Welcome once again to Good Hope Through Grace. I'm Pastor Jeff Arthur, Sr. of the Elizabeth Baptist Church in Bancroft, West Virginia. I'd like to draw your attention tonight for tonight's lesson to the book of Ezra, chapter 3, and we'll be looking at verses 11 through 13. It says, And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord, because he is good, for his mercy endureth forever towards Israel. and all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. For many of the priests, and Levites, and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, and many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people. where the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off." Now, the book of Ezra in chapter 3, which is where we're looking at this evening, what it deals with is a rebuilding of the altar. Of course, there was a brass altar there in Israel in Jerusalem, a brazen altar. And that's where they offered animal sacrifices. And in verses one through seven of chapter three, that's what they did. They had rebuilt the altar and they had set up the daily offering and the set up sacrifice again. But then in verses eight through 13, they lay the foundation for the temple. Of course, they had been in captivity for 70 years and now What had happened is the Lord had seen to it. He had stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, and he had sent them back to rebuild, first of all, here in the book of Ezra, to rebuild the temple, and then under Nehemiah they would rebuild the wall. But what we want to notice tonight in verses 11 through 13 is we want to notice the different reactions that the people had. to the rebuilding, or I should say in this text, the setting up of the foundation of the temple. In the verses that we just read, we noticed two different responses that were given. One was a response of joy. It says the people shouted with a great shout and they were happy because here they had been in captivity for 70 years and now they had been returned to their own land. And they were now beginning to reconstruct the temple and reset up worship towards the Lord their God. Well, response number two in the text was the old men, those that had seen the former temple and all of the glory that was associated with that. It says that they wept. One response to the setting up the foundation of the temple was one of joy. from the younger men and the younger people, but those that had seen the old temple in the past, and those seeing the Solomon's temple, those that had seen that, and they compared the two. And this new foundation that was being constructed was not as large, no doubt, was not as nice as the previous one, so they began to weep. Well, what we're going to do tonight in the broadcast is, by using this text, we're going to show you the dangers of living in the past. The dangers of living in the past. Why it's dangerous. And that's what, basically, the ancient men, here in the text, as it's recorded here, that's what they were doing. They were not looking at the blessings of the now, but they were focused on the past. And because they were so focused on the past, what I'm telling you tonight is that's very dangerous for people to do that. And what I'm going to do, I'm going to share with you tonight five reasons, five reasons why it's dangerous to live in the past. Well, let me go ahead and give you the first one. Number one, it'll take away your joy. If you live in the past, one of the things it will do, it will take away all your joy. The difference between these two people, the younger ones, they were rejoicing. Here, the older ones, they were mourning. The difference was, you see which one had joy and which one did not. You cannot be happy in the present if you're stuck in the past. And one of the dangers of living in the past is that you can't be happy in the present if you're stuck in the past. I've seen people that have at one time been joyous people that then, because of different reasons, different losses, this took place over their life. And what happens as a result of that is they begin to wish to be back where they used to be. And their whole life is spent Desiring to be back where they used to be. Maybe back in the days before the job loss. Back in the days before the loss of a loved one. Back in the days before the loss of health. And that's what their whole mind presently is on. It's presently on the past. And they long for the good old days. The only danger of that is, is those that live in the past does not have any joy. They lose their joy when you live in the past. never seen a happy person who lived in the past. It will drive you under the juniper tree, my friend, to the point that if you continue to do so, you'll wish to die. So, what's the first danger that I wanted to share with you tonight about living in the past? Number one thing it will do, it will take away your joy. It will take your joy, my friend, and one of the things that is a key to happiness is the joy of the Lord. And we'll look at that later in the broadcast. The joy of the Lord is your strength. And what looking at the past will do is it will indeed take away your joy. Number two, it'll take away your praise. If you look in this context, you have people that are singing. You have the priests of the Lord, the Levites, they're singing by their chorus and they're giving thanks unto the Lord because He's good. And because of his mercy, you have all the people shouting with a great shout, and buddy, I tell you what, they're having a tremendous worship service here. Well, when you move on down to the chief of the fathers, the ancient men who sing the versetiles, and they are weeping, not only do they not have any joy, which is what living in the past will do, it will take away your joy, but it will also take away your praise. They weren't singing. They weren't giving God thanks. They weren't rejoicing in the present circumstances that they were in. My friend, there was a lot of reason to praise. After all, they had been in captivity and now they had been released from captivity and they were back in their land. The temple had been destroyed. Now they were back, and the foundation of the temple was laid, and the altar had already been fixed to where that they could offer sacrifices on it, so public worship had already began anew again. So there was plenty of reasons to praise the Lord, but one of the things that living in the past will do is it will not only take away your joy, but it will also take away your praise." Folks, isn't it sad that the Lord had done such great things in the present for them, but they were so engrossed in the past that they couldn't see the blessings of the present. They were so engrossed in the past and living in the past that they could not see the blessings that God was presently doing for their nation and for their people. And instead of praising God like the younger ones were doing, instead they were weeping and they were sad. So that is a danger, is it not? Here they had great opportunity for joy, had great opportunity for praise back in the land, rebuilding the temple. God was blessing, but they couldn't enjoy it. And they weren't praising God for it because their minds was living in the past. They were too busy longing for the good old days to be thankful for what God was doing presently. Isn't that a sad sight to behold? But it happens many times with regard to people. They always long for the good old days and by so doing many times they miss the blessings that God is presently doing in their lives. Well, let's move on to our third reason or third danger of living in the past. We've got the first two. It'll take away your joy. It'll take away your praise. Number three, it'll take away your service also. Those who live in the past don't normally serve God in the present. They're so focused on what's behind them that they don't do anything for God presently. In the book of Philippians chapter 1, the apostle Paul said, for me to live is Christ and to die is a game. One of the things that we need to recognize, of course, Paul made that statement from a Roman prison. And he realized that even though he was in a Roman prison, he still continued to serve the Lord there. He wrote several prison epistles. He continued to write. He continued to encourage. He continued to praise and my friend, he continued to serve. If you get so focused on the past that you don't serve God in the present, that's one of the dangers of it. Many times people that are living in the past and their minds are focused totally upon how great things used to be and what used to be done. Many times they're not doing anything at all. in the service of the Lord. It doesn't really record in the text what these men were doing, the priests and Levites, chief of the fathers, ancient men. There's a lot of things they could have been doing. They could have participated in the praise. They could have participated in the worship and the work of God. They could have encouraged. My friends, one of the things that focusing on the past will do, it'll take you out of the service of the Lord. It'll cause you to be focused on things that are behind and where you're not looking at what God is doing and can do with your life now. One of the things that we need to recognize is that as long as we're living, we're to serve our Lord. The reason I read Philippians 1 and verse 21, for me to live is Christ, is to show you that as long as you're living, that's what we're supposed to be doing if we're saved. If for us to live is Christ, there's always a reason for living. Circumstances change. Jobs change. A lot of things. Our life is filled with changes. But my friend, in every change, our God faithful will remain. And in every change, we have a reason to live. And that reason to live is Jesus. The book of Philippians chapter 3 and verse 13, the apostle Paul writes here, Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. Now you can imagine if Paul just dwelt on the past, he would have never accomplished anything in the present. If Paul would have lived in the past, he would have never accomplished anything in the present. So one of the things he did now, you can draw strength from the past, you need to be thankful in the past, but my friend, you're not to live in the past or you won't accomplish nothing in the present. It will sideline you, cause you to waste your time, time that could be well spent an experience that could be well spent in service to the Lord, wasted. Because instead of looking at the present, we're looking at the past. Instead of focusing on what we can do now, we're focusing on what we once did. My friend, it will take away your service. Now, those are three dangers of living in the past. It will take away your joy. It will take away your praise. And it will take away your service. cause you to cease to serve the Lord. Well, let's go back to our text in the book of Ezra, chapter 3, and let's look at the fourth danger, fourth danger of living in the past, number one, or number four, it will take away your influence. It will take away your influence. These were older men. These were, it says, ancient men, experienced men. It says they were priests and Levites and chief of the fathers. These were men that had been leaders in their nation in times past and could be and should be very influential men over other people. I tell you what, folks, the influence of an elderly saint can be great, but these men could have been an encouragement to this younger generation, but instead of helping Instead of joining in with the worship, they tend to quench the great day. I mean, I'm sure that it was very disheartening to them. It really doesn't say the reaction of the younger men, but I'm sure that it would have been very disheartening to them to see these men mourning when God was doing such great things, when such great accomplishments such as the return to the land, the setting up of the altar, The reestablishing of the sacrifices. I'm sure such things should have been an instrument of bringing joy to them, but instead, instead they chose to mourn. They didn't use their influence. It'll take away your influence if you live in the past. Instead of being a encouragement, you will be a discouragement. And that's indeed what had happened in this text. They could have been a good example. They could have enjoyed the praise. They could have been an encouragement. Instead, they mourned and never had any joy. And it was totally different from the response of the younger people, those that hadn't seen the old temple. It was totally different. And their response wasn't the, I'm telling you, their response wasn't the best response. Four dangers we've seen so far of living in the past. Take away your joy. Take away your praise. Those who live in the past are not praising God. Number three, it will take away your service. Those who live in the past have usually stopped serving the Lord. They just usually sit and they don't use what they have and can do now. Number four, it will take away your influence. I mean, they could have been an influence, and they could have been an encouragement. They could have been an encouragement, and they could have participated. But instead, they didn't have any influence at all, other than a negative influence. You know, you do have an influence, do you not? It can either be a positive one, or it can be a negative one. Theirs was a negative influence. So, I tell you, You've got to decide about this living in the past, whether that's what you're going to do, but there's the dangers of it, and you've got to realize how it can affect you spiritually. I do feel strongly that the devil uses this living in the past to take away our service presently, and to take away our joy, to take away our influence, and to take away our praise. to the fifth danger of living in the past, and that is it will take away your strength. Now, I'm going to go from the book of Ezra now to the book of Nehemiah to another day. The book of Nehemiah deals with the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. The book of Ezra deals primarily with the rebuilding of the temple. That's the difference between the two books. But here in the book of Nehemiah chapter 8, the wall being Constructed in this text, God's Word had been opened and had been read. And what happens as a result of hearing the law, the people begin to weep. Now let me read that to you. It says, And Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God. Mourn not, mourn not, nor weep, for all the people wept. when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, and eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy unto our Lord, neither be ye sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." The joy of the Lord is your strength. The fifth danger of living in the past, it will rob you of your strength. it'll take away your strength. When you see someone that's living in the past they are usually very discouraged and very depressed and they have very little strength. What happens over a period of time is like I said depression will sneak in their life and begin to take over their life and then over time it can actually affect their health. They lose their strength spiritually. They seem to have no strength at all. And many times all they want to do is just lay around and sleep. And then when they are up, they're sad because they're thinking about the past. It will take away your strength. You won't have strength that you need for His service like you should. The joy of the Lord is your strength. Folks, is there not reason? for you to have joy? Is there not reason for us to have joy if you're listening to me and born again, if you're listening to me and saved? Is there not reason for us to be happy today? Now, you might have had some very hard things happen to you in the past. You might presently be in a very difficult situation, would love to go back a few years, would love to go back the way things once were. But my friend, The problem is you can't go back. There is no going back. So what happens is your mind goes back, but you physically cannot go back, and then when you have to come back to the present, it makes you sad. There's no future in that, my friend. There's no joy in that. Is there not reason for us in the present to have joy? Is there not reason for us to have joy? Now, if you go back and we look at our text again in the book of Ezra, there was reason for them to have joy. There was at that time, presently, reasons that they could have rejoiced in the Lord and praised the Lord. What happens when you live in the past, you can't see your present blessings. And if you're listening to me and you're born again, and you're a child of God, You have a home in the Father's house. You have a glorious, glorious future ahead of you. Your sins is paid for. You have the Holy Spirit dwelling with you. You have the sweet promises of God that he's with you always, that he's working all things out after the counsel of his own will, that he's working together all things for the good of him that loved God, to them that are called according to his purpose. We can go on and on. But my friend, presently there is reasons for which we could praise. Instead of focusing our minds on the past, we need to focus our attention on the blessings of the present. You see, that's one of the things that we've already pointed out. We can get so stuck in the past that we can't see the blessings of the present. And you need to do that. That's one of the things that you need to do every day of your life. focus on the blessings of the present, but not only the blessings of the present, but the blessings of the future. We have great present blessings, but we also have great future blessings. In the book of Haggai, chapter 2, this was a prophet that lived during these times and addressed this issue, that these ancient men, these older men, that were living in the past and had lost their joy and lost their service and lost their song. He gave them a message. He sent them a message from God about this very, very issue in the book of Haggai chapter 2. And I like to begin reading at verse 3. Listen to what the Lord does. Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? Now he's talking about the temple. And he's addressing these that had seen the temple of Solomon and how much more glorious it is. Notice what else it says. Hey, God, 2 verse 3. How do you see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel. saith the Lord, and be strong, O Joshua the high priest, and be strong, all ye people, saith the Lord, and work, for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts." You see, there's reason to praise, my friend, because the Lord was with them. The Lord was in this work. As He had been in the old days been with them, He was still with them. According to the word that I have covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so my Spirit remains among you. Fear ye not." Verse 6, "'For thus saith the Lord of hosts, Yet once it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all the nations, and the desire of all nations shall come. And I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts." Well, what's that referring to? In this second temple? that was being constructed in days of Ezra. It says the desire of nations would come. Now, the desire of all nations is Jesus. It's not talking about the second coming, it's talking about the first coming. When He came the first time. See, the whole Old Testament pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah the first time in which He would come and live a perfect life and then go to Calvary and pay our sin debt on Calvary's cross. He said, I'll fill this house with glory, saith the Lord. How would he do that? Well, you know, Jesus would, the Messiah would go to this temple. The glory filled this temple of Solomon, but this new temple, one day the Messiah himself will come and teach in it, do miracles in it, dwell in it. So the glory of this second temple, it had a glorious future ahead of it. It might not be in comparison to Solomon's temple, but its glory would be even greater. It says in verse 9, the glory of this latter house will be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts. Because the God of peace, the God of glory, the Messiah of glory would come to this house. And you can read all about that in the Gospels. So they had some things to be glory to glory in. They had some things to joy in. And this message given to them by Haggai, look forward to what was coming out in the future. What a glorious future this temple had. And those older men were so focused on the past that they couldn't see the present blessings. Nor did they know of the future blessings that this house would experience. My friends, that's the danger of living in the past. Where are you living at tonight, my friend? Which one are you the most like in the book of Ezra? Are you like that younger generation that we're presently seeing the glory of God engaged in the Lord's work, singing praises to the Lord and active serving Him? Or are you, as the old men, look back in the past, and never lived in the present, couldn't focus on what the Lord was doing at that time. I give you five dangers of doing that, and I pray that these dangers would serve as a warning to you that you need to be thankful for what God is doing presently, and thankful for what God one day will do in the future. The dangers of living in the past, it will take away your joy, It will take away your praise. It will take you out of His service. It will take away your influence. And number five, it will take away your strength. May God add His blessings to His Word.