1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,360 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. 2 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:18,720 This season of messages takes us through some of the great comeback stories in the Bible. 3 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:23,820 Pastor John Metter of Cross City Church will show us how God can take any situation in 4 00:00:23,820 --> 00:00:27,800 any life and bring hope and victory out of hardship. 5 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,960 These messages will inspire you to trust God in your own challenging seasons. 6 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:38,480 Well, I love the title of this book and this message series, God's Not Done With You. 7 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:42,880 And I hope that that resonates in your heart and mind because God is not done with you. 8 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:48,300 If you still have breathing ability, if your heart is still beating, you're still alive, 9 00:00:48,300 --> 00:00:49,300 God is not done with you. 10 00:00:49,300 --> 00:00:54,360 Even though sometimes we wonder if God's done with us if He hasn't spoken to us in recent 11 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:55,360 days. 12 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,560 He hasn't worked in a powerful way in recent seasons of our life. 13 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:00,960 I promise you He's not done with you. 14 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,160 Please take your Bibles this morning and turn to the book of Esther today. 15 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:08,960 The book of Esther, you'll find Esther just to the left of the book of Psalms and Job 16 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:12,720 and so there it is in the early part of the Old Testament. 17 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:17,440 Esther chapter number four, we're going to read about several verses out of Esther chapter 18 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:22,560 four, but we're going to look at the whole book of Esther today for just a few moments. 19 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:24,220 God gives real hope. 20 00:01:24,220 --> 00:01:30,160 You know, whenever I was compiling all these stories, I was looking for a contemporary 21 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:35,400 example of someone that fits or parallels Esther's life. 22 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,760 And I couldn't find a contemporary story. 23 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,320 I don't know of anyone that's gone through the kinds of things that she's gone through. 24 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:46,980 I don't know if anybody has faced the kind of threats that she has faced and come through 25 00:01:46,980 --> 00:01:51,320 on the other side in that incredible way that the story ends with. 26 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,120 I couldn't find a contemporary example. 27 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:58,360 And then I realized that some of the examples in the scripture like Job and like Esther 28 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,040 are what I would call blanket examples. 29 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:05,680 That is, they go through so many different things that none of us really go through all 30 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:12,000 of those, but underneath that blanket illustration, we find our own place and we find those circumstances 31 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:17,160 that we go through that are extremely difficult, extremely challenging, and in this case, those 32 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:21,240 circumstances that seem to have no hope at all. 33 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:25,080 So if you find your place in Esther chapter four for just a few moments, let me give you 34 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:26,400 some background. 35 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:31,480 The very first chapter of the book of Esther is a book that really spells hopelessness 36 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,080 all across the board. 37 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:38,000 Babylon's culture, this is where she is living at the time as an exile in Babylon. 38 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,800 It's one of paganism and patriarchy. 39 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:48,120 It's sexist, it's drunkenness, it's war that she faces every single day in that culture. 40 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:53,600 She's a minority woman with no husband, no one to look after her, hated by so many as 41 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:59,440 a Jew, and there is a nemesis in this whole book named Haman, a man that's wicked to the 42 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:04,640 core, he wants to put every Jewish person to death in Babylon. 43 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:07,040 And his plan is to exterminate them, and he's got a good plan. 44 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:12,480 He's got the influence that's necessary with King Ahasuerus to actually bring that about. 45 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:18,280 Well, King Ahasuerus in the first chapter has sponsored this drunken orgy of all of 46 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,400 his captains before they go to war. 47 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:25,520 He's called Queen Vashti to come and parade her beauty in front of all of them, which 48 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,560 is a lewd request. 49 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:33,320 She refuses him, she's deposed as queen, and his counselors say, now here's what you need, 50 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:34,800 you need a new queen. 51 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:40,200 And you need to ask all the beautiful women in the land to step up into this beauty contest 52 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:44,400 over the course of about a year, and you need to select a brand new queen. 53 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:49,960 Well, Esther finds herself without choice in the middle of that scenario. 54 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:56,040 She actually is prepared for and has a knight with the king, and later is crowned queen, 55 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:57,840 again without choice. 56 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:03,040 Hopelessness, because she's one of those that Haman is determined to put to death. 57 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:05,760 Despair, because she has no choice. 58 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:10,600 Her morality, her values, her future, her life, all those are being threatened. 59 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:15,040 And now, as we are about to read in chapter four, she's about to make an appeal before 60 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:21,800 this pagan king that will end up either saving her and her people or exterminating her and 61 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:22,800 her people. 62 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,800 It's a big moment in the life of Esther, chapter four. 63 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:28,400 Would you stand with me as we read these several verses? 64 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:33,400 And these verses will kind of form what we understand to be the way God works when we 65 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:40,040 don't see him work, when we don't hear what he says, but still he's at work. 66 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:47,920 So Esther speaks to the messengers, and she says to Mordecai, who is her adoptee father, 67 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,200 he is the son of her uncle and later on adopts her. 68 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:52,280 We'll tell that story in just a moment. 69 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:55,040 And she responds to him in verse 11. 70 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,400 All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that for any man 71 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:04,600 or woman who comes to the king, to the inner court, who's not summoned, he has but one 72 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:10,040 law that he be put to death unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that 73 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:11,340 he may live. 74 00:05:11,340 --> 00:05:14,000 And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these 30 days. 75 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:20,160 In other words, for me to go speak on behalf of the Jewish people, my life is in danger. 76 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,480 They related to Esther's words to Mordecai. 77 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,160 This is her righteous uncle, this great man that we'll learn about. 78 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:30,960 And Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, do not imagine that you in the king's palace 79 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,840 can escape any more than all the Jews. 80 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:39,180 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from 81 00:05:39,180 --> 00:05:42,520 another place and you and your father's house will perish. 82 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:47,480 And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this. 83 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:52,000 But Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, go assemble all the Jews who are found in 84 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:56,200 Susa and fast for me, do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. 85 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:00,840 I and my handmaidens will also fast in the same way and thus I will go into the king 86 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:02,800 which is not according to the law. 87 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,040 And if I perish, I perish. 88 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:07,600 Those are famous words in the book of Esther. 89 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:12,800 So Mordecai went away and did just as Esther had commanded him. 90 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:17,600 Incredible book, incredible scenario, a really key moment in that conversation. 91 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:20,480 If I die, I die. 92 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,760 She is trusting God whom she has not seen, whom she has not heard from. 93 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:28,200 God's name is not even mentioned in the entire book of Esther. 94 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:32,640 What would you do if you couldn't hear from God, if you couldn't see God at work? 95 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,200 Could you trust God the way Esther did? 96 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:41,040 Father today, our prayer is that you'll help us trust you the way she trusted you. 97 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:46,080 In spite of maybe times and seasons where we don't hear from you, seasons where we don't 98 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:48,960 know what you're doing, don't understand what's behind the scene. 99 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:54,440 Father, I pray that you will give us faith and strength in your greatness and your goodness 100 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:55,440 as you gave her. 101 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,120 I ask this in Jesus' name. 102 00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:59,720 God's people said amen. 103 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:00,720 Please be seated if you would. 104 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:09,240 Man, I love this book in so many different ways and I realize this book is filled with 105 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:10,240 hopelessness. 106 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,080 It's filled with this question mark of what is God gonna do? 107 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,720 How is God going to redeem this whole circumstance? 108 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:22,400 It's also an incredibly important book because this is the one book, the one narrative historical 109 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,160 account in the Bible where God's name is not mentioned. 110 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:28,720 Nowhere in the book of Esther will God's name be mentioned. 111 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:34,840 There are no prophets speaking to Esther during this period of time like there are in so many 112 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,520 other accounts of scripture in the Old Testament. 113 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:43,360 But what you have is the unseen hand of God working behind the scenes where you don't 114 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:44,360 see him working. 115 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:48,200 And what she sees on one side of the picture is a mess. 116 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:53,560 And what God is weaving on the other side of the scene is a perfect picture of his redemptive 117 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:54,560 power. 118 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:56,560 That's often what it's like in life. 119 00:07:56,560 --> 00:08:00,880 I thought about the idea of a tapestry as I was preparing this message. 120 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:02,680 Some of you know what a tapestry is. 121 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:06,960 I had to look it up to make sure I had my wording right on the tapestry part. 122 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:11,200 But on the back side of a tapestry is the confusing part. 123 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:15,600 By the way it's woven you see a picture that's visible on one side but on the back side of 124 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,640 that tapestry is a picture of confusion. 125 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:21,200 I have a picture of one that is on the back side. 126 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:25,800 Now can you make any sense, rhyme, or reason about what the picture on the other side is 127 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,760 going to look like of that particular piece of tapestry? 128 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:31,000 My answer would be I don't think so. 129 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,660 I certainly can't see what that looks like on the other side. 130 00:08:34,660 --> 00:08:38,360 You just have to believe that there's something better than that picture on the other side, 131 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:39,360 right? 132 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,560 And then all over you see another picture and that picture has definition. 133 00:08:42,560 --> 00:08:43,960 It has clarity. 134 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:48,920 The name of it is unfinished sky and it has a sense of beauty and order about it that 135 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:51,640 you didn't see from the other side. 136 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:56,640 Now the reason I show this picture to you is because this is like the life of Esther. 137 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:58,920 Total chaos on one side. 138 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:03,480 Confusion as to why God is letting things happen in a certain way as they are happening 139 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:08,040 and yet on the other side God is weaving something that's very, very powerful. 140 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:13,520 Let me just tell you a line that I believe is important for us as we walk through this. 141 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:17,400 Hopelessness is what she's experiencing and hopelessness is when we no longer believe 142 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:21,640 a situation or a purpose or a person can be redeemed. 143 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:26,520 It's when we don't think that God is going to be able to salvage our circumstance. 144 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:29,920 I don't know how many of you have ever been in a situation like that but I've been in 145 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:32,200 a situation like that many times. 146 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:36,080 Any volunteers in here, have you ever found hopelessness to be what's just ahead of you? 147 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:39,800 Raise your hand if you've experienced that just a little bit in your life. 148 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,760 Because you don't have answers, because nothing makes sense, because you don't know how God 149 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:49,280 is going to intervene or what God is going to do, things seem somewhat hopeless. 150 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:50,280 And that's the life of Esther. 151 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:51,720 That's the book of Esther. 152 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:56,720 A hopeless scenario where God is still working even though you can't see him work, you can't 153 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:00,840 hear what he's saying but he's nonetheless working and in the end you'll be able to see 154 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:01,840 it. 155 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:03,720 That's where hope comes in. 156 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:11,120 The life of Esther shows us how to find hope and how to have courage when God is silent. 157 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:18,080 So I want you to listen to me today as I talk about how to find hope and how to have courage 158 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:23,200 because both of those are so vitally important to our lives and to our life of faith. 159 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,800 First of all, how did Esther have faith in God? 160 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,240 How does she hope at all? 161 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:32,640 A few things I'm going to observe as we walk through this book for these few minutes today. 162 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:37,000 First of all, hope rises when we remember God's history of intervention. 163 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,200 Now stay with me here for just a few moments. 164 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:42,960 Hope rises when we think back to how God has worked in time past. 165 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:50,240 When we remember God's habit, historical habit of intervening into people's lives. 166 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:54,520 You'll go back and read the Old Testament and you'll see story after story of God's 167 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:58,840 intervention into the lives of those who are his followers. 168 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:00,840 He does it over and over. 169 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,560 If you look at Esther chapter two, verse five, you'll learn something about this man named 170 00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:09,280 Mordecai who has a prominent place in the story of Esther. 171 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:11,800 And in chapter two, verse five, it says this about his life. 172 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:18,200 Now there was, that's a Citadel in Susa, a Jew whose name was Mordecai. 173 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:23,040 That describes him in various ways, but also a Benjamite. 174 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,680 What that tells us about this man named Mordecai is that he has a significant background. 175 00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:31,200 He's actually a descendant of King Saul. 176 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:37,240 And during this era of time, the Jewish people were experts at passing on the oral tradition 177 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:41,920 of how God worked in previous generations. 178 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:46,880 So as a descendant of Saul, this man, Mordecai, would know about the stories of God's intervention 179 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,120 into the life of the Jewish people. 180 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:54,220 He would know God as someone who leads and rescues and intervenes, not just a God that's 181 00:11:54,220 --> 00:11:59,760 invisible and not even just a creator God, but he would know him as the creator God who 182 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:06,120 is bigger than all, but who often steps into scenarios and into lives and into nations 183 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:09,240 and changes things and rescues his people. 184 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:11,440 That's how Mordecai knows God. 185 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:17,260 And because Mordecai eventually adopted this woman named Esther, we know that Esther also 186 00:12:17,260 --> 00:12:20,120 has that same kind of heritage. 187 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:24,560 She would have heard stories about God's miraculous intervention. 188 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:26,720 Now let me say this to you because you've heard the same stories. 189 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:28,880 We've even sung some of those today. 190 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:32,360 The God of David, the God of Jacob, the God of Isaac. 191 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,200 Why do we remind you of all those things? 192 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:35,200 Here's why. 193 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:40,220 Because remembering God's intervening ways sets us up for hope. 194 00:12:40,220 --> 00:12:45,540 If I believe God is the God who intervenes, I have hope he will intervene into my life. 195 00:12:45,540 --> 00:12:51,400 If I believe he did that for David or Jacob, if he did that for this woman named Esther, 196 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:56,160 then I know that he can do that in my life as well because that's his capability. 197 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:57,160 That's his ability. 198 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:01,400 And there's so many stories, so much rescue in the Old Testament. 199 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:05,620 All you have to do is open up the first few books of the Bible as you read, which most 200 00:13:05,620 --> 00:13:09,840 of us do as we start to read the Bible through in a year, every year we get through Genesis 201 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,760 and Exodus and we get through the first five or six books, don't we? 202 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,200 And if you just get through the first five or six books, you're going to remember that 203 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:20,720 God intervened into Adam and Eve's life and rescued them from sin. 204 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:25,200 And you're going to remember that God rescued Noah from this perversion that was going across 205 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:27,840 the world and from the flood of judgment as well. 206 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:33,120 And you're going to remember that God rescued Isaac from sacrifice and he rescued Joseph 207 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:35,000 from imprisonment and everything else. 208 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:39,080 Just read the first few books of the Bible and you've got example after example of the 209 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:42,960 fact that our God intervenes into people's lives. 210 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,160 Now I for one am glad about that. 211 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,200 I'm glad he's got a record of doing that. 212 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:50,400 I'm glad he's got a history of doing that. 213 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,720 That makes my hope rise. 214 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:57,720 When you get to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 10, there's a great, great reminder 215 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:59,840 of why we need to read the Old Testament. 216 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,120 By the way, you need to read the Old Testament. 217 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,000 The Old Testament cannot be unhitched from the New Testament. 218 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,200 It can't be separated from the New Testament. 219 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:08,800 It's all the Bible for a reason. 220 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:09,800 It works together. 221 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:11,600 And here's what Paul said. 222 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:19,680 He said, now these things happen to them as an example and they were written for our instruction 223 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:23,920 upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 224 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:28,720 That should be enough motivation for you to read the Old Testament books of the Bible. 225 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:35,400 And when you need hope, you need to remember God's intervening ways, small and large in 226 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:37,840 lives that have gone before you. 227 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,680 The hope rises when we remember that God does these things. 228 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:46,800 Secondly, I want you to notice that hope rises when we see God's compassion through others. 229 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:52,480 I know it's a tough thing, but sometimes when we don't see God move and work, then we question 230 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:53,480 his love for us. 231 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:55,480 God, why are you not helping me? 232 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:56,480 Why are you not intervening? 233 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:58,080 Why are you not sending provision? 234 00:14:58,080 --> 00:14:59,400 I mean, do you love me? 235 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,280 Do you know if I'm here or not? 236 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:07,720 Sometimes we don't see it directly, but we see it indirectly that God and his compassion 237 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:09,680 are demonstrated through other people. 238 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:16,160 And in Esther's case, Mordecai was that other person that first demonstrated to her the 239 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:18,400 amazing love of God. 240 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:21,920 Chapter two, verse seven, it says more about Mordecai and Esther's relationship. 241 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:28,400 It says this, he, Mordecai was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter, 242 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:34,240 which would have been a distant cousin from her, for she had no father or mother. 243 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:38,840 When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 244 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:44,200 Now there's so much in this verse, if you dig into it, it's an unusual adoption and 245 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:46,320 a trying situation. 246 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:49,020 Can you imagine Esther as a young girl? 247 00:15:49,020 --> 00:15:55,160 She's broken, she's alone, she's without protection, she's vulnerable to exploitation and a perversity 248 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:56,480 of culture. 249 00:15:56,480 --> 00:16:01,960 She has no one, she's a foreigner in the land, no one to speak up for her at all. 250 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:05,720 And regarding Mordecai, she's not in his immediate family. 251 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:10,440 He could have ignored her or seeing her beauty, he could have married her. 252 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:18,040 Instead, he showed compassion and he adopted her without which there is no story here. 253 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:20,120 Mordecai became her encourager. 254 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:25,400 He became her reminder that God loved her with an everlasting love. 255 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:29,840 It's an amazing picture that God demonstrates his love through Mordecai to this woman named 256 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:35,240 Esther that helps hope rise up inside of her that God knew about her, that God was taking 257 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:40,560 care of her and protecting her and that God would intervene in her life. 258 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:48,840 By the way, adoption is a compassionate, redemptive response to an otherwise hopeless situation. 259 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:54,960 How many in this room today have been affected personally in a positive way by adoption? 260 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,760 Did your adoptive parents, you were adopted or you have someone in your family that has 261 00:16:58,760 --> 00:16:59,760 experienced that? 262 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:00,760 Would you raise your hand? 263 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:04,320 There's a number of people in the room that would raise their hand and say, man, that's 264 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:08,120 something that happened in my family and my life and you ought to be thrilled with that. 265 00:17:08,120 --> 00:17:13,200 I commend those who understand that it is a compassionate act on the part of a loving 266 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,020 God to work through you to adopt someone else. 267 00:17:16,020 --> 00:17:19,040 We have an increasing number of people that have experienced that and we want to continue 268 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:21,520 to support that in the biggest possible way. 269 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:23,080 And that's what she experienced. 270 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:29,040 Now as an adoptive daughter, this man was watching her even as she goes through that 271 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:34,760 preparation phase where the king has selected her to be among many, many other young women 272 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:41,480 and preparing her, the king was, for this possibility of her becoming queen. 273 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:46,880 But I notice in chapter two, verse 11, that every day Mordecai walked back and forth in 274 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:52,000 front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and how she feared. 275 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:56,520 And how frightened she must have been all by herself behind that wall. 276 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:58,840 But when she looked up, Mordecai was always checking on her. 277 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:01,140 He was always wondering about her. 278 00:18:01,140 --> 00:18:06,000 She didn't see God, but she saw the compassion of Mordecai being demonstrated to her as an 279 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,440 adoptive father, both of them believing in a compassionate God. 280 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:14,160 But she saw that in this man's life and it brought hope to her. 281 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:18,320 Hope was rising inside of her because of the compassion of Mordecai. 282 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:24,840 Now that's a really important thing because compassion reflects the heart of God. 283 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:26,220 You know that, right? 284 00:18:26,220 --> 00:18:29,240 You know that God is a loving and compassionate God. 285 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:34,800 In Psalm chapter 25, verse six, the psalmist said, remember, oh Lord, your compassion and 286 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,320 your loving kindness, for they have been of old. 287 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:42,200 In other words, you have eternally been compassionate. 288 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:43,200 That's who God is. 289 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,800 One of my favorite chapters is in Psalm 103. 290 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:49,440 Psalm 103 talks about the benefits of following God. 291 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:54,800 And one of those benefits is in verse four, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns 292 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,220 you with loving kindness and compassion. 293 00:18:58,220 --> 00:19:02,360 If you have experienced God in any way in your lifetime, let me just tell you, it's 294 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:06,480 because of the compassionate love of God that you've experienced him. 295 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:10,800 If you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, it's because of the compassion of God to send 296 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,380 his son to die on the cross to pay for our sin. 297 00:19:13,380 --> 00:19:18,520 We know something about the compassion of God that should fill us with hope. 298 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:20,480 Jesus lived his life with compassion. 299 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:22,440 He was moved by compassion. 300 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:24,760 He led people to have compassion. 301 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:25,940 He felt compassion. 302 00:19:25,940 --> 00:19:29,640 He had compassion on the multitude, the Bible said. 303 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,840 I mentioned years ago, Spiro Sodiatis had this little line he used a lot. 304 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:37,800 He said, compassion wins every time. 305 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:39,520 I love that line. 306 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:44,280 When you have a choice in how you respond to something, compassion wins every time. 307 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,560 Choose compassion above every other response to people around you. 308 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:48,560 It wins every time. 309 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:55,760 And we really ought to pause for just a moment and talk about the most powerful, most visible 310 00:19:55,760 --> 00:20:01,880 act of compassion that God gave us, and that is the sending of his son, Jesus Christ. 311 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:04,600 Most famous book in the Bible is John 3.16. 312 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:05,840 It's everywhere. 313 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:09,040 But it also says a lot about the compassion of God, doesn't it? 314 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:10,040 Play it with me. 315 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:11,040 It's on the screen now. 316 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:12,040 Here's what it says. 317 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:13,040 Are you ready? 318 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:18,680 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in 319 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:21,560 him should not perish but have eternal life. 320 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:23,480 You see how that starts? 321 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:25,520 God so loved the world. 322 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:30,520 He had such compassion on the world that he gave his only begotten son. 323 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:36,320 When I look at Mordecai's love and compassion for Esther, I'm reminded of Jesus' compassion 324 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:37,320 for us. 325 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:42,440 It's a great moment for us to recognize that when we see compassion, let it remind us of 326 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:48,600 the personal love that God has for us. 327 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,800 I'm so aware that there are people in the room that never experience that kind of love 328 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:53,720 in their biological family. 329 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:59,640 They don't experience that love from day to day with people around them. 330 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:05,600 Sometimes it's hard for us to even conceive of the fact that we are loved individuals. 331 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:09,760 Sometimes we feel very much hated, very much rejected, very much left out. 332 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:14,840 But I'm telling you, when you see compassion in those lives around you, for you, that's 333 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:18,440 an indicator of a God of compassion who is working in your life. 334 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,360 He's placing people around you to help you realize he loves you. 335 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:24,840 That's what was going on in Esther's life. 336 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:31,600 Mordecai was there to remind Esther in part of the incredible love of God. 337 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,120 So recognize it. 338 00:21:34,120 --> 00:21:35,120 Recognize compassion. 339 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:37,920 When you see it, let it remind you of God's presence. 340 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,320 But also show compassion. 341 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:44,520 Because if God loves you, it's important for you to love others in the same way that 342 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:45,520 he loved you. 343 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:48,360 It's a great, great thing that we have in our life. 344 00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:52,400 When you see compassion, remind yourself God loves me. 345 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:58,440 But not only this hope rising thing happening in Esther's life, she has to learn to have 346 00:21:58,440 --> 00:21:59,440 courage. 347 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:00,680 It's one thing to hope. 348 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:05,120 It's another thing to act in a way that's so courageous that it defies all odds. 349 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:07,560 It defies reason sometimes. 350 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,960 But courage is what this woman needed in order to move forward. 351 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,640 God was requiring her to trust him, to walk by faith. 352 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,360 But how do we have courage? 353 00:22:16,360 --> 00:22:19,680 Now let me just say these things to you based on Esther's life. 354 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,920 First, have courage in God's sovereignty. 355 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:27,520 The fact that God is on the throne and we have seen him on the throne in times past, 356 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:29,880 have courage in that. 357 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:32,000 Now go to chapter four for a moment. 358 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:37,360 We start in chapter four, this conversation between Mordecai and Esther as Esther is preparing 359 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:40,000 to go into the king to make an appeal. 360 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:41,880 And notice what's said here in verse 14. 361 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:47,560 Mordecai said, for if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise 362 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:53,760 for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. 363 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:55,080 It's a life-threatening moment. 364 00:22:55,080 --> 00:23:00,800 Haman has a plan hatched to kill all of them and he's being successful so far. 365 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:01,800 Things don't look good. 366 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:06,720 But Mordecai is reminding Esther that God will rescue his people one way or another. 367 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:12,480 And the reason he knows that is because God has always done that in the past. 368 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:17,400 And so he says this to Esther, if you don't do this, God will rescue his people but another 369 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:18,760 way. 370 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,180 And you and your father's house will perish. 371 00:23:21,180 --> 00:23:27,480 But if you do this, you will experience how God rescues your people directly through what 372 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:28,480 you do. 373 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,480 In other words, God is sovereign one way or another, he's gonna win. 374 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:33,480 We don't know how the game's gonna be played out. 375 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:38,260 We don't know exactly how all the characters will respond but we do know that in the end, 376 00:23:38,260 --> 00:23:40,280 God will win. 377 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:44,480 Basically Mordecai is saying to her, I know God redeems, I know he rescues. 378 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:46,440 I look at history and I see that. 379 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:48,720 I know he's able, I'm not sure how. 380 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,800 How about you, when he's going to do it, but the end is not in doubt. 381 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:58,360 If I could say anything to you today, it would help build your faith and give you courage. 382 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:01,960 It is this, I don't know how it will end but I know the end is not in doubt. 383 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:05,800 I don't know the how-to's and the wins and the particulars of your life but I can tell 384 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:10,400 you in the end, God wins in your life and he's a victorious God and he will win. 385 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:14,080 He does it over and over and over again. 386 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:15,840 Remember this. 387 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:16,840 Remember this. 388 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:24,000 One of the few people who have the kind of troublesome, hopeless situations that Esther 389 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,720 had was a guy named Job. 390 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:28,680 And you know the story of Job. 391 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:33,200 We may not read all of Job very often but we know enough to say the problems that Job 392 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:34,940 had were a lot. 393 00:24:34,940 --> 00:24:36,480 He lost everything. 394 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:38,680 He lost everything. 395 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:43,120 And yet in chapter 42, Job makes a statement to God. 396 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:48,520 At the end of all those troubles, he says, I know that you can do all things and that 397 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:51,000 no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 398 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:56,160 He's saying to God, God, I know that you're on the throne and I don't understand why I've 399 00:24:56,160 --> 00:25:00,840 lost so much but I know in the end, you will, when nothing can be taken away from you, you 400 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:03,040 will be able to restore all that I have. 401 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:07,000 And if you keep reading the last part of the book of Job, you know that his latter days 402 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,080 were blessed more than the former days. 403 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:13,520 Job did have a good completion in mind for Job. 404 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:18,320 Or I read about those three young Hebrew boys that are thrown in the fiery furnace, Meshach, 405 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,040 Shadrach and Abednego, you remember them. 406 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,280 And in Daniel chapter three, they're saying basically the same thing. 407 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:29,940 Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace but even if he does not, 408 00:25:29,940 --> 00:25:33,480 we are not going to serve your God's worship to go to Nimitz. 409 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,760 In other words, I don't know how this is gonna end but I know this. 410 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:40,400 God is faithful to the very end and I'm gonna trust him with this. 411 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:45,400 Well, that's what Esther is faced with and often that's what you're faced with. 412 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:47,360 Well, I trust God the way Job did. 413 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:51,080 Well, I trust God the way Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego did. 414 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:55,640 Well, I trust God the way that this woman Esther did. 415 00:25:55,640 --> 00:26:01,020 Mordecai is just simply saying, Esther, I know God and I know history and God intervenes 416 00:26:01,020 --> 00:26:03,280 over and over and over. 417 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:08,240 It's almost as though Mordecai is saying to God, God, I know you're on the throne. 418 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:09,760 I'm convinced of it. 419 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:13,040 I'm not sure exactly what you're going to do but I wanna be in the middle of it and 420 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:18,400 that's where Esther found some courage to face the king. 421 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:20,360 But you can also have faith in the testimony. 422 00:26:20,360 --> 00:26:24,240 You can have courage in the testimony of other people. 423 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:29,320 If you look in verse 14 of chapter four, this is what he says to her, and who knows whether 424 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:35,000 you have not attained royalty for such a time as this. 425 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,720 So now we're finding Mordecai putting the spotlight on Esther for a moment. 426 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:45,080 It's not just about God and his intervention in the past but now he's saying to Esther, 427 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:50,480 will you take courage from this testimonies and will you do your part at this time? 428 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:54,440 I wanna remind you, there's nothing romantic about the book of Esther. 429 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:58,760 Even though the king did fall in love with her, this is coercion all the way. 430 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:04,400 This woman has been taken out of her comfortable environment and put in the worst of scenarios. 431 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,020 She's made a spectacle in so many different ways. 432 00:27:07,020 --> 00:27:13,240 But here she is doing her best to walk faithfully through all those uncomfortable, difficult 433 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:14,320 kinds of things. 434 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:20,800 She's in a dangerous, life altering moment that Mordecai says, look at it from this perspective. 435 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:26,860 Maybe God has you here to rescue the nation this time just the way he did with David or 436 00:27:26,860 --> 00:27:29,800 Joseph or Moses before you. 437 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:34,840 Esther, what's your part in this story? 438 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:40,640 I think the story changes whenever we come to the place of saying, what's my part in 439 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:42,680 this story? 440 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:46,120 Most of us are gonna look at Esther or all these other figures of the Old Testament and 441 00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:50,080 say, well, I'm not an Esther and I'm not a Joseph and I'm not a Moses. 442 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,960 No, you're not, not exactly. 443 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,500 But you're still a child of God and God works through your life. 444 00:27:56,500 --> 00:27:59,760 And you have a part to play in the life that you're in. 445 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:03,880 It's such an important, important issue. 446 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:08,560 I don't know what God's got in mind for you, but I know he's got you at this place in time, 447 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:10,800 at this situation, at this moment. 448 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:14,600 And he wants to work through it in a powerful way, just like he did with all those in the 449 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:15,600 past. 450 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:17,720 Now think about the testimony of others. 451 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:20,920 Let's go back to the Old Testament for a moment and spend some time there. 452 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:26,280 Abraham and Sarah had no hope of having a child, but God gave them Isaac. 453 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:30,600 Moses murdered an Egyptian and ran 40 years to the backside of the desert. 454 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,760 He was there at 80 years of age thinking he would never make it back to Egypt, but God 455 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,720 brought him back to Egypt and brought about the Exodus. 456 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:43,960 Deborah was a woman in a man's world and had no hope of Israel's success, but God used 457 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:47,840 her alone to rescue the nation. 458 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:52,720 David had no hope in a battle against Goliath, but God gave him the ability and the skills 459 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:56,560 with these five small stones to kill the giant, Goliath. 460 00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:00,680 Daniel had no hope of surviving the lion's den, but for some reason the lions weren't 461 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:01,960 hungry that day. 462 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:06,560 Meshach, Sadrach, and Abednego had no hope of surviving the furnace, but they did. 463 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:10,360 Now keep this in mind, Esther knew about all these stories. 464 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:15,080 So when Mordecai is saying to Esther, what's your part? 465 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:20,080 Then Esther is starting to realize, I have a part to play in this story and God is going 466 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:23,280 to give me the courage I need. 467 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:24,960 Now let me just pose a personal question to you. 468 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:29,980 What's your part in God's story where you are and your circumstances that you're in? 469 00:29:29,980 --> 00:29:31,400 What will God do in your life? 470 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:36,240 In what significant ways will he show up for you, look for him to do that? 471 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:37,920 Have courage. 472 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:42,360 Have courage when it doesn't seem to come naturally. 473 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:44,120 There's something else here though. 474 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,280 Have courage when you see details emerge. 475 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:51,480 By this point in Esther's life you're starting to see some details emerge that say, well 476 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,800 God's going to put me in this place, this position that I didn't ask for. 477 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,880 You see it in chapter two verse 17 when the king actually selected her. 478 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,620 The king loved Esther more than all the women. 479 00:30:01,620 --> 00:30:06,600 She found favor and kindness with him more than all the virgins so that he set the royal 480 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:10,520 crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 481 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:12,440 You've got to ask the question, how did she get here? 482 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,140 So unlikely. 483 00:30:14,140 --> 00:30:17,740 She must have wondered what God was doing and watching the details emerge as to where 484 00:30:17,740 --> 00:30:23,760 she was at that moment, knowing she had no influence, knowing she was a foreigner and 485 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:27,840 the king didn't even know it, knowing she had never been chosen otherwise, she's got 486 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:33,000 to be saying, I don't know how I got here but I've got to believe God placed me here 487 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:34,720 for a reason. 488 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:37,760 She is placed strategically to save her whole nation. 489 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:42,500 Not a comfortable place to be but that's where she is right now and she realizes it's no 490 00:30:42,500 --> 00:30:47,320 coincidence that I'm here at this moment. 491 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:54,480 Over the past number of decades, my wife and I have this little saying that we use a lot. 492 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:57,360 It's a statement that says, it's like a turtle on a fence post. 493 00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:01,320 I like the statement because of what's behind it. 494 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:05,660 Years ago, Joe Stowell spoke for Moody Radio quite a bit and he would use this phrase from 495 00:31:05,660 --> 00:31:06,660 time to time. 496 00:31:06,660 --> 00:31:08,240 He would say it like this. 497 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:13,080 He would say, if you saw someone, if you walked down the highway and you saw a turtle sitting 498 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,840 on a fence post, what would your thought be? 499 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:18,400 Did he get there on his own? 500 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:19,400 And the answer would be no. 501 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:24,000 If you see a turtle on a fence post, you realize somebody put him there. 502 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:25,000 Somebody put him there. 503 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:26,000 Such a simple kind of truth. 504 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,520 And then he made an application. 505 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,480 When you look at your own life, how did you get to where you are? 506 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:33,080 Did you do it on your own? 507 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,600 And the answer is usually no, not on your own. 508 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:37,680 Somebody put you there in that place. 509 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:39,680 Somebody put you in a place of influence. 510 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:44,760 Somebody put you in a crossroads of decision making and that's somebody, it's usually God, 511 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:49,160 who places people where he wants them to be so that he can work in a powerful way. 512 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,680 And we're all in that position in some sense of the word. 513 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:56,680 And you may, like Esther, not be able to hear what God says or see what God is doing, but 514 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:02,040 what you may need to realize is that God is still on the throne and the people around you 515 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:05,760 and the place where he has put you is an important place. 516 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:06,760 So you don't need to run. 517 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,360 You don't need to be fearful or worry. 518 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:15,120 What you need to do is find out why God placed you in that strategic position in life and 519 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,120 trust him and have courage in him. 520 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:26,480 There's one more thing that gives us courage and that is have courage in moments of decision. 521 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:29,120 Chapter four, verse 16, she's at that moment of decision. 522 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:33,080 It's really the climax of the book in so many different ways. 523 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:37,360 She has seen hope rise from all these things we've talked about, Mordecai's encouraged 524 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:39,200 her every step of the way. 525 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:44,500 She realized that it's up on her shoulders in order to make the appeal to the king. 526 00:32:44,500 --> 00:32:49,100 So she said, go assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast for me. 527 00:32:49,100 --> 00:32:52,960 And thus I will go into the king, which is not according to the law. 528 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:56,320 And if I perish, I perish. 529 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:59,840 Now that sounds like such a hopeless statement. 530 00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:02,640 If I die, I die. 531 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:03,640 Wow. 532 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:06,680 We usually don't say those kinds of statements with a smile. 533 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:09,760 We usually say that with a lot of grief and heartbreak. 534 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:12,640 But here's what I see in the statement. 535 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:17,680 It's both a statement of hopelessness and a statement of hope. 536 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:24,240 I know it's hopeless from the human perspective, but I trust God and have courage enough to 537 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,560 know that I have hope that he would use it in a powerful way. 538 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:30,320 Now that's what faith is like. 539 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,200 We have faith and faithlessness at the same time. 540 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:35,800 Do you remember the man that came to Jesus? 541 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:37,520 And Jesus said, if you believe, you may be healed. 542 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,320 And he says, I do believe, but help me in my unbelief. 543 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:45,080 We all have this part of our lives where we can't believe fully, don't believe fully at 544 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:46,680 the moment. 545 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:49,200 But like that man, help me in my unbelief. 546 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:50,840 Jesus helps us in our unbelief. 547 00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:54,560 And that's exactly what's happening with this woman right here. 548 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:59,880 And as she steps into the king's palace to make this request, it's incredible and almost 549 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:04,560 unbelievable how all the circumstances begin to fall into place. 550 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:09,920 And I'm gonna frame this with what I call the language of coincidences that other people 551 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:11,280 have done. 552 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:16,800 Using the phrase, it just so happens, even though I don't believe anything just so happens 553 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:18,680 to take place. 554 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:22,280 How many in the room are firm believers that everything in life is just a coincidence? 555 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:23,280 Would you raise your hand? 556 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:25,880 Please do not raise your hand. 557 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:31,360 Either you didn't hear the question or you're in a different time length than I am, a different 558 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:34,360 place. 559 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:39,520 If there's a God who's creator God, who is sovereign, who sits on the throne, are there 560 00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:43,440 really any coincidences? 561 00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:46,200 Nothing just so happens. 562 00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:51,320 It all happens because God allows it to happen in a way that can later be redeemed in a powerful 563 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:52,320 way. 564 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:55,240 Let me try to tell the story in brief form. 565 00:34:55,240 --> 00:34:59,320 It just so happens that Mordecai had earlier thwarted an uprising and it was recorded in 566 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:00,320 the king's book. 567 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:04,800 This took place before this encounter that we read about in chapter four. 568 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:08,040 It just so happened that Haman began to grow in pride. 569 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:09,760 This is the nemesis, this is the arch enemy. 570 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:14,520 He wants to put them all to death and he thinks that he's got the king on his side. 571 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:18,320 But it just so happened that the king couldn't sleep one night and had his servants read 572 00:35:18,320 --> 00:35:20,360 the king's book, a history book. 573 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:24,720 It just so happens that Haman's story was right there when the servants opened up the 574 00:35:24,720 --> 00:35:26,120 book to read about it. 575 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:30,840 It just so happens that the king had never rewarded him and that night decided, I'm going 576 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:36,720 to reward Mordecai for his good deed to me, but I need somebody to give me counsel. 577 00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:41,960 It just so happens that Haman was in the court at that very moment to talk about his plan 578 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:44,840 to hang Mordecai and exterminate the Jews. 579 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:49,720 It just so happened the king asked Haman to honor and parade Mordecai to the whole city, 580 00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:52,280 much to Haman's dismay and embarrassment. 581 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:57,160 And it just so happens that this delay in time gave Esther a chance to speak to the 582 00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:58,160 king. 583 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:02,840 And she pointed out Haman's evil plot and the king stormed out. 584 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:05,280 Haman fell upon Esther, the queen, begging for mercy. 585 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:11,520 And it just so happens the king came back in to see Haman at Esther's feet and returned 586 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:12,720 at that precise moment. 587 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:15,040 It looked like Haman was assaulting her. 588 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:18,800 So while he was wondering what to do with evil Haman, it just so happened that one of 589 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:23,960 the eunuchs saw fit to mention that Haman had constructed gallows to be built upon which 590 00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:24,960 to hang Mordecai. 591 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:29,680 And it just so happens that the king was told they're ready at this moment. 592 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:34,400 It just so happens that the king decided, hang Haman on it instead of Mordecai and I 593 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:39,520 will listen to Esther and save the Jewish people. 594 00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:41,960 The language of coincidence. 595 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:43,680 It just so happens. 596 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:45,680 You should have none of that. 597 00:36:45,680 --> 00:36:50,480 But you should have the sense that God can take complicated scenarios, like the back 598 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:57,420 of that tapestry, and be weaving something so much more clear, so much more powerful, 599 00:36:57,420 --> 00:37:02,280 so much more redempting than you could ever possibly imagine. 600 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:06,740 I mean the book of Esther and the message is unmistakable. 601 00:37:06,740 --> 00:37:10,140 God is there even when you can't see him, even when you can't hear him. 602 00:37:10,140 --> 00:37:14,140 Even though you may not know what in the world God is doing, he's working everything according 603 00:37:14,140 --> 00:37:16,640 to the counsel of his will. 604 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:19,560 It's only left for you to trust him. 605 00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:20,720 He doesn't miss a detail. 606 00:37:20,720 --> 00:37:22,940 He doesn't waste an experience. 607 00:37:22,940 --> 00:37:26,040 He takes everything and molds it together for good. 608 00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:29,520 And it may stress your faith to believe this and it may be really difficult for you to 609 00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:32,880 believe that God causes all things to work together for good. 610 00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:36,160 But I can tell you, it sure is the ground I'm standing on today. 611 00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:41,240 God is going to be faithful to honor all of his promises and you can trust him the way 612 00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:46,760 Esther trusted God to rescue her and her people. 613 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:52,000 You may only see the backside of your life until one day God flips it and shows you the 614 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:53,960 front side of your life. 615 00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:59,000 And my prediction is it will be a beautiful picture if you just wait to see it. 616 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:00,520 Find hope. 617 00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:03,760 Have courage even when you cannot see and hear God. 618 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:11,520 He is there working behind the scenes to create an amazing story in your life. 619 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:13,880 Yes. 620 00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:19,800 You know the most important step that you take will always be a step of faith. 621 00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:26,360 The first step is a step to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 622 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:30,000 I mean God is demonstrating compassion through Jesus for you. 623 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:34,760 He's demonstrating the opportunity to have sins forgiven, the opportunity to have the 624 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:39,080 gift of eternal life, the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to live inside of you and 625 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:42,000 lead and guide you through every part of life. 626 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:46,960 With life so complicated don't we need a guide like the Holy Spirit to lead us through? 627 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:52,160 Don't we need someone to constantly encourage us and direct us and convict us and help us 628 00:38:52,160 --> 00:38:55,320 keep from going the wrong way and help us stay on the right path? 629 00:38:55,320 --> 00:39:01,920 Don't we need Him so bad and that all begins by placing His trust and faith in Jesus Christ 630 00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:04,520 and then walking with Him day by day by day. 631 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:06,800 If you're going to clap sister go ahead and clap. 632 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:09,800 We'll all just do that together. 633 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:14,480 If you're going to clap you've got to commit right? 634 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:15,480 Priscilla you've got to do it. 635 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:18,360 I'm going to give you an invitation today. 636 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:19,740 That invitation is three-fold. 637 00:39:19,740 --> 00:39:25,440 First of all we have decision stations that are here at each point of exit of our worship 638 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:26,440 center. 639 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:30,520 It's an opportunity for you to stop and talk to someone about putting your faith and trust 640 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:31,520 in Jesus Christ. 641 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:36,080 There were five people that were baptized earlier today that stopped at that decision 642 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:40,200 station just a couple of weeks ago and said I want to make sure that my relationship with 643 00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:45,560 God is right and as they stopped they were counseled, they were walked with, prayed through 644 00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:49,320 that decision and they joyously follow the Lord in baptism today. 645 00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:51,200 We'd love to talk to you about that kind of decision. 646 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:52,900 So that's my first invite. 647 00:39:52,900 --> 00:39:55,360 Please stop by one of those decision stations. 648 00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:56,960 Put your faith and trust in Christ today. 649 00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:59,280 The best thing you could possibly do. 650 00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:02,480 Secondly if you're a guest I would invite you to come back to our guest reception center 651 00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:05,400 right outside the center exit doors across the hallway. 652 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:09,080 I'd love to meet you personally and tell you a little bit about our church and I'll be 653 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:12,160 back there for a few moments but make your way back there. 654 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:14,080 You're a welcome guest here at our church. 655 00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:19,400 Thirdly I invite you to take an invite card with you as you leave today at our exits and 656 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:20,840 bring someone back with you. 657 00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:25,240 I'll be walking through these different stories each week pretty much in alignment with the 658 00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:28,920 chapter headings that you'll see in the book, God's Not Done With You. 659 00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:34,120 So many people need the hope and the encouragement of knowing God's not done with them and God 660 00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:37,200 gives that message so plainly in so many different ways. 661 00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:40,520 Would you stand with me for a word of prayer as we close? 662 00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:48,440 Father I am so very grateful today that Esther's life was a life lived with such hope and such 663 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:50,640 courage in spite of the circumstance. 664 00:40:50,640 --> 00:40:55,200 Father I pray today that you would encourage us through her life. 665 00:40:55,200 --> 00:41:00,440 I pray for those today that don't know where they stand before you in terms of a relationship 666 00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:01,440 with you. 667 00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:05,120 Father I pray that you'd draw them to yourself because of your great love through Jesus. 668 00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:10,040 Help them make that very important decision of placing their trust and faith in Jesus 669 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:14,120 Christ alone as the first step of faith. 670 00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:19,040 And then Father I pray beyond that each of us will walk by faith day by day. 671 00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:20,880 Thank you so much for what you're doing, what you'll do. 672 00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:40,880 We ask this in Jesus name, amen.