JOURNEY AS GOD'S PEOPLE (EZRA 8:1 - 36)

 

JOURNEY AS GOD’S PEOPLE

Picture taken from Google

 

BIBLE PASSAGE: Ezra chapters 7 - 8:15-21

INTRODUCTION:

When we were a child, we had no responsibilities to think about. We just focused on ourselves and we were dependent to our parents. But now, as adults we have so many things to think about especially to our future. We think about plans and decisions we need to do. Whether we like it or not we need to stand for ourselves. We need to be independent. In our journey in life, we just don’t do anything we think in instant, we need to sit down and think about the plans.

 

Just like in our own personal life, spiritual journey is hard when we don’t have plans ahead. In my own experience, I’ve been in the church for so long since 1991 so I saw how leaders and pastors manage the church or the ministry in different ways. Truly Proverbs 29:18 which says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he,” is a great verse to consider for leaders.

 

This chapters give us a more particular narrative of Ezra's journey to Jerusalem. Ezra's mission was to further the spiritual and religious restoration of the Jewish community in Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple. Ezra is introduced as a skilled scribe and a priest, "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given." Let’s see what preparations Ezra considered in their journey.

 

LESSON POINTS:

1.    THE IMPORTANCE OF CAREFUL PLANNING (Ezra 8:1-21)

We know the importance of careful planning but most of the times we don’t do it. Some of us we have the attitude of doing the planning when it’s already near and so we are in a rush situation. In Ezra’s case, they were preparing for a 900-mile journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. Approximately, it was a four-month journey. They gathered all the people (who was all making the journey) and approximately, 5000 people who would include in the journey. When they were in a three-day journey, Ezra discovered that no sons of LEVI included in the journey. Levites were needed to assist the priests in the temple. We don’t know exactly what are the possible reasons why there were no Levites in the journey but King Artaxerxes made a decree in the previous chapter, 7:13, that anyone of the Israelites who were willing to go with the journey were allowed to go. It means that the Levites didn’t volunteer themselves in that important journey. Maybe they prefer to remain in Babylon rather than fulfill the role in the temple. Possible, they were already comfortable in Babylon and they think of the hardness of long trip.

 

It's never okay to abandon God’s purposes in our lives in this journey. What did Ezra do? He sent a group of men, men of understanding unto IDDO, the chief of the place (Ezra 8:16-17) to send them workers of what they needed; God provided In verse 18, Ezra recognized God’s hands in their journey.

 

And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;

 

Ezra understands that God is sovereign over everything even in individual decision of Levites. He understands their dependence on the Lord that every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord.

 

In our journey, we have plans on where we’re going and how to get there but we need to include God in our journey. WE can plan, we can prepare, we can lay out the best vision BUT WITHOUT THE LORD IT IS NOTHING.

 

2.   THE NECESSITY OF FASTING AND PRAYER (Ezra 8:21-23)

Everything was ready: materials, people and others and in verse 21, Ezra proclaimed a fast. In fact, Ezra didn’t ask the king for soldiers and horsemen in order for them to defend from enemies. He thought that God would defend them. So, he asked the people to fast. They did this to humble ourselves before God and ask Him for a safe journey for them and their children, with all their possessions. He turned to the ONE Who is far more capable; he turned to the Lord. Only the hand of the Lord can make our goals happen. In verse 23, God answered their prayers.

 

In our church, our pastor planned to build a three-story building. The church and the prayer team are busy including this plan in prayers. There are plans, and preparations are doing but only God can make this plan happens.

 

Personally, whatever our plans, ask God and trust Him. Include him in everything we do.

 

3.   THE WISDOM OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNT (Ezra 8:24-34)

In chapter 7, King Artaxerxes loaded with them up with all their needs in travelling and their purpose in Jerusalem – in rebuilding the city and most especially the temple. When they arrived, they weighed all their valuables and listed all and gave to the right people in the temple.

 

CONCLUSION:

In verse 35, they don’t forget the Lord. They burnt offerings unto the Him. They grew up in Babylon but the very first time, they are in the temple and having the opportunity to worship. We can see in their journey that there so many things we need to do to make our journey successful but the most important thing to do is don’t forget God. Consider Him in our journey. He will give wisdom on how our journey becomes smooth.

 

Whatever part of our journey of life we are in at this moment, always be sensitive to God’s call and don’t ever neglect the reminders of God on His Word. KEEP ON!

 

 

WHY GO TO CHURCH?

 

WHY GO TO CHURCH?

(CHRISTIAN LIVING)

LESSON #1

LESSON THEME: church

INTRODUCTION:

WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS THE FAMILY IS FACING?

(Choose from the pictures and share something about you’ve chosen)

From the pictures we’ve shared, we can see that the family has many problems to face. Whether we like it or not, there are situations we face which we feel that these are too hard to handle. Before we proceed, let me ask, who created the family? In Genesis 2:24, God created the family. Before, the relationship of the family and God were intact or close but we know that sin entered in the family and we know the story of Adam and Eve how they were tricked by the enemy. Eve was tricked by Satan in a form of a serpent. Then when they were got out from the Garden of Eden, and built a family, another problem arose. Cain killed his brother Abel. Because of envy, he did this horrible crime. Family is in danger. Let’s take a look in Ephesians 6:12,

 

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

 

TAGALOG: Sapagkat hindi tayo nakikipaglaban sa mga tao, kundi sa mga pinuno, sa mga maykapangyarihan, sa mga tagapamahala ng kadilimang umiiral sa sanlibutang ito, sa mga hukbong espirituwal ng kasamaan sa himpapawid.

 

It says, we don’t fight against flesh and blood. We see in God’s creation how Satan wants to destroy the family. He moves in a way we don’t notice. The enemy wants to destroy relationship and he doesn’t want to fix the relationship therefore the family is at war. The enemy doesn’t want the families to be reconciled with God. Can we fight the enemy with our own strength? The battle is not physical; it’s spiritual therefore can we do it by ourselves? Can the family do it by themselves? No, we need a powerful God to fight with us.

 

What community agency where we can go to help us spiritually? (Give examples of community places: hospital, barangay, city hall, malls, and others) These examples can’t answer or help us. Bible says in Matthew 16:18

 

At sinasabi ko sa iyo, ikaw ay Pedro, at sa ibabaw ng batong ito ay itatayo ko ang aking iglesya at ang kapangyarihan ng kamatayan ay hindi magtatagumpay laban sa kanya.

 

Only church has the power to help us in spiritual matters. How important church in our lives? Why Go to Church?

 

BIBLE LESSON POINTS:

 

1.  GO TO CHURCH SO YOU WON’T BE HARDENED BY SIN

Bible says in Hebrew 3:12-13,

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Human hearts ay deceitful and not stable and if you don’t guard your heart, we will be in danger. We always see this saying posted in Facebook, “It’s better not go to church than go to church without life changed.” We must always remember that people are not perfect and church goers are not exempted on this. What we can say about this on Fb? If a bad person goes to church, there’s possibility that the Word of God would strike his heart and be convicted rather than not going to church.

 

How about in families, do we hear members of the family get involve in fighting, killings and other bad situations? If we just watch news, yes they are many families get involved in killing their own families. We should not let hatred grows in our hearts and then suddenly hurt our families.

 

2.  GO TO CHURCH BECAUSE GOD TELLS YOU TO

The bible itself tells us that we should not forget the assembling of ourselves together. Hebrews 10:25 says,

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

What’s the day of our gathering in the church? Since from the New Testament, God gave the day of assembly of Christians in the first day of the week.

 

ACTS 20:7 - And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

1 CORINTO 16:2 - Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

God Himself commanded us that going to church is a command that we should obey. If we neglect this, we disobey God’s command. God won’t command us if this is least important. Going to church is vital in our lives.

 

3.  BECAUSE YOU NEED ENCOURAGEMENT AND YOU NEED TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS AS WELL

Part of the assembly in the church is to encourage one another. Bible says in Hebrews 10:25,

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Whether we accept it or not, we’re not created by God to be alone; we need others. Have you come to the point of your life that you can’t find someone to tell your problems or just listen to you? That’s the hard thing, that’s one of the reasons why some get depressed and become hopeless. This verse was written not just to be read but need to be applied in our lives. This is part of the commandment – exhorting one another.

 

4.  GO TO CHURCH TO HEAR GOD’S POWERFUL WORD PREACHED

 

Only God’s Word has the power to enter in the depth of our hearts. It converses to our souls and most importantly, this is the food of our souls. This is the manual of life; it helps us how to live on this world.

Bible says in Hebrews 4:12,

 

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

 

Other people say “Bible is hard to be read understand.” The first thing we should remember, we should not understand the Bible and penetrate in our hearts unless God the Holy Spirit will guide you and that’s why we need to pray before we proceed reading.

Bible says in James 1:5,

 

Ngunit kung ang sinuman sa inyo ay kulang sa karunungan, humingi siya sa Diyos at siya'y bibigyan, sapagkat ang Diyos ay nagbibigay nang sagana at hindi nanunumbat.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

 

5.  BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BE USED BY GOD

We cannot be used by God alone; we need support from the church. For example, God gave you the talent of singing. You can’t sing by yourself alone and no one hears you. If you do it, it’s not productive. You need the church. If the members listen to your song, they will be blessed and thank God for that. Let’s remember you sing for the Lord and God wants others to be blessed through you. Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:5,11

And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

 

6.  GO TO CHURCH BECAUSE YOU ARE PART OF THE BODY OF CHRIST

The church is likened to the Body of Christ. Christ is the Head and every member is part of the body. It’s possible that you are the foot, others might be the nails part, others are eyes, others are arms and many more. Though we are different parts, we are in the same BODY and every one of us are important. Therefore, each one needs to fulfill his purpose in the church. If you are expert in cooking, do it for the ministry and if you have the gift of teaching, use it in the ministry to fulfill your purpose in the church. Romans 12:5 says,

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

 

7.  GO TO CHURCH BECAUSE YOU WANT YOUR FAMILY TO GET INVOLVED TOO

Does everyone know what is right from wrong? Can you discern what is good decision and bad decision? (Give examples from the Bible: David, Solomon, Rehoboam and others)

 

Others have attained highest degree, others have higher positions and others are wealthy but still they failed to recognize and do what is right from wrong.

 

The fact of the matter is no one knows what’s good; only GOD. Even we already adults, still we need GOD. He knows what’s best for us. Therefore, our family needs guidance: our children. Bible says in Proverbs 22:6

 

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

 

Bring your family, your children in the Lord. The world is strong to drag our families to love the world. The world is worldly and has the great power to influence our families and we can’t do it alone. We need GOD. We need the CHURCH.

 

8.  GO TO CHURCH TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Whether we like it or not, God wants us to love one another. Bible says in Matthew 22:37-39

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR FOR:

a)    TO SHOW GOD’S LOVE – to show God’s love to people and God uses Christians to fulfill this.

-      Galatians 6:10

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

-      John 13:35 - By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

b)    TO BEAR ONE’S BURDENS – Whether we like it or not, there’s a command by God that we should help and bear one another’s burden especially in the family of faith. Bible says,

 

-      Galatians 6:2 – Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

 

We don’t know what our brethren face in their lives that’s why we should learn to show care and pray for the brethren.

 

c)    TO CELEBRATE BAPTISM AND TO FULFILL THE GREAT COMMISSION – The great commission is written in Matthew 28:19-20. Let’s read.

 

-      Matthew 28:19-20 - And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

We can see that being a follower of God, BAPTISM and TEACHING are important in able for people to follow GOD. This is the greatest purpose of Christians on earth.

APPLICATION:

Attending Church gathering is a sign of being a genuine Christian (Matthew 7:20). God has given us six (6) days to work and only one day for Him. It would be more than enough if you take one day for God.

God built the church to help us fulfill our needs spiritually. Therefore, we need to bring or involve our families in the church. Doing this, we make them get nearer to God and they’ll be led on how to live life with purpose on this earth. Neglecting this, we just let them live life in danger.

PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP (ECCLESIASTES 5:1-7)

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Lesson Prepared by: krisha of Song of Solomon FB page Lesson Taken From: Ptr.Rick Ezell of First Baptist Greer Scheduled Teacher: Preacher Ronald Picar JUNE 03, 2018   MEMORY VERSE Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God and be more ready to hear, than to give sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Ecclesiastes 5:1

INTRODUCTION:

Who among here see the preparation more difficult than the actual? For example, in doing lessons for preaching, Sunday school or anything; is it the preparation needs more time and effort? Yes, it is! How about in worship, do we need preparation? Calling on God needs preparation. One would not rush into the President's office unannounced and unprepared, neither should we with God. This lesson provides the proper procedures for calling on God.

People in a bus and people on a pew (chairs in the church) have commonality.  All are on a journey. Most are well-behaved and presentable. Some take a nap, others enter in a mindless trace, and a few look out the window. Most, if not all, are satisfied with a predictable experience.

As you enter the church you see faces inside the church some are giggly, others are cranky (irritable). Most of them are content. Content to be there. Content to sit and look straight ahead and leave when the service is over. Content to endure (just endure the flow of the worship service). Content with the normal service. Content with a "nice" service but forget to meet the proper way in worshiping God.

The destination of worship is to meet God. As with any journey we need to make the proper preparations so that we experience God rather than endure worship. We want a memorable not normal trip. What does our travel check require? Travel demands preparation.

LESSON OUTLINE:

1)       GET READY TO MEET GOD (ECCLESIASTES 5:1)

Our first point is “GET READY TO MEET GOD.” How to make yourself ready? What are the things we prepare? Personal things: Our clothes we’re going to wear, shoes, bags, bible, pen & notebook. If you go with family, you need to prepare your food for lunch and some of here they eat their lunch in the church, so they need to bring food, water, toothbrushes and many more. They stay for the Gospel Service in the afternoon. Also, you need to prepare something for your ministry; it might be your lesson, visual aids, do the cleaning, call someone to confirm the scheduled special number, song leader and many more. This is one way to make yourself ready to meet God. We can see that preparation is worship and what if you come late and not prepared?

 Solomon wrote, "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God…" (Eccl. 5:1). One rendering of this verse is: "Keep thy foot when you go to the house of God…" The phrase “keep thy foot” means to proceed with reverence, tip toeing into the presence of God. We come with care and caution. We come with dignity and respect. We approach God with the same care as Moses when he encountered God in a burning bush and took off his shoes. He was on holy ground, and he knew it.

Let me encourage you to come to worship prepared to worship. Pray before you come so you will be ready to pray when you arrive. Sleep before you come so you will stay alert when you arrive. Read the Word before you come so your heart will be soft when you worship. Come hungry. Come willing. Come expecting God to speak. Come anticipating a memorable experience with the Creator of the universe.

2)       LISTEN TO GOD (ECCLESIASTES 5:1-2)

Last April 17, 2018, Southwest Flight 1380 had an emergency landing because the airplane had suffered damage on one of its engines. After They landed and an ambulance ready for the passengers who were hurt, and the emergency staff saw that the oxygen masks were not properly worn by the passengers. Why they wore the oxygen mask wrong?  When flying, the flight attendants share instructions before the plane takes flights. The attendants are explaining about how to use the seat belt, where the exits are, how to use the seat cushion as a flotation device, how to put on the oxygen mask if needed. Yet most of the people on the plane are talking, reading, looking out the window, getting stuff out of their carry-on luggage. They are doing everything but not listening. Those flight attendants know how God must feel, when his people come to church.

We show up to our houses of worship after a mad dash from home. When we arrive, we possibly say we met a traffic on the way to church. We turn into the sanctuary and find our seat. "Whew, no one took my seat this morning." We start looking around to see who is present. We proof the bulletin for misprints or errors then we go to restroom. The service has started and we still in the restroom. And before we know it the preacher is preaching, and we are wondering why we didn't sing any songs we preferred this morning. Before we know it, the serve is over, but minds were somewhere else. We were not listening.

Solomon offers further instructions for experiencing God in worship. “…and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice to the fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore, let thy words be few." (Eccl. 5:1b-2). God - who has one agenda to meet with us. When we come to meet with God we would be well advised to let him do the talking. God wants to communicate with us.

3)       HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE GOD (ECCLESIASTES 5:2)

Solomon continued, "For God is in heaven and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few" (Eccl. 5:2). In actuality, this is a statement of perspective (viewpoint), not distance. God is in the realm of the infinite. He hears the inaudible and sees the invisible. God penetrates that which is inaudible to human ears and peers into what's invisible to human eyes.

Here's the point: God is God and we aren't. God is in heaven and we are on earth. God is Lord and we are his slaves. As we prepare for worship, remember that we are to approach God in a stature of humility. We bow before him. We fall before him.

Like Isaiah when he experienced the presence of God, he bowed before God and said, "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" (Isa. 6:1). To see God reigning in power, wisdom, and love produces only one response: awe.

One of the great benefits of gaining a proper perspective (viewpoint) of God is that we not only gain a view of the throne of God, we gain a view from the throne of God. Once we have entered God's presence, we look down on our world from his perspective. We find that what we thought was a mountain was a molehill. What seemed great and mighty in the world's eyes turns out to be small and insignificant in God's eyes. On the other hand, when we thought we were weak, we became strong because we were in the presence of God. Or, what we thought was foolish actually became wise from God's vantage point.

Have you looked at every one of your personal struggles and frustrations from God's perspective?  Worship is a time when we come into God's presence, so we can see our difficulties and our rewards from his perspective. That can make all the difference in the world.

When we encounter the very presence of God we begin to see life from his perspective. When we worship we gain a view of the throne of God.

4)        MEAN WHAT YOU SAY TO GOD (ECCLESIASTES 5:4-5)

Solomon wrote, "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou has vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay." (Eccl. 5:4-5). In other words, keep your word. Words may not mean much to us, but they mean a lot to God. In God's eyes, a promise is a promise. You vowed it, you keep it.

Consider for a moment the promises you made to God when you were in worship? "Oh, God, if you'll get me out of this predicament, I'll serve you." "Lord, if you'll just help me do this one thing, I'm going to start coming to church more often." "Yes, Lord I promise to give you ten percent of all my earnings." "I do promise and covenant before God and these witnesses to be your loving and faithful husband, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live." "Lord, I rededicate my life to you. I promise to spend more time with my family." "I promise to remain morally pure for my marriage partner." "I pledge before this congregation with my baby in my arms to rear that child God's way." "Yes, Lord, I will be a missionary and give my life to you on the mission field." What promises with your time, your commitments, your life, your money have you made to God and not kept?

When we make a commitment to God, we must keep it because God believes it and doesn't forget it. Making commitments to God is like flying on an airplane, once in the air there's no turning back. We are committed. We can't change our mind. We can't say, "I don't really want to go. Can we turn back?"

When you go to worship, it would be better not to vow at all, than to fail to keep your word with God.

5)        TAKE GOD SERIOUSLY (ECCLESIASTES 5:7)

Solomon concluded this section, "For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God" (Eccl. 5:7). To fear God does not mean dread or terror; it means holy awe and respect. In other words, we take God seriously.

Pastor Rick Ezell wrote in his sermon blog, “I once saw a church sign that advertised one of its worship services with a statement that read: "Casual Worship 9:30 AM." I know that they were trying to communicate that their worship service was casual dress and informal. But from Solomon's writings, and, I believe, all of scripture teaches, that nothing is casual about worship. Far too often, we take God too lightly. We approach him in a trite (common) and casual fashion. We think of God as our buddy or our pal. But this is the eternal God of the universe who has a claim on our lives because he has placed eternity within our hearts. We're to approach him with respect and reverence.

Let's stop playing games with God. Make no mistake about it: God loves fun and laughter. He delights in people who have a sense of humor. But, worship is serious business. We approach God with respect and awe. Again, it's like flying on a plane. I remember one trip with a group of students long before the tragedy and subsequent restrictions of 9/11. One teenager in a good natured, playful way, as she was going through security, humorously said, "Do you really think I have a gun in my bag?" In a flash she was whisked away, searched (no gun), then scolded. She walked away from that experience, knowing that she would never walk through an airport security making jokes about guns. Like taking a flight in a plane is a serious trip, entering God's presence is not a joking matter. It is serious business.

(INSERT YOUR OWN TESTIMONY IF POSSIBLE)

CONCLUSION:

Worship is not an endurance contest, but a marvelous adventure into the presence of the God of the universe. It is not business as usual, but a wonder-filled ride into a new dimension of life. It is not a normal trip, but a memorable trip. And on that journey our reaction will not be simply, "nice service" or "nice trip," but rather in the words of a child who has flown in a plane for the first time, "AWESOME."