Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

On December 29, 2002, Cinergy Field came crashing to the ground here in Cincinnati. The biggest implosion in the city’s history took just 37 seconds to bring down the 32 year old ballpark. The demolition required 1,400 pounds of explosives, implanted in more than 2,000 places. They ripped apart the stadium’s 18 supporting columns like they were a child's plaything.

Demolition. It’s just flat out cool…especially for a guy. There is something innate in a man that wants to destroy something. I can’t explain that destructive streak in us. It’s just there.

And guys, here’s some pretty cool theology for you…God has a destructive streak in him, too. Oh yeah. God loves to rip stuff up. And some of you are thinking, “Well, I’ve never heard about that side of God.” Over the next five weeks, you will.

We’re starting a brand new series here at Amelia called Demolition. Over the next five weeks, we’re going to experience this side of God…this divine wrecking ball. You can erase any notion of God as some mamby, pamby creampuff. Get rid of any thought that pictures Jesus as some weak, wimpy guy. When he invades your life, he will flat mess you up. He’ll rip you apart. Why does he do that? So he can build something better in its place.

Before there can be construction, there has to be destruction. Why did the city of Cincinnati demolish Cinergy Field? To make way for something better. Any fan would probably tell you that Great American Ballpark is infinitely better than the old stadium. But they had to destroy something to make room for something better.

This series is based on the Old Testament book of Ezra. Some of you didn’t even know that there was a book in the Bible called Ezra. This book doesn’t get a lot of press, partially because it’s a lot of Old Testament history and people don’t think it applies to their lives today. During the next five weeks, we’re going to see how relevant this book actually is.

Before we dive into the first message, let me set the scene for this book that many of you have never read. In the Old Testament, God had a special, chosen people: the Jews or the Israelites. They had been disobedient to God, so God allowed the Babylonian army to defeat them and take them captive.

Years later, the army from Persia defeated the army from Babylon. The book of Ezra tells us that the king of Persia allowed some of the Jews to return to their own land.

The Jews started to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was central to Jewish worship, but it had been destroyed years ago. The opposition from the various people groups in the surrounding areas delayed the temple construction, but after many years, the construction was completed.

Ezra was a scribe and a prophet that God sent to teach the Israelites and to call them back to himself. He wrote the book of Ezra and some believe that he also wrote the Old Testament book of Nehemiah.

The book of Ezra is largely centered on the reconstruction of the temple and the reconstruction of the nation of Israel. So why is this series called Demolition? Because like we just talked about, God had to demolish certain things in the lives of his people in order to build something far better. And these are some of the very same things that God wants to demolish in our lives, too.

So now that you know a little bit of the back history of this book, let’s get after it.

Today, we’re going to experience a God who demolishes the walls of fear in our lives.

We’re going to pick it up in Ezra 3. A lot of the Israelites have returned to their sacred city of Jerusalem. The first thing they do is get together to have church. They come together to worship God, which required an altar. Remember, this is Old Testament worship, so things were significantly different than they are in the church today.

Ezra 3, starting in verse 1. “When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem.

Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.

Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices.” (Ezra 3:1-3, NIV)

As we explore this text today, there are two inescapable questions that every one of us will have to wrestle with.

The first question: What has God called me to do?

That’s a huge question. That’s a dangerous question. We’re not going for answers like, “God has called me to love people.” “God has called me to tell people about Jesus.” Those are general calls, given to all Christ-followers.

We’re talking about specific calls. It looks like this. Instead the general call, “God has called me to love people,” go for the specific call: “God has called me to love this person.” Instead of the general, “God has called me to tell people about Jesus,” go specific: “God has called me to go to him or her with the message of Jesus.”

A lot of Christ-followers never get past the general calls, and therefore they don’t do much with their faith. A general call is hard, if not impossible, to live up to.

But what we have to understand is that God is intimately involved in our lives. He doesn’t stop at generalizations. He’s into the details. What specifically has God called you to do? Some of you have no idea because you’ve never spent one second praying for him to show you. Some of you are wondering if God really has something specific reserved just for you. Here’s the criteria…are you still breathing? If the answer is yes, then God has a specific purpose, a specific mission, a specific call for your life.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV) This doesn’t just mean that we are supposed to be good and do good. It means that God has very specific good things that he wants us to do!

Pray for God to open your eyes to a specific mission he has reserved just for you. Pray that you will be receptive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, to discover a specific call of God on your life.

In the book of Ezra, God had a specific mission for the Israelites: rebuild the altar and the temple so they could worship him in accordance with the Old Testament law. It wasn’t a general call: “Build something.” It was a specific call. “Build an altar. Build the temple. Build it according to my specifications. Build it so you can worship me in the way I’ve prescribed in the Law of Moses.” The call was incredibly specific.

But here is an ugly truth: the more we begin to follow God’s specific calls, the more we will be attacked. As obedience rises, so does criticism and persecution.

Satan really doesn’t need to fear the Christian who lives in the realm of the general. The general calls rarely translate into action. It’s when those general calls get applied to specific situations that Satan begins to quake in his boots. And when he gets scared, he attacks like a dog backed into a corner.

I have a friend who preaches at a church in Indiana. The church had really spun its wheels for a long time, not really doing much to move the Kingdom of God forward. Since his arrival, though, the church has started to really move. They’re beginning to make a lot of noise in the community. People are coming to Christ. The church is discovering God’s specific call for them, and things are beginning to happen.

And so it’s no surprise that the attacks against him and against the church have intensified. For years, Satan didn’t really need to concern himself with this church because they were stagnant. Now that new life and vitality and growth and vision have come, the attacks are also coming fast and furious.

It’s no different in our personal lives. When you leave the generalizations behind and starting obeying specific calls of God in your life, don’t be surprised if you get blindsided by an attack. All of a sudden, you’re on Satan’s radar again.

And so we’ve got to ask ourselves a second question.

God has called me to do something. Is fear stopping me from doing it?

God had called the Israelites to do something specific: build the altar and the temple. Look at what the Bible says in Ezra 3:3.

“Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices.” (Ezra 3:3, NIV)

Many of the people in the surrounding lands were none too happy that the Jews had returned to Jerusalem. They didn’t like it when they were there before; they didn’t like it that they were there now. So the last thing in the world they wanted the Jewish people to do was to start rebuilding the center of worship in that city. And all these nations who didn’t like what the Israelites were doing…they all had armies. Israel had already been overthrown. They had just come out of decades of captivity. And now they’re immediately faced with the threat of it happening all over again.

The simple truth is that when God calls you to do something, fear is never absent.

This goes against the grain for a lot of Christians. They believe and teach that, if you’re truly committed to God, you will have no fear. You won’t have any stress or anxiety. You’ll just be brimming over with confidence, never second guessing yourself. Never being even the slightest bit afraid. God will just take all your fear away and life will be smooth sailing.

Can I point out something that may seem overly obvious? That line of thinking would exclude Jesus. Before Jesus was arrested and eventually crucified, we find this account in Luke 22.

“[Jesus] withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (Luke 22:41-44, NIV)

God had given Jesus a specific mission: go to the cross. Give up your life to pay the price for the sins of the world. Jesus knew the specific call of God on his life, and it produced incredible anxiety and fear. How could it not? Luke even tells us that an angel from heaven appeared to try to strengthen Jesus. Even that angel was not enough to relieve the fearful anxiety that Jesus was experiencing.

Now, none of us will ever be called to something as dramatically excruciating as the cross, but this truth still stands. When God has called you to do something, fear is never absent. If it doesn’t scare you, then chances are it’s not a specific call of God.

Go back at our focus text in Ezra again. “Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar...” (Ezra 3:3, NIV)

It doesn’t say that God removed their fear so they could build the altar. It says, “Despite their fear,” they built the altar.

People who live out the specific call of God learn to live with fear. It’s not something that ever fully goes away. Some would argue that the presence of fear would indicate a lack of faith.

The presence of fear does not indicate our level of faith. Our reaction to fear indicates our level of faith.

Brian and I recently went to the Unleash Conference held at NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina. Perry Noble is the senior pastor at NewSpring. One of the things I love about Perry is how transparent he really is.

At the conference, Perry shared that right after NewSpring built their new facility that seats thousands, he walked out into that dark auditorium one night, sat down, and cried out to the Lord, “God, what have we done? How can we ever pay for this? How can I lead our church through this?” He experienced a fear that almost crippled him.

NewSpring Church averages about 8,000 people in attendance each weekend. So it’s easy to look at them and think that they’re never afraid. They always push forward with confidence. It’s easy to look at a guy like Perry Noble and just assume that he’s a leader who is immune to fear. The truth is, no one is immune.

But remember…the presence of fear does not indicate our level of faith. Our reaction to fear indicates our level of faith.

Following God always involves risk. Fear is always part of the equation. What you allow that fear to do to you is the deal breaker.

Maybe God’s specific call on you is to forgive this person that has hurt you. Forgiveness can be a scary thing, prompting all kinds of excuses. “God, they don’t deserve it. Look at how much they’ve hurt me. I’m just trying to move on with my life, and you want me to dredge up all those old feelings again to forgive this person. God, I can’t do this.”

The main thrust behind those excuses is fear. Fear of feeling that hurt again. Fear of giving this person something they don’t deserve. You can sugarcoat it any way you want, but the bottom line is that fear is the foundation of these excuses.

It doesn’t matter what it is. When you come to see God’s specific call for you, fear won’t be far behind. No one is immune to it.

When I was writing this message this week, I knew that God was calling me to have a hard conversation with someone. I didn’t want to do it. I knew it could offend them. It could possibly even cost me the friendship. Honestly, it scared me to death. On the one hand, I had my anxiety and fear. On the other hand, I was absolutely positive that this was the specific call of God for me. So, as hard as it was, as scared as I was, I had the conversation.

What about you? What has God called you to do, and are you allowing fear to stop you from doing it?

God has called me to tithe, but we don’t have the money.

God has called me to pursue a dream, but there are no guarantees about how it will work out.

God has called me to go the mission field, but it would mean giving up my life here.

God has called me to adopt a child, but look at how much it would change my family’s life.

God has called me to start serving in my church, but I could only do that if I gave up something else that I enjoy.

God has called me to give my life to Christ, but I’m afraid of that commitment.

At every turn, at every level of spiritual maturity, we are met with the same thing…fear. The question is, what are we going to allow that fear to do to us?

Fear can either drive us away from God’s call or into God’s arms.

There are two contrasting stories in Luke that show us both sides of this principle. Both involved very rich men who met Jesus. But the fear that followed took them in vastly different directions.

First, from Luke 18. “A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments:

‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”

“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.” (Luke 18:18-23, NIV)

Now, contrast the story of the rich young ruler with the story of Zacchaeus in the very next chapter of the book of Luke.

“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.

So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord,

“Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19: 1-10, NIV)

Fear can either drive us away from God’s call or into God’s arms. Look at the stories of these two men. Both were very rich. Both had a personal encounter with Jesus. Both had the same call of God on their lives. To both men, Jesus said, “Love me more than your money.”

Fear drove the rich young ruler away from God’s call. He had great wealth, and his fear of letting God take control of his money scared him away from God’s call.

But fear drove Zacchaeus into God’s arms. Zacchaeus had made his money by charging people extra for their taxes and then pocketing the difference. But once he was touched by the love of Christ and he felt the specific call of God on his life, he committed to return everything that he had stolen. Was he afraid? Absolutely. He was about to lose his life’s savings. But he let that fear drive him straight into the arms of God where he could find the strength and the courage to follow God’s call.

Psalm 28 tells us, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. The LORD is the strength of his people…” (Psalm 28:7-8a, NIV)

It’s a choice that every one of us has to make. Will fear drive us away from God’s call, or will it drive us into God’s arms, where true strength and courage can be found?

Back to our text in Ezra. “Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices.” (Ezra 3:3, NIV)

How did they react to their fear? The let it drive them into the arms of God, and they built the altar.

And catch this…not only did they build the altar, but they built it on a foundation. In other words, they didn’t build it as some temporary set up, where they could take it down if the pressure got too hot. This baby wasn’t going anywhere. It was permanent. They saw God’s specific call, and they went all in.

What about you? God has a call for you. Are you in?

These two basic questions have the power to rock your world. What is God calling me to do? Is fear stopping me from doing it?

Some of you need to leave here today wrestling with the first question. You need to do some serious prayerful seeking, asking God to reveal his specific call for you.

Others of you have the answer to the first question…it’s the second that is giving you fits. You know what God’s call for you is….you just lack the courage to take a dive of faith. You say you are waiting on God…when, in actuality God is waiting on you! You say you are praying about it…but you really aren’t because every time you do God prompts you to take action. You don’t for one simple reason…fear.

If that’s you, then let the words of this Scripture sink in. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7, NLT)

God is powerful enough to demolish the stranglehold of fear. Fear that will keep you from following God’s call. Fear that will keep you from becoming everything that God wants you to be.

He wants to bring in his wrecking ball to demolish the walls of fear in your life. He wants to tear them down in order to build something far better in their place.

What is God calling me to do? Is fear stopping me from doing it?

Mike Edmisten

Tags: Demolition, fear