Sunday 01:20:13

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Calling – Faith-Filled and Ready More than 120 years before the events recorded in Ezra, Isaiah spoke of a leader who would rebuild Jerusalem. Isaiah 44:24-28 More than 120 years later, Cyrus rises as the king of Persia. Ezra 1:1-11 Cyrus helps the exiles return to Jerusalem v. 1 – “to fill the word of the Lord” – Cyrus may have known the prophecy from Isaiah that bore his name. “the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus” – Cyrus was not a Jew. Jehovah was not his God. Yet, God moved him and would use him to keep his promise to restore Jerusalem. He used several Persian kings to fulfill his will. We often think that God’s work is limited to our resources. God’s resources have no limits. He can use anyone to accomplish all that He desires. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.” – Proverbs 21:1 We often limit our prayers to things that we think we can accomplish. That is not God-honoring prayer. Romans 4:17-21 Abraham believed in God We serve “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” When you pray, pray with faith. You are praying to the God Who can accomplish anything and everything He desires. vv. 2-4 the decree went out all over the Medo-Persian empire. This decree went out to all the area to which the Israelites had been scattered. vv. 5-8 – Only people from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and priests and Levites returned. – What about the other tribes They did not return. Why? Perhaps God did not move them to. Perhaps they were too fractured – the northern kingdom had been deported by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. (160 years prior), then ruled by the Babylonians, now Persians. Perhaps they were too comfortable where they were living – we know many became successful where they were deported to. Perhaps they were afraid. For whatever reason, there are always people who do not move when God calls. We have all had times when God was calling us to something, but we were unsure or too comfortable or afraid. But what they missed – God moving to fulfill prophecies he had made even 900 years before to Moses, specific prophecies he had made to Isaiah and Jeremiah. He would use Cyrus and other Persian kings to help rebuild the temple – the temple that Jesus would come to 500 years later to teach and worship. God was building a remnant of people back in Jerusalem who would witness Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. God brought Jews back to Jerusalem, building a remnant to fulfill his promise to bring the Messiah to them. He would use kings and ordinary people to accomplish his extraordinary calling. But not everyone wanted to be a part of it. When God calls, will you answer? What are you called to? What has he gifted you with? Are there things that he has called you to already that you have been reluctant to do? Don’t wait. The stories of Nehemiah and Ezra are a perfect metaphor for the church. The way the body functions is for every member to respond to God’s calling. The body functions when every member utilizes the gifts God has given and works to fulfill his work. If he’s called you to serve someone, serve. If he’s called you to love someone, love them. If he’s called you to lead, lead. If he’s called you to encourage someone, encourage them. Don’t wait, be faith-filled and do it. And let’s pray to the God who “calls things that are not as though they were.” He can accomplish his extraordinary calling through ordinary people.