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Sermon Notes

What God Can Do

Sunday 21 January 2018 Pastor Craig Ledbetter Ezra 1-2
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I. Introduction (Isaiah 61:4; 58:12)

A. Our study focus this entire year (2018) is on BUILDING and REBUILDING the things that SIN, and the devil has destroyed

  1. Two great historical books of the Bible (Ezra and Nehemiah) help us see beyond the rubble of our situations
  2. We are switching from Nehemiah to the book of Ezra this morning
  3. We will switch back and forth throughout the year

B. Our Limited Vision

  1. We often see our lives through only our own eyes - our own limits - and through the failures that seem to pile up around us
  2. This life, this planet, this time is seen so differently when seen from above - through Someone else’s eyes, from HIS viewpoint

C. “What God can do”

  1. Is my attempt this morning to open your eyes to what God had been doing all along throughout the history of a tiny nation no bigger than Wales
  2. So that you can start trusting the SAME great God, and rest in His plan for YOUR life, no matter the twists and turns
  3. A Christian is not a moral person, or a theologian - they are a passionate believer in the awesomeness of God - in the Almighty abilities of the Creator and Sustainer of this universe, who went to the extreme to save wretches like us

II. Background to Ezra

A. Timeline (Before Christ, time counts DOWN)

  1. 700 B.C. The Northern Tribes of Israel are conquered by Sennacherib of Assyria
  2. 630 B.C. The Assyrians were conquered by Babylon
  3. 606 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar begins his destruction of the small nation of Judah
  4. 588 B.C. Jerusalem finally falls
    • Nebuchadnezzar completely destroys Jerusalem - the last hold-out
    • Takes almost everybody still alive away to Babylon as slaves
    • Leaving the sickest and dying behind
    • No walls, no gates, no glorious Temple of Solomon
    • There is nothing but rubble, and burning heaps of ruin
  5. The land rests for 70 years
  6. 538 B.C. Cyrus takes the throne of Persia and almost instantly proclaims the Jewish people are FREE to go back home!
  7. That’s where the Book of Ezra picks up

B. God HAD to Judge Them

  1. Judah had been Warned over and over from the very start that judgment was coming

    • First by Moses in the very laws that were to guide the nation
    • Then by every prophet from Samuel to Jeremiah
    • Hundreds of times, fearless men would stand and warn the people to repent
    • Almost ALL of those men were mocked and rejected, and beaten, and killed

  2. Judgment was a Long time coming

    • Not instant, like lightning - but God waited
    • You and I had better be very thankful for His patience
    • But we need to realize that God will judge sin

  3. Captivity was the judgment of God against His own people

    • Think about it
    • Israel had turned away from God - turned from God to idols
    • And so God judged them as guilty, and brought them to ruin
    • They had NO ONE to blame but themselves!

C. World Politics

  1. Politics went on - as it always does
  2. Empires constantly rose and fell all over the world
  3. Never was this tiny nation of Israel the mover and shaker of the world
  4. No one cared what happened there

D. This was the world the nation of Judah dwelt in

E. But it was not supposed to stay that way

F. Israel’s Captivity Was Now Over!

III. Message - What God Can Do

A. God Can Stir Up the Heart of a King (Ezra 1:1-4)

  1. God had prophesied through Jeremiah that after 70 years, the captivity would end
  2. God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia
  3. This pagan king made a proclamation allowing the Jews to return and rebuild the temple!

B. God Can Stir Up the Hearts of His People (Ezra 1:5)

  1. Not everyone went back - only those whose spirit God had raised
  2. God works in the hearts of His people to accomplish His purposes
  3. Are you stirred to do God’s will?

C. God Can Provide Resources (Ezra 1:6-11)

  1. The neighbouring people contributed gold, silver, goods, and animals
  2. King Cyrus returned the vessels from Solomon’s temple
  3. God provides for His work through unexpected means

D. God Can Preserve His People (Ezra 2)

  1. A careful count of all who returned - God knew every one of them
  2. The genealogies mattered - identity matters to God
  3. God preserves a remnant to accomplish His purposes

IV. Application

  1. God has a plan for YOUR life - just as He had a plan for Israel
  2. God’s timing is perfect - even when it seems delayed
  3. God can stir hearts - including yours and those around you
  4. God provides what is needed - for the work He calls you to
  5. Your failures don’t stop God’s plan - but you must return to Him

What seems like the end is often just the beginning. God specializes in restoration. Trust Him with your rubble, and watch what He can do!

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