Those Who Tremble at His Word, Part 2

This took place while the children of Israel were in captivity in the land of Babylon. The kings had come, Nebuchadnezzar, and then after that we had the Assyrian kings, we had the Persian kings, and the kings of the Persians and the Medes. Remember that God had prophesied through Jeremiah and said, Judah, your time is up.

Now consider this. The ten northern tribes had already gone into captivity 150 years before. But Judah, of the two tribes, the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, had not because they did have some very good kings, such as Hezekiah. Whereas the northern kingdom had no good kings.

They had some of the worst ones you ever heard of. Like Jezebel and Ahab. And so now, even though they have gotten by down here in the southern two tribes, they've gotten by for 150 years, but they also now have fallen into the same sins as their sister in the north. And time is up. And God prophesied through Jeremiah, you're going into captivity. You are going to Babylon. You're going into captivity and you're going to be in captivity for so long.

70 years. God was very specific. Amen. When you're a real prophet of God, you're not afraid to tell the specifics. Amen. Sometimes God doesn't give specifics and He just gives generalizations.

But sometimes He's very specific. Amen. And time will tell whether or not it was God or whether it was the prophet.

Amen. And so He had prophesied you're going into captivity for 70 years. And now the 70 years were up. And now God used a pagan king, King Cyrus. He used him and God put it on this man's heart. Now this man was an idolater. He did not serve Jehovah. But he was king at this time. And God put it on his heart to allow a group of the Israelites to return back to Israel, to Jerusalem. And rebuild the temple of God that had been destroyed by his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar.

You know what? Maybe we just need to read that. Hold your place in chapter 9 and go to chapter 1. Chapter 1 Ezra chapter 1 and verse 1. So that's the information throughout all His kingdom. And he also put it in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people?

God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, he is the God which is in Jerusalem Now think about this. This is a pagan King But God can stir the hearts of pagan rulers God can stir the hearts of pagan leaders to do what he wants to do He holds the hearts of kings in his hands and he turns them as he turns the rivers of water However, he chooses to do it The Israelites couldn't get up and go on their own They had to have permission to do that They had to have the king write a proclamation and say if God has stirred your heart I'm giving you leave to go and With specific direction go back and build the house of God the God of heaven Amen, and so now this is taking place and Ezra was one that led a group back now Ezra was the Levite He was a priest and he was also a scribe Which meant he knew the Word of God inside and out because he was a copyist Amen and so he led a group of people that were Dedicated and zealous to get back there and rebuild the house of God and it was a four-month journey they had to travel to get there and When they got there, they begin to build the house of God, but the problem was that during their assimilation those 70 years in captivity there in Babylon They had become assimilated with the pagan people. We read all those ites They had mingled that's what the word assimilate means They had mingled with them and they had adopted a lot of their pagan ways Marrying their women and giving their daughters to marry their sons and their sons to marry their daughters and vice-versa Amen, and this was strictly forbidden by God From the very get-go God forbade them to marry pagan people because why we read it He wanted a holy seed He wanted a holy seed People think when they marry sinners, they're going to convert them if you don't get them converted before you marry them What makes you think you're going to do it afterwards?

They got now Amen That's why Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians the 6th chapter be not unequally yoked with unbelievers. It's forbidden This is not a racial thing people. This has nothing to do with race Doesn't matter because I don't know what color they were the Amorites and the Hittites and all that. It doesn't matter it wasn't a racial thing it was a spiritual thing a Spiritual thing that's why it was forbidden Not because the Jewish people were a superior race But because God had chosen Abraham and his seed From amongst all the people of the world. He actually called them his firstfruits They were like the tides of all the people of the world and he was going to work through them To bring light and truth to the Gentile nations Amen, and so it was forbidden and here's the thing It was a lot different in this captivity than the 400 year captivity. They had been in Egypt Think about it They were only here 70 years and they had intermingled with the people and married and now they had become totally contaminated But when they were in Egypt for 400 years that didn't happen Why not because they were greatly oppressed they were slaves The Egyptians looked down on them. The Egyptians didn't want to mingle with them They stuck them out there in Goshen They put them in their own area where they were isolated and where they were only amongst their own people And I'm sure it wasn't a nice place. I'm sure it wasn't like being at the Hilton Hotel I'm sure that it was a ghetto where things were hard and rough and tough They worked hard all day and out in the Sun making bricks and then when they went home They didn't have any nice place to lay down and rest and be refreshed. It was a harsh life But it kept them separate.

It kept them isolated. It kept them from being contaminated It kept a holy seed my god so that's why God said don't marry amongst them and Instead they not only did it but the chief princes that would have been the people in the line of Judah the tribe of Judah and we all know that Messiah was to what come out of the tribe of Judah Shiloh Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah but the leaders had even done that and so Ezra Gathered a group of people together and here is what it says. He gathered a group together everyone That trembled at the words of the God of Israel Everyone that trembled at the words of the God of Israel I Would to God that American Christians would still tremble at the Commandments of God Amen We need to tremble at the Commandments of God that stands against adultery We need to tremble at the Commandments of God that stands against ungodly divorces That are rampant in the church and even in the ministry Amen We need to tremble at the Word of God that stands against homosexuals in the church On the platform in the choir in the worship team on the instruments. We need to tremble Amen We need to tremble at the Word of God that says abortion and the slaying of children is an Abomination in the eyes of God we need to tremble at that We need to tremble when whole denominations and ministers are Boasting I believe abortion is God's work and I support it We ought to tremble when we see this and read this We should tremble it should put a tremble up our spine and a tremble in our soul when we see this We should tremble when we see ministers performing same-sex marriages in the church We need to tremble at the Commandments of God these are not the Commandments of men These Are not the Commandments of men these are not the Commandments of some Prophet or prophetess or some lowly preacher like me These are the Commandments of God And if we're ever going to see a change in America Then the people that tremble at the Commandments of God are going to have to come together Don't wait for the church at large We need people that still tremble at the Word of God These are the ones that Ezra brought together and spoke to When I was preparing this message I stumbled on a verse that I I know I had to read it before because I've read the Bible many times But it jumped out at me Ezekiel 2339 says I'll read it to you for when they had slain their children to the idols Then they came the same day into my sanctuary To profane it and lo thus they have done in the midst of my house My god that ought to put a tremble in somebody's spirit What did God say? Christians that support abortion and those who protect it and And those who finance it and now those who want to make Christian taxpayers pay for it Come into church on Sunday morning and lift their hands to worship God and God said that it to me is profanity Yeah, I know it's heavy. I felt that yesterday when I wrote those words down.

It's heavy but somebody Sitting here today. It's going to tremble at the Word of God and some of you watching us. Oh My god, I just got a shiver up my back Some of you watching us are going to tremble at the Word of God because you know, it's truth I'm just the messenger folks I'm only the messenger I'm giving you straight out of the Word of God If you don't like it need to talk to God Don't be fussing at me.

Don't ran at me. Don't call me names to get up with God. It's his commandment It's his word Amen Somebody ought to tremble And they can come cavalierly into God's house and think it's okay It's okay to support the abortion of babies It's okay To look the other way when leaders are saying it's all right to abort them up to the moment of birth Have you ever been there when a baby was born Maybe you were there for your daughter or or somebody close to you and you you actually were there in the birth room When that baby comes out It's just nothing to describe it Amen, there's nothing like it You know when Sarah gave birth to her son Braden that was the first time I was ever in a birth room Well, she had to have a c-section so first you know they took him and they do whatever they had to do to him at all and then when they came into the Recovery room they marched right over and handed him to me. I wasn't expecting that You know, but I guess by that time Sarah was like, ah And I looked down at that little face and to think that he could have been aborted a couple minutes earlier.

Oh The smell you love the smell of a new baby Nothing smells like that when you get down in their little neck you nuzzle their little neck Oh that beautiful smell of a brand new baby to think that just a few minutes earlier. He could have been aborted Somebody ought to tremble Somebody ought to tremble to think that church people would support such a thing. I Think my Lord is a good way to put it my God Yeah so Ezra had to call those who still trembled at the Word of God and and I'm wondering today Can we call people together who still tremble at the Word of God?

We're back in chapter 9. Let's look at verse 5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness that word heaviness there means I rose up from my fasting. I rose up from my fasting and having rent my garment and my mantle I fell upon my knees and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God and Said oh my God. I am ashamed and Blush to lift up my face to you my God for our iniquities are increased over our head and our trespasses grown up unto the heavens Says he took off his garment his mantle that referred to the priestly robes that he wore because he was a Levite He said God, I'm ashamed and I blush I am blushing I can not up my face to you to pray like this I am blushing when I consider the iniquities the Transgressions the trespasses of my people they are so greatly increased They grow up into the heavens It reminds me when God said to Abraham I had to come down and check it out because the cry of the wicked came right up into my face Amen, he said I'm ashamed. Oh my god that some in the church would be ashamed. Oh My god, the church people would be ashamed of the things and the trespasses the iniquities taking place in God's house Somebody needs to blush Somebody needs to blush because of the sexual sins that are rampant in America you know before they went into captivity as I said Jeremiah was the prophet to tell him what was coming and when Jeremiah warned them and told them what was coming and why it was coming because of their sins He said in Jeremiah 16 15 and 8 12 were they ashamed when they committed abomination He answered his own question Nay, they were not at all ashamed and neither could they blush There was a time that if someone said something sexually explicit Especially if it was specially explicit and it was lewd and unsavory people would blush They say don't say that Don't talk like that. Oh, I can't watch that They would blush but not anymore Not anymore No one blushes at the filth the filth the images they watch on TV and the filth pornography a lot of more watching behind closed doors on their computers Peter said in 2nd Peter 2 14 they have eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin They're watching all this pornography and you know, it's increasing with kovat 19 Because people are home and they're on their computers more at home. Amen You know if you are married and you're watching pornography you're committing adultery Peter said they got eyes full of adultery and Jesus said if you look on a woman To desire her sexually in your heart. You've committed adultery. That's Matthew the 5th chapter So all of you people that think well, I'm not acting it out I'm not going and you know hooking up if you're watching it you're committing adultery If you're married, and if you're watching it and you're not married You're still committing sin.

It's sin. Amen. Let's look at verse 7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in great trespass unto this day and for our iniquities Have we and our kings and our priests been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands? we've been delivered to the sword meaning war to captivity and To a spoil and to confusion of face as it is this day.

That's why we're in the place. We are right now That's why we're in the place we are right now verse 8 and now for a little space Grace has been shown from the Lord Our God to leave us a remnant to escape and to give us a nail in his holy place That our God may lighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage for we are bondmen yet God has not forsaken us in our bondage but has extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia to Give us a reviving to set up the house of our God and to repair the desolations thereof and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem So Ezra is praying he's saying God I know that since the days of our fathers We have continually one after another going into captivity all these hundreds of years and centuries Over and over again. You've allowed us to go into captivity Because of our great trespasses against us Because even our kings and our priests the men of God the clergy the ministry Have committed these trespasses That's why we've been allowed to be delivered again and again into captivity and why we've been in this 70-year stretch But now for a little space you have shown us grace And allowed just a remnant to escape out of this captivity and bondage that we can go back to Jerusalem and rebuild your house a little space of grace Oh, the God will give America a little space of grace. I Believe that after 9-eleven God gave this nation a space of grace and for a while people were god-minded like they hadn't been in a long time and for the first time in years churches were filled on Sunday mornings and people were god-conscious and people were trying to get close to God and return to the old landmarks Amen that they had removed and like I preached last week get rid of the double standard amen, and The bag and the weights that were deceptive But you know what it's almost 20 years later and America's more wicked than she's ever been Amen people have forgotten all about 9-eleven Do you know that sometimes on social media at?

9-eleven anniversary when they post pictures of the two towers with the fire and the smoke that some social media cover up Say it's too violent Shouldn't be shown How deceived can you be? We need to see it. We need to remember Amen Lord that you would give us a little space of grace and what did he say that you would give us a reviving Lord that you would revive us again Revive your church Revive means to bring life back into it where it's dead He said you've given us a space of grace that we could have a nail in your holy place What does that mean a nail in his holy place? It's a figure of speech that means that we could go back and build the house of God You've given us a space of grace and you've allowed a remnant to escape because King Cyrus did not dismiss every last Israelite Only a group and really people don't realize I think it was like 500 years before they all went back Over a period of time as well led some and then 13 years later Nehemiah led some Amen, but he was saying you've given us a space of grace and you've allowed a remnant to escape this bondage That we could go back and build the house of God.

And what did he say? He said you've had enlightened our eyes. Oh my god that the church Would have a revival That God would enlighten our eyes Open our eyes that the eyes of our spiritual understanding would be enlightened That we would see as God sees not man sees Man is not capable of evaluating and assessing himself I Don't care what the politician says. What does God say about America? I don't care what this one says in that one says what does God say about the condition of the church? Open our eyes that we may see as God sees and may I add let it start with me Let it start with me Lord Open my eyes Let me see my own condition. I cannot know my own heart Except you shine the light of conviction into it Except the light of your word shines in every corner in every cranny Amen that God would call a people to tremble at his word a people that would be ashamed of the sins of America and blush at Their sins and a people that would say Lord give us a space of grace Revive us and open our eyes