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When God Stirs a Heart

• Though Ezra never states his authorship, it is believed by most scholars that he was the author.

• Ezra was a famous scribe/priest of the priestly line of Aaron.

• Ezra is probably the author of Nehemiah also. It is believed to have once been one book. So we will study Ezra and Nehemiah together.

• Ezra is also believed to be the author of 2 Chronicles, the book that precedes Ezra. As a matter of fact, the concluding verses of 2 Chronicles are the exact sentences in the first verses of the book of Ezra.

• This would be natural…Ezra is writing in the book of Ezra/Nehemiah the fulfillment of what was prophesied in 2 Chronicles.

• The book of Ezra is God’s account of the return of the people of God to the Promised Land after 70 years of captivity.

• Ezra’s role as a scribe of the law and the kind of character he possessed is described in Ezra 7.

Ezra 7:10

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

• He was a strong and godly man who lived at the same time as Zerubbabel and Nehemiah.

• Tradition says he was the founder of the Great Synagogue, where the complete OT canon was first formally recognized.

Background and Setting

• God had originally brought Israel out of the slave markets in Egypt in the Exodus.

• Hundreds of years later, before the events of Ezra, God told his people that if they chose to break their covenant with Him, He would again allow nations to take them back into slavery.

• Incidentally, the same will happen to America if we continue to forsake the ways of God.

• The same will happen in our own personal lives…if we forsake the commands of God, God’s protection over our family, over our spouse, over our children and over our finances will lift.

• The Jews never got this message, and many people today don’t either.

• The Israelites began to worship foreign gods and intermarry with pagan peoples. So God sent the Babylonians and Assyrians to issue the chastisement of the Lord.

• In 722 BC, the Assyrians deported the 10 northern tribes and scattered them all over the Empire.

• Several centuries later, in 605-586 BC, God used the Babylonians to sack and nearly depopulate Jerusalem.

• But in God’s discipline there is always grace.  Through Jeremiah the prophet, God predicted that after 70 years of captivity, He would bring them back to the land.

• The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are the diary of the return of the nation of Israel to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity.

• As there had been 3 deportations from Israel to Babylon, there were also 3 returns to Jerusalem over a 9-decade span.

Outline

• These three returns serve as an outline of the books

• Ezra, chapters 1-6, tell of the first return of the Jews under Zerubbabel.

• Ezra, chapters 7-10, was led by Ezra himself.

• And Nehemiah leads the 3^rd return as chronicled in the book of Nehemiah.

Ezra 1:1-2

• Look at 2 Chronicles, the last two verses, 2 Chron. 36:22-23.

• We see the unity of the two books and the continuity of Ezra’s vision to show us God’s dealing with the nation of Israel.

• Ezra 1:1 - “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord…might be fulfilled…”

• Cyrus who reigned in Persia from 550-530 BC was a pagan king who worshipped pagan gods.

• This is his first year as king after overtaking Babylon.

• The Lord had prophesied through Jeremiah that Cyrus would free the people of God.

Jeremiah 29:10

For thus says the LORD: 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.

• A king may not know God, but God knows the king:

·         God used Pharaoh to set His people free.

·         God used Nebuchadnezzar to promote Daniel and his friends to key positions in Babylon.

·         God used Darius to send Daniel into the lions den only to be saved by God giving us one of the great songs of the Bible sung by Darius the Babylonian king…who probably got saved through Daniel, as did Nebuchnezzar!

·         God used Caesar Augustus and his census to get Jesus to Bethlehem to be born according the prophecies.

·         God raises up and takes down rulers for His purposes.

·         Rulers, even cruel rulers, are only sand in the hand of God.

·         God is sovereign over nations and His will cannot be thwarted!

• God wants to use leaders, whether they be spiritual or political to shepherd His people.

• It was said of King David,

2 Samuel 5:2

“Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.' "

God wants pastors to be spiritual shepherds of the people.

Acts 20:28

Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

• It is the primary responsibility of the pastorate to shepherd people.  I see the pastorate as a shepherd in 4 ways:

1.     We shepherd people by guiding them into truth through the Bible.

2.     We shepherd people by recognizing and protecting them from falsehood and heresy.

3.     We shepherd people by equipping them for service, for ministry, for a life of joy and effectiveness.

4.     We shepherd the people of God by living what we preach…living lives of holiness and integrity…preaching to ourselves before we preach to others.

• God uses leaders to accomplish His purposes, even a pagan king like Cyrus.

Vs. 1b-4

• Cyrus uses the most honorific term for God: Yahweh Elohim….all caps LORD.

• Look at Vs. 3: Cyrus says, He is God!

• It sure seems like Cyrus might know the Lord personally!  This is not surprising when we realize that the influence toward Yahweh is probably coming from Daniel.

• God had mightily used Daniel to change the lives of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius.

• Daniel 6:28 records that, after Darius, Daniel served Cyrus.

• Josephus, the great Jewish historian, has written that Daniel was the prime minister of Cyrus at the time.

• Josephus further records that there was a day that Daniel read the prophecy of Isaiah, and it so moved Cyrus, that he made this proclamation.

• So God stirred the heart of Cyrus to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah as he heard the prophecy read…

Isaiah 44:28

“Who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd,

And he shall perform all My pleasure,

Saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built,"

And to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid.”’”

• This prophecy was given 150 years before Cyrus was king.

• It might be that Daniel had talked to Cyrus about the fact that God had placed him in this position of power in order to free the Israelites.

• But, ultimately, it’s the Lord who stirred up his heart.

How does God stir people’s hearts?  What does God use to stir and move in our hearts?

1. God stirs hearts through prayer

• First of all, God stirs up your heart when you pray…prayer develops intimacy with God and He speaks to your heart when you kneel down and pray.

• God also moves hearts when we pray for others.  I would imagine that Daniel has been praying for Cyrus…probably Zerubbabel and Ezra have been praying for Cyrus as well.

• Whenever we pray God takes our prayers and stirs up people’s hearts.

• If you have friends or family members whom you are praying to come to know the Lord, God is mightily using your prayers.

• We pray people hungry!  We pray for God’s Spirit to stir their hearts to desire God.

Jeremiah 29:13

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

• If a person is truly seeking God, they will find Him!

• Ex.  Do you have a set time and place each day where you get to seek God in prayer?  Set aside a time and place for seeking the Lord in prayer.

2. God stirs hearts when the Bible is read or taught

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

• The Word of God is used by God to stir hearts, to convict hearts.

• It has supernatural power, like no other book, to change lives.

• Ex.  This is why the first thing that the communist dictators do is confiscate all the Bibles.

• Ex.  This is why the Bible is not taught in our public schools…it would contradict evolutionary humanistic thinking.

• Ex.  This is why the 10 commandments are being taken down all over the land…it convicts hearts.

• Why is there such fear of God’s Word among atheists and agnostics?  It has power to stir hearts and change lives.

• It is only as you study and know God’s Word that your life can be transformed.

• Ex.  Do you take time daily to open up God’s Word and study?  We have materials to help you grow and know God in a deeper way…devotional books and CDs.

3. God stirs hearts through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

• When the gospel and the cross of Christ are proclaimed, God stirs up hearts and changes lives.

• Ex.  Do you remember the first time you heard the gospel, what it did in your heart?  I do.

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

• When Paul preached to King Agrippa, he said, “You almost persuaded me to become a Christian.”

Ex.  There is no other place like the church, where the gospel is preached regularly and systematically.  Make church attendance a commitment…

Is God Stirring your Heart Today?

• Have you been forgiven of your sins by the blood of Jesus?  You are a sinner…if you have any doubt, take a quick pop quiz:

• Have you ever lied to someone?
• Have you ever coveted something that wasn’t yours?
• Have you ever lusted in your heart?

• You are a sinner, separated from God.

• The Bible says, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”(Romans 3:23)

• The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

• Christ lived a sinless life and died on the cross for you that you might be forgiven and set free to know and love Him.

Colossians 2:13-15

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

• Jesus desires to wipe out the accusations, the religious requirements and the powers of darkness over your life.

• The Lord Jesus is knocking on some of your hearts today!

Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

• If God is stirring in your heart, acknowledge His grace and love and open up your heart to Him.

• Quit running…quit fighting…come to Him.

• Receive Him today…

John 1:12

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: