Sermon Tone Analysis

So far, our study of Ezra has brought out some challenges for us.

We have seen how God is able to do the impossible, and we have seen how he calls us back to himself in worship.

We have seen that our worship can and should include our hard emotions and that when we follow God, we will encounter roadblocks.

We have seen for the last two weeks that God will use his word to help us overcome those roadblocks, so we must be devoted to studying and knowing our Bibles.

This morning, we are going to build on that idea as we look at Ezra and the exiles’ return to Jerusalem.

There is a phrase that Ezra repeats at least 5 different times in chapters 7-8, and it is where I want us to focus this morning.

In Ezra’s life, we see that as he followed God’s plan, he acknowledged that God’s gracious hand was on him.

In fact, if you catch nothing else from this morning’s message, I want you to see that to have God’s gracious hand, you must follow his plan.

We will talk about two indicators that we are walking in God’s plan from this account in Ezra.

Because it is a little long, I am not going to read the whole thing.

Let me tell you the story.

This is the story from God’s Word:

Ezra was a servant of King Artaxerxes, one of the Persian kings.

They lived in Babylon, and in the course of time, God put it in Artaxerxes’ heart to send Ezra back to Jerusalem to teach the law to God’s people and make sure the temple and sacrifices were like they needed to be.

The journey went quickly and smoothly because, as Ezra said, “the hand of the Lord his God was on him.”

(7:6)

Artaxerxes sent a letter with Ezra that explained where he was going and why.

It also commanded the other officials over those areas that they were to give Ezra anything he needed for the temple and the sacrifices.

The king even gave Ezra authority to teach God’s law and hold people accountable to it, even if it meant putting someone to death.

Giving him such favor with the king was something only God could do, which is why Ezra praised God for what Artaxerxes was giving them.

He had the courage he needed to do the work, as he says, “because I was strengthened by the hand of the Lord my God.” (7:28)

He gathered together the priests to go back, but as they searched through who was returning, they realized they didn’t have any Levites, who were the priests’ helpers.

They sent men to see if they could get some Levites to come with him, and they found some very capable men.

Why? Because, as Ezra says, “the gracious hand of our God was on us…”(8:18)

Jerusalem is a long way away from Babylon, and the roads between the two were filled with dangerous bandits and criminals.

Ezra could have asked the king to send a security detail with him but he didn’t.

Instead, he and the other returnees fasted and prayed and sought God’s face to protect them.

Why?

Because he had already told the king, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his fierce anger is against all who abandon him” (8:22).

God answered their prayer and they made incredibly good time.

They arrived in Jerusalem safely and without incident.

Ezra was clear about why they made it safely.

That’s why he says again, “The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way.

(Ezra 8:31, ESV)

Do you want God to have his hand on you like he did Ezra?

Then let’s look to see how we can know if we are walking in his plan.

The first indicator that Ezra was following God’s plan was that he was quick to...

1) Give him credit.

Ezra couldn’t help but give God the credit for what he had done.

Nowhere do we see Ezra saying, “Because I had been such a great servant to the king, he trusted me to take this journey,” or, “Because I had such great situational awareness, we never fell into an ambush,” or, “We had the leaders we needed because of my incredible managerial skill.”

No, every single time we see God at work in the journey back to Jerusalem, Ezra is saying, “All of this was because the hand of our God was with us.”

Look at how he thanked God for working in the king’s heart.

Look at 7:27-28.

Now flip over to 8:31 - The translation we are using doesn’t show this as clearly, but here is a more literal rendering:

It was the hand of their God who delivered them from the hand of the enemy.

This is a great time for us to take stock of our own lives: how do you handle success?

Are you crushing it in all your classes this semester?

Why?

Is it because you are so sharp and have studied so hard?

Take it a step further: who gave you the brain to think like that?

Who opened the door for you to live where you do so you could go to school where you are?

Ultimately, doesn’t God get the credit for that?

Is your marriage in a good place, or are your kids turning out great?

Then who did that?

The God who works to strengthen relationships, protect us from harm, and equip us to fight when difficult days come?

You can apply this to any area: health, finances, jobs, relationships.

In fact, here’s what James reminds us:

Who has enabled our church to grow this year?

Who has helped people come to walk with Christ through baptism and honor him through obedience?

It is God alone who deserves the credit.

Ezra knew that everything that had made the journey easier was the result of the hand of God on his life.

Maybe you have lost sight of that, so today, you need to look back over the last week and see where God’s hand was working.

Did anyone in here put into practice what we talked about last week in studying God’s word?

If so, did you see something in there that you needed to change?

Remember, that is God speaking to you.

Do you have food in your pantry today?

Then God has given you your daily bread.

Are you still breathing?

Then God is still sustaining your life.

For Ezra, God’s hand worked in great ways to keep them safe, provide them everything they needed, and get them to Jerusalem.

What about when it doesn’t go like that?

What do you do when it feels like you are having to walk uphill through mud to accomplish anything, and everything you touch seems to be breaking?

Two thoughts: the hand of God is used in other parts of the Bible to describe the weight of God’s discipline when his people get off track.

At one point in his life, King David, who was one of the greatest kings in Israel’s history, had sinned and refused to ask for forgiveness.

Here’s how he described it:

It could be that some of the trouble you are facing is because you aren’t living out God’s plan and are trying to make it on your own.

In that case, his hand is on you to show you that you are off track and draw you back to himself.

We saw that in Haggai’s prophecy two weeks ago, didn’t we?

Because God’s people weren’t rebuilding the temple, they couldn’t get ahead, their crops failed, and nothing seemed to work.

God doesn’t do this to make us squirm or because he likes hurting people.

In fact, the most loving thing he can do is help you see that there is a problem!

So, if you seem to keep coming to a dead end at every turn, then you should make sure that there isn’t an area where you aren’t following him closely.

Sometimes, though, you search your heart and don’t see any areas where you are majorly off track.

We will never be perfect in this life, but you don’t see any parts of your life where you are consciously and willingly walking out of step with God.

What about those moments when it doesn’t seem like things are going right?

Are you willing to glorify God in those moments, crediting him with sustaining you in the confusing, difficult times as well?

We see that clearly in Job, don’t we?

Job was a man who loved God and served him faithfully, and yet in a matter of moments, all his children were killed and his servants and livestock were killed or stolen.

Eventually, even his health was taken.

Here was what happened next:

In that moment, Job was willing to acknowledge that sometimes God hand leads us through difficult days.

Are you?

Is your faith in God strong enough to give him credit for the ways you are doing well, even in the midst of the ups and down.

Maybe this afternoon, you need to sit down and write out a list of all the things God has done for you.

Every gift, which includes life and food and health and knowledge and education and clothes and everything else we have and are.

Take time to thank God for it, and give him credit for how he is working in the midst of it.

You may not feel it yet, but there are times when you have to do the right thing before you feel it.

That doesn’t make you a hypocrite, it makes you obedient.

You can say, “God, I’m not fully there yet, and I am still confused and I hurt, but I thank you for putting your hand on my life in this way.”

This isn’t some kind of Pollyanna, rose-tinted blind optimism; it is an expression of the faith and belief that God truly is good and truly is worth everything you have and are.

Ezra was quick to give God credit, recognizing that God’s hand was on him.