Pressing on Despite Opposition
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
This summer, we looked at a verse in 1 Peter.
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
This verse is the summation of a theme in the book, and that is that there will be persecution and opposition to any work of God. Anything that is worth building, that is worth working for, comes with opposition, comes with obstacles and hindrances to it.
And that should not be surprising. Yet, for some reason, we live in an age, in a culture and society that believes and thinks that things should happen without any resistance, without any opposition. I exist, therefore, cater to my every whim and wish.
And yet, the same book in 1 Peter tells us
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
That’s why we read these words in Ezra today. And this chapter gives us a glimpse, a look, into what it means to be faithful to God in spite of persecution and opposition to the work. Because, as I’ve stated, I believe that we are the hope that the world needs. But, our rebuilding, our restoring, our reviving will only come as we commit our efforts to persevere, to press on, despite the opposition we face.
So, let’s look at the text and see what we find.
I. The Adversaries Rise up. v.1-5
I. The Adversaries Rise up. v.1-5
Notice what we have in these first verses.
Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.”
As we mentioned last week, the Jews were allowed back to their homeland, allowed back to rebuild the temple and worship God. And last week we saw how they made the rebuilding of the temple, of worship a priority in their lives.
One of the things I mentioned was that in verse 3 of chapter 3, we were told,
They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening.
This chapter tells us the reason for this fear. The adversaries of Judah and Benjamin came to the Jews, to the returned exiles, and said, why don’t we join together and rebuild as one the temple. We worship, after all, the same way you do. We all worship the same God, let’s work together. After all, we’ve been here for a long time.
By the way, this is how it starts. This is how compromise, this is how heresy, how worldliness, how evil creeps into the church. The church never is asked to abandon orthodox beliefs, we are simply called to accept, to work together, to just give an inch on your rigid exclusivism, your outlandish doctrines and beliefs.
The news came out last week that the bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Albany New York was disciplined by the Episcopal Church for banning the clergy under his care from performing same sex marriage unions. This is from the Christian Post website.
A traditionalist bishop who opposes same-sex marriage rites in the church has been found guilty by a Hearing Panel of failing to abide by the Discipline and Worship of The Episcopal Church in violation of his ordination vows.
The decision comes nearly two years after Episcopal Diocese of Albany Bishop William H. Love directed clergy resident, licensed, or canonically resident in the diocese (serving elsewhere) not to use trial rites solemnizing marriages between persons of the same sex.
In a letter to his diocese, Love writes that a separate hearing will be scheduled within the month to discuss the terms of discipline to be carried out.
“Until then, we don’t know what actions will be taken. Whatever the final outcome, it will severely impact not only me and the ministry entrusted to me as Bishop of Albany, but it will also seriously impact the life and ministry of the Diocese,” the upstate New York bishop writes. “I continue to pray that somehow God will use all of this for His purposes.”
The Hearing Panel has issued a 42 page document outlining the decision, which the Albany Diocese has made available on its web site here.
Long-Running Opposition
Love has cited his obligation as a bishop “called to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church” among several reasons for his decision against implementing the rites. The bishop characterizes the dispute as part of his dioceses’ “faithfulness in upholding God’s Word.”
Access to “provisional” same-sex rites was originally at the discretion of diocesan bishops, but the dispute began after the church’s General Convention meeting July 5-13, 2018 in Austin, Texas, passed Resolution B012. The resolution mandated dioceses provide access to same-sex trial rites over the objections of a diocesan bishop who does not agree with same-sex marriage.
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry placed a restriction January 11, 2019 on Love’s ministry and began the disciplinary process.
Episcopalians have steadily embraced same-sex unions, first consecrating an openly partnered gay bishop in 2003, followed by a bishop in a Lesbian relationship in 2009. Bishops in same-sex partnerships have since been elected and consecrated to lead dioceses in Maine, Michigan and Missouri.
A small minority of Episcopal Church diocesan bishops teach a traditional understanding of marriage between a man and a woman. However, Albany is the only remaining domestic U.S. diocese to prohibit clergy from presiding at same-sex rites. Several Episcopal dioceses in Latin America and the Caribbean have similar policies, but are unaffected by Resolution B012 as same-sex marriage is not recognized in civil law where they minister.
Slippery Slope or Incremental Agenda?
Orthodox clergy and laity argue that a “cancerous theology” has been exported from the Episcopal Church into the wider Anglican Communion, of which it is a part. Same-sex rites, they insist, are merely a presenting issue, pointing to deeper disagreements about the identity of Jesus Christ as the unique son of God and the role of scripture as authoritative.
Love argues that the Episcopal Church Book of Common Prayer still upholds marriage as between a man and a woman and that Resolution B012 was not a properly constituted revision.
Ordination of clergy openly in same-sex partnerships first occurred in the liberal Diocese of Newark, New Jersey in the late-1980s, although unofficial LGBT caucuses have advocated within the Episcopal Church since the 1970’s.
But notice verse 3.
But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
So what happens.
Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
You won’t give in, you won’t compromise, you won’t let us sit with you and worship with you despite our differences, you know what. We will shut you down. We will destroy you.
II. A Plan is Conceived. v.6-16
II. A Plan is Conceived. v.6-16
Having come off this sweet talk of compromise, getting along with each other, which winds up failing, the adversaries of the Jews turned to another plan, a plot to get the building of the temple shut down.
And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
They wind up writing a letter to King Artaxerxes and look at what the letter details.
be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired.
Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king,
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (2) The Letter to Artaxerxes (4:7–16)
We are under obligation to the palace” is literally, “We have eaten the salt of the palace.” Salt was often used to seal covenants; thus it implies loyalty (cf. Lev 2:13; Num 18:19; 2 Chr 13:5). “Eating the salt of” came to be an idiomatic expression for “being in the service of” or “receiving a salary from.” Our word “salary” is derived from Latin salarium, “salt money.” A pretense of loyalty and concern for the king’s honor is used with no mention of the true motives of personal gain.
in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste.
We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”
It’s not clear what exactly the accusers were referring to here in this accusation. Obviously these are wild accusations, designed to provoke the response that happens in the next section.
III. The Plan Succeeds. v.17-24
III. The Plan Succeeds. v.17-24
The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now
Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me.
And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”
The king, armed with the partial truth, the partial facts, makes a decision that the work on the temple to stop, to cease, all because of these half truths and wild exaggerations made about the rebuilding that was taking place. The work that began so good comes crashing to a halt simply because of the opposition.
IV. The Challenge for us.
IV. The Challenge for us.
This brings us to a challenge for us today. We don’t have to rebuild a temple, an altar if you would. But, our job is to stand as a light in a dark world and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. And what we know is pretty simple. the enemy hates the work of God, he hates the fact that God’s people are working and moving. And he would like nothing more than to destroy and hinder and crush the work of God in the world. So, what do we do?
A. We can never compromise on our beliefs.
A. We can never compromise on our beliefs.
I said it last week, coming to church is perfectly fine. Saying that you are a Christian, that you believe in God, there is nothing wrong with that at all. the problem is if you believe that there is only one way to heaven, if you believe that the Bible is God’s Word and should be taken literally. These beliefs are considered beyond the pale, outside the ordinary beliefs of a modern, enlightened society.
But the truth is, we do believe that there is one name under heaven whereby we can be saved.
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
If you are here today and you do not believe and trust in Christ as your Savior, today is that day. Now is that time. There is no salvation outside of anyone or anything else except Christ. Receive Him today.
We believe in living what and how the Bible tells us to. I don’t always measure up, but that is my guideline. Not the modern age, not the current academic elite, God’s Word.
We can not, must not, compromise.
B. We must expect opposition.
B. We must expect opposition.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
One of the reasons it is important to me that we worship as we have today and have since May is that these restrictions, these lock downs are doing far more harm to our society than I think are good. The depression, the alcoholism, the societal degradation as a result of people locking themselves in their homes is not something that is good for human flourishing.
And when governments restrict churches, but not casinos, when governments deem abortion an essential service, but not worship. When you can pick up marijuana, but can not have communion, something is drastically wrong.
this week the news came out that Gov. Cuomo and Mayor DeBlasio were coming and restricting the orthodox Jewish communities in New York City. Many were celebrating Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths that we talked about last week. This led to scenes of Jewish believers protesting and even burning masks in the street.
In California, John MacArthur is embroiled in a battle with CA and LA over reopening his church. There are about 7000 attendees and they are fighting him. In Washington D.C., Capitol Hill Baptist Church is suing the mayor over restrictions on worship.
But again, casinos, abortion clinics, on and on, are allowed to operate freely. Something is wrong. We must be prepared for opposition.
C. We must Remember, God is still in control.
C. We must Remember, God is still in control.
You can read of this next week, but let me just tease you with this thought. God is on the throne, He is alive, He is in control.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”