This week we begin our summer sermon series. We are going to be walking through three leaders of the Bible, and their journey. The first person we will look at is Ezra. Conveniently enough he has a book named after him, so we will be going through the book of Ezra picking out pieces of his life to look at.
Now with all three leaders we are going to map out their relationship to God, to themselves, to others, and finally to their disciples, so naturally that is what we are going to do with Ezra. We will begin this summer series by looking at Ezra’s relationship to God.
I you will turn with me to your programs you are going to see a bit of Scripture that has seemingly nothing to do with Ezra, it states:
EZRA 1:1
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
Now this proclamation was that the
Well before I answer that question, let me summarize the first six chapters of Ezra. We just read the first verse, and the book continues to spell out the decree. The Jews were allowed to return home, they began rebuilding the temple (with Babylonian money), the rebuilt the altar of the LORD, then a new king, Artaxerxes orders the building to stop. This surely is where Ezra enters, right? No. There is break, and all work stops, but then God tells the Jews to begin rebuilding anew through His prophets Haggia and Zechariah, so they begin rebuilding and the King Darius gets wind of it and questions them. They explain that Cyrus told them they could do it. Well Darius looks into it, finds Cyrus’ decree and blesses their work. He gives them permission to build and money to do it. So they rebuild the temple and dedicate it. And then, finally, in the seventh chapter of the book we hear about Ezra. The text says:
“Now after all this…Ezra went up from
And not two verses later we again read:
7:9For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from
Now it seems like I am making a big deal of this, and I am. Why? Why is this such a big deal?
Well the main reason I am emphasizing this is that this is the essence of Ezra’s relationship to God. What does that mean? I will explain.
See when we read about Paul or David or others in the Bible there seems to be a moment or moments of direct relationship with God. We see their journey up. We read that Abraham walked with God, or of Paul’s conversion. But Ezra never directly speaks of his journey up.
We never see Ezra unconverted.
We see plainly Ezra’s desire to become holier (and I will speak on this later in the series), but we don’t see Ezra as unholy, or unconverted. Well that is bad news if you have to give a sermon on Ezra’s journey up, or it seems like bad news at first. However, if we look deeper at the text, we can see how Ezra relates to God. We do get a glimpse at his journey up.
Ezra himself sums this up later in chapter 7. We read:
Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem, 28and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from
I believe that this is the crux of Ezra’s faith, and here again we have him telling us that the hand of the LORD was upon him.
Ezra had the same relationship with God that the Jews as a whole had with God at this time. That statement seems convoluted, so let me explain.
Let us go back to the first verse in Ezra.
EZRA 1:1
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
Remember what God had done for
He brought them out of Exile. He rebuilt for them His Altar and
So the relationship that the Jews had with God at this point was more of God having a relationship with the Jews. Does that make sense?
See God was not smiling at the Jews because they were wonderful, or even attempting to be wonderful. Gods is smiling at the Jews because He has a plan to reconcile them to himself. He is smiling on them undeservedly. He is, wait for it, giving
God uses a Pagan king to resotre the Jewish Temple, certainly some of the Irony is lost on us, but I imagine that the ancient Jews would have taken this fact for all it is worth. It would be like the president of Hampshire College paying off this building for us, and then giving us money to reach the entire Pioneer Valley for Christ, but on a more grand scale.
And what’s more is that the reason for this kindness wasn’t because the Jews were faithful to God, or because they found favor with Cyrus, or because they really, really wanted it, or any reason exept that God so desired it to happen.
This is the beginning of Ezra’s journey up. He was in Babalon during all of this. He saw the Jews unfaithfulness, he saw God’s faithfulness anyway. He saw God rebuild his Temple and call His people home because it was God’s word that it would happen.
He saw God begin a relationship with the Jews before they were worthy to be in relation to the Most High God.
And then he sees God raise himself up. He sees favor get bestowed on Him by the King, not because he was a great speaker, or an intelligent advisor, but because the hand of God was upon him. Three times in chapter seven alone we read that Ezra succeded because the hand of God was upon him. So then we can say that Ezra’s relationship to God was, like Israel’s, in fact God’s relationship to Ezra. Ezra is able to serve the LORD because the LORD’s hand first rested upon him. This is the beginning of Ezra’s journey up.
Now does this attitude change as Ezra matures? As Ezra becomes sanctified does his relationship to God change? Well, yes and no.
I say yes his relationship to God changes simply because Ezra is human, and like all humans grows and changes by his nature. I doubt that Ezra relized at 15 all that he did when he wrote this book. But in the same breathe I say that Ezra’s relationship to God does not change one bit. He still, wether in the beining of his ministry or towards the end, he still realizes his utter dependence on the Grace of God.
We read that the hand of God was upon him in chapter 7, three times. Now this chapter is describing how Ezra came to get to Israel. It describes his journey in Babalon, and ultimately to Jeruselam. It is the beginning of his journey.
What then, is his attitude once he arrives in Jeruselam? Is he filled with pride because he was chosen? Does he set about to find his worth in how holy he is? Well, as we can guess, the answer to those questions is NO. Ezra’s attitide about where he stands in relation to God remains the same. We read in Ezra 9:8
But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold[a] within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection[b] in Judea and Jerusalem.
And later in his same prayer
9:13And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 15O LORD the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this."
See Ezra understands the Grace that has been extended him. He knows that He is unclean. He understands that
Ezra doesn’t for one moment thank God for doing what he should have done anyway. His prayer isn’t thanks for setting up Your Temple, but we really deserved it because we were holy. He doesn’t even claim holiness for himself, although we are told in 7:9 that he “was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses”, or because as stated in verse
He never claims that this is a reason why God should smile on him, but rather the opposite is true. Because God smiled on him, because “God’s good hand was upon him”, he was able to do these things.
Ezra realizes that he has nothing to offer God, and praises the grace that God pours out on him and
This then is the Relationship that Ezra has to God. It is one of complete dependence on God, and thankfulness for the Grace that has been poured out. Ezra claims that there is more punishment that was deserved, for their guilt was great, but thanks be to God for showing them Mercy.
As he stands before God, he even claims that none can stand before Him. How is this possible, except that God is showing Grace upon Grace, even at that very moment?
Ezra’s whole story is based on the Grace of God.
Well it seems then that the application that we should extrapolate from Ezra is fairly straight forward. We are here by grace. This seems juvenile and a little cliché though, doesn’t it. It seems like it is the easy way out of any sermon. Just say, “and we all need grace”, and be done with it.
But it is the application we must take out of Ezra. It is how he became the head scribe of
See, although it is juvenile and cliché, it is also true. We are here only because of God’s grace. Ezra was raised up only because of God’s grace.
Now we didn’t read it this week, but in the weeks to come we are going to find out that the first thing that the Israelites did when the got back to
Ezra sees this. Ezra lived this. Ezra’s entire relationship with God’s was based upon God’s relationship to him. It was upon the foundation of God’s grace that Ezra was able to build his love of the Law. It was upon God’s grace that Ezra was able to stand before the Lord. It was upon God’s grace that Ezra was able to call the Israelites to a holier standard. It was upon God’s grace that the Israelites repented from their former ways and began to follow God.
And so it must be with us.
Now I know that I just said that this seems juvenile and cliché, but at the same time it is one of the most important doctrines of the Christian life. Paul says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace. If we don’t know this with all our being, we have no reason to be leading in church. We must first have our relationship to God fixed before we can even begin to have a healthy relationship to anyone else, including ourselves.
As I was meditating on all this, and struggling with where to go with this sermon, a few routes came to mind. I could stand here and tell us all how broken we are. Or I could just talk to the leaders, warning them not to become boastful. I could also talk to those of us who desire to be leaders, but aren’t quite there yet. I could prescribe that the way to leadership is resting in God’s grace. The sermon could become very Puritanical, which I have no problem with as those of you who have heard me preach before could attest.
But I don’t think that this would change anyone of us. I could stand on my high horse and wag my finger, and those of us in the audience who believed what I say could judge those who don’t, and none of us are any closer to the Grace that Ezra experienced.
So I sat in Panera for hours trying to hear from God. Trying to find a bridge for this sermon, and here is what I have.
On
Now I could tell you about how much I have done for the church, and I have done stuff. I wouldn’t have a job still if I hadn’t. In fact, I can say in true humility, that most of the things I have done here at MERCYhouse I have poured my heart into. There are the paintings and visible things that all of us see, but there is also a lot that no one or only a select few see.
One example of this is Sunday morning itself. See I have been trying to “programmatize” the whole thing. What does this mean? It means that I have been trying to make check lists and the like, so anyone can just come in and look at a list and see what need to be done.
Now why am I telling you all this? Am I telling you because Sunday morning goes so smooth now, all because of my lists? Or so that you will appreciate all the things you don’t see? No. I am telling you all this because I think, I truly believe, that Sunday morning has gone smooth in spite of me. For those of you who don’t know me, I can be kind of jerk. Just ask the Sunday morning team.
Sunday morning has gone smooth because there are people who get God’s grace. Sunday morning has gone smooth because I rest in God’s grace.
It is the reason I am preaching today. Robert hasn’t given me opportunity because I am a smooth talker, or because I’m wicked smart. I have been given opportunity because I rest in the grace of God. I believe that I deserve worse punishment than I have ever been given. I believe that God rescued me from exile, not because I am so great, but because he is Merciful. I know that the relationship I have with Him is first and foremost the relationship he has with me.
Now in some ways I have been blessed with the story I lived out. It is very easy to believe that you need God’s grace when you cannot control your desire to party. It is easy to see your life is out of control when you are broke and hung over. It is much harder for me now to still believe at all times that I need God as much as I do. But the fact of the matter is that I am just as broke now as I was then. I need to continue to rest in his grace. I must daily thank Him for His mercy now more than ever.
Ezra feels God’s mercy throughout. He rests on God’s grace from the first verse until the last. So must we be this convinced.
Why does God set up His Temple with this generation? Because of his grace. But there is a little more to it. This book, this man Ezra’s story is a foreshadowing of things to come.
Why does God send Jesus into the world? Was it because 1st century
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
We were enemies of God. There was nothing worth dying for. Who dies for his enemies, rather we kill them, right? But Christ died to reconcile us to God. Now what claim can an enemy have to his own salvation? It is grace that saves them. It is grace that saves us.
And more than this, it is this grace that we can rest in. I am a terrible leader by myself. I get angry fast, am ill tempered, I expect too much from people, I very rarely encourage people or thank them for what they have done, and I expect people to follow me regardless. The only thing I have going for myself is the grace of God. I can always come back to that.
We can always come back to that.
So then this is the juvenile, cliché, grand, and awesome application- God’s gives us grace, let us rest in it.
There is no other way that I have been able to find.
See there is two manifestations of Grace here. There is the first, of which I believe people who attend church are more familiar, and that is that God died for our sins. This is the Grace that was given at the cross, that although we didn’t deserve it, Christ went as a willing sacrifice, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was whipped, beaten, and crucified. This is the grace that allows us to come unto Him, and join God’s family. This is he Grace that Ezra claims for himself when he states that
13And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved
And we need to know this Grace. This is saving Grace. This is how we enter the kingdom. We need to know that it is not by works, that no one may boast. It is by the cross alone, by Christ’s sacrificial atonement for our sins that we may approach our Maker, and rejoice at his presence.
It is this Grace for which the song states:
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.
It is this Grace that we point to most often, I believe, when we talk of Grace. And there is good reason for it. It is by this Grace that we who are Christians are here this morning.
But there is more to Grace than this one act of God. There is so much more.
The last time I preached, you may remember, I said that when asked why they should get into heaven, the majority of Americans said because they did the best they could. Well, right now I am going to throw a few other studies at you.
If 85% of
If these people are Christians, how are they claiming all these things?
I belive the answer is found in our lack of understanding of the other face of Grace.
Grace, although it is the cross, is not only the cross. Ezra was resting in God’s grace well before he confessed his iniquity in the pray we have been looking at.
We believe that we are basically good, and have screwed up a few times, and that is why we need Jesus. We also believe that we deserve things in this life. They are wrapped up together. Because I am basically a good person, I deserve a good job, a secure future, a weekend to myself. Because I am honest and pay my taxes, I deserve a raise and time off.
I think that we believe that we deserve things based on our merit. Criminals believe they deserve probation because of good behavior, drug addicts believe they deserve help because this illness wasn’t their fault, college students today believe they deserve good grades because they pay and attend class.
Now I am not saying that criminals shouldn’t have probation and early releases, or that drug addicts shouldn’t get help, but do they really deserve it?
We believe today that since we are trying to be good we deserve for God to bless us. This is the heart of the prosperity Gospel, is it not?
I am not saying that we all believe in the Prosperity Gospel, but to some extent I think we do, whether we admit it or not.
I, myself, am guilty of it. Some of you worked with me at Mullins Center, and I ask you how many times did I complain about things because I felt that I deserved something- Be it a raise, health insurance, a promotion?
I believe we all forget this second aspect of Grace, not just our salvation, but EVERYTHING, comes from God. We are not deserving of anything on our own. Ezra understood this. Does he tell us that he was able to go to
It was by God’s grace that he was chosen to be head scribe. It was by God’s grace that the king smiled upon him. It was by God’s grace that he made it safely to
So must it be with us. Yes it is God’s grace that saves us from death, but it is also God’s grace that sustains us every moment. It is why you have a job. It is why you have your health. It is why you have anything and everything.
This is the Grace we must find our rest in. We must rest in God’s grace every moment of every day. We must learn to thank Him for His salvation, and our daily bread. For it is not by our labors that we do anything, but by His face smiling on us.
If we don’t know this with out heart of hearts, what happens? We begin to be resentful, boastful, proud. We see others succed and feel that we should too. We neglect the fact that we have been put where we have been put for a reason. We forget to thank God for the money we have, and instead get angry that we don’t have more.
If we don’t live with His Grace at every moment, and desire to know it more, we allow ourselves to begin to be cut off from God. We stop seeing every person who walks through our front doors as a blessing, as a person who need to be connect with, as a potential new friend, and we start to believe that they should want to be here even if we are offering them nothing. We see that we are the new, cool, postmodern church, and we focus on our hip-ness, boast in our outreach, and the whole time we isolate ourselves from those sinners out there. Instead of Praising God for each new body, we believe that they should be privileged to be here, and we forsake our first love.
When we don’t live in God’s grace every second it becomes easier and easier to see others mistakes, while harder and harder to see our own. We focus on the failures that others have caused, while the whole time we convince ourselves that we have the solution.
We believe that we deserve more money, more fame, more friends, more followers, more blessings. We become proud in our correct ways of doing things. We believe that we posses the answers to all of life’s problems. Oh, why don’t they just listen to us!
But if we live in God’s grace, we are saved. Our resentments fade away. Why should we be so angry that God is blessing another? Another person, another church, another couple. We are thankful for what we have, knowing we deserve even less.
If we hold this truth close to our hearts then we are in constant praise to God. We look at every meeting as a divine appointment. We see every blessing as a good gift from our Father.
We can say with assurance that God will provide, because his Grace is sufficient. We will know, as Ezra states, that the good hand of God was upon us.
We will not carry out resentment, our fears, or our guilt. How could we? We were never good enough to begin with. Like all the saints before we will find our righteousness, not in our actions, but in Jesus.
We will always let ourselves down. We will either not live up to our own standards, to our bosses, to our friends, or to God’s. No matter how hard we try we will always fail at some point. Be it in our struggles against lust, or anger, or being a good husband or wife, we will always fail.
What is true of us, is not true of God. His grace did not fail Ezra. His grace has not failed me. His Grace will not fail you. So I beseech you now to cast your baggage away, and come to the cross. Rest in the Grace of God, through His Son, Jesus Christ. I say this not just to those of you who are unconverted, but to all who sit in this building this morning, Come Rest in Him. Find your peace in His Grace. Know that the good hand of God is upon you. He wants to heal your wounds, calm your storms, restore your soul. Ask him to do so.
We deserve nothing, but today He is offering us all life. His grace is enough. His grace is enough.
Let us pray.
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