Esther

Good morning. Someone in the

room has picked up my clicker, and the

loft is telling me you were clicking it during worship and they were trying to

combat your clicks with theirs. Does anybody

have my clicker?

All right, well, if it is you, I love you

very much.

You're joining us here today on Livestream. Thank you for joining us.

God is so faithful, guys. God is good. He is here. Amen.

He's here. He's been moving. And I am so excited about

what the Lord's doing in this place. Before we get up and rolling

here, we wanted to do something. So about

six, probably, I don't remember, it was maybe eight weeks ago or

so. We made the announcement that

there's going to be a transition in our youth group with the youth

leadership. And today officially marks James and Dana

last Sunday as our youth pastors. Guys,

can we show our appreciation for the faithfulness of James and Dana

and the way they've served so well?

Yeah.

We have undergone many youth transitions here at the church,

and let me tell you, this is one of the

better ones, because here's the thing. James and Dana are

family, and they're moving into a greater joy. And I am

excited for what the Lord has got in front of them. It's going to be

a wildly amazing, amazing ride.

God is always in the business of saving the best for now,

and I believe he's got incredible things for our youth ahead.

So under the charge of Doug and Jody Jones

with the leadership team that's going to be taking us forward, please come

forward up here. We're going to pray over you guys.

When I knew about

the transition and when it was happening, I began to go to the Lord and

I asked the Lord specifically, would you supply five

married couples who are strong in the Lord? And guys, can I tell

you, he's answered that prayer. We have an incredible group that is

going to be sowing into the lives of the teens here. And I am

so. I'm so thrilled that the Lord has called you. I

firsthand know what it is to be in youth ministry and to walk this

journey. And I'm excited to see all of the stories that come.

This is definitely a part of the greatest stories ever told. Yes. So

if you are a youth group member, if you'll come and you're going to

lay hands on these guys. And would I have any of the elders and staff,

if you'll come and lay hands on these guys. And with the rest of you,

stand and stretch your hands this way.

Father, we are grateful for what you're doing in this place. We are thankful,

Lord, that you have charged these individuals, God, for

the task of leading the next generation. I pray, Lord, that you

would put a hedge of protection around their homes. I pray that you would anoint

each one. I pray, Lord, that you would pave the path, Father God. And Lord,

that you would make the things that are distractors go away, Father,

but everything that's of you would stick. I pray for a continuous shift

in our youth, Lord, as they posture their hearts for you, God. I

thank you, Lord, that there's going to be salvations, there's going to be baptisms in

the Holy Spirit, Lord. I thank you, Lord that your move is going to be

mighty in the next generation through these, God. So Lord, protect

them, use them, raise them up, anoint them, Lord. We're thankful, Lord,

for their service, God. We're thankful for the way that you're going to increase,

Lord, and you're going to build upon what has already been laid. We love you,

God. We're thankful, Lord, that you're going before us. Help us keep our eyes fixed

on you. In Jesus name and everybody said amen.

Amen, guys. Be in prayer for our youth and our

youth leadership as they move into this next season of

youth ministry together.

And speaking of youth ministry,

midweek gatherings start on August 7th. They start on August

7th. And so do encourage you to make a point

on Thursday nights from 6 to 7 to come and be a part of

the series here in the ministry center. Pastor Barbee's gonna be leading a series

called the Eye of the Needle. And it's gonna be rich. It's gonna be

good. So as you have capacity in your calendars and your space for the week,

make, make a point to come and be a part of this special worship time

together. Youth ministries, kids ministries will be up and running. We'll have more information about

that on the app. And then in addition to that,

if you've gone to Lowe's or Hobby Lobby or Walmart, you'll know Christmas is

among us. And therefore, we are having

auditions for A Christmas Carol. Auditions for A Christmas Carol.

Now, why, you ask, am I mentioning this? Because I'm gonna be

directing this bad boy and I'm excited about

it. But there's three specific reasons why I wanted to bring this up. Number one,

I want you all to know as the pastor here, I

overtly, intentionally support and believe

in the mission of our arts outreach here at Springhouse. I

believe in the purpose, and I believe the Lord

has given us a gift of being able to do this

for the community. It's definitely an outreach vein. And so I overtly

support it. So I can't think of a better way to do it than to

need and want to get involved. And so I'm gonna be directing this show.

Second, I wanted to do something that my entire family could be a part

of. And that's sometimes a misnomer, a misunderstood thing. If you

have a family and you want to do something together, the theater's a great place

to get plugged in. Cause there's something for all of you to do. And so

if you've got a family, you want to do something for Christma, we

invite you along the journey and then three along the lines. Here

is, I want this to be a potential door

for some of you who have never been introduced to the theater. Maybe because of

my involvement, you might see that as a pathway to kind of step in and

figure out what this whole theater thing is about. Now you might say to me,

kevin, I'll act. And I sure enough don't sing. Okay,

where's a place for me in the theater? We've got tons of space for

you in the theater. Maybe you can help backstage with props. Can you hand out

a program? Can you hold a door? Can you help build a set? Those

types of things. Now, my hope is that now the theater's done a great job

reaching out to the community. And we've got a lot of shows that have happened

that have had community involvement, including actors and those types of things.

My hope is that we have a good Spring House representation

in this particular show. And so I want to personally invite you, if

you're interested, to audition. And also if you just want to be involved

at some level, come and see me or see Pastor Will and we'll get you

involved and you'll be a part, a touch point of

our arts outreach here at Spring House. That sound good? If so,

all right. We are going to be talking about Esther today.

Esther today. And Justin. Pastor Justin doesn't like

Esther, so he left it off of the lineup for the reading. He

just said, I have a problem with that Esther girl. No kidding. We only read

one chapter a day, and so we only could fit so many things

on that thing. Esther is a beautiful, wonderful, redeeming story.

It's a great story. I encourage you to read it. Now, I could be

up here and do a botched up job of telling you the story. But before

I got married, my wife had a dream. She had a dream

she would marry a good looking pastor. No she. No,

she had a dream that she had a daughter, and the Lord

gave her the name Hadassah. Now, Hadassah is Esther's

Hebrew name. If you've read the story, you see that in there. And I thought,

hey, why not have Hadassah come and share the story of Esther with you? Would

you guys welcome Hadassah o' day.

The story of Esther begins with King Xerxes.

And he wanted to show off his kingdom and all the riches in it. So

for 180 days, which is half a year, he showed off his kingdom. And

at the end of that time, he threw a banquet. And his

wife, Queen Vashti, also threw a banquet for all the women.

During the banquet, the king wanted Queen Vashti to come

out in her crown and show everyone how beautiful she was.

But she refused. So the king kicked her out.

Then he wanted a new queen. So he asked

one of his workers to get all of the beautiful virgins

and to bring them to his castle. And they had to have a

year of beauty treatments before they could see the king.

And then there was a girl named Tadasa who went by

Esther, and she

had favor with everyone that she that saw her, including

the king. So she was chosen to be the new queen,

and her cousin Mordecai adopted

her because she didn't have any parents.

So Mordecai would normally

sit out of what they called the king's gate.

And one day, because he was sitting out there, he.

They overheard two of the guards making a plan to assassinate the

king. So he reported it to Esther, and Esther reported it to the

king, but he didn't get anything for it

yet.

Then a few years later, Haman comes in,

and the king gives him great honor, and he makes a

law that whenever he passes by, you're supposed to bow down to him.

So everyone did that, but Mordecai, he.

Mordecai, refused to do that. So Haman hated

Mordecai a lot. And

so the king, he convinced the king that all Jews were

bad because he discovered that Mordecai was a Jew. So he just decided to

hate all the Jews. So once he convinced the king that

all the Jews were bad, then the king let him write

a law saying that all the Jews would be

killed on the 13th day of the 12 month.

Okay? And then Mordecai, once he heard about

the law, he put on sackcloth and sat outside the king's gate.

And Esther heard about it. He sent. She sent him clothes,

but he refused. And she asked him why she was

so sad. He was so sad. And

he told her. He told the messenger that she sent him about

the law. The messenger told her about the law. And then

she said, we needed to do something about this. And Mordecai

said, go see the king. But back then, it was illegal to

go into the king's presence uninvited unless

he held out his golden scepter, which meant that

he'll spare her life. And

Esther was like, I can't do this because I could die. But then

Mordecai was like, this is why you have become queen, to save your people.

So she said, fast for me for three days. Don't drink or eat anything,

and I will go to the king.

So on the third day, Esther went to the king, and

he held out his golden scepter. And he said,

like, what do you want? You can have up to half of my kingdom.

And she asked him to

go to a banquet that she set up for him and bring Haman

also. So they did. And

the king asked her again, what do you want? Like, up to half of my

kingdom you can have. And she said, come again tomorrow

to another banquet, and then I'll tell you. So

that that night, Haman went home

really happy. And then he saw Mordecai,

who didn't have any fear when he. When Haman was passing by

him. So he really got mad. And then he decided

that in the morning he was going to tell the king

that Mordecai needed to be killed.

But that night the king couldn't sleep, so he had

the king's chronicles brought to him, which is like a book

of stuff that he did. And

it got to the part where Mordecai saved him from being assassinated.

And the king asked, who's.

What has he gotten for this? And the person reading it to him said,

nothing. So the king asked him, who's in the castle?

And then Haman was in the castle or palace. And then

he said, bring Haman in here. So

he asked him, and what should I do to

a man I highly honor? And Haman thought it was

himself. So he said,

let him ride on a horse that the king has ridden on and give him

a robe that the king has worn, and let someone honor. This

is what is done to the man that the king honors. And

then the king said, go do that to Mordecai.

So, and Haman himself yelled out, this is what

is done to the man that the king honors.

And then after that, he went home and he told his family about

what happened to him. And he's very upset about it. And then

the guards rush him to the queen's banquet,

which then the king asks Esther,

what do you want? You can have up to half of my kingdom. And he

says, please spare the lives of me and all my people, because someone

has tried to kill us all and is going to kill

us soon. And he's like, well, who is

that? Where is he? And she said, haman.

So Haman fell at her feet and started begging her

for his life while the king went to go get guards for Haman, because he

became really mad. And then when the

king returned, he thought Haman was attacking the queen. So

he said, are you even going to attack my queen in front of my eyes?

Then Haman, that

night also, like the night before, set up something

to kill Mordecai on. So

the thing that he set up to kill Mordecai on, he was killed on

that night. Then the loss,

the law was sealed with the king's ring that all of them would die,

all of the Jews would die. But so you can't, like,

undo that law. Not even the king can. So Esther went up to him

again and he held out his gold scepter and said, like, what do you

want? Up to half of my kingdom? And she said,

please try to do something to spare me and my people's lives.

So he let Mordecai write a law. And that law said that

on that day the Jews were allowed to defend themselves and

the Jews won.

Then

they made a holiday called

Purim that the Jews still celebrate. And

at the end of that, Mordecai was given

Haman's job, and he was now second in command over

all of Persia.

Stan, let me give you a blessed. No, I'm kidding.

I love when our youth and our kids know the word of God. I

love when they know the word of God. Do you know the word of God?

You're part of the greatest stories ever told. And part of

that is us knowing the stories as they are told and

being able to share them with others. Would you stand with me? We're going to

read a verse from Romans, from the

message version. Let's read it with some gusto this morning. Here's what

I want you to do. God helping you take

your everyday, ordinary life, your sleeping,

eating, going to work and walking around life,

and place it before God as an offering. Don't

become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit

into it without even thinking. Instead, fix

your attention on God. You'll be changed from the

inside out, readily Recognize what he wants

from you and quickly respond to it. Unlike the

culture around you, always dragging you down to its

level of immaturity. God brings the best out of

you, develops wealth or maturity in you. Father, thank

you for your word. I thank you that it brings life. Transform our hearts today

with it. In Jesus name and everybody say amen. You may be

seated. This morning in the presence of the Lord. Hey, we have a tendency to

want to gravitate to bigger and better things. Is that true? We have a tendency

to see something and be in somewhere or evaluate something. If something

better comes along, we say, I want that. I want that better thing. I want

that new thing. I want something with excellence. Something great. Okay, so

let's look at some examples here. Okay, so we got A and B. What are

you choosing? A. Definitely A.

Okay, what about. What about this? A, the car, the

clunker. Okay. A. Okay,

mansion or A. Yeah, which hotel?

Okay. All right, what about this one?

Okay, now wait a second.

If you didn't choose A, we're going to have a prayer for

you at the end of the gathering. No, but we want to gravitate

to greater things. We want to gravitate to excellence. We want to

gravitate to those things that seem to

move in an upward position. Okay. We tend to, if we have a choice, we're

like man. We want to take a part of those greater things. And you're part

of the greatest story ever told. But part of what makes your story great

is this. It's about other people.

It's not about you. And ultimately it's about

Christ. It's about Christ using you

to influence other people, to show other

people his love.

We like greater things. I like great things. Is it okay to desire

great things? Absolutely. It's okay to desire

greater things. But God never put you here on this planet

to build a big old empire for yourself.

And so in our greater things, it is always about pouring out for the

benefit of the kingdom. Every kingdom story starts with

a kingdom setup. Every kingdom story

starts with a kingdom setup.

Many of you know I worked at Chick Fil A for many years.

And I'll tell you every position that I've held in my life. Every position,

no matter what it is, I always say, felt that it was my forever position.

I never really knew better or not. Maybe I wasn't good enough to forward think.

I know that there are seminars and places where you go where you sow into,

like, let me get my life plan together for what I'm going to be. But

every Position I had. I was going to own a Chick Fil a. Some of

you in here wrote letters on my behalf asking them

to let me own that Smyrna Chick Fil a when it was being built. I

mean, that was going to be the trajectory of my life. That's where I was

when I did Chick Fil A. Well, I started Chick Fil A when I was

14. And in that sense, in that season of working at Chick Fil a,

man, I learned how to run a business.

In my season at Chick Fil A, I learned how to manage people. I learned

how to work with people. I learned

how to be a part of education. They flew me into

Atlanta and I would teach classes on marketing and those types of things.

And I started a ministry at Chick Fil A. And the Lord taught me about

how to pastor people and meet people where they are. Well,

lo and behold, there would come a point when the Lord wanted to transition me

out of the season of Chick Fil A into what's next. I

guys, I run and operate a school. I pastor this church. And I need every

one of these things to do those things. Let me tell you something. God has

something going on in your life right now that is a setup for you,

for whatever's next, whatever he's got going on in your life right

now. The kingdom. The kingdom is always going to start. The kingdom story in

your life is always going to start with a kingdom setup. So you

may be in a situation or a place or a circumstance in your life. You

may be working for somebody or not working for somebody or in a relationship, not

in a relationship. And I want you to understand that there is purpose in everything

that you're touching right now. There's purpose in everything you're touching. There are

no coincidences. I believe in the kingdom of God. And so are

you paying attention? Are you paying attention to your story? I

wanna ask this question as we start today. And I want you to hold it

in the back of your mind. Cause we're gonna bring it back up at the

end of today. And it is this. What part do

you play in the story that's being written about your life?

What part do you play in the story that's being

written about your life? Esther

Esther 4:14

4:14 says, and who knows whether you have not come to

the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther

is there, and she is literally in probably the best position

she's ever been in, man. Her mom and

dad died. We don't know the story. We know that they died. She's Been

living with her cousin Mordecai. Mordecai has been kind of leading

her and whatnot. And here she is. The king has found favor

upon her, and now she is the queen. The best position of her life.

Some of you in this room would say right now, you are in the best

position of your life. Can I tell you

something?

Anytime God elevates you. Anytime God gives you something, anytime

God bestows favor upon you, he looks for you to surrender

it right away. He looks for you to surrender it

right away. Esther, Queen Esther

asked, has a choice in front of her. Asked to

surrender her position right away. She didn't have to. And guess what?

You don't have to. But it's what God

requires. God is the author of every

good thing that happens in your life. Your setting is

not random. Your placement is not purpose, is purposeful.

God is always looking to use people who are paying

attention. Jack, are you paying attention this morning?

Will, are you paying attention this morning? Tasha, are you paying attention this morning? Not

just to this message I'm asking you. Are you paying attention to the part that

you are playing in your story right now? Or are you so

discouraged, so upset, so worried, so anxious, so

distraught at what seemingly the Lord is allowing to happen in your life that

you're not paying attention to the God lessons inside it?

Because for every hurt, let me tell you something. I haven't really grown

much through all the joyful parts of my life. I love the joyful parts of

my life. Where I've grown is where the pain is, where the hurt is,

where the stuff gets muddy. That's where I've grown. That's where I've learned the

most. So I would say to you, those of you who are in a situation

where you're like, man, I just feel stuck. God's got you stuck

because he's wanting you to become more like Him. He's wanting you to look a

whole lot more like him. Are you

paying attention? Sometimes I think that we forget to ask,

why am I here at this appointed time?

Why am I here at this appointed time? Why am I in this

relationship right now? Why am I. Why am I

in this workplace right now? Why am I involved with this ministry

at this point in time? And the opposite is true. Why am I not

in that relationship anymore? Why am I not in that

workplace anymore? Why am I not in that ministry anymore? All of these

questions. I think a why question is an excellent question to

ask the Creator of the universe. And he has answers for you. He has

answers for You. Why? Why am I here at this

appointed time? I believe the God of the universe is moving on your

every single day. He's moving every single day. And if you will just look to

see his sovereign hand, you will find it. He says if you look and find

me, seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Draw close to him.

He'll draw close to you. Look for his fingerprints on your life every

day, and he will reveal something to you. Are you

listening? Are we paying attention? Some of

my closest friendships, had I shown up in their life 15

years ago, there's no way in the world that we would be as close as

we are today.

Seasons. Seasons. I used to think that

seasons were forever. But, guys, can I tell you, seasons are temporary.

So whether you are on the mountaintop or in the valley right now, you got

a temporary season in front of you. What's God doing in it? Are you paying

attention? His fingerprints are there. You can trust him.

Listen, God does not have to be obvious to be

omnipresent. God does not have to be obvious to

be present. Some of us listen. This is

some strong truth I'm giving you this morning, okay? Some of

you have not moved forward in your momentum with

God because you are awaiting him to open the skies and

speak to you in a miraculously loud

voice so that you know that what you're doing is what you're supposed to

do. Now, let me tell you over in Timothy, it tells us that God has

not given us a spirit of fear and, but he has given us

power, love, and a sound mind. Everybody say sound

mind. You have been given a sound

mind. You have been given a sound mind. The Bible also tells us.

The Bible also tells us in Corinthians, it says we have been given

the mind of Christ. Say the mind of Christ. You've been given the mind

of Christ. It also says in Psalm 37 that the steps of a

righteous man are ordered by the Lord. Steps of

the righteous are ordered by the Lord. Can I tell you this morning that

sometimes God's not looking to give you some miraculous

audio. Audible is what I'm trying to say. Audible

voice to get you to move. He's just waiting for you to have the

courage enough to take the next step based on the sound mind he's given

you. Listen, he's equipped you with everything that you need.

Some of us are just remaining still and not moving forward because we are

waiting for something that's not gonna happen. God's just saying, I'm here, I'm

given you Everything you need. Listen, I've had people who have decided to

allow their families to starve because they're waiting for God to open

up that one position, that one thing. They're waiting on a voice. Let me tell

you something. My family's starving. I will flip burgers like the best of them and

do it with such excellence while I'm making money waiting on God to open up

that next thing.

Guys, we use the word common sense. It's not so

common. Okay, it's not so common. But

here's the thing. If you love the Lord God with all your heart, soul and

mind, he will order your steps. Take the next

step. Some of you need to take this today. You need to take a step

of faith. I need to take a step of faith to a

reconciliation in a relationship. I need to take a step of faith on that job

front. I need to take a step of faith in giving that money away that

I've been holding onto. Take a step of

faith. Use what he's given you. He's given you a sound mind. He's

ordering. He's ordering your steps. He's ordering your

steps. I love to tell you guys as your pastor, that majority of my

decisions are the sky opening moments where a voice is coming down and the dove

is descending and I'm just standing in a light.

But that rarely happens. Never has that happened to me.

I've been given the mind of Christ.

I think it's very important that we are careful when we say, God told me.

God told me. And sometimes, just because we're moving so fast,

we're not thinking about what we're saying. We're just taking the next

step on the journey with a sound mind. Because my steps

are ordered. And we will tag it with God told me. Let's reserve God

told me for those moments when he audibly speaks to us.

Right when he audibly speaks to us. Guys, move. Take the next step.

Everybody in the room, take the next step. Unless he has said

to you, unless you really feel impressed that he told you to be still, Take

the next step. Do you know that we serve a God who knows how to

slam doors in your face? See, we want him to open

doors up, but, boy, take the next step. Let him slam a door in your

face. I've been hit in the nose, Barbie, so many times

by slammed doors. But guess what? Learn by those slam doors instead

of trying to fly through open ones that I never was supposed to fly through.

The greatest part of your story won't be what you accomplish,

but who you lay your life down for. The greatest

part of your story won't be what you accomplish, but who

you lay your life down for. Kurt and I were at lunch

yesterday and he was talking and sharing some things about

outreach. I was talking and sharing some things about outreach. We didn't plan to meet

about outreach. We just met to hang out, right? And so we met to

hang out. And all of a sudden in that conversation, we started to see, like,

puzzle pieces come together as we were

paying attention to what was going on in

that moment. Those types of connections happen

all the time. If you're paying attention,

why is this conversation happening? What's God wanting to do in the

middle of this? I encourage you. You know, I've been, you know, when I go

out to eat, I realize that not everybody is accustomed to praying before

you eat, you know, but when the people are with the pastor and they put

something in their mouth and they feel so bad, you know, whenever I'm sitting there,

I like to let somebody take a bite and then say, would you pray for

us? And. But I don't just

pray to bless the food. I pray to invite the presence of

the Holy Spirit for there to be an awareness

that he's there so that our conversation not only could be

centered on him, but we could pay attention to what he's doing in that

dialogue. The greatest part of your story

won't be what you accomplish, but who you laid your life down

for. Esther didn't save a nation by playing it safe, and neither will

we. Esther risked everything. Her position, her peace,

her life, all for her people.

God's assignments always involve people

because his heart always involves

love.

And guys, sometimes I can't stand it. But do

you ever notice that God rarely calls you to love easy people?

He calls you to love like Him. And I found that the greatest

parts of my story, my growth and becoming more like him, involve people

I'd rather avoid or ignore.

And maybe that's your story, too. Boy, if we had

to cherry, if we just got to cherry pick the people that we just hung

out with and just say, well, this is all the people I'm going to be

associated with, there would be a lot of lonely, left out people,

probably a lot of people who wouldn't know the Lord. Probably a lot of the

people wouldn't look like the Lord either. I need the people that he's

placed in my life because in the season that

I'm in, the people that are there are supposed to be there to sharpen me.

So that why so I look more like him.

Relationship is the soil where courage takes root

and sacrifice bears fruit. And we see this evidence in the

choices that Esther makes on behalf of her people, on behalf of

others. God didn't create us to build empires. He

created us to love. Esther shows the

heart of faith, love expressed through sacrifice. Over in

John 15, Jesus says, this greater love has no

one than this. To lay down one's life for one's

friends. Well, how do we do that?

That takes, I believe, a step of faith. Well, over in James chapter two, it

says, this faith by itself, if it's not accompanied by action,

is dead. This tells me that love requires.

Love requires you to do something.

But what we like to do is we like to say, I love you,

but I don't mean it. We don't say that last part, I love

you. I'll send you a text message, I love you, but my actions

do not meet my words.

Guys, as believers, we should be the example.

We should be the example of what it really means to say

I love you. And when somebody says that,

a believer says that, it's as if they're looking at Christ

saying, hey, I'm willing to give it up for you.

I'm willing to give it up for you.

Esther was in the greatest position of her life,

and it's just like God to plop into the midst of such favor and ask

you to give it all up for him, because he wants first place in

our lives. So Mordecai, her

cousin, asked Esther, Esther, go to the king,

and risking her life, she chooses to obey.

I believe that the enemy of obedience is

rarely fear. Sometimes we're like, I don't want to obey because I'm fear. I

don't think it's fear. I think it's comfortable.

The enemy of obedience is comfort. You may be

living right now a life full of God's favor. And your prayer

is, more, Lord. More, Lord, give me more, Lord. And there's an

overflow. I don't have any problem with that prayer, but can I tell you, favor

was never meant to make you comfortable. It was meant to make you

useful. It's meant to make you useful for his

kingdom, your comfort. Listen to this. May

be the greatest threat to someone else's freedom.

Your comfort may be the greatest threat to

someone else's freedom. See, here's the thing.

Comfort. Whispers, stay safe

while calling. Whispers, step out

and only one of those voices will write your legacy.

I believe that comfort zones are the graveyards of kingdom

impact. We pass by this banner every Sunday, when you

come in church, we pass by this banner right here. Now, it's a little small

on the screen, but it's that second one right there. It says, tears for the

lost. Tears for the lost. Some of you

look up there like, I forgot that was out there. And that's my point.

The three things we've been asking the Lord for this year. Answered prayers. We've been

sharing testimonies every Sunday. For the last little bit here, I've been hearing answered prayers

like crazy. It's been great. Hunger for the Word. I've been so encouraged

by Springhouse becoming a Bible believing church, a Bible

reading church, Bible literate church. But guys,

what about tears for the lost?

What about tears for the lost? We can celebrate our answered prayers all day

long. We can grow a hunger for the Word. But we are commissioned by

faith to love people. At a point where we have tears for the

lost. Might I suggest to you this morning. Now, sometimes

it's actual real tears, okay? But I'm talking about a heart

position. If you don't have tears for the lost, might I

suggest you're too comfortable. If you're

walking by people who are on their way to hell every single day,

separated from the God of the universe and have no relationship with him

and you're content and fine with that, and you're content with

going after your stuff, building your empire, you

are too comfortable and dare I say, be

careful that the Holy Spirit of God will yank that right from you.

That's not a threat. He's not a manipulative God. I'm saying

that the reason he would entrust you with the favor he's given you is not

so that you can build a cushy life for yourself.

Where's our tears for the lost?

I have to believe that Esther, in the middle of her posh circumstance,

had tears for her people who were going to die,

had tears for the people. Her very people couldn't believe that

this was going to happen to them.

Hebrews 11:6 says, without faith, it is impossible to please

Hebrews 11:6

God. I want to be a believer who pleases God.

Guys, without faith, it's impossible for me to please him. Without faith, it's

impossible for me to be saved. Without faith, it's impossible for me to lead

anybody else to the Lord. I need faith and I want to be a

pleaser of my Father. Anybody want to join me in that?

You can either protect your comfort or step into your calling,

but you can't do both. And it takes faith to do so.

I believe Esther could have enjoyed her position and said, you know what? This is

not my problem. It's not my problem.

And it would have been an accurate response

because she's the queen. Hey, I don't live there anymore with them.

It's not my problem. And, man, I hate to admit

this, but there's some times in our lives when we are saying, it's not my

problem.

If the Lord exposes it to you, guess what?

No coincidences in the kingdom.

We would rather avoid. We would rather walk

away. We want to just say, let somebody else do that. It's in.

That's the biggest. It's inconvenient. I

think the enemy's greatest ploy right now, today

is the art of distraction. Let me just distract you. I'll distract you. I'll distract

you. You ever been in a

conversation with somebody and they were more entertained by their phone than what you were

saying? I'm guilty.

Esther could have said, it's not my problem, but she didn't. She loved her

people. Listen to this. She loved her people to the point of death.

And this is what the crux of what I'm trying to get out today in

the message. I will always bring a message that points us to Jesus and

points us to one another in love. Here's the thing. She was

motivated by the love that she had for her people. Now, I.

Yes, we may actually be called to actually physically die for somebody, okay,

that might be a thing. But, man, laying down our pride,

laying down our ego, laying down our stuff, laying down

our will, laying down our everything for somebody else,

it's the greatest. It's part of the greatest part of love that we can have.

And it could ripple into the greatest part of your story. If you'll allow the

Lord to move, if you'll walk in enough humility to allow

him to do something, to unlock something. If

love doesn't lead you to a cross, it's not the love

of Jesus. If love doesn't lead you

to a cross, it's not the love. Jesus modeled

worship team, you can make your way back out here. We think it's about being

kind and smiling and just

saying, I love you. I love you.

It's saying, I choose you over

myself. And that's hard,

Jessica. That's hard because I like to choose myself,

Cole. That's hard. I like to choose Kevin. Hannah. I like to choose me

numero uno. But, man, love.

In my story, Ben, when it comes to love, I want it to be.

I remember that time when Kevin had a choice to do that.

But he sacrificed and did this instead. And it benefited me.

It means I want to lay down myself and you might not

reciprocate. And I need to be okay with that because I'm

not in it to get something. I'm in it for the outflow of the

love of Christ in my life.

I want this love. This love needs to be over. My pride. We talked all

week. How's the pride walk going for everybody? That did not

sound good. Scratch that. How's your pride? How's your

pride? How's your pride? Get, get. Stay focused

here. Pride, pride.

It'll pull your focus real fast because it focuses on you

over my stuff. Guys,

some of us have too much stuff. Can I just be real?

And we are distracted by continually updating

our stuff. I need to redo this room. I need to redo

this thing. I need to update this thing because I got so much stuff. And

then I got to clean up all the stuff that gets messy and cluttered and

all this stuff and we're focused. Stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff. Stuff. Tears

for the lost. Tears for the lost. Tears for lost. Gets pushed to the side.

Stuff. Some of you are so

rich and you're keeping it the biggest secret for anybody

else. You got so many zeros in that bank account and you're like, I'm set

for life. And yes, I am. Haman was like, look

at me, look at me. Look what I've got.

I am so glad that you got to come in my presence today, Tina.

Lucky you.

And then look, Lord takes it away.

It's all going to be destroyed. My goodness.

Esther decided in her heart what to do and she responded

with a love answer that said, if I perish,

I perish. I want you to think for a second

in your relationships with your spouse, your friends,

whomever, work, co workers, Just think for a minute. Let's just take just a

second. I'm going to be silent for a second here. When was the last time,

genuinely, you had a heart posture that said, if I

perish, I perish, but I'm going to love

you like Christ. Think about that for a second. When was the last time

Jesus is the greater Esther? He stepped

into our brokenness, not just by risking his life, but

giving all of it. Guys, all of

scripture, the greatest stories ever told. Every bit of this

book points to this kind of love. Sacrificial

and redemptive. Sacrificial and

redemptive. It's how we are supposed to live our lives.

Sometimes with the teenagers at the school, I will have

said something to them 40,000 times. And then one other

voice comes along and they say the exact same thing. And it's as if they

heard it for the very first time. Okay,

can I tell you something? If you paid attention? I have been given

the same message week after week after week after week after

week. But

somebody may need to actually see it in action to actually

make a change.

And I can't. Guys grow tired of hearing this message and

speaking this message because it's the entire reason he came. It's

the entire reason. And until I reach perfection in it, I'm going to keep going.

I'm going to keep digging and plowing the ground. Keep plowing the ground.

This is what Jesus said. I

lay my life down.

I lay my life down.

So what you say? So I asked you the question again that I started with.

What role or what part do you play in

the story that's being written about your life? What part are you,

Esther? Are you in a place today of failure? Are you in a place

where you actually are, you would say, you know, yeah, there's little rumblings

of things here and there, but I'm in a really, kind of really good spot

right now. I mean, there's not. I mean, I've got security in

places. I'm doing, I'm doing well. Well, what are you doing with your wealth?

What are you doing with your time? What's your story look like? Where are you

seeing God? Have you grown complacent or content where you're actually not

seeing God move? Are you, are you in this make believe world?

If I wake up and the sunshine and roses are there, and I just say,

thank you, Lord, and you walk about your day while all this stuff around

you is just passing by. Are you

a Mordecai, a man of integrity? Maybe you're

somebody's wingman. Maybe Mordecai is

at that gate and he overhears this situation, this

gossip situation, and they're going to take the king down. And

you know what we like to do? We like to hear that information and then

run to somebody. Hannah, did you hear what they said? Kayla, did you hear what

they said? We like to go everywhere else. You know where? He went to the

source. He went right to the king.

Mordecai was strong.

Mordecai knew how to humble himself and mourn for the people. He

wasn't willing to bow down to idols or bow down to man.

He was going to worship God with humility.

Or maybe you're Haman.

That was A nice message, Pastor. Appreciate it. I'm glad I could be here to

hear that today. And

guys, I mean, it's a little funny, but if we're

honest, all of us have been in all three positions at some point in our

life. The question is, where are you right now in this

season? Guys, this is

real. Like our life, it's real. What we

do. Today, this afternoon, it's real. Tomorrow, it's real. How we love each other,

it's real. He's gonna split the sky. This is not fake,

man. And Kurt, I want to give up the whole world.

Just give me Jesus. Same, Smitty,

same. I want Jesus. Barbie, Keith, I want Jesus.

This is why we preach here as much as we can. And we try to

do it, guys, to have our positions like this, open handed. Take this

position from me tomorrow, Lord, give me you. I don't want it unless you're in

it. Are you holding your hands open like that?

Guys, what part are you playing in the story that's been written by your life?

Would you stand with me this morning and with those who are going to minister

to people? We need to have prayer warriors come down today because I believe there's

people that need prayer. Not just for these things, but you know, maybe

somebody needs healing. Maybe there's a broken family situation. Maybe

you're going through a hard time or you have heard this message today. You

heard the message today and you're like, you know what? I

need courage to take the next step. I need

God to shake some things up in my life.

You don't have to leave here, guys. Come meet the God of the universe.

Agree with somebody today. Let's worship

him as we pray.