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There Is Hope

Ezra 10:1-2 ¹ Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. ² And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

Having recognized that human nature is much like that of a dog who returns to his vomit or the sow who returns to her wallowing in the mire, what is the proper response? Obviously, it's not to excuse our disobedience the word of God. Again, we didn't lose our human nature when we got saved, but God did give us a new nature – one that desires to please Him and obey Him and glorify Him by living in victory over the sins that once had us bound.

Ezra 10 follows up on Ezra 9 with this glorious truth: there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. What do you do when you find yourself slipping back into those old ways you left when you met Jesus? What do you do when confronted with the fact that you've returned to those old habits you thought you had conquered long ago? What do you when you realize you've stopped pursuing righteousness and iniquity is right on your heels (2 Timothy 2:22)?

Assuming that you don't excuse it, you don't give in to it, and you don't give up on fighting it, there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

The first thing you need is someone to confront you about your sin. Ezra 10:10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. Isaiah 58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

Do you have a preacher who is more concerned with pleasing God than he is with building a church and is faithful to the call of God on his life to call sin out for what it is? Then thank God for it. That means you still have hope in this battle called this Christian life. Are you surrounded by friends that care about doing right and living clean and are interested enough in pushing you that direction to point out when something's wrong in your life? Then thank God for it. Without that, you're without hope in your struggle against sin.

Having been confronted, the next thing you need is to make confession. Ezra 10:11 Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Take that thing to the Lord. Yes, He already knows about it, but He wants you to tell Him about it anyway. Yes, you're already forgiven. No, you're not going to hell. But you need to go to God and get that thing right. When the Lord's dealing with your heart about something, you need to take care of that thing immediately. Don't wait until you get home Sunday afternoon, go down to the altar and do business with God. Don't put it off until your goodnight prayer time, get before the Lord wherever you can and confess that thing to Him.

Then you need to come up with a strategy for getting that thing right. Ezra 10:11 and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. The process doesn't stop with confession. Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

What led me to where I am and how can I avoid it in the future? In what areas am I especially tempted, and how can I steer clear of those temptations? Who do I need to separate from? What do I need to cut out of my life? Make some definite decisions about what you can do to keep yourself from going back to the things that once had you in bondage, by the grace of God.

And the last thing you need is the courage to go forward. Ezra 10:4 Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. Proverbs 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Don't just confess your sin. Don't just come up with a way to fight that sin. Put the plan into action. Be of good courage, and do it. May God help us see that, though so easily beset by sin, there is hope of living in victory over it.

Return TO Captivity

The book of Ezra focuses on the rebuilding of the temple that took place following the Babylonian captivity.

A first group of Jews returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel during the days of Cyrus the king (chapters 1-2). Under Zerubbabel's leadership, the altar of sacrifice was reestablished, and the foundation of the temple was laid (chapter 3). In chapter 4, the adversaries of Judah rise up in opposition to the rebuilding of the temple and are successful in having the work suspended, by order of Artaxerxes.

The work was taken up again due to the prompting of God's prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and the confirmation of Cyrus' decree by King Darius (chapters 5-6). Sometime later, Ezra, the ready scribe with a prepared heart (7:6-10) leads a second group back to the land and returns the vessels of service to the house of the Lord (chapters 7-8).

The book concludes in chapters 9 and 10 with a depressing but instructive glimpse at human nature.

A little review before we jump in. What is the book about? The rebuilding of the temple upon the return from Babylonian captivity. Why were the Jews in captivity? For forsaking the genuine worship of the one true God and following after the gods of the heathen. What led them to do that? Mingling themselves with the people of the land instead of destroying them like God had commanded.

Guess what the people are doing before the book that describes their return from captivity is even finished? The very thing that led to their captivity in the first place.

Ezra 9:1-3 ¹ Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ² For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. ³ And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.

The rest of the chapter records Ezra's prayer of confession. Here's how he wraps it up:

Ezra 9:13-15 ¹³ And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; ¹⁴ Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? ¹⁵ O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

Before we leave the scene shaking our heads in disgust and disbelief, let's take a moment to recognize that we're often guilty of the same. Has not God punished us less than our iniquities deserve? Has not God given us a great deliverance? Has He not saved us from our sins by His marvelous grace?

And have we not been often drawn back into the very things that condemned us? Have we not often returned to the very sins that put us in danger of everlasting judgment? Yeah, we're clean escaped, but every now and again for some strange reason, that pile of vomit we left not long ago starts to look inviting (2 Peter 2:20-22).

That's human nature. But by the power of the indwelling Christ (something we have these Jews didn't), we are called to live above human nature.

God give us more Ezras who tremble at the word of God (9:4) and pray and confess and weep (9:5; 10:1) and strive against sin (Hebrews 12:4) in our homes, in our churches, in our individual lives. Amen.

Lessons from Riley Grace

Well, as many of you know, our little Riley Grace made her safe arrival into this world last Tuesday night (March 23). She weighed 6 lbs 6 oz and measured 19½ inches long. Mother and baby are both doing very well. All praise be to God!

Many people told us throughout the course of Lauren’s pregnancy that once our first little girl was born “life would never be the same.” I never doubted them. I just didn’t have any clue exactly what they meant.

Well, they were right. The blessing of being a parent totally changes everything. And there really is no better way to describe it than to say that “life will never be the same.” And that’s a good thing.

Just a couple quick things that have been on my mind the past week.

1. God really does answer prayer. Throughout the course of Lauren’s pregnancy and the entire 18+ hours of labor and delivery, we prayed some very specific prayers, and the Lord graciously granted some very specific answers. He didn’t have to, but He did. And we’re thankful for it.

2. I understand that we will never be able understand or explain or comprehend the “love of Christ, which passeth knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19), but I believe that watching the birth of my little girl last Tuesday night maybe inched me just a little bit closer. It seems the best example God can give of His love for us is the love of a parent for his child. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him” (Psalm 103:13).

At the risk of sounding gushy, there is absolutely no way to describe the wave of love that completely overwhelmed me the moment my wife gave birth to little Riley. I mean I absolutely lost it the moment my little girl was born, and there’s just absolutely no way to describe the intensity of the love that has filled our hearts for this precious little gift from God.

If I can feel that strong and indescribable of a love for my little child as a weak, depraved, fallen human being, then “behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we might be called the sons of God…” (1 John 3:2).

If you ever come to the place where you doubt God’s love for you, either consider becoming a parent ;) or if you already are, think back to the day when your little child was born and you caught a slight, little glimpse of the amazing love God has for you.

Praise His name!

Lord willing, I’ll pick back up with regular posting in the very near future. In the meantime, please be in prayer for the 3rd annual youth rally at THE BIBLE Baptist Church on Saturday, April 17. We don’t just want to have fun or host an organized and efficient meeting, we want God to do a work in the life of some young person that will mean something in eternity.

PRESS TOWARD THE MARK!

God Will Judge

Just a quick Bible note for those who are interested in that type of thing. There are 3 places I’ve been shown or have come across in the Bible where the Lord’s commandment or warning regarding a particular sin includes a definite, unmistakable promise of judgment. I’m not saying that God is not serious about the sins I commit, but He leaves no question as to the fact that He’s serious about these things:

--blaspheming His name

--corrupting the marriage bed

--troubling Christians

Let me know if you come across any others.

Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

Galatians 5:10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

All These Things Are Against Me

Went to a preachers’ fellowship meeting last Tuesday, hosted by Astatula Baptist Church and Pastor Travis Lane. Heard some good preaching and enjoyed some good fellowship. Two of the speakers I had heard much about but had never heard preach: Glenn Riggs, pastor of Starlight Baptist Church in Orlando, FL, and Mickey Carter, pastor/founder of Landmark Baptist Church and College in Haines City, FL.

It was a blessing to hear an old saint (Bro. Carter) who has fought long and hard still standing strong on the word of God and excited about the Lord’s return.

Bro. Riggs preached from Genesis 42:36, where Jacob makes a statement many of us feel we can identify with from time to time: “All these things are against me.” He made some great points from the passage, so I wanted to pass along my notes.

INTRODUCTION: It sure looked this way in Jacob’s life at this point, but things are not always what they seem. Because “as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7),” our attitude is so important.

1. There are and will be times in our lives, especially in the ministry, when it seems as if “all things are against us.” But it’s never quite as bad as we think it’s going to be.

2. In such times, we must never forget the lessons of the past. Many examples of God’s blessing and intervention in Jacob’s life. “In times like these it always help to remember that there have always been times like these” (Paul Harvey).

3. Our disadvantages often turn out to be our greatest opportunities. Nothing Jacob said in this verse was true. “Joseph is not.” He was. Bro. Riggs put it this way: “In fact, you ain’t gonna believe how is Joseph is.” Next, “Simeon is not.” But he was. And “ye will take Benjamin away.” That’s not at all what happened. In reality, God was about to turn everything around and do something great in Jacob’s life.

In Genesis 42:36, Jacob said, “All these things are against me.”

But in Romans 8:28, the Bible says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Then in verse 31, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Praise the Lord!

Bearing Burdens

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. Quick entry here. Brother James preached an excellent message last Sunday morning from Galatians 6 on the subject of bearing burdens. Click here to listen.

Give some thought to these convicting questions from Job 26:2-4.

• How hast thou helped him that is without power?
• How savest thou the arm that hath no strength?
• How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom?
• How hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?
• To whom hast thou uttered words? And whose spirit came from thee?

May the Lord richly bless your service in His name.