“COMEBACK – God’s Providence In Motion” Series
Lesson Four: “Back To Work!”
Ezra 5:1 – Ezra 6:15

Conquerors Sunday School Class – Sunday, May 16, 2021

Our Lesson’s Theme Verse is found in these passages of Scripture…
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
I Corinthians 15:58
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Today’s Lesson Thought can be summed up in this one Question…
“What Motivates You To Work For The Lord Today?”
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Introduction To Today’s Lesson:

In last week’s lesson we saw how the adversaries of God caused the work of the Lord in rebuilding the temple to be stopped, and even worse than all that, we read in Ezra 4:4-5 how “…the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellers against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

What a wicked thing for the devil and his crowd of evil workers to do against the children of Israel, but may I again remind you today folks; the devil and his crowd are NOT the friends of God’s people!

Their only desire was, and still is today, to cause the work of God to cease and the people of God to grow discouraged and disheartened in serving the Lord and to even go back to living like the pagan people and those wicked nations that inhabited the land surrounding them!

And now, after many years of oppression, and depression, and constant battles from those who opposed the work of God in Jerusalem, the Bible says in Ezra 4:24, “Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”—nearly a full generation later!

But when the devil does all he can do to discourage the hearts of God’s people, nothing motivates and stimulates the stagnant hearts of the people of God to once again do the work of God like good Bible preaching!

Folks, God’s people needed revival in their hearts even as you and I need revival in our hearts today!

And beginning in Ezra chapter 5, that is exactly what God does—He sets His message of revival, and hope, and trust in God as a message of burning fire shooting forth from the lips of His prophets, and soon the work of rebuilding the temple of God is once again begun by the people of God!

Thank God for sound Bible preaching that stirs the heart and motivates the soul to do the work that God has saved His children to do for Him!

And when the adversary does all he can do to stop the work from continuing forth, the message of the Word of God resounds throughout the land “Onward Christian Soldiers, Onward!”

And when the evil forces and dignitaries of their day questioned by what Authority they did what they did in this work for the Lord, the people of God continued on with the work they have been commanded to do, and with God’s divine providence in motion, the work of rebuilding the temple did indeed continue on and was eventually completed in just five short years!

What a blessing to see how God enables His Work to continue on even in the midst of much persecution and oppression!

Now, let’s take a look at this lesson today that is entitled “Back To Work!” and I want us to see how all this came to pass as we see the divine providence of God in motion!

Lesson: “Back To Work!”

I           : Construction of the Temple of God Resumed

          - Read once again the sad plight of the people of God as we saw last week in Ezra
             4:23-24, “Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before
            Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in
            haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and
            power. Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem.
            So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

                 - Hebrews 12:2, Ezra 5:1-5

   A: The Motivation from God’s Prophets
          - Ezra 5:1-4, Haggai 1:1-15, Zechariah 1:1-17, Zechariah 4:6, Zechariah 4:8-10

   B: The Marvel of God’s Protection
          - Ezra 5:5

II          : The Construction of the Temple Is Continued

   A: An Official Inquiry is called for
          - Ezra 5:6-17

   B: A Royal Authorization is given
          - Ezra 6:1-12, Romans 8:35-39

III        : The Construction of the Temple is Finally Completed!

          - Hebrews 12:2, Ezra 6:13-15

Conclusion:

Folks, whenever God says for His people to do something, you can rest assured that the devil’s crowd is going to try to stop it from ever happening or ever being completed! But there is no other ‘god’ like our great God!

And as we continue to do that which God has commanded us to do, dear child of God, never forget the words of the Apostle Paul found in Romans 8:37 which remind us, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

So many people have been hindered in their work for the Lord through this COVID-19 pestilence, but folks, it is time to rise up and work again! Let’s get back to work today, child of God!

Let’s get busy telling folks about Jesus! And let’s get busy re-building those walls that we have allowed the devil’s crowd to tear down in our lives and in our homes and yes, even in our churches!

Let’s get back to the job of reaching our lost world with the message of the Gospel and telling folks about the God of Heaven that loves them and wants them to be saved!

And as our lesson’s theme verse tells us today from I Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”Let’s get back to work today, child of God, for the glory of God!