Build The House | Dwelling In His Presence - Pastor Christian Lake

We trace Ezra 2’s genealogy to show how God keeps promises in detail, how exile shapes identity, and why building God’s house still begins with His presence. We challenge counterfeit labels from culture, address disappointment in service, and invite a fresh return to worship in spirit and truth.

• God’s calendar through Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles as a frame for presence
• Babylon as culture naming us and competing identities to resist
• Mordecai’s name as a sign of false labels carried into the rebuild
• The Levites’ low return and why satisfaction must not govern contribution
• Samaria’s mixed story, missing Prophets, and Jesus’ way to minister hope
• True worship moved from mountains to hearts—Spirit and truth
• Practical call to bring what’s missing and build, not spectate

Chapters

• 0:00 Why Read Ezra’s Genealogy?
• 3:16 Prayer for Illumination and Empowerment
• 6:50 The Road Trip Metaphor of Return
• 13:40 Feasts as God’s Timeline: Tabernacles
• 20:05 Babylon as Culture and Competing Identities
• 24:02 Mordecai’s Name and Counterfeit Labels
• 31:45 Levites, Disappointment, and Contribution
• 38:20 Samaria’s Mixed Story and Missing Prophets
• 44:10 Jesus, the Samaritan Woman, and True Worship
• 50:30 Dwell With God: The Invitation

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:04

Welcome to the Rock Family Sermon of the Week. For more information about our church, please visit the RockFamily. Now join us for a message from our special guest speaker. So I'm gonna start with a passage.

SPEAKER_01: 0:20

How many guys have enjoyed the Build the House series that we've been in for a few weeks, and we will probably be in for perpetuity. For as long as this church exists, we will be building the house because there's a lot of house to build, and I want to start with a passage. This is one, now guys, I get it. I know like this is a passage you've all heard a thousand times before. You all know it by heart, and I know that's super annoying. I just hear the same passages over and over again. You guys all have this memorized, you've worn on a Christian t-shirt, but maybe I can present like maybe a little bit different perspective on it today. Can I do that? So, you know, if you're new here, we're gonna put it up on the screens for you. If you know it by heart, maybe you can recite it with me. Let's put it up on the screen. It's Ezra II. Alright, so uh from memory, recite it with me. Uh the number of the men of the people of Israel, the sons of Perosh, 2,172, the sons of Sheftia, that's how that's pronounced, by the way, 372, the sons of Ara, 775. This is not a joke. The sons of Pehat Moab, namely the sons of Joshua and Joab, 2,812. The sons of Elam, 1254, the sons of Zatu, 945, the sons of Zeki, 760, the sons of Bani, 642, the sons of Bible, I love that one, 623, the sons of Azgad, 1222, the sons of Edanikim, 666, the sons of Bigvi, 2056, the sons of Aden, 454, the sons of Ato. Are you guys following this? Has anybody been encouraged? I'm doing what Jamin did, but the Hebrew version. Korean names are hard. Namely of Hezekiah, 98, the sons of Bizai, 323, the sons of Jorah, 112, the sons of Hashem, 223, the sons of Gibbar, 95, the sons of Bethlehem, 123, the men of Netopha, 56, the men of Anathoth, 128, the sons of Asmaveth, 42, the sons of Kiriath Arim, uh, Kafira and Biroth, 743. I know how to pronounce these, it's just a small font. The sons of Ramah and Giba, 621, the men of Mi'kmaq, 122, the men of Bethel and I, 223, the sons of Nebo, 52, the sons of Magbish, uh, 156, the sons of the other Elam, 1254. There were two Elams, by the way. The sons of Harim, 320, the sons of Lot, Hadid and Ono, 725, the sons of Jericho, 345, the sons of Sina'a, 3,630. Hope you're all encouraged today. Father, we thank you so much for today. We thank you for your blessings, Lord. And we ask specifically today for your illumination and your empowerment. As we discuss building the house, Father, I pray every single person in this room would feel empowerment. That word specifically, empowerment. And by that I mean that today, if you're sitting in this room, we give you permission. We give you permission to help us build the house. Maybe you're new here, maybe you've been here for a long time, but have felt uh on the sidelines, or maybe uh you were involved and something happened and you're on the side, we give you permission. As a matter of fact, we ask. There's an invitation today. Help us build the house. And we pray in this passage specifically that there would be illumination, that your truth would be made manifest in this room, the logos would be made manifest in the room, and every single individual and family represented here would have an opportunity to encounter your word, to respond to your word. And we pray more than anything that it will be written on our hearts and reflected in our words and our thoughts and our actions, Father. Every single one of us, that we would manifest your glory, that we would build the house both corporately and personally, that our faith would be a testimony of your mercy, your healing power, and your illumination of your word today. That your Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth, that it would work on our minds, that it would discern the intentions of our hearts, and it would show us a picture of ourselves today. It would divide soul and spirit, joint and marrow, Father. We pray for that supernatural surgery this morning to work on our hearts and minds. That if you're in the room and you have a hardened heart, Lord, we ask for a softening today. If you have a hardened mind, a resolute mind, we ask for a softening, a humility, Father. That today your glory would be made manifest in this room, as it already has, God. We just pray that we would ride the wave of your providence today. You've already moved in this room, Lord. We just want to ride the wave on a supernatural boogie board into the beach. Uh, in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. It's so funny we all laugh at this passage because it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous to read out these names that no one knows how to pronounce. It's ridiculous to read out these numbers and think that there's some, you know, uh uh raise your hand, honestly. Like, how many of you guys are like, man, I love man, that got me good today? Wow. Yes, Lord. This is like when you're a teenager, right, kids, and you're like, God, I just need something today, and you flip your Bible open and it's this. I guess I'm not a Christian anymore, or some I'm supposed to be a mathematician, maybe that's what it is. Uh but we we we we like to look at passages like this and skip, um, because all we know is that it just means that there was a lot of people. We skip it and we just say, just give me the big picture, or just give me the cliff notes, or just give me a summary. I don't really want to read all this, I want to get to the good part, right? Like, hey, isn't there something in there about he has plans for me? Or what about the part where like he so loved the world, right? Like, can I just get to that part? And isn't that so funny because these are literally the most important words that have ever been put on paper? I don't think you guys are hearing me. These are the most important words that have ever been recorded in human history. These are the words and the thoughts of the Most High God. That when he was asked, what do people need to know for the rest of human history? And he put this in it. And we say, God, can you just get to the good part? God, can you skip this part? I don't really get it. Or maybe it's too boring, or maybe the application wasn't so readily available. Maybe it just didn't feel good when I read it. So I'm going to skip over the most important words that have ever existed in human history and say, just tell me where to sign. Just tell me what it means. So that's why my prayer today is that there would be illumination, that God put this here for a reason. And this is the exciting part, is in this passage, I don't actually think it's that hard. I pray today that uh actually, specifically in regards to us building the house, that this passage is going to give us kind of clues and kind of give us uh some guidelines and maybe even some conviction on things that might be hindering us from our full expression and participation in building the house. Does anybody want that today? Does that sound nice? All right. There's too much at stake, and there's enough biblical illiteracy as it is. So I'm a huge proponent of not skipping any passage of scripture, whether for personal study, casual reading, or for preaching, whether it's boring or whether it's difficult or whether it challenges my theology. That's what it's there for. Alright. So before I get back into the text, uh I'm kind of starting, you know, I want to start trying to like have a trademark. I couldn't even get it out. That's such a ridiculous thing to say. Uh and my trademark is um uh uh like describing the unfortunate situations that have occasioned my preparation for this message. Uh so it might go something like this: like, uh, oh, I would love to tell you that in preparation for the sermon, I was locked away in an ivory tower filled with leather-bound books and Bible study software with a direct line of communication to the throne room where the Holy Spirit just filled me with analogies and with illustrations and with illumination and with the meaning of the text and a rhema word of God just came to me in the ivory tower, and I descended on a sheet into the room to share with you. Unfortunately, I have to say today that that is not the case. I spent the vast majority of yesterday in a minivan for 11 hours with a three-year-old, a one-year-old, a seven-month-old, and my wife. That's a cheap shot. Car sickness, traffic, crying. And that was just me? Okay. That was for Reese. And even more distracting than this is as a dad, we take road trips seriously. Paul? Listen, fellas, if you are walking out to your car to start a road trip and the sun is already out, just go back inside. Call grandma and say you'll see her next year because you have missed the boat. If the sun is already out, you're gonna hit traffic in Alabaster or Hoover or both, for sure. All of the good hot dog meat at Circle K is gonna be gone. That means no jalapeno cheddar, that means no Italian sausage, you're gonna have to settle for one of those taquitos that looks like it's been fossilized on the rollers. You guys know what I'm talking about? You gotta start early. There's nothing more embarrassing than taking too long on a road trip. And then there's GPS. What a waste of taxpayer money. I don't know how taxes work. Alright, this is real quick. I need to move on past this to like real stuff. But I wanted to do this. I'm not really great at impressions. Okay, alright, so I'm super nervous about this, but I wanted to try my best to. This is my my very quick impression of a GPS, a voice to GPS, uh, no matter where you're starting and no matter where your destination is. Okay, this is my impression of a GPS. All right, you ready? Have you ever thought about going through Atlanta? It's probably too specific. No, I don't want to go through Atlanta. Nobody ever wants to go through Atlanta. Atlanta is the worst place. For our purposes, it's the Babylon of road trips. We don't want to go through Atlanta. If I'm going to Florida, I'm driving around Atlanta to get to where I'm going. If I'm driving to Atlanta, I would rather just fly. Just being honest. You're gonna save money, it's gonna be so much quicker. Don't want to take back roads. This is maybe a little bit more personal. I don't want to take back roads. I have three kids in the car. I want to stop at a Circle K, a Pilot, or a Love's. If my kid has to go to the bathroom, I don't want to pull into a Steve's bait and tackle. And hope that they cleaned the outhouse. Is that enough? That's enough. This is the gratuitous part. Alright. And this is a little bit silly, but the road trip. So I was on vacation all week in Florida visiting my father and family down in Florida, down in Tampa, and then we spent a couple days in St. Augustine, which is the oldest city in America, and it poured rain the whole time. It was a complete waste of time. Uh it wasn't. It was actually very, very nice. No, no, no. It was very, very nice. Uh uh, and we spent some time with family, and then we came back, which is the best way to prepare for a sermon, uh, is to be on vacation with your children. Um, but I actually do think that this idea of like the road trip, this might seem a little bit silly, but I think it might be a mental image that might help us uh uh uh in regards to this passage specifically, the idea of a road trip, the idea of returning, or the idea of migration, right? That framework, that mental picture that we're all familiar with or have some sort of like uh uh uh um a reaction to, that image might actually be helpful for us to identify what's happening in this passage in Ezra chapter two, and also identify the things that might hinder them because of where they're coming from. Let me say it like this: namely, when you are going or returning, what are the lingering effects of the place that you had been? Maybe you've moved from a different state or a different country or a different region. What are the lingering effects or the byproduct of you living in that region and being a new place? If you've gone on vacation to someplace, what are the lingering effects that might try to hinder you or impede you in the place that you're returning to? Does that make sense? I know the the GPS stuff and all that was a little bit um uh uh it was extra. It was extra, but you can, you know what, you get it for free. So many of us in the room here might be new to the house or you've been here but have been on the sidelines. We want to reckon with what we are carrying from the place that we have been. That's the goal today. So one of the most important parts of uh of biblical interpretation is investigation. The first question that you have to ask when you're looking at a passage is this What is the occasion for this text? Everybody say occasion. What is the occasion for this text? Why is this text here? What is the author's intention? What is the occasion for this text? And for that, I want to jump around a little bit, so this is gonna be kind of annoying, but there's, you know, immediately following the genealogy, there's another passage in Ezra 3, verse 1 that we can throw up on the screen. And we're just gonna touch on this pretty quickly. Uh, this is the rebuilding of the altar. So this is immediately following the return of the exiles to Jerusalem. So they've now left Babylon, they've gone on a long road trip to Jerusalem, and they're now there. And in Jerusalem, they number each other and they all get together, and then this is what's happening. This is the occasion for the text. When the seventh month came, everybody say seventh month, the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. All right. So this is why I think today, especially just, you know, the road trip and me being here and this particular text that's been on the calendar for forever. This was not intentional on our end. This is what I believe is intentional on the Spirit of God. Because who knows what happens in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar? Not all at once, please. The seventh month of the Jewish calendar is Tishri, and this is when the feast of tabernacles or the feast of booths or sukko is celebrated. Now, who knows what month of the Jewish calendar we're in right now? The seventh month. Tishri. And who knows what uh feast is being celebrated right now as we speak? Tabernacles. And I know this because as I drove into my dad's driveway, I saw in the backyard a sukkah, which is a little tent, a little booth, and it came crawling out from underneath it and said, Hey son, like he's in a tent in the backyard. And so I had to ask, oh no, has dad been kicked out of the house again? And then I had the idea, and this is very, very funny to me. What if like Jewish men just like made this festival up to explain why they kept getting kicked out of the house? It's not true at all. This is a very, very important feast, and it sets the stage for what's happening in this entire, really in this entire story. Um, but the occasion for this text is tabernacles. Israel would build tents and live in them once a year in a feast to the Lord. And it's incredibly helpful to understand the feasts and how they all contextualize the narrative arc in Scripture. These are not just events that happen, these are not just stories that we get to interact with, these contextualize the whole narrative arc of what's happening throughout all of Scripture. And this is a good way to put it right here. I like this. God doesn't often tell time with a clock or with a calendar. In my opinion, he most often tells time with the Jewish people, both then and now. And I think that's an important thing for us to understand as we reckon with the arcs in Scripture. So let's look at the three major feasts right here. This is on the next slide. And this will be fun. We'll go over these pretty quick. Uh, here it is right here. Passover or Pesak. We're all very familiar with this. This is, you know, coincides with our Easter schedule in the Christian calendar. Passover, Pentecost, and tabernacles. Pentecost shavuot, which is a fun thing to say, and tabernacles, sukkot, which sounds like an Italian cheese or something. Passover, the blood, uh, the blood of the Lamb was on the doorpost and it covers or protects the firstborn of Israel and initiates the Exodus. Everybody say Exodus. And initiates the Exodus. Jesus in the New Testament is the firstborn Passover lamb who initiates our Exodus. So if you want to know what time we are in, according to the biblical narrative ark, we are in the Exodus. The people of Israel left uh enslavement and oppression in Egypt and went into the Exodus to dwell and booze with the presence of God. We were enslaved to sin and to the principalities and powers of the world, and Jesus Christ died on the cross, conquering that, and sent us into an exodus, both inhabiting and now a not yet kingdom of God. So now we are in the presence of God and we are waiting for the presence of God. We are in our Exodus era. Is that how you say it? That's the timeline that we're in. Pentecost begins at Sinai, where the law is given, and the people immediately fail with the golden calf, and 3,000 people die. So when the law is given, Moses comes down with the Ten Commandments, the law is given, and 3,000 people die. In the New Testament, Pentecost happens in the upper room, and instead of the law coming down, the Spirit comes down, and 3,000 people are saved. Saved. And now this is the first time absolutely in all of human history where the law code is no longer written on tablets or written on parchment. The law code is written on human hearts. First time in all of history. This is how we know that the law of the spirit gives life and the letter of the law brings death. This is the ark that we are in. Tabernacles. After the day of atonement, Yom Kippur, the people are cleansed, and Bill booze to remember that they lived in the wilderness and God dwelt with them. Everybody say, dwelt. God dwelt with them. In the New Testament today, we are in the Exodus, and the Spirit's presence dwells within us as we await the ultimate fulfillment of Christ's return when we will be in his presence forever. This leads me to a quote from a really smart guy. This is on the next slide. God's house is not built on programs, it's built on presence. From Pastor Scott Silcox. We are talking about Shavuot today, the Feast of Tabernacles, and this is the big surprise, the curtain reveal today, what the whole point is. Guess what, guys? It's still about his presence. It is still about his presence. It's not about your leadership structure, it's not about your marketing strategy, it's not about your charisma, it's not about anything that you think you have to offer. It is still about his presence. And we remember that today. We remember that in this liturgical season as the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Booze. We remember that our end goal, our primary goal, our first and foremost love is the presence of God. So before we continue in the exercise, we need to identify where exactly Israel is returning from and what that means for us. Obviously, they are coming from Babylon, and that's a real place with bad guys. That's the way that uh we have to talk to our children. They don't know, like, hey, who is this guy on TV shows or movies? Hey, who is this guy? Ah, that's a bad guy. Okay. Alright, who's this guy? That's a good guy. All right, who's this guy? Well, he's uh an anti-hero. I don't know how to describe that in three-year-old terms. But what else might Babylon represent? Now I want to be very careful to not overextend any metaphors or allegories here. Some people say Babylon is Rome, the city on seven hills. Some people say Babylon is America because they hate freedom. And some people say, just insert your I'm kidding, I'm joking, I'm joking. Just insert your least favorite place, and people say that that's what Babylon is. But obviously there's a larger imagery or a larger use for the concept in Babylon in Scripture. So if you're looking at a verse, you say, what is Babylon here? You have to ask what the occasion for the text is, first of all, but then know that there's an ark of Babylon or there's a usage of Babylon that is cohesive throughout all of Scripture. I'm gonna explain it. For our purposes, we'll use this definition from the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. It says this Babylon stands not for a specific power, but more generally for world power in opposition to God, the empire where God's people lives in exile. Babylon is power, concentrated power that is in opposition to the worship of God. So it might manifest in the form of government systems, it might manifest in the form of ideologies or institutions, it might manifest in the form of multiple things. For our purposes and for uh our context, I think it would be most helpful to say, uh, or I guess the way that I'll most uh be referencing it today, and be, you know, hold off for a second when I say this, is Babylon as culture. As culture. I don't want to refrain from being too specific, even though I know that we all have a lot of things that pop into our head when I say culture, but I want to be very clear that when I say culture, I don't mean hip hop music, cool clothes, or those pesky iPhones. I'm talking about the dialectical battle of ideas that is constantly trying to influence and even control our thoughts and our emotions from all sides at all times through whatever means necessary. That is the culture that I'm talking about. Have you ever watched a commercial? Have you ever been in a conversation at the water cooler? Have you ever seen a group of people interacting and acting in a certain way that almost seems conjured up? Almost seems like witchcraft. It's like, how did you all come to that same conclusion all at the same time? Babylon. Culture. A battle for your thoughts. Babylon is a spiritual realm that raises itself against the knowledge of God. Alright, so let's get back to our genealogy. I'm gonna keep moving. This is Ezra 2, verse 1 through 2. You guys thought I was lying, and I wasn't gonna get back to the genealogy. Boom, here it is right here. More names, by the way. I didn't read these names before. You got super excited for that. Now, these are the people of the province who came up out of captivity, those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town. They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Zariah, Realiah, Mordecai. Everybody say Mordecai, Bilshon, Mispar, Bigvi, Rehum, and Ba'ana. This is the first list of names, and this is describing leaders of the house of Israel. Interesting side note, this list has a parallel account in Nehemiah 7 that kind of fills in the blanks. In this particular uh genealogy, it only lists 11 names. Nehemiah adds another one, and that is of Azariah, which brings the total list of the heads of houses of Israel to twelve. Why might that be significant? Alright, what am I even doing up here? You guys got the answers. Ezra is reminding us that God has preserved every single tribe, even through the exile. This is the point. This is the first passage. This begins what we call an inclusio bracketing the entire passage. That this is describing the meaning of this to show that God was faithful to his covenant. God was faithful to his promise. Even through exile, even through tribulation, even through exile that God called. Even through tribulation that God was responsible for as punishment for the people of Israel. And he said, Behold, I have plans for you. To prosper you and not to harm you. This is the receipts of that promise. If we get nothing else today, just a simple reminder. Nothing super heavy, nothing academic, just a simple reminder that God keeps his promises even down to the last detail. Hey, listen, does anybody need to hear that today? That God keeps his promises even down to the last detail. That you might be in the room today thinking that there's some part of your promise that was left out to die or to dry up. But I want to tell you today that God keeps his promises down to the very last detail. Doesn't matter how long it takes, it doesn't matter how dry you feel, God keeps his promises. The next interesting thing that you'll notice is one of these names doesn't look like the other ones. The highlighted name. Mordecai, yeah, alright. I don't want to say this too, because again, we're still talking about the lingering effects. The lingering effects of Babylon. The lingering effects. This is also too wanna clarify this is most likely not the Mordecai from the book of Esther, Ezra uh Esther, uh, because that Mordecai is going to be in the capital of Babylon, Susa, the citadel of Susa, some 50 years after this genealogy. That doesn't really matter, but just in case you're like, wow, he's, you know, he was Esther's uncle, crazy. Probably not. What is interesting is the meaning of his name. The meaning or the etymology of his name. Mordecai has a Babylonian etymology and literally means this: worshiper of Marduk, who's the god of storms for Babylon. One of the primary deities for Babylon, one of the primary demonic false gods of Babylon, Marduk. Mordecai's name literally means he worships Marduk. And while we can't say for sure exactly how Mordecai gets this name, it does highlight a very clear practice in Scripture of Babylon and what Babylonian kings did. Which is, and not just Babylonian kings, but ancient Near Eastern kings in general would rename exiles in an attempt to claim them for their gods or for their court systems. Give you more examples because you guys think I'm lying. Do you guys remember? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You guys know that that's not their names. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Originally it's Daniel, Hananiah, Mesha, El, and Azariah. Daniel gets named Belshazzar. Bel, another name for Marduk. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. So the two primary gods that are going to be named are Marduk, also called Bel or Nubu, or Nebo. So when you see Nego, this is a transliteration of Nubu, the Babylonian God. This is what's interesting. What do the original names mean? Daniel. God is my judge. So when you see these names like Daniel, Hananiah, Mesha, El, Azariah, El, when you see a Jewish name that ends in El, El is one of the Hebrew names for God. So my son Lazarus, who's dedicated today, his middle name Daniel, means God is my judge. We didn't know that at the time. We named him after Daniel Tiger. That's not true, but it does make you look at Daniel Tiger in a different way. That little tiger is going to be judged by God. Am I wrong? All right. I A H or A-E-L is uh transliterations of worshiper of Yahweh. So both God is my judge and I worship Yahweh gets changed by Babylon to no, no, no, you don't actually worship those gods. You worship our gods. Bel, Marduk, our court system. Mordecai carried a name from Babylon. Mordecai carried an identity from Babylon. Mordecai was literally stamped with a mindset, a frame of thinking from Babylon that he carried back to Jerusalem. I want to ask you today have you ever felt like Babylon gave You a name. Or culture gave you an identity. And you've brought that identity here, and that identity is now hindering you from building the house. Alright, I want to go, but there's a funny story that I want to say. And this will be the last funny story, and I know it's too much, it's too much. But I worked so hard on this. On this story specifically, and then I'll skip all the other funny ones, but this helps. It also helps. It does help. And this again is part of my road trip experience. But um, has anybody ever heard of like switching or inadvertent switching or code switching? Alright, so this is something where uh uh you you talk one way, one place. And everybody does this too. I want to be very clear. This is not, you know, you know, I'm trying to be sensitive to, but this is not something where uh uh uh everyone does this. So, like for example, you might work in Research Park, but you're from Geneva County. And when you go back to Geneva County, that is Dothan, yeah. That's where my family's from. All right, all right, all right, I'll give you another more clear example. All right, so Pastor Scott obviously is one of the most articulate people that we know, but you know that he's from Louisiana. And if you catch him in Baton Rouge, you best believe he's gonna order some lamb with that crayfish now, yo. Come gather around the ball for some of this bastalaya. I've heard him talk like this. No, I'm just kidding. This is not true at all. This is absolutely not even remotely true. I asked my wife if I should say that, and she said yes, I'm putting it on her. I work so hard. It's my second impression today. And I say that not to point fingers at anybody else, I say that because I do this worse than anybody in the entire world. I do it when I go down to Geneva County up here, I'm all how are you, how are things. When I go down there, everything is is down yonder and everybody's kin somehow. Everybody's kin. You go to a store, oh, he's kin, she's kin, you know. Are you saying kin? Is that what you're saying? Is that their name? No, the worst is my father's family, which is where I was all week. My father's family is all from Staten Island, New York, and they are very, very, very Italian. Now, my dot my dad hides it very well, but for some reason he's kind of like almost like a sleeper agent where it can be triggered. He was in the military for a long time, and he's my dad's watching online. Can we cut that actually? Can we get a delay or something? The problem is when I trigger him, then I follow suit. And I'm all, how are you? You know, how are things, dad? How's everything? And then two days later I'd say, How are you doing? Forget about it, you know, real quick. It happens very quick. Andrea Sunday knows she's in here. She's she works here at the church, and every time I walk by her, she's like, Hey, welcome to the rock. And then I see her and she's like, Hey, are you coming over for Sunday dinner? I already got sauce on the stove. Is she here? I hope she's here. And I was reminded of this more specifically. All right, let's bring it full circle. I was reminded of this because of my son's dedication. Okay, so I was in Tampa with my father, with the rest of the Italians. They all moved down there from Staten Island for some reason. And I go down there and I'm talking to them. He's like, oh, by the way, your grandson is getting dedicated this Sunday. Like, oh, that's awesome. That's great. I'm so happy to hear that. And it's like, oh, wait, hold on, I forgot. Like, you didn't get dedicated, did you? He's like, no, I grew up a good Catholic boy. What do you mean? He's like, oh, so what you know, what'd you do? He's like, oh, we had we had confirmation. We had confirmation in my first communion. Okay, so why are you talking like that, you know? Confirmation. Okay, he's like, what's that like? That's interesting. He had confirmation. He's like, oh yeah, it's when you get your godfather, you know. You have a godfather? I dad, I've known you my whole life. You have a godfather. It's like, okay, what's it what's his name? Uncle Nino. I am not joking. My dad's godfather's name is Uncle Nino from Staten Island, New York, Staten, Italy. I was like, well, what else happened? He said, Well, they gave me my new name. This is 100% true. I said, I've no dad, I've known you my whole life, 32 years. You have another name? I said, What is it? He looks me dead in my eyes and he says, Tony. After Uncle Nino. Your name is Tony. I had no idea. 32 years I had no clue that your name was Tony. You had another name. And this is where it comes up. Is a few weeks ago I call him, and this is again the trigger sleep rage-type thing. And I call him, he said, Hey son, how are you doing? How's everything going? He's like, Oh, it's going good. He's like, Well, what are you up to? I was like, Oh, well, I'm making lasagna for dinner tonight. He said, Hey, okay. He said, Hey, son, what kind of cheese are you putting on it, huh? You got some mozzadel? What about the ragot? So they say, ricotta. He says this, I swear to you. So, well, you know, I have mozzarella, but I, you know, I didn't have any ricotta, so I'm gonna put, I'm gonna put, you know, like pecorino on there, I don't know, plus, you know, some cheese on there or whatever. He's like, oh, son, oh, you're killing me. Oh man. You're, you know, my aunt Titsy used to make, it's like, you have an Aunt Titsy now? Which is hilarious, first of all, because Titsy just means aunt in Italian, so it's calling her aunt aunt. It's like if I called Tim Uncle Teo. Oh, yeah, Aunt Titsy, she used to make the best lasagna. She would put so much regotte, and then it would just come spilling out the sides and the mozzadel and all this. And I'm talking to him on the phone, and then something clicks. She says, you know what? I didn't really like it. It was too much cheese. And I start seeing the wheels start turning his head even over the phone. He's like, it was too much cheese, it was too much ricotta. You know what? As a matter of fact, I don't even like ricotta. He's like, you know what I like? I like cheddar in my lasagna. I said, Oh my god. Uncle Nino is rolling in his grave, rescue Apache. Oh my goodness. Oh my. Oh my goodness. Pop you're killing me. This is all true. I'm being dramatic a little bit. This is this is maybe something that might help relate because you've not been named by uh a Babylonian storm god, but here my father has a name that was given to him that's associated with a culture that is now causing him to be dishonest with his values. Might seem like a jump to some of you. Listen, have you ever felt like there was a name placed on you by a culture that caused you to be dishonest or to compromise with your values? You ever felt like there was an identity that was placed on you that's caused you to compromise? Let me be more specific, maybe. Let's see. Well, how about this? First, let's look at our construction notes. All right, Mordecai means worshiper of Marduk, Babylonian policy kings would rename subjects to identify them with Babylonian gods. Divine perspective, do you feel like culture has given you a name application? Don't let a counterfeit identity take priority over the house. This could be a social identity, like an economic class, could be a political identity, could be a racial identity. I want to be very sensitive and very careful. I in no way ever want to cause any offense. But if there's something that we can't talk about in here, then we don't actually have unity. We have a really nice house with something swept under the rug. So I want to ask you today, across the board, this is not talking about black, white, whatever. This is talking about across the board, you have an identity that is taking priority. You have a name that you've placed above the name above all names. I'll give you some more examples. Let's just get specific. Now that it's busted wide open and it's just all out on the table, right? I've ripped the carpet off, right? I used to hear all the time as a youth pastor. People come in, parents come in, like, oh man, I just love how diverse this place is. It was really important to me, so good job. That is such a fundamental misunderstanding of what's going on here. Because that acts like we did it. It was my understanding that it was the Lord who was adding to the house daily. It was my understanding that no one comes to Jesus unless the Father first draws them. And I want to tell you that we are so blessed in this house, but it's not because we had the right ratio of people on a billboard. And it's not because we marketed correctly, it's because a group of people that had a name above all names came into a house to offer sacrifices. And there is not an identity that takes precedence over building the house. There's not a name that takes precedence over building the house because I serve a name that's above all names. Philippians 2. They got exalted Jesus Christ with a name above all names. That's the place of highest exaltation. And there's not an identity that I'm bringing from the place I've been that I'm going to put in front of that. So when it comes to building the house, I have to check my name at the door. Amen? Maybe your identity isn't a failure. Maybe the place that you were in before was a result of a decision that you made or something that was that happened to you. Maybe a crime, maybe a divorce, maybe a decision that you made? Again, I want to be very careful. I want to be very sensitive. But are you letting that identity hinder you from building the house? Oh, they just don't have a place for me. Oh, they keep talking about families, and I don't have one. Listen, we are so sensitive to the partial. But if we don't ever talk about the perfect, if we don't ever talk about the plan that God has for us, then we won't ever know how we can be healed. See, listen, people don't want to talk. Jeez, okay. All right, people don't want to say, uh, alright. I'm not going to be careful. I've said enough. I've said too many offensive things already. Listen, people don't want to be healed anymore. They want to be told that there's no such thing as being sick. That's why not only uh do people uh uh uh um are they now they're proud of their sickness. Now it's a social credit or it's a merit of something that that that that I'm claiming is wrong with me. It's no longer wrong. This is great, this is God's best for me. Is this sickness or this illness or this decision I made? This is just my truth, this is who I am. Can I tell you? Check that identity at the door because God has something better for you. And it's not because we want to judge you, it's not because we want to put a different label on you, it's not because we want to make you acquiesce to our demands, it's because I know from my personal testimony that God has something better for you. He's the name above all names. Let's keep it moving. My voice is starting to sound more and more Italian, I think. Because of the horrible illness that I've gotten. Let's look at the next slide. We're gonna keep it moving real quick. This will be a quick one. This is great. This is numbers. We gotta talk numbers, guys, all right? Ezra 240. The Levites, the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel of the sons of Hadaviah. It's a voice, I know how to say it. I don't have to tell you. The Levites, there were 74. 74 Levites. Does that strike anyone as interesting? Is that a big number or a little number? It's a big number for a church staff, it's a very small number for a country. Look at all the other numbers: 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, and then the Levites, 74. Why might this happen? So low, in fact, that in Ezra chapter 8, Ezra has to send for more Levites. He says, We camped there for three days, and I found there none of the sons of Levi. So he has to send for more Levites. Why might this happen? What is the job of the Levites? Worship, right? But also to take care of the house. Now we're in the exile, they don't have a house. They ain't got nothing to do. So the function of the Levites diminishes greatly during the exile. So when they come back, we have a bunch of Levites who don't know what their job is. This is super low. We get a clue from Ezekiel 44 who prophesies against the Levites and says that you've forsaken the ways of God. They don't have a house, their role diminishes. So much so that they don't even come back when they're asked. When everyone returns, they don't even come back. Let me just say this. Is it not just like us that when our thing gets taken away, we stop contributing to the house of God? And listen, I'm not even talking about getting scheduled for worship. That's low-hanging fruit, that's too easy. You know who you are. No, I'm talking about my job, my serving opportunity, my identity, my small group, my friend group. My idea didn't get used. Listen, I was a youth pastor for years. Rico, you know, when Josh Robinson comes into a meeting and he's like, hey, we gotta do this, man. This is the best idea for youth of all time, and you're sitting there like, Josh, what planet do you live on? I don't want to get too specific. But you feel like your thing has been taken away from you. Your role, your post on the wall, your identity was in the serving opportunity and not in the God of the house. Those are good construction notes. Let's keep it moving. Your satisfaction should not determine your contribution. Ezekiel 44. But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me, after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment. The effect of the exile, the Levites' role was diminished without a house. Even the promise of return to their duties, they continued in disappointment. Here's another little fact from the genealogy. The large number of servants returning indicates that Israel flourished during the exile. Did you guys notice that? That they had a ton of servants that they brought back. Doesn't sound like exiles to me. Suggests that they flourished while they were in exile. They built houses. This contrasted with the low number of the Levites. Don't allow your disappointment or your comparison to determine your contribution. Oh, all the other houses are succeeding. All the other ministries are doing so well. Maybe I'll just sit back and wait for somebody to pick me up or to utilize my skill or my ability. Once again, once again, once again, we are not here to get. We are here to give. Maybe uh uh you've been here for a while. We are here to give. We are here to lay a sacrifice on the altar. And if you're here saying, well, they better impress me today, well, they better have a word today, well, you better not tell too many jokes today. I don't want to say this too, I've been feeling this for a while. I think there's many people in the room, even though this is just me, this is my you know attempt at prophetic encouragement. I think there's many people in the room that have a specific thing. They have a specific thing that they think the house is lacking. Listen, my encouragement to you is if you feel like the house is lacking something, don't wait to get it, give it. If you feel like the house is lacking fellowship, start a small group. If you feel like the house is lacking worship, get up on the front. We got flags. If you feel like the house is lacking something, bring it. Because we are here to give, not get. All right. So what this is the last little piece here, but I don't know how long it'll take. If I get going, you know, I don't know. Okay, so what are the effects of not only being in Babylon, but being baptized by it? Alright, I'm gonna jump around a little bit more, and I don't want to cut the legs out. Pastor Scott has to preach this in a couple weeks. I'm not cut, well, you don't have to. You can do whatever you want. You're literally the boss. You can fire me right now, literally now. Please don't. I have three kids. This is Ezra chapter 4, verse 1, and I just want to kind of do again, like a uh, you know, the effects of Babylon on even specific people groups and demographics is Ezra 4.1. And this is a group that we're gonna talk about way more in a couple weeks, but I just want to kind of give like a profile or character, a picture of this. This is adversaries that oppose the rebuilding, right? So the people of Israel, the exile, comes back to Jerusalem to rebuild the altar, to rebuild the temple, and to rebuild the wall. And people come from the north. How do we know that? Now, when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, what is Judah and Benjamin? The southern kingdom. We haven't talked about it yet, so it's not, you shouldn't know, but there was a north and a south kingdom. They got split. The north kingdom gets taken by Babylon specifically much earlier than the lower kingdom, because Judah, which is what the lower kingdom was called, had much better kings. Like three good ones, but it was still way better than the top. The north had no good ones. They were just rough. They were real, real bad. Um uh uh and so the south, the the south, southern kingdom, Judah and Benjamin is who occupied that southern kingdom. So the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin come from the north, heard that the return exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel. Alright, so I don't want to go too into detail because we're gonna cover this later, but the point is that these adversaries are from Samaria. Everybody say Samaria. They have a neighbor there, and he's good. There's a good one, I guess. That's kind of like all we know about Samaria. Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. The capital of the northern kingdom of Israel when the kingdom split. Babylon takes over the northern kingdom and starts putting everybody into Samaria. Start messing around in there. Um let's see. All right, this is the capital of the northern kingdom, and we know that they get goofy later on, but who are they? What constitutes this northern kingdom? Let's look at these two verses right there, these two passages. They kind of give us descriptions of what happens to Samaria during exile and during Babylonian and Assyrian conquest. So this is in 2 Kings chapter 17. Assyria resettles Samaria. Assyria resettles Samaria at some point during the convolution of both Assyria and Babylon. They're both kind of tag teaming and messing around up there. The king of Assyria brought people from where? Babylon, Kutha, Ava, Hamat, and Savarim, and placed them in cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. So it sounds like the people of Israel get sucked up out of Samaria and replaced with Babylonian people. The problem is that this deportation was not entirely done. And we know that from 2 Chronicles chapter 34. Uh when they came to Hilkai the high priest and gave him the money, this is again in the rebuilding process, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant, everybody say a remnant of Israel. So there's still a remnant of Israel. So what is the demographic or the population of Samaria at this point? It is a remnant of real Israel in Samaria, and it is a combination of peoples from many other places, including primarily Babylon. So it is now a mixture of Jew and Babylon, or Israelite and Babylon. It is a mixture, and this mixture would exist and kind of morph and merge over years and years and years, completely mixing and almost erasing Samaria's part in the exile and Jewish identity. Since there was a remnant remaining in Samaria, it means this remnant doesn't take full part in the exile. So they don't experience the same experience of the exiles. They continue to claim Abraham and Jacob, but they weren't exiled, and because of this, they don't have the prophets. Why wouldn't they have the prophets? Because the prophets prophesied in the exile. There were exile prophets. They were only talking about bad stuff. If you read the prophets, you're like, man, it sounds like these guys are in exile. They were. So they continue to claim uh Abraham and Jacob are the fathers of Israel without claim, this is important later, without claiming the prophets or without using the prophets. As a matter of fact, they end up constructing a rival temple in the north on Mount Gerizim instead of Mount Moriah, where the Temple Mount is. And they claim to be the true followers of the Torah. So the Samaritans have the first five books of the Bible. They have the Torah, but they don't have the prophets. It gets worse. They end up even aiding in further Jewish persecution in the intertestamental period. They just keep jabbing, right? And they just add to it. And I mean the Jews weren't nice to them either. Like they were all, it's like the evil stepbrother or something. I don't have one or anything. He's good. He's a pharmacist. Needless to say, they did not get along with the Jews. And let's go ahead and uh maybe somebody can help come help me on the keys because I need to finish this up. Wait, who's it? Who's it? Greg, Greg. Oh, thank God. I thought it was Jorah. I'm just kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm sorry. All right. It's too much. All right. So we know that Samaritans get ministered to in the New Testament. Right? This is the full circle moment. Remember, we're talking about dwelling. We're talking about booths. We're talking about the presence of God is still primary. We're talking about our comparison and our identities and our names that are hindering us from contributing to building the house that we want to dwell with God in. Right? This is what we're talking about. We're following all this, and now we're at this point where there's a people group that's not even involved. They don't even have the same identity as the exiles. Their paradigm, their theology is all messed up. It's all muddied around, and syncretism or mixtures of religion have now come in. And they don't even have the prophets. So the prophets in the exile are the only people helping out. They're the only people encouraging. They're only people telling them, I got a hope and a future for you. That's it. So now the people of Babylon don't even have that. These are the most spiritually malnourished and impoverished people in the kingdom of Israel. Because now their identity is erased, what little identity they had. They're in this religious and ethnic ambiguous place, and they're just trying to hold on to and retain whatever they have left. How do you minister to a person like that? Because we see in the New Testament that they get ministered to. How do you minister to somebody like that? Somebody that doesn't have the prophets, for example. We see Jesus minister to people through the prophets because the prophets have all the eschatological or end times hope. Right? So how do you minister somebody that doesn't have Isaiah's suffering servant, that doesn't have Ezekiel's New Temple, that doesn't have all the prophecies that prophesy of the Messiah? How do you minister to a people? How do you give hope to a people that aren't waiting for a Messiah? How do you minister to a people that that culturally don't have a hope? How do you minister to a people or a culture or a thought process or an identity that's so far gone, that's so far erased, that there's nothing that you can say? Is there something in the Torah that might help us? We'll go to the next slide, Deuteronomy 18. This is the end times eschatological hope of the Samaritan people that exists in the Torah. Deuteronomy 18, verse 15. A new prophet, everybody say prophet, like Moses, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers, it is to him that you shall listen. This is the end times, eschatological hope of the Samaritan people. They don't have the suffering servant, they don't have the new temple. All they have is this one little line that someday there's gonna be a prophet. That's it. The smallest little bit of hope, one line of hope that someday, you don't know when, there's gonna be exile, your identity, your culture is gonna be erased, everything is gonna be taken from you, but someday, maybe, there's gonna be a prophet. And then we remember one of the most famous Samaritans of all time, the woman at the well. She's lived in a whole life of erasure, of cultural ambiguity, of no identity at all, zero, no hope. And Jesus says to her, I know that you don't have a husband, you've had five, and the man that you're living with is not your husband. That's not a very pastoral way to say it. I would say it differently. But then he encourages her, and what does she say? The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a what? I perceive that you are a what? I perceive that you are a what? A prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. The smallest little glimmer of hope, the smallest little glimmer of salvation, of identity, of a house where the presence of God can dwell. And Jesus says, I know exactly what to say to you. I know exactly how to reveal myself to you. That it doesn't matter what your culture is, it doesn't matter how erased you feel, Jesus is still the answer. It doesn't matter how how how uh uh blinded you feel, how deaf you feel, how hidden you feel, Jesus knows how to cut directly into your situation, the situations of your family members. And what does this mean for the woman? Because he prompts a question. He doesn't just say, I'm the prophet, he prompts a question to her. Right that she asks. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. So not only does Jesus circumvent her lack of understanding, he meets her right where she is and prompts the most important question that she would ever ask, followed by an invitation from him. And this is the invitation in John chapter 4 when it comes to dwelling. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you don't know, we worship what you know for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who come to worship must worship in spirit and in truth. So a cultural battle of what mountain to worship God on, God cuts right through the middle and says, This is the booth that I've called you to now. This is the tabernacle that I've called you to now. That the Lord your God will not dwell in temples built by human hands, but in temples of flesh. This is the encouragement to you in the room today. Wherever you're at, whatever identity you've brought into the room today, that He wants to dwell in you. I'm sorry, I'm encouraged by that today. That He wants to dwell in me. Let's look at the last construction notes and then we'll pray. God's purpose for the house is still to dwell. Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. Listen to this, this just adds to it. John the apostle, you remember, Jesus tries to go into Samaria. And he gets turned away. And John the Apostle says, Lord, you want us to call down fire on the Samaritans? Can we please destroy these guys? They've been barking up this tree for decades and decades. Can you please destroy them? Can we call down fire on them? Jesus says, No. Later on in the book of Acts, a large group of Samaritans gets ministered to, and they receive Jesus Christ. But they're missing something. The Holy Spirit, guess who they call to come pray over them? John. And what does he call down? Fire. And the Holy Spirit dwelt in people with no culture, with no identity. Even without the temple paradigm, Jesus was able to reveal himself. This is the application and the last thing that I'll say to you before we pray. It doesn't matter where you have been or what you have done, the invitation is to dwell with him. Amen. Maybe you feel like you've been baptized in culture, maybe you feel like you have a name. But the invitation is the same. It's to dwell with him in the house that he is building. Father, we love you today. Father, we thank you for everything that you've accomplished in this room, in this house that you have built, not us. The house that others have toiled for years and years. But ultimately, Lord, you are the one who provided all that we needed. We thank you for what you've done today. We thank you for the children. We thank you for the family members. We thank you. We put them in your hands today. Lord, I pray over this congregation, anyone who's felt erased, anyone who's felt hidden, anyone who came in here with a name. Lord, we recognize the name above all names today. We love you so much, Lord. We give you all the glory, honor, and praise. In Jesus' name, everybody said, Amen.

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