e-Service - 22 November 2020

  

Mexborough Baptist Church           Sunday 22nd November 2020  

Dear Friends  

We may not be together in our church building on Windhill but, whenever you do this service and wherever you are, our first hymn reminds us that we are One Church, with One Faith, serving One Lord.  We sing together 'Thy hand O God has guided' click on this link  

God has guided us in the past and continues to guide us today and forever.  We sing together 'The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases' click on this link  

Prayer

Father God, we thank you that your love never ceases.  Whatever we do, whatever our circumstances, Your steadfast love never ceases.  You reach out to us to save us, to bless us, to protect us, to guide us, to revive us that we may be your people in spirit and truth, bringing honour and glory to your name.  Be exalted, o God our Father, as we worship you.  Amen.

Let's sing 'Be Exalted O GOD'  click on this link  

Family Corner

There's no craft this week because Lisa has been busy with something else.  Here she is with some exciting news click on this link  

The nights are really drawing in now, and people are beginning to light up their homes with Christmas trees and lights which reminded me of this favourite little song, 'This little light of mine'  click on this link 

Reflections on Ezra

Thank you to Trevor Mather for sharing with us part 2 of his reflections on Ezra.  You will need your Bible handy and you may find a notebook helpful as well....

WHO    

Introducing Ezra last week, I referred to him as a priest, a scribe, an historian and scholar.  As you read the book of Ezra’s 10 chapters, you will find he does not personally appear until chapter 7.  He had gleaned all the previous information from official records and documents.  More than likely Ezra had not been born when the first group of exiles returned to their Judean homeland.  Jewish tradition ascribes this book to Ezra, along with the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles and Nehemiah.  Chronicles was written after the exile period to inspire the returning remnant of Israelites, showing them their amazing spiritual heritage and to see God’s hand at work in their nation’s history.

WHEN   

This returning group arrived in springtime and made settlements to live in.  By the autumn, an altar had been rebuilt to the Lord God among the temple ruins in Jerusalem.  In Ezra ch 3 v 2-4 we read that these Jews, taught by their scriptures, worshipped at the altar.  For those with a sense of history it was a dramatic moment when, for the first time in decades, a burnt offering was again being offered on the altar of sacrifice and the way to a renewed fellowship with God had been opened.  Now preparation work could begin in building the temple.  As members of His church, we can only move in our mission and service, when we apply this principle, “If we are not right with God, our work will not be right for God.”                                                                        

Read Ezra 3 v 11 -13.  The foundations for the new temple had been laid and with it great rejoicing, except for many of the older people who could remember Solomon's Temple, because the rebuilding was on a smaller scale, in fact everything was much smaller.  Among those rejoicing were those filled with disappointment.  ”Oh for the good old days to return”.  Have we ever felt that?  But there were those who saw that this was a time for a new beginning.  New days and years ahead of them in which they could start all over.  The past behind, they give thanks and praise to God for the assurances that His purpose will be fulfilled in spite of human failures.  Let me share this paragraph I read recently:

The Bible teaches us that God is the source of revival, renewal, restoration.  

Let us never forget that God is greater than man’s guilt. His mercy is

mightier than the forces of Satan. From the darkest circumstances

and deepest troubles, His people can look up.

This principle is played out over chapters 4 and 5.  With the foundation of the temple laid and things seem to be progressing well, in comes Satan to try and stop progress.  This land of God’s people has lain desolate through defeat for many years and from our own experiences we know Satan does not give up without a fight the ground he claims as his own.  Read Ezra ch 4 v 1-5.  Who were these enemies of Judah?  Israelites of mixed blood whose ancestors had been left in the Northern Kingdom, Samaritans, when the Assyrians defeated them, as I mentioned last week.  They came to offer help in building the temple.  How subtle Satan is in his work.  Their request is rebuffed by Zerubbabel and you may think this is intolerant, but God had said from the beginning, His people shall have no other gods before Him - Deuteronomy 13 v 4.  These Samaritans were not only people of mixed blood, but also a mixture of beliefs.   

Pause and think -  What are the dangers of accepting other beliefs as the truth?  For more information on this read 2 Kings 17 v 23-41 and John 4 v 22-24.              

In Ezra 4 v 4, we read these enemies are true to their beliefs.  They make the Jews fearful of carrying on with the building of God’s temple.  Fear is one of many tools Satan uses to try to prevent people from fulfilling their purpose - 1 John 4 v 16 -18.  For sixteen years nothing was added to the foundation of the temple.  Letters were going to and fro between the opposition and the Persian rulers to keep the stalemate on track.  THEN GOD STEPS IN - Ch. 5 v 1.  He raises up two men to minister His word to a defeated people, both with a prophetic message - Haggai and Zechariah.  If you have ever wondered where the books of those two prophets fit in, it is here.  Haggai declares God’s word - Haggai ch 1 v 2-3.  He reminds people that they were not waiting for a more favourable time to improve their own houses, but used it as an excuse not to work on the Lord's house.  

Pause and think.  Does this say anything about us?   

Zechariah added a word of encouragement that the Jews should not despise the day of small things, for through this small remnant of God’s people, they will be made many more - Zechariah Ch 2 v 10-11.    These appeals to the people's consciences showed that God is with them and the building of the Lord’s house began afresh.  Like these Jews, let each of us also realise that no believer should ever reason that because he or she cannot do a great deal, they may as well do nothing.  Encouraged by these two prophets the people again start their work of rebuilding the Lord’s House.  Immediately their adversaries renew their efforts to hinder.  This time they influence the Persian official of the whole area to investigate the Jews' building programme and report them to the Persian King.  Now Tattenai, the official, is a man who is fair and honest.  He listened to both sides before making his report.  In it he stated that the Jews claimed that in the past the King at the time, Cyrus, had made a decree for the temple in Jerusalem to be rebuilt - Ezra ch 5 v 13.  In Persian culture, a decree by the king could not be revoked.  The whole report and the king's reply is worth a read - Ezra ch 5 v 6 to ch 6 v 12.  While this is happening, the Jews under Zerubabbel’s lead, continue their work with rapid progress.  What a change of attitude and why?  Through Haggai and Zechariah’s message, their confidence had been renewed.  God was watching over them, and they knew - Ezra ch 5 v 5a.  With a very favourable reply from the Persian King, Tattenai proceeded without delay to aid the Jews to finish the building - Ezra 6 v 13-16.

We need to admit to ourselves that we are utterly dependent upon the power of God if we are to persist until our work for Christ is done.  We need to remind ourselves that God is faithfully working in each of us to complete His work of salvation - Phillipians 1 v 6.  We are to run the race with patience and perseverance, always keeping our eyes on our Lord Jesus, who will give us grace and strength to be good finishers as well as good starters.          We finish with the personal introduction of Ezra into the narrative some eighty years after those first exiles returning to their homeland.  In Babylon Ezra held a position equal to Minister for Jewish Affairs.

HOW   

Sixty years have now passed between Ezra ch 6 and ch 7.  In those years the events mentioned in the book of Esther had happened and Ezra had come to Jerusalem from Babylon.  In chapter 7 v 1-5  the ancestry of Ezra is listed, dating back to Aaron, the chief priest, who was the brother of Moses.  He arrives at a time when the spiritual life of the people had begun once again to ebb and problems raised their head.  The new Persian King of Babylon, Artaxerxes, in conversations with Ezra had given him permission to go to Jerusalem with anyone else who wanted to go with him.  He would finance the journey and furnishings in the temple - from Ezra 7 v 12 - 26.  We extract from the chapters 7 - 10 the kind of man who Ezra was spiritually. His interest in the law and scriptures went beyond knowing it.  He lived it.  He was burdened to teach to others the truth of the scriptures and willing to share the blessings God had given him.  Added to his CV would be preacher, personal worker and missionary.    

Pause and think.  All believers are God’s ambassadors, representing Him in a world that does not know Him.  Remember we are backed by the authority and power of the King of Kings.  We need not apologise for carrying out our great commission in pleading with non-believers to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.    

On Ezra's arrival he found the enthusiasm the Jews had felt under Zerubbabel had long since died down and the Jewish leaders of the time did not realise the spiritual condition of the people until Ezra arrived, for some of them too were guilty of unfaithfulness.  Through Ezra’s preaching and teaching of God’s word, the people became aware of their sinfulness.  They came and began confessing their sinful ways - Ezra ch 9 v 2b – 4.  What he heard shook him to the core.  As a scholar and thinker, Ezra realised that what some of the people had been doing in their relationships with the non-believers would have led eventually to an absorbing of the Jewish race by the larger number of Gentiles.  God’s chosen people would have been obliterated if this practice continued to be permitted.  Ezra saw, in the light of God’s word, the magnitude of what was happening.  He was full of shame.  He was appalled.  He looked upon the people’s sin like God looks upon it.  He must have shared how he felt.  Read ch 9 v 4.   At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, he fell on his knees and prayed.  He felt the pressing weight of the people in sin.  Ezra’s prayer makes reference to how his people were before the exile and God’s grace in restoring them to the place of privilege again, only to find the people of God committing the same sins as their ancestors had before exile.

WHY   

Let me encourage you to read Ezra's prayer of confession for the people, for it is a model prayer that led the people to reform their ways - ch 9 v 5 -15.  For a prayer of confession to be a true prayer, it has to lead to a change of heart that brings repentance, putting the past behind.  In the years to come, this remnant of God’s people changed their ways in regards to obeying the word of God, that would lead up to the time when Jesus came.  Through Ezra and the man he was, there came a time of discipline in Israel’s life towards seeking God - the last revival until the coming of our Lord Jesus.  Ezra had made the word of God the centre for the nation's life in its worship, and the self awareness of being God’s people, set apart to honour and glorify God.  That same Word became flesh and lived among us, full of loving kindness, for we have experienced His grace and mercy in us.  One day we will see His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Heavenly Father.  We too have been set apart to bring honour and glory to God the Father, and to our Saviour, Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Trevor has reminded us that it's not always easy to follow the Lord; temptations and opposition often get in the way of our walk with God.  Our next hymn tells us how to keep going with God.  'Trust and Obey'  click on this link  

Prayers

Thank you to Angela and Cheryl for leading us in our prayers...

Lord, thank you for our family and friends, for the love and friendships we share.  Let us see your face and hear your word in those around us and be true in all our relationships, that we may show your love and generosity to the world. Amen 

Dear Father, in these times when nothing is certain, we can't be with our families, we feel sorry for the situation in care homes. All we seem to hear about are the number of coronavirus cases and the number of people who have died. We might wonder, Father, where you are. Help us to remember that you are here, right in the centre of it all. You are in the hospital wards.  You are in the nursing homes.  You are standing beside everyone who is grieving.  Help us to remember that you calmed the storm for your disciples, and you still do now. Let us not take our eyes off you. Amen 

Lord, we pray for our family and friends, our neighbours at home and at work. The ones we like and those we don't.  For those who are ill.  For those who are troubled or who mourn.  For the oppressed.  For those involved in disaster or war.  Bless and heal them Father in their many troubles, and show us how we may help and show your love. Amen 

Father, we thank you that the worst of times can bring out the best in people. We thank you for the ones we know, and the ones we don't know, who show your love at this time by the compassion they show to others. We pray, Lord, that we will all shine as your light, bringing hope and encouragement to the downhearted and depressed.  We pray these prayers in and through your precious son Jesus. Amen

We close as we began, singing about God's boundless, inexhaustible love and mercy.  "There's A Wideness In God's Mercy"  click on this link 

Benediction

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!