Favor, not Flesh: Ezra 8:21-23

Andrew McClure

Sermon • Submitted 9 months ago • Presented 9 months ago

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Tell the Story

Mosaic

Most, if not all church planting training will emphasize and require a Prospectus. A strategic plan, that details the mission, vision, and strategy of what the church planter is setting out to do.

I wrote one of those back in November of 2021 as our family prepared to move to Richmond Hill and plant this church, but by January of 2022 I scrapped it… for at least a couple of reasons.

First, as I began to get to know many of you, and this community.... I realized that I had no idea what I was doing.

Second, as I began to get to konw many of you, and this community, I began to realize that God knew exactly what He was doing.

CBC Richmond Hill, I wholeheartedly believe, has not been planted or built by the strategies of man, but by the wisdom, power, and favor of God.

This church hasn’t been planted by a prospectus.

Instead, I view it more like a Mosaic.

We spent 2013-2015 in Arab North Africa, and a key piece of Islamic architecture is Mosaic.

Picture

This type of design littered the streets and homes of the North African’s we were trying to reach for Jesus, but it isn’t necessarily the product that catches by breathe but the process.

You see, the artist would build the mosaic face down...

Only the Artist had the final picture in his head. And he would take tile after tile and place it in place, but to the bystander all you could see was plaster.

Because after he placed a handful of individual tiles, he’d put plaster or concrete to secure their place.

Sometimes these mosaics would take months, and finally after all the plaster dried, the Artist would lift it from the ground and you got to see the wonder and beauty of His mosaic.

On March 23rd, 2022, 5 months or so before we launched I wrote this in my journal,

“I see God building CBC RH like a Mosaic. The Master Artist has a perfect image in His own mind from His own wisdom as to what this church will be. To us it may just look bland, plaster on face down tiles, … but I’m beginning to trust the Artist. Each person He is stirring and each person that He will stir to be a part of this church is like one of these singles tiles. Incredibly intricate by itself, but meant to be apart of the whole. And that’s the church… a reflection of the Artist.

Church family we are so very far from a finished product, God is continuing to shape and mold each individual tile, as well as adding more week after week. But the point this morning is that today needs to be about the Artist.

The way he has placed each of us here at CBC Richmond Hill is a testimony to His love, wisdom, power, and favor. And I just want to give Him the credit he deserves.

He has built this church.

And it has grown.

On August 7th, we launched with 358 people, 93 kids! By October we had moved to two services, in January of this year we became financially independent from our parent church CBC Savannah, and as of today we sit around 475 a Sunday, with 130 kids!

Praise God. But in light of that growth, I think it would be a massive mistake to think that church growth according to the Bible is only quantitative.

Throughout Scritpure when the Bible refers to growth in the church it is nearly always qualitative.

Church growth for the Apostle Paul was not about the volume of tiles being added to the mosaic, but of each tile, whether 50 or 450, being fitted for its destiny through the transforming power of Spirit-taught truth.

That is the Story worth telling this morning. The story of our people. The story of each of you being transformed by the power of Word & Spirit.

That story is so much more important than # of ministries launched, members added, or bottoms in seats.

The story God cares about is the story of individual tiles growing in the image of their artist. And that’s what we want to today to be about.

So we’re going to take the next 20 minutes and hear just a few of these stories.

So Coleman, why don’t you come back up and lead us through this time.

Favor, not Flesh

Let’s go to the Lord in prayer.

Turn with me to Ezra 8.

Favor in the Past

If you’re new with us this morning, welcome. One of the distinctives of our church is expository preaching, which means we preach through books of the Bible and over the last 6 weeks we have been walking through the OT book of Ezra.

And today I plan to close out Ezra, and help us look forward to the near future of our church.

So let me recap the book of Ezra really quickly.

God is a relational God, and since creation God has established various covenants, or relational contracts with His people.

These covenants lay out the basis for the relationship, the conditions to be met in that relationship, and both positive & negative consequences if those conditions are met or broken.

One of the clearest examples of covenant is found in Genesis 12 & 15, where God chose one man by the name of Abraham and established a covenantal relationship with Him and his decednent, who became the people of Israel.

The Basis for that relationship was God’s Sovereign and Steadfast Love.

He didn’t choose Abraham or Israel because there was anything inherently special about them.

Deuteronomy 7:7 “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,”

Instead, Deuteronomy 7:6 ““The Lord your God has chosen you”

It was God’s Sovereinty that chose Abraham and Israel to set His Love upon them.

At Mount Sinai, after God had miraculously delivered His covenant people from slavery to Egypt, he clearly laid out the conditions of the covenant.

These conditions can be summarized in Exodus 20 as the 10 Commandments. Rules and regulations that will ensure the distinctiveness of God’s people, because they were chosen to reflect the true and utter distinctiveness of their God.

The Consequences were also clearly stated.

In Lev. 26 he lays out the blessings of obedience, but also the punishments for disobedience concluding in Lev 26:33 “And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.”

Largely, the OT chronicles the consistent faithlessness of God’s covenant people, yet at the same time the consistent patience, mercy, and faithfulness of God.

But ultimately, after centuries and centuries of rejection God finally executed the consequences of the covenant.

In 586 B.C. Babylon eventually overtook the nation of Israel, and deported its people throughout the land of Babylon.

But after 70 years in exile… God, once again in His Sovereign and Steadfast Love moved toward His people in mercy.

Ezra chronicles this undeserved and unearned favor of God.

What we’ve seen so far is that...

God’s Favor led to the prophecy of Jeremiah that the exile would only last 70 years.

God’s Favor stirred the heart of a pagan king named Cyrus to execute the return of God’s people.

God’s Favor stirred the hearts of the remnant, especially Zerubabel who would lead the first wave of return.

God’s Favor stirred the hearts of others to materialistically provide the supplies needed to rebuild the Temple.

God’s Favor strengthed the returnees to build the alter, and lay the foundation of the Temple.

God’s Favor encouraged the people to resist opposition and see the completion of the Temple through.

God’s Favor led Ezra to lead Wave 2 and it was God’s Favor that delivered them safely to Jerusalem.

All throughout the book of Ezra this is the theme that so clearly emerges:

“The good hand of our God was upon Us.”

Church, as I reflect over the last several years, I too see the favor of God.

I see the good hand of our God upon Us, as a local expression of His covenant love to this local church.

Now, I’m not saying that the past year has been perfect, or free from pain or massive mistakes. Let’s get coffee sometime and I can tell you about serious fumbles I’ve made, and lessons I’m still learning.

But even those have served as opportunties for God to express His Favor.

The way that God led me and our family to Richmond Hill is solely, and wholly a testimony of God’s Favor.

The way God led CBC Savannah to pray and eventually choose Richmond Hill as a location for a church plant is God’s Favor.

The way that so many individuals and families have prayed for a church like ours, in this community is demonstration of His Favor.

The way God has provided the slew of volunteers we needed day 1 is His favor.

The freedoms found from addiction, the restoration of marraiges, the salvations, baptisms, care for the hurting, everything that is good and noble and honorable that has occurred in and through this church over the last 12 months is a testimony to the Favor of God.

Flesh in the Present

But today on our 1 Year Anniversary I see us at our own Ahava, as Ezra was in chapter 8.

Ezra 8:21-23 “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.”

At the River Ahava Ezra re-dedicated His, and the entire congregations dependence upon God alone.

He was literally and symbolically stating that the favor we have come to rely upon for our past, is the same favor we will live by into the present and future.

Church, when I consider where we are today and where we’d like to be in the future I believe we are standing at the river Ahava.

The temptation for us today is to grow content.

To build programs. To hire staff. To settle. To become dependent on what God has built this past year, and stop being depenent on God for this year.

I don’t know about you, but that’s not what I want.

I don’t want to grow dependent upon self.

Instead, I want Year 2 to be lived more dependent of God, than the first.

I want Year 2 to be more testifying to the power and favor of our God than the last.

I want Year 2 to be far more abundant than all we ask or think, according to the power at work with us,

And more than anything in year 2, I want Him to receive all glroy in the church and in christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever, and ever amen.

So how do we resist this temptation? What do we do as stand at this river with year 1 behind us and year 2 ahead?

Ezra gives us one single, incredibly potent… yet unfortunately overlooked insight.

And that’s fasting.

Favor for the Future

Fasting.

Fasting has always been a core discipline of the people of God, and followers of Jesus.

The first story of Jesus’ ministry is 40 days of fasting,

and Jesus himself taught his disciples saying, “When you fast...” Not if you fast, but when you fast.

Fasting then was an assumed discipline of the followers of Jesus. And it is for us today as well.

So What is Fasting?

Biblical Fasting is giving up food, for a set time, and for a spiritual purpose. Let’s break that down.

Giving up Food

Fasting is the giving up of food.

Over the years, many have chosen to abstain from other things. Sweets. Coffee. Instagram. Cell Phones. Etc. But biblically speaking that isn’t fasting. Fasting is always food.

Now the normal fast in Scripture is abstaining from food, but not water. Yet, there are times in Scripture where there are Absolute Fasts, which is no food or water. But that shouldn’t be the Norm.

For a Set Time

Biblically and historically the most common fasts have been 24 hours. Sundown one evening, to sundown the following evening.

But throughout the Bible we find people fasting for much various durations.

David fasted for 7 days, in a show of repentance imploring God to save his son born to Bathsheba.

Esther fasted for 3 days in preparation to save the Jews from annhilation.

And of course Moses, Elijah, and Jesus all engaged supernatural fasts of 40 days.

But it is an appointed set time.

for a spiritual purpose.

This isn’t about dieting, or intermittent fasting, or physical physique.

It is for spiritual purposes.

There are a plethora of spiritual purposes in fasting, and Ezra’s going to show us 3 Primary ones.

Why Fast?

For Glory of God

What Ezra knew at the River Ahava was that Gods glory, his image and reputation was at stake.

Ezra had told the king Ezra 8:22 ““The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.””

What would happen then if the people of Israel were ambushed and plundered on their journey? What would that communicate about God?

In Exodus 32, Moses was fasting for 40 days on Mount Sinai in the presence of God. And while away what were the people of Israel doing!?

Oh rejecting their God, and conforming to the patterns of the world around them.

they were making idols and worshipping false gods.

In Exodus 32:9-10 “And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.””

God had had enough! Ready to start over!

Exodus 32:11-13 “But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ””

This isn’t a sermon on intercessary prayer, but prayer and fasting is so closely linked I want you to see the connection here.

Moses moved the heart of God in intercessory prayer by appealing to the glory of God. “What will all these nations think about YOU, if the people you’ve chosen you consume? What will that say about you!?

Ezra likewise moved the heart of God in fasting by appealing to the glory of God. “What will these nations think about YOU, if you don’t defend and protect the people of you have chosen.”

They appealed to the glory of God.

To Moses and Ezra the image and reputation of God was of the highest priority.

Likewise we fast so that the glory of God would be put on display.

Humble Self

Secondly, Ezra proclaims a fast there at Ahava “that we might humble ourselves before our God.”

You know many translations substitute affict ourselves for humble ourselves.

If you’ve ever fasted before, you know exactly what I mean… fasting is affliction!

The word there intends to communicate a concious choice to become lower, to weaken oneself.

You see Ezra was in a position where he wanted the glory of God to increase, so consequently he sought to decrease in order for God to increase.

Fasting is the greatest spiritual weapon in your spiritual armory to declare your weakness, and need for God’s strength.

You see we are so prideful. So bent to thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think, and don’t think that our congregational community is immune.

Again, we can hear about all that God has done in our past, and slowly and subtly we begin thinking we’re pretty great.

“That church down the street is nothing like us.” We do it right. They don’t even preach the Bible. We are special.

Oh I so fear that mentality seeping its way into our congregational conciousness. So how do we fight it! We fast!

Fasting humbles.

You may think pretty high of yourself, but once you realize how completely useless and ineffective you are on an empty stomach we begin to realize how much we need God.

So we fast to Humble ourselves.

To pray with Power

Finally, Ezra proclaims a fast to bring power to his prayers.

Ezra 8:23 “So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.”

Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

When you are willing to set aside legitimate appetiites of the body you are demonstrating that you mean business, and you are seeking with all of your heart.

Andrew Murray writes, “Fasting helps to express, to deepen, and to confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, to attain what we seek for the Kingdom of God.”

So that’s what Ezra did…

At the River Ahava, Ezra demonstrated that the present and future were to be lived just as dependent upon God as the past by proclaming a Fast.

The past year has been full of God’s favor.

And as we move into year 2, I don’t want us to lose our dependence upon God or desire for His favor. ‘

So over the next several months, I’m going to every now and then teach on fasting as it shows up in the Book of Nehemiah.

So by the time October hits my prayer is that we’ve all grown in our understanding about Fasting.

And on Sunday, October 8th we’ll dig in a little deeper on Fasting and even how to fast.

So that on October 11th, a Wednesday night, in this room we are going to host a churchwide night of prayer and worship.

And in preparation for that night, I’m going to call us to fast.

May we hunger for God this year, more than we hunger for food.

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