God Gives Success to His Work through the Godly Perspective of His People
Pray – (1/2 minute)
Read – (2 1/2 minutes) – “This is the answer they gave us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the Temple that was built many years ago, on that a great king of Israel built and finished. But because our fathers angered the God of heaven, He handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this Temple and deported the people to Babylon. However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.’ ” (Ezra 5:11-13)
Passage: Ezra 6:3-15
Perspective is a powerful thing. For the Jews who had answered the call to go back to Israel to rebuild the Temple and re-inhabit the land, they lost their perspective on prioritizing God’s kingdom when they faced opposition. Instead of looking up at the power of God. They looked down at themselves. That perspective caused them to stop building. However, after recommitting themselves in response to the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah, they took a different perspective to intimidation of their enemies.
First, they confessed who they are when they answered, “We are the servants of God.” Second, they stated they knew what they were doing and said, “We are rebuilding the Temple.” Third, they knew why they were doing it and explained that God had allowed the people to be disciplined, but now He moved through the king of Persia to order the Temple to be rebuilt. The perspective of knowing you are a child of God, called to help build His kingdom for His glory, will keep you going even when some things may cause you to want to quit. Don’t give in to that. Trust God and stay faithful to His call.
Apply - (2 1/2 minutes)
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Pray - (1 1/2 minutes)