Anchored and Aimed!

Sermon Summary:

We explore the rich history of God’s people through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, set against the backdrop of exile and return. This narrative of rebuilding isn’t just ancient history—it’s a powerful metaphor for our own spiritual journeys. Just as the Israelites had to rebuild their temple, their city, and their faith, we too often face seasons of rebuilding in our lives. The message anchors us in our faith heritage, reminding us of God’s unchanging nature even in times of upheaval. It encourages us to lean into the big truths we know about God—His presence, power, and purpose—even when our circumstances make us doubt. This historical perspective offers hope and guidance for our own times of crisis and renewal.

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Sermon Points:

• CONTEXT: Come, let us rebuild! The stories of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah are told in Ezra-Nehemiah.
• The checquered story of the Kings, a matter of nearly five centuries, had ended disastrously in 587 BC with the sack of Jerusalem, the fall of the monarchy and the removal to Babylonia of all that made Judah politically viable . . . It was a death to make way for a rebirth. A millennium before this, Israel had been transplanted to Egypt to emerge no longer a family but a nation. Now her long night in Babylon was to mark another turning-point, so that she emerged no longer a kingdom but a little flock with the makings of a church. This is the point at which the book of Ezra begins.

  -Derek Kidner

• ANCHORED IN THE FAITH: For God’s people, the journey of rebuilding begins with an acknowledgement of our heritage of faith.
• AIMED TOWARDS THE FUTURE: You cannot stay where you are and follow God’s leadership! God invites us on a journey towards His future!

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Anchored in Faith, Aimed at the Future: Rebuilding with Ezra and Nehemiah

Key Takeaways:

• The historical context of Ezra and Nehemiah, including the exile and return from Babylon
• The importance of being anchored in faith during times of rebuilding
• The impact of recent global events (like the pandemic) on churches and individuals
• The need to lean into core truths about God’s nature during challenging times
• The importance of looking towards the future and not remaining stagnant in faith

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Scripture References:

• Ezra 7:1-6
• Nehemiah 1:1-3
• Nehemiah 2:17

Stories:

• The historical narrative of Israel’s exile to Babylon and subsequent return to Jerusalem
• The rebuilding of the temple and walls of Jerusalem under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah
• A brief mention of the Lord’s Supper and its significance in anchoring faith
• References to contemporary challenges faced by churches and individuals in rebuilding after the pandemic

Transcript

us in worship today. We’re going to continue in worship with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. So I’m going to ask our deacons if they want to make their way forward, our ministers, if you’d go ahead and take your places as well. Mark’s Gospel tells us about that Thursday evening when Jesus was with His disciples. And here’s what Mark says while they were eating. Jesus took bread and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples saying, take it, this is my body. Then He took a cup and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them and they all drank from it. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many, He said to them. Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Jesus was with His disciples on that Thursday evening and they were celebrating Passover. And what Jesus led His disciples to do that night was to be anchored in their faith. He was celebrating this tradition laden. This tradition practice of the Passover where together as Jews they were looking back at what God had done for them when the Lord set the people free from Egypt. And so they were anchored in their faith. They were rehearsing a story of victory, of God’s deliverance in the life of Israel. But on that evening, Jesus did something else. He transitioned the Passover celebration into what you and I today call the Lord’s Supper. And when He did that, He challenged His disciples to not just look behind and embrace what God had already done, but He challenged them to look into the future and imagine what He was going to do. And He will say in this as this text shares with us, He will say, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine again until I do it with you new in the kingdom of God. And so Jesus was challenging them to from then on receive these elements, not just in memory of what God had done in Egypt, but He said, do this and remember me and what I’ve done for you and what I will do for you one day. So today you’re going to join in on the one hand, an appreciation of the past where our faith is anchored, but we’re also going to aim at the future and imagine what the Lord has in front of us. And we’ll receive these elements together as God’s people. In a moment, when we pass the trays in front of you, the deacons will distribute them. You’ll notice that the cups are double stacked. So if you’ll just take one stack of those cups and you can separate them, the bread and the juice are in two different cups. And I’ll guide you through receiving the elements. If you need gluten free bread, it’s in the middle of the tray. But for us, this bread symbolizes the body of Christ. The blood, I mean the juice symbolizes the blood of Christ. So if you know the Lord Jesus and you are baptized, a member of his church, you’re welcome to participate with us as a guest today and church members alike. But let me pray and ask God’s blessing on these elements. We’ll distribute them and then I will guide you through them as we partake of them. So let’s pray.

Father, we’re grateful today that we do have a faith that is anchored, that we have a story to tell and rehearse, that not only do we celebrate the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and your hand of guidance upon your people through history culminating in the birth of the Messiah, our Lord. We also celebrate the life and the testimony, the witness and the death and the burial and resurrection of Jesus. Because of that, we can have forgiveness of sin and we can be brought together in communion with you and with one another as your people and be given the gift of eternal life. So we remember Jesus today. We remember what Jesus has done for us. But we also anticipate the future today as we receive these elements in a moment. As we’re reminded that there is a great feast in our future, the great wedding feast, the great wedding banquet of the Lamb. And thus we will experience and enjoy you and one another for eternity. So in these few moments, Lord, we pray your blessings upon us. We welcome your presence. We ask that you would be with us in this moment. Lord for your blessing upon this bread which for us symbolizes the body of Christ and this juice which pictures his blood and we ask your blessings upon us as we will receive them and we pray it in Jesus name. Amen.

The Bible shares with us on that Thursday evening Jesus took the bread and he blessed and he gave thanks for it and he said this is my body so in remembrance of Jesus take and eat.

Jesus also took the cup and he says this is the blood of the new covenant in remembrance of Jesus drink.

And all God’s people said amen. Amen. Amen. What we just did as the people of God we did together in community with one another and in communion with him and it’s appropriate since our theme for this year is together and we are learning more about what it means to be together as God’s people. We’ve just turned a page in our calendar the weather hasn’t noticed it yet but it will eventually catch up with us but we are now celebrating for us at least the fall and so with that a new sermon series that’s connected to what we’ve been doing all year long as we’re exploring various facets of what it means to be together. So for the fall together for the future is our theme. When you came in today I hope you were able to get one of these new devotional guides for the fall. They’re available in all of our welcome center areas or you can go online if you’d like to fbca.org slash word and deed. It’s where you can find it online. But you’ll notice that what we’re going to do in the fall is we’re going to read together the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Now the Hebrew Bible that’s just one book and named Ezra but our Christian brothers and sisters in the first century were heavily influenced by the Septuagint and so we have them separated in our testament as Ezra and Nehemiah and so you’ll notice in your readings there’s a narrative reading every week and if you engage in the narrative reading by the time we finish these nine weeks you will have read all of Ezra and Nehemiah and each week however there’s a focal reading, focal passage what we call together in word. This week our reading is from Matthew and then you’ll notice that there is a guide for you to suggest together indeed. It’s for us as a church to engage in practices, spiritual practices that are very practical if you will indeed together. So I hope you’ll pick one of those up and I believe it will be very helpful to you. So as I said we’re going to read through Ezra and Nehemiah and we’re going to allow them together to be our guide for the fall. So here’s what I want us to do this morning. I just want us to begin the conversation this morning. So if you have your copy of the Old Testament, let’s look at Ezra and we’ll begin today in Ezra 7. The reason for that is that’s where his memoir actually begins and so we’ll get introduced to Ezra today as we look at Ezra 7 verse 1 which says after these things during the reign of Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, Ezra son of Saraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Shalom, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Mariah, the son of Zariah, the son of Uzziah, the son of Bukai, the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the chief priest. Ezra’s letting you know that he’s a part of the priestly line that traces all the way back to Aaron. Verse 6, this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher, a scribe, well versed in the law of Moses which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, and temple servants also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of king Artaxerxes. Now if you’ll flip over a couple of pages in your Bible to Nehemiah, which is the very next book, Nehemiah 1, you find this introduction to Nehemiah. The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hekeliah, in the month of Kislev in the 20th year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers came from Judah with some other men. And I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire. So, here’s what I want to do this morning. I want to start with a history lesson. We’ve been, I’ve entitled this message today, Anchored and Aimed. So, let’s begin with a history lesson.

Are y’all excited? Alright, good. Let’s show a little enthusiasm for some history, okay? So, here’s where we begin, and that is the context of Ezra and Nehemiah. Come, let us rebuild. The heart of these two books. So, the stories of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah are told in Ezra and Nehemiah, okay? So, with that said, let’s do a little history. This is 2024, right? So, let’s go all the way back. This is A.D. 2024. And by the way, that’s how you write it if you want to be correct. Just a little persnickety about that. Means in the year of our Lord. So, if you go back, back to A.D. 0, which actually there’s not an A.D. 0, but let’s just pretend that there is one. So, that’s 2024 years backwards, right? Let’s do that. Stop right there. Then let’s go another 925 years even further. So, that’s 925 years before Christ. Are y’all still with me? Okay? So, when you get to about 925 B.C., here’s what’s happened. David had been king of Israel. He died. His son Solomon followed him. He was king of Israel. He died and his son Rehoboam became king. Now, Rehoboam inherited some trouble as the king of Israel. One of the challenges was the northern tribes felt like that Solomon did not represent them well. And so, Jeroboam was their spokesman and he came to see Rehoboam to ask, will you treat us better than your father did? Can we have some guarantees from you? Unfortunately, Rehoboam did not agree with that plan. And so, Israel split into two nations. So, we’re 925 years or so before Christ. Tribes to the north became known as Israel. Two tribes primarily in the south became known as Judah. And so then, for the next couple hundred years, both Israel will have kings and have their own capital in Samaria. The tribes in the south, their capital will be Jerusalem. They’ll have their kings and prophets. There’ll be prophets in the north, prophets in the south. The southern kingdom will be known as Judah. Northern kingdom will be known as Israel. Fast forward 200 years, now you’re 722 B.C. and Assyria attacks the northern kingdom and destroys it. Conquers Israel and eventually intermarries with the people of those tribes and those tribes, and those tribes disappear. Some of you have heard of the 10 lost tribes of Israel. That’s referring to that event in history. And so, all that remains primarily in the south are Judah and Benjamin, and they are known as Judah. Their capital is Jerusalem. Well, if you’ll fast forward to 587 B.C., by that time, Babylonians had taken over the Assyrians. And the Babylonians were led by a king named Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar led his army into Judah and he marched on Jerusalem. Now, the Jews believed that Jerusalem was a special city and God would always protect it. And even if he didn’t protect Jerusalem, he would always protect the temple. It’s holy ground. Nebuchadnezzar’s army came in and destroyed the wall around the city of Jerusalem. He then made his way into the heart of the city and he destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and burned it to the ground. He took all the artifacts out of the temple, all the gold, all the treasures of Israel, the treasures of David, and he transported all of that back to Babylon. And with it, he carried leading Israeli leaders, young people, a good bit of the population and took them all to Babylon with him. So, 587 B.C., Jerusalem is in ruin. The wall’s been destroyed. The temple’s been burned to the ground. The artifacts have been removed. Judah has no army, no way to protect itself. It’s been depopulated and many of the leading citizens are now in Babylon. People like Daniel and Hananiah and Azariah and Mishael. Unfortunately, you don’t know them by their real names. You know them by their Gentile names.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But their names, when you see them in heaven, they go by Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael. Just keep that in mind. Well, eventually, the Persians will conquer the Babylonians. Cyrus, the king of Persia, they are the antecedents to today’s Iran. They will capture the Babylonians, conquer Babylon, and Cyrus in 539 B.C., after he took over that empire, he came to an understanding of the history of Israel and what had happened to the Jews. And so, in 538 B.C., he released the Jews to go home. And they could return. They could return to their homeland. He also told them, you can take all the artifacts with you, take the gold out of our treasury, and we will help you finance the rebuilding of the sanctuary there in Jerusalem, the temple. And so, he released them, many of them, to return home to Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple in 538 B.C. So, Derek Kidner, who’s written a wonderful little small commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah, here’s his summary of that particular era in the history of Israel. Here’s what he says. The checkered story of the kings, a matter of nearly five centuries, in other words, if you go back to David, some 500 years, had ended disastrously in 587 B.C. with the sack of Jerusalem, the fall of the monarchy, and the removal to Babylonia of all that made Judah politically viable. It was a death to make way for a rebirth. A millennium before this, Israel had been transplanted to Egypt. To emerge no longer a family, but a nation. Now, her long night in Babylon was to mark another turning point, so that she emerged no longer a kingdom, but a little flock with the makings of a church. This is the point at which the book of Ezra begins.

So, with that said, Nehemiah 2 verse 17, Nehemiah says, come, let us rebuild. And that’s the heart of this story. When Nehemiah spoke those words, as best we can tell, it was August of 445 B.C. So, that means the heart of this story, come let us rebuild, was spoken 2,469 years ago this past August.

Now, why would we be so interested in something that was spoken almost 2,500 years ago in Jerusalem? Well, it’s because we can learn some incredibly valuable lessons from this story. And I want to help us do just that. But a little bit more history. Are y’all still with me? A little bit more history. Let me give it to you. So, here’s what happens. 538 B.C. Cyrus, king of Persia, antecedent to today’s Iran, the Persian people. He released the exiles to return home. He told them, go back to Israel, rebuild your temple. Zerubbabel was the leader and they make their way back to Jerusalem. He says, here’s the plunder, take it home. Also, here is some further resources to help you rebuild your temple and restore your nation. So, if you can imagine in 538 B.C. that Iran and Israel were in the news. I know that’s hard for you to even get your mind wrapped around the possibility of Iran and Israel. Israel ever being in the news, but 500 years before Christ, they were in the news. So, they go home. Zerubbabel starts working. 515 B.C. The temple is finished. And they dedicate it. So, when y’all start reading Ezra, Ezra 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 is about that era.

Zerubbabel, rebuilding the temple, dedicating the temple to the Lord. Now, it’s not Solomon’s temple. In fact, it’s smaller than Solomon’s temple. But it’s the temple nevertheless. It will eventually be added on to and completed in A.D. 65 or so by guess who? I’m sorry, it will be completed before the time of Christ. And then the final restoration will take place in the early 60’s, but King Herod is the one who would finance that. Well then, 515 B.C., the temple’s dedicated. When you get to Ezra 7, you gotta fast forward to 458 B.C. Ezra, who’s a scribe, teacher of the law, is released to return to Israel. And he returns with a zeal for the Torah, for the law. The temple’s been rebuilt, but the zeal for the Torah is not yet in Jerusalem. Ezra goes to take that to Jerusalem. He is going to found, if you will, this whole group of people known as scribes and teachers of the law. Then if you’ll fast forward 13 more years to 445 B.C., Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem and he’s elected governor. And he will rebuild the wall around Jerusalem and he’ll be principally responsible for bringing protection and peace to the people of God in Jerusalem. So this particular era in history is incredibly important to us. The Persians, they were led by their kings, Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes. All those kings are in this story. They are the kings during the era of the world. They are the kings of Ezra and Esther and Haggai and Zechariah and Nehemiah. You also had local governors. You have the governors of Syria, the governors of Samaria. Now the governors of Syria and Samaria were not all that happy with Jerusalem being rebuilt. They were jealous of Jerusalem. So they’re going to oppose Jerusalem being restored and repopulated. However, Cyrus set forth a different type of government than the Babylonians. The Persians believed in allowing local people to practice their own religion and actually their own economy. So they set up satraps all over their empire and they allowed local leaders to work. They allowed religions to be practiced. They allowed sanctuaries to be rebuilt. As a matter of fact, they even financially refurbished temples and sanctuaries across their empire, the Jewish temple being one of those. So when you get to the end of Nehemiah, here’s where we are. Israel is the end of Nehemiah. Israel is now back in place. The two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, now comprise the people we’ll know as Israel. The temple has been rebuilt. Jerusalem has been repopulated. The law has been reestablished. And the wall has been rebuilt. And so it’s a crucial period in the history of the people of God. It’s a smaller nation now, granted. But you have the temple, the Torah, and the wall. You’ve got the structures. As Dr. Kidner says, both visible and invisible, that I will identify Israel as God’s people. Separated from the world, alien from the people around them, committed to the ways of God. Now we’re going to notice in this story that the Samaritans were not happy with this. So you’re going to see what’s going to happen. Animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans is going to grow during this period.

Also, there’s going to be a tension established. And the tension is between acceptance of foreign rulers and embracing foreign rulers. And Israel’s going to live on that spectrum depending on who you are. There are going to be Jews who have animosity toward these foreign rulers. There are going to be other Jews who just accept and engage with them. So what’s going to happen? Well, eventually, in 325 B.C., Alexander the Great will take over the world, and the Greeks will rule that empire. And then eventually, the Romans will take over that world, and the Romans will rule that empire. And so by the time you come to Jesus, Jesus is going to be born into that world, a world that’s been dominated by foreign rule,

Assyria, Babylonia, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. And you’ve got Jews who are comfortable with that and Jews who have animosity toward it. You’re going to have zeal for the temple, not Solomon’s temple, but Zerubbabel’s temple. You’re going to have zeal for the law, and there’s a whole group of people known as scribes who come to the temple, and they’re going to be from the line of Ezra. And you’re going to have this animosity between the Samaritans and the Jews that goes all the way back to this story and beyond. And that is the world that Jesus walks into.

History lesson done. Are y’all good? All right, get out a piece of paper, and let me just do a real quick pop quiz. This is what I used to do when I taught history in seminary. And you’ll only, if you can just list the kings, you know, you’ll get credit for this class, okay? So, why are we talking about this? Why are we talking about all this? What are we going to do for nine weeks with this story? I wanted to put it in context for you to understand how important the story is and what’s happening, so when you’re reading, you’ll catch it. But the heart of this story is about rebuilding. So, for the next nine weeks, that’s what we’re going to talk about. Building, rebuilding. What does that mean to us? Well, I want you to think about it with me. Think about rebuilding. Let’s think about the church for just a minute. Do you know? When the pandemic hit our world back in 2020, first of all, we had no idea what we were facing. We had no idea of the physical toll that it would take on people. We had no idea about the sociological toll that it would take on people. We had no idea about the psychological take or effects of the pandemic. And we certainly had no idea of the political, and we certainly had no idea of the political ramifications of it. And so, even though it took place in 2020, and here we’re on 2024, here’s what I would tell you. There’s a whole group of researchers right now who are just now beginning to produce research who are just now beginning to produce research on how it’s affected the church. It’s taken a while for us to give consideration to it, It’s taken a while for us to give consideration to it, to understand what has the pandemic, as it made its way across our society, and reverberated with effects across society, we’re just now coming to grips with what it’s done to our churches. in America. And what I would tell you is, regardless of what you think about the pandemic, It has had an impact on our churches. It has had an impact on our churches. We have been affected. Do y’all know that there have been hundreds and hundreds of churches Do y’all know that there have been hundreds and hundreds of churches over the last four years who’ve just closed in in the United States. There’s also been tremendous impact. For example, the research that I’m reading now finally, after we’re actually beginning to gather it together, it doesn’t really matter whether you’re Catholic or Protestant, Protestant, liberal Protestant, or conservative evangelical, it’s had an impact. It’s impacted things like attendance patterns have changed drastically in local churches in America. Today, churches have what was before this mostly unknown. We have digital footprints, which we didn’t talk much about prior to the pandemic. It’s had an impact on generosity and how American Christians now choose to give or not give to causes, including their church. It’s had an impact on community and relationships. Sociologists are beginning to study that, and they’re producing material. As a matter of fact, there’s a little phrase that’s used now in sociological circles that transcends just the church, and you’ll see this phrase, bowling alone. Now, think about that phrase. Bowling alone. In other words, what sociologists are saying is that Americans have become more isolated and are actually engaged in more activities alone than in any other time in this modern era. There’s the rampant dis-ease of loneliness in our society, and it’s impacted people across the board, Christian and non-Christian alike. In fact, it’s led to the question that many of us have. What is the impact of bowling alone? What is the impact of bowling alone? What is the impact of bowling alone? What is the impact of bowling alone? What is the impact of bowling alone? And that is this. What does it take for a human being to flourish? And there is a great deal of research being done around that very question. We’re going to talk more about that as a church. The point is, churches right now in America are rebuilding. They’re re-evaluating. They’re rethinking. I talk to pastors all the time, and you know what we usually say to each other? We’ll be talking with each other. How’s it going at your church? Most, every pastor I talk to starts the sentence like this, me included. Well, used to, we did so and so. We don’t want to do that anymore. Really? Well, how’s it? Well, you know, used to, and there’s a whole lot of used to’s in our conversations. Well, we just don’t have that, and we had to quit doing that. That doesn’t work anymore. Well, now we do it this way. It’s amazing how much has changed, and for some of us, we haven’t even noticed it, but if you were to retrace your steps to five years ago, and just look at the template of most churches, and you’re going to see that it’s like ours in America. It is very different today than it was then, so there’s rebuilding taking place, but it’s not just churches. It’s individuals. It’s me and you. Everybody, we all face times of rebuilding, so that’s why I want us to talk about this for the next nine weeks, because we all face those times, times of reassessing our lives. More often than not, we go through times of rebuilding because of major life events. Things that happen to us. For example, job change, a vocational change, people that lose their jobs and have got to re-enter the workforce, maybe in a different field. People that choose to do that. Do you know that job changes today happen much more quickly than they used to, and it can bring about a time of rebuilding. Marital adjustments. In our marriages, sometimes we go through seasons where it’s time to adjust. It’s time to renew. It’s time to recover. It’s time to recover. It’s time to commit, if you will, at a certain level, and it’s a rebuilding time. Divorce is a major life event, and we know the challenges that come from divorce, and then on the other side of divorce, the rebuilding that has to take place into a new normal, a health crisis. When something happens to our health, it can bring about a time of rebuilding where we have to readjust, and we have to say, well, our life from now on is going to be like this rather than like that, or a death in the family. depending upon who it is that has died, that will dictate what kind of rebuilding has got to take place. As you think about your life beyond that person who was so much a part of your life, or it just might be a desire for renewal, desire to change, can bring about a time of rebuilding. And so, for these next nine weeks, with Ezra and Nehemiah leading us, because they lived during a season of rebuilding. They were rebuilding the temple. They were rebuilding the appreciation of the law. They were rebuilding the faith. They were rebuilding the faith. They were rebuilding the wall. They were rebuilding their society. They were repopulating their community. I want us to learn some lessons, so we’re going to start today. So, let me give you two lessons real quickly just to begin the conversation. The first one is this. If you’re in a season of rebuilding as a Christian, you begin by being anchored in the faith. For God’s people, the journey of rebuilding begins with an acknowledgement of our heritage of faith. This morning, we just had a reenactment of that when we received the gospel. We just had a reenactment of that. We just had a reenactment of the elements of the Lord’s Supper. It’s our heritage. We look back over our shoulders. This is what God has done for us. We know that not only did he deliver the children of Israel from Egypt, he also has delivered us from our own sin and from an eternal destination in hell without him. But Jesus has changed all of that for us. So, we’re anchored in our faith. So, this morning, if you find yourself in a season of rebuilding, then I want to encourage you. You may say, I’m not really in that season. You probably know, someone, though, who’s in that season, and maybe you can encourage them. And I would be willing to predict, if you’re not in one right now, there’s one looming on the horizon at some point for all of us. And so, here’s what I would say. You begin by acknowledging your heritage. Lean into the big things that you know are true. So, let me just give you some suggestions this morning, the big truths. First of all, God is still God. Even in Babylon, he’s still God. In fact, it may have been a while since you’ve read some of the big things that you know are true. So, let me just give you a little summary of what we thought he meant by reading the chapter of Psalm 137. But why don’t you make a note of it and read it while you’re reading Ezra and Nehemiah, because the psalmist in Psalm 137 was in Babylon when he wrote it. Psalm 137, verse 1 says, By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy. They said, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. Verse 4, they said, How can we sing the songs of the Lord in Babylon? how do we do that but then verse 5 if I forget you Jerusalem may my right hand forget its skill may my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy so the psalmist said even when I’m in Babylon I can sing I can sing the songs of the Lord even in a strange place and the reason for that is is because the psalmist leaned into the deep truths that he knew to be true and I would encourage you to do that if that’s where you are today lean into the big truths God is still God God is present with you God’s powerful God’s purposeful God is personal he hasn’t forgotten you lean into what you know to be true even if you don’t feel like it’s true because when you find yourself in a season of rebuilding it’s a vulnerable time in your life and your life is riddled with questions does God know what’s going on in my life why has God let this happen to me why would God let this happen to me why would God let this happen to me why would God do this to me does God not care about me can God not help me is God not powerful enough to get me out of this is this just God’s will for my life am I doomed to this for the rest of my life am I ever going to get any better am I always going to walk with a limp all those questions are just circling when you’re in a season of rebuilding in crisis so lean into the truths even if you don’t feel like they’re true because your feelings will follow truth and follow faith and then finally one other suggestion for you and that is to be aimed towards the future and that is to be aimed towards the future and that is to be aimed towards the future you cannot stay where you are and follow God’s leadership you just can’t do it that’s one of Henry Blackaby’s principles in experiencing God God invites us on a journey towards his future so what I would say to you is and to me we cannot stay in our demise the time comes when we have to look beyond our current circumstances and realize there’s a time to heal there’s a time to move ahead I would encourage you if you find yourself in a situation.