A Song of Assurance

Text: Psalm 121:1-9

Thesis: God is our universal and essential source that will provide all of the help we need in our times of trouble

I. Assured of God's Supportive Assistance

-verses 3-4...he will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber...behold he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep

-when we stand up for righteousness, God will never let our feet slip so that we will fall into the clutches of our enemies

a. support is vigilant - verse 3...he who keep you will not slumber...we can not stand one moment if the Lord ever falls asleep at the wheel in our lives...God will always be awake and alert as long as danger is around us

b. support is vicarious - verse 4...behold he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep...this suggests that God will not sleep on us because he is concerned about the welfare of his children

II. Assured of God's Sustaining Assistance

-verse 5-6...the Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand...the sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night

-these verses suggest that God will maintain his people when trouble arises in our lives

-this verse is impressive when you consider who's name is stamped on it...the previous verses imply who he is, these verses state that Jehovah is the author of our assistance

a. Bears Our Burdens - verse 5...the Lord is your shade on your right hand...during ancient battles, warriors carried a shield in their left hands and they fought with their right hands...God will bear the heat of battle so that we will be able to fight the devil with all that we have

b. Shelters Our Spirits - verse 6...the sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night...all day and night, we are under constant spiritual attack from Satan...and since Satan will not let up on the attacks, God will never let up on his protection

c. Preserve Our Psyche - verse 7...the Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life...God will preserve our souls which are the essence of our minds because if he can keep our souls, he can keep our entire lives...our souls are to be kept from evil, perversion and destruction and kept for the endless love of God

III. Assured of God's Stretching Assistance

-verse 8...the Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore

-this verse describes the scope of God's help...God doesn't put any limits on how far, how hard, or how much He is willing to provide all of the help that his children need

-God will meet us at our lowest point, at our worst times, when others walk out...God will be our great provider

Where Do You Stand

This is the message I preached on July 12th from our series on Commitment:

Text: Exodus 32:24-28

Thesis: God blesses those who will stand for him not in moments of calm but rather in times of chaos

Transition: How do we know we are standing on the side of the Lord

I. Public Allegiance To God

-Moses comes off the mountain and sees the people worshipping this golden calf...he gets angry, stands at the gate and asks in verse 26...who's on the Lord's side, come to me

-and all the sons of Levi gathered around him

-in moments of chaos and confusion, God is looking for somebody who will publically acknowledge who He is

How do we acknowledge the Lord

1. Through Our Witness

2. Through Our Ways

3. Through Our Works

II. How We Behave in Strange Circumstances

-the people were frustrated because Moses had spent too much time on the mountain for their taste

-they didn't know what had become of Moses, so in their frustration, they ordered Aaron to make them a god out of gold

-and when Moses came off the mountain looking for a faithful people, only the sons of Levi stood in strange circumstances

III. Who Are You Connected To

-Moses shows up and asks who is on the Lord's side...verse 26 says that only the Levites turned towards Moses

-this is impressive when you consider that all the Levites were doing was living up to their names

-in Genesis 29, Leah wanted to gain the love and affection of her husband Jacob, so in her desire to connect to her husband, she conceived a son and named him Levi, which means to be attached

-God is looking for somebody who is willing to attach themselves to Him

When Life Doesn't Make Sense

Text: Proverbs 3:5-6

Thesis: when life brings us to a point of confusion, our total trust in our heavenly Father will make the difference between failure and fruitfulness

I. Measure of Our Trust

-verse 5...trust in the Lord with all your heart

-Solomon describes for us how much we are to trust in the Lord

-we are not to trust God haphazardly, not lazily nor as if it is inconsequential...but in our moments of confusion we are to trust the Lord with all of our heart

II. Motivation of Our Trust

-verse 5...trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding

-two verbs provide the proper picture of our motivation...lean and understanding

-lean means to depend on...understanding means intellect or logic

-Solomon says that we are to never depend on our own logic but rather on the logic of the Lord

III. Mark of Our Trust

-verse 6...in all your ways acknowledge him

-we are to express a high regard for the presence of the Lord in our lives

-need to acknowledge that God is the giver of everything in our lives...and if he brought us out of that before, surely he can bring us out again

IV. Management of Our Trust

-verse 6...in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths

-God manages the trust we place in him by giving us a reward for our trust

-that when we trust God, depend on his understanding, acknowledge his control over our situation, God will provide a way of escape

God Will Help You

Text: Psalm 46:1-3

Thesis: our ability to rise above our bad situations rest totally in our complete confidence in a God who can

I. God is Our Personal Rescue

-verse 1...God is our refuge and strength

-this verse suggests that when we are in trouble, God is willing to come to our rescue

1. We Find Safety in God - verse 1...God is our refuge - this means that God is our shelter from our troubles

2. We Find Security in God - verse 1...and strength - this means that when we get in a tight situation we need somebody stronger than we are to handle the tough times of life

II. God is Our Powerful Resource

-verse 1...God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble

-this suggest that not only will God protect us from trouble but he will provide for us in trouble

-present has two distinct meanings in the Hebrew:

1. God is our Sufficient Resource - it means to be enough...when we get in trouble, God is all that we need

2. God is our Immediate Resource - it also means right now...for there are times when we cannot wait God will show up right now

III. God is Our Permanent Resistance

-verses 2-3...therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea...though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling Selah

-resistance is a synonym for preservation which means that God will preserve us from the troubles in our lives

1. preserves us even though our fears stricken us (v. 2)

2. preserves us even though our foundations shake us (v. 2-3)

Strength For The Struggle

I am currently in a serious predicament with regards to my preaching schedule and it has me in a real quandary. As many of you know, I am consistently in a series either on a book of the bible, a chapter of the bible or a biblical principle. I truly believe that preaching in a series keeps the focus of our congregation on a specific thought for an entire period that develops their understanding of scripture and their familiarity of the direction that God is leading our church. But I am now in a real quandary. I have just completed our series on the Beatitudes entitled Developing Christian Character, and due to various things going on during the month of June, it would not be prudent for me to start a new series and have it broken up a couple of weeks in the month, hence the problem.

So during my personal prayer time, I sought direction from the Lord and he led me to preach a few messages on encouragement in the meantime. In this present day and age, with our economy dealing a mighty blow to our finances, with enemies of our country still plotting to do us much harm, the people of God need to be encouraged to stand tall in the midst of pain, doom and gloom.

The Lord led me to preach an exposition out of 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 which I have tagged Strength For the Struggle. The Apostle Paul writes this 4th chapter as a continuation to what he wrote in chapter 3. In chapter 3 he tells the church there that there were a group of zealots called Judaizers who preached a mixed gospel to the Galatians that threatened to destroy the ministry.

Their major emphasis was that salvation by faith in Christ was not enough, that they had to mix faith in Christ with an obedience to the law. This gospel of legalism became very popular with the people and it undermined the correct teachings of Paul that our salvation is solely tied to our belief in the person of Jesus Christ. Paul rejected their methods of teaching as those who were false teachers leading the people of God away from the Word of God. How did Paul refute these false prophets, by showing the people the wonderful glory of the ministry of the Gospel by reminding them that this ministry was given to them by the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the sermon outline:

Text: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Thesis: our realization of what we have in Jesus Christ, provides for us all the strength we need to handle any conflict that comes our way

I. Refuse to Discontinue the Ministry

-verse 1...therefore having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart

-he had already confessed that the trials he faced in Asia almost brought him to despair in 2 Cor. 1:8

-because of all of the struggles...all of the heartaches...all of the pain...all of the discouragement that comes along with the ministry...no matter how difficult the struggle, he will never give up on the ministry

-Jesus said in Luke 9 while talking to his disciples about the cost of ministry, tells one who wanted to say farewell to his family before he follows Jesus...he that put his hands to the Gospel plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven

II. Refuse to Deceive the Ministry

-verse 2...but we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways

-Paul acknowledges that this ministry came from the Lord...and since it came from the Lord, we must conduct ourselves as good ambassadors of Jesus Christ...we cannot conduct ourselves in a deceitful manner

1. refuse to deface the Gospel of God...verse 2...we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word

-Paul refuses to handle the Word of God deceitfully

2. refuse to disavow the goodness of God...verse 3...and even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing

-the Judaizers were guilty of hiding the truths of the Gospel to keep the people fooled into believing that their teaching was the truth

-Paul says that he has nothing to hide in his personal life nor in his preaching and he will always allow the people to see the goodness of the Lord through his Word

3. refuse to deny the glory of God...verse 4...in their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ

-Paul says that he will never deny the people from experiencing the glory of God through his faithfulness in preaching the truths of the Gospel

-the lost sinner is blinded by Satan but when sinners are given the Gospel the light of the Gospel will shine on their lives

III. Refuse to Dominate the Ministry

-verse 5...for what we proclaim is not ourselves, but jesus Christ as Lord with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake

-the awesome fact that Jesus gave them the ministry kept Paul from allowing the ministry to be all about him

-but the ministry is always about Jesus Christ

1. preached genuine humility...verse 5

2. God pours His glory into humanity...verse 6

The Paradox of Persecution

Text: Matthew 5:10-12

Thesis: those who's life is an example of Christian character will receive true happiness despite having to deal with satanic suffering

I. The Reason For Persecution

-verse 10...blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

-this verse clearly states that not everybody who is persecuted can be considered blessed...only those who are persecuted for righteousness sake will be blessed

-this verse suggests that we will be persecuted for being just like Jesus

1. persecuted for being united with Christ - suggests the closer we get to Jesus, the more we will be persecuted

2. persecuted because the Holy Spirit is at work in us - ever since we got saved, the Holy Spirit has been working in us to transform us into looking less like the world and more like Jesus

II. The Requirements For Persecution

-verse 11...blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account

-we are persecuted not only because of righteousness but also because of Jesus himself

-not only because of our desire to be like him, but also our desire to submit to him

how do we know we are being persecuted for our faithfulness to Jesus

1. mocked because of Christ...says blessed are you when others revile you

-this word revile means to throw something in one's face...they mocked and ridiculed Jesus and if we are faithful to Him they will mock and ridicule us

2. marked because of Christ...when others revile you and persecute you

-this assures us that we will be persecuted...they will come after us for being faithful...because we follow Jesus we will have a bulls eye on our backs

3. maligned because of Christ...when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account

-because we are faithful to Jesus, there will be people who will flat out lie on us...and just make up all types of stuff against us

-but there is a blessing for those who can endure the lies of this world

III. The Reward For Persecution

-verse 12...rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you

-the good news about persecution of the saints is that all of this struggle is not for nothing...there will be a reward for those who suffer for Christ

-how we respond to our persecution will determine if we receive this reward

1. cheerful attitude...rejoice...word means to express joy as a direct result of the grace of God

-in other words, when we think about the fact that we are going through this period of persecution only because of the grace of God it should give us joy

2. celebratory approach...rejoice and be glad...means to show joy by leaping and skipping or to have ecstatic joy

-making through our suffering should do more than cause us to smile but it should make us want to jump for joy

Peace in the Midst of Conflict

I failed to post my outline from two weeks ago, so I am posting it now!

Text: Matthew 5:9

Thesis: God blesses those who expresses a desire to calm the troubled waters with a lofted position in the His family of the faithful

I. Peacemakers Embrace the Cross

-peacemakers are those who have accepted the absolute necessity of the cross into their lives

-peacemakers know in their hearts that Jesus' cross was really their cross...and because of their sins against God, it should have been them hanging between two thieves and not Jesus

-this mindset enables children of God to live a life that will not look to retaliate when attacked

II. Peacemakers Encourage Communication

-peacemakers are willing to build bridges and break down barriers when burned by conflict

-peacemakers are never passive about reaching out to those they are in conflict with seeking a resolution to every problem

-peacemakers take the initiative to restore broken relationships

III. Peacemakers Extend the Hand of Cooperation

-peacemakers are willing to promote unity and talk not in divisive terms of US and THEM, but rather of WE

-peacemakers look past silly differences to make us all united in Jesus Christ

A Clean Heart

Text: Matthew 5:8

Thesis: Jesus pronounces his blessedness only to those who's purity is not relegated to the surface, but seek to reside at the center of our hearts

I. The Perception of Purity

-Jesus did not say blessed are the pure...it would have validated the belief system of the Pharisees who specialized in showing holiness on the outside but had dirty hearts on inside

-for purity is not found in outward expression but rather an inward commitment

a. free from corruption - pure in heart means to be without blemish which occurs at the moment of salvation and causes us to acknowledge our affliction to sin and receive the forgiveness of the Lord

b. fixed on Christ - pure in heart also means to have unmixed motives...suggests that our motives must be centered on pleasing Jesus and not ourselves

II. The Process of Purity

-being able to possess a pure heart is not easy...but it is possessed through a process that we all must go through

a. spiritual process - one of the greatest untruths is that in order for a person to change they must change their environment.

-while that is an important part of change, that alone will not suffice...for man's problems originates not from our environment, but rather from their heart

-man needs a changed heart to be truly pure

b. practical process - we need our heart cleansed daily through a closer relationship with the Lord

-James 4:7-8...submit therefore to God; resist the devil and he will flee...draw near to God and he will draw near to you; cleanse your hands you sinners; purify your hearts you double-minded

III. The Promise of Purity

-verse 8...blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God

-this verse has the same promise that each of the beatitudes possess...present and future fulfillment

a. present fulfillment - those that are pure in heart will see a vision of God physically in this world

1. see God through creation

2. see God through circumstances

3. see God through his care

b. future fulfillment - there will come a time when seeing God on earth will not be enough, but we will see God in eternity, face to face

A Humble Spirit

Text: Matthew 5:3

Thesis: a true humble spirit occurs when a child of God sees themselves for who they really are

I. Express A Need For Help

-this suggests that we must recognize that this key principle of Jesus Christ cannot fulfilled through our own strength, but we are totally at the whim of a power greater than we are
-because of the sinfulness of our flesh we are unable to keep the laws and principles of God, so in order to make this transformation, we need the Lord to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves

II. Empty Yourself of Yourself

-before we can exhibit greatness in God through an abiding of his principles, we must empty out those things that hinder us and allow god to pour humility in us
-in other words, there must be an emptying before there can be a deposit
-if we pour out the old things of our sinfulness and disobedience, God will pour in something greater than what we poured out

III. Enables You to Receive Your Inheritance

-verse 3 says...blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
-those who allow the Lord to pour into them a spirit of humility, will receive a great inheritance
-every child of God will enjoy resting in eternity, when they possess a humble spirit

The Pursuit of Happiness

Text: Matthew 5:1-12

Thesis: true happiness is achieved by our willingness to turn away from temporal things and head directly towards the spiritual

I. True Happiness is a Free Gift For Saints

-we must recognize that we shall never get anywhere in our search for happiness until we give up trying to find in on our own efforts and receive it for what it is
-a free, unwarrented, undeserved gift from the Lord

II. True Happiness is Found in the Forgiveness of Our Sins

-we must realize that the blessing from the Lord that is most central in the life of every individual is that we need God to forgive us from our sins
-we pray for many things that we don't need but we want, but the thing we need to pray the most for is that God will offer us forgiveness

III. True Happiness Focuses on Our Savior

-we must put our focus on the actions of the savior to be blessed by what he did to provide the happiness we need
-we need to put our entire focus on the cross of Calvary

Prayer Changes Things

Text: Ezra 10:1-5

Thesis: for the intercession of God's anointed can make the difference in what God will do to and through his people


I. Prayer Produces a Proper Assembly

-verse 1...while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly
-prayer will cause God's people to gather around the altar for prayer

a. Unified Society...a very great assembly of men, women and children gathered together
b. Uncovered Sins...wept bitterly...they wept with the reality that they were sinning against God

II. Prayer Produces a Proper Answer

-verse 2...and Shecaniah, the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam addressed Ezra: we have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this
-this prayer caused Shecaniah to confess the obvious sin of the people of God...they married pagan women
-God's law did not permit this type of marriage because they were from different nationalities...but because they professed a different faith
-Ezra's answer was not to hide their sins...but to confess that they have broken faith with God

III. Prayer Produces a Proper Agreement

-verse 3...therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my Lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law
-Shecaniah makes this agreement to free God's people from their sinfulness so that they could truly worship the Lord
-it was intersting that Shecaniah was the spokesman with this agreement...since his father married a pagan woman which would suggest that his mother was that woman...and if this agreement was met, then both his mother and he would have to leave
-sometimes the hard decisions are the ones that will free the people from the bondage of sin

IV. Prayer Produces a Proper Attitude

-verses 4& 5...suggest that Ezra displays the right attitude by not blasting the people for their sins...he instead prays for them
-when he looks up to heaven, they look up to heaven...his attitude was to pray...their attitude was to follow spiritual leadership
-prayer will cause sinners to follow leadership back to the feet of the Master

A Prayer For Revival

Text: Ezra 9:1-9

Thesis: whenever the people of God offer a sincere prayer for deliverance to God, God will always provide a powerful response to bring the dead back to life

I. God Will Never Desert Us

-verse 9...for we are slaves , yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery
-Ezra here celebrated the fact that God had delivered them from bondage to the Babylonians
-but he was distressed with the fact that although they were no longer slaves to Babylon, but now they were slaves to their sinfulness
-but in spite of their sins, God will never walk away from us

II. God Will Never Detest Us

-verse 9...but has extended to us his steadfast love before the Kings of Persia
-God did not show hatred towards Israel for their disobedience to them, but instead he gave them something they needed more...His love
-he did this before the Kings of Persia to tell them that although they allowed the children of Israel to return to Jerusalem, they were still under the control of the Lord

III. God Will Never Discard Us

-verse 9...to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins
-no matter how messed up we are, God will preserve us
-he preserves us so that we can do the Lord's work

a. Repair the House of God
b. Rebuild the Ruins

IV. God Will Never Endanger Us

-verse 9...and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem
-while the church is working to rebuild and repair the House of God, there will be no need to worry because the Lord will be our protector
-God will build a hedge of protection all around us

How To Handle A Problematic Predicament

Text: Ezra 8:15-20

Thesis: when faced with problems beyond our capabilities, God's anointing on our lives will lead us to victory

I. Recognize The Problem

-verse 15...I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped three days...as I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there non of the sons of Levi
-people deal with problems two ways...ignore the problem or attack the symptoms instead of the problem

a. not enough workers...Levites were called by God to assist the priests with the temple work and if there are no Levites, the priests would have to carry more of the load and take them away from primary responsibility

b. everyone was not on board...people were there to worship; priest were there to minister; but the Levites were not there to work

II. Respond With the Prescription

-verses 16-17 suggests that when faced with problems, there is a need to come up with right solutions
-solutions to problems are easy to come by, but the right solutions are difficult
-right solution was to send out for Levites

a. How he sent them...Ezra could have gone himself, but his responsibility was to seek, perform and teach God's will, by going out himself he would have taught them that he had to do everything for them to succeed

b. Who did he send...verse 16 says that 11 men were sent out...9 were called leading me or the most influential in the community...2 were called men of insight or intelligent men...God will use many different people to get his work done

c. They were sent with a plan...verse 17 says Ezra gave them very clear instructions...where to go, who to see and even what to say

III. Realize The Possibilities

-verses 18-20 suggests that we are to deal with problems by correctly identifying our successes
-he sends the 11 men to Casiphia, the place where the Levites lived, only 38 levites answered the call
-Ezra could have gotten angry but instead he thanked the Lord for putting his good hand on them
-and if the Lord only sent 38, then that was all that they needed

They Finished The Temple

Text: Ezra 6:1-22

Thesis: we rejoice knowing that it is God's awesome power that has brought us to the point of finishing what we have started

Phil. 1:6...he that has begun a good work shall carry it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ

I. God Will Provide For His Work

a. God provided substantiation for the project (v. 1-3)
b. God provided support for the project (v. 4-5, 8)

II. God Will Progress His Work

-God's work will always get done no matter the opposition

a. God will fix our minds (v. 14)
b. God will further our mission (v. 14)

III. God Will Throw A Party to Celebrate His Work

a. Celebrate with a great praise (v. 16)
b. Celebrate with a great presentation (v. 17)
c. Celebrate with a great participation (v. 17) all 12 tribes made this sacrifice

Determination of a Devoted Church

Text: Ezra 5:1-17

Thesis: God's people must commit themselves to the completion of the work of God despite the challenges produced by their enemies

I. A Devoted Church Works Together


- if any church is going to successfully complete the work of the Lord it must be done by people who are willing to work together

a. Priests must be willing to work (v. 1) - Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the Jews

b. People must be willing to work (v. 2) - Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to work on the building

II. A Devoted Church Withstands Turbulence


-after 15 years of inactivity between chapters 4 & 5, the Jews began working on the temple once again
-while they were inactive there was no opposition, but as soon as the work began again, opposition arose

-verses 3-4 Tattenai asks them who gave them permission to work on the temple and what are the names of them that are working


a. church that keeps working will endure trouble from their enemies
b. church with confidence in the watchful eye of the Lord will endure trouble

III. A Devoted Church Wants to Triumph

-verses 6-10 Tattenai writes a letter of rebuke to King Darius complaining about the work
-the Jews responded in verses 11-15 to their letter with their own letter with explaining that they are under orders by God through King Cyrus
-verse 16 they realize that they cannot celebrate until they complete the temple

Dealing With Distractions

This past Lord's Day, was really a good day at the First Mount Zion Church. I have noticed the mood and atmosphere of the church change for the better, ever since I began our time in early morning prayer. It makes a statement to our church, when they walk into church before Sunday School, the first thing they saw was my wife Penny and I on our knees at the altar. I believe with everything in my heart, this is going to be the very thing that will jump-start our ministry as we head towards our new location.

Penny did her usually outstanding job teaching our Sunday School class on evangelism. I am amazed at her ability to take the scholarly aspects of the Word and make it palatable to people who have never been students of the scriptures. I am grateful to have such a partner in ministry like her. The truth is that she really wants to only be the First Lady, but because of need, she has to wear other hats. What I am truly thankful for is her spirit of cooperation to get our church moving in the right direction.

We continued our series on the book of Ezra, entitled Restoration and Rededication, with an exposition on chapter 4:1-5, which I tagged the message, Dealing With Distractions. The children of Israel came back into Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of God in his name, and they were faced with opposition from the inhabitants of the city in an attempt to distract them from the work.

Every church that belongs to Jesus Christ will face an attempt to distract them from doing the Lord's work by our common enemy, Satan. The church succeeds in doing the Lord's work is dependent upon standing up to the devil and finishing what we have started. Here is the sermon outline:

Text: Ezra 4:1-5

Thesis: we handle satanic distractions by our willingness to stand tall in the face of our enemy and finish what we started

I. Recognize Your Enemy's Description

-verse 1...now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin
-no way to effectively do the Lord's work until we recognize who our enemies are

II. Recognize Your Enemy's Deception

-verse 2...they approached Zerubbabel and the head of fathers' houses and said to them; let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do
-their offer of help was kind, but their motive was demonic
-must recognize that Satan is cunning in his attempts to gain our confidence only to hinder our ability to do God's work

III. Respond to Your Enemy With Strong Denial

-verse 3...but Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the heads of the fathers' houses said to them, you have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God
-when the enemy tries to deceive you, you must come back at him with a powerful rebuke
-God is looking for his people to fight off the advances of the devil with the power provided by the Holy Spirit

III. Recognize Your Enemy's Determination

-verses 4-5 says that even though the enemy was rebuked, they kept coming back to hinder the work
-we must realize that our enemies will not limit their attempts to just one...but they will keep trying to stop the agents of the Lord
-but the more determination they have, the more determined we must be because we have something they don't have...Jesus Christ...as long as we have Jesus he's more than enough

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

It Begins At The Altar

Text: Ezra 3:1-7

Thesis: our sincere and dedicated worship to God must always precede out intended work for God

I. Worship in the Face of Fear

-verse 3...they set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening

-fear of man should never restrict us from worshipping the Lord

a. contentious worship - verse 3...the fact that they decided to worship before they went to work angered the inhabitants of the land

b. continuous worship - verse 3...burnt offerings morning and evening

II. Worship That is Synchronized with Scritpture

-verse 4...and they kept the Feast of the Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule as each day required

-every aspect of our worship must walk in line with the Word of God

a. Instinctive Worship - verse 4...and they kept the Feast of the Booths as it is written
-they kept the feasts that had been passed down from generation to generation...there are some aspects of our worship that we perform by instinct

b. Intended Worship - verse 5...and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the Lord, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offerings to the Lord
-instinctive worship is not enough...we must be willing to go the extra mile and give more in our worship

III. Worship That Makes Preparation for Production

-verses 6 & 7...states that work did not begin until the worship ended

Building God A Kingdom

Text: Ezra 2:1-70

Thesis: God will use people will many differences who express a willingness to work for Him to build Him a kingdom

I. Leaders Came To Work

-verse 2

II. Laymen Came To Work

-verses 3-35

III. Lord's Ministers Came To Work

-verses 36-58

a. Called Because of Lineage - verses 36-40...priests and Levites were born into position

b. Called Because of Labor - verses 41-42...singers, praisers and ushers were called to position because of their gifts

c. Called Because of Love - verses 43-58...Nethinims (dedicated temple servants) and children of Solomon servants were called because of grace

IV. Leftovers Came To Work

-verses 59-70...collection of characters who couldn't prove their lineage, but had a desire to work for the Master

On yesterday I was filling extremely stressed and a little down about this project and other ministry issues. Just when I was at a real low point, I was driving to our Baptist Ministers Conference and stopped at a red light behind a white delivery truck, that had printed on the back door words that lifted me up from what I was dealing with. On the door of this truck was written John 3:16, and as Pastor H.B. Charles said in a sermon on John 3:16, it has enough Gospel in their to save the whole world, and to lift up a bowed down head.

So to any of you in the world of blog have been feeling down and depressed about ministry and the church, just take one moment and remember that God loves you! Hey!!!! Just writing that is making me shout!!! God loves you!!!! He loves you enough that he gave you the very best that he had!!! Thank God for Jesus Christ!!!

The Road to Restoration

Text: Ezra 1:1-11

Thesis: our road to restoration is directly and intrinsically connected to the sovereign will of God to always keep his promises

I. Purpose of the Promise

-verses 2-4...God expresses the promise that he made to Jeremiah is filled with the purpose that he has for the children of Israel
-their purpose was to build God a house in Jerusalem

1. God presents his purpose to anybody - he charges Cyrus to build a house
2. God reveals his purpose to everybody - verse 3 he appeals to everyone

II. Performance of the Promise

-verses 5-6...suggests that we must be willing to walk in our purpose to allow the promise to be fulfilled

1. learn to work with limited resources - verse 5...he made the call to all 12 tribes but only Judah, Benjamin and the Levites answered the call
2. learn to give God all that you have - verse 6

III. Prize in the Promise

-verses 7-11 suggests that when you walk in the purpose that God has for you in order to fulfill his promises, you shall receive a reward

1. unorthodox origin - verses 7-8...God uses Cyrus to be a blessing to the returning Jews
2. substantial sufficiency - verses 9-11...God gives them everything that they need to be stable financially