Sermon on Ezra 4-6

Church is currently doing a series of sermons on the book of Ezra. The first sermon in the series was delivered last Sunday (by one of the elders, I believe), but I wasn't around to hear it as I had visited another church. However, I did manage to catch yesterday's sermon by our pastoral apprentice, on Ezra 4-6. (The same guy gave the sermon in mid-April which I previously blogged about - see "Simple Faith")

The main encouragement from the book of Ezra is that God's sovereignty ensures that all things work for His glory. Because God is sovereign, we can trust Him in the face of opposition. God's people can expect to face opposition when they do God's work. Unfortunate, perhaps, but it's the reality of this world, & believers must face various opposition & hostility. They should not be discouraged by all that, but rather trust that God is in control over everything & He will help overcome obstacles.

In Ezra 4-6, the construction of the temple in Jerusalem (as part of Jerusalem's rebuilding) was finished, but not before opposition which delayed the rebuilding. The temple may have been completed, but it lacked the glory of God. The speaker referred us to the New Testament (specifically John 2), where we saw that there is another temple, one which didn't take so long to complete & which certainly did not lack the glory of God. That temple is Jesus Christ - the true temple. The speaker pointed out that in Jesus, God dwells among His people. In Jesus, we see God face to face. And in Jesus, we have the perfect atonement for sin.

The speaker also referred us to 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, which basically said that God's temple is holy & we are that temple. I understand that to mean that we believers are/should be unified in God (i.e. part of God's temple), & therefore we should be holy. The speaker points out that we often struggle with the idea of being holy (this is too true in my case).

He referred to John Chapman's book "Sinner's Guide to Holiness", & pointed out a couple of things. Firstly, holiness is connected to the character of God. God is holy & we should treat Him as God, & God's moral purity is such that we should be clean if we are to approach him. On this, we have been made clean only because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. Secondly, we should strive after holiness.

He then spoke of the reasons why Christians struggle with holiness:

• We love the world too much. (often, this is associated with time, money spent pursuing worldly things?)
• Wealth. Here, it was emphasized that the Bible is not against wealth, but is against wealth at the expense of generosity. ^^
• Alternatives. (unfortunately, didn't catch his discussion on this point).
  

He then concluded the sermon by reminding us of Ezra where we see that God is at work to ensure that all things work for His glory. He is at work as we strive towards holiness.

Hmmm, let's read that again. He (God) is at work as we strive towards holiness. But am I? Am I presently working towards that goal? I can't say I am & that's not surprising, for I have not given it much thought at all. I do hear about striving to holiness time & time again, but it seems this goes in one ear & out the other. The stuff from the sermon has given me quite a few things to muse about (more stuff piling on my plate). I am presently caught up by all sorts of things/distractions (so many things occupying my mind simultaneously), & sometimes feel I'm at risk of burning out. I sense that I need to "sit down" one day & reassess lots of things, including what I learn from church (such as the sermon above) & my Clay study group.


^^ I think during his discussion on wealth, he referred to my blog (without mentioning my name), specifically my post last week on payrise/money. I glanced around as he talked about my post, as though half-expecting sections of the audience to turn to me & say "It's you, isn't it? He's talking about your blog, isn't he?". No one did, which was a relief ;) Hehe.