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So we're up to Ezra chapter 5, and look at verse number 13, Reverend. Ezra chapter 5, verse number 13, it says, But in the first year of Cyrus, the king of Babylon, the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. The title for the sermon this afternoon is a decree to build this house of God. A decree to build this house of God. It may not make a lot of sense why we choose that to be the sermon title, but I think as we go through this chapter, you'll definitely see why I'm saying that. Now, let's look at verse number 1. Ezra chapter 5, verse number 1, it begins by saying, Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Edo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Now, if you're wondering what they're preaching, you know, this is why, you know, you can see that in verse number 1, Haggai is the one preaching. And so you go to the book of Haggai. You want to find out what they're preaching about? You go to the book of Haggai. We are going to turn to the book of Haggai in a moment. But let's read verse number 2. What are they preaching? And what's the response of their sermon? It says in verse number 2, Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Sheltiel, Zerubbabel is the governor of the land, and Jeshua, Jeshua is Joshua, just another name variation, and he's overseen the priest, he's one of the main priests in the place, and Jeshua the son of Josadak, and began to build the house of God, which was at Jerusalem, and with them were the prophets of God helping them. So Haggai comes and so does Zechariah, and they come prophesying to the Jews here, and because of their preaching, they start to build the house of God once again. Now just for your recollection, when we read Ezra chapter 4 last week, you may recall that they stopped the house of God because of their enemies, the adversaries that they had, they caused them to stop the work of the house of God, and as I explained to you, it's hard to really grasp when we read in the Bible as chapter by chapter, but it's almost or thereabouts a 14-year stop of the work of the house of God. Now 14 years before God then sends Haggai and Zechariah to preach unto them, to encourage them, to motivate them to start the work of God once again. Please keep your finger there and turn to Haggai chapter 1. Haggai chapter 1 from the book of the prophets, Haggai chapter 1 and verse number 1. Let's just have a look at the beginning of what Haggai is preaching here. Haggai chapter 1 and verse number 1, please. Haggai chapter 1 and verse number 1. The Bible reads in the second year of Darius the king. So this is the second year of Darius the king, same time as we saw at the end of chapter number 4. In the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, so notice Joshua is mentioned there in Ezra and Joshua, same guy, just a variation of the name, and Joshua the son of Joseph the high priest, saying, so this is what he's preaching, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts saying, This people say, the time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. So they're preaching saying hey you Jews, you're saying that it's not the time to build the Lord's house. I mean it's been 14 years that the house of God has been delayed and the people are still saying it's still not the time. This is why God sent these prophets to go and encourage them. It is the time, get busy, it's time to build the house of God. Let's keep going there, verse number 3, Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your sealed houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways, consider your ways. And so what is he saying? What is God telling the Jews of the land? They're saying you've become so preoccupied upon your own houses. You know, you've got, you know, you've built your houses, there's the ceilings, it's all complete, it's all done. You know, you're preoccupied with your living, your house arrangement, your prosperity, but you've not cared about the house of God. The house of God lies waste. And we need to remember that, you know, we're on this earth, we're children of God, God wants us to be in his house, the church, the local church, the local New Testament church, and we need to remember that we, in order to be balanced, hey, there's nothing wrong with having your own house, nothing wrong with taking care of your own needs, but you need to make sure that you take care of the needs or you have your mindset upon the house of God as well. That you prioritize God's house, you prioritize church attendance, you know, serving the church, encouraging the brethren, just as much as you would in making sure that your own needs are being met. And brethren, you know, many of us, you know, over time, we would be more concerned about our own needs and we forget the house of God. Or we say, well, there's other people serving the house of God, you know, I don't need to do something, you know, I'll just turn up and sit down and I'll do as little as I can, but I'll make sure that my own personal needs are met. No, brethren, we need to have a balance. God cares, yes, for our houses, but God also, of course, cares for his house, okay, his house. We need to have the right balance. What else gets preached here in verse number 6? In Haggai chapter 1 verse number 6, it says, Ye have sown much, and bring in little. Ye eat, but ye have not enough. Ye drink, but are ye not filled with drink. Ye clothe you, but there is none warm. And he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. That's really interesting. So they've become really preoccupied about taking care of their own needs. They forgot about the needs of the house of God. They're not building, it's been 14 years. They're not building the house. And God says, look, you're going out, you're sowing to your fields, but you're not bringing much in. You're eating, but you're not being full. You're drinking, but you're not satisfying your thirst. You're clothed, but you're not warm. You haven't got enough clothing. You're earning wages, but you know, the wages that you earn, it's almost like you put in a bag with holes. What is God saying? God is saying that if we don't prioritize his house, we're not going to receive the blessings that come with the labor of our hands. You know, if we make sure that God's house, the local church, is a major priority in our life, that we go and we attend church services, that we serve the brethren, that we love and encourage the brethren, then God's going to make sure that our house is taken care of. That, you know, we're being blessed. We're not being cursed where we're not earning enough or we're not making enough, we're not achieving enough. God will make sure that if we prioritize God's house first, that he'll ensure that our house and our necessities are being met. That's what Haggai is teaching. You've gone 14 years, okay? And look, it's not that the fact that they stopped, it's not the fact that they've stopped is a problem or a sin. It's that they've taken 14 years and they've gotten comfortable not having the house of God, okay? You know, my biggest concern when we went through lockdown and restrictions and we couldn't have the house of God, my biggest concern is that some people might get into the habit of, well, you know what, we haven't had church for X amount of months, then there's nothing wrong with missing out another month of church or another month of church and you're going six months, one year without church. Brethren, it's so easy to fall out of the habit of being in church, okay? And you know, when you get out of the habit of being in church, your next priority is going to be, well, you know, I need to make sure that I'm taken care of, I know all my needs are being met, but God's not going to bless you at the fullest if you don't prioritize God's house. Brethren, we must have a balance in our life. And so it's this preaching from Haggai that encourages the Jews to get back on the program. Yes, we're doing okay on the land, but God will bless us more if we prioritize this house. We've gone 14 years and we've forgotten to get back on the project. Now, if you go back to the book of Ezra, Ezra chapter 1, let's just understand, there's a few kings that are mentioned in the book of Ezra, and I want you to sort of grasp in your mind what has taken place. Just as a reminder, you know, going back a little bit there in Ezra chapter 1, verse number 2, Ezra chapter 1, verse number 2, the Bible reads, Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven, have given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he have charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. So who is it that, you know, the Lord brings to mind to build this house? It's King Cyrus. Yeah, King Cyrus, king of Persia. I just want you to keep this in mind. So Cyrus is the one that instructs the River Bell and the rest of the Jews to go back and get started on the construction of the temple of God, the house of God. They say, well, why did they stop? Well, just to remind ourselves, go to Ezra chapter 4 now, go to Ezra chapter 4 and verse number 21, Ezra chapter 4 and verse number 21. You see, it wasn't King Cyrus that stopped the work in the house. There's been a new king. You know, I assume, I've not checked the historical records, but I assume King Cyrus has passed on, and now we have a new king on the throne. It says here in Ezra chapter 4 verse 21, give you now a commandment to cause these men to cease and that this city be not builded until another commandment shall be given from me. So if you look at the surrounding passages, this is King Artaxerxes that makes a commandment for them to stop building the house of the Lord. I won't go into all that. We just looked at that last week. Okay, now historically, just for your information, if you look up this King Artaxerxes, there's been several kings in Persia that had the same name, but this king in history is also known as King Cambyses. King Cambyses, just for your information, if you're wondering, okay? So he, you know, he gets a false report that, you know, the Jews are building the walls of the city and he puts a stop to the work of the house of God. But what I want to show you so far, what we've observed by the Jews of the land is when they went back to build the house of God, it wasn't like they had a preacher that just went up to them. It wasn't just the zeal of the Jews that said, you know what? You know, we've just got to turn aside this captivity. We just need to go and build God's house, no matter what anyone else has to say. I want you to notice that they got Cyrus's permission first. Okay, they got the politician to agree to it. Okay, they were following the law. They were following the orders that were passed down by the king. Why did they stop? Because they followed the orders once again of now another king. The king of Persia, once again, yes, another king of Persia, but he's had his mind changed. And he said, look, stop the work until I give a new commandment. He had to figure out, should they continue the work or not? Now, unfortunately, he never sent a second commandment. He never said, all right, guys, start rebuilding. Or he never said, all right, let's permanently stop. Okay, it was a temporary stop to the house of God. Eventually, this king Camp Vices or King Artaxerxes passes on. And we have a new king on the scene. Remember, it's 14 years that go by. Okay, many years are going by. And look at Ezra 4 verse 24, please. Ezra chapter 4 and verse number 24. It says, then ceased the work of the house of God, which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia. Now we have a third king. Okay, we had King Cyrus, King Artaxerxes, and now we have King Darius, meaning that King Artaxerxes has passed on on the scene. We've got a brand new king now. You see, King Artaxerxes never gave a new commandment, never gave instruction of what they are to do with the house of God. Now, here's what's really interesting about this. You know, King Artaxerxes is dead. All right, they've not heard back from him. A new king is on the throne. And what do the Jews do? Well, you know, under the commandment of King Artaxerxes to stop, he's dead. King Darius is on the scene and they still don't proceed in building the house of God. They've gone into the same habit, brethren. King Artaxerxes is not going to send a second commandment now. There's a brand new king on the scene. You know what they should have done? Look, God never chastises them. God doesn't get angry at them for stopping. They're following orders. They're following the law of the land. Okay, they're following the authority that God has put over them. But now there's a new authority. Okay, they can't use the excuse that King Artaxerxes told us to stop. He's dead. There's a new king now. Okay, and this king has not told them to stop. And so you can see that because of this progress, that they are following the instruction. Yes, they follow the instruction of the king to go and build the house of God. They're now following the instruction of another king to stop. A third king is now in power. They should have just proceeded with the initial instruction to build the house of God. They've gone 14 years. Even with a new king on the scene, the Jews have not picked up, you know, and continued on the work. So that's why God had to send Haggai and Zechariah to go and preach on them, to encourage them to get back into the work. The Jews got lazy. And brethren, like I said to you, my biggest concern with going through the lockdown restrictions, not having church, was I was concerned that the brethren would become lazy. And brethren, if you have become lazy with church attendance, get back on the program. Okay, we've got no excuses to miss out on church now. Let's get back to church. I know there are still some restrictions that we have to deal with, but brethren, we've got the house of God. Let's get back in there. We don't know whether there'll be further lockdowns in the future. Let's take advantage now that we can meet in the house of God and be an encouragement to the brethren. Back to Ezra chapter 5 now, verse number 3. Ezra chapter 5 and verse number 3. Okay, I know we took a bit of a detour, but I just wanted to give all that as a foundation so we can keep understanding what this chapter is teaching us. Ezra chapter 5, verse number 3. The Bible reads, at the same time came to them, Tatni, governor on this side the river. Now when it says this side the river, it's all about the Persian Empire. Because remember, who's writing this book? Ezra. Ezra's writing this book. But Ezra is still in the Persian Empire. He's not someone that has come back to the land just yet. Okay, so Ezra is kind of speaking here. It says at the same time came to them, Tatni, governor on this side the river, and Shechnar, Bosni, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who have commanded you to build this house and to make up this wall? So there's some concern. People know that this project was to be stopped. Now these governors, they come around and say, hey, who's told you to rebuild this house and this wall? Now I know last time we looked at chapter 4, the wall was mentioned. And of course that was a bold-faced lie. They never started building the walls of the city. But this wall, it's not talking about the city wall. This is speaking about the wall of the temple. Because they started the work once again. You know, in chapter 4 they laid the foundation. Well, now they're starting to build up the walls. Okay, and so when they ask about, hey, you're making up this wall, who told you to do this work? Verse number 4, please. Now notice verse number 4. Then said we unto them after, then said we unto them after this manner. So when the author here says we, who's speaking? Speaking about Ezra. Okay, Ezra on this side of that river. Okay, he's in the Persian side of the Empire. This is something happened, not on the land of Judah right now. This is taking place in the Persian Empire. Then said we, because Ezra is one of the elders, you know, someone that's responsible here, up to them after this manner. How they respond, to me, I just find it so funny. This is their response. What are the names of the men that make this building? So they've come to the Jews, to these elders in Persia. Why are the Jews rebuilding the temple? And now they're putting up walls, etc, etc. They say, hey, who's building? Like what are the names? You're making these claims at the building, but who are they? We have no idea. Okay, like they're kind of, you know, what's happening here is that the Jews, they're not helping, you know, these adversaries to create a case against them. Okay, Ezra and the others, they know this is what God requires. They know that King Cyrus has given them permission to go build and, you know, they want that work to continue. You know, they don't want to be used to, you know, for their words to be used against their fellow Jews, against their fellow brethren to stop the work of God. Okay, so they're saying I don't know what you're referring to exactly. Have you got the names of the people building? Okay, so they kind of, they don't give a very clear answer to the accusation or the dirt that they're trying to, these governors are trying to find on the Jews that are rebuilding the temple of God. Verse number five. But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews that they could not cause them to cease till the matter came to Darius and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter. So the eye of the Lord was upon the Jews in Persia. Okay, God made sure they weren't put in between a rock and a hard place where they had to speak out against their fellow Jews building the house of God because they know full well this is something that God wanted them to do. You know, they don't want to be used to turn around and have their words used against their fellow brethren in the Lord. Okay, and you know what this teaches us and you can see that the eye of the Lord is upon them. You know, God was looking out for them. God did not want them to be used to, for their words to be used against their fellow Jews. And so they caused the process to investigate the building of the house of God to be delayed because they had to bring the matter to Darius. You know, it's King Darius. Obviously, if it's King Darius, it's going to take a lot longer to bring a matter before him than just dealing that within the general courts. Okay, this had to be brought before the king. So there's a delay in figuring out why these people building so that way the Jews can continue building without any restrictions. And you know, the reason I'm pointing this out is because there have been times that I've been contacted by journalists. Okay, and I get questions about certain pastors, certain churches and, you know, questions like, so, you know, you know, are you a friend to pastor so-and-so? And I'll be like, yes, I'm a friend to pastor so-and-so. And I know they're talking about a controversial pastor. Okay, and they're like, well, you know, what are the intentions of this pastor and his church? You know, what's going on? I've received numerous calls from journalists and you know, I never give them what they want. You know, I tell them, yeah, I'm their friend and they ask me, so what's the pastor up to and what are the churches doing? You know, I say, well, I don't know. You gotta go ask them. You know, we're an independent Baptist Church. If you want to know about Pastor Kevin Sepulveda, if you want to know about New Life Baptist Church or you want to know about Blessed Up Baptist Church, I'll give you those answers. And I'm not hiding anything about our church. But if you want dirt about some other pastor in some other church, you got to go talk to them. It's got nothing to do with me. You know, and you know, and sometimes we got to be careful about people, they're seeking information, they're seeking dirt, they're trying to find problems, they want to stop the work of the house of God and we have to be careful about what we say. Okay, and I love the fact that we're an independent Baptist Church because yeah, when it comes to issues about our church, I will deal with them. You want to know about some other church, you got to go talk to them. You got to, you know, if they want to talk to you, that's their decision, but you're not going to get any dirt from me to be used against fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. Let's keep going there, verse number six. Now, the elders of the Jews, they did give a more thorough, more detailed answer to their question. We're going to read about that further as we go into the chapter, okay? Let's keep going there, verse number six. A copy of the letter that Tatmai, governor on this side of the river, and Shetna Bosni and his companions, the Afar-sachites, which were on this side of the river, sent unto Darius the king. So they write out a new letter so the king would hear their matter. Verse number seven, they sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus unto Darius the king, all peace. King, peace, we come to you in peace. Verse number eight, be it known unto the king that we went into the province of Judea. Now, this is interesting. Obviously, when the Jews were taken to captivity, the land or the region was known as Judah, but now that it's under, not just Babylon, but now Persian control, it's been changed. The name has been changed to Judea. This is why when Jesus Christ walks the earth in the New Testament, the region that he's walking is known as Judea, just for your information. In the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work go fast on and prosperous in their hands. Hey, king, peace, but look, we need to let you know that there's a great work going on. I work for the God of the Jews over there, and there's great stones being built, the walls, there's timber in the walls, et cetera, et cetera. This work is going on fast, and we need to let you know about this King Darius, okay? Now, obviously, when we look at the construction of the house of God here, look at verse number eight again. It says, in the middle of verse number eight, it says, which is built with the great foundation that they've laid. They want to make sure it's a place that doesn't get torn apart and destroyed very easily. They bring in the great stones. The work is being done. The resources are coming together. They're making sure they build the temple with high-quality products. Now, what application does that have to us? Keep your finger there in Ezra, and please turn to 1 Peter chapter 2. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 2. Just a reminder, the temple of the Old Testament is known as the house of God. What is the house of God in the New Testament? Your local church, amen? Now, the word temple. There was a temple in the Old Testament which was the same as the house of God, but what is the temple of the New Testament? Isn't the temple our bodies? Temple of the Holy Ghost? Absolutely. So look at 1 Peter chapter 2 in verse number one. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse number one, it says, wherefore, laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and evil speakings, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word. Why should we desire the sincere milk of the word? You know, many times when people get saved and they want to get into the Bible, you know what book they turn to? The book of Revelation. Like, many times people get newly saved, they're babes of the Lord, and they go, what's going to happen in the future? Reverend, the book of Revelation is meat. It requires a lot of study, you know, but, you know, we need to get used to just loving the milk of the word of God. You know, it's fine to go back to the basics. It's fine to go back to the simple things because many times we can forget the simple things in life. We've got to just desire that milk of the word of God. Why? That ye may grow thereby, that ye may grow thereby. And so just like, you know, the Old Testament Jews came to build the house of God, the temple, okay, it's growing in a sense. Well, God wants us to grow. Remember, we're the temple of the Holy Ghost. God wants us to grow. In order for us to grow, we're not going to go get some great stones from the backyard. We need to turn to the word of God. All right, we need to turn to God's word. This is what gives us the nourishment we need to grow. Verse number three in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 3. If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is precious. Now look at verse number four. He is coming as unto a living stone. That's interesting, that Jesus Christ is being referred to as a living stone. A living stone. Disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious and brethren. I hope God Jesus Christ is precious to you. You know, if you've been saved that that stone that foundation of Jesus Christ has been laid in your life, but what for what purpose? Let's keep going there verse number five as lively brethren. We are not dead stones. We are lively. We are living stones. We've got the foundation. We've got Jesus Christ as our Cornerstone. Yes, we've got that in place in our life. Now God wants us to be a strong living stone. Ye also as lively stones, look at this, are built up a spiritual house. Yes, God was concerned about the physical house, the temple of the Old Testament. Now God is concerned about the spiritual house. The New Testament church is the house of God. New Testament church is a place that's made up of believers. We are all stones that make up in a spiritual sense, the house of God, and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief Cornerstone elect precious and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. That idea of being confounded is to be confused or unstable in a sense. Brethren, we are not to be unstable. We've got the foundation of Christ. Now build yourself up. Get into the precious milk of the Word of God. And brethren, once you've had enough milk, then start getting to the meat, start growing. Understand that you're part of the spiritual house. You're part of blessing of Baptist Church. Just as much as we want to see this Old Testament Reap temple rebuilt. We need to make sure that the old the New Testament temple is being rebuilt right now. All right, but I'm going to take a quick pause because it looks like brother teams trying to reach me. All right, let me backtrack a little bit. Okay, we were in first Peter chapter 2 verse number one and let's read verse number five again. It says he also has lively stones. So you are a living stone. You're making up the spiritual house of built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Okay, so please remember what you are. You are part of this stone that makes up the lesson of Baptist Church. Just like the Jews of the old that go find the great stones. They try to find the best stones that would reinforce the structure of the house of God. Brethren, you are an important stone. You know, please, I want you to be a great stone. You know, right now you might feel like a little pebble and maybe you are. Maybe you've recently saved. Maybe you're a babe in Christ. You know, in order for the church to grow, you know, the strength of the church is dependent on the strength of the families in our church. It's dependent on the strength of each individual. Brethren, you know, I want to grow to be the strong great stone that God can use for a spiritual house. Please consider what kind of stone you are. You know, I hope you're something that fits in very well. I hope you're strong and powerful and you offer strength to the house of God. That's the goal. Enjoy the milk of God's Word. Get into the meat. Make sure that you are continually growing in your knowledge and understanding and also in your doing toward the, of the Word of God. All right, back to Ezra chapter 5, please. Ezra chapter 5, verse number 9. Ezra chapter 5 and verse number 9. It says, then ask we those elders and said unto them thus, who commanded you to build this house and make up these walls? Okay, verse number 10. We asked their names also to certify thee that we might write the names of the men that were chief of them. They wanted all the names, right? So to take down and say, hey, these men are doing wrong, etc, etc. Now they do give some names. Look at verse number 11. It says, and thus they returned us answer. So this is how the elder of the Jews answered, saying, we are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. Now, as we keep going, I want you to really focus in on this, okay? Even though they are following orders of the kings. They've been obedient to the authorities. Okay, the authorities says, go and build, they build. The authorities says, stop, they stop. Okay, at the end of the day, brethren, we live in a real world. We know our authorities are wicked. We know our authorities in general are against the word of God. We ought to be obedient, but also understand at the same time that we are servants of God, okay? He is our highest authority. You know, if God is instructing us to do something, that's going to come first. When Haggai, prophet Haggai was being sent by God. This was a direct commandment by God. Go and rebuild the temple. It doesn't matter what king Ataxerxes said, okay? God gave a contrary command, a go back and rebuild. You've been taking too long. Ataxerxes is dead. You've got a new king. Get back on the program. Listen, they're obeying God first over the authorities, all right? But at the same time, they are in obedience to the authorities, okay? They're not going against the commandment of king Ataxerxes because he's dead now. He never came back with the second commandment, the second instruction. We've got a new king. And what I love about this idea is that basically, you know, they're following authority, but they're also finding the loopholes, right? Well, king Ataxerxes is dead. Well, hey, let's go back and rebuild. That's what they should have done. You know, sometimes, brave men, yes, we're in obedience to the authorities of our land. Sometimes we've got to find those loopholes to find the way that we can serve the Lord God. You know, I recall just last year when we couldn't meet in the house of God, you know, we couldn't officially have public church, okay? So what did we do? Well, for a couple of weeks, we came to my house because, you know, we couldn't be in church, but you could have people over. So, hey, you know what? We had a private church meeting. We had our regular members come to my house. We could sing to the Lord. We could have church service. We've got to be officially church. Hey, you've got to find the loopholes. And were we in obedience? We were in obedience. You know, it's fine to meet with people. You know, you could have people outside, et cetera, et cetera. That's what we did. Under Pagoda, outside, serving the Lord, you find the loopholes, you serve God at the same time, trying to, you know, follow the authorities, the instructions that have been passed down. And that's been one of the biggest challenges, hasn't it been, down there in Sydney? So many, you know, health orders, so many instructions. You know, you don't even know what you're doing sometimes. You know, this was right today. This is wrong tomorrow. It's so hard to keep track. You know, this is why, yes, we're trying to follow the authorities, you know, as best we can, but we're trying to find those loopholes, you know, at the same time, we're trying to follow these authorities a little bit loosely, you know, trying to make sure that we can still serve God as best as we can in the current situation. Let's keep going there in verse number 12. It says, but after that, our fathers had provoked... Oh, actually, sorry, there's something else I want to mention in verse number 11 there. So it says, we are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up. So who's the great king of Israel that asked him to build the first temple? Well, that's King Solomon. So King Solomon here, he's been referred to as the great king of Israel. I want you to notice what they're saying as we keep going through this. Okay, what they're saying is number one. The reason the first temple was built was because the authority said so. The great king of Israel, he said, let's build a temple and they followed all this. They followed the authority of the man that was over there. Was it a godly authority? Absolutely, it was Solomon. Hey, was this a work of God? Absolutely. That was serving God, building his first house. Now, I want you to notice what they're saying in verse number 12. Let's keep going. But after that, our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath. We know that. They became disobedient to God. He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Now we have a new king being brought up. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away into Babylon. So the house of God was destroyed under the orders and the authority of King Nebuchadnezzar. He said, well, King Nebuchadnezzar should never have done that. You're right. He shouldn't have done that. But God allowed him. Okay, God was provoked to wrath. God had a disobedient people, a disobedient nation. God then allows King Nebuchadnezzar to come in, take over, destroy the house of God. So just again, picture what they're saying. We followed the authorities the first time. King Solomon said, build a house. Second time, the authorities said, destroy the house of God and that's what happened. Okay, let's keep going, verse number 13. But in the first year of Cyrus, the king of Babylon, now we have another king, new empire. Okay, if we think of Babylon as the new normal, we'll think of Cyrus, the Persian Empire, as the new, new normal. Okay, but in the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. So then he goes, look, the new authority, the new, new power, and now we've got a new power, the Persian Empire over us, that's ruling over the same territory as Babylon. He said, go and build the house. So we did. We followed orders the first time. The orders next time was to destroy it. The new orders from the new power is to rebuild. So we're rebuilding. What are they saying? Every step of the way, we've been obedient to the authorities over us. Every step of the way, we're doing what the authorities want. Okay, we're not a rebellious people. We're not doing our own will. Even though we're servants of God, of heaven and earth, we're still being obedient to the authorities over us. Whether that authority was King Solomon, a godly man, or whether the authority was a wicked man like Nebuchadnezzar, you know, or Darius, who's got, obviously, you know, a king of Israel, you know, even though it's a foreign power, we're still being obedient to the instructions that have been passed. Let's keep going there. Verse number 14. And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took as a temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon. Those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one, whose name was Shezbazzar, whom he had made governor. Because even all these treasures, all this gold and silver, all the precious vessels, you know, we didn't just decide to go and bring this into the house of God. We didn't just rebelously take them from Babylon and bring them back to Judea. No, Cyrus the king allowed us to take all these things and take it and build the house of God. And then all these precious things the governor was given to Shezbazzar. Then you might say, who's Shezbazzar? You know, there are some conflicting ideas of who this man was. My personal belief is that Shezbazzar is the same man as Zerubbabel. Okay, the same man as Zerubbabel. Because both these names are referred to as the governor of Judea. All right, let's keep reading them. I'll give you some other reasons why I believe it's the same person. You know, you got to remember, like, for example, you know, when Daniel and his three friends were taken to captivity by Babylon, they were all given new names. Okay, and sometimes we've also seen kings, kings that have multiple names. And so I believe Shezbazzar and Zerubbabel are just two names for the same guy. Okay, let's keep going there, verse number 15. And said unto him, take these vessels, so King Cyrus said, take these vessels, go carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place. Then came the same Shezbazzar and lay the foundation of the house of God, which is in Jerusalem. And since that time, even until now, have it been in building, and yet it is not finished. So not only is Shezbazzar and Zerubbabel referred to as the governor, but Shezbazzar and Zerubbabel are also referenced or given credit for laying the foundation of the temple's, the temple's foundation. This is why I believe it's one and the same person. The other view that's out there, that I've heard, is that they believe that Shezbazzar is a different man to Zerubbabel, and maybe that under King Artaxerxes, Shezbazzar, or even under King Cyrus, Shezbazzar was the governor, and maybe under King Darius, when there's a change in king, then Zerubbabel became the governor. That's the other view that's out there. Okay, but here's the thing. They're both credited for laying down the foundation of the temple. So I believe it's the one and the same guy with different names. Okay, the point being is this brethren. They are just following orders. They are following the authorities, whether it's their own nation, King Solomon, whether it's a foreign power, they are following orders when it comes to either building the temple, closing the temple, rebuilding the temple, the house of God is being followed, is being constructed under instruction of authority. They've been very clear. We followed king, instruction of the king, instruction of the king, instruction. We're not doing this on our own. We're not being rebellious against King Darius. Hey, but that's what the adversaries are trying to say. That's what the enemies of the Jews are trying to say. They're trying to say, look, they're being rebellious to you, king, you know, but no, they're just following orders. And brethren, you know, it's not like it was my intention. You know, when I came down to Sydney to help the church out during the time of COVID, you know, I didn't initially go thinking I'm going to preach for Jeremiah and then Lamentations and then Ezra. But it's something that obviously dawned upon me. I knew I was going to do it for a year. Jeremiah's got 52 chapters, just made sense. 52 weeks, 52 chapters, we'll get through Jeremiah. And the Lord has, of course, delayed my return back to the Sunshine Coast in a permanent state. And we've gone through Lamentations, gone through Ezra. But the one thing that I keep noticing, and this wasn't my intention for everyone, okay, this is the working of God. This is what God wants. And I truly believe God wants blessed off at this church. Every one of you to understand that we are to obey authorities of the land. I don't care how wicked they are. I don't care if they're not God-fearing or what, okay? I don't care if you don't agree with their orders that have been passed. You know, you may again disagree, oh, we shouldn't have closed church during the lockdown. Hey, these guys are following instruction. They're making it very clear. Listen, King said this, King said that, King said that, we're just following instructions. And we're still servants of God. We're servants of God in heaven and God in earth. Now, why did God get upset with them? Why did God have to send a tag guy in Zechariah? Because they've taken 14 years, brethren. It's not like they found the next opportunity. It's not like they found the next loophole and got back into the work of God. Hey, God obviously is pleased that they're following authority. But listen, they got comfortable in being slack with the house of God. They got too comfortable. Fourteen years, a new king on the scene, second year, they still have inside of the house of God. This is why God comes in and brings the prophets to get them back on track. And brethren, I truly believe this is the main lesson for blessing up at this church during my time. You know, you've got to follow the authorities. I mean, find the loopholes. Fine. Find a way to serve God. Fine. Just figure it out around what is currently in place and just serve God as best as you know how. You know what? This pleases God. God puts authorities in place. God puts powers. He allows these things to happen. And you know what? Just take it as a learning, like a lesson. You know, what can I learn from this? You know, am I trying to learn? Is God trying to teach me submission? Maybe God is trying to teach me humility. Maybe God is challenging my rebellious heart. Because brethren, could you imagine if the Jews truly were rebellious? I mean, they've got no power. I mean, there's the armies of Persia here. They would have just wiped them out. If they're clearly in rebellion against the king of Persia. You know, the king would have just sent his armies, sent soldiers and completely wiped them out. Brethren, they are following orders as best as they know how to be servants of God, of heaven and earth, as well as at the same time trying to be under the obedience of the kings that have given them certain instructions. OK, don't forget, they're not building the house of God because it was just their zeal and their will. You know, they were given instruction by foreign power to come and build the house of God. And so we have to be careful. You know, we've got a church, we've got a house of God, you know, and we need to, you know, follow instructions. You know, even when it comes to the finances, you know, we keep records of things. And, you know, if we have a time of being audited, you know, I'm not going to hide the books. Well, here it is, you know, here are your spreadsheets, here are the documents, whatever you need to know. If you have any questions, please let me know. Right. I mean, there's no reason to feel like that, you know, this victim mentality that, you know, God, you know, the authorities are just trying to destroy it. And maybe they are trying to destroy us. But don't forget that Jesus Christ is the king of kings. You know, Jesus Christ is the one that allows authorities to be in our life, to be a form on our side sometimes. For whatever purpose, whatever purpose that is, whatever lesson that the Lord God is teaching us. And remember, they went 14 years before God had to fix them up. We never went 14 years in lockdown, did we? Okay, you know, we've got the house of God, we continue. Yes, we went a few months without the house of God. But listen, don't get slack. It's available now. Let's get back into it. Let's get back into being in church attendance, serving one another, serving the Lord God through church. Let's keep reading there in verse number 17, please. Verse number 17. Now, therefore, if it seemed good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so that a decree was made of Cyrus, the king, to build this house of God at Jerusalem and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter. Yes, verse number 17. So these adversaries say to the king, Lord king, can you make sure, go back and check the records. You know, these Jews are saying they've got instruction from King Cyrus. You know, they're basically saying they're not rebellious. They're just following orders. Hey, we never heard back from King Azaraxes. He's dead now. Who knows what he has to say? You know, we're just following the instruction that King Cyrus has given us. And what are they asking from Darius? Can you go back and confirm? Can you go back and check whether King Cyrus truly gave permission to build the house? Reverend, there was no rebellion of the Jews. Okay, they'll take into captivity, 70 years into captivity. We know the story. Yes, they were rebellious people before the captivity. They're coming back. They just want to serve God. They just want to build the house. There was a stop. They were obedient. They stopped. God does not get angry at them for stopping. Okay, they're following orders. God gets upset with them because they take 14 years. A new king on the throne and they're not taking advantage of the situation to go back and rebuild. Okay, so brethren, again, just the challenge for you, you know, we've had stoppages to church. We've had interruptions. We're going from free services. We're back to two services. You know, we can't at the moment meet at 10 a.m. You know, we're meeting at 12 p.m. for church. It might be some inconveniences, brethren. Listen, whatever loopholes there are, whatever method there is to serve God, whatever way there is to have church, brethren, we just need to go ahead and continue building blessing hope at this church. And I can't do it on my own, brethren. You know, yes, I'm the pastor. Yes, I'm the leader. Yes, I'm traveling. I'm committed to travel. I don't mind. I've never complained about travel. Have I ever said that I get tired sometimes? Yes, I get tired sometimes, but I don't complain because I'm thankful to be able to serve, you know, the church and the city. I'm thankful to be able to serve, you know, the church up here at Sunshine Coast, because I know that it's going to please the Lord and I would just serve in God. God's going to be to rejoice of the work and the soul winning efforts and the preaching of his word, you know, and I want that blessing and I want I want you to have that blessing. But brethren, I need your help. I need you to be one of these great stones that make God blessed at this church. You know, you know, I hope I've been one of the songs for you. You know, I hope I've been an encouragement to you, you know, to edify you to continue being in the house of God serving him, but we need you. Please take advantage. Okay, please take advantage. You know, please don't be the individual that complains about lockdown and then you don't need to turn up the church service when it's available. I mean, that just shows a significant, you know, amount of hypocrisy. You know, we can't have church because of lockdown. Yeah, but then there's service and you're not here. Like what's going on? Like when church is on, let's be there, you know, who knows? What if there's lockdowns again? What if it comes, you know, we're going to regret the fact that we weren't meeting in the house of God when we should. Reverend, I truly believe the key thing that God wants me to leave is the place where I've had the church before I returned to Queensland. Stop being rebellious. If you're rebellious, stop it. Okay, we've got our authorities. I don't like them as much as you do. I'm not saying they're wonderful people. I'm not saying that our premiers and our prime minister are just wonderful servants, God fearing people. I wish they were. I wish God would take these wicked people and replace them with people that fear God. But listen, if that's not God's purpose right now, if that's not his will, and God wants us to learn the lessons that we need to learn, then we're going to be stuck in this current situation. Instead of just being rebellious all the time. Okay, you know, maybe God will never give us the right politicians until we learn to humble ourselves, until we learn to accept God's will in our life, until God breaks that rebellious spirit that we have. Maybe we're going to be with all these retreats until we learn the lesson. Maybe, just maybe, once every person at Blessed Repentance just humbles themselves, is broken down and accepts God's will for them in their life, maybe then we'll finally get some, lift off the complete restrictions. Maybe only then God will replace and give us some authorities to actually feed him. But brethren, we just got to do our part. We got to do our part and be in obedience to the authorities. Be a great stone for the house of God. Let's get back into the building. Let's not become slack and lazy and think, oh, you know, church will turn up, will be available next week. We don't know if church is going to be available next week. It might be shut down all over again. Who knows? The Queensland border might be closed all over again. I have no idea, brethren. But look, we can meet right now. Let's take advantage of that. Be a great stone. Enjoy the sincy milk of God's word. Grow, be valuable. Be a service to the people of God. Brethren, I want to build a great house. I want Blessed Hope Baptist Church, even though it's not my priority as a church, New Life Baptist Church is, I still want Blessed Hope Baptist Church to be a great house of God with strong foundations, with great stones, and we need everybody on board, making sure we build Blessed Hope Baptist Church to be a great service for God. Okay, brethren, let's pray.