Esther: For Such a Time as This, Part 2

Today on Summit life with Judy Greer you know that at any moment you get a disastrous phone call from your doctor that could change your life forever. You can walk into work on Monday and be told that you no longer have a job. I cannot guarantee you that I will wake up tomorrow. I cannot guarantee you I will make it home to hug my wife or my kids. Another time, but what I cannot lose what I know I will never lose this whatever I have staked God's eternal kingdom.

So, I will bet my life on that night the legend Jeannie as always, I'm your host Molly benefits after is one of only two books in the Bible names for a woman pretty controversial but over the years, but not because it's names for a girl because God's name is actually never mentioned. Not even once in the whole block. Thankfully, God kept it in there for us because it really has something important to teach at today. Pastor Judy Greer will wrap up a quick trip through Esther and you will hear the timeless challenge that it is always right to risk it all for the sake let's jump right into chapter 4 with Pastor Jean just so happens to walk into the room.

If payment was come to ask the king for permission to hang Mordecai but before he can say anything the king says I got a question? What should be done. What should be done for the man that the king wants to honor, not whatever Haman is very narcissistic and he thinks that he's just awesome so he naturally assumes gangs talk about him and he thinks all this good I got a chance to really promote myself.

It is, you should make a really big deal out of this. We need to hang a wreath around his neck and give them a special row, but you need to have a chariot driving down the city streets and you need to have a really high ranking government official run behind the chariot and just call Alice he's going by. This is the man in the king loves and this is what the king does for the man whom he honors a hazardous says that sounds like a great idea. The guy that I want to honor as they Mordecai and the guy who should do the shouting is you riches pretty doggone funny. You gotta admit what this little charade payment is now madder than a mosquito in a manikin factory so he takes his plan to kill all the Jews into overdrive righties is on the sky maybe were working to kill them all.

But that night, but that might member he's gotta go to Esther second banquet in this time Esther works up the courage to tell the king about the plot against her people and she reveals in the process that she also was a Jew and the king says who would conceive such a plot against you, and Esther points across the table and Haman got his mouth full of mutton and says that's the man right there. Well, now it's a hazardous's turn to be angry so he storms out of the room in rage at which point Haman goes over to Esther and grabs a hold of her dress and starts to plead for his life, but apparently as he is pleading he falls down on top of personnel she's on the ground.

He's on top of her. I guess you just so happens to walk back in the room at just that moment Tina hazardous whose like what now you're trying to write my wife. Also any orders Haman to be home on the next available gallows, which of course just so happens to be the gallows that Haman, a construct of the previous night for Mordecai and so it is that Esther got a really rough start in life saves the Jewish nation and her courage transform our lives as well.

Many generations later, because a few generations after this one. One of the descendents of the people that Esther saved that night would be visited by an angel and told that she was pregnant with the Messiah, the son of God and Jesus came into the world and died for our sins, and now we sit here worshiping him today because of the courage of an orphan girl who responded in the right way and her defining moment of faith.

I believe it Esther story serves two purposes. In the Bible verses. It shows us the remarkable way that God brought Jesus into the world and secondly it shows you the way that God wants to use you in his global purposes, and how you were supposed to respond to your defining moment of faith. You see I believe some of you, and we collectively as a church.

I believe were in a defining moment of faith like Esther and I want to try to unpack that for you and I will use Esther story to show you four ways for ways that you were supposed to seize your divine moment of Faith Way, #1 is you need to realize first that God continues Mordecai's and Esther's think of Mordecai's as the kinds of people you normally find in a church.

The good people are sincere in their faith. They haven't been involved in really any major scandals they got pretty vanilla testimonies are boring you know that the worst things they've done in life or speed or forget the recycle or something like that to tell you their testimony to put you to sleep, Esther's, by contrast, are people whose lives are filled with shame or regret or maybe compromises the mistakes maybe like Esther you been the victim of somebody else's manipulation. Maybe you have been like her. The victim of assault or maybe you look back and see that you have not always acted with courage and faith when you should.

What you need to see is that God has a plan for you also. In fact, Esther is the one that God uses to preserve the messianic line. Why, why is it that of all the people in the Jewish nation.

Why did God choose Mordecai.

Why choose an orphan girl who was with the compromise life of faith. Why choose somebody who is vulnerable in every possible way it has to be that God is showing us that he brings his salvation in the world. I'm likely weak instruments make themselves available to him. Of all the people of Israel. This is who God chose to bring salvation to the world a young orphan immigrant checkered past. My point is this. It doesn't matter what your history is. It doesn't matter what your ability is it only matters what your availability is. God has placed you at a specific place with specific opportunities with a checkered history. For the purposes of his kingdom, and I want you to look around this week and realize that you are in a palace so to speak. Maybe not a literal palace when you're in a place where you got a chance to influence and literally to save the lives of others and also you what I mean by that in a few minutes and maybe from this point you even look backwards and you realize that you have a lot of regrets in life and maybe you genuinely have been a victim and maybe you've made a lot of mistakes to get where you are.

But the point is, you're here now and it's time to quit looking backwards and it's time to start looking forwards because God wants to start a new thing with you and he wants to begin the day. Esther did not get off to the best start but in her defining moment. She said yes.

She put her guests on the table and she changed the course of history that is where some of you are it is never too late for you to begin the journey of faith.

Salvation is all about new beginnings, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away.

All things are become new. I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to use you as a blessing to prosper you to make you a blessing to others.

Five good works that I have preordained that you should go and walk in and you will never find them as long as you are looking backwards and a prisoner of the past, God has released you from your say is set you free from the victimization that you have experience from others, and he wants you to walk forward and he wants you to become a blessing to others. So stop looking backwards and start looking forwards and put your yes on the table.

Make yourself available to him. Number two, number two from Esther story we see the gods been a work in your life whether you recognize it or not is been work in your life when you recognize it or not. Again, where is the name of God in this book. It's not there. Not a single time that the fingerprints of God are all over this book are they not on the fingerprints of God all over this book. Think about all the so-called coincidences that led Esther into being in this position. Queen – the just so happens to upset her husband and the just so happens to come up with a contest to replace her that Esther has been designed and gifted by God to win and Esther just so happens to be Mordecai's cousin who just so happens to stumble onto a plot to kill the king and it just so happens that for some reason he is and honored when he saved the king's life but his act of heroism gets buried in a book and it just so happens that the night before Mordecai's to beheading the king can't sleep a divinely produced insomnia and it just so happens that the guy who goes to get a bedtime story out of all the books of the king's library randomly picks the book that records the story of Mordecai saving the king's life and it just so happens that when the king decides that they need to honor, honor Mordecai first thing in the morning.

The first want to walk into the room, attainment, and it just so happens that the banquet where Esther unveils Haman's evil plan for the king just so happens to come back in the moment that he thinks Haman is trying to rape his wife and it just so happens that when the king orders Haman to beheading the only gallows that are available for the one that Haman built the day before Mordecai is like my friend David Platt says folks you can't write a script any better than that. Do you realize what the book of Esther is teaching you about history and about your life. It's teaching you that God has the whole system right he is sovereignly reading the stories of his people for his redemptive purposes and that includes your story.

You have a divinely appointed role in the kingdom and you have been sovereignly shaped to fulfill that role and you will never feel like you have found your purpose or place in life until you start to fulfill that role. You see, think of your palace as the place of opportunity. Think of it as a place that God has placed you there people that God is put into your life that he intends for you to share Christ with its why he put you where he put you here in a certain dorm you're in a certain you're in a certain dorm room you're in here in a certain office complex classroom neighborhood you your your your in a certain cubicle God is giving you certain platforms and is given you abilities from which he intends to use you to blessing to serve others is giving you certain passions that you have acted on and now you are where you are. You been given financial resources.

We each of us has been given financial resources for just such a time as this.

To enable this church to reach the world. God is not calling us because we are able. He's not calling us because we have a perfect history. He just wants us to make ourselves available to him. Some a church listen were not the most impressive people in the world were not the richest were not the most talented, but we are here at this moment and we are sovereignly placed here in this moment and our God has read the system to bring the great commission to completion and all that God needs. He is already put in our hands already is not sitting here in heaven say what we do is give you more talented and rich people safe.

He's already put it here. All he wants us to do is respond to him and say were available that we come to the kingdom for just such a time as this. The question is have you put your yes on the table yet. By the way, for some of you. You'll even know God, you don't even know God yet what you need to realize is that God brought you here this weekend in pursuit of you because he wants to start a relationship with you. Sometimes I'm up here preaching.

I look around and as I'm talking I see somebody that I don't really know and I look at them and I just think like a wonder why the one with their story is in for some of you. I know that that that that you're here because God's been speaking to you, and you can see look in your life and you can see these moments were God is been you look at it you see that he's been pursuing questions in your heart and then somebody invited you to come to our church and at first she said no and you resisted and finally you just consented and now you're here and you've been here for several weeks. I don't know.

But the point is you need to understand you being here is not your idea. Those questions are from God, their situations are from God that pain is from God that invitation that you received is from God.

He is in pursuit of you and he just wants to get your attention. That's it. The couple system right number three for Mr. story we learn that you can't hold onto life.

You might as well risky for the kingdom.

Understandably, Esther demurs when or Mordecai urges her to go before the king because she knows that she could die. But then we saw how Mordecai responded in my Mordecai's life. You might die. Your safety is an illusion right will work all going to die and you might die this very moment. Death is certain.

What is even more certain is a God to get his work done. God's going to accomplish his purposes, so Esther if you get to go out. You might as well go out doing what is right, your safety is a myth. You know that it any moment you could get a disastrous phone call from your doctor that could change your life forever. You can walk into work on Monday and be told that you no longer have a job safety is an illusion. So it is quite foolish for you to build your life in pursuit of safety and you might as well bet your life on the one thing you know is going to last there reminds me of the words of Jim Elliott who was a missionary to Ecuador, who was martyred in his late 20s is a very famous statement. You probably heard before is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. What I cannot keep is my life. I cannot guarantee you that I will wake up tomorrow.

I cannot guarantee you I will make it home to hug my wife and my kids. Another time, but what I cannot lose what I know I will never lose this whatever I have staked in God's eternal kingdom. So, I will bet my life on that.

I have tried to arrange my life according to that one moment I know is going to happen. The one moment I'm certain will happen one moment that could happen this afternoon I am going to stand before God and I'm going to answer as to whether or not I've lived out his purposes for my life and whether I leverage my life and my resources for his kingdom. No listen I read the Bible all the way to the end.

I didn't even stop Revelation 22.

The last chapter in the Bible.

I read all the way through the concordance I would go all the way to the maps and here's what is clear God wins.

He writes the epilogue. The only question is whether or not your to be part of that epilogue.

That is what is certain, and so I am angling the resources of my life. Toward that end, that I know a certain you see you and I have an even greater assurance of how all this is going to turn out.

Then yesterday it here's the greater assurance that we have listened we see in Esther story shadow of our coming safe me think about Esther wrist her spot in the palace to intercede for the people of God. This prefigure Jesus, who years later would not only risk the ultimate palace lose the ultimate palace. Not only risk his life, but actually sacrifice his life in order to save his people and who now stands before the throne of God faithfully interceding for us. His resurrection assures us that God is gonna win this thing. And God is going to overturn all of the diabolical plans of the world. Payments for good and overripe.

All of the enemy schemes with victory. It shows us that he is in control and that he is sovereignly regular system for the completion of the great commission. So why not bet your life on that one thing to know is certain. You see the point of this book is less about the courage of a man or woman of faith and it is more about God's sovereign control of history.

Who do you think the real king is who are you bowing to and who service are you in this same God assures me that one day people from every tribe and tongue are to be around the throne of God worshiping him. That's Revelation 5. That's how the story ends, and that means anything that I have risk or sacrifice. To that end is not wasted told you before how I see the kind of ministry that we do here is a church cut this by the way of my kids are. This is their favorite illustration that I use for them and nothing like the I told you that our ministry is like. I'm like the proverbial woodpecker. This is the inwardness the woodpecker that's happened with the telephone bill… That not making any difference of the telephone pole does make a little bit of noise at all to do it when all the sudden lightning strikes from heaven that telephone pole with a bang into an woodpecker like his back and it's it's looking at this at this telephone both house put into flies off and get several of his buddies rings her back and was like there she is, boys look at what I did and I told you that I toss right that's us because we know the promises of God.

We know that God has promised that all people will have a thriving gospel witness before history and's and so we know that when we are there serving and we may not be thought were doing that much. We may just be given what we have and it feels like it's nothing we might be continuing to pray we might be sharing Christ with somebody but whatever you're doing.

You're just…… And all the sudden lightning strikes one wall and we flopped all of her friends would write a newspaper about it like I hear little we did, but deep down we know we knew anything we know that we could just tapping away and God sent the lightning bolt of his power. When that happens we are going to continue to say I know I knew it I knew I knew God would do what God said, do you promise told us where the thing was going and I didn't know what was certain in life was certain is a Jesus that I build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it and I am glad that every single thing that I invested in his kingdom under that none of it is been wasted under that God is multiplied it all for his kingdom.

He is not a fool who gives what he can't hold onto anyway to gain access to put a stake in what he can never lose. I know the question. The question is not what anomalies my life. I'm a loser somewhere, somehow, the question is am I going to have a stake in what last forever. Many of you have been given great wealth and in eternity. You are going to lose it all as the old proverb says you cannot take any of it with you so you might as well invest a large chunk of it and the things it last forever list out all of you the five things in your life that had the most monetary value.

The point is put down the piece of paper. This will get them and realize that not one of those five are unitary with you in eternity. Not one.

So is it may be that the spirit of God is telling you to already go ahead and transfer one of those into his kingdom now since you can hold onto anyway when I transfer one of those things that and it is recognizing that I can hold onto it so why not leverage it and invested in the kingdom at last became in the last forever. Lastly, number four. The need is urgent Esther story shows us of the need is urgent. Esther stood at the crossroads of a literal life or death moment for Israel people's lives were on the line. Did she did not act people would die. We also stand at a literal crossroads of life and death for other people. Just consider this lesson on average tomorrow, 60 babies will be aborted in our area tomorrow every single day somewhere in the neighborhood of 25,000 children die from starvation or a preventable disease. There are more slaves around the world today been at any time in history, most tragically, there are millions around of people around us that are going to spend an eternity in hell and 3.1 billion people around the world have yet to hear the gospel, given I explained to them in a way that they can understand how there we just sit by but I don't lose the impact of that last college students who often there moved by the needs of the world. There are heart aches for global suffering and that's awesome. But the greatest of all suffering is eternal suffering for some of you. Your heart breaks for those who hunger the greatest hunger is the hunger for the bread of life you yearned you yearn to see people freed from slavery. The greatest slavery is the slavery to sin of all the things you give your life to the gospel is the most important.

It's not that we should ever ignore the other things we should they should always go together when you're preaching peace and salvation to someone solely should also bring peace and prosperity to their body.

It's just that we must never forget that the gospel is paramount that the gospel is the greatest need of the world has and of all the things you give your life to you should give it to the spread of the gospel.

Esther's life shows us that these are issues of life and death importance. Just like Esther couldn't ignore those life-and-death realities. Some a church. I would say neither can we summit church Esther story in the Bible is a great story, but it is also a picture of your life. We are in the same moment disaster you are in a divinely orchestrated moment you sovereignly put somewhere but God was certain opportunities in certain resources and what you do with them as life-and-death implications for others.

We have been placed here for just such a time as it doesn't matter what your ability, it matters what your availability and thankful for that reminder today from Pastor Jeannie Greer and Summit life as we look ahead to a new year. A lot of people are setting goals for themselves whether that's a financial goal, a health goal when ever it may be Pastor Jeannie. Do you have any thoughts for our listeners as there cannot looking ahead and making these plans in a matter what you do. You cannot add any more seconds to your day. To the question is how you make the most of your days and how you use them well well it takes planning.

The easiest way to waste your life is not through some big dramatic decision.

It's is to not capitalizing on a bunch of small moments in the first of the year is a great moment to say, God, what have you been doing in my life what you want to accomplish in my heart this year. What you want to accomplish through me. This plan will help you asked some of his questions and setting goals of any kind is important for health goals education goals financial goals is a great most important ones are spiritual goals that you can say when you you and I stand before God I live 2022.

The way that you wanted me to live and I think this is a tool that will help you get your mind around that and get started on it.

We've included a Bible reading plan that will help you maintain the most important spiritual discipline. Don't miss this resource I really think you make a difference in your year to get a JD grid.com or you can get your copy.

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Ask for a copy of the 2022 Summit life planner when you donate today by calling 866335 DT 20 866-335-5224 request the planner when you get online. Jeannie Greer.com and Molly benefits inviting you to join us again tomorrow at dictating explained that if we offer our desperation to God and their eager to forget to heal her to step in and help join us next time for Summit life Jeannie ministry