1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,760 I with excitement now I'll ask you and invite you to turn with 2 00:00:02,760 --> 00:00:05,880 me to the book of Ezra in chapter 10. 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:09,840 We already began this chapter, but we were looking at another 4 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:12,080 section in it. And if you're wondering if we're 5 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:13,840 going to complete it tonight, I will let you know from now. 6 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:15,440 We will not be completing it tonight. 7 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:25,280 But who's in a rush anyway? Ezra chapter 10, and just plant 8 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:30,920 your eyes there, verse 7. For a moment, you would think 9 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:35,920 that a book like the book of Ezra that highlights the return 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:40,480 of the Exiles from their captivity, the revival of their 11 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:45,440 covenantal identity, and their perseverance through obstacles 12 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:49,600 and persecution, that it would end on an inspirational and 13 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:54,560 hopeful note. Unfortunately, it doesn't, at 14 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,880 least at first. We already know this, but since 15 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,400 the opening of Chapter 9, the dominant theme of these closing 16 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:09,000 passages have been the infection of sin in a community of 17 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:17,120 believers, a dangerous trend of interfaith marriage that has 18 00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:20,560 threatened the survival of the remnant of Judah. 19 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,320 But thankfully, as soon as the unthinkable was made known to 20 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:29,880 the very man who led the second expedition of Jews back to their 21 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:34,680 homeland, it was put to a stop before it could spread. 22 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,120 And this should help us see the ending of the book of Ezra. 23 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:46,280 On a more encouraging note, this is teaching us more than just 24 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:53,080 how sin can revisit and can cause a people to tolerate it 25 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,680 even though they just recently experienced and tasted the 26 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:00,240 kindness and mercy of God. There's there's something else 27 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:04,360 going on here. The primary thing in focus is 28 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:09,800 that we have a man with such God fearing conviction who confronts 29 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:14,960 sin, and because of his courage and because of his piety in his 30 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:21,400 own walk with the Lord, the sin that is so disheartening to him 31 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:26,280 and even to us is eventually and actually quickly repented of. 32 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:31,680 That's what we're about to read. We are about to look at 33 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:36,960 repentance on a national level, the contrition and the humility 34 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:42,000 of a people who could have hardened their hearts instead. 35 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:47,880 But they chose not to. Which means, despite all the 36 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,840 disappointment that you and I might have experienced in the 37 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:56,240 past couple of weeks, we can breathe a sigh of relief because 38 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,000 this story ultimately ends in victory. 39 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:03,440 Do you know why? Because whenever sin is repented 40 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:08,360 of, no matter how long it has been enjoyed and no matter how 41 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:12,360 much damage it has caused, is a triumph. 42 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,560 It's a triumph. And that being said, this is not 43 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:21,440 the only victory that you and I can experience over sin. 44 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:26,000 There's something more ideal than us just repenting after 45 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,640 we've committed sin or lived in a season of disobedience. 46 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:34,560 And that is, by the grace of God, refusing sin, gaining even 47 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:39,120 a foothold in our lives to begin with, to rejecting it at the 48 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:43,120 phase of temptation, to denying it when it is still in seed 49 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,200 form. And that's how I want us to 50 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,480 approach this study tonight. Although we are going to be 51 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,400 looking at a people who lost their way but are now recovering 52 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:58,160 and reconciling to the Lord. There are principles here that 53 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:03,000 can help us in our resistance against sin before it has a grip 54 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:07,480 on us. And so I want us to consider in 55 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:12,640 this Bible study six insights about sin that will help you. 56 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:18,800 And I hate it more and fight it more effectively. 57 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,040 And the beauty about these six insights is that they are not 58 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,920 necessarily in any particular order, nor are they 59 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:31,240 interdependent in actuality. Each of these points can be a 60 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:35,320 standalone Bible study. And so I want us to read the 61 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,240 first 2 verses of the passages that we'll be examining, and 62 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:40,280 then we'll pray, and then we'll consider these six things 63 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:43,760 together. So remember, the last thing that 64 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:48,160 we saw about Ezra is that he publicly wept, publicly prayed, 65 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:54,000 and shortly after that he made his way and isolated himself to 66 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:58,600 do just that in private. And what we're about to look at 67 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:01,800 in verse 7 is what's going to take place the very next day. 68 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:06,600 Let's read. And a proclamation was made 69 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:10,720 throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles, that 70 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,080 they should assemble at Jerusalem, and that if anyone 71 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,160 did not come within three days, by order of the officials and 72 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:21,040 the elders, all his property should be forfeited and he 73 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:25,360 himself banned from the congregation of the Exiles. 74 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:30,040 Lord, we ask that You would help us now with these verses. 75 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:36,480 And Lord, this study is organized in a way to despise 76 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:42,800 sin with a righteous hatred. And so, Lord, we pray that this 77 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:49,480 would not be a study that would encourage condemnation or 78 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:52,720 discouragement or frustration. We pray that we would feel as 79 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,920 though you were equipping us and you are urging us on, and you 80 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:00,360 are motivating us into greater sanctification, greater worship, 81 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:02,720 greater holiness, greater relationship with you. 82 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:07,080 So Lord, use every single one of these things for personal 83 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:11,120 reflection. Help us not think too much about 84 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:15,120 how this can help others, and help us translate it as Your 85 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,800 voice directly to our lives. We believe that you will guide 86 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:20,400 us now. In Jesus name we pray. 87 00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:27,360 Amen. 6 insights, 6 truths, 6 points about sin that will help 88 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,800 you and I hate it more and fight it more effectively #1 as we 89 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,320 just read. Sin must be confronted swiftly. 90 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,120 Sin must be confronted swiftly. You know what we just read will 91 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,200 make more sense when we remember the authority that was granted 92 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:44,880 to Ezra by the Persian government. 93 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:47,360 And so we read verse 7 and verse 8. 94 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,040 But let's look back at Chapter 7, verse 26. 95 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:55,160 Notice what the king of Persia said to Ezra before he even left 96 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:59,480 Babylonia. In Ezra 7 verse 26 it reads, 97 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:02,880 Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the 98 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:07,360 king, let judgement be strictly executed on him, whether for 99 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:12,840 death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for 100 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:16,200 imprisonment. So Ezra is not operating with an 101 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:19,640 independent or a self promoting authority. 102 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:24,120 He has been granted this ability, and he wields it at 103 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:28,040 this time because he knows the nature of sin. 104 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,880 He does not delay. When he receives his report of 105 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:38,200 widespread iniquity, he acts upon it immediately because Ezra 106 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,800 studies God's Word. Ezra knows God and knows what 107 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,080 God has revealed about everything, including our sin, 108 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:47,240 and here's what He is showing us. 109 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:52,200 The longer sin is ignored, the greater it becomes in strength 110 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:57,720 and in its influence, the greater becomes in its strength 111 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:03,920 and its influence will increase. So his awareness here becomes 112 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:06,880 even more inspirational when you consider another important 113 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:08,360 factor. Look quickly. 114 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:11,680 Just zoom out in Chapter 10. What do you see in the 115 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,800 second-half of this chapter? A list of what? 116 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:19,680 A lot of names, and we talked about this briefly last week, 117 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:23,080 but this record is not a celebratory one. 118 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:29,840 It is actually one that indicts, it exposes those who are 119 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:33,320 responsible for this sin of interfaith marriage. 120 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:37,159 And we'll look at this more carefully next week. 121 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:38,919 But you know what I decided to do the other night? 122 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,400 Count the number of names you're saying. 123 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,840 Why would you do that? I'll tell you in a moment, and I 124 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:48,280 think it depends on your translation. 125 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:51,240 But if we can just have a general ballpark here or a safe 126 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:57,240 number to go with, 110 men are found guilty for this crime. 127 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,520 Why does that matter? Well, do you remember the number 128 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,520 of people that are mentioned in the book of Ezra that joined not 129 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:08,720 Ezra but Zerubbabel and the first wave of refugees? 130 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,840 In case you you don't go to Ezra chapter 2 and look at this 131 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:19,080 number with me in verse 64 of Ezra chapter 2. 132 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:33,280 The whole assembly together was 42,360 besides their male and 133 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:39,640 female servants, of whom there were 7337 and they had 200 male 134 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:44,120 and female singers. So close to 50,000 people joined 135 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:48,320 Zerubbabel when Cyrus made way for the Jews to go back to 136 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:50,360 Jerusalem. Now here's what we have to 137 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:54,720 understand. Ezra comes onto the scene 80 138 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,160 years after this first census. So do you think they multiplied 139 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:00,640 over those 80 years? Definitely. 140 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,080 We don't know how much their population grew, but you can 141 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,720 expect that it grew over those decades. 142 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:12,320 You might be still wondering, why does this even count? 143 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:14,800 Well, what's this leading to? Well, think about it. 144 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:19,200 If we're honest when we consider that the return exile started 145 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,720 out nearly 50,000 strong and surely grew over time, finding 146 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:28,520 out only that there is 110 people who have sinned 147 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:34,520 grievously in this act of disobedience makes you wonder if 148 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:39,160 Ezra's being a little bit too dramatic in his response to this 149 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:45,200 news, right? I mean I'm not a math person, 150 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:50,680 but imagine 110 out of more than 80,000. 151 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:53,920 Perhaps more than 50,000 for sure. 152 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,800 Wrong. He is not overreacting because 153 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:04,920 when you factor in sin with statistics, the numbers mean 154 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:10,600 something different. Do you know what the Bible says 155 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:14,680 about how many sinners it takes to do much damage to something 156 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:16,040 good? Anybody have an idea what the 157 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:19,560 number is exactly? Do you have the biblical proof 158 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:24,760 for the answer that you have? How many sinners does it take to 159 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:29,160 do damage? Well, Ecclesiastes 918 tells us 160 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:34,440 listen to these words from Solomon, who is not just wise, 161 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:36,640 he was led by the Spirit when he penned these words. 162 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:42,360 In Ecclesiastes 9/18 it says wisdom is better than weapons of 163 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:45,280 war. But one Sinner destroys much 164 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:46,600 good. Just one. 165 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:51,800 In any community, in any setting, one Sinner, if he is 166 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:54,280 determined to sin, can wreak havoc. 167 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:57,320 You know how many sinners Ezra is dealing with? 168 00:11:57,560 --> 00:12:02,160 At least 110. And even if you're still not 169 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:07,480 convinced that the ratio is as dangerous as the Bible makes it 170 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,840 out to be, or that maybe Ezra as being a little bit overly 171 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:15,960 zealous here, one thing that you can applaud about Ezra that you 172 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:19,640 cannot deny in the Bible is his attitude towards the potential 173 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:26,880 infectious power of sin. That he deals with it while it 174 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:31,240 is still small, while it is still in its initial phase 175 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:35,320 before it gains more ground. He puts a stop to it. 176 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:39,760 And this is what we have to understand about sin for, for 177 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:43,000 ourselves, whether corporately or individually, it must be 178 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:50,080 swiftly confronted. So that means take captive that 179 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:56,520 thought pattern of lust that you may have convinced yourself as 180 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,960 harmless because it's in your brain and nobody else can see it 181 00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:05,680 and nobody else knows about it. Well, apprehend it then, before 182 00:13:05,680 --> 00:13:10,200 it turns into flirtation and before words become action. 183 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:17,520 Bring your outbursts of anger to the Lord early in your marriage 184 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,760 if you're noticing A trend. If your spouse is calling it 185 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:27,600 out, listen. Deal with it now before it wears 186 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,720 out. Your spouse and you have other 187 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,120 issues to deal with should you choose to do so later on. 188 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:41,560 Are you lazy? Do you have that problem? 189 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,040 Seek accountability for your laziness now before it becomes a 190 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:47,760 burden on others that you love and ruins your testimony. 191 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:53,480 All in all, listen. When a stone is about to be 192 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:59,320 pushed over the edge of a Cliff, it is much easier to put a stop 193 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:05,720 to it then, because gravity teaches, the more momentum it 194 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:09,000 gains as it descends, the stronger it becomes and the more 195 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:17,160 difficult it is to stop it. So while the roots are shallow, 196 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:26,560 while you still have a sensitive conscience, and while the damage 197 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:31,200 is minimal, take that sin seriously. 198 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:36,840 Don't wallow in condemnation. Partner with God's Word, God's 199 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:39,680 people, God's power, and go to war. 200 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,000 Go to war. Ezra means business because Ezra 201 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,000 is a man who's in tune with God and he understands there may be 202 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,320 110 people out of hundreds of thousands, but this can get ugly 203 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:52,000 real quick. So I'm going to do something 204 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:56,600 about it today. Let this be the attitude of the 205 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,840 redeemed. So truth number one about sin, 206 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,920 if we want to hate it more and conquer it with greater 207 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:07,760 effectiveness, confront it swiftly. 208 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:12,800 Confront it swiftly #2 Let's read verse 9 of verse 10. 209 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,520 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled that 210 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:23,560 Jerusalem within three days. It was the 9th month of the 20th 211 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,600 day of the month, and all the people sat in the open square 212 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,480 before the House of God trembling because of this matter 213 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:36,800 and because of the heavy rain. So the people responded and we 214 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:38,920 can applaud them for that. We can rejoice in the fact that 215 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:43,160 they actually arrived and they, they gave, they gave themselves 216 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,640 over to Ezra's guidance and his exhortation. 217 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:49,520 However, this verse broke my heart. 218 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:54,520 And the reason why it broke my heart was because you have a 219 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:58,440 group of people, a large group of people who are assembling at 220 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:05,000 the House of God and they are trembling, they are paralysed 221 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,560 with fear. You're saying, well, shouldn't 222 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:10,480 they be? Yes, but think about it. 223 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:13,280 Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, what you find is 224 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,640 that when there is a call to come to the House of God, it's 225 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:22,800 an invitation to joy. It's an invitation to festivity, 226 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:30,160 to warm fellowship, to song, to celebration. 227 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,200 And yet what you find with this group instead is that they're 228 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:39,240 coming terrified. Why is that the case? 229 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:43,400 Because it teaches the second point about sin in our study 230 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:45,920 tonight, and that sin robs us of joy. 231 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:52,720 Sin robs us of true joy. And we never really think about 232 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:54,120 that while we're being tempted, do we? 233 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,600 That when sin is tolerated, when sin is something that we 234 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:05,520 continually pursue and justify and excuse, then eventually 235 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:11,640 peace is replaced with paranoia, blessing is substituted for 236 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:19,160 burden, and a confident conscience is now replaced with 237 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:23,040 a tormented one. That's exactly what we see here. 238 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:26,359 These people who should be coming to the House of God with 239 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,760 exuberance and delight are in dread. 240 00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:34,960 And so here they are trying to figure things out, trying to 241 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:35,920 wonder what is this going to lead? 242 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:37,440 Do they understand that they are in trouble? 243 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,200 They understand that they are going to have to face 244 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,920 consequences for their actions. And you have to always remember 245 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,240 this if you want to be more equipped, because temptation is 246 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,080 inevitable. You can be tempted at any time, 247 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:50,640 in any place, no matter how much you know. 248 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,640 This is a reality that we will have to experience and face 249 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,200 until we are in glory. That's what makes glorification 250 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:57,720 so glorious. We will never have to know the 251 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:02,160 presence of sin again. Put this in your arsenal. 252 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,040 Sin in the form of temptation will never tell you what it's 253 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,720 going to take from you. It will only tell you what it 254 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:10,600 will give to you. Isn't that what you're always 255 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:12,000 thinking about when you're being tempted? 256 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:16,600 This is what I'm going to gain. I'm going to gain satisfaction. 257 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,080 I'm going to gain security, I'm going to gain confidence. 258 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,840 I'm going to gain enjoyment. I'm going to gain whatever the 259 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,160 case may be. And so these men come and 260 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:27,800 they're trembling. Now here's what's amazing. 261 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:29,760 There's this added detail. What's the added detail? 262 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:31,920 That they're coming because they're obviously they know that 263 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:33,280 they're being challenged for their sin. 264 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:34,720 But notice the last part of verse 9. 265 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:40,240 And because of the heavy rain, Why tell us that? 266 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,880 Some are satisfied in saying, well, it's because Ezra wants to 267 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:48,800 be historically accurate. This is just more evidence of 268 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,360 his eyewitness account that he not only tells us the timing of 269 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,720 this meeting, but even some of the details of that particular 270 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:57,760 day. OK, that's nice. 271 00:18:57,760 --> 00:18:59,280 But is that really what's happening here? 272 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,280 Others are more comfortable in interpreting this as how the 273 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:08,360 people are translating the setting of this moment, that 274 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:12,200 this rain, this heavy rain is perhaps a manifestation of God's 275 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:16,080 displeasure over them. And that can certainly be true. 276 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:24,720 But whether the people are afraid and whether they are 277 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:33,080 translating this whole scene as God showing His anger, there is 278 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:39,760 a note of hope in this saying How it seems gloomy, seems dark, 279 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:42,840 seems scary. I'll give you the answer, but 280 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:44,320 you have to go to the book of Deuteronomy. 281 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:46,720 Go to Deuteronomy Chapter 11 with me. 282 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,280 These are God's instructions, warnings, promises for the 283 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,360 people before they entered into the promised land. 284 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:56,240 And I want you to see what He says here in Deuteronomy Chapter 285 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,440 11 when you Scroll down here to verse 13. 286 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:02,360 And if you will indeed obey my commandments, that I command you 287 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:05,000 today to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your 288 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,240 heart and with all your soul. He will give the rain for your 289 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:12,440 land in its season, the early rain and the later rain that you 290 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:15,520 may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 291 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:20,120 One of the features that make the Old Covenant unique is found 292 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,520 here. That rain, the supply of this 293 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:25,960 grace, is totally dependent on the whole hearted obedience of 294 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:27,360 the people. You obey. 295 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:29,400 I'm going to give you rain. You don't obey, then I'm going 296 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:33,200 to make the heavens bronze. It's plain, it's clear. 297 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:35,480 So you have this in the background, right? 298 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:37,600 And your understanding of how God works, especially in this 299 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,040 dispensation. Then you come to Ezra. 300 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:41,800 You look at the same covenant people. 301 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,840 They are in disobedience. They are being confronted for 302 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:49,600 their sin and what's happening. It's raining and it's heavy 303 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:51,480 rain. Not just casual rain, not just 304 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:57,560 sprinkles, heavy rain. You would think that God would 305 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:03,840 unlock this vault after the people had confessed, after they 306 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:06,720 had proven their repentance to be sincere and genuine. 307 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:15,280 But instead, when they make the initial move of restoring their 308 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:18,760 obedience, God meets them with rain. 309 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:25,680 In other words, He honors though they are fearful, though they 310 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:32,600 are wondering, though they are gripped with terror. 311 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:35,240 The Lord is meeting them in mercy. 312 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:38,520 In fact, He is pouring out mercy on them. 313 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,440 I'm not sure if they understood it that way, but it makes you 314 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:47,840 wonder if God was trying to convey that, that He's pouring 315 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,480 out rain, pouring out rain, pouring out rain, and they're 316 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:54,280 standing there because God is honoring their initial steps 317 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:58,400 toward repentance. And it's no different for you 318 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:04,200 and I that even if you have grievously offended Him, even if 319 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:09,000 like this people, you have received His grace upon grace 320 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,640 upon grace, and this is how you respond to it. 321 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,160 The moment you choose to turn back to Him, there is an open 322 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:22,160 heaven. One of the greatest forces in 323 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:25,000 leading us to greater repentance and holiness is God's kindness, 324 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:30,640 is it not? You know, your life is not what 325 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:34,840 it's supposed to be, and He still blesses you and He still 326 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:42,240 meets you with mercy day by day. And this is what these people 327 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:48,280 are experiencing, a shower of God's love, even though the 328 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,080 repentance is not yet complete. It's just because their hearts 329 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,840 have been broken. And the Lord saw that. 330 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,160 You got to think about it, this day was a day of heavy rain. 331 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,280 I don't think they just stepped to the temple courts and then it 332 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:01,520 start raining out. I don't think that's how the 333 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,560 text reads. Could it have been easy for them 334 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,880 to make the excuse of delaying this meeting with Ezra because 335 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,440 of the weather? Remember, they're outside. 336 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,760 They don't have what we have going on here, and yet they 337 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:19,680 still made the effort. They still push through whatever 338 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,880 obstacles there were, including the heavy rain, and that showed 339 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,560 and proved to the Lord that they mean business, that they really 340 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,400 want to hear what God has to say to them. 341 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,800 And the Lord saw that, and He met them with mercy. 342 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:41,800 Come to the Lord whenever and if ever you are in sin, no matter 343 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:45,880 how deep it is, and He will meet you with His kindness every 344 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:47,800 single time. You have to believe that. 345 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,320 You have to trust that no matter what, no matter what your own 346 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:52,080 mind tells you, no matter what anybody else tells you. 347 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:58,160 So we have to understand that sin robs us of joy, but God is 348 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,560 ready to give that joy back. He's always ready to give us 349 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:04,040 that joy back. Let's come back to our main text 350 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:08,480 to the Third Point of Ezra in chapter 10, as we look here at 351 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:13,960 verse 10 and 11. And Ezra the priest stood up and 352 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,360 said to them, you have broken faith and married foreign woman 353 00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:20,280 and so increase the guilt of Israel. 354 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:24,440 Now then, make confession to the Lord, the God of your Father's, 355 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,640 and do His will. Separate yourselves from the 356 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,080 peoples of the land and from the foreign wives. 357 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:42,320 Point #3 about sin is that sin is weakened within a righteous 358 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:45,680 community. Sin is weakened within a 359 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,320 righteous community. Where would the people be 360 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:54,640 without Ezra's leadership? What if he had delayed coming to 361 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,920 Jerusalem? What if he was not as serious 362 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:01,920 about his role as a priest, about his study of God's Word, 363 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,960 about his zeal for God's honor? We can only imagine. 364 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:09,160 But Ezra was a real man of God. Ezra fear the Lord and because 365 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:14,080 of his presence in this moment, he was able to stop the bleeding 366 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:21,200 of the people who could have easily lost so much more life 367 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:24,360 and put themselves in a very dangerous predicament. 368 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,040 Now notice what he says here. You have to compare it with how 369 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,200 he prayed. So we read those two verses, but 370 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,280 go back to Chapter 9 and look at verse 6 again. 371 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:40,640 His opening words in his prayer when he found out about this sin 372 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:45,640 to begin with, he says here in verse 6 saying, Oh my God, I am 373 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:49,480 ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God. 374 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,920 For our iniquities have risen higher than our heads and our 375 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:55,120 guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 376 00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:00,920 He's being inclusive here, our guilt, our heads, our 377 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,720 iniquities. But go back to verse 9 or verse 378 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:07,600 10 rather of chapter 10. And Ezra the priest stood up and 379 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:12,360 said, you have broken faith. You have broken faith and 380 00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:15,280 married foreign women and so increase the guilt of Israel. 381 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:25,240 What do we make of this? That it is necessary at times to 382 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:27,760 point the finger and hold somebody accountable. 383 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:32,760 Ezra demonstrated his humility already. 384 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,680 When he got before God, he said we, he said ours. 385 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:38,160 But when he got before the people who are guilty of sin, he 386 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:45,800 said, you, you know, there are some people who give different 387 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:48,960 kinds of advice for preachers. One of the things that is 388 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:56,480 commonly shared for preachers to be more fruitful perhaps, or 389 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:01,760 accepted by their listeners is that when you bring up any kind 390 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:06,000 of command or exhortation or insight, especially if it's a -1 391 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,400 concerning our nature and our tendencies, don't say you say 392 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:17,920 we, never say you, we us our. And that is certainly true 393 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:20,000 because you find that in the Scriptures, you find that in the 394 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:25,280 epistles, you find that in the writings of men of God, prophets 395 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:31,040 of God. But it is unbiblical to say that 396 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:36,120 you must always include that language in every message, in 397 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:38,960 every rebuke. That is not true. 398 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:43,280 And Ezra shows us that here, that there are times when a 399 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:49,040 leader has to look at a people and say, you what did Nathan the 400 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:52,600 prophet say to David when he gave that parable that was meant 401 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:55,280 to cause David to make a judgement ultimately upon 402 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:58,120 himself? Did he say we are the man? 403 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:03,520 That what he said? Now he says you are the man. 404 00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:09,720 You know what that does? When you personalize these kind 405 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:14,080 of things, it sharpens the blade of conviction upon the 406 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,760 conscience. If you rely too heavily on the 407 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:24,120 Wii, you blunt that blade. Now we have to be careful 408 00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:27,320 because Ezra also shows us that that kind of approach must be 409 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:31,080 wielded carefully and wisely. I'm aware that there are some, 410 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,160 especially preachers, who make it their ambition every week to 411 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:38,480 beat up the people that God has entrusted to their care and to 412 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:41,240 make them feel guilty week after week after week after week, and 413 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:43,160 to make it seem as though they're superior, they're 414 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,760 holier. You're all making this a more 415 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:47,360 difficult church. You're all making this a 416 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:50,000 difficult and that is not the right attitude either. 417 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:54,240 But a true man of God, like Ezra demonstrates, begins with a 418 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:56,920 revelation and an awareness of their own fallenness, our 419 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:01,240 iniquities, our heads, our guilt, and from that place when 420 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:08,160 it's the right time to say you. But what's the lesson that 421 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:10,360 accountability. If you and I want to be able to 422 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,240 have a greater chance of overcoming sin. 423 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:19,320 We need people to speak like this in our lives, to love you 424 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:21,520 enough to say, listen, you're out of order here. 425 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:24,120 Listen, I've been noticing your language. 426 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:28,280 You're not talking the same way. Where have you been? 427 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:30,600 I haven't seen you in church in months. 428 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:34,560 Not we haven't been at church at months for months. 429 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:40,840 That doesn't work. And so there are moments when 430 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:46,120 this, this kind of bold confrontation in love is 431 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,760 required. And it's this very thing that's 432 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,400 going to lead the people back to the will of God. 433 00:29:55,800 --> 00:30:02,080 And Ezra proves further in his very rebuke how the right kind 434 00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:04,880 of community, the right kind of partnerships and influences in 435 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:08,240 our lives is absolutely necessary to be strength in this 436 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:09,520 area. Notice what he says. 437 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,200 He's so he's a brilliant spiritual surgeon. 438 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:14,880 He knows exactly what to point out. 439 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:17,400 He knows exactly the symptoms. He knows exactly the root cause. 440 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,360 Look again here at verse 11. Now then he's speaking to the 441 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:23,360 same people. Make confession to the Lord, the 442 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:25,600 God of your Father's and do his will. 443 00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:29,760 Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the 444 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:33,760 foreign wives. What's the key issue here? 445 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:37,040 What's the problem? The main paramount predicament, 446 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:40,280 interfaith marriage, right? So you would think that Ezra 447 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,600 would emphasize separate yourselves from the foreign 448 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:45,520 wives, but he put something before that. 449 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:48,920 What does he say? Separate yourselves from the 450 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:53,080 peoples of the land and from the foreign wives. 451 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:59,520 Again, this man is insightful. This man is in tune with God and 452 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:03,640 he understands that the marriages, the illegitimate 453 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:07,560 unions, is a symptom of a deeper issue. 454 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:13,440 Something came before this. This is just the fruit of a 455 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,360 root. And what was the root? 456 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:19,000 Association with the wrong people. 457 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:27,400 The fellowship with the people of the lands eventually led to 458 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:29,880 marriage with the people of the lands. 459 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:36,520 The companionship with unbelievers led to the most 460 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:38,760 serious kind of companionship that you can have on this 461 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:45,000 planet, and that is marriage. And so when Ezra's thinking, he 462 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,400 realized if we just deal with the symptom, then we risk 463 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:50,920 repeating this. So I'm making it a primary 464 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:54,520 charge. You have to reevaluate your 465 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:59,840 circles of influence. You have to reconsider who you 466 00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:03,840 are inviting into your life and who you're allowing to walk with 467 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:07,840 you in this life because in this case, it led to this kind of a 468 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:11,680 disaster. And if we have to, if we're 469 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:15,760 going to be honest with ourselves, some of the sins that 470 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:19,320 we can't seem to gain victory over is because of some of the 471 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:27,040 people that we won't let go of. So the question we have to ask 472 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:29,560 ourselves at this point in the study is, do I have anybody like 473 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:35,600 Ezra in my life who has a walk with God? 474 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,560 Not just anybody, a sincere love for the Lord. 475 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:44,160 And I invite them to speak into my life, even if it hurts at 476 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:47,880 times. And more than that, who do I 477 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:49,440 have in my life that influences me? 478 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,440 Who do I look up to? Who do I enjoy being around? 479 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:56,800 Who do I have partnerships with? Who do I find in my social 480 00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:01,880 circles more than anybody else? Because a true spiritual man or 481 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,720 woman understands that who you do life with will determine the 482 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:09,440 direction of your life. Ezra understood this. 483 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:12,400 Men like Paul understood this when he told the Corinthians bad 484 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,320 company corrupts what good morals? 485 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:22,960 First Corinthians 15 verse 33. But on the positive, we read 486 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:27,840 here and we find out here that sin is weakened within a 487 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:32,320 righteous community. So don't think that you can 488 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:35,720 drift away from the church and think that you're going to be 489 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:39,240 stronger because of it. Inevitably you will become 490 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,760 weaker yourself and sin will become stronger. 491 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:49,800 Let's continue verse 12 then all the assembly answered with a 492 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:51,280 loud voice. It is so. 493 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:56,880 We must do as you have said. But the people are many, and it 494 00:33:56,880 --> 00:34:00,960 is a time of heavy rain. We cannot stand in the open, nor 495 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:04,560 is this a task for one day or for two, for we have greatly 496 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:09,000 transgressed in this matter. Let our officials stand for the 497 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,520 whole assembly. Let all in our cities who have 498 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:14,520 taken foreign wives come at appointed times, and within the 499 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,760 elders and judges of every city, until the fierce wrath of our 500 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:21,199 God over this matter is turned away from us. 501 00:34:21,199 --> 00:34:22,239 Do you see what's happening here? 502 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:26,400 The people, praise God, are enthusiastic, this kind of 503 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:30,920 exhortation, but they're also honest with the practicalities 504 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:33,520 of it. And this group of people, this 505 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:38,400 assembly, realizes we can't do this as speedily as we would 506 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,199 like. One, it's pouring out here. 507 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:46,360 It's uncomfortable. Two, there's a great. 508 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:49,080 Crowd to try to decipher and to try to organize. 509 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:55,560 This is not feasible. And thirdly, there needs. 510 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:57,600 More organization. Moving forward, if we're going 511 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:01,720 to be able to do this with with any effect, this is going to 512 00:35:01,720 --> 00:35:02,720 take. Longer than one or two. 513 00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:06,680 Days, they said. And we know that they are not 514 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:08,760 trying to delay. This because they don't want to 515 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:10,960 have to face the consequences because they give an immediate 516 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:12,880 solution in verse 14. And here's the solution. 517 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:19,000 Let's all go back and let's set up appointments and let's have 518 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:23,920 local leaders assess every case and determine how to move 519 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:26,040 forward. You know, it's possible that 520 00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:29,240 some of these foreign wives converted or maybe they are 521 00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:32,920 willing to convert. So is separating from them the 522 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:34,720 best answer? Probably not. 523 00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:38,840 But all of that is going to require more investigation, more 524 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:44,600 examination, more time. And, amazingly, Ezra. 525 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:48,320 Agrees, which further confirms this man's humility. 526 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:51,960 I'm aware that there are some leaders listening to this study 527 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:55,960 and potential leaders in the future who are tuning in. 528 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:58,320 Here's what you have to understand about Ezra. 529 00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:01,640 This is a side note. Ezra shows us that that leaders 530 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:05,160 need to be open to receiving insight and instruction and 531 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:07,360 guidance from those who are not leaders. 532 00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:12,480 Yes, a leader has to take initiative. 533 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:16,320 A leader needs to give direction, he needs to have 534 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:19,480 vision or else he's not operating as a leader. 535 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:22,040 That being said, there will be moments where even a leader 536 00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:26,520 doesn't come up with the right way to move forward, and others 537 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:28,240 may. And you have to acknowledge that 538 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,520 and you have to accept it. And God will bless that humility 539 00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:35,560 up to this point. Ezra has taken. 540 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:38,720 Cues from two different people. Remember in Chapter 10 earlier, 541 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:42,440 Shek and I said, look, there's hope in this and here's what I 542 00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:44,240 propose. And Ezra goes with it. 543 00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:46,200 And even now you have the crowd saying, Ezra, we're willing to 544 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:47,680 do this, but can we go about it in this way? 545 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:52,760 And Ezra does the same. Humility is such a key component 546 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:58,320 to longevity in leadership, to effectiveness in leadership, and 547 00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:00,880 Ezra proves that. So there's so much. 548 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:03,600 Positive going on here. Right, there's a unification of 549 00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:06,600 thought, of method of conviction. 550 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:10,840 That being said, there is something here that is sobering. 551 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:15,800 Which brings us to the fourth point about sin that I hope will 552 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:21,000 make you hate it more and more. Sin often comes with lasting 553 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:26,200 consequences. The confession was immediate. 554 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:29,480 The. Repentance is there, but the 555 00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:31,280 restoration is going to take time. 556 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:37,600 You know, sometimes people think that if they just repent, it'll 557 00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:40,240 fix everything. Praise God. 558 00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:44,960 Reconciliation with the Lord is immediate, but the impact of sin 559 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:50,920 goes beyond just God's heart. As much as that is primary, 560 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:53,840 there's there are some things that happen with our sin, 561 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:57,560 depending on the nature of it, that demands patience. 562 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:03,280 For things to turn around. For the better. 563 00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:10,200 Do you know how long this ultimately took? 564 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:18,200 For them to clean up this mess Fast forward look here verse 16. 565 00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:23,440 Then to return exiles did so. Ezra, the priest selected men 566 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:25,960 heads of Father's houses according to their father's 567 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:28,840 houses, each of them designated by name. 568 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:31,880 On the first day of the 10th month, they sat down to examine 569 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:35,480 the matter, and by the first day of the first month they had come 570 00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:38,760 to the end of all the men who had married foreign women. 571 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:45,680 You look in about 3 months. So they were right. 572 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:47,600 This is going to take more than one or two days. 573 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:54,000 And you know what? This made me think about that 574 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:59,880 Sin is a greater thief than we actually. 575 00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:02,400 Think we heard? Earlier that sin robs us of our 576 00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:04,240 joy. But you know what I see here? 577 00:39:04,240 --> 00:39:12,840 Sin also steals our time. This is just me, I couldn't help 578 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:16,000 but. Wonder what could have been done 579 00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:20,760 for the Kingdom? If all this organization and 580 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:23,000 all. This energy and all these 581 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:31,360 meetings were given over to something that could build and 582 00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:37,680 strengthen and increase. Look at about two to three 583 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:41,280 months dedicated to this one thing for those who. 584 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:43,240 Were here a couple nights ago. For a prayer meeting? 585 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:47,200 Do we remember how long it took Nehemiah and his team to build 586 00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:50,440 the city walls? How many 52 days? 587 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:53,520 That's what we're going to find. Out in the book of Nehemiah in. 588 00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:57,160 The coming weeks, 52 days, less than two months to resurrect the 589 00:39:57,160 --> 00:39:59,600 walls and to bring the protection of the people 590 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:01,680 desperately needed from outside forces. 591 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:10,800 It's sad what sin takes from us. It's sad how it delays us. 592 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:17,320 You remember Miriam, the sister? Of Moses and Aaron, Miriam and. 593 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:19,960 Aaron got into. A conversation, I guess they 594 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:25,080 ended up being very. Unsatisfied with? 595 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:27,800 Their position in the ministry and they began to criticize 596 00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:29,760 Moses and they began to talk about his wife. 597 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:35,600 And God heard it. So what did he do? 598 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:41,760 He makes Miriam Leprous. She has to go through this whole 599 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:43,360 the same. Protocol you would find in the 600 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:47,480 book of Leviticus and she is ostracized and placed outside of 601 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:51,200 the camp and the whole camp had to wait until she was cleansed 602 00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:52,600 again before they can move ahead. 603 00:40:54,440 --> 00:40:57,680 Gossip hindered. The Israelites. 604 00:40:57,680 --> 00:40:59,080 From advancing in the. Wilderness. 605 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:02,480 Interfaith marriage here in this case. 606 00:41:03,880 --> 00:41:08,080 Brought the people at a standstill when there was so 607 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:15,240 much yet to be done. It would do us good to become 608 00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:17,560 more Kingdom. Minded and Kingdom focusing and 609 00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:21,400 gospel centered and Great Commission motivated. 610 00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:25,080 Because when you really had that as an. 611 00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:28,560 Ambition. It gets rid of the petty things 612 00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:32,280 that that often turn into sinful things. 613 00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:38,440 That wasn't the case for this people. 614 00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:42,160 There were lasting consequences. I'm. 615 00:41:42,160 --> 00:41:43,760 Sure, more than they anticipated. 616 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:55,150 But let's continue to read. Look at the last part of verse 617 00:41:55,150 --> 00:41:59,550 14. Until the fierce wrath of our 618 00:41:59,550 --> 00:42:02,190 God over this matter is turned away from us. 619 00:42:04,710 --> 00:42:13,080 Here's point #5 about sin. Sin, when justified, lived, 620 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:16,440 exercised, blocks our fellowship with God. 621 00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:22,040 And the people understood that. And it's amazing. 622 00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:24,920 Here, I applaud them. Because their primary motivation 623 00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:30,000 and getting this solved was because they wanted to restore 624 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:34,320 the favor and fellowship they once knew with God until. 625 00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:37,280 The fierce wrath of our God. Over this matter is turned away 626 00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:40,880 from us. We want God's. 627 00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:44,400 Face and smile to shine over us again. 628 00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:48,840 So let us let us not put this to the side as we're ready to do 629 00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:54,040 whatever it takes. God is in the picture. 630 00:42:55,320 --> 00:42:56,440 You know, there are a lot of people. 631 00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:58,880 Trust me. I know there are a lot of people 632 00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:01,680 who repent, and when they repent, God is nowhere in the 633 00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:04,080 repentance. It's a worldly sorrow. 634 00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:07,400 They got caught. They disappointed others. 635 00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:09,920 They disappointed their church leaders. 636 00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:13,640 They upset their spouses. They failed their children. 637 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:19,800 But a person who truly loves God. 638 00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:22,200 Will understand that my sin ultimately effects my 639 00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:28,320 relationship with God and I can't live like that. 640 00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:31,240 I can't. Live knowing that I've grieved 641 00:43:31,240 --> 00:43:32,600 the. Holy Spirit, I can't live 642 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:36,240 knowing that I am robbing myself of a greater blessing in God. 643 00:43:36,240 --> 00:43:40,600 So I will do what it takes, and I will do it as soon as I can in 644 00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:45,840 order to secure God's blessing God himself. 645 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:48,520 Is there any New Testament example of this or is this just 646 00:43:48,520 --> 00:43:52,080 an Old Testament thing? Can you think of a New 647 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:55,200 Testament? Warning or a New Testament 648 00:43:56,120 --> 00:44:00,360 insight that would suggest that the way we live and the 649 00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:05,040 decisions that we make can have an effect on our experiential 650 00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:09,040 relationship with the Lord. You know what came to mind? 651 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:14,240 What Peter said to husbands in first Peter 3 go to first Peter 652 00:44:14,240 --> 00:44:29,310 3. Look at verse 7. 653 00:44:34,590 --> 00:44:37,590 Likewise, husbands live with your wives in an understanding 654 00:44:37,590 --> 00:44:40,670 way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they 655 00:44:40,670 --> 00:44:42,750 are heirs with you of the grace of life. 656 00:44:42,750 --> 00:44:47,720 Don't you love that God is very. Clear the woman is a. 657 00:44:47,720 --> 00:44:50,120 Weaker vessel. This is speaking about primarily 658 00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:54,280 her, her physical abilities. And in the same breath, he says. 659 00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:58,040 Yet they are equals with you spiritually since they are heirs 660 00:44:58,040 --> 00:45:00,200 with you of the grace of life, right. 661 00:45:00,200 --> 00:45:03,480 So they have a different makeup in terms of their physical 662 00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:07,080 abilities, but in the eyes. Of God, they are heirs. 663 00:45:07,080 --> 00:45:08,760 With you Co heirs, with you in the grace of life. 664 00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:11,760 But notice this so that your prayers may not be hindered. 665 00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:17,320 So a couple of years ago. I was sitting with a friend. 666 00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:20,320 He's a dear friend, and he was about to get married. 667 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:22,720 And I asked him the question they usually ask people when 668 00:45:22,720 --> 00:45:24,640 their wedding is around the corner, are you excited to get 669 00:45:24,640 --> 00:45:27,680 married? And he goes, yeah, I go, great. 670 00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:30,000 He goes, well, I'm also nervous. And I thought, yeah, that's 671 00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:32,080 normal. And he goes, you know, maybe not 672 00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:34,280 for the reasons you think. And I said, what are you nervous 673 00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:36,040 about? He goes, I'm nervous because 674 00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:39,440 once I do get married, it's going to change my prayer life. 675 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:43,440 And the way I heard that was, yeah, you know, you're busier 676 00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:45,680 and you have more responsibilities and you have to 677 00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:49,120 take care of the emotional well-being of your wife and you 678 00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:51,160 have to provide for her. And no, no, no, that's not what 679 00:45:51,160 --> 00:45:55,240 I'm talking about. You see the way? 680 00:45:55,240 --> 00:46:00,200 I treat my wife will determine how God hears my prayers, and 681 00:46:00,200 --> 00:46:06,320 I'm nervous about that. I thought that's good and that's 682 00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:11,200 biblical. What is Peter doing here? 683 00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:16,880 He is motivating husbands to be more gentle and more patient and 684 00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:21,200 more loving towards their spouses, namely their wives. 685 00:46:22,880 --> 00:46:27,440 By reminding them that. How you treat that daughter of 686 00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:30,800 His will determine how you experience God. 687 00:46:33,520 --> 00:46:35,360 You know I heard someone saying commenting. 688 00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:38,880 On this verse that, unfortunately for some prayers 689 00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:41,360 of so little value that this warning doesn't mean much to 690 00:46:41,360 --> 00:46:47,520 them, that stings. But if you are a person who has 691 00:46:47,520 --> 00:46:49,400 experienced. God's presence in prayer. 692 00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:51,160 You've seen God answer your prayer. 693 00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:53,240 Then you tremble at a warning like this. 694 00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:58,560 And after that unjustified. Argument that you had with your 695 00:46:58,560 --> 00:47:00,960 wife and you walk away to a separate room. 696 00:47:00,960 --> 00:47:04,160 You know what should be going through your mind if I don't? 697 00:47:04,160 --> 00:47:06,840 Go there and apologize. Doesn't matter how hard I pray, 698 00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:10,520 God's not going to listen. Honey. 699 00:47:13,240 --> 00:47:18,120 I'm sorry, you know, let me give you some advice, single people 700 00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:19,760 here. That's why you need to find a 701 00:47:19,760 --> 00:47:23,600 spouse who fears God. Seriously, doesn't matter how 702 00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:28,520 much they love you and gush over you. 703 00:47:29,320 --> 00:47:32,920 I'm telling you, once you live with somebody else, you're 704 00:47:32,920 --> 00:47:34,120 going. To experience. 705 00:47:34,120 --> 00:47:36,400 Your own fallenness and the fallenness of that person that 706 00:47:36,400 --> 00:47:38,520 you thought was an Angel that fell from heaven. 707 00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:45,000 And in those moments where? You look at this person, you 708 00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:48,800 think to yourself, who are you? Or you look at yourself and go, 709 00:47:48,800 --> 00:47:51,440 Who am I? What's going to motivate you? 710 00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:58,280 What's going to motivate them? To seek for forgiveness, to 711 00:47:58,280 --> 00:48:02,200 serve you, to be committed to you when you've given them zero 712 00:48:02,200 --> 00:48:04,600 reasons to do so. I'll tell you what. 713 00:48:05,120 --> 00:48:09,520 The fear of God, that's what a person who prizes the 714 00:48:09,520 --> 00:48:11,280 relationship with God above all else. 715 00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:17,120 So that husbands who have a. Prayer life. 716 00:48:17,480 --> 00:48:19,960 That's what this is indicating. That's what this seems to be 717 00:48:19,960 --> 00:48:22,200 implying, that they have a prayer life. 718 00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:27,960 Would realize I can. Try to convince myself all I 719 00:48:27,960 --> 00:48:32,800 want that I'm in the right. But God tells me to. 720 00:48:33,120 --> 00:48:38,760 Honor the woman who is weaker. If I don't, he's not going to 721 00:48:38,760 --> 00:48:42,320 listen to me and I care. About my relationship with God. 722 00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:44,600 So I'm going to fix this relationship. 723 00:48:47,840 --> 00:48:50,760 What are the people doing? They are. 724 00:48:50,760 --> 00:48:54,200 Stimulated by the. Fact that God's anger is over 725 00:48:54,200 --> 00:48:57,520 them, even though that reign could be understood dually, even 726 00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:01,080 as we heard it, that God is actually ready to bless them, 727 00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:03,840 they're still in sin and they want to make it right. 728 00:49:05,800 --> 00:49:07,520 And so one of the ways in which you and. 729 00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:12,800 I will be able to overcome sin is by understanding. 730 00:49:12,800 --> 00:49:15,320 That it blocks. Our fellowship with God the 731 00:49:15,320 --> 00:49:18,040 longer we hold on to that sin. Let's come to the final point in 732 00:49:18,040 --> 00:49:29,570 the book of Ezra, verse 15. 733 00:49:30,730 --> 00:49:32,090 Only Jonathan. The son of. 734 00:49:32,090 --> 00:49:35,530 Assahel and Jeziah. The son of. 735 00:49:35,530 --> 00:49:42,440 Tikvah oppose this and Meshulam and Shabbathaya, the Levites 736 00:49:42,440 --> 00:49:46,480 supported them. And then in verse 16 down to 737 00:49:46,480 --> 00:49:47,680 verse 17, we. Read it already. 738 00:49:47,960 --> 00:49:51,040 It's a summary of how this took about two to three months to 739 00:49:51,040 --> 00:49:52,840 solve. You know, verse 15. 740 00:49:52,840 --> 00:49:56,000 It's arguably one of the most difficult verses to interpret in 741 00:49:56,000 --> 00:50:01,560 the book of Ezra. Ezra by the Spirit. 742 00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:05,000 Wants to tell us that there was a level of opposition to this 743 00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:08,240 whole thing for some reason. Now here's the. 744 00:50:08,240 --> 00:50:10,720 Debate There are two main. Interpretations with this verse, 745 00:50:11,640 --> 00:50:13,960 what is the motive of the opposition? 746 00:50:13,960 --> 00:50:16,920 What's the nature of it? So there are some who would say 747 00:50:17,240 --> 00:50:22,200 that this group of four are opposing the plan, or at least 748 00:50:22,200 --> 00:50:26,520 the proposal to delay. Trying to solve this because 749 00:50:26,520 --> 00:50:28,400 that's what they're. Asking for let's just take our 750 00:50:28,400 --> 00:50:30,440 time here. And it could be that these men 751 00:50:30,440 --> 00:50:33,440 are saying no, no, no, no, no, we need to deal with this now. 752 00:50:36,640 --> 00:50:38,760 And. They're doing so because they're 753 00:50:38,760 --> 00:50:41,520 zealous for purity and they're zealous for righteousness. 754 00:50:41,680 --> 00:50:45,880 The second interpretation is that they are opposing the 755 00:50:45,920 --> 00:50:51,600 overall call to separate from the peoples of the land, more 756 00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:58,720 importantly the foreign wives. Assuming that. 757 00:50:58,720 --> 00:51:01,520 They are perhaps a little bit more. 758 00:51:01,760 --> 00:51:03,200 Air. Quote sympathetic. 759 00:51:04,240 --> 00:51:07,320 They think this is too harsh or maybe. 760 00:51:07,320 --> 00:51:09,680 They have people that they. Know that will be personally 761 00:51:09,680 --> 00:51:13,560 affected by this ruling and so they're opposed to the whole 762 00:51:13,560 --> 00:51:14,800 idea. No, no, no, we should. 763 00:51:15,040 --> 00:51:18,280 It's a little bit extreme, Ezra, come on. 764 00:51:22,280 --> 00:51:23,920 And I'm spending time trying to think are. 765 00:51:23,920 --> 00:51:30,280 There any clues here that can at least lean into one of those 766 00:51:30,280 --> 00:51:36,800 possible understandings? And no matter what the motive 767 00:51:36,800 --> 00:51:38,440 is, there is a. Lesson you can still learn from 768 00:51:38,440 --> 00:51:45,280 it. It really shows, by way of 769 00:51:45,280 --> 00:51:49,880 example, the difficulties that sin creates and one of the. 770 00:51:49,880 --> 00:51:55,680 Difficulties that it. Creates is that sin often 771 00:51:57,320 --> 00:52:02,800 impacts others that we didn't intend to, and it's. 772 00:52:04,440 --> 00:52:08,040 Involves people that aren't. Not even directly a part of the 773 00:52:08,040 --> 00:52:14,280 situation. You can almost sense a little 774 00:52:14,280 --> 00:52:18,280 bit of tension. In the community, there isn't 775 00:52:18,280 --> 00:52:22,240 total consensus. Here you have some who think 776 00:52:22,240 --> 00:52:23,640 differently and feel differently. 777 00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:27,280 And again, no matter what the nature of this opposition is, 778 00:52:28,240 --> 00:52:33,200 there's friction. If you want to. 779 00:52:33,720 --> 00:52:38,920 Again, have another additional tool weapon in your arsenal to 780 00:52:38,920 --> 00:52:42,240 fight against sin effectively. Never forget this. 781 00:52:42,760 --> 00:52:47,560 Every sin carries the potential for collateral damage. 782 00:52:50,240 --> 00:52:51,800 No matter how private, no matter how. 783 00:52:51,800 --> 00:52:56,800 Personal it is. It has the ability to leak out 784 00:52:57,440 --> 00:53:02,160 or to explode beyond the radius that you've conjured up in your 785 00:53:02,160 --> 00:53:05,200 mind, thinking even if it does get really bad, it won't 786 00:53:05,200 --> 00:53:08,240 actually go get too far. That's deception. 787 00:53:13,160 --> 00:53:14,760 You have this group of people who are. 788 00:53:14,760 --> 00:53:20,840 Opposing this. And there are other people who 789 00:53:20,840 --> 00:53:23,080 are feeling. Differently about this. 790 00:53:27,440 --> 00:53:30,440 And it should cause us to. Realize that I am a member of 791 00:53:30,440 --> 00:53:35,240 the body of Christ. And I can be a reason for the 792 00:53:35,240 --> 00:53:37,200 body. Of Christ to rejoice more, or 793 00:53:37,200 --> 00:53:39,800 for the body of Christ to grieve more. 794 00:53:43,280 --> 00:53:46,520 So these are 6 things that we. Can learn about sin in these 795 00:53:46,520 --> 00:53:53,120 passages. And in the next Bible study, we 796 00:53:53,120 --> 00:53:54,680 will. Look at the actual ones who 797 00:53:54,680 --> 00:54:00,120 committed this sin and consider why the Bible places their names 798 00:54:00,320 --> 00:54:03,560 in this book for all to see for all time. 799 00:54:04,760 --> 00:54:31,370 Let's pray. Lord, we thank you and we ask 800 00:54:31,370 --> 00:54:43,120 that you would change us. Lord, if if your word tonight. 801 00:54:43,120 --> 00:54:47,680 Pressed any particular transgression in our lives, any 802 00:54:47,680 --> 00:54:52,880 sin in our lives that we we've been trying to hide and we 803 00:54:52,880 --> 00:54:54,520 think. That we've been able to manage. 804 00:54:55,040 --> 00:55:00,480 And to supervise, Lord, let it be the death of that sin today. 805 00:55:02,280 --> 00:55:08,240 Let us put the sword of the Spirit on the neck of that sin 806 00:55:08,760 --> 00:55:16,120 and kill it once and for all. Thank you for giving us a 807 00:55:16,120 --> 00:55:19,000 greater strategy, or at least a reminder to the strategies that 808 00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:21,760 we might have abandoned in our war against sin. 809 00:55:24,760 --> 00:55:26,800 Thank you for this community that helps us fight. 810 00:55:29,040 --> 00:55:30,640 May we all be Ezra's to one another. 811 00:55:32,680 --> 00:55:35,840 Number one. First, being humble and and 812 00:55:35,840 --> 00:55:40,200 mindful of our own weaknesses, but more than that, being loving 813 00:55:40,200 --> 00:55:42,920 enough to at the right time, in the right moment, speaking out 814 00:55:42,920 --> 00:55:48,400 and speaking up in order to rescue one another from walking 815 00:55:48,400 --> 00:55:56,490 to dangerous territory. Lord, we pray that you would be 816 00:55:56,490 --> 00:55:59,090 blessed. Even in this study about sin 817 00:55:59,090 --> 00:56:00,930 that we would be able to rejoice in the Savior. 818 00:56:04,330 --> 00:56:06,090 That as we come in our brokenness. 819 00:56:06,090 --> 00:56:11,920 As we come in our failures, you are willing to rain grace and 820 00:56:11,920 --> 00:56:14,920 rain mercy and rain love over us. 821 00:56:17,200 --> 00:56:20,120 Thank you that you're gracious even with our imperfect 822 00:56:20,120 --> 00:56:24,160 repentance even. As we stumble into your. 823 00:56:24,160 --> 00:56:29,240 Presence, not knowing how to fix the chaos we might have created 824 00:56:29,240 --> 00:56:31,800 in our home, in our own hearts and our churches. 825 00:56:32,440 --> 00:56:37,160 But you are ready to restore. And Lord for those who might 826 00:56:37,160 --> 00:56:41,120 even be. Disheartened by their own 827 00:56:42,520 --> 00:56:46,480 choices and realizing that the ramifications are much larger 828 00:56:46,680 --> 00:56:48,520 and are lasting longer than they had hoped. 829 00:56:48,680 --> 00:56:58,600 May they have patience, may they trust the process, and may we be 830 00:56:58,600 --> 00:57:03,520 people who who do not oppose those who want to make it right 831 00:57:03,520 --> 00:57:07,640 again. May this church be a loving. 832 00:57:07,640 --> 00:57:11,280 Church not when we are lovable, but when we have made so many 833 00:57:11,280 --> 00:57:19,920 mistakes or even 1 mistake. A Church of restoration, Lord. 834 00:57:19,920 --> 00:57:23,080 We desire to be because you are a God of restoration and we want 835 00:57:23,080 --> 00:57:26,520 to be like you. Receive our worship now in Jesus 836 00:57:26,520 --> 00:57:28,680 name, Amen. Amen. 837 00:57:29,080 --> 00:57:30,480 Let's stand and worship the Lord together.