Study the Word

Guest (Male): Beginning our time on Study the Word with the testimony on God's provision. Here's Pastor Thom Keller.

Pastor Thom Keller: Vision elicits commitments from those who are called to that vision. When we had this opportunity to buy this building, we didn't go on a campaign. We just said if God wants us to have this, he wants us to have it. If you feel committed to give, give what God gives. Just do what he says.

If we get the money, we buy the building. If we don't, that's his will too. We'll go someplace else and do something else. In the end, all the money was raised in a three-week period. That was God. Vision elicits commitments because where God has a vision, he makes provision.

Guest (Male): The founder of Calvary Chapel, Pastor Chuck Smith, faithfully lived out and taught that where God guides, he provides. We here at Study the Word in Calvary Chapel Lebanon, as you've just heard, have caught that vision. Now we want to pass it on to you.

If you were with us last time, you'll remember Pastor Thom Keller was talking about vision. We learned God gives vision. It's passed on and people respond to it. Vision to fulfill the impossible. Vision so big that unless the Lord is in it, it's doomed to failure. With more, let's join Pastor Thom in Ezra chapter one as he picks up in verse 3.

Pastor Thom Keller: Note in verse 3 that Cyrus says all of you who are his people may return to Jerusalem. When you read this account, don't think that Cyrus commanded them all to go back. He did not. He made it voluntary. It was not under compulsion. Anyone who wanted to could return.

In Ezra 1 verse 4, it says, "And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem." Freewill offerings, it says. This request, and even the way Cyrus phrased it, would have immediately connected a devout Jew with the original request by King David, requesting that freewill offerings be given toward the building of the original temple.

David did not build the temple. He wanted to, but God said, "You're not the one to build it. You're a man that has shed much blood. Instead, your son Solomon will build the temple." But David put away a vast hoard of materials and money, gold and silver, to contribute toward the building. That's why in 1 Chronicles 29, as David is laying all this plan out for his son Solomon, David says, "And now because of my devotion to the temple of my God, I am giving all my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for this holy temple."

He goes on and then he invites the people to participate. In verse 6, he says, "Then the leaders of the fathers' houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains—again, this is back when Solomon is just going to be appointed king—then the leaders of the fathers' houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king's work, offered willingly." In verse 9, "Then the people rejoiced for they had offered willingly, because they had a loyal heart, and they had offered willingly to the Lord. And King David also rejoiced greatly."

So when Cyrus said, "Give of your offerings willingly, your willing offerings," they would have connected with that original temple being built. Going on to verse 5, it says, "Then God stirred the hearts of the priests and the Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of the Lord. And their neighbors assisted by giving them vessels of silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock. They gave them many choice gifts in addition to all the freewill offerings."

Notice it says then God stirred their hearts. Whose hearts? The hearts of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders. There is a very important truth that is revealed here that deals with this idea, the concept of vision and the power of vision. The Bible says where there is no vision, the people perish. Helen Keller, the blind woman, was once asked, "Can you imagine anything worse than being born blind?" She said, "Yes, being born with my eyesight but having no vision." If you're old enough to understand that, you realize that to live a life of no vision and no purpose is a meaningless life.

Let me make some practical applications from Ezra regarding vision. Number one, God starts the process by giving his vision to one person. But vision has no force, no power, unless it spreads from the visionary to those who have not yet caught the vision. Remember in verse one, it says in the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled Jeremiah's prophecy by calling a committee together? No. By stirring the heart of Cyrus. God gave the vision to one man, and the vision spread, and he put this proclamation into writing.

The second point is connected to the first. Vision is not the result of consensus, but rather true vision will result in consensus. Verse 5 says then God stirred the hearts of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders to return and rebuild. This vision given by God to one man, Cyrus, resulted in consensus. The leaders said yes, this is God. It was confirmed in their hearts. God gave it to one man, then it was confirmed. Note that all true visionaries and all true leaders are visionaries. It's one and the same. It's impossible otherwise.

Note here that the vision continued to spread from the visionary, Cyrus, to those without the vision. It isn't that the Jews didn't have the vision to go back, it's just that they would have deemed this to have been an impossibility. Cyrus, the most powerful ruler that the world had ever known—how could they possibly think of going back and rebuilding the temple? It wasn't even within the realm of possibility for them. Then note in verse 6 it says and their neighbors assisted them. The idea is the neighbors, too, caught this vision from God starting by Cyrus, going to the leaders, going to the Jews, and then even spreading to the neighbors, giving favor to load them up with silver and gold.

There are seven points in vision that we see here. Number one, the purpose of vision is to create a preferable future. This new homeless coalition that's in Lebanon is a perfect example. That's a vision of a preferable future, a Lebanon where people are not sleeping on the streets or under bridges or in cars, a place where they can be treated with dignity when they don't have a place to stay. That's a vision, and a vision of God is always for a preferable future.

Number two, the absolute goal of vision for ministry is to glorify God. When my wife and I were involved in the disaster relief action, we were coordinators for a number of years for Church of the Brethren. That's where people come together over two days in September and they raise a couple hundred thousand dollars. When my wife and I were put in charge of that, they had a monetary goal every year. I said let's change this. Let's make the primary goal to bring honor and glory to God. Let's make that our goal and let the money be secondary. If our purpose and our heart is to honor God, he'll take care of the rest of this.

When reporters or newspaper reporters or TV crews would come up and ask what our goal was for the year, I knew what they wanted to hear. We said our goal is to bring honor and glory to God. They'd get this little smirk. Is there a monetary figure that goes with that? Yes, but it's secondary. Our primary goal is to bring honor and glory to God. The absolute goal of vision for ministry is always to glorify God.

Number three, vision has no force, no power, no impact unless it spreads from the visionary to the visionless. Remember, vision comes to one person. It begins with one and spreads. If it's God's vision, it will spread.

Number four, vision when properly articulated does not make people afraid or doubtful, but instead it gets people excited. Example in point here is Cyrus.

Number five, vision usually outlasts the visionary. When I was on the board of the rescue mission back in the early eighties, I was on the board with Bob Ladd. Bob Ladd had the vision to start the Agape Family Shelter. That came from no one but Bob. I don't care what any of you have ever heard, it came from Bob. I was on the board when it came. That Agape shelter is going to outlive Bob. Vision that is from God will normally outlast the visionary.

Number six, vision elicits commitments from those who are called to that vision. It says they gave freewill offerings. This building is an example of that. Vision elicits commitments from those who are called to that vision. When we had this opportunity to buy this building, we didn't go on a campaign. We just said if God wants us to have this, he wants us to have it. If you feel committed to give, give what God gives. Just do what he says. If we get the money, we buy the building. If we don't, that's his will too. We'll go someplace else and do something else. In the end, all the money was raised in a three-week period. That was God. But vision elicits commitments. Because where God has a vision, he makes provision.

Number seven, vision unifies people. When it's truly God's vision, it brings people together. I think of the food pantry that Ken oversees. We kiddingly call it Ken's Army, but he's got a bunch of guys and some women that help him in that ministry. They love it. It's God's vision. It brings unity among people when it's his vision.

Note in verse 5 it says the people, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. You might ask, I thought there were twelve tribes? Verse 5 says call back the people, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to return. But you say I thought there were twelve tribes? Well, there were. There are. But only two were in the south, Judah and Benjamin. People will say, "But I hear about these ten lost tribes." Have any of you ever heard the ten lost tribes? Have you ever heard that phrase? They're not lost. If you ever hear that, they never were lost.

According to James, who wrote the book of James nearly 600 years later, James 1:1 says this: "James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad." James knew they were still there and they were scattered. And God knows that there are still twelve tribes. In Revelation 7 verse 4, it says, "And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God: 144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel: from Judah 12,000, from Reuben 12,000, from Gad 12,000," and it goes down through all twelve tribes. So they're not lost.

The reason I say this is that many times this lost tribes card is played in order to elevate a particular ethnic group or some subculture who's trying to exalt themselves and lift themselves above other people. "We're one of the lost ten tribes, and because of that, we're special." Please don't get caught up in that. When you hear the lost ten tribes, just walk away from it. They're not lost. You don't have to find them. And if you are part of it and it matters, you'll find out. You're saved, and that's more important than being in the lost ten tribes.

Going on to verse 7, it says King Cyrus himself brought out the valuable items which King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Lord's temple in Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his gods. Cyrus directed Mithredath, the treasurer of Persia—a pretty high position—to count the items and to present them to Sheshbazzar, the leader of the exiles returning to Judah. These were the items Cyrus donated: 30 gold trays, 1,000 silver trays, 29 silver censers, 30 gold bowls, 410 silver bowls, and 1,000 other items. It says in all, 5,400 gold and silver items were turned over to Sheshbazzar when the exiles returned there from Babylon.

In these days, when a land was conquered, the conquering nation would put on display in their land the sacred objects of their defeated foes. They would put them on display, the point being that our gods were strong enough to conquer your gods. And here's the proof: here are your puny gods in captivity, and they can do nothing against our gods. This is the reason that all of these items taken from the temple were saved and collected.

Then it says Cyrus directed to count out these items, Mithredath and Sheshbazzar. It was common for conquering kings—and you know this in the book of Daniel as an example—for kings to rename the Jews with names that were common in their nation. For instance, Nebuchadnezzar renamed Daniel Belteshazzar, and his three compatriots Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So this name here, Sheshbazzar, most people believe that this Sheshbazzar was actually the Persian name that was given to Zerubbabel, that it's one and the same. Keep that in mind, that these items were turned over to Zerubbabel to go back to rebuild the temple.

Verse 9 says this is a list of the items that were returned, and then it goes through this list of items. It says 5,400 gold and silver items were returned. I find it interesting. Remember we talked about how Cyrus took Babylon? The Tigris river goes right through Babylon. Babylon that wall was 60 miles around, 15 miles per side, 300 feet tall, 80 feet thick. Cyrus conquered it by diverting the Tigris river and going in through the riverbed.

I find it interesting that through the conquering of Babylon, these items not only did not get ransacked by looters from either side, but that they even continued to remain cataloged. In other words, Cyrus and the Persians were still able to look at these items and say these came from the temple in Jerusalem. Wouldn't you think that that would have gotten a bit disheveled? What it says to me is that Cyrus came into the city so quickly and conquered it so suddenly that these items did not get ransacked and they stayed cataloged through that period. Then verse 8 says Cyrus directed Mithredath, the treasurer of Persia, to count these items and present them.

How does this lesson apply to me? First, take note that God used Cyrus, an unbelieving Persian, to impart God's vision to the Jews in order to rebuild the temple. Here's the point: don't quickly discount or scoff at the seemingly impossible vision of another, even if it comes from an unbeliever or someone the world treats as being of little worth. I've often said God has used some of the most unlikely people to teach me things that I needed to learn.

The second point is don't walk away from a dream just because it seems impossible. The greater the impossibility, the more glory God receives when he does it. Unless God's in it, it's destined to fail.

Number three, when you are following God's vision, don't try to anticipate where the required talent, resources, or funds will come from. On the day Babylon was conquered by the Persian Empire, do you think there was even one single Jew who could have imagined that this new conquering king was going to send them back with provisions to rebuild the temple? Nobody was dreaming that big.

In Proverbs 28, it says this: "One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion gathers it for him who will pity the poor." Here's the idea: God has a way—think of Cyrus—God has a way of getting the riches of the unrighteous placed into the hands of the righteous who pity the poor. He's famous for that. Don't let the lack of resources stop your dream. However, don't begin until you have the resources. I've seen a lot of people make this mistake. God's provision will follow his vision. If you begin before you have the resources, you are moving ahead of God. You're even tempting God. But that said, don't let the lack of resources stop you from dreaming.

Number four, how can you be sure that it is God's vision and not yours? Because when it is God's vision, you won't have to schmooze others or push others. You won't have to sell it to others. You won't have to do anything except present it, and you will watch as God leads people to catch that same vision. The women's shelter here is a prime example. When that idea was floated, people just—did you ever have a piece of plastic and it has static and you try to shake it from you? That's how it was. Pieces of plastic just kept sticking to this idea, more and more people. There's no question that this women's shelter that we're working on is God's vision.

Number five and lastly, dream big. Dare to dream big. Remember, God has a bigger box than you do. We have a lot of talented people. We have a lot of very gifted people. Don't let that stop you. God can use even you if you're willing to humble yourself and say it's going to happen not because of my talent, not because of my ability. If you can get out of the way and let him do it, he can use even you.

Some of you say, "I'm in the other category. I don't think God could use me in that way. I'm not a dreamer. I'm not smart enough. I've got physical or mental limitations." Here's the truth: the more unqualified you think you are, the more qualified God thinks you are. The fastest way to disqualify yourself is to think you're qualified. God's power shows up best in your weakness.

I'll end with a story. This is told by Tony Campolo, a true story. He says I was asked to be a counselor in a junior high camp. Everybody ought to be a counselor in a junior high camp just once. A junior high kid's concept of a good time is picking on people. In this particular case, at this particular camp, there was a little boy who was suffering from cerebral palsy. His name was Billy, and they picked on him. Oh, they picked on him. As he walked across the camp with his uncoordinated body, they would line up and imitate his motions.

I watched him one day as he was asking for directions. "Which way is the craft shop?" he stammered, his mouth contorting as he spoke. And the boys mimicked him in that same awful stammer. "It's over there, Billy." And then they laughed. I was irate. But my furor reached its highest pitch when on Thursday morning it was Billy's cabin's turn to give devotions.

I wondered what would happen because they had appointed Billy as the one to speak that morning. I knew it was just that they wanted him to get up and make fun of him. As he dragged his way to the front, you could hear the giggles rolling over the crowd. It took Billy almost five minutes to say seven words. Five minutes to say seven words. He said, "Jesus loves me and I love Jesus."

When he was finished, there was a dead silence. I looked over my shoulder and I saw junior high boys bawling all over the place. A revival broke out in the camp after Billy's short testimony. And as I have traveled all over the world, Tony says, I have found missionaries and preachers who have said, "Do you remember me? I was converted at that junior high camp." We counselors had tried everything to get these kids interested in Jesus. We even imported baseball players whose batting averages had gone through the roof since they started praying. But God chose not to use the superstars. He chose to use a kid with cerebral palsy to break the spirits of the haughty. He is that kind of God. God can use you.

Guest (Male): God can use each one of us. You need only make yourself available to him in faith, believing he is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or imagine. Thanks for studying the word with Pastor Thom Keller. Today we've been in the book of Ezra. You can hear the study again by going to ccleb.com. Visit ccleb.com and have a look under resources, and there you'll find our teaching archives. Or call and request a CD copy at 717-507-7862. That's 717-507-7862.

This month, we're pleased to offer you an excellent book by Andrew Murray called "The Blessings of Obedience." Obedience isn't a popular word these days. We live in a world where people fight for their will and way and consider rules an inconvenience. But obedience to God is much more than just following rules. It's a matter of the heart and a true blessing. Andrew Murray has an eye on God's love behind his commands and the grace the Lord offers us that makes it all possible to obey.

We'll send this to you with our thanks for a gift of any amount to Study the Word. Please remember your contribution makes it possible for us to present Study the Word on this station. Call 717-507-7862. Or you can write to Study the Word, 740 Willow Street, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, 17046.

You're always invited to join us for a worship service here at Calvary Chapel Lebanon. Turn to ccleb.com for our service times, church news, directions, and more info. Please introduce yourself to Pastor Thom after the service. He'd love that. Download our free Android app when you get a chance. Search Calvary Chapel Lebanon in the Google Play Store. We'll pick up where we left off in Ezra next time on Study the Word with Pastor Thom Keller. Until then, keep studying the word.