Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / Ezra 10 (Part 2) Bible Study (The People Confess Their Sin) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Book of Ezra Series)

Transcript

Ezra 10 (Part 2) Bible Study (The People Confess Their Sin) | 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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I with excitement now I'll ask you and invite you to turn with
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me to the book of Ezra in chapter 10.
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We already began this chapter, but we were looking at another
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section in it. And if you're wondering if we're
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going to complete it tonight, I will let you know from now.
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We will not be completing it tonight.
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But who's in a rush anyway? Ezra chapter 10, and just plant
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your eyes there, verse 7. For a moment, you would think
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that a book like the book of Ezra that highlights the return
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of the Exiles from their captivity, the revival of their
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covenantal identity, and their perseverance through obstacles
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and persecution, that it would end on an inspirational and
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hopeful note. Unfortunately, it doesn't, at
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least at first. We already know this, but since
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the opening of Chapter 9, the dominant theme of these closing
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passages have been the infection of sin in a community of
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believers, a dangerous trend of interfaith marriage that has
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threatened the survival of the remnant of Judah.
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But thankfully, as soon as the unthinkable was made known to
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the very man who led the second expedition of Jews back to their
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homeland, it was put to a stop before it could spread.
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And this should help us see the ending of the book of Ezra.
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On a more encouraging note, this is teaching us more than just
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how sin can revisit and can cause a people to tolerate it
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even though they just recently experienced and tasted the
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kindness and mercy of God. There's there's something else
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going on here. The primary thing in focus is
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that we have a man with such God fearing conviction who confronts
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sin, and because of his courage and because of his piety in his
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own walk with the Lord, the sin that is so disheartening to him
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and even to us is eventually and actually quickly repented of.
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That's what we're about to read. We are about to look at
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repentance on a national level, the contrition and the humility
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of a people who could have hardened their hearts instead.
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But they chose not to. Which means, despite all the
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disappointment that you and I might have experienced in the
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past couple of weeks, we can breathe a sigh of relief because
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this story ultimately ends in victory.
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Do you know why? Because whenever sin is repented
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of, no matter how long it has been enjoyed and no matter how
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much damage it has caused, is a triumph.
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It's a triumph. And that being said, this is not
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the only victory that you and I can experience over sin.
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There's something more ideal than us just repenting after
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we've committed sin or lived in a season of disobedience.
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And that is, by the grace of God, refusing sin, gaining even
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a foothold in our lives to begin with, to rejecting it at the
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phase of temptation, to denying it when it is still in seed
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form. And that's how I want us to
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approach this study tonight. Although we are going to be
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looking at a people who lost their way but are now recovering
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and reconciling to the Lord. There are principles here that
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can help us in our resistance against sin before it has a grip
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on us. And so I want us to consider in
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this Bible study six insights about sin that will help you.
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And I hate it more and fight it more effectively.
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And the beauty about these six insights is that they are not
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necessarily in any particular order, nor are they
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interdependent in actuality. Each of these points can be a
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standalone Bible study. And so I want us to read the
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first 2 verses of the passages that we'll be examining, and
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then we'll pray, and then we'll consider these six things
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together. So remember, the last thing that
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we saw about Ezra is that he publicly wept, publicly prayed,
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and shortly after that he made his way and isolated himself to
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do just that in private. And what we're about to look at
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in verse 7 is what's going to take place the very next day.
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Let's read. And a proclamation was made
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throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles, that
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they should assemble at Jerusalem, and that if anyone
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did not come within three days, by order of the officials and
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the elders, all his property should be forfeited and he
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himself banned from the congregation of the Exiles.
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Lord, we ask that You would help us now with these verses.
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And Lord, this study is organized in a way to despise
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sin with a righteous hatred. And so, Lord, we pray that this
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would not be a study that would encourage condemnation or
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discouragement or frustration. We pray that we would feel as
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though you were equipping us and you are urging us on, and you
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are motivating us into greater sanctification, greater worship,
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greater holiness, greater relationship with you.
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So Lord, use every single one of these things for personal
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reflection. Help us not think too much about
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how this can help others, and help us translate it as Your
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voice directly to our lives. We believe that you will guide
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us now. In Jesus name we pray.
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Amen. 6 insights, 6 truths, 6 points about sin that will help
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you and I hate it more and fight it more effectively #1 as we
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just read. Sin must be confronted swiftly.
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Sin must be confronted swiftly. You know what we just read will
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make more sense when we remember the authority that was granted
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to Ezra by the Persian government.
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And so we read verse 7 and verse 8.
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But let's look back at Chapter 7, verse 26.
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Notice what the king of Persia said to Ezra before he even left
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Babylonia. In Ezra 7 verse 26 it reads,
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Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the
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king, let judgement be strictly executed on him, whether for
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death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for
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imprisonment. So Ezra is not operating with an
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independent or a self promoting authority.
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He has been granted this ability, and he wields it at
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this time because he knows the nature of sin.
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He does not delay. When he receives his report of
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widespread iniquity, he acts upon it immediately because Ezra
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studies God's Word. Ezra knows God and knows what
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God has revealed about everything, including our sin,
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and here's what He is showing us.
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The longer sin is ignored, the greater it becomes in strength
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and in its influence, the greater becomes in its strength
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and its influence will increase. So his awareness here becomes
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even more inspirational when you consider another important
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factor. Look quickly.
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Just zoom out in Chapter 10. What do you see in the
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second-half of this chapter? A list of what?
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A lot of names, and we talked about this briefly last week,
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but this record is not a celebratory one.
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It is actually one that indicts, it exposes those who are
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responsible for this sin of interfaith marriage.
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And we'll look at this more carefully next week.
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But you know what I decided to do the other night?
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Count the number of names you're saying.
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Why would you do that? I'll tell you in a moment, and I
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think it depends on your translation.
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But if we can just have a general ballpark here or a safe
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number to go with, 110 men are found guilty for this crime.
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Why does that matter? Well, do you remember the number
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of people that are mentioned in the book of Ezra that joined not
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Ezra but Zerubbabel and the first wave of refugees?
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In case you you don't go to Ezra chapter 2 and look at this
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number with me in verse 64 of Ezra chapter 2.
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The whole assembly together was 42,360 besides their male and
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female servants, of whom there were 7337 and they had 200 male
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and female singers. So close to 50,000 people joined
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Zerubbabel when Cyrus made way for the Jews to go back to
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Jerusalem. Now here's what we have to
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understand. Ezra comes onto the scene 80
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years after this first census. So do you think they multiplied
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over those 80 years? Definitely.
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We don't know how much their population grew, but you can
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expect that it grew over those decades.
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You might be still wondering, why does this even count?
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Well, what's this leading to? Well, think about it.
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If we're honest when we consider that the return exile started
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out nearly 50,000 strong and surely grew over time, finding
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out only that there is 110 people who have sinned
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grievously in this act of disobedience makes you wonder if
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Ezra's being a little bit too dramatic in his response to this
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news, right? I mean I'm not a math person,
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but imagine 110 out of more than 80,000.
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Perhaps more than 50,000 for sure.
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Wrong. He is not overreacting because
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when you factor in sin with statistics, the numbers mean
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something different. Do you know what the Bible says
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about how many sinners it takes to do much damage to something
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good? Anybody have an idea what the
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number is exactly? Do you have the biblical proof
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for the answer that you have? How many sinners does it take to
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do damage? Well, Ecclesiastes 918 tells us
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listen to these words from Solomon, who is not just wise,
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he was led by the Spirit when he penned these words.
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In Ecclesiastes 9/18 it says wisdom is better than weapons of
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war. But one Sinner destroys much
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good. Just one.
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In any community, in any setting, one Sinner, if he is
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determined to sin, can wreak havoc.
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You know how many sinners Ezra is dealing with?
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At least 110. And even if you're still not
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convinced that the ratio is as dangerous as the Bible makes it
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out to be, or that maybe Ezra as being a little bit overly
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zealous here, one thing that you can applaud about Ezra that you
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cannot deny in the Bible is his attitude towards the potential
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infectious power of sin. That he deals with it while it
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is still small, while it is still in its initial phase
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before it gains more ground. He puts a stop to it.
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And this is what we have to understand about sin for, for
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ourselves, whether corporately or individually, it must be
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swiftly confronted. So that means take captive that
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thought pattern of lust that you may have convinced yourself as
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harmless because it's in your brain and nobody else can see it
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and nobody else knows about it. Well, apprehend it then, before
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it turns into flirtation and before words become action.
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Bring your outbursts of anger to the Lord early in your marriage
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if you're noticing A trend. If your spouse is calling it
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out, listen. Deal with it now before it wears
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out. Your spouse and you have other
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issues to deal with should you choose to do so later on.
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Are you lazy? Do you have that problem?
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Seek accountability for your laziness now before it becomes a
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burden on others that you love and ruins your testimony.
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All in all, listen. When a stone is about to be
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pushed over the edge of a Cliff, it is much easier to put a stop
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to it then, because gravity teaches, the more momentum it
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gains as it descends, the stronger it becomes and the more
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difficult it is to stop it. So while the roots are shallow,
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while you still have a sensitive conscience, and while the damage
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is minimal, take that sin seriously.
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Don't wallow in condemnation. Partner with God's Word, God's
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people, God's power, and go to war.
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Go to war. Ezra means business because Ezra
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is a man who's in tune with God and he understands there may be
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110 people out of hundreds of thousands, but this can get ugly
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real quick. So I'm going to do something
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about it today. Let this be the attitude of the
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redeemed. So truth number one about sin,
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if we want to hate it more and conquer it with greater
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effectiveness, confront it swiftly.
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Confront it swiftly #2 Let's read verse 9 of verse 10.
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Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled that
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Jerusalem within three days. It was the 9th month of the 20th
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day of the month, and all the people sat in the open square
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before the House of God trembling because of this matter
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and because of the heavy rain. So the people responded and we
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can applaud them for that. We can rejoice in the fact that
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they actually arrived and they, they gave, they gave themselves
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over to Ezra's guidance and his exhortation.
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However, this verse broke my heart.
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And the reason why it broke my heart was because you have a
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group of people, a large group of people who are assembling at
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the House of God and they are trembling, they are paralysed
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with fear. You're saying, well, shouldn't
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they be? Yes, but think about it.
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Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, what you find is
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that when there is a call to come to the House of God, it's
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an invitation to joy. It's an invitation to festivity,
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to warm fellowship, to song, to celebration.
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And yet what you find with this group instead is that they're
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coming terrified. Why is that the case?
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Because it teaches the second point about sin in our study
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tonight, and that sin robs us of joy.
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Sin robs us of true joy. And we never really think about
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that while we're being tempted, do we?
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That when sin is tolerated, when sin is something that we
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continually pursue and justify and excuse, then eventually
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peace is replaced with paranoia, blessing is substituted for
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burden, and a confident conscience is now replaced with
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a tormented one. That's exactly what we see here.
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These people who should be coming to the House of God with
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exuberance and delight are in dread.
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And so here they are trying to figure things out, trying to
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wonder what is this going to lead?
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Do they understand that they are in trouble?
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They understand that they are going to have to face
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consequences for their actions. And you have to always remember
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this if you want to be more equipped, because temptation is
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inevitable. You can be tempted at any time,
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in any place, no matter how much you know.
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This is a reality that we will have to experience and face
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until we are in glory. That's what makes glorification
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so glorious. We will never have to know the
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presence of sin again. Put this in your arsenal.
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Sin in the form of temptation will never tell you what it's
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going to take from you. It will only tell you what it
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will give to you. Isn't that what you're always
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thinking about when you're being tempted?
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This is what I'm going to gain. I'm going to gain satisfaction.
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I'm going to gain security, I'm going to gain confidence.
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I'm going to gain enjoyment. I'm going to gain whatever the
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case may be. And so these men come and
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they're trembling. Now here's what's amazing.
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There's this added detail. What's the added detail?
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That they're coming because they're obviously they know that
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they're being challenged for their sin.
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But notice the last part of verse 9.
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And because of the heavy rain, Why tell us that?
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Some are satisfied in saying, well, it's because Ezra wants to
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be historically accurate. This is just more evidence of
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his eyewitness account that he not only tells us the timing of
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this meeting, but even some of the details of that particular
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day. OK, that's nice.
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But is that really what's happening here?
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Others are more comfortable in interpreting this as how the
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people are translating the setting of this moment, that
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this rain, this heavy rain is perhaps a manifestation of God's
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displeasure over them. And that can certainly be true.
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But whether the people are afraid and whether they are
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translating this whole scene as God showing His anger, there is
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a note of hope in this saying How it seems gloomy, seems dark,
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seems scary. I'll give you the answer, but
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you have to go to the book of Deuteronomy.
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Go to Deuteronomy Chapter 11 with me.
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These are God's instructions, warnings, promises for the
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people before they entered into the promised land.
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And I want you to see what He says here in Deuteronomy Chapter
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11 when you Scroll down here to verse 13.
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And if you will indeed obey my commandments, that I command you
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today to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your
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heart and with all your soul. He will give the rain for your
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land in its season, the early rain and the later rain that you
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may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.
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One of the features that make the Old Covenant unique is found
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here. That rain, the supply of this
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grace, is totally dependent on the whole hearted obedience of
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the people. You obey.
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I'm going to give you rain. You don't obey, then I'm going
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to make the heavens bronze. It's plain, it's clear.
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So you have this in the background, right?
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And your understanding of how God works, especially in this
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dispensation. Then you come to Ezra.
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You look at the same covenant people.
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They are in disobedience. They are being confronted for
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their sin and what's happening. It's raining and it's heavy
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rain. Not just casual rain, not just
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sprinkles, heavy rain. You would think that God would
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unlock this vault after the people had confessed, after they
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had proven their repentance to be sincere and genuine.
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But instead, when they make the initial move of restoring their
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obedience, God meets them with rain.
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In other words, He honors though they are fearful, though they
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are wondering, though they are gripped with terror.
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The Lord is meeting them in mercy.
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In fact, He is pouring out mercy on them.
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I'm not sure if they understood it that way, but it makes you
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wonder if God was trying to convey that, that He's pouring
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out rain, pouring out rain, pouring out rain, and they're
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standing there because God is honoring their initial steps
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toward repentance. And it's no different for you
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and I that even if you have grievously offended Him, even if
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like this people, you have received His grace upon grace
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upon grace, and this is how you respond to it.
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The moment you choose to turn back to Him, there is an open
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heaven. One of the greatest forces in
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leading us to greater repentance and holiness is God's kindness,
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is it not? You know, your life is not what
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it's supposed to be, and He still blesses you and He still
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meets you with mercy day by day. And this is what these people
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are experiencing, a shower of God's love, even though the
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repentance is not yet complete. It's just because their hearts
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have been broken. And the Lord saw that.
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You got to think about it, this day was a day of heavy rain.
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I don't think they just stepped to the temple courts and then it
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start raining out. I don't think that's how the
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text reads. Could it have been easy for them
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to make the excuse of delaying this meeting with Ezra because
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of the weather? Remember, they're outside.
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They don't have what we have going on here, and yet they
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still made the effort. They still push through whatever
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obstacles there were, including the heavy rain, and that showed
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and proved to the Lord that they mean business, that they really
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want to hear what God has to say to them.
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And the Lord saw that, and He met them with mercy.
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Come to the Lord whenever and if ever you are in sin, no matter
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how deep it is, and He will meet you with His kindness every
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single time. You have to believe that.
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You have to trust that no matter what, no matter what your own
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mind tells you, no matter what anybody else tells you.
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So we have to understand that sin robs us of joy, but God is
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ready to give that joy back. He's always ready to give us
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that joy back. Let's come back to our main text
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to the Third Point of Ezra in chapter 10, as we look here at
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verse 10 and 11. And Ezra the priest stood up and
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said to them, you have broken faith and married foreign woman
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and so increase the guilt of Israel.
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Now then, make confession to the Lord, the God of your Father's,
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and do His will. Separate yourselves from the
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peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.
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Point #3 about sin is that sin is weakened within a righteous
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community. Sin is weakened within a
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righteous community. Where would the people be
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without Ezra's leadership? What if he had delayed coming to
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Jerusalem? What if he was not as serious
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about his role as a priest, about his study of God's Word,
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about his zeal for God's honor? We can only imagine.
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But Ezra was a real man of God. Ezra fear the Lord and because
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of his presence in this moment, he was able to stop the bleeding
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of the people who could have easily lost so much more life
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and put themselves in a very dangerous predicament.
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Now notice what he says here. You have to compare it with how
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he prayed. So we read those two verses, but
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go back to Chapter 9 and look at verse 6 again.
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His opening words in his prayer when he found out about this sin
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to begin with, he says here in verse 6 saying, Oh my God, I am
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ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God.
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For our iniquities have risen higher than our heads and our
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guilt has mounted up to the heavens.
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He's being inclusive here, our guilt, our heads, our
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iniquities. But go back to verse 9 or verse
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10 rather of chapter 10. And Ezra the priest stood up and
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said, you have broken faith. You have broken faith and
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married foreign women and so increase the guilt of Israel.
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What do we make of this? That it is necessary at times to
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point the finger and hold somebody accountable.
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Ezra demonstrated his humility already.
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When he got before God, he said we, he said ours.
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But when he got before the people who are guilty of sin, he
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said, you, you know, there are some people who give different
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kinds of advice for preachers. One of the things that is
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commonly shared for preachers to be more fruitful perhaps, or
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accepted by their listeners is that when you bring up any kind
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of command or exhortation or insight, especially if it's a -1
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concerning our nature and our tendencies, don't say you say
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we, never say you, we us our. And that is certainly true
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because you find that in the Scriptures, you find that in the
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epistles, you find that in the writings of men of God, prophets
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of God. But it is unbiblical to say that
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you must always include that language in every message, in
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every rebuke. That is not true.
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And Ezra shows us that here, that there are times when a
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leader has to look at a people and say, you what did Nathan the
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prophet say to David when he gave that parable that was meant
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to cause David to make a judgement ultimately upon
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himself? Did he say we are the man?
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That what he said? Now he says you are the man.
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You know what that does? When you personalize these kind
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of things, it sharpens the blade of conviction upon the
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conscience. If you rely too heavily on the
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Wii, you blunt that blade. Now we have to be careful
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because Ezra also shows us that that kind of approach must be
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wielded carefully and wisely. I'm aware that there are some,
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especially preachers, who make it their ambition every week to
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beat up the people that God has entrusted to their care and to
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make them feel guilty week after week after week after week, and
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to make it seem as though they're superior, they're
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holier. You're all making this a more
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difficult church. You're all making this a
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difficult and that is not the right attitude either.
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But a true man of God, like Ezra demonstrates, begins with a
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revelation and an awareness of their own fallenness, our
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iniquities, our heads, our guilt, and from that place when
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it's the right time to say you. But what's the lesson that
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accountability. If you and I want to be able to
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have a greater chance of overcoming sin.
29:13
We need people to speak like this in our lives, to love you
29:19
enough to say, listen, you're out of order here.
29:22
Listen, I've been noticing your language.
29:24
You're not talking the same way. Where have you been?
29:28
I haven't seen you in church in months.
29:31
Not we haven't been at church at months for months.
29:34
That doesn't work. And so there are moments when
29:40
this, this kind of bold confrontation in love is
29:46
required. And it's this very thing that's
29:49
going to lead the people back to the will of God.
29:55
And Ezra proves further in his very rebuke how the right kind
30:02
of community, the right kind of partnerships and influences in
30:04
our lives is absolutely necessary to be strength in this
30:08
area. Notice what he says.
30:09
He's so he's a brilliant spiritual surgeon.
30:13
He knows exactly what to point out.
30:14
He knows exactly the symptoms. He knows exactly the root cause.
30:17
Look again here at verse 11. Now then he's speaking to the
30:21
same people. Make confession to the Lord, the
30:23
God of your Father's and do his will.
30:25
Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the
30:29
foreign wives. What's the key issue here?
30:33
What's the problem? The main paramount predicament,
30:37
interfaith marriage, right? So you would think that Ezra
30:40
would emphasize separate yourselves from the foreign
30:43
wives, but he put something before that.
30:46
What does he say? Separate yourselves from the
30:48
peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.
30:54
Again, this man is insightful. This man is in tune with God and
30:59
he understands that the marriages, the illegitimate
31:03
unions, is a symptom of a deeper issue.
31:09
Something came before this. This is just the fruit of a
31:13
root. And what was the root?
31:17
Association with the wrong people.
31:23
The fellowship with the people of the lands eventually led to
31:27
marriage with the people of the lands.
31:31
The companionship with unbelievers led to the most
31:36
serious kind of companionship that you can have on this
31:39
planet, and that is marriage. And so when Ezra's thinking, he
31:45
realized if we just deal with the symptom, then we risk
31:48
repeating this. So I'm making it a primary
31:50
charge. You have to reevaluate your
31:54
circles of influence. You have to reconsider who you
31:59
are inviting into your life and who you're allowing to walk with
32:03
you in this life because in this case, it led to this kind of a
32:07
disaster. And if we have to, if we're
32:11
going to be honest with ourselves, some of the sins that
32:15
we can't seem to gain victory over is because of some of the
32:19
people that we won't let go of. So the question we have to ask
32:27
ourselves at this point in the study is, do I have anybody like
32:29
Ezra in my life who has a walk with God?
32:35
Not just anybody, a sincere love for the Lord.
32:40
And I invite them to speak into my life, even if it hurts at
32:44
times. And more than that, who do I
32:47
have in my life that influences me?
32:49
Who do I look up to? Who do I enjoy being around?
32:52
Who do I have partnerships with? Who do I find in my social
32:56
circles more than anybody else? Because a true spiritual man or
33:01
woman understands that who you do life with will determine the
33:05
direction of your life. Ezra understood this.
33:09
Men like Paul understood this when he told the Corinthians bad
33:12
company corrupts what good morals?
33:15
First Corinthians 15 verse 33. But on the positive, we read
33:22
here and we find out here that sin is weakened within a
33:27
righteous community. So don't think that you can
33:32
drift away from the church and think that you're going to be
33:35
stronger because of it. Inevitably you will become
33:39
weaker yourself and sin will become stronger.
33:43
Let's continue verse 12 then all the assembly answered with a
33:49
loud voice. It is so.
33:52
We must do as you have said. But the people are many, and it
33:56
is a time of heavy rain. We cannot stand in the open, nor
34:00
is this a task for one day or for two, for we have greatly
34:04
transgressed in this matter. Let our officials stand for the
34:09
whole assembly. Let all in our cities who have
34:11
taken foreign wives come at appointed times, and within the
34:14
elders and judges of every city, until the fierce wrath of our
34:17
God over this matter is turned away from us.
34:21
Do you see what's happening here?
34:22
The people, praise God, are enthusiastic, this kind of
34:26
exhortation, but they're also honest with the practicalities
34:30
of it. And this group of people, this
34:33
assembly, realizes we can't do this as speedily as we would
34:38
like. One, it's pouring out here.
34:41
It's uncomfortable. Two, there's a great.
34:46
Crowd to try to decipher and to try to organize.
34:49
This is not feasible. And thirdly, there needs.
34:55
More organization. Moving forward, if we're going
34:57
to be able to do this with with any effect, this is going to
35:01
take. Longer than one or two.
35:02
Days, they said. And we know that they are not
35:06
trying to delay. This because they don't want to
35:08
have to face the consequences because they give an immediate
35:10
solution in verse 14. And here's the solution.
35:13
Let's all go back and let's set up appointments and let's have
35:19
local leaders assess every case and determine how to move
35:23
forward. You know, it's possible that
35:26
some of these foreign wives converted or maybe they are
35:29
willing to convert. So is separating from them the
35:32
best answer? Probably not.
35:34
But all of that is going to require more investigation, more
35:38
examination, more time. And, amazingly, Ezra.
35:44
Agrees, which further confirms this man's humility.
35:49
I'm aware that there are some leaders listening to this study
35:51
and potential leaders in the future who are tuning in.
35:55
Here's what you have to understand about Ezra.
35:58
This is a side note. Ezra shows us that that leaders
36:01
need to be open to receiving insight and instruction and
36:05
guidance from those who are not leaders.
36:10
Yes, a leader has to take initiative.
36:13
A leader needs to give direction, he needs to have
36:16
vision or else he's not operating as a leader.
36:19
That being said, there will be moments where even a leader
36:22
doesn't come up with the right way to move forward, and others
36:26
may. And you have to acknowledge that
36:29
and you have to accept it. And God will bless that humility
36:33
up to this point. Ezra has taken.
36:36
Cues from two different people. Remember in Chapter 10 earlier,
36:38
Shek and I said, look, there's hope in this and here's what I
36:42
propose. And Ezra goes with it.
36:44
And even now you have the crowd saying, Ezra, we're willing to
36:46
do this, but can we go about it in this way?
36:47
And Ezra does the same. Humility is such a key component
36:53
to longevity in leadership, to effectiveness in leadership, and
36:58
Ezra proves that. So there's so much.
37:00
Positive going on here. Right, there's a unification of
37:03
thought, of method of conviction.
37:06
That being said, there is something here that is sobering.
37:12
Which brings us to the fourth point about sin that I hope will
37:15
make you hate it more and more. Sin often comes with lasting
37:21
consequences. The confession was immediate.
37:26
The. Repentance is there, but the
37:29
restoration is going to take time.
37:35
You know, sometimes people think that if they just repent, it'll
37:37
fix everything. Praise God.
37:40
Reconciliation with the Lord is immediate, but the impact of sin
37:46
goes beyond just God's heart. As much as that is primary,
37:51
there's there are some things that happen with our sin,
37:53
depending on the nature of it, that demands patience.
38:00
For things to turn around. For the better.
38:08
Do you know how long this ultimately took?
38:11
For them to clean up this mess Fast forward look here verse 16.
38:20
Then to return exiles did so. Ezra, the priest selected men
38:23
heads of Father's houses according to their father's
38:25
houses, each of them designated by name.
38:29
On the first day of the 10th month, they sat down to examine
38:31
the matter, and by the first day of the first month they had come
38:35
to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.
38:39
You look in about 3 months. So they were right.
38:45
This is going to take more than one or two days.
38:50
And you know what? This made me think about that
38:54
Sin is a greater thief than we actually.
38:59
Think we heard? Earlier that sin robs us of our
39:02
joy. But you know what I see here?
39:04
Sin also steals our time. This is just me, I couldn't help
39:12
but. Wonder what could have been done
39:16
for the Kingdom? If all this organization and
39:20
all. This energy and all these
39:23
meetings were given over to something that could build and
39:31
strengthen and increase. Look at about two to three
39:37
months dedicated to this one thing for those who.
39:41
Were here a couple nights ago. For a prayer meeting?
39:43
Do we remember how long it took Nehemiah and his team to build
39:47
the city walls? How many 52 days?
39:50
That's what we're going to find. Out in the book of Nehemiah in.
39:53
The coming weeks, 52 days, less than two months to resurrect the
39:57
walls and to bring the protection of the people
39:59
desperately needed from outside forces.
40:05
It's sad what sin takes from us. It's sad how it delays us.
40:12
You remember Miriam, the sister? Of Moses and Aaron, Miriam and.
40:17
Aaron got into. A conversation, I guess they
40:19
ended up being very. Unsatisfied with?
40:25
Their position in the ministry and they began to criticize
40:27
Moses and they began to talk about his wife.
40:32
And God heard it. So what did he do?
40:37
He makes Miriam Leprous. She has to go through this whole
40:41
the same. Protocol you would find in the
40:43
book of Leviticus and she is ostracized and placed outside of
40:47
the camp and the whole camp had to wait until she was cleansed
40:51
again before they can move ahead.
40:54
Gossip hindered. The Israelites.
40:57
From advancing in the. Wilderness.
41:01
Interfaith marriage here in this case.
41:03
Brought the people at a standstill when there was so
41:08
much yet to be done. It would do us good to become
41:15
more Kingdom. Minded and Kingdom focusing and
41:17
gospel centered and Great Commission motivated.
41:23
Because when you really had that as an.
41:25
Ambition. It gets rid of the petty things
41:28
that that often turn into sinful things.
41:36
That wasn't the case for this people.
41:40
There were lasting consequences. I'm.
41:42
Sure, more than they anticipated.
41:46
But let's continue to read. Look at the last part of verse
41:55
14. Until the fierce wrath of our
41:59
God over this matter is turned away from us.
42:04
Here's point #5 about sin. Sin, when justified, lived,
42:13
exercised, blocks our fellowship with God.
42:19
And the people understood that. And it's amazing.
42:22
Here, I applaud them. Because their primary motivation
42:24
and getting this solved was because they wanted to restore
42:30
the favor and fellowship they once knew with God until.
42:34
The fierce wrath of our God. Over this matter is turned away
42:37
from us. We want God's.
42:40
Face and smile to shine over us again.
42:44
So let us let us not put this to the side as we're ready to do
42:48
whatever it takes. God is in the picture.
42:55
You know, there are a lot of people.
42:56
Trust me. I know there are a lot of people
42:58
who repent, and when they repent, God is nowhere in the
43:01
repentance. It's a worldly sorrow.
43:05
They got caught. They disappointed others.
43:08
They disappointed their church leaders.
43:10
They upset their spouses. They failed their children.
43:18
But a person who truly loves God.
43:20
Will understand that my sin ultimately effects my
43:22
relationship with God and I can't live like that.
43:29
I can't. Live knowing that I've grieved
43:31
the. Holy Spirit, I can't live
43:32
knowing that I am robbing myself of a greater blessing in God.
43:36
So I will do what it takes, and I will do it as soon as I can in
43:40
order to secure God's blessing God himself.
43:46
Is there any New Testament example of this or is this just
43:48
an Old Testament thing? Can you think of a New
43:52
Testament? Warning or a New Testament
43:56
insight that would suggest that the way we live and the
44:00
decisions that we make can have an effect on our experiential
44:05
relationship with the Lord. You know what came to mind?
44:09
What Peter said to husbands in first Peter 3 go to first Peter
44:14
3. Look at verse 7.
44:34
Likewise, husbands live with your wives in an understanding
44:37
way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they
44:40
are heirs with you of the grace of life.
44:42
Don't you love that God is very. Clear the woman is a.
44:47
Weaker vessel. This is speaking about primarily
44:50
her, her physical abilities. And in the same breath, he says.
44:54
Yet they are equals with you spiritually since they are heirs
44:58
with you of the grace of life, right.
45:00
So they have a different makeup in terms of their physical
45:03
abilities, but in the eyes. Of God, they are heirs.
45:07
With you Co heirs, with you in the grace of life.
45:08
But notice this so that your prayers may not be hindered.
45:14
So a couple of years ago. I was sitting with a friend.
45:17
He's a dear friend, and he was about to get married.
45:20
And I asked him the question they usually ask people when
45:22
their wedding is around the corner, are you excited to get
45:24
married? And he goes, yeah, I go, great.
45:28
He goes, well, I'm also nervous. And I thought, yeah, that's
45:30
normal. And he goes, you know, maybe not
45:32
for the reasons you think. And I said, what are you nervous
45:34
about? He goes, I'm nervous because
45:36
once I do get married, it's going to change my prayer life.
45:41
And the way I heard that was, yeah, you know, you're busier
45:43
and you have more responsibilities and you have to
45:45
take care of the emotional well-being of your wife and you
45:49
have to provide for her. And no, no, no, that's not what
45:51
I'm talking about. You see the way?
45:55
I treat my wife will determine how God hears my prayers, and
46:00
I'm nervous about that. I thought that's good and that's
46:06
biblical. What is Peter doing here?
46:12
He is motivating husbands to be more gentle and more patient and
46:16
more loving towards their spouses, namely their wives.
46:22
By reminding them that. How you treat that daughter of
46:27
His will determine how you experience God.
46:33
You know I heard someone saying commenting.
46:35
On this verse that, unfortunately for some prayers
46:38
of so little value that this warning doesn't mean much to
46:41
them, that stings. But if you are a person who has
46:47
experienced. God's presence in prayer.
46:49
You've seen God answer your prayer.
46:51
Then you tremble at a warning like this.
46:55
And after that unjustified. Argument that you had with your
46:58
wife and you walk away to a separate room.
47:00
You know what should be going through your mind if I don't?
47:04
Go there and apologize. Doesn't matter how hard I pray,
47:06
God's not going to listen. Honey.
47:13
I'm sorry, you know, let me give you some advice, single people
47:18
here. That's why you need to find a
47:19
spouse who fears God. Seriously, doesn't matter how
47:23
much they love you and gush over you.
47:29
I'm telling you, once you live with somebody else, you're
47:32
going. To experience.
47:34
Your own fallenness and the fallenness of that person that
47:36
you thought was an Angel that fell from heaven.
47:42
And in those moments where? You look at this person, you
47:45
think to yourself, who are you? Or you look at yourself and go,
47:48
Who am I? What's going to motivate you?
47:53
What's going to motivate them? To seek for forgiveness, to
47:58
serve you, to be committed to you when you've given them zero
48:02
reasons to do so. I'll tell you what.
48:05
The fear of God, that's what a person who prizes the
48:09
relationship with God above all else.
48:14
So that husbands who have a. Prayer life.
48:17
That's what this is indicating. That's what this seems to be
48:19
implying, that they have a prayer life.
48:24
Would realize I can. Try to convince myself all I
48:27
want that I'm in the right. But God tells me to.
48:33
Honor the woman who is weaker. If I don't, he's not going to
48:38
listen to me and I care. About my relationship with God.
48:42
So I'm going to fix this relationship.
48:47
What are the people doing? They are.
48:50
Stimulated by the. Fact that God's anger is over
48:54
them, even though that reign could be understood dually, even
48:58
as we heard it, that God is actually ready to bless them,
49:01
they're still in sin and they want to make it right.
49:05
And so one of the ways in which you and.
49:07
I will be able to overcome sin is by understanding.
49:12
That it blocks. Our fellowship with God the
49:15
longer we hold on to that sin. Let's come to the final point in
49:18
the book of Ezra, verse 15.
49:30
Only Jonathan. The son of.
49:32
Assahel and Jeziah. The son of.
49:35
Tikvah oppose this and Meshulam and Shabbathaya, the Levites
49:42
supported them. And then in verse 16 down to
49:46
verse 17, we. Read it already.
49:47
It's a summary of how this took about two to three months to
49:51
solve. You know, verse 15.
49:52
It's arguably one of the most difficult verses to interpret in
49:56
the book of Ezra. Ezra by the Spirit.
50:02
Wants to tell us that there was a level of opposition to this
50:05
whole thing for some reason. Now here's the.
50:08
Debate There are two main. Interpretations with this verse,
50:11
what is the motive of the opposition?
50:13
What's the nature of it? So there are some who would say
50:17
that this group of four are opposing the plan, or at least
50:22
the proposal to delay. Trying to solve this because
50:26
that's what they're. Asking for let's just take our
50:28
time here. And it could be that these men
50:30
are saying no, no, no, no, no, we need to deal with this now.
50:36
And. They're doing so because they're
50:38
zealous for purity and they're zealous for righteousness.
50:41
The second interpretation is that they are opposing the
50:45
overall call to separate from the peoples of the land, more
50:51
importantly the foreign wives. Assuming that.
50:58
They are perhaps a little bit more.
51:01
Air. Quote sympathetic.
51:04
They think this is too harsh or maybe.
51:07
They have people that they. Know that will be personally
51:09
affected by this ruling and so they're opposed to the whole
51:13
idea. No, no, no, we should.
51:15
It's a little bit extreme, Ezra, come on.
51:22
And I'm spending time trying to think are.
51:23
There any clues here that can at least lean into one of those
51:30
possible understandings? And no matter what the motive
51:36
is, there is a. Lesson you can still learn from
51:38
it. It really shows, by way of
51:45
example, the difficulties that sin creates and one of the.
51:49
Difficulties that it. Creates is that sin often
51:57
impacts others that we didn't intend to, and it's.
52:04
Involves people that aren't. Not even directly a part of the
52:08
situation. You can almost sense a little
52:14
bit of tension. In the community, there isn't
52:18
total consensus. Here you have some who think
52:22
differently and feel differently.
52:23
And again, no matter what the nature of this opposition is,
52:28
there's friction. If you want to.
52:33
Again, have another additional tool weapon in your arsenal to
52:38
fight against sin effectively. Never forget this.
52:42
Every sin carries the potential for collateral damage.
52:50
No matter how private, no matter how.
52:51
Personal it is. It has the ability to leak out
52:57
or to explode beyond the radius that you've conjured up in your
53:02
mind, thinking even if it does get really bad, it won't
53:05
actually go get too far. That's deception.
53:13
You have this group of people who are.
53:14
Opposing this. And there are other people who
53:20
are feeling. Differently about this.
53:27
And it should cause us to. Realize that I am a member of
53:30
the body of Christ. And I can be a reason for the
53:35
body. Of Christ to rejoice more, or
53:37
for the body of Christ to grieve more.
53:43
So these are 6 things that we. Can learn about sin in these
53:46
passages. And in the next Bible study, we
53:53
will. Look at the actual ones who
53:54
committed this sin and consider why the Bible places their names
54:00
in this book for all to see for all time.
54:04
Let's pray. Lord, we thank you and we ask
54:31
that you would change us. Lord, if if your word tonight.
54:43
Pressed any particular transgression in our lives, any
54:47
sin in our lives that we we've been trying to hide and we
54:52
think. That we've been able to manage.
54:55
And to supervise, Lord, let it be the death of that sin today.
55:02
Let us put the sword of the Spirit on the neck of that sin
55:08
and kill it once and for all. Thank you for giving us a
55:16
greater strategy, or at least a reminder to the strategies that
55:19
we might have abandoned in our war against sin.
55:24
Thank you for this community that helps us fight.
55:29
May we all be Ezra's to one another.
55:32
Number one. First, being humble and and
55:35
mindful of our own weaknesses, but more than that, being loving
55:40
enough to at the right time, in the right moment, speaking out
55:42
and speaking up in order to rescue one another from walking
55:48
to dangerous territory. Lord, we pray that you would be
55:56
blessed. Even in this study about sin
55:59
that we would be able to rejoice in the Savior.
56:04
That as we come in our brokenness.
56:06
As we come in our failures, you are willing to rain grace and
56:11
rain mercy and rain love over us.
56:17
Thank you that you're gracious even with our imperfect
56:20
repentance even. As we stumble into your.
56:24
Presence, not knowing how to fix the chaos we might have created
56:29
in our home, in our own hearts and our churches.
56:32
But you are ready to restore. And Lord for those who might
56:37
even be. Disheartened by their own
56:42
choices and realizing that the ramifications are much larger
56:46
and are lasting longer than they had hoped.
56:48
May they have patience, may they trust the process, and may we be
56:58
people who who do not oppose those who want to make it right
57:03
again. May this church be a loving.
57:07
Church not when we are lovable, but when we have made so many
57:11
mistakes or even 1 mistake. A Church of restoration, Lord.
57:19
We desire to be because you are a God of restoration and we want
57:23
to be like you. Receive our worship now in Jesus
57:26
name, Amen. Amen.
57:29
Let's stand and worship the Lord together.