Sermon Tone Analysis
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Notes
FCF: (inverse of the positive text) We often neglect the word of God (which leads to discipline)
CFC: God has given us his word and people to teach it, so we ought to commit ourselves to it.
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God is using people committed to His Word to restore his people
One time I was in Shenandoah National Park down in Virginia with my wife and a couple of friends, and as we were driving along a road into the park, we saw something that almost made us turn around.
There was a massive pillar of smoke coming out of the forest, which naturally led us to assume that a wildfire had sprung up around us.
Before I had enough time to turn around and drive away from the fire, I saw a sign on the side of the road that said “controlled burns this week.”
I had no idea what that meant at the time, but it gave me enough peace to trust that it wasn’t unsafe to be there, and afterwards I looked up what a controlled burn was and why someone would do it.
A controlled burn is when those charged with the health of the Park plan a time to light fires in the woods.
They specifically pick times where the forest isn’t too dry to minimize the risk of the fire spreading beyond their control.
The reason they do this is because as dead leaves, fallen tree limbs, and harmful insects build up in the forest, they can pose the threat of harming the environment.
Lighting fires on their terms allows conservationists to eliminate those potential threats in order to prevent the entire forest burning down later.
In addition to that, the ash that results from the burn serves to nurture the plants and trees that survive, allowing the forest to flourish and be healthy.
As I was considering Ezra 7:1-10, I thought of this controlled burning method and how it relates to what is going on in Israel at the time.
If Israel was once a large and healthy forest, we see that over time it began to fill with deadness and parasites.
It has been razed to the ground as the people were defeated by their enemies and sent into exile.
The once-great forest was primed for a wildfire, and God used their enemies to do a bit of “controlled burning,” and out of the ashes has sprung a small sapling.
The people of God have been mostly returned to their place and have started growing once more.
This sapling Israel needs to be nurtured, and in this passage we see that God is going to send a second wave back to Jerusalem.
In this wave will be the man that the book is named after, Ezra the priest, along with other skilled servants who will play a part in the restoration of Israel.
This passage shows us that God loves to use men and women committed to his Word to nourish his people.
This is relevant to us in this room because I believe that we as a church, Much like Israel in Ezra, are in need of restoring.
Just like Israel, we have a tendency to be filled with dead leaves and fallen branches and harmful parasites.
We tend to be filled with sinful thoughts and actions, and we all desperately need a restoration project, and this passage will help us to see how that restoration takes place.
I want to spend the majority of our time considering these two elements and how they relate to our spiritual restoration as God’s people: the first being men and women and the second being the Word of God.
Point one: God restores his people through people
a. Preserves a remnant (Of the line of Aaron) verses 1-5
State First, we have to recognize that the first half of these ten verses is committed to showing that Ezra is descended from Aaron, the chief priest.
This might initially come off as one of those clumps of verses that we just read past- a list of names that mean nothing to us.
But to do that would be to pass up the opportunity to see how God has been at work- even through the dark times in Israel.
Through this lineage we see that even though there has been a burning fire in Israel that has wiped out a lot of deadness, it has been a controlled fire that has kept the lineage of Aaron alive.
Aaron was the chief priest that God had appointed a long time ago, and from his line God is now appointing a priest to minister to and restore Israel.
Though it may have seemed as though Israel had left God, and lost their home and their place of worship, Ezra is living proof that God was keeping alive for himself a faithful priest to restore his people.
Even though destruction was everywhere, God was clearly doing preserving work leading to Ezra being in the position that he is in.
Illustrate
Apply What does this mean for you, and for the church today?
The church is faced with all kinds of difficulty, both internally and externally.
We know that the statistics don’t look great for the church in America today.
Many churches are closing their doors, even more are deserting the gospel.
It seems like we’re losing allies constantly, and being a conservative Christian is becoming less and less popular.
If we aren’t careful, this could become a seriously discouraging thing for us today.
But let’s learn from what God is doing through Ezra- the people of God will never fail completely.
Though the church at large might be shrinking and turning from the gospel, we can have full confidence that God will always keep for himself a faithful remnant that loves him and is committed to his people.
Our call is to stand firm in the gospel and remain faithful to God, even if it seems that the walls are pressing in around us.
b.
Using the influence of culture verse 6a
State This passage doesn’t only show us that God preserves a remnant from the corruption within his own people, but that he also chooses to use outsiders to aid in restoring his people as well.
Here we see the King of Babylon, Artaxerxes, aiding in the restoration of Jerusalem.
Ezra 7:6 (ESV)
the king granted him all that he asked
This is the king of the pagan nation that initially destroyed God’s people and brought them into exile.
There wasn’t a more hostile place on Earth at the time.
The nation of babylon, and especially its leadership, were constant reminders to the Israelites of their opression and separation from God.
And here the King was giving Ezra everything he asked for.
In the midst of one of Israel’s darkest times, even the godless culture they were exiled to was instrumental in the restoration of God’s people.
Illustrate
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