Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / Ezra 5 (Part 1) Bible Study (Rebuilding Begins Anew) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Book of Ezra Series)

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Ezra 5 (Part 1) Bible Study (Rebuilding Begins Anew) | 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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Let's turn now in our Bibles to Ezra chapter 5.
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Ezra chapter 5. It is believed that from the
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time the restored exiles laid the foundation of the temple in
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Jerusalem to the recommencement of the rebuilding of the temple,
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16 years had passed. Think about that for a moment.
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16 years of inactivity, 16 years of purchase materials lying
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dormant, 16 years of these captives who have now returned
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home, never reaching their full potential and worship because
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the temple for so long remained as a slab for that duration of
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time. Now, what was the reason for the
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cessation of the temple's restoration?
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Why did that work stop? Wasn't that the reason why God
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brought the people from Babylon to the homeland?
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Well, we learned it last week, didn't we, That it was a mixture
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of discouragement, frustration, fear and persecution that led to
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this rationale among the people to suspend the work.
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And it didn't take very long until they became distracted
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with other affairs. But look quickly at the last
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verse of chapter 4, verse 24. It reads.
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Then the work on the House of God that is in Jerusalem stopped
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and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius,
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king of Persia. So something took place in the
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second year of the administration of Darius that
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kick started the work of the House of God being rebuilt once
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again. And it is in this new chapter,
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Ezra chapter 5, where we are given the explanation.
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We are going to learn what it was that sparked this renewed
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interest and rebuilding this House of worship.
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And here's what we're going to do tonight.
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We're going to examine the 1st 5 verses of this chapter, but
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we'll begin by reading the 1st 2.
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So let's come now and look at Ezra chapter 5, verse one.
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Now the prophets Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo
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prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the
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name of the God of Israel who was over them.
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Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shialtial, and Joshua, the son
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of Josidac, arose and began to rebuild the House of God that is
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in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were
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with them, supporting them. Father, we ask please, that You
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would give us understanding that we may have life, not just
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knowledge, not just information. We're praying for life to be
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imparted into the depths of who we are.
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Use this Bible study to that end.
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We ask these things in the matchless name of Jesus Christ.
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Amen. We should be excited just by
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reading these first 2 verses for one main reason.
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This is the first time that prophets appear in the book of
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Ezra. Prophets, according to just
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general observation of the Scriptures, are recognized as
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one of the three main offices in the Old Covenant, alongside
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kings and Who? Priests, good and prophets are
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showing up here and now. We've already seen the royal
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representation and who? Who's the person?
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Zerubbabel very good, who was a descendant of David.
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He never became a king, but he did operate as a leader.
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And as we just read, we also see the priestly function in Jeshua
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or Joshua. He's called Joshua and Haggai.
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And now again we see these prophets appearing on the scene.
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And one of the main differences between the prophets, kings and
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priests is that with the prophetic office there is no
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established succession. So if anybody wanted to function
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as a priest, they had to come from which line?
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Aaron, The line of Aaron. So that responsibility, that
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role was inherited by blood. And if there was anybody who
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would occupy the throne legitimately, at least they had
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to come from the Davidic dynasty.
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But here's what's interesting about prophets.
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It wasn't a hereditary right. There was not a tribe nor a clan
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set apart by God to serve as prophets.
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It was something and someone rather had to be directly,
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individually called by God. And that is why their emergence
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should excite us, because their commissioning is unexpected.
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And when they are summoned, when someone is crowned with the call
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to be a prophet, they are speaking directly from God, and
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oftentimes they are bringing fresh revelation from heaven.
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And at this point, the Lord Almighty saw it fit to raise up
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two main prophets. And to our great benefit, we
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also learn as we continue in our Bible that God has also
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preserved the messages of these two men of God to the same
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audience and included it in this divine library.
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So with that in mind, here's what we're planning to do.
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I want us to take the time to look more carefully at the books
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that bear the names of these men, these prophets that we just
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read of, to see what they said more precisely that sparked
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revival in this nation. And last week we looked very
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quickly at the 1st 5 verses of the book of Haggai.
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But let's return there and examine these words, his
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message, more carefully and see what the Lord would say to us
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through it. So Haggai chapter 1, let's turn
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there and let's read from verse one.
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In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the
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first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of
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Haggai the prophet, to Zerubbabel the son of Shaltiel,
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governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high
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priest. Thus says the Lord of hosts.
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These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the
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House of the Lord. Then the word of the Lord came
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by the hand of Haggai the prophet.
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Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses
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while this house lies in ruins? Now therefore, thus says the
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Lord of hosts, consider your ways highlight something in your
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mind, at least the dating the time stamp presented here in
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verse one. Not only did Haggai come in the
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second year of Darius the king, but he also began to speak in
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the sixth month of that year. That is going to be helpful when
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we go to the book of Zechariah. So just tuck it somewhere.
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But for now, we have to determine the main issue that
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Haggai is bringing to the people's attention.
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And in the essence, it's this. They have misplaced priorities.
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They justified their lack of commitment to the House of God
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because of the opposition that they were experiencing.
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And so to them, they thought, well, maybe this is not God's
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will at this moment. Maybe this is his providential
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way of letting us know to stop this lest we get into trouble,
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lest we invite unnecessary affliction.
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But that kind of thinking created an excuse.
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It consoled their souls now to actually turn all their
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attention and all their efforts to their own personal projects,
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to the remodeling of their own estates and the improvement of
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their own properties, while the temple was completely neglected.
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So God by his Spirit begins to move in the heart of a man named
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Haggai to raise him up, to go and confront them for their
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complacency. And that's exactly what he does
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here. And I couldn't help but compare
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this generation, their heart, towards the House of God with
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that of King David's, the man after God's own heart.
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Do you remember what David himself said as he was living in
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his palace and was experiencing universal peace in his world?
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All his enemies were put to rest, all his foes were subdued,
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and something, something moved him.
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Well, let me remind you of his words from Second Samuel Chapter
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7, verse 2. David, it says here in verse 2
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of that chapter said to Nathan the prophet, see now I dwell in
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a House of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.
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What a difference. This generation in Haggai's day
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were consumed with their panelled homes and neglected the
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House of God David. Oh, this man loved God.
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David, whether he was in the fields of Bethlehem watching his
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father's sheep or was residing in a palace with pillars of
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stone, was fixed on the Lord. He was absolutely moved by the
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realization that God's presence dwells in something inferior to
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me. Now he could have done
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something. David, if he gave in to the
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flesh, could have convinced himself to pursue further
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endeavors for his own gain, for his own pleasure, with little
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concern for God's house, if he just kept telling himself, well,
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look, I'm the one who actually brought the ark from the
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countryside to the new capital. Remember, it was, it was David
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who did that. Once he gained the power, one of
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his first things that he wanted to do was get the ark and bring
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it to the capital. That's a God honoring endeavor,
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isn't it? You would think that's enough,
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right? Not for this man.
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He was consumed with placing God's will, God's pleasure first
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at every stage of life, even at the height of his comfort, his
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power, and His luxury. Unfortunately, with with others
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who profess Christ, the more they gain in this world, the
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less they give to God. Often times it doesn't take much
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for devotion to to waver. All it takes for some is the
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acquisition of property, a new business, a new spouse, starting
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a family, for them to get distracted to the point where
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they neglect what matters the most.
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And that's exactly what was happening in Haggai's day.
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And this is just the beginning of his rebuke.
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Look back at it with me at the close of verse 5.
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Haggai urges the people to do what?
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Consider your ways consider your ways a call not only to examine
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their misplaced affections and ambitions, but to actually to
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actually examine the consequences of their
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priorities. Think think back over the years,
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people of Judah and he helps them think.
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Look what he says in verse 6. You have sown much and harvest
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is little. You eat, but you never have
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enough. You drink, but you never have
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your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no
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one is warm. And he who earns wages does so
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to put them into a bag with holes.
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I love this preacher, very direct.
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And here's what he says. I'm highlighting something.
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I'm bringing something to your attention that all your material
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enterprises, all your strenuous labor, has yielded very little
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reward, hasn't it? And this lack of fruit, the this
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meager return on investment is not due to poor management
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skills, by the way. It's not because you need
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greater effort. I'm here to tell you that God
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was behind it all. God is the one who put a stop to
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multiplication, to your prosperity, to your growth.
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And that's confirmed later. Scroll down to verse 10 of the
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same chapter. Notice what He says.
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Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the
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earth was withheld its produce. And I have called God speaking
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here, and I have called for a drought on the land and the
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hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the
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ground brings forth on man and beast, and on all their
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laborers. I did it.
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Now the language here should sound familiar to us.
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Why? Because it echoes the warnings
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of God from the law when he promised the people, if you live
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in disobedience, if you begin to have idols, I will withhold some
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of these things from you. That's explicitly found in in
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the book of Deuteronomy. And hey, guy, like a good
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prophet, reminds the people of God of what he already said.
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So here's what he's saying. Hey, you, do you not realize
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that in the past 16 years you've been living under God's
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judgement, God has been judging you and you don't even recognize
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that I'm here to tell you it's him?
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Here's what dawned on me. This is this.
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This actually jolted me that you had fruitlessness going on for
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years, years, and yet this people were committed to their
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ways. They didn't give up.
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They kept working, they kept sewing, they kept waking up
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early, they kept going to bed late.
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And it's staggering, it really is, how determined we can become
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when it comes to our material pursuits, when it comes to our
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personal agendas. And yet when it comes to our
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spiritual undertakings, we are much more tempted to give up, to
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throw in the towel. I'm just going to go to another
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church. This whole thing is not really
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forming. You know, it's very, very common
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for people to have enthusiasm at the start of a thing when it
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comes to God's work, at least tends to wane over time,
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especially when we're discouraged, especially when
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we're disappointed. Here's what I see though with
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this group when it came to their material desires, their dreams
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in this life, their goals in this realm.
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They've been going on for 16 years and they didn't stop until
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Prophet had to stop them and show them the error of their
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ways. And here's the thing, I
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understand that one of the reasons why genuine hearted
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believers would step away from whatever that it was that they
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said that they would be committed to.
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But if you really understood what God was asking of us,
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discouragement would be less frequent.
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It would Let me give you one example from the same chapter.
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We didn't read this yet. Look at verse 7 of Haggai 1.
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Thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.
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This is his second time saying that.
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Consider your ways. And in verse 8, go up to the
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hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take
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pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord.
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You see, the the people were preoccupied with their pleasure,
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not gods, with their glory, not gods.
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And here's God saying, look, you were created for my pleasure.
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You were created from my glory, and you will ultimately know
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greater pleasure when you pursue mine.
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But this also reveals something so deep about God's heart.
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Let me ask you, this was Solomon's temple, more or less
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impressive than the temple that people are going to build here.
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More significantly more. In fact, you had the older men
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of this generation weeping when they saw the blueprints for this
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new temple. Are you kidding me?
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This is what we're going to build in God's honor.
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This isn't come close to what Solomon was able to come up
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with. And yet the Lord speaks to this
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same group and He tells them, if you build this house, I will
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take pleasure in it. I will delight in it, knowing
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full well that in man's eyes it would be inferior in many ways,
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but to God he would still delight in it.
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Why? Because what brings joy to the
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heart of our God ultimately is wholehearted obedience.
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Wholehearted obedience. This is what he's saying here.
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I find it so amazing that God takes genuine pleasure in things
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that men tend to despise or overlook.
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And that should comfort each of us here who serve God.
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Because as we do our best and perhaps look up from time to
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time and think, really, what we do as a church doesn't measure
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up to what that church is doing or what that ministry is
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accomplishing, or what those servants of Christ and their
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same gifting as mine are able to do in such a rate in terms of
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reach and speed. Forget all that.
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What they're going to build is going to pale in comparison.
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And yet God says I will still take pleasure in it.
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Because what He's really after is just our surrender and doing
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what He's asked us to do, no matter what it brings about.
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You can't determine the fruit of a thing but your faithfulness,
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that's your choice. That's my choice, and that's
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what God looks for. Well, we can say so much more,
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but we'll have to wait until we study the book of Haggai.
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But I do want to look at one more thing before we continue.
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Let's look at the response of the people to this message.
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So come down to verse 14 with me.
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And the Lord stirred up the spirit of his Aruba Bowl, the
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son of Shaltiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua,
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the son of Jehozadak the high priest, in the spirit of all the
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remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the
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House of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the 24th day of
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the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the
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king. 2 Simple observations from these verses.
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Just two. 1st The only way that you and I can see the people of
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God truly excited to serve, to worship, to prioritize His
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Kingdom is through the preached Word.
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Notice that the stirring of the spirits of the leaders and the
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remnant came after the word of the Lord was spoken through the
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prophet. It was the word of God declared
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that awakened the people from their slumber.
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We cannot underestimate the power of the preached word.
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And unfortunately you have many who are coming up with novel
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ideas of how to create and I put that in air quotes.
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Create revival and they're trying almost everything except
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what? Opening the Bible, being
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prayerful and dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit and
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saying thus says the Lord, thus says the Lord.
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That's all it took for this group.
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The second thing to underline in our minds is the timing of their
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obedience. What did we see in verse 15 on
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the 24th day of the month in the sixth month?
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Have we seen that before? We did back in verse one of the
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same chapter, the 6th month in the second year of Darius the
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king. So if we compare this verse with
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verse one, then we learn that it took 24 days.
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After 24 days of Haggai preaching, the people began to
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work on the House of God. And perhaps the reason why it
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wasn't sooner was because the people had to gather resources
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and establish themselves and, you know, organize their
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workforce. And that takes time.
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But this is still remarkable. Here's what's so amazing as we
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keep our minds on the power of the Word of God. 16 years of
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lethargy, 16 years of laziness, 16 years of succumbing to the
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opposition of the adversaries of Judah, 16 years of giving into
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the obstacles was undone by the Word of God within a matter of
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days. All the things that the Word of
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God can do in a person's life. All the things that the Word of
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God can do for anybody who has been bound for years, addicted
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for years, lukewarm for years, callous for years, bitter for
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years, just by sitting under the Word heralded, can do miracles
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in such a short amount of time. This is just one of so many
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examples of what the Word of God can do.
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Why are we covering it in our churches?
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Why are we replacing it? Why are we giving people
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entertainment instead of exposition?
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Why are we giving them plays instead of preaching?
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It's a shame, It really is. God's Word can do miracles, and
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we find it here. And let me tell you this, you
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and I will never, ever, ever come close to a genuine
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spiritual awakening on a local level or on a national level
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unless the Word of God is in the forefront of our efforts.
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Never. Anything else will be
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artificial. Anything else will just be
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emotion. It'll be short lived.
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But the scriptures, oh, that's where the power is.
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That's where transformation takes place.
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So listen, you aspiring counselors, you need to know the
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Word of God, Not your personal experience, not what you looked
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at in books. That's all fine, but if it's not
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charged with the Word of God, you're going to have little
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fruit, genuine fruit in your ministry.
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That's true for those who have Bible studies, those who are
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serving the children of this church, those who are fathers in
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this house, and you want to see the best in your spouse and in
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your children. You need the Bible.
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You need to know it, and you need to declare it unashamedly,
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accurately, by the power of the Holy Spirit, only the Word.
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But there's another thing important to under score about
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the timing here. Look at the dating again in
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verse 15. It was in the sixth month of the
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second year. Why do we need to know that?
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Well, let me remind you that back in Ezra 5, verse one, it
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was Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Ido that were prophesying
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to the people, and then they began to work.
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So Haggai, we learned, began to preach in the second year, in
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the sixth month of Darius the king.
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But notice now how the book of Zechariah starts.
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Let's go to Zechariah. It's right beside Hey Guy, Look
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at Zechariah 11 in the eighth month, in the second year of
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Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah,
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the son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying.
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So when did Zechariah begin preaching?
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2 months after Haggai's sermon. 2 months after not only a Haggai
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sermon, but after the people began rebuilding, because they
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only started just a few days after Haggai was preaching.
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So what would you expect the Lord to say through Zechariah to
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a group of people, to a nation? Really, whose hearts have
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already been softened by the word of the Lord and proved it
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with practical application. What do you think I would say,
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Well, let's find out. Verse 2 the Lord was very angry
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with your father's. Therefore say to them, thus
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declares the Lord of hosts, Return to me, says the Lord of
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hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.
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What? Well, hold on, there's more.
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Look at verse 4. Do not be like your father's, to
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whom the former prophets cried out.
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Thus says the Lord of hosts returned from your evil ways and
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from your evil deeds, but they did not hear or pay attention to
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me, declares the Lord your Father's.
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Where are they? And the prophets?
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Do they live forever? But my words and my statutes,
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which I committed, my servants, the prophets, did they not
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overtake your father's? So they repented and said, as
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the Lord of hosts purpose to deal with us for our ways and
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deeds, so has He dealt with us. Are you surprised?
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You have every right to be because Zechariah's message two
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months after the people obeyed what Haggai said was a message
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of repentance. How do we make sense of this?
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Imagine after 16 years of not working, two months into a
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revival, the new preacher who's actually younger, if you read in
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this book, Zechariah was a younger man, comes behind the
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pulpit and he says you all need to repent.
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Do we have a contradiction here? No.
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We have a call to meditate. That's what we have.
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And there are two possible answers to this.
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Number one, it could be that not everyone among the remnant were
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sincere and genuine in their hearts being given over to the
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Lord even after all of this. So it's very possible like
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today, for people to set apart time to participate, to
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volunteer, to even give monetarily and their hearts not
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really be for the Lord teaching us what God is not really after
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your service. He's after your sincerity, he's
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after your affection, your love, your desires.
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That's what he wants, And so it could be that Zechariah was
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raised up. Whereas Haggai was focused on
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actually rebuilding the House of God, Zechariah now comes on the
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scene to deal with the depths of the hearts of some.
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You need to actually return to God.
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You need to actually have a love relationship with your God.
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Now here's the second possible reason for this, and it's more
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likely that Zechariah's bold charge at this moment was
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because after two months, the people's zeal begin to fade
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away. Is that surprising to us?
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No, it's not. It shouldn't be, at least for
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some. We know the spark of enthusiasm
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and excitement towards a spiritual discipline or a
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ministry. All it takes is a few hours
29:52
before we get distracted again, let alone days or months.
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So it could be that after two months the people began to lose
30:03
their zeal. And so God puts words in the
30:07
mouth of this man, Zechariah, and he says, go warn them,
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preach to them, remind them of their history lest they risk
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repeating it. And he does so faithfully.
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Here's what moves me. The same source that ignited
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this people to come back to their priorities is the same
30:34
source that would sustain them as they humbly receive the Word
30:37
of God, the word. You know, over the years I've
30:45
received sometimes invitations to be somewhere to preach.
30:50
And I understand that it comes from a a right heart to good
30:52
heart. Sometimes I'm asked, can you
30:54
come to preach? You know, we're looking for a
30:57
revival amongst our youth. Well, you know, I don't carry
31:03
revival in in my pocket or in my backpack or, you know, tucked
31:08
away in my notes. No preacher does.
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But I understand. I understand that the goal and
31:13
the desire. But here's my concern.
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I've learned this very, very early in ministry that you may
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come, an evangelist may visit a church, a teacher may come for a
31:24
weekend to show the beauties and the wonders of the word of God.
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But how is that same group of people going to be sustained?
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Do you have a plan? Do you have, do you have people
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raised up in that same church that's going to feed them and
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speak to their hearts and provide them further nourishment
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and warnings? And you know what I found, At
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least in my world, that's rarely the case.
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And So what do people do? Well, they just invite you for
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the next year for the same thing that happened last year.
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God is giving us wisdom here. The timing of Zechariah's
32:00
message instructs us about the importance of a continual
32:04
exposure to the Word of God. Not just an event and not just
32:10
on one particular weekend, but as a regular practice, as a
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regular diet. That's why it's so important.
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You men, especially, you listen to me very carefully.
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If you're called by God to have a family, to have a wife and
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have a children down the road, you need to be very careful
32:30
where you bring your family to church.
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What church are you taking your family to?
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How does that church handle the law of God, the word of God, the
32:39
gospel? Are they serious?
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Are they frivolous? Are they shallow?
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We see here that God raised up Haggai.
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He spoke, it sparked. 2 months later, He raised up another man
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of God. To do what?
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To add fuel to the fire. And again, the source is no
32:57
different. The scriptures.
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The scriptures. But there's more to learn from
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this, and it concerns us as well.
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Zechariah shows us here that it is our duty to regularly examine
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our hearts, even in the midst of spiritual activity.
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We all, each of us, each of us need to do regular inner
33:24
maintenance to see, Is my heart really in tune with God's heart
33:30
even while I'm doing all of this?
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And I understand fully that there are some days better than
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others. There's some days where you're
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more excited, less tired, more ambitious than others.
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And that's not to say that when those days come where you feel,
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you know, tired, distracted or defeated that you call it quits.
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Far be far be it from us to do such a thing.
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But as as as a general call to look at the depths of our soul
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and saying, where am I with God on a personal level?
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Am I just going to the mechanical routines?
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Zachariah shows us here as he speaks to this crowd.
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Where is your heart? Are are you really, really,
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really in step with the Lord even while you do all this for
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the Lord? Because here's the thing,
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backsliding starts in the heart. It starts in the heart.
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This is start with somebody walking away from the church,
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walking away from their service to the Lord.
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Something happened long before that, and it's here.
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So Zechariah gets to the heart. And here's the thing, if we
34:33
don't take that seriously, we're all in danger of repeating what
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the Lord delivered us from, and that's possible for any of us.
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And that's actually what we see back in Ezra 5.
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So we have to go back and finish the rest of these verses.
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Let's look again at verse 2. Then Zerubbabel, the son of
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Shiael Tial and Joshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to
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rebuild the House of God that is in Jerusalem.
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And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
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Oh, I would love to say something about that last part,
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but I won't. I want to bring to your
35:14
attention how the prophets are spotlighted here.
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We read in Haggai how the the people with the leaders went
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back to rebuild the House of God.
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But in Ezra's record, he only highlights the leaders
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Zerubbabel and Joshua. What does that tell you?
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Well, it tells us many things, but at least one thing that even
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the leaders of this time succumbed to the excuses and the
35:45
distractions that lulled the rest of the nation.
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Even the leaders think about that.
35:52
A leader who was a descendant of David and the high priest at the
35:55
time were more worried about their personal lives in the
36:02
House of God. If it was true, then is it
36:05
possible for pastors today? You better believe it.
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However, we can commend these leaders at the same time.
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Why? Because both in Ezra's account
36:18
and Hey guys, they are mentioned as the first ones to respond
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positively to the messages of the prophets.
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They were the ones who humbled themselves, and the people
36:31
followed. That becomes especially clear in
36:35
Haggai, where the Spirit of the Lord stirred the spirits of the
36:38
leaders and then the people. What does that mean for us?
36:43
As important as the Word of God is, and as instrumental as it is
36:47
in seeing a potential move of God, we also cannot expect God
36:53
to do something in a place, at least generally, unless the
36:57
leaders are impacted. That's not to limit how God can
37:02
move into place, but there is a consistent pattern that when
37:06
leadership turns to God, people will follow.
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And if we want to hope even for revival, it has to begin with
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leaders. Any pastor, any father, any
37:24
overseer of any kind of ministry who consistently lives with a
37:30
stale heart, inevitably it's unavoidable, will have that
37:36
lifelessness translate into their ministries.
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Dead pastors will make dead churches.
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But when a leader's heart catches on fire, it has the
37:51
potential of melting the hearts of those around them.
37:56
So Zerubbel and Joshua, they responded, and the people
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followed suit. The heat and the light from
38:05
those over them trickled. It impacted.
38:11
And here's the thing, as positive as that is, heat and
38:13
light also attracts pesky bugs. And that's what we find in verse
38:20
3 and 4. Let's read it.
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At the same time, Tatanai, the governor of the province beyond
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the river, and Shatar, Bazani and their associates came to
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them and spoke to them. Thus who gave you a decree to
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build this house and to finish this structure?
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They also asked them this, What are the names of the men who are
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building this building? But the eye of their God was on
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the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the
38:49
report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by
38:53
letter concerning it. It's not shocking at all, is it,
38:59
that for 16 years there is no indication that the adversaries
39:05
of the Jews harassed them or probe them when they were
39:12
working on their own houses. But the moment that they
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prioritize God's house, the enemy slithered back into the
39:21
picture. Now we spent all of Ezra chapter
39:25
4 looking at the different schemes and the tactics of Satan
39:28
to try to hinder and harm the people of God as they want to
39:31
build something for his Kingdom. So we won't spend too much time
39:33
here, but let this serve as a reminder how persistent the evil
39:37
1 is, how strategic he is, how careful he is, how aware the
39:43
evil 1 is. And listen, all that should do
39:45
for you and I is be more motivated to becoming more
39:49
determined and more discerning. A quick comment about verse 4.
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I'm curious, does anybody here read something other than the
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ESV? You can lift your hand.
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I'm just curious. OK, so here's what you'll find,
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especially if you have the new King James or the NASB.
40:05
And there might be other translations out there.
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There's a different rendering of this verse.
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If you have those two translations that I just
40:11
mentioned, this verse, verse 4 might read in the following way.
40:15
Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who are
40:19
constructing this building. As if the narrator is showing
40:24
that the Jews complied and cooperated with the inquiry of
40:27
the Persian officials. So they said, what?
40:31
Who gave you a decree to build this house at the finish the
40:33
structure? And in some of those
40:34
translations, it's as though the narrator interrupts and says,
40:38
and the Jews gave the names of the ones who were in charge of
40:40
this endeavor. But there's a difference with
40:43
the ESV. The ESV puts it as though they
40:46
press them and asked what of the names of the men who are
40:48
building this building? Why the difference?
40:52
Well, it's a translation choice and one of the main reasons
40:55
because with the original language, there's a lot of
40:58
flexibility with the wording and I believe actually not because I
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read and preach from the ESV, but because of the context the
41:06
ESV has it more accurately. Why?
41:10
Well, the same group is going to end up writing a letter to
41:13
Darius. That's the rest of the chapter.
41:15
And in their explanation, listen to how they recount their
41:19
exchange with the Jews. Scroll of verse 9 and 10 of Ezra
41:24
5. This is the these are the
41:26
officials writing to Darius. And here's what they say at this
41:28
point. Then we asked those elders and
41:31
spoke thus to them, Who commanded you to build this
41:34
temple to finish these walls? We also asked them their names
41:38
to inform you that we might write the names of the men who
41:41
are chief among them. You see that?
41:44
So in their own explanation, as they recount the the events they
41:48
tell Darius, we asked them their names.
41:50
And that's how the ESP puts it in verse 4.
41:53
The purpose, just to clarify any potential confusion.
41:56
That's why I brought that up. But let's come back to our
41:59
understanding of this passage. At this point, we would expect
42:05
the Persian officials to not only interrogate them, but to
42:08
tell them to stop working, stop working until we get
42:13
confirmation from Darius. But that doesn't happen.
42:17
They ask their questions. We learned later in the letter
42:19
that the people were kind. And we're going to learn a lot
42:22
in the new year of wisdom of how to deal with those who oppose us
42:27
and how we can even rightfully and righteously utilize the
42:31
freedoms that we have with our government if it's in favor of
42:34
our faith to actually gain more ground for the Kingdom of God.
42:40
But for now, we don't have any natural explanation to why these
42:47
executives didn't push further and demand them to cease.
42:52
But we are given a divine explanation and that's in verse
42:55
5. What does it say?
42:57
But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they
43:02
did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and
43:06
then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.
43:09
The eye of God was on them. Now, if you've read the Bible
43:14
faithfully and long enough, then you would realize that the
43:18
picture of God's eyes at work is very common.
43:24
And depending on the context, sometimes it denotes his moral
43:27
oversight over his creation. At other times it speaks about
43:31
his surveillance and his searching gaze for those who are
43:35
yielded and surrendered to him so that he can do something
43:37
special in and through them. And at other times, it simply
43:41
means, it simply explains his vigilant care and protection
43:47
over those who belong to him. And that's what we find here,
43:52
that there was a silent power from above animating from the
43:57
Lord that that could not be any more obvious than this.
44:02
Because the people here who are opposed to the Jews, they
44:06
couldn't go any further than their initial interrogation.
44:12
God was supervising this, God was protecting this.
44:17
And here's the beautiful thing that I want to end on.
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This grace that these Jews experienced and realized is
44:26
something that we can know today for the rest of our lives, but
44:31
it's conditional. The Bible tells us that there's
44:35
something we have to do if we want to live with the
44:38
understanding and the the security that God has his eye on
44:43
my life. Can I show it to you?
44:46
Let's turn that together in Psalm 33, Psalm 33, and let's
44:52
begin in verse 16, Psalm 3316. The king is not saved by his
45:09
great army. A warrior is not delivered by
45:12
his great strength. The War Horse is a false hope
45:16
for salvation by its great might that cannot rescue.
45:20
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those
45:27
who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul
45:30
from death and keep them alive. And famine, Look again at verse
45:35
18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is
45:37
on those who fear Him. You know what's amazing?
45:40
We didn't read it in Haggai one, but in Haggai one we read that's
45:46
ruble, Joshua, obey the Lord with the remnant, and they
45:51
feared the Lord. And we come to Ezra and we learn
45:55
that the eye of God was upon them, and we come to Psalm 33.
45:58
What do we have? Well, consistency.
46:00
That's what we have in the Bible, where the psalmist says
46:04
the eye of God, the watchful eye of the Lord, is on those who
46:09
fear Him. What does it mean to fear God,
46:12
to stand in awe of Him, and for those who hope in a steadfast
46:17
love? You know, if we're honest, many
46:19
of us can only know comfort in our walk with the Lord if we can
46:29
perceive what He is doing, if we can understand why he's allowing
46:36
something. But that's not the biblical way
46:39
of gaining peace. The biblical way is not being
46:44
able to identify his actions, his lack of intervention, but by
46:51
believing that though I may not see God's eyes on me, always the
47:03
eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him.
47:07
You may not be able to understand in the natural, the
47:12
whys and the hows, for how long and why not fast enough.
47:17
You may not be able to, but you don't have to.
47:22
All you need to understand is God's eyes on your life, and He
47:27
knows everything and He understands.
47:32
If you can really tap into that truth and absorb it and cling to
47:37
it, you will know great peace. You will know longevity.
47:46
You will know His sweetness, even in turbulence, even in
47:52
suffering. This is for our instruction.
47:57
We will look at the rest of this chapter.
47:59
If God should keep us on the earth in 2026, let's pray and
48:04
thank Him for these truths. Sometimes after hearing somebody
48:37
speak for close to an hour, it's good to just remain silent,
48:41
especially when it comes from God's Word.
48:59
Lord with the Psalmist, we agree.
49:04
I've seen a limit to all perfection, but your
49:08
commandments are exceedingly broad.
49:12
It never fails to astound us how deep and wide Your Word is.
49:20
And yet, Lord, we get the sense that we've only scratched the
49:23
surface of it. Thank you, Lord, for this place
49:30
filled with people who believe in the power of the Word of God.
49:37
And Lord, we just pray that we would never lose faith in giving
49:42
the Word and receiving the Word and living by the Word for those
49:51
hearts that are not alive in Christ.
49:53
We pray that what they heard tonight would be the catalyst
49:57
for their salvation for the one who was saved.
50:01
But it's been months, maybe even years of placing other things
50:06
before You. Help us realize that we are
50:15
putting our energy and our time into a bag with holes in it.
50:20
It will never satisfy. It will never sustain us.
50:26
Only when we prioritize Your Kingdom, your gospel, Your will.
50:31
So show us how to do that, Lord. Show us how to prioritize.
50:35
Show us the areas that we have elevated beyond their
50:39
appropriate place. Lord, we come now to give you
50:43
thanks in song for how you've spoken to us.
50:46
It's just amazing how even such a message was granted to us
50:49
leading into a new year, maybe a new start for all of us.
50:53
We ask these things in Christ's name, Amen.
50:56
Let's stand Church, let's thank Him for speaking to our hearts.