For Such a Time as This, Part 2 (Esther 5)

my wife came home from the market not too long ago and and the SUV was filled with groceries so it's my job to lug them in and I don't know why but I try to get as many bags on each arm as I possibly can you know these plastic bags are they handle so I just start stringing them up my arm and and and I walk in now now here's all these bags they're filled with everything from paper towels to a cereal to vegetables two cans of different things and in one of those bags there was a carton of eggs so I load all the bags up and I'm carrying them in and I dropped one bag what bag did I drop that's right of course why is that it's called the law of Murphy Murphy's Law which is if anything can go wrong it will and usually at the most in opportune moment now I say that kiddingly but there are certain laws that never change no matter what first of all there's a law of gravity discovered by Newton it basically says things tend to fall downward or as it's often stated what goes up must come down the law of gravity now you may say I don't believe in the law of gravity but that doesn't change it it's always in play then there's the law of thermo-dynamics which effectively says all things are breaking down or another way to look at it you will be quite a bit older by the end of this service number three there's the biblical law of sowing and reaping Galatians 6:7 says don't be deceived God is not mocked whatsoever a man sows doubt will he also reap if he sews of the flesh reap corruption but if these souls of the Spirit he'll reap life everlasting there's no getting around this law it's always in play the law of sowing and reaping or maybe it's a more modern version of it would be what goes around comes around well we see this law the love sowing and reaping on display in our message today here in the book of Esther now let's pick up where we last left off you remember Xerxes is the king of Persia insert' sees has a queen named vas T a beautiful woman so the King decides to throw a big feast he invites all the important people in his kingdom drinks were on the house courtesy of the king and in sort of a drunken stupor the King decides it would be a great idea to parade his gorgeous queen around for everyone to admire and he told her to come in wearing her crown and most commentators believe that's all he wanted her to wear in other words he wanted her to come and walk around naked so all the guys could look at her and say oh wow what an amazing wife the King has well Vashti had her pride she refused to do this so this created sort of an incident in his kingdom his advisor said no you can't let her get away with that because if she gets away with that it stays Queen then all of our wives are gonna come and say to us you can't treat this that way Vashti stood up to the king and won't stand up to you so the King said you have a point so boss tease out now he needs a new queen so they effectively have a Miss Persia beauty contest to be held and women from all around the kingdom enter into it they really don't have a choice well that's where the real hero of our story enters in a young girl named Hadassah also known as Esther now she was being raised by her godly older cousin Mordecai and his family and that's because Esther's parents had died so she was summoned into the presence of the Queen and much of the chagrin of all the other Persian girls Esther won the contest and she became the new queen of Persia now if this was a fairy tale that would end there with the words and they lived happily ever after but this story it's just getting started God is putting the right people in the right place for the singer really playing out enter the villain of the story that would be Heymann Haman wants a law that would eradicate and exterminate the Jewish people as it turns out one day Haman who was a prime minister was walking down the street Mordecai the cousin of Esther would not bow when everyone else did Heymann was so incensed by this he decided he wanted Mordechai dead if that wasn't bad enough he wanted Mordecai's entire race that Jewish people put to death as well and does so Hemans clever he knows how to manipulate the king he goes and says now King these Jewish people there they're not doing what you want them to do and by the way they have a lot of money so I'm thinking we ought to confiscate all of their wealth put it into our treasury and wipe them all out the King totally oblivious to the fact that his very Queen Esther is a Jew agrees to this law and signs it into place now here's the twist in the story I already mentioned that Esther had not told the King that she was Jewish why because cousin Mordecai told her not to now some would be critical of Esther saying in effect she was sort of compromising her witness why did she not tell him well fact is if she had told him she was a Jew it's entirely possible she would not be the Queen at this moment but so maybe there was a purpose in it but if she was right or wrong I'll tell you this much when the moment came for something to be done Esther rallied big time and you know sometimes we can say that some people didn't start off that well in the Christian life they stumbled and fell a few times but it's important to start well but it's even more important important to finish well and even if you've messed up if you can correct your course and do what's right in the end that can really make a difference and we obviously stories in the Bible of people that had great potential and started well only to crash and burn like King Saul or Samson then we have those that started poorly but finished with flying colors Nicodemus comes to mind he came to Jesus in John 3 our Lord told him he needed to be born again he sort of disappears from the narrative but at the end of the Gospel story after Christ has been crucified were the disciples for the most part they're in hiding where's Nicodemus front and center along with Joseph of Arimathea asking for the body of the Lord effectively Nicodemus a leaning Pharisee a man of renown was coming out publicly and stating that he was now a follower of Jesus Christ so maybe he didn't start with great promise but he sure did finish well so here now his Esther and her moment has come now understand the situation this laws been signed and signs had been placed around the kingdom effectively saying if you're a Jew you're gonna die in one year signed King Xerxes and Prime Minister Haman and so everyone was aware of this and amazingly Esther was oblivious to what was happening in the kingdom she was up there living in the lap of luxury not knowing about the plight of her people so Mordecai wants to get her attention but he didn't ever cell number nor could he text her there was no way to communicate with her so he stood outside of the palace in public view hoping that Esther would see him so someone came down stir and said you know your uh cousin Mordecai yes well he's outside dressed in sackcloth and ashes oh she says here send him some clean clothes and they send the clothes to Mordecai and he sends this message back to Esther don't you think for a moment that you'll escape there in the palace when all the other Jews are killed if you keep quiet at a time this deliver ensure the Jews will come from another place and you and your relatives will die once more who can say that you've not been elevated to the palace for such a time as this let me loosely paraphrase that Esther check it out your people are dying and if you don't do something you're gonna die - did it ever even dawn on you for a moment God put you where you are for a reason and maybe this is the reason you're there for such a time as this and I bring that same idea to you you know sometimes we're unhappy with where we're at in life we're unhappy with our job we're unhappy with our spouse we're unhappy with our pastor I hope not we're unhappy with our circumstances were unhappy with our neighbors we're any happy with this we're any happy with that did it ever dawn on you that God has put you where you are for such a time is this that actually you're not there by coincidence you are there by Providence well that was certainly the case with Esther so now she's gonna have to do something she says I'm gonna go to the king and I'm gonna plead the case of the Jewish people now here's just sort of a sidebar what does it deal with Haman why would he want to eradicate an entire race over such a minor infraction okay so Mordecai didn't bow before him and he wants to exterminate all of the Jews I suggest you there's an overriding purpose here and that is because the devil was in the details the devil hates the Jewish people why does the devil hate the Jewish people simple answer Satan hates what God loves it's the same reason he hates you a follower of Jesus Christ Satan hates what God loves but I think there's another reason why the devil working through Kaman was trying to eliminate the Jewish people and this goes back to a grudge that the devil had been holding since the Garden of Eden and I'll tell you what if anyone holds a grudge its Lucifer and you know what it was over it was after Adam and Eve either the forbidden fruit and the curse came upon humanity and a battle line was drawn and God said to Satan there is coming one who will bruise your head but she will bruise his heel in other words God was saying devil you're on notice I'm sending the Messiah and the Messiah is gonna crush you so just be aware of that so the devil knew Messiah was coming the devil's not stupid he knows not only is Messiah coming but he's coming through the Jewish people so Satan thinks if I can kill the Jews that means no Messiah so go back to the book of Exodus and you find the Pharaoh wanting to wipe out all those Jewish baby boys now God intervenes and spares the life of Moses and he delivers the Israelites then we come to the book of Esther Haman wants to kill all the Jewish people fast forward to the Gospel of Matthew when King Herod finds out that there was one that has been born the King of the Jews what does he do he slaughters all the baby boys in Bethlehem and then go right up to the cross and Satan enters the heart of Judas Iscariot who portrays the Lord for thirty pieces of silver why because Satan was trying to stop Jesus but here's the thing the devil didn't realize and that is he did not understand that it was the purpose a plan of God for Messiah to die on the cross the devil thought when Jesus was crucified he had succeeded and in a way he had he had succeeded in helping the purposes of God come to be be a reality and that fulfills that passage where God said to Satan you will bruise his heel but he will crush your head when Jesus died on the cross Isaiah 53 says Christ was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised our iniquities the punishment for our peace was upon him and by His stripes we are healed so coming back now to the book of Esther here's Haman now trying to stop the Jews but Esther is prepared put everything on the line look at Esther chapter 4 I know I told you to turn to five but flip back to four for a moment and look at verse 15 she says all right I'm gonna go see the King she says go and gather together all the Jews of souza and fast for me it's just another way of saying pray for me don't eat or drink for three days night or day my mates and I will do the same and though it's against the law I'm gonna go see the King if I must die I'm willing to die see she was risking everything because you couldn't go see the King without being summoned and the King and not summon her but she says I'm gonna put it all on the line and if I die I die yes Esther was a legendary Beauty attractive on the outside without question but she had inner character to match and that character was about to be revealed listen to this character is not made in crisis it's only exhibited let me say that again character is not made in crisis it is only exhibited it's been said Christians are a lot like teabags you don't know what they're made of until you put them in hot water and really when people go through difficulties or hardships you find out how real their commitment to Christ actually is if someone goes to hardship it says I lost my faith through that my response might surprise you I would say if something bad has happened in your life and it caused you to lose your faith my response is good lose that faith because the faith that cannot be tested is that faith that cannot be trusted and if your faith cannot survive a crisis then how real is your faith but you see Esther had true character she was really a woman another certainly shown here she's not a mere beauty queen she's a Hebrew warrior but she's gonna wait on the Lord for the right time in the right place and ask the Lord to give her the right words to share with the King so she asks all of her friends to pray for her and we're asking you to pray for us as we do harvest America in Philadelphia and praying together all right let's read now the story esther 5 verse 1 i'm reading from the New Living Translation three days later extra put on our royal robes and entered the inner court of the palace just across from the King Saul the king was sitting on his royal throne facing the entrance when he saw Queen Esther standing there in the inner court he welcomed her holding up the gold scepter and asked her approached and touched its tip the King asked her what do you want o Queen Esther what's your request I'll give it to you even if it's up to half of my kingdom Esther replied well it would please your majesty let the king and Haman come today to a pink what I've prepared for the king the King turned to the attendants and said tell Haman to come quickly to a banquet as Esther has requested so the king and Haman went to Esther's banquet and while they were drinking wine the King said to Esther tell me now what you really want what is your request I'll give it to you even if it's out to half of my kingdom as to replied this is my request a my deepest wish if your majesty is pleased with me and wants to grant my request please come with Haman tomorrow I'll stop there this is interesting she comes in her royal robes let's update that she got all dolled up she was looking fine she walked in the Kings like yes that's my queen come on in Esther what's going on you're welcome I'll give you half my kingdom well I wanted to throw a big feast and then you talked to a guy about food you're on the right track it's a great paint quit and I want you to come and I want to Cayman to come absolutely he says and he sets it into motion now why did Esther not just spill the beans then and there why didn't she just say King husband this man Cayman wants to kill the Jewish people and he wants to kill me because she was waiting for the right time I'm glad she waited because there's a certain irony in the story it would not have taken place if she had said what she had to say that listen to this Solomon wrote there is a time for every event under heaven a time to be silent and a time to speak you see sometimes you need to speak up sometimes you need to shut up and you need to pray for wisdom what should I do is this some moment Lord to say something is this some moment Lord to be silent that's what Esther was doing and you know what we all have a king in our life and by that I mean someone that's in some kind of an authority position that may intimidate us maybe it's a boss maybe it's a professor maybe it's a husband that doesn't believe you're afraid to even speak to them maybe it's a friend it's a neighbor it's a family member who you would love to see come to faith but you're intimidated you're afraid you don't want to start the conversation and that person seemed so together so strong so tough imagine how Stephen felt when he was preaching the gospel of the Sanhedrin here stood these men who had in their hand the power of life and death and with one word they could let him go home for dinner and with another word he would be put to death and I wonder if on that day as Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin if he did not zero in on one man in particular he seemed to be their leader he was a relatively young man a very powerful man a very feared man he was known as Saul from Tarsus he was renowned for his intellect his mind he was educated by the greatest teachers of the day and I wonder if Steven thought what if God got hold of that guy and so Steven began to preach the gospel much of the chagrin of the Sanhedrin the order was given Stephen was put to death he was martyred by being stoned and they threw their garments at the feet of solve the story tells us and which means that saul was in charge well you know the rest of that story don't you because Saul on the Damascus Road on his way to hunt down arrest and execute Christians met the risen Lord and I think if you could say one person impacted his life it would have to be Stephen so here's my point you may know someone like a Saul someone you cannot imagine ever becoming a believer listen no one is beyond the reach of God there's no person in power today that God cannot move in the direction he wants them to move no King no Queen no Prime Minister no president has ever intimidated God no husband no parent no boss and for that matter no person proverbs 20:1 one says the king's heart is like channels of waters in the hand of the lord he turns it wherever he wishes so Esther now bold as a lion goes before the king and gives her request and and so Heymann is informed guess what you've been summoned by the king and his wife the Queen for a special banquet so Kaman is thinking yes everything is working out the way I wanted to work all my scheming am i plotting and my undermining is finally coming to fruition the Queen herself has invited me to a king along with a king to the banquet verse 9 says what a happy man Haman was as he left that banquet so he's been invited out to another dinner and he's happy interesting this phrase happy in verse nine it could be translated pure joy Haman was experiencing pure joy 100% pure twisted evil joy it's amazing to me how some people can actually take to light and the suffering of others see see their plans of treachery succeed or the downtrodden stepped-on brings a perverted pleasure to their wicked heart so he's bursting with happiness and he gets home and and something still bugging him because as he's on his way home almost with a skip in his step he sees Mordechai again because I that Mordechai I'm gonna get you sucker you know you've had your day you're gonna see and I'm gonna get you good I'll show you I'm a good favor with the king I'm in good favor with the Queen I'm taking you down but he didn't say anything he just passed by and he went home and he talked to his wife that appears to be creepier than he was her name was eros and he says you know that Mordechai really gets under my skin what can I do she says well since here takes you so badly why don't you build a gallows about 75 feet high and hang him high for everybody to see as a warning to anyone who would ever oppose your power he says I love that idea that guy loved it so much let's start building the gallows now so he brings in a work crew and they're working on it through the night that's music to twisted aim Amon skiers he just loved the sound of those hammers hitting those nails the gallows were being framed soon the Rope would be straw hung and it was all going to happen and Haman would die and all the Jews along with him or so he thought but listen God was not absent norm was God napping man is his way but God will always have his will Esther had gone to the king the people had been praying and now we're gonna see how the biblical law of sowing and reaping works out now here's a little twist in the story that I love one night the king of Persia could not sleep and he probably tried all the homemade remedies from drinking warm milk to counting sheep but then he decided one of the best ways to go to sleep was to read but when you're the king you have people read to you right so he called someone in it says read me something that will homie fall asleep how about the history of the Persian Empire so literally this guy is reading the history of the country and he comes across a story I in it about an assassination plot against the king that had been uncovered by Mordecai really now I forgot about that or maybe I never knew about that how was Mordecai rewarded for that great deed of uncovering that plot so the guy reading it says well sire I I don't see that he was ever rewarded I don't think anything was ever done for him nothing was ever done for him after saving my life no well we need to remedy that so now the story's getting interesting and this is a reminder to us that sometimes there are things on life that we've done that have gone well shall we say uh appreciate it maybe you came up with a plan it was your decision and it caused somebody else to be promoted they got the credit they got the glory they got the status and you got nothing but listen to this the Lord knows the Lord knows everything that you do and you will be rewarded for every act of client kindness and every word of testimony us yet you have given Hebrews 6:10 says God is not unjust he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to so Mordecai did this thing he never was given anything and now he's going to reap what he sowed in a positive way you see the love sowing and reaping is not just negative it's also positive if he sowed of the flesh Yury corruption Galatians says but then it says if you sowed of the Spirit sorry to make you the corruption but it fit but if you sow to the spirit now I actually would no not nuts if you sort of the spiritual reap life everlasting now he sowed to the spirit he was faithful now he's gonna be black so the next morning the king wants to do something he's all excited about it Haman shows up he's all excited about the gallows he's erected for him and even wants to tell the King what he is about to do so the King gets up and he says is anyone around right now yeah your Prime Minister is right outside the palace oh really bring him in so Eamon comes walking in the King says listen I have a situation I want to really reward somebody I want to honor somebody I want to do something really nice for somebody if you were in charge what would you do Haman thinking the king is talking about him says well I would take this man you want to honor and I would I would dress him in the Kings royal robes I would lead him to the city on one of the Kings royal stallions with a crown in his head and I would say this is what happens to the men that the king wants to honor the king says that's a great idea do it for Mordecai chi-chi-chi guys what for who you mean for a Haman man no no no Mordecai do it for Mordecai such a great story he was like don't so he gets a royal stallion and he puts the Kings robes and the king's crown on Mordecai and has to actually lead the stallion through town with Mordecai riding at st. this is what happens to the man that the king wants to honor this is what happens to the man the king wants honor Mordecai is like whatever he wasn't seeking this he didn't care this not much about it but it was even going to get worse it was going to go from bad to worse look at Esther 6 now verse 11 so Hema took some rope put in a Mordecai place it on him to come to the city verse 12 and he hurried home dejected and completely humiliated he was hoping his creepy wife Suresh would have some words of encouragement look at what she says in verse 13 when Haman told his wife Zahra SH and all his friends wouldn't happen they said since Mordecai this man who has humiliated you is a Jew you will never succeed in your plans against him it will be fatal to continue to oppose him loose paraphrase you're dead meat bye-bye now here's the third same look you need to stop Heymann this is out of control don't do this anymore he should have given the command tear those gallows down he should have repented before God he should have gone to the king and said no I don't want to do that anymore but he still held out hope that he could take Mordecai down he didn't admit his wrongdoing he didn't do anything to change it so now he's gonna reap what he saw because there's a knock at the door Esther 6 verse 14 while they were still talking the Kings eunuchs arrived to take him into the banquet Esther it prepared so the king and Haman went to Queen Esther's banquet and while they were drinking wine that day the King asked her tell me what you want Queen Esther what's your request I'll give it to you up to half of the kingdom as Queen Esther replied if your Majesty is pleased with me and wants to grant my request my petition is at my life and the lives of my people would be spared so now Esther is prayed and this is a time to speak up verse 7 for for my people and I have been sold to those who would kill slaughter and annihilate us if we had only been sold as slaves I would have remained quiet but that would have been a matter too trivial to warrant disturbing the king while the king man his blood is starting to boil he loves Esther what what do you mean eradicate your people what do you mean put you to death who would dare to even suggest such a thing verse 5 as to reply verse 6 this wicked Haman his our enemy points right at Haman Haman grew pale with fright before the king and queen I should think so and the King jumped to his feet in a rage and went into the palace garden but Haman stayed behind to plead for his life with Queen Esther three knew he was doomed in despair he fell in the counts with the Queen was reclining just as the King returned returned from the palace garden and the King says will you now assault the Queen and the palace before my very eyes the King roared as soon as the King smoked his attendants covered Heyman's face signaling his doom and then harbona one of the Kings eunuch said Haman has set up a gallows that stands 75 feet tall in his own car courtyard he wanted to hang Mordecai there the guy that saved you from assassination the King orders then hang Haman on it so they hang him and on the gallows he had set up for Mordecai and the Kings anger was pacified on that same day King Xerxes gave the estate of Haman the enemy of the Jews to Queen Esther is this a great story or what what do we learn from this story number one God is always present and at work whether we feel him or not again as always present and at work whether we filled him or not you remember I mentioned and my first message in Esther the name of the Lord is never specifically mentioned in this book yet God is present in every scene and in the movement of every event moving everything toward its intended purpose and listen the same is true of your life the Lord is often working through the humdrum day-to-day circumstances of life I mean think about this in the story God worked through such ordinary human events as insomnia the reading of a book the anger of a man and the timing of events God's in the details number two God can take impossible situations and turn them around for his glory God can take impossible situations and turn them around for his glory think about how bleak things look in the beginning of the book of Esther we have an indifferent King we have a wicked Haman and we have a paralyzed people Haman was in power Mordecai headed to the gallows and Esther and her people as well or condemned to a certain death by the decree of the king what of the people do they pray what did God do he answered how does a story in Mordecai is in human's position of prime minister well all of his wealth and power the Jews are saved and now even in charge and Haman is swinging by his own rope now that's what I would call justice I heard a story about a man who was shipwrecked on an uninhabitable Island he painstakingly built a little hot for protection but the elements from the elements where he could keep a few items that he salvaged from the wreck and for weeks he lived in this little hot and then he would scan the horizon looking for a ship to approach but none King then one evening when he returned from his search for food he was terrified to find his little hot in flames he had left a fire burning in it and and ignited the entire cut and now there was this big fire in his hut was burning down he was so depressed thinking all hope is lost and the next morning he woke up and he hears a voice and it's a voice of a man who was the captain of a ship who said we saw your smoke signal and we came to rescue you see here's my point what can seem like a disaster maybe a smoke signal to heaven leading to your deliverance what may seem like the worst thing may one day turn into the best thing or at least if not the best thing you'll see how God can even work through calamity in your life number three you will reap what you sow as I said this is positive and negative you know we know what happens in unbelievers when they break God's commandments we know what happens to people that disregard what God says but what about the person who keeps God's commandments what about the person who is faithful to the Lord they too will reap what they have sown as others have sown to the flesh you as a Christian have sown to the spirit while others have sow their Wild Oats over the years you've sowed spiritual seed while others have pursued fun you pursued faith while others pursued parties you pursue prayer while others pursued sexual pleasure you pursued sexual purity while others pursued this world you pursued the next while others feel used you feel knew you're gonna be blessed for your faithfulness to the Lord in your on your way of honoring him over the years he's gonna more than make it up to to you so here's the thing to think about every day when we get up in the morning we're either sowing to the flesh or we're sowing to the spirit her the story of a man I believe he was from India that had two dogs that were always fighting and someone asked him which dog wins he says well I decide what dog wins they said how do you decide that he said whichever one I feed the most wins so you have sort of like two dogs fighting in your life it's a new nature and it's an old nature and everything you decide which dog's gonna win so you get them in the morning say I'm gonna read the Word of God oh you're feeding the good dog I'm gonna pray again sowing to the spirit and I'm gonna read that devotion good and I'm going to go to church I'm gonna listen to this Bible study or you know you just make those right decisions I'm gonna resist that temptation I'm gonna do the right thing man you're sowing to the spirit and every one of those decisions but then you get up in the next morning is the eye I'm not gonna read today I'm too busy you know I'm not gonna pray about that I don't have time to go to church I'm gonna go ahead and give in to that temptation I'm gonna go ahead and and just do this other thing now you're sowing to the flesh you're feeding the wrong dog and now you're gonna read the consequences of it so think about the way you live your life cuz every small decision ultimately builds up to a bigger result it's been summed up this way so I thought reap and act so enact reap a habit so a habit reap a character so a character reap a destiny so what crop have you been sowing - lately what crop have you been planting well I think you guys here in the first service are clearly sowing to the spirit I mean why else would you be here at this hour I'm only here because you're here so you made the decision I'm gonna get a very early Sunday morning and go to church that's a very good decision and I commend you for that you're sowing to the spirit and I think you're blessed as a result aren't you do you ever regret afterwards doing this I don't think so so let's shift cures him wrap this message up I'm gonna close with one final thought estra was willing to lay her life on the line for her people she said I'm gonna I'm gonna lay it down and she said if I die I die well as it turns out she did not die but in fact she lived well Jesus effectively did the same thing he said if I die I die but he did die yes Satan thought he had succeeded Satan thought he had prevailed the devil thought he had won but in effect he had helped God accomplish his ultimate purpose because the scripture says it pleased the father to bruise him it was part of God's plan but then Jesus rose again from the dead three days later we talk about Jesus time don't forget Jesus rose that was the message of the early church that's what set Christ apart from everybody else not that he tied many men have died many women have died Jesus rose again he voluntarily died and he voluntarily raised himself up again from the grave and because of his death in his resurrection we now have the hope of life beyond the grave that's right so I close with this maybe you've joined us today and you are not yet a believer in Jesus you've not put your faith in Christ yet you don't have this certainty that if you were to die you would go to heaven I want to give you an opportunity to believe in him and be forgiven of all of your sin so if you need to do that respond to this invitation right now let's all bow our heads and pray and father I pray for any that have joined us who may not yet know you or they've never asked for your forgiveness they're living separated from you by their sin today they're afraid of dying they're afraid of the afterlife and then they've been reaping what they have sown in this life and it hasn't been pretty they've had to face consequences for bad decisions and they don't know how to turn things around lord help them to see that if anyone believes in you they could be an altogether different kind of person and the old things will pass away and everything will become fresh in you help them to come to you now we would ask in Jesus name now when our heads are bowed our eyes are closed and we're praying how many of you would say today Greg I want my sin forgiven I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and be my saver on my Lord if that's your desire if you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life today if he would like him to forgive you of your sin would you raise your hand up wherever you're sitting and let me pray for you god bless you god bless you raise your hand up for I can see it please up there in the balcony god bless you as well in the middle of the balcony in the back there god bless anybody else you want God's forgiveness today you want Christ to come into your life god bless you god bless you god bless each one of you well my heads are still bowed maybe some of you would say you know I've fallen away from the Lord I've been a prodigal son or daughter but I want to return to Christ today pray for me if you need to come back to Jesus would you raise your hand up and let me pray for you today you need to come back to the lord god bless you god bless you god bless all of you unless you now I'm going to ask every one of you then a raise your hand if you would please I want you to stand to your feet and I'm gonna lead you in a prayer just stand up right where you are right there at your seat that's right just stand up others are standing you won't be the only one people are standing right now god bless you just stand up if you raise your hand even if you did not but you want to make this commitment or recommitment at Jesus and I'm gonna lead you in a prayer stand to your feet god bless you anybody else come bless you one final moment if you haven't stood yet and you want to stand right now and we're gonna pray let's get this resolved so you can be right with God today anybody else stand now god bless you all right all of you that are standing I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me again as I pray pray this prayer out loud right we used an okay pray this after me now Lord Jesus I know I'm a sinner but you died in the cross for my sin and I'm sorry for it I turned from it and I choose to follow Jesus from this moment forward thank you for loving me and calling me and forgiving me in Jesus name I pray amen god bless you let's welcome these folks god bless you you

Channel: Pastor Greg Laurie

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Keywords: harvest, greg, laurie, bible, Jesus, Christ, esther, for such a time as this, a time, unhappy, hopeless, church

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Length: 44min 58sec (2698 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 26 2013