Sermon Tone Analysis

Opening

Who wants to see this church rebuilt?

When we started this series last Sunday, we had an overview of the book of Ezra

There was a lot of counting

They had an inventory of everything and everyone before they left Babylon to rebuild the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem

They counted the number of priests, musicians, temple servants and many others

Similarly, our church needs rebuilding

We are going through some processes that we need to experience in order to witness the glory of God

Just like the army of Gideon, our numbers was trimmed down to what it is now

But, it should not in any way discourage us

But on the contrary, this should all the more encourage us

Why??

Because God will earn all the glory out of these, look

BREATHE!

When I accepted God’s call for me to serve 6 years ago, It was not a very handsome start

I was ridiculed, belittled, mocked and persecuted

6 years after, and during in between those years, I am still ridiculed, belittled, mocked and persecuted

I always say these, and I will say it again… We do not demand for “respect”, we do not beg for “respect”, we EARN “respect...

If I can not earn yours, it will be useless for me to continue as your pastor

But I praise the name of Jesus because He kept me going

At times when I am almost about to give up, I thought of resigning from the church

But I praise the name of Jesus because He kept me going

My numbness in Christ helps me to keep going

He was always there to say, don’t give up!

Keep up!

This are the words of Paul to the believers of Galatia, in verse 10 of the first chapter of his letter…

Jesus was always there to say, don’t give up!

Keep up!

You’re doing the right thing, and I am with you, the Lord said

And whenever I am in that state of solitude, this verse rings up in my mind

Now, let me see the hands of those who are giving up… anybody?… hmmmm… I guess that’s a good news

BREATHE!

I am resolved to a be part of this church as the glory of God rebuilds it… may I know…

Who among you are with me on this journey?

Don’t simply raise your hands… think before you act

Because honeymoon is over, and there are plenty of works that needs to be done ahead of us

BREATHE!

Back to our business for the day

We will pick it up from where we left off last Sunday

TEXT: Rebuilding with Ezra

Keywords out of this verse are: ARRIVED, GAVE, OFFERING, REBUILDING, HOUSE OF GOD

From these are four principles in Rebuilding the Lord’s temple

Embark towards living a New Life

When the Israelites left Babylon, they embarked towards a new life

Let me put it this way… a group of tourists at the airport waiting lounge/boarding gate ready to depart… until, one of the guys went missing.. loitering around the terminal, and holding the rest of the group… the group has to decide, either for all of them to stay and look for the missing guy and miss their flight… or, for the rest of the group to embark and leave the missing guy behind… essentially, this is a group decision…

Let me put this in a different outlook… if you’ve been to a circus, it is more likely that you’ve watched the “flying trapeze” show.

Where the acrobat has to let go of the bar, in order to grab onto the other bar… similarly, this is a personal decision...

Be Zealous in Giving

Reform the Way we Think

Rebuild the Altar

BREATHE!

Last Sunday we talked about living a new life...

Embark towards living a New Life

When the Israelites left Babylon, they embarked towards a new life

Let me put it this way… a group of tourists at the airport waiting lounge/boarding gate ready to depart… until, one of the guys went missing.. loitering around the terminal, and holding the rest of the group… the group has to decide, either for all of them to stay and look for the missing guy and miss their flight… or, for the rest of the group to embark and leave the missing guy behind… essentially, this is a group decision…

Let me put this in a different outlook… if you’ve been to a circus, it is more likely that you’ve watched the “flying trapeze” show.

Where the acrobat has to let go of the bar, in order to grab onto the other bar… let go of our old life, then grab onto the new life… the acrobat will be airborne on midair between those two bars.... what gets him from the bar of old life, onto the the bar of new life is called… FAITH!... similarly, this is a personal decision...

Today, we will talk about the second principle in Rebuilding the Lord’s temple

Be Zealous in Giving

Come to the Altar

In other words, be always excited to give

Not by forced or coercion

Not by obligation

But by giving “freely”

BREATHE!

There was a small group of Filipinos talking to each other one day.

And all they can think of saying was purely complaints.

They kept on whining because of their circumstances.

All they can find to do is to whine about their every situation.

They lamented that life is hard, there’s no work available, they even complained about the weather.

In a twist of faith, this small group of Filipinos somehow secured their visas to migrate into this country.

Oh boy, they were all so excited to leave their country.

First thing they did was to go shopping, they went to “Shoemart”, to buy their suitcases, jackets, and things to make make their travel pleasurable.

They started visiting relatives to say their goodbyes, and even hosted a despedida (farewell) party, a traditional Filipino send off gathering.

When they got here, they were so happy.

Super happy, they loved the weather, they love to see white people all around them, they were mesmerized by the things that they see, they love the hand dryer in the restrooms, oh and the seat covers too.

They love the food, the super servings that they could not always finish ending up in a doggy bag.

They love the theme parks, they love everything.

After a while of honeymoon stage, they started buying things for themselves.

They buy their cars, they buy their gadgets, they buy their homes.

And then slowly, they slipped into what I call “The American Grind”.

Work, work, work and work.

They feel very satisfied on their first year, still very good on the second year, some still are ok on their third year… until, they are sucked into this nation’s lifestyle.

Work, work, work!

Bills, bills and bills still… over time, they started to complain and whine again.

They wish to go home to the Philippines.

Saying that there’s no place like home.

That in the Philippines, they can afford to have maids at home.

That everything will be literally done for them while they lay back and relax.

In fact a lot of us are highly considering retiring in the Philippines.

Aren’t we?

Look!

Their situation had changed, their environment had changed, but their perception did not change.

The way they look at things stayed the same.

Instead of thanking God, they keep on complaining to the Lord

How can we be ever thankful?

We can only have a thanking heart if we set our minds on things above, and not on earthly circumstances ()

We can only give if we are thankful and contented with what we have

We can only love if we learn how to give

Like the saying that goes...