1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,080 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 2 00:00:07,080 –> 00:00:16,580 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website openthebible.org. 3 00:00:16,580 –> 00:00:17,719 Let’s get to the message. 4 00:00:17,719 –> 00:00:18,680 Here is Pastor Colin. 5 00:00:18,680 –> 00:00:25,180 Please open your Bible at the passage that has been read for us in the Book of Ezra. 6 00:00:25,580 –> 00:00:31,340 I realize that this may be a part of the Bible that is less familiar for some of us, but 7 00:00:31,340 –> 00:00:37,660 I believe that it speaks very directly in multiple ways to each and every one of us 8 00:00:37,660 –> 00:00:38,660 today. 9 00:00:38,660 –> 00:00:46,259 I want simply this morning to tell the story for us to be oriented towards this part of 10 00:00:46,259 –> 00:00:51,139 the Bible and you will be able to make the connections. 11 00:00:52,099 –> 00:00:57,340 God’s people in the Old Testament were brought into the Promised Land and God blessed them 12 00:00:57,340 –> 00:01:04,660 there, especially during the reign of David and during the reign of his son, King Solomon. 13 00:01:04,660 –> 00:01:12,400 But after that, there was a long period of spiritual decline that lasted for about 400 14 00:01:12,400 –> 00:01:13,400 years. 15 00:01:13,400 –> 00:01:20,260 God’s people kept worshiping other gods, they committed all kinds of great evils, and 16 00:01:20,400 –> 00:01:27,459 despite some short-lived periods of reformation, they refused to return to the Lord. 17 00:01:27,459 –> 00:01:31,779 And so God gave them into the hands of their enemies. 18 00:01:31,779 –> 00:01:38,220 The armies of the king of Babylon came and laid siege to Jerusalem. 19 00:01:38,220 –> 00:01:44,419 Some gruelling months followed, and in the end, the city fell. 20 00:01:44,419 –> 00:01:47,580 At that time, many, many people died. 21 00:01:47,620 –> 00:01:52,699 A few escaped, but the vast majority of them were relocated. 22 00:01:52,699 –> 00:01:54,620 They were deported. 23 00:01:54,620 –> 00:01:59,440 They were resettled in Babylon. 24 00:01:59,440 –> 00:02:01,820 And some of the Psalms were written during that time. 25 00:02:01,820 –> 00:02:07,660 You may know Psalm 137, for example, by the rivers of Babylon. 26 00:02:07,660 –> 00:02:13,479 There, we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. 27 00:02:13,979 –> 00:02:18,240 So here are God’s people and they’re away from the place in which they had known the 28 00:02:18,240 –> 00:02:20,360 joy of worshipping God together. 29 00:02:20,360 –> 00:02:23,860 They wish that they could get back, but they’re not able to get back, and they are weeping. 30 00:02:23,860 –> 00:02:28,899 And they say, how can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? 31 00:02:28,899 –> 00:02:38,059 Now this exile, as it was known, lasted for seventy years. 32 00:02:38,059 –> 00:02:39,839 Seventy years! 33 00:02:40,100 –> 00:02:46,699 But no earthly kingdom lasts forever, and the kingdom of Babylon went into decline. 34 00:02:46,699 –> 00:02:53,020 The last of the Babylonian kings was a king by the name of Belshazzar, and he reigned 35 00:02:53,020 –> 00:02:59,600 over this vast Babylonian kingdom, but he was a man who lacked self-discipline. 36 00:02:59,600 –> 00:03:07,440 He was self-indulgent and he had absolutely no place for the living God in his life, whatsoever. 37 00:03:07,539 –> 00:03:12,360 And some of you may remember the story of Belshazzar that’s told in the book of Daniel 38 00:03:12,360 –> 00:03:14,279 and Chapter 5. 39 00:03:14,279 –> 00:03:24,740 One night this king held a drunken party and he called for the sacred cups that had been 40 00:03:24,740 –> 00:03:30,880 dedicated to the service of God in his temple to be brought out for this party, so that 41 00:03:30,880 –> 00:03:37,039 he could drink from the cups that had been dedicated to the service of the living God. 42 00:03:37,039 –> 00:03:41,259 It was an act of absolute defiance towards the living God. 43 00:03:41,259 –> 00:03:49,619 I’m Belshazzar, and I can do anything that I like and even God himself cannot stop me. 44 00:03:49,619 –> 00:03:53,080 Except that God did stop it. 45 00:03:53,080 –> 00:04:04,360 That night, as Belshazzar was eating and drinking, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote 46 00:04:04,380 –> 00:04:10,500 in the plaster on the wall of the palace. 47 00:04:10,500 –> 00:04:13,399 Belshazzar was absolutely terrified. 48 00:04:13,399 –> 00:04:20,239 The Bible says that the colour drained from his face and that his knees were knocking. 49 00:04:20,239 –> 00:04:24,179 The party stopped. 50 00:04:24,200 –> 00:04:31,200 No more music and they called for Daniel who had been known in earlier years to be able 51 00:04:31,200 –> 00:04:32,760 to interpret dreams. 52 00:04:32,859 –> 00:04:41,519 What did this strange writing that was engraved in the plaster on the wall mean? 53 00:04:41,519 –> 00:04:44,019 And Daniel was a man of great courage. 54 00:04:44,019 –> 00:04:51,380 He said to Belshazzar, the god who gives you breath, you have not honoured. 55 00:04:51,380 –> 00:04:58,720 Belshazzar, this finger writing in the plaster on the wall is the finger of God speaking 56 00:04:59,160 –> 00:05:05,920 and the words that were written were, many, many, tächel, parson. 57 00:05:05,920 –> 00:05:12,600 And Daniel interpreted these words, many, God has numbered your days. 58 00:05:12,600 –> 00:05:19,519 And that’s repeated twice, God has numbered your days. 59 00:05:19,519 –> 00:05:27,399 Tächel, you have been weighed in the balances and you have been found wanting. 60 00:05:27,640 –> 00:05:37,640 Parson, your kingdom is, present tense, divided and given over to the Medes and the Persians. 61 00:05:38,760 –> 00:05:44,920 And on that very night, the night of the drunken party, when their finger wrote on the plaster of 62 00:05:44,920 –> 00:05:53,559 the wall of the palace, on that very night, the army of a new king, stole into Babylon 63 00:05:54,679 –> 00:05:57,079 and that was the end for Belshazzar. 64 00:05:57,079 –> 00:05:59,799 He died that night, the night of the drunken party. 65 00:06:01,160 –> 00:06:06,920 And in the months that followed, this great and vast kingdom of the Babylonians became 66 00:06:06,920 –> 00:06:11,000 very quickly the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians 67 00:06:11,000 –> 00:06:17,079 and the new king, whose army entered Babylon that night, the night of the party, 68 00:06:17,720 –> 00:06:25,000 the new king was a Persian king by the name of Cyrus and the Book of Ezra that we’re looking 69 00:06:25,000 –> 00:06:30,920 at today begins in the very first year of his reign. 70 00:06:32,519 –> 00:06:36,200 Now I want us to get the sense of the story that we’re embarking 71 00:06:36,200 –> 00:06:39,959 on today and it is, first of all, the Book of Ezra, 72 00:06:39,959 –> 00:06:46,279 a story of a new beginning after a long period of disruption. 73 00:06:46,279 –> 00:06:47,640 Notice the very first verse. 74 00:06:48,519 –> 00:07:13,799 Now to be clear, Cyrus was a long way from being a believer. 75 00:07:14,760 –> 00:07:17,000 He clearly knew about the Lord. 76 00:07:17,079 –> 00:07:21,880 If you look in verse two, you’ll see that he refers to the Lord by name, 77 00:07:22,920 –> 00:07:27,480 but like many in his time, his idea seems to have been 78 00:07:27,480 –> 00:07:33,480 that different gods exercised authority in different regions of the world. 79 00:07:34,279 –> 00:07:36,600 And you see that, for example, in verse three, 80 00:07:36,600 –> 00:07:41,000 where he refers to the Lord as the God who is in Jerusalem. 81 00:07:41,880 –> 00:07:44,359 So this man had certainly heard the name of the Lord. 82 00:07:44,440 –> 00:07:48,440 He certainly didn’t know the living God who created the heavens and the earth. 83 00:07:49,720 –> 00:07:52,040 But here’s the encouragement for us today. 84 00:07:52,040 –> 00:07:54,679 We’re told that God stirred this man’s heart, 85 00:07:54,679 –> 00:07:57,799 and what that means is that God can stir the hearts of 86 00:07:57,799 –> 00:08:01,399 those who don’t know him as well as the hearts of those who do. 87 00:08:02,119 –> 00:08:03,559 And that is a wonderful encouragement. 88 00:08:03,559 –> 00:08:05,799 If you’re praying for someone who doesn’t know the Lord, 89 00:08:05,799 –> 00:08:09,160 who perhaps has been resistant to the Lord for years and years, 90 00:08:09,160 –> 00:08:13,079 God can stir the hearts of those who don’t know him 91 00:08:13,720 –> 00:08:17,000 as well as those who do. 92 00:08:17,720 –> 00:08:21,640 And here we’re told very clearly in verse one that God stirred 93 00:08:21,640 –> 00:08:25,320 the heart of Cyrus to make this proclamation. 94 00:08:25,320 –> 00:08:26,040 Verse three, 95 00:08:26,040 –> 00:08:29,320 Whoever is among you of all his people, 96 00:08:29,320 –> 00:08:33,159 may his God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem, 97 00:08:33,159 –> 00:08:38,039 which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord. 98 00:08:38,119 –> 00:08:45,479 Now, this was an extraordinary change in social policy 99 00:08:46,359 –> 00:08:47,719 in the world of that time. 100 00:08:49,400 –> 00:08:54,440 The Babylonian kings had done everything that they could 101 00:08:55,880 –> 00:09:00,359 to repress the distinctive faiths of the people that they 102 00:09:00,359 –> 00:09:01,320 conquered. 103 00:09:01,320 –> 00:09:03,239 This was why they relocated them. 104 00:09:03,239 –> 00:09:06,200 Let’s get them away from the place that they go to worship. 105 00:09:07,159 –> 00:09:08,679 Let’s put them in another place. 106 00:09:09,640 –> 00:09:13,239 And you remember the story of Daniel, how he and his young 107 00:09:13,239 –> 00:09:14,840 friends were taken to Babylon, 108 00:09:15,719 –> 00:09:19,400 and then they were taught the language and the literature 109 00:09:19,400 –> 00:09:20,760 of the Babylonians. 110 00:09:20,760 –> 00:09:22,280 The attempt, you see, 111 00:09:22,280 –> 00:09:27,400 was to erase the distinctiveness of their faith and the idea of 112 00:09:27,400 –> 00:09:30,679 the Babylonians was that if you could weaken the faith, 113 00:09:30,679 –> 00:09:33,559 the distinctive faith of these various peoples, 114 00:09:33,559 –> 00:09:36,280 then that would bring greater cohesion 115 00:09:36,280 –> 00:09:42,200 and therefore social stability to the empire and to The Kingdom. 116 00:09:43,559 –> 00:09:47,559 And the problem, of course, with that is that it simply didn’t work. 117 00:09:48,440 –> 00:09:50,359 I mean, you know, that this is a reality, 118 00:09:51,159 –> 00:09:55,880 that if you try and repress the faith of believing people, 119 00:09:55,880 –> 00:09:59,000 all that happens is that their faith gets stronger. 120 00:09:59,000 –> 00:10:00,280 It’s more and more resurgent. 121 00:10:00,280 –> 00:10:01,640 And that’s exactly what happens. 122 00:10:01,640 –> 00:10:06,200 You have Daniel with all of his courage and Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego. 123 00:10:06,200 –> 00:10:10,359 These are people who would rather die than deny the God who they love 124 00:10:10,359 –> 00:10:11,719 and the God who they worship. 125 00:10:11,719 –> 00:10:15,559 So what the Babylonians did in attempt to weaken faith 126 00:10:15,559 –> 00:10:21,239 actually only strengthened it and made it more resilient. 127 00:10:22,119 –> 00:10:24,760 Now when Cyrus comes to power, 128 00:10:24,760 –> 00:10:27,799 you have a new king with a new policy 129 00:10:27,799 –> 00:10:31,159 and he doesn’t waste any time in implementing it. 130 00:10:31,159 –> 00:10:36,520 The very first year we’re told at the beginning of verse 1 of king Cyrus. 131 00:10:36,520 –> 00:10:39,960 He is stirred by God to make this proclamation. 132 00:10:39,960 –> 00:10:43,880 Cyrus chose the opposite path from the Babylonians. 133 00:10:44,919 –> 00:10:48,119 He realized that what they had attempted simply didn’t work. 134 00:10:49,080 –> 00:10:53,799 And so instead of relocating people to other areas, 135 00:10:54,599 –> 00:10:57,880 what he said was, if you want to go back home you’re welcome to do so. 136 00:10:58,520 –> 00:11:00,359 In fact we’ll encourage you to do that. 137 00:11:01,640 –> 00:11:06,359 If you want to go back and rebuild the temple of your God 138 00:11:06,359 –> 00:11:09,000 and to practice your very distinctive faith, 139 00:11:09,000 –> 00:11:13,320 we’ll give you every encouragement to go after that and do so. 140 00:11:13,320 –> 00:11:19,479 And Cyrus believed that this was the way to have greater social cohesion 141 00:11:19,479 –> 00:11:23,400 and therefore to have greater stability in the kingdom. 142 00:11:23,799 –> 00:11:30,200 Please understand, then, this is a change of breathtaking proportions. 143 00:11:31,320 –> 00:11:36,840 God’s people have lived under the Babylonian regime for 70 years. 144 00:11:37,400 –> 00:11:40,440 The ones who had been in Babylon for the shortest period of time 145 00:11:40,440 –> 00:11:42,200 had been there for fifty years, 146 00:11:42,200 –> 00:11:45,479 and many had been there for a longer period of time. 147 00:11:45,479 –> 00:11:49,719 And now suddenly, almost overnight, everything changes. 148 00:11:49,719 –> 00:11:51,159 There’s a new policy, 149 00:11:51,159 –> 00:11:55,880 and they’re being actively encouraged to return to Jerusalem. 150 00:11:55,880 –> 00:12:00,039 So, the book of Ezra then is the story of a new beginning 151 00:12:01,320 –> 00:12:05,320 after a long period of disruption. 152 00:12:07,799 –> 00:12:11,799 Secondly, it is a story that speaks to us today 153 00:12:11,799 –> 00:12:15,080 because it is a story about a new passion 154 00:12:16,119 –> 00:12:19,320 after a long period of discouragement. 155 00:12:19,320 –> 00:12:20,840 Look at verse five if you would. 156 00:12:21,719 –> 00:12:23,719 Then, after the proclamation, 157 00:12:24,359 –> 00:12:27,880 rose up the heads of the father’s houses of Judah, and Benjamin, 158 00:12:28,760 –> 00:12:30,840 and the priests, and the Levites 159 00:12:30,840 –> 00:12:35,159 everyone whose spirit God had stirred 160 00:12:36,280 –> 00:12:39,080 to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord 161 00:12:40,119 –> 00:12:41,320 that is in Jerusalem. 162 00:12:42,919 –> 00:12:45,239 Now, in this series, 163 00:12:45,239 –> 00:12:47,080 we’re going to follow the story 164 00:12:47,960 –> 00:12:51,880 of those who returned to rebuild the House of God in Jerusalem, 165 00:12:53,239 –> 00:12:56,679 but behind that there is a deeper story 166 00:12:57,640 –> 00:12:59,640 that I also want us to follow. 167 00:13:01,000 –> 00:13:03,400 It’s the story about the rising 168 00:13:04,359 –> 00:13:08,520 and the falling of the level of spiritual life 169 00:13:09,239 –> 00:13:10,520 among God’s people. 170 00:13:11,559 –> 00:13:13,320 Think about the tide of the ocean, 171 00:13:13,320 –> 00:13:18,679 and the tide goes out and the tide comes in. 172 00:13:20,200 –> 00:13:23,880 It’s either falling or it’s rising, 173 00:13:25,239 –> 00:13:26,119 one or the other. 174 00:13:27,080 –> 00:13:28,359 And in the same way, 175 00:13:28,359 –> 00:13:32,039 there are times when the level of spiritual life 176 00:13:32,039 –> 00:13:33,559 among God’s people rises, 177 00:13:34,679 –> 00:13:37,559 and there are times when the level of spiritual life 178 00:13:37,559 –> 00:13:39,960 among God’s people goes into decline. 179 00:13:39,960 –> 00:13:41,880 There are times when God seems to be near, 180 00:13:42,119 –> 00:13:44,200 times when he seems to be far away. 181 00:13:44,200 –> 00:13:46,840 There are times where the blessing of God 182 00:13:46,840 –> 00:13:48,760 is just absolutely obvious 183 00:13:48,760 –> 00:13:50,679 and there are other times when we can hardly 184 00:13:50,679 –> 00:13:54,039 figure out what it is that the Lord is doing. 185 00:13:55,559 –> 00:13:58,599 Now, you see this rising and falling 186 00:13:59,239 –> 00:14:01,799 of spiritual life among God’s people 187 00:14:01,799 –> 00:14:04,039 in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. 188 00:14:04,520 –> 00:14:07,239 Let me give you two examples from the Old Testament 189 00:14:07,239 –> 00:14:08,760 and two from the New. 190 00:14:08,760 –> 00:14:11,159 From the Old Testament, Psalm 85 191 00:14:11,159 –> 00:14:13,479 which must often have been on the minds 192 00:14:13,479 –> 00:14:15,400 of the exiles during these years 193 00:14:15,400 –> 00:14:16,440 in Babylon. 194 00:14:16,440 –> 00:14:19,880 Restore us again, O God of our salvation 195 00:14:20,520 –> 00:14:22,919 and put away your indignation toward us. 196 00:14:22,919 –> 00:14:25,239 Will you be angry with us forever? 197 00:14:25,239 –> 00:14:29,159 Will you prolong your anger to all generations? 198 00:14:29,159 –> 00:14:31,559 Will you not revive us again 199 00:14:32,840 –> 00:14:36,200 that your people may rejoice in you? 200 00:14:37,239 –> 00:14:39,799 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord 201 00:14:39,799 –> 00:14:41,719 and grant us your salvation. 202 00:14:41,719 –> 00:14:43,320 Here are people who are wanting 203 00:14:43,320 –> 00:14:45,159 a greater blessing from God. 204 00:14:45,159 –> 00:14:46,840 O God, we need to be restored. 205 00:14:47,799 –> 00:14:49,400 We need to be revived. 206 00:14:50,280 –> 00:14:53,320 We’ve lost the joy that once we had. 207 00:14:53,320 –> 00:14:55,320 We need to get it back again. 208 00:14:55,320 –> 00:14:58,760 Will you do a new work in us and among us? 209 00:15:00,119 –> 00:15:02,200 You have a similar kind of desire 210 00:15:02,200 –> 00:15:05,400 for a greater level of spiritual life 211 00:15:05,400 –> 00:15:08,039 in Isaiah chapter 64. 212 00:15:09,000 –> 00:15:13,239 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down. 213 00:15:14,200 –> 00:15:16,280 Here are God’s people and they just long 214 00:15:16,280 –> 00:15:21,000 for a greater awareness of the presence of God among them. 215 00:15:21,000 –> 00:15:21,719 Why? 216 00:15:21,719 –> 00:15:25,400 To make your name known even to your adversaries 217 00:15:25,400 –> 00:15:28,039 that the nations may tremble at your presence. 218 00:15:28,039 –> 00:15:31,400 Let your presence among us, God be so evident 219 00:15:31,400 –> 00:15:33,159 that even those who don’t believe 220 00:15:34,359 –> 00:15:37,400 would not be able to deny the reality of it. 221 00:15:39,000 –> 00:15:41,799 And so here you have this great longing. 222 00:15:43,400 –> 00:15:47,080 We’re looking for a greater level of spiritual life, 223 00:15:47,080 –> 00:15:50,679 Oh, God, a greater awareness of your presence among us. 224 00:15:52,440 –> 00:15:55,320 And you find the same rising and falling 225 00:15:55,320 –> 00:15:57,159 of spiritual life in the New Testament. 226 00:15:57,159 –> 00:15:59,719 Again, let me give you briefly a couple of examples 227 00:15:59,719 –> 00:16:02,599 in Romans chapter 13 and verse 11, 228 00:16:02,599 –> 00:16:04,599 the apostle writes to Christian believers 229 00:16:04,599 –> 00:16:05,799 and he says this, 230 00:16:06,200 –> 00:16:10,119 The hour has come for you to wake from sleep. 231 00:16:11,799 –> 00:16:13,000 Now, what is that saying? 232 00:16:13,000 –> 00:16:15,000 Very clearly here are Christian believers 233 00:16:15,000 –> 00:16:16,440 and they’ve become lethargic. 234 00:16:17,960 –> 00:16:23,640 They become sleepy, they’ve lost energy. 235 00:16:24,520 –> 00:16:27,000 And the apostle says it’s time to wake up. 236 00:16:28,760 –> 00:16:30,919 And you have the same language in the book of Revelation 237 00:16:30,919 –> 00:16:34,520 from the risen Lord Jesus himself speaking to his church. 238 00:16:34,520 –> 00:16:39,080 Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die 239 00:16:39,080 –> 00:16:42,520 for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God 240 00:16:42,520 –> 00:16:45,559 and if you don’t wake up, I will come like a thief 241 00:16:45,559 –> 00:16:49,719 and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 242 00:16:49,719 –> 00:16:51,400 So the point I’m trying to establish 243 00:16:51,400 –> 00:16:54,440 from both the Old Testament and the New Testament 244 00:16:54,440 –> 00:16:57,880 is that the level of spiritual life among God’s people 245 00:16:57,880 –> 00:16:59,559 is like the tide of the ocean. 246 00:17:01,640 –> 00:17:04,119 It comes in, it goes out. 247 00:17:05,479 –> 00:17:08,359 It goes out, it comes in. 248 00:17:09,400 –> 00:17:13,479 But it’s always either rising or else it is falling. 249 00:17:16,119 –> 00:17:18,040 Now, you don’t need me to say again 250 00:17:18,040 –> 00:17:20,280 that these are difficult days for God’s people, 251 00:17:20,280 –> 00:17:22,359 we’re all very, very aware of that. 252 00:17:22,359 –> 00:17:23,560 But let me put it this way. 253 00:17:23,560 –> 00:17:26,359 These are days, surely when we need 254 00:17:26,359 –> 00:17:30,280 a fresh infusion of spiritual life. 255 00:17:31,239 –> 00:17:34,439 Let me read a quote to you from Professor Robert Kollman, 256 00:17:34,439 –> 00:17:36,760 who used to teach at Trinity. 257 00:17:36,760 –> 00:17:40,680 It was very striking to me reading it just this week. 258 00:17:40,680 –> 00:17:43,479 He says this, quote, 259 00:17:43,479 –> 00:17:47,880 for many good people even within the church, 260 00:17:49,400 –> 00:17:51,239 life has lost its meaning. 261 00:17:52,839 –> 00:17:55,479 There is no sparkle in the eye. 262 00:17:56,680 –> 00:17:59,040 No spring in the stem. 263 00:17:59,680 –> 00:18:01,359 No spring in the step. 264 00:18:03,119 –> 00:18:07,760 And as the religious community flounders in mediocrity, 265 00:18:08,319 –> 00:18:12,239 the world plunges deeper into sin. 266 00:18:14,880 –> 00:18:16,400 I wonder if you relate to that. 267 00:18:18,319 –> 00:18:20,880 Long period of discouragement. 268 00:18:22,560 –> 00:18:24,719 And there’s no sparkle in the eye. 269 00:18:26,640 –> 00:18:28,719 There’s no spring in the step. 270 00:18:29,359 –> 00:18:32,319 You get more and more tired and jaded and 271 00:18:33,760 –> 00:18:37,520 our walk with God slides into mediocrity 272 00:18:37,520 –> 00:18:45,199 while the world plunges deeper and deeper into sin. 273 00:18:45,199 –> 00:18:46,959 And that’s how it was in Babylon. 274 00:18:48,640 –> 00:18:50,800 And what you have in Ezra in chapter 1 275 00:18:50,800 –> 00:18:54,800 is what we desperately need today, a spiritual awakening. 276 00:18:55,800 –> 00:18:59,719 God stirred the hearts of his people. 277 00:18:59,719 –> 00:19:03,560 There was a fresh outpouring of faith, 278 00:19:03,560 –> 00:19:07,239 and of joy, and of love, and of hope. 279 00:19:07,239 –> 00:19:09,560 A fresh infusion of energy, 280 00:19:09,560 –> 00:19:13,959 a recovery of a sense of calling, and a sense of purpose. 281 00:19:15,719 –> 00:19:17,719 What we have in the book of Ezra, 282 00:19:17,719 –> 00:19:20,079 and why it speaks so directly to us today 283 00:19:20,079 –> 00:19:23,239 is nothing less than a spiritual movement 284 00:19:23,280 –> 00:19:27,060 in which God stirred the hearts of his people, 285 00:19:27,060 –> 00:19:30,540 and when the hearts of God’s people were stirred 286 00:19:30,540 –> 00:19:34,699 there was a new passion that was birthed within them, 287 00:19:35,540 –> 00:19:38,619 a new love, a new joy, a new energy, 288 00:19:41,619 –> 00:19:43,880 and a new sense of purpose. 289 00:19:45,739 –> 00:19:47,680 So this is the book that we’re looking at, 290 00:19:47,680 –> 00:19:50,099 it speaks to us in multiple ways, 291 00:19:50,099 –> 00:19:52,219 it is the story of a new beginning 292 00:19:52,219 –> 00:19:54,339 after a long period of disruption, 293 00:19:55,260 –> 00:19:57,560 it is the story of a new passion 294 00:19:58,439 –> 00:20:01,040 as God stirred the hearts of his people 295 00:20:01,040 –> 00:20:05,380 after a long period of discouragement, 296 00:20:05,380 –> 00:20:09,420 and it is the story of a new challenge 297 00:20:10,339 –> 00:20:13,699 after a long period of stability. 298 00:20:15,000 –> 00:20:18,300 Now will you look with me again at verse 5. 299 00:20:19,160 –> 00:20:23,079 Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses 300 00:20:23,079 –> 00:20:26,199 of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites, 301 00:20:26,199 –> 00:20:30,739 everyone whose spirit God had stirred 302 00:20:31,979 –> 00:20:34,680 to go up to rebuild the House of the Lord 303 00:20:35,920 –> 00:20:37,339 that is in Jerusalem. 304 00:20:38,439 –> 00:20:41,479 Remember that God’s people had been 305 00:20:42,900 –> 00:20:47,900 at least 50 years in Babylon and, for some, much longer. 306 00:20:49,119 –> 00:20:51,979 And that suddenly, almost overnight, 307 00:20:53,079 –> 00:20:58,079 there is this radical sea change in social policy 308 00:20:58,079 –> 00:21:00,819 and people who have not had freedom to return 309 00:21:00,819 –> 00:21:04,140 are suddenly told that they’re actively encouraged 310 00:21:04,140 –> 00:21:07,339 to return to the city of Jerusalem. 311 00:21:09,099 –> 00:21:12,219 I want you to try and imagine this extraordinary moment 312 00:21:12,219 –> 00:21:14,500 in the lives of these people. 313 00:21:14,500 –> 00:21:19,500 Well, the king’s edict is read, no doubt, 314 00:21:19,579 –> 00:21:22,479 messengers sent out, proclaiming it. 315 00:21:22,479 –> 00:21:24,180 It was put in writing, we’re told, 316 00:21:24,180 –> 00:21:26,380 so no doubt it would have been posted 317 00:21:26,380 –> 00:21:28,760 on the walls of public buildings 318 00:21:28,760 –> 00:21:30,599 and very quickly the word spread, 319 00:21:30,599 –> 00:21:32,060 have you heard the news? 320 00:21:33,180 –> 00:21:36,420 The new king says we are free to return, 321 00:21:37,599 –> 00:21:40,180 we can go back to Jerusalem, we can rebuild, 322 00:21:40,180 –> 00:21:42,380 what are you going to do, what do you think? 323 00:21:42,439 –> 00:21:47,439 And these exiles had been in Babylon for 50 years. 324 00:21:52,219 –> 00:21:55,000 Those who had arrived as bright young students 325 00:21:55,000 –> 00:21:59,979 like Daniel in their twenties, they’re now in their 70s 326 00:22:01,339 –> 00:22:04,439 and those who had arrived earlier obviously much older 327 00:22:05,959 –> 00:22:08,099 and it’s not surprising that there would have been 328 00:22:08,099 –> 00:22:11,280 many who felt that it was simply too late 329 00:22:11,280 –> 00:22:13,979 for them to return. 330 00:22:13,979 –> 00:22:15,300 And then think about this, 331 00:22:15,300 –> 00:22:17,719 that after 50 years of exile, 332 00:22:17,719 –> 00:22:21,900 there were two full generations of God’s people 333 00:22:21,900 –> 00:22:24,560 who had never even seen the city of Jerusalem, 334 00:22:24,560 –> 00:22:28,780 not in their lives, the only thing they’d ever known 335 00:22:29,739 –> 00:22:32,300 was life at a distance from the city of God. 336 00:22:34,680 –> 00:22:38,839 And over the years, these people would have planted crops, 337 00:22:38,839 –> 00:22:41,079 they would’ve raised animals, 338 00:22:41,079 –> 00:22:43,900 they would’ve started small businesses in Babylon, 339 00:22:43,900 –> 00:22:46,119 in fact, that is precisely what God, 340 00:22:46,119 –> 00:22:48,920 through the prophet Jeremiah, had told them to do. 341 00:22:48,920 –> 00:22:51,839 If you check it out in Jeremiah, in chapter 29, 342 00:22:51,839 –> 00:22:53,520 God says to them through the prophet 343 00:22:53,520 –> 00:22:55,060 at the beginning of the exile, 344 00:22:55,060 –> 00:23:00,060 build houses, plant gardens, marry, raise families, 345 00:23:04,140 –> 00:23:07,719 and now suddenly after 50 years of doing that, 346 00:23:08,699 –> 00:23:11,260 they’re being invited to leave everything 347 00:23:11,260 –> 00:23:14,199 that they have built up behind 348 00:23:14,199 –> 00:23:16,199 and make an entirely new beginning 349 00:23:16,199 –> 00:23:17,939 in the ruined city of God 350 00:23:17,939 –> 00:23:21,199 that the vast majority of them had never even seen. 351 00:23:23,339 –> 00:23:26,260 What you gotta grasp is that these people 352 00:23:26,260 –> 00:23:28,739 had stability in Babylon. 353 00:23:30,219 –> 00:23:32,219 Babylon was safe. 354 00:23:33,180 –> 00:23:35,180 Returning to Jerusalem? 355 00:23:35,180 –> 00:23:36,900 That sounds risky. 356 00:23:37,979 –> 00:23:38,800 Risky. 357 00:23:40,479 –> 00:23:43,439 And you can imagine the conversations very easily. 358 00:23:44,599 –> 00:23:45,439 You’re going back. 359 00:23:45,439 –> 00:23:47,739 Well, I don’t know, why would I want to return? 360 00:23:49,760 –> 00:23:52,239 And what difference would it make if I did? 361 00:23:53,739 –> 00:23:55,160 Do I really want to leave all 362 00:23:55,160 –> 00:23:57,160 that I have built up here behind 363 00:23:57,160 –> 00:24:00,060 and make a new beginning in the ruined city of Jerusalem? 364 00:24:00,060 –> 00:24:02,359 I mean, it is not surprising at all 365 00:24:02,359 –> 00:24:05,420 that people made very different decisions. 366 00:24:06,420 –> 00:24:08,880 Right now, if you look just across the page 367 00:24:08,880 –> 00:24:11,819 in your Bible to Ezra chapter two, 368 00:24:11,819 –> 00:24:16,540 you will see that that chapter gives us a long list 369 00:24:16,540 –> 00:24:20,079 of the names of all the families 370 00:24:20,079 –> 00:24:24,400 that returned under the leadership of Zerubbabel 371 00:24:24,400 –> 00:24:29,180 when Cyrus the king granted them permission to do so. 372 00:24:30,239 –> 00:24:33,040 And, if you look down to verse 64, 373 00:24:34,040 –> 00:24:36,579 you will see in chapter two in verse 64 374 00:24:36,579 –> 00:24:38,459 that when all the numbers of all the families 375 00:24:38,459 –> 00:24:42,560 that did return at this time are added up, 376 00:24:42,560 –> 00:24:46,140 there were more than 42,000 of them 377 00:24:46,140 –> 00:24:49,160 plus servants and a few singers. 378 00:24:49,160 –> 00:24:50,979 And so if you round up these numbers, 379 00:24:50,979 –> 00:24:55,979 you’re around 50,000 people returned. 380 00:24:58,319 –> 00:25:00,979 Now professor Walt Kaiser 381 00:25:00,979 –> 00:25:05,900 estimates that 50,000 probably represents 382 00:25:06,400 –> 00:25:09,339 about one in six 383 00:25:10,719 –> 00:25:13,640 of all the exiles in Babylon, 384 00:25:15,199 –> 00:25:16,140 one in six. 385 00:25:17,560 –> 00:25:20,859 And here’s the question that I’ve tried to ask myself 386 00:25:20,859 –> 00:25:24,160 really honestly this week and I ask it of you. 387 00:25:25,640 –> 00:25:26,780 Would I have returned? 388 00:25:28,479 –> 00:25:29,640 Would I have returned? 389 00:25:31,079 –> 00:25:35,459 I mean seriously if I had lived 50 years in Babylon, 390 00:25:36,680 –> 00:25:39,520 my children, my grandchildren are there, 391 00:25:41,040 –> 00:25:43,939 I have a life in which I’ve developed a small business 392 00:25:43,939 –> 00:25:47,880 and have a little farm and I have stability 393 00:25:47,880 –> 00:25:50,400 and I have safety in Babylon, 394 00:25:50,400 –> 00:25:53,020 would I have chosen to move 395 00:25:53,020 –> 00:25:55,160 with that small community of people 396 00:25:55,160 –> 00:25:58,140 to a ruined city I had never even seen before 397 00:25:58,140 –> 00:26:00,280 in order to begin a new work for God? 398 00:26:00,300 –> 00:26:01,119 Would I have done that? 399 00:26:01,119 –> 00:26:02,319 Would you have done that? 400 00:26:04,680 –> 00:26:06,339 One thing’s absolutely certain, 401 00:26:06,339 –> 00:26:07,520 none of us would have done it 402 00:26:07,520 –> 00:26:12,060 unless our hearts were stirred by the living God 403 00:26:12,060 –> 00:26:14,660 and that’s the point of verse five. 404 00:26:14,660 –> 00:26:19,380 I think it’s remarkable that there were 50,000 people 405 00:26:19,380 –> 00:26:22,660 whose hearts God stirred to leave everything 406 00:26:23,979 –> 00:26:25,900 and to start a new work in a place 407 00:26:25,900 –> 00:26:29,459 that most of them had never even seen before 408 00:26:31,079 –> 00:26:34,319 to leave a cultivated life 409 00:26:35,540 –> 00:26:38,859 and start up afresh in a ruined city 410 00:26:40,060 –> 00:26:42,359 because that was the work 411 00:26:42,359 –> 00:26:45,359 that they knew God had called them to do. 412 00:26:47,099 –> 00:26:49,000 And then, as you follow the story, 413 00:26:49,000 –> 00:26:52,199 80 years later, 80 years later, 414 00:26:52,199 –> 00:26:54,500 there was a second wave of people that returned, 415 00:26:54,500 –> 00:26:57,160 this time under the leadership of Ezra, 416 00:26:57,160 –> 00:26:58,959 whose name, of course, is given to this book, 417 00:26:59,160 –> 00:27:00,959 although Ezra himself doesn’t actually appear 418 00:27:00,959 –> 00:27:03,319 in the story until about halfway through. 419 00:27:04,160 –> 00:27:08,640 And then 13 years after the time of Ezra, 420 00:27:08,640 –> 00:27:12,400 there was a third wave of people who returned, 421 00:27:12,400 –> 00:27:14,880 this time under the leadership of Nehemiah. 422 00:27:14,880 –> 00:27:17,839 And, of course, their story is in the book of Nehemiah 423 00:27:17,839 –> 00:27:21,280 that follows the book of Ezra in the Bible. 424 00:27:21,280 –> 00:27:22,280 But here’s the thing. 425 00:27:23,500 –> 00:27:28,500 Some, and perhaps many of God’s people, 426 00:27:28,959 –> 00:27:33,800 simply chose to stay in Babylon and never returned. 427 00:27:35,780 –> 00:27:38,239 And I’m sure that some of them 428 00:27:38,239 –> 00:27:40,959 would have had good reasons for not returning. 429 00:27:41,839 –> 00:27:43,199 Some surely would have said, 430 00:27:43,199 –> 00:27:45,760 well, you know, I have elderly loved ones, 431 00:27:45,760 –> 00:27:48,099 I mean, they’re not able to make this journey to Jerusalem, 432 00:27:48,099 –> 00:27:50,239 they can’t set up in some kind of camp 433 00:27:50,239 –> 00:27:52,599 in a ruined city, I mean, it’s just not possible. 434 00:27:52,599 –> 00:27:55,160 I have to care for them, I have to think about them, 435 00:27:55,160 –> 00:27:57,239 and so I’m not able to return. 436 00:27:57,500 –> 00:27:58,619 Perhaps there were other people who said, 437 00:27:58,619 –> 00:28:00,140 well, I have young children, 438 00:28:00,140 –> 00:28:01,880 I mean, how do you take young children 439 00:28:01,880 –> 00:28:05,800 into effectively a camp in a ruined city 440 00:28:05,800 –> 00:28:06,939 and try and rebuild, 441 00:28:06,939 –> 00:28:10,319 it’s not something that we can do, and so forth. 442 00:28:11,920 –> 00:28:13,920 And then I expect that there were others 443 00:28:13,920 –> 00:28:15,900 who could have gone back, 444 00:28:16,800 –> 00:28:19,020 but they had just got used to life in Babylon 445 00:28:19,020 –> 00:28:22,260 and life was comfortable for them in Babylon 446 00:28:22,260 –> 00:28:26,680 and their spirits were not stirred to return, 447 00:28:26,739 –> 00:28:30,859 and so they simply chose to remain where they were, 448 00:28:31,819 –> 00:28:33,640 at a distance from the city of God. 449 00:28:35,599 –> 00:28:38,400 Now here’s the really important question at this point. 450 00:28:39,579 –> 00:28:43,780 Why does the return matter, why is it important? 451 00:28:45,300 –> 00:28:48,020 Why is it that there are two whole books 452 00:28:48,020 –> 00:28:52,739 of the Bible dedicated to the story of the return, 453 00:28:52,739 –> 00:28:54,780 Ezra and Nehemiah? 454 00:28:55,760 –> 00:29:00,760 I mean, after all, God’s people who chose not to return 455 00:29:02,060 –> 00:29:05,900 could still continue to practice their faith in Babylon, 456 00:29:05,900 –> 00:29:08,260 I mean, they could read the Scriptures, 457 00:29:08,260 –> 00:29:09,839 they could pray, 458 00:29:09,839 –> 00:29:11,099 and they could bear witness 459 00:29:11,099 –> 00:29:14,140 to the Babylonian peoples around them 460 00:29:14,140 –> 00:29:18,239 and the Persians who then began to rule over them. 461 00:29:19,520 –> 00:29:22,319 And it is simply a matter of history 462 00:29:22,500 –> 00:29:25,760 that in fact many of them did just that. 463 00:29:26,880 –> 00:29:29,180 The whole book of Esther, for example, 464 00:29:29,180 –> 00:29:33,040 is not set in Jerusalem among the returning exiles, 465 00:29:33,040 –> 00:29:37,660 it’s set in the palace of Susa, the royal palace, 466 00:29:37,660 –> 00:29:39,219 and it’s a remarkable story 467 00:29:39,219 –> 00:29:41,619 about how God used faithful people 468 00:29:41,619 –> 00:29:44,280 who did not return to Jerusalem. 469 00:29:45,979 –> 00:29:48,640 And then there’s a whole history 470 00:29:49,500 –> 00:29:52,380 of the evolution of what is known 471 00:29:52,380 –> 00:29:54,479 as the Babylonian Talmud. 472 00:29:55,900 –> 00:30:00,579 A Talmud is simply devotional reflections on Scripture, 473 00:30:00,579 –> 00:30:02,140 and down through the generations 474 00:30:02,140 –> 00:30:04,640 of those who did not return to Jerusalem, 475 00:30:04,640 –> 00:30:08,099 there was this Babylonian Talmud that was developed. 476 00:30:08,099 –> 00:30:10,280 In other words, they reflected on the Scripture, 477 00:30:10,280 –> 00:30:12,420 they wrote their devotional thoughts on the Scripture 478 00:30:12,420 –> 00:30:14,979 and passed them down for generation to generation, 479 00:30:14,979 –> 00:30:16,579 the Babylonian Talmud. 480 00:30:16,800 –> 00:30:18,900 Here are people who still loved the Lord. 481 00:30:18,900 –> 00:30:20,760 They loved His Word. 482 00:30:20,760 –> 00:30:22,420 No doubt, they were faithful in prayer. 483 00:30:22,420 –> 00:30:25,140 No doubt, many of them had a faithful witness 484 00:30:25,140 –> 00:30:27,219 to those who were around them, 485 00:30:27,219 –> 00:30:30,020 but they did not return to Jerusalem. 486 00:30:31,219 –> 00:30:33,239 So, this is a very real question. 487 00:30:33,239 –> 00:30:34,959 Why does the return matter? 488 00:30:37,160 –> 00:30:41,439 Let me answer it as plainly and as simply as I can. 489 00:30:42,780 –> 00:30:44,900 Here’s why the return matters. 490 00:30:45,819 –> 00:30:48,060 Early in the Old Testament, 491 00:30:49,300 –> 00:30:52,079 God had said that there would be a place 492 00:30:52,079 –> 00:30:54,900 where He would put His name. 493 00:30:56,380 –> 00:30:58,339 Deuteronomy chapter 12 and verse five, 494 00:30:58,339 –> 00:31:00,380 though this language is repeated many times 495 00:31:00,380 –> 00:31:01,900 in the Old Testament, 496 00:31:01,900 –> 00:31:04,859 you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose 497 00:31:04,859 –> 00:31:07,939 out of all your tribes to put His name 498 00:31:07,939 –> 00:31:10,099 and make his habitation there. 499 00:31:10,099 –> 00:31:12,619 There you shall go. 500 00:31:12,619 –> 00:31:15,780 God’s going to put His name in a certain place 501 00:31:15,780 –> 00:31:18,040 and He’s going to be present there. 502 00:31:19,300 –> 00:31:21,660 He’s gonna make His habitation there. 503 00:31:23,099 –> 00:31:25,339 And, in the time of King David, 504 00:31:25,339 –> 00:31:27,219 David discerned that that place 505 00:31:27,219 –> 00:31:30,020 was the city of Jerusalem. 506 00:31:30,020 –> 00:31:32,939 And that is why he brought the Ark of the Covenant 507 00:31:32,939 –> 00:31:35,180 to Jerusalem, the city of God. 508 00:31:35,180 –> 00:31:38,699 And in Solomon’s time, the great temple was built, 509 00:31:38,699 –> 00:31:40,180 and when the Ark of the Covenant 510 00:31:40,180 –> 00:31:41,699 was housed in the temple, 511 00:31:41,699 –> 00:31:44,040 the glory of God’s presence, 512 00:31:44,040 –> 00:31:46,380 the cloud of His glory, came down 513 00:31:46,380 –> 00:31:48,719 and it filled the temple. 514 00:31:50,400 –> 00:31:53,180 Now, someone will, no doubt, say at this point, 515 00:31:53,180 –> 00:31:56,739 Oh, well now, that’s all Old Testament stuff. 516 00:31:57,800 –> 00:32:00,479 I mean, a place where God puts His name 517 00:32:00,479 –> 00:32:02,819 and says, I will meet you there. 518 00:32:02,819 –> 00:32:04,280 That’s Old Testament stuff. 519 00:32:04,280 –> 00:32:07,459 Now, I want to say our situation is not so different. 520 00:32:08,400 –> 00:32:10,160 Think about it. 521 00:32:11,319 –> 00:32:14,060 The purpose of God in our time 522 00:32:15,040 –> 00:32:17,599 is that there should be gathered congregations 523 00:32:17,599 –> 00:32:21,359 of believers who will exalt His name 524 00:32:22,319 –> 00:32:24,140 and His presence will come down 525 00:32:24,140 –> 00:32:25,380 and be known among them. 526 00:32:26,640 –> 00:32:29,780 Peter declares in the New Testament 527 00:32:29,780 –> 00:32:33,839 that we believers are living stones 528 00:32:35,020 –> 00:32:36,900 and God brings each of us together 529 00:32:36,900 –> 00:32:38,040 for what purpose? 530 00:32:38,040 –> 00:32:41,579 That we may declare the excellencies of Him 531 00:32:41,579 –> 00:32:43,420 who called us out of darkness 532 00:32:43,420 –> 00:32:45,920 and brought us into His marvelous light. 533 00:32:47,319 –> 00:32:49,020 And as God’s people come together 534 00:32:49,020 –> 00:32:50,579 and declare His praise, 535 00:32:50,579 –> 00:32:52,979 there’s a marvelous description 536 00:32:52,979 –> 00:32:55,540 in 1 Corinthians and Chapter 14 537 00:32:55,540 –> 00:32:57,420 of an unbeliever who comes 538 00:32:57,420 –> 00:32:59,780 into the worshiping congregation 539 00:32:59,780 –> 00:33:01,900 and as the word of God is opened, 540 00:33:01,900 –> 00:33:05,739 he experiences God speaking directly to him 541 00:33:05,739 –> 00:33:08,260 in the context of a worshiping congregation 542 00:33:08,260 –> 00:33:11,760 and he says God is really among you, 543 00:33:13,380 –> 00:33:14,800 God is among you, 544 00:33:17,300 –> 00:33:18,140 among you. 545 00:33:19,780 –> 00:33:21,939 See God’s purpose in the Old Testament 546 00:33:21,939 –> 00:33:25,900 was that there would be a place on earth 547 00:33:25,900 –> 00:33:27,619 where God’s people would gather, 548 00:33:27,619 –> 00:33:29,099 where they would exalt His name 549 00:33:29,099 –> 00:33:30,880 and where His presence would be known 550 00:33:30,880 –> 00:33:32,900 and God’s purpose in the New Testament. 551 00:33:32,900 –> 00:33:34,780 God’s purpose today 552 00:33:35,900 –> 00:33:40,359 is that there would be places in every community 553 00:33:41,979 –> 00:33:44,180 where God’s people gather, 554 00:33:44,180 –> 00:33:45,660 where His name is exalted 555 00:33:46,719 –> 00:33:49,760 and where His presence is known 556 00:33:51,020 –> 00:33:54,180 and that is the calling of the church 557 00:33:55,540 –> 00:33:57,839 and so here’s the burden of my heart 558 00:33:57,839 –> 00:34:01,380 that God would do again what He did in Ezra chapter one, 559 00:34:01,380 –> 00:34:03,660 that He would stir our hearts 560 00:34:03,660 –> 00:34:08,320 with a new desire to gather with His people, 561 00:34:09,459 –> 00:34:10,879 to exalt His name 562 00:34:12,179 –> 00:34:14,179 and to know His presence among us 563 00:34:16,899 –> 00:34:19,120 and I understand. 564 00:34:19,120 –> 00:34:19,959 I really do. 565 00:34:19,959 –> 00:34:22,719 I understand from the depth of my heart 566 00:34:22,719 –> 00:34:27,379 that people will choose to return to worship 567 00:34:27,399 –> 00:34:32,399 at different times just as they returned to Jerusalem 568 00:34:33,399 –> 00:34:37,439 at different times in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah 569 00:34:37,439 –> 00:34:40,320 but here’s my plea from the heart today. 570 00:34:40,320 –> 00:34:45,179 Please don’t fall into the trap of thinking 571 00:34:45,179 –> 00:34:48,239 that gathering for worship doesn’t matter. 572 00:34:49,979 –> 00:34:51,459 It does. 573 00:34:52,939 –> 00:34:56,540 It does and it matters 574 00:34:56,540 –> 00:34:58,580 because the purpose of God today 575 00:34:59,540 –> 00:35:03,320 is that here in this community and in every community 576 00:35:03,320 –> 00:35:05,320 there should be gatherings of believers 577 00:35:06,320 –> 00:35:11,320 who exalt His name and experience His presence 578 00:35:11,320 –> 00:35:16,120 being made known as we gather together in worship. 579 00:35:18,080 –> 00:35:20,020 And as I’ve been preparing for this series 580 00:35:20,020 –> 00:35:22,439 and praying that God would stir our hearts, 581 00:35:22,439 –> 00:35:25,739 do again what He did in Ezra chapter one. 582 00:35:25,760 –> 00:35:29,139 Let me end by simply asking you this question. 583 00:35:29,139 –> 00:35:34,040 Do you feel a stirring in your heart 584 00:35:34,040 –> 00:35:35,540 as we begin this New Year? 585 00:35:36,800 –> 00:35:38,399 Is there not something within you 586 00:35:38,399 –> 00:35:40,939 that wishes that you had greater faith 587 00:35:42,520 –> 00:35:47,520 and greater joy and greater hope and greater love? 588 00:35:48,000 –> 00:35:49,679 Is there not within your heart 589 00:35:49,679 –> 00:35:51,780 some sense that you would like 590 00:35:51,800 –> 00:35:55,739 to serve God more fully this year than you did last year? 591 00:35:55,739 –> 00:35:57,820 Is there not something within you that says, 592 00:35:57,820 –> 00:36:00,239 I want to know more of his peace, 593 00:36:00,239 –> 00:36:02,379 I want to have more of that sparkle 594 00:36:02,379 –> 00:36:05,100 in my eye and that spring in my step. 595 00:36:05,100 –> 00:36:06,939 I want my joy in Christ 596 00:36:06,939 –> 00:36:09,199 to be restored and to be increased. 597 00:36:11,020 –> 00:36:13,219 Now you see, if you feel anything like that at all, 598 00:36:13,219 –> 00:36:15,800 it is surely a sign that the spirit of God 599 00:36:15,800 –> 00:36:18,120 is already stirring your heart. 600 00:36:18,120 –> 00:36:19,120 Thank God for that. 601 00:36:21,820 –> 00:36:24,080 And ahead of us this month as we continue 602 00:36:24,080 –> 00:36:27,000 in the Book of Ezra, is a journey 603 00:36:27,000 –> 00:36:30,159 in which we’re going to see how we can pursue 604 00:36:30,159 –> 00:36:33,120 what God is stirring in our hearts 605 00:36:34,120 –> 00:36:37,280 and how you can navigate the many, many setbacks 606 00:36:37,280 –> 00:36:39,560 that will come to you, to all of us 607 00:36:39,560 –> 00:36:42,419 as you pursue this journey. 608 00:36:44,179 –> 00:36:46,959 But most of all what we’re going to see very wonderfully 609 00:36:46,959 –> 00:36:49,699 is that when God stirs his people, 610 00:36:49,699 –> 00:36:51,159 there is a new beginning. 611 00:36:51,159 –> 00:36:52,419 There really is. 612 00:36:54,040 –> 00:36:56,280 And where God’s people are gathered 613 00:36:57,439 –> 00:36:59,399 and where his name is exalted 614 00:37:00,500 –> 00:37:02,459 and where his presence is known, 615 00:37:03,800 –> 00:37:06,020 God blesses his people 616 00:37:07,459 –> 00:37:12,459 and, through his people, brings blessing to the world. 617 00:37:13,020 –> 00:37:14,540 Let’s pray together. 618 00:37:14,540 –> 00:37:19,439 Father, please do what you did in Ezra’s Day again. 619 00:37:20,219 –> 00:37:23,199 Stir our hearts. 620 00:37:25,100 –> 00:37:27,459 Give to us, we pray, 621 00:37:28,500 –> 00:37:30,219 that new sparkle in the eye, 622 00:37:30,219 –> 00:37:32,020 that new spring in the step. 623 00:37:33,100 –> 00:37:36,520 Refresh us, renew us, revive us, we pray. 624 00:37:37,800 –> 00:37:39,399 Give to us a new passion 625 00:37:39,399 –> 00:37:42,179 after a long time of discouragement. 626 00:37:42,179 –> 00:37:46,760 Cause the level of spiritual life among us to rise. 627 00:37:47,560 –> 00:37:51,219 And grandfather, that as you stir our hearts, 628 00:37:51,219 –> 00:37:54,199 we may know more of your blessing 629 00:37:54,199 –> 00:37:56,479 and bring more of your blessing 630 00:37:56,479 –> 00:37:59,360 to a world that is in such desperate need 631 00:37:59,360 –> 00:38:02,439 for these things we humbly ask and pray 632 00:38:02,439 –> 00:38:05,360 in Jesus’ name, Amen. 633 00:38:06,800 –> 00:38:08,320 You’ve been listening to a sermon 634 00:38:08,320 –> 00:38:10,699 with pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 635 00:38:10,699 –> 00:38:14,159 To contact us, call us at one, eight, seven, seven, 636 00:38:14,340 –> 00:38:15,479 eight, seven, seven, 637 00:38:15,479 –> 00:38:17,239 open three, six, five, 638 00:38:17,239 –> 00:38:20,719 or visit our website, openthebible.org.