David Gibbs Jr. - Sunday Morning, November 3, 2019

turn in your Bibles if you would please to the book of Esther the book of Esther chapter 4 Ezra Nehemiah Esther job Psalms proverbs right there in the middle of the Old Testament is where you'll find the book I love to preach on Paul and John and John the Baptist Matthew Mark Luke Jesus all the great men of scripture but the Bible tells us some stories about great women too and sadly sometimes we kind of overlook them a little bit we don't talk about them too much well I promise you one of the greatest women in scripture was Esther and God didn't just tell us about Esther so we'd have a little historical insight we're supposed to use her as a template for our own lives let me explain what happened to Ezra what happened to Nehemiah what happened to Esther their countries had been overrun they were conquered they were vanquished by brutal ruthless reigns of despotic leaders and when it came to the time of Esther the Persians were in power and they had the largest empire the world had ever seen a brutal brutal people today the Persians are the land that we refer to as Iran and these people were conquering everywhere and she got caught up many did their home lands were taken over they were run over and and the people were taken to slavery back into Persia now from what we know about her she was an orphan here she was we don't know what happened to her family but she's literally put on the streets in Persia she has one relative by the name of Mordechai and he's referred to as an uncle but the word used for uncle there was not the word for a blood uncle it was the word for someone who showed you kindness it was the word for someone who watched after you a little bit this is the one good thing she had but Esther was beautiful she had a gorgeous countenance a gorgeous face a gorgeous temperament and she caught the eye of the Persian King and the Persian King swept her up and put her into the palace now bear in mind she's put in the palace to serve a man who's destroyed her country who's destroyed everything she held dear but at least for the first time she has a roof over her head she has food to eat and for the first time she doesn't have to worry about being molested on the streets suddenly something happens that Esther could never have imagined a maniac a demonic maniac by the name of Haman decides that he wants to destroy God's people and by the way that's happening in America right now there are people tragically who want to destroy God's people well he goes to the king and he gets the King to sign a law that literally if you can imagine makes it legal to kill Christians and then you get paid for it so it's not just a matter of the Vengeance against God's people you get paid for doing this ill for doing these demonic acts all of a sudden this law is passed and the uncle that's been helping and taking care of this precious young lady is in sackcloth and ashes and Esther says what are you doing what's happened and he says do you not understand God's people are going to be destroyed and then he says to her you need to take a stand you need to go in to the King and try to get this son done because he said I believe for such a time as this you just may have been called to the kingdom now she says wait a minute whoa whoa whoa if you go into the king when you're not summoned it's a death march you cannot go in unless he calls for you and if you go in unsummoned they'll immediately destroy and kill you and only if the King holds out his royal scepter if he sees you can you be spared her uncle says you need to go anyway and you absolutely need to be willing to put your life on the line let's read the passage of Scripture that comes that'll be our text today Esther chapter 4 verse 15 then Esther bade them returned Mordecai that's this uncle this answer go gather together all the Jews that are President in Shushan that's where the summer palace was in Persia and fasty for me and neither eat nor drink three days neither day I also in my Mane's will fast likewise and so will I go in unto the King which is not according to the law and then I want you to say the last phrase in unison police and if I perish I perish what are you willing to die for what are you willing to give your life for do you realize there are things in life worth dying for we regularly take young men and women and put a soldier's uniform and we say we want you to go stand between us and harm's way and if you perish doing that you will have died you'll have given your life for an honorable good thing and we tell them you did right and they give their life for America what would you give your life for the Bible tells us that this young lady did three things and I want you to write these three things down because in this hour in which we live these are essential this is critical I fear what I see happening in our land but more I fear what I see happening among God's people write these three things down here's number one Esther had a teachable spirit she was willing to hear what she would never have normally wanted to hear Esther you need to go in there Mordecai wait a minute wait a minute whoa whoa whoa you're asking me to take the one good thing I have in life I'm in the palace and put all of that at jeopardy but she had a teachable spirit how good is your spirit at hearing from God is your spirit teachable well God tell me what I want to hear and I'll be teachable but what if God wants you to do my friend what you would never want to do but his voice is talking to you my sheep the Bible says hear my voice and they follow me how good are you at hearing that voice my wife and I when we would get to go to church together we'd always pray outside the church house before we went in and chant the same prayer virtually every time further any she'd say God talk to us I don't care who's preaching I don't care what the passage is I don't care what the theme is I want to hear from heaven talk to us have you got your ears open is God talking to you how many of you have children hold your hand up how many of you love them more than you could ever say how many of you want to kill them on occasion sure ain't it amazing what happened when kids want to go deaf brother Johnny they go deaf you tell them something and it's like they heard nothing and mom and dad have to say how many times do I have to tell you we had a little dog a little dachshund dog his name was scooby-doo great little dog great little dog that dog taught me a lesson that dog could be right in front of you I mean right there and you could be yelling and screaming and he heard nothing but he could be at the other end of the house and if you open the icebox door he heard everything he came flying you say why are you telling us because you're hearing what you want to hear and then you're shutting your ears off to what you don't want to hear what would it take for you to say speak I want to hear yeah but brother Gibbs what what if God wants me to do something that oh you're talking Esther Oh she'd had never wanted to do that that was peril in the extreme now we know that she didn't perish when she did it but she sure didn't know that what would it take for you to say speak Lord I'm listening a wonderful lady was in Bible College and God was speaking to her heart about going to the foreign field and suddenly she heard about some headhunters out of the highlands of Malaysia where all the missionaries had left because the people were being slaughtered they were eating them and God put a burden on her heart to go and people said watch go to a safe field why don't you go to a field where they're not eating people and she said I believe God's put on my heart to go through Malaysia she went to her pastor and her pastor said I'm a Green Beret Special Forces I've been in hundreds of firefights for the military I wouldn't go do you understand how savage these people are if God told you to go reach the headhunters would you go well I just don't think God would want that if he spoke to you would you go no mission board would send her she couldn't get anybody to go with her so she raised the money that go alone the lady's name is Margaret stringer she stood on this platform once the first time I met Margaret stringer I thought you can't be Margaret stringer you went and face the headhunters alone I mean I thought this has got to be like a female Rambo or something she's the most demure quiet petite feminine lady you've ever met she said I'm gonna go and she hired a chopper pilot an old oil pilot to fly her up into the highlands and he said I can't land because they've with their spears they bring us down they hit her our blades but I'll go up there and I'll let you rappel down she'd never rappelled in her life when they went up there this pilot turned to her and said miss stringer don't go they're gonna kill you but you can't imagine what they're gonna do while they kill you don't go she said no I'm gonna go what happened next was amazing this pilot started to cry and he turned turned he said I'll be back here in 30 days to pick you up but you won't be here don't go she went up and hugged the pilots neck and she said I don't have to come back I do have to go I don't have to come back I do have to go oh brother Gibbs not me I'm gonna be a play it safe guy I'm gonna be the one that's never in harm's way uh-uh but my whole thing is I want to live the American dream I just want to have a comfortable opulent lifestyle and then I want to die and go to heaven that's got something for you now what it is I don't know all I know is as his child he's got something for every person in this auditorium she repelled down and by the grace of God they picked a landing spot that came right down on top of a tribe where they had a 400 year old legend that one day a female God would come down out of the sky a white female God and you imagine and when she came down they all started worshiping her and she said no no no no I'm not that God but I've been sent by the real God and she said it was the easiest soul-winning you ever did in your life within one week's time she led that whole village to Christ then she said I want to go upriver I understand there's more tribes up there they said no no no don't go up there those are the headhunters were afraid of and she said no I'm gonna go Margaret stringer totally changed Malaysia one lady who had her ears hope speak Lord six times in Scripture Jesus said he that hath an ear let him hear now every person he was talking to had ears but the fact you got ears doesn't mean you're hearing she had a teachable spirit right the second thing down she had a peripheral spirit she said boy I want you to fast and pray three days I don't want you to eat or drink I'm gonna get my maids to do the same how many believe God's still in the prayer answering business he is but can I just tell you the catastrophe he said ask and he shall receive but then he says you have not because you ask that what are you asking for show me your prayer list when it said asking he shall receive it's the word for asking what specificity what are you specifically asking God to do for your family for your children for your marriage for your career for your life's work for America for this church what are you asking for he says what's impossible is only impossible with man it's never impossible with God but you have to ask Wow when's the last time you asked God for something impossible not difficult impossible Wow what are you asking right now for it amazes me everybody wants to sit down and watch all these news outlets whether it's fox or MSNBC or CBS doesn't matter which one will sit there and spend an hour when's the last time you prayed one hour for America well I love my country brother Gibbs do you love it enough to pray for it prayer moves the arm of God prayer changes everything please take this kindly there is no such thing as a good Christian with a bad prayer life did you hear me there is no such thing as a good Christian with a bad prayer life now I don't think there's anybody in this auditorium for this morning who would say pray I wasn't aware we were supposed to pray oh you're commanded to pray in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving the Bible says let your requests be made known unto God you're to talk to God about everything and prayer moves the arm of God I have a list I pray for my wife has 62 things on it I pray every day and I've shared this list hundreds of times hundreds and if you were to look at that list you'd go down it you'd say I want that I want that I want that I want that for my mate 62 times there's only one problem you're not asking you have not because you ask not what would it take for you to start asking I know when I get to heaven the Lord is gonna reprimand me brother Eddie he's gonna say David you asked for so pitiful little did you not understand I am all-powerful did you understand nothing's impossible why didn't you ask in faith believing ask in faith believing the Bible says and ye shall receive now here's one problem I can encourage you to pray but the only person who can pray for you is you that means that you have to take the moment and do it I was how many of you know the name Lester roll-off remember that great name I'm doing a trial and I went down to his motel room there were papers all over his bed the floor on the table and I said are these papers for the trial he said no I said well what are all these papers for I'm here hundreds of pages he said this is my prayer list I said this is your prayer list he said Dave and I'm asking God for a lot and then he turned to me and he said how did you get comfortable asking for so little how did you my friend get comfortable asking for so little the Almighty God says ask and ye shall receive John our rice the founder of the sword of the Lord said every failure in a Christians life is a prayer failure well Esther she had a teachable spirit but she had a prayerful spirit right the third and final thing down she had a sacrificial spirit a sacrificial spirit she was willing to put her very life's existence on the line a sacrificial spirit I was in Singapore and three young men came up to me and they said brother Gibbs would you pray for me I said sure be glad to they said the pray that will be bold and handing out gospel tracts I so count I'll do that for sure they said you preach on gospel tracts a lot you believe in him don't you I said I do indeed they said well pray we'd be bold I said okay I said is there a problem where you live they said yes I said what's the problem they said brother Gibbs where we live if they catch you handing out a gospel tract they cut your hand off I said they do what he said they cut your hand up and if they catch you doing it again they cut your other hand off and if they catch you witnessing a third time they cut your tongue out I said if you had people in your church that have had their hands cut off dozens our pastor has no hands no tongue pray that we'll be bold and they held out their hands like this pray that we're willing to sacrifice these to get the gospel out I said whoa boys whoa I shouldn't be praying for you you need to pray for me we've never had better looking tracks it's never been easier to do and we've never done it less I hope this isn't you but in our lawsuits what we find is that 96% of the people in our churches never hand attract to anybody we just don't do it and there is no cost just handing it to somebody are you willing to be bold enough to sacrifice what someone would think of you for handing a trap down I don't know where the track racks are in the halls out here but they should be picked clean today a track rack doesn't do any good if the tracks stay in it you've got to get them out into the field I saw one of these young men not quite two years later and I said I remember you I said I see you still have your hands he said I do he said one of the young men has lost both I said really he said yeah and brother Gibbs he's rejoicing that he was counted worthy to get the gospel out how sacrificial are you willing to be I promise you were living in a day where the Bible says it's perilous times but we've got a great instructor and what God did in the life of Esther she was teachable she was prayerful and she was sacrificial whatever it takes we get to heaven I sure want to meet Jesus I want to see Paul and Peter I want to see Matthew and Mark but I want to see Esther so you're the young lady that God used to change everything you had a teachable spirit you had a absolutely prayerful spirit and you had a sacrificial spirit this morning I beg you if you're here and you know Jesus Christ as your Savior don't leave here the same as you don't leave here without God speaking to your heart teachable prayerful sacrificial it will change everything

Channel: First Baptist Church of Hammond

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Length: 27min 52sec (1672 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 04 2019