WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.519 During World War II, in the concentration camps, the book of Esther was treasured by the Jewish prisoners. 00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:23.179 It was treasured uniquely because of the hope that it offered, 00:00:23.240 --> 00:00:27.420 a kind of unparalleled hope to people in such a predicament. 00:00:27.420 --> 00:00:32.200 If you look at the book of Esther, it shows us one of the major themes, 00:00:33.020 --> 00:00:43.719 that even though we cannot see or hear or touch God, God is always here and that He's always with us. 00:00:45.219 --> 00:00:53.820 More than that, though, the book of Esther shows us that God is uniquely able to turn sorrow into joy. 00:00:53.820 --> 00:01:01.560 He's the kind of God who can take weeping and mourning and turn it into laughter and singing. 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:09.700 And so it offered tremendous hope to people who looked around and all they knew was weeping and mourning. 00:01:10.299 --> 00:01:14.340 It gave hope that one day that might give way to something much more beautiful. 00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:19.920 And this is a promise that is repeated all throughout Scripture in different ways, 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:23.680 that God is the kind of God who can turn sorrow into joy. 00:01:23.800 --> 00:01:28.400 Which, if you're anything like me, if that's true, you realize that's a really big deal. 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:33.840 If we're dealing with a God who can actually turn sorrow into joy, 00:01:34.320 --> 00:01:39.020 if we're dealing with a kind of God who plans to do that in our lives and in this world, 00:01:39.080 --> 00:01:42.440 that one day all sorrow will give way to joy, 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:46.860 that all weeping and mourning will one day give way to laughter and singing, 00:01:47.080 --> 00:01:51.939 that as the Psalms say, one day even the trees themselves will clap their hands, 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:54.500 and the rivers and the mountains will sing with joy. 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:57.700 If we're dealing with that kind of God, that's a pretty big deal, 00:01:57.780 --> 00:02:05.680 because it means that there is nothing in this world that this God cannot handle. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:14.199 That there is no evil or suffering that is outside of this God's ability to bring redemption and renewal. 00:02:14.340 --> 00:02:17.719 And it means that we, knowing that, can face anything. 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:19.659 It means that we can even face death, 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:23.840 knowing that one day that sorrow will be turned into joy. 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:27.520 So, of course, the very crucial question is, is this actually true? 00:02:28.340 --> 00:02:30.020 Are we dealing with such a God? 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:34.800 And that's why we've been looking at the book of Esther in more detail over the last few weeks. 00:02:34.920 --> 00:02:40.140 We've been asking this question of what kind of God are we dealing with? 00:02:41.099 --> 00:02:47.140 And is this really true, what the Psalms say, what Scripture says about sorrow and joy? 00:02:47.920 --> 00:02:52.500 And so we're going to look this morning at the last few chapters of Esther. 00:02:52.500 --> 00:02:54.560 We're going to look at chapters 8, 9, and 10. 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:57.620 Obviously, for the sake of time, we couldn't read all of it aloud, 00:02:57.699 --> 00:02:59.599 so we read a selection from this section. 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:03.020 But really what we're going to do is we're going to draw some of the themes 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:07.419 that we've seen throughout the book of Esther here together, 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:14.139 so that hopefully when we leave, we have a strong sense of what Esther is really trying to tell us about God. 00:03:14.360 --> 00:03:15.580 And what we're going to see is this. 00:03:15.580 --> 00:03:18.440 How do we know that God can turn sorrow into joy? 00:03:19.540 --> 00:03:22.220 Because we see here that God can do three things. 00:03:22.460 --> 00:03:26.720 Our God is the kind of God who can sustain all things. 00:03:26.820 --> 00:03:27.980 He's intimately involved. 00:03:28.740 --> 00:03:33.480 He's the kind of God who can use anyone, the most unlikely people. 00:03:34.160 --> 00:03:38.480 And then number three, He's the kind of God who can repurpose evil. 00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:41.880 So let's unpack that, but first let's pray. 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:45.159 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.479 And I thank you for the prayer that we prayed a little while ago, 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:53.000 that we would be able to not only open your word and read it, 00:03:53.579 --> 00:03:57.620 but that we would mark it and that we would learn it 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:00.620 and that ultimately we would inwardly digest it 00:04:00.620 --> 00:04:05.039 so that it becomes a part of our bones and our marrow and our DNA 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:09.039 so that we breathe it out, Lord, even as we take it in. 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:12.239 And so we pray this not only that we might know it better, 00:04:12.340 --> 00:04:14.079 but that we might be changed by it. 00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:17.519 We know that your word is your means of doing your work in us, 00:04:17.620 --> 00:04:20.439 your spiritual surgery in us. 00:04:20.500 --> 00:04:23.480 And so I pray that you would meet us where we are with your word this morning, 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:27.339 that we would become more like the image of your son, Jesus Christ. 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:28.680 And it's in His name that we pray. 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:29.539 Amen. 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:32.899 So the first thing that we see in Esther, 00:04:33.039 --> 00:04:35.060 and particularly coming to a head in these three chapters, 00:04:35.060 --> 00:04:40.120 is that God is the kind of God who can sustain all things. 00:04:40.459 --> 00:04:43.699 You know, I think when people think about the concept of divine intervention, 00:04:44.220 --> 00:04:49.420 often we think that the natural world is sort of going along like a clock. 00:04:49.540 --> 00:04:54.660 It's sort of ticking along, following all of the physical laws that govern it, 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:57.160 and God is kind of up in the sky somewhere. 00:04:57.699 --> 00:05:00.819 It's like He has a kind of heavenly observation deck, 00:05:00.819 --> 00:05:04.480 and He's just sort of sitting there on the rail, just kind of watching us, 00:05:04.599 --> 00:05:06.139 you know, watching the world play out. 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:09.920 And then something bad happens, and people pray. 00:05:10.360 --> 00:05:12.300 And every now and then God just kind of says, 00:05:13.019 --> 00:05:15.060 you know, okay, I think I'll intervene here. 00:05:15.459 --> 00:05:17.819 And so God sort of dives over the rail, 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:20.019 and He kind of swoops in like Superman, 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:22.620 and He suspends the physical laws of the universe, 00:05:22.939 --> 00:05:25.839 and He miraculously stops the bad thing from happening. 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:27.379 And then when all is well, 00:05:27.459 --> 00:05:30.619 He kind of flies back up to His heavenly observation deck, 00:05:30.739 --> 00:05:32.799 and continues to keep an eye on the world. 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:35.959 And I think that maybe we don't articulate it that way, 00:05:36.019 --> 00:05:37.359 but when we think about divine intervention, 00:05:37.819 --> 00:05:39.299 I think a lot of us think that way, 00:05:39.379 --> 00:05:40.439 that things are cruising along, 00:05:40.479 --> 00:05:43.099 and every now and then God kind of steps in. 00:05:43.919 --> 00:05:47.919 But what the book of Esther does is essentially blow that whole idea apart. 00:05:49.059 --> 00:05:51.179 What's the crisis in Esther? 00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:53.199 If you're just joining us for the first time this morning, 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:54.419 just a brief recap. 00:05:54.420 --> 00:05:57.220 The crisis in the book of Esther is this. 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:00.100 The Jews are facing annihilation. 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:02.560 At this point in history, 00:06:02.900 --> 00:06:06.460 some of the Jews are returning from exile in Babylon. 00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:08.460 And some of the Jews have gone back 00:06:08.460 --> 00:06:10.340 to try to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:13.920 but many other Jews have stayed in Persia, 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:16.639 and they've stayed, some of them, at Suso, 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:18.900 which is the capital where the citadel was, 00:06:19.220 --> 00:06:21.700 where the Persian royalty lived. 00:06:21.699 --> 00:06:26.399 And so this is a story that focuses on those Jews in Susa. 00:06:26.659 --> 00:06:28.379 And there's a man there named Haman, 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:30.599 who is the vizier. 00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:35.019 He's the second most powerful man in the Persian Empire. 00:06:35.819 --> 00:06:40.519 And Haman has this ancestral hatred of the Jews. 00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:47.060 And so Haman manipulates the king into setting a day through a royal edict, 00:06:47.579 --> 00:06:53.159 setting a day on which it will be legal to kill and plunder all Jewish households. 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:58.880 And the way they determine this day is by casting lots or a die, 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:01.620 like rolling dice, and the word for that is poor. 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:02.960 And that's very important. 00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:03.740 We'll come back to that. 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:06.280 So they roll the dice, and they determine the day. 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:08.460 On the 13th of the month of Adar, 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:12.600 it will be legal to exterminate the Jews and plunder their homes. 00:07:13.900 --> 00:07:14.780 That's the crisis. 00:07:15.779 --> 00:07:18.139 So how does divine intervention happen? 00:07:18.919 --> 00:07:19.619 In the book of Esther. 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:23.299 Is there a moment where God gets angry about this 00:07:23.299 --> 00:07:25.759 and hurls a lightning bolt at Haman, 00:07:25.819 --> 00:07:27.539 and he's just a smoking crater in the ground? 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:28.459 Right? 00:07:28.599 --> 00:07:28.979 No. 00:07:29.359 --> 00:07:30.319 And if you're anything like me, 00:07:30.379 --> 00:07:32.219 there are times when you've probably prayed that 00:07:32.219 --> 00:07:34.139 about a certain situation. 00:07:34.419 --> 00:07:34.599 Right? 00:07:35.119 --> 00:07:37.719 God, would you just hurl a lightning bolt and make my life easier? 00:07:37.859 --> 00:07:38.059 Right? 00:07:39.059 --> 00:07:40.899 Or maybe I'm just an awful person. 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:41.379 I don't know. 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:44.279 But that's not what God does. 00:07:45.059 --> 00:07:47.259 Here's what divine intervention looks like in Esther. 00:07:48.899 --> 00:07:52.659 Years ago, a young Jewish girl named Esther 00:07:52.659 --> 00:07:56.719 just happened to win a beauty contest and become queen. 00:07:57.779 --> 00:08:01.099 Years earlier, Mordecai, her adoptive father, 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:06.119 just happened to uncover an assassination plot 00:08:06.119 --> 00:08:09.459 and save the king's life, giving him favor, 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:14.239 which ultimately led to Mordecai displacing Haman 00:08:14.239 --> 00:08:18.079 as the new vizier and taking over Haman's house 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:21.219 and taking over Haman's title and all of his wealth. 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:23.459 This just happens to have occurred. 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:25.939 So here we are looking at the Jews. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:27.159 They're facing annihilation, 00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:31.740 and yet we have two Jews who just happen to be in positions 00:08:31.740 --> 00:08:34.019 of tremendous power and influence, 00:08:34.019 --> 00:08:37.639 and so they're in a position to actually do something about it. 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:41.019 And so as we come into chapters 8 and 9, 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:42.059 we have a predicament. 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:43.360 Right? 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:44.759 You have Esther, you have Mordecai, 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:45.379 they come to the king, 00:08:45.419 --> 00:08:46.759 they say, please revoke the edict. 00:08:47.299 --> 00:08:49.279 The king says, well, there's a problem. 00:08:50.100 --> 00:08:53.259 Persian law states that once a royal decree has gone out, 00:08:53.340 --> 00:08:56.340 it cannot be revoked, even by the king. 00:08:56.579 --> 00:08:57.620 It's irrevocable. 00:08:57.620 --> 00:08:59.779 And so they're stuck with the decree. 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:02.879 The 13th of Adar and the annihilation of the Jews stands. 00:09:03.060 --> 00:09:06.159 Well, Esther and Mordecai enact a brilliant solution. 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:08.600 They issue a counter-decree. 00:09:09.500 --> 00:09:12.539 And the counter-decree goes out not only to all of the Persians 00:09:12.539 --> 00:09:15.419 in their languages, but also to the Jews in their language. 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:16.799 And here's what the counter-decree says. 00:09:17.320 --> 00:09:19.960 On the 13th of Adar, if anybody attacks you, 00:09:20.179 --> 00:09:22.560 you are legally empowered to defend yourself. 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:25.279 You can attack back. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:29.259 And events play out. 00:09:30.500 --> 00:09:35.740 And along the way, a terrible fear falls on the Persians. 00:09:35.839 --> 00:09:39.399 And a lot of times when a terrible fear falls on the enemies of God's people, 00:09:39.639 --> 00:09:44.179 that's a sense that God is at work in the hearts of their enemies. 00:09:44.459 --> 00:09:48.240 And then many of the Persians, in advance of the 13th, 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:51.139 convert to Judaism because they fear for their lives. 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:51.639 Right? 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:54.740 It's kind of a self-preservation conversion. 00:09:55.279 --> 00:10:00.059 And then when the day comes, the Jews win a massive victory. 00:10:00.179 --> 00:10:01.480 They just happen to be victorious. 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:07.480 And so the question is, at what point does God intervene in the story? 00:10:08.579 --> 00:10:10.559 And of course, the answer is, 00:10:10.819 --> 00:10:15.659 there is not a single moment in the entire story when God is not intervening. 00:10:15.659 --> 00:10:19.959 He is present in every detail. 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:22.639 Every seeming coincidence. 00:10:23.319 --> 00:10:27.360 Every twist and turn, God is there intervening. 00:10:28.179 --> 00:10:35.480 And so what we see is that God's deliverance in Esther is the result of this long sequence of improbable events 00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:41.680 and morally questionable events, to be totally honest. 00:10:42.740 --> 00:10:45.080 I mean, Esther has random coincidence. 00:10:45.899 --> 00:10:47.820 It has lots of misguided motives. 00:10:48.659 --> 00:10:50.620 It has outright war. 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:58.519 And yet somehow through all of that, through all of that ambiguity and all of the evil and all of the death and all of the stuff, 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:00.659 somehow God's deliverance comes. 00:11:01.899 --> 00:11:04.159 And it's as though it had always been planned that way. 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:05.980 Right? 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:07.919 So I don't know how many of you play chess. 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:14.579 I love to play chess, and my son, Maddox, is now getting into chess, and it's really fun to play him. 00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:18.559 And I'm not very good, and I think it's probably pretty soon he's going to be able to beat me. 00:11:19.219 --> 00:11:23.979 But if you've ever played chess against a really good chess player, like a master chess player, 00:11:25.139 --> 00:11:29.819 and I don't know if you've ever done this, but you sit down at the chess board, and you have all of your pieces, 00:11:30.019 --> 00:11:31.980 and you are free to make whatever move you want. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:32.860 Right? 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:36.240 But it really doesn't matter, because you're going to move your pieces, 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:39.279 and no matter what you do, no matter what you throw at your opponent, 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:40.840 if you're dealing with a true master, 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:49.299 your moves are going to be folded in to a sequence of events that will lead to checkmate. 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:53.779 And it will feel like you were causing your own defeat. 00:11:54.299 --> 00:11:54.500 Right? 00:11:54.740 --> 00:11:59.120 It will feel like you were contributing, helping your opponent to defeat you. 00:11:59.220 --> 00:12:00.139 That's what it feels like. 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:00.299 Right? 00:12:00.580 --> 00:12:02.039 Man, I'm so glad you moved there. 00:12:02.139 --> 00:12:02.539 Thank you. 00:12:02.680 --> 00:12:03.080 Whoosh. 00:12:03.220 --> 00:12:03.419 Right? 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:05.159 And that's what it feels like. 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:10.240 And what we're meant to take from Esther is that with God, it is much the same way. 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:16.600 We as human beings can throw whatever evil, whatever rebellion, whatever suffering. 00:12:16.719 --> 00:12:19.579 We can throw whatever we've got, all that we've got at God. 00:12:20.100 --> 00:12:21.019 And it doesn't matter. 00:12:21.139 --> 00:12:27.299 At the end of the day, all of those things are going to be folded in to a sequence of events 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:30.059 that will ultimately lead to the new Jerusalem. 00:12:30.059 --> 00:12:34.039 That will ultimately lead to a world that is healed and restored. 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:37.719 That will ultimately lead to a world where every tear is wiped away. 00:12:38.019 --> 00:12:42.939 That will ultimately lead to a world where there is no more sickness or sorrow or suffering or death. 00:12:43.019 --> 00:12:44.319 Because those things are no more. 00:12:44.579 --> 00:12:51.879 Whatever we throw at him, it gets folded in to a sequence of events that leads to the new Jerusalem. 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:57.279 And so what this shows us is God is not up there on some heavenly observation deck. 00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:04.720 He's not looking over the rail and just every now and then deciding to kind of dip in and do something in the world of the humans. 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:07.980 That's actually a very pagan idea of God. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:12.000 It's the way all the pagans have thought about their gods for centuries. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:14.659 The Bible says something very different. 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:16.740 That our God is infinitely more powerful. 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:25.879 There's an amazing place in the book of Acts where it says that in Christ, we live and move and have our being. 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:30.039 Now we don't have time to unpack that verse completely. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:31.179 It's incredibly profound. 00:13:31.899 --> 00:13:41.100 But it's essentially saying that there is not a single molecule anywhere in the universe that is not held by the hand of Christ. 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:48.540 There's not a molecule anywhere in the universe that exists outside of the mind of Christ. 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:52.279 Our God is sovereign. 00:13:52.860 --> 00:13:57.360 Which means he participates in the most mundane details of our lives. 00:13:58.580 --> 00:14:02.279 And so before we move to the next point, I just want to draw out an implication here. 00:14:02.360 --> 00:14:02.800 And that is this. 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:05.680 That means that everything in your life has meaning. 00:14:07.560 --> 00:14:08.720 Everything is significant. 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:15.639 There's not a single detail in your life that is not somehow meaningful in God's economy. 00:14:17.060 --> 00:14:34.200 So what that means is that our most mundane, ordinary details of life, the kind of daily rhythms that define our daily lives as boring, as uninteresting, and as insignificant as they may seem, 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:36.200 God is present in them. 00:14:36.420 --> 00:14:42.120 If you have the eyes to see it, you can begin to see and witness the miraculous in the mundane. 00:14:43.560 --> 00:14:44.540 So that's the first thing. 00:14:44.660 --> 00:14:50.160 The second thing, just to push it a little further, this means that our interactions have significance. 00:14:51.100 --> 00:14:54.940 And I'm borrowing this from Marilyn Robinson's Gilead, if you've ever read that. 00:14:54.940 --> 00:15:00.860 Some of the pastors just re-read it and discussed it this past week. 00:15:01.280 --> 00:15:10.200 But there's a passage in Gilead that talks about the fact that every interaction with another person creates an opportunity for us to ask, 00:15:10.780 --> 00:15:15.920 what is the Lord doing in this moment in my life and in this person's life? 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:20.519 And, you know, that becomes extremely significant when you have an interaction with a person that's negative. 00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:27.579 You know, if somebody's rude to you or they're hostile toward you, you know, if you're anything like me, you know, with my lightning bolt reference earlier, 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:31.240 you know, if somebody's rude and hostile to me, my first impulse is to be rude and hostile right back. 00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:34.120 And I'm ashamed to say sometimes I do it. 00:15:35.419 --> 00:15:36.439 That's my first impulse. 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:43.620 But what if you're starting from the assumption, what if you're starting from the assumption that God is present in this moment 00:15:43.620 --> 00:15:46.840 and that God has sort of sent this person into your life? 00:15:46.900 --> 00:15:48.240 They're a kind of emissary of the Lord. 00:15:48.420 --> 00:15:49.160 They don't know it. 00:15:50.100 --> 00:15:51.440 But God is using them. 00:15:51.820 --> 00:15:55.820 And what if your first question is not, how can I blast this person back the way they just came at me? 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:00.180 What if your first question is, how is God intending to use this person in my life at this moment? 00:16:00.179 --> 00:16:06.479 If nothing else, maybe this is just an opportunity for me to demonstrate some of the grace that I claim to believe in. 00:16:07.579 --> 00:16:07.899 Right? 00:16:07.939 --> 00:16:12.000 But the point is, if you're starting from that assumption and you're believing this is not a random chance encounter, 00:16:12.099 --> 00:16:17.579 but rather God is in this somehow, it sets you free to make different choices. 00:16:17.939 --> 00:16:20.899 It sets you free from the impulse to simply be rude back. 00:16:21.719 --> 00:16:24.159 It creates new possibilities that weren't there before. 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:34.360 So in a way, God's determining, governing presence actually frees you and creates options that you would otherwise not have. 00:16:35.899 --> 00:16:39.279 So God is the kind of God who sustains everything. 00:16:39.419 --> 00:16:41.039 He's intimately involved in life. 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:45.959 And because of that, this brings us to our second point, because of that truth about God, 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:48.899 God is the kind of God who can use anyone. 00:16:50.179 --> 00:16:53.740 He can use anyone, which is a great comfort to me. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:58.139 If you look at Esther and Mordecai, one of the great things about them is, 00:16:58.500 --> 00:17:00.480 they're clearly doing the work of the Lord. 00:17:00.579 --> 00:17:03.079 They are clearly God's agents of deliverance. 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:06.159 And yet the best thing about them is, they're not clergy. 00:17:07.379 --> 00:17:07.519 Right? 00:17:07.639 --> 00:17:09.619 They're not religious professionals. 00:17:10.659 --> 00:17:11.899 They don't wear collars. 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:12.240 Right? 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:17.220 And that's important because I think that even at this day and age, 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:21.799 we still tend to divide the world into sacred and secular. 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:28.519 And when you think about vocation, you know, you think about there's sort of the sacred work, 00:17:29.099 --> 00:17:32.559 pastors and missionaries and sort of, you know, Christian nonprofit work. 00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:37.519 And then there's sort of the secular work, the secular jobs. 00:17:38.159 --> 00:17:40.879 And from time to time, I talk to people who want to be ordained, 00:17:41.259 --> 00:17:45.379 and part of why they want to be ordained is they feel like they're doing kind of meaningless secular work, 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:47.259 and they want to do something that is meaningful. 00:17:47.259 --> 00:17:52.200 They want a sacred job where they'll feel like they're really a part of what God's doing in the world. 00:17:53.099 --> 00:17:56.079 And again, Esther just kind of blasts that whole idea apart. 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:04.460 This point comes from Ray Bakke, but he talks about the fact that there are three books in the Bible 00:18:04.460 --> 00:18:10.000 that show us people who are participating in the work of urban renewal. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:13.519 And he says these are his three heroes of urban renewal. 00:18:14.119 --> 00:18:18.819 You have Esther, I'm sorry, you have Ezra, you have Nehemiah, and then you have Esther. 00:18:19.220 --> 00:18:21.039 And if you look at them, they're quite different, right? 00:18:22.019 --> 00:18:27.240 Ezra, if you read Ezra, Ezra's role was to teach the word of God to the people. 00:18:28.380 --> 00:18:30.119 So Ezra's doing pastoral work. 00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:32.640 He's teaching God's word. 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:36.279 He's teaching people how to know God, how to have a relationship with God, 00:18:36.460 --> 00:18:38.200 how to live what all this is for. 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:39.819 And listen, that's crucial work. 00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:44.440 You cannot have renewal without the proclamation of the word of God. 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:46.940 But then you look at Nehemiah. 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:49.600 Nehemiah's not a pastor. 00:18:50.180 --> 00:18:50.840 He's not clergy. 00:18:50.940 --> 00:18:51.519 He's not a priest. 00:18:52.580 --> 00:18:55.180 Nehemiah is essentially a kind of community organizer. 00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:57.200 He's an urban planner. 00:18:57.799 --> 00:18:59.740 You know, Nehemiah goes, he gets a government grant. 00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:01.200 He comes back. 00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:03.759 He gets everybody in the neighborhood involved. 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:09.839 And then he literally begins to lead people in the physical rebuilding of the city from the inside out. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:13.680 They've moved into the neighborhood, and things are starting to turn around. 00:19:14.059 --> 00:19:15.619 They're fixing it up, right? 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:17.140 They're rebuilding the wall. 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:21.379 They're making it a place that is safe and habitable where people can live, 00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:23.079 and it's going to be a good home for all people. 00:19:24.359 --> 00:19:25.379 But he's not a pastor. 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:28.079 And then you have Esther, right? 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:30.140 Esther is not even in Jerusalem. 00:19:30.140 --> 00:19:33.259 Esther is in the halls of power. 00:19:34.520 --> 00:19:36.380 Esther's back in Susa, in the government. 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:37.540 Right? 00:19:37.580 --> 00:19:41.300 She's working among the elites where culture is formed. 00:19:41.700 --> 00:19:46.500 She's working in the place where decisions are made that affect the lives of everybody in the entire empire. 00:19:47.080 --> 00:19:48.700 And that's where God has put Esther. 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:49.759 Right? 00:19:49.820 --> 00:19:52.540 And she is working against systemic injustice. 00:19:53.280 --> 00:19:55.200 Esther is working against oppression. 00:19:55.200 --> 00:20:02.840 Esther is working to improve the lives of the most vulnerable, which at this point in history were the Jews. 00:20:03.259 --> 00:20:03.420 Right? 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:09.240 And so if you step back and you look at how God is working to rebuild, 00:20:10.360 --> 00:20:15.100 you see all of these people playing all of these different roles, and all of them are equally important. 00:20:16.059 --> 00:20:16.299 Right? 00:20:16.360 --> 00:20:21.259 When it comes to the healing of the world, it is an all-hands-on-deck situation. 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:23.640 Everybody plays a part. 00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:26.100 So we need pastors. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:28.360 We need missionaries. 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:29.060 Absolutely. 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:32.040 But we also need business people. 00:20:32.280 --> 00:20:33.700 And we need medical professionals. 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:35.060 And we need realtors. 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:36.259 And we need administrators. 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:38.020 And we need trash collectors. 00:20:38.220 --> 00:20:39.060 And we need waiters. 00:20:39.160 --> 00:20:39.940 And we need artists. 00:20:40.300 --> 00:20:41.240 And we need musicians. 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:42.940 And we need government workers. 00:20:43.080 --> 00:20:43.960 And we need parents. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:47.380 We need all of these different people following their vocations. 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:52.360 And so this brings with it some good news and some hard news. 00:20:52.520 --> 00:20:52.720 Okay? 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:54.240 So I'll give you the good news first. 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:59.519 The good news is God can and will use everybody. 00:21:00.600 --> 00:21:05.140 So there should not be a question in your mind of can God use a person like me? 00:21:06.120 --> 00:21:07.079 The answer is yes. 00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:08.880 And probably God is already using you. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:10.779 You may not see it. 00:21:10.779 --> 00:21:13.160 But God can and will use everybody. 00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:13.379 Right? 00:21:13.500 --> 00:21:14.519 All hands on deck. 00:21:14.779 --> 00:21:16.599 Everybody plays a part in the healing of the world. 00:21:18.119 --> 00:21:19.079 Here's the hard news. 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:22.259 It may not be in the way that you choose. 00:21:23.579 --> 00:21:24.660 And that's hard. 00:21:24.660 --> 00:21:27.340 It may not be in the way that you choose. 00:21:29.180 --> 00:21:31.279 We don't know what Esther's life plan was. 00:21:31.380 --> 00:21:32.500 We're not told much about her. 00:21:33.259 --> 00:21:35.880 Her prior to where the story begins. 00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:38.460 But we know something about the culture. 00:21:38.600 --> 00:21:42.440 And we know that probably Esther is a young Jewish girl. 00:21:42.940 --> 00:21:48.320 Her aspiration was probably to marry a nice Jewish boy and to have some kids. 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:50.840 And to be a mom and raise a family. 00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:56.519 Because she lived in a culture where motherhood was seen as one of the highest aspirations. 00:21:56.859 --> 00:22:00.099 It was seen as evidence of God's blessing in your life. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.019 You had a lot of kids. 00:22:01.919 --> 00:22:03.299 So that's probably what she wanted. 00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:07.759 And that wasn't her future. 00:22:08.579 --> 00:22:09.959 That's not what God had for her. 00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:14.199 You know, she ends up getting taken and forced against her will to go to the Citadel. 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:18.079 To participate in a beauty contest that she never would have done otherwise. 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:22.839 And then she gets put into this position of power that she never asked for. 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:24.779 You know, it's interesting. 00:22:24.939 --> 00:22:27.599 God had different plans for Esther. 00:22:28.659 --> 00:22:31.019 He chose to use her not as a mother. 00:22:31.899 --> 00:22:34.419 Which, you know, there are many other women in the Bible. 00:22:34.679 --> 00:22:36.559 That's how they serve God's purposes. 00:22:37.740 --> 00:22:38.819 As moms. 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:40.759 But for Esther, that wasn't the case. 00:22:40.859 --> 00:22:43.019 God chose not to use her as a mother, but as a queen. 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:47.460 And as a result, she saved countless thousands of lives. 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:54.579 If you live long enough, your life plans will be derailed. 00:22:55.679 --> 00:22:56.639 In one way or another. 00:22:57.419 --> 00:22:59.039 So you might as well just accept it now. 00:22:59.659 --> 00:23:00.460 It's going to happen. 00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:03.679 And the longer you live, the more likely it becomes. 00:23:04.679 --> 00:23:06.579 You know, nobody gets to live out their perfect plan. 00:23:06.579 --> 00:23:10.199 I think of my friends here in D.C. 00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:11.500 They're not a part of Church of the Advent. 00:23:11.619 --> 00:23:16.240 But my friends, their dream, like maybe Esther's was, was to have a bunch of kids. 00:23:17.179 --> 00:23:18.720 And that didn't happen. 00:23:19.879 --> 00:23:21.079 And that was brutal. 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:23.039 And it was something that they grieved. 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:27.000 It's something that was incredibly confusing to them. 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:36.779 And yet when that happened in their lives, they began to ask God, okay, if that's not what you have for us, God, then what do you have for us? 00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:39.240 What is the purpose that we're called to play? 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:42.220 And so these friends of mine became foster parents. 00:23:42.339 --> 00:23:46.339 And they became foster parents to a sibling group who came to live in their home. 00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:50.059 And they were coming out of a very abusive and traumatic situation. 00:23:50.059 --> 00:23:55.220 One of the children, when he showed up in the middle of the night, had cigarette burns on his head. 00:23:56.740 --> 00:24:07.700 And now they're in the process of trying to legally adopt these kids to get full custody so that these kids can grow up in a home that's safe and consistent with parents who can take care of them. 00:24:08.879 --> 00:24:17.339 And, you know, I think as I look around the room, there are people here who are suffering currently with miscarriage. 00:24:17.339 --> 00:24:23.500 And grieving that loss, they're suffering with infertility that they can't explain. 00:24:24.159 --> 00:24:26.839 Some people have tried everything and nothing seems to work. 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:36.240 I know people whose life goal was to go and to get a graduate degree, but they've been rejected from the programs that they want to go to. 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:43.279 I know that there are people here who have lost their jobs and are having to maybe reconsider their entire career path. 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:46.700 I know people who have gone through really painful breakups. 00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:49.440 I know people who have lost friends. 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:53.619 I know people who have struggled through really painful, brutal divorces. 00:24:54.700 --> 00:25:00.180 All of these are situations where you look and you say, I had this plan and now I'm over here and I have no idea how I got here. 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:02.680 And it's incredibly painful. 00:25:02.680 --> 00:25:03.320 Right? 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:09.560 And on the one hand, you need to grieve those things. 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:21.080 They are awful and they're painful and they're hard and you need support and we need to be a community that can grieve and lament with people who are grieving. 00:25:21.259 --> 00:25:23.420 Who can weep with those who are weeping. 00:25:23.860 --> 00:25:25.039 There's a place for that. 00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:31.619 But somewhere in there, I also encourage you to begin asking God the question, even if you're sort of shaking your fist at God. 00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:34.619 You know, there are great psalms if you want to rage out at God. 00:25:36.039 --> 00:25:38.859 Read some psalms, pray those to God, rage out at God. 00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:42.619 When you're tired of shaking your fist, when you've exhausted some of that anger, God can handle it. 00:25:44.099 --> 00:25:47.319 Then say, okay, God, what do you have for me? 00:25:48.039 --> 00:25:49.599 What purpose do you have for my life? 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:54.179 And begin to open yourself up to the fact that God might be doing something unexpected. 00:25:54.879 --> 00:25:56.179 Something that you didn't choose. 00:25:57.399 --> 00:25:59.219 And you know, it may not make sense. 00:25:59.980 --> 00:26:01.439 You know, I tell the story about my friends. 00:26:01.539 --> 00:26:04.899 I think they have a strong sense of God's purpose in their life now, adopting these kids. 00:26:05.579 --> 00:26:07.019 For you, it may not be that cut and dry. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:07.959 It may not make sense. 00:26:08.019 --> 00:26:09.879 And it may not make sense until the new creation. 00:26:10.639 --> 00:26:11.959 Why things played out the way they did. 00:26:11.959 --> 00:26:15.259 It may not make sense until the other side of new creation. 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:24.759 You know, it makes me think of the fact that when a film is being shot or when a high-profile television show is being shot, 00:26:25.019 --> 00:26:26.960 a lot of times they'll bring in the actors. 00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:29.359 And the actors are given their lines. 00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:30.420 They're given their scenes. 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:32.460 And they give their lines. 00:26:32.599 --> 00:26:33.680 And they do their scenes. 00:26:33.740 --> 00:26:35.220 And they put all themselves into it. 00:26:35.460 --> 00:26:36.640 But a lot of times they're doing that. 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:41.740 But they don't really understand the larger story or even how their scene fits in. 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:44.220 Because a lot of times they'll shoot scenes completely out of order. 00:26:44.220 --> 00:26:45.819 So you have really no idea. 00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:47.380 You just kind of play your part. 00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:53.360 And so a lot of times actors have to wait, like the rest of us, until the series drops. 00:26:53.559 --> 00:26:55.120 Or until the film is released. 00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:56.960 And then they sit down in the audience and they say, 00:26:57.100 --> 00:27:00.279 Oh, okay, that's the story. 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:02.440 And that's how my scene fits in. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:08.880 And I do think that one day, when we're all in the new Jerusalem and the new creation, 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:11.019 there will be a moment where we're able to look back. 00:27:11.019 --> 00:27:15.119 And you'll be able to say, Hey, there's my scene. 00:27:17.400 --> 00:27:19.039 That's how I fit into the story. 00:27:19.339 --> 00:27:21.400 And I think that's going to be true for every single one of us. 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:25.039 Because God is the kind of God who can use anyone. 00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:27.299 And he chooses to use everyone. 00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:33.700 So if this is the case, if God sustains all evil, and if God can use anyone, 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:35.799 then what about the problem of suffering and evil? 00:27:35.799 --> 00:27:38.099 What does God do about that? 00:27:38.879 --> 00:27:42.919 And what we see is that God is the kind of God who can repurpose evil. 00:27:43.019 --> 00:27:43.980 Now what do I mean by that? 00:27:45.240 --> 00:27:49.680 The end of Esther describes how Esther instituted a feast. 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:54.180 And this feast was a feast that celebrates the deliverance of the Jews. 00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:57.799 And they named the feast Purim or Purim. 00:27:58.299 --> 00:28:00.099 And that's very significant. 00:28:00.099 --> 00:28:06.099 Because the word Purim is the plural for poor, which means die or dice. 00:28:06.199 --> 00:28:08.500 So Purim literally means dice. 00:28:10.579 --> 00:28:16.139 If you remember when Haman convinces the king to set a day when all of the Jews will be annihilated, 00:28:16.359 --> 00:28:17.319 they roll dice. 00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:18.819 Thirteenth of Adar. 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:20.299 That's the day. 00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:26.119 So the whole story up to this point is hinging on a dice roll. 00:28:27.419 --> 00:28:32.119 It's hinging on something that seems completely random, completely left to chance. 00:28:33.019 --> 00:28:34.919 Until you get to chapter 9. 00:28:36.119 --> 00:28:39.599 Chapter 9 gives us the ultimate resolution of the whole story. 00:28:39.700 --> 00:28:41.799 If you want a summary of Esther in a nutshell, here it is. 00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:43.619 Chapter 9, verse 1. 00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:51.500 On the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain mastery over them, the reverse occurred. 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:55.379 The Jews gained mastery over those who hated them. 00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:57.759 That's amazing. 00:28:58.559 --> 00:29:01.199 And the point that we're meant to draw out of that is this. 00:29:01.659 --> 00:29:03.059 Life seems random. 00:29:03.859 --> 00:29:05.959 Life seems like a dice roll. 00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:11.119 And it can very, very, very, very often seem that all of this is meaningless. 00:29:11.319 --> 00:29:12.279 It's all left to chance. 00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:13.779 It's all just a roll of the dice. 00:29:16.159 --> 00:29:17.359 But there is a God. 00:29:18.979 --> 00:29:20.179 And he is in control. 00:29:21.419 --> 00:29:23.299 And our destiny is not left to chance. 00:29:24.239 --> 00:29:26.059 Our future is not left to the roll of the dice. 00:29:27.139 --> 00:29:28.779 Our future is in God's hands. 00:29:30.179 --> 00:29:34.399 Which has major implications for how we think about evil and suffering. 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:37.000 Major implications. 00:29:38.099 --> 00:29:40.559 Johnny Erickson Tada was 17 years old. 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:41.839 She was athletic. 00:29:42.059 --> 00:29:42.759 She was smart. 00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:44.279 She was on her way to college. 00:29:44.619 --> 00:29:46.019 She was swimming in the Chesapeake. 00:29:46.179 --> 00:29:47.440 And she dove into some water. 00:29:47.659 --> 00:29:49.700 And she didn't realize how shallow the water was. 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:51.460 And she broke her spine. 00:29:52.139 --> 00:29:56.519 And from that point forward, for the rest of her life, she was paralyzed from the shoulders down. 00:29:56.519 --> 00:30:08.759 And ever since then, she had to wrestle with that decision to dive into that water at that particular moment in her life. 00:30:08.839 --> 00:30:12.500 And you can imagine all of the second guessing that would have gone into that. 00:30:12.500 --> 00:30:19.839 And she outright says that even though she was a Christian at the time, her faith was not strong enough to handle that accident. 00:30:19.980 --> 00:30:27.339 And so she was plunged into a time of deep despair and depression like probably any of us in this room would be as well. 00:30:27.339 --> 00:30:32.220 But then she says she began to dig more deeply into God's Word. 00:30:32.339 --> 00:30:36.799 She began to read it and mark it and learn it and inwardly digest it. 00:30:36.919 --> 00:30:38.619 And her faith began to grow. 00:30:39.079 --> 00:30:46.699 And then she began to spend years and years thinking and praying about evil and suffering, not only in her own life, but in the world around her. 00:30:46.700 --> 00:30:49.240 And she began to realize this, and I'll quote her, 00:30:50.140 --> 00:30:57.200 Because God reigns over all, nothing happens outside of God's control and plans. 00:30:58.319 --> 00:31:05.019 Even if we can't grasp it this side of eternity, our sufferings have a place in God's plans. 00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:08.920 Which means we don't suffer in vain. 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:14.720 Our sufferings have meaning because God uses them for His purposes. 00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:18.940 Now that may strike some of us as comforting. 00:31:19.059 --> 00:31:23.660 It may strike many of us as disconcerting or even upsetting. 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:28.279 But what she's trying to say is that suffering is not a dice roll gone bad. 00:31:29.100 --> 00:31:31.380 It's not like you're just rolling the dice and you've got a bad roll. 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:33.279 You've got a bad hand. 00:31:34.420 --> 00:31:36.160 It's not meaningless and random. 00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:41.640 Somehow, mysteriously, our suffering fits into God's purposes. 00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:47.440 Now that doesn't mean, and she's quick to point out, that doesn't mean that God likes suffering. 00:31:48.780 --> 00:31:51.940 As she says, and this is admittedly mysterious, 00:31:53.100 --> 00:31:57.440 Sometimes God allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves. 00:31:57.440 --> 00:32:07.299 And you hear this, and the way we receive that kind of thing is going to hinge on this. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:13.299 It's not going to comfort us as long as we are focused on trying to understand God's motives. 00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:16.019 Because we never will. 00:32:16.440 --> 00:32:18.080 We will never understand the why. 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:21.119 Here's what Johnny says. 00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:27.980 She says, real satisfaction comes not in understanding God's motives, but in understanding God's character. 00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:31.119 What kind of God are we dealing with here? 00:32:32.119 --> 00:32:33.379 What is the heart of God? 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:36.919 And that's why we have to look to the cross. 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:39.980 That's why we have to look to the cross. 00:32:39.980 --> 00:32:45.779 If you read Acts chapter 4, the early Christians, when they looked at the crucifixion of Jesus, 00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:50.019 they clearly saw it as part of God's foreordained plan. 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:51.880 In verse 28 it says, 00:32:52.200 --> 00:32:56.720 They describe Herod and Pilate and all of the people gathering together against Jesus. 00:32:56.839 --> 00:32:57.559 And here's what they say. 00:32:57.880 --> 00:33:06.339 All these people are conspiring together against Jesus to do whatever God's hand and God's plan had predestined to take place. 00:33:06.339 --> 00:33:10.439 So the thing that happened to Jesus, the crucifixion, it was truly evil. 00:33:10.579 --> 00:33:11.259 It was awful. 00:33:11.399 --> 00:33:12.019 It was brutal. 00:33:12.319 --> 00:33:16.259 It was the greatest victory of evil over God's Son. 00:33:16.419 --> 00:33:16.539 Right? 00:33:16.699 --> 00:33:18.379 It was the greatest act of evil ever committed. 00:33:20.199 --> 00:33:27.220 And yet simultaneously, it was the greatest victory, the greatest good ever accomplished. 00:33:27.619 --> 00:33:29.839 God repurposed that evil. 00:33:30.439 --> 00:33:31.559 And Johnny says in another place, 00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:39.500 It is as though Satan intends a particular thing in one way and God intends the same event in another direction. 00:33:40.319 --> 00:33:48.559 So behind Satan's scheming, you have the sovereign hand of God repurposing that evil for his greater good. 00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:55.819 So because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the early Christians knew this. 00:33:56.579 --> 00:34:03.019 There is no evil that can befall us out of which God cannot bring a greater good. 00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:09.799 There is no evil that may befall us out of which God cannot bring a greater good. 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:17.119 And if you look at that chapter, that truth is what filled them with boldness to preach the gospel in the face of persecution. 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:22.940 Because they knew that whatever they might suffer, it was well within the sovereignty of God. 00:34:23.179 --> 00:34:24.339 And God could use it. 00:34:25.940 --> 00:34:31.679 So this is how we know that our God is the kind of God who can turn sorrow into joy. 00:34:32.579 --> 00:34:35.639 The kind of God who can fulfill that great promise of scripture. 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:38.639 Because he's the kind of God who sustains all things. 00:34:39.139 --> 00:34:40.599 He's intimately involved in his creation. 00:34:40.599 --> 00:34:43.460 He's the kind of God who can use anyone. 00:34:43.880 --> 00:34:45.199 And he's using all of you. 00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:47.079 Even if you can't see it. 00:34:47.619 --> 00:34:49.980 And he's the kind of God who can repurpose evil. 00:34:51.059 --> 00:34:53.179 No matter how awful some things seems. 00:34:53.279 --> 00:34:54.179 No matter how random. 00:34:54.319 --> 00:34:55.239 No matter how meaningless. 00:34:55.420 --> 00:34:58.860 No matter how far it is beyond our ability to understand or fathom. 00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:02.339 When we look to the character of God on the cross, 00:35:02.340 --> 00:35:07.440 we recognize that somehow it will become part of the renewal of the world. 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:10.200 And lead inevitably to the streets of the New Jerusalem. 00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:16.280 As I said at the beginning of the time together, 00:35:16.420 --> 00:35:19.440 you know, the Jews treasured the book of Esther. 00:35:20.680 --> 00:35:22.740 It gave them incredible hope. 00:35:23.340 --> 00:35:28.480 And of course the Nazis were bent on extinguishing all hope. 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:32.099 And so when they began to realize that Esther was giving the Jews hope, 00:35:32.159 --> 00:35:34.940 they began to confiscate all the copies of Esther. 00:35:35.719 --> 00:35:39.260 And any Jewish prisoner caught with a copy of the book of Esther 00:35:39.260 --> 00:35:40.920 would be executed on the spot. 00:35:41.019 --> 00:35:42.719 And so the Nazis confiscated all the copies. 00:35:43.860 --> 00:35:44.900 But it didn't matter. 00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:46.380 You want to know why? 00:35:47.599 --> 00:35:50.280 Because the Jews began to write new copies from memory. 00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:53.440 Because they knew it by heart. 00:35:53.440 --> 00:35:59.400 And that's, I believe, how we're meant to share in this hope. 00:36:00.599 --> 00:36:03.900 That it becomes so part of our blood and our bone and our marrow and our DNA. 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:07.539 That even if we don't have it in front of us, 00:36:07.700 --> 00:36:08.900 we breathe it. 00:36:09.659 --> 00:36:10.539 We emanate it. 00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:12.039 Let's pray. 00:36:14.780 --> 00:36:16.200 Lord, I thank you for your word. 00:36:16.260 --> 00:36:18.920 And I pray that as we come to your table in a little while, 00:36:18.920 --> 00:36:22.780 you would take these words and make them flesh. 00:36:24.099 --> 00:36:29.380 And that we would take that flesh and that blood into our bodies. 00:36:30.200 --> 00:36:33.260 And that you would spiritually make real in us 00:36:33.260 --> 00:36:36.059 the truths that we are contemplating now. 00:36:36.680 --> 00:36:38.800 That they would become a part of us. 00:36:39.360 --> 00:36:41.380 That they would strengthen us. 00:36:41.840 --> 00:36:43.780 That they would deepen our faith. 00:36:43.780 --> 00:36:49.040 That they would transform the way we see and make sense of our suffering. 00:36:50.120 --> 00:36:52.740 By looking at the suffering of your son, Jesus Christ. 00:36:53.400 --> 00:36:55.680 And it's in his holy name that we pray. 00:36:56.680 --> 00:36:57.080 Amen.