In the many years I have spent preaching, I realize that I have maybe only shared one message from the Book of Ezra. Now, I am familiar with the Book, I have heard others preach from the Book, mostly when people are going through building projects. That makes sense to me because Ezra was given the privilege by God to help rebuild the Temple. But, for whatever reason, God’s never laid a messages on my heart from the book of Ezra.
Now, a few things to note about Ezra. The prophets Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi are contemporaries with Ezra.
The prophet Haggai is not necessarily telling the people that they should be building the Temple – what he is telling them is that they are spending so much time building their own homes, they have neglected the work of God.
I would say to you that if you spent all your time building your life and gaining all the things you want, and you don’t spend anytime or energy on the House of God or the work of God, I think you will have some regrets in eternity because you didn’t make wiser choices.
And then you read about Malachi, and Malachi spent his time speaking about leadership. The Preachers of the Country. I would venture to say that one of the biggest problems we have in the church today is we are filling the leadership with CEO’s and Administrators, and focusing on grandiose programs and performances, rather than filling the pulpit with men of God who will stand in demonstration of the Spirit and Power of God. And our churches are paying the price for it.
And then there’s Zachariah. And he just puts all the emphasis on the Messiah. He talks about the one who is going to have wounds; the One who is going to spring forth fountains of Living Water. He just focusses on making the LORD the center-piece. And I’ll tell you folks, if we are going to build a great work for God, we will have to keep Christ as the Center Piece!
In our text, Judah has gone into captivity, and they have been there for 70 years. Their homes lie in waste. To give you a good mental picture of the destruction, think in your mind about some of the images coming out of Ukraine and how their lives have been destroyed in just a moment in time. Can you image what their lives would be like if they remained that way for 70 years?
Now this is what you have in Jerusalem. You have the Temple that was built by Solomon, and it is now destroyed. And it now lies in ruin.
Then God does something very unique, in Ezra 1 and beginning in verse 1, He stirs up the heart of the King of Persia.
“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”
Now I find it amazing that God stirred up the heart of the Medo-Persian King Cyrus. Folks, if God can stir up the heart of Cyrus, then He can stir up the heart of anybody He wants to.
Cyrus’ heart is stirred, and because of that, he makes a decree that he is going to build the Temple of God, the House of God. The House of God didn’t need to stay in this broken-down ruined condition anymore.
Now listen to me – there are a lot of houses, and I’m not talking about the houses on the street that you live on, but there are a lot of houses that are broken down, and they’ve been that way for a long time.
What I mean by that, there are some marriages that have soured and have broken down, and that relationship is no longer what it once was, and it is now a broken marriage.
There are people that have broken minds. And they’ve been in that condition for a long time. Maybe it’s because of depression, or some traumatic event that’s come into their life. Some people don’t believe that mental illness is real. But folks, I can tell you firsthand that things like mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are very real. People’s minds have been broken by events that have taken place in their lives.
There are many hearts that have been broken, in a state of disrepair. A bitterness that has been there for a long time, something that has yet to be corrected. And their hearts and their minds are just totally broken.
There are people who have been broken by sin. And that sin in their lives has wrapped itself around them like a chain. And brick by brick, and piece by piece, that sin has torn apart their lives.
So, I want to talk with you about how we can Rebuild the House, and I’m not talking a physical house, I am talking about how to rebuild that broken mind and that broken heart; How to rebuild a broken marriage and how to begin rebuilding a life devastated by sin.
I’m going to say this, If God can stir-up the heart of a King that’s not born again, and get him to move to get God’s people to move again, I’m telling you, GOD KNOWS HOW TO REBUILD!
The sad thing is, some folks have lived in that condition for so long, they’ve just become accustomed to it. They’re used to it. It’s like dragging a body behind you. They’ve just gotten used to it. You are used to your marriage being in shambles; you’re used to your mind and your heart being broken; you’re used to dragging that heavy weight of sin around with you.
So I am just going to stand on both feet this morning and shout as loudly as I can that GOD CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT – if you will give Him that opportunity!
Now look with me in chapter 3 if you will and I’m going to show you some things that are required if you want God to rebuild your house!
YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN AGREEMENT (gather together)
Ezra 3:1, “And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.”
They came together as one to rebuild the House. In the book of Acts, the people came together:
- Acts 1: They were together in one heart and one mind at Pentecost praying;
- Acts 3: They were together praying when Peter and John went up to the Temple
- Acts 4: they are praying together after being persecuted.
- Acts 12: they are praying together because James has been beheaded and Peter has been imprisoned.
- Acts 20: They are gathered together on the first day of the week to break bread and Paul preaches until midnight.
And so the church gathered together. But this passage is Ezra goes beyond that – In Ezra, they have made an agreement, a pact, a commitment that they are going to work on the House together!
Husband and wives, things in your marriage might not be what it once was, but I’m telling you, y’all need to come together in one heart and one mind and work on this thing TOGETHER!
You might be a parent here that has a child struggling. Y’all need to come to an agreement that you’re going to work on this TOGETHER (talk about Mike and Cameron).
Folks, the first step in Rebuilding is coming to an agreement. “God I can’t do this thing on my own.
YOU HAVE TO BUILD AN ALTAR (V2)
“Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.”
Before they ever laid the foundation of the Temple, they built an altar! Listen folks, as the people of God we should be laser focused on building the altar and getting to God before we ever try to deal with the other problems of life.
When the children of God built the tabernacle in the wilderness, the very first thing you would come to was the brazen altar, and then to the presence of God.
What we have now is everybody is trying to handle their issues. I’ve had people tell me, “Well preacher, when we get our marriage straightened out, I’ll come back to church.” Or “When I fix this problem I have, then I’ll come back to church.” So everybody is trying to side step the altar. What we need to do is come to God and then trust Him to help fix the other areas of your life.
- Noah, when he got off the boat, the first thing he did was Build an altar.
- Abraham – every where he went, he would pitch a tent and built an altar.
Listen folks, before Dave Ramsey can help and before any other self-help gurus can help you – YOU NEED TO GET TO AN ALTAR. And if you want my opinion, you should get to an altar as often as you can!
You know what’s wrong with churches today? Nobody is getting on the altar bowing before God, Asking God to partner with them on life’s highway.
- You want to rebuild your marriage? Bow before the God of Heaven.
- You want to rebuild your broken mind and your broken heart? Bow before the God of Heaven.
- You want God to help you through life’s struggles? Bow before the God of Heaven.
The Agreement, The Altar, now look at:
HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE (V5)
“And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the Lord.”
How many have heard the saying “It’s more blessed to give than to receive?” Let me show you what we do: we kneel at an altar and we hold out our hands and say, “God I need something from you. God I need a blessing. God I need you to fix my marriage. God I need you to fix my mind.”
But look what they did – rather than asking God for something, they brought something to God. Maybe rather than asking God for something all the time, maybe we should get involved in DOING something for God.
In verses 8 through 11, they begin the work on the foundation. Once they complete the foundation, the send the priest to get dressed up, they send for the musicians, and they then begin to praise God. That’s not how we operate. We don’t begin celebrating until the whole house is done. And why did they begin celebrating BEFORE the job was complete? Verse 11 says because of the goodness of GOD! Don’t miss out on praising God during the struggle.
Fighting for My Pea Patch 