Doing A Good Work

Text: Ezra 3:8-13

Thesis: Whenever the people of God places their total focus on the fulfillment of the divine plan of God they we realize they are doing a good work

I. Wisdom of the Work
-verse 8...now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, they began to supervise the work of the house of the Lord
-the wisdom of the work is that as soon as the season permitted, they began the work on the foundation of the temple
-it is wise to begin God's work when the season permits because seasons can and will change

II. Weight of the Work

-verse 9...and Jeshua with is sons and his brothers and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen in the the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers
-acknowledging the necessity is not enough, somebody needs to carry the weight of the workload

a. those who initiated the work...Jeshua, Kadmiel and the sons of Judah were supervisors...there must be leaders in every work project for the Lord

b. those who implemented the work...sons of Henadad and the Levites...there must be workers who follow the supervision of the leaders

III. Worship in the Work

-verse 10...and when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets and the Levites, the sons of Asaph with cymbals to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David King of Israel
-verses 1-7 tell us that worship must come before work...verses 8-13 tell us that we must worship while we are working
-jsut because the work begins doesn't mean everything will run smoothly...we need to worship while we work to keep our focus on the Lord

Why did they worship?
a. God is good...verse 11 they are repeating the refrain from Ps. 136...God is good for his steadfast love endures forever
-psalter writes this to encourage Israel to praise God for the wonderous works that nobody but God could have done

b. foundation is finished...verse 11...and all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord becasue the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid
-when the work is complete, praise God that he allowed you to finish what you have started

IV. Wonder of the Work

-verses 12-13...when the priests, Levites and the old men who had seen the first house, saw the foundation of the new house, they shouted with joy...so greatly that no one could differentiate the weeping from the shouting
-when we walk into our new house built for the Lord...the older saints who remember the first house, will weep and rejoice because they will be amazed at the things that God has done for us