Ezra 8 (Part 2) Bible Study (Fasting & Prayer for Protection/Priests to Guard Offerings) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Book of Ezra Series)

Let's turn to Ezra chapter 8. And in case you weren't with us

Ezra 8 · chapter mention

last week, Ezra chapter 8 is a detailed account of Ezra's

Ezra 8 · chapter mention

movements from Babylonia to Jerusalem, as he is, under God's

direction, called to lead the second wave of Jewish exiles

back to their homeland. And what we find here in the

beginning of chapter 8 is Ezra in Babylonia.

When we come to the end of the chapter, we'll find him finally

in Jerusalem. But the middle of this passage,

which will be the focus tonight, is Ezra and his thinking and

planning and doing at a place called Ahava.

If you remember in our last study, it was in Ahava where

Ezra took those who followed him and camped for three days, and

he made inventory and learned that there were zero Levites who

had committed to this journey with them.

And so he finds leading men, he sends them back, and he asked

them to persuade the Levites to partner with them in this

expedition of faith. And we discovered that there

were a total of 38 Levites who joined them.

But the chapter is not over yet, and in the rest of this chapter

we're going to see that what takes place at a hava is not

over yet either. There are still things that Ezra

wants to accomplish before they resume on this track back to the

promised land. And where we're going to begin

tonight is in verse 21. And we'll read down to verse 23,

and then we'll pause and pray and ask for God's help as we

always do. Ezra 821 Then I proclaimed the

fast there at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves

before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for ourselves,

our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the

king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against

the enemy on our way, since we had told the king The hand of

our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of His

wrath is against all who forsake him.

So we faceted and implored our God for this, and he listened to

our entreaty. Father, as we just read, you

listen to the entreaty of Ezra and the families with him.

Now as a family here, we ask that you would hear us, and we

pray that you would guide us through these passages.

And we ask that every verse that we unlock would be a force to

our hearts that would drain out all sin and pride and envy and

doubt, anything that would grieve the Holy Spirit.

We pray that you would use this study to relinquish it, to

destroy it, and to replace it with that which pleases you.

Lord, change us. We pray that the delivery of

this study would be empowered by Your Holy Spirit.

We pray that the power of the Holy Spirit would rest on each

heart in this place to receive everything that is said here

with humility and eagerness. And so, Lord, we do not rest on

eloquence, We do not rest on human ingenuity.

We rest on the truth of Your Word and the power of the Spirit

that makes it real to us. Help us, Lord, see Jesus Christ

even in these verses. We pray these things in His

name, Amen. Amen.

We remember hopefully that in Ezra Chapter 7, we were

Ezra 7 · chapter mention

introduced to this man as a man of the word.

It is in that chapter where he is famously recognized as one

who set his heart to study the law, to do it, to obey it, and

to teach others about it. And now we continue to chapter

8, and we learned that Ezra was more than just a man of the

word. We find out that man, this man

Ezra, was also one of prayer. Ezra was a man who sought the

Lord as there was a man who knew how to seek God.

And I think it's important to consider what has transpired up

to this point in this expedition.

Ezra has received incredible favor and wonderful financial

support from the King of Persia. Ezra has the priestly and the

royal lines with him. He has many families who have

chosen to trust in his leadership and follow him.

And recently there are now Levites who have been added to

the convoy. So from a human standpoint,

everything that Ezra needed to go to Jerusalem, he had.

All the bases are covered. But before they continue, in the

verses that we just read, we see that this man refused to move

forward unless he knew that God himself would go with him.

So again, in Ezra 7, you and I are to be persuaded and

convinced that this man was a man who was saturated in the

Scriptures. He was immersed in them.

He studied diligently. He had the Word of Christ

dwelling in his heart richly. But I believe chapter 8 and what

we see here is the fruit of that.

In other words, one of the ways that you know that you can

determine if the Word of God is truly at work in you is that it

will cause you to be a man or a woman of prayer.

Because studying the Bible is not an end in itself.

It is a means to relate to God and to seek Him regularly in

order for Him to move in and through your life.

And so this man who was swollen with the Scriptures shows us

what that should produce, and that is a sense of dependency on

God. That is one who would seek God.

Again, a word that's very important, Ezra 7, especially

verse 10, is that Ezra set his heart to study, to study.

In some translations it means to seek, but the SV renders it as

study. And then you come to chapter 8,

and what do you find? That this man who studied sought

God diligently as well. He was diligent in his studies

and it made him desperate for God.

And so if you wanted, if you want to really measure, is the

word of God working in my life? One thing that you have to ask

yourself is am I being drawn to the Lord in the place of prayer?

Am I becoming more sensitive and aware of my neediness of Him?

Do I just look at Him as I would look at a Petri dish and pick

apart doctrines and know how to put certain things and files in

my mind, Or does it melt me and soften me to actually draw near

to the Lord on a personal level? And this is what we have to

consider here with Ezra's example.

But he's doing more than just praying.

Is that what we see in verse 21? He was fasting.

He called for a fast at a hava. Now, we don't have time in this

Bible study to look at what the Bible teaches about fasting,

what it is, what it does, how to do it.

But what we do see here is a familiar pattern that what

you'll see throughout the Bible is that fasting is often coupled

with prayer. And the reason for that is

because fasting is a means to pray.

In other words, fasting is the discipline to eliminate

distractions, namely that of consuming food, preparing food

so that you can reserve your energy and your time to pressing

into the Lord. And so if one is fasting and

they are not praying, they are missing one of the major points

of fasting. There are some people who fast

and really it's just a concealed diet.

Fasting is not about losing weight.

Fasting is not about just not eating.

Fasting is about making a way for you to give yourself over to

seeking the Lord more intensely. And that's how we know they're

doing this right? Because in verse 23 says so, We

fasted and implored our God, we sought God.

But my question is why now? Why call for a fast at the canal

Ahava? Well, we don't have the gas.

Verse 21 lets us know to seek Him for a safe journey for

ourselves, our children, and all our goods.

This is one of the strongest biblical examples of where the

frequent requests of traveling mercies come from.

Maybe you've asked somebody to pray for what travelling mercies

or somebody's asks you, hey, can you ask the Lord to give us

travelling mercies, right? Does that term sound familiar to

us? I think this is where it might

come from because Ezra prayed for it, which shows us that you

and I have the right to ask God for a safe journey no matter how

far along it is. So the main focus of this time

released to seek the Lord for safety.

It became a desperate plea. And when you understand the

context, you can see why. Consider a few things.

When we studied Chapter 7, we learned and calculated that from

Babylonia to Jerusalem, it would take about four months.

Four months by foot, we're talking about 900 miles.

That's grueling. These are not just men who are

making their way back to Jerusalem.

You have women, you have children, you have the elderly,

presumably. So you can see why this is going

to be a difficult task. Just naturally speaking.

It's been very demanding. So we need God to help us.

Secondly, Ezra was aware that even in his day there were

people who hated the Jews. Now there was already a first

wave of Jews many decades before this that had been restored to

Jerusalem and had begin begun to really rebuild the House of God.

They they brought it to completion and that.

Irked. The nations around them, many of

them. And so to see just another

transition, another accumulation of Jews going back to the

promised land. Ezra mentions here that he is

worried that the enemy on the way will try to stop them.

So there are real threats, real dangers.

Consider a third thing. Is Ezra leading this expedition

with just clothes on their back? No, they are not going empty

handed. In fact, they're going back with

caravans filled with supplies. Peek over to verse 26 of Ezra.

Notice what it said here. I weighed out into their hands

650 talents of silver. Now that may not mean much to

you because you think talent. We don't use that measurement

today. One talent is approximately 75

to 80 pounds. 650 talents of silver and silver vessels worth

200 talents and 100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold worth

1000 derricks, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as

precious as gold. So you can imagine how just the

resources alone that they're taking with them would make Ezra

very nervous. And you can imagine even at this

time, how war would get around, that some of the Jews are making

their way back to Jerusalem and look at all the stuff that

they're bringing with them. It wouldn't take very much for

robbers and bandits to take advantage of this, especially

when they are helpless Jews and as we're about to discover, have

no bodyguards, no soldiers, no battalion going with them.

They're exposed. And Ezra knows this.

So he says, listen, before we leave Ahava, we have to seek

God. We have to ask the Lord for

help. And so we find here that there's

potential fear on Ezra's part, natural fear.

Wisdom is being employed, There's caution.

And so he seeks God. But look what happens in verse

31. Look what he testifies about.

Ezra goes on to say later, Then we departed from the river Ahava

on the 12th day of the first month to go to Jerusalem.

The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the

hand of the enemy and from ambushes.

By the way, prayer works, and more than prayer working,

sincere prayer invites God's protection against any threat.

And the Lord's blessing can extend to anyone or to anything

that you would commit to His care.

That includes your children, and that includes your possessions.

One of my favorite examples of this is how David responded when

he learned that one of his greatest advisors chose to side

with his rebellious son, Absalom.

Do you remember what he did? What was his knee jerk reaction?

According to Second Samuel 15, verse 31, he sighed a prayer and

2 Samuel 15:31

his prayer was very brief, very short, very simple.

He said, O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into

foolishness. So I thoughtful who was one of

David's greatest assets. The Bible says that his wisdom

was like the wisdom of God. People revered this man when he

came up with a plan. People listen intently and they

trusted him. And overnight, David learns one

of your closest confidants has now conspired against you and

joined your son to kill you. So one of his greatest assets

now becomes one of his greatest threats.

And what does he do? He prays.

He seeks God. And if you were with us in

Second Samuel when we studied it, you remember that God

answered that prayer, did he not?

And he actually went above and beyond what David asked.

So over and over we have examples that when you and I

pray, there is not one person nor is there any problem that

God is not willing to confront and bring a solution to.

In this case, there are many things that Ezra was worried

about. He asked for God's protection

over himself and others, their children and their possessions,

and God was faithful with every single thing that they brought

to him. Is there a person causing a

problem in your life? Do you pray about it?

Do you actually believe that God will do something about it?

He did it for David. Are you worried about your

finances? Are you worried about your

resources? Are you worried about how you're

going to pay rent? Are you worried about how you're

going to pay for your children's education?

Do you pray about it, Ezra? This man filled with the Word

teaches us that prayer works. With all that said, we see

another reason why he was so desperate to pray, and I already

alluded to it. He mentions here that he refused

armed security, that when the king of Persia learned of his

journey, he offered help because even the king understood how

dangerous it would be for them. And Ezra refused.

He denied it. Why did he deny it?

Well, he seems to have a relationship with the king.

And throughout his relationship with the king, he was constantly

testifying of the greatness of God, that he actually helps.

He's a real God. He actually interferes with our

lives and invests and invades intercepts.

He's tangible. And he thought to himself, if

I'm going to say this to the king and at the same time ask

him for help, that might weaken my testimony.

Worse, it might contradict my testimony.

And so Ezra refuses this, and it made him all the more aware of

his neediness for God to come through.

Now, here's what's interesting. If we're not careful, we can

take a text like this and teach ourselves and others that if we

really have faith, it's unnecessary to implement safety

measures or to take precautions to protect ourselves.

Is that what this text is teaching?

If you're inclined to believe that, let me remind you what

Nehemiah does when it was his turn to make his way back to

Jerusalem. Go to chapter 2 of Nehemiah.

It's just the next book over and notice what he says in Nehemiah

Nehemiah 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 beginning in verse 7. This is how you know that what

Ezra is demonstrating is not teaching something about

self-defense and if Christians should pursue it or not.

Look at Nehemiah 2 verse seven. He says, And I said to the king,

If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the

governors of the province beyond the river, that they may let me

pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph,

the keeper of the King's forest. Then he may give me timber to

make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for

the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.

And the king granted me what I asked for.

The good hand of my God was upon me.

So notice a similar phrase here. He says God's hand was upon me.

That's why the king did this. But notice the connection.

He goes on to say in verse 9. Then I came to the governors of

the province beyond the river and gave them the King's

letters. Now the king had sent with me

officers of the army and horsemen.

Ezra refused. Nehemiah welcomed this kind of

protection. And the question we have to ask

then, was Nehemiah less godly or faithful because of it?

Was he less spiritual? Did he display weaker faith?

Here's my answer. It depends.

If Nehemiah goes on to show that he had put his ultimate trust in

the arm of the flesh, then absolutely this could be a sign

of weak faith. But if you've studied Nehemiah,

then you know that that is not the case.

That he was a man of fervent prayer himself, that he was a

man who took practical means but never failed to seek the Lord

because he showed that God was ultimately his success, his

security. And so who's right here?

Who's the greater model to follow?

Follow. Who's more godly?

I don't think it's a contest. I think it's worth comparing.

And the reason why is because Ezra is in a unique position,

because Ezra has been witnessing to the King of Persia and Ezra

made a bold witness about who God is and what he is able to

do. That's what's at stake.

Here, and so with his situation, Ezra wanted to ensure that

nothing that he would do, nothing that he would say,

nothing that he would accept would cause a problem to what he

had told the King about his God. So this is.

Far less about Ezra's beliefs about self-defense.

And you can't use a text like this to make a case for why or

why not believers should implement a certain measure of

protection over themselves, their family, or their

ministries. That's not what's being targeted

here. There's a different lesson

before us, and the lesson is this.

Ezra is exemplifying to us that what we say should be backed up

by what we do. That we have to be.

Extremely careful about what we say about God to others,

especially unbelievers. And then showing them with our.

Lives that we actually believe it.

Because people. Are much more willing to believe

by what you live than by what you say.

There's no way around that, and that could be to a greater good

or that can be to our detriment. So understand Ezra.

'S thinking here. I've been telling this king

about how awesome God is, but I also understand that the king

has more than just ears, he has eyes.

And he's going to watch how? I'm going to move forward from

here. Can I actually back up the

greatness of God? Can I actually prove it?

And this man is extremely wise. He understood that this could

actually hinder his witness, and so he refuses the protection

that the king offered. Believer, understand very

carefully there are people who are watching more closely than

you think they are. They may not be telling you

that, but people are taking into consideration that you have a

Bible verse on your social media account.

And they want to see that. Bible verse matches with the

posts. When I had social.

Media and I had others say this as well.

I don't know if this is still the case.

I've been off social media. I recommend it.

And I remember back. Then that people would like

certain things and what they would like would pop up on your

feet. Is that still the case?

OK. You know, years and years.

Ago, obviously I was still believer then.

I was I've been a believer for quite a few years now and so

most of my friends online were were Christians.

But you know what? Sometimes.

I would see what they would like and it would pop up and it was

super questionable. Now I'm a believer and I know.

Some of these people, or at least I've met them here or

there, but I would always think, what do non believers think

about what you're liking When you like something?

You're essentially saying I'm agreeing with this, I approve of

this, I enjoy this. And for what I know.

What I know for some people, they mindlessly just click on

anything, not considering what Ezra is showing us here.

People are watching you, people are leaning in, people are

studying you and they're hearing one thing and they want to see,

is it consistent? So that's just one way that.

We might have oversight, the things that we choose, the

things that we respond to, the things that we let out.

And not thinking. Others are analyzing me.

While we're on the subject of witness, there is something else

here that we have to appreciate about Ezra in this area.

Did you notice that when he reflects on his testifying

before the king, he did not leave out warning?

Look again what I mean here. He didn't just stop.

After saying the hand of our God is for good on all who seek him.

He goes on to add. What?

And the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.

That's bold. Would he have been right if he

said that God's good hand rests on those who seek him?

Yes. But Ezra understood.

That that is an incomplete message.

And he understood that I. May never see this king again.

And So what does he do? He he includes the full message.

And what is the full message? Yes.

If you seek him, there's a blessing.

If you forsake him, if you turn your back on him, there's wrath.

This is bold you're. Speaking to a king.

But it's more than just bold. It's loving.

Because love warns, and we have to be wise in how we warn.

But there's some people who. Think it's wise never to warn?

Well, you're out of step. With the ministry in the message

of Jesus Christ, the Apostles and any sincere Christian.

The Bible warns. Because the Bible is a book that

reveals a God who is love and love warns.

So King, I want to let. You know that God.

He shows favor to. Those who live for him, who seek

him. But he's also willing.

To show wrath to those who despise him and deny him.

You know what I wondered When? I heard this.

Looking at these words. In Ezra's life, I wondered, did

that make any impact on the king?

That was my question. Did that make any impact on this

king? And then I reflected on the

King's own words when he had given Ezra the letter of

approval to allow him to take the Jews back to Jerusalem.

Let me remind you. One of the things that the king.

Says back in Ezra 7. Look at verse 23.

This is in the letter of the King.

That grants. Ezra permission to do what he's

doing here in Ezra chapter 8. The King writes.

Ezra 8 · chapter mention

Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in

full for the House of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be

against the realm of the king and his sons.

I wonder where you got that idea from?

Well, Ezra's been telling. Him, I'm sure, since he's known

him. Listen, King.

You don't want to. Invoke God's wrath by forsaking

Him. And I believe based on this,

that Ezra planted the seed and it's still in seed form because

we learn from this chapter in this text that there are some

who are only motivated to serve God out of fear, and that's not

the way to do it. But that doesn't mean that

there. Isn't an understanding of fear

in how we view God? And this king shows.

That he got it. And I hope that it.

Germinated to a more complete understanding of the nature and

character of God. We don't know.

But we will continue now. Let's come back to Ezra 8 and

let's read on in verse 24 down to verse 29.

Then I set a part. 12 of the leading priest Sheribaya

Hashabaya, and 10 other kinsmen with them.

And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the

vessels, the offering for the House of our God that the King

and his counselors and his Lords, and all Israel their

present had offered. I weighed out into their hands

650 talents of silver and silver vessels worth 200 talents and

100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold worth 1000 derricks and

two. 1002. Vessels of fine bright bronze,

as precious as gold. And I said to them, You are holy

to the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the

gold are free will offering to the Lord, the God of your

Father's. Guard them and keep them until

you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the

heads of Father's houses in Israel, at Jerusalem, within the

chambers of the House of the Lord.

What's going on here? Well, Ezra did more than.

Just pray about the protection of himself and others.

The children and his goods he also prepared.

He planned. He strategized.

And right away we learned something.

Is Ezra a spiritual man? He's a very spiritual man.

Did he study God's Word? He did.

Did he fast and pray? Absolutely.

But those practices, those disciplines did not negate or

cancel out practical life. Ezra understood that we should

commit things to the Lord, but he also understood that we have

to do some calculation on our part.

And so for those who think. That being spiritual means

you're unorganized or constantly spontaneous or never thinking

ahead. You're wrong.

Ezra here shows. Us that a man who is going to

bring revival to his generation was also a man who stepped back

and thought how can we do this the most efficient way?

How can we do this the? Safest way?

How can we make our journey that much more gracious?

And so he actually. Delegated responsibility.

And he put numbers together and he divided things.

Because Christianity is actually practical.

And I say this from time to time because you have some people who

think that Christianity is about being as mystical as possible.

Well, you can't get. That from here and it also shows

that Ezra as a man of God was responsible over his resources.

And this is this is a reminder again that though we are called

to be heavenly minded, we're also called to do earthly good.

Can I ask you a question? When is the first time the word

elder in connection to leadership in the local church?

When does the first time? That word elder appear in the

book of Acts. You can answer if you.

Know or if you think you. Know any idea who thinks it's?

Very, very early in the book. Who thinks it's very late?

In the book. Who's just waiting for me?

To tell you the chapter to go to Acts Chapter 11.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

This is the first time the word elder appears in the narrative

of the book of Acts that explains the early movements and

formations of the bride of Christ.

Look at Acts 11 verse 20 and I'll wait for you to get there.

Acts 11:20

Acts 11 verse. 28. And one of the name.

Agabus stood up and foretold by the spirit that there would be a

great famine over all the world. This took place in the days of

Claudius. So the disciples determined

everyone according to his ability to send relief to the

brothers living in Judea, and they did so sending it to the

elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

That's the first time you encountered the word elders in

connection to leadership in the in the local church.

And I find it interesting that the first time it appears it

deals with financial responsibility.

That one of the first things. You find with the elders in the

Church of the book of Acts is the distribution of aid to those

who are in need. What does that tell you?

Well it tells you that part of the elders responsibility is

faithful stewardship over the church's resources.

This is why. When you look at the Maranatha

Bible Church Membership covenant, one of the things that

the elders promised to the members of the church is that by

God's help, we will faithfully steward God's resources

according to the principles and the wisdom of His Word.

The elders here. Show us that.

And that requires integrity, that requires wisdom, that

requires transparency and accountability.

And it should be no. Surprise to us, then, that one

of the qualifications for a pastor according to First

Timothy 33 is that he cannot be a lover of money.

Because you're going to deal. With money in the ministry.

And so we find here. An excellent example in Ezra of

a spiritual leader. Who takes great?

Pains of avoiding mismanaging God's funds.

And so he comes up with. A plan.

And what's his plan? I'm going to assign the

responsibility of oversight of these resources to the priests

and the Levites. That's what we see in verse 24,

right? Look again.

Then I set apart 12 of the leading priests share abaya and

hashabaya, and 10 of their kinsmen with them.

So he sets apart 12 priests, and then he sets apart 12 Levites

who are with them. Now here's another question.

Why did Ezra think it was important that the priests and

the Levites take on this responsibility?

The immediate response might. Be well, it's obvious they're

they're spiritual leaders, so they will be more trustworthy

for such a task. And that is certainly true to

some extent, but there's a deeper reason.

Ezra was a man who. Studied the law.

And what you discover. In the law, especially in the

Book of Numbers chapter 4, is that in the movements of the

Numbers 4 · chapter mention

nation Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land, God had told him

to build a house for him. It was portable, a Tabernacle, a

tent. This is where God would meet

with the people. But that tent needed to.

Be transported from time to time.

It had furnishings, it had different materials.

It had bases and posts and links.

And so numbers 4. What you discover is that God

assigned the Levitical tribe to be responsible for

disassembling, transporting, and then reassembling the tent.

And So what we see. Ezra doing here now as they are

in their own unique exile, making their way back to what

God had given to them. He wants to imitate.

This law as closely as possible because this is a unique

situation. They're not transporting the

House of God. They don't have the same items

like the original people did. But do you see Ezra's?

Heart here. It's a beautiful thing to

witness. That he is trying.

To get the spirit of the law, he is trying to get the heart of

the law, the principles and the wisdom of God's law and apply it

to his situation. He wants to apply.

It as faithfully as he can. They don't have.

The Tabernacle, they have a temple now.

But again, he's looking at what God had said in the past, and

he's thinking to myself, how can I get this crowd to obey and to

adhere to God's law as closely as possible?

You know, if you really love God.

'S word, that's what you'll do with your own life, that you'll

look at the practices and the decisions that you have to make.

And there may not be a chapter or verse that addresses it, but

what you'll seek to do is say, OK, is there anything that can

inform me how to make the most righteous decision here?

I'm building this, I'm pursuing this, I have to invest in this.

Is there anything in God's law in 2026?

That can help me make the. Most Christ honoring decision

from it. This is what Ezra is showing.

And he does it well, these spiritual leaders, they agree

with him, but he does more. He doesn't just get his cues

from the Book of Numbers, namely, but he now exhorts them

directly. Oh, this is a true leader.

Look again at verse 28. What does he say?

You are holy to the Lord and the vessels are holy.

So he has this plan, he has instruction from the law, he has

his men. Now he wants to inspire them.

And the first thing that he says is you, you Levites, you

priests, you are holy. And then he reminds them that

the vessels are holy, but the order is intentional before.

Talking about the. Vessels that they're going to

handle. He talks about them as vessels.

And he says, hey. You're holy.

What does that mean for us? Well, it's a wonderful.

Truth about how in order for us to participate in God's work,

which is holy. We have to understand that God.

Calls us to be holy. This becomes even more.

Helpful when you remember that in the New Testament we are all

called to be in the priesthood. That we are all a royal.

Priesthood in the new Covenant. And we all have to consider.

This that if we're really serious about pursuing the honor

of doing God's work, whatever that looks like, then we have to

be serious about personal holiness.

That's not a popular message today, and it's unfortunate

because a lot of ministries are getting exposed and shut down

because of it. You know, there's some people

who. Think that because we're in the

gospel. And this gospel is 1.

Of grace and mercy and amazing forgiveness.

That holiness is just a peripheral thing.

Holiness is some old. Testament concept.

Holiness is irrelevant. Holiness is a little bit

important, no? If anything, holiness becomes

more possible, more attractive because of the gospel.

And so, yes, we do see here that there is a different covenant

from the old to the new. But God's standard of purity has

not changed. It hasn't.

You and I are going to enjoy the privilege of being entrusted

with holy things. Then you and I have to be.

Holy. And more specifically.

We must first be set apart before we're to be invited to

join God's special work. You are holy and the vessels are

holy. I must be holy if I want to

partner with God's holy work. We can go to so many places.

To confirm this, let me give you one that is very, very, very

important in connection to this truth.

It's what the prophet Isaiah says.

This is worth turning to and Isaiah 52.

Look at verse 11. He actually addresses the same

category of people, those who would handle the holy vessels of

the Lord. And notice what He says to them

in Isaiah 52, verse 11. Isaiah says depart, depart, go

Isaiah 52:11

out from there, touch no unclean thing.

And some believe that he is. Actually speaking about those

who would be in Babylon one day and would be called out of it,

he says depart, depart, go out from there, touch no unclean

thing, go out from the midst of her, Purify yourselves, you who

bear the vessels of the Lord. Is that the same?

Crowd that Ezra is addressing back in chapter 8, Yes.

And is the message the? Same.

Yes. What does Isaiah say?

Purify yourselves, you who bear the holy vessels of the Lord.

It's the same order. Here, because you've been called

to a holy calling, God asks you to be holy.

You. You cannot effectively pursue

anything that God asks of you. If you're impure, it can't

happen. Is God forgiving?

Yes. Do we sin?

Yes. Do we justify it?

Do we tolerate it? Do we enjoy it and conceal it?

Those are two different things. But to actually ask?

God continually cleanse me and renew me.

Why? Because I want to be used by

you. Do you ever think like that?

Do you ever have? That as your one of your

motivations, at least I think the primary one is Lord, I don't

want to break your heart. But we are permitted.

To also think and pray and use this truth to combat against

temptation. I don't want to disqualify

myself. Let me ask you another question.

Is there any place in the New Testament where Isaiah 52, verse

Isaiah 52:11

11, the verse that we just read, is referenced or alluded to?

Are you? Just going to wait for.

Me to give you the chapter. That's OK, somebody said

something. First Timothy is a.

Very strong one, but there is one that I'm thinking about that

actually references this verse that quotes it.

Titus. Titus is another place that

speaks about holiness, purity. 2nd Corinthians let's.

Turn there, I want you to see it with your own eyes.

Second Corinthians chapter 6 and place your finger there.

2 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

Verse 16. This is Paul speaking to

Christians. This is Paul speaking to the

Corinthians. Who had many?

Spiritual gifts, but we're living unholy lives.

And so he wants. To remind them what the Bible

says, and notice what he says in 2nd Corinthians 616.

What agreement has the temple of God with idols?

For we are the temple of the living God, as God said, I will

make my dwelling among them, and walk among them, and I will be

their God, and they shall be my people.

Verse 17 Now therefore go out from their midst, and be

separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean

thing. Then I will welcome you.

So what does Paul do? He.

Reaches back to Isaiah 52 verse 11 and he applies it to

Isaiah 52:11

believers in the new covenant. God's standard of.

Holiness has not changed. And this is something.

That you and I have to take very seriously.

Again, praise the Lord that He is so forgiving, so ready to

forgive. But what's the context?

Of Second Corinthians chapter 6 being unequally yoked with

2 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

unbelievers. How we live with the.

World How we relate to the world.

How we embrace the world. And so the call.

To the priesthood then, because you are going to handle holy

things. Be holy yourselves is no

different. Today.

Whatever ministry you're a part of is holy.

You may not be wearing a. Garb You may not be limited to

one holy structure, but the Church is holy, your service to

the Lord is holy, and God requires holiness for Him to

bless it. Let's read on.

Back in Ezra chapter 8, look at verse 30.

Ezra 8 · chapter mention

So the priest and the Levites took over the weight of the

silver and the gold and the vessels to bring them to

Jerusalem, to the House of our God.

Then we departed from the river Ahava on the 12th day of the

first month to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us,

and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from

ambushes. By the way, look.

Again at verse 30. One, we departed from the river

Ahava on the 12th day of the first month.

You know, Ezra tells us. When they left Babylonia

altogether back in Chapter 7, look at Chapter 7.

Look at verse 9. For on the first day of the

first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first

day of the 5th month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of

his God was on him. So Ezra remained at a hava for

12 days. I mean, you have to remember

that he sent leading men back to get Levites.

They fasted and prayed for a few days.

But what moves me is just the meticulous accounting of this

man. He's very.

Detailed and it made it made me wonder if this is a reflection

of just how studious he was and if it showed in his study of

God's word. He was so so careful, but he

wasn't just careful in how he recorded things and archived

moments and historical things. He was also careful to give

glory to God. What does he do in verse 31 it.

Says here that the hand of our God was.

On us and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from

ambushes. By the way, Ezra was very

diligent to seek the Lord when they left the Hava.

We're going to fast and pray. It doesn't matter if we have

the. Funds.

It doesn't matter if we have all the people in the right places,

we need God. But when he got.

There he was just as diligent to give him the credit for it.

To thank him for. It to praise him for it and to

point people to him for it. And one of the things.

That I learned a few years ago just reading this Bible cover to

cover, is that humanity, especially believers, have a

tendency to be so fervent to ask God for something and lose that

fervency when He comes through to thank Him for it.

Ezra was careful. Ezra was careful.

Tonight, get so caught. Up in the moment that he failed

to understand that this is because of God.

Every step of the way. God's hand was on this man's

life because he sought God all along.

Now we see something else here. They rested for three days.

In verse 32 we came to Jerusalem and there we remained 3 days.

I'm just moved by the. Fact that Ezra got there.

Imagine he was. Born in in Babylonia and all the

things that he read and all the testimonies that he heard, and

now face to face with the Holy city, there in person his dreams

come true. And the first order.

Of business is what we find in verse 33.

On the 4th day, after relaxing and resting for a few, on the

4th day within the House of our God, the silver and the gold and

the vessels were weighed into the hands of Miramoth the priest

son of Uriah, and with him Eliezer the son of Phineas.

And with them were the Levites, Joseph Bad, the son of Joshua,

and Noah, Diya the son of Binui. The whole was counted and

weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

At that time, those. Who had come from captivity, The

return exiles offered burnt offering to the God of Israel.

12 Bulls. For all Israel. 96 Rams, 77

lambs, and as a sin offering, 12 male goats.

All this was a burnt offering to the Lord.

They also delivered the King's commissions to the King's

satraps and to the governors of the province beyond the river.

And they aided the people and the House of God.

You know, Ezra really wants to make sure that you and I

understand that the money, the silver, the gold, the materials

that they counted and distributed to certain men made

its way to Jerusalem and there is no discrepancies.

The fact I think. Verse 34 is the verse that we

should be focusing on. The whole was counted and

weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

That becomes even more. Meaningful.

When you go back to verse 29 and see what he told the priest,

look at verse 29 of Ezra 8. He tells them guard them and

keep them until that word is so important until until you weigh

them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of

fathers houses in Israel, Jerusalem, within the chambers

of the House of the Lord. There isn't until for the

sanctity and the carefulness of these priests and Levites.

They understood. They were holding what they were

called to us holy, and they were to guard and keep them until

they arrive safely to their destination.

And I want to remind you today that there is an until for Your

Holiness and mine. The Bible, actually.

Teaches us even though we are blood bought, even though we are

freely forgiven, and that we are secure in the salvation.

There is a day of accounting for each of us.

There is a day. Where the things that we were

responsible for that God has called us to will be measured,

we'll be evaluated, we'll be examined.

The way I like to put it, without sounding too casual, is

that there is a time coming where me and the Lord Jesus

Christ are going to have a conversation about my life,

thankfully not about my salvation.

Because that's determined. And that has been set by His

grace. But we are going to talk about

what I did with that salvation, and so will you.

There isn't until for your holiness and mine.

Paul put it this way in Romans 14 verse 12.

Romans 14:12

He tells these. Believers.

So then each of us. I love that he didn't say each

of you. He said each of us, including

the Apostle Paul. So then each of us.

Will give an account of himself to God.

Is he talking to non believers here?

He's talking to Christians. Couple of verses before he.

Says that we will all stand before the judgement seat of

God. Wait, I thought that Christ

absorbed my judgement. He did.

Concerning your eternal destination.

But once again, there's going. To be an evaluation of what you

did with your Christianity. So I take the charge.

Of Ezra 829 and I apply it to my life now on this Friday night.

Guard them and keep them guard. Guard your heart.

You know, if you want to take it a.

Step further in the New Testament.

Yes, we're all called to be a priesthood.

But the Bible also says. That we are holy vessels.

The priests in the old. Testament were holy and they

handled holy vessels. We are both the priesthood and

the vessels. There's nothing.

Holy about this, right? Nothing.

You're the holy vessel. I'm the holy vessel.

So guard it. Guard your heart.

Guard your eyes, guard your ears, guard guard your mind.

Keep them until until the day we're we give an account.

So then each of us will give an. Account of himself to God.

Don't let your guard. Down.

You know, it's amazing how every.

Week. These Bible studies end

differently sometimes. Similarly, sometimes the final

thought is one of great encouragement that God's

faithfulness for you is beyond your imagination.

You can rest in him. And there are other times, like

tonight, where God wants us to perk up and be reminded that

holiness is real, Holiness is serious to God.

Holiness is important to God. You know.

What's interesting about Paul mentioning this in Romans

Romans 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14? Romans chapter 14 deals with

Romans 14 · chapter mention

disagreements among believers in the church who have different

kind of convictions. There were some Christians among

the Romans who said this day is holier than any other day.

Why aren't you honoring? This day as holy, why aren't you

honoring the Sabbath like in the Old Testament?

And Paul says, hey, listen in. The new covenant you may honor

one day as more holy than the other, but don't judge each

other for that. Well, what about the food?

This food is unclean. This food is clean.

And yet other Christians saying Christ made all things clean.

And they began to. Judge each other's spirituality

based on these convictions. And Paul gives them many.

Many, many, many instructions. And then he warns them.

Do you understand that one day you you each are going to have

to give yourself to God and explain your life?

So God. Looks at each of our convictions

and and if there's sincere convictions, he'll hold us

accountable to them. But more than that, God's going

to hold you and I accountable of how we treat one another.

So all the backbiting. And the murmuring and the

unforgiveness. And do you think God's going to

let believers enter into heaven without reconciliation?

That would be strange, wouldn't it?

Is it possible for? Christians to die without

reconciling with one another? Very possible.

I think there are going to be some very, very sobering

conversations before the judgement seat of Christ.

So guard, keep, how do I guard and keep in the same way that

these priests and Levites said, until, until you stand before

the priests and Levites in the chambers of our, of our God.

And you were able to say, here it is.

And in the same way. Let me ask you this in closing.

How often do you think about the judgement seat of Christ?

When's the last time you thought about?

It. We think about a lot of.

Appointments some of us are better than others about how we

keep our appointments with our calendars and.

There's one appointment. That you can never forget, that

you're going to have and you can't change it, can't

reschedule it. It's set.

And that's with Christ. And Paul uses the judgement

seat, the judgement seat of Christ, as a motivating factor

for holiness. Today, if you and I do.

Everything that we do in light of the fact that we're going to

have to talk to Christ about it. One day you're going to think

twice. I'm going to think twice.

One day I'm going to have to talk to the Lord about how I

treated so and so. I might as well deal with it now

then, then. You know, I had these gifts.

That I believe God has given to me, but I just.

Don't feel like really using. Them OK.

You might get away with it now. But one day the Lord's going to

say, What did you do with the gifts I've given you?

Let's sit there and let that truth do its work in our hearts.

Ezra and his team were able to successfully make it to their

destination with no need to be embarrassed, no need to be

ashamed, with no loss. And the New Testament teaches

that it's possible to gain salvation but suffer loss

because we didn't take our holiness seriously.

But if you want to take it seriously, Ezra shows us that

you can humble yourself and pray for God's hand on your life to

not just protect you, your children, and your resources

from thieves and troublemakers, but even to protect your

holiness. And your purity.

And your relationships and your witness.

God is willing to empower us in what seems to be impossible and

make it possible and give you more reason to rejoice in Him

that not only because He died for you and forgave your sin,

but He can now also give you the power to live in victory.

This is the complete gospel. Let's thank Him for it, but we

thank you for tonight. We bless you tonight.

We thank you. How we don't know what to

expect. With a particular.

Passage that we are just going through faithfully week by week,

but we can always expect that you will speak to us.

And Lord, tonight we've. Heard your word, we are holy and

what we do for you is holy, so help us live holy.

Lord, if there's any sin. In our lives that we have

justified or we have not resisted, in your power, may you

use the truth tonight to give us victory, to give us real

victory. And Lord, May 1.

Of the things that get us moving in that direction is the thought

that we want your purpose for our lives.

We want to serve you. We don't want to disqualify

ourselves. We don't want to throw away

opportunities. We want to be ready when.

You're ready to promote someone when you're ready to use someone

or send someone. Your word tells us that those

who are clean are ready for the Master's.

Use so help us be clean. Help us also understand that

when we splash ourselves with dirt or filth that we can come

to you freely and you were willing to wash us and cleanse

us. So that we love you.

Tonight we thank you for these incredible truths and we pray to

believe in that. You hear our entreaty.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Let's stand and let's worship

the Lord together and thank Him. That he's willing to help us.

In our Holiness.