Sustained Freedom Part #3 "Seriously"

 

   

           As one that has had to hand down consequences for wrong behavior, I have struggled with lining up the consequence to the action. I have made mistakes being too lenient, as well as too harsh. In these situations, I have been blamed for the suffering caused by the consequences as if I had committed the wrong act. In this situation, I had to remind people that the choice to do wrong was theirs to make. Therefore, the consequences are their responsibility. I believe in the basic principle, that those who do wrong are responsible for suffering the consequences.

            When we find ourselves in these situations, we may be tempted to blame God for the consequences of our sin. Our culture is indeed one of blame. Do so, reveals that we often fail to understand the gravity of sin and the damage that is causes. In a world of compromise and the abuse of grace, may we take sin more serious.

            To learn how to do so we may turn our attention to the final four chapters of the book of Ezra. Here we are taught that taking sin seriously believes that Godly freedom is the freedom to obey God. In chapter seven, the Jews were once again free to follow the law of God and rebuild the temple. God’s hand was upon then granting permission and provision to return home and rebuild. The rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, may be rebuilding our lives today. God’s hand is upon us and He has resources on through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit.

            Moving to chapter eight, we see taking sin seriously acts out Godly freedom in practical ways.  Chapter eight tells the story of how their freedom was enacted through a journey back to Jerusalem. They appointed wise leaders (V.15-20), humbled themselves through fasting (V. 21-23), acknowledged their dependence on God’s guiding hand (V.22), and made offerings in repentance of their sin (V.24-36). Though our taking sin seriously may look different than theirs it must be enacted in very practical ways. The failure to do so will result in a lack of growth. These practical steps must be applied with consistency or we will experience what the Jews experienced as recorded in chapter nine.

            In chapter nine, we see that not taking sin seriously results in the repletion is sin. Here, the Jews used their freedom to return once again to the sin that destroyed the previous generation. Being that some of that previous generation had returned with them shows their stubbornness to learn from the past. People today are quick to blame previous generations, but slow to learn from their examples. Our church is to be one that does the opposite. May we take responsibility for our own sin, and be quick to learn from our past generations.

            Arriving at chapter ten brings us to a place of much difficulty. Difficult because the consequences of sin seem very hard and almost unimaginable. However, we view this account, we learn that not taking sin seriously brings great suffering. In dealing with such difficult passed we must first as if it is descriptive of prescriptive? Though it is hard to conclude, most indicate that it is descriptive and heavily influences by cultural and issues of prophetic implication.  One way to deal with this passage is to ask why would Ezra agree to this action? The following are some potential answers.

            Ezra’s concern was the purity of the Messianic line. He knew that God had promised to being about the Messiah through the Jewish race and compromising national purity would put that in danger. Note that Ezra is human being an subsequently puts undue pressure on himself to accomplish what God promises.

            Ezra may have also feared that the worship of other god’s would return the nation to captivity. This was a real fear because that is exactly what had happened to the previous generation. Ezra was willing to lead in painful ways in order to protect the future and the mission of God. Another associated issue was the Persian system of land rights. If the national race and become mixed, land ownership may have been removed from the Jewish people.

            Finally Ezra’s understanding of the law caused him to accept this advice because it seems to be a more merciful option. The Jewish law (Exodus 20:3-6 and Deuteronomy 6:14-15) states that idolatry is punishable by death. Ezra had been given permission by the Persian king to follow the Jewish law (7:6). Ezra chose the more merciful act of separation rather than death.
            Today, we must deal with the issue of this passage in light of the New Testament and the fulfilled promise of the Messiah. Now that the Messiah has arrived and completed the work on the cross, things changed. How do we handle this in light of the New Testament. National boundaries were set for the provision of the Messiah, now all are one in Christ (Galatians 3). Now, 1 Corinthians 7:13-14 is now applied to marriages.

            With all this in mind, we can draw at least two conclusions. First, don’t blame the punisher for the punishment. Take responsibility for the consequences of your sin. Yes, they are painful, but pain is a great teacher. Secondly, we cannot redefine sin because we dislike the consequences. This is a very grave problem occurring in today’s church. May there be a revival of taking sin serious.

Sustained Freedom: Part 2 - "Outside Help"

Sustained Freedom

A Study in the Book of Ezra

Sermon #2 – “Outside Help”

            Pastors leading churches like ours, encourage me greatly. They speak truth into my life, helping me see things from a fresh perspective that helps me understanding the will of God. I also listen to leaders who have been effective in ways that I have not. These pastors challenge me to consider methods of ministry that I would have never thought of myself. In short, I am consistently looking for outside help in hearing from the Lord and understanding how He is working through various expressions of His church. I admit that I can be easily discouraged in my role as a pastor. In those times, I am very thankful for the encouragement that I receive from outside my own ability to hear directly from the Lord.   
            We all need help from time to time in various areas of our lives due to the reality that we are easily discouraged. Sometimes that help must come from the outside. By outside, I mean outside of our own personal will and individual hearing directly for the Lord. Though this message may apply to your life in various ways, my focus is the work of the Lord through this local community and your role within that work. Therefore, when doing the work of the Lord we often need outside help when desiring to quit.
            The scriptural context of this message is Ezra 4:24 (ESV). The work on the house of the Lord had stopped due to an edict from the Persian king. This edict was based upon a complaint and the false claims of their adversaries. The Lord spoke through Haggai and Zechariah calling for the work to continue (Haggai 1 / Zachariah 1). Zerubbabel was the leader of those in Jerusalem but he, like us, needed to hear from the Lord through an outside source. The people of Jerusalem also needed another voice to call them to consider their ways and renew their commitment to the work of the Lord in their rebuilding effort.   

            Through the words of Haggai 1:1-11, we learn that our lives become dissatisfying when we ignore the work of the Lord. All our hard work is brought to nothing when its focus is our own personal gain. The picture that Haggai paints here is indicative of how many Christians live their lives. As Haggai suggest, we are to consider our ways.   

            Haggai also provides several reasons for the success of outside help (1:12-15). Outside help is effective when the word of the Lord is obeyed (v. 12). The word of the Lord is received into our hearts when we are convinced that those encouraging us are sent from the Lord (V.12). Outside help is also effective as we live in the fear of the Lord (V.12) and that He is with us (V. 13). Through all of these things, the Lord stirs our hearts toward understanding and obedience (V. 14-15).

            Turning our attention to the words of Zachariah (Ch. 1) we discover that outside help is a reminder of the origin of our problem (V. 1-6).  The problem in those days was the repetition of rebellion. They were returning to the sins of past generations. This was not only their problem, but seems to be a systemic problem for all humanity. Zachariah also reminds us of God’s purposes. It was God’ mercy and jealousy for Jerusalem that caused Him to re-establish Jerusalem (V. 7-17). Finally, we are reminded of the truth that God will deal with the source of discouragement (V. 18-21). God’s promise to destroy those who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem is a promise to destroy all that come against His work. We are not left to ourselves in the dealing with the present opposition.
            Application of the words of Haggai and Zachariah can be made. When you desire to quit doing the work of God, seek outside help. This outside help will keep you from the futility of living for selfish purposes. You will be reminded of God plan for your life and be kept away from repeating the sins of past generations. As individuals and as a church community we cannot be afraid of receiving help from outside our own congregation. May we understand the words God speaks from the outside help He brings our way.  

Sustained Freedom Part 1

Sustained Freedom

A Study in the Book of Ezra

            As we experience the freedom of forgiveness and restoration, we need help to sustain that freedom. We can find this help in the book of Ezra. In 539B.C. the Persians defeated the Babylonians. A year later in 538B.C. The Persian King Cyrus released Judean exiles who return to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel. Returning to Jerusalem they found their city destroyed and their temple in ruins. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel they rebuilt the foundation of their temple (515 B.C.) following the teachings of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Then in 458 B.C. Ezra led a second wave of exiles home to Jerusalem. By this time the people had fallen back into sin. Ezra’s reaction to the sin of the people reveals much about the severity of sin and the hold that it has the heart of man. The way Ezra leads the people in chapter ten is a source of much heartache and confusion and shows the difficulty in dealing with continued sin. This post will focus on chapters 1-6.  

     As the people of Ezra’s day, when it comes to striving towards a God given goal, it seems easier to give up. However, the consequences of doing so are unacceptable. It seems easier to give up because it feels like a God sized goal has been dropped in our not so God sized laps. As much as we desire restoration and healing, we become discouraged with God’s process and naturally slip back into what got us in trouble in the first place. Part of this slip backwards is the human tendency to make the same mistakes repeatedly from generation to generation. With this in mind, I want to turn our attention to the book of Ezra with the hopes that we will grow in our understanding of how God directly guides who He is restoring.     

     In the first two chapter, we see God restoring through the stirring of hearts. Commentator John Gill sheds light of this issue by stating: "Who has the hearts of all men in his hands, and even of the kings of the earth, and canturn them as he pleases; he wrought upon him, put it into his heart, enlightened his mind, showed him what was right, and his duty to do, and pressed him to the performance of it; so that he could not be easy until he had done it, and he was made thoroughly willing, and even eager to do it".

     God stirred the heart of Cyrus toward what He had prophesied 100 years prior (Jeremiah 25). A general reading may call for a reminder that Cyrus was a pagan king. He was under no relational obligation to obey God. God directly moved him to do His specific will in fulfillment of His promises. When it looks like God is not working, our faithful patience is required, believing that He can move any heart. Though this is the case in many situations, the paradox of God’s sovereignty and the free will of man remains.

     The third and fourth chapters of Ezra take us through three common seasons. Here we see that it is through the new and old that God restores. First God restores appropriate worship. It seems that all restoration and freedom start with worship (3:1-7). The second season is one that moves us into a free future by connecting old and new. This is not easy because the new is not exciting for many who remember a more glorious past (3:8-13). The third season is the seemingly common and re-occurring season of discouragement (Ch.4). Through all these seasons, God leads through his stirring hand.  

      Moving to into the fifth and sixth chapters of Ezra, we see that He restores through His watchful eye. This is directly applied to our efforts of freedom through the support of spiritual leadership (5:1-2). As we saw in chapters 3-4, the old plays a part in the new. Here we see that the support of a past has a powerful effect in moving God’s people into their future (5:3-17). Finally, Ezra teaches that God works through the support from unforeseen sources to complete the work (Ch. 6).     

     In conclusion to this section of Ezra we can say that God slowly guides who He restores. The prophet Habakkuk prophesied around the year 600 B.C. when he said, “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end--it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay" (2:3). This prophecy was fulfilled in 539 B.C. and became the motivation for the Apostle Paul’s teaching on the righteous live by faith (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38).