In the 2nd chapter of Nehemiah, Nehemiah is the king’s cup bearer. It was his turn. He was so sorrowful that the king could see it. He ask Nehemiah what was wrong? He told the king about Jerusalem. The king asked what he wanted to do. Queen Esther was sitting next to him. Nehemiah asked that he could to Jerusalem to finish the work. The king gave him letters to convey him home. When you ask the King to go home and rebuild your temple, Jesus give you letters to convey you home (the bible). Nehemiah’s struggle wasn’t over. He had to build the temple and the walls of city. And the people of the land still came against him. The Israelites had to arm themselves with their swords and be ready to defend themselves. Rebuilding your temple isn’t easy. It is always simple. But you will have to arm yourself with the word of God, the sword of the Spirit. To be ready to answer any questions or problems that arise.

Crain Blanchard.

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Nehemiah was the king’s cup bearer. He was an important man in the Kingdom. And people from Jerusalem came and he asked about Jerusalem. They told him that the work of the temple has stopped. The people have abandon it and the walls are still broken down. And Nehemiah began to weep and to cry. For 3 days Nehemiah fasted and prayed to God. His prayer was of repentance. And the people with him also fasted and prayed. Nehemiah prayed for mercy and forgiveness. He wanted God to change the hearts of the people. He wanted the work to continue. His heart ached and his face showed it. A life of repentance is what we live. We need to ask God to forgive us on a daily basis because we’re not perfect. We aren’t to let sin dominate our lives. Prayer and fasting brings everything into focus. We begin to see what’s in our heart so that God can deal with us. Nehemiah prayed and fasted for 3 days. And God changed his world.

Crain Blanchard.

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In chapter 10, Ezra called for all the men of the captivity to gather at Jerusalem in front of the temple. He said any man that would not come would be separated from Israel and not have part with God’s promise. Every man showed up. As Ezra said many of you have taken strange wives (wives of other nations) and worshiping other gods. Today you have to separate yourself from the wives and children. Because this was a sin before God and we need to correct it, to repent. Priest and religious leaders had taken strange wives. They could not perform their duty before God because of it. Some men had children but they still had to separate themselves from their wives and their children. Then all Israel repented before God. This is the call of God. You can’t decide what you want. You have to surrender and let God have His way. God’s way is perfect and simple to follow. Ezra’s call was God’s call.

Crain Blanchard.

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Ezra lived under the law. Because the grace of God comes through Jesus Christ. Ezra had returned to Jerusalem to find out that the ruler, princes of Israel, had married heathens. And they were practicing worship of idols. Ezra sought God. He tore his clothes and lay before God the whole day. The people gathered for evening prayers. Ezra got up and began to preach the gospel. He recounted why Israel was taken captive in the first place. Then he talked about how in God’s mercy, He brought a remnant home to Jerusalem. Now you choose to sin against God again. God’s will is spelled out in the bible. It is exact. If you stray from it, how do you expect to survive. For the wages of sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life. God says choose life.

Crain Blanchard.

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King Cyrus was stirred by God to let the Israelites return to Jerusalem. He called for someone to lead the people back. Ezra was in Cyrus’s court as a scribe. Ezra volunteered and was chosen by the king for this expedition. Cyrus gave Ezra a kings ransom in silver and gold as a freewill offering. Ezra gathered everyone going home together. They fasted and prayed for 3 days. He didn’t want to ask the king for a military escort. Because he told the king that God called him to go. He was worried that thieves and robbers would steal everything. So they sought God and His mercy. The bible says that God was intreated. They made their way to Jerusalem with no incidents. Even when we have sinned against God, we can intreat God to forgive us. Because He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And all you have to do is ask.

Crain Blanchard.

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King Cyrus gave Ezra a command to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Ezra gathered everything together and the people who wanted to go back some 42000. As a begin to rebuild the temple persecution came. The people of the land did not want him to have their nation back again. Ezra went back to the king to get a letter from him saying that he was to rebuild the temple. Through all the persecution Ezra knew that he was supposed to rebuild no matter what. He never gave up hope he never gave up anything. He still was going to do what God told him to do. Through any persecution in our lives, we are to see this and not what we see right in front of our face. When we see the end we looked through God’s eyes. And when we see the end we can walk through it and go to the other side. As it says in The Bible in the Lord’s prayer, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.

Crain Blanchard.

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The Israelites that first returned after the captivity, begin rebuilding the temple, by order of king Cyrus. Apparently, it took a long time to rebuild the temple. As they were rebuilding, the people Nebuchadnezzar had put in Israel, didn’t like the Israelites coming home and rebuilding anything. They wrote to now king Artaxerxes that they were rebelling against the king and should be stopped. The king agree and the work on the temple was stopped. In the second year of Darius, God stirred the hearts of the prophets and told the Israelites to begin again. This time king Darius agreed with the Israelites. When the king called us out of captivity and told us to return home. We began and it seemed the the whole earth came against us. Some stopped and others pressed through the persecution. Our king is calling us home. We as individuals have to rebuild our temple in the image and likeness of God. God has given us everything we need to finish the task. And it is for us to finish by pushing through the persecution.

Crain Blanchard.

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Every believer will suffer persecution. This isn’t a new testament principle. It’s a biblical one. The Israelites had returned to Jerusalem. The bible says that when they read the word of God and saw the temple, the old men cried. The young men shouted for joy. The noise was so great they couldn’t hear the crying. Everyone was set in order of the work. Everything was going as planned, when the people of the land objected to the Israelites rebuilding the temple. They wrote a letter to the king saying they wouldn’t pay taxes and were going to rebel against the king. The king stopped the work on the temple. We as believers are the temple of God. We begin the process of rebuilding and something comes along to try and stop us. God says when you are tempted, He will always make the way of escape. So we aren’t tempted beyond what we are able. So it was with the Israelites. Believers being persecuted is nothing new.

Crain Blanchard.

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In the book of Ezra, is the story of the return from captivity. Israel had walked away from God. He sent them into captivity for 70 years. God stirred the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia, to let the Israelites return and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus gave them all the treasures from the temple and money to rebuild. He said anyone who wants to go, can. 42,000 men responded. It took them 7 months to walk from Babylon to Jerusalem. The old testament is as relevant to us today as it was then. God is the same, yesterday, today and forever. The return from captivity is about us. When God stirs the heart of man to return home, it is the act of traveling from sin to grace, home. And it takes faith, just like the Israelites had in their return home.

Crain Blanchard.

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Paul was writing to Timothy in Ephesus. Ephesus was a free and rich port in the Roman empire. They had all the modern conveniences, running water, sewer systems, paved roads and street lights. They also had Roman air conditioning. The city was wealthy. There was over 100,000 people. The temptation to chase money was great. Paul wrote as Jesus said, honor your master, so that God isn’t blasphemed. Even if your are a slave. God said that godliness with contentment is great gain. This is what we should strive for. God also said that the love of money is the root of all evil. So, how do we obtain godliness? By reading the word of God and doing what it says. And letting God have His way in your life. Then comes contentment, the peace of God that passes all understanding. I’ll say it again, godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6).

Crain Blanchard.

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