Dear God, we thank you for the joy and privilege of coming into your presence this morning, in good health and sound mind. We recognize that these blessings are from you, as your word says, "everything that has breath, praise the Lord." Lord, you have given us breath in our nostrils to praise your name. As we turn to your word, we ask that you speak to each one of us. We are here to listen to your voice, for there is power in your word to change and transform us. Holy Spirit, take control over this time. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Shall we all give one more round of applause to Jesus? Amen. Can you turn to your neighbor and say, "I'm so excited to see you here!" Yes, we are all really excited to see each other. Amen.

Now, shall we turn our Bibles to the book of Ezra, chapter 7, and read a few verses? We'll listen to what God has to speak to us this morning from Ezra 7, verses 1 to 10.

"Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, verse 6... This Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him."

"And there went up also to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers, and the temple servants. And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him."

"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."

So, there was this man called Ezra who lived at a time when Israel was in captivity in Jerusalem. To understand the Old Testament better, we need to understand a bit of history. There was a time when Israel was conquered by the Babylonian Empire and taken into captivity between 606 BC to 537 BC. God had spoken to his people many times, warning them and instructing them to turn to him, but they continually disobeyed, resisted, and rebelled against God. As a consequence, God allowed this devastating situation to happen in their lives. They were displaced from their homes, lost their friends, relatives, properties, and jobs. They were completely displaced in a foreign country as slaves. That was the condition they were in.

They were in captivity for 70 long years. After that, God, in his mercy, visited them. God never abandons his people because of the consequences of our sinful choices. He lets us go through those consequences for a certain time period, but he never abandons us completely. He always comes back to us. He visits them and brings them back.

By the time the Persian Empire had conquered the Babylonian Empire, there was a king by the name of Cyrus. He allowed the people to go back to their hometowns to build their temples and worship the Lord. He gave them permissions. He gave them resources. He showed them favor.

During this time, there was a king called Artaxerxes. He was, in fact, a stepson of Esther. He was the king, and Ezra was living during that time. They were taken into captivity in three phases, and they came back from captivity in three phases. The first phase was when King Cyrus was ruling the Persian Empire. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, they came back. That was in 537 BC. The second batch of people came 90 years later. That was in 458 BC under the leadership of Ezra. The third set of people came under the leadership of Nehemiah. That was in 444 BC. So, three phases. They came back. Zerubbabel's mission or his interest was more to build the social life of the people. Ezra's interest was more of building the spiritual life of the people. Therefore, he brings the Levites, the priests, the musicians, all those used to work in the temple. He brought them back to Jerusalem to where they belonged to. Nehemiah was more interested in building the broken walls of Jerusalem. A little bit of background might help to understand what I am going to share today.

So, whatever the case, Ezra was an extremely successful person. In fact, Jewish tradition or history says he was the secretary of state affairs for religion in the Persian Empire. As a result, he enjoyed close proximity with the king. He was highly successful because he fulfilled the purpose of God. He led thousands of people from captivity into Jerusalem to build the temple of God, to reform the people of God, to bring revival, to draw people close to God. So, he was an extremely successful person.

The first thing that I would like to highlight about him this morning is that he was not a full-time pastor. Sometimes when we hear that God is calling us to serve, we think, "Should we resign from our jobs, leave our businesses, and come?" No, Ezra is a great example. He did not quit his job. He did not resign from his job. Instead, he used his position of influence. He used his job to serve the Lord. Hallelujah! I believe God has a call and a purpose for each one of us. Through your jobs, in fact, using your jobs and positions and influence, you are called to impact lives. You are called to serve God. Amen. Hallelujah. That's the first thing I would like to highlight about this person.

The meaning of the name "Ezra" is interesting. For us, it might not sound like anything, "Ezra." Okay, what does that mean for us? The word meaning of "Ezra" in Hebrew is "help." Boy, what a great help he was to his people. He was such a great help to the people in setting them free from captivity and leading them into the destiny that God had for them. He was an amazing spiritual person. He was of great comfort, great help to his people. The Jewish people have great respect for Ezra. In fact, the Jewish tradition has their writings called the Talmud. In that, it is written, "Ezra would have been worthy to receive the law from the Lord if Moses would not have preceded him." I think that's a great compliment to a man of Ezra. They said if Moses would not have preceded Ezra, Ezra would have been the most worthy person to receive the law from the Lord.

So, maybe for us, that book might not be so exciting. I'm saying these things for you to create an interest. You know that Ezra was a great man of God. He was greatly used by God. He was successful both in the sight of God as well as in the sight of man. Interestingly, you know what does Ezra credit his success to? He does not credit his success to his family background, even though he came from a very noble background. The few verses I skipped, son of, son of, son of... I didn't want to bore you with those things. He comes from a priestly family. He is a direct descendant of Aaron, the high priest. Even though he came from a noble family, he does not credit his success to his family background. He does not even credit his success to his educational background, even though he is highly qualified. He was a scribe. He knew the Law of Moses inside and out. He used to copy the Law of Moses. He was well versed in the Law of Moses. But he did not credit his success even to his educational background. He does not even credit his success to his professional background, even though he worked closely with the king. He was the secretary of state affairs. Many traditions say he does not credit his success even to his professional influence as well. Then what does Ezra credit his success to? There are thrice that are made to repeat certain things. You remember that? What was that? "The hand of God was upon Ezra." In fact, thrice in this chapter, verse 7th chapter, verse 6, 7th chapter, verse 9, 7th chapter 28, in all these three verses, this is repeated, saying, "The hand of God was upon Ezra." Adding to that, there are three more times in the chapter, eight, the same thing being repeated in a plural form where Ezra says, "The hand of God was upon us." What am I trying to tell you this morning? If we want to see success in the sight of God, as well the sight of the world, what matters to us more than our family background, more than educational background, more than a professional background, no matter what background, whether we have some or have not that's all right. But if you have the hand of God upon us, that's what brings success. If you want to see success in your family life, you need the hand of God upon it. If you want to see success in your jobs, in your careers, your businesses, you want the hand of God upon it. If you want to see success in ministry, and whatever you are handling, you want to have the hand of God upon it. Hallelujah! What we learn from the life of Ezra this morning, and what I want to challenge us this morning, is to aim to aspire to desire to see The hand of God will come upon us and change our lives. Hallelujah! How many of us believe that the hand of God is upon us? How many of you want to know what will bring the hand of God upon your life? Let's read from Ezra. Even though there were thousands of people living during his time, why did the hand of God come upon this one person? How did this person rise up and accomplish such great feats for the Lord that we read about today? Hallelujah! Now, my desire is for all of us to understand that there is a divine call on your life, a divine potential waiting to be unlocked. None of us should think that we are just ordinary people, destined to live like anyone else, and merely hope to escape life's struggles and make it to Heaven someday. No, that's not what God thinks of our lives when we read the Bible. We are born again with the Spirit of God dwelling in us. God can turn your life around and use you to do amazing things beyond your dreams and imagination. All you have to do is believe, submit your life to God daily, allow Him to work in you, and follow His lead day by day, step by step. You will be amazed at the doors, places, and opportunities that will open up for you. Just be faithful, dependent on God, surrendered, and aspire to see what God has planned for your life. You will witness great things happening in your life.

So, what was the key to Ezra's success? It was the hand of God upon his life. What brought this success? That's what I want to share with you today. Let's focus and learn from these things so that we too can see the hand of God upon our lives. Are you ready? Yes! Let's read Ezra 7:9-10. I'll read it again and highlight it for you:

"On the first day of the first month, he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month, he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was upon him. 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."

There are two things that Ezra did that brought the hand of God upon his life. First, he made a difficult decision to leave Babylon and go to Jerusalem. Secondly, he set his heart to study, obey, and teach the word of God. These are the two things I want to talk about today.

The first thing: if you want to see the hand of God, you need to leave Babylon and go to Jerusalem. What am I saying? Perhaps Jerusalem is too far, and it might cost you more than a couple of LHS to get there. Am I saying you need to leave Babylon, meaning leave this place and go to Jerusalem? No. What does it mean for us?

I want you to understand, Ezra's choice to leave Babylon was not easy. Babylon offered a very comfortable life. Yes, they were taken there as slaves, but when the Persians took over, they were given enough freedom. The Jewish people prospered in Babylon—they built houses, got married, went into business, and became wealthy. When the Persian kings gave them the freedom to return to Jerusalem, they didn't want to go. They were settled in Babylon.

You can compare Babylon to any of today's advanced metropolitan cities—educational centers, business centers, entertainment—all thriving. It's a great place to be. Even Ezra had to plead with people to leave Babylon and come to Jerusalem. Jerusalem, on the other hand, was a ruined and devastated place. There was nothing there, it was boring. Personally, Ezra was in a good position—he was the secretary of state affairs, everything was going well for him. He was well-off professionally, financially, and in terms of position. Everything was good for them, for him. But he made a choice to go to Jerusalem.

So, how does this apply to us today? Babylon represents the world and its systems, desires, and values. It looks attractive and comfortable. We want to enjoy life in Babylon, but Jerusalem represents the kingdom of God, the church, God's mission and purposes, God's values. The call to us this morning is to leave Babylon and make the journey to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem might not sound appealing when we talk about prayer, studying the word of God, getting involved in ministry, worship. But Babylon is very attractive. Yet, Ezra made a tough choice. It would take him five months to reach Jerusalem, through dangerous terrain with wild animals and bandits. They were carrying lots of gold, silver, and precious things given by the king to build the temple. It was a long journey, 900 miles, but he had to leave his comfort zone and go to Jerusalem.

Now you understand why the hand of God came upon Ezra. If he had stayed in Babylon, the hand of God would not have come upon him. If we stay in a worldly, carnal life, chasing after money, wealth, possessions, desires, entertainment, we cannot expect the hand of God to be upon us. Make no mistake, we are in this world, we need many things I mentioned, but what does Jesus say? Even though we are in this world, we do not belong to this world. Hallelujah! We are called to make this journey to Jerusalem, to the things of God, the purposes of God, the mission of God. If you make that choice in your heart, mind, and spirit to pursue God's heart, His purposes, and His desires, that's when you will see the hand of God coming upon your life. Hallelujah!

The hand of God came upon Ezra because he made a tough choice to leave Babylon and go to Jerusalem. How many of you want to make this journey this morning? If you do, you will see the hand of God upon your life. When the hand of God comes upon your life, you will be successful in everything you do. When the hand of God comes upon your life, there is no challenge that you cannot overcome. When the hand of God comes upon your life, there's nothing you'll fear in life. When the hand of God comes upon your life, no enemy can stop you. You will advance into the plans and purposes of God. I pray that all of us would desire this morning more than anything: "God, let your hand come upon me. The hand of the Almighty God, let it come upon me and rest upon me. Amen. Hallelujah."

The second thing that Ezra did was something powerful. What did he do? He set his heart (verse 10). Turn to your neighbor and say, "Set his heart. Set your heart." What was Ezra's heart set on? His heart was set on the Word of God. What is your heart set on? How do you know what your heart is set on? It's what you're waiting to happen in your life, the next big thing that you're desperate to see happen in your life. What is that? While you wake up, while you sleep, while you are alone, what is that you're so desperate to see happen in your life? What is the next big thing that you want to see happen in your life? Naturally, your heart is set on that. Anything wrong in those things? No, I'm not saying that. But over and above that, if you make a choice this morning, "I'm going to set my heart on God, upon His Word," you will see the hand of God coming upon your life. Hallelujah! I'm excited about this. You know, to see the hand of God coming upon my life, I'll be excited to see the hand of God coming upon your life. There's nothing more powerful that can happen to a person on this Earth than the hand of God coming upon that person. It's a hand of favor, it's a hand of power, it's a hand of wisdom, it's a hand that will take you through any challenges, any struggles, any obstacles, and make you stand on the highest place. I don't want you to miss the hand of God upon your life. Hallelujah!

So what did Ezra, in fact, do? It's very interesting. The Hebrew word used there in verse 10, for some translations might use "because," the Hebrew word used there is a word called "key" (K-I). Okay, "key." It sounds more like an English word, "key." So here is a key, you know, that will bring the hand of God upon you: when you set your hearts on the Word of God. This morning, I want to revive your love for the Word of God. I don't know how your time with the Word of God is. My whole aim and attempt this morning is, if I could revive your love. Some of you might be having a great time with the Word of God already, enjoying it, having a quality time. Praise God, really appreciative. But some of you lost track of it, not how you used to be, or some of you struggling, you know, to read the Word of God. This morning, I would like to encourage you, without waiting any further, even for a day, get to the Word of God and you will see the hand of God coming upon your life.

There are three things Ezra did. First is study. How many of you know studying is different from reading? Some of you are saying, "Pastor, I'm struggling to read itself, how will I study?" Many of us are so good at doing research, R&D. If you want to buy a bike, car, a washing machine, TV, mobile, how many hours will you do R&D? You'll go to all their websites, do all the pros and cons, advantages, disadvantages. How much time? But for the Word of God, only merely if you read, we already feel enough of it. Study the Word of God. Take time. It's everything free online, you know, to get to know. Read a verse. What does that mean? What does that word mean? What do the cultural background, historical background, geographical background, what was happening, everything is there. All you need to do is go there, research. The word "research" sounds big, but earlier research used to be research. But here today, you open up your phones, and everything is there. You don't have to do quite a Google will do for you all the research. But do some research. Read the Word of God. When you understand the Word of God, you know that will change your life.

Second, he did what he did, he practiced. You obeyed. Some of us stop at only studying or reading but don't go to the level of obeying. The third thing he did was he taught. Some of us might jump from studying to teaching. In between, there is something more important: practicing what we have read, studied, heard. All these things should be in done in the same order: he studied, he obeyed it, he taught. Hallelujah!

So we are called to study the Word of God, love the Word of God. Why should we love the Word? All those who were in love at some point of time, anybody here? Go back to those days, you know, all the calls that you used to get, the text messages that you get, WhatsApp messages, you would love, you would long for, wait, right? So this is a word that somebody has written for you who loves you more than anybody could love you in this world, who knows you better than anybody can ever know you in this world. So when you love God, you love His Word. The love for God is directly proportionate to the love that you have for the Word of God. When you love God, you will love His Word.

So we are called to study the Word of God. Amen. Obey the Word of God. Amen. The third thing is what? Teach. The moment we say "teach the Word of God," what comes to your mind? You have to stand up here and teach before the podium. Is that what it means by teaching? Not necessarily. Some of you might be called to it. Praise God for that. But otherwise, we are all called to teach the Word of God at different levels. As parents, we are called to teach the Word of God to our children. How many of your parents are teaching the Word of God to your children? It's your primary responsibility. If you don't know the Word of God, what will you teach to your children? As husbands, all the husbands here, including me, you know what the Bible says about husbands. We are called to teach the Word to your wives.

Pastor: "Where is it written? Read your Bibles. I'll not tell you where it's written, but let me tell you because I know you trust me. Let me tell you Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25 to 26: 'For husbands, this means love your wives just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God's word.' It says, just like Christ loved the church, husbands love your wives. How did he love the church? By dying for the church and by cleansing the church with the word of God. So, as husbands, we have a primary responsibility to teach the word of God."

"Whom did God give the command in the Garden of Eden? Adam was supposed to teach to The... Madam, I don't know how much effective he wasn't teaching, you know, but it was his responsibility. Today, in our generation, it has become the reverse. It's more often that the wives are dragging the husbands to the church, why is it? Are dragging them to pray, 'Come, let's have family prayer. Come, let's read the word together. Come, let's go to church. Come, let's go to that prayer meeting.' Husbands, it is our responsibility."

"You say wives are not listening, I'll talk to you later about that personally, we will talk. But as husbands, we are called to teach the word of God. My wife has brilliant questions to me, I struggle to answer her questions. I can stand here and say a lot of things, but when she asks you questions, I don't know the answers. We are called to teach. So, why the hand of God upon... Erra, he studied the word of God. If you studied, you'll be able to teach. If you're not studied, where will you teach? You have to study the word of God, obey the word of God."

"And all of us, no matter who you are, either you are a father or a mother or a husband, you are called to teach the word of God. Even if you're a mother and you know what, even if you're anybody, Bible encourages to teach one another, exalt one another, encourage one another, build one another with the word of God. So, in that capacity, all of us are called to teach the word of God. When we meet, what is the conversation filled with? Is it the latest diet you're following or the latest things that you have found? What is your conversations filled with? Our conversation should be filled with the word of God. We are called, when we come together, to encourage, to build, to comfort each other with the word of God. Hallelujah, that's the first thing."

"Let me share a few things quickly. You all know this, but this morning, somehow, I sense the Holy Spirit wants to revive our time with the word of God. You cannot be successful without reading the word of God. You cannot see the hand of God without the word of God in your life. There are certain things the Bible compares the word of God so that it will reveal to us how important, how precious, how powerful the word of God is. I cannot share every all of those things, but quickly let me share a few things."

"First of all, the word of God is like a light to guide us. Psalm 119 and verse 105, you know, which is the longest Psalm in the Bible, the longest chapter. Psalms 119 and you know what it's all that about, it's just that David's love for the word of God. He said, 'Lord, Your law is so beautiful. Your law is so awesome. Your law is perfect.' When was the last time you adored the word of God? The entire chapter is, you know, heart is overflowing with the love for the word of God."

"And what did David have? Probably five books of the Old Testament. We have much more full Revelation and we should fall in love with the word of God. I would encourage you this morning, you know, people who read the word of God, their character will be transformed. People who read the word of God, you will be wiser than all the people, either in your college, schools, or your office. People who are filled with the word of God, you will not be people who be reacting to the circumstances and the situations, but you'll be over it, responding the way God wants you to respond. Let's be people of the word of God."

"Psalm 119:105 says, 'Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.' Suppose if this hall is pitch dark, can you see anything? Or somewhere you are lost in the dark, how do you see a way? It's probably put on the torch, some light to guide you, to show you the path. So, in this dark world and sometimes when you're confused, perplexed, disillusioned, not knowing which way to take, which direction to go, when you come to the word of God, it sheds light and tells you to go in the paths of God, the ways of God that will lead you to life, that will lead you to blessing, that will lead you to success in your life. Spend time with the word of God."

"Second, the word of God is like a mirror to reflect. James 1, verse 23: 'For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.' The word of God is compared to a mirror here. How many of you, anybody here without seeing the mirror this morning? Some of you spend more time than others, but is there a day that you go out without seeing the mirror? Every day we see, right? Why do we see the mirror? We want to see if our hair is in proper shape, our dress, our face, everything is in proper shape. What about our soul? What about our spirit? What about our mind?"

"The mirror cannot show us. If James would have been living in our times, he would have said, 'The word of God is like an x-ray or a scan or MRI that will reveal everything inside of you.' When we come to the word of God, the word of God will convict us, it will reveal our desires, our motives, everything. It will expose us, it will show us what is going on on the inside. Many times you're oblivious to what is happening on the inside of us. When we come to the word of God, the word of God shows us our flaws, our lacks, and turns us to the grace of God. Amen, Hallelujah."

"Third, the word of God is like a fire that purifies. Jeremiah 23:29, the first portion says, 'Does not my word burn like fire?' says the Lord. Hallelujah, word of God is compared to fire. Fire talks about purification, fire is what used to find to refine gold. All of you those are welding some gold, some of you love gold right now. How do you find gold when you go to some gold mines you'll find all those rings and necklaces and earrings you just find it on the ground surface there do you find what form it is found you you found it all glittering on the gold mines when you go probably the growing

Growing up as children, we thought gold mines meant you could walk on gold and everywhere would glitter with gold. Is that how it happens? No. Gold comes with oxides, minerals, and other metals. It doesn't look glittery; it needs refining. Do you believe we all have gold inside us? We do, but it's mixed with impurities that need purifying.

When we come to the Word of God, it purifies, cleanses, and sanctifies us. If we want the gold within us to glitter and remove impurities, we need the Word of God. Either the Word keeps us from sin or sin keeps us from the Word—a powerful thought.

The Word of God is like a hammer that breaks and builds, smashing rocky hearts and attitudes, constructing godly things in our lives. It's like a seed in fertile ground, producing godly character, the fruit of the Spirit, and good works. It's food nourishing our spirits, essential for spiritual health.

The Word of God is also a sword, enabling us to defeat sin and Satan in life's battlefield. Without it, we live defeated Christian lives. To receive from God, we must spend time with His Word, not relying on devotions or forwarded messages.

Excuses for not reading the Word include not having time or not feeling like it. There's time for what we love; lack of time is often lack of passion. Spiritual actions don't depend on feelings—commitment and conviction matter more. Understanding every part isn't necessary; keep reading, and understanding will come.

To see God's hand on our lives, we must move towards Him, loving His Word, studying, practicing, teaching, and cultivating His presence.