Starting Over

MPT: The author showed Israel that true restoration begins when God’s people respond to fear, loss, and new beginnings with worship of the Lord.

2 truths about worship.

INTRODUCTION

Let’s continue worshipping the Lord. If you have your Bibles, I ask that you make your way to Ezra chapter 3. We are going to look at all 13 verses today. If you didn’t bring a Bible, that is okay. There is a copy in the back of the pew in front of you, and if you do not own a Bible, please keep that Bible, take it home with you, read it, and learn about the God who loves you and desires a relationship with you. If you know someone who needs a Bible, please take one of those Bibles and give it to them as a gift. Ezra chapter 3, verses 1-13.

I’m just going to rip the band-aid off here, but I need y’all to take it easy on me. I forgot my wife’s birthday. Now, let me explain. This was not a recent birthday; in fact, this was before we were married, before we were engaged, we were dating. Not only that, but we were on vacation with my family. There was a lot going on, and I wasn’t keeping track of what day it was. Ok, I am aware that those excuses are weak, and do not get me out of the fact that I forgot my wife’s birthday. Look, I say this quite often, and I know y’all are all thinking it right about now, but I question Ariana’s taste in men. The thing is, I knew her birthday was the week we were going to the beach with my family; it didn’t sneak up on me. I was being selfish, and I focused my attention on other things. Ariana knew something was up because the night before her birthday, we all stayed up late to watch a movie or play a game or something, and around 11 PM or so, I told Ariana goodnight, and I went up to the room where all the guys slept, and I went to bed without saying anything about her birthday. At first, she probably thought I was planning a surprise. Well, the next morning, I slept in, she’s already been up, had breakfast, and started her day. I come downstairs, say good morning, and don’t say a word about her birthday. It wasn’t until I looked over her shoulder that I saw a text from her dad that said, “Happy birthday,” that I realized what day it was. My heart sank, I felt terrible, and I couldn’t believe I forgot her birthday. Now, Ariana did get revenge, kind of. By the grace of God, she forgave me enough to still spend the day with me. We go down to the ocean, and we are in for a while. We start making our way out of the water, and we get about ankle deep when all of a sudden, something latches onto my foot. I yelp in pain, and without hesitation, Ariana makes a run for it out of the water. She doesn’t look back, she doesn’t try to rescue me, she doesn’t check on me, she has no idea what has gotten hold of me. For all she knew, I was a goner, and she was looking out for number one. Turns out, it was just a small crab that grabbed hold of my big toe. When I stuck my foot out of the water, you could see it hanging from my toe. So I shook it off and walked back to shore. But, she didn’t know that. The thing is, at this point in our relationship, I knew Ariana was the one, I knew I was going to marry her, but I didn’t make her a priority that week, and didn’t bother to remember her birthday.

A lot of times, we don’t make worship a priority. We come when we can, but if something better comes along, we skip church because it will be there next week. Just like I made excuses as to why I forgot Ariana’s birthday, we make excuses to not worship. What are some excuses you have given for not coming to church? Were you too tired? Too busy? Had something going on later, so you wanted to rest up. Needed to run errands. Maybe you were sad or upset and didn’t want to be around people. There are a lot of excuses we make to get out of worship. What we are going to see this morning in Ezra chapter 3 is a people who could have given many excuses to get out of gathering for worship. Instead, we see intentional worship and the desire for restoration. In this passage, the author showed Israel that true restoration begins when God’s people respond to fear, loss, and new beginnings with worship of the Lord. So this morning, we are going to see 2 truths about worship. If you have your Bibles and you’ve made your way to Ezra chapter 3, I ask if you are able to rise to your feet as we read out of God’s Word this morning.

CONTEXT

If you are new this morning or you need a refresher, we are going through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah together. The reason we are doing both is that these 2 books were actually written as one volume. This is a work of narrative, which means the author is telling a story. This narrative tells the story of the nation of Israel being released back to Jerusalem from its 70-year exile in Babylon to restore and rebuild the temple. In the first 2 chapters, we see the edict of Cyrus that allows the return of the Israelites, and we get a census of who was released and what they brought with them. That brings us to chapter 3, where we start to see the rebuilding of the temple and Israel’s response to being back home. So, the first truth we see here about worship is...

WORSHIP SHOULD BE A PRIORITY IN YOUR LIFE, NOT A CONVENIENCE.

(1) The seventh month was significant to ancient Jews. We see this in Leviticus 23. On the first day of the seventh month, there is to be a ceremonial trumpet blast. On the tenth day, the day of atonement. This was a sabbath day on which they wouldn’t work, and they would present a food offering to the Lord. Then, starting on the fifteenth day and lasting for seven days, it would be the festival of booths, or tabernacles, or shelters; there are many names for it. But this festival was meant for Israel to be thankful for all of God’s provisions. So the timing worked out for them to be able to finally gather together on the seventh month to celebrate all that God has done for them. The rest of this verse says that they were in their towns, then gathered as one. The Israelites moved back into their lands, started over, spread out, and then gathered together. I’m sure there was a lot to do. They had to rebuild homes, start crops over, and figure out how to live independently again. But they dropped all of that to gather as one. And look why.

(2-3) We see two things here. The first is that these faithful men are rebuilding the altar according to the specifications that were given to them in Scripture. The second is that they worshiped by presenting burnt offerings morning and evening, even though they feared the people living in the land. This is a big deal. They just moved back to their home, and are afraid of the people who are living there. The non-Jewish people who were living there that didn’t go into exile with them. Israel didn’t know if these people could be trusted, so they were afraid. But they worshiped even though they were afraid. Some translations say they worshipped because they were afraid. Regardless, their response to fear was to worship the Lord. So to make worship a priority, you need to make sure that you respond to trials with worship.

That’s precisely what we are seeing the Israelites do. They’ve left the place they lived for 70 years. They have to rebuild everything. There are many people who were born in exile, who don’t know this land, and those who do know the land, they would have been really old at this point. Plus, people were living in this land. Non-Jews who weren’t exiled. The Israelites have been gone for 70 years; they don’t know these people, and they were afraid. But they still worshiped. Their response to their fear of those people was to worship God. How do you respond to times of trials? Do you worry? Do you lash out? Do you throw a fit? Do you flee and let your husband get eaten by a sea monster? In times of trials, God wants us to rely on Him. Responding to trials with worship doesn’t just mean praise. I think we use the terms worship and praise interchangeably. Praise is certainly a vital component of worship, but it’s not the only component. All throughout the Psalms, we see the Psalmist worshipping the Lord through confession, expressing emotions, seeking comfort, and lamenting. These are components of worship, too. When we come to God with confession and lament, we are demonstrating that we trust in God’s sovereignty, goodness, and love, even when we don’t understand our circumstances. We acknowledge that God can handle our questions, our doubts, our pain, our fears.

(4-6) These verses show the Israelites worshipping in the prescribed way. This is pretty incredible. They’ve been gone for 70 years, some of them, born in exile, never even worshipped in the first temple. But they get to come home, and what do they do? Start worshipping right away, the way they were told to worship by God. They were being obedient. And in verse six, they didn’t wait until they had the temple; they started worshipping before it was built. They could have waited. They could have given excuses like, “I just started my garden, my house was just built, so we are settling in. The temple isn’t ready. I really don’t want to worship outside.” There were plenty of excuses that could have kept them from worshipping, but they still made worship a priority. As you process the truth that worship should be a priority, you need to make worshipping the Lord part of your identity.

We see here that this is exactly what these Israelites have done. These people prioritized worship in their lives. They were intentional and went out of their way to gather in corporate worship. They didn’t wait until it was convenient or fit their schedule. What excuses do you give for not gathering with us on a Sunday morning? What keeps you from desiring to gather with your faith family? What do you prioritize over coming together in corporate worship of our Lord, Savior, and King? Gathering together on Sunday mornings is special. This is where we come together, united under one faith through one Savior. Gathering for worship is more than meeting on Sunday mornings. We worship when we pray, we worship when we serve. I know Pastor Buck mentioned his distress over the quarterly night of prayer here. But we have a prayer night every Wednesday at 6. I know some of you serve at Greenridge on Wednesday evenings, but some of you don’t. Come worship with us as we pray through Scripture. We also worship when we serve together. Many of you come to our events, which is great, but worship with us as you paint decorations for VBS. There are many ways we can worship together. We should be more than a group of people who meet on Sundays; we should be a family. That’s why I use the phrase faith family, because that is what we are, a family brought together by our Father in Heaven. We should cherish being a family, even if that makes me the weird cousin. I’m fine with that. For the Israelites, worshipping the Lord was who they were; they were God’s chosen people. And if you are in here and you are a Christ follower, then you are also part of God’s chosen people. Now, have these ancient Israelites gotten it right all the time? Of course not, in fact, we will see as we go through this book that they don’t. But that doesn’t change the fact that they were created and called to live in worshipful obedience to the Lord, and so are you. So make worshiping the Lord part of your identity and obey God’s Word carefully when you worship.

From page one of the Bible, God spoke, and His creation listened. When He created Adam, He gave specific instructions on how he was to live. That was to work the land, have dominion over the animals, lead his wife well, then be fruitful and multiply. All of that was to be out of worshipful obedience. Listening to God’s Word and giving Him the glory along the way. We were created with the purpose of worshipping and obeying, to know Him and make Him known. We see in these first few verses that they aren’t just worshipping anyway they want. They are worshipping the way God has told them to worship, in His word. I understand that they lived in a different time in salvation history. But we are still called to obey God’s Word carefully when we worship. This is why we are intentional about making Scripture the center of worship. Pastor Buck says this all the time, but worship is the right response to the right understanding of who God is. God has given us everything we need to know about Him in His Word and through the Holy Spirit in us. If you are a follower of Christ, you have everything you need. That’s why it’s so important to know this book, to make it part of who you are.

WORSHIP SHOULD CELEBRATE GOD’S WORK, NOT COMPARE IT TO THE PAST.

(7-9) We see in verse 7 that they gave money for supplies. Verse 8 fast forwards to the second month of the second year. Remember, this chapter started off with the seventh month. It would have taken a few months for the supplies to get to Jerusalem. We also see that they are reenacting the building of the first temple. A lot of what is said in these few verses mirrors the account of the first temple. We also see that the Levites, starting at 20 years old, took charge of supervising the build. Back in the book of Numbers, the minimum age was 25, and the minimum age to carry the tabernacle was 30. The lowered age requirement is most likely due to the small number of Levites available.

(10-11) There isn’t much detail as to the process of laying the foundation, because the point of this is to show the response of praise and celebration. Again, the Israelites are trying to be as faithful as possible, and they are worshipping the way David had prescribed. The priests dressed in robes with trumpets, and Asaph, in this case, the descendants of Asaph, holding cymbals. They also sing the same song that was sung when Solomon had the ark moved into the temple. I think the author here is being intentional about the similarities here. I think he’s showing that God always has and always will be faithful. By singing the same song as their ancestors, the Israelites are reminding themselves of that, too. So to celebrate God’s work by not comparing to the past, you need to remember how God has been faithful, and acknowledge how He is still faithful.

Being the music guy, I’m under a lot of pressure, especially since we’ve blended this church. I hear things like, “Why don’t we do old stuff?”, followed by, “Why do we only do old stuff?” When we use the drums, I hear, “I really like the cajon”, and when we have the cajon, I hear, “I love hearing those drums”. You know what I don’t hear? “Wow, Kevin, you are such a great guitar player, you have the voice of an angel, I want to record you and make it my ringtone.” I don’t get any of that. The point is not to get caught up in the past. We certainly need to honor the past and reflect on the good that God has done, but we can’t dwell on that. If we spend too much time looking back, we will have a hard time realizing what God is doing for us now. Even though this church looks different, the music is different, the order of worship is different, God is still moving in this church. Regardless of the changes, people in this church are moving from death to life. People are coming to faith in Christ. This is what we need to be celebrating. God still continues to be faithful in the life of this church.

(12-13) We see here mixed reactions to the foundation of the new temple. Why were the ones who remember the first temple weeping? Shouldn’t they be just as joyous, if not more, than the others? They are finally back home, they are getting the temple back, yet, they weep. There are a lot of contributing factors here; look back at Ezra 2:64. That’s all who came out of exile. Compare that to the exodus that had over 600,000 men. Their population had dramatically decreased. Even though a new foundation for the temple was laid, it wasn’t the same beautiful temple, but one made with limited resources. This wasn’t what they remembered; this is not what they wanted. They wanted things to go back to the way they were. But that was not God’s plan. Some of that may sound familiar. How many of you were here when this church was on the brink of closing? How did you respond when the name was changed? When things rebranded? For those that came from Greenridge, there was joy and excitement to see life in this church. But for those who were already here, I’m sure there was a part of you that was sad. But see, God didn’t bring the Israelites out of exile to make things exactly how they once were. He brought them out to show that He is still in control, and even though they were thrown into exile, God didn’t give up on them. But that was difficult for some of those people, and understandably so. But this temple that they are weeping over, this temple that does not meet the expectations of the first one, is not the true temple. The temple was a place where God could dwell among the people, but Jesus came to fulfill that. True restoration wasn’t meant to come in the form of building a new temple; true restoration comes in the form of Jesus. He is the true temple, and now, through His life, death, burial, and resurrection, God, the Holy Spirit, dwells among and in believers who place their faith in Christ. So to celebrate God’s work without comparing to the past, choose revival over ritual.

What are you focused on when you come on a Sunday morning? Is it growing in your walk with Christ? Worshipping with your brothers and sisters? Or is it just checking a box? You come because church is what you do on Sunday. Y’all, our Sunday morning gathering is meant to be a foretaste of what is to come when Christ returns, and when He does, all those who place their faith in Him will worship Him for eternity, united together. When He returns, we aren’t going to be worried about traditions or rituals, because we will be in the presence of God, free from the bondage of sin. That is what we need to focus on when we gather on Sunday mornings. Coming to church to worship should excite you. Gathering for corporate worship should be the highlight of your week; it should be what you look forward to. To worship our Savior. Jesus Christ, who came to earth and lived the full human experience from conception to death, and lived it perfectly, according to God’s design. And even though we are all sinners and deserve an eternity experiencing God’s wrath, Jesus stepped in our place. He died the death we deserve and rose again 3 days later, defeating sin, defeating death, and those who place their faith in Him will no longer spend eternity experiencing God’s wrath, but will get to spend eternity experiencing God’s love. Y’all, this is why we worship. The Gospel is the center of it all. We can come to God with praise, adoration, thanksgiving, confession, and lament because of the hope we have in Christ. So make worship a priority in your life, not a convenience, and celebrate the work that God is doing. Let’s pray.

INVITATION

The praise and worship team is going to come back up, and we are going to have a time of invitation. For the believer in this room, I hope that today’s passage has helped you see more clearly what worship is, and that you make worship a priority in your life. To make an intentional effort to be with your faith family, not just when it’s convenient for you. And that you see all the good that God is doing in the life of our church. For the non-believer in this room, I know that this is difficult to understand. But what I want you to know is there is a God who loves you and desires a relationship with you, so much so that He died for you. If you aren’t a believer in this room, I urge you to repent of your sin, to place your faith in Christ, and to embrace His love. As I said, we are going to have a time of invitation, whether you need prayer, or you are ready to place your faith in Christ, I’ll be down front, however you need to respond.