1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,125


2
00:00:02,167 --> 00:00:17,167
[music]

3
00:00:20,667 --> 00:00:22,583
Men, we're leaders.

4
00:00:22,667 --> 00:00:25,000
The decisions we make,
they implicate our wives,

5
00:00:25,083 --> 00:00:27,625
our children, our grandchildren.

6
00:00:27,667 --> 00:00:31,917
As you'll see today, sometimes
for 1,000 generations.

7
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,917
In addition, if you
lead a business, men,

8
00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:37,792
the decisions that you
make may affect everyone

9
00:00:37,833 --> 00:00:39,833
who's associated with you.

10
00:00:39,875 --> 00:00:42,500
For those of you who are in
political leadership, men,

11
00:00:42,542 --> 00:00:46,000
the decisions you
make affect everyone

12
00:00:46,083 --> 00:00:49,000
who's associated with you.

13
00:00:49,042 --> 00:00:51,125
And today, in Esther 9
where we look at

14
00:00:51,167 --> 00:00:53,375
"Jesus Is a Better Reversal,"

15
00:00:53,458 --> 00:00:56,833
we're really focusing
the story in on two men,

16
00:00:56,875 --> 00:01:01,792
powerful men, significant
men, important men.

17
00:01:01,833 --> 00:01:04,333
One man's name is Haman.

18
00:01:04,375 --> 00:01:06,208
He's from a line
called the Agagites.

19
00:01:06,292 --> 00:01:08,000
These are godless people.

20
00:01:08,083 --> 00:01:10,125
Not everybody is
a godly person.

21
00:01:10,167 --> 00:01:12,333
Not everybody
belongs to the Lord.

22
00:01:12,375 --> 00:01:14,417
Not everybody's going to heaven.

23
00:01:14,500 --> 00:01:16,375
Not everybody has a good heart.

24
00:01:16,458 --> 00:01:20,792
He's a bad man from a bad line,
headed toward a bad eternity,

25
00:01:20,833 --> 00:01:23,375
and he's issued a decree.

26
00:01:23,458 --> 00:01:25,625
He has risen up
in the Persian Empire

27
00:01:25,667 --> 00:01:27,500
to a position second only

28
00:01:27,583 --> 00:01:30,500
to the King Xerxes and he's
issued a death sentence

29
00:01:30,542 --> 00:01:33,000
for the people of God,
that on a particular day

30
00:01:33,083 --> 00:01:37,333
it will be legal to kill
all of God's people.

31
00:01:37,375 --> 00:01:39,625
And in a great reversal,

32
00:01:39,667 --> 00:01:41,708
the man who was
high was taken low.

33
00:01:41,792 --> 00:01:43,917
The man who was alive
was put to death.

34
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,500
The man who wanted to kill
Mordecai himself died.

35
00:01:46,583 --> 00:01:49,500
The man who built
a 75-foot-high gallows

36
00:01:49,542 --> 00:01:51,208
in his own yard

37
00:01:51,292 --> 00:01:54,208
to crucify his enemy was
crucified in his own yard

38
00:01:54,292 --> 00:01:57,208
in front of his family.

39
00:01:57,292 --> 00:02:04,167
The other man, Mordecai,
he's one of God's men.

40
00:02:04,250 --> 00:02:07,708
He's not a perfect man,
but he's one of God's men.

41
00:02:07,792 --> 00:02:10,167
He is a man who,
in a great reversal,

42
00:02:10,250 --> 00:02:12,583
takes the position of Haman.

43
00:02:12,667 --> 00:02:14,417
He becomes
the second most powerful.

44
00:02:14,500 --> 00:02:17,167
He gets the signet ring,
the power of attorney,

45
00:02:17,250 --> 00:02:20,375
to act on behalf of King Xerxes.

46
00:02:20,458 --> 00:02:23,833
He has an opportunity,
now that he has inherited

47
00:02:23,875 --> 00:02:28,333
the entire estate of Haman,
to reverse this death sentence

48
00:02:28,375 --> 00:02:30,875
that is on God's people.

49
00:02:30,958 --> 00:02:33,792
And so the first decree was
given by Haman to kill all

50
00:02:33,833 --> 00:02:36,792
of God's people, and then
the second decree is given by

51
00:02:36,833 --> 00:02:40,917
Mordecai that God's people can
defend themselves on the day

52
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,500
that their attackers come
to destroy their families.

53
00:02:44,542 --> 00:02:48,000
And in this, we see that there
really are two groups:

54
00:02:48,083 --> 00:02:50,292
those who are God's people
under Mordecai,

55
00:02:50,333 --> 00:02:52,500
those who are God's
enemies under Haman.

56
00:02:52,583 --> 00:02:56,500
Every one of you is in
one of those categories.

57
00:02:56,583 --> 00:02:59,000
You're God's people
or God's enemies.

58
00:02:59,083 --> 00:03:02,125
Some of you would say, "I'm not
God's enemy, I'm indifferent."

59
00:03:02,167 --> 00:03:05,708
That's just another
way to be an enemy.

60
00:03:05,792 --> 00:03:08,125
And now we're going
to see, in Esther 9,

61
00:03:08,167 --> 00:03:11,000
one of the most bloody,
controversial, painful,

62
00:03:11,083 --> 00:03:14,375
difficult, complicated
sections in all of Scripture.

63
00:03:14,458 --> 00:03:16,333
Pastors tend not to preach it,

64
00:03:16,375 --> 00:03:19,208
Bible study leaders
tend not to focus on it.

65
00:03:19,292 --> 00:03:22,167
This is one of the reasons why,
for the first 7 centuries

66
00:03:22,250 --> 00:03:25,667
in the church's history, no
commentaries were written on it.

67
00:03:25,750 --> 00:03:28,500
It's hard, it's painful,
it's complicated.

68
00:03:28,583 --> 00:03:31,625
But the first thing we see,
three great reversals that

69
00:03:31,667 --> 00:03:36,000
happen, where it goes from death
under the sentence of Haman

70
00:03:36,042 --> 00:03:39,708
to life under
the liberation of Mordecai.

71
00:03:39,792 --> 00:03:42,083
And point number one is
this--reversal number one is

72
00:03:42,167 --> 00:03:46,000
this: you don't have to
die with your family.

73
00:03:46,083 --> 00:03:48,375
Read with me, Esther 9:1.

74
00:03:48,458 --> 00:03:51,375
"Now in the twelfth month,
which is the month of Adar,"

75
00:03:51,458 --> 00:03:53,625
ancient calendar,
"on the thirteenth day

76
00:03:53,667 --> 00:03:56,125
"of the same, when
the king's command and edict

77
00:03:56,167 --> 00:03:57,667
"were about to be carried out,

78
00:03:57,750 --> 00:04:00,417
"on the very day when
the enemies of the Jews hoped

79
00:04:00,500 --> 00:04:02,833
to gain mastery over them,
the reverse occurred."

80
00:04:02,875 --> 00:04:05,625
Say this word: "Reverse."

81
00:04:05,667 --> 00:04:07,583
Reverse.
That's what happens.

82
00:04:07,667 --> 00:04:09,292
They're going to
die, now they live.

83
00:04:09,333 --> 00:04:10,667
They're going to be attacked,

84
00:04:10,750 --> 00:04:12,333
now they're going to defend
themselves.

85
00:04:12,375 --> 00:04:14,500
They're ruled by Haman, now
they're ruled by Mordecai.

86
00:04:14,542 --> 00:04:16,125
They're going to be destroyed,

87
00:04:16,167 --> 00:04:18,208
now they're going to destroy
their enemies.

88
00:04:18,292 --> 00:04:19,917
It's a reversal.

89
00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,000
Our part, friends,
is repentance.

90
00:04:22,083 --> 00:04:24,375
God's part is reversal.

91
00:04:24,458 --> 00:04:28,500
God can and does show up and
change everything in an instant.

92
00:04:28,583 --> 00:04:31,417
This is not a promise that
everything in your life will go

93
00:04:31,500 --> 00:04:34,167
better today, but it is
a promise that with God there

94
00:04:34,250 --> 00:04:36,917
is always the possibility that
he could show up and reverse

95
00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,833
everything in an instant.

96
00:04:39,875 --> 00:04:42,333
The cancer could be cured,
the marriage could be healed,

97
00:04:42,375 --> 00:04:48,375
the children could return, the
unemployment could be rescinded,

98
00:04:48,458 --> 00:04:51,625
the suffering could
be alleviated.

99
00:04:51,667 --> 00:04:54,417
You and I, we lose hope when
we look at circumstance

100
00:04:54,500 --> 00:04:57,500
and we don't look up to God
and how he might intervene

101
00:04:57,583 --> 00:04:59,958
and, in an instant,
reverse everything

102
00:05:00,083 --> 00:05:02,833
and all of our suffering.

103
00:05:02,875 --> 00:05:06,667
It says that everything was
reversed for the people of God.

104
00:05:06,750 --> 00:05:08,792
A great reversal occurred.

105
00:05:08,833 --> 00:05:11,167
"The Jews gained mastery
over those who hated them.

106
00:05:11,250 --> 00:05:13,625
"The Jews gathered in their
cities throughout all

107
00:05:13,667 --> 00:05:16,208
"the provinces of King Ahasuerus
to lay hands on those

108
00:05:16,292 --> 00:05:18,000
"who sought their harm.

109
00:05:18,083 --> 00:05:19,708
"And no one could
stand against them,

110
00:05:19,792 --> 00:05:22,292
for the fear of them had
fallen on all peoples."

111
00:05:22,333 --> 00:05:23,833
This is war.

112
00:05:23,875 --> 00:05:27,708
These are the enemies of God's
people attacking to murder them.

113
00:05:27,792 --> 00:05:30,833
Their plot, their plan is to
kill men, women, children,

114
00:05:30,875 --> 00:05:33,667
and to plunder them.

115
00:05:33,750 --> 00:05:37,500
And God's people are given
an opportunity under

116
00:05:37,583 --> 00:05:42,375
the reversal decree of Mordecai
to defend themselves.

117
00:05:42,458 --> 00:05:44,333
This is like just war.

118
00:05:44,375 --> 00:05:47,708
This is not murder, this
is justified killing.

119
00:05:47,792 --> 00:05:50,292
As we hit last week,
this is like a soldier

120
00:05:50,333 --> 00:05:52,375
or a police officer
returning fire.

121
00:05:52,458 --> 00:05:58,000
This is not malicious,
this is self-defense.

122
00:05:58,042 --> 00:06:01,917
"All the officials of
the provinces," verse 3,

123
00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:03,792
"and the satraps
and the governors

124
00:06:03,833 --> 00:06:05,333
and the royal agents,"

125
00:06:05,375 --> 00:06:07,917
these are all the political
leaders, "also helped the Jews,

126
00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,083
"for the fear of Mordecai
had fallen on them.

127
00:06:10,167 --> 00:06:12,208
For Mordecai was great
in the king's house."

128
00:06:12,292 --> 00:06:13,667
That's one of the reversals.

129
00:06:13,750 --> 00:06:15,667
"And his fame spread
throughout all the provinces,"

130
00:06:15,750 --> 00:06:17,083
you know why?

131
00:06:17,167 --> 00:06:20,708
Because people need
a leader and men follow men.

132
00:06:20,792 --> 00:06:23,208
And Mordecai, now,
is the man of God,

133
00:06:23,292 --> 00:06:26,917
and he's leading the men of
God on the mission of God.

134
00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,708
"For the man Mordecai grew
more and more powerful."

135
00:06:29,792 --> 00:06:34,167
Men, don't reject powerful
positions and opportunities.

136
00:06:34,250 --> 00:06:38,000
Assume them humbly, out of love
for those who are suffering,

137
00:06:38,083 --> 00:06:41,500
and hurting, and those who are
without a voice and without

138
00:06:41,583 --> 00:06:45,167
a vote, particularly when
it's women and children.

139
00:06:45,250 --> 00:06:48,417
That's what Mordecai does, and
God honors that and he becomes

140
00:06:48,500 --> 00:06:51,208
more and more powerful.

141
00:06:51,292 --> 00:06:54,167
Someone has to hold the power.

142
00:06:54,250 --> 00:06:58,292
Might it be men who love God,
obey the Bible, repent of sin,

143
00:06:58,333 --> 00:07:01,500
honor women, cherish children.

144
00:07:01,583 --> 00:07:04,208
That's what Mordecai's
going to do.

145
00:07:04,292 --> 00:07:07,167
"The Jews," these are
the people of God,

146
00:07:07,250 --> 00:07:09,625
"struck all their
enemies with the sword,

147
00:07:09,667 --> 00:07:12,292
killing and destroying them."

148
00:07:12,333 --> 00:07:15,500
Some of you say, "I thought
our God was a God of peace."

149
00:07:15,542 --> 00:07:16,875
He is.

150
00:07:16,958 --> 00:07:20,333
After he kills his enemies,
then comes peace.

151
00:07:20,375 --> 00:07:22,708
That's how it works at
the end of the world.

152
00:07:22,792 --> 00:07:25,792
The Lord Jesus comes back with
a sword to put to death

153
00:07:25,833 --> 00:07:29,708
his enemies and usher in
a kingdom of peace.

154
00:07:29,792 --> 00:07:33,417
"And they did as they pleased to
those who hated them.

155
00:07:33,500 --> 00:07:36,333
"In Susa the citadel itself,"
that's the capital city

156
00:07:36,375 --> 00:07:38,875
and one of the particular
neighborhoods in the city,

157
00:07:38,958 --> 00:07:41,417
"the Jews killed
and destroyed 500 men."

158
00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:44,167
This starts to give you some
sense of how big

159
00:07:44,250 --> 00:07:46,375
this attack was.

160
00:07:46,458 --> 00:07:49,000
The sentence was
sent out by Haman:

161
00:07:49,042 --> 00:07:51,708
"You can kill all the Jews
on this day."

162
00:07:51,792 --> 00:07:55,833
And then Mordecai gives
a reverse decree designating

163
00:07:55,875 --> 00:07:58,625
that God's people can
defend themselves.

164
00:07:58,667 --> 00:08:00,875
So, the warning was given:
don't attack God's people,

165
00:08:00,958 --> 00:08:03,208
they will respond,
you could die.

166
00:08:03,292 --> 00:08:06,417
Some did not relent or
repent, and as a result,

167
00:08:06,500 --> 00:08:09,000
they attacked
and were destroyed.

168
00:08:09,083 --> 00:08:10,708
Just in a particular
neighborhood

169
00:08:10,792 --> 00:08:12,500
in the capital city, it was 500.

170
00:08:12,583 --> 00:08:15,625
Now, we're looking at a nation
of some 3 million square miles,

171
00:08:15,667 --> 00:08:19,208
roughly, geographically the size
of the United States of America.

172
00:08:19,292 --> 00:08:22,125
You can get the assumption and
inference that the body count is

173
00:08:22,167 --> 00:08:25,167
very, very, very high.

174
00:08:25,250 --> 00:08:27,500
There's a lot of
wives who are weeping,

175
00:08:27,542 --> 00:08:29,917
there are a lot of
grandmas who are weeping.

176
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,333
The funeral home is packed.

177
00:08:32,375 --> 00:08:35,833
They're trying to dig holes as
quick as they can to get rid of

178
00:08:35,875 --> 00:08:37,208
all the bodies.

179
00:08:37,292 --> 00:08:40,875
They're stacked high.

180
00:08:40,958 --> 00:08:44,292
Chapter 9, verse 7:

181
00:08:44,333 --> 00:08:45,708
"And also killed--"

182
00:08:45,792 --> 00:08:48,292
Now we're going to get a list
of ten names.

183
00:08:48,333 --> 00:08:50,708
These are the sons of Haman,
the unrepentant Agagite,

184
00:08:50,792 --> 00:08:53,792
the enemy of God, not one
of the children of God.

185
00:08:53,833 --> 00:08:56,708
Like I always say, if you
get an opportunity to teach,

186
00:08:56,792 --> 00:08:59,333
just read the names in
the Bible fast and confidently.

187
00:08:59,375 --> 00:09:02,292
No one knows how to say them,
and since you're up front,

188
00:09:02,333 --> 00:09:03,917
they'll assume you nailed it.

189
00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:08,000
So, to illustrate that, I
will now read these ten names.

190
00:09:08,042 --> 00:09:13,500
"Parshandatha and Dalphon and
Aspatha and Poratha and Adalia

191
00:09:13,583 --> 00:09:19,292
and Aridatha and Parmashta and
Arisai and Aridai and Vaizatha."

192
00:09:19,333 --> 00:09:22,625
I went to public school.
That's as good as it gets.

193
00:09:22,667 --> 00:09:25,167
That's all I got.

194
00:09:25,250 --> 00:09:28,000
"The ten sons of Haman
the son of Hammedatha,

195
00:09:28,083 --> 00:09:29,500
the enemy of the Jews."

196
00:09:29,583 --> 00:09:30,917
And there it is.

197
00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,125
Some of you say,
"That's sort of harsh, Mark.

198
00:09:33,167 --> 00:09:34,625
You're talking about
them as enemies."

199
00:09:34,667 --> 00:09:37,000
I was just reading this Book,
they called them enemies.

200
00:09:37,083 --> 00:09:39,292
You have enemies, I have
enemies, we have enemies,

201
00:09:39,333 --> 00:09:40,833
God has enemies.

202
00:09:40,875 --> 00:09:44,083
We want people to repent and
meet Jesus, but if they don't,

203
00:09:44,167 --> 00:09:46,208
they remain as enemies.

204
00:09:46,292 --> 00:09:49,292
"But they laid no
hand on the plunder."

205
00:09:49,333 --> 00:09:54,500
Men, it's you and me.

206
00:09:54,583 --> 00:09:57,125
We make decisions.

207
00:09:57,167 --> 00:09:59,417
We're the head,
we're the leader.

208
00:09:59,500 --> 00:10:02,417
We bear additional
responsibility.

209
00:10:02,500 --> 00:10:05,208
Some of you women, you will try
and assume that responsibility

210
00:10:05,292 --> 00:10:08,083
because you do not
trust your men.

211
00:10:08,167 --> 00:10:11,417
It's an old demonic trick all
the way back to Genesis 3.

212
00:10:11,500 --> 00:10:15,083
The man's a coward so
the woman steps up.

213
00:10:15,167 --> 00:10:18,083
The Bible honors women,
it honors children,

214
00:10:18,167 --> 00:10:21,500
and it does so by putting
particular responsibility

215
00:10:21,583 --> 00:10:24,333
on the men.

216
00:10:24,375 --> 00:10:28,167
Here there are two men, they are
making decisions that implicate

217
00:10:28,250 --> 00:10:31,125
their families
and their communities.

218
00:10:31,167 --> 00:10:37,333
Haman and Mordecai, they
are the spiritual heads.

219
00:10:37,375 --> 00:10:40,500
They are leading people.

220
00:10:40,542 --> 00:10:44,125
Fathers, the decisions we
make, they implicate our wives,

221
00:10:44,167 --> 00:10:48,708
our children, our grandchildren,
our great-grandchildren.

222
00:10:48,792 --> 00:10:51,000
Business leaders,
the decisions you make,

223
00:10:51,042 --> 00:10:53,333
they implicate everyone
who's connected with you.

224
00:10:53,375 --> 00:10:56,708
Political leaders,
so it is the same.

225
00:10:56,792 --> 00:10:59,417
And of course, God does call
women into leadership positions.

226
00:10:59,500 --> 00:11:03,333
He does here with Esther,
and she is a godly leader.

227
00:11:03,375 --> 00:11:05,833
Not perfect, but godly.

228
00:11:05,875 --> 00:11:08,208
But today, we're focusing,
as the Bible does,

229
00:11:08,292 --> 00:11:14,208
on two men: Haman and Mordecai.

230
00:11:14,292 --> 00:11:17,625
What happens is they make
decisions and those connected to

231
00:11:17,667 --> 00:11:21,000
them are implicated by them.

232
00:11:21,083 --> 00:11:26,000
Haman is governed
by something called

233
00:11:26,042 --> 00:11:29,208
the Law of the Medes
and the Persians.

234
00:11:29,292 --> 00:11:31,708
The Law of the Medes
and the Persians was this:

235
00:11:31,792 --> 00:11:33,833
once a decision is rendered,

236
00:11:33,875 --> 00:11:38,333
a verdict is given,
it cannot be altered.

237
00:11:38,375 --> 00:11:41,500
Another way of saying it
theologically is this:

238
00:11:41,542 --> 00:11:46,208
"we will not repent, we will
not change our mind,

239
00:11:46,292 --> 00:11:48,625
"we will not change
our decision,

240
00:11:48,667 --> 00:11:50,917
"we will not change our
direction.

241
00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:52,500
"We will not change.

242
00:11:52,583 --> 00:11:55,375
"There will be no
repentance from us.

243
00:11:55,458 --> 00:11:58,125
"We've picked a course of action
and we're going to proceed

244
00:11:58,167 --> 00:12:01,625
forward, even if it
is to our own death."

245
00:12:01,667 --> 00:12:04,625
Now, conversely, Mordecai
is not governed by

246
00:12:04,667 --> 00:12:07,000
the Law of the Medes
and the Persians.

247
00:12:07,083 --> 00:12:11,292
He's governed by the law
of repentance and grace.

248
00:12:11,333 --> 00:12:14,417
We have seen that he is not
a particularly godly man

249
00:12:14,500 --> 00:12:16,208
or a great leader.

250
00:12:16,292 --> 00:12:18,833
When the story begins,
he's a bit of a coward,

251
00:12:18,875 --> 00:12:20,917
he's passive,
he avoids conflict.

252
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,125
He's like so many sons of Adam.

253
00:12:23,167 --> 00:12:26,833
He abdicates his responsibility,
he lets others take over,

254
00:12:26,875 --> 00:12:30,083
he puts his own adoptive
daughter, Esther, in danger.

255
00:12:30,167 --> 00:12:32,000
He's a bit of a coward.

256
00:12:32,083 --> 00:12:34,500
He's not a man who
is strong; he's weak.

257
00:12:34,542 --> 00:12:36,208
He's not vocal; he's silent.

258
00:12:36,292 --> 00:12:38,333
He doesn't take
initiative; he responds.

259
00:12:38,375 --> 00:12:40,125
But over the course of the book,

260
00:12:40,167 --> 00:12:42,708
he's a man who is growing in
repentance.

261
00:12:42,792 --> 00:12:44,417
He's changing.

262
00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:47,500
He's learning to become more
courageous, more verbal,

263
00:12:47,542 --> 00:12:51,125
more vocal, more responsible,
and the result is that the Bible

264
00:12:51,167 --> 00:12:53,792
says, quote,
"He grows in power."

265
00:12:53,833 --> 00:12:57,208
He becomes more powerful, and
other men are motivated by him.

266
00:12:57,292 --> 00:13:01,125
They are astonished that God
could take a man as weak and as

267
00:13:01,167 --> 00:13:04,625
cowardly as Mordecai and do such
a great transformation

268
00:13:04,667 --> 00:13:06,208
in his life.

269
00:13:06,292 --> 00:13:09,208
And so the other men, then,
are--they're encouraged by him,

270
00:13:09,292 --> 00:13:11,333
they're motivated by him.

271
00:13:11,375 --> 00:13:13,333
You men want to
be great leaders.

272
00:13:13,375 --> 00:13:15,333
You want men to
follow in your way.

273
00:13:15,375 --> 00:13:17,792
You want to make a difference
in the world, politically,

274
00:13:17,833 --> 00:13:20,333
or spiritually, or financially.

275
00:13:20,375 --> 00:13:22,417
It's repentance.

276
00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:26,125
You're a sinner, the other
men are sinners too, as am I.

277
00:13:26,167 --> 00:13:29,500
And one of the great things
that leaders do is repent,

278
00:13:29,583 --> 00:13:32,708
and then God is welcomed to
show up and to do a reversal

279
00:13:32,792 --> 00:13:34,500
to change things.

280
00:13:34,583 --> 00:13:37,500
And here's what happens.

281
00:13:37,583 --> 00:13:40,917
Let me ask this first: how
many of you, men and women,

282
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,500
are governed by the Law of
the Medes and the Persians?

283
00:13:44,583 --> 00:13:46,917
You say, "I don't repent.

284
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:50,125
"When I'm wrong, I
don't say I'm sorry.

285
00:13:50,167 --> 00:13:53,500
"When I've chosen a life course,
I continue in it even if

286
00:13:53,542 --> 00:13:57,500
it is disobedient,
leading toward death."

287
00:13:57,542 --> 00:13:59,958
How many of you, your business,
your life, your family,

288
00:14:00,083 --> 00:14:01,792
your spirituality,
your marriage, you say,

289
00:14:01,833 --> 00:14:03,792
"You know what, we picked
the wrong direction,

290
00:14:03,833 --> 00:14:05,208
but it's too late now."

291
00:14:05,292 --> 00:14:06,792
It's like we've run
the intersection,

292
00:14:06,833 --> 00:14:09,417
you can't hit the brakes and
back up, just proceed forward.

293
00:14:09,500 --> 00:14:11,792
That's a demonic lie.

294
00:14:11,833 --> 00:14:14,667
There's always an opportunity to
repent and to trust God

295
00:14:14,750 --> 00:14:17,500
to make a reversal.

296
00:14:17,583 --> 00:14:21,208
It's never too late as long as
there is breath in your lungs,

297
00:14:21,292 --> 00:14:25,000
and then it is.

298
00:14:25,083 --> 00:14:26,833
How many of you
are governed by

299
00:14:26,875 --> 00:14:30,208
the Law of the Medes
and the Persians?

300
00:14:30,292 --> 00:14:33,708
You won't say, "I was wrong.
I'm sorry.

301
00:14:33,792 --> 00:14:38,500
I need to change.
Things need to change."

302
00:14:40,958 --> 00:14:47,208
That's Haman, the guy who built
a 75-foot-high gallows for

303
00:14:47,292 --> 00:14:51,500
his enemy and ended up being
crucified in his own yard.

304
00:14:51,583 --> 00:14:53,125
It's a precursor.

305
00:14:53,167 --> 00:14:55,792
It's a portrait of
death, and hell,

306
00:14:55,833 --> 00:14:59,125
and the wrath of God being
poured out on those who remain

307
00:14:59,167 --> 00:15:01,917
stubbornly unrepentant.

308
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,417
You can blame others, you
can look at your genetics,

309
00:15:04,500 --> 00:15:06,833
you can talk about
your family of origins,

310
00:15:06,875 --> 00:15:09,208
you could even look at
your biochemical makeup.

311
00:15:09,292 --> 00:15:14,000
At the end of the day, it's just
varying ways to have an excuse

312
00:15:14,042 --> 00:15:18,333
rather than a repentant heart.

313
00:15:18,375 --> 00:15:23,208
And here's what kills me:
Haman does not repent.

314
00:15:23,292 --> 00:15:27,833
He dies publicly, shamefully,
and he is impaled,

315
00:15:27,875 --> 00:15:33,792
and his sons proceed forward
with the plan of their father.

316
00:15:33,833 --> 00:15:36,917
You ever heard the old adage,
"Like father, like son"?

317
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:42,167
The Bible talks about
the sins of the fathers.

318
00:15:42,250 --> 00:15:45,167
The boys are just
like their dad.

319
00:15:45,250 --> 00:15:48,000
Ten of them.

320
00:15:48,042 --> 00:15:50,083
In a great reversal,
Haman thought,

321
00:15:50,167 --> 00:15:53,083
"I will put to death all
the people of God so that

322
00:15:53,167 --> 00:15:55,500
they will not have a legacy
and a lineage,"

323
00:15:55,542 --> 00:15:58,875
and in a great reversal, he
is put to death and his ten sons

324
00:15:58,958 --> 00:16:02,708
follow in his fateful example,
and they are all impaled.

325
00:16:02,792 --> 00:16:04,875
They're crucified.

326
00:16:04,958 --> 00:16:07,917
They're put to death.

327
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,792
He thought that he would
have a great family line.

328
00:16:10,833 --> 00:16:13,500
How many of you men--just
conceive of it in that day,

329
00:16:13,583 --> 00:16:16,000
when your strength, your
dignity, your honor, your glory,

330
00:16:16,083 --> 00:16:19,208
your security is in your sons.

331
00:16:19,292 --> 00:16:21,208
They will protect you
when you grow old.

332
00:16:21,292 --> 00:16:23,083
There is no social security,

333
00:16:23,167 --> 00:16:25,708
welfare safety net
to grab you if you fall.

334
00:16:25,792 --> 00:16:28,875
That's your sons.

335
00:16:28,958 --> 00:16:31,333
If you die, they're going
to look after their mom,

336
00:16:31,375 --> 00:16:33,083
they're going to
protect their sisters.

337
00:16:33,167 --> 00:16:36,000
If you grow elderly and infirm,
they're going to tend to you

338
00:16:36,042 --> 00:16:38,208
and provide for you.

339
00:16:38,292 --> 00:16:41,500
They're going to carry your name
forward and they're going to

340
00:16:41,583 --> 00:16:44,917
have sons and grandsons, and
your name is going to be great.

341
00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,375
Even though you die, there will
be a part of you that lives

342
00:16:48,458 --> 00:16:50,208
into the future.

343
00:16:50,292 --> 00:16:53,583
Sometimes it's
idolatry of family.

344
00:16:53,667 --> 00:16:59,583
And all ten sons die
just like their father.

345
00:17:01,958 --> 00:17:06,417
Let me say this,
men: we are dominant.

346
00:17:06,500 --> 00:17:10,417
We're dominant for death like
Haman or life like Mordecai,

347
00:17:10,500 --> 00:17:13,083
for folly like Haman or
wisdom like Mordecai,

348
00:17:13,167 --> 00:17:17,917
for unrepentance like Haman
or repentance like Mordecai.

349
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:19,333
Men are dominant.

350
00:17:19,375 --> 00:17:22,000
When it says in the Bible
that men are the head,

351
00:17:22,083 --> 00:17:24,000
it doesn't mean that
they're better or superior.

352
00:17:24,042 --> 00:17:26,167
It doesn't mean that they're
smarter, or more gifted,

353
00:17:26,250 --> 00:17:27,625
or more talented.

354
00:17:27,667 --> 00:17:31,625
What it does mean is that they
are dominant for good or evil.

355
00:17:31,667 --> 00:17:34,500
And some of you say,
"I didn't even have a dad."

356
00:17:34,542 --> 00:17:37,625
Let me submit to you that the
empty chair at your dinner table

357
00:17:37,667 --> 00:17:40,500
dominated your entire life.

358
00:17:40,542 --> 00:17:42,625
For the first time in
our nation's history,

359
00:17:42,667 --> 00:17:45,625
the majority of children born
to women under the age of 30

360
00:17:45,667 --> 00:17:49,417
are born without a father.

361
00:17:49,500 --> 00:17:53,417
Today, if you have a father,
even if he hates God and beats

362
00:17:53,500 --> 00:18:00,167
you, you're in a minority
group, let alone a father who is

363
00:18:00,250 --> 00:18:03,708
repentant, and a father who
knows the Heavenly Father,

364
00:18:03,792 --> 00:18:06,708
and a father who reads
the Scriptures with you,

365
00:18:06,792 --> 00:18:09,500
and prays with you,
and encourages you to be

366
00:18:09,583 --> 00:18:14,667
one of the sons of God.

367
00:18:14,750 --> 00:18:19,667
Haman is a horrific,
terrifying example for all men.

368
00:18:22,667 --> 00:18:26,125
So men, you're my men.

369
00:18:26,167 --> 00:18:27,833
You're my men.

370
00:18:27,875 --> 00:18:30,000
You're God's men,
but you're my men.

371
00:18:30,083 --> 00:18:34,125
I stand before God and give an
account for you whether or not

372
00:18:34,167 --> 00:18:37,625
you're single and pursuing
a noble woman in a noble way

373
00:18:37,667 --> 00:18:41,000
for a noble purpose or you're
another fool thinking

374
00:18:41,083 --> 00:18:43,708
of a good time instead
of a good legacy;

375
00:18:43,792 --> 00:18:47,000
whether or not you stay faithful
to that woman

376
00:18:47,083 --> 00:18:49,667
as a portrait of the gospel
that Jesus is faithful

377
00:18:49,750 --> 00:18:52,125
to his bride,
the church;

378
00:18:52,167 --> 00:18:55,375
whether or not you grow old
with the wife of your youth and

379
00:18:55,458 --> 00:18:58,917
delight in her, or you get rid
of her because pornography

380
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:03,208
has so fooled you into trading
your 60-year-old wife in for 3

381
00:19:03,292 --> 00:19:07,833
20-year-old girlfriends; whether
or not your grandchildren will

382
00:19:07,875 --> 00:19:11,292
have a grandfather who loves
Jesus, and loves his wife,

383
00:19:11,333 --> 00:19:14,500
and loves his kids,
and loves his grandkids,

384
00:19:14,542 --> 00:19:17,333
and tells stories about
the grace of God to encourage

385
00:19:17,375 --> 00:19:20,500
the future of your family that
there might be people with your

386
00:19:20,542 --> 00:19:23,625
last name in the kingdom of
God, and when you're there,

387
00:19:23,667 --> 00:19:25,208
on the Day of Resurrection,

388
00:19:25,292 --> 00:19:27,417
there would be
a huge family reunion

389
00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:29,625
of people that
aren't even born yet,

390
00:19:29,667 --> 00:19:33,292
but look back to the grace that
was in your life and are part of

391
00:19:33,333 --> 00:19:37,000
the fruit of your family tree
that ultimately has its roots

392
00:19:37,042 --> 00:19:39,500
in repentance.

393
00:19:39,583 --> 00:19:41,208
A sinful man turned to God,

394
00:19:41,292 --> 00:19:44,625
and God did an amazing thing
for generations.

395
00:19:44,667 --> 00:19:47,125
And so men, it is
incumbent on you.

396
00:19:47,167 --> 00:19:50,208
No more excuses,
no more blame-shifting,

397
00:19:50,292 --> 00:19:52,333
no more abdicating.

398
00:19:52,375 --> 00:19:54,208
It's repenting.

399
00:19:54,292 --> 00:19:55,917
When you're wrong,
say you're wrong.

400
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:57,875
When you're stupid,
say you're stupid.

401
00:19:57,958 --> 00:20:00,583
When you've made it wrong,
try and make it right

402
00:20:00,667 --> 00:20:02,083
by the grace of God.

403
00:20:02,167 --> 00:20:05,125
Our part is repentance,
God's part is reversal.

404
00:20:05,167 --> 00:20:08,000
And for some of you men,
this means repenting not only

405
00:20:08,042 --> 00:20:10,208
of your sin, but the sins
of your fathers.

406
00:20:10,292 --> 00:20:13,500
1 Peter, he says it this way,
that God has delivered us from

407
00:20:13,583 --> 00:20:16,292
the, quote, "Hollow and empty
way of life handed to us

408
00:20:16,333 --> 00:20:18,000
by our fathers."

409
00:20:18,083 --> 00:20:20,208
We see, with his family,
they're Agagites.

410
00:20:20,292 --> 00:20:23,167
You can go all the way back
to Exodus, and 1 Samuel,

411
00:20:23,250 --> 00:20:25,167
and Deuteronomy,
and they're mentioned.

412
00:20:25,250 --> 00:20:29,208
And what this has now been
is 1,000 years of godless,

413
00:20:29,292 --> 00:20:33,708
horrible, evil men,
1,000 years of

414
00:20:33,792 --> 00:20:37,333
continual unrestrained
unrepentance.

415
00:20:37,375 --> 00:20:40,417
One thousand years.

416
00:20:40,500 --> 00:20:43,708
How long has it
been in your family?

417
00:20:43,792 --> 00:20:49,500
One generation after the next,
drunkenness, folly, adultery,

418
00:20:49,583 --> 00:20:53,208
fornication, selfishness,
or religiosity.

419
00:20:53,292 --> 00:20:58,500
"We didn't do that, we're
better than those people."

420
00:20:58,542 --> 00:21:01,583
When does it stop?

421
00:21:01,667 --> 00:21:04,500
My family, no different.

422
00:21:04,583 --> 00:21:08,500
I come from a long
line of horrible men.

423
00:21:08,583 --> 00:21:12,000
Horrible men.

424
00:21:12,042 --> 00:21:16,417
God saved me, God saved my
dad, God saved my brothers,

425
00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:18,333
God saved my sons.

426
00:21:18,375 --> 00:21:20,375
Great reversal.

427
00:21:20,458 --> 00:21:23,625
I want that for you.

428
00:21:23,667 --> 00:21:27,917
As long as you're breathing,
that opportunity's available.

429
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,875
And for some of you, it
means going back and not just

430
00:21:30,958 --> 00:21:35,833
repenting of your sin, but
the sins of your fathers.

431
00:21:35,875 --> 00:21:38,875
This is what happens sometimes
in the Old Testament.

432
00:21:38,958 --> 00:21:42,583
God's people repent of
the sins of their fathers.

433
00:21:42,667 --> 00:21:45,000
It's not blame-shifting
your fathers.

434
00:21:45,042 --> 00:21:48,833
It's not excusing yourself
and laying the burden entirely

435
00:21:48,875 --> 00:21:53,917
on their shoulder, but it is
earnestly, humbly, repentantly,

436
00:21:54,000 --> 00:22:00,583
biblically looking and asking,
"Where's the sin in my family

437
00:22:00,667 --> 00:22:05,625
"and how am I like my
father or my fathers,

438
00:22:05,667 --> 00:22:09,500
"the grandfathers
and great-grandfathers?

439
00:22:09,583 --> 00:22:14,375
"In what way is this just
folly, rebellion,

440
00:22:14,458 --> 00:22:19,917
selfishness, cowardice?"

441
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,708
Isaiah says it this way:
"I'm a man of unclean lips

442
00:22:22,792 --> 00:22:24,917
and I come from a people of
unclean lips."

443
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:29,208
He acknowledges his
community and his family.

444
00:22:29,292 --> 00:22:32,833
This is why Job, in Job 1, he
is concerned that perhaps his

445
00:22:32,875 --> 00:22:35,333
children have sinned
against the Lord.

446
00:22:35,375 --> 00:22:36,917
And so what does he do?

447
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,500
He goes before the Lord
and he repents on behalf

448
00:22:39,542 --> 00:22:41,708
of his children.

449
00:22:41,792 --> 00:22:46,583
He's taking responsibility
for his whole family.

450
00:22:46,667 --> 00:22:49,708
He's thinking covenantally
and not individually.

451
00:22:49,792 --> 00:22:52,167
He's not thinking, "Well, it's
my relationship with the Lord,

452
00:22:52,250 --> 00:22:53,667
"my wife's relationship
with the Lord,

453
00:22:53,750 --> 00:22:55,417
"and my sons' relationship
with the Lord,

454
00:22:55,500 --> 00:22:57,125
and my daughters'
relationship with the Lord."

455
00:22:57,167 --> 00:22:59,625
He saying, "No, ultimately, I'm
the head of the family

456
00:22:59,667 --> 00:23:01,417
"and I can lead them
in repentance.

457
00:23:01,500 --> 00:23:04,625
"And yes, my wife, and my sons,
and my daughters all need to

458
00:23:04,667 --> 00:23:08,292
"repent, but I need to repent of
my sin and I need to repent of

459
00:23:08,333 --> 00:23:13,125
our sin, and I need to lead
the family in repentance."

460
00:23:13,167 --> 00:23:16,875
It's looking back on your family
line to find the ways in which

461
00:23:16,958 --> 00:23:19,500
the enemy has gotten a foothold
and how to break them

462
00:23:19,583 --> 00:23:22,875
through repentance.

463
00:23:26,250 --> 00:23:32,167
Here's the good news: you don't
have to die with your family.

464
00:23:32,250 --> 00:23:35,208
You don't have to
die with your family.

465
00:23:35,292 --> 00:23:38,625
Haman's family line
came to an end.

466
00:23:38,667 --> 00:23:44,167
Sons dead, family line over.

467
00:23:48,292 --> 00:23:51,125
It doesn't have to be like that.

468
00:23:51,167 --> 00:23:53,833
Yes, your family may criticize
you, they may reject you,

469
00:23:53,875 --> 00:23:57,792
because that's what fools
do marching off to hell.

470
00:23:57,833 --> 00:24:00,792
They encourage you to join
the parade and criticize you

471
00:24:00,833 --> 00:24:05,000
if you don't march in step.

472
00:24:05,042 --> 00:24:08,333
You don't have to
be like your family.

473
00:24:08,375 --> 00:24:10,333
In the grace of God,
through repentance,

474
00:24:10,375 --> 00:24:13,292
you could be adopted by a new
Father into a new family

475
00:24:13,333 --> 00:24:15,500
to leave a new legacy.

476
00:24:15,542 --> 00:24:17,708
But it starts with
humility and repentance.

477
00:24:17,792 --> 00:24:21,917
"Here's where we're wrong,
here's where I'm wrong,

478
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:25,208
here's where there
needs to be a change."

479
00:24:25,292 --> 00:24:27,833
We're talking about repentance
that starts in the mind.

480
00:24:27,875 --> 00:24:30,000
The Bible says, "Do not be
conformed any longer

481
00:24:30,042 --> 00:24:31,417
"to the pattern of this world,

482
00:24:31,500 --> 00:24:33,625
but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind,"

483
00:24:33,667 --> 00:24:35,000
in Romans 12.

484
00:24:35,083 --> 00:24:37,000
It's a change of mind.
You're thinking differently.

485
00:24:37,042 --> 00:24:39,000
That leads to a change of heart.

486
00:24:39,042 --> 00:24:41,500
"I don't want to keep doing
what we've been doing

487
00:24:41,542 --> 00:24:42,875
"and what I've been doing.

488
00:24:42,958 --> 00:24:45,375
I want to be different.
I want things to change."

489
00:24:45,458 --> 00:24:47,875
And it's not just saying
"I want things to change";

490
00:24:47,958 --> 00:24:49,292
I want to change.

491
00:24:49,333 --> 00:24:51,708
And then it's a change of life.

492
00:24:51,792 --> 00:24:53,875
What I say is not
what I say anymore,

493
00:24:53,958 --> 00:24:57,208
what I do is not
what I do anymore.

494
00:24:57,292 --> 00:24:59,500
It's not just repenting
of what I've done,

495
00:24:59,542 --> 00:25:03,625
it's repenting of who I've been.

496
00:25:03,667 --> 00:25:05,292
Haman never experiences that.

497
00:25:05,333 --> 00:25:09,583
And let me say this, men:
he should have repented.

498
00:25:09,667 --> 00:25:12,333
He should have gathered his sons
around when he was facing

499
00:25:12,375 --> 00:25:15,833
his death and said, "Sons,
I've rebelled against God.

500
00:25:15,875 --> 00:25:19,000
"I've been proud and arrogant,
and now everything is

501
00:25:19,042 --> 00:25:20,917
"reversed on me toward death.

502
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,625
"I'm going to die.

503
00:25:22,667 --> 00:25:25,292
"I'm going to be
crucified in our yard.

504
00:25:25,333 --> 00:25:27,917
"When you see the body
of your hanging father,

505
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,583
"remember this is what happens to
unrepentant men, and repent.

506
00:25:32,667 --> 00:25:34,125
"Don't go march off to war.

507
00:25:34,167 --> 00:25:35,875
"Don't put your lives in danger.

508
00:25:35,958 --> 00:25:39,667
Don't defend my honor because
I'm a dishonorable man."

509
00:25:39,750 --> 00:25:41,917
He didn't.

510
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:46,292
So the sons picked up
the thinking, and the motives,

511
00:25:46,333 --> 00:25:50,000
and the behaviors
of their father

512
00:25:50,083 --> 00:25:53,208
and they all got crucified.

513
00:25:53,292 --> 00:25:57,917
It doesn't have to be like that.

514
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,125
You can repent and live.

515
00:26:01,167 --> 00:26:03,667
You can repent
and see a reversal.

516
00:26:03,750 --> 00:26:07,625
You can repent and have
your wife, children,

517
00:26:07,667 --> 00:26:12,333
grandchildren repent
and see a reversal.

518
00:26:12,375 --> 00:26:17,125
You could be the first link
in a new family chain that's

519
00:26:17,167 --> 00:26:19,292
1,000 years of obedience

520
00:26:19,333 --> 00:26:24,000
instead of 1,000 years
of disobedience.

521
00:26:24,042 --> 00:26:30,375
Men, this is a very sober word,
but surrounding us are women

522
00:26:30,458 --> 00:26:36,083
that are hoping that
we're listening.

523
00:26:36,167 --> 00:26:40,417
This is why, you men, you do
not date unbelieving women.

524
00:26:40,500 --> 00:26:44,417
You do not impregnate women
who are not your wives.

525
00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:48,125
This is why we do not
murder our unborn children.

526
00:26:48,167 --> 00:26:53,625
This is why we live
the way we live.

527
00:26:53,667 --> 00:26:55,375
And some of
you men would say,

528
00:26:55,458 --> 00:26:57,208
"But I've already done that."

529
00:26:57,292 --> 00:27:01,125
Then repent and invite
God to bring a reversal

530
00:27:01,167 --> 00:27:04,125
and to change things,
because he loves you.

531
00:27:04,167 --> 00:27:05,625
He's a good father.

532
00:27:05,667 --> 00:27:08,833
He's not against his sons, but
if his sons are against him,

533
00:27:08,875 --> 00:27:11,792
it places him in a position
where to bless them would be

534
00:27:11,833 --> 00:27:14,208
to encourage their rebellion.

535
00:27:14,292 --> 00:27:16,333
Point number one,
reversal number one,

536
00:27:16,375 --> 00:27:21,833
you don't have to
die with your family.

537
00:27:21,875 --> 00:27:23,917
Reversal number two:
you don't have to have

538
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:25,833
all your questions answered.

539
00:27:25,875 --> 00:27:27,917
Esther 9:11-15.

540
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,083
Let me just say this: the part
of the Bible we're coming into

541
00:27:31,167 --> 00:27:33,833
right now, super controversial,
massively debated.

542
00:27:33,875 --> 00:27:35,833
It's the Persian "Hunger Games."

543
00:27:35,875 --> 00:27:37,208
It gets dark.

544
00:27:37,292 --> 00:27:39,375
I'm just going to tell
you where we're going.

545
00:27:39,458 --> 00:27:41,208
It gets dark.
Ready?

546
00:27:41,292 --> 00:27:42,875
Chapter 9, verse 11:

547
00:27:42,958 --> 00:27:45,833
"That very day the number of
those killed in Susa the citadel

548
00:27:45,875 --> 00:27:47,583
"was reported to the king.

549
00:27:47,667 --> 00:27:50,500
"And the king said to
Queen Esther, 'In Susa

550
00:27:50,583 --> 00:27:53,208
"the citadel the Jews have
killed and destroyed

551
00:27:53,292 --> 00:27:56,000
500 men and also
the ten sons of Haman.'"

552
00:27:56,042 --> 00:27:59,375
Just pause for a moment.

553
00:27:59,458 --> 00:28:05,292
Ten sons all killed.

554
00:28:07,375 --> 00:28:09,625
"'What then have they done
in the rest of

555
00:28:09,667 --> 00:28:11,417
"'the king's provinces!

556
00:28:11,500 --> 00:28:14,583
"'Now what is your wish?
It shall be granted you.

557
00:28:14,667 --> 00:28:16,500
"'And what further
is your request?

558
00:28:16,583 --> 00:28:18,000
"'It shall be fulfilled.'

559
00:28:18,042 --> 00:28:19,625
And Esther said,"
she's very respectful,

560
00:28:19,667 --> 00:28:22,625
"'If it please the king, let
the Jews who are in Susa

561
00:28:22,667 --> 00:28:24,208
"'be allowed tomorrow
also to do

562
00:28:24,292 --> 00:28:26,333
"'according to this day's edict.

563
00:28:26,375 --> 00:28:28,417
And let the ten sons of Haman,'"

564
00:28:28,500 --> 00:28:30,792
they're already dead,

565
00:28:30,833 --> 00:28:33,000
"'be hanged on the gallows.'

566
00:28:33,083 --> 00:28:35,125
"So the king commanded
this to be done.

567
00:28:35,167 --> 00:28:36,833
"A decree was issued in Susa,

568
00:28:36,875 --> 00:28:40,708
"and the ten sons of Haman
were hanged.

569
00:28:40,792 --> 00:28:44,292
"The Jews who were in Susa
gathered also on

570
00:28:44,333 --> 00:28:46,292
"the fourteenth day
of the month of Adar

571
00:28:46,333 --> 00:28:48,125
"and they killed
300 men in Susa,

572
00:28:48,167 --> 00:28:53,000
but they laid no
hands on the plunder."

573
00:28:53,042 --> 00:28:56,833
Esther is the adoptive
daughter of Mordecai.

574
00:28:56,875 --> 00:28:59,917
Okay, for your personal study,
your Community Group discussion,

575
00:29:00,042 --> 00:29:02,000
your family
discussion, chapter 3,

576
00:29:02,083 --> 00:29:04,792
the godless man
Haman makes an edict.

577
00:29:04,833 --> 00:29:08,000
"On this day, we can kill
God's people, men, women,

578
00:29:08,042 --> 00:29:10,833
and children, plunder
all their goods."

579
00:29:10,875 --> 00:29:15,625
Chapter 8, Mordecai replaces
Haman, gets his entire estate,

580
00:29:15,667 --> 00:29:18,625
signet ring, he becomes
the vice president equivalent

581
00:29:18,667 --> 00:29:20,208
of the country,

582
00:29:20,292 --> 00:29:22,625
and he issues a reverse
decree that God's people,

583
00:29:22,667 --> 00:29:25,167
on that day,
can defend themselves.

584
00:29:25,250 --> 00:29:28,083
And the provision of his
instruction was this:

585
00:29:28,167 --> 00:29:31,375
"They can only attack
on a day," Haman's decree.

586
00:29:31,458 --> 00:29:35,917
Mordecai's was: "We can only
defend ourselves on one day."

587
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,583
And then steps
forward Queen Esther,

588
00:29:38,667 --> 00:29:41,417
the adoptive
daughter of Mordecai.

589
00:29:41,500 --> 00:29:43,500
She's probably in her 20s.

590
00:29:43,583 --> 00:29:46,333
She's young, she's been
married about 5 years,

591
00:29:46,375 --> 00:29:48,917
so she's been queen
about 5 years.

592
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,000
She's an orphan girl,
she's a Jewish girl,

593
00:29:52,042 --> 00:29:53,708
and she steps forward.

594
00:29:53,792 --> 00:29:56,625
And all of a sudden,
she asks for two things.

595
00:29:56,667 --> 00:30:00,875
One, "We killed
a lot of people today,

596
00:30:00,958 --> 00:30:03,667
we'd like an additional
day to kill more people."

597
00:30:03,750 --> 00:30:06,208
Okay?

598
00:30:06,292 --> 00:30:09,000
"Number two, Haman's
ten sons are dead,

599
00:30:09,083 --> 00:30:14,000
but I would like to crucify them
publicly to make a statement."

600
00:30:14,083 --> 00:30:15,583
And the hanging here,

601
00:30:15,667 --> 00:30:17,583
when it says they're
hanging on the gallows,

602
00:30:17,667 --> 00:30:20,583
we tend to think of
the wild west where you go up

603
00:30:20,667 --> 00:30:22,583
on a platform,
and there's a trap door

604
00:30:22,667 --> 00:30:24,083
and a noose around your neck.

605
00:30:24,167 --> 00:30:26,083
That's not the way
it worked in Persia.

606
00:30:26,167 --> 00:30:27,583
The Persians
invented crucifixion.

607
00:30:27,667 --> 00:30:29,333
It was then mastered
by the Romans,

608
00:30:29,375 --> 00:30:30,708
who of course crucified Christ.

609
00:30:30,792 --> 00:30:33,375
And it started with impaling,
kind of like a shish kebab.

610
00:30:33,458 --> 00:30:36,125
You get a long pole and you
run it through somebody,

611
00:30:36,167 --> 00:30:39,125
and then you lift it upright
and drop it in a hole,

612
00:30:39,167 --> 00:30:41,625
and then the person is
impaled either dead or alive,

613
00:30:41,667 --> 00:30:43,000
and it's a public statement.

614
00:30:43,083 --> 00:30:45,625
Don't believe what they believe.
Don't behave how they behaved.

615
00:30:45,667 --> 00:30:47,625
It's state-sponsored terror.

616
00:30:47,667 --> 00:30:50,333
It's like when terrorists put
a beheading on the Internet.

617
00:30:50,375 --> 00:30:54,667
It's supposed to scare
everyone and be a warning sign.

618
00:30:54,750 --> 00:30:57,875
This led to crucifixion where
they included the cross bar,

619
00:30:57,958 --> 00:31:02,208
and that's how they
murdered Jesus.

620
00:31:02,292 --> 00:31:05,500
So, here's Esther.

621
00:31:05,583 --> 00:31:07,125
What do you think?

622
00:31:07,167 --> 00:31:11,333
I mean, it's sort
of dark, right?

623
00:31:11,375 --> 00:31:13,667
How many of you thus
far in the book,

624
00:31:13,750 --> 00:31:15,500
you've been telling your
little girls, like,

625
00:31:15,583 --> 00:31:17,708
"Hey, get dressed up, we'll
have a princess party.

626
00:31:17,792 --> 00:31:19,667
You can grow up
and be like Esther."

627
00:31:19,750 --> 00:31:22,208
Now you're rethinking
that whole thing.

628
00:31:22,292 --> 00:31:24,333
You're like,
"I don't know, man.

629
00:31:24,375 --> 00:31:26,292
"Crucifying boys in the yard,

630
00:31:26,333 --> 00:31:30,417
I don't know if
we want to go there."

631
00:31:30,500 --> 00:31:31,875
Right?

632
00:31:31,958 --> 00:31:34,375
I mean, they never put this
on the flannelgraph at

633
00:31:34,458 --> 00:31:35,792
the Baptist Sunday school.

634
00:31:35,833 --> 00:31:37,292
They never--you know?

635
00:31:37,333 --> 00:31:40,417
She's there in a tiara, and ten
dudes are impaled in the yard,

636
00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:45,417
and she's smiling.

637
00:31:45,500 --> 00:31:50,833
It's awkward, right?

638
00:31:50,875 --> 00:31:54,208
So, is this a good thing
or a bad thing?

639
00:31:54,292 --> 00:31:56,417
Is this a holy thing
or an unholy thing?

640
00:31:56,500 --> 00:31:59,000
And the commentators,
not a shock,

641
00:31:59,083 --> 00:32:02,625
a little divided on this point.

642
00:32:02,667 --> 00:32:07,333
So, let me give you two
perspectives and then you can go

643
00:32:07,375 --> 00:32:09,792
to Community Group
and fight about it, okay?

644
00:32:09,833 --> 00:32:13,208
So, perspective number one:
what she did was a godly thing

645
00:32:13,292 --> 00:32:15,333
and a holy thing.

646
00:32:15,375 --> 00:32:20,208
They would say all the way
back in the Old Testament,

647
00:32:20,292 --> 00:32:23,167
the Agagites are always
the enemy of God's people.

648
00:32:23,250 --> 00:32:25,667
Deuteronomy talks about
them being an enemy.

649
00:32:25,750 --> 00:32:29,125
In fact, here's what God
says in Deuteronomy 25:19,

650
00:32:29,167 --> 00:32:31,500
"You shall blot out
the memory of the Amalekites

651
00:32:31,542 --> 00:32:32,875
from under heaven."

652
00:32:32,958 --> 00:32:36,333
God said, "Not only do I want
you to get rid of those people,

653
00:32:36,375 --> 00:32:39,833
I want you to get
rid of their memory."

654
00:32:39,875 --> 00:32:42,417
In the book of Exodus,
when God's people are being

655
00:32:42,500 --> 00:32:47,292
liberated, the Agagites come
to attack them,

656
00:32:47,333 --> 00:32:49,667
destroy them.

657
00:32:49,750 --> 00:32:54,792
About 1,000 years later,
Haman is an Agagite.

658
00:32:54,833 --> 00:32:57,000
The book of Esther has
already taught us that.

659
00:32:57,083 --> 00:33:01,125
Mordecai is of the people
of God, the Jews.

660
00:33:01,167 --> 00:33:05,500
So, the war between Mordecai
and Haman is ultimately

661
00:33:05,583 --> 00:33:10,708
a 1,000-year-old war where Satan
empowers God's enemies to try

662
00:33:10,792 --> 00:33:13,708
and destroy God's people.

663
00:33:13,792 --> 00:33:17,333
And this finds its
culmination in 1 Samuel 15.

664
00:33:17,375 --> 00:33:20,917
There is a king named Saul,
and God tells him two things:

665
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:24,000
"Kill all the Agagites.

666
00:33:24,083 --> 00:33:26,083
"They exist to
destroy your people.

667
00:33:26,167 --> 00:33:27,583
"You can't both live.

668
00:33:27,667 --> 00:33:29,917
You kill them or they're
going to kill you."

669
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,500
Number two:
"Don't plunder their goods.

670
00:33:32,583 --> 00:33:35,000
"When you defeat them, don't
take their possessions.

671
00:33:35,083 --> 00:33:37,875
Don't make it about the money."

672
00:33:37,958 --> 00:33:40,083
What does King Saul do?

673
00:33:40,167 --> 00:33:43,583
He lets them live
and he takes their money.

674
00:33:43,667 --> 00:33:47,208
He was supposed to not let them
live and leave their money.

675
00:33:47,292 --> 00:33:49,333
He sinned against the Lord.

676
00:33:49,375 --> 00:33:53,708
That's why Haman actually
should have never been born.

677
00:33:53,792 --> 00:33:56,208
The Agagites should not exist.

678
00:33:56,292 --> 00:33:59,000
And those who say what
Esther did was a godly thing,

679
00:33:59,042 --> 00:34:01,000
and a holy thing,
and a righteous thing,

680
00:34:01,083 --> 00:34:03,333
they would say, "All she was
doing was obeying

681
00:34:03,375 --> 00:34:05,917
a decree given to King Saul
who disobeyed."

682
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:08,708
So two political leaders, one
disobeyed, the other obeyed.

683
00:34:08,792 --> 00:34:11,375
One let them live,
the other took their life

684
00:34:11,458 --> 00:34:12,875
to spare God's people.

685
00:34:12,958 --> 00:34:16,333
All Esther was doing was obeying
a very ancient command

686
00:34:16,375 --> 00:34:18,708
from the Lord.

687
00:34:18,792 --> 00:34:22,125
It was a good thing.

688
00:34:22,167 --> 00:34:25,000
How many of you think
it was a good thing?

689
00:34:25,083 --> 00:34:28,083
How many of you think it's
a--that's a bad thing?

690
00:34:28,167 --> 00:34:30,833
How many of you are like,
"I didn't raise my hand

691
00:34:30,875 --> 00:34:32,208
"because I don't know.

692
00:34:32,292 --> 00:34:34,708
"I don't know, and this
seems--I could go either way.

693
00:34:34,792 --> 00:34:36,333
What's the other
position, Pastor Mark?"

694
00:34:36,375 --> 00:34:38,833
Well, the other view
is she did a bad thing,

695
00:34:38,875 --> 00:34:40,708
she did an ungodly thing.

696
00:34:40,792 --> 00:34:44,917
That to defend yourself on
one day is--that's justice,

697
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,875
but then to add another day
to go find your enemies

698
00:34:47,958 --> 00:34:51,000
and actively kill them, that's
actually not just self-defense

699
00:34:51,083 --> 00:34:54,083
and killing, that's murder.

700
00:34:54,167 --> 00:34:56,625
She went too far.

701
00:34:56,667 --> 00:34:59,167
She took the decree from
Mordecai, which was holy,

702
00:34:59,250 --> 00:35:01,500
and then she added to
it an additional day,

703
00:35:01,542 --> 00:35:04,208
and that was unholy.

704
00:35:04,292 --> 00:35:07,000
Furthermore, they
would say, you know,

705
00:35:07,042 --> 00:35:11,333
taking the dead bodies of
the ten sons of your enemies

706
00:35:11,375 --> 00:35:17,833
and impaling them publicly,
that's going too far.

707
00:35:19,042 --> 00:35:22,375
What do you think?

708
00:35:23,500 --> 00:35:26,208
What do you think?

709
00:35:26,292 --> 00:35:30,167
Now, it's hard to know
exactly because,

710
00:35:30,250 --> 00:35:33,125
number one, it doesn't say.

711
00:35:33,167 --> 00:35:36,125
One of the difficulties in
interpreting the book of Esther

712
00:35:36,167 --> 00:35:38,000
is this: there's no
commentary in it.

713
00:35:38,042 --> 00:35:40,000
It doesn't say, "And
the angels were rejoicing,"

714
00:35:40,042 --> 00:35:41,375
or "God was weeping."

715
00:35:41,458 --> 00:35:42,792
It doesn't say.

716
00:35:42,833 --> 00:35:44,792
Some of you say, "Well,
Scripture interprets Scripture,

717
00:35:44,833 --> 00:35:46,292
"that's what
the Reformers taught us.

718
00:35:46,333 --> 00:35:48,292
What does the rest
of the Bible say?"

719
00:35:48,333 --> 00:35:49,667
Nothing.

720
00:35:49,750 --> 00:35:51,708
Esther's not mentioned anywhere
else in the Bible

721
00:35:51,792 --> 00:35:53,417
outside of Esther.

722
00:35:53,500 --> 00:35:55,917
Some of you say, "Okay, well
what about the theologians?"

723
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:58,125
Well, in the first
7 centuries of the church,

724
00:35:58,167 --> 00:35:59,833
0 commentaries were produced
because the theologians

725
00:35:59,875 --> 00:36:02,417
were just, "I don't know.
You want to touch it?

726
00:36:02,500 --> 00:36:03,917
"I don't want to touch it.

727
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:05,917
"It's like a grenade
with the pin pulled.

728
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:07,667
I'm not going to touch it."

729
00:36:07,750 --> 00:36:11,708
I'm reticent to draw
strong conclusions

730
00:36:11,792 --> 00:36:13,708
when the Bible doesn't.

731
00:36:13,792 --> 00:36:15,167
Okay?

732
00:36:15,250 --> 00:36:16,917
When it says,
"Thus saith the Lord,"

733
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:18,417
that's what I want to say.

734
00:36:18,500 --> 00:36:21,917
When the Lord doesn't say, I
want to be careful what I say.

735
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:25,125
I want you to think about
it, I want you to study it,

736
00:36:25,167 --> 00:36:28,000
I want you to contemplate it,
I want you to discuss it

737
00:36:28,083 --> 00:36:29,833
in Community Group.

738
00:36:29,875 --> 00:36:33,333
But let me pull back and say
that this is a tough Bible text.

739
00:36:33,375 --> 00:36:34,917
Amen?
Alright?

740
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:37,833
Here's one of God's people
killing all the other people

741
00:36:37,875 --> 00:36:40,917
and hanging people publicly.

742
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,708
So, what do we do when we come
to tough texts

743
00:36:43,792 --> 00:36:45,125
of the Bible like this?

744
00:36:45,167 --> 00:36:47,833
And this is one of the reasons
we preach through books

745
00:36:47,875 --> 00:36:49,208
of the Bible,

746
00:36:49,292 --> 00:36:51,417
as a general rule.
We believe that all Scripture

747
00:36:51,500 --> 00:36:52,833
is God-breathed and profitable.

748
00:36:52,875 --> 00:36:54,208
That's what it says.

749
00:36:54,292 --> 00:36:57,417
We believe if God wrote a book
and he put something in it,

750
00:36:57,500 --> 00:36:59,417
it's important enough
for him to say it,

751
00:36:59,500 --> 00:37:01,500
it's important enough
for us to hear it.

752
00:37:01,542 --> 00:37:02,875
Amen?

753
00:37:02,958 --> 00:37:04,625
So Mars Hill,
we love the Bible,

754
00:37:04,667 --> 00:37:06,625
we believe the Bible,
we study the Bible,

755
00:37:06,667 --> 00:37:08,125
and sometimes we
don't really know

756
00:37:08,167 --> 00:37:09,833
what to do with the Bible.
Okay?

757
00:37:09,875 --> 00:37:11,833
You read certain points
like, "I don't know."

758
00:37:11,875 --> 00:37:14,833
So what do we do when we hit
those tough Bible texts

759
00:37:14,875 --> 00:37:16,333
like this?

760
00:37:16,375 --> 00:37:18,500
I'll give you seven lessons
from tough Bible texts.

761
00:37:18,583 --> 00:37:20,292
Number one: all Scripture
is equally inspired.

762
00:37:20,333 --> 00:37:21,667
Right?

763
00:37:21,750 --> 00:37:23,583
2 Timothy 3:16, "All
Scripture is God-breathed."

764
00:37:23,667 --> 00:37:26,000
Just like God breathed
life into Adam,

765
00:37:26,083 --> 00:37:28,125
God breathes life into his Word.

766
00:37:28,167 --> 00:37:33,917
God speaks perfectly through
the authors of Scripture,

767
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:35,417
but not equally clear.

768
00:37:35,500 --> 00:37:38,667
All Scripture is equally
inspired, but not equally clear;

769
00:37:38,750 --> 00:37:41,333
because some parts are,
quote, "hard to understand."

770
00:37:41,375 --> 00:37:43,625
That comes from 2 Peter 3:16.

771
00:37:43,667 --> 00:37:45,125
You may remember Peter.

772
00:37:45,167 --> 00:37:47,208
He was discipled by
a guy named Jesus,

773
00:37:47,292 --> 00:37:49,917
so he had a pretty
good Bible education.

774
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:51,333
Okay?

775
00:37:51,375 --> 00:37:53,375
And he was the leader
of the disciples,

776
00:37:53,458 --> 00:37:55,000
always mentioned
first in the list,

777
00:37:55,083 --> 00:38:00,500
and he also wrote two books of
the Bible: 1 Peter and 2 Peter.

778
00:38:00,542 --> 00:38:04,000
And he is talking here,
in context, about Paul.

779
00:38:04,083 --> 00:38:06,625
And he says, quote,
"Some things that Paul says

780
00:38:06,667 --> 00:38:10,000
are hard to understand."

781
00:38:10,042 --> 00:38:12,333
If they're hard for
Peter, yes or no,

782
00:38:12,375 --> 00:38:15,375
they perhaps could
be hard for you?

783
00:38:15,458 --> 00:38:17,083
Yeah.

784
00:38:17,167 --> 00:38:19,792
You're like, "I didn't
write a book of the Bible.

785
00:38:19,833 --> 00:38:24,333
I didn't get
3 years with Jesus."

786
00:38:24,375 --> 00:38:25,917
Yeah.

787
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,917
If Peter was sometimes
going, "I believe that.

788
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,500
I don't understand that."

789
00:38:31,583 --> 00:38:34,833
It's okay to sometimes come to
the Bible, not on everything,

790
00:38:34,875 --> 00:38:37,500
but on some things,
and say, "I believe it.

791
00:38:37,583 --> 00:38:39,833
I don't understand it."

792
00:38:39,875 --> 00:38:41,333
It's hard to understand.

793
00:38:41,375 --> 00:38:43,167
Have you ever read Paul?

794
00:38:43,250 --> 00:38:45,083
Women should wear
head coverings,

795
00:38:45,167 --> 00:38:47,208
and men should not
have long hair,

796
00:38:47,292 --> 00:38:49,708
and you were predestined before
the foundation of the world.

797
00:38:49,792 --> 00:38:51,208
You're like...

798
00:38:51,292 --> 00:38:54,000
Hard to understand?
Perhaps.

799
00:38:54,083 --> 00:38:55,500
It doesn't mean it's not true.

800
00:38:55,583 --> 00:38:57,833
It means that some things
are hard to understand.

801
00:38:57,875 --> 00:38:59,500
Sometimes that is
because, culturally,

802
00:38:59,542 --> 00:39:00,917
we're in a different culture,

803
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:03,125
so it's hard to understand
what was going on.

804
00:39:03,167 --> 00:39:04,500
Sometimes our hearts are hard.

805
00:39:04,583 --> 00:39:06,292
We're like,
"I know what it says.

806
00:39:06,333 --> 00:39:07,667
I don't like it."

807
00:39:07,750 --> 00:39:09,417
And there, it's not
an unconvinced mind,

808
00:39:09,500 --> 00:39:10,833
but it's an unwilling heart.

809
00:39:10,875 --> 00:39:13,833
There are all kinds of reasons
it can be hard to understand.

810
00:39:13,875 --> 00:39:16,625
You're a new believer and
you've got a lot of questions.

811
00:39:16,667 --> 00:39:23,083
Some of you need to know
that you will never know.

812
00:39:23,167 --> 00:39:26,125
Some parts are
hard to understand.

813
00:39:26,167 --> 00:39:29,125
Number two: most of
the Bible is clear,

814
00:39:29,167 --> 00:39:31,125
especially on matters
of "first importance."

815
00:39:31,167 --> 00:39:33,333
1 Corinthians 15:3, Paul
says, "What I've received,

816
00:39:33,375 --> 00:39:35,875
"I've passed on to you
of first importance,

817
00:39:35,958 --> 00:39:38,500
"that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures,

818
00:39:38,583 --> 00:39:41,417
that he was buried, and on
the third day he rose again."

819
00:39:41,500 --> 00:39:43,417
What he says is, "Here's
what's first importance.

820
00:39:43,500 --> 00:39:45,625
"Not everything in the Bible
is of equal importance.

821
00:39:45,667 --> 00:39:47,125
"Everything in
the Bible is important,

822
00:39:47,167 --> 00:39:49,417
but not everything is
of first importance."

823
00:39:49,500 --> 00:39:51,833
How many Agagites died,
it's important, but here,

824
00:39:51,875 --> 00:39:56,125
it's not as important as
"Is Jesus dead or alive?"

825
00:39:56,167 --> 00:39:58,583
That's first importance.

826
00:39:58,667 --> 00:40:01,792
Did Jesus die for my sin
and rise as my Savior?

827
00:40:01,833 --> 00:40:03,625
Yes or no?

828
00:40:03,667 --> 00:40:05,833
Do you speak in tongues?
Do you homeschool?

829
00:40:05,875 --> 00:40:07,833
Do you private school?
Do you public school?

830
00:40:07,875 --> 00:40:09,583
What is your view
on worship styles?

831
00:40:09,667 --> 00:40:11,583
When do you think
Jesus is coming back?

832
00:40:11,667 --> 00:40:13,000
How many Agagites died?

833
00:40:13,042 --> 00:40:14,583
Not as important.

834
00:40:14,667 --> 00:40:16,125
Not as important.

835
00:40:16,167 --> 00:40:18,500
Not unimportant, but
not equally important.

836
00:40:18,583 --> 00:40:20,292
You get that?

837
00:40:20,333 --> 00:40:21,917
Some things, those
things around Jesus

838
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:23,625
and what we'll call the gospel:

839
00:40:23,667 --> 00:40:26,375
God became a man, lived
without sin, went to the cross,

840
00:40:26,458 --> 00:40:29,167
substituted himself, died in
my place for my sins, rose,

841
00:40:29,250 --> 00:40:32,333
conquering my enemies of
Satan, sin, death, hell,

842
00:40:32,375 --> 00:40:34,500
and the wrath of God,
that all is first importance.

843
00:40:34,583 --> 00:40:36,583
Other things,
secondary importance.

844
00:40:36,667 --> 00:40:39,125
So, the Bible tends to be
clearer on matters of

845
00:40:39,167 --> 00:40:42,208
first importance, and sometimes
the things that are less clear

846
00:40:42,292 --> 00:40:46,375
are matters of second importance
or tertiary importance.

847
00:40:46,458 --> 00:40:50,125
Number three: the Bible
tells us all we need to know,

848
00:40:50,167 --> 00:40:53,125
it doesn't tell us
all we want to know.

849
00:40:53,167 --> 00:40:55,208
Have you noticed that?

850
00:40:55,292 --> 00:40:58,083
It tells us everything
we need to know.

851
00:40:58,167 --> 00:41:00,875
In fact, it says that God
gives us everything we need

852
00:41:00,958 --> 00:41:03,000
for life and godliness.

853
00:41:03,083 --> 00:41:05,208
It doesn't tell us
everything we want to know.

854
00:41:05,292 --> 00:41:08,000
How many of you have come
to the Bible, you're like,

855
00:41:08,042 --> 00:41:09,375
"I wish I knew.

856
00:41:09,458 --> 00:41:11,583
"If I could just get
15 minutes with Moses,

857
00:41:11,667 --> 00:41:15,333
"I would ask why he hates pigs.
You know, I have questions.

858
00:41:15,375 --> 00:41:17,167
I have questions."

859
00:41:17,250 --> 00:41:19,208
It tells you everything
you need to know,

860
00:41:19,292 --> 00:41:21,583
it doesn't tell you
everything you want to know.

861
00:41:21,667 --> 00:41:23,000
Okay?

862
00:41:23,042 --> 00:41:24,708
Because we're not God,
we're not all-knowing.

863
00:41:24,792 --> 00:41:27,500
And the truth is we don't
trust in what we know,

864
00:41:27,542 --> 00:41:30,917
we trust in the One
who knows all.

865
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:33,917
That's why the Bible
talks about faith.

866
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:35,792
It's trusting
the One who knows all,

867
00:41:35,833 --> 00:41:38,500
it's not having to know it all.

868
00:41:38,583 --> 00:41:41,500
Number four: God has "secrets"
we simply don't know.

869
00:41:41,583 --> 00:41:43,500
It says in
Deuteronomy 29:29, quote,

870
00:41:43,583 --> 00:41:45,292
"The secret things
belong to the Lord."

871
00:41:45,333 --> 00:41:46,875
You know what a secret is?

872
00:41:46,958 --> 00:41:50,000
You don't, because
it's a secret.

873
00:41:50,042 --> 00:41:52,208
Right?

874
00:41:52,292 --> 00:41:54,208
You don't--you're
like, "I don't know.

875
00:41:54,292 --> 00:41:55,625
It's a secret."

876
00:41:55,667 --> 00:41:59,375
What that means is
God knows, you don't.

877
00:41:59,458 --> 00:42:01,708
And again, it's not
knowing everything,

878
00:42:01,792 --> 00:42:05,000
it's trusting the One
who knows all things.

879
00:42:05,042 --> 00:42:06,625
I don't know.

880
00:42:06,667 --> 00:42:08,833
Some of you are going to have
questions about

881
00:42:08,875 --> 00:42:10,208
predestination, election.

882
00:42:10,292 --> 00:42:12,208
You're like, "I don't know.
I don't know.

883
00:42:12,292 --> 00:42:13,625
I don't know."

884
00:42:13,667 --> 00:42:17,000
When it says in Romans 8, "Who
has known the mind of the Lord?"

885
00:42:17,083 --> 00:42:20,208
it's not expecting somebody in
the back of class to go, "I do!"

886
00:42:20,292 --> 00:42:21,625
It's a rhetorical question.

887
00:42:21,667 --> 00:42:23,375
You go, "He does.
I don't know.

888
00:42:23,458 --> 00:42:24,875
You know?
He knows."

889
00:42:24,958 --> 00:42:29,167
Number five: God's thoughts and
ways are "higher" than ours.

890
00:42:29,250 --> 00:42:32,167
Isaiah 55:8-9, God says this.

891
00:42:32,250 --> 00:42:34,917
He says, "My thoughts are
higher than your thoughts,

892
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:38,792
and my ways are higher
than your ways."

893
00:42:38,833 --> 00:42:41,625
I love that concept of higher.
Right?

894
00:42:41,667 --> 00:42:46,000
How many of you, you've had
an opportunity to get to

895
00:42:46,083 --> 00:42:48,500
a different elevation
and look at things,

896
00:42:48,542 --> 00:42:51,333
just geographically speaking.

897
00:42:51,375 --> 00:42:53,333
You're like, "Oh!

898
00:42:53,375 --> 00:42:55,333
"Now I see things differently
because I have

899
00:42:55,375 --> 00:42:57,000
a different perspective."

900
00:42:57,042 --> 00:43:00,375
I can still remember growing
up next to the airport.

901
00:43:00,458 --> 00:43:03,500
I never got to go on an airplane
until I was a teenager

902
00:43:03,583 --> 00:43:05,708
playing a baseball tournament
out of state.

903
00:43:05,792 --> 00:43:07,875
We were going to play for
some national tournament.

904
00:43:07,958 --> 00:43:11,000
You know, sitting there
watching the planes fly over,

905
00:43:11,083 --> 00:43:12,792
it's a different perspective.

906
00:43:12,833 --> 00:43:15,000
I shouldn't tell you
this, but as a kid,

907
00:43:15,042 --> 00:43:17,708
we one time took the pitching
machine in our backyard out

908
00:43:17,792 --> 00:43:19,125
and tried to shoot airplanes.

909
00:43:19,167 --> 00:43:20,875
We actually did
it more than once.

910
00:43:20,958 --> 00:43:22,292
Right?
Different perspective.

911
00:43:22,333 --> 00:43:24,292
Like, how high is that?
I don't know.

912
00:43:24,333 --> 00:43:25,667
Poof!
Let's see.

913
00:43:25,750 --> 00:43:27,083
You know?
Just different perspective.

914
00:43:27,167 --> 00:43:30,667
And then all of a sudden, one
day I got to go on an airplane.

915
00:43:30,750 --> 00:43:33,500
And I remember I really
wanted to look out the window.

916
00:43:33,542 --> 00:43:35,500
Like, "What does it
look like from here?

917
00:43:35,583 --> 00:43:37,875
"Oh, that's our neighborhood.
We're flying over it.

918
00:43:37,958 --> 00:43:39,875
"And that's my
city, and my state,

919
00:43:39,958 --> 00:43:43,083
"and this is the mountains,
and the lakes, and the rivers.

920
00:43:43,167 --> 00:43:45,667
And man, everything looks
really different from up here."

921
00:43:45,750 --> 00:43:47,625
It's a different perspective.
You know why?

922
00:43:47,667 --> 00:43:50,000
Because I was higher.

923
00:43:50,042 --> 00:43:54,292
What God is saying is this:
that he's high and exalted,

924
00:43:54,333 --> 00:43:57,708
and when he looks at history
and he looks at circumstances,

925
00:43:57,792 --> 00:44:01,833
he does so with
a better perspective.

926
00:44:01,875 --> 00:44:06,000
He sees more than we see and he
sees how it all works together

927
00:44:06,083 --> 00:44:08,833
in a way that we don't.

928
00:44:08,875 --> 00:44:13,208
That God's ways are higher.

929
00:44:13,292 --> 00:44:16,708
What this means is we need to be
very careful that we don't judge

930
00:44:16,792 --> 00:44:20,000
God, because we don't
see what God sees,

931
00:44:20,083 --> 00:44:24,292
so we don't know
what God knows.

932
00:44:24,333 --> 00:44:26,833
We "know in part."

933
00:44:26,875 --> 00:44:28,875
That's what
1 Corinthians 13:12 says.

934
00:44:28,958 --> 00:44:30,667
It couldn't be clearer.

935
00:44:30,750 --> 00:44:32,708
1 Corinthians 13:12,
Paul says it this way:

936
00:44:32,792 --> 00:44:35,667
"We see in part
and we know in part.

937
00:44:35,750 --> 00:44:39,208
Now, we see," he says, "but
it's like looking through

938
00:44:39,292 --> 00:44:40,875
a dim glass."

939
00:44:40,958 --> 00:44:44,292
Now, we're at that time of year
when you wake up in the morning

940
00:44:44,333 --> 00:44:46,000
and you go out to your car,

941
00:44:46,083 --> 00:44:47,500
especially if it's
parked outside,

942
00:44:47,583 --> 00:44:49,625
there's a little
frost or a little dew.

943
00:44:49,667 --> 00:44:51,500
You look out the windshield.

944
00:44:51,583 --> 00:44:54,417
You see, but you
don't see clearly.

945
00:44:54,500 --> 00:44:56,125
You don't see perfectly.

946
00:44:56,167 --> 00:44:58,917
You don't see fully,
you see partly.

947
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:03,625
You see truly,
but you don't see totally.

948
00:45:03,667 --> 00:45:06,917
What he's saying is
in a fallen world,

949
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:09,000
as finite beings,

950
00:45:09,042 --> 00:45:11,500
with a fallen brain,
a sinful nature,

951
00:45:11,583 --> 00:45:18,542
and sometimes a reluctant
heart, we see dimly.

952
00:45:20,875 --> 00:45:24,500
And then he says, "When Jesus
comes back, we'll see him," how?

953
00:45:24,583 --> 00:45:27,083
"Face to face.

954
00:45:27,167 --> 00:45:30,500
And we'll know as
we're fully known."

955
00:45:30,583 --> 00:45:32,833
What it means is this
life is by faith.

956
00:45:32,875 --> 00:45:36,667
It's like, "I just want to see
Jesus and I want to get to him.

957
00:45:36,750 --> 00:45:39,625
"And when I get to him,
he's going to open my eyes,

958
00:45:39,667 --> 00:45:42,875
"take away my sin,
transform the whole world,

959
00:45:42,958 --> 00:45:44,583
"and then I'll see it all.

960
00:45:44,667 --> 00:45:47,792
"I'll see what he was doing,
I'll see what he was up to.

961
00:45:47,833 --> 00:45:49,792
"I'm going to rejoice.
I'm going to celebrate.

962
00:45:49,833 --> 00:45:51,333
"Jesus, you did the right thing.

963
00:45:51,375 --> 00:45:55,000
"I was wondering, but
I only saw in part,

964
00:45:55,083 --> 00:45:58,625
"and now I see what you see and
I celebrate what you've done

965
00:45:58,667 --> 00:46:04,167
because I trusted who you are."

966
00:46:05,500 --> 00:46:06,833
And number seven: the Bible

967
00:46:06,875 --> 00:46:08,875
is the most honest book
ever written.

968
00:46:08,958 --> 00:46:12,000
One of the ways I know that God
wrote the book is

969
00:46:12,042 --> 00:46:13,417
how honest it is.

970
00:46:13,500 --> 00:46:16,833
How many of you, if you wrote
the Bible and you were in it,

971
00:46:16,875 --> 00:46:19,500
you would write it differently,
at least the parts about you?

972
00:46:19,583 --> 00:46:20,917
Right?

973
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:23,625
How many of you, if they--let's
say you were Esther

974
00:46:23,667 --> 00:46:25,125
and they came to interview you.

975
00:46:25,167 --> 00:46:27,333
"Well, tell us about
the time that you asked

976
00:46:27,375 --> 00:46:29,000
"for like, a Groupon.

977
00:46:29,083 --> 00:46:31,292
"A kill one day
and get another free day.

978
00:46:31,333 --> 00:46:33,208
"You know?
Tell us about that day.

979
00:46:33,292 --> 00:46:35,625
"When you hung ten guys,
crucified them in their yard

980
00:46:35,667 --> 00:46:37,417
in front of their mom."

981
00:46:37,500 --> 00:46:40,375
How many of you gals would
be like, "Oh, no, no, no.

982
00:46:40,458 --> 00:46:42,708
"That never happened.
Trust me, I'm a queen"?

983
00:46:42,792 --> 00:46:44,708
"You know, it didn't
go down like that.

984
00:46:44,792 --> 00:46:47,125
No, no, no.
It was Mordecai's idea."

985
00:46:47,167 --> 00:46:49,583
You'd find a way to
retell the story.

986
00:46:49,667 --> 00:46:51,833
The Bible's honest,
and when you read the Bible,

987
00:46:51,875 --> 00:46:53,833
everybody looks bad
except for Jesus.

988
00:46:53,875 --> 00:46:55,333
There's only one hero.

989
00:46:55,375 --> 00:46:59,000
So when we go to the book and
we say, "I want a perfect hero.

990
00:46:59,083 --> 00:47:00,833
"I want somebody
who got it right.

991
00:47:00,875 --> 00:47:03,583
"And when they make a mistake,
I really struggle with that

992
00:47:03,667 --> 00:47:05,333
and I want to reinterpret
the data."

993
00:47:05,375 --> 00:47:06,708
Don't.

994
00:47:06,792 --> 00:47:09,208
Maybe Esther got it right,
maybe Esther got it wrong.

995
00:47:09,292 --> 00:47:14,500
The truth is, either way, God
does imperfect work--excuse me.

996
00:47:14,583 --> 00:47:16,000
Let me say it again.

997
00:47:16,042 --> 00:47:18,625
God does perfect work
through imperfect people.

998
00:47:18,667 --> 00:47:23,000
God draws straight lines
with crooked sticks.

999
00:47:23,042 --> 00:47:26,000
Isn't that hopeful
for you and me?

1000
00:47:26,042 --> 00:47:28,167
You say, "You know what?
I'm not perfect."

1001
00:47:28,250 --> 00:47:29,875
Well, neither was Esther,
neither was Mordecai,

1002
00:47:29,958 --> 00:47:31,333
neither was David.

1003
00:47:31,375 --> 00:47:34,292
At the height of his power,
the man after God's own heart

1004
00:47:34,333 --> 00:47:37,208
who writes worship songs
also commits adultery,

1005
00:47:37,292 --> 00:47:40,917
impregnates a lady, and
murders the innocent husband.

1006
00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:44,125
And it's in the book because
it's the most honest book that's

1007
00:47:44,167 --> 00:47:48,208
ever been written, and it
encourages us to be honest.

1008
00:47:48,292 --> 00:47:51,333
"Here's my sin, the sins of my
family, the sins of my people.

1009
00:47:51,375 --> 00:47:53,000
Let me be honest."

1010
00:47:53,083 --> 00:47:57,208
And it means that
sometimes--maybe this

1011
00:47:57,292 --> 00:47:59,208
is the point.

1012
00:47:59,292 --> 00:48:02,375
Maybe the point of not knowing
whether or not Esther acted in

1013
00:48:02,458 --> 00:48:07,708
a noble way, maybe the point
is sometimes you don't know.

1014
00:48:07,792 --> 00:48:10,125
How many of you have
had that in your life?

1015
00:48:10,167 --> 00:48:12,333
You made a decision, and
looking back, you're like,

1016
00:48:12,375 --> 00:48:14,625
"I don't know if that
was the right decision

1017
00:48:14,667 --> 00:48:16,000
"or the wrong decision.

1018
00:48:16,083 --> 00:48:18,417
"I don't know if that
was godly or ungodly.

1019
00:48:18,500 --> 00:48:20,417
"I think my motives
might have been mixed.

1020
00:48:20,500 --> 00:48:22,083
"I don't know.

1021
00:48:22,167 --> 00:48:24,083
"Some days I think,
'That honored the Lord.'

1022
00:48:24,167 --> 00:48:26,667
"Other days I think, 'I am
pretty sure that didn't

1023
00:48:26,750 --> 00:48:28,125
honor the Lord.'"

1024
00:48:28,167 --> 00:48:31,417
Any of you have things in your
past that haunt you like that?

1025
00:48:31,500 --> 00:48:37,500
Here's the good news:
God works all things

1026
00:48:37,583 --> 00:48:41,500
for the good of those
who love him.

1027
00:48:41,583 --> 00:48:43,875
You may not have
gotten it right,

1028
00:48:43,958 --> 00:48:48,375
but maybe God made it right,
because God is a God of grace.

1029
00:48:48,458 --> 00:48:51,625
So, when we're repentant,
God works a reversal

1030
00:48:51,667 --> 00:48:54,417
that leads to our rejoicing.

1031
00:48:54,500 --> 00:48:58,000
But here's the truth: you don't
need to have all your questions

1032
00:48:58,083 --> 00:49:01,833
answered to walk with God.

1033
00:49:01,875 --> 00:49:05,208
You don't need to have all your
Bible questions answered

1034
00:49:05,292 --> 00:49:06,833
to walk with God.

1035
00:49:06,875 --> 00:49:09,208
You don't need to have all your
life questions answered

1036
00:49:09,292 --> 00:49:10,625
to walk with God.

1037
00:49:10,667 --> 00:49:12,833
You don't even need to
have all your decision

1038
00:49:12,875 --> 00:49:16,292
and motive questions answered
to walk with God.

1039
00:49:16,333 --> 00:49:19,500
This side of eternity, we may
not have a clear answer on

1040
00:49:19,583 --> 00:49:23,833
Esther, but we do have a hope
that God does a perfect work

1041
00:49:23,875 --> 00:49:25,500
through imperfect people.

1042
00:49:25,583 --> 00:49:28,500
And when it comes to the Bible,
we don't need to rewrite

1043
00:49:28,542 --> 00:49:31,625
the stories so that all of God's
people are heroes and all of

1044
00:49:31,667 --> 00:49:34,375
the other people are villains,
and they never make a mistake,

1045
00:49:34,458 --> 00:49:36,333
and they're perfect,
and they're good.

1046
00:49:36,375 --> 00:49:38,500
Because that longing for
a perfect, good leader

1047
00:49:38,542 --> 00:49:41,167
and king, it's already fulfilled
in Jesus,

1048
00:49:41,250 --> 00:49:43,000
and there's only one.

1049
00:49:43,042 --> 00:49:44,917
The rest of the Bible
is all villains.

1050
00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:47,000
Jesus is the only hero.
Amen?

1051
00:49:47,083 --> 00:49:48,708
Number three.

1052
00:49:48,792 --> 00:49:51,625
Reversal number three: you don't
have to live a greedy life.

1053
00:49:51,667 --> 00:49:54,875
Esther 9:16-19.

1054
00:49:54,958 --> 00:49:57,833
"Now the rest of the Jews who
were in the king's provinces

1055
00:49:57,875 --> 00:49:59,792
"also gathered to
defend their lives,

1056
00:49:59,833 --> 00:50:02,833
"and got relief from their
enemies and killed 75,000

1057
00:50:02,875 --> 00:50:05,000
of those who hated them,
but they laid--"

1058
00:50:05,083 --> 00:50:07,333
Read it carefully.

1059
00:50:07,375 --> 00:50:09,333
Careful reading of the Bible is
so important.

1060
00:50:09,375 --> 00:50:11,000
"They laid no hands
on the plunder."

1061
00:50:11,083 --> 00:50:13,708
It said it in the previous
section of verses as well.

1062
00:50:13,792 --> 00:50:15,417
"They laid no hands
on the plunder."

1063
00:50:15,500 --> 00:50:18,375
It says in chapter 3, when
the enemies of God attack them,

1064
00:50:18,458 --> 00:50:19,792
they can plunder them.

1065
00:50:19,833 --> 00:50:22,333
The decree given in chapter 8
by Mordecai, the reversal,

1066
00:50:22,375 --> 00:50:25,583
was if they attack you, you have
the legal right to plunder them.

1067
00:50:25,667 --> 00:50:27,625
Chapter 9 tells us
multiple times,

1068
00:50:27,667 --> 00:50:31,083
God's people didn't
plunder their enemies.

1069
00:50:31,167 --> 00:50:34,500
"This was on the thirteenth
day of the month of Adar,

1070
00:50:34,542 --> 00:50:37,375
"and on the fourteenth day they
rested and made that a day

1071
00:50:37,458 --> 00:50:39,000
of feasting and gladness."

1072
00:50:39,083 --> 00:50:40,500
We'll deal with it next week.

1073
00:50:40,583 --> 00:50:43,000
This is the beginning
of the Feast of Purim,

1074
00:50:43,083 --> 00:50:45,708
and it explains why
they feast over 2 days.

1075
00:50:45,792 --> 00:50:47,708
We'll hit that next week.

1076
00:50:47,792 --> 00:50:50,792
"But the Jews who were in Susa
gathered on the thirteenth day

1077
00:50:50,833 --> 00:50:53,333
"and on the fourteenth, and
rested on the fifteenth day,

1078
00:50:53,375 --> 00:50:55,333
"making that a day of
feasting and gladness.

1079
00:50:55,375 --> 00:50:57,000
"Therefore the Jews
of the villages,

1080
00:50:57,083 --> 00:50:59,708
"who live in the rural towns,
hold the fourteenth day of

1081
00:50:59,792 --> 00:51:02,500
"the month of Adar as a day
for gladness and feasting,

1082
00:51:02,583 --> 00:51:05,917
"as a holiday, and as a day on
which they send gifts of food

1083
00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:07,333
to one another."

1084
00:51:07,375 --> 00:51:11,625
Here's what had happened:
the decree was given

1085
00:51:11,667 --> 00:51:14,708
all the way back to King Saul.

1086
00:51:14,792 --> 00:51:19,708
Again, 1 Samuel 15, "Don't
plunder your enemies."

1087
00:51:19,792 --> 00:51:22,417
You know what King Saul
and the people of God did?

1088
00:51:22,500 --> 00:51:24,792
Plundered their enemies.

1089
00:51:24,833 --> 00:51:30,875
This had been a greedy people,
generation, after generation,

1090
00:51:30,958 --> 00:51:33,500
after generation.

1091
00:51:33,583 --> 00:51:37,375
God's people taking
what God forbid.

1092
00:51:37,458 --> 00:51:42,917
It might be fruit on a tree, it
might be money in an account.

1093
00:51:43,000 --> 00:51:46,375
They took something that
was not to be theirs.

1094
00:51:46,458 --> 00:51:49,083
They disobeyed.

1095
00:51:50,167 --> 00:51:52,208
They disobeyed.

1096
00:51:52,292 --> 00:51:55,708
And so, when it comes time
to conquer their enemies,

1097
00:51:55,792 --> 00:51:57,417
they have the legal right.

1098
00:51:57,500 --> 00:51:58,917
I want you to see this.

1099
00:51:59,000 --> 00:52:02,500
You will have ways of gaining
wealth that are legal,

1100
00:52:02,583 --> 00:52:04,208
but not ethical.

1101
00:52:04,292 --> 00:52:06,333
They're legal, but not biblical.

1102
00:52:06,375 --> 00:52:08,167
Do you get that?

1103
00:52:08,250 --> 00:52:09,917
You can't say,
"Well, it's legal."

1104
00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:12,292
But if it's not ethical
and it's not biblical,

1105
00:52:12,333 --> 00:52:17,667
don't put it in your hand.

1106
00:52:17,750 --> 00:52:20,417
See, Jesus says, "Where your
treasure is, your heart is."

1107
00:52:20,500 --> 00:52:21,833
You know what that means?

1108
00:52:21,875 --> 00:52:28,125
That means every
single day, we worship.

1109
00:52:28,167 --> 00:52:33,500
We worship our wealth, or we
worship God with our wealth.

1110
00:52:33,583 --> 00:52:39,667
It means every dollar we spend,
every transaction that we

1111
00:52:39,750 --> 00:52:44,708
participate in, every
bill that we take out,

1112
00:52:44,792 --> 00:52:50,667
every expense that we incur,
every investment that we make,

1113
00:52:50,750 --> 00:52:53,708
it's an act of worship and it's
an indication of the heart.

1114
00:52:53,792 --> 00:52:56,625
Jesus says, "Where your
treasure is, your heart is."

1115
00:52:56,667 --> 00:52:59,500
Some of you say, "I don't
want you to talk about money."

1116
00:52:59,583 --> 00:53:03,000
What you're saying is, "I don't
want you to talk about my god.

1117
00:53:03,083 --> 00:53:05,500
"Don't offend my god,
don't dishonor my god,

1118
00:53:05,583 --> 00:53:07,500
don't make
an affront to my god."

1119
00:53:07,583 --> 00:53:10,708
Let me tell you why you love
your god so much and why

1120
00:53:10,792 --> 00:53:14,083
the Word of God is like a hammer
that comes to absolutely smash

1121
00:53:14,167 --> 00:53:16,833
your false god.

1122
00:53:16,875 --> 00:53:19,583
Because your false god is a liar
who makes promises

1123
00:53:19,667 --> 00:53:21,917
that cannot deliver.

1124
00:53:22,000 --> 00:53:24,875
Your false god says you are
defined by the clothes you wear,

1125
00:53:24,958 --> 00:53:27,167
the house you live in,
the car you drive,

1126
00:53:27,250 --> 00:53:30,833
the comfort you enjoy,
the food you eat,

1127
00:53:30,875 --> 00:53:35,167
where your kids go to school,
what things you accomplish

1128
00:53:35,250 --> 00:53:38,792
and achieve, and wealth becomes
the means by which you

1129
00:53:38,833 --> 00:53:42,208
have prestige, and power,
and comfort, and luxury.

1130
00:53:42,292 --> 00:53:44,917
And none of which is
necessarily a bad thing,

1131
00:53:45,000 --> 00:53:47,292
but when a good thing
becomes a god thing,

1132
00:53:47,333 --> 00:53:49,792
that's a bad thing.

1133
00:53:49,833 --> 00:53:52,667
And it's usually not
the wealth; it's the status,

1134
00:53:52,750 --> 00:53:54,583
it's the possessions,
it's the comfort,

1135
00:53:54,667 --> 00:53:57,667
it's the convenience that
the wealth provides.

1136
00:53:57,750 --> 00:53:59,375
So, we worship it.

1137
00:53:59,458 --> 00:54:02,917
And the lie is this: you don't
need to die and go to heaven,

1138
00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:04,333
you can have heaven now.

1139
00:54:04,375 --> 00:54:07,333
If you make enough, you can
create a world that is not

1140
00:54:07,375 --> 00:54:09,625
affected by the curse,
and you live in glory,

1141
00:54:09,667 --> 00:54:12,833
and comfort, and luxury.

1142
00:54:12,875 --> 00:54:15,208
And you don't really need
the God of the Bible,

1143
00:54:15,292 --> 00:54:17,708
and you don't need
to die and go to heaven,

1144
00:54:17,792 --> 00:54:20,208
because the god of money
will give you heaven now.

1145
00:54:20,292 --> 00:54:21,625
No need to wait.

1146
00:54:21,667 --> 00:54:24,833
And if you can't make it, just
put it on a credit card

1147
00:54:24,875 --> 00:54:27,625
and forget that the borrower
is slave to the lender,

1148
00:54:27,667 --> 00:54:32,875
and enjoy the shackles of what
was supposed to be freedom.

1149
00:54:32,958 --> 00:54:38,917
When God tells us no, it's
good, because God is what?

1150
00:54:39,000 --> 00:54:41,125
Good.

1151
00:54:41,167 --> 00:54:42,833
Is God against money?

1152
00:54:42,875 --> 00:54:44,667
No.

1153
00:54:44,750 --> 00:54:46,625
Is God against people having
wealth and possessions?

1154
00:54:46,667 --> 00:54:48,000
No.

1155
00:54:48,083 --> 00:54:50,708
If you went to Jesus' house
right now, it's very nice.

1156
00:54:50,792 --> 00:54:55,167
Very nice.

1157
00:54:55,250 --> 00:54:56,792
We're not against making money.

1158
00:54:56,833 --> 00:54:58,625
Some of you should make a lot.

1159
00:54:58,667 --> 00:55:00,875
We're against those who make
money that the Lord

1160
00:55:00,958 --> 00:55:02,875
forbids be taken.

1161
00:55:02,958 --> 00:55:05,625
We're against money being spent
in a way that the Lord

1162
00:55:05,667 --> 00:55:08,208
forbids spending.

1163
00:55:08,292 --> 00:55:09,917
It's all the Lord's.

1164
00:55:10,000 --> 00:55:12,208
We're stewards.

1165
00:55:12,292 --> 00:55:16,333
We worship our wealth or
we worship with our wealth.

1166
00:55:16,375 --> 00:55:20,417
This family, for maybe
a thousand years: greedy,

1167
00:55:20,500 --> 00:55:23,417
greedy, greedy, greedy, greedy.

1168
00:55:23,500 --> 00:55:29,417
Before we judge them, let's look
at what they were passing up.

1169
00:55:29,500 --> 00:55:32,583
It's like the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil.

1170
00:55:32,667 --> 00:55:34,333
It's in the middle
of the garden.

1171
00:55:34,375 --> 00:55:36,833
You've got to walk by it.
That's how temptation is.

1172
00:55:36,875 --> 00:55:38,417
You've got to walk by it.

1173
00:55:38,500 --> 00:55:43,500
This wealth was right there,
literally right there.

1174
00:55:43,583 --> 00:55:46,708
Here's what it meant legally:
they could defend themselves,

1175
00:55:46,792 --> 00:55:48,500
and if they defeated
their enemies,

1176
00:55:48,542 --> 00:55:50,417
they could get
their entire estate.

1177
00:55:50,500 --> 00:55:53,500
Think about this.

1178
00:55:53,583 --> 00:55:56,917
Let's say you've
got five sons,

1179
00:55:57,000 --> 00:55:59,500
and you're a poor family,

1180
00:55:59,583 --> 00:56:01,708
and you could kill
five Agagites.

1181
00:56:01,792 --> 00:56:03,208
You know what you get?

1182
00:56:03,292 --> 00:56:04,875
Five households.

1183
00:56:04,958 --> 00:56:09,625
Five homes, five businesses,
livestock, land, slaves,

1184
00:56:09,667 --> 00:56:13,333
possessions, fully furnished,
any of their wealth,

1185
00:56:13,375 --> 00:56:17,208
gold, all of it.

1186
00:56:17,292 --> 00:56:23,125
How many of you are broke and
struggling, and this thought of,

1187
00:56:23,167 --> 00:56:27,333
"I could get a million dollar
estate tomorrow

1188
00:56:27,375 --> 00:56:32,292
"and it's debt-free,
and tax-free, and mine?

1189
00:56:32,333 --> 00:56:35,417
"Who do I got to kill?

1190
00:56:35,500 --> 00:56:38,667
"Oh, and the law says I can kill
them because it's self-defense,

1191
00:56:38,750 --> 00:56:41,500
"and God's law says
self-defense is a good thing.

1192
00:56:41,542 --> 00:56:46,208
"And they're Agagites, so what?
Yeah.

1193
00:56:46,292 --> 00:56:48,625
"Wouldn't it be much better if
God's people had it

1194
00:56:48,667 --> 00:56:50,000
"rather than God's enemies?

1195
00:56:50,083 --> 00:56:52,000
"And after all,
if we don't touch it,

1196
00:56:52,083 --> 00:56:53,500
"you know what's
going to happen?

1197
00:56:53,583 --> 00:56:56,167
"Looters are going to come, and
criminals are going to come.

1198
00:56:56,250 --> 00:56:57,917
"They're going to move
into their house,

1199
00:56:58,000 --> 00:56:59,417
"they're going to
take the livestock,

1200
00:56:59,500 --> 00:57:01,000
"they're going to
take the possessions,

1201
00:57:01,042 --> 00:57:03,000
"and evil people are
going to get rich,

1202
00:57:03,042 --> 00:57:05,000
"and then they're going
to do horrible things.

1203
00:57:05,042 --> 00:57:07,000
"The people of God should
definitely take this,

1204
00:57:07,042 --> 00:57:08,500
"and we might even tithe 2%.

1205
00:57:08,542 --> 00:57:11,500
We're going to give back to the
Lord maybe, perhaps, if maybe."

1206
00:57:11,542 --> 00:57:15,125
How many of you, in your mind,
you can already start to do

1207
00:57:15,167 --> 00:57:18,333
the small attorney who lives
in your fallen nature,

1208
00:57:18,375 --> 00:57:22,208
rises up with an airtight
defense right now?

1209
00:57:22,292 --> 00:57:24,583
Yeah.

1210
00:57:24,667 --> 00:57:26,333
How many of you
are newly married,

1211
00:57:26,375 --> 00:57:27,708
struggling to buy a home?

1212
00:57:27,792 --> 00:57:29,417
You're like,
"We could get a free,

1213
00:57:29,500 --> 00:57:32,417
"furnished home
and a business with slaves?

1214
00:57:32,500 --> 00:57:34,417
"We don't need to
incur a mortgage?

1215
00:57:34,500 --> 00:57:36,125
"We don't need--how
do we do that?

1216
00:57:36,167 --> 00:57:38,583
"Oh, if our enemies attack
us and we kill them,

1217
00:57:38,667 --> 00:57:40,000
"it's self-defense.

1218
00:57:40,042 --> 00:57:42,000
We just get to take
all their stuff."

1219
00:57:42,042 --> 00:57:44,708
How many of you, honestly--you
don't need to raise your hand

1220
00:57:44,792 --> 00:57:46,708
because you'll freak
the rest of us out.

1221
00:57:46,792 --> 00:57:48,125
But how many of you--

1222
00:57:48,167 --> 00:57:49,500
That's tempting.

1223
00:57:49,583 --> 00:57:52,500
You say, "That would
be pretty amazing."

1224
00:57:52,583 --> 00:57:56,583
God says, "Don't. Don't.

1225
00:57:56,667 --> 00:58:00,500
Don't fall for the trap."

1226
00:58:00,583 --> 00:58:03,625
You know, Thomas Brooks,
he was an old Puritan.

1227
00:58:03,667 --> 00:58:06,167
In his book, "Precious Remedies
Against Satan's Devices,"

1228
00:58:06,250 --> 00:58:09,917
he talks about sin
is like bait on a hook.

1229
00:58:10,000 --> 00:58:13,208
I use this analogy a lot.

1230
00:58:13,292 --> 00:58:17,125
See, Satan's going to bait your
hook with anything you want.

1231
00:58:17,167 --> 00:58:20,833
Sex, money, fame, power,
glory, beauty, comfort,

1232
00:58:20,875 --> 00:58:23,875
grade point average,
achievement,

1233
00:58:23,958 --> 00:58:26,208
seat in the company.

1234
00:58:26,292 --> 00:58:29,417
He doesn't care as
long as you bite

1235
00:58:29,500 --> 00:58:32,167
and he can reel you into death.

1236
00:58:32,250 --> 00:58:35,917
Making money, securing
a future for your family.

1237
00:58:36,000 --> 00:58:38,792
Proverbs says, "A wise man
leaves an inheritance

1238
00:58:38,833 --> 00:58:40,500
for his children's children."

1239
00:58:40,583 --> 00:58:43,583
That's making a lot of money
and stewarding it well,

1240
00:58:43,667 --> 00:58:45,000
none of which is bad.

1241
00:58:45,042 --> 00:58:48,875
But when Satan baits
the hook, if you bite,

1242
00:58:48,958 --> 00:58:50,375
you get reeled into death.

1243
00:58:50,458 --> 00:58:52,792
It happened to Haman, and it
had happened to God's people

1244
00:58:52,833 --> 00:58:54,167
for a thousand years.

1245
00:58:54,250 --> 00:58:57,833
And God said, "Do not bite."

1246
00:58:57,875 --> 00:59:01,000
Here's my question to you:
what business opportunity,

1247
00:59:01,083 --> 00:59:04,833
what income stream do you
need to let just go by?"

1248
00:59:04,875 --> 00:59:06,625
You say, "Well, I
could grab that.

1249
00:59:06,667 --> 00:59:08,000
It's legal."

1250
00:59:08,083 --> 00:59:09,833
Just--God is saying,
"Let it go by."

1251
00:59:09,875 --> 00:59:11,708
Just let it go.
Don't grab it.

1252
00:59:11,792 --> 00:59:13,125
"But, but, but."

1253
00:59:13,167 --> 00:59:14,500
No, just let it go.

1254
00:59:14,583 --> 00:59:17,125
How many of you, you've already
taken what is not yours?

1255
00:59:17,167 --> 00:59:19,833
You're like, "I wasn't
supposed to have this.

1256
00:59:19,875 --> 00:59:22,500
"I wasn't supposed to get
it in the first place,

1257
00:59:22,542 --> 00:59:25,208
"or I was supposed to
tithe it back to the Lord.

1258
00:59:25,292 --> 00:59:27,417
"I was supposed to
give it to the poor.

1259
00:59:27,500 --> 00:59:30,125
"I was supposed to invest it in
the kingdom of God

1260
00:59:30,167 --> 00:59:32,333
and I've held onto things
that are not mine."

1261
00:59:32,375 --> 00:59:36,375
What I love here is it gives
us the year, the month,

1262
00:59:36,458 --> 00:59:39,708
and the day that
the people of God repented.

1263
00:59:39,792 --> 00:59:44,000
And so much of repentance
is demonstrated in finances.

1264
00:59:44,083 --> 00:59:46,083
It's demonstrated
in, "You know what?

1265
00:59:46,167 --> 00:59:49,375
"This god lied to me, and I'm
going to empty my hands

1266
00:59:49,458 --> 00:59:52,708
"and just trust in the provision
of the real God,

1267
00:59:52,792 --> 00:59:55,208
"and I'm going to be a good
steward with what

1268
00:59:55,292 --> 00:59:57,833
the real God gives."

1269
00:59:57,875 --> 01:00:00,625
And it tells us
when they did that.

1270
01:00:00,667 --> 01:00:03,625
I pray that this would
be the day for you,

1271
01:00:03,667 --> 01:00:06,125
that you would circle
this day on the calendar.

1272
01:00:06,167 --> 01:00:07,917
"It was this year,
and this month,

1273
01:00:08,000 --> 01:00:13,083
"and this day I repented maybe of
a whole family legacy of greed

1274
01:00:13,167 --> 01:00:15,917
"and bad stewardship.

1275
01:00:16,000 --> 01:00:20,625
"And I let wealth go by me
that wasn't to be mine,

1276
01:00:20,667 --> 01:00:24,292
"and I took wealth that was
entrusted to me and I gave it

1277
01:00:24,333 --> 01:00:27,917
as the Lord intended, and I
did it as an act of worship."

1278
01:00:28,000 --> 01:00:30,917
And some of you would say,
"Oh, so you want the money

1279
01:00:31,000 --> 01:00:32,333
in my hand?"

1280
01:00:32,375 --> 01:00:36,417
No, what I really want is
the idol in your heart.

1281
01:00:36,500 --> 01:00:40,000
And sometimes, God is not asking
to get the money

1282
01:00:40,083 --> 01:00:42,000
out of your hand.

1283
01:00:42,083 --> 01:00:45,000
He's testing to reveal
the idol in your heart.

1284
01:00:45,042 --> 01:00:49,625
God is good, and
everything he asks is good.

1285
01:00:49,667 --> 01:00:52,417
And what see here is
the people then rejoiced.

1286
01:00:52,500 --> 01:00:54,625
They throw a party.

1287
01:00:54,667 --> 01:00:57,917
Now, how many of you would throw
a party because you got rich?

1288
01:00:58,000 --> 01:00:59,833
How many of you
would throw a party

1289
01:00:59,875 --> 01:01:02,000
because you didn't get rich?

1290
01:01:02,083 --> 01:01:04,625
You're like, "I didn't
win the lottery!

1291
01:01:04,667 --> 01:01:08,167
Come on over!
We're going to celebrate!"

1292
01:01:08,250 --> 01:01:10,500
What?

1293
01:01:10,583 --> 01:01:15,917
Because God is my treasure
and God is enough.

1294
01:01:16,000 --> 01:01:18,167
And if he saved
me and my family,

1295
01:01:18,250 --> 01:01:21,417
that's the greatest gift of all
and I can't get any richer than

1296
01:01:21,500 --> 01:01:24,917
I already am.

1297
01:01:25,000 --> 01:01:27,292
And God's people rejoice.

1298
01:01:27,333 --> 01:01:30,500
They throw a huge party to
celebrate the fact that

1299
01:01:30,542 --> 01:01:33,083
they didn't get rich.

1300
01:01:33,167 --> 01:01:35,083
It's a great reversal.

1301
01:01:35,167 --> 01:01:39,000
It's a great reversal, and that
is, friends, how our God works.

1302
01:01:39,083 --> 01:01:40,875
Let me give you
the simple equation.

1303
01:01:40,958 --> 01:01:44,333
Reversals, here's how they work.

1304
01:01:44,375 --> 01:01:48,083
Repentance from us plus
reversals from God

1305
01:01:48,167 --> 01:01:49,875
equal rejoicing.

1306
01:01:49,958 --> 01:01:51,333
Okay?

1307
01:01:51,375 --> 01:01:54,083
So, repentance from us:
"God, I'm wrong, I'm sorry."

1308
01:01:54,167 --> 01:01:56,500
Reversals from God:
"I'm going to show up

1309
01:01:56,583 --> 01:01:59,500
and do something amazing."

1310
01:01:59,583 --> 01:02:03,500
Equals rejoicing
among God's people.

1311
01:02:03,542 --> 01:02:06,917
These people are not
richer, they're happier.

1312
01:02:07,000 --> 01:02:10,583
They're not more secure in
their earthly possessions,

1313
01:02:10,667 --> 01:02:14,208
but they're more certain
of their eternal security.

1314
01:02:14,292 --> 01:02:20,417
They don't have a lot of things
to show this great victory,

1315
01:02:20,500 --> 01:02:26,625
but they have a lot of joy
knowing the love of God.

1316
01:02:26,667 --> 01:02:28,417
And this is how God works.

1317
01:02:28,500 --> 01:02:30,167
He works through reversals.

1318
01:02:30,250 --> 01:02:32,375
So, let me close with this.

1319
01:02:32,458 --> 01:02:34,917
Jesus is a better reversal.

1320
01:02:35,000 --> 01:02:38,083
This is how God works.

1321
01:02:38,167 --> 01:02:44,208
Mordecai was powerless and Haman
was powerful, but in a reversal,

1322
01:02:44,292 --> 01:02:50,167
Mordecai became powerful
and Haman became powerless.

1323
01:02:50,250 --> 01:02:54,292
Haman wanted to kill Mordecai
and be paraded like a king,

1324
01:02:54,333 --> 01:02:57,667
but in a reversal, Haman got
killed and Mordecai

1325
01:02:57,750 --> 01:03:00,500
was paraded like a king.

1326
01:03:00,542 --> 01:03:03,917
Haman built a gallows for
Mordecai, but in a reversal,

1327
01:03:04,000 --> 01:03:07,292
got hung on his own gallows.

1328
01:03:07,333 --> 01:03:10,417
God's people were sentenced
to death, but in a reversal,

1329
01:03:10,500 --> 01:03:13,208
they put their enemies to death.

1330
01:03:13,292 --> 01:03:16,208
God's people went from
mourning and fasting,

1331
01:03:16,292 --> 01:03:22,000
in a great reversal,
to rejoicing and feasting.

1332
01:03:22,083 --> 01:03:24,333
Let's take it to another level.

1333
01:03:24,375 --> 01:03:28,292
Mankind wanted to become
like God, but in a reversal,

1334
01:03:28,333 --> 01:03:31,792
God became a man.

1335
01:03:31,833 --> 01:03:35,125
The Son of God lived in riches
and glory, but in a reversal,

1336
01:03:35,167 --> 01:03:39,125
came in poverty and humility.

1337
01:03:39,167 --> 01:03:42,500
We were destined to die for
our sins, but in a reversal,

1338
01:03:42,583 --> 01:03:47,708
our God died in our
place for our sins.

1339
01:03:47,792 --> 01:03:51,917
We are without righteousness
and with sin, but in a reversal,

1340
01:03:52,000 --> 01:03:56,917
Jesus took our sins
and gave us his righteousness.

1341
01:03:57,000 --> 01:03:59,500
Our sin brought us
death, but in a reversal,

1342
01:03:59,542 --> 01:04:02,667
Jesus' death brought us life.

1343
01:04:02,750 --> 01:04:05,667
Jesus died and was buried,
but in a reversal,

1344
01:04:05,750 --> 01:04:09,208
he rose to defeat death.

1345
01:04:09,292 --> 01:04:13,500
And lastly, Jesus returned
to heaven, but in a reversal,

1346
01:04:13,542 --> 01:04:16,708
is coming again to
reverse the curse.

1347
01:04:16,792 --> 01:04:23,083
Join me in prayer.

1348
01:04:23,167 --> 01:04:25,708
For those of you who
are the children of God,

1349
01:04:25,792 --> 01:04:28,625
your reversal is guaranteed.

1350
01:04:28,667 --> 01:04:33,500
The Lord Jesus will return and
the world that rejected him,

1351
01:04:33,542 --> 01:04:37,000
in a great reversal,
will be ruled by him.

1352
01:04:37,083 --> 01:04:43,000
On that day of ultimate,
eternal, irrevocable reversal,

1353
01:04:43,083 --> 01:04:45,500
the sick will be
made well by Jesus,

1354
01:04:45,583 --> 01:04:49,167
the lame will run to Jesus,
the blind will see Jesus,

1355
01:04:49,250 --> 01:04:53,333
the deaf will hear Jesus, the
hungry will dine with Jesus,

1356
01:04:53,375 --> 01:04:56,583
the weeping will be
embraced by Jesus,

1357
01:04:56,667 --> 01:04:59,083
the poor will be
rich with Jesus,

1358
01:04:59,167 --> 01:05:01,500
the humble will be
raised with Jesus,

1359
01:05:01,542 --> 01:05:04,708
the victims will get
justice through Jesus,

1360
01:05:04,792 --> 01:05:09,583
and the dead will
rise to be with Jesus.

1361
01:05:09,667 --> 01:05:13,125
Lord God, we thank you that
a reversal has occurred

1362
01:05:13,167 --> 01:05:17,125
at the cross, and that
reversals come in our life,

1363
01:05:17,167 --> 01:05:21,625
and for all of your children,
a great reversal awaits us

1364
01:05:21,667 --> 01:05:24,583
at the end of this life
in the second coming

1365
01:05:24,667 --> 01:05:27,000
of the Lord Jesus.

1366
01:05:27,042 --> 01:05:31,833
I pray for my friends, Lord God,
that there would be repentance,

1367
01:05:31,875 --> 01:05:34,917
starting with the men.

1368
01:05:35,000 --> 01:05:39,667
And I pray that that repentance
would ring for generations,

1369
01:05:39,750 --> 01:05:43,500
that our sons
and our grandsons,

1370
01:05:43,583 --> 01:05:46,917
our daughters
and our granddaughters,

1371
01:05:47,000 --> 01:05:53,542
and our wives would see
men who are repentant,

1372
01:05:54,583 --> 01:05:58,500
that they would see
Jesus do a reversal

1373
01:05:58,583 --> 01:06:00,833
so that we might have rejoicing.

1374
01:06:00,875 --> 01:06:02,542
In Jesus' good name, amen.