# Ezra separation from the world

Key Passage: Ezra
Date: June 7, 2024

While you are turning over there to the book of Ezra, let me just share with you a blessing of praise. Months ago, you will remember maybe the date better than me, but we had a leak in our roof. We called insurance out. God gave us favor in their eyes. Our typical insurance deductible is $1,000. We had not used it in six years. It was only a $500 deductible.

We paid extra to get gutters also that needed to be replaced. We paid for that. But $500 for a new roof. And they put the new roof on; it looked great, wonderful. If you would look in the morning time as the sun is shining from this side over here, you would notice just a touch of discoloration on some of the shingles, just a slight difference.

I really do not think most people noticed it. Our roofer, Michael McNeill, did not like it from the get-go, and he was on it from the get-go, contacting the shingle company, the place he bought it from also. It was a shingle company. They had sent two different lots. I had to wait for three months. I came out and said, “Yes, it is true, but you have got to wait for three months.” After three months, it was not quite as much, but it was still there.

Brother Michael McNeil has just been particular. He wants it to look just right. He has been after it, contacting them. They came back after the three months and after contacting him and said, “All right, all right.” And offered us—oh, and let me say this before I give you the total. I said, Brother Michael says it is somewhere in the contract or something that we have to replace the roof with. The money—we could not find it anywhere. It will, of course, avoid them because they have given us money for it. But I said, I wrote Michael, “If you are all right, we will put that money towards the building program. It does not in any way hurt keeping the rain off. You understand?” And the perfect thing was just a little different color, just a touch, if you look closely.

They offered us a little over $4,000. And Brother Michael said, “Pastor, man, you cannot replace a roof at that.” And I said, “Well, all right, call them, contact, and do whatever.” You know, he did really all the work for it. I am just kind of like, tell him what a sign, you know. And so he has been after them from day one, and we got a check for a little over $20,000. Can you imagine that? A brand-spanking new roof for $500, and we got over $20,000 to put on the building program. Isn’t God good? I mean, just ways you never dream God could work. And when God wants to work, he works in wonderful ways. And I got the check in the mail just the other day. Praise the Lord. I mean, that to me is just a little confirmation. We can handle these things—finances of new property and all that. We got to yield and sacrifice what he wants us to. Amen. You said, “Do you have somebody in the church with deep pockets?” Yep, God, amen. We just got to please him. That is the one. And so praise the Lord for that. And God has been good.

My mouth will I make known His faithfulness. Amen. The Book of Ezra. Book of Ezra, that is what we are at. Let us review very quickly here just because it has been a week or two since we have been out of it. If you know it, just say it out loud, say it quickly. We will get going here. The Book of Ezra is about the rebuilding of the temple. It starts, timeline-wise, it starts right at the end of the 70 years of captivity of the children of Israel. And they were taken over to Babylon, from Jerusalem, taken over to Babylon. That is where they are in captivity, 70 years. God led this king. He took over Babylon, and he was very favorable to the Jewish people. Said, “Man, you can go back and rebuild. I will even help you in it.” Anybody remember that king’s name? Cyrus, good, good. They decided to travel back straight back. Like this would be—how many miles would that be? 500 miles? This way it is. Yeah, what was it, 900? I got to look, 900. Yeah, 99. A long ways. How many people? Just shy of 50,000 on the first leg going back, and they went back to start building or rebuilding the temple. Opposition came. What was the first tactic they used?

They are going to try to join up with him. The world, Satan does that so often. They said, “You have to do with the building of this.” They were wise to it. Eventually, they did send a letter back to the king at the time, different than Cyrus, and they stopped it. And it was stopped. Someone debated a little bit about that, but around 14 years most would think. God used these two prophets. They prophesied, they preached, “Let us get back. What are you doing in your sealed houses, and the house of God lies waste?” And anybody remember those two prophets’ names? Haggai and Zechariah. Which one was the older one? Haggai. Good. He started preaching how much earlier? Two months, two months, two months, two months before. And seven is a good number in the Bible, though, Brother Larry had. Good, good, good. Let us see here. Oh, it was stopped. They started rebuilding it up to two preachers. And, oh, eventually they sent a letter back to the king. At that time, they thought, “Well, it worked the first time.” But this time he searched and he found Cyrus’s decree. You remember where they found it at? The summer palace, an unusual place. God knew where it was all the time. They found it, and they had his blessing. They rebuilt the temple. The temple is finished as far as the building. In his second group came back, about 5,000 of them, not to rebuild it, but to beautify it. Good, good. Who was the leader of that group? Ezra, right, right. Really had not mentioned Ezra up until chapter number seven. He came back to rebuild it. And, oh, they came back to rebuild it, but there were some problems, some sin, and they brought the problems to Ezra. Remember, he wept over it, and he was dumbfounded at first, but then he wept and he said, “Lord, we have messed up,” and so on and so on. And any matter of mind, remember, what was this sin? What were they falling for?

They were not separating. They did not separate from the heathen countries around them. God told them to. And so they did not separate. And so that led to what? Intermarrying, marrying with the world. And they were married with the lost people. And that is always a major problem. The Bible tells us not to do that. All right. So we are in Ezra 9. And we are going to start in verse number 8. And we are going to try to cut out some of this. We are just going to try to seek what the Lord wants us to do. I felt like it wants us to pray. So we will see what we can get out of this thing here. Ezra chapter number nine. And we are going to start in verse number 8, if you would, please. Ezra 9, verse number 8. You can turn it off if you would. That would be great. Ezra 9, verse number 8. What does—you stand, please, is to read the Word of God together. Ezra 9 and verse number 8 of God’s word.

“And now for a little space, grace hath been showed from the Lord our God to leave us a remnant, and to give us a nail in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we are bondmen, yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, and to give us a reviving to set up the house of our God and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.”

“And now, O our God, what shall we say after this, for we have forsaken Thy commandments, which Thou hast commanded by Thy servants, the prophets, saying, ‘The land into which we go to possess it is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.’”

“Now therefore, give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth forever, that ye may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.'”

Well, let us just finish it up. “And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass, seeing that Thou art God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve and hast given us such deliverance as this, shall we again break Thy commandments and join affinity with the people of these abominations?” That affinity is just intermarrying. Often kings would do that with the families of other countries and whatnot. That is what is referenced there.

“Wilt Thou not be angry with us till Thou hast consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? O Lord God of Israel, Thou art righteous, for we remain yet escaped as it is this day. Behold, we are before Thee in our trespasses, for we cannot stand before Thee because of this.”

Let us go to the Lord in prayer. Would you pray that God would do a work in just the short amount of time we have left, just work in our hearts even more? Father, thank you for Your word. Thank You, Lord. You were gracious and merciful to them. Thank You, You are gracious and merciful to us today. Lord, show us what truth is to pull out and glean. Father, Lord, I am in a lot shorter time, so guide me what to say and what not to say. I yield to You. Lord, You give me the privileges. Just be the hand and do it. I cannot encourage and help give our people, Your people, what they need tonight. And Lord, well, thank you and praise You for what You do. So in Jesus’ name we ask these things and believe these things. Amen.

This is Ezra’s prayer. They had brought the problem to him. They did not separate. They have intermarried with the heathen countries around. He is praying to God. He mentions in his prayers what the prophets had told them: not to intermingle and to separate. We did not listen to them. And he is just begging for God’s mercy.

But I want to know—let us just pull out one thing here. I want you to notice something here. We are going to skip on down a little bit. And I want you to notice really the purpose of this thing. If you will look in verse number 12, Ezra 9 and verse number 12 here, and we will start in verse number 11: “Which Thou hast commanded by the servants, the prophets, saying…”

Now, this is what the prophets—by the way, when you pray, it is often a good thing to use Scripture. God does not mind if you say, “Hey, You said over there in James 1:5, ‘If I ask You, give me wisdom,’ Lord, I am asking.” God does not mind that. And not to be a show to me, “Oh, I know what James 1:5 is,” but you are praying to God. Nothing wrong with that. That is kind of what he is doing. These prophets have said this, “And forgive us, Lord, we have not followed it,” is what he is saying.

But here is what they had said, verse number 11, a little bit down, saying, “The land unto which you go to possess it is an unclean land.” Remember the children of Israel coming into the Canaan land, the promised land, all the Hittites and Jebusites and all the otherites, the “-ite” brothers that were there? You know, they are just very sinful people, a lot of old sexual sin and idolatry and so on and so on, a very sinful place. And this we are talking about. “It is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with the uncleanness.”

Now, therefore, there the prophets telling them: “Give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth forever.” Here it is. Here is the purpose: “That ye may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.”

Here is the thing I want to just emphasize—I think just one thing. We had five of them; we just want to emphasize just real briefly here. This thing of separation and not intermarrying with the world eventually—it is not just a matter; it is a matter of us. He said, “Look, so you can be strong.” A nation is not going to be strong that is not separated from the world. You just mark it down: they are going to be weak. And when I let the world in, in my life, I am weak. Same with all of us. And he is saying that there. He said, do not just separate, not marry with them, not just separate, but not to marry also. And he said, “Watch, so you can be strong.” And then he said, basically, he said, for the next generation. Let us just talk about it for a second, for a second—the next generation.

I wonder if the Lord tarries. We just finished a series on Sunday morning about the end times. The signs are there. We do not know. It is very interesting. Someone found a commentary, a Bible commentary, that was—if I remember right—about a thousand years old. And they were saying the same thing we say right now: how wicked and sinful and bad it is, and the Lord is coming back soon. And that is right. By the apostles, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they thought they were going to be there when the Lord came back. And I am just saying that, and it is right for us to be looking for His coming, but I am just—I am just being real about this thing here. We do not know when. So if the Lord were to tarry, here is what will matter: if the Lord were to tarry, and if, for one thing, my daughter were to ever get married—I am joking a little bit there. Praise the Lord, she is waiting for God’s will. I am very thankful for that, by the way. Are you trying to rush her? No way. I want to follow God, not me. So my daughter were to ever get married and have children—my son and Dalton War were to ever have children, you know—no, I want them to wait for a while. But here is my thing: I wonder what kind of America my grandchildren are going to have when they are about 20 or 30. I wonder if there will be an old-fashioned, Bible-believing, independent Baptist church. I wonder if there will be church on Sunday night and Wednesday night. I wonder if somebody is still preaching from the old King James Bible. I wonder if anybody has the songs designed, or will it all be rock and roll music?

And here is what I am after: What we are doing tonight and how we are trying to live for the Lord and how we are trying to separate from the world like the Bible says to do—all these things are not just about us. They are about the future generations. And that is what he is saying in verse number 12. It is not just for you to be strong—it is—but it is also for those coming behind you. Friend, that is what the book of Jude tells us. It says to earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. Oh, so often, what is the thing? Earnestly contend? Yeah, but for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. That faith that Jesus, maybe even the prophets before that delivered—does our Christianity resemble what theirs were? That is what we are supposed to contend for right there. Do we resemble that, or have we watered it down and changed it and muddied the water to where it does not look like the faith that Jesus gave? Us going soul-winning on Saturdays—it is for that lost soul to get saved. But it is also so the next generation will say, “Hey, somebody is supposed to be out there going out in the harvest.” I do that; I do not see a whole lot of others doing that. Friend, it is not just about today; it is about tomorrow, and it is about the next generation coming behind us.

I look out—I hope Brother Richard does not mind me saying it. What a blessing Brother Richard is, by the way. But Brother Richard went to Jordan Baptist, First Baptist Church, Hammon, and then Jordan Baptist Church for years and years, riding the bus to church. And I would like for future generations to have a church that has a bus ministry. We had some of the bus kids singing Sunday morning, and I looked out and saw Ms. Penny Cooper now—she rode a bus when she was young—and Ms. Jennifer, Brother Grady, Ms. Jennifer rode a bus. And I do not know how many others. I am probably missing a bunch. But for those people in the future, there has to be a church today that stays right and stays separated and stays—look, those grandchildren need a grandma and grandpa that are a little bit fuddy-duddies and say, “No, we are not going to watch that movie. No, we are not going to go to those places. No, we are not going to dress like that.” They might not follow everything today—hopefully they will—but they need to know where true religion is. They will not have that if we are not standing. It is not just about today. It is not just about me and what I want to do and how I feel like and whether I am going to obey the command. It is not just about me. It is about those in the future also.

And that is what the prophets have been telling them. I wonder what America is going to look like if the Lord tarries. Friend, you see, “Well, it is not that big of a deal on the King James Bible, just some ‘thee’s’ and ‘thou’s.’” Well, I beg to differ on that for one thing. But can you imagine if we really do not have a Bible we stand on in about 50, 60, 70, 80 years down the road? Can you imagine how confused? I mean, I have sat in Bible, Bible institutions, Bible universities where I have heard the professors say, “Well, for this verse, this is the best version.” And so ultimately, ultimately, it is going to be man that is like this or not. By the way, they cannot all be the same, or else it is plagiarism. There has to be some difference there. And so if we get away from the truth, man, can you imagine future generations where they are going to stand? Unless there is somebody who says, “Hey, we have stood on that book for 400 years. We are not going to change now.” Amen. The only one that does not have a copyright on it in the English language right there. And by the way, there is a whole lot more than the “thee’s” and the “thou’s.” By the way, “these” and “thou” now—a singular “thee” and “you” is plural. Even that matters. It all matters. But I am saying what we are doing today is not just about us. It is about the future.

I think about when our kids, you know, moved out and went to college and eventually they are out on their own and all that. And maybe not even sinful things, but I was a little tempted to let down on some things. And I do not even know there were sinful things. But I thought, “You know what? One day we will have grandkids running around.” Maybe, you know. My kids have said me to do something so long, I just do not want to change. It is not just about me. It is about them—that next generation.

And that is what he is saying. The prophets told us. That is verse number 12. That is what it is, yes, for their strength. Let us look back quickly, and we are almost done. “Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth forever, that ye may be strong”—that is us—“that ye may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.”

What are we going to leave to the next generation? It is more than just about us that we will be strong and all that, but it is what we are going to leave for the next generation. By the way, it is not just important where you are at today—that is important—but it also matters what direction you are going. I am off just a little smidgen today. That is not too bad. But if I keep going down that course, about a mile down the road, I am going to be off a whole lot. Why am I leaving for the next generation? Just that thought: Hey, what you are doing is not just about us and me, but about that next generation.

I am going to read a poem, and we will be done for tonight. Try to read a little bit slower. By the way, I remember as a younger person hearing an old preacher quote this; it meant something to me, but not like it does today. And so just listen to it. Here is the poem:

"An old man going along a highway came an evening cold and gray To a chasm vast and deep and wide, to which was flowing a sullen tide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim; the sullen stream had no fear for him. But he turned when safe on the other side and built a bridge to span the tide.

Old man, said a fellow pilgrim near, ‘You are wasting your strength with building here. Your journey will end with the ending of day; you will never again pass this way. You have crossed the chasm deep and wide; why build this bridge at evening tide?’"

The builder lifted his old, great head. “Good friend of the path I have come,” he said. “There followed after me today a youth whose feet must pass this way. This chasm that has been as naught to me, to that fair-haired youth may have pitfalls be. He, too, must cross in the twilight dim; good friend, I am building this bridge for him.”

Hey, there is a generation behind us.

Original File: Ezra- Separation from the World - Pastor Paul Chisgar Sunday PM 10919