I WILL PRAISE THE
LORD WITH JOY
Ezra 3:8-13
V:8. "Now in the second year of their coming unto the
house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of
Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the
priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto
Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set
forward the work of the house of the LORD."
A. God knows your
name.
1. God knows
your history.
2. God knows your
ancestry.
B. God has work for
you to do.
1. Each believer
is a priest for the Lord.
2. Faith in Jesus
comes with responsibility.
3. Each of us
have been equipped and commissioned to serve the Lord.
C. Each of us have
been freed from the world of sin.
1. To keep from
falling into temptation, we must willingly serve the Lord.
2. We must occupy
ourselves with work of the Lord to keep from being
occupied by
the world.
D. There is work in
the house of God and work outside of the walls of the temple.
1. Since we are
the temple, we should always be at work for the Lord.
2. We are the
temple that the world should see.
V:9. "Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren,
Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah
A. Each of us have
skills that are useful in the House of the Lord.
1. We must
standup for the Lord and commit ourselves to the work of the Lord.
2. Fathers should
lead their families to the work of the Lord.
B. Each of us have a
responsibility to take the initiative to work for God.
1. If we see
something that need to be done, it is our duty to get it done.
2. There is
enough work in the Church for everyone to be involved.
V:10. "And when the builders laid the foundation of the
temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and
the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the
ordinance of David king of Israel
A. The Church should
always be in the building mode.
1. The Word of God
is the foundation of the Church.
2. Jesus is the
master builder and the cornerstone of the Church.
3. The lost come
to know Jesus because of your foundation.
B. We have reason to
praise the Lord for the foundation that Jesus laid.
1. Praising the
Lord is a formal occasion.
2. We ought to
dress up our minds with the Word of God.
3. We ought to put on our priestly robe; the
robe of holiness.
C. Worship is a
celebration of the goodness of the Lord.
1.We ought to
gather together to make some music for the Lord.
2. Some of us
have been gifted with musical talents.
3. Some of us
have been gifted with beautiful voices.
4. Some of us
have been gifted with an enthusiasm for praise.
5. We should use
all that we have to praise the Lord.
D. King David was
gifted in writing praises to the Lord.
1. King David was
gifted with musical talents.
2. King David was
not ashamed to dance for the Lord.
a. When the
Israelites brought the Ark of God to Jerusalem
danced
out of His clothes.
E. Like King David,
we ought use everything we have to praise the Lord.
1. King David has
given us an example of how to praise the Lord openly
for everybody
to see.
2. King David was
not worried about formality and tradition.
a. When he
got happy, he was happy in the Lord.
b. God brought
King David through the trials of life and he knew
the value
of praise.
3. No one should
have to prompt you to praise the Lord.
a. Praise
ought to be natural and from the heart.
b. You ought to
praise Him because He has been good to you.
V:11. "And they sang together by course in praising and
giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for
ever toward Israel
A. Jesus is your
foundation and it has been laid in your heart.
1. We have been
elected to be in the body of Christ.
2. We have been
elected for a heavenly home.
3. We have been created new in Jesus Christ.
B. Everything that
has breath ought to praise the Lord.
1. All the saints
of God ought to come together and sing praises to His name.
a. Because He
is Good.
b. Because His
mercy endures forever.
c. Because His
mercy flows fresh on us.
2. Everything that
has breath ought to shout with a great shout.
a. We ought to
make some noise when we praise the Lord.
b. We ought to
praise Him because we have Jesus as our savior.
c. We ought to
praise Him because we have Jesus as our Lord.
d. We ought to
praise Him because He blesses us with life every moment.
3. We ought to
praise the Lord because we have a foundation that was not laid with
human hands.
a. We ought to
praise Him because we got a foundation that is kept by the Lord.
b. We ought to
praise the Lord because we are built on a foundation that cannot
be shaken
by the world.
c. We ought to
praise Him because our foundation is forever.
V:12. "But many of the priests and Levites and chief of
the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the
foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice;
and many shouted aloud for joy."
A. No matter how
excited you are about the Lord, there is always somebody who want
to kill your joy.
1. You can see the
positive in the work of the Lord and somebody will see the
negative.
2. There is always
some Christian living in the past, who can't see the future.
B The past is the
past and you have to let it go.
1. No matter how
much you think about the past you can't change it.
2. Holding on to
the past want allow you to enjoy the presence of God's goodness
before you.
C. The present
goodness of the Lord ought to out weigh any past events or
circumstances.
1. While some
were rejoicing over the new foundation, others were weeping over
past
foundation.
2. Some
experienced Church folk make it their business to hold on to past glories.
a. Some
experienced Church folk are experts at "joy killing".
b. There are
some good Christians who hold on to the good old days and can't
enjoy the
good new days before them.
c. I don't
have to have all I had in the past to enjoy what I have today.
D. Those who love
the Lord should shout louder and praise longer to put down
negative folk.
1. Don't dwell
on the negative, but dwell on the goodness of the Lord.
2. The goodness
of the Lord, don't stop because of negative folk.
V:13. "So that the people could not discern the noise
of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people
shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off."
A. If you shout loud
enough, no one will know that there are any negative folk in the
house.
1. It is possible
to mistake the weeping of other for the joy of the Lord.
2. If we shout
long enough and loud enough, the weeping of others may change to
tears of joy.
B. Praise is
contagious.
1. When people
see you rejoicing in the Lord. they will want your excitement.
2. Some people
may be encouraged by your praise and worship.
3. The Lord is in
the praise of His people. Ps 9:11. 26:8
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