Hey Gang,
Rank the following qualities of good leadership from most important (1) to least (11):
____ Communication
____ Age
____ Vision / Strategy
____ Planning
____ Organization
____ Teamwork
____ Integrity
____ Adaptability
____ People Skills
____ Persuasion
____ Character
Write in the blank the most important quality you believe is central to the wholeness of the Mind, Spirit, and Body.
I. HAVE A HEART FOR GOD – EZRA 7:1a, 6-10
1 After these events, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra—
6 —came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he requested because the hand of the LORD his God was on him. 7 Some of the Israelites, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants accompanied [him] to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, during the seventh year of the king. 9 He began the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month. The gracious hand of his God was on him, 10 because Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the LORD, obey [it], and teach [its] statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Who were King Ataxerxes’ father and mother?
From this passage, what can we know about Ezra’s person, position, and priorities? Which do you think most qualified him to be a spiritual leader? How can you tell Ezra practiced what he preached?
Ezra could have just chosen to go home with his people, but he appeared to have a larger purpose – what was it? What makes a person choose a bigger purpose than the obvious?
II. BUILD A REPUTATION OF INTEGRITY – EZRA 7:25-28
25 And you, Ezra, according to God's wisdom that you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people in the region west of the Euphrates who know the laws of your God and to teach anyone who does not know [them]. 26 Anyone who does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a fair judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment. 27 Praise the LORD God of our fathers, who has put it into the king's mind to glorify the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, 28 and who has shown favor to me before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officers. So I took courage because I was strengthened by the LORD my God, and I gathered Israelite leaders to return with me.
Why was King Artaxerxes so generous to Ezra? What would make an unbeliever able to trust a believer today?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is it, really, for your private life to match your public life?
III. START LIVING RIGHTLY – EZRA 9:4-6; 10:10-12
Ezra's Confession
4 Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me, because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, while I sat devastated until the evening offering. 5 At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God. 6 And I said: My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face toward You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than [our] heads and our guilt is as high as the heavens.
10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to Israel's guilt. 11 Therefore, make a confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will. Separate yourselves from the surrounding peoples and [your] foreign wives." 12 Then all the assembly responded with a loud voice: "Yes, we will do as you say!
What major problem had the people created?
What do you tend to do when Christians do wrong things: give up, get angry, ignore it, try talking, grieve, pray, get them to think it through, or what?
When practices seem contrary to Christian teachings, they often are. How can you tell what is of God and what is not?
How can you keep from convincing yourself that certain behavior is okay when it’s not?
What does it mean to walk with God?
1. To ______________ Him.
2. To be __________________ by Him.
3. To _______________ in Him.
4. To see Him as the ___________ and __________________ of my journey.
____ Communication
____ Age
____ Vision / Strategy
____ Planning
____ Organization
____ Teamwork
____ Integrity
____ Adaptability
____ People Skills
____ Persuasion
____ Character
Write in the blank the most important quality you believe is central to the wholeness of the Mind, Spirit, and Body.
After Nebuchadnezzar's death, Babylon declined in power and Persia became predominant. The restoration began when the new Persian king, Cyrus, issued a decree in 538 B.C., allowing the Jews and other exiles to return to their homelands. The decree is found in Ezra 1:1-4. During the first phase of the restoration, the Jews rebuilt their temple. The second phase of the restoration came under Ezra in 458 B.C. Ezra's role was to renew religious devotion among the Jews who had returned to their homeland of Jerusalem. The third phase involved the coming of Nehemiah in 445 B.C. His mission was to see that the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt.
Ezra led the second group of Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem. He was a skilled scribe of the Scriptures. He studied them, he applied them to how he lived, and he taught them to others.
This is the Story of Ezra
Lesson Goal: People lead from the essence of who they are. Leading successfully involves walking with God in such a way that both unbelievers and believers recognize your integrity and trust you to lead.
I. HAVE A HEART FOR GOD – EZRA 7:1a, 6-10
1 After these events, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra—
6 —came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he requested because the hand of the LORD his God was on him. 7 Some of the Israelites, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants accompanied [him] to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, during the seventh year of the king. 9 He began the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month. The gracious hand of his God was on him, 10 because Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the LORD, obey [it], and teach [its] statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Who were King Ataxerxes’ father and mother?
From this passage, what can we know about Ezra’s person, position, and priorities? Which do you think most qualified him to be a spiritual leader? How can you tell Ezra practiced what he preached?
Ezra could have just chosen to go home with his people, but he appeared to have a larger purpose – what was it? What makes a person choose a bigger purpose than the obvious?
II. BUILD A REPUTATION OF INTEGRITY – EZRA 7:25-28
25 And you, Ezra, according to God's wisdom that you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people in the region west of the Euphrates who know the laws of your God and to teach anyone who does not know [them]. 26 Anyone who does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a fair judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment. 27 Praise the LORD God of our fathers, who has put it into the king's mind to glorify the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, 28 and who has shown favor to me before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officers. So I took courage because I was strengthened by the LORD my God, and I gathered Israelite leaders to return with me.
Why was King Artaxerxes so generous to Ezra? What would make an unbeliever able to trust a believer today?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is it, really, for your private life to match your public life?
III. START LIVING RIGHTLY – EZRA 9:4-6; 10:10-12
Ezra's Confession
4 Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me, because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, while I sat devastated until the evening offering. 5 At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God. 6 And I said: My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face toward You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than [our] heads and our guilt is as high as the heavens.
10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to Israel's guilt. 11 Therefore, make a confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will. Separate yourselves from the surrounding peoples and [your] foreign wives." 12 Then all the assembly responded with a loud voice: "Yes, we will do as you say!
What major problem had the people created?
What do you tend to do when Christians do wrong things: give up, get angry, ignore it, try talking, grieve, pray, get them to think it through, or what?
When practices seem contrary to Christian teachings, they often are. How can you tell what is of God and what is not?
How can you keep from convincing yourself that certain behavior is okay when it’s not?
What does it mean to walk with God?
1. To ______________ Him.
2. To be __________________ by Him.
3. To _______________ in Him.
4. To see Him as the ___________ and __________________ of my journey.
The Bible says of Enoch that he "walked with God" (Genesis 5:24). This particular wording is not used of Ezra, but it would have been fitting of how he lived. His life - like that of any true believer - was lived in fellowship with God and in obedience to Him.
Many of you remember this Rob Bell video below called Rhythm. It asks the question, "Are you in tune with God?" It is a great video - click below and watch.
Click Here
Prayer this Week
Lord, help me be a more diligent student of Your Word, more obedient to You, and a more effective teacher of Your truth. Amen
See you Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
