Why do we build things?
That’s a simple question that’s easy to answer
-we build a house - so we can live in it
-we build a car - so we can drive it
-we build a sculpture - so it can be appreciated for it’s art
-or, maybe, it’s a reminder of someone
-we build a bridge, so we can cross over a river or valley
-there are some things people have built, that I suppose others wonder - why?
“Why did someone build that?!!”
-maybe, the builders just needed something to do
-think of Stonehenge & the heads on Easter Island
-do we know why those things were built at a tremendous cost & effort?
-a lot of skin cells have been scratched from heads thinking about that
-though we don’t understand fully why - we believe there was a reason
-that was clear to the builders at the time those things were built
We’ve been considering the building of our lives
We’re in need of building our lives - as our lives have been broken down by sin
Here on Sunday a.m. - we’ve been going through the OT Book of Ezra
-which is about building the temple - actually, rebuilding the temple
-it had been essentially leveled some years back by the Babylonians
-due to sin
-the people had fallen away from God
-& God needed to judge them
-with hopes that they’d come back to Him
-now, even though they really didn’t deserve God’s blessings
-God graciously led the people to return to Jerusalem & rebuild the temple
Since God isn’t having us build temples,
-We’ve been thinking in terms of building our lives
-physically, emotionally, relationally, spiritually
-but in a way, our lives are a temple - as we’re to understand that our lives
-are like the temple of God - since God lives in us by the Holy Spirit
-we’re building, so that we can become what God wants us to become
-so that we can become like Christ
-but, should we ask the question, why?
Why should we build up our lives to become like Christ?
-we take such a simple question for granted -
“Of course we should become like Christ!”
Why?
“Well - it’s the right thing to do - we want to - it’s good for us!”
-those are good answers - but let’s think about this some more this a.m.
Why should we go through all the effort - & it takes effort,
to build our lives to be like Christ?
-let’s think about that as we cover a few more chapters in Ezra
Let’s pick it up in Ezra 5
Ezra 5:1-2
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.
You’ll remember, the work on building had stopped
-but as a result of the Word of God from the these prophets,
-instructing them - they started building
2 Timothy 3:16-17
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.
We need the Word of God always to build us into what we should become
-but as soon as progress began on building - there was again, opposition
vv.3-4
At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, "Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?" 4 They also asked, "What are the names of the men constructing this building?"
We’ve considered this before - there will be forces that tend to discourage us
-as we grow to become like Christ & what God wants us to become
-there will certainly be obstacles
-that will tend to cause us to stop building
-it’s good to think about what those obstacles might be for you
-it maybe like here, other people who come into your life
-& demand that you stop
-maybe not so much literally & directly like this
-but friends can easily sway us away from the Lord in many ways
-most people aren’t following the Lord
-& as we make friends with people who don’t follow the Lord
-we need to be very careful that we influence them to go to God
-& not the other way around - where they influence us
-to fall away from God
-maybe, it’s just the many busy things in this life - this world
-that cause us to loose sight of this most important priority,
-to grow to become like Christ
-much like with these people - we learned from the prophet
-they had put more into their own homes & neglected the temple
1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
Be careful, not to get sidetracked
-fortunately, this time, the people stayed on the task of God’s mission
-building the temple
v.5 But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.
When someone or something tells us or tempts us - to stop following God
-it’s good to challenge them or it,
“Hey, I can believe in God, I can serve God - it’s the right thing to do!
“It’s what I need to do!”
Here there was a challenge before the authorities:
6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. 7 The report they sent him read as follows:
To King Darius:
Cordial greetings.
8 The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction. 9 We questioned the elders and asked them, "Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?" 10 We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information. 11 This is the answer they gave us:
"We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, he handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. 13 "However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14 He even removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon. "Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, 15 and he told him, 'Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.' 16 So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished."
17 Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.
Ezra 6
King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. 2 A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:
Memorandum:
3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:
Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be ninety feet high and ninety feet wide, 4 with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. 5 Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God.
6 Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you, their fellow officials of that province, stay away from there. 7 Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site. 8 Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God: The expenses of these men are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. 9 Whatever is needed — young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem — must be given them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons. 11 Furthermore, I decree that if anyone changes this edict, a beam is to be pulled from his house and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it. And for this crime his house is to be made a pile of rubble. 12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem. I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.
13 Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates carried it out with diligence. 14 So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. 15 The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
Despite this challenge - the work went on & now, actually flourished
-& the temple was mostly completed
Sometimes, we’ll have times where building is hard & slow
-at other times, things will go well & it’s easy to follow & grow in the Lord
-when things are hard going
-let that be a time to build spiritual muscle & resolve to trust more
-when things are going easy
-take advantage of the times, & keep up the progress of your growth
-we should always be building - in the good times & bad times
-in the easy times & the hard times
-growing & developing our hearts & souls to become more like Christ
So, they finished the temple
Now, we’ll never finish our job of building our lives to be like Christ
-there will always be more building
-but to whatever extent that we get there - we come back to that question, why?
-I know this seams like a simplistic answer - but it’s what it’s about
- to glorify God!
-that’s why we build - to glorify God!
Look, now that the temple is built - what do they do?
vv.16-22
Then the people of Israel — the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles — celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. 17 For the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they installed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.
19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover. 20 The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their brothers the priests and for themselves. 21 So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord, the God of Israel. 22 For seven days they celebrated with joy the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.
They glorified God - they worshipped God
-through sacrifices & the celebrating of God’s festivals
-they gave glory to God
And isn’t that what we’re created for?
We’re to glorify & worship God with our lives
-considering all God has done for us,
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
And for us, we’ll never stop growing
-we worship God & glorify God - How?
-with our changed lives
-& we go on to change some more
-this is the reason to build - to glorify God
1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
God has called us from the darkness into His kingdom of life & light
-for the purpose of declaring His praise - glorifying Him
-expressing worship - as we devote our lives to Him
-I think that’s basically the reason we build our lives - to glorify God
-& that’s a good reason & purpose
-think about what God has done for you
-think about what God has done for this creation
-think about who God is
-He is worthy of our praise!
-let’s keep building
-whether it be termites slowly eating away at our walls
-or tornados threatening to demolish our house
-despite the adversity - let’s keep building for God’s glory
-& even in the hard times - God comes through & builds our lives
-remember - it’s God who really does the building - we just partner with Him!
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