Ezra – God’s Hand in History Forefront Community Church – Sunday 26th June 2016

The God of History God in History God in Your Story One of the overarching themes of the Book of Ezra is that while we may not be able to see what God is doing, that because we are at the coal face, we can’t see the progress being made, we can rest assured that God knows what is going on, He knows the end from the beginning; that He has got involved in the affairs of Man time and again, He is not an absentee landlord who created the heavens and the earth, set it going and then walked away, but that He gets involved, and then I want us to consider that because of this, we can be assured that God knows what is going on in our lives and that even if we have walked along way away from God, or if it is just one step, He is ready and waiting for us to return, and not only that, He engineers circumstances to give us the opportunity to return to Him. So we are going to look at this book from three perspectives The God of History God in History God in Your Story Ezra – God’s Hand in History - Forefront Community Church – Sunday 26th June 2016

The God of History “In the first year of Cyrus King of Persia, in order to fulfil the word of the lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus King of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:…” Ezra 1:1 Brief history leading up to Ezra… Under Moses’ leadership, the nation of Israel escapes from slavery in Egypt after 400 years They spend 40 years wandering round the desert, not allowed to enter the promised land because of their hard-heartedness and rebellion and idolatry They defeat the nations in Canaan, but still choose to ignore God. They spend decades in a perpetual cycle of obedience, falling away, punishment and judgement, repentance, obedience. They decide they want a human, earthly king – to be like the other nations, so Saul becomes first king of Israel Then David, who falls in to sin, then Solomon, who falls in to sin, and then the nation is split in two, the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah – still under God’s judgement because of their rebellion and sin, especially that of the leaders. And after a host of increasingly wicked kings, who more and more lead their countries into idol worship, occult practices and pagan idolatry – apart from a handful of God-fearing kings, because of their constant turning away from God, their refusal to obey His prophets , who repeatedly warned them they would end up being defeated in battle and taken away in captivity. Ezra – God’s Hand in History - Forefront Community Church – Sunday 26th June 2016

The God of History 1800 B.C. – Joseph brings his family in to Egypt to avoid a famine – they settle and grow 1400 B.C. – Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt; Joshua leads them in to Canaan 1050 B.C. – Israel chooses to have an earthly king – Saul, followed by David and Solomon 930 B.C. – The nation splits in to Israel and Judah, Kings get worse & draw the people further and further from God 600 B.C. Babylon defeats Israel & takes them in to captivity

The God of History “In the beginning, God….” Genesis 1:1

The God of History “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel….” Genesis 3:15

God in History “Who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let it’s foundations be laid.’” Isaiah 44:28 688 B.C.

God in History “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nations, the land of the Babylonians for their guilt,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will make it desolate for ever.” Jeremiah 25:12 605 B.C.

God in History “This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my good promise to bring you back to this place.’” Jeremiah 29:10 594 B.C.

God in History Belshazzar’s Feast – the writing on the wall Daniel 5:17-30 539 B.C.

6th Century B.C. Israel vs. 21st Century Chard God’s hand in my story 6th Century B.C. Israel vs. 21st Century Chard

God’s hand in my story “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one…” John 17:20

God’s hand in my story “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:39

The God of History God in History God in Your Story One of the overarching themes of the Book of Ezra is that while we may not be able to see what God is doing, that because we are at the coal face, we can’t see the progress being made, we can rest assured that God knows what is going on, He knows the end from the beginning; that He has got involved in the affairs of Man time and again, He is not an absentee landlord who created the heavens and the earth, set it going and then walked away, but that He gets involved, and then I want us to consider that because of this, we can be assured that God knows what is going on in our lives and that even if we have walked along way away from God, or if it is just one step, He is ready and waiting for us to return, and not only that, He engineers circumstances to give us the opportunity to return to Him. So we are going to look at this book from three perspectives The God of History God in History God in Your Story Ezra – God’s Hand in History - Forefront Community Church – Sunday 26th June 2016