1. A working church is mobilized (3:8a—emphasis on “ALL they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem”)
2. A working church is organized (3:8b—emphasis on “APPOINTED” and “SET FORWARD THE WORK)
3. A working church is unified (3:9—emphasis on “TOGETHER”)
Well, the delay is over. Last week we talked about how the remnant had become satisfied. Once they arrived in Jerusalem from Babylon, they quickly became satisfied with the things God had intended to only be preparation. They were satisfied with the preparation for God’s work and delayed in actually doing God’s work. Well, in our passage tonight, the delay is over. To the remnant’s credit, this delay wasn’t a long one. It really only lasted a few months. But any delay in doing the work God intends for us is too long, isn’t it? Now it’s time for the remnant to get on with the work God intended for them to do. It was time to get on with the work of building the temple. Of course, you know the first thing you have to do anytime you build a building. The first thing you have to do is lay the foundation. And that’s the work they had ahead of them. It is interesting that the text spends absolutely no time describing the nature of the work they had to do. There are no details of the dimensions, or the building materials, or the methods they used. All of that is left out. What is the only thing that’s talked about? The people. The remnant. The workers themselves. There is no talk about processes or plans or procedures. There’s no talk about footers or bricks or mortar. None of that. Only people. And only what it took for them to begin the work that God had called them to. And what was that work? Building the temple. Building the temple that was to stand as a witness of God’s faithfulness to His chosen people. The temple that was to stand as a witness to the nations that God is a God who is who He said He is and does what He says He’s going to do. The preparations had been made, the delay was finished. Now it was time to get to work. Where are we in that process tonight? I firmly believe that God has been preparing Brushfork Baptist Church for something. I don’t know what it is. But I know it is something that will make us stand as a witness to the nations around us. It will make us stand as a witness that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. That He is who He said He is and He did what He said He did. I don’t know what the work is, but I know it’s going to take a working church to do it. Just like it took a working remnant to build the temple foundations. So, what can that remnant teach us about how to be a working church? They can teach us three traits of a working church. The first trait is that a working church is mobilized. Look back at verse 8:
EZRA 3:8
A working church is mobilized. Here are a couple of people that we’re already familiar with. Remember that Jeshua was the chief priest and Zerubbabel was the chief prince. Zerubbabel’s bloodline enabled him to be the king. He was of the house of Judah, the line of David—so he had a royal bloodline. But he couldn’t be king, because God had forbid it because of the nation’s rebellion. But even though God wouldn’t allow him to be king, he was their leader. Along with Jeshua, he was their leader. And as their leaders, Zerubbabel and Jeshua mobilized all of the remnant. The Text says, “All they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem.” I remember in the days leading up to the first Gulf War. You remember back in August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait and threatened to invade Saudi Arabia. Within just a few days, the US began one of the biggest military mobilizations in history as we started Operation DESERT SHIELD. What was amazing about that time in the military was all the preparation that was put into practice. For several years after the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union, most people thought of their military service as just another job. It was routine. It was a day-to-day way to get a steady paycheck. But that day to day job was really just the preparation for what the real mission was. And when it was time for the real mission to happen, that’s when the military mobilized. And it was such a big operation that it affected everybody. That’s what a true mobilization does. It affects everybody. For the military, that meant clerks, cooks and comm guys like me. Not just the pilots and infantrymen and tank drivers. Full mobilization involves everybody. Just like it did with the remnant. ALL they that were come out of the captivity. Everybody was mobilized to accomplish the mission. Each and every one of them had a part in building the foundation. Now, I want you to picture that group of people for a minute. Do you suppose that each and every one of them had on their carpenter aprons? Do you suppose that each and every one of them had a trowel and a level in their hands? Of course not. So if they were ALL mobilized into action, but they all weren’t builders—what did they do? They did whatever they were able to do. They did whatever they were gifted to do. The ones who could build—built. The ones who couldn’t—did other things. Oh, that it might be that way with us when God calls us to a work. Not everyone in this church has the same abilities. Not everyone in this church has the same gifts. Not everyone can do the same things. You know what? God designed it that way. Some are called to do the prep work. We have preachers and teachers and servers and comforters and exhorters. But not everyone can teach. Not everyone can preach. But everyone can do something. And everyone is all it takes to do God’s work the right way. I think that is part of the problem with the church in America today. We have work that God has called us to do, but only parts of the church mobilize to do it. If God calls us to do a work with children, like He has with AWANAS and some of our other classes, the whole church needs to mobilize to do it. That doesn’t mean that everybody needs to teach. Just like the remnant being called to build the temple didn’t mean that everybody needed to grab a trowel. But it does mean that everybody needs to mobilize. If you can’t teach, support the teachers. Pray for them. Cook for them. Help them with their materials. Something—everybody can do something. And that’s just an example of something God’s already doing through us. There will be other things. When they come, are you ready to mobilize? No matter how you’re gifted or able, are you ready to mobilize? A working church is mobilized. A working church is also organized. Look back at verse 8—only especially the second part.
EZRA 3:8b
A working church is organized. Organized—boy, that’s a loaded word, isn’t it? A man looked out the window of his office building one day and saw two men working along the side of the road. The first man would work for a while digging a hole. When he got his hole to about three feet deep, he would move about 25 feet and start digging another one. As soon as he started the new hole, the other man would come behind him and fill in the one he just dug. While one was digging a new hole, the other was filling in the old one. This went on all morning. Finally, at lunch time, the office worker couldn’t stand it any longer. He left the office and walked over to where the two workers were taking their lunch break. He said, “It sure does look like you two are working hard today. But tell me something—I don’t understand what you’re doing. One of you digs a hole, just to have the other one come behind and fill it in. You don’t seem to be accomplishing anything.” The first worker looked at him as he was leaning on his shovel, “We work for the state. Normally, we’re a three-man work crew. I dig the hole, Sam sticks the tree in it, and Bob puts the dirt back. Just because Sam’s sick don’t mean me and Bob can’t go ahead and work.” Those three fellows sure were organized, weren’t they? They had a system down and nobody was going to mess with their system. But being organized isn’t always about having a system. As a matter of fact, organization can mean different things to different people. To the remnant, being organized meant having structure and oversight. Zerubbabel and Jeshua were the main leaders. And as the main leaders, they knew they couldn’t do it all. Maybe they took their cue from Moses. Remember Moses back in Exodus 18? Moses was trying to be THE leader of all the Israelites. He was trying to be the one with all the answers and all the plans and all the leadership. And it wasn’t working too well. That’s when his father-in-law Jethro stepped in. He gave him some really sound advice. Listen to what he told Moses in Exodus 18:17-23:
EXODUS 18:17-23
Basically, Jethro told Moses that he needed to get organized. He needed to put people in charge of different things. He would still handle the major decisions, but he needed to delegate the rest of it. Maybe Zerubbabel and Jeshua took their cue from Moses on this one. Because that’s exactly what they did here. They picked out all the Levites and gave them a responsibility. Their responsibility was, the King James says, “to set forward the work.” The word that’s translated “set forward” literally means “to act as an overseer” or “director” or “superintendent”. So what they did was to appoint the Levites as superintendents over the rest of the people. A modern company would call that a leadership hierarchy. I would just call it smart. There was no dictator there. Each Levite had oversight and was able to be an expert in the area he was overseeing. That way they were able to do things a whole lot more effectively and efficiently than if Zerubbabel and Jeshua were in charge of everything. Plus, it allowed each of them to use his gifts the way God wanted him to. And it gave each of them the sense of accomplishment that only comes with ownership. “This is my piece of the foundation and I’m going to make it the best it can be for the glory of God.” Throughout Scripture, God never calls just one leader. Kings were something the people wanted because they wanted to be like the other nations. But God’s design is for layered leadership with His Son as our ultimate leader. The pastor is not the king. The design of the church is Christ as the head with the pastor as the chief elder. In other words, a leader of leaders—fully submitted to the authority and headship of Christ. That is the biblical model and it is the only model that will allow us to fully accomplish the work God has planned for us. Are you ready for it? If God calls you to lead, are you willing? Are you willing to be organized? A working church is mobilized and it is organized. But without being unified, all the work in the world will just be a waste of time and will bring dishonor to God instead of glory. The final trait of a working church is that a working church is unified. Look at verse 9:
EZRA 3:9
A working church is unified. Look at the picture here. Here’s Jeshua. Standing next to him are his sons and his brothers. Then next to them is Kadmiel and his sons. And next to them more. And next to them more. And next to them more. All of them, side by side. Working in harmony. Working in common toward a common goal. Each man with a man by his side. What’s the key word of this verse? Together. They were all together. They were unified. Many years ago, a circuit riding preacher was passing through farm country on horseback when he stopped to watch a strange old farmer plowing his field. The single mule he had hitched to his plow, had blinders on. That was strange, but the strangest thing was what the farmer was yelling. He yelled, “Giddyap Pete! Giddyap Herb! Giddyap Bill! Giddyap, Jeb!” The preacher watched this go on for a while until his curiosity got the best of him. Finally, he asked the farmer, “How many names does that old mule have?” The farmer smiled and said, “Just one. His name is Pete.” “Well, why do you keep calling out all those names then?” The farmer said, “It’s like this—if ole Pete knew he was doing all this work by himself, he wouldn’t do a thing. But if he thinks he’s got three other mules working along side him, he does it all by himself without complaining.” That put a brilliant idea in the preacher’s mind for when he got back to his church. And that was the beginning of committees. Committees are wonderful and they can be a wonderful way to get things done. But they can’t do a thing unless people are unified. It doesn’t matter what kind of organization is in place—it will be completely ineffective if the people are not unified. There is no kind of mobilization that will energize and motivate and excite people unless they are unified. Well, if that’s the case, then how do we become unified? Well, there’s really only one way. But first, we have to rephrase the question. Instead of asking, “How do we become unified?” We need to ask, “What do we become unified around?” If we try to unify around the pastor, we will fail. If we try to unify around the deacons, we will fail. If we try to unify around the idea of church, we will fail. If we try to unify around our comfort, or our traditions, or our style, or our buildings, or our programs we will fail. So, if we can’t unify around any of those, what can we unify around? The only thing we can successfully unify around is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:22-25 says: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” The only thing that can truly unify us in love, is obedience to the truth of the Word which endures forever. Peter says that this is the gospel that is preached to you. So are you ready to mobilize? Are you willing to organize? Then we’d better unify. Not around a program or a person. But unify around full commitment and obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This gospel tells us we need to read together—then we’d better read together. It tells us we need to meet together, then we’d better meet together. It tells us we need to pray together—then we’d better pray together. It tells us we’d better reach out to one another in love—then that’s what we’d better do. It tells us we need to make disciples of Jesus everywhere we go, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—then that’s what we’d better do. I don’t know what work God has planned for us. But that’s what it will take to begin it. It’ll take mobilization. It’ll take organization. But before either one of those, it’ll take unification around the gospel of Jesus Christ. The foundation is waiting to be laid. Are you ready?
