The diffrence that makes all the diffrenceUntitled Sermon (Improved)

Intro: From his hospital bed on the eve of open-heart surgery, Pastor Bruce McIver asked his cardiologist, Dr. Johnson, “Can you fix my heart?” The physician said, “Sure.” Then he walked away. Following the twelve-hour surgery, McIver asked Johnson, “In light of the blocked arteries that I had when I checked into the hospital, how much blood supply do I now have?” “All you’ll ever need,” replied the terse surgeon. Upon his discharge from the hospital, McIver’s wife, Lawanna, asked the doctor, “What about my husband’s future quality of life?” Dr. Johnson paused and then said, “I fixed his heart; the quality of his life is up to him.”

When we trusted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He gave us a new heart and spiritual life, but the quality of that life is up to us. Jesus saves but we make decisions everyday that effects our fellowship and growth in Christ.

We live in a day where even born again Christians are not too concerned with their spiritual condition. With everything that bids for our attention, work, phones, ball games.... we pay very little attention to God and our spiritual life. With all the darkness around us how can we pay attention to our piritual life, HOW CAN YOU NOT!

Ezra lived in dark times too, in 535 BC King Cyrus of Persia fulfilled the Prophecy of Jer. 25:11-12, 29:10 (Ez. 1:1-3) allowing the Israelites to return home, rebuild the temple of God, and worship the Lord. Cyrus paid for the journey, the building project, and gave back all the temple utensils Nebuchadnezzer taken. But only 57,833 went home. The exiles found comfort and a new identity in the pagan world around them. But the Bible Says Ezra prepared his heart to study the Law of the Lord, to do it, and to teach it in Israel.

Prepared (Main Verb) {Set} means to devote oneself to an endeavor. We have devoted ourselves to many things including work and family but Ezra’s life was firmly established in God’s Word. Because of this, the gracious hand of God was upon him and the Lord moved King Artaxerxes to send a second wave of exiles (1500) to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra. (58 years after the 1st wave).

When Ezra arrived in Jerusalem he found the the Temple rebuilt but Spiritual condition of the people poor because, though in the land of God they had neglected the Law of God and taken foreign wives and worshiped pagan gods which had led the people to exile in the 1st place. But Ezra the devoted man of God fell on his face as he mourned for the people and the glory of God in Israel and called them to repentance and faith, helping to restore Spiritual life in Israel.

CPS: Today, I want to look at the Example of Ezra and see what made him different. What made him thrive spiritually though the world around him did not and what lead to great revival in the land of Judah. The difference that made all the difference, was the devotion of Ezra’s Heart.

I. Search the Scriptures

What made Ezra different was that he purposefully set his heart to search the Scriptures. “His heart was prepared to seek the Law of the Lord.” Seek (dā·rǎš) (study) means to carefully search. Though limited and incomplete, Ezra took what he had of God’s revelation and made it his life’s purpose to know it. Ezra is an example of Psalm 1:1-3!

Why was study important? Because Ezra wanted to know God intimately and personally. He wanted to know God better than he knew Himself. Have you ever wanted to know someone.

ILL: I remember the first time I met Hope, summer of 1987, immediately I wanted to know her better. The only way to know someone better is to spend time with them. The only way to know God is to spend time in His word.

All Ezra had was the Pentateuch along with some of the O.T. Writings, but it was enough to know Him as creator and sustainer, it was enough to know that he was a great sinner but that God is the just and merciful justifer, the Redeemer of Israel Ex. 35:5-7. It was enough that he would know the need of repentance and substitutionary sacrifice of the unblemished lamb. Ezra was looking through a veal but we see more clearly because we have the complete word, the O.T. and New, we are at an advantage but only if we set our hearts to search the Scriptures.

APP: Many of us read our Bible, some of us set aside time daily for it. We go to church, listen to our favorite preachers podcast yet the spiritual condition of our life is poor, its because we haven't put aside the distractions of life and devoted ourselves to diligent study.

ILL: A scientist tells of his early years at college, he entered into the lab of one of the professors at Harvard and tells him “I want to be a zoologist and I have purposed myself to this task.” The professor asked “when do you wish to begin?” “Now” the student replied, this seemed to please the professor, “very well” said the professor as he reached for a huge jar of specimen on the shelf and set before him a fish. “take this fish and look at it.” the professor left… the young man looked at the fish for a while thinking “its a fish.” Several hours pass by and he is looking at the fish… then the young man begins to notice feature of the fish... he sees fleshly lips, lidless eyes, spinous fin,… the professor returns and asked what he has noticed… “good but look again, the young man goes back to his task for several more hours, then he looks beyond the fish.. pulls out a sheet of paper and a pencil and sketches the fish, he notices it has symmetrical sides, paired organs, 450 scales then the professor returns and asks his findings… “good good” replied the professor “keep on looking… look, look, look”

That young man came to know that fish, we can come to know God and His ways, and that is the difference that makes all the difference!

II. Show the Scriptures

Ezra’s heart was set to study the Law so that He could know God and His ways. But his heart was also set to do the Law. Do (ʿā·śā) (practice) means to perform a task, This is simply obedience! Ezra was an O.T. example of James 1:22, a doer of God’s word who obeyed God in his public life as well as his private life.

King Artaxerxes knew there was something different about Ezra. As a Scribe Ezra was likely a member of Persian bureaucracy, a lawyer who was honest and righteous, good, kind, and true. He was a worshiper of his God and openly obeyed Him even when it was popular or politically correct. Ezra knew Jerusalem was the city of God, and where the Jewish people needed to be. He knew that was the place of worship and his loyalty to God was greater than his king so he asked the king if he and the people could return to Jerusalem, and beautify the temple and make sacrfices there, and the king gave him everything he asked for. (Ez. 7:6) AND The world should know that there is something different about us! Work out what God has worked in Phil. 2:12! Be obedient!

ILL(2x) Art Hoyt told me years ago, when I made it known I was going to be a preacher. “Don’t preach a sermon unless you have lived it out.” His advice was to practice what you study. A man told Gypsy Smith, the British Evangelist, that he had recieved no inspiration from the Bible, although he had “gone through it several times.” Smith replied, “let it go through you one, then you will tell a different story!”

APP: Ezra set his heart to obey God’s Law, so how do we obey God’s Law..... Its like the old Nike commercials… JUST DO IT! Obedience to God’s Word is the difference that makes all the difference.

III. Share the Scriptures

For Ezra it wasnt enough to study and obey, it was his hearts desire to teach God’s Law… where… IN ISRAEL! The Bible says “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:)

Teach (lā·mǎḏ) to instruct or to train. It is purposeful instruction of God’s word with a call to respond. In the brief text we do not see a time that Ezra sat down and taught people. What see is praying man who cries out to God over the sin of the people and the people respond by saying “Now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments,” Ezra 9:10. “Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. “So now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.” Ezra 10:2–3.

ILL: It has been said that....the mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates, and the great teacher inspires!

Jesus commands us to teach all that He has commanded! (Matt. 28:18-20). Sunday School, Small Group, Home, Work, Play! As we go! It is the difference that makes all the difference in other people lives!

Con: So set your heart to intentionally make it your purpose to search, show, and share the Scriptures… be the difference that makes the difference in your life and the life of others.