Commenting on this Akin states,
Exalting Jesus in Ezra-Nehemiah The Decrees of Cyrus and Darius (Ezra 6:1–12)
The Bible teaches that God turns Satan’s efforts against God’s people into blessings for them. Satan succeeds in having Jesus the Messiah crucified, fulfilling God’s plan to save those who believe. Satan sends a messenger to afflict the apostle Paul, accomplishing God’s purpose of keeping Paul from becoming conceited (2 Cor 12:7). God will do this in your life, too. There is no setback, no failure, no tragedy, no disappointment, and no defeat that God can’t use to bless you.
Yahweh sends people into our lives to call us to live for him. Yahweh uses the situations in our lives to cause us to look towards him and grow in righteousness. What in your life right now could God be using you to call you nearer to him? Who has he placed in your life that has said something to you that you did not initially like, but there might be some truth you need to consider?
We can ask this of both our individual selves and of our church. What has God had us walk through so that as a church we may look to his provision? What has been said about our church that we might need to consider has some truth to it? Can we use this information as motivation to continue to follow through with what we have been called to do?
Motivation to Follow Through
Motivation to Follow Through
As we continue in our section for today, we see a culmination of Yahweh using both internal and external provision for the Jews to complete what they have been called to do.
Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia;
Within this section there is another aspect that we need to see for the internal provision. If you are the one that has been tasked with bringing a word of correction to a brother or sister in Christ there is a specific way to do it. We see here is verse 14 that the prospering that the Jews experienced came through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah. What they did was called the Jews back to God’s word. They called them to live as God had commanded them to live.
This principle of prospering when you live by God’s word is not a secret. This is something God has made plan throughout his word..
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
As a Christian we have the added benefit of having the Spirit reside within us to testify to us according to God’s word. Where is conflict in your life? Where is strife?, Where is the trouble that just does not seem to go away? If you are experiencing any of that in your life, check where you may not be living according to God’s word.
This is the same for a church. It is not tricks or tactics. It is not a science or a philosophical result. We cannot simply look to some pre-defined steps to see a result or renewal. Andy Davis even cautions against his own book “Revitalize” in regards to this. He states,
“That is the danger of a book like this one as well. Every church revitalization situation is unique, with its own set of challenges. Yet in every case, true revitalization comes not with man-developed techniques, but with a firm reliance on the sufficiency of the Word of God to transform human hearts.” - Andy Davis, Revitalize pg. 87.
The answer to our complacency, is to realign our understandings with what Yahweh has revealed in his word. The outcome of this realignment ought to be the motivation to follow through with what we have been tasked to do. For the Jews in our reading for today it was to finish the building of the Temple. And I want you to notice what happen once they completed it.
And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
They celebrated with joy. Do you remember in our message from chapters 1 and 2 the celebration of the foundation, there was a great wailing that matched the sounds of joy. There is no presence here of wailing, just joy and celebration. What we see take place here in this portion is them keeping in step with the commands of Scripture with their sacrifices. We could be quick to say, “legalism, they are just following the law!”
Legalism is the keeping of the law because you believe that brings you salvation. What we need to understand is that the principles that our passage are spelling out for us today are not salvation related. These principles relate to how you should live once you have been saved. They spell out what we learn through the process of sanctification.
This is the difference between viewing Jesus just as your Savior and as your Lord. He is both Savior and Lord. He has rule over you for he has rule over all things. That means unbelievers as well, they just do not acknowledge his rule yet. A day is coming when they will and will have no choice in it.
But for the one who has been saved, the question becomes, why do you choose to not to submit to the Lord? Why do you choose to live in rebellion to Jesus’ words? To the ways in which he has instructed you to live?
What the Jews came to realize that we see demonstrated here is that there is a joy in following through with living as Yahweh has called you to live. There celebration was not simply for a completing of a task but rather because they had come back into alignment with Yahweh’s commands. In realizing this they were encouraged to keep his commands all the more.
There are times of struggles int his life, that we can expect. But Yahweh has his faithful eye on us. He provides for us in ways that we may not even imagine. The author of Hebrews gives us this exhortation and reminder.
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
What can man do to me? When we stand on God’s word, when we encourage one another from it, when we see the joy that comes by living in accordance with it, we will not fear what may come in this life. We can go before our Lord and ask, “What Lord do you desire for me to learn in this season?” “How oh, Lord, can I be made more into your image?”
As we continue through this series we will see that even with all the success, with all the will power to live for God, there is an element still missing, a messiah, a savior. We are blessed to live in a time where we can look back and see this and see that Jesus has come as the messiah, as the savior. He has come to set us free from the law of sin and death, and now out of the abundance of joy in realizing that Jesus has set you free, you live in submission to him. That is the follow through. It is not rebuilding a church, it is living in full submission to Jesus Christ. A heart transformed.
END IN PRAYER