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Transcript

Ezra 1 (Part 2) Bible Study (The Proclamation of Cyrus) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Book of Ezra Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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If you have your Bibles with me, meet me in the book of Ezra
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chapter 1. Ezra chapter 1.
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I trust that you were there last week, and if you weren't here in
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person, hopefully you listen to the recording.
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It might have been a surprise to us that in the opening verses of
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this book, we were not introduced to the one whom the
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book is named after. In fact, we learned last week
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that Ezra does not even appear in this study until Chapter 7.
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More surprising, perhaps, is that at the very outset of this
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text, we're not even met by an Israelite nor Judea.
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In fact, we are immediately introduced to a Gentile Cyrus
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King of Persia. Cyrus King of Persia is
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mentioned three times in the 1st 2 verses, and also Cyrus is the
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first person to have his speech recorded in this book.
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And we discovered in our introduction how significant
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this figure Cyrus is, not just in this particular narrative,
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but in our understanding of the precision of God's prophetic
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word. Because Cyrus was predicted by
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Isaiah by name, even the details of his career nearly 200 years
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before his birth, it's one of the most significant passages in
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all of Scripture. But we're not finished with
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Cyrus just yet because last week we looked at how the Lord
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Almighty prophesied about Cyrus. And tonight we're going to look
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at Cyrus's own proclamation in the name of the Lord because he
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is now going to make an edict. We learn in verse one that Cyrus
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made a proclamation throughout the Kingdom and even put it in
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writing. And clearly Ezra has preserved a
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copy of that very letter for us to read.
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And so we're going to complete this chapter tonight, but we're
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going to begin by looking at Ezra 1, verses 2 through 4.
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Pause and meditate as we always do, bit by bit, part by part.
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Let's read it now together, shall we?
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Ezra on beginning in verse 2. Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia,
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the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the
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earth, and he has charged me to build them a house at Jerusalem,
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which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his
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people, may his God be with him. And let him go up to Jerusalem,
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which is in Judah, and rebuild the House of the Lord, the God
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of Israel. He is the God who is in
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Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in
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whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his
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place, with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts,
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besides free will offerings for the House of God that is in
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Jerusalem. Father, we ask with the
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sincerity and the purity of our hearts, that we would know your
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power in the study. Hey, You would gently and
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clearly guide us through every detail, every verse, every cross
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reference in a way that is rememberable, in a way that is
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easily understood, in a way that more importantly will be obeyed.
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So Lord, we come to you now in faith, trusting that you will be
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here with us as you have been in every study.
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In Jesus name we pray, Amen. You know, there's an ongoing
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debate about Cyrus and the debate surrounds whether or not
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he was an actual believer after he learned that he was explained
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before his existence. And I don't want to spend time
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engaging in that debate. Instead, what I want to do is
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see here how this man offers meaningful lessons for the
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believer in verse 2 alone of his proclamation.
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I believe there are at least two things that we can learn about
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obedience, obedience to the Lord.
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And if you're a note taker, get your instrument of writing out
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immediately because here's what we understand from Cyrus in this
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letter right away. The first thing that stands out
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to me is that Cyrus shows us that right revelation of who God
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is is essential to cultivating the right response to His will.
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How does he begin this edict? Look again at verse 2.
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The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the
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earth. Where did you learn that from
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Isaiah's prophecy? But it's clear that he didn't
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just understand the message, it made an impression on him.
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This is more than just a simple acknowledgement of the unmatched
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authority and ability of God. This is Cyrus realizing that
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this sovereign being knew him personally.
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Remember, Isaiah 45 gives us Cyrus's name so long before he
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enters into the scene. Isaiah 45 tells us what Cyrus
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would accomplish. And so Cyrus, in understanding
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this, realizes that this Almighty God knows me, He
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selected me, and He is the source for all my success.
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This is a man who understood that this God is worthy of my
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surrender. And that is a revelation that
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stirred Cyrus to prioritize the rebuilding of the House of God
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in Jerusalem and the liberation of the Jewish people.
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And in the same way, I want to make this argument that you and
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I believe in what God says and reveals about himself is
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absolutely essential to formulating the very foundation
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of joyous and zealous obedience. Faith in what God has said.
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I emphasize faith in what God has said.
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Not just had knowledge. There are a lot of things that
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Cyrus did not know about the Lord.
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I mean, he's a Gentile, he's a Pagan.
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But what he did know about God, he wholeheartedly believed, and
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with childlike faith that enabled him to make this bold
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step, this incredible decision on behalf of the people that he
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had no relation to. What was it?
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The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the
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earth. That was the light that he had
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received. He responded to it with faith,
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and it led to this quality of obedience.
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Shallow awareness and weak faith and who God is will always
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result in shallow and weak obedience.
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Always. And again, it's not just the
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accumulation of knowledge, it's what you do with that knowledge.
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It's you understanding. Like Cyrus.
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This personally applies to me. I believe that, and this is what
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it demands of me. Then.
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Now, we don't know exactly when Cyrus learned about his role in
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God's restorative plan, but I want to tell you that the
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quality of his obedience is refreshing.
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Refreshing not just because, again, he's a Gentile who's
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obeying the God of Israel, but because when he learned his role
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in God's plan, he prioritized it.
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Do you know how I know he prioritized it?
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Go back to verse one. When did he decide to do this?
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In the first year. In the first year of Cyrus, king
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of Persia. In other words, the moment he
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was promoted and he, he had the power and the authority to
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execute such a thing, He did it, He did it.
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Can you imagine, Cyrus, a Gentile exemplifies and models
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to us that there should be no delay in our obedience, no
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hesitation. There should be an urgency
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actually, the moment you learn what God asks of you.
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Now the question is, how do we arrive to such a wonderful kind
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of compliance to the will of God?
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While I go back to the main point, knowing what God had said
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and really believing that it applies to you, having faith
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that this is personal, this is for you.
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God is calling you out. Not just the church at large,
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not just people, not just numbers you by name.
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There's a second thing, however, that we learn about Cyrus's
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obedience, and it is this. He obeyed God for God.
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He obeyed God for God. So in the previous point, we can
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say that we learned how Cyrus was able to obey.
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He was exposed to the truth. His faith connected with it and
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it launched him into this place of righteousness.
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How he obeyed is clear. Now we learned why.
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Why did he do this? Well, it's, it's plain in verse
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2, the Lord has charged me, God told me to do it.
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And no further explanation, no hint of any other agenda, just
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simple God told me to do it and I'm going to obey him.
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And that realization is further confirmed when we rediscover
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Cyrus's original call by the writings of Isaiah.
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So let me ask this question and you can answer it if you know
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it. What chapter in Isaiah gives us
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the greatest detail about Cyrus? Anybody know?
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Anybody remember Isaiah? What good.
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You might be quizzed on that at the end of Ezra, Isaiah 45.
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And I want to now bring to you a verse from that chapter that we
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did not look at in Isaiah 45 because what we read last week
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was only a fraction. There is more about Cyrus, so
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let's turn there to Isaiah 45. And I'm going to ask you to
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Scroll down to verse 13. Notice what I said here about
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this man. It says here I have stirred him
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up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level.
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He shall build my city and set my exiles free.
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Not for price or reward, says the Lord of hosts highlight that
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last part. Not for price or reward.
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In essence, what God is saying when He prophesied about Cyrus
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was that he would carry out this work entirely free from any
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self-interest or personal gain. And I want to encourage us today
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by using this point about Cyrus to identify the spirits work in
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our lives. One of the signs that the Holy
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Spirit is truly moving in our hearts and leading us into His
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will is that we are motivated to serve Him without selfish
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ambition. And if you can honestly sit here
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and say that you are drawn towards a ministry, or that you
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want to grow. Or you may be even asking the
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Lord for a gift, purely because you want to bless the Lord.
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Simply because you want to bring pleasure to Him.
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Solely because you want His name to be exalted, even if that
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means you disappear in the process, then that is a
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wonderful indication that it is God Himself who is stirring your
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spirit. Look at that language again in
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verse 13. I have stirred him up in
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righteousness. And then in Ezra one, we learned
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that it was the Lord who stirred up the Spirit of Cyrus.
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And so one of the ways you know that God is doing a work in you
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is that not just your obedience is obvious, but the motive of
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your obedience is clear. You can say with a clear
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conscience that I'm not doing this to satisfy something of
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myself. I'm doing this because I truly
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want to bless God. Now, let me stay on this point a
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little longer. This is so crucial, this purity
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of heart. Not only should we ask for it,
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but we need to protect it because that posture is
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absolutely necessary for further and greater opportunities and
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service to God. Let me give you a New Testament
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example. Have you ever wondered why
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Timothy was so special and useful to Paul?
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I believe I have a verse to prove why that was the case, and
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I'm not going to give it to you right away.
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You have to look at it for yourself in Philippians 2.
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Look at Philippians 2 for a moment and notice what Paul says
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about Timothy as he's preparing him to go to the Philippians.
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He says something about Timothy himself.
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Philippians 219 down to verse 21, Paul says, I hope in the
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Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be
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cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him who
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will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.
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For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus
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Christ. So why did Paul recruit and use
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Timothy, at least in this context was because Paul had
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many conversations with Timothy. Paul observed Timothy, Paul
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watched him, and over time he was able to say this young man
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is special for one simple reason.
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He wants to do everything for Christ.
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The thing that brings him the greatest desire and pleasure and
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and satisfaction is Christ. Whatever he does or doesn't do,
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he keeps Christ in mind. And I want to let you know
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there's a lot of young people here at our study, and I'd love
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to see that you have so much life ahead of you should the
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Lord preserve you. But if you want more doors to
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open for you, then understand that what he's looking for is
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exactly what he found in Timothy.
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I scan your heart and I find something there that your heart
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beats for my Son Jesus, that your heart longs to truly bring
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a smile to Him. That that anything that you
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endeavour to do, you prioritize His glory.
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That's who God looks for when He's ready to use somebody.
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Keep that in mind to continually fight off those tempting
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thoughts, those things that want to take root in your soul, that
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you want to do this for notoriety.
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You want to do this so that you can feel more wanted or loved or
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appreciate it. Delete all of that by the power
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of the Holy Spirit and ask God for the same testimony that
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Timothy had. I want my interest to be wrapped
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up with Christ and in Christ alone.
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Cyrus would obey God without a price tag, without any
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particular reward for his own benefit, simply because God for
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God alone. Let's come back to Ezra now.
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We looked at verse 2. Let's finish this edict.
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In verse 3, Cyrus makes an invitation.
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This isn't a command, by the way.
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He's making an open invitation to the Exiles to return to their
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land. But he addresses 2 categories of
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people among the Jews, and this is something significant for us
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to consider. Have you noticed what is
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emphasized in this edict? What's really the goal of it?
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What's he really getting at? It's the rebuilding of God's
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house, the House of the Lord. The House of God appears in each
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verse of this edict. Verse 2, verse 3, and verse 4
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shows up every single time. It does not mention the Jews
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returning to their homes. It doesn't say anything about
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them being restored to their businesses or coming back to
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their cities or their tribal allotments.
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None of that. The thing that is prioritized,
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the dominating goal of this whole thing is to restore the
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House of worship. And that shouldn't surprise us.
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It makes total sense, actually. Why?
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Because the very reason why the Jews are in exile is because of
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their hypocritical devotion. It's because of their idolatrous
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ways, their neglect of true worship.
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So it's fitting then that the Jews first priority in returning
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to their homeland is to then rebuild the dwelling place of
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God, to mend that again, to restore their worship.
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And we're going to get into the two categories of people in a
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moment here that he's addressing.
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But I want us to remember what we talked about in the
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concluding thoughts of our last study, that this point again is
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surfacing, that true restoration for the brokenness in the loss
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in our lives can only be realized in reconciliation with
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the Lord. This letter essentially says
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look, before you reclaim anything, before you recover
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anything, what needs to be re established is the place where I
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called for you and I to meet the House of God.
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We need to rebuild that before anything else can be touched or
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addressed. And in the same way, whatever
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may seem to be falling apart in our in our own lives cannot be
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truly mended, cannot be truly healed until you and I are truly
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restored to the Lord. That has to be priority #1 so
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many things can be solved in our marriages, in our relationship,
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in our ministries and society if we establish the vertical
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element of our relationship before we try to address
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anything horizontally. And that's what we see here.
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That's the principle. Go back and rebuild your
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relationship with God before anything else.
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Don't even think about anything else, and everything else will
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fall into place. But this also teaches us that
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God's agenda, listen, God's work, God's house is our first
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priority. Seek first the Kingdom of God
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and His righteousness. Seek first.
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Look, I've met many Christians over the years, and I've met
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many Christians who identify with the Kingdom of God.
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But sadly, some cannot say with confidence that it's first.
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And from time to time, as we coast through life, we have to
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pause and ask ourselves this question.
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Does my life revolve around the Kingdom of God, or is it in a
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compartment competing with other things?
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Because for many people who pay lip service to the Kingdom of
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God, I find that they compromise that priority.
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Other ambitions and goals and and desires and endeavors get in
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the way of what should be first. And so even in here in the Old
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Testament, we see and it's very interesting and unique time of
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history that God is establishing that principle.
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Go back to your homeland, yes, but first seek my house before
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you rebuild your own. That's actually the message of
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the prophet Haggai. You find it over and over again
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in different periods of redemptive history, and it's no
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different in the new Covenant. Seek first. 1st So all my big
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plans and desires, where's God in that?
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Or is it your comfort where you want to build a family, where
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you want to make money, where's the Lord?
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This is what we see here. He must be first.
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And we see here that there are at least two ways we can know
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that we prioritize His will. With the two categories of
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people that Cyrus addresses, You and I can prioritize God's will
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in going or in giving, go or give.
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Look again at verse three, who he addresses, whoever is among
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you of all his people, may his God be with him and let him go
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up to Jerusalem. That's the first invitation, but
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notice the 2nd and verse 4 and let each survivor, in whatever
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place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with
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silver and gold. Cyrus understood that not every
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single Jew would want to go back to the land, and we'll talk
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about that in a moment. For whatever reason may be
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difficulty may be unable to. And so he addresses that crowd.
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But notice what he does. He does not excuse them from
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participating in this exciting work, even though part of this
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demographic would choose to say there was no excuse for
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inactivity. And in the same way, if we as
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God's people cannot help in His work directly, we must be
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prepared to do so from a distance.
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And that includes giving of our silver and gold.
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That includes interceding, though we may not be on the
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grounds that includes encouragement for those who are
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risking their time, their lives, their safety.
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There's a way of serving God directly and at a distance, and
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we see that exemplified here. And so those who are serving
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God, which should be all of us, have to be able to say with
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confidence that I am either directly involved or I am doing
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so at a distance or mingling of both, a mixture of the two.
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But what is certain is that there is nothing in any part of
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Scripture that gives us permission to sit on our own
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hands. Cyrus, this man, what an
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incredible leader. He's so obviously led by the
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Spirit of God. And ultimately, each of us
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should be able to say that I play a part or I play many
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parts. And this decree is a reminder
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for that. So what part do you play?
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Do you pray? I, I genuinely pray like, and I
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just pray I, I go to war like I have a list of names of people I
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know in my church and I pray, OK, you're serving at a
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distance. That's awesome.
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What do you do? What, what, what, what do you do
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in your hands to actually contribute to God's Kingdom?
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Expanding and growing and strengthening?
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Though the limitations here are clear, though the statuses of
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different Jews is obvious, though the decisions on a
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practical level may differ, one thing all these Jews share in
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common, according to Cyrus, is that they have to sign up for
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something, for something. And not everybody can go and not
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everybody can give at the same capacity as others, but
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everybody's got to do something. That's the spirit speaking here
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through Cyrus. And amazingly, Cyrus leads by
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example. Do you know how I know that?
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Peak a little bit at verse 7. Notice what Cyrus does.
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Ezra 17. Cyrus the king also brought out
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the vessels of the House of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had
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carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the House of his gods.
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So more than Cyrus just making a proclamation, giving permission
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for the Jews to return, he reaches into his own treasury,
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he unlocks the door and he gives of the treasures that Babylon
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took from Jerusalem. He didn't have to do that, but
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he understood that he could do more than just give this edict
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that he can equip and that he can return and he can give back
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what really wasn't his to begin with.
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And I, I'm even more blessed by this man, Cyrus.
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You know why? Because it's one thing to
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applaud a man who speaks the truth and aligns himself to
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God's word. It's more powerful when that
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person actually lives it and leads by example.
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Cyrus is a, a model for leaders. It's one thing to stand up and
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say, all right, go back and do something for God's house and
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give. It's another thing to say it and
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then to say, here's how I'm doing it.
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And if there's any aspiring leaders here, look at Cyrus.
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Shockingly, A Gentile, yes, but still an example.
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Preach the truth, speak the truth, but live it.
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Back it up. You're going to get more
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authority that way. You're going to inspire more
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people that way. That's what I find in this man.
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We're going to come to these verses in a moment.
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These groups are going to respond positively to Cyrus's
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message, and there's a comment in the following verses that
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demands our meditation. Look, let's look at verse 5.
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Now then rose up the heads of the Father's houses of Judah,
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and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose
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spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the House of the Lord
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that is in Jerusalem. And all who are about them aid
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them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with
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beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely
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offered. That seems pretty direct, but I
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have to admit that there is something in these verses that
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caused me to muse over it over and over again.
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Here it is. Why do I need to know that the
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Spirit of God stirred the spirit of some of these Jews in order
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for them to return home? You would think that every Jew
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would jump on the opportunity the moment they received this
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letter in the mail. You would think that there
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wouldn't be a single exile who wouldn't eagerly want to uproot
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themselves and make their way back to what God had originally
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promised them. Why is it then we see here that
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the Spirit of God enabled a group of them to go back?
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And then it hit me. The experience of these exiles
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in Babylon does not compare with the experience of their
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ancestors when they were in Egypt.
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Let me remind you of that truth. Jeremiah gave instructions to
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these exiles as they would be here for 70 years.
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Look at his book again here in chapter 29 verse four.
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Look what Jeremiah said directly to these exiles.
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He didn't just preach to the citizens of Jerusalem and Judah.
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He actually sent forth this following message and it sheds
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light into why this is happening here in Ezra 1.
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Jeremiah 29 verse 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of
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Israel, to all the Exiles whom I sent, who I'm I've sent into
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exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Build houses and live in them,
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Plant gardens and eat their produce.
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Take wives and have sons and daughters.
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Take wives for your sons, and give your daughters and marriage
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that they may bear. Sons and daughters multiply
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there and do not decrease. Interestingly, this is found in
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the same chapter that says that they would be in exile for 70
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years. So the Lord didn't want these
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exiles to just remain with their luggage is still intact and
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their bags still packed. He wanted them to settle.
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You're going to be there for a while.
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So build homes, have families, start businesses, cultivate
29:07
land. So you have to understand that
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at this point in Ezra, many of these Jews are well established.
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Many of them have built relationship with their
29:17
neighbors. Many of them had children.
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Some of these Jews were born in Babylon.
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That's all they'd ever known. Anything about Jerusalem or
29:24
Judah or the history of the people of Israel was just told
29:26
to them. And now all of a sudden you have
29:31
these Jews who are being told, yeah, you have your homes, you
29:35
have your your businesses, you have your education, you have
29:38
your relationships there in Babylon.
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But it's time to go home to your real home.
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Imagine how challenging that would be.
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And think further. What's really waiting for them
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in Judah? Their old homes, their old
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temple. Everything is in ruins.
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Everything is destroyed, everything is in rubble.
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It's it's almost like a war-torn place.
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It is a war-torn place. And beyond that you have lurking
30:07
enemies surrounding the region. We're going to find that out in
30:10
the coming chapters of Ezra. This is threatening.
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This is dangerous. Take it a step further.
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What about the journey back months to return by foot?
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How taxing would that be for the families, namely the wives and
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the children, the elderly, and then you have wild animals and
30:32
robbers to be fearful of. So humanly speaking, there is
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nothing appealing about this invitation.
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This was something very demanding.
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This is something that demanded discussion and planning.
30:45
This isn't just something that, oh, we get to go back.
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No, no, no. And so you can just imagine
30:51
these Jews discussing among themselves.
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Is it really worth it? Is it worth just abandoning
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everything that we've built over these years, these decades, the
30:59
comfort that we have here? We're not slaves necessarily,
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and we have Cyrus now. He seems very favorable towards
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us. Is it worth it for something so
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dangerous, something so difficult?
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There's so many thoughts that we can uncover from this one
31:17
thought, but I want to leave you with this main point.
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This shows us that only through the help of the Spirit of God
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can any of us really detach from the affairs of this world.
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You and I can't do it in our own strength to be willing to walk
31:38
away from possessions, prosperity, people that we work
31:46
so hard for, that we deeply enjoy.
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For what to to build the Kingdom of God with so many risks
31:53
involved even today? Surely such a transformative
32:00
thing in our desires and our ambitions requires the help of
32:03
the Holy Spirit. And that is why you and I
32:07
continually have to rely on Him and seek Him to be able to do
32:12
that. With everyday new temptations,
32:16
things pulling at us with every season of life, every chapter in
32:20
life that would try to keep you earthbound, you and I can't do
32:27
it without God's help. He must stir us.
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He must fortify us. He must energize us.
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He must blind us to the things that try to take our gaze away
32:38
from what truly matters. Now, it would be a mistake to
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look at a verse like this and place all that responsibility on
32:46
God. Like, OK, I'm just going to be
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the way I am unless God moves me.
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It doesn't work that way. In fact, the Scripture presents
32:54
a paradox, and you find it throughout Paul's writing.
32:58
By the way, Paul's epistles show us this, this strange tension
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between it's me, but it's also God.
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I'm doing it, but it's really God doing it.
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I'm conscience of it, but God gets all the glory.
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So one verse that comes to mind is what I quoted during the
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announcements last Sunday in Colossians 129.
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For this, I, I, I, I, Paul, I toil, struggling with all his
33:28
energy that he powerfully works within me.
33:33
I'm toiling, but it's with his energy I'm serving to the bone.
33:39
I'm serving but with his power. And you find that over and over
33:45
again. Let me give you another one, but
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I'm going to ask you to turn there.
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It's in First Corinthians 15. Look at verse 10, First
33:51
Corinthians 15, verse 10. Paul in giving his testimony of
34:00
his apostleship. He does it in other places, but
34:04
this one helps us understand this wonderful truth.
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First Corinthians 15, verse 10. But by the grace of God, I am
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what I am. Don't you love that?
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And his grace toward me was not in vain.
34:20
I love that too. What God had deposited in my
34:24
life, I didn't waste it. His grace towards me was not in
34:29
vain. I responded to that grace.
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I walked in that grace. I owned that grace.
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It was not in vain. Then He goes on.
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On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them.
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Who's he speaking about? The other apostles.
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I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but
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the grace of God that is with me.
34:51
See how He goes back and forth? It's me, but it's God.
34:55
It's God, but it's also me. And what Paul's not doing here
34:59
is putting himself on the same level as God.
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He's just trying his best to explain how this whole thing
35:04
works, that God's work in our lives participates with our
35:10
surrender. It's a response to our
35:13
willingness. So if you were to approach Paul
35:16
and say Paul, do do you really serve the Lord with all your
35:21
heart? Yes, and he he even goes beyond
35:25
that and says I actually work harder than the other ones.
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Say hey, Paul, that's a little bit presumptuous of you.
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No, he's not. He's being factual.
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Yeah, if you look at my resume, if you look at my scheduling, if
35:36
you look at my travel log, if you look at what I actually do
35:39
comparatively, I work harder than the other ones.
35:42
Not being arrogant here, but at the same time, in the same
35:46
breath, he can say, and that's all God's grace.
35:49
That's all the grace of God. So there isn't like, there isn't
35:52
like a fake piety or false humility here with Paul.
35:56
But beneath all that he did do, he understood that there was
35:59
this current at work. It was God who woke him up.
36:03
It was God who strengthened him. It was God who gave him the rest
36:05
he needed. It was God to open the doors and
36:07
made him useful with those opportunities.
36:09
It was God all the way through. But Paul had to make a choice
36:12
every day. And it's no different for you
36:15
and I. You're not a puppet in God's
36:18
hand. You're not just strings that He
36:20
pulls on without your involvement.
36:24
You're a lifeless glove that has a choice to be worn by the hand
36:28
of God, and he's the one who animates you.
36:31
That's what we find here, even with these Jews.
36:34
God's Spirit, yes, did stir them, but they responded to
36:38
that, surely. And here's what we find in the
36:41
remaining verses of our chapter. Let's come back to Ezra 1 in
36:49
verse 7. Cyrus the king also brought out
36:53
the vessels of the House of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had
36:57
carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the House of his gods.
37:02
Cyrus, king of Persia, brought these out in the charge of
37:05
Mithra Death, the treasurer, who counted them out to Shesh
37:10
Bazaar, the Prince of Judah. And this was the number of them,
37:15
30 basins of gold, 1000 basins of silver, 29 sensors, 30 bowls
37:21
of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1000 other vessels.
37:27
All the vessels of gold and of silver were 5400.
37:31
All these Did Shesh Bazaar bring up when the Exiles were brought
37:36
out or brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem?
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I'm not sure if you picked up on it, but there is a very strong
37:45
motif of the Exodus reflected in the closing of this chapter.
37:50
There are a lot of differences between the Egyptian Exodus and
37:55
the return of the Jews from Babylon to the homeland, but
37:59
there is a very strong similarity here, and it is this.
38:02
In both cases, the people of God went to the promised land with
38:08
something in their hands. They did not go empty handed.
38:15
And so we know back in Exodus that God had given the people
38:19
this instruction. Go and demand the silver and
38:22
gold from your Egyptian neighbors.
38:25
And in Exodus it also tells us that He gave favor to the Jews
38:29
by moving the Egyptians to respond positively to that.
38:33
Yes, here you go. Here's all our jewelry.
38:35
In fact, it says that the Jews plundered the Egyptians.
38:38
And what we find here, look back at verse 11, the mention of
38:43
silver and gold yet again, and the purpose is no different.
38:48
Why did God want the Egyptians to give up their silver and
38:52
their gold? I can tell you this for certain.
38:54
It wasn't so that the Jews can look nice in the wilderness.
38:59
It was to build the temple. It was to construct the
39:03
Tabernacle. Where else did they get the
39:05
materials for the articles? Where else would they be able to
39:11
actually produce what was demanded of them in the
39:14
construction of that House of worship?
39:16
So what God had in mind all along was, yes, you're going to
39:18
get that from the Egyptians for the goal of building me a house.
39:25
And here you find what silver and gold brought up again.
39:29
Is the purpose any different? No, for the priority of
39:33
rebuilding my dwelling place. And you even find this in
39:37
Nehemiah. We're going to come to that for
39:39
a few months from now. We're Nehemiah.
39:40
In the opening of his book, he seeks favour from the king
39:44
Artaxerxes, and he asks him for a letter to go to the manager of
39:47
the King's forest. For what?
39:49
Give me permission to to require and to acquire timber so I can
39:53
build these walls and these gates.
39:57
I want to contribute to the things of God as well.
40:00
And he, he, he's granted it. So what do we make of all of
40:04
this? Well, many things.
40:08
And here's one thing that will encourage us.
40:11
Whatever God sets before us is a task.
40:14
Any ministry, any opportunity. He always provide the means to
40:18
accomplish it. Always.
40:23
He doesn't just determine the end of a matter.
40:25
He also is in charge of the means.
40:29
And so every time in redemptive history we see God calling the
40:34
people to do something grand, seemingly impossible, like
40:38
building him a house, coming out of exile, coming out of slavery,
40:42
he always makes a way. And that rule, that promise is
40:46
no different for us as the Church of Jesus Christ who are
40:48
called to build his house, his spiritual house.
40:52
We have nothing to fear. He owns the cattle on 1000 Hill.
40:57
If God is actually calling you to a specific ministry, and I've
41:00
met many people, I've sat across many tables, I've had many cups
41:05
of tea and coffee with people who are wondering, is God really
41:07
calling me to this? Is God called me to leave my
41:10
education, my job, my city to go and serve him in this capacity?
41:15
Well, here's one way you'll know he is, he's going to provide for
41:17
you. He will.
41:19
It may not be immediately, but he's going to make a way.
41:22
He won't hang you dry. And if God is not making a way
41:26
for you, if he's not providing means for for your own
41:29
well-being or for this work to be done, that's an indication
41:32
perhaps that you're not called to it.
41:35
And maybe for the moment, it could be for a later time or not
41:37
at all. That's what I find here.
41:40
I'm sending you somewhere, I'm calling you to do something.
41:42
And here are the resources. Here's here's the partnership.
41:47
Here are the doors that are going to be opened.
41:50
So be comforted by that truth. Or if you're going to really
41:52
make this happen for me, if you want me to, for example, leave
41:55
my job and become a full time minister, I'll leave the
41:58
workplace and do that. But I also have a wife, I have
42:01
kids. Are you going to provide for me?
42:02
And He will, if you're called to it, He will.
42:05
I don't want to limit God's ways to that, but that is a major
42:08
principle. We find it here throughout the
42:10
Scriptures. But there's even more to learn
42:11
about these articles mentioned at the end of this chapter.
42:15
It's also found in Jeremiah's writing.
42:17
This is where we're going to end.
42:18
Go to Jeremiah 27. This is another prophecy that
42:24
Jeremiah made, and it goes to show again just how surgically
42:28
precise God's prophetic word is. Jeremiah 27.
42:36
Look at verse 21. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the
42:39
God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the
42:42
House of the Lord, in the House of the king of Judah, and in
42:46
Jerusalem, they shall be carried to Babylon and remain there
42:50
until the day when I visit them, declares the Lord.
42:54
Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.
43:00
So God did not just prophecy the return of His people, He
43:04
prophesied the return of pots and vessels and seemingly
43:13
insignificant items. But they're not insignificant to
43:17
Him. They're actually numbered, as
43:20
you saw in Ezra one. Why?
43:23
Because they all are associated with His House of worship.
43:26
They all contribute to His glory.
43:29
And I want to tell you something, believer, and
43:31
hopefully this helps you read your Bible in a more meaningful
43:35
and practical way. We have the lens of the new
43:38
covenant. So when I read something like
43:40
this, I, yes, praise God for the historically accurate elements
43:46
of His Word, but I also see something else in terms of
43:48
principle. I am the temple of God.
43:52
You are the temple of God. That's true for us corporately
43:54
and individually. And God back in Jeremiah's word
43:58
says not only am I going to bring back my people, but I'm
44:01
going to bring back the very items that constitute my
44:04
dwelling place. I'm not going to leave one thing
44:07
behind. Do you understand how miraculous
44:10
this is? You understand that back in
44:12
Daniel 5, Nebuchadnezzar's descendants, the one who
44:18
succeeded him, took these very vessels and blasphemy God
44:21
through it by partying with these cups and these plates.
44:24
They could have easily been destroyed.
44:27
They could have easily been lost, but God sovereignly
44:31
preserved them throughout these years.
44:35
He cares for every detail of his house.
44:41
You're his house. I'm his dwelling place.
44:46
There's not one part of my life that He is not mindful of.
44:52
There's not one part of my life internally, externally, that He
44:56
does not want to preserve for His glory, that he does not want
45:00
to restore, that He does not want to redeem.
45:04
It may be insignificant to your neighbor, to your spouse, even
45:07
to your children, to other believers, but to God it
45:12
matters. Imagine that he he actually
45:14
numbered the bowls and the basins.
45:21
Every hair on your head is cherished by God, and every part
45:27
of your sanctification is something that God deeply cares
45:31
about. Believe that.
45:35
Believe that every thought, everywhere your eyes are
45:40
planted, every word you speak, every action you take, God wants
45:49
it, He demands it, He deserves it.
45:55
Let's pray, Father, you never cease to amaze
46:10
us how every piece of your word can speak to us.
46:20
You never cease to blow us away with how the oracles of God
46:29
throughout history. Every part of this library
46:34
speaks so loud and clear and we asked Lord, with the many truths
46:39
that were discovered together tonight, we would not be
46:41
forgetful of them. We would be like Cyrus even and
46:45
believe that they personally apply to each of us.
46:48
We would not be worried about the person to our left or to our
46:50
right if they heard this or we think that they needed to hear
46:52
it. We think about ourselves and we
46:56
ask God that you would make us like this man that we don't know
47:01
his complete relationship with you.
47:03
We know that in this moment he exemplifies what obedience looks
47:06
like. And we think even if Timothy,
47:09
who had every part of him, every interest consecrated to the will
47:13
of Christ, a wash over us again tonight, to that same end, take
47:20
every article, every part of who we are like these things in the
47:25
temple that you rescued. Rescue it from us, save us.
47:30
Leave not one thing behind. Bring it all to you.
47:34
Lord. Highlight the things that we are
47:36
keeping back. Highlight the things that are
47:38
still in Babylon. Highlight the things that we're
47:41
trying to hide. Highlight the things that are
47:43
still in the world. Lord, you're calling it all to
47:45
yourself and we've come here to give it to you.
47:48
So Lord, receive this act of worship this evening.
47:52
In Jesus name we pray, Amen. If you want to remain seated,
47:56
you're free to do that as long as you're prayerful.
48:00
I think one of the ways that we can make these studies more
48:02
impactful is if we respond to what we hear.
48:04
So you can stay seated if you want to pray and spend a few
48:07
minutes with the Lord. If you want to stand and sing,
48:09
you can do that praise to him. You're welcome to come even as
48:10
I'm speaking. But let's really respond to
48:12
these truths because they're they're meant to, to transform
48:16
us and really bleed into our lives.
48:18
Can we do that? Thank you.