Latest / Chapel Talks / We are God's builders | Ezra 3 | Adrian Reynolds

Transcript

We are God's builders | Ezra 3 | Adrian Reynolds · Chapel Talks

0:00
Most people, it seems, have an article of furniture
0:02
from Ikea. We're not to call it Ikea anymore,
0:06
are we? If you've ever seen the television adverts
0:09
or the radio adverts, you'll know that it's to
0:11
be called Ikea. I can't quite get used to that.
0:14
It feels like it should be Ikea. Anyway, there's
0:17
an awful lot of Ikea around. Forty five billion
0:19
pounds worth of Ikea is sold every year, which
0:24
is a lot of Billy bookcases. Some of you may
0:27
have a Billy bookcase. The most important thing
0:29
when you open IKEA furniture, which is all flat
0:32
pack, by the way, the most important thing when
0:35
you open the furniture is the little instruction
0:37
sheet that lies across the top. And of course,
0:42
there are a certain group of people, talking
0:44
to men here, really, there are a certain group
0:46
of people who just put that to one side and think
0:49
they know what they're doing. But actually, especially
0:51
if it's a complex piece of furniture, you need
0:54
the instruction sheet, don't you? You need to
0:56
know which peg goes in which hole. Otherwise,
1:00
your bookcase, as happened to me famously, ends
1:02
up being upside down or the wrong way round or
1:05
there's a bit missing you're left over with.
1:07
Flat pack everything, but you need the instruction
1:09
sheet. Now, here are the people of God returned
1:13
from exile. There are quite a lot of them. There
1:17
they are in verse. 64 of chapter two, 42 ,360.
1:23
That's how many exiles have returned. And they're
1:26
here to build the temple. If we were to go back
1:30
into chapter one, we would see that was the edict,
1:33
the law that the king Cyrus gave them. That was
1:38
their desire to come back, a desire that God
1:40
had put into their hearts to come back and to
1:43
rebuild the temple that had been destroyed. But
1:48
how do you build a temple? It's kind of a once,
1:52
it's not even a once in a lifetime or once in
1:55
a generation thing, is it? That the previous
1:57
temple had been built 420 years ago. So although
2:02
they had lists of material and all that kind
2:04
of stuff, some dimensions, that there's no one
2:08
in this crowd of 42 ,360 people who'd done it
2:12
before. No one who said, yeah, I've done 10 Billy
2:15
bookcases. I can do the 11th. No problem. It
2:18
was all new. So how are they going to build?
2:24
Well, chapter three describes how the building
2:27
begins. And as such, I think it's got lessons
2:31
for us. We are builders. There's a direct correlation,
2:37
I think, I'm pretty sure, between that the temple.
2:41
And the work of the church in the New Testament.
2:46
The New Testament writers, all of them, Paul,
2:49
Peter and Jesus himself, it draws these links
2:52
together. I hope I don't have to persuade you
2:54
about that. So wherever you're serving right
2:58
now, perhaps you're out in a placement or you're
3:00
in a church longer term, wherever you're going
3:02
to be in the future. To use Paul's analogy in
3:07
1 Corinthians 3, we are. god's builders of course
3:12
god is the builder overall but he uses us even
3:17
dare we say using that language of one corinthians
3:19
he partners with us so that we are not only the
3:23
building itself part of the church but we are
3:28
god's builders And as such, I think we can look
3:33
at chapter three of Ezra and we can see lessons
3:36
for how to build. This, if you like, is the little
3:39
piece of paper that when you open up your IKEA
3:42
package is just there on the top. Of course,
3:46
we have to do a little bit of work. It's rooted
3:48
in the Old Testament. It's rooted in the Old
3:50
Covenant. But nevertheless, there are lessons
3:53
there for us as we seek to build. As we do that,
3:58
of course, we want to remember that God is over
4:00
all. And as you read through the book of Ezra,
4:02
by the way, you can't forget that. You constantly
4:05
see in Ezra and Nehemiah, these two books that
4:07
are really one book. You see the hand of the
4:10
Lord on everything. You see God stirring people's
4:13
hearts. You see God at work. You can't forget
4:16
that he is sovereign over everything. But neither
4:20
can you see the part that we are called to play
4:24
in this great building. It's a privilege, of
4:30
course, to be in that position. It's a privilege
4:34
to be a builder. It's a privilege to serve others
4:38
who are seeking to build to God's glory. And
4:43
so actually, this chapter suddenly becomes really
4:45
quite important, not just an interesting interlude
4:49
in the history of Israel. But actually something
4:52
that's really key for us as we think of how to
4:55
serve. The various places that God has called
4:58
us to serve. So I want to show you four things
5:02
from this passage. There are more, of course,
5:04
we haven't got time, but four really that jump
5:06
out. Here's number one. First things first. First
5:12
things first. Let's have a look at how the passage
5:15
begins. When the seventh month came and the Israelites
5:18
had settled in their towns, the people assembled
5:20
together as one in Jerusalem. Which, by the way,
5:24
as an aside, is a remarkable thing to happen.
5:27
These 42 ,360 people had returned. And at the
5:32
end of chapter two, we hear how they all went
5:34
to their own places. And if you were to read
5:37
through chapter two, you would see that they
5:39
come from a variety, quite a wide variety of
5:42
locations. And here they are, having gone back
5:47
to their places, no doubt found their farms and
5:50
their fields and their houses in a pretty poor
5:53
state of repair. And when the bugle sounds, when
5:56
the message comes round, they come, all of them
6:01
as one in Jerusalem. I was watching the Olympics
6:07
this summer. I do love the Olympics. And it reminds
6:10
me that I lived in East London during 2012. when
6:14
the Olympics were in London. And because I was
6:16
a resident, we got free tickets to some of the
6:18
various things. I had a free ticket to the dress
6:20
rehearsal of the opening night. It was good fun.
6:22
I had a free ticket to the closing ceremony,
6:24
free tickets to other things. So I went to some
6:26
of these different events, and it was amazing
6:29
to hear the crowd all cheering as one. As someone
6:32
came round the home straight in the athletics,
6:34
and it was David Weir in his wheelchair, and
6:37
he was miles out in front, the crowd all rose
6:39
to their feet and cheered together. It was remarkably...
6:42
exhilarating moment. And it's that same sense
6:45
here. They assemble together as one in Jerusalem.
6:49
But look what they assemble to do. Then Joshua,
6:54
son of Josedach, and his fellow priests, and
6:57
Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and his associates,
7:00
began to build the altar of the God of Israel,
7:04
to sacrifice burnt offerings on it in accordance
7:07
with what is written in the law of Moses, the
7:11
man. of God. It's a topsy -turvy building project
7:16
in some ways. You know, the altar is just outside
7:20
the front door of the temple, it's just in the
7:22
court. If you've ever been to a building site,
7:25
you'll know that it's a complete mess, isn't
7:27
it? Until everything gets erected and put up,
7:31
then you can worry about all the bits around.
7:34
I live on a new housing estate where I am, and
7:38
they're constantly building houses. And it's
7:41
strange to see these houses being built. They
7:43
kind of rise up out of the foundations and everything
7:46
around them is just junk. Bits of equipment lying
7:49
around and mud churned up and piles of cement
7:54
and gravel and bricks. And that there's no way
7:57
that you'd start landscaping the garden before
8:00
you finish the house. It's the last thing you'll
8:03
do. You need the space. And yet here are the
8:06
people who are about to construct this extraordinary,
8:09
ginormous building. They've been away for 60
8:14
odd years in exile. 42 ,360 of them, the Lord
8:19
has put it into their hearts. They come back.
8:22
What do they do? The very first thing they do
8:26
is they offer burnt sacrifices on the altar.
8:31
Now, I don't know about you, but I would be itching
8:33
to get on. Give me the shovel. Tell me where
8:37
to put stuff. What job can I have? And yet when
8:43
they return, these two great leaders, I think
8:46
they are great leaders. Joshua, who's the high
8:49
priest and Zerubbabel, who is the governor. They
8:51
figure largely in the story up to chapter seven,
8:55
really, that they know what's what. And they
8:59
know that what comes before the building. is
9:03
a right relationship with the God of heaven.
9:09
And so they offer these burnt offerings. The
9:11
phrase burnt offerings is repeated again and
9:14
again and again and again. You can't miss it
9:16
there in chapter 3. And of course, as you know
9:20
from Leviticus 1, these burnt offerings, they're
9:22
offerings for sin. These are offerings that acknowledge
9:25
the people's guilt and sinfulness and what has
9:29
gone wrong. They've been in exile. They've been
9:32
rebellious. They've come back. And now they want
9:36
to get it right. Or to put it another way, what
9:41
matters actually more than the glory of the building?
9:47
What matters or what comes first is that the
9:51
people have a living, vibrant, real relationship
9:56
with the living God. That he is their God. They
10:02
are his people. He is holy. They are not. They
10:05
need to acknowledge that before him. That counts
10:09
more than anything. You've heard I've been in
10:15
ministry three lots of eight. Is that 24? I think
10:18
that's 24. Mass was never really very good. Something
10:21
like that. 24 years I served as an elder before
10:23
then. And, you know, when I wake up in the morning,
10:26
I always want to check my emails. I always want
10:30
to get on with stuff. Sometimes the nature of
10:34
the work can be overwhelming. Always things to
10:37
do. And perhaps in academic terms, there's always
10:40
essays to write. Or indeed, Mark. There's always
10:44
something to be doing, isn't there? That seems
10:47
important. That seems mission critical. And yet
10:51
here they are gathered as one man. What do they
10:52
do? They say the most important thing is that
10:56
we're right with our God. Same theme, I think,
11:01
in slightly different languages picked up by
11:03
Paul. Very importantly, at the end of 1 Timothy
11:06
4. And he is telling Timothy, young pastor Timothy,
11:11
what's your life and doctrine? For by these things
11:15
you will save both yourself and your hearers.
11:17
There is a sense in which Timothy's walk with
11:20
the Lord, as well as his gifting, is integral.
11:23
It's key to his ministry life. So, friends, there
11:29
is always stuff to be done. And you will find
11:33
if you've not found already, there is always
11:35
25 hours of work in any 24 hour period that could
11:40
be done and more. There are responsibilities
11:44
and duties in all kinds of different places.
11:46
Those of you who have families in families, those
11:49
of you who have deep friendships, cultivating
11:51
and nurturing deep friendships, preparing the
11:54
next sermon or the next Bible study or whatever
11:56
it may be. There's always something to be done.
12:00
But as we build, let's hear the words of Scripture,
12:04
which say to us, first things first. So a day
12:11
that doesn't start with the Lord, a day that
12:15
is not given to dependence on his grace and his
12:20
mercy and his empowering, is a day where we can't
12:25
really build. It's a day which ultimately won't
12:29
bring him the glory he deserves. First things
12:32
first. Second, trust, then obey. You know the
12:41
hymn, don't you? Trust and obey. I mean, the
12:44
words are in the right order. Trust first, obey
12:45
next. But I'm just amending the hymn slightly.
12:48
It's out of copyright. I can do that. Trust,
12:50
then obey. So first things first, trust, a living
12:55
relationship with God. But what flows out of
12:58
that actually is obedience. Or if you want to
13:03
put it in slightly more New Testament language,
13:04
make every effort to please him. I think obedience
13:09
has a bit of a dirty rap these days. People worry
13:12
that obedience can quickly move into legalism.
13:15
And by the way, it can. We'll come to that in
13:17
just a moment. But there is a place in the Christian
13:21
life for saying we trust. Then because we trust,
13:25
we delight to obey. Just look down at the passage.
13:29
You'll see that the language of obedience is
13:32
very strong. They've been away from the land
13:36
because they've abandoned God and they've abandoned
13:38
his law. So now the focus is on keeping the law.
13:43
Do you notice that at the end of verse two? In
13:46
accordance with what is written in the law of
13:49
Moses, the man of God. And then it's repeated,
13:52
verse four, in accordance with what is written.
13:55
Different kind of language, but the same idea.
13:57
The required number of burnt offerings, end of
14:01
verse four, prescribed. for each day. Do you
14:06
see? Here are people, and you get, by the way,
14:10
this same pattern in chapter two and on into
14:12
future chapters. Here are people who recognize
14:15
that they've been in exile because they've been
14:17
rebellious and they've moved away from the Lord.
14:20
Now they must give themselves to him, which means
14:23
not only trusting him, making themselves right
14:25
with him through the way that he has given them
14:27
through this offering, but then saying, we will
14:31
do all that the Lord has commanded. Now, take
14:35
care. It's not obedience, then trust. And by
14:41
the way, those of you, and I include myself in
14:43
this, who teach children regularly, we can often
14:46
make that the gospel, can't we? We reduce the
14:50
gospel down to obedience. It seems to me that
14:54
scriptures are very clear. That's not the gospel.
14:58
That's self -righteousness, ultimately. But neither
15:01
must we major so much on grace and mercy that
15:05
we think the gospel doesn't place a demand on
15:08
us. I don't mean a demand in a kind of tit for
15:11
tat way, sort of like Trump saying, I'm going
15:13
to put, you know, I'm going to put tariffs on
15:16
you. I'm going to put tariffs on you then. Not
15:18
that kind of demand. No, but he is the one who
15:20
has saved us. He's rescued us. He's given us
15:22
everything. He's given us his son. Make every
15:27
effort to please him. I wonder what obedience,
15:32
gospel obedience, looks like in your life. We're
15:36
all wired slightly differently, aren't we? And
15:37
we all have challenges, different challenges,
15:40
perhaps different besetting sins. But as we seek
15:45
to honour God, glorify him by building for him,
15:50
it's not enough to come to the beginning of each
15:52
day and say, Lord. Thank you for the forgiveness
15:55
that is offered me in Jesus Christ. Thank you
15:57
for his wonderful sacrifice. Thank you that I'm
16:00
right with you through him. That's the first
16:04
part of the gospel of the good news. But the
16:07
good news is also that he gives us his spirit
16:10
and he plants in us a desire to live for him.
16:15
And so that prayer carries on. Thank you that
16:18
you've given me your spirit so that I know I'm
16:20
your child. And thank you that he helps me to
16:24
live for you. Help me today, Father, to live
16:26
for you. I give you my words. I give you my actions.
16:31
I give you my rest. I give you my relationships.
16:36
I want to trust, then obey. Thirdly, we need
16:45
to learn to sing for the holes. Seems a rather
16:48
strange thing to say, but let me explain what
16:50
I mean. Sing for the holes. Verse 7, the work
16:52
begins. See that? They gave money to the masons
16:56
and carpenters. They gave food and drink and
16:58
olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre. And
17:00
by the way, they're following the same pattern
17:03
of the first temple 420 years previously. So
17:06
they do have some instructions that are carried
17:08
through in scripture. They get the material from
17:10
the same place. It's the same group of people,
17:13
the Levites, the priests and the Levites who
17:16
are working on the work. And they even start
17:19
at the same time of year. It's kind of a parallel
17:22
with what's gone before. And here's the remarkable
17:27
thing. Verse 10, when the builders laid the foundation
17:29
of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their
17:32
vestments and with trumpets and the Levites,
17:34
the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, took their places
17:37
to praise the Lord as prescribed by David, king
17:39
of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving, they
17:42
sang to the Lord. He is good. His love towards
17:47
Israel endures forever. Now, this is not just
17:51
the covenant song. This is the song that has
17:54
been sung through history, really, Israel's history
17:57
as a nation, starting with King David. But especially
18:01
it was the song that was sung when the first
18:04
temple was built. You can look that up, 2 Chronicles
18:07
7. This is the song that was sung when the first
18:11
temple was built. So same material, same location,
18:15
same workers, same song. And yet here is the
18:22
thing. All that's happened so far is the foundation
18:26
has been laid. There is a difference, and I think
18:31
we read scripture with scripture, don't we? We're
18:32
supposed to see the difference. But back in 2
18:35
Chronicles 7, it's when the temple is completed
18:38
that the song is sung. That's the moment of joy.
18:42
That's the moment of celebration. And it's quite
18:44
a celebration. Go and read it. So here, what
18:48
are they doing? They've built the foundations
18:50
and they stop and they pause and they sing. Or
18:54
in fact, they shout. Now, it's intriguing to
19:00
me that just around the corner from where I live,
19:02
they're building a new Audi. The old Audi wasn't
19:05
big enough, so they're building a new one. It's
19:09
massive. And they've been clearing the site.
19:11
It's taken them about a year to clear the site
19:13
and to dig down. Well, they haven't been digging
19:15
down, really. They've been driving piles down.
19:18
And as you walk past it, I walk past it on the
19:20
way to work or sometimes cycle past it. And then
19:23
once a year I run past it, just to sound a little
19:25
bit virtuous. As you walk past this site, there's
19:28
not much to see. I've got a sense of what it's
19:32
going to be because there's a board with an artist's
19:35
impression of what the final thing's going to
19:37
look like. So I can look at that and say, that's
19:38
nice, new Aldi. But as you look out across the
19:42
muddy patch, there's really not much to see.
19:47
They've put the steels up now, so there's a kind
19:49
of structure. But even so, it's difficult quite
19:52
to visualize what it's going to look like without
19:54
the picture next to it. It's kind of, it's work
19:58
in progress. And one day I'll walk past and say,
20:02
wow, new Audi. When's it going to open? But right
20:06
now it's kind of, yeah, it's quite interesting
20:07
to look at, like looking at the diggers. Take
20:10
my grandson along, he likes the diggers. But
20:12
it's not much more than that. And yet here they
20:16
are. The foundation is laid. And their response
20:21
is one of praise and thanksgiving. You know,
20:27
I wonder if perhaps you think I'm pushing this
20:30
too far. That's fine. You can you can pick me
20:32
up over lunch. But I think we are supposed to
20:35
contrast this with what happened before. That
20:39
people of God have been at a very low point.
20:42
They've been far away from home. They've been
20:45
rebellious. By God's grace, they're able to return.
20:51
They give themselves to building. And right early
20:55
on in the process, when just the foundation has
20:58
been laid, it stirs up in them praise and thanksgiving.
21:06
So I think the point here, this is my application,
21:09
if you like, is sing for the holes. And this
21:12
is what I mean. A lot of Christian work appears
21:16
to be at that foundation level. In our great
21:20
sweep of biblical theology, we know that however
21:23
glorious the church looks, however rewarding
21:26
and happy it is, we're not there yet, are we?
21:29
There is a moment to come where all sin and stain
21:33
will be removed. There is a new time coming when
21:39
the bride will be beautifully presented by Christ.
21:42
To Christ. And you don't have to spend very long
21:46
in church ministry of any kind to know that's
21:49
not what this is at the moment. Church for us,
21:54
where we are, feels a bit fragile at the moment.
21:56
Yeah, we had nine baptisms last year. That was
21:58
wonderful news. But we've had some setbacks this
22:00
year. It feels fragile. We've had to move building
22:05
for complicated reasons. People have left for
22:10
complicated reasons. People have sinned. Relationships
22:16
aren't quite what they should be. Sometimes churning
22:20
out a sermon a week or even two doesn't quite
22:24
have the joy it seems to. It just feels like
22:27
a weary burden. Friends, I think if we're going
22:32
to build for the Lord, we need to recognize that
22:37
much of ministry is digging holes. I think Paul
22:43
talks about that in 1 Corinthians 3. He talks
22:45
about laying a foundation that other people can
22:47
build on. And yet he still rejoices in that foundation,
22:50
doesn't he? You read his prayers. He still rejoices
22:53
in that. And I think if you're going to be set
22:56
for a lifetime of ministry, we've got to learn
22:59
to rejoice in every tiny step forward. So perhaps
23:05
someone might say to me, I know I had a conversation
23:08
with a mum at the toddler group this week. I
23:11
was able to talk about Jesus. You didn't seem
23:12
very interested. So, yeah, but you were able
23:15
to talk about Jesus. Or, you know, we normally
23:20
have 20 kids to the youth group this week for
23:22
some reason, only 12. You talk to 12 kids about
23:26
Jesus. Great. I think we tend to think about
23:31
what we're not doing rather than what the Lord
23:33
is doing through us. We have to learn to sing
23:37
for the holes. And then fourthly, we have to
23:41
look to a bigger day. It's a very intriguing
23:44
end to this passage. Verse 12, many of the older
23:47
priests and Levites and family heads who had
23:50
seen the former temple wept aloud when they saw
23:54
the foundation of this temple being laid, while
23:58
many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish
24:02
the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound
24:04
of weeping because the people made so much noise.
24:07
The sound was heard far away. These aren't tears
24:11
of joy, by the way, you can see that can't use
24:13
a contrast. And while many others shouted for
24:17
joy, these are tears of sorrow. So the million
24:20
dollar question is, what are these older people
24:22
crying about? Some people think it's a question
24:26
of size. I'm not sure I buy that argument. If
24:31
you look at the dimensions that we have in Scripture,
24:33
it's not exactly possible to work it out because.
24:36
The first temple is described in two dimensions.
24:39
The second temple is described in two dimensions
24:42
also, but two different dimensions. So it's not
24:44
quite easy to spot, but it looks as though it's
24:47
about the same size or even a little bit bigger.
24:50
So it's not a size thing. They haven't looked
24:51
at the foundations and thought it's not as big
24:53
as the old one. Like someone who's downsizing
24:56
from a four bedroom house to a bungalow. It's
24:58
not that kind of thing. But I think these older
25:02
folk understand. that there will be something
25:06
missing. I think Haggai is quite helpful here.
25:10
Haggai was a contemporary. He pops up in chapter
25:12
five and he talks about this a little bit. There's
25:16
a very famous verse in Haggai that people remember,
25:20
who of you is left who saw this house in its
25:22
former glory? How does it look to you now? But
25:26
I wonder actually if even more helpful, chapter
25:28
one, verse nine, you expected much, but it turned
25:32
out to be little. What are the people who went
25:37
before remember? Or perhaps stories from dad
25:41
or granddad or great granddad. They remember
25:43
the ark. They remember the ark, which represented
25:47
the presence of God. No ark now. Nothing to put
25:51
in this new temple. It's going to be empty. Perhaps
25:55
they'd sat and listened to Ezekiel and those.
25:59
Last chapters of Ezekiel, they wouldn't have
26:01
called them the last chapters of Ezekiel, of
26:02
course, but they'd listened to that prophecy
26:03
and they'd heard Ezekiel saying that this new
26:06
temple is going to be just, it will blow your
26:09
mind, basically. That's my summary of the last
26:12
eight chapters of Ezekiel. It will blow your
26:14
mind. They're thinking it looks just like the
26:17
old one. There's a sense in which that they know
26:21
the story, these older folk, they know the story.
26:25
And this doesn't seem to be it. We're really
26:28
glad to be back. We're delighted that the foundations
26:31
have been dug. Perhaps they even joined in that
26:34
song. But as they reflect on it and they look
26:36
at what was and what God has promised, they think
26:39
this isn't it. This is not going to be it. Of
26:48
course, perhaps whether they realize it or not,
26:51
they're looking forward. To something that God
26:54
has promised through the prophets and from long
26:58
ago, they're looking forward. Perhaps they wouldn't
27:01
use this language, but they're looking forward
27:02
to the serpent crusher. They're looking forward
27:04
to the Messiah. We understand now, don't we,
27:08
that that's the bit that's missing. The true
27:10
temple is going to come to his people. And yet
27:13
we still live in this kind of in -between age,
27:16
don't we? That however much joy there is in church
27:21
life. However much progress, however much glory
27:25
we feel. There is a sense or there ought to be
27:30
at least that this is not it. So we want to be
27:34
triumphant. We want to be full of praise at every
27:37
little hole that is dug. And yet at the same
27:40
time, hold intention. But actually, this life
27:46
is hard and wearying and there is a great day
27:50
still to come. Or to use a phrase from the New
27:53
Testament, we're sorrowful yet rejoicing. And
27:58
I think these last couple of verses of Ezra 3
28:02
basically encapsulate Christian life and Christian
28:06
ministry. That at the same time, there is the
28:10
sound of joy, the shouts of praise as weeping.
28:16
As we realize this is not yet the moment. We're
28:22
still beset by sin and difficulty. There are
28:26
still letdowns and disappointments. We weep over
28:29
those at the same time as we're rejoicing at
28:32
the things God is doing. And we're looking to
28:34
a better day. We're looking to a better day.
28:40
Ministry can be so consuming. The work of serving
28:44
in church can be so consuming that we forget
28:48
not only ourselves, but what is to come. If we
28:54
want to build for God's glory, here's what we
28:57
need to see. First things first, our relationship
29:01
with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords matters
29:04
more than anything. I'm not sure if I'm allowed
29:08
to say this in college, but it matters more than
29:10
the next essay. It does. It really does. It matters
29:17
more than what job title I'm going to have, what
29:22
size church I'm going to be in. But then having
29:27
trusted, God calls us to obedience. So, by the
29:30
way, you've got to do the essay. That's part
29:32
of your Christian obedience. You know that, right?
29:37
Trust flows into obedience. And teaches us to
29:41
sing for the holes. Every little step forward
29:43
is a little step nearer the kingdom of God being
29:48
completed. Praise him. And yet we weep what we
29:54
don't have. For what is not right. For relationships
29:57
that go sour. But for the fact that we just feel
30:01
the weight of today. And we long for tomorrow.
30:07
Let's pray before we sing our final song. Father,
30:11
we thank you that your son Jesus said, I will
30:14
build my church. And we thank you that's exactly
30:17
what he's doing. And we praise you for the privilege
30:21
of being called to be part of that work. We long
30:25
to do it with our eyes fixed on him, our great
30:28
sacrifice. We long to do it as his spirit works
30:32
in us, in obedience, living to please him. We
30:38
long to see in all that you're doing, your great
30:42
hand at work. Please forgive us, for we're so
30:46
caught up in ourselves that we fail to see every
30:50
step forward. And we look forward to that great
30:54
day when Jesus will return and make all things
30:57
new. And the temple will come down. The city
31:01
will come down. The bride, all these different
31:05
languages describe this beautiful thing that
31:08
you are doing, Lord Jesus. So we happily give
31:12
ourselves to this work and pray that you'll be
31:16
at work in us. In Jesus name. Amen.