Well, it's good to see you this
morning, and let's take our hymn of fibers and turn with me to
the book of Ezra, chapter 6. Ezra, chapter 6. I'd like to
take up where we left off. Last time, I'd like to deal with
verses 13 through the end of the chapter. This morning, if I were to name
this, I'd name this a prospered work. A prospered work. A king had been moved upon by the Lord
God of heaven, King Cyrus. And the Scripture says that he
told the people that were in Babylon that if they wanted to
leave, that they could. They could go up to Jerusalem
and rebuild the temple. They did, and the scripture is
related through the book of Ezra, what they went through. Now in Ezra chapter 6, beginning
in verse 13, it says, Then Tapni, governor on this side, the river,
she Tharbozni, and their companions according to that which Darius
the king had sent. So they did speedily. And the elders of the Jews built
it, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai, the
prophet Zechariah, the son of Ido. And they built it and finished
it according to the commandment of the God of Israel and according
to the commandment of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes, king of
Persia. This house was finished on the
third day of the month, Adar, which was in the sixth year of
the reign of Darius the king. The children of Israel, the priests,
the Levites, the rest of the children of the captivity, kept
the dedication of this house of God with joy and offered at
the dedication of this house of God a hundred bullocks, two
hundred rams, four hundred lambs for a sin offering for all Israel,
twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel,
and they sent the priests in their divisions, the Levites
in their courses, for the service of God which is at Jerusalem,
as it is written in the book of Moses. And the children of
the captivity kept the Passover upon the fourteenth day of the
first month, for the priests and the Levites were purified
together, all of them were pure, and killed the Passover. for
all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren, the priests,
and for themselves, and the children of Israel, which were come together
out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto
them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek
the Lord God of Israel did eat, and kept the feast of unleavened
bread seven days with joy. For the Lord had made them joyful,
and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen
their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. Now, the key verse in this passage
of Scripture that I just read is found, I believe, in verse
14. It says, And the elders of the
Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai
the prophet and Zechariah the son of Ido." Now, the word that
struck me was prosperity. Someone asked me one time, not
in this town, but in Franklin, they asked me, they said, Is the church prospering? Is the church Is it growing? And I know what they meant. What
they meant was, well, are you going through a building process? How is your attendance? How many
baptisms did you have last year? Is your bank account in the black?
How many are you running in Sunday school? This seems to be the first thing
that folks want to know when they ask you about the church.
Are you growing? Are you prospering? And my answer
was this, I pray so. I just left it at that, you know. I pray that we are. The church
at Jerusalem during the time of Zerubbabel is said to prosper
and they prospered. The elders of the Jews built
it and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the
prophet and Zechariah. Now that word prosper, what it
means is this. The actual meaning is to advance
or to be brought to a proper or appointed place, prosper. In 3 John, 3 John, that's a book
that I read out of little, but 3 John, verse 2, there's one
verse in it. And John the apostle says this,
Beloved, I wish, or I pray, above all things, that thou mayest
prosper, and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." to an appointed place, prosper. That's what it means. To be helped
on the road and that you might be in health. I've heard people
quote that Scripture, you know, and speaking of physical health. And I'm absolutely convinced
if we have physical health, it's a blessing of the Lord, but it
is not an indication of the absolute favor of God based on our health. Somebody says, well, if you're
healthy, God is pleased with you. If you're not healthy, that's
not so. I pray above all things that
thou mayest prosper, that is, help on the road. This is a journey
in which we're going through. We're walking in this life. We're
on a road. This is a journey. This is a
race. that's being run to prosper is
to be helped on this road and that you might be in health. That word health right there,
it means this, uncorrupt in doctrine. That's what the word means. That
you might be in health. Uncorrupt in your doctrine. So John is saying, brethren,
I wish above all things that you might be helped on the road
and that you might be uncorrupt in your doctrine even as your
soul is prospering helped on the road. Knowing that this prosperity
has absolutely nothing to do with human success or merit,
nothing that will bring honor to man's ability or appeal to
his carnal desires, I asked myself, this question, I ask you this
question. What is this prosperity and what
is the evidence of divine prosperity? Scripture says the elders of
the Jews built it and they prospered through the preaching, through
the prophesying of these two prophets. If we ever lose sight
of the fact that this book of Ezra is not primarily, it is
physically talking about a building that was built. There was an
actual building that was actually built in Jerusalem. It was a
temple. But if we ever lose sight that
this book, this chapter of Ezra, this entire book of Scriptures
here, if we ever lose sight that this book is speaking of the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ in the building up of His people
bringing honor to Himself, to the Father, then we have missed
it. This temple in Jerusalem is a picture of the building
up of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scripture says, He
also is lively stones. There are, I am convinced, in
this congregation this morning. There are some who are lively
stones, alive in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, built
up in spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Now this prosperity,
here again, we just dispel whatever man's got to say about prosperity. I know, I know man by nature
will look at the church, the local assembly where Almighty
God has raised up a preacher and a people that have a hunger
and a thirsting for the Lord Jesus Christ and based on man's
interpretation of prosperity, There's just not much there.
How many baptizers did you all have last year? That's all? How long have you? Prosperity. The Scripture says that these
prospered. I want to know what that means.
What does it mean to prosper? Prosper. This prosperity that
they're speaking of here has got some sustenance to it. Here
we see the glory of Almighty God to do something for these
people that they couldn't do for themselves. If I can prosper
in my own ability, Brother Scott read that Scripture a while ago. It said, by the will of God. Paul, an apostle by the will
of God. And I thought to myself, Boy,
how glorious is that little phrase, by the will of God. He didn't
say, Paul an apostle by his own choice. Paul an apostle by the
will of man. Paul an apostle by man's free
choice, free ability. No, Paul an apostle by the will
of God. This prosperity, what is that? Psalm 1-3 says, he, that is,
speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. And his leaf, that is, his branch,
he said, I'm the vine, you're the branch. His branch also shall
not wither. And whatsoever he doeth, what? Shall prosper. It'll prosper. whatever He doeth will prosper. Not what we do, what He does. They prospered in Ezra. The Scripture
says whatever He does prospers. It is helped on the road. He
is our help. He is our comfort. He is our
refuge. Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 20 says, Then
answered I them and said unto them, The God of heaven, He will
prosper us. Therefore, we, his servants,
will arise and build. The book of Nehemiah is a continuation
of the book of Ezra, talking about the building of the temple.
Proverbs 28, 13, ìHe that covereth his sins,î he that has a heart
that wants to say, ìI am not, I am not a rebel against God,î
ìhe that covereth his sins shall not prosper.î But whosoever confesseth
and forsaketh them shall have mercy." So this prosperity is
the victory, is the advancement, is the help on the road wrought
by God Almighty for an eternally loved people. The victory unto
the Lord, for He has done marvelous things. His right hand and His
holy arm have gotten Him the victory. We prosper. Prosper. The Body of Christ, the Church,
rest assured, is prospering today because God Almighty has given
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are prospering.
We prosper because of the will of God. God Almighty chose a
people from the foundation of the world. We prosper because
of being found and considered in Him, not of our choosing,
not by the will of man, but by the will of God. Death has no
sting. The grave has no victory for
the believer because death for the elect is swallowed up in
His victory at Calvary. They prospered. How though? Does the people of God know? What do they know about this
prosperity? I know, I hear, I see where the
Scripture says they prospered. How do we know? What is the evidence
of this prosperity, this victory in the Lord Jesus Christ that
we've been plucked as a bran out of the fire. What do we know? Here's the key. They prospered,
the Scripture says, through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah. Now there's the key to the understanding
of it. They prospered. It was not by
anything that they did. They were helped in the road.
They were advanced. They were victorious in the Lord
Jesus Christ. How did they know it? How do you know? I can read these
things, but tell me how I can know. I'm a human being. My heart is so hungry. Tell me something. Give me some
sustenance. Tell me what's going on. If God
has purposed to prosper a people in Christ, He shall surely tell
them about it through the means of preaching." That's how they're
going to know it. The only way that the people
of God know anything that Almighty God has done for them, God sends
a preacher. And the Spirit of God blesses
the consistent preaching according to the Scriptures of that man
that God has raised up. Jeremiah 3.15 says, I will give
you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with
knowledge and understanding. You'll know it. That is to say,
telling God's people what great things the Lord hath done for
them. That's the food of the saints. One more time. I know I heard
it last time, but this is today. Tell me again what the Lord has
done for me. Tell me how Almighty God has
prospered me, because I know this. Don't try to tell me that
I can prosper in myself. You that know the Lord, you know
better than that. The message of God's preachers
to the sheep is the message that settles their heart. Isaiah 40,
verse 1, this is the commandment of Almighty God to His people. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem
and cry unto her. What do you tell her? Tell her,
number one, that her warfare is accomplished. You tell her
that the battle is over. And you tell her, secondly, that
her iniquity is pardoned. That's what you tell her. Now,
I'm going to tell you something that will settle a believer's
heart. Are you telling me that the battle concerning my salvation
is over? It's over. Christ has redeemed
us. He redeemed us. And her iniquity
is pardoned, washed in the blood of Christ, for she hath received
of the Lord Double for all of her sins. Her sins were charged
to Him, and His righteousness was charged
to her. She's received double. There's
no greater joy to a believer than to hear that it's not her
victory, His. It's not their battle. His. It's not my victory, it's His. Tell me one more time, you said
that the church here prospered. I want to know this, am I part
of that? I know the Lord is going to prosper
His church. Somebody say, is Katie Baptist Church prospering?
It certainly is. It certainly is. How are they going to hear, though,
without a preacher? How are they going to preach
except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. I will tell you, not as I ought
to be, but I am thankful that the Lord sent a preacher to tell
me. Tell me the truth. Preaching
is the God-ordained means of telling God's people of His prosperity
for them and to them. They prospered. Prospered. By the Spirit's blessing of this
preached gospel, the weak hands are strengthened. That is, they
are seized and helped. Helped. Prospered. And the feeble
knees are confirmed, Scripture says. They're encouraged. Five
foundational truths that I see concerning the evidence of the
prospering of God's church. I know it's so. I know it's so. But I'll tell you this, there's
five things that I know to set forth in the Scriptures that
we've considered concerning a church, a body that is part of the universal
church. This is a local body. This body
right here is established in this place by God's good pleasure,
by God's will, by God's power. But there is a church, the universal
church, and I'm telling you, you can leave from right here
And you can go to 13th Street, or you can go to Cottageville,
or you can go to Danville. All of those, I can name them
all. And I'm telling you, when you come in contact with a believer,
you just knit with them. You speak the same language,
spirits. I mean, you know what I'm talking
about. I mean, you just, you're with them. I'm with you. You
hear what they say. You think, boy, you nailed it. Oh, I love to hear the person,
the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are five things that I
know about a church that God prospers, His universal, His
body, or the local body. We are one in Christ. Number one, I know this, the
prospering of God's church. That work initiated with God. It started with Him. Back in
Ezra, just chapter 1 and verse 3, There was a man called King Cyrus,
and he says, ìWho is there among you of all his people? His God
be with him. Let him go up to Jerusalem, which
is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel.î Thatís
what Cyrus said. But where did that thought come
from? Look back in verse 1, about the middle part of verse 1. It
says, ìThe Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia,
that he made a proclamation. Cyrus said it, but who put it
in his heart to do so? Almighty God. That place, that
church, that body, that bride, that Almighty God prospers, that
God Himself prospers. That work initiated with the
Lord. This work in the building of
this temple was to be to the honor of Almighty God a testimony
to His holy name. And the building up of God's
people did not start in time. This local assembly here, I think
somewhere around the mid-50s started. This body as we know
it right here. Somewhere in the mid-50s, 54,
55, 56, something like that. Do you think that the purpose
of Almighty God to establish Katie Baptist Church. Do you
think it started in 1955? Oh, no. Ephesians 1, verse 4
says, "...according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love." 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13, "...we are bound
to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, because the
Lord hath chosen you." to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth. We're bound to give thanks. I
thank God for you. I thank God for you. I thank
God for you. I pray you thank God for me.
I thank God for you. Thank God Almighty. I mean, it's
just such an honor to stand and to look upon. I'm convinced. some that Almighty God has chosen
from the foundation of the world to set His affection on, that
they would be holy without blame. The Lord stirred up the spirit
of Cyrus, the king of Persia, that he made a proclamation.
God stirred his heart. The Lord God of heaven, He is
the source of our prosperity. All that came up out of captivity
in the second chapter, they are the ones that God purposed to
bring out. Secondly, those that prosper,
that truly prosper, what is the evidence? Well, I know this.
Number one, God chose them. God started it. And they know
it. They admit it. Those that Almighty God prospers,
God sends a preacher. They prospered through the prophesying
of Haggai and Zechariah. And they know it because God
taught them through the Scriptures that this work began with God.
Secondly, those that prosper follow after Christ in true,
acceptable worship. The Lord told the woman at the
well in John 4.23, true worshipers, shall worship or reverence the
Father in spirit and truth." There's a lot of talk about worship. Worship. What is that? Well, it does mean reverence. But do you know worship? If you
look at the interpretation of worship, it means to lick the
hand like a dog. That's what it means, lick the
hand. Worship, reverence, respect. Knowing that God is only approached
by Him who is the Beloved Son, and those in Him, we pray, we
say, Father, and righteously so, Father, we come to You. We approach You in heart, by
faith. We come to You in the name of
the Lord Jesus. We come to You by Him. When He
said, I am Thee way, I am the truth. We come to Him only in
our High Priest. It is by Him whoever liveth to
make intercession for us. We don't approach the Father
outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Regenerate, the One born
from above that serves in heart the law of God through Christ
Jesus. That's what Paul says. He said,
I served Him. I serve Him. The first thing
that the builders did in Ezra 3.3, we saw that the work began
with God. And secondly, I know this, that
place, that church, that brotherhood, God prospers. They follow after
Christ, after God Almighty in acceptable worship. In Ezra 3.3,
the Scripture says, and when they came, they set the altar
upon His bases for fear was upon them because of the people of
those countries, and they offered burnt offerings their own unto
the Lord, and even burnt offerings morning and evening." They set
the altar on His basis. That place that God has prospered,
that place that is advanced in the road, that's helped in the
way as they go. This life, as I said, this is
the road. We're on it right now. I don't
know how close I am to the end. I know how close I am. It's just
as long as Almighty God has purposed for me to be here. And when it's
done, it's done. The altar speaks of the atoning sacrifice of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Here we behold the shed blood
of our great surety, the blood by which the justice of Almighty
God was satisfied, the guilt of God's elect put away. He said, when I see the blood, well, that right there ought
to just dispel all of this you know. When I see your free will,
when I see your baptism, when I see your church attendance,
oh, God's people, that one that Almighty God has revealed, He
will follow the Lord in baptism. He will. He will sit under the
the sound of the gospel. He will come where God has purposed
to assemble His people together. He will. But it's not my attendance
by which God's pleased. I come because I want to hear
from Him. He said, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. And it wasn't the blood that
I provided. It was the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Christ and Him crucified. God's substitute. He is the sure foundation of
true worship toward Almighty God. The altar was set on its
base. There is the foundation of the
temple. Thereon was that foundational
temple laid. There was no building of God's
temple without that altar being first laid. The burnt offerings
were founded The offering was given, was made morning and evening,
then the building was erected. The establishment of God's church
is set upon the foundation of Christ, Him crucified, Him. False religion tries to build
a temple without the altar of substitution. That is what they
try to do. say this morning, and I listened
to the words that he said, and I thought to myself, the words
that you're saying are right. He said this, we are saved by
the blood of Christ. And I thought, that's a true
statement, but you're not telling everybody everything. What you're
going to do is you're going to make the offering of Christ to
be the way by which a man can accept it or reject it. We are
saved by the substitutionary death, the redemption of Christ,
by the grace of Almighty God. For by grace are you saved through
faith in Christ, not of yourself. He redeemed us. God taught us
what He did. But the blood of Christ was shed
for who? Who was He dying for? If you say that the blood of
Christ is the blood shed for sinners, that's a true statement. But don't discredit, don't dishonor
and say it is your will that makes it effectual. That's not
so. When they set the altar upon its bases, they were setting
forth the glory of Almighty God in the substitutionary death
of the Lord Jesus Christ for His people. It was for them that
He died, those that God chose from the foundation of the world.
The altar being laid first is to say this, as in Zechariah
6.12, Behold the man. whose name is the branch, he
shall grow up out of his place and he shall build the temple
of the Lord." He shall build it. The foundation of the Lord's
temple is laid on the rock of Christ Himself, our substitute,
our atonement. And the Lord's people recognized
that truth. They prospered through the preaching
of Haggai and Zechariah. That's how they knew. They knew,
first of all, that God chose them before the foundation of
the world. And secondly, they know this, they prospered. They
knew about it. And that God told them that Christ
put away their guilt. That's what they knew. They prospered
through the preaching. That's the only way they knew
it. God prospered them. They prospered in the Lord. But
they prospered through the preaching of these prophets that God sent.
When the foundation of the temple was laid, the people responded
with praise, thankfulness. Turn to Nehemiah. Nehemiah is
the next book over from Ezra, the next book back. Nehemiah
12, verse 24. It says, And the chief of the Levites, Hashebiah, Cherubiah, Joshua, the son of
Cadmiel, with their brethren over against them to praise and
to give thanks according to the commandment of David, the man
of God, ward over, I'm sorry, ward over against ward. Course,
you remember when I dealt with that ward against ward, course
by course? What this generation said, this
next generation says, and this next generation, ward by ward,
course by course. The commandment of David, they
gave and sang praises according to the commandment of David.
That commandment, that psalm, was probably Psalm 136. It was that entire psalm. The
first verse says this, O give thanks unto the Lord, for He
is good, for His mercy endureth forever. The church that God
prospers, Number one, it starts with God, and they know it. And
they admit it, acknowledge it. You go someplace and you find
where men don't acknowledge that Almighty God from the foundation
of the world chose a people, we've got a problem with point
one. We don't even need to go to the
next point. We've already missed it. God Almighty chooses His
people. God Almighty provides a substitution. the Lord Jesus Christ. He died.
He laid down His life for His sheep. Thirdly, those who prosper
in the Lord will have adversaries. Back in Ezra chapter 4, verses
1 and 2, it says, Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin
heard that the children of the captivity built of the temple
unto the God of Israel, They came to Zerubbabel, to the chief
of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you,
for we seek your God, as you do. And we do sacrifice unto
Him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Asher, which brought
us up hither." I know what I'm doing is I'm taking what was
said in chapter 6. It said they prospered. I'm just
going to go back and show you those key verses, coming back
up to it to show you what God had revealed to them. Those that
God Almighty prospers and reveals they have adversary. The outward
manifestation of opposition to God's church and to the Lord
God Himself is often traced to the envy of the praise of men. Now, I am going to show you something
about adversaries, problems. Do you realize that the adversaries
with which God's people deal, it's not, as I've said before,
the folks driving down the road right here that just passed in
that car right there. They don't care. Do you know
I've never had a next door neighbor or somebody, you know, as a general
rule, I know there's been some snide remarks, but I'm talking
about adversaries. adversaries. It has been those
that I found envy the praise of men. and told them, said, if you want
to go out, you are welcome to go out. He was directed by God
to release God's elect to go to Jerusalem to build that temple
that worship might be established there. And the adversaries of
Judah and Benjamin in Ezra 4, we just read, knew that the king's
blessing was upon the children of the captivity. They then came to Zerubbabel
to join up. Under the guise of seeking the
Lord, they refused Him, the Lord Himself, and they exposed their
true colors. Turn with me to Philippians chapter
1. Philippians chapter 1. Philippians 1 verse 12, Paul
says, But I would, ye should understand, brethren, that the
things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the
furtherance of the gospel. Now, it doesn't matter what has
happened to you. It doesn't matter. I know that
in ourselves, because of the frailty of our flesh. And believe
me when I tell you this, I have to remind myself of this. Whatever I've gone through, whatever
happened, all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose. Whatever has
happened, whatever you're going through right now, whatever it
is, Paul says, I would you should understand that the things which
happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance
of the gospel. Things that I went through that were unpleasant
at the time. Now that I look back and I see
in my silliness to question God Almighty, and I realize now that
everything that happened to me happened to the furtherance of
the gospel, so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all
the palace, in all other places. And many of the brethren in the
Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to
speak the word without fear. For some indeed preach Christ
even of envy and strife, and some also of good will. The one
preached Christ of contention Not sincerely, supposing to add
affliction to my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I
am set for the defense of the gospel, what then? Notwithstanding,
every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached,
and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." Now, you know
this. I've mentioned this before. I
know to some of you. But you know that Paul the Apostle
was not one that tolerated. doctrinal untruth. He was not
saying there, well, just some of them are preaching about Jesus,
you know, and even though they may be preaching free willism,
that's okay as long as Jesus, that's not what he's saying.
He said some preach Christ. He's talking about the gospel.
He was talking about straight down the line. He said now some
of them preach it of envy and strife. Some do. What was he saying? He was saying
that because they envied the praise of man, here's what's
happened. These that came to Zerubbabel, they knew that King
Cyrus had given a decree. And this group had the blessing
of King Cyrus, and they desired that. They longed after it. I want to be in that group with
them. Paul said some men, they hear what's being preached, and
they see the respect that people give those that are preaching
the gospel. And they want that respect. If
Brother Scott was preaching the doctrines of God's grace, free
grace, Christ and Him only, and men respected Him, I'd say, I
hear what he's saying. So I'm going to emulate what
he's saying. And they're preaching Christ,
but really what I want is I want that praise. I want the respect
that he's getting. So I'll emulate the message that
he's preaching, and I'll get that respect too. They were preaching
Christ of envy, wanting that praise of men. Paul says the
things that are falling out for the furtherance of the gospel,
these men, had adversaries and they came to Him and they said,
ìWeíre with you. We believe the same God you do.î But time proved
differently. Envy. Those who are prospering
in the Lord will find that they have adversaries. Those that
sought to weaken the hands of the Lord of Judah and trouble
them in building failed to realize that their purpose in doing exactly
what they wanted to do was actually God's purpose, too. God used
them to further His kingdom. They came to Him. They said,
We're with you. Zerubbabel says, No, I don't think you are. Romans 9, 17 says, For the Scripture
saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised
thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name
might be declared throughout all of the earth. Acts 2.23,
the Lord Jesus Christ, Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. God sends those who are adversaries. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord, but all things work together for good to them. He orders all things according
to His purpose and power. There are adversaries and they
work against God's people, not those inside. Even the wrath of man is going
to praise Him. Where you find where God has established a church,
you are going to find that there are adversaries and they war. It is just the way it is. God Almighty is bringing His
people. This brings us to the fourth
evidence and foundational truth of a prospered people. They wait
on the Lord. They wait. In Ezra chapter 4,
these folks had come in there and they started working against
them. And there was strife and there
was contention. You know something about that.
You know, some of you here have been here Long enough, you know.
I mean, you know, if you look back and you think, you know
what, things are not always, as far as this road is concerned,
not always been a bed of roses. The Scripture says in Ezra chapter
4, verse 23 and 24, Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes'
letter was read before Rehom and Shemshiah the scribe and
their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the
Jews and made them to cease by force and power. Then ceased
the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem, so it
ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia."
The scripture says, by authority, force and power, the arm of the
law, the work ceased. What? The work ceased? Well, that's what it said. Let
me ask you this. Who initiated this work? Almighty
God. And you can bet this, He does
as He will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth, and no man can stay His hand. No man stops Almighty
God. He is all-powerful. But this
says the work ceased. When something comes our way
that seems to be a hindrance, to the work. What do we conclude? When something
comes our way providentially and you cannot do one thing about
it, whether it be in your life personally as a believer, whether
it be collectively as far as this body is concerned, when
something comes along and it's not something that God's people
initiated, they know that Almighty God from the foundation of the
world, chose them in Christ. They know that the Lord Jesus
Christ as their substitute and surety has put away their guilt. They realize that adversaries
that they found within the body that is theirs, they didn't do
anything to provoke them. All they did was hunger and thirst
after and adhere to and stay with the gospel. They didn't
deviate from it. They stayed by God's grace. They
stayed right there. But something has crossed their
path that they could not do anything about. You didn't initiate it.
You didn't initiate it. God sent it. God sent it. God sent it. What do you conclude
when that happens? Oh, Eli the prophet said in 1
Samuel 3, 18, it's the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. God Almighty. for a purpose that
is beyond my understanding. I don't know why. I don't know
why. It's the Lord that orders all
things after the counsel of His own will. All things. Psalm 3320 says, Our soul waiteth
for the Lord He is our help and our shield. The work ceased right
there. By authority and power, they
stopped them. What could they do? They could
wait on God. They could wait. They knew the
Lord initiated it. And for some reason, God Almighty
has allowed something to cross our path, cross your path, You
that's going through something today, Almighty God sent that
by His good purpose and will. What do you do? David said, my
soul waits. That word waits right there.
That's a good word. My soul waits. That word waits
right there means carved. Carved. My soul carved. My soul waits for the Lord. It is the word that means something
that is like carved into a building, into a wall. There is a carving. It's carved. It's engraved, pierced. It's carved to wait on the Lord. Waiting on the Lord is the continual
position of a believer. I think of some, when I was in
art school, I can remember looking at, studying some of this architecture. I'd see these Roman Greek buildings
and it was stone and these figures were all carved into that building. Now here's the thing. They couldn't go anywhere. It's in the building. It's carved
into that building. Waiting on the Lord, it's carved
in Him. If He chose you and put you in
Christ, you're there. Thanks be to God, you can't go.
It is the continual position of a believer to wait on the
Lord. You're carved in Him. But I'll
tell you this, it's the believer's confidence. I'm carved in Him. Where can I go? It came to the Lord after some
heard His words when He spoke of God's sovereignty. He said,
No man can come unto Me except it be given unto him of My Father. Some said, That's a hard saying.
Who can say it? Who can hear it? And the Lord
looked at His disciples. He said, Will you go away also?
Will you go? And Peter said, Lord, to whom
will we go? You have the words of eternal life. I'll wait on you. It's the confidence
of a believer. They wait on God. It's the believer's
support and it's the believer's reward to wait on God. Let me ask you this. When problems come our way, you
can't, you know, Pick up the telephone and fix it. You can't go talk to somebody
and fix it. You can't ask for a favor and
just fix it. What are you going to do? You're
just going to wait. Wait on the Lord. And then lastly,
the evidence of a prospered people is this. The work continues. as long as he is pleased. Here
we find in Ezra chapter 5, verses 1 and 2, the prophets Haggai,
the prophet Zechariah, the son of Ido, they prophesied unto
the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the
God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up Zerubbabel, the
son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Josedach, and began
to build the house of God, which is at Jerusalem. The work had
ceased. in the 24th verse of chapter 4. And now they begin
to build. Here is the encouragement of
God's sheep. God maintains His work. What God starts, God finishes. Now, there may be some times
and some adversaries that come along and some times that it
appears as though that the work has ceased, but Almighty God
finishes. He is the author and finisher
of our faith. It is not the messenger that
God sends, it is the message of Christ, the gospel of your
salvation. The people were reminded of where
the Lord brought them. This is the evidence of a prospered
people. God teaches them through preachers
that the message that God started it, that the foundation is the
substitutionary of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they realize when
adversaries come, the Lord allowed them to be there. He sent them. That's what He told Pharaoh.
He said, for this purpose I raised you up, that I might show my
power. And they realize that when things
come their way, that they cannot seem to know what to do. Well, you wait. We're carved
in Him. You wait. And we have the confidence
of knowing this, that this work will endure. were kept by the
power of God through faith. They knew through the message
that this was God's work. The remedy for our discouragement
in our flesh is hearing the clearly proclaimed message of God's purpose
to seek, to redeem, and to keep His people for His glory and
for His praise. A prospered people. How do you
know? God will tell you. He'll tell
you who he's prospering. All right. Gary, why don't you
come and leave us closing?