Wednesday Night Service 7PM - Ezra 7-8, Ezra leads the Return, Pastor Ryan Nichols

peace tonight, Lord, and just prepare our hearts and our minds to receive from your word. In Jesus' name, amen.

And that again, I need you to take every step to do anything. Lord, you have put us here. You put us here for a reason, Father. So I pray that as we hear you, Lord, we hear from your word tonight, God, that you just speak so clearly into each and every one of our lives. God, that you just speak through Pastor Ryan tonight, Lord, fill him with your Holy Spirit and go before us.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Good evening. If you would open up in your Bibles to the book of Ezra, chapter 7. I've got this fly that's on my Bible that's going to help me teach tonight. Oh, there he goes. Isn't it weird how little things can distract us? Ezra, chapter 7. So tonight, we actually are first introduced to the author of the book of Ezra. We've gone six chapters. And have not heard from him one time because he's been the one writing the book.

But honestly, about 50 years is going to go by between chapters 6 and chapter 7 of the book of Ezra. And one very interesting story takes place in between these two chapters. And the interesting story that takes place between these two chapters is given to us in the book of Esther. So if you want to know what took place between those two chapters, go read the book of Esther.

And you'll get a little bit of a background information of things that were happening in the Medo-Persian. And you'll get a little bit of a background information of things that were happening in the Medo-Persian empire while the children of Israel were reestablishing themselves in the land. But tonight, we're introduced to Ezra. And so I've entitled tonight, both Ezra, chapter 7 and 8, Ezra Leads the Return.

And so picking up in chapter 7, verse 1, it says this. Now, after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, there went up Ezra, son of Sariah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shalem, son of Zedekiah, son of Zadok, son of Ahitab, son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Marrioth, son of Zerahiah, son of Uzi, son of Buki, Bucky, I don't know how you say that one, son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the chief priest. And so we get a little bit of his background, his genealogy, if you will, knowing that this Ezra, who's going to be referred to as Ezra the scribe, is actually in the Aaronic line, one of the priests. It doesn't mean he's one of the high priests, but it does mean that he's one of the priests,

those who would go in and who would serve at the temple. And so in verse 6, it says this. This Ezra went up from Babylon. By the way, verses 1 through 10 are sort of a summary of what we're about to read in the rest of these two chapters. It says, This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given.

And the king granted him all he requested, because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. Verse 6 gives us the very first description of this man named Ezra, and he's given a simple title. He's simply titled as a scribe skilled in the law of Moses. Now, when you and I think of a scribe, we think of a glorified secretary, someone who just writes the things down.

But that really wasn't the case at the time that the Bible was written. A scribe was actually a very skilled lawyer in the law of Moses. He would be one who was an expert. He was an expert in the law, because remember, the law of Moses not only governed the religious life of the people, but the law of Moses also governed the judicial life of the people. And so this is a man who knows his stuff.

It says that he is a skilled scribe. Now, I want to pay attention to that word skilled, because it's a very interesting word in the Hebrew here, because this word skilled means quick or prompt or ready or diligent. And I'm reminded of a couple of things. I'm first of all reminded that we are told in the New Testament that we, we are to be ready in season and out of season to give a defense for our faith.

So that readiness is something that we are supposed to be. But I want to point out one other thing. This Ezra is going to be used in a very powerful way in the life of the nation of Israel, because when he returns, he's going to find that though the temple has been built, they really weren't living as they were supposed to, because they'd never really been taught the law. They knew what the temple was supposed to look like, and they knew about the sacrifices.

But they really hadn't been taught what God's law had to say. And because of their lack of knowledge, we're going to find that compromise had begun to set into the nation of Israel. And so, and so in order for them to live as they were called to live, because remember, we've given an overarching title to Ezra, that, that is the restoring of the heart of the nation. And they restored the heart in that they rebuilt the temple, but, but they had not restored the heart in that they were living still as they were supposed to live.

No idolatry, but there was still a lack of knowledge, amongst the people. And so God needed someone who could go and who could teach the people what his word had to say, who could, who could go and teach the law. So God chose the right man for the job at the right time. But in order for Ezra to be the right man, he had to be a man who was skilled. He had to be a man who was, who was prompt and who was ready and who was diligent.

We'll read more about this in a moment, but, but I'm reminded of a truth, and it's a core value for me in my life, and the things that I tell the people that I serve along, and that's that God works best through prepared vessels. God works best through prepared vessels. Now listen, if I showed up here on a Wednesday night, and I was kind of like, well, let's read the book of Ezra. I've not really read over this yet, but I feel like God can give me everything that I need, if I just stand up here and read to you, and, and I just kind of shoot from the hip.

That wouldn't be very good, right? I might be able to come up with a few things, and God would be faithful to his word, because God's always faithful to his word. But, but that wouldn't really be me being the right kind of vessel now, would it? That would mean that I was not a vessel who was really ready and prepared to be used by the Lord. Now listen, I've had situations that are similar to that.

I think I've shared with you one time. The, somebody's asked me, what's the least amount of time you've ever had to prepare a message? And I said, two hours. I got a call when Pastor Mark was very, very sick. He and I were alternating Sundays when he was trying to get back into the pulpit. This is quite some time back now, and I didn't prepare nearly as many studies then as I do now.

So it was a little bit easier to do this. I got a call at 8 a.m., and we had a 10 a.m. service at that particular point in time, and I got a call at 8 a.m., and he said, Ryan, I can't do church today. I was like, well, that's a, well, that's a bummer, because, because I'm not ready. And he, I said, okay, I'll be there. So I, I hurried up. Bear in mind, I'm just sitting there drinking coffee at this point in time in my morning.

I've not done anything. I'm not taking a shower. I'm not ready, nothing. So okay, I'll be down there as quick as I can. So, so I hurried up, and I got ready, and I, and I got down here, and I told all the guys, including the worship team, I'm like, listen, here's the thing. Nobody mess with me. I'm gonna be in my office up until the point in time when I have to depart my office,

and get up there, and, and give a message. This was, I wasn't putting things up on screens, nothing like that. It was just, and God was faithful. God provided. But I'm here to tell you right now, nobody likes that stress level, right? And so if we want to be a vessel that is used by God, the best thing that we can be is prepared. Well, Ryan, how do I prepare?

Well, the best way that you can be prepared right now is to consistently be in God's word for yourself. Again, we'll talk about this more in just a moment. But to consistently be in God's word for yourself, and to be in consistent fellowship with God. Because I'm here to tell you right now, consistent fellowship, meaning your prayer life, your worship life, and, and that time that you spend in God's word is your greatest preparation to be used by the Lord.

Because you have no idea what God will use out of what you read in the morning in your device. You have no idea what God will use out of your devotion time throughout the rest of your day. And so if you want to be a vessel that is used by God, God works best through prepared vessels. And so this man Ezra was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given.

It says, and the king granted all that he requested. I want you to pay attention to this next phrase. It says, because the hand of the Lord, his God was upon him. I want you to do me a favor. Every time we read this phrase, define it. Now, I have not counted up how many times this phrase is going to be used in the next two chapters. Okay, so when we're all said and done,

I want somebody to come and tell me how many times this phrase is used in, in, in these two chapters. Okay, let's pretend it's elementary school. And that's what you're going to tell me. Don't shout it out. That'll be distracting for me. But when you walk out, tell me how many times it was used because that phrase will be used multiple times throughout these next two chapters.

It says some verse seven of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which is in the seventh year of the king. For on the first of the month, he began to go up from Babylon. And on the first of the fifth month, he came to Jerusalem because the good hand of his God was upon him.

Oh, hopefully took note of that one. And I find this interesting. This is going to be a five-month journey. And sometimes we read past times like that. And we go, of course, it's five months. Yeah, let's move on with our lives. Five months of a journey, right? In a couple of weeks, we're going to drive down to Florida for vacation. That will take us two days.

And I'm here to tell you right now, by the time we get down there at the end of those two days, because we drive everywhere, we're from the Midwest. I don't care if it's 20 hours away, short enough to drive, right? And so at the end of those two days, we'll get down there and it'll be like, oh my gosh, I'm ready to not be in a car anymore, right? Five months, right?

So, so we leave on vacation today and we arrived July, August, September, October, November. Whoa, that's a long trip. All so that he can go and restore the heart of the nation. Like that's, that's some investment of time. That means that there is a commitment in the heart of Ezra for what he is about to do. And we're reminded that the entire place where all of the blessing is going to come from is not because he's so skilled,

not because he was so committed, but because of the hand of God, that was upon him. And then in verse 10, we were given one last summary statement of Ezra in his ministry. And this is what it says, for Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, to practice it and to teach his statutes and ordinances in Israel. I believe this speaks a great deal to that character of Ezra.

And if you're looking for a mission statement in your life, this is a really good one to have, right? This is, this is sort of, my own personal mission statement when it comes to ministry is like, what do you do? Well, I do three things. I study the word, I live out the word, and I teach the word. Those are the things that I want to do in my life. But, but I noticed that there was a fourth thing in there too.

So I want to point out four things in this first, that tell us a little bit about the character of Ezra, some things that perhaps we can apply to our own life from the character of this great man of God, that is going to be used by God in such a great way. Number one, it says he has set his heart, that Ezra had set, his heart. That word set means established, resolved, or determined. In other words, there was a determination in the heart of Ezra for the next three things that we're going to talk about.

And I want you to know something. If you are going to be who God has called for you to be, if you are going to be used in the way that God wants to use you, there has to be a determination about the way that you live your life. You can't just float through life. It can't just be like, I just kind of hope that God shows me here. No, no, you need to be determined.

Get a vision, a vision from God and be determined to keep that vision. We lack determination in this culture. We lack resolve in this culture. What we want is what comes easy to us. And it's easy in the moment to be like, yes, I'm going to be determined. But determination is not found in the moment when you make the commitment. Determination is found in the moment when you don't want to get out of bed.

In the moment where you say, I don't feel like it today. I don't feel like doing this today. The job just got really hard. The job just got really complicated. The job just got really heavy. What I'm supposed to do is a lot for me to handle at that point in time. That's where determination kicks in and you have to say, I'm going to do it because I said I was going to do it.

I'm going to do it because I am determined to do it. I started a little discipleship thing with five young men this last week and it's holding myself three rules for you guys in this time of discipleship. Number one, nothing's off limits. We can talk about anything. There is no subject that's taboo. We'll talk about all of it. Number two, what's said here stays here because if nothing's going to be off limits,

we have to know it's going to stay here. But number three, you have to be committed. You have to be committed to do the work that I'm going to give you to do and you have to be committed to show up because I'm here to tell you right now, if you can't learn commitment right now, it will not carry into the rest of your life. And what we're lacking in the culture today is people who are committed, who are determined, who are resolved and established in what God has called for them to do.

Because I'm here to tell you right now, the moment you say, I want to be used by God, the enemy is going to come against you. And the first way that he's going to come against you is in your alarm clock, right? You will not, if you say, I'm going to get up early and do my devotions, it will be the best sleep you've ever had in your entire life, right? You're going to wake up like, let's say you make this commitment tonight, right?

You wake up tomorrow morning and the darkening shades are on your windows and you hear the gentle pitter-patter of raindrops landing on your roof. And all you can think to yourself, is what a beautiful morning to sleep in. Why? Because all of a sudden your sleep is so good because the enemy is like, I don't want you to get out of bed. Don't be resolved. And that's when you have to decide I'm going to do it,

even though it's hard, because if I don't start doing hard things here, I will not carry that out out there. And so first of all, he set his heart to do three things. The first thing he set his heart to do was to study the law of the Lord. To study the law of the Lord. In other words, he gave everything that he had over to knowing what God's word had to say.

Listen, I don't think we'll ever come to a point in our lives where we can give ourselves enough over to what God's word has to say. Where we can give, where we can give ourselves over enough to truly being in what God's word has to say. Because we will never plumb the depths of it on this side of eternity. And so if we want to be, who God has called for us to be, we have to know what he has called for us to do.

And it's going to require the study of the word of God, not just the casual looking at the word of God, but the digging deep into the word of God and see what does it have to say for me? Wrestling with difficult passages of Scripture. Have you ever come across one of those passages that you don't agree with? Ryan, we're not supposed to do that. Whatever dude,

we're all human. Okay, there's going to be some passages that you're like, I don't think I agree with that. We all know you're the one that's wrong, but it's still, you have to wrestle with it. You have to wrestle with why would God say that in his word? Because that's not the picture that I had of God. That's not the picture I had of his word. So what am I supposed to do with that?

So I'm going to wrestle with it. I'm going to wrestle with it in prayer. I'm going to wrestle with it in study and I'm going to dig it and find out why does it say that? Because I know I'm wrong. Because when I approach God's word, I know that it's the holy word of God. It's words directly from him. So I got to figure out where I'm wrong in my life in order to understand what God's word has to say.

We have to we have to wrestle with that. He says he he determined he resolved to study what the law of the Lord had to say. Number two, it says that he was determined to practice it. He was determined to practice it. Listen, your study of God's word will do you no good if it does not change the way you live your life. You will just simply become inflated in the way that you think and you will be able to say,

look at all of this stuff that I know and everyone around you will say, we don't care because it hasn't changed the way that you live. But when God's word becomes not only the thing that you study, but the thing that you put into practice in your life, then you will begin to change the way that you live. Let me give you a little bit of a little bit of an idea of something that you can do. I have these Bible study sheets in my office.

They're called Discovery Bible study sheets, DBS for short, if you will, and I think you will. And on it, you go down and you write all this. It's like inductive Bible study. You go down and you write, okay, what's it have to say about God? What's it have to say about people? In other words, what does it say? But then you have to make a positive statement. What am I going to obey out of this passage of Scripture this week?

What am I going to obey about it? And listen, if you can't get into God's word and determine what is it that I'm going to obey this week that God just told me in his word, listen, then his word is doing you no good. Now, I understand if you hit the, if you hit the genealogy and you're like, so and so begets so and so, what am I going to obey? I got nothing on that.

That's fair. Okay, like the little bit of grace on that. But for the most part, you can find something out of God's word that you need to obey. And if you want to take it one step further, find yourself a group of people that you make that commitment to, and then have them ask you the next week, would you obey this week? What out of God's word that you said,

this is what I'm going to obey. And how did you do with that? Now that's transformational discipleship. That's transformational relationships. When you can find somebody that you can say, this is what I'm going to obey this week, and then they can hold you accountable to that and vice versa. Now you're starting to change your life. Now you're going to start to see fruit produced because there's accountability involved.

So number one, he says that he set his heart to study the law of the Lord. Number two, he set his heart to obey it or to practice it. But then number three, he set his heart to teach it to others, to teach it to others. Now, this is really important for me in my job, because those three things have to be a part of everything that I do in my life. I have to study it.

I have to practice it and I have to teach it. And I bet you're probably sitting here thinking to yourself right now. I'm glad I don't have to do option three. I'm glad I don't have to teach it to anybody. Don't you though? What are we all called to make? What is every single disciple of Jesus Christ called to make? Somebody shout it out. We're called to make disciples,

right? So that means what are you supposed to do with the things that you learn in God's word? That means that you are supposed to teach it to others. It may not mean that you're on a platform like this talking to a group of people, but it could be your kids. It could be your grandkids. It could be the person that you work with. It could be your husband. It could be your wife.

It could be your buddy that you are in this. Accountability group with but you teach that to others. You can you can share what you have learned from God's word with the people around you. And that is putting into practice what he just said right here what he did. He was determined to teach it to the people around him. I had somebody asked me one time. What if you're in a situation where you're in a really secular job site?

How do you share God's word with other people? I said, I'm glad you asked because I had to learn that lesson myself when I work construction. I was around a bunch of foul-mouthed rough guys, right? And I did it two ways. Number one. I wore my Bible college t-shirt. I will never forget a guy looking at me and going you don't really fit in here. Do you and I was like, nope, I really don't really fit in anywhere.

I go. That's okay. Do you know what? I would start asking people. Can I tell you what I read in the Bible this morning? Do you know how many people told me? No, none. Every single guy don't care how rough they are and I could take you through the list of like the roughest ones. I can even take you down to the asphalt workers here in asphalt. Worker, please forgive me, but they're the roughest guys on a job site.

And if I looked at one of them, I said, can I tell you what I read in the Bible this morning? They'll be like, all right, why not? Every single time and I would share with them something that I've been reading and then it would start a conversation and we'd have the opportunity to talk about the gospel all because I asked one question. Can I tell you what I've been reading in the Bible?

And it starts the entire conversation that's teaching it to other people. Will Ryan they're going to ask me a question. I can't answer. Of course, they are expect them to and you can say. Hey, let me get back to you on that. You have to get back to him on it, but you can say, let me get back to you on that. Just like when your kids ask you a question and you don't know the answer.

It's okay. You say, let me get back to you on that. But then you got to look it up. You got to come ask me. You got to get into a commentary. You got to do something to figure that out so that you can take them an answer. Because people just want their questions answered. Ezra was a man of great character because he was a prepared vessel who had set his heart to study the law of the Lord.

To practice it and to teach us statutes and ordinances in Israel. So after this summary, we now get into the details of what we were just told about in the first part of chapter 7. And the first thing that we see is the letter or the decree from Artaxerxes. Notice what it says. Now, this is the verse 11. Now, this is the copy of the decree, which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest.

The scribe learned in the words of the commandments of the Lord. And his statutes to Israel. Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of God of heaven. Perfect peace. And now I have issued a decree that any of the people and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem may go with you. Now, one group of people had already gone back and they'd gone back to build the temple.

But Ezra wants to lead a group back because he. A wants to see more of the children of Israel return to their homeland. But B, he wants to teach the people the law. And he had made this request of the king. And once you notice the first requirement to go back with all the children of Israel, it was simply a willing heart. Anybody that wanted to go back to the promised land, anyone that wanted to live in freedom, anyone that wanted to live as God wanted them to live could go back.

They just had to have a willing heart. In other words, freedom is available. For anybody who wants it. You just have to decide you don't want to live in bondage anymore. Anybody that wants to go back can go back. And so anyone with a willing heart can go back with Ezra. Verse 14. For as much as you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning of Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God, which is in your hand.

And bring the silver and the gold and the which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel whose dwelling is in Jerusalem. With all the silver and gold, which you will find in the whole province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and of the priest who offered willingly for the house of their God, which is in Jerusalem with this money. Therefore, you shall diligently by bulls, rams and lambs, their grain offerings and drink offerings and offer them on the altar of the house of your God, which is in Jerusalem. Whatever seems good to you, to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold.

You may do according to the will of your God. Also, the. Two utensils, which are given for you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. The rest of your needs for the house of your God, for which you may have occasion to provide, provide it from the royal treasury. I even I, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in all the provinces beyond the river that whatever Ezra, the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may require of you.

It shall be done diligently up to a hundred talents of silver. A hundred cores of wheat, a hundred boughs of wine and a hundred boughs of oil and salt as needed. Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, so that there will not be wrath against the king and his sons. And we also inform you that it is not allowed to impose tax tribute or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, Nethaneum or servants of the house of God.

So he tells them, handle the money. Diligently. There was going to be three sources of money. Number one was going to be an offering from the king and his counselors. Number two is to be a freewill offering from the people. Number three were all of the utensils that came back with them. He said, use those things diligently for the house of God, whatever you need.

Oh, and by the way, no taxes. Yay! A true conservative king. Anyway, he said, and we're not going to tax you on any of these things. And so everything was provided for them. And isn't it amazing that this? King, who is one of the most powerful men in the world at this point in time, not only sends them back, but sends them back with all of the finances that they need, all of the implements of the temple that needed to be brought back, and even tells them, we're not even going to tax you on any income that comes in for you guys.

You get all of this scot-free. Go back and do what you need to do. Isn't it amazing that God does this work in the heart of the king? I'm reminded of what we are told in the book of Proverbs. That God can guide the hearts of the kings like the rivers of water and direct them where he will. And I think we need to remember that as we pray for our governmental leaders.

And can I just say to you, are you praying for your governmental leaders? Are you praying for those that are in charge, the people you agree with and the people that you disagree with? Because I'm going to say that there were probably a whole lot of the children of Israel that weren't always real wild about Artaxerxes or any of the other kings that they lived under in bondage. And yet God still used these ungodly men to do his will.

So we need to remember to be praying for these leaders because God is able to guide their hearts like the rivers of water. Verse 25. You, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges, that you may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the river, even all those who know the laws of your God. And you may teach anyone who is ignorant of them.

Whoever will not observe the law of your God, the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether death or banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment. I love this. He says, set yourselves up a government. Set up the judges that you need to implement the law of your God. Oh, and by the way, if anybody doesn't know the law, why don't you teach them, Ezra?

Listen. Listen, when you're a guy who lives to teach the word of God and somebody says to you, why don't you go set up a Bible study? It's the greatest thing that you've ever heard in your life, right? Hey, Ezra, I know that you have studied the law. I know that you practice the law and you love to teach the law. When you get there, do those things with everybody.

When that's the way you live your life, God gives you as many opportunities as you want. So, for a quick moment, we see kind of a little thankfulness for what the king has done. A little commentary given to us by the author of the book. It says,

I gather leading men from Israel. To go up with me. Ah, the excitement. He's got everything that he needs. He has the decree from the king. The finances that he needs. And now it's time for him to gather the people to go and return to the land. And so, starting in chapter 8, verse 1, there's a lot of things I don't really want to read. Genealogical information about the people that go with him.

If I remember correctly, there's a little over a thousand people that go with him. It says in verse 15, Now, I assemble them at the river that runs to Ahava. Where we camped for three days. And when I observed the people and the priests, I did not find any Levites there. We got a problem. So, you can imagine he's kind of going through, writing down some names and keeping good records.

So, he kind of has a little bit of a head count. Who all is going with him? If you ever led a group of people, you know that head counts are like the biggest thing that you do constantly. Like, okay, do I have all of my people with me? When I used to be a youth leader, if I knew I had 30 kids, I'm like, I just need to count 30. They don't have to be my 30 people.

I just need to take 30 people home with me because I left with 30 people. Not really. I always made sure they were mine. But you always do head counts. And you can imagine him going through and he's like, Okay, and which tribe are you from again? Okay. Man, he works his way through and he goes, No Levites. Why did they need the Levites? Well, who performed the work of the temple?

The priest did the priestly service. Going in and offering the incense and things along those lines. Making the sacrifices. But you needed guys to do the physical work of the temple. The deacons, if you will, of the temple. And he couldn't find any Levites. And he's like, well, this isn't good. Because if I don't have any guys to do the work of the temple, then I can't focus on doing the teaching.

Because I don't have anybody there to do the physical things of the temple. This is a problem. Well, we're not really told why the Levites aren't there. But some commentators have conjectured. And it makes sense to me. One of the reasons why a lot of people did not return from Babylon to go back to the land is, is remember, in Jeremiah they were told, build a house and get a job.

You're going to be there for about 70 years. Well, they built houses and they got really good jobs. And they were making such good money that it was hard for them to go back to a land where they were going to have to reestablish themselves. Because it was going to be hard work. And these Levites did not want to go back to a land where they were going to have to live off the proceeds of the temple.

Because they had found themselves good jobs where they were. And they didn't want to go back to a place where they were going to have to do the very hard work of the ministry because they were comfortable where they were. Do you know why a lot of people don't begin to serve the Lord? And listen, if this steps on toes, this is what it is. Because it's hard work.

Do you know why it's a whole lot easier to sit in the pew of a church than it is to serve in the back rooms of the church? Because it's comfortable to sit in the pew. It's uncomfortable to go into some of those back rooms and do some of the work that needs to be done back there. And so it's really hard for him to get workers. And he's like, but I can't do the work of the ministry

if I don't have the workers for the ministry. Jesus said something really similar in the New Testament when he said, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are so few. Therefore, pray that the Lord of the harvest would send laborers into his harvest. Well, brothers and sisters, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. And there's a whole harvest out there.

There's a whole harvest in here, but we need the laborers to do the work. And so this is what he does. And I want to point something out. So it says this. So I sent Eliezer, verse 16, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jerob, his other brother Elnathan, Naphon, Zechariah, Meshulam, leading men. Those guys don't get names. They're just leading men. And for Joarib and Elnathan.

There's a third guy, teachers. And I sent them to Edo, the leading man at the place of Cassiphia. And I told them. And I told them what to say to Edo and his brothers, the temple servants at the place of Cassiphia. That is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God. According to the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of insight, the sons of Mali,

the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely, Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, 18 men, and Hashabiah and Jeshiah and the sons of Merari with his brothers, and their 20 men, and 220 of the temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name. You know what I want to know? What did he tell them to say? It had to have been a good speech.

Because dude just got over 200 people, right? He rolls back and I don't know what he says. I don't know if he tells them to get off their Levi duffs. I don't know if he tells them that this is serious work that we're doing. I don't know if he was really nice. I don't think he probably was. Whatever it was, he told them what to say. And it inspired them. And listen, sometimes to get service,

you need to bring inspiration. You have to put out the vision. And so as you put out that vision, people catch the vision and they want to serve. Now I'm just going to be really honest. We got a lot of servants in this church and I really appreciate it. We got a lot of people that do a lot of work here. And I'm so thankful for it. And I like to hope that it's because of the Holy Spirit

and what he's doing in your hearts. That the Holy Spirit has helped you to catch the vision of what we're doing here. As far as getting the word of God into the hearts and minds of as many people as possible. And you're just excited about it. And I love that. I love that I don't have to give harsh statements. But in the church today in general, that's not always the case.

We need some inspiration. We need some inspiration to tell people it's time to get with it. It's time to get to work. Because listen, one life is soon going to be passed. And the only things that are going to last is what's done for Christ. Amen. And so they bring all the Levites in. Verse 24. Verse 21. One more thing that they have to overcome. It says,

So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter. And he listened to our entreaty. Now, he does something really interesting. They're getting ready to make a journey. And the journey is going to be difficult. Because there's potential dangers they're going to face along the way. They're carrying an incredible amount of money with them. Right? We were already told that.

Silver and gold. Not to mention all of the implements that they're bringing with them. And perhaps they're not prepared for some sort of a battle along the way. Or some sort of robbers that would face them. Thieves that would face them along this highway. And so as he's thinking about the dangers that face them. He's going, oh man. We've got to be careful because there's a lot of dangerous people.

And we're not really fit to protect ourselves from the dangerous people that are out there. Now I could go and I could ask the king for a guard. And he would probably send a guard with us to protect us. But gosh, I've kind of talked about how powerful God is. And that God stands so strong in defense. In defense of his people. And he's willing to obliterate anybody that stands against them.

And so it feels like maybe asking for a guard right now is the wrong thing to do. Now listen. It's going to be interesting because when we get to Nehemiah. Nehemiah is going to face a similar issue. And he does ask the king for a guard to go along with him to protect him. So you have to know the situation. And you have to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

When do you ask for help? When do you just take your needs to God? Well you have to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the leading of the Holy Spirit is I just want this between you and me. You seek me and let me be the one who takes care of you. But sometimes God says you need to humble yourself. And you need to ask somebody else for help. Because that's actually what your heart needs in this moment.

Well for Ezra he felt like that was supposed to stay between him and the Lord. And so what he did is he said people get on board with me right now. We face a difficult journey. So let's humble ourselves before the Lord. And let's fast for three days. Now why do they take time to fast? Well the idea of fasting not only sets aside all of the distractions that are there oftentimes between you and the Lord.

But it also is a way of saying Lord you are my sustenance in life. And I'm showing that not only spiritually through my prayer. But I'm showing it physically through my denying myself of God. Denying myself of food for this time. So that you and I can be as connected spiritually as possible. Because I want to humble myself before you. And that's why they took the opportunity to fast.

And so they literally didn't eat for three days. So that they could seek the face of God for protection. Now does God hear you whether you fast or not? Absolutely. God hears all of our prayers. But has God moved? Has the heart of God moved when he sees his people deny themselves? Deny themselves of worldly things. So that they could focus their hearts in on what God would want for them.

I believe that he is. We see many times throughout both the Old and New Testament. That when they were seeking direction or help from the Lord. They denied themselves for a time. So that they could focus their hearts and their minds on the things of God. And this is what they do. They humble themselves before the Lord. I often wonder what were those prayer meetings like.

As they were seeking God for his help. For their little ones and all of their possessions. But I want you to notice how God responded. It says in verse 23. So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter. And he listened to our entreaty. God listened to what they had to say. Listen, if you're in a place in your life where you feel like your prayers are starting to hit the ceiling.

If you feel like there's no movement in your walk with the Lord. If you feel like the same things have always dominated in your life. The same things have dominated in your life. The same things are dominating in your life that have always dominated in your life. Maybe. Maybe it's time to take a day to fast. Now I'm well aware of the fact. I get all of these responses when I talk about this Ryan.

I take medicine that will not allow me to eat. Then you can't just go a whole day without eating. You can deny yourself of something different. Or deny yourself of one particular meal. Whatever it is. Perhaps God is calling you to do that. So that you can get your heart lined back up with the Lord. Because God seems to be moved. When we take that time to really focus in on Him.

So the heart of God is moved through this. And God hears them. And He listens to their entreaty. And He also gives some wisdom to Ezra. Notice what it says in verse 24. Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests. Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them their ten brothers. And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the utensils. The offering for the house of our God.

Which the king and his counselors and his princes and all Israel present their head offer. And I weighed into their hands six hundred and fifty talents of silver. Silver utensils worth a hundred talents. And a hundred gold talents. Twenty gold bowls worth a thousand derricks. Two utensils of fine shiny bronze precious as gold. And I said to them. You are holy to the Lord.

And the utensils are holy to the Lord. And the silver and the gold are a freewill offering. To the Lord God of your fathers. Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leading priests. The Levites and the head of the fathers households of Israel and Judah. And the chambers of the house of the Lord. So the first thing God does after He takes that time to fast.

Is He gives Ezra the wisdom to know how to divvy things out. To have a not only spiritual preparation. But a physical preparation. By putting different people in charge. So that the wealth is kind of spread amongst the people. And He says this is now your responsibility to protect. And to get there safely. And so it says. So the priests and the Levites accepted the weighted out silver and gold.

And utensils. To bring them to Jerusalem. To the house of our God. Verse thirty one. And then we journeyed from the river Ahava. On the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was over us. And He delivered us from the hand of the enemy. And the ambushes by the way. Thus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days. And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils.

Were weighed out in the house of our God. Into the hand of Meramoth the son of Uriah. The priest. And with him Eleazar the son of Phinehas. With him were the Levites. Josabath the son of Jeshua. Noadiah the son of Benue. And everything was numbered and weighed. And all the weight was recorded at that time. And the exiles who had come from the captivity. Offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel.

Twelve bulls. Ninety-six rams. Seventy-seven lambs. Twelve male goats. For a sin offering. All is a burnt offering to the Lord. And they delivered the king's edicts to the king's satraps. And to the governors in the provinces beyond the river. And they supported the people of the house of God. So everything arrived. Everything arrived as it was supposed to.

God kept them safe. And the hand of God brought them safely into the place. And they offered the sacrifices that were necessary. When they got there. And now that they're there. And we'll see this next week. It's time for Ezra to really get to work. Because now he's going to have to really, truly deal with the heart of the nation. But he was the right man. Prepared for the right time.

Let's pray. Father, we come to you now. And Lord, I thank you for your word. Lord, I thank you for these examples. And God, I pray that you would give us hearts like Ezra. Lord, hearts that are determined. Hearts that are prepared. Hearts that are ready for whatever it is that you have for us. Lord, hearts that have spent. Hearts that have spent not only time studying, Lord, the information of your word.

But Lord, hearts that have allowed your word to study us. And to change us. And so Lord, as we go throughout the rest of this week. May we be those people that are determined to serve you in any way possible. To know you as best as we can. And to live as you have called for us to live. And so Father, we thank you and we praise you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.