LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Cross in the rebuilding of the house
The principle governing the rebuilding of the church and the recovery of all things back to God, is the cross.
Rodrigo Abarca
Reading: Ezra 3:1-6.
The passage of Ezra 3: 1-6 corresponds to the time of the restoration of the temple, when a small group of Jews returned from Babylon, where they had been held captive for seventy years, to the city of Jerusalem that was in ruins, and began rebuilding the house of the Lord.
When Cyrus issued a decree giving freedom to any Jew who wanted to return to their homeland to rebuild the house of God, there were over one million Jews then living in Babylon, but only fifty thousand returned with Zerubbabel. Then there was a second return with Ezra, and then a third in the time of Nehemiah.
The purpose of restoration
Daniel, already an old man, began to read the book of Jeremiah, and discovered that this prophet had prophesied that the time when Jerusalem would be desolate would be seventy years. Then he saw that the seventy years had passed, and thus began to pray, asking the Lord to fulfill the prophecy.
In verses 20-22, we see God's answer. "I was still speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; I was still speaking in prayer, when the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, came to me about the time of the evening sacrifice. And he gave me instruction, and talked with me, saying, 'Daniel, now I have come to give you insight and understanding. "
We will not talk about the prophecy. I just want to mention one thing. He tells Daniel: "Know therefore and understand that from the issuing of the decree to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince-the Lord Jesus Christ- there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks: it will be built again, with plaza and wall, even in times of anguish. " Everything mentioned here is related to what is said at the beginning: "... since the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince."
The only reason the city and the temple had to be restored was the Messiah Prince. The Lord Jesus had to come to that city, and preach in those streets. But God tells the prophet that the rebuilding of the house and the restoration of Jerusalem was to be carried out "in times of anguish." Take note of this.
We too are living in a time of restoration. God is returning to His own city and this time it is the church. Restoring means recovering something that has been damaged. The church needs to be restored, for the sake of the Lord Himself. The Lord is coming for His church; but he is coming for a restored church, holy, without spot or wrinkle; not for a church in decline, but a glorious church.
And then we are told that restoration takes place "in times of anguish." The context in which the destruction and subsequent restoration of the house takes place is a war, and this brings anguish and distress.
The battle for restoration
In these days we are talking about the ministry of the saints, an essential aspect of what the Lord wants the church to be: that all the brothers should rise up to serve, to do their part in the body of Christ. We are still not fully living in this experience.
There was a time when all Christians were part of the building of the house of God, at the time when all things began with the New Testament church in Jerusalem. But later, many became trapped in systems and human forms, and only a few were in a position to serve. Most believers were left outside the ministry, and the house of God lost its essential nature.
The restoration comes at a time of battle. God is building his house, for the manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ in it. God has a testimony to make known on earth, and for that purpose He needs His house. This is the house where the glory of God is revealed. There's no other place that God has chosen for this purpose.
Now, Satan also knows that. In the history of Israel, from the time that King David took the stronghold of Zion, there began a constant battle between the city of Jerusalem, that God was building, and the nations that were around it. Although Jerusalem was never a major city, since its foundation, the ancient empires continually came against it.
The enemy of God is trying to prevent the city of God from being built. The Babylonians managed to destroy Jerusalem and its temple. But in Isaiah 14, we see that the true king of Babylon, the true spiritual head of the Babylonian Empire, was Satan. There is a battle that moves heaven and earth, although we're not aware of it most of the time. And that is also the work of Satan.
The principle that governs everything is the Cross
When the Jews returned to the city and restored the house of God, they had to start from scratch from the ruins. We’re going to look at some basic principles related to this.
To arrive at the ministry of all the saints, we have to take a certain, defined route. The work of God is not something that we can organize and enable, as if it were a machine. The ministry of the saints is the result of a work that only God can do. This is a fundamental point.
"Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his brothers rose up and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God" (Ezra 3: 2). The first thing which they rebuilt was the altar. Because the first thing that needs to be put in place is precisely that which will govern the whole work of rebuilding.
What is the altar? Let's see: "And they put the altar on its foundation, because they were afraid of the people of the land, and they offered burnt offerings to the LORD, burnt offerings in the morning and evening" (3: 3). The altar was rebuilt. It is the altar that was outside the sanctuary where the priests offered sacrifices and burnt offerings. And this altar represents the cross. Therefore, the principle governing the rebuilding and recovery of all things is the cross. Without the work of the cross you cannot recover anything.
For the church of God to be restored, the work of the cross is required, not only at the beginning, but all the way through to the end. They erected the altar for burnt offerings morning and evening; that is, the work of the cross must be permanently governing the process of rebuilding.
What does the cross mean? Firstly, the cross has an individual dimension, applicable to each of us in different ways. But it also has a corporate and collective dimension. "For he is our peace, who made both peoples one and broke down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; in order to create through Himself one new man making peace through the cross to reconcile us both to God in one body, having put to death the enmity "(v. 14-16).
What did God create on the cross of Christ? On the negative side, as Romans says, our old individual man was crucified with him. That is the individual aspect. But after that there is another aspect: not only were you and I crucified with Him, but when the Lord died on the cross, God made us all, in Himself, upon the cross, "one new man".
So the church as the body of Christ, was created on the cross. There is therefore an indelible link between the cross and God's house. The church was born on the cross. Thenceforth, from birth, she is united to the cross. And if the church is to be restored, we must go back to that point.
What is the cross? It is the end of ourselves. On the cross all separations were put to death, everything that comes from fallen man, the flesh, human nature, even our good thoughts, good ideas, good intentions, the best and worst of us. All of that died together on the cross.
Sometimes, we associate the cross with the bad things about us; but we do not think the same about our human nature. We still believe that there is something good in it; some good thoughts, some good ideas. All this has brought ruin to the church. Not only has sin brought damage to the church, but good ideas have also brought destruction. This is at least, if not more dangerous than sin itself in the house of God.
Do we have the right to create something in the house of God according to our ideas? If you are an engineer and know how a company works, can you bring that and create a church that works like a business? You can be successful running a company, but that knowledge is of no use in the house of God.
The problem, is that we often think that our own concepts are valuable. Therefore, the restoration work must begin with the end of everything that is of man. Without accepting the work of the cross in our being, it is not possible to restore the church. The spiritual ruin in which the greater part of Christendom today finds itself, is precisely because many do not accept the working of the cross. So we have to start with the cross.
The Cross signifies full consecration
"...And they offered burnt offerings to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening" (Ezra 3: 3). On the altar there were several types of sacrifices; but here, the burnt offerings are especially mentioned.
In Romans 12:1, Paul begins to talk about the building of the church: "So, brethren, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies a living, holy and pleasing sacrifice to God, which is your reasonable service ". When Paul says this, he is thinking about the sacrifice of burnt offering.
All of the sacrifices for sin were foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. That is why it is not necessary to continue to present these kinds of sacrifice, for the Lord has already presented once and for all time the one and only sacrifice for sin. But here's a sacrifice that we can continue to offer up, this living sacrifice which is the burnt offering spoken of in the Old Testament.
What was the burnt offering? It occurred when a person, without reference to sin, wanted to offer themselves to God. Since there was no way at that time to do this in a purely spiritual way, an animal was brought, which represented the person making the offering. That animal was given to the priests, who put it on the altar to be burned up completely. They could eat from the other sacrifices, but they couldn’t take anything away from the burnt offering. It was a unique offering, exclusive to the Lord, and it was left there until it was entirely consumed.
When Paul speaks of a living sacrifice, he is starting at the same point where Ezra begins: the rebuilding of the house. He is saying that, for God's house to be built, it is necessary that each one of us present himself, not like in the Old Testament, but with his own body as a burnt offering to the Lord, to be consumed on God’s altar.
If we do not present ourselves as a burnt offering so that God can consume our whole life, we cannot build the house. God has no part-time servants. If you are not full-time, you cannot serve.
We have a bad custom of sometimes saying, 'Brother, do you serve the Lord full time?'. And we're asking if someone is totally dedicated to the Lord, or if they have a secular job where they get a salary. But in Scripture, there is no concept of full-time or part-time; the idea that some brothers are engaged full time and others are dedicated partially to the Lord, spending the rest of their time on other things, doesn’t exist.
No, it says: "Brothers, I urge you ...". It doesn’t say: 'I urge you, apostles; elders ', but' I beseech you, brothers '. In other words, all of us. The Scripture says, "So, brethren, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies a living sacrifice." A continual burnt offering before God. Until when? Until it is completely consumed. That is what Paul has in mind.
Now, what can you offer to the Lord that he will accept as a burnt offering, according to the apostle Paul? Your body. Because what is done or not done on this earth is done or not done with the body. This is essential for the church to be built: You need to be present, not only in spirit but in body.
How can we reach the goal, if we are not at the starting point? The starting point is presenting ourselves to the Lord. The Lord is moving in a certain direction today, but there are some who do not even realize what God is doing, because they are never there.
In the work of God, things do not work second hand. If they told you about it but you weren’t there, then you missed it. Many things have happened, and we were not there, simply because we do not present our bodies to the Lord. In whatever the church does, merely to be present, already counts for the Lord. You're not insignificant. We are all useful to the Lord.
Those who believe in the Lord
"...To present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to the Lord." When you are present, that pleases the Lord. But if you're not, how do you think the Lord will take you into account? Malachi 3:16 says: "Then they that feared the Lord spoke each one to another; and the Lord hearkened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him for those that fear the Lord, and that think upon His name. "
Beloved brother, the Lord takes note of what you think and what you say. Sometimes you say, 'I'm not going, it's boring, I will waste the time'. But when you say, 'Brother, let’s go and have fellowship with the rest of the brothers', the Lord writes in a book of remembrance. Sometimes, we see brothers full of talents, and think, 'That brother would be so useful to the Lord'. But nothing happens. And the Lord uses another brother who seems to have no talent. What is the difference? Some think about the Lord and not others. And what does the Lord say about them? "And they shall be mine...".
When king Cyrus issued the decree, the word began to spread: 'We can return to Jerusalem'. But only a few returned. These are the ones written down in the book of God. There is no remembrance of the others. Even the psalms which those few sang as they wept for Zion were written down. "There we sat down and even wept when we remembered Zion." And God took note. "And they shall be mine ... in the day when I act."
The Lord will act, and on that day, they will be His special treasure, "and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you shall return, and you shall discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. " Who serves Him? He who thinks about God first, and he who loves his neighbour.
The restoration will be "in times of anguish." Who likes anguish? No one. But if the price is that anguish, what are you going to do? Scripture says that when Nehemiah´s men built the wall, one hand held a sword while they built with the other, and they didn’t remove their clothing night or day, until the wall was built.
So then, the rebuilding of the house, first asks of us a continual burnt offering. If you want to be part of the ministry of the saints, if you want to serve the Lord, first offer yourself to Him. And don’t just offer part of yourself, but everything. Because He does not accept parts; it is either all or nothing. Always remember, the cross is the principle governing the restoration and rebuilding of the house of God. Without the cross, the burnt offering and the sacrifice, there can be no restoration.
Edited version of a message given in Callejones, January 2007.