Ezra - Build, Despite Ancient Enemies

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Ezra 4: 1- 2 (KJV)

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel;

Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do, and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.

• Following the completion of the ALTAR of God individually and collectively, the people started to build the TEMPLE of God (Ezra 3:8-13) by laying the foundation with praises and adoration unto God - the BUILDER of all things. This attracted the adversaries (enemies) into their midst.

• It is worthy of note that 'our adversary – the devil' hates the men of God with a passion because of their faith and their commitments to their faith. He will therefore seek every avenue to partner with them in an attempt to retard the work God has committed into their hands - 1^st Peter 5:8.

• Due to the glory that accompanies building for God, satan will always rage and the gates of hell will always fight to drag/slow down the work; or even stop the work completely. But those that are violent in Christ will surely overcome the violence from the devil – Matthew 11:12.

• One of the avenues the devil uses to discourage men from building for the Lord is by playing back all the areas they have failed in their endeavours...he presents a false representation of self to them in a way that will impact on them significantly in a negative way. But thanks be to God for the triumphant victory in Christ Jesus at all times - 2^nd Corinthians 2:14.

 Prayer:

• Thank God for counting our men worthy to be co-builders with Him. Thank God for not looking at their slackness in His work before committing this great work of building into their hands. Thank Him for baptising them with the Holy Spirit to build for His Kingdom.

• God, please block every doorway of opposition within and without in the lives of our men. Lord, deal with every household wickedness that is sponsoring the activities of any familiar spirit or monitoring spirit in every area of their lives. Lord, pull down every stronghold of wickedness in the lives of our men.

• Lord, please put an end to all direct or indirect evil partnership with our men. Grant them the courage to refuse every offer from the pit of hell. Strengthen their arms to bruise the head of the serpent in all forms and shapes at all times.

• Lord, rid the lives of our men of any legal ground for the operation of the enemy. Deliver them completely from the yoke of bad names. Begin to call them the NEW NAMES that Heaven has recorded for them, so they can fulfil destiny.

• Lord, grant our men the Grace to trust in You at all times. Let them know Your goodness as they build, Your glory that excels in all things and grant them divine backing at all times.

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Summary of Ezra 3

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Vs. 1 The people (in their thousands) gathered together as one man in Jerusalem; only because they were first ONE with God.

• Bring our men out of captivity and make them ONE with GOD.

Vs. 2 -7 The first duty after leaving captivity was to build an altar as it was written in the Law of Moses

• Don’t allow our men to be engaged in any project; ministry or ordination post Babylon. Let their first duty be to stand on the altar of the FULL gospel; restore their relationship with CHRIST on the altar of prayer, the Word, Worship and sacrifice.
• Help them diligently search the scriptures so that they build on CHRIST the Solid Rock and allow JESUS to be formed in them.

Vs. 8 Building of the physical temple started months after they arrived in Jerusalem.

• Let our men see the relevance of their waiting period. Bring them into their quarry experience/ dark room for moulding; sharpening and refining.
• Succeed and make profit over their heart and life.

Vs. 9-11 Jesus, let us see the miracle where not only our men arise but their sons, brothers and brethren.

• Bring all of our men into CHRIST. Let there always be a generation of our men that will follow CHRIST.
• Help our men stand in their divine role as builders of destinies; priests/watchmen and intercessors over lives and Levites who bring down the tangible presence of God.
• The nations/people that have been groaning will rejoice because ALL our men Arise, to lay the foundation of the FULL gospel of JESUS again.
• We will see revival because our men will tender their lives as ditches to be dug into, and Jesus, becomes the foundation on which every man stands.

Vs 12-13 There were mixed emotions- shouts of joy (young men) and sounds of weeping (ancient/old men).

• Holy Spirit, move our hearts both to rejoice over the goodness of Christ’s grace that has appeared to us all, and to grieve over the sins that made Christ become flesh to deal with Mr Iniquity.

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Ezra - Rebuilding the Temple

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Ezra 3: 8-10

Vs. 8- Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the Lord.

• Erecting an altar to restore worship with God was urgent and most paramount. This could not wait.
• The men waited several months before work commenced on the physical temple.
• Delay in re-building of the temple was neither due to lack of finances nor materials (Ezra 1:4, 6-11; 2:68; 3:7).
• Jesus would not release a man to commence work on any external work, when our inner lives are still in ruins. Reconnecting with God took several months. Their obedience to leave captivity was just the first step.
• Even when the call to Arise and Build was clear; these men still needed to come into a quarry experience for decluttering and moulding; seek God and wait for instructions/approval on when and how to build according to pattern.
• Oneness amongst the men was the result of God working on their hearts, as well as renewing their minds whilst waiting.

• Even when the call on our men is clear, let their hearts be open, pliable and surrendered to God’s outworking on their lives.
• Let their expectations be of the LORD.
• Lord, let our men know that their times are in God’s hands.
• Help our men maximize and value their dark room/quarry experience instead of seeing it as a waste of time. Make it clear that their inner lives are of utmost importance to Christ.
• Even when they have the resources to build; cause our men to still wait on Jesus for instructions on how and when to build.

Vs 9 - Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

Fathers, sons, brothers and brethren all arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God.

• Jesus, find expression and continuity in all of our men- Fathers, sons, brothers and brethren.
• Don't allow our sons to arise but our fathers are asleep in Babylon.
• In every generation, LORD please capture the heart of all our men so that they can be disciples indeed who arise as ONE.

Vs. 10 - When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel.

• Help our men bend down to lay the foundation of Christ as the Chief cornerstone; builders of destiny; intercessors/priests over their home; Levites that bring down the very presence of God. All these done not by power or might but by the Holy Spirit.
• Cause our men to stand in the authority that Christ has bestowed on them.
• Cause our men to appreciate the diversities amongst them without breaking ranks.
• Let the set-up and standard of their labour be CHRIST.

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Ezra - God's Standard for Rebuilding

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Ezra 1: 1 – 7

The rebuilding done by the Israelites, following their return from Babylon after 70 years was remarkable. Operating in sorrow and joy, they were able to gather in one accord to build unto the Lord; following the standard of God.

1. On their return, their hands were full of businesses to provide for themselves and their families; but these were not excuses for them to refrain from building as commanded.
2. Their holy zeal for the things of God, made them see all other areas of their lives as secondary to the paramount call of heaven. Matthew 6:33
3. They could not build a temple immediately, but they could not be without an ALTAR! They made good use of their fears in building an altar as a matter of urgency.
4. They built on the same foundation, at the same place and on the same bases in order to follow God's requirements, in meeting the standard of Heaven. 1^st Corinthians 3:11 and1^st Corinthians 10:1-4

Prayer:

• Lord, increase the zeal of our men for the things that pertain to God. Deliver them from all forms of excuses (no matter how genuine), that are taking them away from heeding the call of heaven in their lives. Let them trust in Your supernatural provision.
•  As the life of Jesus is an Altar made ready for us, Lord please help our men to make “an altar” ready through their lives as “one man” for their generation and generations to come. Let them build on the same foundation as laid down by our Lord Jesus Christ. Release a fresh spark, that will fire them up for the service of God into their lives.
•  Lord, please open the eyes of our men to the urgency in building with You for their generation and generations after them. Let the fear of God drive them into purposeful building for Your Kingdom. Help them to put the glories of this world behind, and set the CROSS of Jesus before them at all times.
•  Lord, let the lives of our men meet Your requirements at all times. Make Your standard their daily code, and help them to obey the instructions of heaven without delay. Grant them divine ability to approach You faithfully and to perfect holiness in the fear of God always.

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Ezra - Rebuilding the Altar

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Ezra 3:2-6

Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. ³ Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. ⁴ Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. ⁵ After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the Lord. ⁶ On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.

• The proclamation of God through King Cyrus was for men to arise and build a temple for HIM in Jerusalem.
• Jerusalem was desolate, abandoned, the men were fearful of the people around; the city walls and gates in ruins; notwithstanding that the first action for the men was to build an altar. The natural man may have focused first on rebuilding the city walls to protect themselves.
• They searched the scriptures and found what was written in the Law of Moses.  Leviticus 1-8 & 23
• They not only returned to the land, they also returned to the Law of Moses.
• The Bible was their final authority so that neither the ideas nor opinions of individuals factored into their decision on how to build the Temple.
• The focus must never first be how to protect and nourish our lives- the first port of call ought to be the ALTAR- the place of sacrifice; the place of communion; the place of rededication and repentance. The Word of God (JESUS) ought to be the final authority that dictates all we do.

 Prayer Points

• Let the hearts of our men return both to JESUS and HIS Word.
• Let JESUS (the Word) be the final authority in the lives of our men.
• Make our men those who search the scriptures, to find out what is written concerning them and help them pursue that instruction to the end.
• Open their eyes to see that putting their spiritual lives in order is of higher priority than national defence.
• Let our men enjoy the blessing of YOUR protection as they seek to put CHRIST first.
• Notwithstanding the fears; threats; logical sense; lack etc., help them focus on standing on the altar of the FULL GOSPEL.
• The altar symbolises sacrifice; a place of repentance, re-dedication & de-cluttering; and a place of communion. Bring these virtues to bear in a definite way in our men. The altar must not just become a formality for them.
• Cause the Word of God (JESUS), to dwell richly in their hearts such that HE prevails over the decision on how to build instead of individual ideas or opinions.
• In accordance with what is written, let our men arise and build- step into their labour and inheritance.

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Ezra - Oneness, Prerequisite for Revival

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Ezra 3:1

And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

All of the men who arose must have been:

·         Confronted with uncertainty as they returned to Jerusalem

·         Exposed to myriad challenges whilst in Babylon that could have easily marred them

·         Different ages, tribes, status and experiences (Ezra 2:2-68).

Despite their differences in background; challenges or experiences; they all had a common thread that set them apart- ONENESS.

•   Different men but ONE in their responses- God moved on their spirits and they arose to go up and build (Ezra 1:5)
• Oneness in vision and mission- To build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem
• Gathered together as one man- Regardless of whether one man was a slave and the other a representative of heads of families; Israelite by Family origin vs. Unknown origin; Forgotten ones vs. Leaders.
• One in Faith- Trusted in God for provisions, skill set and know-how to start and complete the assignment

Revival inevitably breaks forth and the heavens are opened when men who respond to God’s call to build ‘gather together as ONE- e.g., Disciples in the Acts of Apostles; John Knox; Rees Howells; Watchman Nee. It is in this unity of Spirit that God commands His blessing (Psalm 133; Acts 2:1; Acts 2:42-47; Acts 4:23-31)

Possible delays in Revival

• A man cannot be a tool for revival if he is not first ONE with Christ.
•  Delays in any man’s obedience can cause a ripple effect delay on all the lives he’s suppose to impart.
• Men who bypass God’s call will only attempt to artificially gather together other men- this does not result in revival even though lives may have been blessed as a result.
• The devil tries to stifle the gathering together of men who have responded to God and are one in vision, faith and end goal.

Prayer Points

• We bring all our Ezra’s before YOU- make them rooted, grounded and established inside CHRIST.
• Cause them to be one with YOU.
•  Disrupt every journey to Damascus and divert them to JERUSALEM- THE CITY OF OUR GOD.
• Lord, accelerate Your work in the heart and lives of our Ezras so that revival will not tarry any longer on their account.
•  Remove any obstacle in the heart of our Ezra that promotes disobedience; undue hesitation to respond to God; remove every veil that makes them not embrace JESUS; fear of lack or unknown; short sightedness and coldness in spirit.
• Move on the heart of my Ezra and cause him to arise and build like YOU did for others who have gone ahead of him - Ezra 1:5
•  Cause our Ezra to follow the example of their BIG brother Jesus – who was one with God and the HOLY SPIRIT. Make my Ezra, one in passion, vision, mission, faith, love like Jesus  
•   Let us see in our days the exponential effect of all our Ezras' coming together as one man for the cause of Christ.
•   Let ACTS 2:42-47 become our reality.
•   Grant us the privilege of seeing our Ezra’s stand out as God’s representatives.
• Rebuke every attempt of the enemy to sow discord as our Ezra gather together as one man

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Ezra - Men who Heed the Call

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Ezra 2:1

• Responding to God’s call to arise and build is a call to follow Jesus and come up and out of captivity.

Ezra 2: 2 - 68

• Men, who arose and returned to Jerusalem and Judah to rebuild the temple, gladdened the heart of God.
• Those men knew they were never to return to Babylon.
• God is particular and deliberate in His dealings with each of our Ezra’s which is why He allowed and allotted 64 verses to list their names.
• God’s call to arise and build is extended to all men - no clan, tribe, tongue or class is exempt.

A look at the diversity of men who arose

Ezra 2:2  Leaders – Pastors; Bishops; Clergy; Prophets; Teachers; Governors; Senators; Commissioners; Chiefs; Princes; Princesses; Mayors; Queens; Kings; Prime Ministers & Celebrities

Ezra 2: 3-20 Israelites by families of origin - Spiritual adoption (gentiles whether born again now or not) or Jews by birth

Ezra 2: 21-35  Israelites by places of origin- Men from all nations, tribe or tongue

Ezra 2: 36-39 Priestly families

Ezra 2: 40 Levites

Ezra 2: 41 Singers

Ezra 2: 42 Porters; Gate keepers; Security guards.

Ezra 2: 43-54 Temple support workers- workers & ministers in different denominations

Ezra 2: 55-58 King Solomon’s official/servants-professionals; business men & civil servants

Ezra 2: 59-60 Ethnic minorities - Foreigners and  Refugees

Ezra 2: 61-63 Priests who naturalised as citizens via marriage & illegal or unknown origin

Ezra 2: 64-65 Slaves; Prisoners; forgotten ones & persecuted

Ezra 2: 68 Heads of families

Prayer Points

• Let there be a tangible effect to all our men, who will heed the call to arise and build.
• Please do not allow any of our Ezra’s quit half way. Help them go all the way- Holy Spirit, walk with them till the very end.
• Do not let our Ezra forsake Jesus like Demas, or betray Him like Judas or even despise their birthright like Esau.
• We do not want the names of our Ezra to be erased from God’s list
• Lord, send us Ezras' from all walks of life as seen in Ezra 2. Let none be too big to respond to You. 

Come Die, Come Live (If anyone wants to come after me)

If anyone wants to come after me  

Let them say 'no' to their own way
If anyone wants to be my disciple  
Let them say 'no' to their own way

Come die, come live 
This is true freedom 
Come die, come live 
Lay down your own life and follow 
Lay down your own life and follow

Whoever fights for the rights to their own life  
Will lose it both now and forever
Whoever lays down their own life for my sake
Will find it and keep it forever

Graham Kendrick

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