1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:05,520 Let's turn to Ezra chapter 8. And in case you weren't with us 2 00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:11,160 last week, Ezra chapter 8 is a detailed account of Ezra's 3 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:15,440 movements from Babylonia to Jerusalem, as he is, under God's 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:20,240 direction, called to lead the second wave of Jewish exiles 5 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:24,600 back to their homeland. And what we find here in the 6 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:28,040 beginning of chapter 8 is Ezra in Babylonia. 7 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,720 When we come to the end of the chapter, we'll find him finally 8 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:35,920 in Jerusalem. But the middle of this passage, 9 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:42,200 which will be the focus tonight, is Ezra and his thinking and 10 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:46,000 planning and doing at a place called Ahava. 11 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,640 If you remember in our last study, it was in Ahava where 12 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:56,080 Ezra took those who followed him and camped for three days, and 13 00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:00,960 he made inventory and learned that there were zero Levites who 14 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:02,840 had committed to this journey with them. 15 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:10,000 And so he finds leading men, he sends them back, and he asked 16 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,840 them to persuade the Levites to partner with them in this 17 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,400 expedition of faith. And we discovered that there 18 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,160 were a total of 38 Levites who joined them. 19 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,960 But the chapter is not over yet, and in the rest of this chapter 20 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:31,560 we're going to see that what takes place at a hava is not 21 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:34,640 over yet either. There are still things that Ezra 22 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:39,440 wants to accomplish before they resume on this track back to the 23 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:42,520 promised land. And where we're going to begin 24 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,720 tonight is in verse 21. And we'll read down to verse 23, 25 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:48,920 and then we'll pause and pray and ask for God's help as we 26 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:54,400 always do. Ezra 821 Then I proclaimed the 27 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:59,240 fast there at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves 28 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:03,480 before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for ourselves, 29 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:08,600 our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the 30 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,440 king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against 31 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:16,120 the enemy on our way, since we had told the king The hand of 32 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:20,440 our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of His 33 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,320 wrath is against all who forsake him. 34 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:28,240 So we faceted and implored our God for this, and he listened to 35 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:33,600 our entreaty. Father, as we just read, you 36 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,920 listen to the entreaty of Ezra and the families with him. 37 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:44,280 Now as a family here, we ask that you would hear us, and we 38 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:46,440 pray that you would guide us through these passages. 39 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:52,840 And we ask that every verse that we unlock would be a force to 40 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:57,960 our hearts that would drain out all sin and pride and envy and 41 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:01,080 doubt, anything that would grieve the Holy Spirit. 42 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:06,120 We pray that you would use this study to relinquish it, to 43 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,640 destroy it, and to replace it with that which pleases you. 44 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,320 Lord, change us. We pray that the delivery of 45 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,000 this study would be empowered by Your Holy Spirit. 46 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:19,760 We pray that the power of the Holy Spirit would rest on each 47 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:23,960 heart in this place to receive everything that is said here 48 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:28,400 with humility and eagerness. And so, Lord, we do not rest on 49 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,120 eloquence, We do not rest on human ingenuity. 50 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:33,840 We rest on the truth of Your Word and the power of the Spirit 51 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,480 that makes it real to us. Help us, Lord, see Jesus Christ 52 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,440 even in these verses. We pray these things in His 53 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:43,760 name, Amen. Amen. 54 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:50,160 We remember hopefully that in Ezra Chapter 7, we were 55 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,960 introduced to this man as a man of the word. 56 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,280 It is in that chapter where he is famously recognized as one 57 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:03,120 who set his heart to study the law, to do it, to obey it, and 58 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:07,120 to teach others about it. And now we continue to chapter 59 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:10,000 8, and we learned that Ezra was more than just a man of the 60 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,120 word. We find out that man, this man 61 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:18,839 Ezra, was also one of prayer. Ezra was a man who sought the 62 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,160 Lord as there was a man who knew how to seek God. 63 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,400 And I think it's important to consider what has transpired up 64 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:27,240 to this point in this expedition. 65 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:32,280 Ezra has received incredible favor and wonderful financial 66 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:36,440 support from the King of Persia. Ezra has the priestly and the 67 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:40,560 royal lines with him. He has many families who have 68 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,360 chosen to trust in his leadership and follow him. 69 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:47,440 And recently there are now Levites who have been added to 70 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,480 the convoy. So from a human standpoint, 71 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:55,720 everything that Ezra needed to go to Jerusalem, he had. 72 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:03,600 All the bases are covered. But before they continue, in the 73 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:08,240 verses that we just read, we see that this man refused to move 74 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:13,200 forward unless he knew that God himself would go with him. 75 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:19,320 So again, in Ezra 7, you and I are to be persuaded and 76 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,920 convinced that this man was a man who was saturated in the 77 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,080 Scriptures. He was immersed in them. 78 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,720 He studied diligently. He had the Word of Christ 79 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:34,080 dwelling in his heart richly. But I believe chapter 8 and what 80 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:35,680 we see here is the fruit of that. 81 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,840 In other words, one of the ways that you know that you can 82 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:45,200 determine if the Word of God is truly at work in you is that it 83 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,680 will cause you to be a man or a woman of prayer. 84 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:53,160 Because studying the Bible is not an end in itself. 85 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:59,880 It is a means to relate to God and to seek Him regularly in 86 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:03,520 order for Him to move in and through your life. 87 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,080 And so this man who was swollen with the Scriptures shows us 88 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:13,800 what that should produce, and that is a sense of dependency on 89 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:18,440 God. That is one who would seek God. 90 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:22,360 Again, a word that's very important, Ezra 7, especially 91 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:28,640 verse 10, is that Ezra set his heart to study, to study. 92 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:33,440 In some translations it means to seek, but the SV renders it as 93 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:35,640 study. And then you come to chapter 8, 94 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:39,280 and what do you find? That this man who studied sought 95 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,960 God diligently as well. He was diligent in his studies 96 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:46,520 and it made him desperate for God. 97 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,800 And so if you wanted, if you want to really measure, is the 98 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:55,360 word of God working in my life? One thing that you have to ask 99 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:59,000 yourself is am I being drawn to the Lord in the place of prayer? 100 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:04,320 Am I becoming more sensitive and aware of my neediness of Him? 101 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:09,360 Do I just look at Him as I would look at a Petri dish and pick 102 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,880 apart doctrines and know how to put certain things and files in 103 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,760 my mind, Or does it melt me and soften me to actually draw near 104 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:20,760 to the Lord on a personal level? And this is what we have to 105 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:22,800 consider here with Ezra's example. 106 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,320 But he's doing more than just praying. 107 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,200 Is that what we see in verse 21? He was fasting. 108 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,960 He called for a fast at a hava. Now, we don't have time in this 109 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,480 Bible study to look at what the Bible teaches about fasting, 110 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:39,600 what it is, what it does, how to do it. 111 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,320 But what we do see here is a familiar pattern that what 112 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:48,200 you'll see throughout the Bible is that fasting is often coupled 113 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,920 with prayer. And the reason for that is 114 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,000 because fasting is a means to pray. 115 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:59,720 In other words, fasting is the discipline to eliminate 116 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:04,280 distractions, namely that of consuming food, preparing food 117 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:09,040 so that you can reserve your energy and your time to pressing 118 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:14,320 into the Lord. And so if one is fasting and 119 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,720 they are not praying, they are missing one of the major points 120 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:18,800 of fasting. There are some people who fast 121 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,720 and really it's just a concealed diet. 122 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:25,160 Fasting is not about losing weight. 123 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:27,000 Fasting is not about just not eating. 124 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,640 Fasting is about making a way for you to give yourself over to 125 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:34,880 seeking the Lord more intensely. And that's how we know they're 126 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,240 doing this right? Because in verse 23 says so, We 127 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:41,080 fasted and implored our God, we sought God. 128 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:48,160 But my question is why now? Why call for a fast at the canal 129 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:50,840 Ahava? Well, we don't have the gas. 130 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:55,920 Verse 21 lets us know to seek Him for a safe journey for 131 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,600 ourselves, our children, and all our goods. 132 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:06,120 This is one of the strongest biblical examples of where the 133 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:08,760 frequent requests of traveling mercies come from. 134 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,000 Maybe you've asked somebody to pray for what travelling mercies 135 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,720 or somebody's asks you, hey, can you ask the Lord to give us 136 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,160 travelling mercies, right? Does that term sound familiar to 137 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,200 us? I think this is where it might 138 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:24,280 come from because Ezra prayed for it, which shows us that you 139 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,880 and I have the right to ask God for a safe journey no matter how 140 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,920 far along it is. So the main focus of this time 141 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,160 released to seek the Lord for safety. 142 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:36,680 It became a desperate plea. And when you understand the 143 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:40,360 context, you can see why. Consider a few things. 144 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:45,000 When we studied Chapter 7, we learned and calculated that from 145 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,760 Babylonia to Jerusalem, it would take about four months. 146 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:53,200 Four months by foot, we're talking about 900 miles. 147 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,920 That's grueling. These are not just men who are 148 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:58,040 making their way back to Jerusalem. 149 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,600 You have women, you have children, you have the elderly, 150 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,680 presumably. So you can see why this is going 151 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:07,440 to be a difficult task. Just naturally speaking. 152 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:09,880 It's been very demanding. So we need God to help us. 153 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:16,800 Secondly, Ezra was aware that even in his day there were 154 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:21,560 people who hated the Jews. Now there was already a first 155 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:26,320 wave of Jews many decades before this that had been restored to 156 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:29,600 Jerusalem and had begin begun to really rebuild the House of God. 157 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,040 They they brought it to completion and that. 158 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:34,720 Irked. The nations around them, many of 159 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,440 them. And so to see just another 160 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:40,680 transition, another accumulation of Jews going back to the 161 00:10:40,680 --> 00:10:43,680 promised land. Ezra mentions here that he is 162 00:10:43,680 --> 00:10:46,320 worried that the enemy on the way will try to stop them. 163 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:49,600 So there are real threats, real dangers. 164 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:54,960 Consider a third thing. Is Ezra leading this expedition 165 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:59,720 with just clothes on their back? No, they are not going empty 166 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,240 handed. In fact, they're going back with 167 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:08,000 caravans filled with supplies. Peek over to verse 26 of Ezra. 168 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,840 Notice what it said here. I weighed out into their hands 169 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:15,400 650 talents of silver. Now that may not mean much to 170 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:17,960 you because you think talent. We don't use that measurement 171 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:21,640 today. One talent is approximately 75 172 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:29,720 to 80 pounds. 650 talents of silver and silver vessels worth 173 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:34,400 200 talents and 100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold worth 174 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,960 1000 derricks, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as 175 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:43,520 precious as gold. So you can imagine how just the 176 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,960 resources alone that they're taking with them would make Ezra 177 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,640 very nervous. And you can imagine even at this 178 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,280 time, how war would get around, that some of the Jews are making 179 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:54,200 their way back to Jerusalem and look at all the stuff that 180 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:58,440 they're bringing with them. It wouldn't take very much for 181 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,960 robbers and bandits to take advantage of this, especially 182 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,520 when they are helpless Jews and as we're about to discover, have 183 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:08,560 no bodyguards, no soldiers, no battalion going with them. 184 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:10,880 They're exposed. And Ezra knows this. 185 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:15,160 So he says, listen, before we leave Ahava, we have to seek 186 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,160 God. We have to ask the Lord for 187 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:22,960 help. And so we find here that there's 188 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:25,240 potential fear on Ezra's part, natural fear. 189 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,920 Wisdom is being employed, There's caution. 190 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:33,080 And so he seeks God. But look what happens in verse 191 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:34,720 31. Look what he testifies about. 192 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:39,960 Ezra goes on to say later, Then we departed from the river Ahava 193 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,240 on the 12th day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. 194 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:46,520 The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the 195 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:50,000 hand of the enemy and from ambushes. 196 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:59,360 By the way, prayer works, and more than prayer working, 197 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:03,320 sincere prayer invites God's protection against any threat. 198 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:10,400 And the Lord's blessing can extend to anyone or to anything 199 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:13,280 that you would commit to His care. 200 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,680 That includes your children, and that includes your possessions. 201 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:27,160 One of my favorite examples of this is how David responded when 202 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:31,480 he learned that one of his greatest advisors chose to side 203 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:33,080 with his rebellious son, Absalom. 204 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:38,120 Do you remember what he did? What was his knee jerk reaction? 205 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:44,080 According to Second Samuel 15, verse 31, he sighed a prayer and 206 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,040 his prayer was very brief, very short, very simple. 207 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,640 He said, O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into 208 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:55,640 foolishness. So I thoughtful who was one of 209 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:58,440 David's greatest assets. The Bible says that his wisdom 210 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:02,720 was like the wisdom of God. People revered this man when he 211 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:05,800 came up with a plan. People listen intently and they 212 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:10,880 trusted him. And overnight, David learns one 213 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:14,400 of your closest confidants has now conspired against you and 214 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:20,840 joined your son to kill you. So one of his greatest assets 215 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:22,560 now becomes one of his greatest threats. 216 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:24,480 And what does he do? He prays. 217 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:27,520 He seeks God. And if you were with us in 218 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,640 Second Samuel when we studied it, you remember that God 219 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:31,720 answered that prayer, did he not? 220 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,600 And he actually went above and beyond what David asked. 221 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,480 So over and over we have examples that when you and I 222 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:44,720 pray, there is not one person nor is there any problem that 223 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:49,440 God is not willing to confront and bring a solution to. 224 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:53,480 In this case, there are many things that Ezra was worried 225 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:55,560 about. He asked for God's protection 226 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:59,480 over himself and others, their children and their possessions, 227 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:01,440 and God was faithful with every single thing that they brought 228 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:05,280 to him. Is there a person causing a 229 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,520 problem in your life? Do you pray about it? 230 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:09,720 Do you actually believe that God will do something about it? 231 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:13,440 He did it for David. Are you worried about your 232 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:14,560 finances? Are you worried about your 233 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:15,800 resources? Are you worried about how you're 234 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:17,040 going to pay rent? Are you worried about how you're 235 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:18,400 going to pay for your children's education? 236 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:22,200 Do you pray about it, Ezra? This man filled with the Word 237 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:29,160 teaches us that prayer works. With all that said, we see 238 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,080 another reason why he was so desperate to pray, and I already 239 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:36,640 alluded to it. He mentions here that he refused 240 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:41,480 armed security, that when the king of Persia learned of his 241 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:46,120 journey, he offered help because even the king understood how 242 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:51,000 dangerous it would be for them. And Ezra refused. 243 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,480 He denied it. Why did he deny it? 244 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:57,480 Well, he seems to have a relationship with the king. 245 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:01,120 And throughout his relationship with the king, he was constantly 246 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:05,880 testifying of the greatness of God, that he actually helps. 247 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:10,560 He's a real God. He actually interferes with our 248 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:16,760 lives and invests and invades intercepts. 249 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:21,440 He's tangible. And he thought to himself, if 250 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,480 I'm going to say this to the king and at the same time ask 251 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,280 him for help, that might weaken my testimony. 252 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:32,400 Worse, it might contradict my testimony. 253 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:38,720 And so Ezra refuses this, and it made him all the more aware of 254 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:40,840 his neediness for God to come through. 255 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,240 Now, here's what's interesting. If we're not careful, we can 256 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:49,160 take a text like this and teach ourselves and others that if we 257 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:54,280 really have faith, it's unnecessary to implement safety 258 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:59,120 measures or to take precautions to protect ourselves. 259 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:02,160 Is that what this text is teaching? 260 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,560 If you're inclined to believe that, let me remind you what 261 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,040 Nehemiah does when it was his turn to make his way back to 262 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:10,880 Jerusalem. Go to chapter 2 of Nehemiah. 263 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:16,200 It's just the next book over and notice what he says in Nehemiah 264 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:22,520 chapter 2 beginning in verse 7. This is how you know that what 265 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:26,800 Ezra is demonstrating is not teaching something about 266 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:30,120 self-defense and if Christians should pursue it or not. 267 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:35,240 Look at Nehemiah 2 verse seven. He says, And I said to the king, 268 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:39,800 If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the 269 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,640 governors of the province beyond the river, that they may let me 270 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,600 pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, 271 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,840 the keeper of the King's forest. Then he may give me timber to 272 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:52,880 make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for 273 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:55,440 the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy. 274 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,640 And the king granted me what I asked for. 275 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,080 The good hand of my God was upon me. 276 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:06,720 So notice a similar phrase here. He says God's hand was upon me. 277 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,200 That's why the king did this. But notice the connection. 278 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,920 He goes on to say in verse 9. Then I came to the governors of 279 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:15,800 the province beyond the river and gave them the King's 280 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,320 letters. Now the king had sent with me 281 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:21,760 officers of the army and horsemen. 282 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:30,080 Ezra refused. Nehemiah welcomed this kind of 283 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,760 protection. And the question we have to ask 284 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:37,320 then, was Nehemiah less godly or faithful because of it? 285 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:44,400 Was he less spiritual? Did he display weaker faith? 286 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:48,720 Here's my answer. It depends. 287 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:56,440 If Nehemiah goes on to show that he had put his ultimate trust in 288 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,880 the arm of the flesh, then absolutely this could be a sign 289 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:02,600 of weak faith. But if you've studied Nehemiah, 290 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:04,800 then you know that that is not the case. 291 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,120 That he was a man of fervent prayer himself, that he was a 292 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:12,440 man who took practical means but never failed to seek the Lord 293 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:17,040 because he showed that God was ultimately his success, his 294 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:22,280 security. And so who's right here? 295 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:24,840 Who's the greater model to follow? 296 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:27,120 Follow. Who's more godly? 297 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:31,320 I don't think it's a contest. I think it's worth comparing. 298 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:36,040 And the reason why is because Ezra is in a unique position, 299 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:42,080 because Ezra has been witnessing to the King of Persia and Ezra 300 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:46,400 made a bold witness about who God is and what he is able to 301 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:48,720 do. That's what's at stake. 302 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:54,640 Here, and so with his situation, Ezra wanted to ensure that 303 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,400 nothing that he would do, nothing that he would say, 304 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:01,040 nothing that he would accept would cause a problem to what he 305 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:05,320 had told the King about his God. So this is. 306 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,600 Far less about Ezra's beliefs about self-defense. 307 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,880 And you can't use a text like this to make a case for why or 308 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,320 why not believers should implement a certain measure of 309 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:18,520 protection over themselves, their family, or their 310 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:20,840 ministries. That's not what's being targeted 311 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,680 here. There's a different lesson 312 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:26,480 before us, and the lesson is this. 313 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:31,320 Ezra is exemplifying to us that what we say should be backed up 314 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:35,640 by what we do. That we have to be. 315 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:39,560 Extremely careful about what we say about God to others, 316 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,760 especially unbelievers. And then showing them with our. 317 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:45,360 Lives that we actually believe it. 318 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,600 Because people. Are much more willing to believe 319 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:52,400 by what you live than by what you say. 320 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:58,240 There's no way around that, and that could be to a greater good 321 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:02,480 or that can be to our detriment. So understand Ezra. 322 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:05,640 'S thinking here. I've been telling this king 323 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:10,320 about how awesome God is, but I also understand that the king 324 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:12,280 has more than just ears, he has eyes. 325 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:15,960 And he's going to watch how? I'm going to move forward from 326 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,360 here. Can I actually back up the 327 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:21,800 greatness of God? Can I actually prove it? 328 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:26,440 And this man is extremely wise. He understood that this could 329 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:31,400 actually hinder his witness, and so he refuses the protection 330 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:36,400 that the king offered. Believer, understand very 331 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,520 carefully there are people who are watching more closely than 332 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:43,080 you think they are. They may not be telling you 333 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:49,040 that, but people are taking into consideration that you have a 334 00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:51,960 Bible verse on your social media account. 335 00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:55,920 And they want to see that. Bible verse matches with the 336 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,600 posts. When I had social. 337 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:01,320 Media and I had others say this as well. 338 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:02,680 I don't know if this is still the case. 339 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:04,520 I've been off social media. I recommend it. 340 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:09,680 And I remember back. Then that people would like 341 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:12,960 certain things and what they would like would pop up on your 342 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:14,120 feet. Is that still the case? 343 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,400 OK. You know, years and years. 344 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:21,240 Ago, obviously I was still believer then. 345 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:25,720 I was I've been a believer for quite a few years now and so 346 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:27,760 most of my friends online were were Christians. 347 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:29,960 But you know what? Sometimes. 348 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,800 I would see what they would like and it would pop up and it was 349 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:36,680 super questionable. Now I'm a believer and I know. 350 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:38,280 Some of these people, or at least I've met them here or 351 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,360 there, but I would always think, what do non believers think 352 00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:43,640 about what you're liking When you like something? 353 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:47,080 You're essentially saying I'm agreeing with this, I approve of 354 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:51,200 this, I enjoy this. And for what I know. 355 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:53,840 What I know for some people, they mindlessly just click on 356 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,760 anything, not considering what Ezra is showing us here. 357 00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:03,200 People are watching you, people are leaning in, people are 358 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,360 studying you and they're hearing one thing and they want to see, 359 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:09,920 is it consistent? So that's just one way that. 360 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:13,720 We might have oversight, the things that we choose, the 361 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:17,600 things that we respond to, the things that we let out. 362 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,200 And not thinking. Others are analyzing me. 363 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,200 While we're on the subject of witness, there is something else 364 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,440 here that we have to appreciate about Ezra in this area. 365 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:34,720 Did you notice that when he reflects on his testifying 366 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:39,440 before the king, he did not leave out warning? 367 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:45,040 Look again what I mean here. He didn't just stop. 368 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,800 After saying the hand of our God is for good on all who seek him. 369 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:51,920 He goes on to add. What? 370 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:56,120 And the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him. 371 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,000 That's bold. Would he have been right if he 372 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,880 said that God's good hand rests on those who seek him? 373 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:07,000 Yes. But Ezra understood. 374 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:08,840 That that is an incomplete message. 375 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,680 And he understood that I. May never see this king again. 376 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:15,880 And So what does he do? He he includes the full message. 377 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:18,600 And what is the full message? Yes. 378 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:20,400 If you seek him, there's a blessing. 379 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:23,720 If you forsake him, if you turn your back on him, there's wrath. 380 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:27,800 This is bold you're. Speaking to a king. 381 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,800 But it's more than just bold. It's loving. 382 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:39,200 Because love warns, and we have to be wise in how we warn. 383 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:42,840 But there's some people who. Think it's wise never to warn? 384 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,520 Well, you're out of step. With the ministry in the message 385 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,200 of Jesus Christ, the Apostles and any sincere Christian. 386 00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:53,880 The Bible warns. Because the Bible is a book that 387 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:57,200 reveals a God who is love and love warns. 388 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,000 So King, I want to let. You know that God. 389 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:05,960 He shows favor to. Those who live for him, who seek 390 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:08,680 him. But he's also willing. 391 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,200 To show wrath to those who despise him and deny him. 392 00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:15,640 You know what I wondered When? I heard this. 393 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,920 Looking at these words. In Ezra's life, I wondered, did 394 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:22,400 that make any impact on the king? 395 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,760 That was my question. Did that make any impact on this 396 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,080 king? And then I reflected on the 397 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:31,320 King's own words when he had given Ezra the letter of 398 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:34,720 approval to allow him to take the Jews back to Jerusalem. 399 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,720 Let me remind you. One of the things that the king. 400 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,560 Says back in Ezra 7. Look at verse 23. 401 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:42,200 This is in the letter of the King. 402 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,680 That grants. Ezra permission to do what he's 403 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:50,160 doing here in Ezra chapter 8. The King writes. 404 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:54,760 Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in 405 00:25:54,760 --> 00:26:00,200 full for the House of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be 406 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:02,720 against the realm of the king and his sons. 407 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:04,240 I wonder where you got that idea from? 408 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,560 Well, Ezra's been telling. Him, I'm sure, since he's known 409 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:11,720 him. Listen, King. 410 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,120 You don't want to. Invoke God's wrath by forsaking 411 00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:19,720 Him. And I believe based on this, 412 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,240 that Ezra planted the seed and it's still in seed form because 413 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,200 we learn from this chapter in this text that there are some 414 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,360 who are only motivated to serve God out of fear, and that's not 415 00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:32,440 the way to do it. But that doesn't mean that 416 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:34,680 there. Isn't an understanding of fear 417 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:40,480 in how we view God? And this king shows. 418 00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:43,600 That he got it. And I hope that it. 419 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:46,080 Germinated to a more complete understanding of the nature and 420 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:48,040 character of God. We don't know. 421 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:53,240 But we will continue now. Let's come back to Ezra 8 and 422 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,840 let's read on in verse 24 down to verse 29. 423 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:02,480 Then I set a part. 12 of the leading priest Sheribaya 424 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,120 Hashabaya, and 10 other kinsmen with them. 425 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,680 And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the 426 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:13,320 vessels, the offering for the House of our God that the King 427 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:16,240 and his counselors and his Lords, and all Israel their 428 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:19,640 present had offered. I weighed out into their hands 429 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:24,240 650 talents of silver and silver vessels worth 200 talents and 430 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:28,920 100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold worth 1000 derricks and 431 00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:30,880 two. 1002. Vessels of fine bright bronze, 432 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:34,160 as precious as gold. And I said to them, You are holy 433 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:38,040 to the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the 434 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:41,760 gold are free will offering to the Lord, the God of your 435 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,240 Father's. Guard them and keep them until 436 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:48,440 you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the 437 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:52,840 heads of Father's houses in Israel, at Jerusalem, within the 438 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:55,600 chambers of the House of the Lord. 439 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,720 What's going on here? Well, Ezra did more than. 440 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:02,640 Just pray about the protection of himself and others. 441 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,200 The children and his goods he also prepared. 442 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:11,600 He planned. He strategized. 443 00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:13,440 And right away we learned something. 444 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:16,960 Is Ezra a spiritual man? He's a very spiritual man. 445 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:18,720 Did he study God's Word? He did. 446 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:20,840 Did he fast and pray? Absolutely. 447 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:28,240 But those practices, those disciplines did not negate or 448 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:36,480 cancel out practical life. Ezra understood that we should 449 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:39,800 commit things to the Lord, but he also understood that we have 450 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:41,400 to do some calculation on our part. 451 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:45,560 And so for those who think. That being spiritual means 452 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:49,920 you're unorganized or constantly spontaneous or never thinking 453 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:51,160 ahead. You're wrong. 454 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:54,560 Ezra here shows. Us that a man who is going to 455 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:58,520 bring revival to his generation was also a man who stepped back 456 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:01,280 and thought how can we do this the most efficient way? 457 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:04,360 How can we do this the? Safest way? 458 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:08,120 How can we make our journey that much more gracious? 459 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:11,840 And so he actually. Delegated responsibility. 460 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,320 And he put numbers together and he divided things. 461 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:17,840 Because Christianity is actually practical. 462 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:20,600 And I say this from time to time because you have some people who 463 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:24,200 think that Christianity is about being as mystical as possible. 464 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:29,360 Well, you can't get. That from here and it also shows 465 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:34,240 that Ezra as a man of God was responsible over his resources. 466 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:41,000 And this is this is a reminder again that though we are called 467 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,320 to be heavenly minded, we're also called to do earthly good. 468 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:53,360 Can I ask you a question? When is the first time the word 469 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:57,960 elder in connection to leadership in the local church? 470 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,200 When does the first time? That word elder appear in the 471 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:03,640 book of Acts. You can answer if you. 472 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:16,930 Know or if you think you. Know any idea who thinks it's? 473 00:30:16,970 --> 00:30:20,730 Very, very early in the book. Who thinks it's very late? 474 00:30:20,730 --> 00:30:23,410 In the book. Who's just waiting for me? 475 00:30:23,410 --> 00:30:27,730 To tell you the chapter to go to Acts Chapter 11. 476 00:30:27,730 --> 00:30:31,850 This is the first time the word elder appears in the narrative 477 00:30:32,290 --> 00:30:36,440 of the book of Acts that explains the early movements and 478 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:39,160 formations of the bride of Christ. 479 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,680 Look at Acts 11 verse 20 and I'll wait for you to get there. 480 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:49,880 Acts 11 verse. 28. And one of the name. 481 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:54,800 Agabus stood up and foretold by the spirit that there would be a 482 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:59,200 great famine over all the world. This took place in the days of 483 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:02,320 Claudius. So the disciples determined 484 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:06,480 everyone according to his ability to send relief to the 485 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:11,600 brothers living in Judea, and they did so sending it to the 486 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:14,720 elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. 487 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:18,560 That's the first time you encountered the word elders in 488 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:21,320 connection to leadership in the in the local church. 489 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:25,200 And I find it interesting that the first time it appears it 490 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,920 deals with financial responsibility. 491 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:33,560 That one of the first things. You find with the elders in the 492 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:36,120 Church of the book of Acts is the distribution of aid to those 493 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:40,000 who are in need. What does that tell you? 494 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:45,680 Well it tells you that part of the elders responsibility is 495 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,840 faithful stewardship over the church's resources. 496 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:53,560 This is why. When you look at the Maranatha 497 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,400 Bible Church Membership covenant, one of the things that 498 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:59,640 the elders promised to the members of the church is that by 499 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:03,960 God's help, we will faithfully steward God's resources 500 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:06,600 according to the principles and the wisdom of His Word. 501 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:09,760 The elders here. Show us that. 502 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:14,840 And that requires integrity, that requires wisdom, that 503 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:17,080 requires transparency and accountability. 504 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:21,600 And it should be no. Surprise to us, then, that one 505 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:24,520 of the qualifications for a pastor according to First 506 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:28,520 Timothy 33 is that he cannot be a lover of money. 507 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:32,600 Because you're going to deal. With money in the ministry. 508 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,680 And so we find here. An excellent example in Ezra of 509 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:41,880 a spiritual leader. Who takes great? 510 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:45,000 Pains of avoiding mismanaging God's funds. 511 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:48,440 And so he comes up with. A plan. 512 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,520 And what's his plan? I'm going to assign the 513 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:56,440 responsibility of oversight of these resources to the priests 514 00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:00,360 and the Levites. That's what we see in verse 24, 515 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:01,240 right? Look again. 516 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,360 Then I set apart 12 of the leading priests share abaya and 517 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:07,440 hashabaya, and 10 of their kinsmen with them. 518 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:12,120 So he sets apart 12 priests, and then he sets apart 12 Levites 519 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:13,960 who are with them. Now here's another question. 520 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:17,360 Why did Ezra think it was important that the priests and 521 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:20,440 the Levites take on this responsibility? 522 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,160 The immediate response might. Be well, it's obvious they're 523 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:28,000 they're spiritual leaders, so they will be more trustworthy 524 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,640 for such a task. And that is certainly true to 525 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:32,760 some extent, but there's a deeper reason. 526 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:35,640 Ezra was a man who. Studied the law. 527 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:39,720 And what you discover. In the law, especially in the 528 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:42,800 Book of Numbers chapter 4, is that in the movements of the 529 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:47,120 nation Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land, God had told him 530 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:51,240 to build a house for him. It was portable, a Tabernacle, a 531 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:53,640 tent. This is where God would meet 532 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:57,400 with the people. But that tent needed to. 533 00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:58,920 Be transported from time to time. 534 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:03,600 It had furnishings, it had different materials. 535 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:06,560 It had bases and posts and links. 536 00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:10,239 And so numbers 4. What you discover is that God 537 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:16,320 assigned the Levitical tribe to be responsible for 538 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:21,280 disassembling, transporting, and then reassembling the tent. 539 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:27,400 And So what we see. Ezra doing here now as they are 540 00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:30,360 in their own unique exile, making their way back to what 541 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:33,960 God had given to them. He wants to imitate. 542 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:38,560 This law as closely as possible because this is a unique 543 00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:40,600 situation. They're not transporting the 544 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:43,560 House of God. They don't have the same items 545 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:47,840 like the original people did. But do you see Ezra's? 546 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:49,520 Heart here. It's a beautiful thing to 547 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,239 witness. That he is trying. 548 00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:55,639 To get the spirit of the law, he is trying to get the heart of 549 00:34:55,639 --> 00:34:58,680 the law, the principles and the wisdom of God's law and apply it 550 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:02,520 to his situation. He wants to apply. 551 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:06,520 It as faithfully as he can. They don't have. 552 00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:08,560 The Tabernacle, they have a temple now. 553 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:12,360 But again, he's looking at what God had said in the past, and 554 00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:16,520 he's thinking to myself, how can I get this crowd to obey and to 555 00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:21,160 adhere to God's law as closely as possible? 556 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:24,400 You know, if you really love God. 557 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:26,120 'S word, that's what you'll do with your own life, that you'll 558 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:28,360 look at the practices and the decisions that you have to make. 559 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,520 And there may not be a chapter or verse that addresses it, but 560 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:33,760 what you'll seek to do is say, OK, is there anything that can 561 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,320 inform me how to make the most righteous decision here? 562 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,040 I'm building this, I'm pursuing this, I have to invest in this. 563 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:45,080 Is there anything in God's law in 2026? 564 00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:49,520 That can help me make the. Most Christ honoring decision 565 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:52,360 from it. This is what Ezra is showing. 566 00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:59,400 And he does it well, these spiritual leaders, they agree 567 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:05,440 with him, but he does more. He doesn't just get his cues 568 00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:09,080 from the Book of Numbers, namely, but he now exhorts them 569 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:11,400 directly. Oh, this is a true leader. 570 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:13,440 Look again at verse 28. What does he say? 571 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:18,600 You are holy to the Lord and the vessels are holy. 572 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:24,840 So he has this plan, he has instruction from the law, he has 573 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,560 his men. Now he wants to inspire them. 574 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,480 And the first thing that he says is you, you Levites, you 575 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:34,560 priests, you are holy. And then he reminds them that 576 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:38,720 the vessels are holy, but the order is intentional before. 577 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:40,200 Talking about the. Vessels that they're going to 578 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:43,080 handle. He talks about them as vessels. 579 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:45,800 And he says, hey. You're holy. 580 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:51,840 What does that mean for us? Well, it's a wonderful. 581 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:59,720 Truth about how in order for us to participate in God's work, 582 00:36:59,720 --> 00:37:02,880 which is holy. We have to understand that God. 583 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:06,400 Calls us to be holy. This becomes even more. 584 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:09,760 Helpful when you remember that in the New Testament we are all 585 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:14,080 called to be in the priesthood. That we are all a royal. 586 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:19,160 Priesthood in the new Covenant. And we all have to consider. 587 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:24,640 This that if we're really serious about pursuing the honor 588 00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:28,840 of doing God's work, whatever that looks like, then we have to 589 00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:30,880 be serious about personal holiness. 590 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:34,760 That's not a popular message today, and it's unfortunate 591 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:37,640 because a lot of ministries are getting exposed and shut down 592 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:41,520 because of it. You know, there's some people 593 00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:42,600 who. Think that because we're in the 594 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:45,520 gospel. And this gospel is 1. 595 00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:50,240 Of grace and mercy and amazing forgiveness. 596 00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:53,760 That holiness is just a peripheral thing. 597 00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:56,640 Holiness is some old. Testament concept. 598 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,080 Holiness is irrelevant. Holiness is a little bit 599 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:06,640 important, no? If anything, holiness becomes 600 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:11,080 more possible, more attractive because of the gospel. 601 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:17,680 And so, yes, we do see here that there is a different covenant 602 00:38:18,720 --> 00:38:22,400 from the old to the new. But God's standard of purity has 603 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,120 not changed. It hasn't. 604 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:29,600 You and I are going to enjoy the privilege of being entrusted 605 00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:33,200 with holy things. Then you and I have to be. 606 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:36,760 Holy. And more specifically. 607 00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:42,000 We must first be set apart before we're to be invited to 608 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:46,240 join God's special work. You are holy and the vessels are 609 00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:49,520 holy. I must be holy if I want to 610 00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:54,640 partner with God's holy work. We can go to so many places. 611 00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:58,200 To confirm this, let me give you one that is very, very, very 612 00:38:58,200 --> 00:38:59,920 important in connection to this truth. 613 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:01,480 It's what the prophet Isaiah says. 614 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:04,040 This is worth turning to and Isaiah 52. 615 00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:08,600 Look at verse 11. He actually addresses the same 616 00:39:08,600 --> 00:39:12,400 category of people, those who would handle the holy vessels of 617 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:14,760 the Lord. And notice what He says to them 618 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:26,120 in Isaiah 52, verse 11. Isaiah says depart, depart, go 619 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:30,360 out from there, touch no unclean thing. 620 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:35,120 And some believe that he is. Actually speaking about those 621 00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:38,080 who would be in Babylon one day and would be called out of it, 622 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:42,760 he says depart, depart, go out from there, touch no unclean 623 00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:48,400 thing, go out from the midst of her, Purify yourselves, you who 624 00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:53,000 bear the vessels of the Lord. Is that the same? 625 00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:55,960 Crowd that Ezra is addressing back in chapter 8, Yes. 626 00:39:57,840 --> 00:39:59,040 And is the message the? Same. 627 00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:01,240 Yes. What does Isaiah say? 628 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:06,800 Purify yourselves, you who bear the holy vessels of the Lord. 629 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:11,080 It's the same order. Here, because you've been called 630 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:14,720 to a holy calling, God asks you to be holy. 631 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:21,720 You. You cannot effectively pursue 632 00:40:21,720 --> 00:40:24,680 anything that God asks of you. If you're impure, it can't 633 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:27,040 happen. Is God forgiving? 634 00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:28,800 Yes. Do we sin? 635 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:31,480 Yes. Do we justify it? 636 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:36,760 Do we tolerate it? Do we enjoy it and conceal it? 637 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:41,480 Those are two different things. But to actually ask? 638 00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:44,480 God continually cleanse me and renew me. 639 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:46,320 Why? Because I want to be used by 640 00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:48,000 you. Do you ever think like that? 641 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:51,400 Do you ever have? That as your one of your 642 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:53,640 motivations, at least I think the primary one is Lord, I don't 643 00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:57,920 want to break your heart. But we are permitted. 644 00:40:57,920 --> 00:41:03,160 To also think and pray and use this truth to combat against 645 00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:05,320 temptation. I don't want to disqualify 646 00:41:05,320 --> 00:41:09,200 myself. Let me ask you another question. 647 00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:13,080 Is there any place in the New Testament where Isaiah 52, verse 648 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:16,200 11, the verse that we just read, is referenced or alluded to? 649 00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:22,450 Are you? Just going to wait for. 650 00:41:22,450 --> 00:41:26,090 Me to give you the chapter. That's OK, somebody said 651 00:41:26,090 --> 00:41:28,530 something. First Timothy is a. 652 00:41:28,530 --> 00:41:32,850 Very strong one, but there is one that I'm thinking about that 653 00:41:32,850 --> 00:41:35,650 actually references this verse that quotes it. 654 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:41,280 Titus. Titus is another place that 655 00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:48,200 speaks about holiness, purity. 2nd Corinthians let's. 656 00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:50,400 Turn there, I want you to see it with your own eyes. 657 00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:59,600 Second Corinthians chapter 6 and place your finger there. 658 00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:04,200 Verse 16. This is Paul speaking to 659 00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:07,040 Christians. This is Paul speaking to the 660 00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:10,720 Corinthians. Who had many? 661 00:42:10,720 --> 00:42:13,480 Spiritual gifts, but we're living unholy lives. 662 00:42:15,280 --> 00:42:17,080 And so he wants. To remind them what the Bible 663 00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:19,680 says, and notice what he says in 2nd Corinthians 616. 664 00:42:20,040 --> 00:42:22,320 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? 665 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:27,160 For we are the temple of the living God, as God said, I will 666 00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:30,560 make my dwelling among them, and walk among them, and I will be 667 00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:32,720 their God, and they shall be my people. 668 00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:38,640 Verse 17 Now therefore go out from their midst, and be 669 00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:42,800 separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean 670 00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:45,240 thing. Then I will welcome you. 671 00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:49,520 So what does Paul do? He. 672 00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:53,000 Reaches back to Isaiah 52 verse 11 and he applies it to 673 00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:57,840 believers in the new covenant. God's standard of. 674 00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:04,240 Holiness has not changed. And this is something. 675 00:43:04,240 --> 00:43:06,880 That you and I have to take very seriously. 676 00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:12,280 Again, praise the Lord that He is so forgiving, so ready to 677 00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:15,480 forgive. But what's the context? 678 00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:18,040 Of Second Corinthians chapter 6 being unequally yoked with 679 00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:21,000 unbelievers. How we live with the. 680 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:23,280 World How we relate to the world. 681 00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:28,800 How we embrace the world. And so the call. 682 00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:31,960 To the priesthood then, because you are going to handle holy 683 00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:33,680 things. Be holy yourselves is no 684 00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:34,400 different. Today. 685 00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:36,840 Whatever ministry you're a part of is holy. 686 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:40,480 You may not be wearing a. Garb You may not be limited to 687 00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:46,160 one holy structure, but the Church is holy, your service to 688 00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:49,880 the Lord is holy, and God requires holiness for Him to 689 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:55,200 bless it. Let's read on. 690 00:43:55,560 --> 00:44:01,240 Back in Ezra chapter 8, look at verse 30. 691 00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:08,320 So the priest and the Levites took over the weight of the 692 00:44:08,320 --> 00:44:12,200 silver and the gold and the vessels to bring them to 693 00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:15,120 Jerusalem, to the House of our God. 694 00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:19,880 Then we departed from the river Ahava on the 12th day of the 695 00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:24,080 first month to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, 696 00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:27,240 and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from 697 00:44:27,280 --> 00:44:30,520 ambushes. By the way, look. 698 00:44:30,520 --> 00:44:32,840 Again at verse 30. One, we departed from the river 699 00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:36,040 Ahava on the 12th day of the first month. 700 00:44:37,160 --> 00:44:39,200 You know, Ezra tells us. When they left Babylonia 701 00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:42,360 altogether back in Chapter 7, look at Chapter 7. 702 00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:46,640 Look at verse 9. For on the first day of the 703 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:51,640 first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first 704 00:44:51,640 --> 00:44:55,480 day of the 5th month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of 705 00:44:55,480 --> 00:45:00,480 his God was on him. So Ezra remained at a hava for 706 00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:02,680 12 days. I mean, you have to remember 707 00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:04,840 that he sent leading men back to get Levites. 708 00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:06,640 They fasted and prayed for a few days. 709 00:45:06,920 --> 00:45:10,440 But what moves me is just the meticulous accounting of this 710 00:45:10,440 --> 00:45:13,280 man. He's very. 711 00:45:13,280 --> 00:45:16,480 Detailed and it made it made me wonder if this is a reflection 712 00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:21,680 of just how studious he was and if it showed in his study of 713 00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:26,120 God's word. He was so so careful, but he 714 00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:29,840 wasn't just careful in how he recorded things and archived 715 00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:35,760 moments and historical things. He was also careful to give 716 00:45:36,320 --> 00:45:41,160 glory to God. What does he do in verse 31 it. 717 00:45:42,280 --> 00:45:45,680 Says here that the hand of our God was. 718 00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:48,280 On us and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from 719 00:45:48,600 --> 00:45:55,320 ambushes. By the way, Ezra was very 720 00:45:55,320 --> 00:45:57,600 diligent to seek the Lord when they left the Hava. 721 00:45:57,720 --> 00:46:00,840 We're going to fast and pray. It doesn't matter if we have 722 00:46:00,840 --> 00:46:01,200 the. Funds. 723 00:46:01,200 --> 00:46:03,280 It doesn't matter if we have all the people in the right places, 724 00:46:03,320 --> 00:46:08,520 we need God. But when he got. 725 00:46:08,520 --> 00:46:12,800 There he was just as diligent to give him the credit for it. 726 00:46:14,440 --> 00:46:16,720 To thank him for. It to praise him for it and to 727 00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:23,680 point people to him for it. And one of the things. 728 00:46:24,320 --> 00:46:27,400 That I learned a few years ago just reading this Bible cover to 729 00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:31,360 cover, is that humanity, especially believers, have a 730 00:46:31,360 --> 00:46:34,600 tendency to be so fervent to ask God for something and lose that 731 00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:37,440 fervency when He comes through to thank Him for it. 732 00:46:39,440 --> 00:46:42,640 Ezra was careful. Ezra was careful. 733 00:46:43,840 --> 00:46:46,360 Tonight, get so caught. Up in the moment that he failed 734 00:46:46,360 --> 00:46:48,200 to understand that this is because of God. 735 00:46:49,320 --> 00:46:52,400 Every step of the way. God's hand was on this man's 736 00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:56,520 life because he sought God all along. 737 00:46:59,560 --> 00:47:03,440 Now we see something else here. They rested for three days. 738 00:47:05,080 --> 00:47:10,280 In verse 32 we came to Jerusalem and there we remained 3 days. 739 00:47:12,480 --> 00:47:14,680 I'm just moved by the. Fact that Ezra got there. 740 00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:20,600 Imagine he was. Born in in Babylonia and all the 741 00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:22,760 things that he read and all the testimonies that he heard, and 742 00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:29,080 now face to face with the Holy city, there in person his dreams 743 00:47:29,080 --> 00:47:33,840 come true. And the first order. 744 00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:35,960 Of business is what we find in verse 33. 745 00:47:36,800 --> 00:47:40,600 On the 4th day, after relaxing and resting for a few, on the 746 00:47:40,600 --> 00:47:44,400 4th day within the House of our God, the silver and the gold and 747 00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:47,320 the vessels were weighed into the hands of Miramoth the priest 748 00:47:47,440 --> 00:47:51,200 son of Uriah, and with him Eliezer the son of Phineas. 749 00:47:51,720 --> 00:47:55,040 And with them were the Levites, Joseph Bad, the son of Joshua, 750 00:47:55,200 --> 00:47:59,480 and Noah, Diya the son of Binui. The whole was counted and 751 00:47:59,480 --> 00:48:02,680 weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded. 752 00:48:03,760 --> 00:48:05,920 At that time, those. Who had come from captivity, The 753 00:48:05,920 --> 00:48:08,720 return exiles offered burnt offering to the God of Israel. 754 00:48:09,040 --> 00:48:13,480 12 Bulls. For all Israel. 96 Rams, 77 755 00:48:13,480 --> 00:48:16,160 lambs, and as a sin offering, 12 male goats. 756 00:48:16,480 --> 00:48:18,480 All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 757 00:48:18,720 --> 00:48:20,840 They also delivered the King's commissions to the King's 758 00:48:20,840 --> 00:48:24,160 satraps and to the governors of the province beyond the river. 759 00:48:24,320 --> 00:48:27,680 And they aided the people and the House of God. 760 00:48:28,640 --> 00:48:32,280 You know, Ezra really wants to make sure that you and I 761 00:48:32,280 --> 00:48:35,840 understand that the money, the silver, the gold, the materials 762 00:48:35,840 --> 00:48:38,960 that they counted and distributed to certain men made 763 00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:42,000 its way to Jerusalem and there is no discrepancies. 764 00:48:43,960 --> 00:48:48,080 The fact I think. Verse 34 is the verse that we 765 00:48:48,080 --> 00:48:51,080 should be focusing on. The whole was counted and 766 00:48:51,080 --> 00:48:54,440 weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded. 767 00:48:56,480 --> 00:48:58,040 That becomes even more. Meaningful. 768 00:48:58,040 --> 00:49:01,960 When you go back to verse 29 and see what he told the priest, 769 00:49:01,960 --> 00:49:06,680 look at verse 29 of Ezra 8. He tells them guard them and 770 00:49:06,680 --> 00:49:12,120 keep them until that word is so important until until you weigh 771 00:49:12,120 --> 00:49:15,600 them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of 772 00:49:15,600 --> 00:49:18,560 fathers houses in Israel, Jerusalem, within the chambers 773 00:49:18,720 --> 00:49:24,040 of the House of the Lord. There isn't until for the 774 00:49:24,040 --> 00:49:30,040 sanctity and the carefulness of these priests and Levites. 775 00:49:31,160 --> 00:49:33,040 They understood. They were holding what they were 776 00:49:33,040 --> 00:49:37,240 called to us holy, and they were to guard and keep them until 777 00:49:37,240 --> 00:49:39,400 they arrive safely to their destination. 778 00:49:39,720 --> 00:49:41,920 And I want to remind you today that there is an until for Your 779 00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:46,040 Holiness and mine. The Bible, actually. 780 00:49:46,040 --> 00:49:51,520 Teaches us even though we are blood bought, even though we are 781 00:49:51,520 --> 00:49:54,960 freely forgiven, and that we are secure in the salvation. 782 00:49:56,480 --> 00:49:59,560 There is a day of accounting for each of us. 783 00:50:00,560 --> 00:50:02,920 There is a day. Where the things that we were 784 00:50:02,920 --> 00:50:06,560 responsible for that God has called us to will be measured, 785 00:50:07,280 --> 00:50:10,240 we'll be evaluated, we'll be examined. 786 00:50:11,200 --> 00:50:14,400 The way I like to put it, without sounding too casual, is 787 00:50:14,400 --> 00:50:17,560 that there is a time coming where me and the Lord Jesus 788 00:50:17,560 --> 00:50:21,360 Christ are going to have a conversation about my life, 789 00:50:22,200 --> 00:50:24,400 thankfully not about my salvation. 790 00:50:25,560 --> 00:50:28,200 Because that's determined. And that has been set by His 791 00:50:28,200 --> 00:50:30,400 grace. But we are going to talk about 792 00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:32,880 what I did with that salvation, and so will you. 793 00:50:34,280 --> 00:50:37,480 There isn't until for your holiness and mine. 794 00:50:39,080 --> 00:50:41,720 Paul put it this way in Romans 14 verse 12. 795 00:50:42,640 --> 00:50:43,880 He tells these. Believers. 796 00:50:43,880 --> 00:50:46,320 So then each of us. I love that he didn't say each 797 00:50:46,320 --> 00:50:48,080 of you. He said each of us, including 798 00:50:48,080 --> 00:50:52,160 the Apostle Paul. So then each of us. 799 00:50:52,280 --> 00:50:54,280 Will give an account of himself to God. 800 00:50:54,520 --> 00:50:55,880 Is he talking to non believers here? 801 00:50:55,880 --> 00:50:59,280 He's talking to Christians. Couple of verses before he. 802 00:50:59,280 --> 00:51:01,240 Says that we will all stand before the judgement seat of 803 00:51:01,240 --> 00:51:02,640 God. Wait, I thought that Christ 804 00:51:02,640 --> 00:51:04,000 absorbed my judgement. He did. 805 00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:05,720 Concerning your eternal destination. 806 00:51:07,160 --> 00:51:09,280 But once again, there's going. To be an evaluation of what you 807 00:51:09,280 --> 00:51:14,720 did with your Christianity. So I take the charge. 808 00:51:14,720 --> 00:51:19,040 Of Ezra 829 and I apply it to my life now on this Friday night. 809 00:51:19,040 --> 00:51:21,600 Guard them and keep them guard. Guard your heart. 810 00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:24,880 You know, if you want to take it a. 811 00:51:24,880 --> 00:51:26,280 Step further in the New Testament. 812 00:51:26,400 --> 00:51:28,560 Yes, we're all called to be a priesthood. 813 00:51:29,680 --> 00:51:32,120 But the Bible also says. That we are holy vessels. 814 00:51:33,800 --> 00:51:35,800 The priests in the old. Testament were holy and they 815 00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:39,320 handled holy vessels. We are both the priesthood and 816 00:51:39,320 --> 00:51:41,920 the vessels. There's nothing. 817 00:51:41,920 --> 00:51:44,840 Holy about this, right? Nothing. 818 00:51:45,960 --> 00:51:48,760 You're the holy vessel. I'm the holy vessel. 819 00:51:52,200 --> 00:51:53,360 So guard it. Guard your heart. 820 00:51:53,360 --> 00:51:56,600 Guard your eyes, guard your ears, guard guard your mind. 821 00:51:56,600 --> 00:52:01,920 Keep them until until the day we're we give an account. 822 00:52:05,320 --> 00:52:07,960 So then each of us will give an. Account of himself to God. 823 00:52:11,840 --> 00:52:12,960 Don't let your guard. Down. 824 00:52:15,280 --> 00:52:16,280 You know, it's amazing how every. 825 00:52:16,280 --> 00:52:17,840 Week. These Bible studies end 826 00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:21,760 differently sometimes. Similarly, sometimes the final 827 00:52:21,760 --> 00:52:24,320 thought is one of great encouragement that God's 828 00:52:24,320 --> 00:52:26,840 faithfulness for you is beyond your imagination. 829 00:52:26,840 --> 00:52:28,960 You can rest in him. And there are other times, like 830 00:52:28,960 --> 00:52:32,920 tonight, where God wants us to perk up and be reminded that 831 00:52:32,920 --> 00:52:35,960 holiness is real, Holiness is serious to God. 832 00:52:36,160 --> 00:52:41,440 Holiness is important to God. You know. 833 00:52:41,440 --> 00:52:43,320 What's interesting about Paul mentioning this in Romans 834 00:52:43,320 --> 00:52:45,760 chapter 14? Romans chapter 14 deals with 835 00:52:45,760 --> 00:52:48,440 disagreements among believers in the church who have different 836 00:52:48,440 --> 00:52:53,000 kind of convictions. There were some Christians among 837 00:52:53,000 --> 00:52:56,680 the Romans who said this day is holier than any other day. 838 00:52:57,720 --> 00:53:00,560 Why aren't you honoring? This day as holy, why aren't you 839 00:53:00,560 --> 00:53:02,640 honoring the Sabbath like in the Old Testament? 840 00:53:04,040 --> 00:53:07,160 And Paul says, hey, listen in. The new covenant you may honor 841 00:53:07,160 --> 00:53:09,120 one day as more holy than the other, but don't judge each 842 00:53:09,120 --> 00:53:11,680 other for that. Well, what about the food? 843 00:53:12,280 --> 00:53:14,120 This food is unclean. This food is clean. 844 00:53:14,120 --> 00:53:17,200 And yet other Christians saying Christ made all things clean. 845 00:53:19,120 --> 00:53:21,680 And they began to. Judge each other's spirituality 846 00:53:21,680 --> 00:53:25,000 based on these convictions. And Paul gives them many. 847 00:53:25,000 --> 00:53:27,400 Many, many, many instructions. And then he warns them. 848 00:53:27,400 --> 00:53:30,480 Do you understand that one day you you each are going to have 849 00:53:30,480 --> 00:53:36,640 to give yourself to God and explain your life? 850 00:53:39,040 --> 00:53:41,480 So God. Looks at each of our convictions 851 00:53:41,480 --> 00:53:44,360 and and if there's sincere convictions, he'll hold us 852 00:53:44,360 --> 00:53:46,320 accountable to them. But more than that, God's going 853 00:53:46,320 --> 00:53:48,400 to hold you and I accountable of how we treat one another. 854 00:53:52,840 --> 00:53:54,480 So all the backbiting. And the murmuring and the 855 00:53:54,480 --> 00:53:57,000 unforgiveness. And do you think God's going to 856 00:53:57,000 --> 00:54:00,000 let believers enter into heaven without reconciliation? 857 00:54:00,600 --> 00:54:01,720 That would be strange, wouldn't it? 858 00:54:03,480 --> 00:54:06,720 Is it possible for? Christians to die without 859 00:54:06,720 --> 00:54:09,760 reconciling with one another? Very possible. 860 00:54:10,680 --> 00:54:12,680 I think there are going to be some very, very sobering 861 00:54:12,680 --> 00:54:14,640 conversations before the judgement seat of Christ. 862 00:54:20,120 --> 00:54:25,160 So guard, keep, how do I guard and keep in the same way that 863 00:54:25,160 --> 00:54:27,760 these priests and Levites said, until, until you stand before 864 00:54:27,760 --> 00:54:30,160 the priests and Levites in the chambers of our, of our God. 865 00:54:30,400 --> 00:54:31,960 And you were able to say, here it is. 866 00:54:32,360 --> 00:54:34,240 And in the same way. Let me ask you this in closing. 867 00:54:34,240 --> 00:54:36,280 How often do you think about the judgement seat of Christ? 868 00:54:41,990 --> 00:54:42,990 When's the last time you thought about? 869 00:54:42,990 --> 00:54:45,630 It. We think about a lot of. 870 00:54:45,630 --> 00:54:47,590 Appointments some of us are better than others about how we 871 00:54:47,590 --> 00:54:50,910 keep our appointments with our calendars and. 872 00:54:52,640 --> 00:54:54,480 There's one appointment. That you can never forget, that 873 00:54:54,480 --> 00:54:57,920 you're going to have and you can't change it, can't 874 00:54:57,920 --> 00:55:00,280 reschedule it. It's set. 875 00:55:00,640 --> 00:55:05,520 And that's with Christ. And Paul uses the judgement 876 00:55:05,520 --> 00:55:08,680 seat, the judgement seat of Christ, as a motivating factor 877 00:55:08,680 --> 00:55:14,520 for holiness. Today, if you and I do. 878 00:55:14,520 --> 00:55:16,480 Everything that we do in light of the fact that we're going to 879 00:55:16,480 --> 00:55:20,520 have to talk to Christ about it. One day you're going to think 880 00:55:20,520 --> 00:55:22,560 twice. I'm going to think twice. 881 00:55:25,160 --> 00:55:26,840 One day I'm going to have to talk to the Lord about how I 882 00:55:26,840 --> 00:55:28,680 treated so and so. I might as well deal with it now 883 00:55:28,680 --> 00:55:34,640 then, then. You know, I had these gifts. 884 00:55:34,640 --> 00:55:36,160 That I believe God has given to me, but I just. 885 00:55:37,520 --> 00:55:40,080 Don't feel like really using. Them OK. 886 00:55:42,080 --> 00:55:43,880 You might get away with it now. But one day the Lord's going to 887 00:55:43,880 --> 00:55:45,680 say, What did you do with the gifts I've given you? 888 00:55:51,400 --> 00:55:56,280 Let's sit there and let that truth do its work in our hearts. 889 00:55:58,000 --> 00:56:02,880 Ezra and his team were able to successfully make it to their 890 00:56:02,880 --> 00:56:08,480 destination with no need to be embarrassed, no need to be 891 00:56:08,480 --> 00:56:15,200 ashamed, with no loss. And the New Testament teaches 892 00:56:15,200 --> 00:56:20,240 that it's possible to gain salvation but suffer loss 893 00:56:20,880 --> 00:56:23,400 because we didn't take our holiness seriously. 894 00:56:25,320 --> 00:56:29,800 But if you want to take it seriously, Ezra shows us that 895 00:56:29,800 --> 00:56:35,280 you can humble yourself and pray for God's hand on your life to 896 00:56:35,280 --> 00:56:38,920 not just protect you, your children, and your resources 897 00:56:38,920 --> 00:56:42,440 from thieves and troublemakers, but even to protect your 898 00:56:42,440 --> 00:56:45,800 holiness. And your purity. 899 00:56:46,720 --> 00:56:48,280 And your relationships and your witness. 900 00:56:48,280 --> 00:56:53,880 God is willing to empower us in what seems to be impossible and 901 00:56:53,880 --> 00:56:57,120 make it possible and give you more reason to rejoice in Him 902 00:56:57,480 --> 00:57:00,880 that not only because He died for you and forgave your sin, 903 00:57:01,080 --> 00:57:03,960 but He can now also give you the power to live in victory. 904 00:57:05,360 --> 00:57:09,240 This is the complete gospel. Let's thank Him for it, but we 905 00:57:09,240 --> 00:57:13,280 thank you for tonight. We bless you tonight. 906 00:57:17,800 --> 00:57:21,360 We thank you. How we don't know what to 907 00:57:21,360 --> 00:57:24,440 expect. With a particular. 908 00:57:24,440 --> 00:57:28,240 Passage that we are just going through faithfully week by week, 909 00:57:28,600 --> 00:57:31,520 but we can always expect that you will speak to us. 910 00:57:32,760 --> 00:57:38,400 And Lord, tonight we've. Heard your word, we are holy and 911 00:57:38,400 --> 00:57:42,320 what we do for you is holy, so help us live holy. 912 00:57:43,800 --> 00:57:45,560 Lord, if there's any sin. In our lives that we have 913 00:57:45,560 --> 00:57:51,880 justified or we have not resisted, in your power, may you 914 00:57:51,880 --> 00:57:55,920 use the truth tonight to give us victory, to give us real 915 00:57:55,920 --> 00:57:58,720 victory. And Lord, May 1. 916 00:57:58,720 --> 00:58:02,520 Of the things that get us moving in that direction is the thought 917 00:58:02,520 --> 00:58:05,400 that we want your purpose for our lives. 918 00:58:05,400 --> 00:58:07,360 We want to serve you. We don't want to disqualify 919 00:58:07,360 --> 00:58:09,280 ourselves. We don't want to throw away 920 00:58:09,280 --> 00:58:12,320 opportunities. We want to be ready when. 921 00:58:12,320 --> 00:58:15,440 You're ready to promote someone when you're ready to use someone 922 00:58:15,440 --> 00:58:19,200 or send someone. Your word tells us that those 923 00:58:19,200 --> 00:58:21,320 who are clean are ready for the Master's. 924 00:58:22,760 --> 00:58:25,760 Use so help us be clean. Help us also understand that 925 00:58:25,760 --> 00:58:30,160 when we splash ourselves with dirt or filth that we can come 926 00:58:30,160 --> 00:58:34,480 to you freely and you were willing to wash us and cleanse 927 00:58:34,480 --> 00:58:39,600 us. So that we love you. 928 00:58:39,600 --> 00:58:43,880 Tonight we thank you for these incredible truths and we pray to 929 00:58:43,880 --> 00:58:45,480 believe in that. You hear our entreaty. 930 00:58:45,480 --> 00:58:47,640 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 931 00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:49,360 Amen. Let's stand and let's worship 932 00:58:49,360 --> 00:58:52,760 the Lord together and thank Him. That he's willing to help us. 933 00:58:52,760 --> 00:58:53,480 In our Holiness.