God and His House

Introduction

Isn’t is good to be back at the house of God

There are many things we take for granted in our lives

Coming together as a church is one of them

You never really know how good something is until it’s gone.

I want to ask everyone to please follow the social distancing guidelines

We ask that there is no physical contact,

Please try to stay 6’ apart

By all means feel free to wear a mask

And be filled with the Spirit of God this morning

We have been going through the book of Ezra in a series called, “Foundations”

Ezra is a book about new beginnings

It’s a book about God giving His people another opportunity to get things right

We are leaning what matters most to God and how that applies to the church.

Ezra is not a historical book as much as it is a theological book

That means the writer is not as interested in what happened as he is in what God did through these experiences.

Ezra is a book about God working with His people

It highlights God’s hands at work and God’s desires

An overarching theme of the book is the rebuilding of the temple

Temple Worship was central to Jewish religion

Now we don’t have a temple today, but we do worship in churches

The temple today is our physical bodies

But we still come together is place of worship to

This message is about the great value of the church

It is more than a building

It is more than a structure

God wants His people here every time the doors are open for their benefit

Ezra 6:12

“May the God who causes His name to dwell there....the house of God”

God has given His name to represent the church

What did the pagan king notice about the temple of God?

That His name dwelt there. They knew it was a place of God

The temple has many similarities with the garden of Eden

It was lined with cedar carved of flowers and and palm trees which resembled the garden

Adam is told to guard and keep the garden (the priests are told to guard and keep it)

The entrance of the garden was to the east, the same as the temple

God’s presence was there behind the holy of holies (God talked and walked with Adam in the garden)

When they came to temple they were literally coming to place of God.

It was where they could find forgiveness

It was where they could worship

What made the temple so great was the presence of God

The church today also speaks a similar message to world

When people ride by a church today the thought that comes to their mind is God dwells here

Church members sometimes stop and pray here because it feels more spiritual

There is something about the church that speaks of the presence of God

God is not bound to these four walls

Our bodies are the temple of the Lord today

BUT it does house His name

The church is only the church because it bears the name of God!

Thank goodness they don’t come to see us, they come to meet with God

Thank goodness they don’t come to fellowship, they come for the presence

Thank goodness they don’t come to hear me preach, they come to get a Word from God

We are a church because of the name we are under

And every church has a solemn duty to bring glory to that name

When I went to the church replant conference in Atlanta a guy named Mark Clifton was there

Great guy

Works for NAMB

He told a story about a church he pastored that had been in a long history of decline

There were about about 25 members left

Most of them older

The building needed work

And Mark said he walked out of church one day and thought lets start a new church

No need to try to restore this old church

No need to try to bring painful change to this place

And he said God laid on his heart, “What about a dying church brings glory to God”

What a truth for the church today

What about a dying church brings glory to God?

What about a church who has declining attendance brings glory to God?

What about a church who does not do their best for God?

What we must never forget is the name we are representing

Anyone who sees the condition of this church inside or out good or bad immediately relates it to the name of God

Anyone who joins our services and sees a half empty church immediately relates that to God

Anyone who comes to our events immediately ties them to the name of God

Everything we do as a church is done under the name of Jesus

And we must never forget we are representing God in this place

And if it ain’t bringing Him glory then we are the people who are expected to change it

1 Corinthians 10:31 NASB95

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

If that is true in your personal life then howe much more is it true for the church

We are here to bring glory to His name in EVERYTHING WE DO

God owns the church

Verse 12: “the house of God”

The title “house of God” is used 48 times in the book of Ezra alone

What would you say if you were coming to visit me today? You would say your going to Bro Jakes house

What would you say if you were going to Pat’s house? We’re going to Pat’s house

Why? Because we own them

We have rights over them

Our names are on the deeds

Not only is God’s name attached to this place, but He owns it!

It may be called New Palestine, but Jesus Christ has ownership of it

Acts 20:28 NASB95

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

The owner of this place, all its assets, this building, and even the people belong to the Lord

Paul said He (Jesus) is the head of the church

God owns it and has made us stewards of it

Verses 13-14

God’s gives messengers to the church

“and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggi and the prophet Zechariah”

Now you must understand a little background to get this truth

The building of the temple took 21 years since they laid the foundation

They experienced opposition

They experienced discouragement

They experienced slander

And then they just quit

Now God loves His people too much to let them do nothing

God knows what we need most in this life

God knows our needs better than we do

Scripture says He has the hairs of head numbered

For those of us who are losing hair that’s a full time job

And so God gave the people of God prophets to speak His message to them

These prophets spoke what God wanted them to speak

God sent his prophet to rebuke and to encourage them

The Scripture says, “and they prospered”

They not only got the temple built, but they prospered because of it

Application:

We don’t have prophets today like they did in the OT

But we do have messengers of God that He gives to the churches

Ephesians 4:11–12 NASB95

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

When we come together as a people of God in the house of God, we must come expecting a Word from God!

If God gives a convicting message then its for the benefit of the people

If God gives an encouraging message then its for the benefit of the people

God knows what the people need

We do not have prophets today, we have messengers

And God gives His church a message in every service

Do you know why the pulpit is in the center of the sanctuary?

Because it is the central part of the service

No church can operate exclusively on preaching!

The prophets preached and the Jews finished the temple

For preaching to mean anything to us is requires a response

It may be encouragement

It may be rebuke

BUT GOD NEVER SENDS FOURTH HIS WORD WITHOUT INTENDING A RESPONSE

Verses 15-17

God gives the restoration to the church

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament 6:13-22: Completion, Dedication and Passover Celebration

6:17. dedication sacrifice compared to 1 Kings. See the comment on 2 Chronicles 7:5–7 for dedicatory activity for Solomon’s temple. The actual number of sacrificial animals in the dedication ceremony for the second temple is much smaller than at the time of Solomon (1 Kings 8:63): 22,000 oxen versus 100 bulls; 120,000 sheep versus 200 rams and 400 male lambs. The sin offering of twelve male goats is according to priestly ritual (Lev 4:22–26; see the comment on Lev 4:13–32) and fits into Ezra’s attempt to reestablish the idea of a twelve-tribe coalition, now reborn through the exile experience and prepared to resume its covenantal relationship with Yahweh in Judah and Jeru- salem.

Verse 16 “they celebrated with great joy”

God’s design for the church is a joyful time

Our service is a time of celebration and thanksgiving

It should be something we look forward to each week

We worship on Sunday the first day of the week to fill us for the upcoming days

Joy is a byproduct of a healthy church

If the people come out smiling its a good sign

Verse 17: “The sin offering for all Israel twelve goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel”

Notice how Ezra mentions the twelve tribes of Israel

He also mentions the number of animals offered

100 bulls

400 lambs

12 male goats

All of this is a reflection back on the dedication of Solomon’s temple:

1 Kings 8:63 NASB95

Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.

All of this makes the point that God has reestablished what once was

Israel once had great worship

Israel once had great unity

Israel once had sweet fellowship with God

And they lost it all because of their sin

But Israel is now functioning as it once did

God specializes is restoration

And I know this subject has been talked about already but here Ezra brings it up again

I think God wants us to know he can restore this place

I think God wants us to rest assured His hand is able to do anything!

I have heard over and over that church will never be like it was

The people today are too cold toward God

No one wants to come to church anymore

No one has any interest in God

None of that matters to God

He’s not bound to one time frame only!

He is not the God os the 80’s and 90’s

HE is the Alpha and Omega!

He is the beginning and the end!

If we want to see God do a great work in this place then all we have to do is get on board with it!

God uses whomever is usable!

He gives the direction and the people go!

It takes both God and man

Its not all God and no man

Its not all man and no God

Its man responding to God

We are going to have a time to respond to this message

It’s going to be a little different

We have two sets of stairs here

If you need to make a decision then come and pray

You can also do it from your seat right there

~PRAYER~