1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,680 Let's turn now in our Bibles to Ezra chapter 5. 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:11,240 Ezra chapter 5. It is believed that from the 3 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:17,440 time the restored exiles laid the foundation of the temple in 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:23,080 Jerusalem to the recommencement of the rebuilding of the temple, 5 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:29,480 16 years had passed. Think about that for a moment. 6 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:38,800 16 years of inactivity, 16 years of purchase materials lying 7 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:44,520 dormant, 16 years of these captives who have now returned 8 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:49,520 home, never reaching their full potential and worship because 9 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:54,280 the temple for so long remained as a slab for that duration of 10 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:59,120 time. Now, what was the reason for the 11 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:01,840 cessation of the temple's restoration? 12 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,880 Why did that work stop? Wasn't that the reason why God 13 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,000 brought the people from Babylon to the homeland? 14 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,320 Well, we learned it last week, didn't we, That it was a mixture 15 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:21,920 of discouragement, frustration, fear and persecution that led to 16 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:27,680 this rationale among the people to suspend the work. 17 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:32,240 And it didn't take very long until they became distracted 18 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:37,040 with other affairs. But look quickly at the last 19 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:41,560 verse of chapter 4, verse 24. It reads. 20 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:46,560 Then the work on the House of God that is in Jerusalem stopped 21 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,840 and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius, 22 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:56,480 king of Persia. So something took place in the 23 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:00,720 second year of the administration of Darius that 24 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:05,760 kick started the work of the House of God being rebuilt once 25 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,880 again. And it is in this new chapter, 26 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:12,200 Ezra chapter 5, where we are given the explanation. 27 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:16,040 We are going to learn what it was that sparked this renewed 28 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:21,280 interest and rebuilding this House of worship. 29 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:23,200 And here's what we're going to do tonight. 30 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,040 We're going to examine the 1st 5 verses of this chapter, but 31 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:28,880 we'll begin by reading the 1st 2. 32 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,240 So let's come now and look at Ezra chapter 5, verse one. 33 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:39,520 Now the prophets Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo 34 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:44,280 prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the 35 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:46,680 name of the God of Israel who was over them. 36 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,320 Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shialtial, and Joshua, the son 37 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:56,360 of Josidac, arose and began to rebuild the House of God that is 38 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,360 in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were 39 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:05,760 with them, supporting them. Father, we ask please, that You 40 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:12,520 would give us understanding that we may have life, not just 41 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:19,200 knowledge, not just information. We're praying for life to be 42 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,840 imparted into the depths of who we are. 43 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:23,680 Use this Bible study to that end. 44 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,200 We ask these things in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. 45 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:33,920 Amen. We should be excited just by 46 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:36,720 reading these first 2 verses for one main reason. 47 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:40,680 This is the first time that prophets appear in the book of 48 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:46,280 Ezra. Prophets, according to just 49 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,920 general observation of the Scriptures, are recognized as 50 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,880 one of the three main offices in the Old Covenant, alongside 51 00:03:54,080 --> 00:04:01,200 kings and Who? Priests, good and prophets are 52 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:05,160 showing up here and now. We've already seen the royal 53 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,800 representation and who? Who's the person? 54 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,080 Zerubbabel very good, who was a descendant of David. 55 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,840 He never became a king, but he did operate as a leader. 56 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:21,480 And as we just read, we also see the priestly function in Jeshua 57 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:25,480 or Joshua. He's called Joshua and Haggai. 58 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,400 And now again we see these prophets appearing on the scene. 59 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:34,800 And one of the main differences between the prophets, kings and 60 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:39,520 priests is that with the prophetic office there is no 61 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:46,320 established succession. So if anybody wanted to function 62 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,040 as a priest, they had to come from which line? 63 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,160 Aaron, The line of Aaron. So that responsibility, that 64 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:57,480 role was inherited by blood. And if there was anybody who 65 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,960 would occupy the throne legitimately, at least they had 66 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:04,040 to come from the Davidic dynasty. 67 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:07,000 But here's what's interesting about prophets. 68 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:13,200 It wasn't a hereditary right. There was not a tribe nor a clan 69 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:17,080 set apart by God to serve as prophets. 70 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:23,400 It was something and someone rather had to be directly, 71 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:30,760 individually called by God. And that is why their emergence 72 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:36,400 should excite us, because their commissioning is unexpected. 73 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,920 And when they are summoned, when someone is crowned with the call 74 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:48,200 to be a prophet, they are speaking directly from God, and 75 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:52,520 oftentimes they are bringing fresh revelation from heaven. 76 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:58,240 And at this point, the Lord Almighty saw it fit to raise up 77 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:03,160 two main prophets. And to our great benefit, we 78 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:07,400 also learn as we continue in our Bible that God has also 79 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:11,600 preserved the messages of these two men of God to the same 80 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:16,360 audience and included it in this divine library. 81 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,200 So with that in mind, here's what we're planning to do. 82 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:24,720 I want us to take the time to look more carefully at the books 83 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:27,360 that bear the names of these men, these prophets that we just 84 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:34,200 read of, to see what they said more precisely that sparked 85 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:38,680 revival in this nation. And last week we looked very 86 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,160 quickly at the 1st 5 verses of the book of Haggai. 87 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,600 But let's return there and examine these words, his 88 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,840 message, more carefully and see what the Lord would say to us 89 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:51,680 through it. So Haggai chapter 1, let's turn 90 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:54,360 there and let's read from verse one. 91 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:01,960 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the 92 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,840 first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of 93 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:09,080 Haggai the prophet, to Zerubbabel the son of Shaltiel, 94 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:13,160 governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high 95 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:16,160 priest. Thus says the Lord of hosts. 96 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:19,600 These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the 97 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,440 House of the Lord. Then the word of the Lord came 98 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:24,200 by the hand of Haggai the prophet. 99 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:28,040 Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses 100 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:32,280 while this house lies in ruins? Now therefore, thus says the 101 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:37,320 Lord of hosts, consider your ways highlight something in your 102 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,680 mind, at least the dating the time stamp presented here in 103 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:45,360 verse one. Not only did Haggai come in the 104 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:49,000 second year of Darius the king, but he also began to speak in 105 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:54,400 the sixth month of that year. That is going to be helpful when 106 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:57,240 we go to the book of Zechariah. So just tuck it somewhere. 107 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,320 But for now, we have to determine the main issue that 108 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:02,880 Haggai is bringing to the people's attention. 109 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,800 And in the essence, it's this. They have misplaced priorities. 110 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:13,040 They justified their lack of commitment to the House of God 111 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:15,760 because of the opposition that they were experiencing. 112 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:19,080 And so to them, they thought, well, maybe this is not God's 113 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,360 will at this moment. Maybe this is his providential 114 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:26,400 way of letting us know to stop this lest we get into trouble, 115 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,320 lest we invite unnecessary affliction. 116 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,919 But that kind of thinking created an excuse. 117 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:38,080 It consoled their souls now to actually turn all their 118 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,640 attention and all their efforts to their own personal projects, 119 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,360 to the remodeling of their own estates and the improvement of 120 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:50,000 their own properties, while the temple was completely neglected. 121 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,760 So God by his Spirit begins to move in the heart of a man named 122 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,920 Haggai to raise him up, to go and confront them for their 123 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:02,480 complacency. And that's exactly what he does 124 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:07,080 here. And I couldn't help but compare 125 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:14,320 this generation, their heart, towards the House of God with 126 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,800 that of King David's, the man after God's own heart. 127 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:24,480 Do you remember what David himself said as he was living in 128 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:29,800 his palace and was experiencing universal peace in his world? 129 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:34,600 All his enemies were put to rest, all his foes were subdued, 130 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:37,960 and something, something moved him. 131 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,960 Well, let me remind you of his words from Second Samuel Chapter 132 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:45,320 7, verse 2. David, it says here in verse 2 133 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,720 of that chapter said to Nathan the prophet, see now I dwell in 134 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:55,040 a House of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent. 135 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:00,800 What a difference. This generation in Haggai's day 136 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:04,960 were consumed with their panelled homes and neglected the 137 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:08,280 House of God David. Oh, this man loved God. 138 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:12,400 David, whether he was in the fields of Bethlehem watching his 139 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:16,280 father's sheep or was residing in a palace with pillars of 140 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:25,760 stone, was fixed on the Lord. He was absolutely moved by the 141 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:31,480 realization that God's presence dwells in something inferior to 142 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:34,880 me. Now he could have done 143 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,600 something. David, if he gave in to the 144 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:41,800 flesh, could have convinced himself to pursue further 145 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:45,800 endeavors for his own gain, for his own pleasure, with little 146 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,840 concern for God's house, if he just kept telling himself, well, 147 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:53,760 look, I'm the one who actually brought the ark from the 148 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:57,280 countryside to the new capital. Remember, it was, it was David 149 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,520 who did that. Once he gained the power, one of 150 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:05,120 his first things that he wanted to do was get the ark and bring 151 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:09,960 it to the capital. That's a God honoring endeavor, 152 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,760 isn't it? You would think that's enough, 153 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,720 right? Not for this man. 154 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:23,160 He was consumed with placing God's will, God's pleasure first 155 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:29,600 at every stage of life, even at the height of his comfort, his 156 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:36,080 power, and His luxury. Unfortunately, with with others 157 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:38,960 who profess Christ, the more they gain in this world, the 158 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:45,360 less they give to God. Often times it doesn't take much 159 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:49,960 for devotion to to waver. All it takes for some is the 160 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:58,200 acquisition of property, a new business, a new spouse, starting 161 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:03,680 a family, for them to get distracted to the point where 162 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:05,720 they neglect what matters the most. 163 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:07,840 And that's exactly what was happening in Haggai's day. 164 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:11,640 And this is just the beginning of his rebuke. 165 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:13,840 Look back at it with me at the close of verse 5. 166 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:15,360 Haggai urges the people to do what? 167 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:20,760 Consider your ways consider your ways a call not only to examine 168 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:25,360 their misplaced affections and ambitions, but to actually to 169 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:28,560 actually examine the consequences of their 170 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:34,720 priorities. Think think back over the years, 171 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:37,920 people of Judah and he helps them think. 172 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:42,440 Look what he says in verse 6. You have sown much and harvest 173 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:44,520 is little. You eat, but you never have 174 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:46,880 enough. You drink, but you never have 175 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:49,440 your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no 176 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,640 one is warm. And he who earns wages does so 177 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:54,960 to put them into a bag with holes. 178 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,200 I love this preacher, very direct. 179 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,600 And here's what he says. I'm highlighting something. 180 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,840 I'm bringing something to your attention that all your material 181 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:10,640 enterprises, all your strenuous labor, has yielded very little 182 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:17,120 reward, hasn't it? And this lack of fruit, the this 183 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:20,080 meager return on investment is not due to poor management 184 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:22,720 skills, by the way. It's not because you need 185 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,160 greater effort. I'm here to tell you that God 186 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:31,680 was behind it all. God is the one who put a stop to 187 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:38,040 multiplication, to your prosperity, to your growth. 188 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:41,760 And that's confirmed later. Scroll down to verse 10 of the 189 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:43,960 same chapter. Notice what He says. 190 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,160 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the 191 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:52,520 earth was withheld its produce. And I have called God speaking 192 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,920 here, and I have called for a drought on the land and the 193 00:13:55,920 --> 00:14:00,240 hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the 194 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:04,080 ground brings forth on man and beast, and on all their 195 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:06,920 laborers. I did it. 196 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:11,120 Now the language here should sound familiar to us. 197 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:14,720 Why? Because it echoes the warnings 198 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:20,720 of God from the law when he promised the people, if you live 199 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:25,760 in disobedience, if you begin to have idols, I will withhold some 200 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:29,880 of these things from you. That's explicitly found in in 201 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,440 the book of Deuteronomy. And hey, guy, like a good 202 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:35,440 prophet, reminds the people of God of what he already said. 203 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:42,160 So here's what he's saying. Hey, you, do you not realize 204 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:44,640 that in the past 16 years you've been living under God's 205 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:49,360 judgement, God has been judging you and you don't even recognize 206 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:50,720 that I'm here to tell you it's him? 207 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:55,600 Here's what dawned on me. This is this. 208 00:14:55,600 --> 00:15:03,960 This actually jolted me that you had fruitlessness going on for 209 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:08,800 years, years, and yet this people were committed to their 210 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,040 ways. They didn't give up. 211 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:15,680 They kept working, they kept sewing, they kept waking up 212 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:17,360 early, they kept going to bed late. 213 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:22,280 And it's staggering, it really is, how determined we can become 214 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,080 when it comes to our material pursuits, when it comes to our 215 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:30,320 personal agendas. And yet when it comes to our 216 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:36,240 spiritual undertakings, we are much more tempted to give up, to 217 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:38,920 throw in the towel. I'm just going to go to another 218 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:42,040 church. This whole thing is not really 219 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,520 forming. You know, it's very, very common 220 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:51,040 for people to have enthusiasm at the start of a thing when it 221 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:56,120 comes to God's work, at least tends to wane over time, 222 00:15:56,760 --> 00:15:58,280 especially when we're discouraged, especially when 223 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,080 we're disappointed. Here's what I see though with 224 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:05,920 this group when it came to their material desires, their dreams 225 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,200 in this life, their goals in this realm. 226 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:15,880 They've been going on for 16 years and they didn't stop until 227 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:19,640 Prophet had to stop them and show them the error of their 228 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:24,880 ways. And here's the thing, I 229 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,120 understand that one of the reasons why genuine hearted 230 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:32,720 believers would step away from whatever that it was that they 231 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:34,080 said that they would be committed to. 232 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:37,800 But if you really understood what God was asking of us, 233 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:39,680 discouragement would be less frequent. 234 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:43,720 It would Let me give you one example from the same chapter. 235 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:46,280 We didn't read this yet. Look at verse 7 of Haggai 1. 236 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:50,720 Thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. 237 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:52,200 This is his second time saying that. 238 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,960 Consider your ways. And in verse 8, go up to the 239 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:01,160 hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take 240 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:06,200 pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 241 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,040 You see, the the people were preoccupied with their pleasure, 242 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,240 not gods, with their glory, not gods. 243 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:18,319 And here's God saying, look, you were created for my pleasure. 244 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:21,839 You were created from my glory, and you will ultimately know 245 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:24,280 greater pleasure when you pursue mine. 246 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,560 But this also reveals something so deep about God's heart. 247 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:36,000 Let me ask you, this was Solomon's temple, more or less 248 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,520 impressive than the temple that people are going to build here. 249 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:46,520 More significantly more. In fact, you had the older men 250 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:50,760 of this generation weeping when they saw the blueprints for this 251 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:53,280 new temple. Are you kidding me? 252 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:55,880 This is what we're going to build in God's honor. 253 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,720 This isn't come close to what Solomon was able to come up 254 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:05,120 with. And yet the Lord speaks to this 255 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:11,960 same group and He tells them, if you build this house, I will 256 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:17,280 take pleasure in it. I will delight in it, knowing 257 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:22,160 full well that in man's eyes it would be inferior in many ways, 258 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,160 but to God he would still delight in it. 259 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:30,400 Why? Because what brings joy to the 260 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:35,160 heart of our God ultimately is wholehearted obedience. 261 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,360 Wholehearted obedience. This is what he's saying here. 262 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:45,760 I find it so amazing that God takes genuine pleasure in things 263 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,440 that men tend to despise or overlook. 264 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:53,040 And that should comfort each of us here who serve God. 265 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:57,960 Because as we do our best and perhaps look up from time to 266 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,600 time and think, really, what we do as a church doesn't measure 267 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:03,840 up to what that church is doing or what that ministry is 268 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:06,440 accomplishing, or what those servants of Christ and their 269 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:11,360 same gifting as mine are able to do in such a rate in terms of 270 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:14,160 reach and speed. Forget all that. 271 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,760 What they're going to build is going to pale in comparison. 272 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,920 And yet God says I will still take pleasure in it. 273 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:27,760 Because what He's really after is just our surrender and doing 274 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,400 what He's asked us to do, no matter what it brings about. 275 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:34,400 You can't determine the fruit of a thing but your faithfulness, 276 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:38,320 that's your choice. That's my choice, and that's 277 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,520 what God looks for. Well, we can say so much more, 278 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:43,320 but we'll have to wait until we study the book of Haggai. 279 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:46,480 But I do want to look at one more thing before we continue. 280 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,240 Let's look at the response of the people to this message. 281 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:52,440 So come down to verse 14 with me. 282 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:58,000 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of his Aruba Bowl, the 283 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,320 son of Shaltiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, 284 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:06,160 the son of Jehozadak the high priest, in the spirit of all the 285 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:10,320 remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the 286 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:15,720 House of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the 24th day of 287 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:21,280 the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the 288 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:24,600 king. 2 Simple observations from these verses. 289 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:33,600 Just two. 1st The only way that you and I can see the people of 290 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:40,240 God truly excited to serve, to worship, to prioritize His 291 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:44,040 Kingdom is through the preached Word. 292 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,280 Notice that the stirring of the spirits of the leaders and the 293 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:54,160 remnant came after the word of the Lord was spoken through the 294 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:59,680 prophet. It was the word of God declared 295 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:02,760 that awakened the people from their slumber. 296 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:08,760 We cannot underestimate the power of the preached word. 297 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:14,640 And unfortunately you have many who are coming up with novel 298 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:18,040 ideas of how to create and I put that in air quotes. 299 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:25,200 Create revival and they're trying almost everything except 300 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:27,680 what? Opening the Bible, being 301 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,840 prayerful and dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit and 302 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:34,720 saying thus says the Lord, thus says the Lord. 303 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:36,920 That's all it took for this group. 304 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:45,560 The second thing to underline in our minds is the timing of their 305 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,000 obedience. What did we see in verse 15 on 306 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,640 the 24th day of the month in the sixth month? 307 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:55,720 Have we seen that before? We did back in verse one of the 308 00:21:55,720 --> 00:22:00,720 same chapter, the 6th month in the second year of Darius the 309 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:04,320 king. So if we compare this verse with 310 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:08,960 verse one, then we learn that it took 24 days. 311 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:15,840 After 24 days of Haggai preaching, the people began to 312 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:19,400 work on the House of God. And perhaps the reason why it 313 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:23,920 wasn't sooner was because the people had to gather resources 314 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:27,000 and establish themselves and, you know, organize their 315 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,160 workforce. And that takes time. 316 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:36,040 But this is still remarkable. Here's what's so amazing as we 317 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:42,000 keep our minds on the power of the Word of God. 16 years of 318 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:47,160 lethargy, 16 years of laziness, 16 years of succumbing to the 319 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:53,280 opposition of the adversaries of Judah, 16 years of giving into 320 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:59,120 the obstacles was undone by the Word of God within a matter of 321 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:03,320 days. All the things that the Word of 322 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:08,080 God can do in a person's life. All the things that the Word of 323 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,040 God can do for anybody who has been bound for years, addicted 324 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:17,880 for years, lukewarm for years, callous for years, bitter for 325 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:24,800 years, just by sitting under the Word heralded, can do miracles 326 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:29,440 in such a short amount of time. This is just one of so many 327 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:31,120 examples of what the Word of God can do. 328 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,840 Why are we covering it in our churches? 329 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:40,000 Why are we replacing it? Why are we giving people 330 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,640 entertainment instead of exposition? 331 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,560 Why are we giving them plays instead of preaching? 332 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:57,280 It's a shame, It really is. God's Word can do miracles, and 333 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,200 we find it here. And let me tell you this, you 334 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:03,440 and I will never, ever, ever come close to a genuine 335 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:06,320 spiritual awakening on a local level or on a national level 336 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,240 unless the Word of God is in the forefront of our efforts. 337 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:11,640 Never. Anything else will be 338 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,240 artificial. Anything else will just be 339 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,400 emotion. It'll be short lived. 340 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:23,080 But the scriptures, oh, that's where the power is. 341 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:25,440 That's where transformation takes place. 342 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:28,880 So listen, you aspiring counselors, you need to know the 343 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:34,160 Word of God, Not your personal experience, not what you looked 344 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:38,160 at in books. That's all fine, but if it's not 345 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,200 charged with the Word of God, you're going to have little 346 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:43,280 fruit, genuine fruit in your ministry. 347 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:46,120 That's true for those who have Bible studies, those who are 348 00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:48,640 serving the children of this church, those who are fathers in 349 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:51,200 this house, and you want to see the best in your spouse and in 350 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,520 your children. You need the Bible. 351 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,960 You need to know it, and you need to declare it unashamedly, 352 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:03,160 accurately, by the power of the Holy Spirit, only the Word. 353 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,080 But there's another thing important to under score about 354 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:11,960 the timing here. Look at the dating again in 355 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:13,640 verse 15. It was in the sixth month of the 356 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,120 second year. Why do we need to know that? 357 00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:20,040 Well, let me remind you that back in Ezra 5, verse one, it 358 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:23,520 was Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Ido that were prophesying 359 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,360 to the people, and then they began to work. 360 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:31,080 So Haggai, we learned, began to preach in the second year, in 361 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,320 the sixth month of Darius the king. 362 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:39,040 But notice now how the book of Zechariah starts. 363 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:43,240 Let's go to Zechariah. It's right beside Hey Guy, Look 364 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:55,390 at Zechariah 11 in the eighth month, in the second year of 365 00:25:55,390 --> 00:26:00,790 Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, 366 00:26:01,590 --> 00:26:04,630 the son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying. 367 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:09,200 So when did Zechariah begin preaching? 368 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:16,000 2 months after Haggai's sermon. 2 months after not only a Haggai 369 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:19,760 sermon, but after the people began rebuilding, because they 370 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:23,880 only started just a few days after Haggai was preaching. 371 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:29,680 So what would you expect the Lord to say through Zechariah to 372 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:33,480 a group of people, to a nation? Really, whose hearts have 373 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:37,640 already been softened by the word of the Lord and proved it 374 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:42,480 with practical application. What do you think I would say, 375 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:48,720 Well, let's find out. Verse 2 the Lord was very angry 376 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:52,640 with your father's. Therefore say to them, thus 377 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,240 declares the Lord of hosts, Return to me, says the Lord of 378 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,320 hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. 379 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:01,800 What? Well, hold on, there's more. 380 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:05,640 Look at verse 4. Do not be like your father's, to 381 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:07,320 whom the former prophets cried out. 382 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:10,520 Thus says the Lord of hosts returned from your evil ways and 383 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,360 from your evil deeds, but they did not hear or pay attention to 384 00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:15,720 me, declares the Lord your Father's. 385 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:18,000 Where are they? And the prophets? 386 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:21,640 Do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, 387 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:25,000 which I committed, my servants, the prophets, did they not 388 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,240 overtake your father's? So they repented and said, as 389 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:31,520 the Lord of hosts purpose to deal with us for our ways and 390 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:36,320 deeds, so has He dealt with us. Are you surprised? 391 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:41,560 You have every right to be because Zechariah's message two 392 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:47,080 months after the people obeyed what Haggai said was a message 393 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,840 of repentance. How do we make sense of this? 394 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:55,360 Imagine after 16 years of not working, two months into a 395 00:27:55,360 --> 00:27:59,440 revival, the new preacher who's actually younger, if you read in 396 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:03,440 this book, Zechariah was a younger man, comes behind the 397 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:06,400 pulpit and he says you all need to repent. 398 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:11,240 Do we have a contradiction here? No. 399 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,480 We have a call to meditate. That's what we have. 400 00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:17,360 And there are two possible answers to this. 401 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:22,440 Number one, it could be that not everyone among the remnant were 402 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:27,240 sincere and genuine in their hearts being given over to the 403 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:30,920 Lord even after all of this. So it's very possible like 404 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:35,160 today, for people to set apart time to participate, to 405 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:40,520 volunteer, to even give monetarily and their hearts not 406 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:48,520 really be for the Lord teaching us what God is not really after 407 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:53,480 your service. He's after your sincerity, he's 408 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:58,640 after your affection, your love, your desires. 409 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:03,080 That's what he wants, And so it could be that Zechariah was 410 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:05,200 raised up. Whereas Haggai was focused on 411 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:09,360 actually rebuilding the House of God, Zechariah now comes on the 412 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:12,560 scene to deal with the depths of the hearts of some. 413 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:15,440 You need to actually return to God. 414 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,560 You need to actually have a love relationship with your God. 415 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:23,560 Now here's the second possible reason for this, and it's more 416 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:30,240 likely that Zechariah's bold charge at this moment was 417 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:34,920 because after two months, the people's zeal begin to fade 418 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:39,160 away. Is that surprising to us? 419 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:42,600 No, it's not. It shouldn't be, at least for 420 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,840 some. We know the spark of enthusiasm 421 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,480 and excitement towards a spiritual discipline or a 422 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:50,880 ministry. All it takes is a few hours 423 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:57,040 before we get distracted again, let alone days or months. 424 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:03,280 So it could be that after two months the people began to lose 425 00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:07,960 their zeal. And so God puts words in the 426 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:14,480 mouth of this man, Zechariah, and he says, go warn them, 427 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:18,640 preach to them, remind them of their history lest they risk 428 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:22,440 repeating it. And he does so faithfully. 429 00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:28,440 Here's what moves me. The same source that ignited 430 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:34,240 this people to come back to their priorities is the same 431 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:37,560 source that would sustain them as they humbly receive the Word 432 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:45,040 of God, the word. You know, over the years I've 433 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:48,480 received sometimes invitations to be somewhere to preach. 434 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:52,840 And I understand that it comes from a a right heart to good 435 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:54,880 heart. Sometimes I'm asked, can you 436 00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:57,240 come to preach? You know, we're looking for a 437 00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:03,320 revival amongst our youth. Well, you know, I don't carry 438 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:08,240 revival in in my pocket or in my backpack or, you know, tucked 439 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:10,560 away in my notes. No preacher does. 440 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:13,120 But I understand. I understand that the goal and 441 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:14,760 the desire. But here's my concern. 442 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:19,240 I've learned this very, very early in ministry that you may 443 00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:24,080 come, an evangelist may visit a church, a teacher may come for a 444 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:27,880 weekend to show the beauties and the wonders of the word of God. 445 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:31,120 But how is that same group of people going to be sustained? 446 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:35,120 Do you have a plan? Do you have, do you have people 447 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:38,400 raised up in that same church that's going to feed them and 448 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:42,120 speak to their hearts and provide them further nourishment 449 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:46,320 and warnings? And you know what I found, At 450 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:48,440 least in my world, that's rarely the case. 451 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:51,200 And So what do people do? Well, they just invite you for 452 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:53,080 the next year for the same thing that happened last year. 453 00:31:55,440 --> 00:32:00,480 God is giving us wisdom here. The timing of Zechariah's 454 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:04,440 message instructs us about the importance of a continual 455 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:10,080 exposure to the Word of God. Not just an event and not just 456 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:16,600 on one particular weekend, but as a regular practice, as a 457 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:21,040 regular diet. That's why it's so important. 458 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:23,600 You men, especially, you listen to me very carefully. 459 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:26,960 If you're called by God to have a family, to have a wife and 460 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:29,880 have a children down the road, you need to be very careful 461 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:31,680 where you bring your family to church. 462 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:34,480 What church are you taking your family to? 463 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:39,760 How does that church handle the law of God, the word of God, the 464 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:41,600 gospel? Are they serious? 465 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:44,360 Are they frivolous? Are they shallow? 466 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:49,080 We see here that God raised up Haggai. 467 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:52,680 He spoke, it sparked. 2 months later, He raised up another man 468 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:53,680 of God. To do what? 469 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:57,800 To add fuel to the fire. And again, the source is no 470 00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:59,200 different. The scriptures. 471 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:03,680 The scriptures. But there's more to learn from 472 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:07,520 this, and it concerns us as well. 473 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:13,920 Zechariah shows us here that it is our duty to regularly examine 474 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:16,280 our hearts, even in the midst of spiritual activity. 475 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:24,040 We all, each of us, each of us need to do regular inner 476 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:30,560 maintenance to see, Is my heart really in tune with God's heart 477 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:32,400 even while I'm doing all of this? 478 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:35,560 And I understand fully that there are some days better than 479 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:37,120 others. There's some days where you're 480 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:41,280 more excited, less tired, more ambitious than others. 481 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:44,120 And that's not to say that when those days come where you feel, 482 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:47,680 you know, tired, distracted or defeated that you call it quits. 483 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,280 Far be far be it from us to do such a thing. 484 00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:54,400 But as as as a general call to look at the depths of our soul 485 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:56,840 and saying, where am I with God on a personal level? 486 00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:58,680 Am I just going to the mechanical routines? 487 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:01,960 Zachariah shows us here as he speaks to this crowd. 488 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:05,280 Where is your heart? Are are you really, really, 489 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:09,880 really in step with the Lord even while you do all this for 490 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:11,199 the Lord? Because here's the thing, 491 00:34:11,199 --> 00:34:15,400 backsliding starts in the heart. It starts in the heart. 492 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:19,880 This is start with somebody walking away from the church, 493 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:21,800 walking away from their service to the Lord. 494 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:26,639 Something happened long before that, and it's here. 495 00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:33,239 So Zechariah gets to the heart. And here's the thing, if we 496 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:37,440 don't take that seriously, we're all in danger of repeating what 497 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:42,600 the Lord delivered us from, and that's possible for any of us. 498 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:45,840 And that's actually what we see back in Ezra 5. 499 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:49,080 So we have to go back and finish the rest of these verses. 500 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:56,320 Let's look again at verse 2. Then Zerubbabel, the son of 501 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:00,000 Shiael Tial and Joshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to 502 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:02,600 rebuild the House of God that is in Jerusalem. 503 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:06,800 And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. 504 00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:09,080 Oh, I would love to say something about that last part, 505 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:14,360 but I won't. I want to bring to your 506 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:16,840 attention how the prophets are spotlighted here. 507 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:23,560 We read in Haggai how the the people with the leaders went 508 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:24,680 back to rebuild the House of God. 509 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:29,000 But in Ezra's record, he only highlights the leaders 510 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,400 Zerubbabel and Joshua. What does that tell you? 511 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:38,680 Well, it tells us many things, but at least one thing that even 512 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:45,080 the leaders of this time succumbed to the excuses and the 513 00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:48,320 distractions that lulled the rest of the nation. 514 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:50,800 Even the leaders think about that. 515 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:55,960 A leader who was a descendant of David and the high priest at the 516 00:35:55,960 --> 00:36:02,000 time were more worried about their personal lives in the 517 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,480 House of God. If it was true, then is it 518 00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:09,120 possible for pastors today? You better believe it. 519 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:15,360 However, we can commend these leaders at the same time. 520 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:17,720 Why? Because both in Ezra's account 521 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:24,560 and Hey guys, they are mentioned as the first ones to respond 522 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:27,160 positively to the messages of the prophets. 523 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:31,560 They were the ones who humbled themselves, and the people 524 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,280 followed. That becomes especially clear in 525 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:38,840 Haggai, where the Spirit of the Lord stirred the spirits of the 526 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:43,400 leaders and then the people. What does that mean for us? 527 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:47,120 As important as the Word of God is, and as instrumental as it is 528 00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:53,000 in seeing a potential move of God, we also cannot expect God 529 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:57,800 to do something in a place, at least generally, unless the 530 00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:02,480 leaders are impacted. That's not to limit how God can 531 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:06,000 move into place, but there is a consistent pattern that when 532 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:10,160 leadership turns to God, people will follow. 533 00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:18,080 And if we want to hope even for revival, it has to begin with 534 00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:24,000 leaders. Any pastor, any father, any 535 00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:30,320 overseer of any kind of ministry who consistently lives with a 536 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:36,440 stale heart, inevitably it's unavoidable, will have that 537 00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:38,760 lifelessness translate into their ministries. 538 00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:43,080 Dead pastors will make dead churches. 539 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:51,440 But when a leader's heart catches on fire, it has the 540 00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:54,400 potential of melting the hearts of those around them. 541 00:37:56,320 --> 00:38:01,200 So Zerubbel and Joshua, they responded, and the people 542 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:05,800 followed suit. The heat and the light from 543 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:10,240 those over them trickled. It impacted. 544 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:13,960 And here's the thing, as positive as that is, heat and 545 00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:20,200 light also attracts pesky bugs. And that's what we find in verse 546 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:21,600 3 and 4. Let's read it. 547 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:28,240 At the same time, Tatanai, the governor of the province beyond 548 00:38:28,240 --> 00:38:32,520 the river, and Shatar, Bazani and their associates came to 549 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:35,920 them and spoke to them. Thus who gave you a decree to 550 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:39,200 build this house and to finish this structure? 551 00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:43,400 They also asked them this, What are the names of the men who are 552 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:46,840 building this building? But the eye of their God was on 553 00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:49,840 the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the 554 00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:53,480 report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by 555 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:57,760 letter concerning it. It's not shocking at all, is it, 556 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:05,880 that for 16 years there is no indication that the adversaries 557 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:12,440 of the Jews harassed them or probe them when they were 558 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:17,200 working on their own houses. But the moment that they 559 00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:21,640 prioritize God's house, the enemy slithered back into the 560 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:25,920 picture. Now we spent all of Ezra chapter 561 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:28,480 4 looking at the different schemes and the tactics of Satan 562 00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:31,360 to try to hinder and harm the people of God as they want to 563 00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:33,960 build something for his Kingdom. So we won't spend too much time 564 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:37,920 here, but let this serve as a reminder how persistent the evil 565 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:43,400 1 is, how strategic he is, how careful he is, how aware the 566 00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:45,960 evil 1 is. And listen, all that should do 567 00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:49,040 for you and I is be more motivated to becoming more 568 00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:54,880 determined and more discerning. A quick comment about verse 4. 569 00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:57,600 I'm curious, does anybody here read something other than the 570 00:39:57,720 --> 00:39:59,200 ESV? You can lift your hand. 571 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:01,680 I'm just curious. OK, so here's what you'll find, 572 00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:05,560 especially if you have the new King James or the NASB. 573 00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:07,240 And there might be other translations out there. 574 00:40:07,240 --> 00:40:09,040 There's a different rendering of this verse. 575 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:11,480 If you have those two translations that I just 576 00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:14,640 mentioned, this verse, verse 4 might read in the following way. 577 00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:19,640 Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who are 578 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:24,280 constructing this building. As if the narrator is showing 579 00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:27,680 that the Jews complied and cooperated with the inquiry of 580 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:31,160 the Persian officials. So they said, what? 581 00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:33,720 Who gave you a decree to build this house at the finish the 582 00:40:33,720 --> 00:40:34,960 structure? And in some of those 583 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:37,840 translations, it's as though the narrator interrupts and says, 584 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,800 and the Jews gave the names of the ones who were in charge of 585 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:43,960 this endeavor. But there's a difference with 586 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:46,000 the ESV. The ESV puts it as though they 587 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:48,600 press them and asked what of the names of the men who are 588 00:40:48,600 --> 00:40:50,440 building this building? Why the difference? 589 00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:55,920 Well, it's a translation choice and one of the main reasons 590 00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:57,880 because with the original language, there's a lot of 591 00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:03,520 flexibility with the wording and I believe actually not because I 592 00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:06,520 read and preach from the ESV, but because of the context the 593 00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:09,760 ESV has it more accurately. Why? 594 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:13,360 Well, the same group is going to end up writing a letter to 595 00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:15,000 Darius. That's the rest of the chapter. 596 00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:19,240 And in their explanation, listen to how they recount their 597 00:41:19,240 --> 00:41:24,040 exchange with the Jews. Scroll of verse 9 and 10 of Ezra 598 00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:26,040 5. This is the these are the 599 00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:28,320 officials writing to Darius. And here's what they say at this 600 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:31,120 point. Then we asked those elders and 601 00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:34,080 spoke thus to them, Who commanded you to build this 602 00:41:34,080 --> 00:41:38,400 temple to finish these walls? We also asked them their names 603 00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:41,840 to inform you that we might write the names of the men who 604 00:41:41,840 --> 00:41:43,920 are chief among them. You see that? 605 00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:48,800 So in their own explanation, as they recount the the events they 606 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:50,720 tell Darius, we asked them their names. 607 00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:52,720 And that's how the ESP puts it in verse 4. 608 00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:56,280 The purpose, just to clarify any potential confusion. 609 00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:59,680 That's why I brought that up. But let's come back to our 610 00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:05,640 understanding of this passage. At this point, we would expect 611 00:42:05,640 --> 00:42:08,600 the Persian officials to not only interrogate them, but to 612 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:13,160 tell them to stop working, stop working until we get 613 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:15,760 confirmation from Darius. But that doesn't happen. 614 00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:19,880 They ask their questions. We learned later in the letter 615 00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:22,320 that the people were kind. And we're going to learn a lot 616 00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:27,400 in the new year of wisdom of how to deal with those who oppose us 617 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:31,800 and how we can even rightfully and righteously utilize the 618 00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:34,720 freedoms that we have with our government if it's in favor of 619 00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:38,120 our faith to actually gain more ground for the Kingdom of God. 620 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:46,280 But for now, we don't have any natural explanation to why these 621 00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:52,120 executives didn't push further and demand them to cease. 622 00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:55,840 But we are given a divine explanation and that's in verse 623 00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:57,200 5. What does it say? 624 00:42:57,720 --> 00:43:02,560 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they 625 00:43:02,560 --> 00:43:06,120 did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and 626 00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:08,280 then an answer be returned by letter concerning it. 627 00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:14,000 The eye of God was on them. Now, if you've read the Bible 628 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:18,760 faithfully and long enough, then you would realize that the 629 00:43:18,760 --> 00:43:23,640 picture of God's eyes at work is very common. 630 00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:27,760 And depending on the context, sometimes it denotes his moral 631 00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:31,560 oversight over his creation. At other times it speaks about 632 00:43:31,560 --> 00:43:35,480 his surveillance and his searching gaze for those who are 633 00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:37,480 yielded and surrendered to him so that he can do something 634 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:41,480 special in and through them. And at other times, it simply 635 00:43:41,480 --> 00:43:47,040 means, it simply explains his vigilant care and protection 636 00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:51,520 over those who belong to him. And that's what we find here, 637 00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:57,080 that there was a silent power from above animating from the 638 00:43:57,080 --> 00:44:02,360 Lord that that could not be any more obvious than this. 639 00:44:02,360 --> 00:44:06,200 Because the people here who are opposed to the Jews, they 640 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:10,240 couldn't go any further than their initial interrogation. 641 00:44:12,080 --> 00:44:16,600 God was supervising this, God was protecting this. 642 00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:19,480 And here's the beautiful thing that I want to end on. 643 00:44:20,680 --> 00:44:26,160 This grace that these Jews experienced and realized is 644 00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:31,360 something that we can know today for the rest of our lives, but 645 00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:35,280 it's conditional. The Bible tells us that there's 646 00:44:35,280 --> 00:44:38,920 something we have to do if we want to live with the 647 00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:43,040 understanding and the the security that God has his eye on 648 00:44:43,040 --> 00:44:45,800 my life. Can I show it to you? 649 00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:52,440 Let's turn that together in Psalm 33, Psalm 33, and let's 650 00:44:52,440 --> 00:45:09,440 begin in verse 16, Psalm 3316. The king is not saved by his 651 00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:12,520 great army. A warrior is not delivered by 652 00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:16,440 his great strength. The War Horse is a false hope 653 00:45:16,440 --> 00:45:20,240 for salvation by its great might that cannot rescue. 654 00:45:20,680 --> 00:45:27,440 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those 655 00:45:27,440 --> 00:45:30,800 who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul 656 00:45:30,800 --> 00:45:35,280 from death and keep them alive. And famine, Look again at verse 657 00:45:35,280 --> 00:45:37,640 18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is 658 00:45:37,640 --> 00:45:39,600 on those who fear Him. You know what's amazing? 659 00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:46,280 We didn't read it in Haggai one, but in Haggai one we read that's 660 00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:50,920 ruble, Joshua, obey the Lord with the remnant, and they 661 00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:55,040 feared the Lord. And we come to Ezra and we learn 662 00:45:55,040 --> 00:45:58,080 that the eye of God was upon them, and we come to Psalm 33. 663 00:45:58,080 --> 00:46:00,200 What do we have? Well, consistency. 664 00:46:00,200 --> 00:46:03,680 That's what we have in the Bible, where the psalmist says 665 00:46:04,040 --> 00:46:09,320 the eye of God, the watchful eye of the Lord, is on those who 666 00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:12,280 fear Him. What does it mean to fear God, 667 00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:17,680 to stand in awe of Him, and for those who hope in a steadfast 668 00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:19,760 love? You know, if we're honest, many 669 00:46:19,760 --> 00:46:29,000 of us can only know comfort in our walk with the Lord if we can 670 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:36,600 perceive what He is doing, if we can understand why he's allowing 671 00:46:36,600 --> 00:46:39,520 something. But that's not the biblical way 672 00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:44,880 of gaining peace. The biblical way is not being 673 00:46:44,880 --> 00:46:51,960 able to identify his actions, his lack of intervention, but by 674 00:46:51,960 --> 00:47:03,760 believing that though I may not see God's eyes on me, always the 675 00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:05,760 eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him. 676 00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:12,200 You may not be able to understand in the natural, the 677 00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:17,160 whys and the hows, for how long and why not fast enough. 678 00:47:17,600 --> 00:47:21,360 You may not be able to, but you don't have to. 679 00:47:22,600 --> 00:47:27,760 All you need to understand is God's eyes on your life, and He 680 00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:30,200 knows everything and He understands. 681 00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:37,240 If you can really tap into that truth and absorb it and cling to 682 00:47:37,240 --> 00:47:43,520 it, you will know great peace. You will know longevity. 683 00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:52,000 You will know His sweetness, even in turbulence, even in 684 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:56,400 suffering. This is for our instruction. 685 00:47:57,200 --> 00:47:58,760 We will look at the rest of this chapter. 686 00:47:59,840 --> 00:48:04,160 If God should keep us on the earth in 2026, let's pray and 687 00:48:04,160 --> 00:48:37,120 thank Him for these truths. Sometimes after hearing somebody 688 00:48:37,120 --> 00:48:41,840 speak for close to an hour, it's good to just remain silent, 689 00:48:41,840 --> 00:48:43,640 especially when it comes from God's Word. 690 00:48:59,890 --> 00:49:03,330 Lord with the Psalmist, we agree. 691 00:49:04,490 --> 00:49:08,530 I've seen a limit to all perfection, but your 692 00:49:08,530 --> 00:49:10,490 commandments are exceedingly broad. 693 00:49:12,450 --> 00:49:18,370 It never fails to astound us how deep and wide Your Word is. 694 00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:23,520 And yet, Lord, we get the sense that we've only scratched the 695 00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:30,000 surface of it. Thank you, Lord, for this place 696 00:49:30,160 --> 00:49:34,840 filled with people who believe in the power of the Word of God. 697 00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:42,440 And Lord, we just pray that we would never lose faith in giving 698 00:49:42,440 --> 00:49:51,760 the Word and receiving the Word and living by the Word for those 699 00:49:51,760 --> 00:49:53,520 hearts that are not alive in Christ. 700 00:49:53,520 --> 00:49:56,840 We pray that what they heard tonight would be the catalyst 701 00:49:57,960 --> 00:50:01,320 for their salvation for the one who was saved. 702 00:50:01,840 --> 00:50:06,960 But it's been months, maybe even years of placing other things 703 00:50:06,960 --> 00:50:15,040 before You. Help us realize that we are 704 00:50:15,040 --> 00:50:19,760 putting our energy and our time into a bag with holes in it. 705 00:50:20,800 --> 00:50:25,680 It will never satisfy. It will never sustain us. 706 00:50:26,920 --> 00:50:31,600 Only when we prioritize Your Kingdom, your gospel, Your will. 707 00:50:31,800 --> 00:50:35,720 So show us how to do that, Lord. Show us how to prioritize. 708 00:50:35,720 --> 00:50:39,200 Show us the areas that we have elevated beyond their 709 00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:43,200 appropriate place. Lord, we come now to give you 710 00:50:43,200 --> 00:50:46,040 thanks in song for how you've spoken to us. 711 00:50:46,040 --> 00:50:49,440 It's just amazing how even such a message was granted to us 712 00:50:49,440 --> 00:50:52,200 leading into a new year, maybe a new start for all of us. 713 00:50:53,560 --> 00:50:55,880 We ask these things in Christ's name, Amen. 714 00:50:56,720 --> 00:51:01,560 Let's stand Church, let's thank Him for speaking to our hearts.