Turn with me to Ezra 10
Our passage tonight runs from verse 6 all the way through the end of the chapter. Because the passage is so long, we’re not going to read it to start off with. We’re going to read it as we go along. We have followed our remnant all the way through the book of Ezra. Tonight we come to the end. But it’s not the end of our time with the remnant. We’re going to take a few weeks off from them and then we’ll pick them up again in the book of Nehemiah.
I think one of the prettiest things you’ll ever see is to watch a well trained bird dog on point. If you’ve never seen one, it’s absolutely amazing. Everything in that dog is telling it to jump and run and chase that bird. But his training holds him back. When you watch him, he will stand perfectly still. If you look real close, you can see every muscle is tense, waiting for the command to go. His eyes never move. His ears are perked up. All of his instincts are telling him to flush that bird. But he waits. He waits until his master gives him the command. And when the command comes, he’s gone like a shot from a gun. That’s the way the remnant was. You remember last week we saw how Ezra knew that the people were ready to accomplish the work God had for them. We saw how Ezra fell on his face before the Lord in repentance for the people. And when he did, the people gathered around him. They gathered around him and took responsibility for their sin. And after they took responsibility for their sin, they publicly professed their willingness to turn away from their sin. And when they did that, they made a public commitment to submit to the godly leadership of Ezra and do whatever it took to turn away from their sin and move forward. And once all of that happened, they were like a bird dog on point. They were ready to go. And that’s what the closing verses of this book are about. They were ready to go, but they only went in response to their leader. And when he spoke the word, they went. In these final verses, we see two wonderful models we can learn from. We see the model of spiritual leadership that Ezra shows us. And we see the model of faithful followership that the people show us. First, let’s look at God’s model for spiritual leadership.
We have said many times that God called Ezra to a specific mission. He called him to know His Word. He called him to live out the things that he learned in God’s Word. And He called him to teach the people what he knew from God’s Word. And Ezra was faithful to fulfill his mission. Just like Ezra had a mission, the people had a mission as well. Their mission was to rebuild Jerusalem as a witness and a testimony of the power of God to the nations. God had a purpose for their lives. But they couldn’t fulfill that purpose because they had unrepentant sin in their midst. Know this: If God has called you and saved you, He has a purpose for your life. If you harbor unrepentant sin in your life, you’ll never be all that God wants you to be. God has a purpose for Brushfork Baptist Church. If we harbor unrepentant sin in our midst, we will never be all that God wants us to be. But the remnant was ready. They were ready to get on with what God had in store for them. But in order to do that, they needed a vision. Not a mystical vision. They needed a leadership vision. So they looked to their leader. And when they looked, he cast the vision—and not in a way that you would expect. The first step Ezra took in leading the people was that he prayerfully prepared for the vision. Look at verse 6.
EZRA 10:6
God’s leader prayerfully prepares for the vision. I’ve got stacks of leadership books. One of the books I have is by a Christian author named George Barna and is called The Power of Vision. It has some pretty interesting stuff in it from the corporate business world. But I don’t think Ezra read it. As a matter of fact, if you were to ask most modern leadership gurus about God’s model for spiritual leadership that Ezra exemplified, they’d say it wouldn’t work. That’s why it’s God’s model and not theirs. Because the models that the books all talk about are based on man’s ability. And when you build leadership models from a foundation of man’s ability, you end up with all different ways to manipulate people. But God’s model doesn’t end with manipulating people to get them to do what He wants. His model is the only one that truly changes people. God’s model takes hearts of stone and brings them to life. His model takes old, dead things and makes them new and alive. His model doesn’t bring glory to any man. God’s model of leadership brings honor to Jesus. That’s why the starting point for God’s model of leadership isn’t doing anything. It isn’t physically taking any action or taking steps to solve any problem. It’s purposely surrendering. It’s intentionally giving away any position of strength. It’s releasing any dependence on physical things. Even to the point of giving up food and water. That’s what Ezra did. He knew that he had no strength for the task at hand. Any vision that he cast on his own would be exactly that—his own. He knew Psalm 127:1: “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” Ezra wasn’t into casting a vain vision. So Ezra prayerfully prepared for the vision. He prayerfully prepared for the vision and when he finished, he moved on to the second step of God’s model for spiritual leadership. He prophetically preached the vision. Skip a few verses and look at verses 10-11.
EZRA 10:10-11
God’s leader prophetically preaches the vision. From all that has happened throughout the past several verses, Ezra knew what the problem was. He knew what the barrier was to the remnant accomplishing all that God had in store for them. He knew they had sin in their midst. The people had confessed it before the Lord and to him. They had even shown their willingness to repent. They said they were willing to put away their foreign wives and their children and send them back to the pagan nations they came from. And here was the kicker. They even publicly swore to do whatever Ezra told them to do. What a power rush! What an opportunity for leadership! What an opportunity for Ezra to really step up to the plate and get some things done. He had the undying support of the people. Think of the possibilities! But look at Ezra’s response. His response showed true, godly leadership. First he prayed, then he preached. But look at how he preached. The temptation for me would be to quit preaching and start commanding. OK, first we’re going to do this. And this is how we’re going to do it. Then we’re going to do that. And while we’re at it, let’s fix this and this and this. I mean, why not? The people told him that they’d do whatever he told them to do. And they swore a binding oath to do it. But by the grace of God, Ezra didn’t do that. He preached. But he only preached what he was called to preach. He didn’t stray from his God-given mission. He preached the Word. He prophetically preached the people’s sin. He didn’t whitewash it. He told it like it was. Then he preached for a decision. He left them with a command to confess and to repent. And then he was done. Everything that needed to be said had already been said. And when everything that needed to be said had been said, Ezra resisted the temptation to say more than needed to be said. I want you to notice what Ezra didn’t say. He didn’t give one single detail about how to accomplish the vision. He didn’t give any budgets or schedules or timelines. He didn’t break down the logistics or the plans or the programs. He simply preached the Word. And the vision was cast as a result of his prayerful preparation and his prophetic preaching. And that was it. No cajoling. No manipulating. No bribing. No beating. No nagging. No micromanaging. None of that. Because all of that is ultimately ineffective. It fails to cast vision. And when it fails to cast vision, as the Psalmist put it—it only casts vanity. In God’s economy, the only model for effective spiritual leadership is Ezra’s model. Prayerfully prepare for the vision and prophetically preach the vision. But, spiritual leadership is only half the picture. Because it was a wise man who once said that if you think you’re leading and no one is following, you’re really only just taking a walk. Ezra wasn’t just taking a walk. He was leading. He was leading because the people were following. When Ezra cast the vision, they received it. They received it and accomplished it. So not only does this passage show us God’s model for spiritual leadership, it also shows us God’s model for faithful followership. The first step the people took in exercising faithful followership was that they expectantly gathered to receive the vision. Go back up to verses 7-9:
EZRA 10:7-9
Godly followers expectantly gather to receive the vision. While Ezra was off praying and fasting in the temple, what were the people doing? Were they just sitting around doing nothing? No, they were spreading the word. They were letting each other know what was going on. And what was going on was a gathering in Jerusalem. One of the corporate buzzwords today is the concept of viral marketing. They say that the most effective marketing today isn’t big, high-dollar advertising campaigns. It isn’t some executive salesman somewhere telling you the virtues of their product. Viral marketing is a new buzzword, but the concept isn’t anything new. The most effective marketing today is the same as it’s always been. It’s word of mouth. Think about it. Ezra could have stood up in front of the people for weeks on end, telling them how important it was for them to meet together in Jerusalem. And the fact is that some of them would have listened. But even the few that showed up would have felt more like the boss called a meeting than like they were excited to be there. But when the people made the proclamation, the word spread like wildfire. Or in today’s marketing terms, it spread like a virus. Yes, they attached a threat to it, but it was all organized and planned and directed by the people themselves. That’s the secret to why it was so well received. That’s the secret as to why ALL the people of Jerusalem gathered. But not only did they gather, they gathered quickly. They got this whole massive meeting planned and organized and accomplished in only three days. Can you imagine! Is there any way one man or even a couple of committees could have directed such a thing? There’s no way! But when the people did it, it worked. And not only did it work to gather the people, look at their attitude when they got there. When they got there, they gathered with an expectant attitude. They were actually anticipating what the Lord had in store for them. They weren’t cynically waiting for another plan or program meeting from the boss that they knew wouldn’t work anyway. They were actually trembling with expectation and anticipation. Do you expect anything when you come to the Lord’s house? Do you anticipate anything? Or do you just come because it’s the thing to do? Here’s how the Psalmist told us to enter the Lord’s house. In Psalm 100:4, he said, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” That’s the way the remnant gathered. Even though it was pouring rain. Even though it was terribly inconvenient. Even though it was crowded. They excitedly spread the word and they expectantly gathered together. They spread the word because they knew God was going to do something amazing. And they gathered together, fully expecting it to happen. They expectantly gathered to receive the vision and then they thoroughly planned to accomplish the vision. Skip back down to verses 12-15.
EZRA 10:12-15
Godly followers thoroughly plan to accomplish the vision. Do you see what’s happening here? They spread the word amongst themselves to gather together in Jerusalem. Then they ALL gathered together expecting God to do a mighty work in their midst. Then Ezra preached the vision to them. And after he preached to them, they came up with a plan amongst themselves to accomplish the vision. Ezra preached to them the big picture of their sin and transgression and what God’s Word said they needed to do about it. Then look at how they responded. Together, in a loud voice, they said, “You’re right! That’s what we’ve got to do!” It’s easy to give an Amen when the preacher steps on somebody else’s toes. But Amens don’t come very easily when it’s your toes that are getting stepped on. The Word of God through Ezra was walking all over ALL the people’s toes. It was cutting them to the quick. And as their souls were bleeding, they were hollering out, “Amen, Amen.” But they didn’t just respond with lip service. They responded with action. Once again, Ezra didn’t give them the plan. He didn’t give them the program. He didn’t give them a list of demands and orders. They came up with those things themselves. We see the details of the plan in these verses, but the point is that they did it. After they expectantly gathered to receive the vision from Ezra, they received it. And after they received it, they applied it. And the first step to applying it was to develop a plan to apply it. Since it was their plan, they were going to do it. They were going to follow it. They were going to see it through to the end. And they were going to enforce it. They owned it. It’s like these companies that give their employees shares of stock. If you own a piece of the company, you have a vested interest in seeing that it does well. That’s what happened here. The people are the ones who developed the plan based on the vision that Ezra had placed before them from God’s Word. And since it was their plan, they owned it. And since they owned it, they did it. They worked it. They implemented it. But not only did they implement it, they executed it. Look at verses 16-17.
EZRA 10:16-17
Godly followers faithfully work to execute the vision. What a beautiful group of words. “And the children of the captivity did so.” They did it. There’s an old saying about the road to Hell being paved with good intentions. Well, they didn’t just have good intentions. They didn’t just have good intentions, because it was their plan. It was their ideas. It was their energy and personal investment. It wasn’t a top-down enterprise. It was a God-led, Word-centered, vision-directed, people-owned operation. And because of that, it worked. They were able to accomplish something that would have been impossible otherwise. Step back for a minute and remember what the vision was they were accomplishing. This passage continues on to the end of the chapter. I didn’t read it because it’s a long list of names. But each of those names represents people. And all of those people were having to send away their pagan wives and children. That meant that they were having to give up a lot. Each of them was having to sacrifice a lot. Deep, personal, intense, emotional sacrifice. Do you think that ever would have happened if the plan had been implemented from the top-down? No, if it Ezra would have tried it, the people would have rebelled and been full of resentment. But they weren’t. Why? Because Ezra prayed over the vision. And in the power of God’s all-sufficient Word, Ezra preached the vision. And by the grace of God, the people expectantly received the vision. And the people took ownership of the vision and developed a plan to accomplish the vision. And that’s what enabled them to successfully execute this incredibly difficult vision. And because they so effectively executed this vision, God used them in a mighty way. Do you want God to use us in a mighty way? If you do, then I’ll make a deal with you. I will continue to examine the way I pray over the vision. And I will continue to work hard to study God’s Word in order that I might faithfully and prophetically preach the vision. I will do those things. As the apostles said in Acts 6:4, “We will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.” That’s what I’m going to do. What are you going to do? As I stand before you tonight and recommit to doing that, will you stand before me and commit to expectantly receive the vision that’s preached? Will you commit to thoroughly plan to accomplish the vision? And will you commit to faithfully work to execute the vision? Our mission is clear. Our mission is the Great Commission. Our mission is to look outside these walls and reach this world for Christ. It’s a huge task. But our God is great. And by His might and by His power we can accomplish our mission. We just have to catch the vision. We have to catch the vision and plan how we’re going to accomplish it. We have to catch the vision, plan how we’re going to accomplish it and then get busy. Will you make that commitment tonight? If we were to give a list of names like the book of Ezra ends with. If we were to give a list of names of those who were ready to make that commitment to personally own the vision that God has for this church, would your name be on it?
