Ezra
6: 13-22
Vs.
4-12
God
arose on behalf of HIS people; expending all means possible so that the work of
building was not truncated. Even today, God’s commitment has not dwindled; HE
is passionate and ever ready to see to it that the work of building (first our
lives and many others) is not aborted.
Vs.
14
So
the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the
prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built
and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and
according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
ü Only the Jews (the Redeemed)
are instructed to build (make disciples of all nations).
ü They prospered in this through
submission to human agents and instruments that God released to help mould and
make them (disciplers).
ü They started and completed
their assignment under the leadership of CHRIST and following the commandment
FIRST of the God of Israel and then, of men.
l Fulfil Your desire Lord, of
making our men matured disciples whom You can entrust lives unto.
l Grant them receptive hearts
that graciously submit to discipleship.
l Help them run and finish their
race well inside Christ.
Vs.
15-18
Now
the temple was finished on the third day of the
month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. 16 Then
the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the
descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication
of this house of God with joy. 17 And they offered
sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls,
two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel
twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 They
assigned the priests to their divisions and the Levites to their divisions,
over the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.
ü There is always cause to
rejoice when a man fulfils destiny. We are carriers of the life of JESUS. When
we allow HIM complete HIS work in us - the world rejoices; light shines and
darkness cannot comprehend it; HIS GLORY fills the earth.
ü God longs to see men stand on
the full and complete Gospel. HIS heart is grieved when men settle for less and
are reduced to shacks; abandoned/uncompleted property; or just a mere foundation
without walls.
ü Our men are God’s priest and
Levites commissioned to make disciples that are built up and complete inside
CHRIST.
ü God has called our men to be
co-labourers with HIM. Men who labour to celebrate the dedication of
lives/hearts to God with JOY, both here on earth and in heaven.
l Our men will heed God’s call
on their lives early and also finish well.
l Our men will not comfortably
or ignorantly stand on sinking sand but on the full and complete Gospel.
l We release our men to fulfil
their mandate of dedicating disciples indeed, back to their Maker.
Vs.
19-22
19
And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of
the first month. 20 For the priests and the Levites had
purified themselves; all of them were ritually clean.
And they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants of the
captivity, for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. 21 Then the
children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all
who had separated themselves from the filth of the
nations of the land in order to seek the Lord God of Israel. 22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened
Bread seven days with joy; for the Lord made them
joyful, and turned the heart of the king of
Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the
work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
ü Make our men disciples indeed,
who set themselves apart, and begin to lament for their nations.
ü Let the life of JESUS in our
men be so palpable that the hearts of kings turn to God.
ü Lord, we ask for the hearts of
the heathen as our inheritance.
Join this HeartCry Prayer- Every Tuesday 11.30am-2.30pm (UK time)
Join this HeartCry Prayer- Every Tuesday 11.30am-2.30pm (UK time)
