Moved By the Spirit
Ezra 1:5-6
Watch on YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U16bCwoYr-8
While reading the book of Ezra, the Lord wouldn’t allow me to move beyond chapter one and specifically to meditate on verses five and six.
Ezra begins by taking us back to Jeremiah’s prophecy that after 70 years of Babylonian captivity, God was going to bring the Jews back to their homeland, the land of Israel.
Through Jeremiah, the Lord said, “After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.” (Jeremiah 29:10 NKJV)
And then Ezra talked about who was going to go, and what those who remained behind did for those who went.
“Then the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. And all those who were around them encouraged them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.” (Ezra 1:5-6 NKJV)
My hope today is that this message is both practical and inspirational for all of us, and that it will encourage and energizes us to find God’s calling and purpose for wherever we may be, and whatever comes our way.
What we see from our passage are the types of people that make ministry happen.
1. Called by God
This is seen in the first part of verse five.
“Then the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites…” (Ezra 1:5a NKJV)
God had specifically called the tribe of Levi to minister before Him and to minster to the people on His behalf (Numbers 18:26). And also the heads of each of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, or the southern two tribes of the house of Israel where the city of Jerusalem is located, which are the tribes that were taken into captivity.
These were the ones that God had called to go and start the rebuilding project for the new temple (Ezra 3:8). These were the ones that God had specifically called to ministry.
What about today? How will we know if we are of the called by God?
Let me say that God raises up those He calls, and everyone will know it. But if we say that God has called us, or if we have to promote ourselves, then there’s a very good chance that it’s self-promotion, not God.
I have had people come into my office in Vegas, as well as a couple of times here in Mesquite and tell me that God has called them as a prophet, or that God has called them to this or that ministry. And then ask if they can get in front of the congregation and give their message or do their thing. My answer is usually, “Not at this time.” And that’s mainly because they either couldn’t define exactly what the ministry was, or how their answers revolved more around them doing the work rather than God.
I have also had people tell me that God has given them this or that giftedness, but when I start digging deeper, they start using the “God Card” saying, “God has called me, and God knows my heart.” At this juncture I usually thank them, but inside I just want to say, “Well God does know your heart, and he says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked and beyond cure, and who can truly know it.” (paraphrase)
What I have found is that those who revert to the “God Card” to validate their ministry or message by using, “God told me,” may not have been called, but are rather calling themselves.
When you are called by God, others will know it. They knew who the Levites were and their calling, and your calling will be evident as well.
But what about today, how does somebody know? Well, we’ll know because they will already be operating within that gift. If God has called you to be a teacher, then you’re already teaching in some way. Teaching, you might say, is in your blood.
Ilona, our oldest granddaughter will probably be a teacher someday. Now, I can’t say for sure if this is a prophetic word, but when she was living with us for the first five years, she would pull out all her stuff animals into a classroom setting and began teaching them. I have no idea what she was teaching but she was teaching. There were even times when some of the animals had to go to time out because they weren’t listening.
Let me just says that man ratifies what God has already ordained and commissioned.
For myself, I knew that I was called to be a teacher, and in my spirit, I also knew that I was to be a pastor, although I really didn’t want the job. But when I was asked to teach a home fellowship and some Bible classes, I followed the pastor’s lead, and God did the rest.
Was everything in order in my life, no, and it never will be. No one is ever without problems or difficulties. But what is important is that we’re dealing with them. I like to say it like this, “It’s not about perfection; rather it’s about direction.”
One person said, “My house isn’t in order.” I asked, “Are you taking the necessary steps to remedy the problem,” and they said they were, and I said, “Tag, you’re it.” He turned out to be a great worship leader, a teacher, and a pastor.
Just a short story about myself and hopefully you will catch the drift. I was asked if I would start teaching a morning worship service. I told my pastor that I would pray about it. He said, “Dennis, for you to pray about this is sin.” Now, while that sounds harsh, it was true. You see I was using prayer as a way of escape.
But I also learned a lesson in leadership, and that is, you will never lead until you first learn how to follow. Since he was the senior pastor of the church, I followed. God did the rest.
Has God called you? Do others see it and affirm God’s calling? Has the leadership asked you to step up? There you go. You’ve been called.
The next group of people are described in the later part of verse five.
2. Moved by the Spirit
“With all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.” (Ezra 1:5b NKJV)
Now this is not saying that those who had been called, the leaders and the Levites weren’t moved by the Spirit, but here we see others who the Holy Spirit moved upon their heart to go and get the job done. These are those who God had given special gifts and talents to be used in reestablishing Jerusalem and rebuilding the Temple.
We see a similar move of the Spirit in the building of the wilderness tabernacle after their freedom from the Egyptians. The Lord told Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab (a-ho-li'-ab) the son of Ahisamach, (a-lish’-a-mash) of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all who are gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you.” (Exodus 31:2-6 NKJV)
I call these people, seconds, and I use that term in a very respectful way. Take for instance Joshua. He was Moses’s second, or understudy. His spirit was moved to follow and to serve Moses and God. What I find interesting is that if you ever wanted to find Joshua, all you had to do was go to the tabernacle, and he’d be sitting outside the door.
In the New Testament, Paul had several, like Silas. You don’t hear much about him except he joined Paul on his 2nd missionary journey and was there in prison with him in Philippi. You also have Timothy, who joined in with Paul and learned the ministry from him. And there was also Luke who wrote the Gospel along with the Book of Acts, and the husband-and-wife team of Aquila and Priscilla, to name a few.
Today, those who’s spirits are moved in this same sort of way are those God has called to help, to stand alongside and be helpers to the leadership. Take for instance Aaron and Hur. They stood beside Moses and helped him keep his arms raised while the battle raged below.
All of these men and women were vital to God’s plan.
Now, we have names for these individuals within the church, they are called deacons, that is, those who serve, because that is what the word means.
What I have seen are those who are faithful in serving, and God moves them up. But still, some remain right where God wants them to be, because they perform a vital function within the body of Christ right where they are.
The Bible says, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much.” (Luke 16:10 NKJV)
The third set of people are called encouragers.
3. Encouragers
And all those who were around them encouraged them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.” (Ezra 1:6 NKJV)
Because this is in the next verse, and it doesn’t say the Spirit moved upon them, some think that it wasn’t as much a move of the Spirit as those who were sent, which is wrong, because each person plays a vital role in the ministry.
The first thing we see is that they encouraged. Now, within the context of the passage it says it was with monetary means. And while we’ll talk about that later, I would like for us to stay focused on the idea of encouragement.
Paul said, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)
And the writer of Hebrews said, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:13 NIV)
Unfortunately, today Christians are known more for shooting their wounded than for their encouragement.
Dale Carnegie said, “Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.”
However, instead of saying, “Way to go, we’re behind you all the way, we’ve got your back,” we’re talking smack behind their backs, and sometimes even to their face.
I like Jesus’s statement to those about ready to stone a woman caught in adultery. He said, “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.” (John 8:7 paraphrase) Or when He was addressing the Pharisees, Jesus said, “Hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” (Matthew 7:5 NIV)
But this is nothing new. We see the same thing with the Israelites. We’re they grateful to God and Moses for their deliverance, yes and no.
It says that the people complained, and God sent down fire from heaven and consumed them (Numbers 11:1-3). It also said they didn’t like the manna and so they craved some meat, so God sent them lots and lots of quail, and while the meat was still between their teeth, God struck them with a severe plague (Numbers 11:4-35).
But the two instances that stand out the most for me is when Aaron and Miriam rebelled against Moses’s leadership saying they were as much leaders and Moses, but because Aaron was the High Priest, God never struck him with leprosy, but not so Miriam, she was stricken and placed outside the camp until she was pronounced clean (Numbers 12).
And let’s not forget Korah from the tribe of Levi along with 250 leaders of the Jews. They opposed Moses saying He had gone too far, and they were just as holy, that is, set apart by God as he was. And so, as they burned incense before the Lord it says the earth opened up and Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, along with their families and possessions fell straight into the fires of hell, and the 250 leaders were offering the incense in the tabernacle were consumed from a fire sent down by God (Numbers 16).
Aren’t you glad we’re in the days where God gives us mercy and grace? Otherwise we’d all be crispy critters.
The writer of Hebrews tells us to obey and submit to those in leadership because they watch out for our souls. And the reason is so that they can do so with joy and not be grieved, because in the end that would be unprofitable for us (Hebrews 13:17).
4. Willing Givers
And all those who were around them encouraged them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.” (Ezra 1:6 NKJV)
Like the encouragers, these are also moved by the Spirit in their giving.
When the first tabernacle was being built by these men whom the Spirit of the Lord moved upon, it says that that people were bringing so many offerings that there was more than enough and then some. And what I find amazing is that it says that the people were restrained from bringing in any more (Exodus 36:5-7).
Frankly, I have yet to see that in today’s church. Instead, what I have seen are pledge cards and vision casting for people to give more. In fact, I have seen where there are some who target big donors.
Please understand that the one thing I hate most is talking about giving. But I do and will again, because by not talking about it, I am depriving you from a blessing. And our giving is one of the spiritual disciplines God asks us to follow.
But can I just say that those who follow the precepts of biblical giving have been blessed in many ways.
Now, giving willfully and abundantly is found within the Bible.
We see Paul thanking the church in Philippi saying that no church shared in giving as they did. They even sent this guy, Epaphroditus, to help Paul out. And Paul also thanked the church in Thessalonica for sending monetary gifts again and again to meet his needs. And I love Paul’s response, in that he didn’t so much seek the gift as he did the fruit that they would receive because of their sacrificial giving (Philippians 4:15-19).
Recently, I wrote a devotional entitled, “Let’s Stop Counting.” It came from something Jesus said about our charitable deeds. He said, “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” (Matthew 6:3 NKJV)
What I find amazing is how meticulous we are when it comes to recounting our good deeds and/or how much we give. We’re much like those Pharisees Jesus commented about saying not only how much they give, but how meticulous they were in the tithe, even giving a tenth of a leaf of a particular spice, all the while forgetting what it is truly all about, or what Jesus calls the weightier matters of the law; justice, mercy, and faith (Matthew 23:23).
In the end, our giving is to be led by the Holy Spirit, that is, we are to be moved by the Spirit in our giving and to be willing to give as God directs.
What I find interesting is that we pray for God’s supernatural intervention in our finances, but we are unwilling to follow His instructions in our giving.
Now we see this type of giving, that is giving willingly in what Paul said to the Corinthian church.
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV)
Conclusion
Now I know that when many of you saw the title of today’s message you were probably thinking I was going to talk about being filled and baptized in the Holy Spirit. And I will soon, because the Holy Spirit is vital in our becoming energized to engage.
But can I say this. When we’re moved by the Spirit into these areas of doing things God’s way, instead of man’s, then we will see the Spirit move in our midst. Why? Because we’re doing it God’s way, and God will honor it.
Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” (John 12:26 NKJV)
