Ezra 4 Sermon Notes January 24, 2016 Spiritual Setbacks I. Introduction with Observations A. How do you handle spiritual setbacks in your life? B. If we were reading the events of Ezra 4 in chronological order, we would read verses 1-5, then verse 24, and finally verses 6-23 would need to be in parentheses, since they project us forward in time to a future period of opposition on the part of the people of the land. C. Big idea – Spiritual setbacks are an opportunity to worship God alone, and though the enemy is relentless in his pursuits, God’s plans will not ultimately fail. II. Principles A. God alone is worthy of worship. 1. Not every help is good help. Ecumenical organizations, interfaith ministries, and coalitions between different religions are harmful to Christianity. 2. The approach taken by the Samaritans wreaks of “coexisting” and tolerance in the name of good works. 3. As Christians, we are to worship God alone, even when we have spiritual setbacks. We are most vulnerable to try anything other than God when we have setbacks. 4. Syncretism (the mixing of different religious “faiths”) is dangerous. This is how the Samaritans became a people (2 Kings 17:29-41). Jesus plus anything equals nothing. a. These “enemies” were claiming to be Jews but they were not (Revelation 3:9). b. We are sent out as “sheep among wolves”. Be wise (Matthew 10:16). c. So-called Christians are the most dangerous syncretists just as the so-called “Jews” willing to help rebuild were a danger to Zerubbabel and the leaders. 5. Spiritual setbacks are the perfect opportunity to worship God alone B. The enemy is relentless in his pursuit to discourage, cause fear, and frustrate God’s people in their work 1. Consider these setbacks: This is not the first letter written to stop the rebuilding (Ezra 4:7). The 2nd letter written, opposing rebuilding the whole city, not just the temple (Ezra 4:12). The intent of the letter was to harm the Jews by telling the king half-truths about them (Ezra 4:15-16, 19). The king’s enforcers destroyed whatever work the Jews begun on rebuilding the city (Ezra 4:23) 2. There was widespread opposition (Ezra 4:8-10). The enemies attempted to overwhelm them, especially with numbers of “opposers” 3. Our spiritual enemy, Satan, seeks to discourage and frustrate the believer by any means necessary. He walks the earth (1 Peter 5:8-9). He is the accuser of Christians (Revelation 12:10). He wants us to throw in the towel before we even get started. 4. Whenever we have setbacks, the devil and his demons will seem to have the upper hand. 5. The enemies of the Jews used a letter to write to the king to issue an edict to stop them from rebuilding. The enemies of Christianity are relentless and seem to be winning the battles. They use government mandates, judicial rulings, and social/mass media to oppose the work of the Lord’s church and advance their causes. 6. We are to resist the enemy (James 4:7). He is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44). He is ultimately defeated and is bound for hell forever (Revelation 20:10). 7. Spiritual setbacks will bring about the relentless pursuit of Satan to discourage you, but you have victory over him through Christ C. God’s plans never fail, even in the midst of intense opposition 1. By Providence, the king left the door open for the Jews to continue to rebuild (Ezra 4:21, 24). The door is never fully shut! 2. Though the Jews were to experience a temporary setback, God’s plans, as spoken by Jeremiah (Ezra 1:2; Jeremiah 29:10-14) would not be stopped. 3. The gates of hell will not stop God’s church (Matthew 16:17-19) 4. God is for us (Romans 8:31) 5. God’s eternal covenant of peace for His saints (Isaiah 54) 6. God’s plans for His people will never ultimately fail. (Recall Israel’s redemptive history and the trials and crucifixion of Jesus) 7. The accomplishment of their wicked purpose may serve to shew us how the Lord is pleased sometimes, for the exercise of faith in his people, to let the enemy triumph. And when the short-lived victories of our deadly foes have this blessed effect upon our hearts to make us more sensible of our nothingness, and to make Jesus and his fullness more precious; even our foes become instruments in the Lord’s hand to his glory and our greater good. When the Jews had nailed Jesus to the cross, how distressed must have been the minds of all His followers. But behold, that cross soon after became His people’s glory, and now it is the everlasting joy of all his followers, and will be the song of redemption in heaven with all the ransomed of Jesus for evermore. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther (Vol. 3, pp. 599–600). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software). 8. During spiritual setbacks, remember that God’s plans will never fail. III. Conclusion A. Friends, spiritual setbacks will happen. The Bible says that all who desire to live a godly in Christ will suffer persecution. Are you ready for setbacks? Are you surprised by them? Peter encourages us in 1 Peter 4:12 to not be surprised by the fiery trials. Spiritual setbacks are an opportunity to worship God alone, and though the enemy is relentless in his pursuits, God’s plans will not ultimately fail. IV. Applications A. Jesus is more than enough. Treasure Him alone (Matthew 13:44) B. The enemy is relentless. Resist Him always (James 4:7) C. God never fails. Trust in Him (Psalm 9:10) Syncretism - Syncretism and Idolatry Though there is only one God and only one true faith, that taught in the Bible, the apostate world (Romans 1:18–25) has always been full of religions. The age-old urge toward syncretism (the assimilation of one religion’s beliefs and practices into another) is still with us. Indeed, it has been revived in our time through renewed attempts to unify all religions and through persistent amalgams of Eastern and Western ideas that rise and fall in popularity. The pressure to compromise is not new. After entering Canaan, Israel was constantly tempted to absorb into the worship of Yahweh the Canaanite worship of fertility gods and goddesses, if not to make images of Yahweh Himself—both practices being forbidden in the law (Exodus 20:3–6). The spiritual issue was whether Israel would remember that the covenant God was all-sufficient for them and that He claimed their exclusive allegiance, making the worship of other gods a spiritual adultery (Jeremiah 3; Ezekiel 16; Hosea 2). This was a test the nation often failed. Syncretism was widespread in the Roman Empire during the first centuries of Christianity. Polytheism was rife and all manner of mystery cults flourished. Early Christian teachers fought diligently to keep the faith from being assimilated to Gnosticism, a kind of theosophy that had no use for Christ’s Incarnation and Atonement, since it saw the root problem of man as ignorance rather than sin. Neoplatonism and Manichaeism also saw the way of salvation mainly as a matter of ascetical detachment and escape from the physical world. Christian resistance to these movements was successful, and the classic formulations of the Trinity and the Incarnation in the creeds are a permanent legacy of these struggles. Scripture condemns all idolatry as evil. Idols are mocked as delusive non-entities (Psalm 115:4–7; Isaiah 44:9–20), but they nevertheless enslave their worshipers in blind superstition (Isaiah 44:20). Paul adds that demons operate through idols, making them a spiritual menace (1 Corinthians 8:4–6; 10:19–21). Biblical warnings against idolatry (e.g., 1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 John 5:19–21) need to be taken to heart in the post-Christian Western culture, which is prepared to fill the spiritual vacuum that people feel by embracing religious syncretism, witchcraft, and experiments with the occult.1 1 Sproul, R. C. (Ed.). (2005). The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (p. 1240). Orlando, FL; Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries. .