The church of Jesus Christ is not built like anything else in the world. It is built from the inside out, by the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, for the glory of God. This past Sunday, Pastor Chip continued the I Will Build My Church series with a message from Ezra 7 that was practical, personal, and deeply rooted in Scripture.
What Does It Mean to Be Built Different?
You hear it in sports. Athletes pound their chest and say they are built different. People say it about their trucks, their teams, their accomplishments. But Pastor Chip opened with a challenge that reframes the whole phrase.
As the church of Jesus Christ, you actually are built different. Not because of who you are, but because of who is in you. Jesus builds you from the inside. Not with material but with his Holy Spirit. Not into the best version of yourself but into His own image and likeness. You have been called out of darkness and into His marvelous light. That is what makes you different from everyone else around you.
The Greek word for church, ekklesia, captures this perfectly. E means out of. Kaleo means to call. The church, by definition, is a people called out of darkness, out of sin, out of hopelessness, and called into Jesus, into his light, into his truth, into eternity with him.
The Context: Exile and Return
Pastor Chip continued the walk through the book of Ezra, picking up in chapter 7. Last week covered the first wave of exiles returning to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel. This week the focus shifts to Ezra himself.
The people of God had been in Babylonian captivity for seventy years. The city of Jerusalem had been burned. The temple destroyed. The walls torn down. Families chained and marched nine hundred miles on foot. All of it happened because the people of God chose sin over God, repeatedly, until there was no more remedy.
The exile is a physical picture of a spiritual truth. When we choose sin over God, sin does not set us free. It puts us in chains. It brings bondage, addiction, darkness, and depression. Sin’s entire purpose is to destroy you. But the beauty of the story in Ezra is that God calls his people back even before they fully repent. That is grace. That is mercy. That is the love of God moving first.
The Hand of God on Ezra
Ezra was most likely born in Babylon. All he had ever known was a godless, polytheistic culture. But God had His hand on him. Ezra was a scribe, skilled in the law of Moses. He copied Scripture word for word onto blank scrolls. History tells us that if a scribe made even a single error with a single letter, no matter how far they were into the scroll, they would start over. When they reached the name Yahweh, they would stop and take a bath before writing it down because the name of God was that holy.
As a young man, possibly around twenty-two years old, Ezra walked into the throne room of King Artaxerxes, the most powerful king in the world. He asked the king to release five thousand more exiles to return to Jerusalem and to fund the entire journey. The king said yes and gave resources totaling, in today’s dollars, over $300 million.
Kings do not just do that. This was the hand of God.
Pastor Chip pointed to a striking pattern throughout Ezra chapters 7 through 10. The phrase the hand of the Lord appeared again and again. The good hand of God was on him. The hand of the Lord my God was on me. By the good hand of our God on us. Because the hand of the Lord was on them he delivered them. The New Testament picks it up too. Acts 11:21 says “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.”
Pastor Chip used a simple illustration. He talked about how his kids love his hands on them. Cruz needs his arm around him to fall asleep. Brooklyn wants to be held when she is scared. Elliana just wants to be tickled. Blaze needs to be held up face to face. As imperfect as he is as a dad, he loves putting his hands on his children. How much more does the heavenly Father love putting His hand on your life?
Here is the key. You know the hand of God is on you when you have the Word of God in your hand. God’s hand is on you as you hold his word, as you spread your hands out in worship and prayer, and as you seek his will for your life.
Learn It, Live It, Lead It
The most important verse in the entire book of Ezra is chapter 7 verse 10. Pastor Chip said it plainly and let it sit.
For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. – Ezra 7:10
Three movements. He learned it. He lived it. He led others to it.
Pastor Chip simplified it further. You can’t lead what you don’t live. You can’t live what you haven’t learned. The reason you study the Word of God is to live the Word of God. The reason you live the Word of God is to lead others to the Word of God.
He brought out a basketball illustration with his friend John Rufus, a former professional basketball player who competed in ten countries. Pastor Chip asked John to hand him a basketball when John did not have one. He could not do it. The point was clear. You cannot give what you do not have. You study the Word so you can live it. You live it so you can give it to the people around you.
He also bounced two balls side by side. One bounced right back up. The other was flat and stayed down. The difference was what was inside. The same is true for people. When you are filled with Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, filled with the Word of God, and life knocks you to the floor, you bounce back. You get back up. Jesus uses your suffering, your trials, your hard seasons, not to break you but to build you.
There’s a Seat for You
Whether you are brand new to faith or you have been following Jesus for years and need a fresh reminder of why the Word of God matters, you belong here. We are a church that believes you are built different when Jesus is building you.
Plan Your Visit and come experience what that looks like. Or take your next step and Get Connected with our church family. We would love to learn, live, and lead alongside you.