Does our God stir people's hearts? The answer is yes. What does it mean when God stirs people's hearts? It means that God is about to accomplish something for us. In Ezra chapter 1, God did the stirring work of moving King Cyrus to issue a decree to rebuild the temple. What are you waiting for? Come and explore this wondrous journey with us!
Questions for Reflection:
Which two words in this chapter are repeated several times? Can you find them?
Do you know whom God's wondrous work will be accomplished in? Are you the person God is looking for?
Our lives are also often filled with God's omnipotence. Brothers and sisters, please deeply experience this in your actual lives.
God stirs Cyrus to issue a decree to begin rebuilding the temple
This chapter is a passage about rebuilding the temple, and it contains two repeated words: stirred and “excite. When God wants to accomplish something, the most wonderful thing is that He can stir people's hearts Himself. This Cyrus and this Cyrus are the same person. The book of Isaiah was written one hundred years before the nation of Judah was destroyed. Seventy years after the destruction of the nation of Judah. It was written in Isaiah and it had been 170 years. Actually, the name of Cyrus is clearly written in this book of Isaiah. So this King Cyrus, God stirred his heart and let him issue an announcement to the whole country. This is a very wonderful thing. Through this matter, we can see that the heart of the Persian King Cyrus was stirred. What stirred him? Actually, when he was reading the book of Isaiah, his name was written in the book of Isaiah. He began to know that this God had long ago prepared him -- King Cyrus -- to do this thing. Then he issued a decree:
“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’” (Ezra 1:2-4)
This is a decree issued by a king. But while God was stirring King Cyrus, He also stirred many Levites and priests, all of whom were stirred by God. They began to desire to build the temple of God, and such a group of people was raised up. What can we see through this? At this time, Ezra had not yet appeared; this was in the first year of Cyrus. This matter is recorded: these people were going back to耶路撒冷 to build God's temple. Who accomplished it? God accomplished it. Jeremiah's prophecy was that the Israelites would only return after seventy years. Actually, God prepared during these seventy years. Nothing is impossible with our God. In the New Testament era, John the Baptist said that God could raise up children for Abraham from these stones (Matthew 3:9). God can do anything; He can stir people's hearts and make them burdened for something.
God is also stirring our hearts in the process of building a temple in our church
Today, when God wants to do something among us, He will stir our hearts. In our whole process of building a temple, God is actually planning to restore His glory among us. I have always had a feeling of excitement about this matter. In the early days, everyone would feel very tired if the Sunday service was a little longer. Later, the Sunday service changed from two hours to four hours. In addition to the weekly Bible study on Friday, a Bible study was added on Wednesday. Later, the Sunday service became six hours long. What do we see ourselves? God is stirring people's hearts among us. From a numerical calculation point of view, you cannot understand it, but God has accomplished it in this way.
What God has done in us is that our church meeting time is one of the many ordinary brothers and sisters. That's what we are now. We meet for such a long time on Sunday. We study the Bible on Wednesday and Friday. Then there is a small group prayer meeting at night, which is the most basic life. Others were stunned to hear it and couldn't believe it. But this is what God did. You must know that when God is stirring a group of people's hearts, it is because He is about to accomplish a glorious thing.
How God Stirs People's Hearts
The restoration of the temple in Jerusalem took many years. It was written all the way to Ezra, which was actually a period of more than ten years. Today, I want to share with you how God stirs people's hearts. When God wants to stir people's hearts, people inexplicably think this way and agree with it so much. This is very wonderful. You yourself don't think it's a special thing, but there is such a feeling in your heart. I believe that God is beginning to stir people's hearts more among us. What is He doing? He is building a temple. Maybe today brothers and sisters will think in their hearts that I don't seem to have this feeling, but how does God stir people's hearts? It is that people begin to have a desire in their hearts.
Throughout the entire 《Holy Bible》, God is not very fond of passively receiving. God wants to stir people's hearts. Actually, people themselves begin to have a desire. Do you know where that desire comes from? The desire comes from prayer. When the seventy years were about to come, Daniel read in the prophet's prophecy that after seventy years, the captives would return to build His glorious temple for God. Then Daniel was very burdened and knelt there to pray earnestly. Daniel was the prime minister of a country and a very busy person, but he actually had a lot of time to pray. If among us you are just a small soldier, you still don't have time to pray. I think it's a bit unreasonable. Daniel read about the building of the temple. After Jerusalem was destroyed for seventy years, God would bring back a group of returned captives to build a holy temple for Him. He had this burden in his heart.
Today, let us not be numb among us. This is how God stirs people's hearts. It is when people begin to desire the accomplishment of such a thing. As a result, Daniel spread this matter throughout the Persian kingdom. The Babylonian kingdom had been destroyed. When it came to the Persian kingdom, Daniel was still the prime minister. He began to pass on such information. Think about how influential Daniel was, that is, in this country of Persia, Cyrus, Daniel was a high official at that time. His influence was passed on through his circle to the Jews he came into contact with, Seventy years is coming soon, seventy years is coming soon, seventy years is coming soon. If we build the temple according to this idea, building God's glorious temple must be God's age-old wish, not just now. If today a small group of us begins to build God's holy temple, and then such information is constantly repeated and constantly transmitted, people's hearts will be stirred up.
Today, God's glorious temple has an impression in your mind, and God's glorious church is like this. God will respond to your inner call there with you. So this is how God stirs people's hearts. But if the Jews at that time did not desire the information conveyed by Daniel in their hearts, God would not be able to stir the hearts of such people. I believe there should be such people in Daniel's circle of contact. So the scripture says that Then the leaders of Judah and Benjamin, the priests, and the Levites—indeed, all whose hearts God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. Are there any who didn’t get up? Definitely. So today we must know that what God wants to do is not difficult at all.
Nothing is Impossible with God
Last year I went to Malaysia and visited a church. That church was on the top floor of a shopping mall and was very beautiful. They shared that the place was given to them for free. Don't think this is strange. This morning I met a friend who is a businessman. He said that in the area of Eunos, someone wants to build an eight-story building on that piece of land very close to the subway station. He said that the top floor of the building should be built into God's holy temple and given to the church for free, and he must find a Chinese-speaking church. Today, the boss of PICO also wants to renovate his place, which is where we used to meet, a very dilapidated place, into a hall with four hundred seats. It is not clear whether it will be charged temporarily.
Hearing two such things early in the morning, when God wants to stir people's hearts, gold and silver treasures are not a problem at all. Now it is whether God is really among us. If God is among us and God is pleased with us, is money a problem? It's not a problem at all. If they had the ambition to buy this piece of land at 南洋理工大学, it would be nothing. God stirred his heart to buy it and donate it to 南洋理工大学, the location of today's NTU, which was built by 南洋商人.
What I am telling you today is don't focus on wealth, focus on God. God can stir King Cyrus, can He stir the richest man in Singapore's largest developer? Can the Christian businessmen in Singapore be stirred? Yes! That's not a problem. The problem is whether God is with us, whether we have that desire in our hearts. Never have a numb heart; if you have a numb heart, you will suffer.
If a person can experience building God's glorious temple in his life, it is an extremely wonderful experience, and you will experience great miracles. These things recorded in the book of Ezra are not accomplished by man, but by God. They all seem impossible, but they happened. Because there is a group of people like Daniel who hear God's will and kneel there to let God's will be accomplished. Isn't the Lord's Prayer that we recite also saying, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9-10)?
If what is in you is God's wonderful will, you will experience God's wonderful deeds! These wonderful deeds include making you and me rich, but the starting point is that you and I have a dream in us to accomplish God's will. God, what is your will? If this is your will, we will ask according to your will.
With God's Presence, Nothing is a Problem Anymore
This morning, I was quite touched because I see what God is doing among us. There are not many churches like this. The boss of Pico pulled me aside and said his niece has cancer, and the doctors have given up. He asked if his niece could come to our church to pray. See that? If God is with us, no matter how big the boss, how big the title, it's not a problem. God will also motivate him to come before us and say that he needs it too. I promised him, let his niece come over on Sunday, and we will pray for her. Anyone who has cancer, come among us to pray, as long as that person is willing to receive, everyone gets well. This is not what I said, it is what the Bible says, All who were sick or demon-possessed were healed when they came to Jesus.
If Jesus is with us, is this still a problem? This is not a problem! Later, in the churches built by Paul and others, those who were sick and demon-possessed were healed when they came to the church. What I said today, even if it has not been fulfilled yet, but I have this desire in my heart, I wish that everyone who comes among us will be healed. In my faith, I also believe that it will definitely be fulfilled in the future! Those of you sitting here this morning are all Christians, but when I returned to the church, the scripture that my wife led us to memorize was Be strong! Be strong! Be men of valor!
I encourage our brothers and sisters to be strong, for strength is the key to solving problems. Building a strong church with God's glory is the key to solving problems! What is work? Since God can stir the heart of Cyrus, can He stir the heart of a boss? Among many job applicants, you are the one who gets hired. Yes, He can! Many of us have had such experiences, where we are pleasing to the boss's eye. In fact, we didn't talk much during the interview, but God stirred the boss's heart, and the job was settled! Once your boss's heart is stirred, you get promoted, don't you?
God is so wonderful. In the past few days, I have often experienced God stirring the hearts of those people. Why, in such a short period of time, did I go from the lowest position in the entire department to the highest position? It was because after I worked for two or three years, God stirred the heart of the person above me, and he resigned, and I took that position. After a few more years, God stirred the heart of the person above me again, and he resigned, and I took that position. God is so wonderful! Our future is not in our own hands, but in God's hands. If God wants to stir someone's heart, it is easy. Don't think that if you fail an exam, God cannot stir the heart of the grader. We have such examples among us. Someone failed an exam and came to me. I said it's okay, let's pray, and God stirred that person's heart, and the result was not bad, it was a B.
I will teach you a lesson. In your life, you must know that your boss's impression of you, the impression of you by the people around you, all these things are God stirring that person's heart. Do you think God stirred the heart of Cyrus because God needed Cyrus? No! God wants to accomplish His good will in His people. His people have a cry and desire for God in their hearts, and God can fulfill these desires. Do you understand? How did God stir these people's hearts? Where did it start? It started from Daniel kneeling there and constantly praying and crying out (there is a clear record in the Book of Daniel), and then many Jews also prayed with Daniel.
Today, we have caught up with the best opportunity in history. From the time there has been a church until now, there has never been a more exciting era than today. Because in this generation, God wants to restore His glory in His church. It's not that you and I are anything special, it's because you and I are walking in God's will. When our church was extremely desolate, my wife and I decided to kneel down and pray. I am very grateful that when I was poor and destitute, my wife did not leave me. God stirred my wife's heart and shared the faith within her with me, and then said, If we are going to do it, let's build a church full of God's glory. So, from 2011, we started kneeling down and praying. These things of kneeling down and praying were all promoted by my wife behind the scenes. I am really grateful! God stirred people's hearts, and people's hearts turned to God.
Start to Thirst, and God Will Stir Your Heart
In the beginning, when we prayed, we couldn't see anything, we couldn't see the future, we couldn't touch anything. What we saw was just a desolate scene. The temple was extremely desolate, and there was this desire in our hearts. Today, we have not yet seen the great manifestation of God's glory. I encourage everyone to begin to desire it even more. If in your midst, your heart is not strong enough for that desire, God will also do some things to make you strong. Slowly you will figure it out yourself. I know what God is doing, because it is not strong enough within you, God will take some measures to make you start to become strong, to share His glory, which seems to be a catastrophic thing in the eyes of men, that is the beginning, because I have walked the same path as you.
Once, a prophet said to me, After you pass through the valley of the shadow of death ahead, God will cause you to see great glory! At that time, I thought I was going to be promoted and make a fortune again. Today, it seems that is not glory. Building a glorious church for God is glory. This morning, when I shared with that group of businessmen, I told them what the prophet said when he laid hands on me and prayed. Now I have seen it, although I have only seen a little bit, but I know that there is greater glory ahead. I began to share with them about mental illnesses being healed... all kinds of diseases being healed, and their faith was greatly encouraged.
Don't think that the words that people release today are released by people. If it stirs your heart, know that God is going to do things. God wants to accomplish His beautiful will through you and me. Work is nothing. Getting cancer is also a very small matter. Don't think I'm talking nonsense. In a church where God's glory is manifested, it is really a very, very small matter. At that time, Zhaohai came to our midst because he had a small breakdown in the middle of the night and looked for me on QQ. After that, I led him to pray and he experienced a miraculous turnaround. Yanting was the same. When she came to our midst, she was very tangled and troubled and clung tightly to her work. We kept releasing her from the control of work because she was always afraid of not passing the probation period. We prayed. She was always tangled there. Every time she struggled, she came to church. Once she got better, she moved a little further away from the church. Don't do such things again in the future.
If it is said that when you are struggling, coming to church sees the crisis resolved. If you continue to run forward in God's will when you are not struggling, and continue to accomplish God's will according to the heart that God inspires you, then you will see how much glory! That's how the temple was built. Therefore, putting aside all worries, God stirred Cyrus' heart for Daniel, and God will also stir your boss because of your desire to accomplish God's glorious will within you. Some of us are in the service industry. As long as you have that heart to desire to study the Bible, to desire to build a glorious church for God, to desire to read God's word, paths will open! Don't think that because you are in the service industry, paths cannot open.
Don't look at it with human eyes, start to look at it with God's eyes. Even if there are many kinds of things around you, the only way to solve the problem is prayer, let God work in you, and God will definitely open a way for you! Don't underestimate those gold plates, silver plates, gold bowls, and silver bowls, all kinds of utensils, five thousand four hundred pieces, that's not a small number! Cyrus ordered his treasurer to open the treasury and take them all away, because when God wants to accomplish His will and you happen to be walking in His will, you will definitely see such things happen. Don't think it is impossible to get God's glorious temple without spending money, it is possible! Nothing is impossible for God to do.