Reestablish
Pastor Marq Toombs • May 09, 2021
Sermon Overview
EZRA 3:8–13
As the new foundation for the temple is laid, we see that some rejoice while others weep. what does this teach is about the nature of worship? Why were some weeping at such a magnificent and joyous event?
Sermon Transcript
May grace and peace be with you from the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's wonderful to be with you this Lord's day, and I look forward to entering into this story with you as we continue our series - Return.
About 20 years ago my son Dagan, was trying to build a LEGO set. I don't remember what it was - probably he had something Medieval-themed, or Lord of the Rings-themed, I don't remember. I just remember it was complicated. And he went as far as he could go trying to build this, and felt that it was impossible to finish. And so he gave up and he went to bed. And being the totally awesome dad that I am, I decided that I would stay up late, and finish that project for him. And the next morning when he woke up, walked into the front room where this project was finished, and seated on the table, he glared at it, and then he glanced over at me, and he began to take it apart piece by piece. That was not the rejoicing, and hugging, and thankful response that I was hoping for. But I learned that what Bono, the cultural prophet said is true, "That the hands that build can also pull down - even the hands of love."
Well, why do I share this story with you? For two reasons: One is that I want all of you parents to know that I feel your pain in parenting. Parenting is hard work, and I am still traumatized all these years later by that LEGO experiment. And the second reason I share it with you is because I want all of you kids to know a new way to traumatize your parents. After all - misery loves company.
Like the returning exiles in this story we have made a beginning of this new series Return. The story takes place about 2,600 years ago, but it is relevant for us because as Paul tells us in Romans 15, "Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction so that through endurance, and through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope." And God knows that we need hope even today.
After spending 70 years as captives in a foreign land God's people have finally returned back home, back to their homeland, back to what is called the House of the Lord. And so far we have seen how the people of God made this several hundred-mile journey around the Fertile Crescent and made their way back to Jerusalem and Judah. They have rebuilt the altar, and they have reestablished the worship of God as the ground zero of their life. And then today we see the second part of this rebuilding project where they lay the foundations of the temple. They lay the foundations of the House of God. After that, they're going to actually build the temple, and then beyond that rebuild the walls that were destroyed 70 years ago.
So our focus today will be on reestablishing something, reestablishing the foundation of the temple. Not just the temple in their day and age but the temple in our day and age as well. Ezra 3 tells us that reestablishing the foundation was a multi-generational community project. You can see in the story that clergy and laity of all ages and all tribes were working together to complete this project. That means that everyone was breaking a sweat. Everyone was getting their hands dirty, especially the men 20-years-old and up, and men from the priestly tribe.
When you read something like that in the scripture - just a little side note - when you see something like “20-years-old and up” it's not simply saying, “hey, young people got involved”, although that is what happened. But what it's saying is that the men who were of fighting age got involved. And this is the Holy Spirit's subtle reminder to us that worship is warfare. It is warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil. And when you engage in worship, whether it's gathering on the Lord's day, or building something, or going on mission with God, it is a warfare, conflict against the world, the flesh, and the devil. And you see that more and more as the story develops. I won't get into it now to steal our thunder, but to simply say that as all of these people engaged in this it was not an easy task. They have to fight against themselves. They have to fight against critics. And they have to conduct themselves in a manner that pleases God, and it's hard work.
Some of them were supervisors. Some of them were diggers. Some were stonecutters. Others were builders. And what you see if you dig deep into this is it is tedious and laborious work. It's dirty, and messy, and sweaty work. And at the beginning of this work, there's not a lot to look at. There's nothing sexy, attractive, exciting about this work. They're just digging a deep hole in the ground, which means that they are hauling out a lot of dirt, they're bringing in a lot of workers, and it is tough work. The principle we learned here and elsewhere in scripture is that: If you don't go deep, you can't go high. And so they've gotta do the important work now of going deep so they can go high when they build the temple.
Worship is work. The word liturgy literally means the work of the people. So when you gather here, and you feel like “Man, it was hard going today, it was rough to get through that service.” Hey, we're working together on something. And as you heard last week worship involves more than what we're doing here on this hour on the Lord's day. It certainly doesn't involve less than that — but it involves more than that. And there is no substitute or alternative to doing the hard work of worshiping God. Now imagine these people after 70 years of sheltering in place in Babylon, they're finally back in their homeland, and they are ready to re-establish the worship of God at the center of their life.
A few years ago my family and I moved to Oaxaca, Mexico, to help reestablish a church that had fallen on hard times. The church building and grounds were a reflection, a symbol of what was happening in the hearts, and the lives of the members of that little congregation. The neighboring businesses and families referred to that church as, La Iglesia Abandonada, the Abandoned Church. And they all said it because it was so gloomy around there. Broken windows, and faded paint, and dead plants, and a trash heap, and a rusted fence, and busted gate. The neighbors were not wrong to call it, La Iglesia Abandonada. And so the ministers and a few of the other men of that church set out to repair the ruins. We hired a full-sized dump truck to back in there, and over the course of many, many hours we filled that thing to the brim with all kinds of debris. It was a pain-staking and blister-making work. And we had to endure and not a few critics, and complaints from people who did not want to participate in that work. But when all was said and done, after several weeks of working on this project, the church was repaired, repainted, and restored. And the ministers actually won the respect of the people - albeit for a short time. And the worship and the mission of God was re-established in that place. And at the end of it, all we held a glorious convivio, a glorious fellowship meal, to commemorate that milestone, and celebrate the Lord work among us.
That's what we see happening in this story in Ezra 3. They laid the foundation, they made a beginning, and they still had a long way to go. But this milestone called for a party of special magnificence. And they pulled out all the stops. You see in the story that they bring out the musicians. And also the priests come out dressed in their vestments. When the foundation was set in place and reestablished the people gathered at the House of the Lord by faith. I don't want you to blow past that statement - because keep in mind that when they gather at the House of the Lord there is no house on that foundation. They are gathered by faith in what they believe will eventually be the House of the Lord.
The priests come out in their vestments, and this is an important detail because again, they're rolling out everything - the red carpet, they're pulling out all the stops. The vestments are special clothes worn by the priest not to make the priest seem more special than the people were, but to make God more special to the people. And the reason for that is because God ordained the priests to serve as his representatives to the people. They were the bridge between God and his people. And so their vestments were symbolic of the glory and the majesty of the Lord God. It was a way of saying to all the people, God is back home. God is with his people. God is here to love and serve his people even as they draw near to love and serve him. And that's why some of you come from traditions where maybe your ministers - you saw ministers who wore those special kinds of vestments that became a custom in the church throughout history to do that sort of thing. It marked them out as Christ's ministers, Christ's servants for his church.
Last week Zach shared some things that he and I kicked around in the office. We talk about all kinds of things. And so in the spirit of sharing some of our pastoral delights and disappointments, I would like to share something with you all even now. I might as well be the first one to tell you that, sooner or later, when this exile of exiles is all over we will gather for worship wearing vestments. I mean, wouldn't you just love to see your pastors in liturgical robes? I can hardly wait, but Zack might be thinking "Over my dead body!"
Well, we're both in luck because this will take place on the day when we pass through that door in the sky, and gather around the throne of grace, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. On that day all pastors and presbyters, and the rest of God's people who have passed through hard times of exile will be clothed in white liturgical robes. And then the sign and seal of our baptism will be fully realized. We will all be vested with the peace and the purity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And finally, the thing that we've all hoped and prayed for will come true, that we will be conformed to the image and likeness of Jesus. It's all described so beautifully in Revelation 4-7 when you have time.
Now I can tell that some of you are relieved that all of this will only take place at the end of all things. And a couple of you are disappointed that we will have to wait until that day. But until that time comes what are we doing here?
We are former captives who have returned to the House of the Lord. We worship in spirit and in truth before the throne of Jesus Christ. We sing to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to praise the Lord - just as our forefathers did on that day when the foundation of the temple was laid. Look at verse 11 again. It says, "They responded to the foundation with responsive singing." Responsive meaning praising on one hand, giving thanks on the other. Some people view this as one part of the congregation sang to one other part, and then the other part sang back to them, and back and forth. There were certainly responsive psalms where the people would sing, "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His merciful love endures forever. His loving mercy is eternal for his people." And it's in light of who God is, and what God was doing for his people that all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord.
What we have here is a picture of congregational participatory worship. It is a liturgy of communal participation in the life, and the story of God. The word for praise here - the Hebrew word for praise here simply means to celebrate the Lord with music and singing. This is what your ministers and your musicians strive to help us do every Lord's day. We want to celebrate the Lord with the full range of thought, and feeling, and movement. We don't wanna gather here as brains on sticks. We are not the frozen chosen. God has called us to worship.
Now I will never tell you how to feel when you gather in worship. I don't want anyone telling me how to feel when we gather in worship. But I will tell you that you should never hold back when you draw near before God in worship. We want to encourage you to offer yourself to God with all of your body, and all of your soul, and all of your heart, and all of your mind.
Worship is wonder. So you should open your heart, and loosen your lips, and lift your hands, even clap your hands. You might even try dancing a bit as you offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of lips that confess his Name. So whether you feel joyful or sorrowful when you gather in worship, I encourage you with all of your heart to let it flow - to let it fly. Offer it up to the Lord. And yes - it might get loud. But if it's loud it's because you are bold to worship the true and living God.
We've gotta be less self-conscious in worship, and far more God-conscious in our worship. Isn't that what you see in this story? Some wept with a loud voice, and others rejoiced with a loud voice.
Why the two different responses to the work of God, and the laying of the foundation? Is this just another story about a worship war? Is it a clash of worship styles? Is this the traditionalist versus contemporary worshipers? Was this just a matter of old people complaining about young people? No, not at all. Keep in mind that when they gathered for worship on this day - the worship they did, the liturgy they followed was super traditional and biblical. It had been around for hundreds of years. And they were worshiping according to the scriptures. They're following the great tradition of their heritage, and everyone loved it.
So why do you have some weeping and some rejoicing? Well, it comes down to vantage point. It comes down to different perspectives and different experiences. If you read Ezra and Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah, altogether you learn that when the older generation saw the smaller size and scope of the foundation it moved them to tears. They wept because they realized that this new temple was going to be much smaller than the older temple that they saw with their own eyes before the exile when they were little children. And so to them the smaller temple meant less glory, less grace, more shame, more sorrow. On the other hand, when the younger generation saw the size and scope of this new temple, they rejoiced with a loud cry. Why? Because they had never even seen a temple. They had never heard priests teaching the word of God. They never sang with the musicians the psalms that God had given them. And so for them, this was a glorious moment. But there's a clash of perspectives - and even interests - here.
You've seen this in your own life, haven't you? It's easy to get caught up in this kind of thing where you compare and contrast one thing with another. One place with another. One experience with another. You assume that the way we've always done things is the only way we'll always do things, and it's the only right way to do things. On the other hand, you assume that what's happening now is totally better than whatever happened before. Why? Because it's happening now.
Was one side right and the other side wrong? Not necessarily. The Spirit does not condemn those who lamented, nor does the Spirit congratulate those who rejoiced. What we actually find is that the Spirit comforted both.
Zechariah 4 says to those who despise the day of small things “You shall rejoice."
And Haggai 2 says to those who were rejoicing in that day “my Spirit remains with you — fear not."
There is a time for everything under heaven, a time for weeping and a time for rejoicing. And the House of God, and the Spirit of God are big enough for both expressions of worship - even at the same time. It's simply a matter of experience and perspective.
Now to help you feel some of the weight of this story I wanna take you back in time to October of 2019. Many of you recall that glorious night that so many of you went down to Mesquite on the other side of the lake to worship and fellowship with a small cross-cultural congregation known as Christ Covenant Church.
And what you might not have realized at that time is that we all experienced the same thing that the exiles returning to Jerusalem experienced. When they saw the foundation of the temple some wept - others rejoiced. It might've occurred to you that on that night when we gathered together many of us were rejoicing, and praising the Lord together. But some of us were weeping, and grieving before the Lord, at the same time, in the same place, for the same reasons. Why?
We could all see the Lord's gracious work and his glorious will for our two congregations, but it impacted each of us in very different ways. As I've said to you before I say now again, that the hardest things to do in life are to bid farewell for the last time and to say hello for the first time. And that's what was happening that night. Snake! Boom! Wow! [Note: A reference to the sermon Pastor Zach preached that night.]
It was a turning point, was it not? A turning point in the life of our two congregations. And since that time we have learned to weep with those who weep, to rejoice with those who rejoice, and to trust the Lord's purposes and plans for us. Not plans to harm us - but to help us. Plans to give us peace and to make us prosper, and to give us a future and a hope. It's amazing to look back at what the Lord has accomplished in such a short time since that night. Isn't the Lord wonderful? Isn't the Lord wonderful in what he's doing?
Now, again, I would never dare to tell any of you how you ought to feel when you come here and draw near to worship. I know some of you well enough to know how you feel just by looking at you.
I know that sometimes some of you cannot wait to get here to worship God, to see your family and friends, to receive the forgiveness of your sins, to raise your voice in praise, to hear God's word proclaimed to you, to take the body and blood of Jesus into your hands and into your mouth, and into your soul, to stand in all of God's love and mercy.
I also know that sometimes it takes you all you've got to get here, and it even takes more to stay once you've come. I know that sometimes you can't bring yourself to sing. Your tongue feels like lead in your mouth. Your heart is shattered. Your mind is cluttered and full of many anxious thoughts. Your sins crush your conscience. Your shame robs you of assurance. Your doubts, fears, and worries wreck you. Your diagnosis keeps you awake at night - now you're having trouble staying awake in the service. Your loneliness runs deeper than anyone knows. Your anxiety keeps you in a mild state of panic most times. Your grief is a fog that will not lift, and you weep silently in your heart for fear that someone might see you crying yet again.
But this is the House of the Lord.
A place for the weak. A place for the strong. A place for the whole. A place for the broken. A place for the young. A place for the old. A place for the sad. A place for the happy. It's a place for you.
It's a House of Healing that God has established in your midst.
And I know that reestablishing your life in the worship and service of God is not easy. It takes warfare. It takes work. It takes wonder.
It takes warfare because we've got so many demons, and so many bad habits, and so many horrible experiences, to overcome.
It takes work because if you don't go deep you can't go high. And it's hard to go deep. It's hard to go deep and to let the light in.
It takes wonder because God invites you in to the beautiful mystery of his grace and truth.
I want you to know that God's temple wasn't just built 2,600 years ago in Jerusalem in Judah. That was then. This is now.
God's temple is still being built, still being reestablished in our day, in the 21st century. It's being reestablished in your life and mine - not with beams and stones that perish, but with bodies and souls that never perish, spoil, or fade. The materials of this new temple are people just like you and me — purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ and united to him and to one another.
I want you to know that all of you who once were captives of the devil in the world have returned to the house of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And as the Spirit says in Ephesians 2, "You are no longer strangers and outsiders, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God."
The foundation of this house is as deep as it is wide, and deep and wide as is the word of God, "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets."
The faithful and true reference point of this house is none other than "Jesus Christ himself. He is the cornerstone — and in Christ the whole structure is joined together, and grows up into a holy temple in the Lord."
The furnishings and fixtures of this house are none other than you, and me, and the rest of God's people. "In Christ you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by his Spirit" for we are the living temple of the living God. As God has said, "I will make my dwelling among them. And I will walk with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
All that to say - Friends, there is a place for you in the House of God because there is a place for you in the Heart of God.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us, and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Let us pray.
