How do you deal with problems?
1. Recognize the problem
2. Come up with the right solution
3. Properly identify success
One of the complaints some people have about expository preaching is they say it’s not practical. They say that when you just preach directly from the text of the Bible, you don’t touch people where they live. In other words, you don’t give people solutions to day-to-day problems. As a reaction to that, there are many preachers today who use a topical approach. They start with what they perceive to be a need. Many of them call it a felt need. They think about a felt need and try to come up with a solution. Most of the time these “felt-needs” preachers use all kinds of things to build their solutions. They use pop-psychology, business methodology, sales techniques. And most of the time they even support their solutions with Bible verses. Whether they’re used in context or not doesn’t really matter to them. The only thing that really matters is whether they can meet the felt need of their congregation. One thing that has come from this is what I call the “how-to” theology. A great many of the sermons that you hear from these preachers end up telling you “X-number of ways to do… whatever”. “Five ways to be a better husband.” “10 ways to get out of debt.” “6 ways to raise good kids.” The all sound very practical. Sometimes they might even sound a little bit biblical. But most of the time they are very man-centered and ultimately not God-honoring. Now, why is that? Because, in reality, there is nothing more practical that the text of Scripture. At their core, all of man’s problems are as a result of sin. And no man-centered, pop-psychology, pragmatic how-to list is going to be able to fix sin. There is no kind of list that we can come up with that will empower us to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. God created our bootstraps and He’s the only One who is able to pull us up by them. And He does that through the all-sufficient power of His Word. Since the Bible is all-sufficient, it is the most practical book ever given to man. If God’s Word doesn’t touch people where they live, I certainly can’t come up with something that will. It’s my job as an expository preacher and your job as you study the Bible on your own… it’s our job to figure out what the text of Scripture means in the context in which God inspired it to be written. And when we figure out what it objectively means in its context… then we see how it applies to our lives. We don’t start by reading our life situation into the text. We start with what the text means. And since the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, the Holy Spirit will illumine it. He will open our eyes as to how His objective text applies to our lives. Do you see the difference? One is taking man’s ideas and trying to justify or validate them by bending Scripture to fit them. The other is taking God’s ideas that He has objectively laid out in His Word and bending our lives to fit them. The popular and so-called “practical” way changes Scripture. The right way changes me. Now, with all that being said, when it’s taken in context, there is nothing more practical than Scripture. There are passages all throughout the Bible where we can legitimately come up with “how-to” lists. And tonight’s passage is one of them. There are a couple of things to be careful with when you make a how-to list from Scripture. First, you have to remember that God is the One who is in control. He likes to do things that show His strength in spite of our weakness. That means that no matter how well we follow steps X and Y—we’re never going to control Him and force Him to do Z. Secondly, God very seldom does the same thing using the same methods. If you don’t believe me, ask Moses. Moses used the method of striking a rock to draw water. Later on he tried to repeat that method and God was not pleased. As a matter of fact, He was so unpleased that He wouldn’t allow Moses to enter the Promised Land because of it. Now, with all of that as background and warning, we can look at the how-to list we have before us. In tonight’s text, we see that Ezra was facing a problem and came up with a solution that ended in success. From that, we can see how this godly leader dealt with a problem. And from that, we can develop our own how-to list. We can see three key components to dealing with the problems each of us face on a day-to-day basis. The first thing you have to do is recognize the problem. Look back at verse 15.
EZRA 8:15
Deal with problems by recognizing the problem. We don’t like problems, do we? And since we don’t like problems, we usually have a couple of ways of dealing with them. First, we might try to ignore them. But ignoring a problem never makes it go away—it usually gets worse. Another way is to overreact and attack the symptoms rather than the real problem. That is probably the most common. But that’s not what Ezra did. Ezra recognized the problem for what it was. And it was a big problem. Here he was, gathering up all the people who were going with him back from Babylon to Jerusalem. Remember that there was already a remnant that was there. They had been there for around 80 years and were a much larger group than this small group Ezra had with him. But here was the problem. As he gathered all these people on the banks of the Ahava canal he discovered something. He saw that amongst the whole crowd was not one single Levite. Now, first off, that wasn’t something that you could tell just by looking around. He had to have inquired specifically. He probably had some sort of checklist he was running through to make sure he had everything that was needed before they headed out of Babylon. However he did it, he discovered that there were no Levites. Now, why was that a problem? Because the Levites were specially called out by God to serve in the temple. They were set apart by God to assist the priests. Without Levites, the priests would have to do a lot of work that would keep them away from doing the work God called them to do. And that was work that only the priests could do. Now, if you remember all the way back to when we looked at chapter 2… you remember that in the first remnant, there was a tremendous shortage of Levites, too. There should have been about 10 times the number of Levites compared to priests, but there were actually less Levites than priests in that group. So, here we are 80 years later with an even worse ratio. We don’t know if Ezra had any priests with him, but we know he didn’t have any Levites. When he saw that, he knew that God wouldn’t be pleased. God called for the Levites to perform certain tasks. That was God’s Law, so it was His will. And Ezra knew God’s law and was determined to obey God’s will. So not having Levites was a problem. It was also a problem because it was a clear signal that not everyone was on board. He ran headlong into the people’s comfort and complacency. So, Ezra correctly and clearly recognized and identified the problem. Here’s where churches mess up so often. Churches are quick to identify problems. If the pews aren’t filled—that’s a problem. Then, just as quickly, they jump into solution mode. How are we going to fill the pews? Let’s change our style—that’ll do it. How about changing our décor? One of the largest churches in America credits much of its growth to taking down all the crosses and Christian symbols in their sanctuary so that “seekers” can feel more comfortable. Maybe we need to employ better marketing techniques—be driven by rallies and parties and social events. Maybe we need to upgrade our facilities to make them more fun. One of the largest churches in our denomination experienced an explosion in the number of baptisms a few years back. The vast majority of those baptisms were young children. And those children were baptized in the baptistery that is decorated up like a theme park fire engine ride. When the child comes up out of the water, the sirens go off and canons shoot confetti up into the air. Any one of those things will correct the problem of empty pews. So, if that’s the case, are empty pews the real problem? Or are empty pews really just a symptom of the problem? Could the real problem be commitment? Could it be unrepentant sin? Could it be bitterness? Could it be a lack of brokenness before God? As Ezra looked out over the people, he saw that there weren’t very many people with him. He saw that the people gathered by the river were just a small portion of the people who were really needed in Jerusalem. But he also saw that wasn’t the real problem. The real problem was that there were no Levites. The people specifically called of God to do His work hadn’t shown up. So now that he had properly identified the problem, now it was time to fix it. The first key component to dealing with a problem is to identify the right problem. Then it’s time to come up with a solution. Look at verses 16-17:
EZRA 8:16-17
Deal with problems by coming up with the right solution. Solutions are easy to come by. The right solution isn’t. A man was in a classroom learning how to become a truck driver. The instructor gave him a scenario. He said, “You’re in an 18-wheeler with a heavy load and you’re driving on a two-lane road through the mountains. You’re co-driver, Ed is asleep. There are 6 trucks behind you that all pull out at the same time to pass you as you’re going up a hill. They’re still in the left-hand lane as you crest a hill and see the same thing coming at you from the other direction. 6 trucks coming at you in your lane and one coming at the 6 who are passing you. What do you do?” The student didn’t even have to think about it. He said, “I’d wake Ed up.” That threw the instructor off a little bit, so he asked him, “Why would you do that?” “Because Ed ain’t never seen a wreck like this one before!” That was a solution. But it probably wasn’t the best solution. Well, Ezra had a solution that was a whole lot better than waking up Ed to watch the crash. He knew the problem was that he didn’t have any Levites. So he sent people out to get them. That sounds simple. But notice how he did it. First, he didn’t go himself. He could have—but was that his primary responsibility? No—Ezra’s primary responsibility goes back to his mission. Remember, we talked about his mission a few weeks ago when we looked at 7:10. Ezra 7:10, tells us, “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.” His mission was to seek God’s will, to do God’s will, and to teach God’s will to the people. Was it God’s will for the Levites to go and serve in the temple in Jerusalem? Of course it was. How did Ezra know that? Because God’s Word told him. Now, here comes the tricky part. Since it was God’s will for the Levites to go to Jerusalem, why didn’t Ezra go to get them himself? Because if he would have, how would that have fulfilled the third part of his mission? How would him going to round up some Levites have taught the people anything? It wouldn’t have. As a matter of fact, it would have taught them the wrong lesson altogether. It would have taught them that they were helpless and any of the big jobs had to be done by “the big dog” Ezra. That was not the lesson God called Ezra to teach. So Ezra sought God’s will about the Levites. He did God’s will in sending for them. And he taught God’s will by sending others to go get them. And notice who he sent. He sent 11 total people. Verse 16 calls nine of them “chief men.” By chief men, it means that they were important people. They were people who were well known. They had influence. Verse 16 says that the other two were “men of understanding.” That means they were people who knew what was going on. They understood why the Levites hadn’t come along. They also knew why they were needed. That meant they were able to lay out a very persuasive case to the Levites that would convince them to come. They didn’t go in force. They weren’t armed for combat. They were influential and persuasive. But they didn’t just go out on their own. Verse 17 says that Ezra sent them out with very clear direction. He told them where they were supposed to go. He told them who they were supposed to see when they got there. He even told them what they were supposed to say when they met with them. He gave them specific parameters and direction. And they followed it. Ezra’s solution was specific. In his excitement, he didn’t get caught up and forget his own primary mission. He found the right people to send. He used them according to their gifts and abilities. And he gave them clear direction. And you know what? They were willing to go. They went. And they were faithful to do all they were asked. And God honored their faithfulness. Maybe not in the way they had hoped. But it was in the way that honored His Will and His name. Deal with problems by recognizing the problem and deal with problems by coming up with the right solution. Finally deal with problems by correctly identifying success. Look at verses 18-20.
EZRA 8:18-20
Deal with problems by correctly identifying success. There is no question but that we live in a success obsessed society. People talk about the bottom line and it’s all about the numbers. But the question is, what is success? Well, what was success for Ezra? Any way you want to look at it, the response by the Levites was pitiful. Eleven gifted and talented men went out from Ezra to try and persuade Levites to come with them to Jerusalem. Verse 17 says that they went to “the place Casiphia.” We don’t have any records of any place called Casiphia. But the way it’s referred to here tells us some things about it. Many times when the words “the place” were attached to a proper place name, it meant that it was a type of Jewish sanctuary. These sanctuaries were fairly common in Babylon during the exile. They were what would later become the synagogues we see throughout the Gospels and Acts. The way verse 17 refers to their leader Iddo as, “the chief at the place” indicates that it was some sort of levitical training facility. It was almost as if Ezra sent these people on a recruiting mission to a seminary campus on graduation day. The indication is that this was THE strategic location to reach out to Levites. And look what they came back with. 18 from one clan and 20 from another. Out of all the Levites in Babylon, they could only come up with 38. That’s pitiful. Now, their pitch must have been persuasive. Because 220 Nethinims decided to go along. Nethinims were referred to as temple servants. They were the ones who did the jobs that nobody else wanted to do. They weren’t qualified to handle the priestly or the levitical duties, but they did whatever they could to serve in the temple. So how did Ezra react? Did he hang his head and say “Woe is me?” Did he throw a fit on the folks he sent to do the job? Did he wring his hands and ask, “how in the world are we going to do anything with only 38 Levites?” No—look at his words in verse 18. They were some of Ezra’s favorite words: “By the good hand of our God upon us.” He ACTUALLY thanked God! And it wasn’t like he said, “Thanks God—even though it’s not enough. Even though we’re going to have to work twice as hard. Even though it wasn’t enough. Thanks anyway.” Ezra trusted God so much that he truly was thankful. He actually believed that if God gave him 38 Levites, that must have been enough. You see, Ezra believed that God was in charge of results. He knew that his job was to be faithful to his mission. To be faithful to seek God’s will. To be faithful to do God’s will. And to be faithful to teach God’s will. That was what he was going to do. And he did. That’s success in God’s eyes. What is success in your eyes? Is it results? Or is it faithfulness? Do you know how you can tell? What do you spend more time doing—complaining about the way things are? Or working every day to faithfully accomplish your mission? That’s putting faith into action. Faithfully do what God has called you to do. And trust Him for the results.
