How God Changes the Unchangeable
Series: Letting God Guide You
May 22, 2005
Problems! You got um! I’ve got um! All God’s children got problems! Sometimes problems are small and quickly solved… sometimes problems overwhelm us. It’s like the guy who had 4 long distance calls before he could get out the door to go to work …all of them had problems that needed his attention…and all of them wanted him to catch a plane and have him come to help… he skipped breakfast only to find out that his car wouldn’t start. So he called a taxi. While he was waiting, he got another call from someone else with a problem. Finally the taxi came and the driver asked…”Where do you want me to take you?” He said, “It doesn’t matter, I’ve got problems everywhere!”
Ever had that problem? Problems are everywhere! We deal with them every moment of everyday… from computers crashing, to kids who need rides that we can’t give them. Problems can be overwhelming at times, but if you think about it… problems give meaning to life. For example, the main obstacle a powerboat has to overcome, is water against the propeller… but then again if it wasn’t for the resistance of water against the propeller… the boat couldn’t move!
· The problem of ignorance gives meaning to education.
· Health problems… give meaning to medicine.
· The problem of social disorder gives meaning to government…
Problems give life creative tension! Think about the great things that have come about because of problems… for example… most of the Psalms were written out of great difficulty. Most of the N.T. was written in prisons….
· Bury a person in the snows of Valley Forge and you get a George Washington.
· Raise him in total poverty, and you get a Abraham Lincoln
· Strike him down with infant paralysis and he becomes Franklin D. Roosevelt.
· Have him born in a society filled with racial discrimination and you get a Booker T. Washington, George Washingtom Carver, or a Martin Luther King Jr.
· Call him a slow learner, write him off as uneducable… and you get an Albert Einstein.
Most people want to run from their problems… but because problems are such a large part of life, they end up running from life!
So… the idea isn’t to run from your problems… but to embrace and learn from them. That’s what we’re going to try and do today!
Because as we’ll soon learn, Esther and King Xerxes have a big, (and seemingly insurmountable) problem. READ Esther 8:1-7 (NCV)
The ‘gig’ was up! Esther had just revealed that she was Jewish, and the person who was out to kill her (the Kings Queen), his honored servant Mordecai, AND the entire Jewish race… was none other than his most trusted Chancellor… Haman! This was treason of the greatest kind! The King is so angry… He stomps out. But it gets worse for Haman. Knowing that his goose is cooked, he falls on his knees before Esther. Begging for her mercy,”I had no idea that you were of Jewish blood! It was nothing personal, it’s just that terrible old Jew who sits at the palace gates and refuses to…”
Esther: “For your information, that old Jew is my father!”
Shocked again, he grovels at the couch Esther was laying on, nearly covering her body. It was at that moment that the King comes back in, and thinks that Haman is now molesting his wife! Now he’s really ticked off! Immediately he has Haman hauled off and stuck on the very pole that Haman intended to impale Mordecai on.
But even though Haman is dead, the Jews aren’t in the clear. Haman had tricked King Xerxes into signing the extermination of the Jews into law! And this just wasn’t any law… it was the “Law of the Medes and the Persians”… sealed with the Kings own signet ring! It was a law that couldn’t be broken… not even by the King Himself. Folks! We gotta problem! I’m reminded of the advise that President Eisenhower gave to President John F. Kennedy on his Inauguration Day. He said, ”You’ll find no easy problems ever come to the President of the United States. If they’re easy to solve, somebody else has already solved them.”
The problem King Xerxes is faced with… is a doozy! Imagine this morning if you were “King of the World for a Day”, what would you do? I’ve told people that if I was “King of the World” for a day, in a perfect world… I’d make everyone get rid of their Chevy’s and their Fords and force them to buy a Honda. But then this isn’t a perfect world is it? Ask yourself, “How would you go about solving the problems of this world? How do you go about solving the problems of your life?”
Now I don’t know what kind of problem you’re facing today, but I would imagine that if God could solve this one… He can solve any problem you have. With that in mind, from the life of the King, Esther and Mordacai… I want to give you “4 Steps to Effective Problem Solving” that you can use in your life.
And the 1st one is this…
1. Take RESPONSIBILITY for your problem.
The first step to solving any problem is for us to take personal responsibility for it. The entire book of Esther is basically the story of a young woman and an old man, who took responsibility for a huge problem. A problem that threatened their very existence. At one point, Esther was tempted to say, “What problem?” She was wanted to live in a pretend world where she was immune, and uninvolved and just walk away, but Mordacai jerked her back into reality by confronting her with her responsibility to her nation. READ Esther 4:13,14 .
The great thing about Esther is that she took responsibility. Her peoples problem, became her problem… and she responded with courage. I think a lot of the problems that we’re faced with in our society today would be solved if we stepped up to the plate and took personal responsibility for them. For example, abortion is a huge problem in our nation today, and there aren’t any easy answers… but all of us can do something… we can support “Crises Pregnancy Center” (explain)
God wants us to take responsibility for our personal problems too, but too often we want to sluff it all off on Him. As a result…
· Wives wait around, praying for God to intervene in their alcoholic husbands life… when God is waiting for them to take responsibility.
· Husbands and wives waiting around, asking God to change their spouse, when what they need to do is take responsibility for their part in the problem.
· Parents helplessly stand by, allowing their kids to walk all over them waiting for God to change them, when God is saying, “You’re the parent! Take responsibility for their actions!”
Now, if you know me, you know that I’m not downplaying the role of prayer in any way. I’m just saying that, all too often, in the name of ‘waiting on God’, we fail to take responsibility for our actions. We want God to just ZAP a situation and solve it for us, without getting our hands dirty! That’s because it’s easier to wait on a miracle than it is to do the difficult thing God wants us to do.
If you’re not happy with the way your life is, or your education, or your marriage…or any other big problem you face… God’s given you the power to change it. But 1st, you have to take responsibility for it. That may mean that you need to take responsibility for making your own problems. It’s like the bumper sticker that reads, “If you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for weeks!
Jack Paar, the original host on the tonight show once said,
“Looking back, my life seems to be one long obstacle course, with me as the chief obstacle.” That’s true of all of us! We need to stop making excuses and allow God to start dealing with us.
Each of us need to take 3 Steps Towards Responsibility…
· Be responsible for who you are… we talked about this.
· Be responsible for what you received (READ Luke 12:48)
· Be responsible for what you can do.
It’s like the guy who complained, “I’d like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine and injustice, when He could do something about it.” His friend asked, “What’s stopping you?” Because I’m afraid God might ask me the same question!”
The truth is… every problem introduces you to yourself. Hear that? (repeat) Every problem shows you how you think, and what you’re made of. When you come face to face with a problem, how do you react? Do you ignore it, and hope it goes away? Do you feel powerless and start playing the victim? Do you give up? Or do you roll up your sleeves and take it on?
The ability to solve problems comes from the experience of facing and overcoming obstacles. Everytime you do that, you get a little better. But if you never try, fail and try again… you’ll never succeed. The only difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people have failed more times, but they learned from their failure and refused to stay down.
Taking responsibility for your problem is the 1st step…
2. Take A BREAK from your problem.
When faced with the fact that Haman was trying to kill the Jewish race (and his wife with them), Xerxes 1st reaction was just like ours is. He got angry! He blew up! And then he did something that I think was really wise. Did you catch it?
READ vs. 7:7 The king was very angry, so he got up, left his wine, and went out into the palace garden.”-Esther 7:7
I don’t know about you, but my first reaction to a problem is my worst reaction. It’s usually emotional, and it’s usually wrong.
If while you’re upset and emotional, you sit down to the computer and shoot off an angry e-mail… 9 times out of 10… it’ll be the wrong thing to do! Go ahead and write it if you want… but just don’t send it.
Xerxes, was angry… but instead of acting rashly…he knew himself well enough to excuse himself and go out into his gardens to take a little walk. Clear his head a little. Get perspective. That’s impressive to me, because if you try and solve a problem, while you’re still upset… you’ll mess up for sure! The times I’ve messed it up with my kids the worst, (and had to later go back and ask for forgiveness) …is when I reacted instead of calmed down for a minute. If you’ll learn to simply take a break, you can identify the real issues instead of attacking the symptoms. And if you really want to solve problems… you have to get to the root causes.
Don’t be like the soldier who was learning how to parachute. He was given the following instructions…
1. Jump when you are told
2. Count to 10 and then pull the ripcord
3. In the unlikely event that it doesn’t open, pull the 2nd chute open, and…
4. When you get down, a truck will be waiting to take you back to base.
The plane got to the right altitude and men started peeling out; the soldier was pushed out before he was told to jump. He counted to 10, pulled the cord, but it didn’t open. He frantically tried to pull the 2nd cord… it didn’t open either. As he continued to fall without a parachute, he muttered to himself… “And I suppose the truck won’t be there when I get down either!”
I think the guy failed to recognize his real problem!”
Prov.14:17… Unchecked anger will make a small problem bigger! Someone with a quick temper does foolish things, but someone with understanding remains calm.
.- Prov.14:29…Patient people have great understanding, but people with quick tempers show their foolishness
3. Take ADVISE for your problem.
The 3rd thing that Xerxes did to deal with his problem, (that I thought was pretty smart) was that he surrounded himself with advisors. Granted his choice of advisors wasn’t too good in the past, but finally he got it right! In 8:1-2, he replaces Haman with Esther & Mordacai as his top advisors. (READ)
Who do you go to when you have a problem? 56% of people surveyed go to family members, 43% go to friends, 38% go to the bible, 22% go to other books, and 16% go to a minister or priest. (ouch!) For some of you, your biggest problem is that you go to the WRONG people when you have a problem! Whether it’s a family member, friend or a pastor, it’s more important to choose the right person than it is to choose the closest person. In fact, sometimes the closest person is the worst one to ask.... because they’re too involved in the problem, or they have a bias that’s going to lead you in the wrong direction.
It’s like the city councilman who was just elected to mayor. As he sat at his desk for the 1st time, he discovered that his predecessor had left hem 3 envelopes with instructions that they should be opened only in times of emergency. Before long he was in trouble with the press, so he opened up the 1st envelope. The note said, “Blame your predecessor”, so that’s what he did.
Things went great, until in a few months he was in big trouble again. So he opened the 2nd envelope. The note said, “REORGANIZE”. So that’s what he did. That bought him a few more months, but things began to unravel again and so in desperation he opened the last envelope… the note inside read…”. “Prepare 3 envelopes.” If you’re going to get advise, make sure it’s coming from people who were successful with their own problems!
Once you’ve put your team of advisors together… have a problem solving party and use the T.E.A.C.H. process…
T… Spend TIME discovering the real issue
E… Exposure… find out what others have done.
A…Assistance. Have your team, list all the possible causes… then
list as many solutions as possible…
C… Creativity
H… Hit it. Prioritize and implement the best solution.
Remember, when you’re looking for a solution, and you’re called on to be the leader…(at job or ministry team) be a coach and not a king. See, a king only gives commands… a coach brings out the best in everyone by listening to their ideas with an open heart.
Listen, it’s lonely at the top, so make sure that you take some advisors that you can trust to give you wise and honest opinions…
a. free of vindictive attitudes
b. are loyal to God 1st and you 2nd.
c. handling own life successfully.
Xerxes could be sure that Esther and Mordacai would have the courage to speak up when he was wrong, even though he was the King. They proved it here!
4. Take ACTION on your problem.
The great thing about God is that when He solves a problem, He uses us and then allows us to get the credit! Just like the rest of the book, God is in the background working, helping, directing.
There’s a myth going around about solving problems in a godly way. Most people think that having “faith” means that we just stand idly by, while God solves all our problems. Nothing could be further from the truth! I’ve seen so many people hurt as they wait around for God, to do something… that God expected them to do!
Let me say it again… Sometimes we wait for God to do, what God is waiting for us to do!
God wants us to have an “ACTIVE FAITH”. A faith that stretches us out of our comfort zones. When the bible talks about ‘waiting on the Lord’, it’s not telling us to turn off our brains and live like a Christian zombie! It means to wait on God’s timing and power.
In otherwords, we do everything we possibly can in faith, and then leave what we CAN’T do to God! If you’re problem is that you need a job and you’re unemployed… God doesn’t want you to sit by and wait for Him to magically drop one into your lap. He wants you to go through the interviews, fill-out the applications and do what you can do… and then He’ll do what He does!
When I started our 1st church in Washington, MO. I’d spend hours in my office, praying, asking God to bring people to our church. One day, the pastor who was discipling me asked me, “So, what are you doing to reach people for Christ?” I said, “Well, right now, I’m spending a lot of time in my office praying about it.” He said, “Well, you’ve prayed enough… it’s time to hit the streets and start knocking on doors!” I was shocked! “You mean, God want me to do something?” Yeah!!!
You know what? Amazingly, it wasn’t until I actually put some ‘feet’ on my prayers that God started opening doors in that community!
(God is like a rudder) God has an answer to your problem!!!! But He wants you to actively pursue it!
Sometimes that requires that you think outside the lines. Thankfully, we have a very creative God and He helps us think creatively. I mean, look at the details of the world around you, and tell me that God isn’t incredibly creative! Wow! To think up how to make us work from scratch… amazing! And we think George Lucas is creative!
Creativity is critical for problem-solving. This is where the fault-finders and the naysayers should bow out and keep quiet! Like “Ancient Chinese proverb” say…” Man who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt man who is doing it!”
Let’s practice some creative problem solving…
1. Draw 9 dots
2. Connect the 9 dots below with straight lines without lifting your pen or pencil. Stuck?
3. Probably because you made certain assumptions that limited your answers… for example, did you assume that the lines couldn’t extend beyond the imaginary square formed by the dots?
4. Did you assume that the lines had to pass thru the center of the dots?
5. Some of you assumed that the lines had to be thin. One fat line would solve the problem.
6. Did you assume that couldn’t rip the paper? If tear into 9 pieces, you can connect with one line!
Sometimes our assumptions keep us from solving the problems of life! But God doesn’t have any boundaries! Everything is possible with God! Xerxes gave complete authority for Esther and Mordecai to solve the problem of reversing an irreversible law… and do you know how they did it? They wrote a new law! Even though the Persians were still given permission to kill Jews… the new law gave Jews permission to defend themselves! (READ)
God has an answer for your unanswerable problem, but He wants to use you to discover it. (REVIEW)
PRAY
