Points:
1. When does God Provide?
2. What does God Provide?
3. Why did God provide?

Sign Me Up (The Assignment). Cheer Me Up (The Attitude). Back Me Up (The Advocates/Encouragers). Fix Me Up (The Awakening/Revival). I’m Up (Alert/Awareness)!
He was a Man with a Message – Ezra was well versed in the Law of Moses (Ezra 7:6a “This Ezra was a
scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given to the people of Israel.”) He was a Man with Means – Ezra had literally been given a blank check (Ezra 7:6b “He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the LORD his God was on him.”) He was a Man on a Mission – Ezra had been given the task of beautifying the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem (Ezra 7:27 “Praise the LORD, the God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem!”) How do you accomplish such a task of beautifying the building, of bringing honor to the House of the Lord, of adorning the Temple, of glorifying the place of worship? How? That doesn’t seem like an easy task! Who would even want to accept such a daunting task? Well, Ezra understood the fundamentals – you can’t have a Beautiful Building with Broken Believers. You can’t have an Honorable House with Hellish Heathens. You can’t have Glorious Place with Guilty People. Therefore, Psalm 119:9 (NKJV) “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed to Your word.” That’s why Ezra according to Ezra 7:10 was determined to study the Word, obey the Word, so that he could teach others the Word. Thank You, Ezra! What a confidence he possessed, what a peace he enjoyed, what wisdom he displayed, what FAITH he exhibits as he parenthetically said, “I’m UP!” I’m alert. I’m awake. I’m aware of what it takes. I’m up for this journey ahead! Since SUCCESS requires ROLES, RULES, and RESPONSIBILITIES, stay UP on your game!

They needed it then, just like we need it today – ENCOURAGEMENT! Their plans had been stalled. Their progress hindered. From the external opposition to their apathetic disposition, the Jews had become stuck in a rut. For fifteen years after the foundation of the Temple was laid, the Temple Rebuilding Project had been put on hold. After everything they had been through, how could they put God on hold? God, Who had sustained them through the captivity! God, Who had reclaimed and rescued them from captivity! They were facing a risk that things could regress and become worse than before the captivity. Oh, Brown, the same is true for America . . . Need I remind us that God has spared us . . . God has sustained us . . . God has supplied our every need! Since ENCOURAGMENT can sometimes come from unlikely people and places, COOPERATE, don’t always INSTIGATE!

What happened? Everything was so similar, yet the outcome was so different! What happened to the Jews who returned? Same Trip – from Babylon back to their original towns and villages and now they had all returned back to Jerusalem! They had One, Unified Same Purpose (Ezra 3:1)! They were operating under the Same Truth – Law of Moses (Ezra 3:2)! They were faced with and overcame Same Trouble in order to start the Same Task – rebuilding the altars for sacrifice (Ezra 3:3)! They celebrated the Same Feasts (Three for that seventh month – Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles/Shelters/Booth)
(Ezra 3:4) They started the Same Project – laying the foundation (Ezra 3:7)! They enjoyed the Same In Person Worship (Ezra 3:10). They were Singing the Same Song (Ezra 3:11)! Yet, we hear DIFFERENT NOISES (Ezra 3:12-13)! Wow! Everything was so similar, yet the outcome was so different. What a Different
Noise – some singing Gospel and others singing the Blues; some Shouting and others Pouting; some filled with Happiness and others filled with Sadness; some making a Joyful noise and others making a Jaded Noise! The Difference was because some was comparing the present temple with the past temple. Instead of being thankful for the present success, they were tripping about the past splendor. Instead of seeing the glass half full, they only saw it as half empty. Instead of being glad about all that was going right, they were sad about the one thing they thought was wrong! Since Comparison ends only in Disappointment, COMPLETE and don’t COMPETE!

They’re pulling out all the stops in celebration of 70 years or reigning! Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - the longest- reigning incumbent monarch and the longest-reigning female monarch in recorded history! Congratulations, and God Bless the Queen! Well, Ezra and the Jews had their own 70-year event to celebrate – the end of the Babylonian Captivity! After 70 years under captivity, 70 years on foreign soil, 70 years away from home, they were finally on their way back home. What a time of Reunion! What a time of Restoration! Break open the bottles of Muscadine Juice! It was time to celebrate! The proclamation had been signed, sealed and delivered! The plans were being laid out. Even the provisions were been collected! It was simply, Time to Return! You know my feeling, after two (2) years of Covid
Pandemic, Crime Sindemic, and Conflicted Plandemic, it’s TIME to RETURN! We need Restoration! We need Revival! We need Rejuvenation! Since it’s TIME to RETURN, Sign Up and Don’t Miss this Trip! The trip back home. The trip back to familiar places. The trip back to CHURCH! I knew it was a catch! Think about it! What was God’s first priority for His people? Rebuilding the Temple.

They Happen! The unexpected, sometimes even the unthinkable. Disruptions Happen. Disruptions can interrupt our lives, stop our success, and even pause our plans. Disruptions can be personally like a sudden sickness where you’re feeling fine one day, only to be told you have Stage 4 disease the next day. Disruptions can happen in your Family as a Devastating Death of someone you were just with, laughing, and enjoying life. Now, they are gone for good. Disruptions even in Business where a clever competitor with innovation and technology threatens to put you out of business. We’ve seen this with Amazon and even with photography and cameras since most of us use our phones for pictures. The most obvious disruption over the past couple of years has been the Pandemic and it disrupted everything. Sadly, this past week was another disruption in Texas as innocent children and teachers were gunned down just days before summer break. The heartbreak is unimaginable. Unfortunately, Satan uses Disruptions to steal our strength, to kill our momentum, and to destroy our dreams. How do I overcome disruptions? How do I bounce back? How do I recover? Thanks, Joel, the Locust Plague was their Disruption but not their Defeat! God had better and greater plans for them! Since DISRUPTIONS can spell your Defeat, learn how to P.I.V.O.T. and don’t miss a beat!

It had been an once-in-a-lifetime event! Matter of fact, nothing like this had ever happened before IN ALL THEIR HISTORY! It was a natural devastation that had a supernatural declaration attached to it! And what made it even worst, Joel stated in Joel 1:15 “the Day of the LORD is near, the day when destruction comes from the Almighty. How terrible that day will be!” In other words, the worst is yet to come! You think the
Locusts were tough; just wait and see what the LORD is gettingready to do! The Day of the LORD . . . was the decisive momentwhen God intervenes and punishes SIN once and for all . . . End-Times. Therefore, Joel used the Locust Plague as a Loud Proclamation to wake up the people and so that the people could wake up everybody else up! Since the Day of the LORD or our Day with the LORD can happen unexpectantly, Don’t Miss the Opportunity at hand!

“Worth Your Weight in Gold!” (Lamentations 4:1-4 NLT)
What happened? Their value had been reduced. How do you go from being precious gemstones to being worthless rocks in the streets? How do go from being worth your weight in gold to being as cheap as clay pots? How do you from being fine china to cheap paper plates? The very phrase “Worth Your Weight In Gold” means to be useful, helpful, valuable. But that wasn’t the case with the children of Judah. Their vaults had been robbed. Their verdict had been decided. Their virtues had been lost. Their voices were ignored. All because of Sin and Disobedience. The Babylonians had come and stripped them of everything. It’s been rightly said that “Sin will take you farther than you want to go; keep you longer than you want to stay; and cost you more than you’re willing to pay.” And saddest of all the sins of the nations affected the most vulnerable - the children, the youngest among them. Wake up, America! Proverbs 14:34 “Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Wake Up, America! In the same week – you can’t find baby formula – people marching in the streets to keep killing babies legal. Wake up, America! Since SIN will eventually take away everything, Check your Contents!

“Still Dare to Hope!” (Lamentations 3:19-21 NLT) It was August 5, 2010 when a Chilean mine collapsed trapping 33 men. CNN wrote in an article “More than 2,300 feet below ground, the miners were battling starvation and trying to cling to faith, hope and anything else to keep them alive. To beat the odds, the miners divided what little rations they had – cans of tuna split 33 ways, cookies and greasy water intended to cool mining equipment. Rescuers drilled more than a dozen holes, trying to find the men. And after days of no signs of life, then-Chilean President Sebastian Piñera began plans for a giant cross to memorialize the miners. But on August 22, 2010, the world learned the men were alive after a drilling tool emerged from the deep with a note attached to it. The note said all 33 men were alive.” Can you imagine? Sixty nine days trapped underground. One man had to watch his daughter being born on video. Interestingly, they named her Esperanza which is Spanish for HOPE (Esperanza)! What those men needed then and what we need today is HOPE! Matter of fact, Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet; Jeremiah, the Reluctant Prophet; Jeremiah, the Strong Prophet (Jeremiah 1:18), needed HOPE. He had lost this HOPE in Jeremiah 3:18. But what he lost in 18, he found in verse 21. Since HOPE requires a Sure Source, THINK back so that you can PUSH forward!