Building a People of Worship: Seek God Ezra 3

Learning a language is hard. It takes dedication and practice. I’ve been studying Chinese, and when I moved here, I dove into the process. I got a book, researched different learning methods, and took a language learning course.

But after a few months… I realized something: I hadn’t actually gone to class. All that preparation meant nothing because I hadn’t taken action. I wasn’t learning, I was just getting ready to learn.

You see, to become fluent, you must engage with the language.

In many ways, worship is just like that.

We want to worship. We buy the right tools, maybe find the right songs or space. But real worship doesn’t start with the right tools or location. It begins with a willing heart.

Worship isn’t just something we prepare for. It’s something we do. And not just on Sundays, it begins before we ever walk into a building like this.

This morning, in Ezra 3, we’ll see that true worship doesn’t begin with fancy instruments or a beautiful temple. It starts with a heart that seeks God.

Here’s the message in one sentence:
True worship seeks God first, seeks God rightly, and responds to God with praise and obedience.

Seek God First

3:1-3

As we seek to be a people of worship, we see that we must seek God first above all things. How do we do this? We seek God together in unity. We seek God by trusting Him to provide our needs. We seek God when the fears of life sweep over us. Let us look at all of these things in turn.

First, we seek God in unity. Notice how the writer of Ezra remarks that the people gathered as “one man” in Jerusalem. This was a symbol of unity. Though there may have been superficial divisions and arguments, their hearts and minds were focused on worshipping God. God came first above any differences.

Our unity doesn’t have to look like agreement on everything, but a heart that longs to worship God together. We must put our disagreements and differences of opinion away when it comes to our love and worship of God and each other. When we are unified, God will bless our worship and bring renewal, restoration, and spiritual growth.

Don’t look past the fact that the people gathered together in Jerusalem. That means they had to leave their homes outside the city. That was a safety issue. Their houses could have been robbed by those who, out of disobedience, did not go to worship God in Jerusalem. They had not built up an army or police force. They had yet to build the walls of the city. This goes against conventional wisdom. Safety first. But something more was happening. They were safe because God would protect them and provide for them. They, in faith, came to Jerusalem, trusting God to provide safety.

They had a wonderful history of winning battles they should not have won. God fought for His people. When they were in the right worship, they won every fight. Here in Ezra, the people are again demonstrating a faithful heart to gather before God and trust in Him to provide safety and provide for their needs.

When I moved to Taiwan the first time, I had no money. I came in faith that God would provide. Well, I ran out of money three weeks in. I didn’t have enough money to buy food for three days. I panicked, but God had a plan and purpose. A friend called me and offered me some Costco rolls and peanut butter. I ate that for three days. All I needed to do was worship God. It wasn’t a luxurious meal, but it sustained me. My heart praised God humbly after that.

Let us come to God in worship and trust that He will provide and do the rest. Let the other things be an afterthought. True worship first and foremost comes to God. All other things are mere distractions to true worship. Beloved, whatever you are going through today, come to God and worship Him with your family. Place your hope and trust in Him this morning.

Lastly, let fear and stress drive us into worship. The people in Jerusalem had a reason to fear. There were lots of people who did not want them there. We will meet them next week. They chose to seek God because of their fears. This was a wonderful step of faith for people who had been in exile. It is a beautiful scene.

Do we let fear, stress, and grief drive us into worship? So often, we let these things drive us away from God. When we are afraid, we are tempted to turn back to old rituals, other people, old vices, or our phones to escape reality. But what if instead, we turned those moments into opportunities to worship God? What if, when we are stressed, we stop seeking escape and seek God instead? This Beloved is the path to being a people of worship. In times of fear, stress, or grief, seek God. Remember, even your lament can be worship if done in the presence of God and seeking His face. Next, we will look at how, as a people of worship, we are to worship God.

Seek God Rightly

3:4-6

We must seek God rightly. Today, there exists a form of religious thought that says, “I will worship God on my terms, or I will find a god that fits my terms.” Of course, no one says this explicitly, but under the surface, we are tempted to think this way. God is the creator of all things. He created you and me, and thus He tells us how we should approach Him. Our worship belongs to the King of the universe. We live and worship Him rightly when we submit to Him. But how do we know how to worship God?

The people who gathered in Jerusalem sought God according to His word. We see this throughout these verses with phrases like “as prescribed”, “based on”, “as it is written”, “according to King David,” and many other examples. The main idea here is that they were worshipping God according to His Word. They had been exiled because they did not worship God rightly. They had polluted worship and the Temple. At the beginning of this scene, the people are starting on the right foot.

But in the year 2025 and beyond, how are we to worship God? Do we need to adhere to all of the festivals and rituals? No, at least not in the same way. Again, the main idea is to worship God according to His Word. We look at the Old and New Testament, and the theme that emerges is that we are to worship God with our full selves. We are not to hold any part of ourselves or our lives back from God. With every breath of every day, we praise Him. The Bible has given us much to meditate on and much to sing about.

Pray through and meditate on Scripture. Sing through it. Memorize it. God has provided us with a wonderful way to meet Him daily through His Word. A restored church, a church of worshippers, must be a church that seeks God through His Word. We don’t read the Bible simply to know what is in it. We read our Bibles so that we can meet with our Father and worship Him.

The people burned offerings daily. These were simple acts of obedience and faithfulness. Let us likewise seek God rightly through these little, everyday acts of obedience and faithfulness. This is how we become a people of worship.

Finally, we see that the restored exiles were without the Temple. But the people were already worshipping. God was already building them into a people of prayer even before a stone was laid. We can worship God everywhere we go. We are people of worship, not a place of worship. Now we will look at seeking God with praise and obedience.

Seek God through Praise and Obedience

3:7-13 (Read 10-13)

After they built a habit of gathering together to worship God rightly, the people praised and obeyed His commands. We see in verse 7, they pay people to begin the work of building the Temple. In verses 8 and 9, the leaders set up the priest, according to King David, to aid in proper worship and praise. They are obeying the command of God to not only build the building, but to build the people into a house of worship. They are preparing the people to seek God through praise and obedience, even before the Temple was built.

Likewise, God has called us as a church to obey Him in the way that we gather and call people to Himself. So let us be obedient in reading and applying the Word in our lives. Let us be about calling others to follow Jesus. Let us praise God with our words and our obedience to His call. Is there someone you need to tell about Jesus today? If so, worship God through the sharing of the gospel.

When we come to verse 11, we have a beautiful picture of praise and worship. What did they sing? They sang about God’s faithfulness. Let our song be the same. Through trials and troubles, God is good, for his faithful love endures for all time! Praise God for who He is. It is our privilege to do so together. As a family of faith, we get to remind each other of this song. Sing it together, remind each other of it, and sing it when life is calm or chaotic.

Everything seems to be going well until we get to the end of the chapter. It is strange, to say the least. After so many happy and positive things, the chapter ends with a mix of joy and sorrow. For the older people, they wept because the Temple was not what they had expected. The foundation laid was much smaller than the first Temple. This was a testament to the judgment of God. They were being restored, but the marks of sin were still evident. The younger members were excited to see God’s plans unfolding. The cry they let out was heard far away. And next week we will meet the people who heard it.

This chapter ends in a way that leaves the reader yearning for more. There is no real closure. The Temple is there, but it causes some to cry at its lack of beauty. What do we do with this? The Temple was not as grand, and God’s presence didn’t descend in a cloud like He did with King Solomon and the first Temple. This chapter leaves the readers seeking something more. The promise of restoration seems incomplete and underwhelming. How would God fulfill His promise to gather the nations and bless the world with a mediocre Temple?

How would God fulfill His promise in Genesis 3 to crush the curse through a child? How would God, as Jeremiah said, take their heart of stone and give them a new heart? It wasn’t with a Temple. It wasn’t with a building. It would be with Jesus. God Himself would step down into the story. He would crush the curse, He would bless the nations, He would gather the people to Himself. Beloved, don’t look for fulfillment in any other place than the arms of Jesus. He will give you a new heart. He alone can bring you into right worship. Oh, that we would lay hold of the feet of Jesus today. Oh, that we would realize our deep need for Him to change us and redeem us. Only trust Him.

Only Jesus would turn weeping into joyful shouts. Jesus will never disappoint. He is the answer to every ache of our hearts. This morning, as we seek to be a people of worship, let us worship and praise Jesus with the strength He provides. Let this odd scene drive our eyes upward to see the greater promise, the true restoration. They saw in part what we see in the whole.

Conclusion

Ezra 3 reminds us that true worship begins not with buildings, tools, or ideal circumstances, but with hearts that seek God first, seek Him rightly, and respond in praise and obedience. The returned exiles gathered in unity, trusted God amid fear, and obeyed Him even when the results seemed underwhelming. Their mixed cries of joy and sorrow point us to a deeper longing, a longing fulfilled not in a temple of stone, but in Jesus Christ. He alone brings lasting restoration, turns weeping into joy, and invites us into worship that flows from the heart. So let us fix our eyes on Him, and live lives of daily, wholehearted worship, because only Jesus is worthy, and only He can satisfy the deepest ache of our hearts. So seek Him today in His word, with praise and obedience. Let’s pray.

“Father, we have many things to fear and be stressed about. Let those things drive us to you. Let us be a people who worship you first. Let us seek You in Your word rightly. Let us find fulfillment, restoration, and worship in Jesus alone. Forgive us when our hearts wander. Tie us to the anchor of the cross. Let us be a people of worship this week. Amen.”