1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,800 You�re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. To contact 2 00:00:07,800 –> 00:00:15,160 us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website, open the bible.org. 3 00:00:15,160 –> 00:00:19,120 Let�s get to the message. Here is Pastor Colin. 4 00:00:19,120 –> 00:00:25,040 Well, good morning everyone. Please open your Bible at Ezra and chapter 4 we�re following 5 00:00:25,040 –> 00:00:32,560 the story of what happened when God’s people returned to the ruined city of Jerusalem. 6 00:00:32,560 –> 00:00:39,439 For 70 years they had been exiled in Babylon. But then God stirred the heart of King Cyrus 7 00:00:39,439 –> 00:00:43,400 and he decreed that God�s people were free to return. 8 00:00:43,400 –> 00:00:49,400 And then God stirred the hearts of his people and when they returned we saw that they made 9 00:00:49,639 –> 00:00:56,480 worship their first priority. They rebuilt the altar, they celebrated the Feast, they 10 00:00:56,480 –> 00:01:02,840 laid the foundations on the temple. And we saw that these things really do speak directly 11 00:01:02,840 –> 00:01:09,839 to all of us today. The alter reminds us that when we worship, we offer ourselves to God. 12 00:01:10,459 –> 00:01:15,720 When we worship we rejoice in all that God has done for us in Christ. That’s what the 13 00:01:16,059 –> 00:01:23,120 Feast speaks to us about. And the temple reminds us that when we worship we trust the promise 14 00:01:23,120 –> 00:01:28,820 of God’s presence. We worship by faith and not by sight. And as we’ve heard read from 15 00:01:28,820 –> 00:01:35,699 Haggai just a moment ago God gives us this wonderful promise, I am with you, my presence 16 00:01:35,699 –> 00:01:42,760 remains in your midst. Now, today we’re going to follow the story 17 00:01:42,760 –> 00:01:51,120 of these people whose hearts God had stirred. Now I want you to keep this in mind. These 18 00:01:51,120 –> 00:01:59,080 are good people. These are godly people. These are people who were so committed to the work 19 00:01:59,080 –> 00:02:03,860 of God that at one time they were prepared to leave all that they had in Babylon and 20 00:02:03,860 –> 00:02:10,779 to return to a pile of rubble in order to do the work that God had called them to do. 21 00:02:11,360 –> 00:02:17,259 They were obedient godly people. And God was with them. 22 00:02:17,259 –> 00:02:22,199 And yet what we’re going to see today from the Scriptures is that these godly people 23 00:02:22,199 –> 00:02:28,720 faced one setback after another. 24 00:02:28,720 –> 00:02:35,800 And the story of how these good people faced and navigated setbacks is told for us over 25 00:02:36,160 –> 00:02:41,639 three chapters. So we’ve got a big story to cover today. Ezra Chapter Four, Chapter 26 00:02:41,639 –> 00:02:47,460 Five, and Chapter Six. It’s a story that spans the reign of five different kings. It’s 27 00:02:52,300 –> 00:03:00,300 a story that focuses on sixteen particularly difficult years. And it’s a story we’re 28 00:03:00,300 –> 00:03:07,380 going to see that tells us about a remarkable work of God that took place in a period of 29 00:03:07,380 –> 00:03:15,139 just twenty-four days. Now I usually try very hard to avoid reference 30 00:03:15,139 –> 00:03:23,440 to specific dates in sermons, but the timeline here is really important for understanding 31 00:03:23,440 –> 00:03:29,399 the story. So I’m going to show a timeline at various points throughout the message today, 32 00:03:29,419 –> 00:03:35,020 and I hope that that will be helpful and that very quickly, we will see how this big story 33 00:03:35,020 –> 00:03:42,419 is that runs over 100 years, speaks very directly to all of us today. 34 00:03:42,419 –> 00:03:48,580 Well first then, this is a story about five kings and it is a story that tells us that 35 00:03:48,580 –> 00:03:58,679 God’s people are always opposed. Here we have a story that spans a hundred years, and it 36 00:03:58,679 –> 00:04:04,820 spans the reign of five kings. Four of them are mentioned by name. First, we read in Ezra 37 00:04:04,820 –> 00:04:10,440 chapter 4 and verse 5 about King Cyrus. He was the king of course, who made the proclamation 38 00:04:10,440 –> 00:04:18,160 that God’s people were at liberty to return to Jerusalem. Second, we read about King Darius. 39 00:04:18,160 –> 00:04:24,279 We read about him in Ezra 4 and verse 5, and again in chapters 5 and 6 where we have a 40 00:04:24,279 –> 00:04:32,399 long story about a legal challenge to the rebuilding of the temple. Thirdly, in chapter 41 00:04:32,399 –> 00:04:39,019 4 and verse 6, we read about King Ahasuerus. He was the King at the time of Esther, and 42 00:04:39,019 –> 00:04:44,760 you may remember that wonderful book of the bible in which we’re told the amazing story 43 00:04:44,760 –> 00:04:52,619 of how God used this courageous and godly woman in order to save the lives of his people 44 00:04:52,700 –> 00:04:58,420 And then in verses 7 to 23, we read about King Artaxerxes. He was the King who reigned 45 00:04:58,420 –> 00:05:06,420 at the time of the second and third returns under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. 46 00:05:06,420 –> 00:05:12,179 And there was a fifth king in this period. His name is not mentioned, that’s why there’s 47 00:05:12,179 –> 00:05:19,339 a gap there in the graphic, but his name was Cambyses. Together, these five kings reigned 48 00:05:19,600 –> 00:05:26,600 a period of 100 years. Now the story of God’s people returning from exile runs throughout 49 00:05:30,299 –> 00:05:36,399 the reigns of these five kings. Remember the first group to return, the story that we’re 50 00:05:36,399 –> 00:05:42,779 focused on at the beginning of Ezra, the first group returned under this Manz Gilubbal at 51 00:05:43,339 –> 00:05:50,339 the time of King Cyrus. The second way of people to return didn’t come until 80 years later, 52 00:05:51,119 –> 00:05:58,119 they came back under the leadership of Ezra and that happened in the time of King Artaxerxes. 53 00:05:58,760 –> 00:06:05,380 And then the third group came 13 years after that under the leadership of Nehemiah, also 54 00:06:05,380 –> 00:06:12,380 in the time of King Artaxerxes. What Ezra is telling us in the three chapters that we’re 55 00:06:12,480 –> 00:06:19,480 looking at today is that God’s people were opposed constantly throughout the reigns not 56 00:06:20,739 –> 00:06:27,739 only of one or two kings, but all five kings over a period of 100 years. Get the picture, 57 00:06:29,339 –> 00:06:36,339 it’s a big picture story. God’s people constantly navigated setbacks in the work that God called 58 00:06:39,500 –> 00:06:41,079 them to do. 59 00:06:41,160 –> 00:06:46,500 Now if we focus in a little more closely and say well what did these setbacks look like? 60 00:06:46,500 –> 00:06:53,500 We’re given three snapshots in this chapter 4 that we’re looking at particularly today. 61 00:06:54,040 –> 00:06:59,940 The first wave of opposition that came to God’s people could really best be described 62 00:06:59,940 –> 00:07:06,940 as intimidation. Chapter 4 in verse 4, the people of the land discouraged the people 63 00:07:07,220 –> 00:07:14,220 of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate 64 00:07:16,440 –> 00:07:23,440 their purpose. Notice that this happened all the days of Cyrus even until the days of Darius 65 00:07:26,279 –> 00:07:31,140 king of Persia. So that includes the years of Cambyses. So through the reign of three 66 00:07:31,160 –> 00:07:38,160 different kings this intimidation continued. And notice the three words that are used particularly 67 00:07:38,480 –> 00:07:45,480 to describe what happened here. God’s people were discouraged. God’s people were afraid. 68 00:07:48,660 –> 00:07:55,660 And God’s people were frustrated. And this went on through the reign of three different 69 00:07:56,239 –> 00:08:02,640 kings the years of Cyrus all the way through to the reign of Darius. It was a campaign 70 00:08:02,640 –> 00:08:09,640 of relentless intimidation. And that was just the first wave. And the point Ezra wants us 71 00:08:11,940 –> 00:08:18,920 to get hold of here is that there was more. So he jumps ahead now to the time of Ahasuerus 72 00:08:18,980 –> 00:08:24,619 and you’ll see that in verse six. And the second wave of opposition came to the work 73 00:08:24,619 –> 00:08:31,619 of God not so much by intimidation but by direct false accusation. Chapter 4 and verse 74 00:08:32,239 –> 00:08:39,239 six, and in the reign of Ahasuerus. In the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation 75 00:08:41,840 –> 00:08:48,840 against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. Now this is a big jump forward. Ahasuerus 76 00:08:49,760 –> 00:08:56,760 came to the throne fifty years after the first people returned to rebuild the temple. 77 00:08:57,179 –> 00:09:01,919 And before Ezra gets back to telling us the story we’re following about the rebuilding 78 00:09:01,919 –> 00:09:08,919 of the temple, he wants to jump forward and say, look, opposition wasn’t just then. It 79 00:09:09,000 –> 00:09:16,000 repeated itself in further generations. Even after the time of Darius, opposition to God’s 80 00:09:16,280 –> 00:09:23,280 people started up again in the time of Ahasuerus. And we’re not told anything more about the 81 00:09:23,780 –> 00:09:30,200 particular accusation that was made here. The point is simply the opposition that started 82 00:09:30,200 –> 00:09:35,599 in the time of Cyrus continued through the time of Darius, while it resurfaced all over 83 00:09:35,599 –> 00:09:42,599 again in the time of the next king whose name was Ahasuerus. That was the second wave. And 84 00:09:42,760 –> 00:09:47,840 just in case we haven’t yet got the point, Ezra wants us to know that there was even 85 00:09:47,840 –> 00:09:52,400 more. And so set back number three came in the form 86 00:09:52,400 –> 00:09:59,400 of legislation. Laws that were passed. Decrees that were made to stop the work of God. Chapter 87 00:10:03,479 –> 00:10:10,479 4 in verse 7, in the days of Artaxerxes, so now we are on to the next king, Bishlum, and 88 00:10:10,780 –> 00:10:17,780 Mithridath and Tabeal and the rest of their associates, they wrote to Artaxerxes, the 89 00:10:19,039 –> 00:10:26,119 King of Persia. So all these years after God’s people have returned to the Promised Land 90 00:10:26,119 –> 00:10:33,119 the point is they are still being opposed. And these people, Bishlum and Mithridath and 91 00:10:34,080 –> 00:10:41,080 Tabeal wrote a vicious letter that was really a legal missive. You can read it in verse 92 00:10:43,340 –> 00:10:48,320 11 through verse 16. It’s filled with lies and slander against God’s people but the 93 00:10:48,320 –> 00:10:55,320 effect of it was that it led King Artaxerxes to issue a legal injunction that brought the 94 00:10:55,799 –> 00:11:02,799 work of rebuilding to an absolute grinding halt. Notice, by the way, just so you get 95 00:11:05,340 –> 00:11:12,340 the flow of the story, that the opposition in verse 7 to 23, the time of Artaxerxes, 96 00:11:12,559 –> 00:11:16,780 the opposition is not to the rebuilding of the temple because, in fact, that had happened 97 00:11:16,780 –> 00:11:23,380 long ago. By the time you get to Artaxerxes the opposition is simply to the rebuilding 98 00:11:23,979 –> 00:11:29,979 of the city and of its walls. And that’s why you have the references to the city and 99 00:11:29,979 –> 00:11:36,979 the walls in verse 12 and 13 and 16 and 21. The main focus of the story is the first wave 100 00:11:38,900 –> 00:11:44,919 of opposition which was to the rebuilding of the temple but Ezra wants us to know that 101 00:11:44,919 –> 00:11:51,000 it didn’t end there. Even after the temple was finally rebuilt in future generations, 102 00:11:51,000 –> 00:11:58,000 the opposition came in further waves again and again and again. And it just never stopped. 103 00:11:58,440 –> 00:12:05,440 5 kings. 100 years. Now why is all this in the bible? What’s the point of it for all 104 00:12:09,159 –> 00:12:16,159 of us today? Surely the point is this. Ezra is telling the people in his day, and he’s 105 00:12:16,919 –> 00:12:23,919 telling us in our day, that it’s very easy to get the idea that opposition to the work 106 00:12:24,179 –> 00:12:31,179 of the gospel is something new, when in fact it is something very, very old. Understand 107 00:12:31,460 –> 00:12:38,460 this. The work of the gospel is always opposed. That’s why Peter says in the New Testament, 108 00:12:38,520 –> 00:12:45,520 Brothers, don’t be surprised, at the fiery trial when it comes on you as if something 109 00:12:52,979 –> 00:12:59,979 strange were happening to you. That’s why the Writer to the Hebrews says in chapter 110 00:13:00,140 –> 00:13:07,140 ten in verse thirty six, you have need of endurance, and then to make the point that 111 00:13:08,460 –> 00:13:12,880 the whole of Hebrews chapter eleven just gives one story after another throughout the entire 112 00:13:12,880 –> 00:13:18,919 history of God’s work in the world, of how God’s people have always had to live by 113 00:13:18,919 –> 00:13:25,640 faith, and always had to endure opposition. That’s why the Apostle Paul says to Timothy, 114 00:13:25,640 –> 00:13:32,640 young pastor, Christian leader, you’ve got to endure hardship as a good soldier of the 115 00:13:32,640 –> 00:13:42,219 Lord Jesus Christ. What we have here is a story of five kings 116 00:13:42,219 –> 00:13:51,140 over a hundred years and it’s telling us that God’s people are always opposed. 117 00:13:51,140 –> 00:13:56,940 Secondly, let’s home in a little more closely on the story of the rebuilding of the temple 118 00:13:57,940 –> 00:14:02,719 and the first wave of opposition that came to that work. 119 00:14:02,719 –> 00:14:11,219 And here I want us to see a story of sixteen years that tells us that God’s work is often 120 00:14:11,219 –> 00:14:16,280 slow. Now, we saw last time that when God’s people 121 00:14:16,280 –> 00:14:20,340 returned to Jerusalem their immediate priority was to build the altar, 122 00:14:20,340 –> 00:14:24,460 celebrate the feast. And then Israel tells us that they began to 123 00:14:24,640 –> 00:14:33,659 rebuild the Temple—Chapters 3 and verse 8—in the second year after their coming. 124 00:14:33,659 –> 00:14:43,520 And we’ve seen that when they began to rebuild the Temple they faced immediate opposition 125 00:14:43,520 –> 00:14:54,340 in the form of intimidation, they were discouraged, they were frustrated, and they were afraid. 126 00:14:54,340 –> 00:15:00,739 Chapter 4 and verse 4, the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them 127 00:15:00,739 –> 00:15:04,039 afraid to build. 128 00:15:04,039 –> 00:15:10,179 Now, you have to read on in the chapter a little bit to get what happens next after 129 00:15:10,179 –> 00:15:18,659 the discouragement because remember that verse 6 through to verse 23 is Ezra taking a digression 130 00:15:18,659 –> 00:15:23,760 to make the point that opposition continued in future generations as well. 131 00:15:23,760 –> 00:15:30,119 So you have to really put brackets, as it were, round verse 6 to verse 23 that refer 132 00:15:30,119 –> 00:15:35,320 to later events in the time of Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes. 133 00:15:35,320 –> 00:15:40,280 And then Ezra returns to our story that we’re following in verse 24. 134 00:15:40,280 –> 00:15:47,179 So if you put verse 4 and verse 24 together and just skip over the future references in 135 00:15:47,179 –> 00:15:50,919 the brackets, then you’ll get the flow of the story. 136 00:15:50,940 –> 00:15:58,799 Verse 4, the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to 137 00:15:58,799 –> 00:16:00,659 build. 138 00:16:00,659 –> 00:16:15,000 Verse 24, then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased 139 00:16:15,000 –> 00:16:20,080 until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. 140 00:16:20,219 –> 00:16:21,340 Remarkable. 141 00:16:23,260 –> 00:16:27,520 Bible is telling us that as soon as the foundation of the temple was 142 00:16:27,780 –> 00:16:37,840 laid, opposition flared up, and as God’s people became discouraged, frustrated, and 143 00:16:37,840 –> 00:16:44,679 afraid, the work of God stopped. 144 00:16:44,679 –> 00:16:48,479 And it ceased until the second year of Darius. 145 00:16:48,580 –> 00:16:54,820 Now that was a period from the time they started and immediately then stopped to 146 00:16:54,820 –> 00:17:02,059 the second year of Darius, that was 16 years. 147 00:17:02,059 –> 00:17:08,979 After that, when the work restarted, it took 4 years to rebuild the temple. 148 00:17:08,979 –> 00:17:17,199 Four years of work, after 16 years of delay. 149 00:17:17,439 –> 00:17:23,180 God’s work is often slow. 150 00:17:23,180 –> 00:17:31,099 For 16 years, God’s people made little or no progress in the work that God had called 151 00:17:31,099 –> 00:17:33,900 them to do. 152 00:17:33,900 –> 00:17:41,540 And just to underline the importance of this point, Ezra is reminding us that this is not 153 00:17:41,540 –> 00:17:47,140 the only time that God’s work grounds to a halt. 154 00:17:47,140 –> 00:17:54,040 He’s telling us in this little piece in brackets that, in verse 7 through to verse 23, that 155 00:17:54,040 –> 00:17:58,839 the same thing happened 60 years later all over again in the time of Artak Xerxes. 156 00:17:58,839 –> 00:18:01,380 That’s chapter 4 in verse 23. 157 00:18:01,380 –> 00:18:02,939 You have the same thing you see. 158 00:18:02,939 –> 00:18:07,959 Then when the copy of King Artak Xerxes’ letter was read, they went in haste to the 159 00:18:07,959 –> 00:18:14,099 Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 160 00:18:14,479 –> 00:18:21,800 Now, I would say these chapters are not exactly what you would call inspirational. 161 00:18:21,800 –> 00:18:22,800 What do you think? 162 00:18:22,800 –> 00:18:29,560 I’m trying to imagine someone from the congregation at work on Monday and someone says, what was 163 00:18:29,560 –> 00:18:31,339 the sermon about in your church on Sunday? 164 00:18:31,339 –> 00:18:35,560 And you say, oh, well it was about God’s people are always opposed and God’s work 165 00:18:35,560 –> 00:18:36,599 is often slow. 166 00:18:36,599 –> 00:18:39,800 And they’re going to say to you, well, that doesn’t sound very cheerful. 167 00:18:40,479 –> 00:18:48,339 Friends, this is not exactly inspirational but it is honest. 168 00:18:48,339 –> 00:18:53,500 God’s work is often slow. 169 00:18:53,500 –> 00:18:59,479 God’s people are always opposed. 170 00:18:59,500 –> 00:19:10,000 The Bible is the Word of God and it doesn’t describe a world of fancy. 171 00:19:10,000 –> 00:19:17,380 It speaks to the realities of your experience and of mine, and we know this from our own 172 00:19:17,380 –> 00:19:18,380 experience. 173 00:19:18,380 –> 00:19:27,260 You’re a parent, you’re a teacher, you’re trying to lay a foundation of faith in the 174 00:19:27,540 –> 00:19:39,160 lives of children, young people, and you sometimes think to yourself, am I making any progress? 175 00:19:39,160 –> 00:19:41,979 One step forward and two steps back. 176 00:19:41,979 –> 00:19:51,739 You face a battle against a particular pressure in your own life, a particular temptation 177 00:19:52,359 –> 00:19:54,900 long to have greater victory over. 178 00:19:54,900 –> 00:20:02,439 And sometimes you wonder why have I made so little progress in this over such a long period 179 00:20:02,439 –> 00:20:04,939 of time? 180 00:20:04,939 –> 00:20:10,380 You give yourself to some work for the Lord and it seems you’re getting something really 181 00:20:10,380 –> 00:20:13,060 going and you’re excited about it. 182 00:20:13,060 –> 00:20:19,939 And then a setback comes and you say, why in the world has God allowed this? 183 00:20:19,939 –> 00:20:24,040 And you’re discouraged. 184 00:20:24,040 –> 00:20:32,400 How far will a boat progress in one day on the ocean? 185 00:20:32,400 –> 00:20:37,880 Answer, it very much depends on the weather. 186 00:20:37,880 –> 00:20:42,400 And there are different seasons in a Christian’s life. 187 00:20:42,400 –> 00:20:49,780 There are some seasons in our lives brothers and sisters to be enjoyed, and there are some 188 00:20:49,859 –> 00:20:54,459 seasons in our lives to be endured. 189 00:20:54,459 –> 00:20:58,579 And it’s very much the same in the life of a church. 190 00:20:58,579 –> 00:21:06,260 The Apostle Paul speaks about times when God opens doors of opportunity. 191 00:21:06,260 –> 00:21:12,599 He speaks about times when we can run with the Gospel. 192 00:21:12,599 –> 00:21:19,459 He also speaks about times that He describes as the evil day. 193 00:21:19,560 –> 00:21:22,819 When the evil day comes, he doesn’t say, well, this is the time to run. 194 00:21:22,819 –> 00:21:29,800 He says the one thing you’ve got to do the evil day comes is you have to stand. 195 00:21:29,800 –> 00:21:33,180 Stand firm. 196 00:21:33,180 –> 00:21:45,880 In the whole armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will stand. 197 00:21:45,880 –> 00:21:49,239 Why is it that God allows His work to be hindered? 198 00:21:50,099 –> 00:21:53,599 Why is it that the work of ministry can sometimes seem painfully slow? 199 00:21:53,599 –> 00:21:59,660 Why does God sometimes allow good people, who have given much to His work to be discouraged 200 00:21:59,660 –> 00:22:02,420 and frustrated and even afraid? 201 00:22:02,420 –> 00:22:09,260 There’s a mystery in all of this that we should not expect to fully understand. 202 00:22:09,739 –> 00:22:19,239 But, we can be sure of this, that hard times produce better Christians. 203 00:22:19,239 –> 00:22:27,859 Hard times produce endurance, and the Scripture says endurance produces character, and character 204 00:22:27,859 –> 00:22:31,520 produces hope. 205 00:22:31,520 –> 00:22:34,439 And James says, 206 00:22:34,459 –> 00:22:40,420 remains steadfast under trial. 207 00:22:40,420 –> 00:22:51,719 For when he has stood the test, then he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised 208 00:22:51,719 –> 00:22:55,040 to those who love him. 209 00:22:55,040 –> 00:23:01,839 I’m so thankful that the Scripture speaks directly to the realities of our lives. 210 00:23:02,839 –> 00:23:09,780 The story of five kings that tells us God’s people are always opposed, and a story of 211 00:23:09,780 –> 00:23:16,479 16 years that tells us that God’s work is often slow. 212 00:23:16,479 –> 00:23:25,040 Be steadfast, be patient, endure, persevere. 213 00:23:25,040 –> 00:23:34,920 And then thirdly, we have a wonderful story here of 24 remarkable days in which we discover 214 00:23:34,920 –> 00:23:40,699 to our joy that God’s purpose will always prevail. 215 00:23:40,699 –> 00:23:51,859 Now notice Ezra chapter 5 and verses 1 and 2, now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah 216 00:23:51,859 –> 00:24:00,300 son of Ido prophesy to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God 217 00:24:00,300 –> 00:24:04,020 of Israel who was over them. 218 00:24:04,020 –> 00:24:11,180 Then Zerubbabel and Joshua also referred to as Joshua arose and began to rebuild the house 219 00:24:11,180 –> 00:24:14,359 of God that is in Jerusalem. 220 00:24:14,359 –> 00:24:21,660 Now here after 16 years of frustration, delay, and the work grinding to a halt here at last 221 00:24:21,680 –> 00:24:23,579 we have some good news. 222 00:24:23,579 –> 00:24:27,400 After 16 difficult years what did God do? 223 00:24:27,400 –> 00:24:30,959 How did the work get going again? 224 00:24:30,979 –> 00:24:32,939 Answer? 225 00:24:32,939 –> 00:24:35,859 God sent his word. 226 00:24:35,859 –> 00:24:38,619 He raised up two prophets. 227 00:24:38,619 –> 00:24:47,459 These men Haggai and Zechariah spoke the word of God and the effect of their ministry was 228 00:24:47,459 –> 00:24:52,959 that Zarathustra and IN yeshua overcame their fear they overcame the discouragement and 229 00:24:52,959 –> 00:24:57,760 they began again to rebuild the house of God. 230 00:24:57,760 –> 00:25:01,739 That’s why we read the book of Haggai earlier this morning. 231 00:25:01,739 –> 00:25:06,739 And if you turn over to the book of Haggai chapter 1 that we read you’ll see that there 232 00:25:06,739 –> 00:25:13,719 are two timestamps in that chapter that fill out the story. 233 00:25:13,839 –> 00:25:20,920 Ezra has already told us that the work on the house of God stopped until the second 234 00:25:20,920 –> 00:25:24,199 year of the Reign of Darius. 235 00:25:24,199 –> 00:25:29,459 It was in the second year of the Reign of Darius that it started again after this long 236 00:25:29,459 –> 00:25:31,599 delay of sixteen years. 237 00:25:31,599 –> 00:25:38,439 Now, that second year of the Reign of Darius is exactly where the book of Haggai begins. 238 00:25:38,920 –> 00:25:44,439 Verse 1, in the second year of Darius the king, 239 00:25:44,439 –> 00:25:51,560 in the sixth month, and on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the 240 00:25:51,560 –> 00:25:57,520 hand of Haggiai the prophet to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the high 241 00:25:57,520 –> 00:25:59,660 priest. 242 00:25:59,660 –> 00:26:06,119 On the first day of the month, the prophet Haggiai, speaking the word of God … well, 243 00:26:06,780 –> 00:26:07,719 We’ve read the chapter. 244 00:26:07,719 –> 00:26:12,439 He brought a really bracing challenge to God’s people. 245 00:26:12,439 –> 00:26:17,560 Verse 2, and thus says the LORD of Hosts, these people say the time has not yet come 246 00:26:17,560 –> 00:26:20,020 to rebuild the house of the LORD. 247 00:26:20,020 –> 00:26:22,780 And, and Haggiai gives it to them absolutely straight. 248 00:26:22,780 –> 00:26:26,660 He says, that’s why you’re not prospering. 249 00:26:26,660 –> 00:26:33,540 You’ve given up on the work that God has called you to do. 250 00:26:33,660 –> 00:26:38,680 And the result of this bracing challenge that comes through the prophet Haggai, after 16 251 00:26:38,680 –> 00:26:41,900 years of delay, is that verse 12 of chapter 1. 252 00:26:41,900 –> 00:26:50,020 The people feared the LORD and then verse 14, God stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel 253 00:26:50,020 –> 00:26:53,880 and of Joshua. 254 00:26:53,880 –> 00:26:58,319 And then we’re told that the work restarted. 255 00:26:58,319 –> 00:26:59,780 When did it restart? 256 00:26:59,839 –> 00:27:00,839 In verse 15. 257 00:27:01,520 –> 00:27:08,959 They came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts their God on the twenty-fourth day 258 00:27:08,959 –> 00:27:16,760 in the sixth month, in the same second year of the reign of Darius. 259 00:27:16,760 –> 00:27:23,760 Do you see that the ministry of Haggai began on the first day of the month and the work 260 00:27:23,760 –> 00:27:28,219 resumed twenty-four days later? 261 00:27:28,260 –> 00:27:41,099 After sixteen years of discouragement, frustration, fear, the Word of God put new strength into 262 00:27:41,099 –> 00:27:47,199 God’s people in a period of just twenty-four days. 263 00:27:47,199 –> 00:27:54,140 Never underestimate what God can do through His word. 264 00:27:54,660 –> 00:28:02,939 Now friends, for all who are called to a ministry of the Word, and in some sense that is true 265 00:28:02,939 –> 00:28:07,839 of all of us, as we bring the Word of God into the lives of other people God has placed 266 00:28:07,839 –> 00:28:15,660 around us, there is a beautiful picture here of how that ministry is to be exercised. 267 00:28:15,660 –> 00:28:23,479 Returning to Ezra in chapter 5 and verse 1, notice that the prophets were under God and 268 00:28:23,479 –> 00:28:24,599 with the people. 269 00:28:24,599 –> 00:28:27,959 It’s beautiful, chapter 5 and verse 1. 270 00:28:27,959 –> 00:28:33,260 The prophets Haggai and Zechariah the son of Ado, prophesied to the Jews who were in 271 00:28:33,260 –> 00:28:39,500 Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 272 00:28:39,500 –> 00:28:42,880 God was over the prophets. 273 00:28:43,800 –> 00:28:50,280 They were men under the authority of Almighty God. 274 00:28:50,280 –> 00:28:57,760 The message they spoke wasn’t what they decided to speak on some particular occasion. 275 00:28:57,760 –> 00:29:01,959 What they spoke was the very word of God. 276 00:29:01,959 –> 00:29:04,260 The prophets were under God. 277 00:29:04,260 –> 00:29:05,260 God was over them. 278 00:29:05,260 –> 00:29:10,060 They were under God and they were with the people. 279 00:29:10,060 –> 00:29:11,520 Look at chapter 5 and verse 2. 280 00:29:12,000 –> 00:29:17,959 Then Zerubbabel and Joshua arose and began to rebuild the house of God that was in Jerusalem. 281 00:29:17,959 –> 00:29:21,119 And the prophets of God were with them. 282 00:29:21,119 –> 00:29:23,680 With them. 283 00:29:23,680 –> 00:29:25,699 Supporting them. 284 00:29:25,699 –> 00:29:32,680 Here’s the function of the ministry of the word of God among God’s people. 285 00:29:32,680 –> 00:29:39,060 The prophets brought a sustained ministry of encouragement. 286 00:29:39,140 –> 00:29:41,979 With the people. 287 00:29:41,979 –> 00:29:43,880 Supporting the people. 288 00:29:43,880 –> 00:29:45,939 Oh, yes. 289 00:29:45,939 –> 00:29:51,699 At the beginning, Haggai had to bring a really robust challenge to get God’s people going. 290 00:29:51,699 –> 00:29:58,079 But what it took was a sustained ministry of encouragement to keep them going. 291 00:29:58,079 –> 00:29:59,780 And that continued. 292 00:29:59,780 –> 00:30:03,020 The prophets were with them and supporting them. 293 00:30:03,079 –> 00:30:09,699 The work of God was sustained by the Word of God. 294 00:30:09,699 –> 00:30:12,599 And so in Ezra 6 in verse 14 we read, 295 00:30:12,599 –> 00:30:18,780 The elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet, 296 00:30:18,780 –> 00:30:25,680 and the result was what they finished their building. 297 00:30:25,680 –> 00:30:29,619 Never underestimate the power of God’s Word. 298 00:30:30,180 –> 00:30:38,459 God’s people may be opposed, God’s work may often be slow, 299 00:30:38,459 –> 00:30:45,319 but God’s purposes will always prevail. 300 00:30:45,319 –> 00:30:49,359 And so, under God and with those who we serve, 301 00:30:49,359 –> 00:30:58,420 let us drip feed the Word of God into our own lives and into the lives of others as best we are able, 302 00:30:58,420 –> 00:31:03,020 knowing that God has given to us this promise that He will accomplish 303 00:31:03,020 –> 00:31:12,219 the purpose for which He sends His word and it will not return to Him empty. 304 00:31:12,219 –> 00:31:15,180 Now that’s the story, it’s a remarkable story. 305 00:31:15,180 –> 00:31:23,020 Five kings, 16 years, 24 days, 306 00:31:23,020 –> 00:31:25,420 reminding us that God’s people are always opposed, 307 00:31:25,420 –> 00:31:32,780 that His work is often slow but His purpose, thank God, always prevails. 308 00:31:32,780 –> 00:31:36,599 Now, the title today has been, Navigating Setbacks, 309 00:31:36,599 –> 00:31:40,040 and I want to end just very briefly with two 310 00:31:40,040 –> 00:31:42,459 applications for all of us today. 311 00:31:42,459 –> 00:31:47,540 And the first is simply this, the danger of spiritual decline, 312 00:31:47,540 –> 00:31:50,979 it’s very clear in this story. 313 00:31:50,979 –> 00:31:53,819 The people who returned from Jerusalem, remember, 314 00:31:53,819 –> 00:31:57,979 were people whose hearts God had stirred. 315 00:31:57,979 –> 00:32:01,300 These are people who at one time were very committed. 316 00:32:01,300 –> 00:32:04,300 They had offered themselves to God in worship, 317 00:32:04,300 –> 00:32:05,939 rejoiced in what God had done – 318 00:32:05,939 –> 00:32:08,479 faithful, loyal, deeply committed believers – 319 00:32:08,479 –> 00:32:12,099 and Scripture tells us that these people, good people, 320 00:32:12,099 –> 00:32:14,979 became discouraged. 321 00:32:14,979 –> 00:32:17,859 They were frustrated. 322 00:32:17,859 –> 00:32:23,020 And they gave way to fear. 323 00:32:23,020 –> 00:32:28,199 The work that once had been a joy to them became a burden, 324 00:32:28,199 –> 00:32:35,579 and they were no longer engaged in the work that God called them to do. 325 00:32:35,579 –> 00:32:40,260 And it’s very clear that over these sixteen years, 326 00:32:40,260 –> 00:32:44,560 these folks lost out spiritually. 327 00:32:44,560 –> 00:32:49,959 And what happened to them can very clearly and easily happen also to us. 328 00:32:50,119 –> 00:32:56,000 Hagiai makes it very clear that what happened during these sixteen years 329 00:32:56,000 –> 00:33:01,800 was that people’s lives just revolved around their own homes 330 00:33:01,800 –> 00:33:05,819 and improvements that they could make there. 331 00:33:05,819 –> 00:33:12,459 And it’s very clear that the more they detached themselves from the work of God, 332 00:33:12,459 –> 00:33:19,140 the more their disappointment and their frustration and their fear increased. 333 00:33:19,780 –> 00:33:25,900 And these were people whose hearts God had once stirred. 334 00:33:25,900 –> 00:33:28,020 People who’d left everything in Babylon 335 00:33:28,020 –> 00:33:33,260 because they believed that God was calling them to rebuild the house of God. 336 00:33:33,260 –> 00:33:38,900 Now, do you see then that the story really does speak very, very directly to us today? 337 00:33:38,900 –> 00:33:45,800 These are days in which it is so easy for us to become discouraged, 338 00:33:45,880 –> 00:33:49,900 for us to become frustrated, and for us to give way to fear, 339 00:33:49,900 –> 00:33:56,099 and in that condition, for us increasingly to detach ourselves from the work of God, 340 00:33:56,099 –> 00:34:01,020 to drift away from the commitments that we once had to the Lord and to His work. 341 00:34:03,540 –> 00:34:05,739 And so the story is telling us very clearly, 342 00:34:05,739 –> 00:34:09,100 look, times of discouragement, times of frustration, times of fear 343 00:34:09,100 –> 00:34:13,560 are going to come to each and every one of us, and when they do, you watch your heart, 344 00:34:14,500 –> 00:34:17,399 because these are the tactics of your adversary 345 00:34:19,060 –> 00:34:24,439 to keep you from doing the work that God has called you to do. 346 00:34:26,560 –> 00:34:30,360 The danger of spiritual decline, and then here is the very last thing, 347 00:34:30,360 –> 00:34:34,860 the hope of spiritual restoration. 348 00:34:37,300 –> 00:34:43,360 Obviously, we are living in a time of discouragement, frustration and fear. 349 00:34:43,560 –> 00:34:52,520 And if your heart has grown cold over these last years, 350 00:34:52,520 –> 00:34:57,860 if you’ve lost the passion, the stirring in 351 00:34:57,860 –> 00:35:02,879 your own heart that you once had for the work of God, 352 00:35:02,879 –> 00:35:07,459 you may very well find yourself saying, 353 00:35:07,459 –> 00:35:12,959 I’ve lost something, and I don’t think I can get it back. 354 00:35:13,360 –> 00:35:15,979 You may even have said within your own mind and heart, 355 00:35:15,979 –> 00:35:20,580 I don’t know, I think something within me has died. 356 00:35:20,580 –> 00:35:24,860 I just don’t feel about the Lord’s work, 357 00:35:24,860 –> 00:35:29,100 the way in which I did once before. 358 00:35:31,000 –> 00:35:33,459 Or perhaps it may be for some of us 359 00:35:33,459 –> 00:35:38,659 that you have found your mind and heart increasingly 360 00:35:38,659 –> 00:35:42,719 overtaken by gloomy thoughts about the future 361 00:35:42,760 –> 00:35:43,639 of the work of God. 362 00:35:43,639 –> 00:35:46,439 You think, well, what is the future for the work of God? 363 00:35:49,239 –> 00:35:51,199 I want to remind you from this story then 364 00:35:51,199 –> 00:35:52,699 of these great words of hope. 365 00:35:52,699 –> 00:35:57,699 That, though God’s people went through a spiritual Malaise 366 00:35:59,659 –> 00:36:04,659 for 16 years, God restored them. 367 00:36:07,020 –> 00:36:10,120 Your heart may have grown cold for 16 or 20 or 30 368 00:36:10,280 –> 00:36:13,000 or 40 years and God can restore you. 369 00:36:15,100 –> 00:36:17,820 God did it very wonderfully by sending his word 370 00:36:19,479 –> 00:36:22,679 through Haggai and Zechariah. 371 00:36:24,500 –> 00:36:29,500 The word of God coming into the lives of God’s people again 372 00:36:29,679 –> 00:36:33,560 was what enabled them to face their fears 373 00:36:35,139 –> 00:36:37,540 and to overcome their discouragement 374 00:36:38,439 –> 00:36:41,300 and to rise above their frustration 375 00:36:43,239 –> 00:36:47,280 and to return to the work that God had called them to do. 376 00:36:47,280 –> 00:36:49,280 Although in the years that followed, 377 00:36:49,280 –> 00:36:50,780 as Ezra makes very clear, 378 00:36:50,780 –> 00:36:53,120 there were many, many more discouragements 379 00:36:53,120 –> 00:36:55,739 and many more frustrations and many more fears, 380 00:36:55,739 –> 00:36:57,939 yet the work was done, 381 00:37:00,080 –> 00:37:04,560 and by God’s grace, his purpose prevailed. 382 00:37:05,560 –> 00:37:07,600 Will you join me now in praying 383 00:37:07,600 –> 00:37:09,439 that it will be so among us, too? 384 00:37:11,040 –> 00:37:13,219 Our Father in heaven, 385 00:37:13,219 –> 00:37:16,919 we know what it is to give way to discouragement, 386 00:37:18,360 –> 00:37:21,899 to frustration and to fear. 387 00:37:24,399 –> 00:37:26,360 We know what it is for our hearts 388 00:37:26,360 –> 00:37:28,739 that once were stirred with love for you 389 00:37:28,739 –> 00:37:31,679 and commitment to your work to grow cold. 390 00:37:32,679 –> 00:37:36,540 Father, you are the good shepherd 391 00:37:36,540 –> 00:37:39,580 who restores our souls. 392 00:37:40,760 –> 00:37:45,760 Begin your work of restoration in us today. 393 00:37:49,620 –> 00:37:53,199 Stir our hearts with fresh love for you. 394 00:37:53,199 –> 00:37:58,199 Renew us in a fresh resolve to serve you. 395 00:38:01,959 –> 00:38:05,419 And grant that your purpose will prevail in us 396 00:38:06,399 –> 00:38:10,699 and through us for Jesus’ sake, amen. 397 00:38:14,659 –> 00:38:15,879 You’ve been listening to a sermon 398 00:38:15,879 –> 00:38:18,280 with Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 399 00:38:18,280 –> 00:38:19,919 To contact us, call us at 400 00:38:19,919 –> 00:38:23,560 1-877-OPEN365 401 00:38:23,560 –> 00:38:24,760 or visit our website, 402 00:38:24,760 –> 00:38:26,560 OpenTheBible.org.