Rend Your Heart
Joel 2:12 & 13
Ezra 9:1 Now when these things were done,
What things? The bringing of the vessels from Ahava, near Babylon for Jerusalem had been destroyed and the people of Israel had been captured and taken to Babylon. All the vessels of the house of God had been stolen, the walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed and we know along this same time Nehemiah goes to rebuild the walls.
Now God had worked through Ezra, Haggai, Zerubabbel and others to rebuild the temple. Now the vessels of silver, gold, copper, etc was being weighed to bring to the temple there weighed in again.
It is worth noting that some 70 years has passed since they had gone into Babylon as captives, and King Cyrus had a decree to send them back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. But not all the Jews wanted to go back. Some had never seen Jerusalem and all they knew was Babylon.
Isn’t it amazing when God is ready to build there will be those that don’t want to go back.
8.22 Ezra was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers to keep them safe from the Arabs, Samaritans, and others, which might lie in wait for them, to rob them of their vessels:
So they called a fast and called upon the Lord for protection.
Ezra 9: 1-3
3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard and sat down astounded.
3 And when I heard this thing,
Heard what? According to verse 2 the holy seed had mingled.
Ezra could not believe what they had done.
Here he was trying to lead a people back into the presence of God for the temple represented such.
He was ashamed, we was astounded. He had been working to rebuild the temple it had been stopped now was nearing completion, many years had gone by.
Ezra was a man of God desiring Gods best for the people and he was working with a people that mingled,
Had the mind of the world, on worldly things not the mind of God.
They played the lottery,
Socially drink alcohol, told little white lies
They mingled, married unbelievers
V4 they that feared God were come together
Ezr 9:5 ¶ And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,
This is how you rend your heart, but notice he also had to tear away the outward first.
Before you and I get to God we too will have to tear away from the outward influence,
Lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily gets us off course.
Ezr 9:6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over [our] head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.
Ashamed and blushed, he is showing us how to rend our hearts.
Jer. 6:15, Jer 8:12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
Their heart was so hard they were not ashamed of how far they had missed God.
They were not ashamed neither could they blush.
Ezr 9:7 Since the days of our fathers
We have played church, never really sold out for a move of God in our Church
Lets do 2 songs a prayer and lets go
Then when God moves on us we sit with confused look on our face.
Can I tell you when God moves began to Praise Him, fall on your knees lift up your hands & praise Him.
We Pentecostals have been wearing our mask to long, we can play well on the instrument and sing with the best of them but our heart, our heart has not been broken in His presence in a while.
Rendering of the heart, the tearing of. We have learned how to have a warm fuzzy and we can do it without rendering our heart and as long as we keep the mask on no one knows.
We can not continue wearing the mask of pretending when men and women are lost, many that were once in the house are not going to come back. They have become comfortable doing what they do, having it their way.
Too many sit with a confused look on their face when the presence of God begins to move, that’s the time to fall on our knees and lift our hands and worship him.
True rendering of the heart is real Worship.
Ezr 9:8 And now for a little space grace hath been [shewed] from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
A window of time, an opportunity, not everyone will take advantaged of that space, Jezebel did not.
He has given us a nail in His holy place, reviving in bondage, v9 not forsaken us but extended mercy in the bondage in the sight of the Kings of Persia,
Ps 23 tells us he will prepare us a table in the presence of our enemies.
To give us reviving, in the House of God, He will repair and restore, give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem divine protection.
Rend your heart,
In the hour that you seek me with all of your heart you will find me,
Rend your heart,
See if I will not open the windows of heaven an pour out a blessing
Rend your heart
No weapon formed against you will hurt you.
Your enemy comes against you one way but he will flee from you 7 ways.
Take Off the Mask
Rend your heart, turn to the Lord your God, he is gracious and merciful
See if he will not leave behind a blessing
He will restore to you the years the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm devoured
You shall have plenty
Rend your heart and I will be your God and you shall be my people.
Ezr 9:10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this?
for we have forsaken thy commandments,
Rend your heart
Tonight if you are ready to take off the mask and rend your heart come stand for prayer.
