Sermons from Bible Baptist Church of Puyallup: Ezra

Showing posts with label Ezra. Show all posts

Sunday, November 8, 2020

AT THE KING’S PLEASURE

AT THE KING’S PLEASURE

Ezra 5:6-17 (KJV)

The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent unto Darius the king:

They sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace.

Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands.

Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls?

We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them.

And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up.

But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.

But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.

And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one, whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor;

And said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place.

Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished.

Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

Bible history students say that the process from when Cyrus gave the decree for the Jews to return and build the house of God until the city was finally rebuilt could be upwards of 150 years.

The book of Daniel 9:25 (KJV)

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Seven weeks from the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem until street and wall was rebuilt.

Students of the Bible understand these weeks to be “weeks of years,” in other words each week is seven years long, for a total of 49 years.

The Bible is accurate, perfect and infallible. I am certain that from the time the commandment was made until the street and walls were rebuilt was 49 years.

But the thing is, there were three of similar commandments given:

· Cyrus

· Darius and

· Artaxerxes

I think the one Daniel refers to is Artaxerxes since it was specifically to build the walls of the city.

There is no way to tell how many years the Jews were back in the land before that commandment came.

We do know all of this was “troublous times.”

Cyrus gave the permission and provisions to rebuild the house of God.

Adversaries rose up and eventually wrote a letter that compelled Artaxerxes to issue a stop order on the walls.[1]

In Ezra 5:1, under the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zachariah, the Jews began again to build the house of God at Jerusalem.

And again, they were questioned.

In this case the account went much differently that it did under Artaxerxes.

I have three observations I wish to make by way of my message outline.

Firstly,

I. TIMES AND SEASONS CHANGE

Ezra 5:7 (KJV)

They sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace.

A. Over the years, kings changed.

Cyrus was tender toward the Lord in his spirit

He gave the Jews permission to return

Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes were not so tender

Artaxerxes ordered them to stop working on the walls

Darius was reasonable and did a complete search

And, in chapter 6 allowed the Jews to go back to building

Kings changed and with the changing of the kings, the favor toward the Jews changed too.

B. Over those same years, the local governor changed

In chapter 4 we read

Ezra 4:7 (KJV)

And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.

John Gill believed that the governor name was Mithredath Tabeel and that Bishlam was a common title.

It’s obvious though that he and his companions were unfriendly toward the Jews.

They tried to compromise the work, oppress the work and then stop the work legally.

But

In chapter 5 we read,

Ezra 5:3 (KJV)

At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall?

It’s a whole different governor, with a whole different background.

And while he inquired what they were doing, he didn’t attempt to stop the work by force.

He heard them out, and then wrote to the king.

Times and seasons change.

When I entered the ministry Ronald Reagan was President.

Preachers were excited about him and rallied behind him.

When he died there were pastors comparing him to King Uzziah, Isaiah 6:1 (KJV)

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

When Clinton became president[2]many Christians sounded an alarm. Clinton cried out for change, and that change was not going to be for good.

GW Bush liked Christians.

He invited preachers I know personally to go to the White House and meet with him from prayer.

But then Obama

He declared the United States was not a Christian nation and, I think, led us toward becoming pro-Islamic.

President Trump has sure had his haters.

Some of them have continued to be Fundamental Baptist preachers, who have faulted his character regardless of his record as president.

Other preachers have suggested he is a better president than even Reagan.

I’m just saying times and seasons change.

Just as the Jews did, we sometimes have leadership that is supportive of us and we sometimes have leadership that is not.

Know what didn’t change?

· God moved in the spirit of Cyrus

· God protected them from the adversaries in chapter 4 and

· God’s eye was upon them in chapter 5[3]

Observation two

II. WHAT THE GOVERNOR DID

Ezra 5:17 (KJV)

I’m asking God to have His eye upon us and give us a governor like this one.

I notice:

A. He asked for their credentials

Ezra 5:3 (KJV)

He didn’t come in with an army or a police force to break things up. He was reasonable and methodical.

The adversaries of chapter four wanted the work stopped at all costs.

Tatnai wasn’t like that at all.

He had a responsibility to make sure things were done in order.[4]

And he was more than willing to allow the work so long as it was legally constituted.

I am praying for a governor[5] who is reasonable.

B. He listened to their case

Ezra 5:11 (KJV)

As I said, this continues down to verse 16.

The fact that the governor had it recorded in his letter indicates that he heard them out.

Doesn’t it frustrate you when the guy you are talking to won’t hear you out?

Several years ago I got pulled over in Snohomish county.

The officer was very unkind to me from the very beginning of the episode.

He said that I had been speeding through a construction zone.

I try not to speed, but I admit that I sometimes don’t see every speed limit sign so it can happen.

But then he said I had been reckless driving so fast passed a water truck.

At that point I started asking questions because I was sure I had not passed a water truck.

He got angry, shut me off and gave me the ticket.

After he left, I went back to the spot he said I passed the truck.

I had come to the intersection where the construction was from the opposite direction. If he just been willing to listen, I could have avoided the ticket and he could have avoided his high blood pressure.

Seems like the governor was willing to hear them out.

I am praying for a governor who will listen.

And then,

C. He appealed to a higher authority

Ezra 5:17 (KJV)

The governor understood he was not the highest authority in the land and was willing to submit to the one who was.

The highest authority is the Lord.

How I pray for a governor who will appeal to the Lord.

Observation three

III. WHAT THE JEWS DID WHEN CONFRONTED

Ezra 5:3-5 (KJV)

Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building?

But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.

A. They did not stop the work

The order was to stop the building of the walls, not of the house of God.

They kept up the work of the house of God, trusting that the Lord would support them in it.

And He did. Ezra 5:5 (KJV)

But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease….

B. They did not give their names

Ezra 5:4 (KJV)

Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building?

Ezra 5:9-11 (KJV)

Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls?

We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them.

The governor asked, not only who gave them permission to build but who were the people who were doing the building.

He wrote out the Jews response in in letter to the king.

It looks to me like he did not get:

· The names of the leader of the Jews

· The names of the preachers of the Jews or

· The names of the worker of the Jews

Can you imagine, if you had been a member of an Anabaptist church in those days when they would capture them and burn them at the stake, if one of them was stopped by the authorities and was told to give up the names of the people who attended the Anabaptist services?

There were some times when a traitor did just that.

But it would not have been the popular thing among the believers.

There are places in the world today where Baptist churches[6] meet secretly and in hiding.

How do you think that would work if the believers there thought one of them was liable to give their names to the authorities?

I have felt like this year we’ve been threatened with something similar.

I tell you that I am committed to not telling anyone in authority who it is I worship with.

I pray you would be the same.

C. They did act as a body

Ezra 5:11 (KJV)

It’s as if they said,

“I won’t give you that names of my fellow members, but I will give you the name of the God we worship.

D. They did give their testimony

Ezra 5:11-13 (KJV)

But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.

Their testimony continues on down to verse 16.

Never be ashamed to tell people,

· Even people who seem to be adversaries

· Even people who are in authority

o That you are a sinner

o That you have found grace in the sight of God (through Jesus) and

o That you are now His child and His servant

E. They appealed to a higher authority

Ezra 5:5 (KJV)

This is a little bit difficult to unravel, but I believe there were two letters sent to the king:

· One from the Jews, and

· One from the governor

There is nothing wrong with appealing to the powers that be.

I just think we need to make our primary appeal to the One who ordains all powers that be.

Conclusion

Times and seasons change.

· Sometimes those in authority are favorable to us.

· Sometimes they are not.

But

· God never changes and

· God never leaves us or forsakes us

If we lean upon Him, if we simply serve Him, if we will appeal to Him in our “troublous times”

· We will be fine

· God will be glorified and

· His work will get done

[1] I do not believe he meant for them to stop building the house of God, as is demonstrated in Ezra 5:1

[2] I know I skipped GHW Bush. I just think of him as a space-filler sort of president.

[3] Ezra 5:5 (KJV)

[4] And I think we have a responsibility to do things in order.

[5] No matter what his name or background is.

[6] And, I admit, many that are not Baptist.

Sunday, October 25, 2020

ON CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

ON CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

Ezra 5:1-5 (KJV)

Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.

Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.

Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building?

When the word got back, in chapter 4, from Artaxerxes, that the Jews should cease building the city until further word came from the throne, the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin pounced.

The Bible says, Ezra 4:21-24 (KJV)

Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me.

Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?

Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.

Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

But in chapter 5, before any such further orders were given, the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah[1] began to preach to Judah and stirred them to once again begin the building of the Temple.

The adversaries attempted to stop them.

Ezra 5:3 (KJV)

This time the Jews refused to quit and wrote their own letter to the king.

They chose not to discontinue the work, but to keep on working, despite the opposition, until they heard back.

This looks a lot like civil disobedience, doesn’t it?

The testimony of the Word of God is that God was on their side in their “disobedience.”

Ezra 5:5 (KJV)

I want to point out to you that, as children of God, we are citizens of two countries:

· Our earthly one and

· Our heavenly one

And because the earthly country is not in submission to God, there will be some times when obedience to the Lord looks a lot like civil disobedience.

God has made it pretty clear that, when it is at all possible, He wants us to obey the authorities of our earthly country.[2]

But the very nature of this fallen world demands that there will be times when obedience to the Lord we disobey the edicts of governors.

There are some interesting “twists” in this passage that makes it appear more disobedient that it genuinely is.[3]

Notice carefully

I. THE LETTER OF THE KING

Ezra 4:17-22 (KJV)

Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time.

The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.

And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.

There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them.

Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me.

Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?

He commanded that they stop building the city.[4]

As I understand it the process of rebuilding the city and the walls took between 100-150 years.

In that period of time the king of the empire changed many many times.

We have in this passage:

· Cyrus

· Ahasuerus

· Artaxerxes and

· Darius (possibly two of them)

The prophets Haggai and Zechariah led the way, under Zerubbabel, in building the Temple.

Nehemiah headed up the work of the walls of the city.

Cyrus had given the people permission to return to Jerusalem. He specifically said that the Lord had stirred his spirit to send the Jews back to build God’s house.

It was specifically the building of the temple that the adversaries had sought:

· First to join in

· Then to stop through trouble

But when they wrote to Artaxerxes hoping to stop the Jews progress, the king told them to stop the building of the city, not the Temple.

May I just say that one, doesn’t mean the other?

I wonder how often we hear the word “No” and we take it to mean more than it ought.

Somebody posted a picture of this six-foot-tall, two inch in diameter tree, that was bent over about one foot into a roadway.

Attached was a message to the pastor: “Tree blocking road, can’t make it to church today.”

· Some people see everything as a potential way out of going to church.

· Some people see nearly everything an excuse not to serve the Lord in other ways.

God called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt.

Moses countered with four reasons he could not do God’s will.

· I can’t speak well

· They won’t believe me

· Who should I say sent me?

· Pharaoh won’t listen to me

Did you ever hear the song “Excuses?”[5]

Excuses, excuses, you'll hear them every day.
And the Devil he'll supply them, if the church you stay away.
When people come to know the Lord, the Devil always loses
So to keep them folks away from church, he offers them excuses.

In the summer it's too hot. And, in the winter, it's too cold.
In the spring time when the weather's right, you find someplace else to go.
It's up to the mountains or down to the beach or to visit some old friend.
Or, to just stay home to relax and hope that some of the kinfolks drop in.

The church benches are too hard. And, that choir sings way too loud.
You know how nervous you get when you're sitting in a great big crowd.
The doctor told you, "Better watch them crowds. They'll set you back."
But, you go to that old ball game because you say "it helps you to relax."

It’s a headache Sunday morning and a backache Sunday night.
But by worktime Monday morning, you're feeling quite alright.
One of the children has a cold, "Pneumonia, do you suppose?"
Why the whole family had to stay home, just to blow that poor kid's nose.

Well, the preacher he's too young. Or, maybe he's too old.
The sermons they're not hard enough. And, maybe they're too bold.
His voice is much too quiet-like. Sometimes he gets too loud.
He needs to have more dignity. Or, else he's way too proud.

The sermons they're too long. And, maybe they're too short.
He ought to preach the word with dignity instead of "stomp and snort."
That preacher we've got must be "the world's most stuck up man."
One of the lady's told me once, "He didn't even shake her hand."

The letter of the king did stop the building of the city, but that is all.

Notice Secondly

II. THE RIDER THE ENEMIES ATTACHED

Ezra 4:23-24 (KJV)

Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

It seems to me that one of the most deceptive things politicians do, is to attach riders to important pieces of legislation.

Someone will propose that some very good, wise and helpful law be enacted.

· It’s popular

· Everyone is onboard

· The whole country encourages the Capitol to enact it

· Christians pray that the President will sign it into law

And then some wiseacre will get an idea.

He won’t let it pass unless they attach some obscure, unwise and very bad pieces of legislation to it.

What seems like something we really need can only be passed into law, if something a lot of us think is really bad gets passed into law too.

That seems to me to be exactly what happened in this passage.

The king told them to stop them from building the city.

But they stopped them from building the house of God which was in the city.

Very few people like to hear conspiracy theories.

· I think they can sometimes be far-fetched

· I think sometimes they are presented in ways that seem too fantastic

But I don’t think you can get around the Bible fact that there is a master conspirator at work.

Satan, without any question, wants to take this world away from Jesus.

I watched a documentary this week called “After Trump.”

There were some things about it I didn’t care for too much.

· I didn’t care for the prevalence of Paula White in the program

· I didn’t care for a lot for the segment that looked like a Trump advertisement.

As I watched it, I thought about how many people I know who would discount the documentary as sensationalism.

But the key points of the documentary are the very things all of my preachers were preaching when I first became a Christian.

It’s just become unpopular to preach them in the last two decades:

· One world government

· Abortion

· Alternative lifestyles (LGBTQ)

· The secular agenda of the public school system

· Pro-Israelism

These were subjects that

· Jerry Falwell built his church upon

· Hal Lindsey, Francis Schafer, Tim LaHaye and I don’t know how many others wrote books about

The last book I reads on these subjects was just a couple of years ago called Indivisible: Restoring Faith, Family, and Freedom Before It's Too Late, by James Robison.

Honestly, it used to be the standard fair of Christian reading and a lot of fundamental preaching.

Now it would be considered sensationalism, wacko, and not smart preaching if you want to keep a church together.

People want to hear:

· “Happy thoughts” sermons or else

· Self-help lessons now

Even in our kind of churches I am afraid it’s mostly what they get.

Notice finally

III. IT WAS THE PREACHERS WHO DISCERNED WHAT WAS WRONG

And urged the people to get to work on the Temple.

Ezra 5:1-2 (KJV)

Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.

Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.

I am going to resist the huge temptation to take you to the book of Haggai right now.

I would simply like to point out,

A. Your personal feelings won’t help you discern what’s wrong

That’s a major point of the book of Haggai.

Having been forced to stop the work of the city and the Temple, they went home and went to work on their houses.

Has it not been your own experience that you can get so focused on the home fires, that it’s hard to set spiritual priorities in your life?

It seems only right, only natural, even moral, to put the care of your family needs at the top of the list, especially in an environment that is hostile to spiritual life.

Consider this, we can’t trust our feelings of self and family preservation to see where we may have gotten off spiritually.

B. Government leaders won’t help you discern what’s wrong

It’s not the work of the government to see where people get off spiritually.

We don’t even WANT a government that insists of people worshiping God because that will too easily morph into them insisting we worship a certain way.

What we want is a government that keeps its hands off of the issue of worship.

I do see in this passage that, when the error was pointed out, Zerubbabel, the civil leader of the Jews, got behind the building of the Temple again.

There is nothing wrong with, and everything right with having governmental leaders who are godly.

There just always needs to be a separation between church and state.

C. The adversaries of Christ won’t help you discern what’s wrong

They are just going to try to make things more wrong.

Once they get an inch, they will want a mile.

Once they have a mile, they will want ten.

Once they have abortion in extreme cases, they will want abortion in cases of preference

Once they have abortion in cases of preference, they will want abortion up to moment of birth

Once they have abortion at moment of birth, they will want to terminate the baby if the baby is going to be a burden

Once they have no fault divorce, they will want common law marriage

Once they have common law marriage, they will want acceptance of homosexual marriage

Once they have homosexual marriage, they will want acceptance of LGBTQ

Once they have acceptance of LGBTQ, they will want cross dressing

· Then transgenderism

· Then gender identity

· Then bestiality

· Then pedophilia

I know I am droning on and on, but I do it to make a point.

It’s not unreasonable to be salt and light.

It’s not unreasonable to try to stop wickedness.

Because if we have witnessed anything in the last decade or so it is that wickedness has no stopping place.

I just want to tell you,

D. It will take a man of God to help you discern what’s wrong

I didn’t say a man of the cloth or even just any old minister.

There were plenty of prophets of the Old Testament era who were false prophets.

The Bible warns us that there will be false prophets and false teachers in our day and 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (KJV)

… the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

What you need today is a preacher who will 2 Timothy 4:2 (KJV)

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

You need to hear him, heed him, pray for him.

You need to encourage him

You need to support him

You need to be here when he preaches

Because it will be him, and those like him, who catch the error and set you back on a right direction in the house of God.

[1] The details of their prophecies are given to us in their own books of the Bible. The continuity of the Word of God is astounding and gives evidence of its veracity and its supernatural character.

[2] Titus 3:1 (KJV)

Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,

1 Peter 2:13-15 (KJV)

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;

Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.

For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:

[3] But that is another subject. Those who disagree with the Christian position are generally more than willing to twist things so the Christian appears to be the one in the wrong.

[4] Presumably the walls.

[5] The Kingsmen Quartet

Sermons from Bible Baptist Church of Puyallup

Sunday, November 8, 2020

AT THE KING’S PLEASURE

Sunday, October 25, 2020

ON CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

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