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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP190511A
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00:10 >> Good morning, good morning, good morning. 00:12 Nice to see you. Happy Sabbath to you. 00:17 Did you have any problem finding the place? [ Laughter ] 00:20 Glad you're here. Folks are still coming. I've been out there greeting the 00:24 saints as they been slipping over from Pioneer. Can you believe this? 00:30 I have one confession I want to make this morning right now, and that is God is good. 00:39 Huh? What do you say? God is good... 00:43 >> All the time. >> All the time... >> God is good. 00:47 >> God is good. Can you believe it? We've been t-- How long have we 00:51 been talking about this Sabbath? For months now. And at last, it's here. 00:57 And thank the Lord not a drop of rain. 00:59 Can you say amen to that? >> Amen. 01:02 >> And the next Sabbath, we're ordering sunshine as well, but 01:05 today, this is fine. 01:07 People coming from all directions, streaming in. They're gonna be streaming in. 01:11 It's like first church. They'll just keep coming all the way through as people realize, 01:16 whoops, we're over here today. But I'm glad you came. Thank you for being here. 01:22 The question is, how are things going back at home? Do you mean like back at the 01:27 church? Let me show you how things are going. 01:30 An incredible picture was put together by our producer, and it's on the screen. 01:35 You see the top half of that screen? That is the last service ever 01:39 conducted on the pews of the Pioneer Memorial Church. That is graduation Sunday 01:44 afternoon. The church is full. Looks so good. 01:48 The picture directly beneath it, taken from the very same spot is how the church looked Monday 01:56 night. I'm telling you, keep that picture up, please. 02:00 I'm telling you what -- we had volunteers here scrambling like busy bees all day long. 02:07 We had shifts coming in and volunteers coming in and others leaving, and... 02:12 Today, I want to say, and I don't know if you're sitting right here, right now, I'm sure 02:19 you are, those of you that came, you did a won-- you gave a wonderful gift to God. 02:25 All of those pews taken out. [ Applause ] All the pews went out, and you 02:31 can't tell it, but the pipes went out. We took the pipes out. 02:36 We're gonna get those -- You know the Logan's pipes, all specially cleansed and ready to 02:42 go for the new year, and so it's been an incredible week. But here we are. 02:46 And you know why we're here? We're here because Andrews University was gracious 02:51 enough to say, "You need a place to worship this summer? Why don't you come over here?" 02:57 I don't know about you, but look, when I was a kid, my mother would take me -- when she 03:01 found out I was going to somebody's house, she'd say, "Dwight, come here. 03:05 I want to tell you something, boy." She said, "You're going to 03:09 somebody else's house. I want you -- Are you listening to me? 03:13 I want you," she said, "I want you to treat that house as if it were your own." 03:20 Mm! Then she'd look at me, just piercing eyes, she'd look at me, 03:24 those loving eyes. She'd say, "No, no, no. Not as if it were your own, 03:28 Dwight. You need to treat it better than you treat your own." 03:31 And, folks, we're in a house that's not ours, but it is a beautiful house. 03:35 And, you know, I thought, oh, for this opening Sabbath in the Howard Performing Arts Center, 03:40 it would be wonderful to have the president of Andrews University, who is a 03:44 friend of Pioneers -- she's a friend of this university -- if she'd be willing to come and 03:49 just -- Andrea Luxton, our president -- take a few moments to extend a welcome to us in her 03:55 house. >> Well, good morning, church, and happy Sabbath. 04:02 It's wonderful to see you in this place. 04:04 You know, Pioneer Memorial Church is always so generous to 04:08 us as a university. 04:10 It doesn't matter what the situation is -- we need a program, we need something else, 04:15 we need your space -- we call up and they say, "Of course!" And of course, that's exactly 04:20 how we feel in this case. We're really delighted that you can use this space over the next 04:25 little while. You know, Pioneer Memorial Church is also a place where 04:31 it gathers people from all around the world, and it says, "Hey, you are home." 04:36 That is what you're good -- you're very good about doing that, and we want you to feel 04:42 the same way today. This is your home. We're delighted to have you 04:45 here. Please make it your home, and enjoy yourself in this 04:49 adventure that's going to happen over the next few weeks. So, welcome. 04:54 >> Thank you, Dr. Luxton. How about putting your hands together for Dr. Luxton and the 04:57 Andrews University team? Yep. [ Applause ] 05:03 While our president is still standing here, let's do this. You received when you came in 05:08 today our new summer bulletin. I hope you like this. This is kind of the minimalist 05:14 approach. And look at it this way -- the money we save here goes into a 05:19 building. We don't need lots of paper this summer. 05:22 You'll get other instructions about this piece of paper, but on the backside of the paper is 05:29 a litany. We had a litany on the last Sabbath, a litany of leaving. 05:33 And on our first Sabbath in the Howard Performing Arts Center, we have a litany of arriving. 05:38 The president is gonna lead our congregation, and we will responsively respond to God's 05:46 invitation to meet Him here. 05:48 Let's go. 07:03 Let's stand together as we sing the doxology. 07:05 [ "Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow" begins ] 07:57 Alleluia indeed, oh, God, for here we are, at last, in this new space granted to us for a 08:04 season. We've come to worship You here because with Jacob we recognize 08:10 this is none other than Bethel, the House of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 08:15 Hallelujah. But like Jacob the exile, we are not home yet. 08:20 Heavenly Father, not yet, for we are still marching to Zion, that beautiful, beautiful city of 08:28 God, where with Jacob and our Lord Jesus, one day we shall be exiles no longer. 08:35 So, please, keep us marching and marching until Jesus comes, we humbly pray in His mighty name. 08:42 Let all the people say "amen." [ "Come, We That Love the Lord" begins ] 08:48 >> Please remain standing with us as we sing this song together. 11:54 We're marching to Zion together. And the third verse of that song 11:58 I love because it says that the hill of Zion yields 1,000 sacred 12:02 treats before we reach heaven. Before we even reach Zion, we're 12:08 experiencing blessings on the journey together. 12:11 As we follow Jesus, He blesses us every step of the way. 12:15 [ "I Will Follow" begins ] 14:41 In You there's life. 16:16 You know, that's a tall order. That's a pretty big request from 16:20 God to follow Him wherever He leads us, but I like that song 16:25 because it's -- it's relational in tone. 16:28 It's not just "I will follow blindly some force into the 16:32 abyss." It's "I will follow You." 16:35 You get the feeling that -- and it comes from the story of Ruth. 16:38 Ruth is following Naomi, and Ruth knows Naomi, and so Ruth is 16:43 willing to follow her. And we have the privilege of 16:46 knowing the One we follow, and we have the privilege not just 16:49 of journeying with and following, but sitting at the 16:52 feet of Jesus and learning from Him and growing with Him every 16:56 day. That's what this next song is 16:58 about. [ "Sitting at the Feet of Jesus" 17:00 begins ] 17:48 Sing it out. 18:18 Amen. 19:21 You know, I just have a thought as we're singing this song, and that is that maybe you haven't 19:26 been sitting at the feet of Jesus enough. Maybe you come here and you're 19:30 actually pretty tired and you feel like God is calling you to follow Him, but you haven't 19:35 been connected to Him. And to be honest, this is a thought for myself. 19:40 I want to sit at Jesus' feet more often. I want to start the day at His 19:45 feet. I want to end the day at His feet. 19:47 I want to walk through the day by His side. There's nothing more that He 19:52 wants than to have that connection with you. So, as we sing this last verse, 19:58 I hope that this song becomes your experience and that every day it's your prayer to be 20:04 connected to our Saviour and friend every day. 20:11 Let's pray this. 21:37 ♪♪ 21:46 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 22:09 >> ♪ Of harmless innocence ♪ The thoughtless tongue ♪ That fills the world with 22:21 sadness ♪ ♪ Then shall be employed in noblest praise ♪ 22:38 ♪♪ >> ♪ Lover and friend ♪ And all the dearly cherished 22:51 of the heart ♪ ♪ Who long have rested in the tomb ♪ 23:01 ♪ Shall come and join the choral strain ♪ ♪♪ 23:18 ♪ From earth aroused ♪ The voice of harmony that flows so sweet around the 23:30 throne ♪ ♪ Their tongues shall ever swell ♪ 23:38 ♪ Shall ever swell ♪ Shall ever swell ♪♪ 23:59 ♪♪ ♪ Then there shall be peace ♪ There shall be peace 24:23 ♪ A settled calm ♪ A soft serenity ♪ There shall be peace 24:36 ♪ There shall be peace ♪ A settled calm ♪ A soft serenity 24:48 ♪ More gently mild than Earth ♪ More gently mild than Earth ♪ With all its gorgeous scenes 25:11 can hope to bring ♪ ♪ A fit comparison ♪♪ 25:30 ♪♪ ♪ And all that peace shall live and reign a long forever there ♪ 25:54 ♪ Forever there ♪ And this eternity ♪ Shall make that heaven 26:26 ♪ A heaven ♪♪ ♪♪ 26:56 >> Let's pray. Oh, God, here we are. We've been singing, worshipping, 27:03 lifting up our voices to You. You have something in the Word. Speak to us. 27:10 We can hear You. Engage our minds, address our hearts. 27:15 May we not be the same for this story, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. 27:22 Beginning a new series right now, In Exile: Cadences of Home. 27:25 Episode number one -- Bachelorette for a Day. 27:28 You know who I'm talking about. Open your Bible to the little 27:31 book of Esther. Let's go. Esther. 27:33 Just before the book of Job, find the book of Esther, please. 27:36 Just 10 chapters. Not a breath about God in the 27:40 book. How did it get in Bible? 27:42 Let's find out. Esther chapter 2. 27:44 Pick up the story. I'll be in the 27:46 New International Version. So, this plot is gonna thicken 27:49 as we go. "Now, there was in the capital 27:52 of Susa" -- the capital of the Persian empire -- "a Jew of the 27:55 tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai." 27:57 Now, lookit. I grew up as a kid and we called 27:59 him "Mordecay-eye." Did you do the same? 28:01 "Mordecay-eye"? Yeah, but we have a Mordecai 28:03 here at the university. He's one of our beloved workers 28:06 at the university. He's an active volunteer in the 28:09 Pioneer Memorial Church, so in honor of him, it's gonna be 28:11 Mordecai today. There was this Jew "named 28:14 Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, who had 28:17 been carried into exile" -- ooh, the exile! 28:20 There's that word -- in exile. Here's the dictionary 28:23 definition. What's exile? 28:25 The state of being barred from one's native country typically 28:28 for political or punitive reasons. 28:30 That makes Mordecai a fourth-generation exile. 28:32 He never knew home. He's only heard stories, 28:36 cadences of home. Never been there and done that. 28:39 So, there's Mordecai. Now, let's drop down to -- Let's 28:44 drop down to verse 7. "Mordecai had a cousin named 28:48 Hadassah." Now, that's a beautiful Hebrew 28:51 name. It means "myrtle." 28:52 So, he has this little cousin named Hadassah, "whom he had 28:55 brought up because she had neither father nor mother." 28:58 The poor child. "This young woman, who was also 29:01 know as Esther" -- so, that's a Persian name, and it means 29:04 "star," so she's bilingual, obviously. 29:07 Certainly bicultural. "This young woman, who was also 29:10 known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. 29:13 Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and 29:16 mother had died." 29:18 Now, lookit. When I was a kid growing up, we only had black-and-white TV. 29:21 Anybody here remember the days when it was only black-and-white television? 29:25 There was a program -- see if you remember this program. Black-and-white, four years on 29:28 NBC, four years on ABC. Title of the program, "Queen for a Day." 29:32 Anybody remember "Queen for a Day"? Don't even admit it, but I'm 29:36 raising my hand with you. "Queen for a Day" -- incredible plot. 29:40 That was one of the first large prize-giveaway programs that America's gone absolutely 29:45 bonkers over. "The Price is Right," "America's Got Talent" -- a lot 29:49 of money given away. Well, this was a program devoted, not quite exclusively, 29:56 but the audiences were dominantly -- according to Wikipedia, the audiences were 30:00 dominantly women. They would invite women to come, women who could -- who would be 30:06 willing to share a particular need they had. It might be medical equipment. 30:13 It might be therapeutic care for a chronically ill child. It could they have a house and 30:16 there's no washing machine in it or "We've never had a refrigerator. 30:20 Oh, I'd love to have a refrigerator." Anyway, they would line the 30:23 women up -- I forget how many -- and they would interview each on of them, and the women would 30:28 start sobbing at some point because they would say, "What is it you really want?" 30:33 So, it captured the heart of America. And when it was all over, here's 30:37 how they chose the queen. I didn't know this as a kid, but they had an applause meter in 30:42 the building, and everybody would applaud. They'd bring them out one at a 30:46 time, and the woman who got the loudest applause was coordinated queen for a day. 30:50 And then the -- And, of course, everybody would erupt and there are prizes for everybody, and 30:56 then the announcer would -- the final trademark sign-off was "This is Jack Bailey wishing 31:02 we could make every woman a queen for every single day," applause, credit roll, the end. 31:07 Do you know what? I'm telling you, these first two chapters in Esther, it is the 31:13 search for "Queen for a Day," only they're not using an applause meter. 31:18 Their method is much more risque. Alright? Let's go. 31:23 So, the story has been started. Plot thickens, because the king is looking for a new queen. 31:29 This will be verse 8. "When the king's order and edict 31:32 had been proclaimed, many young women" -- who wanted to be queen 31:35 for a day and for life -- "were brought to the citadel of Susa 31:39 and put under the care of Hegai. 31:41 Esther was also taken to the king's palace and entrusted to 31:45 Hegai, who had charge of the harem." 32:06 Now, one more line. Verse 10. 32:18 The single insertion of that line hints the bicultural way that young Esther's having to 32:25 negotiate life as an exile. Lookit. When young Daniel gets there, 32:29 "Absolutely understand I am a Jew. I cannot eat that, do you 32:32 understand?" Esther gets there, "Not a word about being a Jew. 32:38 You're in a harem. No problem." Bicultural name. 32:45 Bicultural existence as an exile. And by the way, the author will 32:52 never make a single peep. No commentary. Just let's it go. 32:59 Okay, keep going. So, what did the young ladies have to do? 33:02 Verse 12. So, "Before a young woman's turn 33:04 came to go in" -- that's an interesting word -- "go in to 33:07 King Xerxes, she had to complete 12 months of beauty treatments 33:11 prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six 33:15 with perfumes and cosmetics. And this is how she would go to 33:19 the king." By the way, what would be 33:21 smelling like after six months of that? 33:23 Please! It'd be like you live in Macy's 33:26 all your life. [ Laughter ] 33:27 Wow. "And this is how" -- Verse 13 -- 33:30 "this is how she would go into the king: Anything she wanted 33:33 was given to her to take with her from the harem to the king's 33:35 palace. 33:48 She went in -- She went in a single woman. 33:51 She came out a concubine. Hmm. 34:01 And so it went with Esther. But when she went in to the 34:06 king, she did not come out a concubine. 34:09 She was not even queen for a night. 34:12 She was not queen for a day. Turns out she becomes the 34:16 real-deal Queen of Persia. And the next words about Esther 34:22 are here in verse 17. 34:32 "So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead 34:34 of Vashti" -- the deposed queen. 34:47 Listen to -- Listen to this, folks. A young Jewish woman, are we 34:52 clear about that? A young Jewish woman marries -- though the word is never 34:58 intentionally used in the story -- marries an uncircumcised pagan gentile 35:05 king... 35:10 ...and becomes the divine instrument for the saving of her people. 35:14 And as Karen Jobes put it, "For the saving of the nation from which the Messiah later comes." 35:20 Moral ambiguities, are you kidding? But that's the life of an exile. 35:29 You're caught in between and you have to choose. Wow. 35:36 Now the plot really begins to thicken, because now the antagonist is introduced. 35:41 So, who do we have so far? Well, we have King Xerxes, we have Queen Esther, we have 35:46 cousin Mordecai, who obviously is a royal court official, and now enters Haman -- Haman. 35:55 Haman the Agagite. Did you ever hear of King Agag, the king of the Amalekites, the 36:02 race of people that hated the children of Israel? We got a true, live descendent 36:10 who congenitally, congenitally hates the Jews. Whoa. 36:18 Chapter 3, verse 1. 36:30 Verse 2. 36:45 Mordecai was a Jew. Everybody knew it. And he was not gonna bow down to 36:53 anybody. Not even Haman. 36:58 Well, how did Haman take it? Verse 5. 37:21 Have mercy. And so as an echo out of the story of Daniel, Haman does the 37:26 same thing. He goes in to the king and says, "Oh, king, live forever. 37:29 You know what? I found out there's a people, a very dangerous people in this 37:33 empire. They're gonna kill you one day." And by the way, there have been 37:37 several at this point in time, several assassination attempts against Xerxes, so he's very 37:42 sensitive. "There's a people, and if you would just give me permission, 37:46 I'll exterminate them. We'll kill them all. You'll never have to fear them 37:50 again." He's so -- He's so paranoid that he, with one wave of his hand 37:56 and the giving of his signet ring okays genocidal extermination. 38:01 "Kill them all, whoever they are." And that's exactly what happens. 38:08 Drop down to verse 13 in chapter 3. 38:25 And Mordecai finally reads a copy of the edict. 38:30 And how does he respond? Take a look here in chapter 4, 38:33 verse 1. 38:46 Eventually, the word gets to Queen Esther about this, the 38:49 consternation and bizarre behavior of her cousin 38:52 publicly in this city, and she sends a messenger. 38:55 Said, "Go find out what's up with this." 38:58 Mordecai reports the edict. His words right here in 39:05 verse 12. "When Esther's words were 39:07 reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer" -- So, this is 39:10 verse 12, chapter 4 -- "he sent back this answer: 'Do not think 39:14 that because you are in the king's house you alone of all 39:17 the Jews will escape.'" No, no, no, no, no. 39:20 For if you remain silent, girl, and I'm talking to you, if you 39:24 remain silent at this time, oh, Queen, "'relief and deliverance 39:28 for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your 39:32 father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have 39:37 come into your royal position for such a time as this?'" 39:43 Two pinnacle lines that the world remembers from the story of Esther. 39:49 This is the first one, only it goes in the old King James, "Who knows that you have come in to 39:52 the kingdom for such a time as this?" Don't we say that to each other? 39:54 Who knows? Maybe you're here for that reason? 39:57 You know what? Maybe so. Maybe you are here for this reason. 40:00 Some of you are feeling right now that you life has no reason to it, no rhyme, no nothing, 40:04 man. You're saying, "Why am I living life the way I'm having to live 40:08 it?" Hey, hey, hey, hey. Slow down, slow down. 40:11 Who knows whether or not God has destined you, unbeknown to you, to come into the kingdom at this 40:22 very time? That's why, ladies and gentlemen, you just can't give 40:27 up. You can't quit, please. Who knows? 40:32 This may be why you're queen, girl. Esther shoots a reply back. 40:37 Verse 15. "Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 'Go, gather together 40:41 all the Jews who are in Susa,'" and I want you to fast for me. "'Do not eat or drink for three 40:46 days,'" day or night. "'I and my attendants will fast as you do. 40:49 When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law.'" 40:53 And here comes that second well-known line. Let's say it out loud 40:57 together -- "'And if I perish, I perish.'" If standing up for my faith and 41:02 my people means I perish, then I perish. I will not go to the grave 41:06 without having stood up and confessed my belief and my conviction. 41:15 I cannot keep silent. If I perish, I perish. Whew! 41:21 Moral ambiguities. Great moral clarities as well when you're an exile. 41:28 There's nothing to negotiate. If I have to speak all alone and stand all alone, then I will 41:34 stand all alone and I will speak all alone. And I perish, let me perish. 41:39 Wow! The life of an exile, nobody said it was uncomplicated. 41:48 Well, you may not have God showing up by name in this story, but guess what, His 41:56 fingerprints are all over the narrative. She's gonna spend three days and 42:02 three nights -- Sometimes -- Listen, sometimes -- Elders, are you listening to me? 42:06 You're the ones that set aside first Tuesday of every month as a day of fasting and prayer, 42:10 right? Sometimes it takes fasting and prayer to break through to God. 42:16 Three days and three nights. First Tuesday, first Wednesday, first Thursday. 42:24 You got to break through. You can't just sit there. You have to do something. 42:29 And the first thing you do is go to Him. Talk and plead with Him. 42:35 Wow. [ Sighs ] And now they start showing up. 42:42 Little coincidences -- Speaking of the fingerprints of God, little coincidences. 42:46 I love the way one person defines coincidences. "They are God's way of working a 42:51 miracle anonymously." Isn't that good? That's what a coincidence is. 42:56 There are no coincidences in this life. Nothing is happening by chance. 42:59 God is control of your life from stem to stern. He's control of your life right 43:02 now while it feels out of control and spiraling down. He is smack-dab in the middle of 43:07 what you're going through right now. It's not coincidental. 43:11 Everything is moving you to the ending of a story. Mm. 43:18 Well, boy, they start happening. And, by the way, the book of 43:22 Esther is set up around this literary organizing principle. 43:25 There are two pairs of banquets at the beginning, there are two 43:29 pairs of banquets at the end, and in the smack-dab middle, 43:32 there are two banquets. I should say there's a pair of 43:37 banquets at the beginning, a pair at the end, and a pair, two 43:40 of them, right here in the middle. 43:47 It was Aristotle who coined the phrase, and that's what the 43:51 narrator -- the writer is setting us up for this -- I'll 43:55 put the phrase on the -- the word on the screen for you. 43:58 Peripety. Nobody ever uses that word. Peripety. 44:02 What does peripety mean? It's the sudden turn of events that reverses the outcome of a 44:06 story. That's a peripety, and now they start coming. 44:09 Coincidences? No. Boom, boom. Reversal, reversal, reversal, 44:13 reversal, reversal. Watch this. You ready? 44:15 Okay, let's go to those banquets. Come on. 44:19 The Holy Spirit grants wisdom during those three days and nights of fasting to Esther, 44:23 and she comes up with this strategy. These two consecutive banquets, 44:28 she goes to king and Haman and says, "Listen, I want you eat with me today." 44:35 And the king said, "Haman, let's go!" And they show up, and it's just 44:40 the three of them, and, oh, my, it's just a wonderful -- having a little tea together with the 44:44 royal couple. And Haman, his buttons are about to burst off. 44:49 Wow! Look at who I'm eating with! At the end of the meal, sort of 44:54 just wiping off the last crumbs, the king looks at the queen and says, "Hey, listen. 44:59 There's a reason for this. What is it you want?" Listen, guys, when you get a 45:03 good meal... [ Laughter ] "What do you want?" 45:09 [ Laughs ] So, Esther says, "Good question. I'll tell you tomorrow." 45:13 Brilliant, girl! Brilliant. Now, it just so happens between today and tomorrow, there comes 45:20 a peripety, a sudden reversal of fortune unexpected and utterly perfectly timed, because the 45:26 king can't sleep that night. He can't sleep! He finally calls the servant, 45:31 "Bring me the chronicles of the kings. Let me just hear some stories. 45:34 I'm just not tired at all." And the servant starts reading the stories, and the king is 45:38 reminded about somebody who foiled an assassination plot, and he says, "Hey, yo, servant. 45:42 Stop right there. Have we ever done anything to show gratitude to this man who 45:47 has foiled the plot and spared my life?" "Not that I know, 45:52 Your Highness." "Hmm." Just then... 45:55 [ Knocking ] ...it's Haman. 46:01 The king says, "Haman, you're here awfully early in the morning." 46:05 Oh, yes, he is, because you know what has just happened? Yesterday -- so this is early 46:10 morning before the second banquet -- yesterday, when Haman went home from the first 46:15 banquet, he walked by Mordecai again and Mordecai... wouldn't budge. 46:21 He is so infuriated by the time he gets home, he says to his wife, "I'll tell you what. 46:23 I'm gonna kill that man. I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna kill him." 46:26 And the wife and the friends say, "Hey, that's a great idea. Why don't you do that? 46:29 Why don't you put a big gallows?" Because they impale people in 46:32 the Persian empire, just run a stake through them. "Put a big gallows, a pole for 46:36 impalement, and tomorrow, go ask the king can you have the life of Mordecai, this terrible 46:42 enemy, and we'll have him impaled and then you're forever free." 46:47 So, he knocks at the door early in the morning. "Haman, what are you doing here 46:51 so early?" But before Haman can say a word, he says, "Hey, listen, Haman, 46:55 I've just been thinking, what would you do for somebody who has done a great favor to the 47:01 king?" And Haman is absolutely sure that the king is talking about 47:05 him, so Haman comes up with this long list of "I'd do this and this and this and this," and 47:09 the king finally, when he's through, says, "Well done. That's very good. 47:13 And, listen, would you please do that for our friend Mordecai?" [ Laughter ] 47:18 Peripety. [ Exhales sharply ] Sudden reversal of fortune. 47:23 Mortified over Mordecai. And Haman has to lead him through the streets -- you know 47:31 the story. Ah. Okay, so, it's morning. 47:35 Now it's time for the second banquet. Okay, we're ready to go. 47:38 Second banquet. Chapter 7. So the king and Haman went to 47:41 Queen Esther's second banquet. 47:43 You got that there? 48:18 Look. "'If we had been merely sold as 48:20 male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such 48:23 distress should justify disturbing the king.'" 48:25 And the king comes unglued. He jumps up from his couch, "Who 48:29 would dare to destroy you and your people?!" 48:34 Esther was waiting for that moment, and she speaks. 48:39 She answers, verse 6. 48:48 The king goes postal. Explodes and then furies out in the palatial gardens just 48:55 trying to cool off, and Haman realizes this is it. If there's no help now, it's 49:00 curtains. And so he goes over to the couch where she's reclining, 49:03 Queen Esther, and he throws himself on that couch, begging the queen for his life. 49:07 "Give me my life!" And the king walks in just then. And he's on the couch with the 49:10 queen, and I want to tell you, that was it. [ Exhales sharply ] 49:15 Peripety. Sudden reversal of fortune. And now you have verse 10. 49:35 Who says God isn't personally embedded in this narrative that never breaths His name once? 49:46 And now you have Xerxes, and now you have Mordecai, and now you have Esther, and they are 49:51 frantically, desperately putting countermeasures together to counterman the edict that has 49:56 already gone out to all 127 provinces. They scramble. Pow! 50:01 There goes the royal signet just in time. Talking about peripety, a second 50:05 countermanding order reaches all 127 provinces of the empire just in time, and the Jewish race is 50:11 spared extermination. 50:17 Isn't that something? Peripety. And, by the way, the pair of 50:23 banquets at the end, that's the Jews celebrating, and it's called Purim. 50:28 Purim. They still celebrate it today. What do they celebrate? 50:31 They celebrate the mighty, Almighty God's mighty at-the-last-minute reversal of 50:36 fortunes deliverance from their enemies, and today they still remember the intrepid exile 50:42 queen named Esther. So, here's the question before we hurry out of here. 50:46 So what's that story have to do with you and me? Oh, listen to this very 50:50 carefully, because it is no accident that the name of God has been left out of the story. 50:55 By leaving the name out, the writer has produced a provocative and stunning 51:02 theological point. You ready for this? And that is God does not have to 51:08 personally show up anywhere, not in your life, not in my life, to fulfill the purpose He has 51:14 always had for you. He doesn't have to show up. It's the great paradox, by the 51:21 way. He never shows up once to exile Esther. 51:24 She just presses on in fasting. She just presses on in trusting that He'll be her guide and she 51:28 just is acting out what's in her head. She's just following it, but 51:31 she's being given instructions from the throne of the universe, and God never shows up. 51:37 It's the great paradox. God is all-powerfully present, even where He is conspicuously 51:44 absent. Hang on to that. As Karen Jobes notes, the story 51:49 of Esther explores the intriguing interplay between God's providence and human 51:53 decisions and actions. In other words, hey, folks, this is it. 51:56 You just got to keep living. You got to keep going. You got to keep on believing. 52:00 You got to keep working. You got to keep trying. You got to keep trusting. 52:03 You have to keep hoping. Don't you ever let go. Do you know why? 52:07 This is a huge mistake that I'm always making, too. The story is still being 52:15 written. I'm always trying to analyze my story in the middle of it, 52:19 saying, "God, I can't figure out what's going on. Help me out here. 52:22 Give me a clue." No, no, no, no. You don't provide analysis and 52:26 commentary during a game. You provide analysis and commentary when the game is 52:30 over. True or false? But of course. 52:34 Our problem is we're trying to analyze the story while we're living it, and it makes 52:38 absolutely no sense to us, and we are convinced -- Some of you are going through something 52:44 right now, and it feels just as if the Almighty God were a billion times a billions miles 52:51 away from you. No sense of His presence, no whispering in the ear, no 52:57 cavalry sent to rescue you. You're going through this, and it looks like it's going to be 53:01 curtains -- professionally, physically, maritally, financially. 53:10 What you're doing is you're analyzing the story, and it is not over yet. 53:14 Do you understand that? They're still writing your story, and one day, when you 53:18 read God's backstory to your personal story, you're gonna say to Him, "My Lord and my God, 53:24 that's what You were doing to me. I had no clue." 53:31 And He didn't want you to have a clue because it would have frozen you. 53:34 You would have leaned back. You wouldn't have trusted. You would have been paralyzed. 53:38 And He said, "I can't have that. Make the guy think he's going through this all alone. 53:43 Make her think she has been abandoned. But keep her going. 53:49 Keep her going. Don't let her quit." Wow. 53:57 Yeah. "I will never leave you. I will never leave you or 54:02 forsake you." Truth is, when God is nowhere to be seen, He is, in fact, behind 54:11 the scene. Would you put that on the screen, please? 54:14 That's the take-home line. No study guide today. Would you just lock that in the 54:19 gray matter of your bright mind? When God is nowhere to be seen, He is, in fact, behind the 54:26 scene. He's at work. He's at work. 54:31 You haven't seen the end of your story. One day, high-fiving, you will 54:36 learn He is at work. Esther never knew. She just kept living and hoping 54:45 and trying and trusting and praying and believing. Wow. 54:52 Just because you're in exile does not mean God is in exile. See, we tend to put God in exile 54:57 with us. Oh, He's with you, but He's not in exile. 55:01 He's roaming the whole universe simultaneously. He said, "I'm in control." 55:06 You got to trust Him. Come on, what's that line? Romans 8:28. 55:11 In fact, let's do this one out loud together. Romans 8:28... 55:26 I'm telling you. When God is nowhere to be seen, He's, in fact, behind the scene 55:34 working it all out. Don't quit, please. Don't quit, don't quit. 55:40 Do not quit. He's on your side. And He'll never leave you or 55:46 forsake you. In fact, I got to tell you this before I sit down. 55:49 Speaking of peripety, the greatest peripety in the universe, the greatest reversal 55:54 of ultimate fortune happened at Calvary. It looked like it was down... 56:03 the sink. 56:05 Over. "You lost. 56:08 We had hoped it was You. Obviously it is not You." 56:13 The greatest peripety, the sudden reversal of fortune, is 56:17 wrapped up in the story of Jesus' death, burial, 56:20 resurrection, and soon coming. He's coming again. 56:25 He's gonna reverse every fortune when he returns the last time. 56:30 And He's coming. He's coming soon. You're in exile like I am. 56:35 Yep, we're in exile. But, fellow exiles, don't give up. 56:43 God has not forsaken you. And the best is yet to come. Amen. Amen. 56:57 >> Before you go, let me take an extra moment to share with you 56:59 an opportunity to get into the Bible in a fresh, new way. 57:02 All across the world, more and more people are hearing the call 57:05 to examine Scriptures for themselves. 57:07 If you felt drawn to learn more about God's Word but you don't 57:10 know where to start or you're just looking for a more in-depth 57:13 examination of Bible truths, then I have something right here 57:16 that I believe you're going to enjoy. 57:18 I want to send a series of guides to get you started. 57:21 This one's entitled "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" 57:23 Each guide begins with a story, an introduction of the subject. 57:26 Then, through a series of focus questions, 57:28 you'll be learning portions of the Bible you may never 57:31 have known before, and when you're through, you'll be able 57:33 to share with others some of these inspiring Bible truths. 57:36 So just call our toll-free number. 57:37 It's on the screen -- 877 -- the two words -- 57:40 HIS-WILL. Our friendly operators 57:42 are standing by to send these study guides to you. 57:44 Once again, that's 877-HIS-WILL. 57:48 Call that number, and then, again, join me next week 57:52 right here at this same time. "New Perceptions." 57:59 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:19 ♪♪ |
Revised 2019-05-23