The First Rebuild & Restoration - The Temple Foundation
Notes
Transcript
Timeline
Timeline
Text
Text
Ezra 3:8-13
In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God’s house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build. They appointed the Levites who were twenty years old or more to supervise the work on the Lord’s house. Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah and of Henadad, with their sons and brothers, the Levites, joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.
When the builders had laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple, the priests, dressed in their robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites descended from Asaph, holding cymbals, took their positions to praise the Lord, as King David of Israel had instructed. They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord: “For he is good; his faithful love to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s house had been laid.
But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple, but many others shouted joyfully. The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from that of the weeping, because the people were shouting so loudly. And the sound was heard far away.
Message
Message
1. Delegating & Equipping
1. Delegating & Equipping
Ezra 3:8-9
The idea behind delegating - is really a passing off of role & responsibility to someone else
Now this can be because it might be out of your own strengths and might play better to the strength of the other person
It could also....if we are honest be something, you just don’t want to do - kind of like how you can delegate a chore to an older child like pairing and putting away the socks in the new laundry (this will 1000% be me when my son is old enough because I LOATH this)
But I don’t think these are the only 2 reasons we have the idea of delegating - and its the reason this point is more than just delegation but also equipping
Delegating can happen as a result of an abundance of work.
Now I need us to understand how often this happens in our lives particularly in the church to see how much we are missing one of the most important parts in our walk with Christ
See there’s this…pseudo-Christian phrase that gets thrown around all the time that is not biblical but it sounds biblical because its a misunderstanding of a biblical verse
How many of you have ever heard the phrase “God will not give you more than you can handle”
Its often used as some weird attempt to comfort someone going through a hard time or something of the like.
The issue is…its not biblical. Like at all.
The actual verse is from 1 Corinthians 10:13 where Paul is speaking about temptation to fall into sin He says that God will not allow a temptation to come upon you that is uncommon to humanity.....meaning you will not be tempted to sin in a way that no one else has ever faced and/or resisted
And then Paul says that when this temptation to sin comes our way, God is faithful and will always provide a means of escaping that temptation so we do not succumb to it
But this idea of “God won’t give you more than you can handle” is actually something so foreign to Scripture it becomes dangerous
Because it walks us towards this lone ranger Christianity. It takes us in this mindset of
“All I need is me and Jesus”
“I don’t need church or community because I have Jesus” - And He won’t give me more than I can handle.
Let me show you why this idea is not biblical with some Scriptures
The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father
Give Us Our daily bread
Forgive us our debts as we also have forgive our debtors
do not bring us into temptation but deliver us
This prayer can only be understood in the context of community
Notice:
There is calls for good to provide to the us
Calls for deliverance of the us
Forgiveness given and extended to and from the us
Galatians 6:1-2
Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
James 5:16, 19-20
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.
My brothers and sisters, if any among you strays from the truth, and someone turns him back, let that person know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Jude 20-23
But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. Have mercy on those who waver; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Now you might be thinking, okay I kind of get the point but what does any of this have to do with building the temple foundation
Look again at our text after having walked through the understanding of delegation
Ezra 3:8-9
In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God’s house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build. They appointed the Levites who were twenty years old or more to supervise the work on the Lord’s house. Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah and of Henadad, with their sons and brothers, the Levites, joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.
We see that it isn’t just Zerubbabel, the leader who does the work. But rather Zerubbabel and Jeshua and all of the brothers who begin to build and then they appoint others to supervise the work
This is delegation
Then we see see equipping in the qualification listed for those chosen to to supervise the work.
We see this age restriction amongst the Levites specifically for those who will supervise
This is because, over time as a Levite, serving in the role, you are gaining wisdom and experience to then be in a place you could supervise this work
You cannot effectively supervise a work you do not yourself know how to do
Now some of you might say, well if you knew my boss or my manager or my supervisor you wouldn’t say that
But that kind of proves the point. Because Scripture (Ezra and Nehemiah) in particular, have no issue calling out ineffective, negligent or willfully sinful leaders (as we will see later on in Ezra)
But we do not see such a distinction given that these chosen were ineffective for the work.
Here is what I’m getting at, one of the most important aspects of our Christian walk is the area of discipleship - this idea of growing, training, and sending Christians leaders who will do the same.
Discipleship is not just for Pastors to do.
Despite the misconception, Pastors are not the only trainers in discipleship and you the people are not only the recipients of it.
Every Christian is called to be discipled, but also to disciple - to make disciples.
We see this in the Great Commission
Matthew 28:19-20
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Notice the Apostles were given the task to go an make disciples and to teach them everything Jesus commanded them which.....if you’re paying attention....included what He just commanded them
So He called the Apostles to go and make disciples and teach those disciples to go and make disciples and teach them to go and......
you get the point
If you, yes you the person watching this right now, if you are not making disciples, like here seen in Ezra as delegating work to others and then equipping them to do that work.....we are missing the how in how the work of rebuilding, and restoration is done.
2. Positioning & Praising
2. Positioning & Praising
Ezra 3:10-11
Our second point here is really an extension or an overflow of the first one.
Because really if you were able to keep yourselves awake 2 weeks ago when we read Ezra 2 - the 70 verses of names…you would know that there was more people than just what we see here to supervise
There other leaders who were delegated responsibility and they were equipped to take on that responsibility - and one such group was really what we would consider the worship team
These were the descendants of Asaph
And we see them put on their attire, grab their instruments and take “their positions to praise the LORD”
There are so many Christians today, who are missing another important aspect of their walk with Christ and that is taking their position in serving in the church!
Why?
Because serving in the church is ultimately for the praise of God and His faithfulness
And you might say well, that’s because its the worship team that’s what they are supposed to do....
Well yes, as is every Christian!
Because trust me, I have seen a lot of people in the roll of worship leader or even Pastor who do not see their ultimate purpose to be for the praise of God and His faithfulness but rather see it as a stepping stone so that they might obtain more influence or power for themselves
We go all in to serving in the church yes because there is great need, much like we saw in our first point…Zerubbabel and the other leaders could not have done all of the supervision themselves
So yes we serve because there is much work, but ultimately, we serve in order that we might proclaim with both words (that is in speech and in song like verses 10-11) and in deed (that is through actions like in verses 8-9)
3. Old & New
3. Old & New
Ezra 3:12-13
This last point is one that is extremely important for us to understand because of how often we ourselves fall into the category “old”
Now I’m not talking about age here but moreso old as in old work and new work
Because we know from walking through this series the people have return in order to rebuild, to remove the sin from amongst them that led them into exile, and to restore their relationship with the LORD
But even in the midst of God doing a new work, there is this temptation to not just remember the past, but long for that more than what God was currently doing.
They were not only missing the joy of the restoration of the temple foundation, but missing the joy of what it pointed to ultimately!
I think there was a reason that God made the 2nd Temple lesser in a physical way than the 1st Temple built by Solomon.
Because the Temple was meant to point us to something.
We know from Scripture (Paul’s address in Acts 17) that God does not reside in Temples built by human hands....
The idea or premise behind the Temple was the ‘dwelling place of God’
It was the evidence that God is with us.
So the 2nd temple being less of a physically imposing structure should not have drawn cries of despair looking backwards - but joyful and curious praise looking forwards
Now we know the work that God was pointing towards, that He for those who would have faith in Jesus, those who have turned from a life in sin to follow Jesus, that God would make the people His temple.
That He would send the Holy Spirit to reside within the believer, that the Holy Spirit would change the believer from the inside out thus showing and evidencing in so much a a greater way ‘God is with us”
But I want to encourage you, to remember our order of operations. Even this restoration of the temple was about people.
Because God is in the business making old things new again
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!
And as new creations of God, as His new workmanship we push forward into the good works God has called us to, and prepared for us beforehand.
So I want to ask, are you a new creation? If not trust Jesus today and be made new
If you are a new creation, Are you delegating and equipping other Christians for the work of restoration? Are positioning yourself to serve in the local church to bring praise to God for what He has done? Are you looking forward with joyful curiosity into what God is doing to bring restoration to our community?
If not, let me invite you to, contact us and let us know you want to be apart of the work of restoration Missio Dei Community Church is bringing and going to bring to our community.