The sermon, titled 'If God Is for Us, Who Can Be Against Us?', explores the events of Ezra chapter 5, where the prophets Haggai and Zechariah inspire the Jews to resume building the temple in Jerusalem after years of inactivity. The sermon emphasizes the theme of obedience to God despite challenges, as seen when Tatni and Shethar Bosni question the authority of the Jews to rebuild. The speaker highlights the importance of God’s guidance and protection, drawing parallels with Romans 8:31, suggesting that true believers are not swayed by opposition. The sermon also discusses God's discipline as an act of love, encouraging believers to embrace divine correction as a sign of sonship. Additionally, it reflects on the steadfastness of the Jewish leaders who, despite opposition, continued their work with the knowledge that God's eye was upon them. The sermon encourages believers to expect challenges to their faith as opportunities for gospel witness, urging them to live fearlessly, knowing that if God is for them, opposition is inconsequential.

The sermon text is chapter 5, 3 through 17. I'm going to read all of chapter 5. Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Ito, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. So Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel and Yeshua, the son of Josadach, rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem and the prophets of God were with them, helping them. At the same time, Tattani, the governor of the region beyond the river, and Shethar Bosni, and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them, who has commanded you to build this temple and finish this wall.

And accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter. This is a copy of the letter that Tathanius sent. The governor of the region beyond the river, and Shethar Bosni and his companions, the Persians who are in the region beyond the river, to Darius the king.

They sent a letter to him in which was written thus, to Darius the king, all peace. Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea to the temple of the great God which is being built with heavy stones and timber is being laid in the walls and this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. Then we asked those elders and spoke thus to them, who commanded you to build this temple and to finish these walls. We also asked them their names to inform you that we might write the names of the men who were chief among them. And thus they returned us an answer saying, we are the servants of God of heaven and earth and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.

But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldean who destroyed this temple and carried the people away to Babylon. However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this house of God. Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem and carried into the temple of Babylon, those King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon, and they were given to one named Shespazar, whom he had made governor. And he said to him, take these articles, go, carry them to the temple site that is in Jerusalem and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site. And the same Cespers are came and laid the foundation of the house of God, which is in Jerusalem.

But from that time, even until now, it has been under construction and it is not finished. Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, Let a search be made in the king's treasure house, which is there in Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us his pleasure concerning this matter. Our God, we thank you for your word. We thank you God for preparing Jason to preach Please God give him strength give him truth of your word to speak to us. May we have ears to hear, eyes to see, your glory, your majesty in this passage.

May you be praised forevermore. In Jesus' name, amen. The title of the sermon this morning is, If God is for us, who can be against us? And I've lifted the title out of Romans chapter 8 verse 31, Paul teaches that there. I think it's the essence of our text today.

It's the essence of the people who think God is for them, are convinced that God is with them, and so they're not afraid to obey God in the face of challenge. So they don't care if someone is against them. They don't care if they're challenged as a result of their obedience, but they are not swayed, they're not moved, they press forward anyway. Last week, We began chapter 5 in verses 1 and 2, and it comes after 15 years of inactivity. After this 15 years of disobedience, God raises up two prophets to stir the people up, to put them back on track.

These two prophets are Haggai and Zechariah. The word of the Lord comes through them. They authoritatively deliver what God says to the people and the leaders of the people, the two names that have been out front again and again in the first four chapters. So, Reuva Bel and Jeshua hear the authoritative word of the Lord and they respond, they obey. They lead the people in obedience and the people begin to do what they left off doing maybe 15 or 16 years before.

So the title of the sermon last week was The Chasening of the Lord. And it's actually about the kindness of God, not to leave us to ourselves when we've drifted away. And not to leave us wallowing in compromise, but to send his word, his authoritative word, through the mouth of his people, through the mouth of his prophets, to stir us up again. And to get us out of that bad rut, that destructive rut of compromise and disobedience. And how merciful it is of God to do that.

It's not an act of hatred on his part. Far from it. It's exactly the opposite of that. It's a mark of his love. It's a mark of sonship.

It's a mark that we're legitimate children. He is real children. So the exhortation last week was, let's embrace the discipline of the Lord. When the Lord sends a word of rebuke, because we're wallowing in compromise, we shouldn't be discouraged by that. Let's not run away from that, let's run towards that.

And the truth of the matter is, in the last three years, God has been sending discipline, and sending discipline, and sending discipline, and confronting us in sin that was secret, bringing that sin to the surface, and forcing us to deal with it. Well, how will we interpret that? We should interpret it that God is dealing with us as sons and not as illegitimate children. And so far from running away from it, we should run towards it. We shouldn't be asking ourselves, Could we withstand one more situation like this?

If God gives us ten more situations like this, may we run towards it. May we be glad that God is treating us as sons and daughters, as real legitimate children. He's not allowing us to wallow in compromise and disobedience, but He's coming in actual kindness and mercy. It's the demonstrated kindness and mercy of God that He would authoritatively say, You're in compromise. You thought it was secret, but it's not secret.

And deal with us in our sin. Praise the Lord that He loves us enough not to let us drift off forever, but that He brings us back. It's his hand of kindness. This week we see that the people have obeyed God, they've heard the prophets, they've obeyed God, and that there's an immediate challenge to their obedience. And we see how the Lord's people respond, and then we're left.

The chapter ends with this letter to Darius the king. And next week, we have an amazing letter of reply from Darius. I can't wait to get to next week. I hope it's a short week. I hope it goes fast.

This letter of reply from the King is an amazing encouragement. Again, that The King's heart is in the hand of the Lord, and he turns it this way or that according to his own good pleasure. So that's next week. As we go to the text this week, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Oh God, give us faith.

Oh God, strengthen our faith. Our faith is weak. It's not what it should be. But I thank you that you keep sending us texts of your holy word to stir us up, to increase our faith. So now may your spirit be unbridled, unrestrained among us, your people, to strengthen our faith, to grow our faith that we would trust in you so wholeheartedly, so joyfully, that we would be so thoroughly convinced that if you're before us, it matters not if the whole world stands against us.

We would rather enjoy your favor. Make us into this kind of people we pray in Jesus name, Amen. So I'm dividing the text into three sections. The first section is just the first verse, verse 3. So Let's read that again together.

Ezra chapter 5 verse 3, At the same time, Tatni the governor of the region beyond the river, and Shethar Bosni and their companions, came to them and spoke thus to them, Who has commanded you to build this temple and finish this wall?" We see here the challenge to the newfound obedience of the Lord's people is immediate. Verse 3 begins with the words, at the same time, right away the obedience is challenged in much the same way as it was challenged before and the result was they stopped. They compromised. They drifted into disobedience. Tatni and Shethar Bosni and their companions come to the Lord's people as they are building the temple.

So what you have here is a governmental delegation, a group from the government coming to see what's going on. And they said, who said you could do this? Now, understand the context. There's the decree in chapter 1 and They begin well. They gather, they come back from Babylon to Jerusalem and Judea.

They begin right away with the building of the altar, with restoring the prescribed worship, the worship that God said, worship this way. And then the people from the north in Samaria come and say, let us build with you, and they say, not on your life. You'll have no part in this work. And so they begin to be undermined by these people that they've insulted by not letting them join in the work. And there's opposition and then nothing.

Nuttin'. For fifteen or sixteen years. And then out of nowhere, it had to have seemed that way to the governor. Sure, he wasn't listening to the prophets. Out of nowhere, all this activity.

Temples being built again. A massive construction project in his jurisdiction starts up. So what would that be like? That would be like a big empty lot in the middle of Raleigh. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

Years go by, empty lot. Then all of a sudden, a massive construction project begins there and the appropriate authorities catch wind of it. One guy is asking another guy in the office, Any permits been pulled for that? Anybody been pulling permits for all this activity that's going down on that empty lot? No, I don't know anything about it.

You can believe our government would be down there wanting to know what was going on. Who had authorized that? Where the permits were? And so it is in our text today. I add to that, that there is a new king.

Haggai and Zechariah say the same thing. They were stirred up by God to prophesy in the second year of the reign of Darius. So he hasn't been king for very long, less than two years. It's in the second year of his reign. So there's a new king and the governor is responsible to this new king.

And you don't want to be caught sleeping at your post when there is a new king. So that serves as the context for this week's text. Here's the larger point. Here's the larger point. So forget about the newness of the king.

Forget about not having pulled permits. The larger point is this. This is what the Lord's people should expect. This is what you should expect when we step out in obedience. When because of being confronted for compromise and disobedience, we are awakened and we change, we act, we do something differently, We get rid of this or we start with that.

You should expect this. This is how it has been throughout the ages. A hundred examples of it in the Bible. When we begin to walk by faith and not by sight, you can believe the enemy of our soul takes notice. There is the world, the flesh, and the devil that stands against obedience to God.

Because true obedience to God is a demonstration of love for God. And so the great enemy of God, Satan, the devil, will always oppose that at the first sign of it, to try to nip it in the bud, to try to catch it early and stop that newfound obedience. In 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 11, Paul says this, again 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 11, he says we are not ignorant of Satan's devices. We are not unaware of what that enemy of our souls is up to and then he says as a consequence he can't take advantage of us. This is how the Lord wants his people to be.

Not ignorant of the devil's devices. Aware of them. On the lookout. Radar up. Understanding how he's always worked to undermine progress in the Lord's people.

Obedience in the Lord's people. A demonstration of love for God in the Lord's people. He hates that. It's his mission to stop that, to oppose that. So we're not to be ignorant of Satan's devices so that he cannot take advantage of us.

This is one of his time tested devices. The minute he sees obedience, he comes against it. He challenges it. He tries to snuff it out. The second division of verses 4 and 5.

Then as you can tell the last division is a whopper. But the second division is just these two verses, four and five. Let's read those again. Ezra chapter five, verses four and five. Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building.

But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter. Here we see obedience in the face of trial. Obedience, immediate challenge, continued obedience. This is so encouraging.

This is the second chance. You've been there. You started something good. It was opposed. It was challenged.

And maybe by degrees, you drifted into disobedience and you compromised and you stopped that good thing. And then The word of the Lord came to you to confront you in it, and you listened and you started to obey, and the cycle began all over again, immediate opposition, an immediate challenge to your obedience. But this time, because you were looking back, you were so ashamed of the drift and the compromise, you said, not this time, oh no, not again, and you persevered. This is what we see happening in our text. What an encouragement to see the Lord's people not get caught by the same thing a second time.

Learning from sins. Listen to me. The story is told when it's time to give your name. The story is told when it's time to give your name, to put your name behind the change and the obedience or not. That's when you find out whether you have a lasting good or not, a lasting obedience or not.

When the challenge comes and it's time to put your name behind your obedience or not. Verse 4 should be taken with verse 10. Verse 10 is the recounting of this by Tatani and he says in verse 10, we also asked them their names to inform you. So this is the elders of the Jews. We also asked them their names to inform you that we might write the names of the men who were chief among you.

So the moment comes, anybody going to put their name behind this building project before the king? Or not? Is there someone who is willing to put their name behind all this, or would you rather just go home and will pretend this never happened? No harm, no foul. No letter to the king.

Anybody want to stand up and be counted for this? Or will you be content to just recede into the shadows and we'll just forget the whole thing? So the people confirmed their commitment to obedience by not being moved, by not being swayed. That's what's happening here. They're confirming their commitment to obedience.

It's not a transitory, movable obedience. You're proving it's a steadfast commitment to obeying the Lord, even in the face of challenge. The text says that God's eye was upon the elders. Look at verse 5, they could not make them cease. They couldn't make them cease.

What a glorious phrase. Would it be said of us when our obedience is challenged that they could not make us cease obeying? They just couldn't make us stop it? Lots of people want you to stop obeying the Lord in this category or that category. They're clamoring for compromise.

They're demanding compromise. And they'll ratchet up the pressure until you compromise. May it be said of us that they could not make us cease from obeying. Now as to God's eye being on the elders of the Jews, turn in your Bibles to Psalm 33. This is just unfolded in Psalm 33 in a beautiful way.

It unfolds what it means for the eye of the Lord to be on you, to strengthen you, to fortify you against any challenge to serving God. Psalm 33, I'll be reading Psalm 13-22. Psalm 33, beginning in Psalm 13. The LORD looks from heaven. He sees all the sons of men.

From the place of his dwelling he looks on all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashions their hearts individually. He considers all their works. No king is saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

A horse is a vain hope for safety, neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in His mercy to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and our shield for our heart shall rejoice in Him because we have trusted in his holy name. Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in you." In Ezra chapter 5, we have a people who know that no king is saved by the multitude of their army.

That a horse is a vain thing if you need safety. That a mighty man is not delivered by great strength, but that God watches over, helps, supports, fortifies those who fear Him. That He's with them, that He fights for them. I love the way this ends in verse 20. Our soul waits for the Lord.

He is our help and our shield. The Lord's people in Ezra chapter 5, they're waiting on Him, they're waiting on God to deliver them, to help them against this challenge to obedience. Now turn one page to Psalm 34, you might not have to turn, Psalm 34 verses 15 and 16, more on the eye of the Lord being upon you. Psalm 34 verses 15 and 16, the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Psalm 34, 15 and 16 gives us these two verses that paint a contrast, that set one thing in opposition to another. The first is the righteous, those who have been cleansed and those who are walking in obedience. It says that the eyes of the Lord are upon them. That he hears their cry, he's watching them, he's hearing them, he's answering their prayers, he's strengthening them, and then that is set in opposition to those who are walking in disobedience, and it says that the Lord is against them. This is what we have in Ezra chapter 5.

The Lord's people are persevering in obedience. They are a cleansed people, a redeemed people who are walking in obedience. And God is watching them. God is hearing them. It's as if the Lord's people are saying in Ezra chapter 5, God stirred up a king to authorize this work, it's going to take a king to stop it.

God took this king, this king's heart was in his hand, and He made him give us a decree to do this work and nothing but the decree of the King is going to stop us. The godly in all ages throughout the centuries before Jesus in the time of Jesus after Jesus the Godly in all those centuries have been immovable. Listen to what Paul says in Acts 20. Paul says this in Acts 20 verses 23 and 24, The Holy Spirit testifies in every city saying that chains and tribulations await me, But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy in the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Paul says, the Holy Spirit keeps telling me, everywhere I go, chains and tribulations await me.

I'm not moved by that. I know what the future holds. God has shown me what the future holds. Chains and tribulations. I'm not moved by that.

God has given me a gospel to preach. I will not be moved off of that. I don't count my life dear to me. What freedom for the believer to take this position, to hold this ground. God has shown me there will be opposition, challenge, trial, persecution, hardship, dark days in this life.

None of these things move me. I know exactly what I'm supposed to be doing in this life. I don't count this life dear to me. This is the beauty of what Paul says in Philippians 1.21, to live is Christ, to die is gain. I know it's better to end this life and go be with Christ.

But for now, fruitful labor will suffice. What a freedom, brothers and sisters. That's the kind of life we should be living. A free life from counting this life dear to ourselves so that we are just free to obey and let the chips fall where they may. That's how God wants us.

Free to obey and just let the chips fall. Let them imprison us. Let them scourge us. Let them kill us. Our citizenship is not here.

There's a better city. Mansions are prepared for us. Our citizenship is in heaven. Brothers and sisters, we must not flinch. God has called us to obey.

God has called us to demonstrate gratitude for redemption. Jesus Christ has laid down His life, has shed His blood so that sinners could be free. Now we are supposed to live thankfully for that. We do that by obeying Him. And we can't blink when we're faced down by challenge and persecution and hardship.

We can't blink. We can't stop obeying them. We can't drift into disobedience. We can't compromise. As we try to recover biblical things in a culture that's drifting the other direction, exactly diametrically in the opposite direction.

As we try to recover these things, it's going to be challenged early and often. Count on it. Know it. Don't you see that this is true? Isn't it as obvious as the hand before your face?

God will uphold us. God will fight for us as we claw and scratch and grab onto those things to be recovered from His holy Word. God will fight for us. It does not guarantee us a happy ending in this life, but it does guarantee us a happy ending. Persecution is coming.

It's coming. And the day is coming when our time in 1 Peter and our time in Ezra are going to be very important to us. Brothers and sisters, learn your lessons well. Learn the lessons of 1 Peter about functioning in persecution well. Learn the lessons of Ezra where the people are challenged but they persevere and the eye of God is upon them.

He is hearing their prayers. He is fighting for them. Learn these lessons well. We are going to need them. Okay now back to Ezra.

The last section, the big section, verses 6 through 17. I'm going to read the letter again. This is a copy of the letter that Tatani sent. The governor of the region beyond the river and Shethar Bosni and his companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond the river, to Darius the king. They sent a letter to him which was written thus, to Darius the king all peace.

Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea to the temple of the great God, which is being built with heavy stones and timber is being laid in the walls. And this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. Then we asked those elders and spoke thus to them, Who commanded you to build this temple and to finish these walls? We also asked them their names to inform you, that we might write the names of the men who were chief among them. And thus they returned us an answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.

Because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and carried the people away to Babylon. However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this house of God. Also the gold and silver articles of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem and carried into the temple of Babylon. Those King Cyrus took from the Temple of Babylon and they were given to one named Sheshbazar whom he had made governor. He said to him, take these articles, go, carry them to the Temple site that is in Jerusalem and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site.

Then the same Shesh Bazaar came and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem. But from that time, even until now, it has been under construction and it is not finished. Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let a search be made in the king's treasure house which is there in Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us his pleasure concerning this matter." have six observations about this letter. Number one, this is a much more fair-minded letter than in chapter four. This is a much more fair-minded letter than in chapter 4.

We encountered a letter in chapter 4 and it was dripping with malice. There was hatred on every line, right there, pretty near the surface. This letter is not like that. In the chapter four letter, they accused the Jews of building the rebellious and evil city. They said, if you let them finish, you let them finish the work on these walls, they'll not pay you one more dime of taxes, and when they rebel, the whole region around them will rebel.

You'll lose control of everything beyond the river. There's none of that in this letter. There's no casting things in the darkest terms in the chapter 5 letter. And there's no projecting what will happen if the king allows them to keep working as there was in the other letter. Now the timing of the two letters is actually reversed.

So you have a letter that appears first in chapter 4, and then you have this letter that we're studying today in chapter 5. Chronologically, in time it's reversed because remember in chapter 4 Ezra has stepped back and shown us a hundred years. So he had a very specific purpose of doing this. He wanted to show us relentless spiritual opposition that spanned a whole century. So He's been marching along through his history and then he zooms out and shows you a hundred years and actually shows you a letter towards the end of the hundred years by the fourth king in that hundred years, Artxerxes.

And then he brings you back to the present at the end of chapter 4 and that puts us back in the reign of the second king. So time wise they are reversed And that's why. Still, the objective is that the work would cease. We get that in verse 5. They could not make them cease.

They wanted them to cease the work. The preference of the governor, and preference might be too soft of a word, but whatever, was that they cease the building of the temple. And it took the special favor of God for the work to continue. It took the eye of God upon them to fortify the hearts of these Jewish elders for the work to continue. So that's observation number one is this is a much more fair-minded letter than in chapter four.

Number two, the letter records a mighty labor. You get that in this letter. There is a mighty labor being attended to in Jerusalem. Heavy stones are being moved. Timber is being laid into the walls of this massive structure.

Building the Jewish temple is not like building a house. It is a major complex. Look at verse 8. Here's what the Gentile Governor writes. Here's what this pagan Governor writes.

And this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. He says two things about this massive construction project. The work goes on diligently. Man, they're working hard. They are at it and it prospers in their hands.

They're making progress. This is a favored work. Brothers and sisters, this is what obedience combined with the Lord's favor looks like. When you mix these two things, obedience to God, doing what he said doing, and his eye upon you, his favor, this is what it looks like. The work goes on diligently and it prospers.

May this be said of all our works together. We're doing a bunch of works together. May this characterize, may this be said of the works that we're doing together. We worship together. We have a rhythm of life of worship.

We're meeting now. We're together most of the day on Sunday. And then we reconvene on Wednesday nights to pray. Of our corporate worship, may it be said that the work goes on diligently and it prospers in our hand. God's eye is upon us.

He's favoring us. He's giving us progress. A group of people is on the curb at the clinic every Saturday morning. Saturday after Saturday after Saturday after Saturday, week after week, month after month. It's going to be year after year.

May it be said that the work goes on diligently and it prospers in our hands. That the eye of God is upon us and we see things happening. Actually, we're seeing things happening. We're having opportunities to engage people with the gospel right nose to nose, face to face, to talk to them about freedom in Christ. May that work go on diligently.

May it prosper in our hands. We're at two different nursing homes now, every week, a church service. Believers being encouraged, unbelievers having the gospel preached to them. May it be said, may outsiders, May outsiders, because that's what's happening in Ezra, this is what I'm talking about, may the outsiders, may the world look on and say the work goes on diligently and it prospers in their hands. May the workers in those nursing home facilities who don't believe in God at all, have not received the mercy of Jesus Christ, look on to people who are working away at this because we believe God would have us there.

May they say, wow, the work goes on diligently and it's prospering in their hands. May the work in our homes, we're desiring, we're trying to have every home be a center of worship in our communities, a center of ministry, a center of encouragement, a center of evangelism, a center of discipleship, a center for the worship of God in every home. May the world look on, the unbelieving world look on and say the work goes on diligently in that home, in that home, in that home, in that home, in that home, and it prospers. So number two was the letter records a mighty labor. Number three, the Lord's people owned what really happened and why.

Number three, the Lord's people owned it. They owned what really happened and why. There are a hundred other ways to explain their captivity. I can put it in chiefly human terms and spare themselves the humiliation of the truth. The truth is God told them to stop with their idolatry and to return to Him, to repent and they wouldn't do it.

And he sent many prophets. He gave them many opportunities to hear his voice and turn and they wouldn't do it. And then what he had promised them would happen, happened. So when it comes time to recount what happened and why, they don't explain it in military terms. There was a great king named Nebuchadnezzar and he had one whopper of an army and we just couldn't withstand him so often to captivity we went.

No, they didn't spare themselves the humiliation of the truth of the sins of their forefathers. But they owned it. They owned what happened and why. Listen to verse 12 again. Ezra 5 verse 12.

But because Our fathers provoked the God of heaven and earth to wrath. He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and carried the people away to Babylon. Why are we rebuilding this temple? Because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath. They are God centered in how they explain what happened and why.

It is a great blessing when calamity comes upon you and you can truthfully say God did this and it was because of my sin. It's a blessing, it's not a curse. In any way, it's a blessing when calamity comes on you and you can truthfully say, and I say truthfully say, because not all calamity can be traced to a particular sin or to a sin. God sends calamity for different reasons. But sometimes it is sin.

And when it is and when it's clear that it's sin, it's a blessing when you can say, God did this and my sin is at the root of it. Our sin is at the root of it. Our Father's sins are at the root of it. God has said, Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. And it's true.

That's why this happened. So number three, the Lord's people owned what really happened and why. Number four, the Lord's people were ready to give a reason for the hope that was in them. That's number four, the Lord's people were ready to give a reason for the hope that was in them. I quote a larger chunk of that.

This is 1 Peter 3. I'll read from 13 through 17. Peter writes in 1 Peter 3, 13-17, And who is he will harm you if you become followers of what is good. But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Having a good conscience that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. This is Ezra chapter 5. They had been suffering for doing evil.

Haggai chapter 1 makes that so clear. They were putting their earnings into a purse with holes in the bottom of it. Their suffering then was as a result of doing evil, of being disobedient, of compromising. But now they're willing to suffer for righteousness. It's better.

And when they were asked to give a reason for the hope that was in them, they were ready. Their reply proves that they were ready. They speak of a sovereign God who rules over the affairs of men. Now think of how Nebuchadnezzar is thought of. It might be 70 years, something like that, since the death of Nebuchadnezzar.

So, he's fresh, still fresh on everybody's minds. And He's the greatest king the Near East has ever known, Nebuchadnezzar is. He was called the King of Kings in his time. The Jews come to say that God rules over the affairs of men and that their greatest king, the greatest king they know of, the greatest king in their history, was just a tool in his hand to bring discipline on the Lord's people. They're ready when they're asked to give an account of the hope that is in them.

They speak of a sovereign God who rules in the affairs of men. So number four was the Lord's people were ready to give a reason for the hope that was in them. Number five, the Lord's people have physical evidence of what they're claiming to be true. That's number five. The Lord's people have physical evidence of what they are claiming to be true.

If you look at Ezra 5 verses 14 and 15, this written response that they gave to the governor. They speak extensively of the gold and silver articles in the temple that was entrusted to them by King Cyrus. If we go back to chapter 1, where that's expanded out and spoken of specifically, in chapter 1 verse 11 we find out there are 5400 articles of gold and silver. So Do you need physical evidence of what we're saying? 1, 2, 3, 4, 53, 98, 53, 99, 5, 400.

Physical evidence. It is either true that they got this stuff out of the treasury in Babylon at the decree of the king, or they didn't. That's a story that can be checked. It's a mass of gold and silver that can either be confirmed or denied. Number five, the Lord's people have physical evidence of what they're claiming to be true.

Lastly, number six, the letter ends with the right request. That's number six. The letter ends with the right request. That's number six. The letter ends with the right request.

King Darius, please go to the archives. Send a servant to the archives and answer this question, did Cyrus authorize this? Very simple. It's similar to the request that ended the letter in chapter 4, the letter that we were studying a couple of weeks ago that was dripping malice, that had hatred in every line. They also asked the king to send a servant to the archives to check the records.

But they were asking for something very different. They were saying, check the records, see if this is a rebellious and evil people. Look at their history. Different questions. One final comment.

As I said in chapter one, I believe Shespazar and Zarubabel are the same person. The old commentators generally held that. The new commentators generally do not. So most of the commentators that are alive today say it's different people. Shespazar died at some point.

We don't have the record of that. Zerubbabel is a different person. I think they're one and the same people. The one hardship with that is they're both Persian names. So it's not like Daniel being known as Belteshahzar in Babylon where he had a Jewish name and a Babylonian name.

Both of these names, Zerubbabel and Sheshbazar, are both Persian names. I don't know why he would have two Persian names, But it appears to me that in the correspondence that has to do with interactions with the Persians, that the name Sheshbazar is used. And then when he's relating with the Lord's people, He's called Zerubbabel. Three reasons for that. Number one, he's called governor.

Both are called governor during this one period of time. Shesh Bazar is called governor, Zerubbabel is called governor. It's the same period of time. Number two, they're both said to have laid the foundation. It's right here in Ezra chapter 5 in this letter, Shesh Bazar laid the foundation.

We've seen that it was actually Zerubbabel who was mobilizing the people, leading the people in obedience to lay the foundation. And then lastly, in chapter 1 verse 8, Shesh Bazar is called the Prince of Judah. So That is a term that can be used different ways, but it can actually mean what we think of as a prince. That's one of the ways it can be used. We know that Zerubbabel is in the line of Christ.

He's the grandson of a king. So that matches up as well. So the final comment is I believe Shesh Bazar and Zaruba Bell are the same person. Okay, three applications. Three applications.

I think we should take three primary things out of this text. Three musts. Three non-negotiables from this text. Number one, we must expect an immediate challenge whenever we step out in obedience. That's number one.

We must expect a challenge. An immediate challenge whenever we step out in obedience. Brothers and sisters, to be caught by surprise means we haven't been studying our Bibles. We are not unaware of Satan's devices, as Paul said. So he can't take advantage of us.

Don't get caught by surprise. We must expect an immediate challenge whenever we step out in obedience. The devil will immediately, Satan will immediately counteract that, challenge that, oppose that. Try to stop it early. Number two.

Back to number one. I'm not done talking about that. We recognize, frequently we recognize, areas where we've not been obeying and we should. So we start. This means that we should anticipate this is going to happen.

We should anticipate an immediate challenge and opposition to a new thrust of obedience that God is leading us into. We should be looking for it. We should be wondering what direction it's coming from. So that so far from being surprised, we've anticipated it. We were proactively expecting it, and so it's sort of ho-hum when it arrives.

That's what we want. We're ready. We're beyond ready. The gun is loaded. Number two.

We must understand that those challenges are gospel opportunities. So number one was, expect the challenges. Number two is, understand that those challenges are gospel opportunities. So it's not all bad when the challenges come. In Ezra chapter 5, a pagan gentile governor comes and gets a testimony of a God who rules the affairs of men.

Praise the Lord! And then the letter goes to Darius. And a king of 127 provinces gets the word that God rules over the affairs of men. It was a gospel opportunity. That's what these challenges to obedience are.

It's an opportunity to say, the nature of God is this, and that's why Jesus Christ is the center of all things. The nature of God is this. The nature of God is that He uses the best, biggest, strongest, mightiest King that you've ever known in this part of the world as a tool. As an instrument to work out His will in the lives of His people. And now in the New Testament we can go way beyond that.

We can talk about what that means. That there is a God over everything who uses kings at his will, and he's a holy God. And that's what makes Jesus the center of all things. Back to 1 Peter 3, always be ready. When the challenge comes, you're ready for it, and you understand that it's a gospel opportunity.

This has made me think, this has made me think how many opportunities have been missed. Because I wasn't expecting the challenge, and so I was caught stuttering, blubbering, just wanting to get out of the conversation. Has this ever happened to you? Is that just me? But if we know the challenge is coming, and we see through the eyes of faith that it is actually a gospel opportunity, we will be ready not just to extract ourselves as quickly as we can from that conversation, but to turn it towards the nature of God and why it makes Christ the center of all things.

Number three, lastly, we must live the reality that if God is for us, it doesn't matter who is against us. We must live the reality. So it is true, it's the truth, it is reality. But we have to live it. We must live the reality that if God is for us, it doesn't matter who is against us, or how many, or what their position in life is.

Our God wants His people to be fearless, to live free, not holding our lives dear. Turn to Romans 8. We'll end at Romans 8. Romans 8, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is He who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore it is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God who also makes intercession for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword." And so the Lord's people, when they're teetering, when they're feeling weak need and wobbly in the face of the challenge, look to the cross. The Lord's people look to the cross. They know then, in that moment, without a shadow of a doubt, that if God would send His Son and crush His Son and slay His Son to purchase a people, surely He would not leave that people without all that they need. How could it be that God would send Jesus and crush His Son to purchase the people and then leave them without what they need? It's impossible.

That can never be. And so when we're weak-kneed and wobbly, because of persecution and trial and dark days. We look to the cross and we know we must have what we need. God will send it at just the right time. God will fight for us.

How could it be otherwise? This is the argument that Paul is making. Let's pray. Oh the glory of the gospel of a God who cares enough to send his own son and crush him to redeem a people. You were pleased to crush your son, to buy freedom for sinners who would trust in this mighty work.

I thank you that the ground of our confidence is there. It is the ground at the foot of the cross of your son. His work is our only hope, but it is such a sure hope. Oh God, help us to live free. Help us to live with all confidence.

That just as you come to the aid of your people in Ezra chapter 5, you put your eye upon the elders of the Jews to fight for them, to uphold them. You see them and you hear their prayers, you see us and you hear our prayers. Because Christ has come and redeemed people through His own death, we can have such confidence that you have not left us, you have not forsaken us, you will be with us even to the end of the age. Thank you for your great, exceedingly great and precious promises. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Us name. Amen.