I’ve been involved in the ministry of this church now, since it began
-for over 20 years
I’ve seen a lot of people come & go
I’ve had the opportunity to see a lot of kids grow up
-go through the youth programs
-I worked with many in the teen ministries
-& finally, they’ve become adults
I’ve seen God do a lot of good things in people’s lives
I’ve often said, “God is in the business of building lives!”
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
So, we praise the Lord for the many lives God has touched & marvelously
-built up over these years
-& many of you sitting here this morning are part of God’s building project
-we’re thankful for what God has done in our lives & what He’s doing
I’ve seen God do a lot of good things in people’s lives
But, I’ve also seen a lot of lives, where very little was done
-in the way of a changed life
-I’ve seen a lot of teens come to our youth group events
-or come with their parents to church
-& this applies to all ages
-I’ve seen them exposed to the message of God & the invitation
-to come & follow Christ
-the invitation to be made into a new person
-only to see many of these same people - a few years later
-with lives that are wrecked, ruined, messed up & struggling
What happened? What failed?
-instead of being built up, these lives were like, demolished
-instead of a construction company, these people were worked on
-by wrecking company
What happened? What failed?
We’d all agree - it’s not the Lord’s fault
-God did not fail
-neither with the blueprints for a new life
-nor, with the construction of a new life
-God did not fail
Most of these people that I now see who are very troubled
-& display essentially ruined lives - ruined by sin
-thinking back, even when they were here - often, you could tell
-they never really opened their lives up to God
-they seemed cold & spiritually dead all along
-though, there were some who seemed alive & awake in the Lord
-now, they seem to be sleeping - maybe even seem dead to the Lord
What happens & I think this happens to all of us to some extent
-we go through times where we stop building the new life
-the building of our new lives is a partnership with God
-God will always, faithfully, keep building our lives
-but, we need to partner & cooperate with Him
-we need to work together
-& there are times, where we tend to give up
-for all kinds of reasons
-& for varying times
1 Corinthians 3:9-17
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
Now, most sadly, many people don’t ever get the foundation laid
-there have been a lot of kids who grew up in our church - & adults as well
-who’ve come over time
-they’ve been able to say the right things & talk about Christ
-maybe they thought they were believers, or maybe they never really cared
-especially some of the kids who came because their family came
-but, later on, its apparent, they never believed in the first place
-they were part of the talk about building & maybe did a little digging
-on the building site - but they never really laid the foundation
-which is Jesus Christ
-& now, sometime later - there’s nothing there - no spiritual foundation
Others, thankfully, have laid the foundation of Jesus Christ in their lives
-& the new life is developed according to an on-going building project
-a building on the foundation
-but here too, we sometimes build with things of the world & not heaven
-we build for this life & not eternity
-we build for ourselves & not for God’s glory
We are to be like the temple of old - we are the temple of God
-with God the Holy Spirit living in us
Now, we’ve been studying from the OT book of Ezra
-we’ve taken a break from this for the holidays & are back at it today
-it’s a story of re-building the temple in Jerusalem
-& right along in our study of this OT book
-we made parallels about the building of our own temples
-our lives for God
-we can think of physical building, emotional building, relational building
& spiritual building of our lives
-or, re-building if you need to re-build
-the people were re-building the temple in those days
-& they were re-building their lives
-they had fallen away from God & God allowed the city & temple
-to be ruined as a way of judgment
-now, they were re-building
-but they came to a stop
Ezra 4:24-5:1
Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
We saw what happened last time we studied this
-opposition brought discouragement & fear
-the enemies first wanted to join forces
-but these people weren’t followers of God
-& as we think about this today - it’s still an important lesson for us
-mixing too much with people who don’t follow God
-causes people who would otherwise follow God
-to fall away from God
-& that’s a real important factor in why a lot of people
-who you’d think should have built up lives for the Lord
-instead, have broken down lives - their lives are in ruins
-because they’ve followed people who weren’t following the Lord
Second, these enemies brought all kinds of discouragement upon the people
Ezra 4:4-5
Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. 5 They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Be certain, that there will come all kinds of discouragement along the way
-in the process of building up your new life in Christ
-people from outside of the fellowship of God’s people will discourage you
-people from inside of the fellowship of God’s people will discourage you
-& you’ll get discouraged
-because God isn’t doing things
-the way you think He should be doing them
Third, plain & simple - they were told to stop building the temple
-the opposition complained to the king
-they made the king believe that it was a bad idea to let them build the temple
-that doesn’t happen to us much at all in our setting
-oh, sometimes we’ll run into something, where people cry,
“Separation of Church & State! You can’t do that!”
-so, we can’t hold a Bible Study here, or put up a manger scene there
-we don’t have that much pressure
-but, yet, we’re weak & when someone tells us to stop building
-we just too easily stop
-I think that’s what happened to the people in the book of Ezra
-they just stopped when they had pressure
-& I think what happened to these people & this happens to us a lot
-is they too easily got their attention on other things
-the focus of their lives got switched from building God’s temple
-to the building of their own little palaces
How often does that happen to us?
e.g. teens, want to build up the reputation that they’re “cool”
-& so they hang out with all the “cool” kids
-& they do all the “cool” things
-& by this, I mean to include, for a large part, ungodly things
-& pretty soon, God’s building project in their lives has come to a halt
-career minded adults, want to build their own little palace
-this project, that project
-this job, that job
-get a real nice house & yard & cars & boat,
-toy-machines & extra bathrooms, etc.
-raise a family, get the kids involved in everything
-so they can excel in life
-& what happened to God’s building?
-the Holy Spirit living inside - making God’s temple?
-neglected - there’s not much in the way of significant building going on
There are a lot of reasons why God’s temple
-doesn’t get built the way it should in our lives
Probably all of us go through times of stagnancy in our growth
-& it’s likely that’s where a good number of us are right now
-unfortunately, there are even more who are in a building standstill
-& they aren’t here this a.m. - & that’s partly a reflection of that
-but you’re here & that’s good
-because what does it take to get the building going again?
-what does it take to oil & grease & fuel the construction equipment?
-what does it take to get the hammers swinging & the saws turning?
-what does it take to get the structure to rise from the foundation?
-it takes the Word of God
Ezra 4:24-5:2
Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
5:1 Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
The Word of God through these prophets was the stimulus
-to get the building going again
-& that’s so true in our lives as well
-when you get away from the teaching of God’s Word
-the building stops
-if we’re going to progress on in the development of the blessed new lives
-that God wants to build
-we’re going to have to be reading & listening to the Bible
-we’re going to have to be attending & participating in Bible studies
2 Timothy 3:14-17
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
So, looking at Jerusalem & the re-building of the temple
It came to a stop
-but, now, there’s been a revival of sorts
-a revival that seems to have come as a result of these prophets
-a revival that came as the result of the stimulus given by the Word of God
-let’s look next week, at some of the things the people would have heard
-from these prophets
-next week, we’ll look at the Book of Haggai
-& get some insight into just what was preached
-& I think there will be some good things for us to hear
What do you think - is your spiritual life at a stand still?
-maybe, you need the foundation to start with
-maybe you need to really, honestly trust in Jesus
-embracing Him to be your Lord & Savior
-maybe, you need to get into God’s Word
-& it will teach you - things you need to know about God
-it will rebuke you - things you need to know about yourself
-& where you’re going wrong
-it will correct you - God doesn’t just give you the bad news & leave you
-He helps you go in the right way
-& it will instruct you - God works with you
-whatever it takes, God will work with you to put your life together
-to be that new life
-to be like Christ
-to experience blessings - to some extent, in this life
-to a full extent, in eternity to come
Let the Lord build your life & bless you better than you could ever wish
-in order for the construction to happen - open God’s Word - the Bible
-spend time in it by yourself
-spend time in it with others
-God will speak to you through His Word
-God will keep the construction of your life working
-as you listen to His Word
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