Morning Church. Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Ezra.
The book of Ezra, chapter 1, it's on page 362 in your Bibles.
Last week, Pastor Nick gave us an overview of Ezra and Nehemiah.
And two books, they were originally one book, most likely.
They still are one book in Hebrew Bibles today.
This book about the people of Israel returning from their exile in Babylon.
So this morning we're going to dig into the first two chapters of the book of Ezra.
And I want to start by reading chapter 1 and the first two verses of chapter 2.
So let's read these verses together.
The book of Ezra.
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled,
the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia,
so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing.
Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia,
The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth,
and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him,
and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah,
and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel.
He is the God who is in Jerusalem.
And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns,
be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts,
besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin,
and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred,
to go out to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem.
And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts,
and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered.
Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord
that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods.
Cyrus, king of Persia, brought these out in the charge of Mithradath,
the treasurer who counted them out to Shesh-bazar, the prince of Judah.
This was the number of them.
Thirty basins of gold, a thousand basins of silver,
twenty-nine censers, thirty bowls of gold, four hundred ten bowls of silver,
and a thousand other vessels.
All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand four hundred.
All these did Shesh-bazar bring up when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.
Now these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity
of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried captive to Babylonia.
They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.
They came with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Zerah, Rileah, Mordecai,
Bilshan, Mizpar, Bigbi, Rehum, and Bono.
Now, what's your family history?
What are your roots?
On the one hand, many people who live in modern cities are increasingly disconnected from their roots.
Many of us live far from parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins.
Some people move to cities for that purpose, to escape the oppressive patterns
and unwanted constraints of their families of origin.
Other people would prefer to stay where they grew up,
but the educational and career opportunities are lacking,
and so people are drawn to move.
But those opportunities are often temporary,
and they often lead to more travel and more transients,
and it's hard to find a place to settle down and plant roots.
Now, on the other hand, though many of us are disconnected from our roots,
we can also see a growing interest in reconnecting with our roots.
The past couple of years, one of the most popular Christmas presents
has been DNA testing kits from companies like AncestryDNA or 23andMe
that tell you where your ancestors may have come from.
And there are also all kinds of websites and apps.
Some of you are probably more familiar with them than I,
but they can help you build a family tree
and even connect with long-lost relatives.
I know for some of you it's been very meaningful to meet a relative
that you didn't know existed,
or to learn about a part of your family history
that had been forgotten over time.
Why are we drawn to reconnect with our roots?
Even though it can be inconvenient,
even though it can be at times painful
to learn about troubling or broken parts of our family history.
Well, I would suggest this.
As human beings,
we don't flourish by trying to live completely disconnected from the past.
Whether or not we want to admit it,
we wouldn't be here today
apart from those who have come before us.
And part of being human is that
we want to be part of something bigger than ourselves.
Self-actualization,
whatever that is,
doesn't all by itself end up being that fulfilling
in the long term.
We want to be part of a people.
We want to be part of a family.
We want to be part of a legacy
that has roots in the past
and that will live on into the future.
We want a place to belong.
And that's in large part
what these books,
Ezra and Nehemiah,
were willing to provide.
Ezra and Nehemiah
tell the story of
the Israelite exiles
returning to the land.
We've entitled this sermon series
Rebuilding the Ruins.
The story covers over 100 years
from 538 B.C.
at the beginning of Ezra
to about 430 B.C.
at the end of Nehemiah.
Now we don't know exactly
when the book was compiled
or who wrote it.
Some have suggested
that Ezra himself
may have been responsible
for compiling it.
But the author
drew from several
historical sources.
We have quotes
from Persian government
correspondents.
We have census records.
We have other official lists.
And we have personal memoirs
of both Ezra and Nehemiah.
As we'll see
throughout these books,
there are many reasons
to believe that these books
are historically accurate.
But Ezra is about
much more than preserving
historical information
from a bygone era.
What Ezra is doing
is he's connecting
the people's present experiences
with their past history.
These people have been displaced.
Their ancestors were moved
to Babylon unwillingly.
And then they come back.
Their lives have been
sort of in upheaval.
They're rebuilding
a ruined city
and a ruined nation.
But Ezra wants them to know
that they are not
ruthless.
They have a heritage.
They have a history.
And because they have
a heritage
and because they have
a history,
they have a mission
in the present
and they have a hope
for the future.
And for those of us
who are Christians,
if you are a Christian,
this is also part
of your spiritual heritage.
Ezra Nehemiah
is a part of our heritage
that perhaps we may have
neglected or forgotten
or haven't spent,
perhaps we're not as familiar
with it as with some other parts
of our spiritual heritage.
But it points us
to our mission
in the present
and our hope
for the future.
If you're not a Christian,
if you're exploring Christianity,
I hope that as we look
through these books
over the next couple of months
and today,
that they'll introduce you
to the story of the Bible
and to the God of the Bible.
Because if you come to believe
and trust
in the God of the Bible,
then this story
becomes your story too.
It becomes part
of your heritage as well.
This morning we're looking
at the first two chapters
of Ezra
and I want to do two things.
I want to show you
the story that Ezra
was telling his people
and second,
why that story matters
to us today.
So the story Ezra
is telling his people
in these two chapters
is this,
the same God
who brought the children
of Israel
out of slavery in Egypt
has now brought you back
from exile in Babylon.
The same God
who long ago
brought the children
of Israel
out of slavery in Egypt
has now brought you back
home from exile
in Babylon.
If you notice,
Ezra ends,
or sorry,
Ezra begins
with the two verses
that 2 Chronicles,
the page right before Ezra,
end with.
Okay?
If you look back
at that page,
2 Chronicles 36.22
now in the first year
of Cyrus,
King of Persia,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Beginning of Ezra
in the first year
of Cyrus, King of Persia
goes on.
So Ezra is very intentionally
picking up
on an unfinished story.
It's continuing
the story
of Chronicles.
Now,
Chronicles
summarizes
the history
of God's people
from the creation
of the world.
The first
part of Chronicles
begins
with
a genealogy
that goes from
Adam
to Abraham.
It's basically
summarizing
in condensed form
the entirety
of the Old Testament
from Genesis
to the end
of Kings
in one book.
So Chronicles
just sort of
gives you
a compact version
and highlighting
certain things.
Ezra is continuing
that story.
Intentionally
and self-consciously
he's continuing
this story
that has already begun.
And specifically
in chapters 1 and 2
we see three
significant parallels
between what God
did to bring
the children of Israel
out of slavery
Egypt
and what God
did to bring
the children of Israel
back from exile
in Babylon.
So let me show you
these three parallels.
First,
first parallel
one,
God works
through a pagan
king
to deliver
his holy people.
We see this
in verses 1
to 4
of Ezra chapter 1.
Now,
if you are familiar
with the story
of the Exodus
we studied
the book of Exodus
last year
but I'll sort of
try to summarize it
for you
if you're not familiar
with it.
It's the story
of God bringing
the people of Israel
out of slavery
in Egypt
teaching them
his law
and then coming
to dwell
among them.
Sort of God
making these people
his own.
And at the beginning
of the book of Exodus
we encounter Pharaoh
the king of Egypt
and he's the enemy
of the Israelites.
He is dead set
against them
from the beginning.
He tries to get rid
of them.
He tries to exterminate
them first quietly
and gradually
and then openly
and he resists
the repeated warnings
of Moses and Aaron
even of his own
court officials.
But what we see
in Exodus
is that at the same
time that Pharaoh
is the sworn enemy
of God's people
he also ends up
being an unwitting
instrument of God's
purposes.
So Exodus chapter 9
verse 16
God says to Pharaoh
for this purpose
I raised you up
to show you
my power
that my name
may be proclaimed
in all the earth.
See Pharaoh
wanted to be
in charge of everything.
And yet
what you see
in the book of Exodus
is that God
was working out
his sovereign purposes
even through Pharaoh
who was dead
to death
against God
and his people.
Exodus even says
in several places
God hardened
Pharaoh's heart.
In other words
God judged Pharaoh
by sort of
giving him over
to his own
stubborn desires
and plans
and then working
his purposes
through them
so that everyone
would ultimately
see that God
and not Pharaoh
was the true
Lord over all.
So in Exodus
God worked
through a hostile
pagan king
in order to deliver
his holy people
and in Ezra
we see that
same pattern.
God works
in the heart
another pagan king
to deliver
his holy people
namely Cyrus.
Now Cyrus
is not
openly hostile
like Pharaoh.
Cyrus
has a much more
friendly
and tolerant
policy.
We know about
Cyrus from
several historical
sources
not only
the biblical text
but from many
other historical
writings.
He defeated
the Babylonians.
He ascended
to power
in 539 BC.
That's the first
year Cyrus
came in Persia
and in contrast
to the Babylonian
and Assyrian
kings who had
preceded him
he took a much
more tolerant
policy towards
conquered people
groups and
their local
religious customs.
So previous
Babylonian emperors
like Nebuchadnezzar
had deported
conquered people
groups and
had destroyed
their temples
and had confiscated
their valuable
artifacts and
brought the images
of their gods
and the vessels
from their temples
to Babylon
to sort of
show off
and say
ha
you see
we conjured
your gods
we conjured
your people
and now
we're going to
show it off
to the world.
But Cyrus
took a different
attack.
Cyrus was
wanting to
build a big
empire
but he thought
better to
use carrots
than sticks
shall we say.
He said
let's make
people happy
let's let
people go
back home
let's let
everybody
worship their
own gods
as they
please
and then
they'll be
happier to
you know
they won't
be as
prone to
rebel.
You know
they'll be
on board
with our
big virgin
empire.
So
archaeologists
have found
a place
still in
or commissioned
by Cyrus
explaining his
policies in
this regard.
Here's what's
called the
Cyrus cylinder
from 539
BC or 538
BC says
Cyrus writes
I returned
the images
of the gods
who had
resided in
Babylon to
their places.
I gathered
all their
inhabitants and
returned to
them their
dwellings.
I settled
in their
habitations the
gods of
Sumer and
Akkad whom
the former
Babylonian
emperor
Nabonidus
had brought
into Babylon.
Then he
says here's
sort of the
religious worldview
behind it.
He says may
all the gods
whom I
settled in
their sacred
centers ask
daily of
Bel and
Nabu that
my days be
long and
may they
intercede for
my welfare.
So he's
basically hoping
that all these
other gods in
sort of these
far-flung
provinces would
pray to the
head gods who
he really
believed in
Bel and
Nabu who
were the
Babylonian
gods.
And he
thought you
know they'll
help out
you.
So that's
sort of
Cyrus'
motivation.
Cyrus was
not a
believer.
He was
not a
believer in
the God
of the
Bible.
He did
not believe
that the
God of
the Bible
was the
one and
only true
God.
And if
you read
verses 2
to 4
they're not
a declaration
of exclusive
loyalty to
the Lord.
Cyrus
sort of
carefully
avoids
making a
declaration of
exclusive loyalty
in those
verses even
though he's
very respectful
to the
Jewish
exiles who
wanted to
rebuild their
own temple.
So Ezra
tells us that
he extended
the policy
that was
inscribed on
that cylinder
to the
Israelites as
well.
He permitted
and even
promoted the
return of the
exiles to
Jerusalem and
the rebuilding
of a temple
to the God
of Israel
there.
So this is
the first
parallel in
Exodus.
God works
through a
hostile pagan
king to
deliver his
people and
Ezra God
works through a
friendly pagan
king to
deliver his
people.
So that's
the first
parallel.
Second
parallel is
in verses 5
to 11 God
provides the
materials for
his people to
build his
house.
Now if you
read Exodus
when the
people of
Israel left
Egypt they
didn't leave
empty handed.
So Exodus
12, 35 and
36 the people
of Israel asked
the Egyptians
for silver and
gold jewelry and
for clothing and
the Lord gave
people favor in
the sight of the
Egyptians so they
let them have
what they asked
thus they
plundered the
Egyptians.
In some ways
it was a
reversal.
For years,
decades the
Egyptians had
been plundering
the Israelites
profiting from
their slave
labor and
now as they
left the
Israelites
finally received
some compensation.
And later on
in Exodus
we see that
those items
were used to
construct the
tabernacle.
The dwelling
place where
God had
promised to
be with his
people.
God provided
exactly what
they needed to
build his
house.
We see the
same thing here
in Ezra.
Verses 5 to
11, God
stirred up the
spirit of Cyrus.
Verse 1, he
stirred up the
spirit of his
people.
Verse 5, and
he supplies them
with all that
they need.
Verses 6 and
7, all who are
about to
aid in them
with vessels
of silver,
gold, goods,
beasts, and
costly wares.
Verse 7 notes
that Cyrus also
brought out the
vessels of the
house of the
Lord that
Nebuchadnezzar,
Babylonian emperor,
70 years ago,
or sorry, 50,
it wasn't 70,
it was 50,
about 50 years
ago, had
carried away from
Jerusalem and
placed in the
house of his
God.
So again,
there's this
reversal.
Right?
What had been
lost in the
exodus to
Babylon was
now being
restored to
its proper
place in
the worship
of God.
And verses
8 to 11
give us an
inventory of
some of those
items.
So there's
second parallel,
God provides
the materials for
his people to
build his house
in Exodus,
and again,
in Ezra.
Third parallel,
God organizes
the people whom
he has
delivered.
And this is
chapter 2.
Now, when
God brought
the people out
of Egypt,
he organized
them in the
wilderness,
and we see
this especially
in the Old
Testament book
of Numbers.
People were
organized tribe
by tribe,
and each tribe
had its proper
place.
There were
three tribes
on the north
side,
three on the
south side,
three on the
east side,
three on the
west side,
and in the
middle of the
camp was the
tabernacle.
In other
words,
the Israelite
camp was
organized around
the centrality
of the worship
of God.
And the
priests and
Levites were
responsible for
the tabernacle.
They were
assigned specific
duties so that
the community
would function
as a cohesive
whole.
And that's
also what we
see here in
Ezra 2.
God organizes
the people
who he
delivers.
Psalm 68
says,
God sets
the lonely
in families,
he leads
forth the
prisoners with
singing.
And that's
what God
does with
the returning
exiles.
They're not a
nameless,
faceless mass.
They're not
simply an
aggregate number.
No, in the
family of God,
everyone has a
place to belong,
and everyone has
a reason to
rejoice.
Now look down
to chapter 2
for a minute.
We won't
read through
it, but
notice how
it's organized.
First, the
first two
verses, we
see the
leaders of
the community
in verse 2.
Beginning with
Zerubbabel,
who was a
member of the
royal line
descended from
King David,
and Jeshua,
who became
the high
priest.
So those
two will show
up later in
the story.
Nehemiah is
not the Nehemiah
who comes
70 years later.
I was
a common
name at the
time.
I was referring
to someone
else.
Then a list
of other
leaders.
And Nehemiah
7 repeats
the list in
verse 2,
and includes
a 12th name,
Nahamani.
So we have
12 leaders
representing
the 12
tribes.
So first,
the leaders
of the
community.
Then verses
3 to 35,
we see the
men of the
people of
Israel.
Then verses
3 to 20,
lists those
who are
descended from
particular known
families.
21 to 35,
we see those
who belong to
specific places.
Towns like
Bethlehem,
Nebo,
and Jericho.
So the
leaders,
people as a
whole,
verses 36
to 58,
we see the
temple officials
in four groups.
The priests
who had the
highest level
of authority
and responsibility,
the Levites
who served
under the
priests,
and then the
temple servants
and the sons
of Solomon
servants who
carried out
the more
mundane daily
tasks.
Then in
verses 59
to 63,
we have some
people who
could not
prove their
lineage.
So it would
be sort of
like somebody
today who's
lost all
their IDs
and has no
way of
retrieving them.
And so they
couldn't
demonstrate their
family
lineage.
And notice
how these
people were
dealt with.
they were
included with
the returning
exiles.
So they
were not
sent back
to Persia.
Even in the
Old Testament,
foreigners who
were pledging
their loyalty
to the God
of Israel
could join
the people
of Israel.
That was
true throughout
the Old
Testament.
And you
can even
notice some
of the names
in verses
43 to 54
in particular
are non-Israelite
names.
Egyptian names
like Zihab
and Asna,
Sisera,
and others.
So over
time there
were people
from other
nations who
joined the
Old Testament
people of
Israel.
That was
happening
throughout
the history
by people
declaring their
exclusive loyalty
to the God
of Israel,
the males
in the family
being circumcised
as a sign
of that
loyalty
and they
would join
in with
the people
of Israel.
However,
verse 62
says that
those who
could not
prove their
descent
were not
included
in the
priesthood.
God had
specifically
commanded that
the priest
must be
descended from
Aaron and
so in order
to obey that
command they
decided let's
play it safe.
If we can't
prove that
these men
are descended
from Aaron
it's better
to play it
safe and
wait for
more clarity
in time
rather than
risk disobeying
God simply
because of
the present
uncertainty.
And it
seems like
at least
one of
these families
was later
proven to
belong to
the priesthood
because one
of the names
appears later
in Ezra
in the list
of the priests
so it seems
like they
were able
to work
that out
over time.
So finally
verses 64
to 67
we get to
the totals.
Now by the
time we get
to the totals
most of you
are ready
to go on
from chapter
two and
go on to
chapter three
and pick up
the story
and leave
this long
list behind
and you're
thankful that
I didn't
read the
list verbatim.
But some
of you might
be detail
oriented
persons
or perhaps
slightly
obsessive
compulsive
persons
and I can
understand that
I had to
deal with
that and
quite
prove that
but if
you might
notice here
an important
detail
or some
perhaps
troubling
details
if you add
up the
individual
numbers
in all
of the
lists
in chapter
two
they add
up to
29,818
but verse
64 says
the total
is 42,316
also the
list in Ezra
two is
repeated in
Nehemiah
chapter seven
but several
of the numbers
and a few
of the names
in that list
are different
and also
the temple
vessels in
verses nine
and ten
of chapter
one
don't add
up to the
total in
chapter one
verse 11
so some
of you
might be
thinking
what's the
deal with
these
discrepancies
can we
really trust
that the
bible is
true and
reliable and
authoritative
if the authors
don't even
seem to have
their math
facts straight
so before
we move on
let me address
that concern
with three
points
first
briefly
first the
list are
most likely
incomplete
by the
time Ezra
Nehemiah
was written
430 BC
at the
earliest
the first
group of
exiles had
returned over
a hundred
years previously
and particularly
in that time
it's certainly
possible that
some of the
records of
particular
families
might not
have been
preserved
over those
hundred years
so the author
of Ezra Nehemiah
would have
simply recorded
the information
that was
available to
him at the
time
even if
information
about some
family groups
was no longer
available
second the
list in chapter
2 seemed to
list the men
from the tribe
of Judah
and the priests
from the tribe
of Levi
if that's true
the extra 13,000
could be women
children or
members of the
northern tribes
it would not be
surprising
for the
perilous
four month
long journey
from Babylon
to Jerusalem
to attract
a disproportionate
number of
young single
men and a
smaller number
of families
with children
so that's the
second possibility
third it is
possible that
at this point
the original
text of Ezra
Nehemiah was
not copied
precisely over
the centuries
so for centuries
the books of
the bible were
copied by hand
and we have
many copies of
the bible
from many
different periods
of history
so we have
the Dead Sea
Scrolls from
2nd century
3rd, 2nd, 1st
century BC
we have the
Greek versions
a translation
of the Old
Testament from
Hebrew into
Greek that
also is from
sort of pre
New Testament
times
we have the
Old Testament
quotations and
a whole range
of other
historical documents
we have what's
called the
Masoretic text
which is the
Hebrew text of
the Old Testament
from the early
Middle Ages
and so you can
compare all these
copies of the
Old Testament
with each other
and by and large
we can demonstrate
that the bible
has been extremely
well preserved
over time
the overall story
of the bible
has not changed
and many of the
details have been
very carefully
handed out
to us
even the
widest differences
among all the
copies of
biblical manuscripts
do not call
into question
any significant
biblical or
Christian teachings
so even if you
take the copies
of the bible
that are most
different from
each other
you've got the
same story
and you've got
the same basic
Christian doctrines
but when you
compare the
different managers
over time
there are a
couple areas
that do
occasionally diverge
and one of the
areas that seems
most prone to
variation is
long lists of
numbers
have you ever
tried copying
by hand
a long list
of unfamiliar
names
and numbers
and then
have somebody
else do it
and then
have somebody
else do it
so this is
an area
where we
may not be
100% sure
what the
original author
wrote
but having
said that
we can still
trust that
God inspired
the original
author to write
what God
wanted him to
write
that's what
the doctrine
of the
inspiration
of scripture
means
and that
God has
preserved for
us all
that we
need to
know
so even if
we can't
be 100%
sure about
some of
the numbers
and how
they add
up
we can
for all
these other
reasons
be confident
in the
trustworthiness
of the
scriptures
that we
read today
so having
addressed that
concern
let me get
back to the
main point
right
the same
God who
brought the
children from
Israel out
of Egypt
has brought
them back
from exile
and Babylon
right
in those
three parallels
God works
through a
painting to
bring back
his people
God provides
them with all
they need
to build
his house
and God
organizes the
people whom
he has
delivered
so that's
what Ezra
wants the
people to
know
at the
beginning
of the
story
it's the
same God
who's been
working all
along
now you might
say well why
does that story
matter to us
right
and this is the
second half
of the message
why does this
story matter to
us 2500 years
later
here's why it
matters
the same God
who brought
the children of
Israel out of
slavery in
Egypt
the same God
who brought
the exiles
from Babylon
is the God
and father
of our Lord
Jesus Christ
she's through
his life
death and
resurrection
Jesus accomplished
an even
greater
exodus
what did
Jesus accomplish
when he died
on the cross
he rescued us
from slavery
to sin
and Satan
and death
he opened the
way for us
to paradise
once more
Jesus came
to bring us
home to God
out of our
exile
out of our
lostness
out of
and back
into God's
family
with a place
to belong
forever
the apostle
Paul wrote
if you belong
to Jesus
to Christ
to the Messiah
you are
Abraham's
see Abraham's
children
and heirs
according
to the promise
of God
so if you've
entrusted yourself
to Jesus
this story
is also
your story
this God
is also
your God
so when we
read this book
about people
who lived long
ago and far
away
in different
historical
and cultural
contexts
we can still
trace the
fingerprints
of our
faithful
God
and Savior
we can still
see the same
God at work
who is taking
care of us
every day
and who
hears our
Christ
Paul wrote
in Romans 15
whatever was
written in the
former days
was written
for our
instruction
so that
through endurance
and through
encouragement
from the
scriptures
we might
have hope
so I want
to conclude
with three
specific ways
that Ezra
1 and 2
gives us
mission and
hope today
first
God is
still sovereign
over pagan
political leaders
right
in Exodus
God rescued
his people
despite
Pharaoh's evil
designs
in Ezra
God brought
his people
home
through a
friendly decree
of Cyrus
now if
were up
to me
I would
always
vote for
friendly Cyrus
over persecuting
Pharaoh
but in both
cases
God accomplished
his purposes
and God
rescued his
people
now the
New Testament
teaches us
that as
Christians we
have responsibilities
toward our
political leaders
to respect
those in
authority
to honor
the law
of the
land
unless it
conflicts
with the
law of
God
to pray
for those
in authority
whoever they
may be
to seek
justice
and correct
oppression
but the
Bible also
tells us
in Proverbs
21
1
the king's
heart
is a
stream
of water
in the
hand of
the Lord
and God
turns it
wherever he
will
and otherwise
he would say
it like this
no matter
who is in
power on
earth
God is
still on
his throne
in heaven
and that's
something that
we need to
remember
today
we live in
uncertain
times
divided
times
tumultuous
times
American
Christians
today
can be
tempted
to line
up behind
one political
party or
another
to devote
ourselves
to one
candidate
or another
and to
give them
uncritical
and whole
hearted
support
but if
we are
Christians
our whole
hearted
allegiance
belongs
only
to
Jesus
Christ
he
alone
reigns
over
the
nations
in
righteousness
no
other
human
being
comes
anywhere
close
to his
majesty
his
mercy
his
justice
his
faithfulness
and so
knowing
that God
is still
on the
throne
can give
us a
steady
confidence
when the
world
feels
shaky
it can
give us
hopeful
perseverance
when the
world
seems hostile
and dark
and it
can give
us
humble
gratitude
when things
seem to be
going well
so that's the
first thing
that we can
hold on to
and remember
is that God
is still
sovereign
even over
pagan
political
leaders
second thing
that gives us
mission
and hope
is that God
still supplies
all we need
to carry out
all that he
stirs us
up to do
so God
stirred the
hearts of
his people
to return
and to
rebuild
the temple
but he
also supplied
them with
all that they
needed to
carry out
that task
now how
did God
provide
well
provided
through the
gifts of
neighbors
in Persia
some of
whom may
not have
even been
believers
verses
verse 6
all
more about
them
and he
provided
in part
through a
grant
from the
Persian
government
surprise
right
and
most of
all he
provided
with the
freely
given
offerings
of his
own
people
chapter 2
verses 68
and 69
God supplies
what we need
to carry out
what he
wants us
to do
now
this principle
can be
misused
in a variety
of ways
one way
it can be
misused
is to insist
that I
know exactly
what God
has stirred
us up
to do
and therefore
everybody else
better get
behind me
100%
and not ask
any questions
otherwise
they're
disobey
God
but that's
presumptuous
often that's
simply fearful
we have to
be humble
enough to
admit that
we don't
always see
everything
clearly
from the
start
and sometimes
we need
to change
course
it's right
for us
to pursue
plans
when they
seem
wise
and right
but
our plans
are not
always the
same thing
as God's
will
as the
elders
we've become
convinced
that this
building
project
is the
right
next step
for our
church
and as
the
members
we voted
overwhelming
last fall
to approve
it
so we
earnestly
desire
to see
God
supply
our
need
through
the
freely
given
offerings
of his
people
and we've
been encouraged
by some
of the
progress
we've
seen
we want
to encourage
ourselves
and our
plans
before
the
Lord
in
prayer
and
depending
on him
throughout
the
entire
process
and looking
to him
to lead
us in
all that
we do
we can
pray like
Paul does
in 2nd
Thessalonians
1
Paul says
we always
pray for
you
that our
God
may
fulfill
every
resolve
for good
and every
work of
faith
by his
power
so that
the name
of our
Lord
Jesus
may be
glorified
in you
and you
in him
that's
the purpose
that we
need to be
seeking in
everything we
do
you know
sometimes it
matters
less what
you do
and it
matters more
how we
do it
are we
doing it
so that
the name
of God
the name
of Jesus
would be
seen as
beautiful
and glorious
and the
people would
be blessed
so let's
pray that
God would
fulfill
every
resolve for
good
and every
work
motivated
by faith
that God
wouldn't
leave us
half finished
but he would
carry us
all the way
through
and guide
us to
the end
so that's
the second
thing God
supplies what
we need
to do what
he stirred
us up to
do
third
we can be
encouraged that
God still
organizes the
people whom
he has
delivered
God sets
the lonely
in families
and he leads
forth the
prisoners with
singing
everyone has
a place to
belong in the
family of God
and everyone
has a reason
to rejoice
have you found
your place to
belong
here
or in
some other
local
expression of
the family
of God
most of you
have been
coming to
Trinity for a
little while
you have
probably noticed
we have this
thing called
membership
and among
other things
when you
become a
member
we add
your name
to a
list
like the
list in
chapter 2
but you
know what
we use
that list
the elders
and the
staff pray
through that
list
we pray
for about
10 members
by name
alphabetically
every week
at staff
meeting
and at least
once a year
the elders
try to
connect with
everyone on
that list
to specifically
ask how
at the very
least
how can we
be praying
for you
to be
growing in
your water
with Jesus
and if
you're on
that list
and if
you just
sort of
disappear
and don't
come to
church for
several weeks
or a couple
months
we'll eventually
reach out to
you and say
we love you
and we miss
you
and can we
pray with you
can we help
you
the bible
tells us
not to
forsake
assembly
together
we don't
want to
let you
just drift
away
easily
you see
as the elders
we believe
that we have
a particular
responsibility
before God
to spiritually
care for
everyone
who says
count me
in
and put me
on that list
because I belong
to Jesus
and he's put me
on the list
in heaven
so I want to
put myself
on the list
in a local
family of
believers
on earth
so that as
the elders
as God's
under shepherds
care for me
I can be
reminded that I
have a great
shepherd in
heaven
who will never
forget me
and who will
not just let me
drift away
and who will
pray and who
is always
interceding
for me
you see
that's what
membership
is about
it's being
reminded that
we have a
faithful shepherd
who is always
looking after
us
so find a
place to
belong
whether it's
here or in
some family
of Christian
believers
and get on
that list
finally
you have a
reason to
rejoice
not only a
place to
belong
but we
have a
place to
belong
we have
a reason
to rejoice
that's why
we read
Psalm 126
earlier
when the
Lord restored
the fortunes
of Zion
we were
like those
who dreamed
and our
mouths were
filled with
laughter
and our
tongues
chouts
of joy
the Lord
has done
great things
for us
we are
glad
when we
know what
God has
done for
us in
Jesus
Christ
that he
loves us
that he
has reached
out to
us
that he
has called
us to
belong to
him
and know
his love
and be
assured of
his grace
and that he
will never
leave us or
forsake us
and that he's
going to walk
with us and
bring us all
the way to
our true
home in
heaven
that gives
us a joy
that sustains
us through
every trial
and difficulty
and disappointment
we know
we have
roots
in what God
has done in
the past
and we know
that we have
a hope for
the future
because the
same God
is going
to be with
us as we
move forward
let's pray
father thank you
for your
faithfulness
to the people
of Israel
thank you that
as we see
your faithfulness
to them in the
scriptures that
we can be
reminded of
your faithfulness
to us
we pray
that you
would draw
us to
near to you
and renew
our joy
today
Lord as we
celebrate the
Lord's Supper
renew our joy
we pray in
Jesus name
l relieve
of the
Jesus name
麥
to the
Lord as we
have
to
best
to
ios
and
to