(Through The Bible) 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra by Zac Poonen

[Music] we want to turn now to the first book of Chronicle first and second chronicles was written after as far as we know after the children of Israel came back from the captivity in Babylon after 70 years we don't know perhaps has eroded but it's different from the two books of kings in this way you know there were two kingdoms after Solomon's death Rehoboam headed up one Jeroboam headed up the other and their two streams of Kings the Northern Kingdom of ten tribes with Israel the southern kingdom of two tribes with Judah and the kings of Israel were generally wicked kings of Judah were some are good some are bad the books of kings deals with both nations the two books of Chronicles deal only with the kings of Judah starting with Saul and David and on through the kingdom only with a southern kingdom and it brings forth certain spiritual truths there's a certain amount of repetitions like the gospel quite a bit of repetition of the insolence mentioned in the Kings are again mentioned in chronicles to teach us lessons just like incidents mentioned twice in the gospel and these two books of Chronicles we want to look at together since most of that history of it and many of the lessons indeed we already covered when we studied one into King we are not going to recover that area but just a few things first of all in the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicle we have the whole family tree of David starting with Adam in 1 chronicles 1 verse 1 is the whole genealogy of David that was all the way up to Adam and one reason why God has given this long list of the different lines and the genealogy of Reuben and Simeon and the priests Kaline and all the tribes of Israel mentioned in chapter 6 and chapter 7 and chapter 8 up to chapter eight anyway is to show us one thing that God is interested in individuals he doesn't say just so many people each of us if you are born again your name is in the book of life it doesn't just God doesn't just say well so many people in Kerala and really people from channel 9 is only people from pan down to born again though each person's mean he's written specifically and each to show us that each one of us is God is personally interested and he knows all about your family tree all the way back to Adam he knows all the history of your life and the way you were brought up in everything and he's got a plan for your life to me that's a great encouragement that I'm not just a person floating around the world one of the million whom God looks at God knows by me he knows all about me my parents my grandparents my great-grandparents and everything I also don't know but he knows it all he knows every hair on my head he knows every detail of my life that's a great encouragement that's what the message we get from the first nine chapters of Chronicles from chapter mine it's actually giving us the list of people who were taken away into exile and different people there are mentioned it says the first to live in their possessions and so on and some of the sons of where his names are given their of people who are gatekeepers and etc etc I just want to point out one little verse in chapter 4 about one of these men his name was Jabba's verse 9 chapter 4 verse 9 1 chronicles 49 jay-bez was more honorable than his brother know when God makes a list of our name he emphasizes some who are more honorable than others just like if you read Romans chapter 16 where Paul make a list of his coworkers he mentioned that some were like this in somewhere like this there are some who are more wholehearted and God takes a note of that even though we are all individuals he makes a note of those who are more honorable than their brothers and so all are not the same I mean maybe all brothers in the church but God notices that some are more honorable and his mother named in jabil because I bore him in pain so we find that being more honorable has got some connection with pain and suffering that here's a brother who's gone through suffering and pain and come through it triumphantly and he turns out to be a better brother so don't despise think and not only that it says here that jab is called on the God of Israel worse then he was a man of prayer and he prayed and said Lord bless me enlarge my border that your hands will be with me that you keep me from harm that that may not pay me I mean people may trouble me that I don't get spiritually hurt and God granted in what are you requested we can apply that prayer to ourselves spiritually Oh God bless me and enlarge my spiritual borders I'm not satisfied with what I've experienced I want more that your hand be with me that means your power keep me from evil that evil will not harm me wonderful prayer and God granted him what are you requested and Donna grant you what your request so we move on to chapter 10 where we read about the defeat and death of salt chapter 11 David had made king over Israel we've covered all this ground David supporters in chapter 12 just one thing I want you to notice him among David's the people who supported David and came to him in the time when he was being persecuted you know it's one thing to join David after he has become king but these people joined David when he was being persecuted it's one thing to join a church after it has become famous and popular but it's quite another thing to join it when it is despite because you see the anointing there it's wonderful to join up with a man of God after he has become very popular and accepted and people melody the prophet but it's quite another thing to join us with him at a time when he is despised and rejected by everybody and nobody wants them but you recognize the anointing of God is with that gutter and I joined after them these were the men who became David mighty men the same thing happens even today here and there God raises up a man to do a work for him and a few people have eyes to see that that man is an upright man who's a godly man his ministry has left my life and I don't care what Saul says about him I don't care what anybody says about him I see the anointing of God upon his life I'm gonna align myself with that man that's how these people join David and later on when David became king of course they got positions of authority they were leaders but the great thing about them is that they could discern the anointing of God on David when he was rejected and despite it's like you know when you go to heaven everybody want to worship Jesus the thing is how many people want to follow him today when he is despised and rejected in the world the same principle with a true servant of God is never going to be popular jesus said woe unto you when all men speak well of you because then they spoke like that about the false prophet and he said blessed are you when all men tell false stories about you and speak evil of you because that's how it was in the true prophet in the Old Testament now very few people understand that a true prophet is never fully valued or recognized in his lifetime almost David was recognized in his lifetime but the history of the church proves that even the great apostle they were rejected and despite even by others Paul was rejected by the believers in Corinth he says in 2nd Timothy for all those who are in Asia forsaken me because he was true to God to the end Jesus was true and most people left him so it's wonderful to recognize the anointing of God that's what we see here in Chapter 12 about one man some of the sons of Benjamin came to this ke verse 16 12 16 where David was and David went out to meet him and he said if you come peacefully to help me my heart will be united with you but if you have come here to betray me to my adversary's my conscience is clear may God look upon you and punish you see there are people who can come to us pretending to be friends in order to betrayal I've seen people like that many times in my ministry when I say God deals with him and I've seen through these last 25 years how God is dealt with such people and then it says verse 18 look at this man I'm aside wonderful example you've probably never heard of this man in your life verse 18 the Spirit of God came upon a messiah who was the chief of the 30 valiant men and he said we are yours or David and we are with you or son of Jesse peace peace to you and peace to him who helps you indeed your God has she then David received them and made them captains of the van so we see there were some people like a messiah on the whom the Holy Spirit came and he could recognize the anointing on David even though David was in ragged clothes and living inside a cave being hunted by salt you see if you read the history of the church you find the truly godly men who stood against the established religious system in Christendom we're always persecuted you read about the story of the Anabaptist in Europe it's an amazing story most of you may never have rid of it you may have read of Martin Luther and John Calvin and wing lady but there was another group at that time called the Anabaptist who were persecuted not only by the Roman Catholic but who were persecuted even by the followers of Lutheran talent and they were godly people who preach the whole counsel of God total separation from the world and they were persecuted their leaders were killed but it was godly in the metal forest and he and it's been a tremendous challenge to me the read of these godly men to leave here church history will record them as heretics or they freaking strange doctrine false doctrine that's how they record in fact one day when Jesus comes again you may discover that some of these people who church history called heretics were actually the true man of god so that's what we see in our day too so we need to be careful don't be fooled by all these people thought about all soft and inheritance see whether the anointing of God he's on a man that is a test did God approves of a man you might as well approval and I maasai recognize that and then I want to show you another thing about the characteristic of David which we see in chapter 13 verse 1 it says you're David consulted with the captains of thousands and the hundreds and even with every leader see a true goggi man will not do things single-handedly okay I've decided this all you fellows go and do it no the reason why David got such tremendous support from people was because he discussed things he says I am a weak man brothers want your opinion what do you think about this and sat down and discuss the people who are junior to him and together came to a decision with every leader and then worse for then all the assembly said that they would do so for the thing was rightly eyes loyalty there was a consultation and so on and number of the other things here we've already covered about the ark being brought to Jerusalem worship the Foley ark and God government who's David in chapter 17 and I want you to now come to chapter 22 in chapter 22 we read of David preparing for the building of the temple Solomon was going to build example but David prepared for it and he said this is the house of the Lord God David gave orders 22 22 the foreigners and he said Stonecutters could he walk stone god I told him you're not going to build the house so see what he did he made all the preparation for it so that it would be easy for his son Solomon later on in chapter 29 you see he gave such a lot of gold and silver and bronze and all types of things he never got the privilege of building the temple but he did everything possible see if God does not give you a ministry be willing to do everything possible to support another person to whom God has given that ministry that's what we see he saw it in kingsley see the gain and chronicles that he prepared large quantities of iron to make nails verse 3 and timber and he thought he was very thoughtful and he was thinking where's my son Solomon is young inexperienced and the house has to be a magnificent house so i will make preparation for it and David made worse five and full preparations 22 verse 5 before he died it's a wonderful heritage that we can give to our children if we have made ample preparation for them to follow the Lord in that generation and that way David did a wonderful job for Solomon then he calls Solomon and charges him and says it was working with great pain 2214 I have prepared for the house of the Lord a hundred thousand tons of gold 1 million talents of silver bronze and iron beyond weights great quantity timber stone that I prepared workmen for u verse 15 Stonecutters Mason gold silver there's no limit rise and work were 16 and may the Lord be with you how easy it was for Solomon because David had done so much goggly men are like that and he told them all set your heart and soul verse 19 a word I would give to all of you set your heart and soul to seek the Lord arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God 2219 so that you may bring his holy vessel that can be a house built for the name of the Lord then we move on there is a list of various names of levites and the various sons that Levi their descendants the division of musicians in chapter 25 and the gatekeepers chapter 26 the commanders of the army chapter 27 a big list of names David was interested in each one of them the names were listed and then David talks to the people about the temple in chapter 28 he says the Lord chose me 28 for to be king and he chose my son Solomon verse 5 and he told me that I cannot build a house and so I prepared all these things he lists again all the golden utensils verse 14 and so on for the temple and he told Solomon be strong and courageous verse twenty twenty eight twenty don't be dismayed for the Lord will be with you Solomon has gone on the strength of that exhortation from his father his life would have been very different in chapter 29 again he says these words in verse 3 moreover 2093 in my delight in the house of my god i have given over and above all that I have already provided because I already gave so much so much and then after a while I felt hey I feel I haven't given the Lord enough you know we are something so different we give something to the Lord and content leading hey did I give too much but David was so different since I haven't given enough I love to get some more over and above what I've already given that was the man after God's own heart and then David prayed in worst and onward and a song of praise to the Lord Lord you try the heart verse 17 and give my son Solomon a perfect heart and said to the assembly bless the Lord and all the assembly praise the Lord and worship the Lord was 20 they offered sacrifices and then we read Solomon was made king and David died I just want to say one word about in 1 chronicles 29 verse 29 it speaks there about Samuel the sphere and Gant the sphere see the profit for calls here why were they cause here because they could see way ahead into the future what other people couldn't see and what is the need in the church today people who got spiritual vision to see if I allow this in the church today what is going to be the condition of the church 10 years from now can you see that that's the problem the church will go way off the track today is only a small deviation you know in geometry you have 360 degrees in a circle and if you go one degree off say it soon or one degree off in the beginning the distance from the straight line is not much millimeters selenators also sometimes become meters and after a few years will become mild just one degree off from the strength that's a seer let's hear can see he doesn't see mediately oh this doesn't matter it's just a slight deviation who's bothered about two millimeters not a question of two millimeters where is this going to be 10 years from now as here can see that sees if you speak to the Word of God is important I'm not going to compromise that's a seer I believe that people we need fears in the church we go to 2nd chronicles now and second chronicles deals in the first nine chapters with the rule of Solomon and we have already seen that so we don't want to cover that again but it could read it again when you get time it says in Chapter seven wins verse 1 when Solomon finished frame the fire of God came down from heaven and consume the burnt offering and the sacrifices and then we read in the remaining chapters from chapter 10 to chapter 36 we read again about the division of the kingdom in rehab um Stein and the different kings the death of Jeroboam and King assa succeeding of I John chapter 14 a profit verse 15 warning at NASA saying if you forsake him in forsake you and we come to this wonderful verse in second chronicles 16 the good words to remember you know essa in the beginning trusted in the Lord it says in chapter 15 verse or as a trusted in the Lord in their distress they turned to the Lord they sought him and he let them find him and they really trusted in the Lord and God did amazing miracles for them but when another king came to fight against NASA in chapter 16 he didn't trust the Lord he compromised when it says in verse 2 he took off silver and gold from the Treasuries of the Lord gave it to the hidden kink the application for us today is let people compromise the truth of God's Word for the sake of peace with other people who don't the whole counsel of God and he made a 3d with them and then a seer verse 7 2nd chronicles 16-7 hannah nightosphere came to as her and said because you relied on the king of aaron and not relied on the lord that for the army of the king environment escaped from your hand you remember earlier as up the Ethiopians and the lube in there were a huge army that came against you but because you trusted in the Lord he delivered you and listen to this is the worst I was talking about the wonderful verse verse 9 all of you must remember this verse second chronicles 16-9 the eyes of the Lord moved to and fro throughout the whole earth what for not looking for those who are wholehearted he already knows those who are cold-hearted he's seeing how he can support those who are wholeheartedly don't miss read that word God doesn't have to search to find the whole hearted he already knows it but his eyes are moving now all these few whole hearted people have got how can I support them across the face of the earth it's an amazing words which teaches me that if I'm a wholehearted disciple of Jesus the Lord will move on my behalf all over the earth to support me one of the prayers i have praised for many years now is lord please lead me to people who are seeking for a godly life I started praying in my city Lord lead me to people in my city was speaking for godly life but I can bless them and ligand Leslie made me the people in my state surrounding states leave me to people in India now I pray Lord leave me two people in the world you're in there we're seeking to godly like what overcome sin we want to build a church of jesus christ as the body of Christ need days Lord bring me in touch with them help me to bless them and help them to bless me that together we can be a testimony for you in these last days and what does God do not only me your bracelets Paris interior if your heart is completely his is it not for everybody if you have no ambition in your heart other than God's glory God's with no desire to make money or honor opposition you only want one thing hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth the Church of Jesus Christ monkey business God will search all the earth and bring people who need your ministry to you and bless them to you and let you through this let's be my experience in many many many years the one he picks out you know just like God brought the animals into the ark Noah the imagined for Noah and his three sons going hunting for all the animals no God brought them in the eyes of the Lord moves to enclose Lord all the earth and no it's time to bring it to the art those who should dump and that's been my experience through the years it's a wonderful way to serve God when the eyes of the Lord will to improve throughout the whole earth to work on your behalf because God sees that your heart is completely is that needs your no emissions don't think that verse is for everybody a lot of people understand the doctrine but their hearts are not completely the Lord they've got other ambitions they become Christians they become full-time workers but they've got private ambition they want some honor some titles some money some had to be ahead of some organization something don't seek for those things seek that the Lord will have all of your heart that uses with God's purpose for your life and he will work on your behalf you want to get married from the other end of the world doesn't find somebody for you because his eyes will move all the past years to find someone for you if he sees that your wholehearted he doesn't matter what you're needed so wonderful verse now I want to show you another verse in chapter 18 where we consider that when your hearts are back going up where they have to fight against the enemy and they got a profit that profit is my kaya and my kiya was a true prophet of God who spoke in chapter 18 and verse 12 somebody told mike i am and verse 12 clean he'd make your message just like the message of all the other prophets were already prophesied the other prophet at all cost of it you know many times people have come to me and told me what to speak and what not asleep it's exactly like this it happens today and Mike I said was the Lord tells me else that's it we can't do it perfectly because we make mistakes but when we get light we cleanse ourselves but otherwise we're not influenced by what people say I've been to churches where for some meetings and the people say run all these are the problems here as soon as they speak the percentage I did it and I don't want to hear it let me finish my ministry here then you tell me the problem and you'll find that the ministry so take care of the problem but God knows and if you listen to the audio tell you what to school so my kind sir I'm sorry I'm not going to say what other people are saying I'm not just going to repeat what everybody else is saying a lot of Indian preachers today there's read books magazines that come from the West and they just repeat what they read it and I often think does not speak only to people in America the lipstick to people in India also where are the people in India who don't have to read what those people have written to just repeat the same thing like an echo you know you go into these hilly area that you shout something there's an echo this is what's happening somebody in the West shout something and any news there's an echo this what happens be a man of God the one who listens to God not just one who repeats what we read in some book or magazine on her the one who listens to garden and Mike I said I only see what does hood and they persecuted it it says here they arrested him somebody slapped him verse 23 when he didn't speak what the others spoke and they said put him in a prison the things that were spending through prophets are being persecuted always throughout history now we move on to an chapter 26 they have different stories the different things that I want to go to all of that i watch KU sayang was aya was one of those kings Isaiah was a prophet and I got a vision of the year that King Uzziah died how did King's I have died Ct Mosiah succeeded in war he says in verse 5 of 26 he continued to sneak God the last part of our slide says as long as he sought the lord he prospered but then verse 16 very interesting words for all of us 26 16 when he became strong his heart became proud and he acted corruptly the same story that has been repeated during the last 2,000 years in prison them when God blesses a man gets puffed up very difficult to remain humble when God is Leslie unused you and he was unfaithful to the Lord and he decided to become a priest he had not learned from the folly of salt he said I'll go into the temple God is best me of the King I'm gonna be a free student and Azariah of fearless priests along with 80 other priest entered and opposed to zios 18 said besides you've got no right to burn incense this is only hollow Creek thank God for such men who are not afraid of team but who's I was angry and he said they told him can you imagine they told him to get out of the sanctuary told the King to get out he really needs the breeze like that today but keziah was angry and whiny was angry verse 19 the leprosy began to break out on his forehead and he covered himself covered in with leprosy in the Atlanta and he was a leper verse 21 to the day of his death and he had to live in a separate house and he was cut off he could never enter the house of God again a very dangerous thing when you try to move into a ministry that God has not given me that for somebody to praise the Lord and do the ministry god is giving you then one more worse i want to show before I move on chapter 32 we read about hezekiah hezekiah was healed in an amazing way verse 24 of chapter 32 it says the Lord gave him a sign and the sign was that the Sun went backwards in the sky in Joshua's time the Sun Stood Still for 24 hours but in Hezekiah time the Sun went backwards 10 degrees you read about that in Isaiah 2 and this made Hezekiah so proud that such a fantastic worker had taken place and people from Babylon verse 31 came to Israel to find out how did the Sun go backward people say something in his rails was praying and this happened they came and Hezekiah felt very proud yeah yeah were you the one who say I I am the one who brain and he was quite proud of the whole thing and I say I told him you know all that he showed these ambassadors from Babylon will all be taken away one day but the words i want to show you here is worse 31 of chapter 32 last part of verse 31 when these rulers came to ask about this wonder God left Hezekiah alone to test him to see whether he was a humble man in his heart for the miracle he experienced all whether he would become proud and take the glory for what God had done many times after God has used you may be done a miracle for you you immediately after that God will leave you alone to see the testing to see when you meet other people whether you will take the glory for that yourself or whether you will be humbled and give the glory to God maybe God is needs you to build a wonderful church bring a number of people to the Lord or even pray for somebody was sick aliasing healing God did it but you testify about it in such a way that you take the glory to yourself like Hezekiah what a sad way to end his life one final thing I want to say is chapter 33 and verse 13 we read about manasi something that's not written in the book of kings and that is towards the end of molasses life he repented he was taken captive the Lord brought the commanders of the king of Assyria chapter 33 verse 11 they captured King Manasseh with hooks and took him to Babylon and when he was in distress verse 12 he pleaded with the Lord this man who for nearly 50 years had done such evil in Jerusalem let people astray killed his own children Putin in the fire finally when he repent God listen stood and it says when he braved verse 13 God was moved and heard his prayer and brought him back to Jerusalem and then manasi knew that the Lord was God then verse 15 he removed the foreign God and the idols and he threw them outside the city and he set up the altar of the Lord verse 16 and made peace offerings and ordered Judah to serve the Lord it's Solomon had done that it would have been recorded in Scripture it's not recorded in Scripture that's why I believe that Solomon went to help manasi did it and it's recorded in Scripture one last verse in second chronicles chapter 36 verse 21 why were the children of Israel sent to Babylon for 70 years reason is in chapter 36 verse 21 because they did not allow the land to have it Sabbath that means every seventh year they were supposed to give a Sabbath to the land they didn't give it they were coming as they wanted more and more and more and more and more and the result was God said okay 490 years you did not give the lander Sabbath so you're going to go to 70 years to captivity so we have skimmed through now we're going to go to Ezra the book of Ezra refers to the time when they came back from the 70 years of captivity see there are two journeys recorded in the old instrument of Israel what is the journey from Egypt to Canaan which speaks about salvation for the individual redeemed by the blood of the Lamb baptized in the Red Sea baptized in the Holy Spirit symbolized by the cloud conquering the guidance in the land that speaks about our personal life there is another movement of God's people mentioned in the Old Testament that's the movement of people from Babylon to Jerusalem after the captivity and that speaks about the building of the church one is personal and the others corporate corporate means along with God's people so one movement speaks about our personal journey with God into Canaan gland overcoming the lust of the flesh the other movement speaks about coming out of dead religious system and building the true body of Jesus Christ called Jerusalem Babylon to Jerusalem these are the two great movements of God's people recorded in detail in the Old Testament many prophets spoke about this movement from Babylon to Jerusalem and that along we know from revelation 7 17 is a corrupt system which professes to follow the Lord but does not actually follow the law in Jerusalem is the true church and Ezra is one of those men whom God used the rhubarb ever was one of their leaders and in Chapter 1 we read first of all that this movement began with the sovereignty of God influencing King Cyrus to tell the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus Ezra 11 and he said all the Lord God has given me the kingdoms of the earth and he's appointed me to build a house for him in Jerusalem you imagine a heathen King supporting the building of God's Temple in Jerusalem and whoever is among you may is God be with him there's freedom there's no compulsion let him go up to Jerusalem and rebuild the house of God who is giving the daughter an ungodly even King the first thing that we need to learn in order to build the church as the body of Christ is that God is sovereign over all day be number one lesson we can never build it other way he saw it over the heat and there is no compulsion whoever wants to go let them go and if some of you don't want to go where's for you want to stay back you can support with money that is second better to go yourself and build the body of Christ in some place where it needs to be there is best second best verse for is to support with money if you can't go yourself that place to bring people to the Lord and build the church they're supported with money one of the two and it says here that some people went and here we read of a list of those people who went in chapter 2 these are the people who came up from Babylon to Jerusalem the leader was zero bubble God always leaves a man to lead people out of Babylon to build the true church the Anabaptist I spoke about they had their leaders godly men who stood for the building of the true church come out of corrupt system come out of church and state joining together and here's a big list in chapter 2 all the way down the whole chapter is almost full of people who they the list of the names of the people went what I want to say is God makes a note of the name of every person who has left a corrupt religious system and come into the true Church of the Living God God's got their names no compulsion Babylon is more comfortable it's difficult to go to Jerusalem is dangerous to go to Jerusalem it's expensive to go to Jerusalem why should we move we are comfortable here in Babylon and that's what a lot of people say believers who are sitting in ungodly systems too dated believers who should not be sitting in those ungodly system but it's more comfortable there you can get married with greater honor there you can get very this greater honor their Babylon is a better place to be in and so a lot of people stay but some people realize that God's house is being built yourself I must be there I must be where the anointing in not where I'm comfortable and thereby this system takes place and so they move and we read here in chapter 2 and verse 40 only 74 Levite webos why was that he believed I did not have any land a new unity go back to that place we won't get me mad and I don't know whether all the people of Israel would give us their tight because all of them are so poor so we better stay in Babylon we are more comfortable here they did not have faith to trust God for their need in chapter 2 verse 59 it says about certain people who could not give evidence of their fathers households whether they belong to Israel or not people are not very clear about their salvation there was a checkup made are you really lying literally are you really born again sometimes people come along into our churches they're not even the condylar proper testimony about their zombies he all this is written down there in great detail and then verse 62 some people think their ancestry but when they searched among their ancestor registration they could not be located so they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood and the governor said that they should not eat from the most holy thing Cilic we can come and discern whether you really belong to God or not he they were very exact they were very strict about these people who are coming to be built together in Jerusalem not any Tom Dick and Harry we want to see that you're really converted we are not interested in number that's the first thing we see there if we are not really radical if you don't belong to Israel sorry if you can't prove that you belong to Israel is there's no proof that you are turn from sin is there's no evidence of repentance John the Baptist told the Pharisees have a lot baptized so that's the lesson we learned there and as we move on to chapter 3 to 6 we read about the construction of the temple they there's a lot of unity there which says in verse 1 the sons of Israel were came as one man the Jerusalem wonderful verse the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem just like those 120 who waited as one man in the upper room for the Holy Spirit and it says here in Joshua verse 2 there's a body ministry here it's not just one man show in the body of Christ at the body ministry not one man show Joshua and his brothers the priests and all these people are roles in together built the altar and the first thing they did was set up the altar the message of the Cross Calvary very important as the first thing they did and they offered both offering we got all this proclaimed Calvary first when we want to build a body of Christ and then they celebrated the feast of booths according to the ordinance the honored God's Word and there was a continual burnt offering we read and then there was a time of trains when the builders were Stan laid the foundation of the temple the priesthood and with trumpets and symbols began to praise the Lord that's another thing that must be found in this house of God being built in Jerusalem the true church a spirit of praise and worship saying the Lord is good and the next thing that happens is opposition it is sold through to today chapter 4 verse 1 when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard they were building a temple they got together and first of all they said we will also join you and build with you because we also are seeking your God but their bubble and Joshua said verse 3 you have nothing in common with us we don't cooperate with unbelievers even if they say they are nominal Christian they say we also serve your God we are also Christians thank God for men like Jerry bubble and Joshua put their foot down and said nothing doing you got to be born again brother you want to work with us you got to be saved you got to come to the cross you got to repent we need more people like John the Baptist and their bubble and Joshua and then these people got upset so they joined up with the people of the land and it says here in verse for the people of the land tried to frighten them there was religious opposition there was fear harassment they hired counselors were spiked to frustrate their counsel all the opposition to these simple people who just want to build a temple frighten them worse for exactly the same as today when you try to build it the house of God is the body of Christ and not some dead denominational system you're going to face opposition if you are just interested in coming out or he just againin and living an individual holy life there's not much of a problem you just overcome the last of your flesh but you go further than that and move into that second movement from Babylon Jerusalem you're going to run in a real problem i'll tell you that opposition but God is sovereign and we read here God permits this opposition and and he allows he overcomes it kings and decrease there was there was a reader in verse 17 to 23 that send into 22 there was a decree that came from the king and they had sent a request to the king and they went with that order of the king and went in his verse 23 Jerusalem and stopped them and the work in the house of God verse 24 was stopped because one King got influenced by all these people who gave false report against them there's a lot of false reports when we try to serve the Lord and they'll repeat the religious secular authorities or influence whether the policeman so many people will be turned against us and the work stops and what does God do he killed that King and another thing called Darius comes up in verse 24 and then there is to go earth at sixteen years later and then when the prophets now two prophets came up chapter five Haggai and Zechariah and they began to encourage you you know what hag I was telling the people there you fellas are worried about these enemies you reading the book of Haggai you say the time has not yet found the time is Margot come you're building your own houses and the house of the Lord is not being built and he stirred up the people and zero bubble and Joshua rose again and they were not afraid and they began to build a house of God and the prophets of God were supporting them and verse 3 again the enemies were stirred up who told you to build this temple and here's his wonderful words were spying the eye of God was upon them and they could not stop them until the report came to this new King Darius and it sent a report to Darius and [Music] Darius chapter 6 issued another decree and he found the decree with Cyrus had made see the sovereignty of God here and then he sent a message saying we're seven leave this work chapter six verse seven lead this work on the house of God alone I issue a decree that you must do whatever you can to help build this house verse 8 and the full cost is to educate from the royal treasury out of the taxes and whatever is needed Bulls Rams anything but the God of heaven it must be given do you know who was Darius's counselor Daniel God is God this deal I tell you it's wonderful to see the sovereignty of God Darius comes up and supports the work the role is found the opposition works for good because ultimately we get more but area says you can get all these things from the Treasury itself and the government pays the cost and day by day every day verse 9 whatever they need must be given to them and chapter 6 verse 14 we read the elders of the Jews were successful in building through the proper training of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah he finished building it and the temple was completed verse 15 in the third day of the month the sixth year it was a body ministry all joining together it started with a very small thing but it became not as big a temple as Solomon's time a small thing but still they completed the house of God now after chapter 6 verse 21 you find as a big gap of about 60 years and in this gap between chapter six in Chapter seven the story of Esther comes in Esther you know who married the king and then we come to chapter 7 of the return and reformation under s rock now Ezra is in another group the first group was Haggai Zechariah their bubble and Joshua and now Ezra comes in with another group and one servant of God passes away another generation God raises up another praise God for that the generation of the generation God raises up at least one man to be the leader of his people and Ezra was a teacher it says in verse 6 he was a scribe was killed in the law of Moses a man who'd studied deeply the Word of God God will not use a man who is not been kind seriously studying the Word of God so please remember that these student of God's Word if you want God to use you and we read that Ezra there he leads the people out of up to Jerusalem and the king of that time was a descendant of Esper by the way because Esther was the queen of the previous King and we read here further in chapter 8 verse 1 another list of the people who went out verse 15 to 20 and this time we read there are no Levi only 38 of them i think in verse 18 to 19 38 realize the number decreases the less and less people who can trust God to live by faith and there are number of things we see here about the carefulness with which Ezra weighed out verse 8 25 the silver and the gold and wait it out to them very careful with God's money and said to them this is a sacred deposit be careful you must when you come to Jerusalem you must deliver this care carefully teaching us that they must be very faithful with the use of money you find the word the hand of God upon us in verse 18 the hand of God upon us in verse 22 and so on they trusted in God now in chapter 9 verse 1 we read a problem of mixed marriage and when they had the problem with the mixed marriages they brought it to the elders and the elders we read deal with that and in chapter 10 verse 1 we read about Ezra praying making confession weeping prostrating himself what a man and the scholar in God's Word but one who weeks and praised there must be the sound of praise in the house of the Lord and there must be the sound of weeping also look at his concern for the glory of God throughout this prayer as he reads it as he praised his prayer and it says Ezra rose in verse 5 and made the leading praise take an oath and they took an oath mayrose went to the house of God and he did not eat bread or drink water but he was morning were 60 the unfaithfulness of the Exile and thus we find he teaches them to make restitution set things right make confession verse 11 and then again there's a list who verse 18 onwards to 44 of the offenders God kept a list of the compromisers dude that's how the book of Ezra n-now basically what we see here in Ezra is the beginning of a movement to Babylon from Babylon to Jerusalem which we will see more off as we study other books of the Old Testament let's pray

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Keywords: Revival, Character Of God, Free Sermons, Video Sermons, Jesus Christ, What Is The Gospel, SermonIndex, What Is The Truth, Zac Poonen

Id: CRcNA97zz8o

Length: 53min 23sec (3203 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 06 2017