Even the king's plans are in God's hands, and this king's determination to build the temple for God is so firm. What drives his heart to be so strong? Is he blessed by God? Let us look together at today's sharing: Those who are strong and courageous will have God's presence and will prosper in everything!

Questions for Reflection:

• Who decreed that the work of building the temple should not be hindered? Were the necessities for building the temple provided?

• What kind of people does God use?

• What kind of life should we live to be blessed by God?

Be Strong and Courageous, and You Will Prosper in Everything

God cannot work through weak people, do you believe that? If a weak person always complains, saying, God! Where are you? Why haven't you worked yet? God cannot work through this kind of person; it really is impossible, and I am truly sorry. God is also anxious, but people are afraid to be strong and courageous. From Genesis to Revelation, the entire Bible reveals that God works through those who are not afraid to die.

If a person is afraid of death, they have lived as a Christian in vain; if a person is not afraid of death, what else is there to fear? Haven't we read Romans? We were buried with him through baptism into death (Romans 6:3). To this world, I am dead; what can it do to me? Although I live, it is no longer I who live, but Jesus Christ who lives in me. What does this mean? When the heart is strong, God can work through you. Who would work through a weak person? Evil spirits will work through him. So today we begin to learn one thing: to be strong and courageous, and then we will see that the result of being strong and courageous is prosperity in everything.

Disregarding Life to Deliver the Mission

Originally, they risked their lives to build God's temple. Without any decree, they went to build the temple and were impeached. Originally, after being impeached, these people were supposed to lose their heads, but what do you find? You will find that if these people all lose their heads, then God is not the true God. But the God we worship is the true God. If you have the mindset of risking your head, not only will you not die, but you can also save many people. The Book of Acts records such an event: the apostles sent Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles to deliver a message: Jerusalem was going to hold the first Christian conference in history, and representatives of Christians from all over the world would come to participate (Acts 11:19-29). The Bible describes these two as men who have risked their lives. Why is that? Because you disregard your life; you only care about one thing: whether God's will is conveyed to people. If being strong and courageous will bring God's presence, then what will happen with God's presence? You will prosper in everything. In fact, prosperity in everything is God's will.

Prosperity in Everything is God's Will

God's will is not for us to suffer; God's will is for us to be blessed and live a good life; God's will is for us to prosper in everything and thrive in everything! We must not forget God's will. Some Christians think, Is God's will for us to suffer? I want to say, No. God's will is for you to be blessed, and ultimately to bless you. This is what the Bible says, see Deuteronomy 28:3. Therefore, know that the way to be blessed is to walk it disregarding your life. Later, I also learned that if you have a heart that disregards your life, miracles will follow you, and God will be with you. Then you will find that the feeling of God being with you is so wonderful. This chapter, verse 22:

Then they celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel. (Ezra 6:22)

We see in this verse that they were strong and courageous, and they saw God's presence and prospered in everything, building God's temple (Ezra 6:10-14). After God's temple was built, even the heart of the Assyrian emperor turned towards them. Do you know what this is doing? This is restoring a God-centered way of life. The Bible speaks of restoring a God-centered way of life. At this time, the temple has been built. Is this building important? Very important, but next there is something more important: the hearts of the people must turn to God. The hearts of the people must turn to God. That is what Ezra did later, removing sin and continuously sanctifying. This sixth chapter is about God opening up the way to restore a God-centered way of life.

If we were to write a theme for the entire Book of Ezra, it would be: Restoring a God-Centered Way of Life. Once we are people-centered, it will be difficult for you to understand these things. People will think, What's the point of observing the Passover? There's no fun in it. It's better to go to the Maldives or Hawaii for a trip. What's the point of going to Jerusalem to observe the Passover? It's bloody to offer sheep and cows there, and it's not fun at all. When you are God-centered, when you look at these things, this is taken for granted; when you are self-centered, you will never be able to understand what is being done. But there are results that can prove that when you begin to live a God-centered life, you will prosper in everything.

God Wants to Restore People's God-Centered Life

God wants to restore people's God-centered life. It's not that God needs you and me. It's not like if we don't come to worship Him, He will lack something. The self-existent and eternal God does not need you or lack you. He cares about us people, and He really does not want us to live miserably.

The Transformation of the Israelites

Think about it, what was the result of the Israelites losing God? They were exiled to Babylon. The Israelites lost God; they were utterly defeated by the Assyrians, and the entire northern kingdom of Israel was completely destroyed by the Assyrians. It is obvious that people who forsake God will not live well. People who forsake God cannot live well. They forsake God and live a self-righteous, people-centered life, but they cannot survive. They think we can be ourselves again, but we cannot. The result is a very tangled state, which is very painful.

Living a God-centered life is very important. Look at those who live a God-centered life; they will never live in such a painful way. If you have not lived a God-centered life before, now you must prepare to live a God-centered life and begin to restore it! The Israelites and Judahites were also like this. The Judahites lived a people-centered life, and as a result, they were exiled to Babylon, and the entire country, people, and race perished. As a result, when the Israelites and Judahites began to prepare to live a God-centered life, prophets such as Daniel and Ezra appeared. When they began to hope to restore a God-centered life in their hearts, God raised up wave after wave of people to return to Jerusalem to build the temple.

God prepared Zerubbabel and Joshua, these prophets (Ezra 5:2). Many people think, These expenses for building the temple require people to donate. No, this is prepared by God himself; we often think, God can't do anything; people have to do everything. No, God himself does it. God prepared the materials, the money, and everything, only needing your strong and courageous heart. We will see this verse when we read the Book of Haggai.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry ground. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the Lord Almighty. 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the Lord Almighty. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty. (Haggai 2:6-8)

This is to say that the money is prepared by God himself. I think when we start building the temple, God will prepare to make you rich. (It is not we who make God rich, but God who makes us rich) Because we have that strong and courageous heart, we will see with our own eyes that in the most expensive place in the center of Singapore, we can build the glorious temple of the living God.

Living a God-Centred Life, Receiving Blessings and Grace

In the process of returning to a God-centred life, money is not the issue. Today, whether you believe in the Lord or not, you must know that there is a God in heaven and on earth, and people need this God. The reason why human life is so miserable is because of separation from God. If we start living a God-centred life, start restoring our relationship with God, you will surely see the glory of God, and you will surely prosper. One person is our example, namely King Darius in this chapter, who thought very clearly, Who am I? I am an emperor of this extremely prosperous empire. Looking at it today, how big is this empire? It is an empire spanning three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. This is a very powerful man. What did he say? King Darius said:

Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place. Moreover I issue a decree as to what the elders of these Jews shall be paid for the building of this house of God; let it be paid for from the king’s treasury from the taxes of the region beyond the River; and this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail (Ezra 6:7-9).

The Work of God is Everywhere

Here it says who built the temple? It was God Himself who did it. Why did God do this? That they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven (Ezra 6:10). If this King Darius, who was also the King of Persia—the Persian Empire was a very prosperous empire in human history—even he knew there was a King of heaven. Today, a small commoner who is not doing well still thinks he is good, which is very sad. This King Darius was very powerful. What else did he say? He said:

That they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons. Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this. And may the God who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius have issued the decree; let it be done diligently. (Ezra 6:10-12)

We Need God Even More

I think this is very important. If one day you become a king or a president, what you need most is God. If you are still a commoner today, then you should start thinking about one thing. Even a king needs a life with God, which shows that our human abilities are really very limited. We, the common people, are like Zhang Ga, very limited, and don't we need God even more? Starting to live a God-centred life is not a disadvantage. Starting to live a God-centred life is receiving grace. Why is it called receiving grace? Because it is all given to you by God. God wants you to live well, wants you to live out the noble and glorious image of God.

Restoring the Noble and Glorious Image of a Child

God really does not want you to live like this, for example, asking the leader, Could you please give me a job, please? How does the boss answer? No. People will tell you no. People see someone who is so humble and think, What kind of person is this? Doesn't look like a talent at all. That's why I teach our brothers and sisters to go for interviews with their heads held high, with confidence, I am a talent, this company needs me.

The Work God Does is So Wonderful

Because we have the presence of God, it is really wonderful. A few days ago, I met a sister who said to me, Pastor, do you know? It was very difficult for me to be confirmed. I was always worried about being fired after the probation period. As a result, the boss recently gave me a very good evaluation (it became very easy to be confirmed). You see, this is what God did, definitely not because of her ability. This is not the ability of Zerubbabel, nor the ability of Joshua, nor the ability of anyone else. It's just that you must start choosing to be strong and courageous in your heart, you must live a God-centred life, build God's glorious temple, and you will see God working. With the faith of Even if I die, I will offer myself like this, no one can stop you. God will move the entire generation, move your boss, and move the people around you. They say, Wow, this is a talent! Even if you don't think you are a talent, they will think you are a talent, and of course God will surely make you a talent, Amen!

Conclusion: The God Who Blesses!

Living a God-centred life is knowing that God wants to bless us, so what is so great about keeping the Passover? What is so great about tithing? Is living a God-centred life not a blessed life? Then what work is delayed during the Passover? No work will be delayed. Because what we need is not work, what we need is God. With God, even if work is delayed, it is not actually delayed, right?

Therefore, I often ask the brother who just gave his testimony, and ask him not to be confused, to know, My current situation is the grace of God. No matter what, I will save this time. When this time comes, I will only worship God. If we should keep the Passover, we will keep the Passover. If we should keep the Lord's Day, we will keep the Lord's Day. If we should keep the Bible study on Wednesday and Friday, we will keep it. Will we suffer losses after persevering? Absolutely not. Because living a God-centred life will not suffer losses. Amen!