The Invisible Hand of God - Part 1 - A Look at Esther

[Music] all right well good morning everyone good morning and welcome to the well here at STS a I know I say this all the time when I'm up here how excited I am for today but I gotta tell you I'm SuperDuper excited for today and the reason why for those who are just joining us here today for the first time is I have been off from preaching for what seems like an eternity they had me shut up and sat down in the chair over there for 1 2 3 4 Sundays I haven't been up here to speak and I got a lot stored up inside me and it's all coming out today so all the time limits go out not I'm just joking I'm just joking ok but seriously seriously is the early on in my priesthood I was trying to trying to figure something out here early on in my priesthood if you'd have told me you get four Sundays off from preaching I've been the happiest person in the whole wide world and this is a preacher love's a week off like everyone wants a week off so for me it used to always be like I I can't wait for a week off but somebody happened recently and I know what quite is see I used to want a week off because between getting nervous from getting up here onstage which I still get nervous I'm getting up here on stage and the preparation required and just the feeling of like you know all these eyes are looking at you and no matter how many times you do this you never want to be stared out by everybody in the whole wide world so I always feel like you know what if I could do anything other than preach that's the best and I still have the nerves and I still have the feeling of inadequacy and I still have that whatever but I have something greater these days which makes me want to get back hip up here on stage I'm still nervous I still don't feel like I'm good enough I still feel like I'm kind of out there but there's something that outweighs all those things you know what that is I have a passion for what I'm preaching and as nervous as I am and as serious as I take this and as much as I want to sit there in the crowd a verse and stand up here with the stage and the microphone all that stuff is that I feel like there's something good that I've discovered something great that I've discovered and when you know when you find something great something beautiful something amazing you want to share that like what fun is it to discover something great and I'll be able to share it with it right ladies what good is it to discover that the guy he proposed to you what's the fun of getting proposed if you can't share with all your friends you got to keep it a secret when you have a baby the first thing you unders you want to hold on will not bring a plug to have a baby what fun is it to eat chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast if you can't take a picture and show the whole wide world what's a great breakfast so that's how I feel and specifically in this series I want to share something that if you rip me deep inside and open up inside me at my core of what drives me and what pushes me what motivates me and Who am I at my core you're going to find the message that I'm gonna share today and over the next four weeks today and over the next three weeks I should say which is based on a story of a lady named Esther but before I tell you her story let me back up and tell you when this message came clear to me the year was 2010 I'd been approaching ten years of priesthood and at that time I was serving and we were doing great and the church was great and everything was great and I'm serving I'm serving I'm serving and I'm working hard and I'm loving what I'm doing but something was a little off something was a little off the best way that I can describe it to people is that I hadn't quite yet found my sweet spot and you know for those who play in tennis or baseball or nei with a concept of the sweet spot if you're playing tennis okay you have a racquet and anywhere on the racquet will move the ball but there's the sweet spot that's the best spot to hit it in if you hit it on the sweet spot little effort four ways good power from very look like that sweet spot that the whole thing can get the job done but your sweet spot and I believe that everyone has a sweet spot in life with your career and with my career and with your service and with my service and I was serving and I was doing but I hadn't quite yet found my sweet spot and I felt very strongly I knew what my sweet spot was my sweet spot was bringing an ancient fate to a modern world I always felt like that's where like that's what God made me to do was to take the beauty that we have in orthodoxy and to bring that to people who may not have grown up in it or maybe grew up thinking that is one thing but it's not really that like the whole last two series that we were talking about like that's me at my core to bring an ancient fate to a modern world to show people that maybe God isn't who they think he is and to really go out there and take that message to people who never heard it before so I started praying and I started praying and I started praying and I really felt with all my heart like I said I've been a priest about ten years at the time and I was serving in a big church over the out there and Fairfax and I really felt that in order to really take this ancient fate to a modern world we needed to start a new church I really felt with all my heart that was the step that needed to take place next so I didn't want anyone any spiritual person with you I played I say please God make this happen and I prayed and please God open the doors and I prayed and I prayed I prayed and I prayed and what happened was nothing you know crickets that's what my prayer was and the more I prayed and the more I fasted nothing was happening at least so I thought and I would say okay God you put this on my heart like I don't put this on my heart like you put this on my heart you want this is a good thing you want this you make it happen you open the door no door you give a sign to everyone else who has to make this decision that this is right I remember we would go and we would visit the Pope alright so you meet the Pope and where you meet the Pope is there's a billion people okay and you go one by one and you greet okay individually and like the famous priests like he knows them he greets them by name the me priest like the guys in the back of the room like we just want to just get in there and him not kick you out of the parties but so I'm going in I'm like okay no I'm gonna meet the Pope like the Pope is a man of God the Pope is like on the hierarchy the totem-pole of like close to God it's like it's like God the Angels say Mary Pope like he he's right there in tune so God put this on my heart God for sure ran it by the bed like I got the God the approval so imma go up to the pump I'm smiling he's gonna say you I want you to start a new church and Arlington Virginia and I'm expecting so I'm up there in line and I'm gonna call him he just looks at me like a to the left so I'm like you know I mean like anything you want to say like right now nothing no I mean like next was kind of the way I was always and the more and more I prayed and the more I was waiting for a sign the more every no doors were opening and nothing was happening and then I read a story about a woman who lived in the fifth sense BC named Esther and her story changed my life this story which can be found in the Bible in the Old Testament doesn't talk about heaven and hell doesn't have any prophecies about the coming Messiah doesn't talk about player or faith or miracles it's actually the only book in the entire Bible in case you ever end up on Jeopardy the only book in the entire Bible that does not even mention the name of God and that book taught me something which like I said if you go deep inside me and you want to know who is father Anthony what drives what motivates what pushes father Anthony it's exactly this lesson I'm gonna share the message with you right now and I'll show you where it came from that message is this the message is this the message I learned that during that time period the message I want to share with you over these next four weeks is the invisible hand of God never ever ever ever ever ever ever stops working it's invisible so you can't see so you got to kind of sort of take my word on it because you can't see it but the invisible hand of God no matter what you don't see happening and what doors you don't see opening the invisible hand of God never ever ever stops working it's at that point time that it came to the realization a phrase that I've shared many times and I talk about it all the time that God's silence does not equal God's absence that God's silence just because you see nothing doesn't mean nothing just because you hear nothing doesn't mean nothing that God's silence not equal God's absence it's at that point in time that I came up with his picture in my mind you know when you go to the orchestra or the symphony or that whatever okay I'd never gone but let's say you did go to one of these things okay I used to always wonder you know that this guy okay like this guy I'm like you have all these people playing on the harp and these people playing on you know the the tuba and these people are here playing on the recorder I don't know okay I'm not a musical guy and he's people all doing this stuff and at the end of it all these people and no one does nothing one guy we didn't pick up an instrument didn't make any effort oh he didn't do like this okay good like this for an hour again there everyone caught for him and say god bless that guy he's the best and give him all the credit what's the deal with that guy he didn't do anything that these guys doing all the work would you know what what I discover for musical people who tell me this that's actually the most important guy in the story is that that guy doesn't seem like he's doing anything but that guy who is invisible for most of the production you don't see him you see tuba see flute you see violin you don't see maestro guy but here in this story the maestro walks out and everyone realizes he was running the show the entire time that's gone that's God in your life today and I want to show you that over the next coming weeks when I learned that lesson back in 2010 when that God kind of opened my eyes to that from that moment on I started to believe in the invisible hand of God things took a turn and my life's never been the same ever since this stuff once I started believing in God's invisible hand that he was working when I couldn't see him working then stuff that was invisible started to become visible then doors that I didn't even know existed because I kept looking for him to open this door and doors that really no existed all of a sudden open and stuff started to happen in me personally stuff started happened in the landscape or the church stuffy avatar to happen in my wife and her search for a job which I'll tell you be happy to tell you that story sometime but not right now God started working and working and we say that again God started opening my eyes to the work that he had been doing the entire time and the end result here we are today bringing an ancient faith to a modern world how did all that come from work in the Bible well that's we're gonna talk about before we jump into the story of Esther I hope you are you as excited as I am about the story that I do a good job of making you excited okay because I hope that I conveyed it I can go back in till more stories if you're not excited okay I hope you're excited as I but I have to warn you right off the bat Before we jump into the story that we talked about this story and we read this story it's going to change and challenge a lot of what you believe about God is going to challenge you to rethink a lot of the stuff that you always kind of thought that's why it's a perfect follow-up to the last two series when we were kind of talking about the God we grew up in maybe not the God we that actually exists in the first place and I'm gonna challenge you to think outside of what maybe you raised to think for example I'm gonna challenge you to believe that God speaks louder in silence than he does when he speaks vocally audibly that God silence is more instructive than his voice oftentimes I'm gonna challenge you to believe that the times where you can feel God's presence are important but the times where you can't feel his presence are actually more important and the most what's this one the most important work that God will do in your life oftentimes will be completely invisible to the naked eye and you will never even see it and I give you the analogy like you saw in the little video up front the perfect picture if I take a seed and I put it in the soil and I drop it in there and I bury it and then I come out the next day what do I see nothing but I come out the next day nothing next day nothing next day nothing so what I'm gonna do in that situation well we do spiritual oftentimes say you know what shut her down the operation didn't work I dropped the seed waited for days I did the water I did this stuff nothing happened shut her down move on to the next garden oh no no no no no no no not quite yet because we are now smart enough to understand just because we don't see stuff happening doesn't mean nothing is happening and we realize that the most important stuff is actually happening right now the most important stuff because it's starting to go down and build out roots and pulling nutrients here and bring in stuff from the soil and all kinds of stuff is happening and eventually you see a little spunk come up but that knows about you'll be a fool if you think that the work began once you saw something over ground the most important work in the seed happens underneath the soil where you will never ever ever see and I believe the same is true in your life that's why our theme verse is Romans chapter 11 verse 33 all the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how searchable or his judgments and his ways past finding out and I'm gonna try to convince you over the coming weeks that this is true in your life that you cannot search out and discover the ways of God so just because you don't understand it just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there it just simply means that you don't see it but if you learn to trust it then I promise you it'll change your life and actually you know what you already trusted you already you already trust that stuff important stuff is happening that you can't feel and you can't see you already believe and I'll prove it to you everyone right now in this room is sitting still correct everyone's sitting still wrong you at this moment in time moving a thousand miles per hour in a circle as the earth is rotating every day 24 hours like this okay you're moving a thousand miles now right now you're moving thousand miles now as the earth is spinning around anybody feel nauseous anybody like hair is like flying around anybody you feel nothing but you know they're just because I feel nothing you're smart enough to be able to get this and actually forget about thousand miles an hour you're actually moving even faster than that as the earth is spinning around the second half - you're moving you're moving at 66,000 miles an hour that's more than a thousand miles per minute and a thousand miles spread it means you could go from from DC to San Francisco in three minutes and that's how fast you're moving everybody hold on you trust what you feel sitting still or you trust what you know moving at a thousand miles an hour you trust what you see nothing is moving nothing is shaking or you trust what you know which is that we are moving if you believe that a seed is growing underground and you can't see it and you believe the earth is spinning and you can't feel it and why won't you believe that God is working even though you can't see or feel that either you can say if it says it this way and Psalm 121 love this purse Psalm 121 verse 3 and 4 says he will not let your foot slip he who watches over you will not slumber he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep God didn't take naps God doesn't have like when I was praying during that time I felt like I would pray and there would be like someone would come from heaven and be like I'm sorry you missed to come back tomorrow that's how I felt that's all I never feel like no one's listening like come back bakers hours to come back tomorrow no God never slumbers God never sleeps God's ever like ah no God is always open God is always working just cuz you don't see it doesn't mean that it's not happening how in the world did I get all that message from a book that doesn't even mention the name of God let's jump into the book alright and first of all we do the book let's introduce our characters there's five main characters in this book all right you see them listed up on the screen the first one that will be introduced to is king house you Harris let's say that one together say after me say house you Harris has you're Harris King Ahaz you're Harris we open up the story he is the king of the Persian Empire he's the most powerful man in the world this moment in time he is Empire right now is pretty much settled it's in peace he's not at war at this moment in time but he if he wanted to take over a country he could King Ahaz you Harris could also be known by the name of Xerxes his wife is named Queen Vashti say vashti vashti was a strong willed feisty kind of a woman like if you were like fighting for the women and the fighting up and speaking up you're gonna like Vashti okay because she did not take no nothing from nobody including her husband the King every story needs a bad guy and the bad guy is Haman say Haman Haman is the wicked guy who has a plot to try to destroy all the Jews off the face of the planet he was pre Hitler Hitler he's the resident scumbucket of the story you have uncle Mordecai say Mike Mordecai is a Jewish man who's living okay in in in in in the Persian Empire right there their captives right now like they're that the Jewish people are captives and he is a wise man he's like a scribe kind of a guy working in the temple and we'll see how he fits in a little bit and then the star of the story is Esther whose name means star and she's also given the name Hadassah as her as her Hebrew name but then she gives herself a Greek name of Esther bottom line the story is very simple here's I'll give you all the story nutshell you have this girl named Esther who's an orphan who's a Jewish girl poor girl born in captivity she ends up saving her people the Israelites from this wicked plot by Haman who wants to commit a genocide and wipe them all off the face of the planet how does that happen how does a poor orphan girl end up saving an eighth well we're gonna jump in and we're gonna read a passage from Esther chapter 1 and chapter 2 and I'm gonna move through this kind of quickly okay just for the sake of the goal is in a verse by verse study but just enough so that we get understand the context of what's happening right here Esther chapter one now came to pass in the days of has Harris this was the has Harris who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia meaning he reigned over the majority of the world this time least the discovered world in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom which was in Shushan the Citadel that in the third year here's our story picks up of his reign he made a feast for all his officials and servants the powers of Persia media the nobles and the princes of the provinces being before him so the King decides throw fish you say what's odd about that well this was no ordinary feast wish for when he showed the riches of his glorious Kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for many days 180 days and Auld how long is this party lasted 180 days that's a six-month party that's me saying come over for wings and drinks tonight take off from work and you'll go back sometime in February during this time he shows off his riches his kingdom this basically he clawed me said hey guys come on let me show you this cool stuff I got over there let me show you this cool stuff and he shows him the stuff okay let's go me now let me show you tomorrow moonshine I got some more cool stuff over here he shows in the schools everything doesn't want closed up all right and they're having a great time this six-month play I think it was like the Kardashians on steroids kind of its situation okay now the 180 days party eventually comes to an end what do you do after you've been partying for 180 days if you are the ruler of the Persian Empire what do you do for six months you've been partying with your closest boys what do you do next the after party very good very good who said that a married guy single guy said that okay single guy okay that's why he can say that hey you can say what everyone okay when these days were completed the King made a feast lasting seven days because you've only party 480 days so the only way you have to cap it off with a after break a piece lasting seven days and watch this now look who's on the guest list all the people who were present in Shushan the citadel from great to small in the court of the garden of the king's palace historians estimate that in the city at the time were roughly ten thousand citizens he just threw a party for his ten thousand of his closest friends and what were the instructions given to them when they came to the party next verse they will write in blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen purple and silver rod basically show off show off show off marble pillars couches of gold and silver on the mosaic pavement of alabaster turquoise white vet white and black marble him they serve drinks and golden vessels each vessel being different from the other with real wine and abundance according to the generosity of the king they were having a good time watch verse eight in accordance with the law the drinking was not compulsory okay that's good you didn't have to drink if you didn't want to okay four so the King had ordered what's this had ordered all the officers of his household that they should do according to each man's pleasure I never ran for public office but if I do this is gonna be my platform right this is how you get reelected this is a national everybody do what you want weak anybody want to drink drink anybody who wanted to not drink not drink anybody they were come and the officers anybody who wants anything you give it to them but something was missing in this story it mentioned the King had mentioned his friends mentioned all the citizens who did it not mention the Queen first not Queen Vashti no surprise here also made a feast also made a feast for the women in the Royal Palace which belong to King has he hares so you have liked the Kings party over here then yeah the Queen's Park that doesn't sound like a very good situation verse 10 here comes the twist in the story on the seventh day when the heart of the king was married with wine he commanded to bring Queen Vashti before the king wearing her royal crown in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials she was beautiful to behold he showed off his gold is showed off his marble he showed off his silvery showed up all the stuff he want to show off one more thing his wife said he commanded bring her to me verse 12 but Queen Vashti refused now this is not a study of Queen Vashti but if you you're late ladies and you're strong and you you love Queen Vashti okay and Queen Vashti stood up and showed us that ladies can be strong and beautiful and elegant and air and geez the best that's what I think the King doesn't actually think so ok when she refused to come in the king's command brought by his eunuchs therefore the king was furious and his anger burned within him that's what the King does next then the King said to the wise men who understood the times but this was the Kings manner toward all who knew law and justice those closest to him being Carson as sheth are at Martha Tarshish Mary's marsinah and memucan the seven princes of Persian media who had access to the King's presence who ranked highest in the kingdom why once read this verse basically the queen says no what does the King do calls his top advisers in the kingdom to say what do we do a woman said nope how do we address this he got the legal people he got the ROI like what do we do a woman said no is that in the book is she allowed you we don't know let's check the law book right here verse 15 what shall we do to Queen Vashti according to the law because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus brought to him brought to her by the eunuchs verse 16 get ready before I show you like some people say the Bible is boring battle sister and you don't believe the Bible says teracle wait till you see what happens next this is senior level the cabinet guys okay heads I was like the Department of State the Department of the truck like all these senior guys in the Persian Empire coming together what do we do with the woman who said no look where they come up and marry akin many can must be some kind of rat kind of a guy because many can was quick to answer and mum you can't answer before the king and princes Queen Vashti has not only wrong the cake but also all the princes and all the people and the provinces of King ahead shares for the Queen's watch this memucan my man for the Queen's behavior will become known to all women although they can say no will become known or women so they will despise their husbands in their eyes when they report the king of has a Harris command the Queen Vashti to be brought in before him and she did not come watch this this way there may be some kind of drama queens this very day the noble ladies of Persia and media will say to all the Kings officials they have heard of the behavior of the Queen will still be excessive contempt and wrath if you ask me I think many can have some issues at home to regain some control over is out so he said to the king you're man enough is enough verse 19 if it pleases the King let a royal decree this is what has come to ferment to get control of the household but a royal decree go out from him and let it be recorded in the laws of the person in the Metis so that it would be that it will not be altered that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus and let the King give her royal position to another who's better than she when the Kings decree which he will make his proclaim throughout all his empire for it is great all lies all lives will honor their husbands both small and great and we know memucan which of the two you are the small of the great one right here mammy King said we cannot have anarchy King throw us a lifeline to make these women say say yes to us and not always say and not disrespect it's the way they that's what he's doing right there he's a funny king and the King responds to him by basically the king the reply please the king and the princes and the King did according to the word of memucan then he sent letters to all the king's provinces to each province in their own script to every people in their own language that each man should be master in his own house and speak in the language of his own people right here so there you go ma'am you King you the man once again it took a real decree which can never be altered for your wife to respect you now that's chapter one what in the world is not to do with God this sounds like a scene from a I'm a house ok dozens I'm nothing do with God I told you in the beginning that the invisible hand of God is always working where was the invisible hand of God working in Chapter one did you catch it because if you're not looking for the invisible hand of God you might miss it like if you just kind of go through the story you say I didn't see anything let's go back did we see God's hand in it how about this verse let the King this is memy kid the dirtbag let the King give her royal position to another who is better than Sheikh there's worse does kind of slipped in there but I went back and looked at it more closely and I saw some fingerprints by this verse and it looked to me like the fingerprints of God and God didn't sign his name because it was memucan talking but I looked more closely I say you know what this looks like the handwriting of God an S turd spoiler alert Vashti is getting the boot she's about to lose her Queen ship and the King's gonna replace the one who's gonna replace her someone named Esther and Esther orphan girl Jewish girl live miles and miles away from the palace has no idea what just happened with the Queen no idea about this royal decree no idea about what is to come the plot to kill her people she has no idea about nothing she's over there in the corner asking herself where are you God why am I an orphan ye took my parents and why God you don't answer my prayer and why God you leave us Jews in this captive and why God and where are you God and she's all the way over there in the court that God is asleep and God is not even alive and God is working and God is working God his work and the one who trusts that God is working right now Oh stay tuned chapter two bringing in Esther will go to his quickly after these things when the wrath of the King has your hair is subsided he remembered Vashti what she had done and what had been decreed against her he remembered her means he regretted his decision which tends to happen okay you tend to regret the decisions you make after six months a party okay you make an irrevocable decree after six months of drunkenness you probably will make a stupid decision so he comes to regretted and he comes up with a plan his servants say okay how can he make the King happy the king's servants who attended him said that beautiful young virgins here's your solution the merchants LED beautiful young virgins to be sought for the King and let the King appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the Citadel and let Beauty preparations be given them then let the young women who pleases the young woman I'm sorry who pleases the King be Queen instead of Vashti this thing pleased the king and he did so basically what he did made a decree and the decree was I'm sorry I made a decision all the servants went around all the surrounding area 127 provinces and gathered together all the beautiful young verges historians tell us roughly four hundred of them four hundred young ladies were brought in for the ultimate reality TV showed that one of you be chosen to be the queen and you will be given all the beauty preparations for one year this is a one-year reality TV show you're all gonna be brought in they were brought in many some by by choice some not I get by their choice and you will be one of them will be chose each one will go into the King for one night and one will be chosen to be he the Queen next verse kind of shifts gears here's the story about the king in the palace and all of a sudden it's like seeing two in a far far far far far away land verse 5 and Shushan the Citadel there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai and Mordecai had brought up Podesta that is Esther Hebrew name Greek name his uncle's daughter where she had neither father nor mother this young woman was lovely and beautiful when her father and mother died Mordecai took her as his own daughter verse 8 so it was when the king's command and decree were heard when many young women were gathered at xuxa and the citadel under the custody of hegai that's the the king's servant then Esther what also was taken to the king's palace into the care of hegai the custodian of the women this phrase was taken implies by force Esther did not want to go why if you were Esther look why wouldn't you want to be the queen wouldn't everyone want to be the queen first of all your Esther you're an orphan you're living with uncle Mordecai no orphan wants to give up the family of the heck so yes being a queen is a great that sounds great but I'm one of 400 women I'm poor they're rich I'm Jewish they're not Jewish I am an orphan who's got nothing I don't have any of the jewelry they have I don't have any of the acts like I don't have anything there's no chance I win just leave me here to be miserable but Esther was taken meaning went against her will sort of and I would imagine that as Esther was kind of being I don't think she would have nothing drag like physically dragged but kind of like why am I going if you could whisper in Esther's ear why are you going Esther if Esther saying how do they end up here with these 400 caddy catfight and limit just want to be the next queen I don't want to be this thing how did you end up here Esther answer the invisible hand of God brought me here the invisible hand of God was working never slumbers never sleeps verse 9 now the young woman pleased him meaning Esther please hey guy who was the head of like like the King sir and she obtained his favor so he readily gave Beauty preparations to her besides her ounce meaning they all were given like each one has a bottle of perfume she was given to each one was given you know access to these oils she was given extra access he gave her extra then 7 choice maid servants were provided for her from the king's palace and he moved her and her maid servants to the best place in the house and the women what's happening here I'm not trying to get in the store but what's happening here she obtained favor he gave her some extra mover the best spot what is happening here the invisible hand of God you see the fingerprints do you see the fingerprints but God is doing something God has an agenda God is working and he just threw it a little bit extra oil here maid servant extra over there move you from this bed to this bed coincidence luck random where are you God or maybe God's hand is working but we just don't see it verse 15 now in her turn now when the turn came for Esther to go into the King she requested nothing but what Haggai the Kings eunuch and custodian are the women advised and Esther obtained favor we seen that three times now obtained favored favor meaning grace obtained favor in the sight of all who saw heard so Esther was taken to King Ahaz she hairs into his royal palace then the King loved Esther more than all the other women and she obtained grace in favor in his sight more than all the virgins so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her Queen instead of Vashti and he was so happy that how did he decide to celebrate and the King made a great feast feast for Esther for all his officials and servants proclaim the holiday in the provinces gifts according to the generosity of the King the stage is now set we're not gonna go into any more the story right now all the characters are in place God orchestrated God used and then Esther come over here stand over there favor over here boom boom boom and now he brought the King and Esther and he laid the stage and all the characters are set for the plot to unfold next week but before we get to next week did you know right now as we speak right now as we speak as the earth is spinning and you don't feel it as the seed is growing and you don't see it right now God is working in your life and if I could make eye contact with every one of you I would right now God is working in your life right now he never stops you may not see it you may not feel it maybe like All Quiet on the Western Front as far as you're concerned but I promise you that God never slumbers and God speaks when we can't hear God moves and we can't see God orchestrates we never even feel him in the room but God is now obviously you can take this to an extreme okay and I don't want to take this to an extreme but you can if you want okay but that's that's not right like you can you know I'm driving down the street and I see a billboard or you know this is work with this so I quit my jobs there's design from God okay oh I met this girl well the same initials must be from God but not not in a weirdo like like Christian fortune cookie kind of a way that sometimes that we want that's that's to the extreme but what I'm saying is right now can you trust that God is working in your life right now even though you don't see it I believe with all my heart soul mind and strength I believe with all my heart that God is always working in my life and I'm telling you God is always working God is always speaking God is always moving and I'm telling you that and I'll tell you right now right after say that I have never once heard an audible sound of God I never once I've been awoken in the middle of the night with a dream that says that visible God wants I've never seen the handwriting in the sky actually know what when I wake up in the mid night with a dream my dreams are usually funny no II have somebody with me in the circus juggling or something so I'm not like where's guys like yes I yield oh yes God spoke I'm not like that well I have 100% confidence but even though I've never seen it evil never heard it that I no doubt that God is speaking to me and the God is moving in my life and he's doing the same for you if you'll just trust second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 7 st. Paul says that we walk by faith not by sight we walk by faith not by sight do you believe do you walk by faith - by sight do you believe that the only doors that God is all working on right now are the ones that you see in front of you do you believe God may be opening doors the chilling seek do you believe that the only circumstances that God is involved in is what you see right in front of you right now or do you believe that maybe that God is working behind the scenes backstage and he just hasn't walked out on the screen yet he's orchestrating and he's over here and you're like little attention he's like no it's the right time but I'm walking over here and I'm working over here then I come to you let me tell you say now I'ma tell you quiet I'm a tug he's orchestrating he's maestro of the universe do you believe that I don't believe that what I discovered is that when I believe it I see it not when I see it I believe it when I believe it I see it cuz so many times where are you God where are you God where are you God I trust you God ah now I see you God and I hope that you can look back on your life the way I can on mine and see the invisible hand of God you look back here like a didn't and I didn't and I didn't know when I wasn't and you look back and you see that handwriting looks familiar there's fingerprints what is that that's the invisible hand of God strikes again but there's something that you have to do in order to see it let me say it better than something you have to stop doing in order to see it because if there's one thing there's one thing that if you do this one thing you will never see the hand of God if you do this one thing you will never see the invisible hand of God the only way to see the invisible hand of God is to stop doing complain I promise you I promise you complaining stops you from seeing the invisible hand of God complaining even I want to go further complaining will stop the invisible hand of God from even working not that he'll stop working but you were closed yourself off to his working if anybody had a right to complain what was me where all you got it was Esther orphan captivity poured now dragged in in this stupid competition she didn't complain she said I know God you're doing something I don't know what you do but I know you're doing something Philippians chapter 2 verse 14 and 15 do all things without complaining and disputing do all things without complaining and disputing wide that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of crooked and perverse generation I'm a whom you shine as lights in the world I want to draw a line between complaining and shine and say you'll never go from complaining to shine it's either complaining or shine Esther you want to shine no complain you want complain no shine and it's up to you which of the two that you're going to do now with that said let me kind of take a step back and tell you I'm not saying that just kind of smile and kind of accept whatever is in your life and just say like I know your turf circumstances are tough I mean with people all the time who tell me circumstance and I say you know what that stinks that's tough I'm it stinks that your relationship with your your daughter is that way it stinks that you're that you you know that that your situation at work is like that it sinks that so-and-so got sick and there's no solution it stinks that can't find a job it stinks that ever since I got married all the good guys are gone less I know okay like I know I understand okay I'm not saying that your problem is not a problem but what I'm saying is you can choose either to trust the invisible hand of God or to complain but you can't do both you can't complain and at the same trying same time trust invisible hand of God is working David would have never defeated Goliath and he was complaining about how tall and strong he was Moses would have never crossed the Red Sea he was complaining about how high the water was st. Paul would have never preached Christianity to the ends of the earth if he was complaining about how mean the bad guys were who didn't like his message all those guys like Esther instead of complaining about the problem I mean they had their eyes on the invisible hand of God same invisible hand that Jesus himself taught us when he was on the cross look what it says here in 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 21 says for - this - you were called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that you should follow his steps what example what steps who when he was reviled he did not revile in return when he suffered he did not threaten here's the important part he committed himself to him who judges righteously and if I had to modify that for our per specific message today he committed himself to him who works invisibly he committed himself to him who works underneath the soil and he trusted and he knew that what you see is not what you get because God is working underneath right now can anybody see their heart beating can anybody see the heart beating can anybody see their lungs expanding and not expanding can anybody see their hair growing can't even see themselves getting taller shorter bigger think like anyone can anyone see last night's dinner pouring the cholesterol can anyone see that but do you doubt any of those things do you doubt that steak last night I had a cholesterol do you doubt that good did you or your heart is beating do you doubt that your lungs are going do you doubt any of those things you don't doubt it you believe what you can't see and you realize that if you have the right tool you could see those things well I'm telling you hair grows a body the cholesterol the oldest thing I said ways of God ways of God so you need a pretty big tool a pretty cool microscope to be able to see that but it doesn't mean it's not taking place this was our verse in the beginning oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out at this moment in time I'm not saying that God is controlling I'm not saying God is controlling your circumstances and controlling I'm not saying he's controlling in the sense that you're just a puppet but what I am saying is that he is working and I'm asking you to believe it do you see why reading the Bible is so important do you see why reading the Bible is so important like this is just like a little aside before I wrap up did you see why reading the Bible is so important like if you never read the Bible if all you did was look out there you would believe if all you did was read the news all you did was look on Facebook if all you do is see what's really out there you would say you know what god is dead god stick when you open up the words of Scripture and you read the live accounts of people who've walked this road you say you know what God is not dead God is alive and the more and more I read about how God has worked in the lives of others and the more you share how God worked with you and you shall have God work with you anymore God work with David how God work that I say no God is alive and I start to understand God's ways but this is why we need the Word of God in our lives this is why the people who don't have the Bible as a daily part of their life if the Bible is not like part of the fabric of your life no no how you make it through no wonder you don't believe in there in the work of God no wonder because all you see out there that God is dead but we look at Esther we see but you know what God never spoke to her God never wrote it in the sky for her God never sent her a letter but God was so active in her life and he took a poor orphan good-for-nothing girl in a corner of over there had no hope in life and he raised her up not only to be the queen of Persia but to be the one who had saved the Hebrew nation from their destruction and I'm telling you the same way that he worked in that girl same way he's working me but weird but don't see it out here but is invisible hand of God never stops imma challenge you to do two things this week we're gonna read the story of Esther over the next coming weeks but I'm not gonna read every verse so I'm gonna throw it out go back this week and read chapters 1 & 2 we went over them at a high level so you already know what's gonna happen and then on the back of your handout okay also on the sdsa app on the notes there's two questions for each chapter just take a look at those two questions just dig deeper I did skimming the surface but maybe you can go a little deeper and you can start to establish the habit of reading the will of God and making the Word of God a regular part of your life the second challenge the dominant or out to you Szymon challenged you to say a prayer this week i'ma challenge you to say the following player five times this week every day every morning before you leave the house to say the following prayer it's a prayer of a Russian bishop who is named Phil arete it's on the bottom of your handouts about to appear up here on the screen you're gonna pray the following prayer and you're gonna say it with meaning o Lord grant me to greet the coming day in peace help me in all things to rely upon your holy will and every hour of the day reveal your will to me bless my dealings with all who surround me teach me here's the part that I love teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with the firm conviction that your will governs all in all my deeds and words guide my thoughts and feelings in unforeseen events let me not forget that all are sent by you this is the prayer that I pray every morning and every morning I plant myself in the position that say that I am NOT alone that no matter what I see or don't see I am not alone trust help me to trust the firm conviction that you got govern all that happens to me today and your will is guiding my conversations that the random circumstances the phone call from so-and-so the email over here again not to a crazy everything the Billboard not to a crazy way but to knowing that God's invisible hand never ever ever stops working and if we trust it we may start to see y'all excited about Esther let's stand together and say a prayer in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit one God amen Heavenly Father we thank you that you don't leave us alone it's world Lord and we know that you are working and we can't see you at all times but we trust you lord and I pray during this coming week that you would open all of our eyes open all of our eyes Lord to be able to see you in some small way to know that you are working and help us Lord give us the faith in the trust to be able to trust that you are working ways that we'll never know in the receipt we love you with all our hearts Lord and we can't wait to dig further into this study to be able to see your invisible hand and to trust in it we pray these things in the mighty name of your son Jesus Christ the prayers of all of your saints here says we pray thankfully our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil one in Christ Jesus our Lord - the kingdom the power and the glory forever amen [Music] you

Channel: STSA Church

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Length: 49min 58sec (2998 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 06 2017