September 23: Victory Always Follows Discouragement and Fear! (IF you keep on keeping on)
Ezra 1:1-4
Amplified Bible (AMP)
1 Now in the first year of [a]Cyrus king of Persia [almost seventy years after the first Jewish captives were taken to Babylon], that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might begin to be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing:
2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.
3 Whoever is among you of all His people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem; He is God.
4 And in any place where a survivor [of the Babylonian captivity of the Jews] sojourns, let the men of that place assist him with silver and gold, with goods and beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.
Footnotes:
- Ezra 1:1 Cyrus, a heathen ruler of a heathen empire (Persia), was “twice named [before his birth] in the book of Isaiah as anointed of God and predestined to conquer kings and fortified places and to set the Jews free from captivity (Isa. 44:28; 45:1-14). Daniel... records that during the night that followed a great feast, Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, was slain, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom (Dan. 5:30, 31). Darius was the predecessor of Cyrus, or his regent, in Babylonia (Dan. 6:28)” (John D. Davis, A Dictionary of the Bible). God gave Cyrus the resolution and the desire to execute His intention. That the Lord at this time chose a heathen as His instrument was in accordance with the new position that the empires of the world were henceforth to assume toward the kingdom of God (J.P. Lange, A Commentary).
God can move anybody's heart! He's not limited to believers hearts only. Maybe you're in a situation where a "heathen" such as King Cyrus is making decisions that affect your quality of life. Just pray for a heart change!
Ezra 3:1-6
Amplified Bible (AMP)
3 When the seventh month came and the Israelites were in the towns, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.
2 Then stood up Jeshua son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and they built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings upon it, as it is written in the [a]instructions of Moses the man of God.
3 And they set the altar [in its place] upon its base, for fear was upon them because of the peoples of the countries; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord morning and evening.
4 They kept also the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the ordinances, as each day’s duty required,
5 And after that, the continual burnt offering, the offering at the New Moon, and at all the appointed feasts of the Lord, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the Lord.
6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid.
First things first! Before they even began their enormous project, they honored God!
Ezra 4:1-3
Amplified Bible (AMP)
4 Now when [the Samaritans] the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles from the captivity were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel,
2 They came to Zerubbabel [now governor] and to the heads of the fathers’ houses and said, Let us build with you, for we seek and worship your God as you do, and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.
3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.
Their enemies pretended they wanted to help them build the temple. What liars. Don't believe ANYTHING your enemy tells you, ESPECIALLY if it sounds sweet to your ears.
Ezra 4:4-5
Amplified Bible (AMP)
4 Then [the Samaritans] the people of the land [continually] weakened the hands of the people of Judah and troubled and terrified them in building
5 And hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose and plans all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius [II] king of Persia.
They troubled and terrified them, and HIRED counselors against them? Puhleeez!
When I feel intense discouragement, I KNOW I am on the right track. It's actually exciting when overwhelming fear and discouragement washes over me! Because victory ALWAYS follows directly behind those feelings!
Are the odds stacked against you? Thats actually a good thing! Just give up and let God do what He does best! He's got you, I promise! And His word promises!
"Jesus please let these words encourage someone today! When satan hires evil counselors to discourage us and make us afraid, that's when You are about to take over and do Your thing! Victory follows discouragement and fear! EVERY TIME! You are the God of the Impossible! I worship You, Almighty God! In Your precious name, the name of Jesus, I pray, AMEN!"
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