Skip to content It's All Part of THE Plan - Providence, Part 4 Jan 28 · 54 min ...more
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Empowering multimedia ministry for bold Christian living: Weekend Messages, Deep End Podcast, Deep Dive Bible Study. Tim Hatch, Lead Pastor, Waters Church, 26 years of pastoral ministry, book author.
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0:00 You are listening to Waters Church podcast. Waters Church is a multisite, multigeneration community of faith on the East Coast of America. Now for a message from our pastor.0:30 Prophetess part 4, I wanna talk to you on the subject of, it's all part of the plan. It's all part of the plan. Can you say0:41 that title with me on the count of 3, but you gotta emphasize the word the. So 1, 2, 3, it's all part of The plan. God's got a plan. Somebody say, God's got a0:52 plan. God's a plan. Oh, touch your neighbor and say, he's got a plan. Touch your neighbor, come on. Let's talk to each other. Let's have a conversation. This isn't a lecture. This is a preach. And we're gonna talk1:04 together. And I'm gonna go to Esther chapter 6, and we're gonna get to the last of this book, and and you're gonna be amazed. I love this passage. I love this book. I've enjoyed preaching it. Are you enjoying the1:14 messages? Are you enjoying this series? And I hope it's instilling faith in you, and you are getting ready for God to do something wonderful through your life. Okay. So here's the message idea, the the big idea of the1:26 series. Providence means God is working no matter what the world is doing. Providence means God is working no matter what the world is doing. But I thought to myself, today we gotta get1:38 personal. Personal. This is gonna be for you. How does God's providence and what he does apply to you? Well, if you're in Christ, there are 4 words that I want you to1:50 add to this definition. 4 words. So here's the new definition I want you to leave with leave this series with. Write this down. Providence means that God is working for me and through2:01 me no matter what the world is doing. Now doesn't that sound better? It's about it's also including you. God is working for you. Somebody say for2:13 me. For me. But I need someone here today to take another step forward in faith. I need you to leap forward in faith into a brand new2:24 dimension, and don't stay in the for me kind of faith. It's not enough. It's not what God wants. It's not what he's up to. It's not what the scriptures bear witness to. It is not2:36 ultimately just for you faith. I need you to move into through you faith. God wants to do things not just for you, but through you. Touch lives through you, change the world2:48 around you, impact people beyond you, make your life a testimony so that people can come to Jesus because you were involved in their life. See this is where a lot of Christians3:00 are, they're they're they're for me, I need God to fix things, I need God to Where is he? I need this, I need that, that's wonderful, but ultimately true faith is to believe that it's not really about you. You're not the3:11 center of the story. And God has some plans, I don't know if you know, he's got some plans for the world, and he's got you on assignment. This is going to save some people today. It's gonna save a lot of people from3:23 a syndrome I like to call the why me syndrome. Have you heard of the why me syndrome? You know, it's not not medically prescribed or3:34 diagnosed, it's it's spiritually diagnosed. It's the why me? Why is this happening? Why? Oh God, why? Why am I related to these people,3:46 Lord? Why do I have to work with these losers, Lord? Why do I have to live here and not there? Why am I this age and not that age? Why can't I do this? Why is this happening? Has anybody had3:58 a why me syndrome season in your life? Come on, be honest today. It's alright to be honest in church, confession is good for the soul. I've had a lot of why me sessions, I have. I've had a lot of ask my wife,4:10 She'll tell you, oh, yeah. He's why me all the time, man. You gotta watch out for this. You gotta watch out for why me. Here's what's gonna set you free from why me. When you realize that it's not about you. There's4:19 something on the other side of your your misery. There's something on the other side of your trial. There's something on the other side of your challenges, on your setbacks, that God's story in your life is not done yet.4:32 So that you can start looking at your life and say, wait a second, you are not an aggravation, you are an assignment. That husband of yours, ladies, he's not an aggravation, he's an4:44 assignment. He's there to help you become a more patient and loving and kind and caring woman. And husbands, that wife for you is not just there to cook4:56 and clean and bury your children or go to work now, we're in the modern world. Go to work and earn a living for the house or whatever it is that she does, that's not what she's there. She's there to help you become what5:05 God wants you to become so that you can do what God wants you to do, and other people can be blessed through your story. You can look at that boss tomorrow, you can go right up to him, don't say it out loud, but just5:17 say, you're my assignment, yes. God has you in my life. You're challenging me. You're changing me. I know that God's working all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to5:28 his purposes. It's not why me, it's about Jesus. Amen. And so this is what this message is about, and we are in Esther chapter 5. Let's stand together for the reading of the last few verses of5:40 Esther chapter 5. Remember that Esther has brought Haman, the hateful enemy of the Jews, and King Xerxes or Hasarus to a banquet, and she's trying to intervene to5:52 save the Jews from annihilation. Haman hates the Jews. He wants to annihilate them. There's an enict in place. They're gonna be annihilated. It's about a year away, and so she throws a party. Mordecai, her cousin, has6:02 instigated this whole thing. You gotta step up. You've come to the kingdom for such a time as this. You gotta say something because God's gonna work regardless of whether or you do it, but you gotta be part of it. So she6:12 goes, and she finally gets the gumption to do the the bare minimum. She invites Haman and King Xerxes to a banquet. And then this is what's happened. This is the end of the first banquet. At6:23 the first banquet, she gets enough gumption to ask them to come to a second banquet the next night. So we are between the first banquet and the second banquet. Follow? Okay. So here's verse6:35 12. Then Haman said, even queen Esther this is Haman. He goes home from the banquet. Even queen Esther, let no 1 but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also, I6:47 am invited by her together with the king. Yet all this is worth nothing to me so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. Then his wife Jerash6:59 and all his friends said to him, let a gallows 50 cubits high be made, And in the morning, tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast. This idea pleased7:11 Haman, and he had the gallows made. This is God's word. Let's pray together. Father, I ask in Jesus' name that our hearts will be open and our ears will be open and our minds will be receptive7:22 to hear your voice, to know your truth, to receive your word. May your kingdom come. May your will be done. Let the words of my mouth, the meditation of all of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, and help us, oh,7:34 God, to see Jesus. Him and him only. In his mighty name, we pray. And everybody said? Amen. God bless you. Have a seat. So Esther chapter 57:45 ends, and it looks very dark. Somebody say dark. Dark. Life looks dark. Maybe in your world right now, it just looks darker than7:57 ever. Maybe for some of you, you are looking at your word and saying, well, it can't get much darker than this. And I want you to realize that that's exactly where the Jews were in Esther chapter 5. They're facing8:08 extinction, legalized persecution, legalized murder of all of them. On top of which, their last best effort to change8:20 things is a beauty queen winner having a party with her husband and the guy who instigated the whole mess. And this is a very dark8:31 moment, but what you're gonna see in Exodus chapter 6 is that things can change quickly. And I'm gonna walk through the rest of the book with you. We're gonna put a lot of the8:43 verses on the screen because this story is iconic and ironic at the same time. There are some great moments of God's deliverance in the Bible. Amen?8:55 I mean, the Red Sea being parted, and then Pharaoh chasing down the Israelites into the sea, and then the sea closing in on him. I remember the kid in elementary school who stepped up and said, oh, no. No. I believe9:05 that. And the elementary school teacher said, oh, how can God how can God split a sea? He didn't really split a sea. It was just a very shallow sea, and they just walked through the very shallow sea. And then the the the9:16 kid was so wise. He said, well, then how does what a great miracle that God drowned Pharaoh's army in a shallow sea. It's a great story. Right? That God delivered them and9:28 and and the and the kicker was that Pharaoh's army ended in the bottom of that sea. That's a great story. Amen? Or or Dave Daniel in the lion's den, and he's petting lions all night. The lions9:40 would be eating him otherwise, but the angels come and shut the lion's mouth. And so there's David in the lion's den just petting the lion. It would have it would have been amazing to be a fly on the wall in the midst of9:49 that moment. There's been some great deliverances, but this 1, this deliverance is amazing. Let's take a look at how this goes down. So Haman has just built a gallows 5010:00 75 feet, 50 cubits, 75 feet high in his backyard to hang his hateful enemy Mordecai. Chapter 6 verse 1. On that night, if you've got your bible circle night,10:12 because here's what I want you to hear, God does amazing things in nighttime. Some of you are in the darkness right now, you don't even think that God can work. He works his best stuff at night.10:25 He is not sleeping. He doesn't sleep. You sleep, he goes to work. Amen, somebody. And it was nighttime. And the smallest thing happens. Look what it says. On that night, the king could10:37 not sleep, and he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written how Mordecai had told Bigthanah and Teresh, 2 of the king's eunuchs who10:48 guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on king Ahasuerus. So this is an amazing start to this chapter and this moment. The whole thing starts with something inconspicuous,11:00 royal insomnia. The king can't sleep. And I I want you to pay attention to that because it reminds me, and I wanna tell you that you've gotta realize that God can use11:11 even the little things in your life. Even a sleepless night can be a gift from God. And this guy can't sleep. That's it. And so the funny thing is is that he says, okay. I need to fall11:23 asleep. And there was no, you know, NyQuil back then. There there was no melatonin. So he goes, let me find the most boring thing that I can think of and have somebody read it back to me. Oh, yeah. Read me11:35 back the record of my reign. So he goes, get the chronicles of the king. How boring was his reign that to hear his story retold put him to sleep? That's amazing, right? So11:47 they come and they bring the chronicles and it says this, they they they the the verse 3, and the I'm sorry. It just so happened that the very page that was opened in the king's chronicles was the moment when11:58 Mordecai, this is back in Esther chapter 2, was the moment when Mordecai saved the king's life. And the king says, well, what's been done? Look what it says, verse 3, and the king said, what's what honor or distinction12:09 has been bestowed on Mordecai for this? And the king's young man said, nothing has been done for him. Now this is a very true fact about the Persian Empire. The kings in the Persian Empire loved to reward loyal subjects12:20 who protected the king. And so he comes to the he comes to a sentence, he realized that Mordecai, who saved his life, did not get honored. He did honor Haman, and Haman used his honor to hate on12:32 the Jews. So now look what it says in verse 4. And the king said, who is in the court? Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the12:44 gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king's young men told him, Haman is there standing in the court, and the king said to him, let him come in. Oh, I love this moment. Here you have the enemy of the king the12:55 enemy of the Jews is coming into the presence of the king with the intention to kill Mordecai. At the same time, the king is thinking about ways to bless Mordecai.13:07 Do you understand that this story is about you? It really is. It's talking about our reality in Christ Jesus. Here's what you need to understand. You are living in a spiritual fight. You are living in a battle13:19 between God and the devil. The devil is coming for you. He wants to steal, kill, and destroy you. That's what Haman represents. He wants to annihilate you. He wants to destroy you. He wants to rob you of your family, rob13:28 you of your peace, rob you of your joy. And he's got plans. He's got schemes. He's got gallows. He wants to hang you on. And he's coming into God's presence every day. The Bible says he's the accuser of the brother. But13:37 do you understand, church? Do you know that at the same time the devil wants to come in and attack you, that you've got a father in heaven who is planning to bless you?13:49 He wants to do you good, he wants to reward you, and you gotta understand something. Yes, you will be set back. Yes, you will be attacked. But greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.14:01 This is why Paul said, if God be for us, who can be against us? Of you gotta look at your problems, you gotta say, wait a second, this is a spiritual fight. This is a spiritual struggle. I gotta step up my14:13 game, I gotta realize that, yeah, the devil will throw his best aim, his best stuff at me, but the Lord is still looking to bless me. That's this moment. So Mordecai is hanging in the balance. Verse 6, it14:25 says, Haman comes in, and the king said to him, what should be done notice that there's no names mentioned here. What should be done to the to the man whom the king delights to honor? And Haman said to himself, who who14:36 would the king delight to honor more than me? Now that is just pride, friend. And there's a verse in the Bible that says pride comes before a fall. And this guy epitomizes that14:47 verse so well in this moment. Haman, who wants to kill Mordecai, thinks, oh, the king just wants to do me honor. So verse 7 to 9, he's just he just unloads on what he wants.14:59 Verse 7. And Haman said to the king, for the man whom the king lies to honor, let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. And let15:08 the robes and the horse be handed over to 1 of the king's most noble officials. Remember that. 1 of the king's most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor. Let them lead him on the horse15:18 through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor. Now let's just stop here for a second and just take a look at all the things that Haman thinks15:29 he's gonna get for himself. This guy is second in command of the kingdom. He is at the highest place you can get other than the king. He's probably got riches, he's probably got houses, he's probably got lands, he's15:39 probably got cattle and sheep and oxen. I mean, he's blessed. He's extraordinary prosperous, but it wasn't enough. He wanted people's praise. Oh, what a trap that15:51 is for so many people. And this is Haman's spirit. This is what the devil wanted, by the way, in heaven before he fell from earth. The bible says that Lucifer was 1 of the16:02 archangels. Gabriel, Michael, Lucifer. He was 1 of the archangels in heaven with God, and he wanted to be in God's place. He wanted the praise. He wanted the honor. He wanted the authority. He wanted the esteem that was16:14 only due to God, and it cost him his place and his authority. And God cast him out of heaven and down to this earth. And ever since then, he's been trying to feed so many humans the lie that if enough people16:26 love you, you'll feel complete. And it's never enough. It's never enough. Watch out for the trap of getting people's approval. It'll rob you16:38 of your joy, it'll rob you of your life, it'll rob you of your ability to live. So he's like, yeah, just give me all this stuff. And he's like, oh, I want all this praise. And so this is the best part. Here's the best16:48 verse in the whole story. The king, verse 10, said to Haman, hurry, take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king's gate. Leave nothing out that you have mentioned.17:01 I love it. You said it, now you do it, but you do it for Mordecai. You gotta be I mean, if I could have been a fly at the wall there, just to see Haman's face go, what?17:13 Mordecai. So he has to do it. Verse 13 and made and and verse 11. So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai, led him through the squares of the city proclaiming for him, thus and this is how I see it17:22 going down. Mordecai is on the horse, and I see Haman in front of him thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor. Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate, but Haman hurried to his house mourning17:33 with his head covered. And now he goes home, and he sulks because this guy loves to unload on everybody. And verse 13 says, he comes home to his wife, Jerush, and all his friends, and he told them everything that17:42 happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife, Jerush, said to him, if Mordecai Bohorm, whom you have begun to fall is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him, but you will surely fall before him. I just want17:53 you to look at something there. It says, before whom you have begun to fall. Do you understand, Christian? Do you know understand, Christian? Do you know that the battle for your spiritual victory was already sealed at18:02 the cross and the empty grave 2000 years ago? The devil may taunt you. He may tell you you're a loser. He may tell you lies. He may whisper in your ear, but all you gotta do is remind him that he's a loser in waiting,18:13 and the victory is coming to you in the end with Jesus Christ. That's how it goes. He has begun to fall, and the best is coming for you, Christian.18:25 So his wife said, yeah. This is it. It's over for you. And let's look at this verse verse 14. This is the movement of the story. While they were still talking to him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman18:35 to the feast that Esther had prepared. And this is the feast where she's finally gonna tell the king what's going on with this guy Haman. So that's chapter 6. Let's look at chapter 7. So the king and Haman went to the18:44 king went to the feast with queen Esther. And on the second day of the feast, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, what is your wish? I wonder if she waited for the wine to get really18:54 heavy in his body. You say, hey Esther, what's what do you want? I'll give you half a king. That's why it pays to fast in a world of feasting right there. Amen, somebody.19:06 Verse 3, then queen Esther answered, this is the shot her around the world. She finally does it. She finally says something that saves the Jews. Queen Esther19:18 answered, if I have found favor in your sight, oh king, and if it pleased the king, let my life be granted for me me for my wish and for my people, my request, for we have been sold. I and my people to be destroyed, to19:28 be killed, to be annihilated. If we had been sold as slaves, I wouldn't have bothered you because it doesn't, it's not worthy of the king's, you know, discomfort. We're gonna be dead, we're gonna be killed, king. My19:39 people, me, your wife. In verse 5, he says, who is he and where is he who has dared to do this? And she's like, he's at the dinner table.19:51 And there's there it is, finally, a break in the action that all began with insomnia. Don't despise the small things in your life, God is involved20:02 even in the small things. She says a foe, an enemy, the wicked Haman. Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. You know,20:14 I stop here to say this. You know the Jews, they run Hollywood. You know this. Right? I mean and I don't say that to disparage them, but they do. And the reason why is because they're amazing storytellers. They know how20:25 to tell a good story. And and some of you need to get this in your spirit because you're not understanding how life works. The reason that they tell good stories is because these people for 3500 years have been through20:36 hell and back. They've had people hate them, try to kill them. You can go from from pharaoh to Haman to Hitler to Hamas to Hezbollah. They all start with h for some reason.20:48 Maybe because they all come from the pit of hell. And they've been coming for these people for thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years, And every time you think they're gonna be gone, they make a comeback20:59 because God is faithful to his promises, and he's gonna preserve that people until Jesus Christ comes again. And what they got as a result, you gotta get this, what they got as a result was a good21:11 story. Do you know what makes a good story? Trouble, hardship, setbacks. So you gotta start looking at your life as, oh, this is what God is doing. He's writing a21:22 better story Because a story where you get everything that you want and everything goes your way and you always succeed and everybody loves you is boring. And no 1 can relate to it because everyone21:34 struggles and everyone goes through trials and tribulations and it doesn't matter how much money you make, and it doesn't matter how good you look. Everybody goes through difficulties. And if you want God to do something21:45 with your difficulties, give him your life, surrender your plans, and say, God, have your way with this challenge. I want other people to hear how you saved me from that. I want other people to hear how you restored my21:57 heart. I want other people to hear how you brought me back from cancer, how you saved my kid from from fornication, how you delivered my family and brought me to this place, because God takes pleasure in in bringing his22:08 people back from the brink again and again. Amen. And he wants to do that in you. And Esther just finally says it, Haman, this guy, he wants to kill us. Verse 7, and the king rose in wrath,22:20 rose in wrath and went out from the place where they were eating and drinking, went to the palace garden. Haman stayed to beg for his life from queen Esther for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king.22:30 And verse 8 says, the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was, and the king said, is he even gonna go and molest my wife in front22:40 of me in my own palace? And there's a there's a legend about this moment. The Jews have that Haman, when he was begging for his life, just stood there before the queen and was like, please22:52 intervene. Save me. Don't let him kill me. And and an angel came up behind him and shoved him on top of the queen. I I love that. I love that legend because23:04 it it reminds me of something that some of you need a reminder of. There's angels at work on behalf of God's people. Do you believe this? You you've gotta23:16 understand, there are spiritual forces of wickedness coming against you, but I got better news. There are stronger angels and mightier angels that are working for your good. You don't just got Christ in23:27 you. You don't just got the Holy Spirit in you. You don't got just the father watching over you. You don't just got the church supporting you, but you've got angels going to work for your protection. The Bible says23:39 they're ministering spirits sent to serve those who are called to eternal life in Christ Jesus. I don't know about you, but I pray for angels. Do you pray? I don't pray to angels, I pray for23:50 angels. I say, father, set your angels around my children. When my when my kids get their driver's license, every time they get the driver's license, I say, alright, Lord, I need some extra angels around that child now.24:01 Some of you need to pray angels around your family, angels around your children, angels around your home, Lord. I want protection in the spiritual realm so that the enemy doesn't have his way with my family. So24:13 the angel pushes them on. I think that's what happened. Anyway, verse 9, then Harbono, 1 of the eunuchs in attendance on the king said, moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the24:22 king, is standing at Haman's house 50 cubits high. And the king said, hang him on that. So they hanged Haman on the very gallows that he prepared for Mordecai. You know,24:34 there's a proverb that talks about this reality that happens to Haman right here. It's Proverbs 26 27, and it says this, he who digs a pit will fall into it. Be careful, Christians,24:47 of digging pits for your nemesis. Be careful, Christians, of trying to get other people back. It's childish,24:59 it is unfaithful to God, and it rarely works out for you. You know what I'm talking about, some of you are quiet today, you gotta know what I'm talking about. You you give that person the silent treatment25:11 because you wanna let them know that you're angry, so you never talk to them. I'm not gonna talk to them anymore. Okay. Are you fifth? Are you in fifth grade? Is that what's going on here? Or you do the innuendo post on25:22 Facebook, you're really aiming it at them, but you're, you know, trying to aim and target them or whatever. It's like, let's stop being children. We are God's people. We are Christ's. He's got25:33 it. His vengeance belongs to God. He'll pay back Whatever wrongs we've suffered, he'll pay back, and he pays back better than we could ever25:45 think. And so this is Haman though. That's Haman's spirit, and and he and it and it kills him. He dug a pit, he fell into it. He he built a gallows and he hung on it. So now let me25:56 summarize the rest of the book. Haman is dead, but the threat on the Jews' life is still there because the edict could not be revoked. So God takes the not God. The king takes the ring off of Haman's finger, the signet26:08 ring of authority, and he puts it on Mordecai's finger. This is another symbol, a symbol of our reality. Do you understand that the devil had authority over this Earth up until Jesus died and rose again?26:21 Now the devil got that authority in the garden with Adam. When Adam disobeyed God and listened to the devil, he lost dominion. He lost authority on this planet. That's where the wars and the chaos and the26:33 degradation, all the evil comes from. And Jesus came and undid what Adam did wrong. Jesus obeyed perfectly. He followed the father. He laid down his life as a perfect sinless sacrifice, and he rose26:45 again triumphantly on the third day, and he got back our authority. Do you realize that you have authority in Christ Jesus over your life, over the spirits, over the realms of the26:56 unseen things. You've got authority in Jesus' name. Somebody gotta learn to walk around your house in Jesus' name. I just take authority over this house right now. So you gotta take authority on the way to work. I take27:08 authority over my spirit on the way to work in Jesus' name. Some of you can't you can't keep your mouth shut. Your open mouth, your insert foot. You don't know why you keep putting things in your mouth that shouldn't be27:16 in your mouth. You gotta say, I take authority over my mouth in Jesus' name. Some of got thoughts that you don't know why they come into your head. You're getting dreams. You don't know why they're coming in your head.27:25 You gotta take authority. You have authority in the spiritual realm, not because of who you are, but because who Jesus is. So he gives them the signet ring, and Mordecai and Esther write up a new proposal. Here's another27:37 edict to counter, they can't unwrite it, but to counter the first edict. The Jews can now defend themselves. And so they get this edict written, and it's spread throughout the city of Susa, and they go to work. And on27:47 the day they were supposed to be attacked, they actually fight back, and they defend themselves, and they kill the sons of Haman and 500 other people. But they need another day, and so Esther goes back and says, need27:55 another day to do this. There's a lot of enemies out there beyond the city of Susa in the realm of the empire. So they send in letters all throughout the empire that the Jews can defend themselves, and 75000 enemies28:05 attack the Jews, and the Jews strike back and strike them down. And the Bible says that many people become Jews because the fear of the Jews had fallen on them. It's amazing turnaround. God specializes28:17 in quick reversals. Some of you need to tell yourself that right now. This story is not done yet. Somebody say this after me. This story This story. Oh, you gotta say it like you mean it. This story28:29 This story. Is not done yet. Somebody say this. This family This family. Is not done yet. Somebody say, my future My future. Is not done yet. God28:41 is still working. God is working. Do you believe it? Yes. Shout amen. Come on. You gotta stir yourself up and and talk faith into28:53 your life. I can't be the only person excited this morning. You might be weak and tired, so am I. I haven't eaten, but I'm anointed by the holy spirit of god, and he is forming and he's working through me, and29:03 he's gonna bring victory into our lives.29:09 They take authority over their enemies. They have victory over their enemies that were bound to defeat them. Instead, they got defeat they got defeated and the and the Jews were victorious. Oh man, I wish I could get29:20 this into someone's head today. You are a victor. You are more than a conqueror. You are not a loser. You are not the subject of what's happened to you, you are the29:32 object of God's grace over you, and his love that wants to be deposited in you, and his victory that is certain for you, and the best is yet to come. So they went they went 2 days, and and then29:44 Mordecai sends letters throughout all the realm and says, look Jews, oh fellow Jews, letters go out, we're gonna celebrate these 2 days every year forever, and it becomes the feast of29:56 Purim. And do you know that to this day, the Jews celebrate the feast of Purim? It's at the last of this winter season and at the beginning of spring, and I think that's a perfect time to celebrate victory because winter30:06 can get you down. Amen. Winter can get you down. Winter can get you, like, beaten up and defeated, but every year, just when it's as dark as it can possibly look, we gotta remind ourselves that spring is coming down30:18 the road. That's what the feast of Purim is. Here's the last verse of Esther. Last verse. Verse 3 of chapter 10. Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to king30:30 Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke, what? Peace. And spoke peace30:42 to all his people. I want to end this series by speaking some peace over you. Peace in the midst of whatever's distressing you or or or30:54 freaking you out or confusing you. 4 ways to get it. Are you ready? From Mordecai's life. Number 1, do good wherever you are in the name of Christ. Wherever31:06 you are. Now Mordecai, that's what made his life turn around. He did good. He was working at the king's gate. Where did he live? He lived31:18 in Susa. He lived in the capital city of Persia. Understand. He was in exile. He was a Jew living in a foreign land. He was 1 of listen to this very carefully, everybody. He was 1 of God's people31:30 living in a pagan heathen world. Sound familiar? Do do you feel strange to this world,31:42 Christian? Do you feel like, what is going on? Why are the inmates running the asylum? Do you do you get strange to the things that are what crazy is31:54 coming down the pike this week? If you feel that way, it's because you are, listen, you are born again. You are not of this world, Jesus says. You don't belong here. This32:06 is not your home. Somebody say, this is not my home. This not my home. But you still need to do good. Learn how to do good in the foreign places.32:18 Learn how to love some pagans in Jesus' name. Love your non believing neighbor. Some somebody needs to go to work this week and be the guy32:30 who buys lunch just to bless people, do good. Some of you, you keep moaning instead of promoting. You keep complaining instead of32:42 contributing. And and as long as you're a complainer, you're never gonna get anywhere. I I I have people who work for me, and I'll tell you something, the complainers don't last very long. They don't. It's32:54 it's annoying to have people complaining all the time. Be somebody who works positively wherever you are. Mordecai did good for a pagan king, he saved his life. Now listen to this, and this is so important,33:06 after he was celebrated, after he was led on the horse by Haman through the streets of Persia, do you know what Haman do you what Mordecai did? Look at it, chapter 6, back to chapter 6 verse 12, it says,33:17 Mordecai returned to the king's gate, He was celebrated for a day, and then he went back and did his job. He just did good. He just did good. By the way, he was at33:29 the king's gate, chapter 2 verse 21 says, he was at the king's gate when he saw the assassination plot that the 2 eunuchs of the king were trying to carry out. And so what you see here is33:41 a faithfulness in Mordecai. And I think this is so important for some of you because you you do good, and you don't see results and then you stop doing good.33:54 Do you understand that between Esther chapter 2 and Esther chapter 5 and 6 was 5 years that Mordecai saves the king's life34:05 in chapter 2 doesn't get recognized, doesn't get promoted, doesn't get benefits, nothing happens, but it gets recorded. 5 years go by, things get worse,34:17 life gets darker, the edict is enacted, he's going to die, and then at the right time, he gets rewarded. Here's what you gotta learn how to do in your life. You gotta learn to sow seeds of goodness in34:29 your present for fruits of blessing in your future. Some of you want instant grat you are microwave Christians. God is not a34:40 microwave. He is a slow cooker. He is a barbecue pit. Come on somebody. He slowly cooks that meat of goodness in your life until the juices are boiling34:52 out of the center of it, and it smells so wonderful. And I'm making you depressed right now, aren't I? This is this is part of my fast and he's coming out because I've been watching all the advertisements for food, and I35:03 don't know about you, but I'm like, I'm gonna eat that when I'm done. I'm gonna eat that when I'm done. I'm gonna be 400 pounds by April fourth. That's what's gonna happen to me. It's just the season. The fastest the35:12 feast is coming. Amen, somebody. But you gotta learn how to plant seeds. In this fast in this fast and I think some of you gotta break free from this, because I feel it in the spirit, and I'm gonna say it. Nothing's35:24 happened, and you feel like the fast has been a failure. That's not how it works. You fast in 1 season, you get the fruit in another season. You Some of you might get the fruit from this fast 535:35 years from now. Are you willing to do good? Are you willing to go back to that gate? Are you willing to keep working? Are you willing to keep sowing good seed into your life? The world has enough people35:47 who are out to get all that they can right now and those people are the most insufferable people on the planet. Most of them work in Hollywood. We we we've gotta learn35:59 to be givers and doers of good wherever we are. And here's the second point, leads me right into it, don't seek human recognition. This is the way Haman lived.36:11 Do you understand that Haman dies hanging on the gallows that he made for Mordecai, but the only reason why he made the gallows for Mordecai? Do you know why he made the gallows for Mordecai? Because Mordecai and this is36:22 so insane to me, Mordecai was the only person in the empire who didn't worship him. Oh, if I could just spend a whole message on this.36:34 Don't seek people's praise. It's a trap. I don't know if you've met people, but they can be awful.36:46 Have you met people? Yeah. They can love you today and hate you tomorrow. They'll build you up today, they'll tear you down tomorrow. And36:58 here's the worst part, if you get people to love you and like you and celebrate you, nobody tells you this, You gotta keep them loving you and celebrating you and worshiping you37:10 and and loving you. That that's impossible. And guess what you lose in the midst of making everybody love you? You lose you. You become a people37:22 pleaser and not a God server. And God doesn't wanna doesn't care about you pleasing people. You understand that you can't can't properly parent if37:34 you need your kid's approval. I don't know this modern, this modern way of parenting, I don't get it. Johnny, tell me how you feel, what's going on, I know you're throwing a temper tantrum in the grocery aisle right now,37:46 but tell me your truth, I wanna hear from you. No. Pull Johnny out the grocery store, into the car, back home, and spank Johnny. That kid needs37:58 a whooping. That's what I got when I was growing up, I turned out okay. I don't got any twitches. You gotta learnShow more
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