Why God Chose Ezra by: Mike Florant

This is an essay I just wrote for school after reading a chapter in a book called Go Make Disciples by Dr. Michael Mitchell
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God chose Ezra to bring spiritual reform to Israel because he “had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.” (Ezra 7:10 English Standard Version).  The preceding verse indicates the result of his devotion was God’s hand being upon him (Mitchell, 2).

Ezra sets an example for all pastors, teachers, leaders and disciples of Christ. As pointed out by Dr. Mitchell, Ezra devoted himself to the study, practice and teaching of God’s Word. The words used for “set his heart” can mean, “to appoint one’s soul.” Ezra knew his purpose was to study, live and teach God’s Law to the point that it was his life’s mission and “soul” purpose. As Matthew Henry stated, “If he was raised up of God, and qualified and inclined to do this, all generations have reason to call him blessed, and to bless God for him” (Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, Ezra 7:1-10).

Ezra also possessed a reputation among his peers as a student of the Law as evidenced by his commission from King Artaxerxes in Ezra 7 to travel to Israel to be a teacher of God's Word. If we desire to teach God’s Word then we must aspire to live a life that is a reflection of Christ and is proven to represent the principles that we are teaching. Knowledge of God’s Word is not enough; it needs to be visible in our lives (Mitchell, 5). James 1:22 tells us to “be doers of the word, and not merely hearers.” This was a principle that Ezra apparently lived by.

Ezra was chosen not only because he studied God’s Word and made it part of his life, but because he took on the responsibility to teach what he knew (Mitchell, 8). He was obviously a gifted speaker to have preached to and maintained an audience for over half the day as stated in Nehemiah 8. Ezra used the gifts that God had given him to teach God’s Word in a way the people could understand and apply to their lives (Mitchell, 9).

In conclusion, Ezra’s deep devotion to the study of God’s Word, the observance of it in his own life and the desire and dedication to teach others allowed him to be used mightily by God. If we want God to use us in a similar manner then we must apply these same three principles in our lives and follow the example that Ezra has set for us. Proverbs 2 encourages us to have a desire for understanding and to actively search for knowledge. First we must learn it and then apply it so we can “walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous” (Proverbs 2:20 ESV). Then we are to take that knowledge and our experiences with Christ to others so they may know and benefit from God’s Word as well.

Addictive Behavior

I am currently going through an online study with some guys around the country and we are going through a book that highlights twenty godly attributes of the christian man and this weeks chapter focused on addictive behaviors and I really felt led by the Spirit to share a portion of this week's post with everyone. The study of the Book of Colossians will continue next week.

--From the online study blog post--

This chapter is about being moderate in all things and does not just focus on drinking. It is a focus on addictive behavior. Alcohol is the dominant example because it is the probably the most visible area of addiction (next to drugs and smoking) that our society faces, but as Christians, we are to avoid ANY addictive behavior and I would be so bold to say, any behavior that does not bring glory to Jesus or any behavior that may cause someone to stumble no matter how innocent it may appear to us.

I remember back when I lived in Florida I used to play poker with some guys at work every couple weeks. I had fun and enjoyed the game of poker (taking 20 bucks from my friends wasn’t bad either) but after I got saved, I struggled with playing and justified it saying to myself that I would be a light to them because for awhile, they did ask questions about the Bible and Jesus and why I was now going to church. But after while, the questions stopped, I went from not drinking to “only having a couple” and finding myself engaging in the same conversations, jokes and mannerisms as I did before when I was in the world and I found myself no longer being a light. My light was being dimmed by the world around me. I was getting angry when others would get hammered and not pay attention to the game so I realized that this behavior was not glorifying God, was becoming sinful because of my actions and needed to be removed from my life. Jesus said to cut off your hand or gouge out your eye if it causes you to sin. We all know that He wasn’t referring to self mutilation, but referring to removing an area from our life that is causing us to sin so our whole life would not be destroyed.

I removed that area from my life and do not regret it one bit. Now I still had the occasional drink from time to time and the Lord really worked on me in this area to the point that I first gave up drinking in public (to avoid the appearance of evil and to not cause someone to stumble), then I gave up drinking in front of my kids (so as to not present a bad example) to eventually not drinking at all because it provided no positive effect on my life but could only hinder my spiritual growth.

I do believe that Christians should not drink or engage in any behavior that may be construed as sin because people watch us and will use our actions to justify there own. I know this because I used to do it a long time ago when I thought I was saved and going to church. I used to justify drinking and smoking and casual sex because if those around me that went to church to. I figured that if they were doing and were “Christians” then it must be okay.

I feel that we need to live to a higher standard and set the higher example to our family and the world around us and trust me, if we are sincere in wanting to live this way, God WILL help us. He did me.

Now, while some argue whether or not the Bible teaches total abstinence from alcohol (not the point of this post) it does teach abstinence from an area that causes you to sin. If we know we have a problem in a certain area, we avoid those areas. If it is alcohol, we don’t buy beer, we don’t hang around people that drink, we don’t go to places where we may be tempted to drink. If it is porn or lust, we don’t watch movies that contain that, we have our internet pages monitored by a friend for accountability or get rid of it, we don’t go to strip clubs, etc. These things may seem easy to say but I know hard it is but it is something we have to do if want to achieve the victory over this sin.

We can’t confuse “struggle” with “surrender.” We can say things like, “Well, God knows that I struggle in that area and  He forgives me and is working on me.” But if we are WILLINGLY putting ourselves in situations that allow us to sin, then we are not “struggling” anymore but are instead “surrendering.” We have two choices when it comes to sin, we can “struggle” and achieve “victory” or we can “struggle” and “surrender.”

When we let the sin control our lives, we are surrendering and admitting defeat. Listen to what the writer of Hebrews says about achieving victory in Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

There are three things we must do:

1)    Remove the sin from our life and avoid the circumstance that cause us to sin

2)    Run the race with endurance using the strength and power of the Holy Spirit

3)    Keep our eyes on Jesus

I want to focus a little on the third one. It is easier to sin when we are looking away from Jesus. John 3:19-21 states:

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

When we are sinning, or have sinned, the last thing we want to is to study God’s Word, pray, talk to a fellow Christian. Why? Because we know that are deeds are (were) sinful and we would rather stay in that darkness where there is no truth and only lies instead of coming out into the light of God and exposing our sin so we can be convicted and let God work in us. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and on the cross to remember that He hung there and died for us so that we could have power over sin and that it would not reign over us any longer. One of my favorite verses is Colossians 1:13 and it says “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ” (NIV)

Jesus died on the cross so we could live in the light and no longer live in the darkness. Our flesh was crucified with Christ but yet we still let it have dominion over us. This is not what God wants. He wants us to live a life led by the Spirit and not by the flesh.  We need to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God that dwells in us to defeat the flesh and awaken the Spirit so we can live in VICTORY.

My final thought is for us to not deceive ourselves in thinking we are living for Christ just because we know His Word but to live His Word instead (James 1:22)

Colossians - Bible Study Week 8 "Rooted in Christ"

Colossians 2:1-10

“For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. ”

There are four points I want to highlight in these verses:

1. Don’t be deceived by persuasive words

2. Rooted and built up in Christ

3. Established in our faith

4. Not being swayed with “knowledge” of the world

Don’t be deceived by persuasive words

The word used here for “persuasive” means ‘to entice’ and to ‘to lead into error’ which is exactly what Satan wants to do. He wants to confuse us and have us question our faith. 

Rooted and built up in Christ

We are to be moving forward in our Christian walk (that is why it is not called the “Christian Stand”) and increasing in our knowledge of Christ and the Scriptures. It is only with the true Word can we fight against heresy and false teachings.

Established in our faith

Paul uses military terms like “order” and “steadfastness” to encourage them to remain firm in their faith. There were was the constant threat of false teachings abut Christ during Paul’s day (just like today) and Paul wanted to encourage them to stand fast in the things that they had been taught which are the same things we are taught from the Bible today. The biggest threat was to remove the divinity of Jesus (just like today) .

Not being swayed with “knowledge” of the world

Today it seems people are more zealous to turn people away from God then we are to turn them to God. That means that we as Christians are failing in the Great Commission and lacking in our Biblical knowledge. Our children may grow up in church and belong to a youth group but when they get to college they are challenged with “higher learning” and philosophies that provide no use for the Bible and diminish the meaning and truths of it. Without a firm foundation of faith and how to defend it, they are helpless and will most likely fall victim of the masses and fall away from God and out of fellowship.

The interesting thing is that professors and atheists don’t attempt to prove the Bible wrong on a factual and archeological basis (because they can’t) but they ask difficult questions that if they cannot be answered must mean that the answer does not exists. The fact is that it does exist it is just not resident in the mind and heart. This is why Paul puts added emphasis on firm faith and being rooted in Christ. He concludes with telling them that in Christ dwells the fullness of the Godhead and that the fullness of Christ dwells in us. We are complete in Christ.

So how do we apply this to our life?

1. In what ways are we building up our faith and knowledge of Christ?
2. Are we building up our children in the faith of Christ?
3. Are we teaching them how to defend there faith and to not just “take our word for it?”

Remember:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” 

Colossians - Bible Study Week 7 "Who Likes to Suffer?"

Colossians 1:24–29 (NKJV)

“I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, ²⁵ of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, ²⁶ the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. ²⁷ To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ²⁸ Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. “

How can anyone rejoice in their sufferings? Who gets happy when they suffer especially if someone else is the beneficiary? I mean if I am suffering shouldn’t I at least get something out of it? That is how the majority of us think, but Paul was asking “How much more can I put into it?”

Paul suffered greatly by spreading the Gospel. Just read the Book of Acts some time (chapters 21-28 especially) to see just what he went through for the cause of Christ.  Paul shared the same feelings as Peter and the other apostle as stated in Acts 5:41 when they said they were “counted worthy to suffer the shame for His name.”

When he says that he fills up in his flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, he is telling them (and us) that he knows that there is much more suffering that he and others must endure to fully follow Christ.

 The next point he makes in these verses is the “mystery” that was hidden for ages and now disclosed. This mystery is the salvation of the Gentiles which he explains in the subsequent verses and is further explained in Romans 16:25–27:

“Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began ²⁶ but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith”

You can also read his full explanation in his letter to the Ephesians starting in chapter 3. The gist of it is that God told Abraham in Gen 22:18 that “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” and as Paul would have said, before his conversion and along with the other Jews, is that the only way the Gentiles could be saved was through conversion to Judaism (called proselytes). The good news of salvation came to the Jews first then came to the Gentiles second. We are the wild branch that has been grafted in as explained in Romans chapter 11. This salvation of the Gentiles through Jesus Christ without having to be circumcised and without strict adherence to the ceremonial and sacrificial laws is the mystery that Paul is referring to.

I want to take a minute to explain that last statement. When Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 that he did not come to “destroy the law but to fulfill” He was referring to the ceremonial and sacrificial laws that were fulfilled by His sinless life and sacrificial death on the cross. The moral law is still in effect and is upheld in the New Testament. As a gentile, we are still obligated to uphold the moral laws as defined in the Ten Commandments.

Paul then gives us why he (and other teachers) preach Jesus. It is so every person can be presented before Christ in perfection. This won’t happen until we are glorified in His presence but being taught God’s Word and living by it is part of the sanctification (being set apart) process that will continue until the day of Christ Jesus. (See Phil 1:6)

It is interesting that Paul uses the words ‘warning’ and ‘teaching.’ Both words in the Greek mean “to instruct” but the word for ‘warning’ means ‘to admonish (caution or advise)’ whereas the word for ‘teaching’ means to “instruct by communication of information or skills.” What Paul is saying is that God’s Word contains information for both our sanctification (being set apart for holiness) and our edification (being built up in Christ).

So what is our application in all this?

Ask yourself these questions and you will find the application of this teaching:

1.     What am I doing for the cause of Christ? How am I suffering for Jesus and others?

2.     What is my attitude toward the Jewish people? Since they are the root that I am grafted into, how can I show them love and share the Messiah, Jesus with them?

3.     Am I allowing God to set me apart for holiness or am I still continuing to engage in sinful activities that is preventing my sanctification?

4.     Am I being edified by the Word of God by regularly attending a good Bible teaching church, attending a Bible study and studying God’s Word on my own?

I pray that you will be blessed and encourage by this weeks study!

In Christ,

Mike

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Colossians - Bible Study Week 6

Colossians 1:19-23

“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰ and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹ And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled ²² in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

The first thing we see in verse 19 is that it “pleased the Father.” The word here in the original language means “to seem good to one” and “to do willingly” and the word for “fullness” is used to describe a ship manned with all things like sailors, rowers and soldiers, etc) and was used by the gnostic false teachers to describe the sum of all divinely attributes. Since Paul was refuting these teachers, it is significant that he was using this word.

So we can read this as follows: “It seemed good to God that His Son should contain the fullness of God and all things needed to reconcile man back to Him such that He was willing to send His Son to the cross and offer up His blood to make peace.”

The most important thing we have to realize as sinners is that we need to be reconciled to God. Sin separates us from God and we were born with a dead spirit that inhibits us to have a relationship with Him.

We can’t work for our salvation because the Bible does not tell us how many good things to do and I, for one, do not want to see God with a scale comparing my good deeds and bad deeds. We are saved by faith through grace (Eph 2:8) and now we have peace with God as exemplified in the following verses:

Romans 5:1

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”

Eph 2:14

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation”

And another thing to note is that it is not just man who is reconciled, it is the entire universe (“things on earth or things in heaven”) and we see this in Revelation Chapter 5 when no one is worthy to open the seven sealed scroll except for “a Lamb as though it had been slain…” This lamb is Jesus Christ and the scroll is the title deed to creation. It was lost by Adam in the Fall and will be regained by Jesus Christ.

Verses 21-22 points out that we were “alienated” (means “to be shut out from one’s fellowship and intimacy”) and “enemies” (means “one who is hateful, despises God, the hostile one) to God but we have been reconciled through the death of Christ. Our ledger of bad deeds has been wiped clean.

I don’t think we can fully grasp the goodness of God’s love demonstrated to us while we were hateful, spiteful and enemies towards God.

Romans 5:8

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Verse 23 hints at losing your salvation and can be confusing if read superficially and not in context. The word “reconciled” in verse 21 is in the past tense and in the indicative mood. This means that it is a simple statement of fact that we have been reconciled. It is a past event that has occurred. Warren Wiersbe explains this pretty well so I wanted to include his comments on this:

“Paul used an architectural image in this verse—a house, firmly set on the foundation. The town of Colossae was located in a region known for earthquakes, and the word translated “moved away” can mean “earthquake stricken.” Paul was saying, “If you are truly saved, and built on the solid foundation, Jesus Christ, then you will continue in the faith and nothing will move you. You have heard the Gospel and trusted Jesus Christ, and He has saved you.”

In other words, we are not saved by continuing in the faith. But we continue in the faith and thus prove that we are saved. It behooves each professing Christian to test his own faith and examine his own heart to be sure he is a child of God” (Warren Wiersbe – The Bible Exposition Commentary)

The things we need to take away from these verses is that we have been reconciled through Christ and if we have truly been reconciled then our lives will show it. I close with the words of Jesus in John 15:5

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Colossians - Bible Study Week 5

Colossians 1:15-18
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”

One thing to understand is that the false teachers in Paul’s day were very confused about Creation. They taught that matter was evil, including the human body. They also taught that Jesus Christ did not have a real body since this would have put Him in contact with evil matter. These false teachings resulted in extreme asceticism on the one hand and unbridled sin on the other. The consensus was that if your body is sinful, you either try to enslave it or you enjoy it.

In these verses, Paul explains the relationship between Christ and Creation.  The term firstborn does not refer to time, but refers to importance. Jesus Christ was not the first being created, since He Himself is the Creator of all things and preceded Creation. Firstborn simply means “of first importance” or “of first rank.” The use of this term implies both Christ’s priority to all Creation and His sovereignty over all Creation.

The next thing to notice is the phrase “image of the invisible God.” How can someone be an image of something invisible? Jesus said Himself in John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Jesus was telling His disciples that if they truly looked into His heart and His character, they would see God because He was God. The word for ‘image’ means exact representation of. Even though God is invisible, Jesus has made Him clear to us as explained in John 1:18 “No one has seen God at any time. fThe only begotten 8Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”

The question we have to ask ourselves is this: “If Jesus is the image of God, are we the image of Jesus?”
1 John 2:6 says “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” Are we?

We see in verse 16 that all things were created BY HIM, THROUGH HIM and FOR HIM. Paul used three different prepositions to describe this relationship between Christ and Creation (Greek: en, dia and eis). By stating that Creation was created by Jesus (en), through Jesus (dia) and for Jesus (eis), Paul is declaring not only that the Creation came into existence through Christ but that it came into existence for His good pleasure.

John 1:3 echoes this description of Jesus “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

Verse 16 also removes any doubt as to just how far Jesus’ dominion extends. It covers everything in heaven, on earth and Jesus is over every ruling body (governments, kings and yes, even our president) in heaven and on earth. That pretty much covers everything.

This is further declared by Paul when he quotes the prophet Isaiah in Romans 14:11 “For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” and in Philippians 2:10-11 “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

In verse 17 “and in Him all things consist.” would be better translated “holds all things together” because the word for ‘consist’ in the Greek means ‘put or place together’ or ‘to unite parts into one whole.’ Scientists will tell you that everything consists of matter that is made of rapidly moving particles but if you ask what holds those particles together, they have no answer, but we do, it is Jesus. By declaring that Jesus not only is the Creator of all things but that He holds it all together, Paul is declaring Jesus to be God. Don’t let anyone tell you that the Bible does not claim Jesus to be God because these versus along with John 1:1 and 1:3 and others clearly state it.

In verse 18, Paul states that Jesus is the head of the body which is the church. No one denomination can claim to be the true church although many do. Some think that they have the market cornered on the Holy Spirit. They are wrong. The church is made up of every true believer. The word for ‘head represents the ‘source’, ‘origin’ and ‘leader’ of the entire church body.

Paul is making it clear that it all begins with Christ. His phrase “Firstborn from the dead” is interesting because I was thinking, “But what about Lazarus and the young girl that were raised from the dead.” Jesus was the first to be raised from the dead to an immortal body. That is what Paul is referring to. Again, no matter how you describe Christ, he is preeminent. He is the first!