The Hand of God — Billy Ingram

Ezra 7 and the Good Hand of God

Ezra chapter 7 tonight, Ezra chapter number 7, it has been a real excitement to hear the singing. I have appreciated both numbers from the ladies and from the men. Thank you so very much for the time you put into that and for the heart, it was a wonderful blessing.

It was worth coming just to hear the music. I almost feel bad getting up and even preaching after all the good singing, but I will get over it in just a few moments. Ezra chapter number 7, thank you so much Brother Von for allowing me this privilege.

It has been a privilege. It has been a refreshment to my own soul. I'm thankful to God for what he has done. This is my crowd. I feel like we're at home and I'm going to hate leaving tomorrow. Ezra chapter number 7, would you stand with me please?

Ezra chapter number 7, look if you would at the end of verse number 9. The end of verse number 9, Ezra chapter 7 and verse number 9, the Bible says, according to the good hand of his God upon him, verse number 10, for Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

Thank you. You may be seated. The book of Ezra is the story of two groups of Jews who returned from Babylon in captivity to their homeland. The first group of Jews went under the leadership of a man by the name of Zerubbabel.

He led these group of people into their homeland in order that they may rebuild the temple. Build the temple. They were working on the walls of the building in order that they may instill temple worship.

They were met with opposition, but successfully completed the temple. About 57 to 70 years later, God laid it upon the second man's heart. His name was Ezra. He led the second group, a smaller group, back into their homeland, not to build the walls of the temple, but in order to rebuild the will of the people.

The first group went in. They became despondent, cold, and backslidden. Though they were serious and concerned about the things of God, they had allowed things to stagnate their spiritual walk and growth, and so Ezra went in with a heart for revival.

It is interesting to me, however, that three times in this passage, in chapter number 7, verse number 6, verse number 9, and verse number 28, the Bible says that God's hand was upon Ezra. The hand of God in the Old Testament, I believe, is synonymous with the Holy Spirit of God in the New Testament.

When the Bible says in Ephesians 5 .18, but be filled, be controlled with the power of the Holy Spirit, we are saying the same thing in Ezra chapter number 7 when it says to have God's hand upon your life.

We are talking about the definite and direct hand of God, the power of God is God's hand upon your life. More than I want to live, I want God's hand to be upon my life. More than I want my next meal, I want God's hand to be upon my life.

More than I want my next breath, I want the hand of God to be upon my life. Names in the Bible mean something. Daniel's name means God is my judge. Ezekiel's name means God is my strength. But Ezra's name means to aid or to help.

I believe it was this man Ezra's desire to be of help to his fellow men. I trust you're here these few days at this prayer advance so you can go home and be of help to your family members. Be of help to your local church.

Be of help to those in the neighborhood who are lost without Jesus Christ. But you can not, you will not be of help to anyone without the hand of God upon your life. The book of Zechariah tells us it's not by our might, it's not by our power, but it is by God's spirit, it's God's hand upon your life from time to time.

You'll hear men of God get up and preach and ladies get up and speak and you'll sense something different about these individuals. Many of you have been to several prayer advances. You've heard some of the best speakers and some of the best preachers.

They'll honor just to be able to stand here at this pulpit. And you'll sense something different at times. I believe that the outstanding difference between just a speaker and a man of God is the hand of God upon his life.

The Hand of God in the Lives of Intercessors

His name was Herbert Brown. He approached the great European evangelist James Stewart on one occasion. James Stewart had a singing evangelist who traveled with him, a man who led the music like Brother Joel has been doing.

And James Stewart recognized the need of revival and recognized the giver of revival and so he was praying for a praying evangelist to travel with him. And God laid it upon a man's heart by the name of Herbert Brown to travel with James Stewart.

He went to Brother Stewart one time after a service, he said, God has called me to leave my painting job and to travel with you and be your praying intercessor. James Stewart's immediate response was, no, that's a mistake.

James Stewart argued with God and said, God, he cannot travel with me. This man cannot speak a full sentence without stuttering, stammering, and spitting on everybody. God, he'll be an embarrassment. He cannot travel.

And God dealt with James Stewart about the fact that he wasn't concerned about the calls of Christ, he was concerned about the calls of James Stewart. James Stewart confessed his pride, got right with God and said, all right, Brother Brown, you can travel with me.

James Stewart said the first time they went to prayer, this stammering, stuttering, spitting individual, Herbert Brown stuttered so profusely that he even pumped his leg when he talked because he was shell-shocked in the war.

So not only does he have a verbal speech impediment, but he even has a physical impediment that when he spoke, he just, his whole body was involved in that. And James Stewart said, I don't know what we're going to do, but you can go ahead and travel with me.

They went to prayer, and Brother Stewart said, the first time he heard Herbert Brown pray, he prayed for hours and never one time stuttered before the throne of grace. He who had no speaking liberty had praying liberty because he had the hand of God upon his life.

On one occasion, Stewart was preaching to the open crowd as he oftentimes would do. He says, I always felt at ease. I felt that God was going to do something when I saw Herbert Brown in the congregation.

He was off to the side sometimes, and sometimes he'd be down at the platform, and there he'd be praying, his hat off, his eyes closed, sometimes his head lifted towards heaven. On one occasion, Stewart was preaching where a college was nearby.

A group of atheists approached the service, and after that service was over, the atheistic leader came to Stewart, and he said, now listen, this is not your territory, and we advise that you will not continue this meeting another night.

You come back tomorrow night, you'll find some opposition. You may find yourself receiving bodily harm. We advise you do not continue. Brother Stewart talked with Herbert Brown and said, what do we do?

Herbert Brown said, Brother Stewart, God is greater than any sin, and he's greater than the sinner. You preach. I'll pray. God will deliver. Brother Stewart said, all right, we'll do it. He got up the next night to preach, and several who were gathered together there in the open crowd, he saw Brother Brown off to the side, his hat off, eyes closed, head lifted towards heaven, praying.

He noticed the atheists who began to gather around the back, began to press towards the back of the crowd, and he noticed one of the leaders begin to make his way towards the front, weaving back and forth within the crowd.

He made it to the front of the pulpit, and as he came up the steps, he reared back his fist to strike James Stewart, and when he did, God paralyzed him. He was frozen. He couldn't move. He was held there by God in that paralytic state, and when God deemed it appropriate, he released him from that paralyzed state.

The atheistic leader retreated back into the crowd, and all the atheists that night heard the gospel, and many got saved. Brother Brown said later, see, Brother Stewart, God is greater than any sin. He's bigger than any sinner.

You preach. I'll pray. God will deliver. He did so. Why? Because Herbert Brown had the hand of God upon his life. Her name was Helen. She contracted an illness and died at the age of 22, but when she would go to the university, she went the long way.

She didn't go the normal route. She went the way that was most crowded and busy with people so that she could pass out gospel tracts as she went about. When she would slip into preacher's meetings or religious meetings like this, it was said that many times preachers would turn to one another and say to each other, Helen has slipped into the building.

We can sense the presence of God and turn around and found out Helen just came into the auditorium. On the occasion that she died, it was said that all over, not just Europe, but all over the world, missionaries, preachers, and evangelists mourned her death because they lost a tremendous prayer warrior, an intercessor.

One preacher missed the funeral, but he went to the place where she had been buried. And as he went to the place, he found a caretaker and said, could you tell us where Helen is buried? And the caretaker said, preacher, this is a large cemetery.

You see all the bodies who are buried here. There's no way I could find the person you're talking about without doing some homework and checking. And the preacher just began to reminisce about how Helen had been mightily used of God.

And the caretaker said, I think I know who you may be talking about. Let's walk this way. Went over to the site that the caretaker thought he may be referring to. And sure enough, there was the grave, freshly dug grave in the corpse of where Helen was lying.

The caretaker said, preacher, I'm not a saved man. I'm not even a God fearing man. But when I was burying that body, something happened that had never happened to me before. I sensed an awareness of God as I had never sensed it before.

Now you say, preacher, how does that happen? I have no idea. But I'll tell you this. When she died at the age of 22, she died with the hand of God upon her life. His name was Donald. He was recognized as one of the great intercessors that Duncan Campbell would call upon in time of need.

The praying men, as they were called. And Donald was one of those young men, whenever it was time to pray for a revival, Donald was one of those men that would convene together and get a hold of the throne of grace because souls and lives were hanging in the balance.

On one occasion, the great evangelist, Duncan Campbell, walked into a barn where Donald was praying. Donald was there praying. He saw the great evangelist walk in. He said, excuse me, Mr. Campbell. I'm having an audience with the king of kings and lord of lords.

Please excuse me. Went back to praying. On another occasion, Duncan Campbell was preaching and he recognized there was a lack of liberty in his preaching. And he felt the difficulty so he noticed that Donald was in the service and he said he could see and he was burdened as he noticed Donald being nearer to the lord than even he was.

He stopped his address and he looked at Donald and he said, Donald, would you please go before the throne of grace and pray? Donald stood to his feet and in his prayer he made reference to the fourth chapter of the book of Revelation, the passage that he had been reading that morning in his devotion.

And he said in his prayer, oh God, I seem to be gazing through the door and I see the lamb in the midst of the throne with the keys of death and hell about his girdle. He began to sob. Then he said with his eyes toward heaven, he cried, oh God, there is power.

Let it loose. And with the force of a hurricane it was said that the spirit of God swept through that auditorium. On one side it appeared to be as a battlefield where many were prostrate over their seats weeping and sighing while on the other side of the building people with a rigid posture were showing in their face and in their emotions the aspect that God had come and their desire to get right with God because God had moved in.

Oh by the way, Donald was only 15 years old because he had the hand of God upon his life. One of the greatest books you will get a hold of. In regards to prayer, there's many. I say that about so many.

But on the back table, John Hyde. John Hyde, it was said that when the medical doctors examined him, his heart had literally moved from the left side of his body to the right side of his body because of being under such strenuous burden in his intercession for souls.

Remember it was John Hyde who in 1901 asked God to give him one soul a day. At the end of one year he had seen an average of one soul come to Jesus Christ every day. In 1902 he asked God to give him two souls a day.

In 1910 he asked God to give him four souls a day. And God did so. J. Wilbur Chapman, the American evangelist, was preaching on one occasion. He heard that the praying evangelist, John Hyde, had come into the area.

He asked if John Hyde could come and meet with him at his hotel. John Hyde came to the hotel room. He slipped the key into the door. He turned the key, walked into the room, and there he fell to his knees.

And for five minutes, Brother Chapman said he didn't say a word. He said, I could hear my heartbeat. I could hear his. He said, then I sensed tears coming down his face. Then the praying Hyde said two words.

He said, Oh God. Five more minutes went by and nothing else was spoken. He said, but then I sensed his hand go around my shoulder. And he led us before the throne of grace. And he prayed as if he and God were on intimate terms.

He said, when we went to the service that night, I preached that night, and I saw God doing that service that night, what I had never seen before in my ministry. Why? Because John Hyde had the hand of God upon his life.

Preparing the Heart for God's Hand

Do you have the hand of God upon your life? I want you to see three things out of this verse, number 10, tonight. Three things about God's hand upon your life. Would you note with me, first of all, the preparation for having God's hand upon your life.

The preparation. Number two, I want you to see the priority for having God's hand upon your life. And number three, the purpose for having God's hand. Number one, the preparation for having God's hand.

Note verse number 10, the Bible says, for Ezra had... What's the next word? Let's try it one more time. For Ezra had, he prepared his... The next word? The Bible teaches us that Ezra prepared his heart to have the hand of God.

Listen, young person, if you want to be under the definite, dominant, direct control of Almighty God, you're going to have to continue doing that which you have set out to do here at this conference, and that is prepare your heart.

See, putting verses into your brain is not a matter of preparing your brain, but you're putting it into your mind so that it could be transferred to your heart because it's a matter of the heart, Daniel 1 .8.

The Bible says, but Daniel purposed in his... The Bible says in Proverbs 4 and verse number 23, but keep or protect your... Because out of it are the issues of life. And here the Bible tells us that Ezra prepared his heart.

See, no athlete will enter into the Olympics and go into an event without first preparing for years, if not a lifetime, for a short segment of some activity or event. And no child of God will ever have the hand of God, the power of God, the full blessing of God, the definite, dominant, direct control of Almighty God within and upon their lives until they first come to a point where they prepare their heart.

No farmer goes out and expects to have a harvest reaped without first preparing that soil. No painter goes out and expects to paint a house or a building without first preparing the surface. And no child of God will ever have the hand of God without first preparing their heart.

I believe the bravest words in all the Bible are found in Psalm 139 when David says, Search me, O God, and know my heart. We don't pray that too often because we don't want God to search us. We don't want God to know our hearts and we don't want Him to show us because it takes work to prepare our hearts.

But I'm thankful that I don't have to search my own heart. But I have to cooperate with the Spirit of the living God who does the searching. But it does take work. We have to prepare our hearts. I believe every child of God in here, every single child of God has forgiveness of sin and eternal life, but I don't believe every child of God has the hand of God upon their life.

Are you willing to continually prepare your heart? Are you willing to lay before the Lord and wait for Him to finish searching, to finish showing? Not only must you prepare your heart, but would you notice number two, the priority for having God's hand upon your life.

Seeking and Obeying God's Word

If you don't want God's hand upon your life, you can bank on the fact you won't have it. It must become a priority to your life. The Bible tells us in verse number 10 that Ezra made it a priority in his life by doing two things.

Look if you would please again verse number 10. For Ezra had prepared his heart, number one, to seek the law of the Lord, and number two, to do it. Two ways in which Ezra made it a priority in his life.

Listen. You with me? Let's do this. Let's sit up real good and talk. Can we do that? I'll tell you this. I say it to young people. I'll go ahead and say it tonight. If I put you to sleep teenager or adult for that matter, it's only fair that I wake you up, okay?

I just want to be fair with you. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. If you want to have God's hand upon your life, you have got to make it a priority. Again, talking about the hand of God. We're talking about the Spirit of God being in control because where God's hand is, that is where He too Himself is present.

In order to have God's hand upon your life, there's two things, at least in this verse, that we must do. And these are two things that I think have been reoccurring in the messages and in the theme of this advance.

Number one, the Bible tells us that Ezra sought the law of the Lord. He sought the law of the Lord. In other words, this Bible meant something to him. Is your Bible dead or is it alive? What does the Word of God mean to you?

The Bible teaches us that he sought the law of the Lord. That's what the Bible tells us. In Job 23 and verse 12, Job says,. For I have esteemed of the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. Psalm 1, 2,.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Psalm 19 and verse number 10,. But more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, than the honeycomb.

Psalm 119 verse 97,. O how I love thy law, it is my meditation all the day. Matthew 4, 4,. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. John 5, 39,. Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.

Acts 17 and verse 11,. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, and that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 2 Timothy 2, 15,.

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But listen to me, young person, I do not believe that Ezra was seeking the word of God simply so that he could receive a ribbon, a medal, or a star for how many verses he memorized.

He was seeking the word of God so that he could know the God of this book. It's a tragedy when people go off to a Bible school and they come out knowing less about God than what they knew in their youth group.

Because it has only become objective. They completely entirely eliminate the subjective. The reason why you want to know what the Bible says is so that you can know the God who wrote this book. That's what the Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 7, verse 14,.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, pray and... Yeah. And it goes on to say, Then I'll hear. Then I'll heal. Then I'll forgive. 2 Chronicles 15, verse 2,. If ye seek Him, He will be found of you.

But if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you. 2 Chronicles 15, verse 12,. And they entered into a covenant with the Lord God of their fathers to seek Him with all of their heart and with all of their soul.

The Bible says in Proverbs 8, verse 17,. I will love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me. Matthew 6, verse 33,. You know it, you finish it. But seek ye the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

The Bible says in Hosea 10, verse 12,. Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord. Jeremiah 29, verse 13,. And He will be found of you when you seek Him with all of your heart.

Colossians 3, verse 1,. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth, for ye are dead.

Your life is hit with Christ in God. Verse 4,. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory. Listen, you must seek the Word of God so that you can know the God of this book.

See, if you go home and place this book on the shelf, and you never, never open it until you get back to church youth group, it's going to be hard for you to know the God of this Word. Not only do we find that Ezra was seeking the Word of God.

Remember, he was a scribe by the way. It was his responsibility to copy the Bible. But he was also one who was concerned and consumed, I believe, with the God of this Bible. Remember George Mueller? Remember the man who started the orphanages and was a man of faith?

The man who set the children down and had no food on the table or in the cupboards, but he thanked God for the food that they were about to eat? The nut came to the door, the food came to the door. Remember that man?

Are you aware that they said George Mueller, upon the time of his death, he had read his Bible through 200 times? 100 of those times he read it through upon his knees? He wanted to know the God of that book, and I think he knew Him.

It was said of H .A. Ironside. He was in a preacher's conference. They had a panel discussion for the preachers there at the conference. They asked the preachers, what did you read for your devotions?

And they went through and different preachers said different things they read for their devotions that morning at this preaching conference. They came to Ironside, and Ironside didn't say anything. They repeated the question.

They said, Dr. Ironside, what did you read for your devotions this morning at the conference? He said, I read the book of Isaiah. Isaiah? 66 chapters? I would have thought he had been working on his message for the conference, but he was more concerned about knowing the God of that book, the reason why he was at that conference.

No wonder God used a man like H .A. Ironside. Listen, young person, if you're ever going to know the God in whom you're praying to, you have got to be a man, a lady of the Word of God. Not just a man or lady of intellectual knowledge, but a man or lady of the God of this Word.

If you're going to have the hand of God upon your life, you have to make it a priority. It has to mean something to you. You have to desire it. You have to long for it. Two ladies, Peggy and Christine Smith, in their 80s, were burdened about revival in their own community.

Burdened about the condition of the youth. And they took to God a promise that God had made. Isaiah 44 and verse number 3, the verse says, I will pour water upon he who is and floods upon a dry ground.

Listen, do you thirst for God? We sing the song, As the Deer. Do you thirst for God? Many of us have never been thirsty physically. You say, I was thirsty last night. Most of us have never been thirsty in our life.

We've never gotten to the point where our tongue has swelled to three times its normal size. Where it's become cracked because we have longed for water. We've had nothing to drink. Most of us have never gotten to that point.

And most of the time, I come across Christian teenagers who are good, but have never come to the point in their life where they are desperate for God to pour out His water. But the Bible says, I will pour water upon he who is thirsty.

And floods upon a dry ground. We are living in the midst of a dry, barren ground. But the problem isn't the dry, barren ground. The problem is the lack of thirsty Christians walking upon that dry, barren ground.

But God says, young person, if you thirst, He'll pour the water. It's a promise. If you want the hand of God to be upon your life, you're going to have to desire it. You're going to have to want it. You may be here at this conference, and you still, you don't want to get right.

You don't want to pray. Listen, would you be willing to do this, teenager? You don't want to pray. You don't want to get right. But would you be willing to ask God to make you willing? Would you even at least be willing to ask God and admit to God He knows?

Would you be willing to admit to Him and say, God, my heart's cold. I don't even want to get right. I don't want to go home and change. I don't want to pray. But God, I am willing for You to make me willing to get right.

Will you desire God that much? He desired to have the hand of God upon His life. It was a priority to Him to have God's hand upon His life. He sought the Word of God. But number two, it was a priority to Him not only seeking the Word of God and seeking the God of the Word, but number two, He was also willing to submit to it.

Notice, if you would please, the middle of verse 10. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to... What are the next two words? Now, you thought Nike came up with it first, didn't you?

Ezra just did not copy the Bible. He didn't just read the Bible so he could be able to get up and teach a Sunday school lesson or get up and help with the junior church. He didn't do this so he could share something at family devotions.

He read the Bible so he could know the God of the Bible in order that he may obey what that God told him to do. Many of you have been confronted with Bible truth here. Are you willing to obey that truth?

I believe this. I believe with all my heart. We have more. In fact, we have a bunch. Whatever that means. We have a large group. We have more than enough teenagers in this room if you'll but obey the truth you already know can impact and change this entire world.

Because we're not talking about you. We're talking about the hand of Almighty God. Listen, I don't think you need more truth. You know enough truth if you'll just obey the truth you already know. You don't have to have a Bible college degree to have God's hand upon your life.

You just need to obey the truth you already know. What is it that God is dealing with you about? General Chuck Yeager was the first American war hero to ever break the sound barrier. He was flying his F -86 Sabre fighter jet.

He was trying to diagnose why it was that four American pilots lost their lives. He took the plane up about 150 feet over a buddy's fishing cabin and he turned the plane upside down and the plane froze.

He was able to get it out of that frozen state took it up about 15 ,000 feet and he did the same thing once again. It froze. Because of his flying expertise he was able to get it out of that position.

He landed the plane. He now knew why they had died but he did not know how it occurred. So they called in technicians from all over. This is where they began to dismantle the plane. They traced the problem.

They traced it, Brother Joel, to one single bolt that was inserted incorrectly. They traced the man who inserted that bolt and they went to him with the blueprints and said, the blueprints say to put it in this way but you put it in the other way.

Why did you do this? And here was his reply. I quote, because it seemed better to do it this way. End of quote. Four men lost their lives because another man thought it seemed better to do it this way and yet many of us have been confronted with the blueprint of God Almighty and yet we're still thinking in our minds and hearts it seems better though to do it this way.

What truth has God confronted you with that you have yet to obey? This morning in the morning session God dealt with some of you this morning about another area of rebellion. Have you still yet to deal with that issue?

What area are you failing to submit and obey God in regards to? We talked about parents. We talked about authority. Listen, it is a serious issue to get right with your God-ordained authority. It is a serious issue.

By the way, young men, you want to know what that young lady is going to be like if you were to marry her? You see how she treats her dad. Young ladies, you want to know what that potential husband will be like when you marry him?

You see how he treats his mom. And if you know anything that they do in their life that would dishonor their parents and they do behind their parents, you mark it down and they'll do the same thing to you.

It is a serious issue. Not only that which you do in regards to your God-ordained authority but how about media? God's dealt with some of you about the things you listen to, the things you watch. I heard a preacher say some time ago that in his home he has a two-cuss word policy.

They hear two cuss words, they turn the television off. I thought that seemed pretty good until I came across God's standard. Psalm 101 and verse 3, David wrote, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes.

Ephesians chapter 5 and verse number 3, but fornication and all uncleanness. Let it not be one time, not one time named among you as become the saints. Yet some of you will sit before a television set and you'll begin to watch those things and you'll see those things which God says not one time should it ever sit before you.

Someone says, well, preacher, we're always going to be bombarded by the filth of this world but you don't have to turn it on and ask for it to pollute your mind. Some of you in your automobiles at home, you have music that would not honor and glorify God and you know that.

You sit before those things, you put on the headset, you listen to those things and as Brother Palmer pointed out, some of you have televisions in your room, some of you go to the internet, you think your parents will ever find out, you think your parents will never know.

Listen, young person, if you want the hand of God upon your life, you're going to have to seek what God wants you to do and then you're going to have to submit to it and do it. What area are you still holding back from Almighty God?

Some of you young men, you're still defeated in your brain and until you go home and you're first getting right here, but going home and dealing with those things that are polluting your brain, it's not going to help.