Date:
Sunday,
May 17, 2015
Chapters: Ezra 1-3
Message Title: Volunteering For God
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Ezra is the fifteenth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains ten chapters. The author of the book is Ezra, and it was written to the Jews that were in Babylon. The purpose of the book was to record the Jews return from captivity after spending seventy years in Babylon. Their purpose was to rebuild Jerusalem and bring temple worship back to Israel. The timeline for these events are approximately 536 BC to 457 BC. What we are to learn from the book is the basic principles of returning to God is repentance and restoring our relationship with Him. “And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,” - Ezra 9:5.
After seventy years in Babylon, God is ready for His people to return to Jerusalem to rebuild it, and the temple. With the help of Ezra, He encourages the exiles to leave all they have in Babylon to rebuild the temple in Jersualem. “Now 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, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.” - Ezra 1:1-5.
We have to stop and think about the conditions in which these volunteers were about to embark, remember, Jerusalem was in ruins, the temple was destroyed, and pretty much everything that resembled that God was gone. It wasn't going to be easy, but God would be with them if they were willing to accept the call and do it with all their heart. Jesus is still rebuilding His temple and one day He will return with all His volunteers, those who accepted and received Him as their Saviour, and there will be no need for rebuilding. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” - John 14:1-4.
An account was kept of the families that came up out of captivity, out of the hundreds of thousands of Jews only 42,360 remained with God and were willing to head back to Jerusalem. Most of the new generation of Judah had never been in Jerusalem and had no reason to leave Babylon except to rebuild the temple in the old, ruined city, about nine hundred miles away. “Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city; And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place: They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests' garments.” - Ezra 2:1,68,69.
Only a few were willing to endure the hazardous, long and difficult four-month journey on foot, amazingly not one complaint is recorded, the first ever. Of the billions of people who will be introduced to Jesus Christ, only a remnant will enter the kingdom of God. Those who truly want Christ to be Lord of their lives are willing to step out of their comfort zones, maybe even go into unfamiliar territory, and follow Him where ever He leads them. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” - Matthew 16:24,25.
Two years after the Jews return they began to rebuild the Temple, every willing heart came to do whatever they could to help. “Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD. Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.” - Ezra 3:8-11.
Of all the things we can do to volunteer, the most rewarding and heart warming is the work we do for God. Not only do you feel good about what you are doing, you also feel conviction, and a love that you have never felt before. Talk about an emotional roller coaster? And the work we do for God does not return void, even if we get persecuted, we will reap the benefits of giving our time to God and the work He calls us to do. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” - Matthew 5:10-12.
Today's Prayer: God, What a blessing it is to be one of Your servants. I am saved and redeemed because I am only trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection so I do not have to end up in hell and the lake of fire. Thank You Jesus. While I can't do anything to get in Your Kingdom, except believe in You, I can be a testimony and a witness for You, and I can be willing to do the work You call me to do. Lord, lead me and guide me, let me behave in a way that others see You through me and accept You too, and give me the strength, wisdom, and power to do the work You call me to do. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
Chapters: Ezra 1-3
Message Title: Volunteering For God
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Ezra is the fifteenth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains ten chapters. The author of the book is Ezra, and it was written to the Jews that were in Babylon. The purpose of the book was to record the Jews return from captivity after spending seventy years in Babylon. Their purpose was to rebuild Jerusalem and bring temple worship back to Israel. The timeline for these events are approximately 536 BC to 457 BC. What we are to learn from the book is the basic principles of returning to God is repentance and restoring our relationship with Him. “And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,” - Ezra 9:5.
After seventy years in Babylon, God is ready for His people to return to Jerusalem to rebuild it, and the temple. With the help of Ezra, He encourages the exiles to leave all they have in Babylon to rebuild the temple in Jersualem. “Now 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, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.” - Ezra 1:1-5.
We have to stop and think about the conditions in which these volunteers were about to embark, remember, Jerusalem was in ruins, the temple was destroyed, and pretty much everything that resembled that God was gone. It wasn't going to be easy, but God would be with them if they were willing to accept the call and do it with all their heart. Jesus is still rebuilding His temple and one day He will return with all His volunteers, those who accepted and received Him as their Saviour, and there will be no need for rebuilding. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” - John 14:1-4.
An account was kept of the families that came up out of captivity, out of the hundreds of thousands of Jews only 42,360 remained with God and were willing to head back to Jerusalem. Most of the new generation of Judah had never been in Jerusalem and had no reason to leave Babylon except to rebuild the temple in the old, ruined city, about nine hundred miles away. “Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city; And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place: They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests' garments.” - Ezra 2:1,68,69.
Only a few were willing to endure the hazardous, long and difficult four-month journey on foot, amazingly not one complaint is recorded, the first ever. Of the billions of people who will be introduced to Jesus Christ, only a remnant will enter the kingdom of God. Those who truly want Christ to be Lord of their lives are willing to step out of their comfort zones, maybe even go into unfamiliar territory, and follow Him where ever He leads them. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” - Matthew 16:24,25.
Two years after the Jews return they began to rebuild the Temple, every willing heart came to do whatever they could to help. “Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD. Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.” - Ezra 3:8-11.
Of all the things we can do to volunteer, the most rewarding and heart warming is the work we do for God. Not only do you feel good about what you are doing, you also feel conviction, and a love that you have never felt before. Talk about an emotional roller coaster? And the work we do for God does not return void, even if we get persecuted, we will reap the benefits of giving our time to God and the work He calls us to do. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” - Matthew 5:10-12.
Today's Prayer: God, What a blessing it is to be one of Your servants. I am saved and redeemed because I am only trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection so I do not have to end up in hell and the lake of fire. Thank You Jesus. While I can't do anything to get in Your Kingdom, except believe in You, I can be a testimony and a witness for You, and I can be willing to do the work You call me to do. Lord, lead me and guide me, let me behave in a way that others see You through me and accept You too, and give me the strength, wisdom, and power to do the work You call me to do. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Subscribe: Daily Devotion
Ready To Follow Jesus?: God's Price
Visit Our Website: I'm Following Jesus
Like Us On Facebook: I'm Following Jesus
Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
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