The Sermon Esther 2:1-4 by David McGee
Apr 18, 2010
Esther 2:1-4 (37:19)
Referenced Scriptures: Esther 2:1-4
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The choices we make.
The scriptures below are from the WEB Bible.
Esther 2:1-4
1) After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was pacified, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her.
2) Then said the king‘s servants who ministered to him, Let there be beautiful young virgins sought for the king:
3) and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, to the custody of Hegai the king‘s chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them;
4) and let the maiden who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti. The thing pleased the king; and he did so.
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Him them him home, who pleases the king between us that a vast thigh. This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it. So what were going to run out of any context, so I have a lot in all the provinces are not a bell starting out for the flying of the most beautiful girls of all the lantern audios like a fairytale thing most available gravel 's novel lantern, and be presented advised time now. Verse twelve before April 's turn came to go in the fourth to King Xerxes. She had to complete what you have the complete twelve months of beauty treatments. Now this is just beautiful girls show up. This is while months of preparation six months with oils and of murder and six with perfumes and cosmetics. So they had a year of preparation before they can go in before the king, and then verse seventeen. Now the king was attracted to. After more than to any other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins, so he sent a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of bash time. Now we would think that that's a beauty contest. It's time to Janssen. She's beautiful, and so she wanted because the beauty and all those five things budget out there is more to it than what appears in our I know beauty expert beauty contest back channel like the watchmen went anyhow, there's a lot goes into the preparation and in this case. Esther had an opportunity to the Queen. She had an opportunity to be clean and beyond that desire to be clean. She also had an appointment that was going to say the entire Jewish population that's even know about you, so we find that answer here and heard she's got to be a good-looking woman, but more than that, she has to commit herself to this whole process. She was going to find yourself committed to a process in which she was going to be presented to the king in a beauty contest and how much it was going to win. McCain over all the other beautiful women in the entire province. The entire kingdom. What she doesn't know yet if she's going to have to find a way to save the entire Jewish population after set up a big lead in the Scripture says that this was a year of preparation. There were no shortcuts. She had an natural beauty that it took twelve months to enhance that natural beauty. Now some people are naturally intelligent by you then take them while years and see that man back there, naturally intelligent so they will learn naturally intelligent but sometimes it takes twelve fourteen sixteen eighteen twenty years to attend handset intelligence in all the price of success is not a preparation and discipline shoddy preparation and discipline. But there is a price to the success whether it is an athletic some other than education or whether it's an whatever field you're in a case study, preparation and discipline, and also pay the price are not lucky they are rewarded sometimes people say wow, how lucky are they while sometimes it's not luck its reward, and whenever we say that one man stated, the harder I work the luckier I get the harder I work the luckier I get. And so things don't just happen him meanwhile that you don't lose your relationship. You don't fall in lobby don't fall out of love you walk in a particular direction you go all in a direction towards or away from and it is this type of study preparation and discipline that is part of our life and part of who we are as a Christian we live in two worlds we live in two worlds we live in this present world with its evil lens that's many different desires that promotes the shortcuts and situational ethics that if you can lie to get out of something you don't do it. The world that says there is no conscience, do whatever you feel is right man. Scripture says that people will do what they feel is right and wrong eyes, and if these are the things that our world is presenting are trying to sell but also we live in a heavily world we live in a world in which God 's Word touches our life in God touches Austin and his word becomes part of our principles and part of how we live so we live in this world but we are not of this world it on the present world denies Christ and Christian principles and glorifies our fallen nature, our sinful nature. It's a very profitable industry sinful activity since our civil society is very profitable if you and all you look at, you don't look at, but as you would find our sinful nature are evil world around us. Leave a job, gambling and other addictive behaviors. There are good things with our life and he will always has a counterpart gambling. For instance look at Las Vegas that was built on people losing those in industry you see what is the one New Jersey Atlantic City I think city New Jersey are wheeling, West Virginia, or whenever these places are what I felt on their guilt on people losing their built on people 's listings, drug addiction, alcohol addiction in the world of art that is not being addictive behaviors that people are willing to sacrifice themselves. They're willing to sacrifice their families. They're willing to sacrifice their livelihoods for these addictive behaviors and here is an evil. Well, that says satisfy your desires out of five yard desire to the point that it is not becoming an addictive behavior, whether it's photography are young billions billion trillion dollar industry finally come out against it because there's too much money. And when people make money and stop paying promote it. It's there in front of it, and in front of our society and it's an evil society, but yet there is a world there that is filled with temptation in sorrow and in sacrifice, the people will make, and it will sacrifice anything. I remember family that I I couple of years ago and both of them are dead, so you don't know who they are but they both died and they were both alcoholics, and they were severe alcoholics. The one individual, he would drink a twelve pack before we go to work in the morning. No lie. Not making this up, you make for a drink a twelve pack of beer for a good work, he would drink at work and when he came home he would drink until he went to sleep and his wife had the same addictive behavior they had children and they went to the court and they went before the judge and I said that I just sent you either give up your alcohol give up your children because they were taking the children to the bar with them and drinking to the point that they've had no control over their schedule sounds they told me as well was a hard decision, but we gave up our kids addictive behavior they all are gone and they died before the age of fifty and visiting rights for their children, but they were willing to sacrifice their children. Drug addiction is the same thing. We know people, husbands and wives are addicted to drugs and they are going to lose their children because they have a choice in the choice to give up the drives are give up their children and they are giving up their children. Addictive behaviors, Jesus comes, he says, I've come to set you free from the July to have life in you might have it in abundance. What is the lure of addictions. What is the Lord of evil, the Lord of evil. Yet although the new fish. But in addition, pidgin. When David was little, you felt that you want a picture now, so any of invention. While you put on the end of the line update, which is a more and one of the Lord to that entices it entices the fish to come out on its place and swallow it hook line and sinker, RI, addictive behaviors are lower and the lore on say is that it is pleasurable for season zero addictive behaviors start with the best intentions in our relaxing nor appeasement and the Lord is that it is it altogether. One throwing to this that whatever and it's a lower dislike the fishes. Lord I want to get hooked. Then what happens if the Dragon in him behavior drives us in the hell. Jesus gives us the ability to choose always. God gives you choices. Addictive behaviors are such that you are on those behaviors and you need the power of Christ to break those behaviors that some individuals names and on these studies, and they say the only hope for our cities. The big cities in which you know the drugs and alcohol and the gangs and all this, the only hope for our cities and far society is the church. If the charge does it reach our nation of the church doesn't reach our people, our nation will be lost because it is the chart represents the ability to choose addictive behaviors present gangs and and and behaviors that will destroy and drive people into hell drive people down to destroying themselves and destroying the lives, so we live in a heavenly world. We have a heavily moreover, believers enjoy the blessing that Jesus Christ is made available to us. Our standard is that a believer should conduct his life on earth by principles that God has given us in the heavenly world, a heavily round. Sometimes we just have to take a little flight. This is actually a I called back this morning and Stanford outplaying Sony reality of playing. This is a Boeing seven oh seven civilization, and they were flown your twenty thousand feet. Let's open the Windows. What happens if you open the windows at twenty thousand feet you die even if you just took a hot air balloon went up to twenty thousand feet you would die. Why no I as pressure, cold, so he was a God like a guy getting in the lawn chair and even put a whole bunch of hot air balloons to letting all inch ego got been a just one way I and it took a long time to come down with it in the lunch was guided down with Solomon Islands funniest stupid things or people. But anyhow, if I said that when I find it was the something like that. They got in this guy. He is a lawn chair evening. Welcome to the blues on Québec, eavesdropping done so you know where there once. What happens is we can't live in that atmosphere. We are on this atmosphere. So what are they doing to play pressurize the cabin so that you can fly in this atmosphere, but you are not on that atmosphere. You are in this atmosphere at twenty thousand feet, but you're not that atmosphere, Europe is that we are in this world that we are not of this world we are living in an evil, sinful world, but we are not part of that evil, sinful world. What makes us different. Jesus Christ, you say we are in the world over. Not all the world you're in this atmosphere, which are not on this atmosphere. In this atmosphere, twenty thousand feet pressurized compartment and the alcohol works, and you know you does not have that atmosphere, but urinate and your surviving because we can pressure relief. So in this live we are in this world, but when out of this world. Our life is made up of twice and principles that are the heavenly world heavily round and they are and they keep us, they sustain us and gives us life. It gives us whole. It gives us encouragement. It gives us the ability to be separate from the sins that would entangle us. It gives us the ability to change and the addictive behavior that we would find ourselves in our broken because that we are in Christ, so we are in this world who are not of this world we are in this atmosphere, but were not of this atmosphere we have an atmosphere in which we have hope in perspective and Jesus Christ. So when you think about flying your in that atmosphere, which are not on the we are in this world were not of this world so we can think that for his plane 's illustration for today don't really think the point in the New Testament declares more than a hundred and fifty times that we are in Christ. More than a hundred and fifty times the Bible tells us you are in Christ and in him we live and move and have our being in Christ we die together in Christ. We also have the hope of the resurrection we die to ourselves that would be caught up in the Lord of the alignment on the temptations of this world that we live in and that that God would give us that we would rise to new life in him. So here we are in this world, but yet changed, transformed that we live by a different principle. We lived different standard with online real estate window wields the combination of cheating and stealing. Stealing it on your word today, so I waited. We are a little while, but we're not hobbit we know why we don't cheat. We don't steal you know, we know bear false witness. We don't break the commandments of God. While we're yachting it isn't that where Parker I visited that were perfect. If that were on the different world and in the Christian Christian must ask the own order for us to be saved. That same from them. The perils of this life, we are asking price to forgive us of our sins and live within our hearts. Create a new hard enough. We did this in our Sunday school lesson today about the heart and being the seed of the emotion than all that we are as an individual is in our heart and soul. It is not a figure of speech. It tells us everything is in the heart, just as the heart is a central part of the Anwar of our body so that the heart is where is the center part of our personality. Christians need to repent and confess their sins and the altar before God and doing their best in study and preparation and discipline. It is sometimes any, we get to idea that while salvation is free. August three, but it costs Jesus. Everything else. Jesus paid the price so that we could have salvation free, so there was a cost behind the price of free and in our lives. There is there a study. There is preparation. There is discipline. We have an adversary the devil, who loves to confront and confound Christians trying to their projects in an persecution, whether direct or indirect. Remember, Jesus promised that I am in you and you are in need. We are with him together. Jesus gives courage to our our lives that we can be. We can be more than conquerors and we can overcome and the courage to face dangers, and to give strength to overcome the trials he gives inward peace in the midst of the storm against constant inner assurances to his followers that they belong to him, and that they are not. They are part of his plan part of his purpose. We see this in Esther, first of all, we find for her that she had to prepare. She took time to prepare ourselves twelve months of preparation, twelve months of preparation, second she saw. She she shot she sought to please one person became that with her goal and her goal was that she was going to prepare herself that she was going to prepare herself in such a way that she would be far and above all the rest of the beautiful women in the whole country. We may think while in 's son beauty pageants and feel what's yesterday she had to do something and what was not what was so great about Esther was not only her beauty about her character. Her character was such that she was able to present herself and her character that made her different than all the rest, see this is where we look at how the God is doing the work in us that we are in this world, but we're not obvious. The character of the other Christian is to you are so we are different. We're different because we have a different standard. This standard is not that I am better than you. But I'm here to serve you. Jesus Christ said that that he did not come to be served when he came to serve the people. When Peter her name is washing the disciples feet and fears is all you wash my feet. Jesus said, I either watch your feet are you have no heart. Why and what I'm doing. Jesus challenged those concepts up superiority duodenal why Hester was to be queen Esther was to be clean in order to save the Jewish nation. The Jewish people. Now that wasn't in place when she was running for Queen, but there was that her character was aware that there was a need in her life and what she could become. This is a great thing about God. There is something inside of us that God has created us for, and because we don't know what it is just yet, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. You're here for a purpose. You're here for a purpose God has created us and brought us here for a purpose. After it's over twelve months to prepare. Second, she sought to please the king. There were lots of admirers. But as the sock to the approval of only one, the hard drive takes you, the more you'll have to answer the question, who am I hereto please myself, others were gone go here to please thought I heard a safety approval. All our life is more than the New York City restaurant owner and nightclub owner and his and his interview, he says. While I wouldn't be where I am today. I went for the big man upstairs. Of course, that's a true statement. In one sense, but the apostle Paul declared that in Christ in him we live, we move in. We have our being. Jesus Christ is the sustainer of the universe, and nobody would be where they are divisive for him every good and perfect thing comes down from our heavenly father God uses the world to bring blessings to resolve and fulfill his will for our lives and fulfill the will of the world. John ten forces, and when he put forth his own sheep to go before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. This is the great thing about our faith than on our relationship with Jesus Christ that we hear and we follow what is the difference between a Christian and an addict. We have the ability to choose an addict is addicted and hooked in the only way and Mrs. Wheatley spoken on this before, but teen challenge, that they deal with your addictions and addictive behaviors, and this was the study was done by by the government because they were looking for more efficient way to shoot your addictions and teen challenge. I believe they had in nineteen eighty five, ninety, ninety five percent. Somewhere in that range success rate over ten years and the other facilities that offer changes for addictions. They have a one percent success rate over ten years, one out of a hundred rise the challenge has an eighty five to ninety five hundred success rate over ten years and the government came in and said to the leaders of teen challenge. They said we will buy you everything you need. We will provide you salaries will provide you everything that you've got to give up God. God was one who was the difference maker. Because God change his heart God changes the person from the inside out. It's not a matter of rearranging philosophies and rearranging thinking it's a matter of changing the heart Jesus Christ is come to change us from the inside out after she took time to prepare herself. She sought to please one person she had a purpose greater than her own survival and self interest. You see our life is more than just about what we are going to do what how I am going to accomplish it. And what's going to be the reward for me in this life. It is bigger than IME in mind. Our purpose is about serving God, and whenever we serve God. That means we have something greater. Someone greater to please, and that Christ and we have a purpose that was created for us to have God is not God is not focused on the time that we were knocked down or is not focused on our faults are failures, God, for God focuses on the things that we've done right. Any see the best in us. He sees what we can become a know the impact if you will have in your life. You know the impact it were going to happen in our life and all of the things that we are about is about preparing us for that impact for that purpose I see you were undoubtedly going to do for God. Scripture says that we are God 's workmanship workmanship implies that you are not a finished product you are a work in progress. We are his workmanship. We are off up a work that is continuing process of development you are in the process of being completed, we golf from glory to glory from precept, precept from grade to grade features we go from grade to grade. We don't run bric-a-brac and I'll build a building upon building understanding upon understanding white. Now God is moving you and I on word toward the greater Baltimore, the greater thing that he wants for us to do is see the greatest thing that God has is for the salvation cotton and knowledge of Jesus Christ to fill your the knowledge of Christ. I think is more than just know here I am sorry about sermons. The knowledge of Christ is more than servants. The knowledge of Christ is a personal awareness of God 's relationship with you and when you have that personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you share that person was someone else. That's the changing of lives. The addictive behaviors are changed when people know Jesus, our lives are changed when we know Jesus Islamabad, you've done this wrong and you've done them wrong. We know if were not right with God, and I don't have to convince you, God does that and he says if we confess our sins, he forgives us. He's the one who cleanses us. He's the one who changes us from the inside out. He's the one who makes things new renews the right spirit renews the longing are harboring those us and it is this renewal, and we find that God has already built the value into you and there is no depreciation. I don't get us wrong is not our training for a new model is not today and it can be trying again for a new model. The values already there and your accomplishments. Your accomplishments can add to that value. Your lack of accomplishments can detract from that value. The value of the God sees he is instilled in you and the more that we were all in this knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the largest value is. It is realized these problems that we face just bring out the talents and abilities that God has given us study preparation discipline for raster, she ran into a very difficult thing. You would think why she was twelve, twelve months preparation. She's the Queen of England go good for her when she finds out that Haman 's plan to annihilate all the Jewish people, and only someone greater than Haman could stop him like the king 's wife was Queen who is going to influence the King was it just a beauty contest was it just a beauty contest that Esther was entering her was a divine plan was going to end up she would be the key component. The key person to saving her nation, you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Esther four fourteen eleven, for the kingdom of God for such a time as this. Esther, you have come to the kingdom of God for such a time as this. It wasn't just a beauty contest. It was God, God will be accomplished in your life. It was your study. It was your character. It was your effect it was who you are as a person. It was that the thing inside of you that made you different than all the other women in the kingdom, and now you are we, and payment is going to kill you, who eventually because you are a Jew, just like your descendents and your family and they are all to be killed because that's the decree Jamia one five since before you were born I set you apart. God has a plan. She took time to prepare yourself. She shot she sought to please one person she had a purpose greater than herself you are all well. We have an early warning system. Now we have barricades built around the White House. We have all these things in place to protect important people. Back in those days. If you enter into the king 's palace into the room where the king was the orders were killed you, unless you have an appointment that was the early protection system even get in the door without an appointment, and if you walk in without an appointment. The guards had a responsibility to tell you because you shouldn't be there and the only way the guards will be stopped from killing you visit the king gives you the acknowledgment on his scepter and a stop so it has allied the King have to make the decision to kill you. The word is already out, you walk in you. Because you don't have an appointment, Queen Esther lived by those same regulations and so she know that it was her appointed time that she had to go see the King or Alice Haman was going to have all of the Jewish people feel and he had a really great scheme at such and such a time. You can go and take their land and kill them and take everything they got. Whoever killed the Jewish people. You get whatever they'll and it was signed by the King, but asked if he had plan on past and see this is the thing about evil. Evil doesn't plan for God sake, evil doesn't realize we can live in this atmosphere, and not be on that the temptations that come to loss God can give us the victory. We live in this world who were not of this world. The Bible says that we are attempting to track just passing through this world is not our whole. We have a hold that God is preparing for us in eternity, and while we are in preparation of getting hold. We are tenting here and while they are taking here we are, we are subject to this world that we live in its temptations and its trials, but you know what God has given us the ability, through his Spirit and through his word to live this life for him, and Esther said if I die, I die. But I must approach the King for that is why I am here and so as there walked into the chamber into the palace roof and she should have been put to death, but the king says no way that was the moment that set things in process that she would save her people and the man who was scheming to kill all of the Jewish people, and especially he was going to kill uncle more chaotic, who is as there's uncle. He built a gallows, especially to have work-at-home payment was hung on his own balance evil what it was a song we did on Wednesday night, says evil will destroy evil. We don't need to wear the evil when this will understand about the present about God about his word living in our life. The Bible says that the word is alive and active. It is quick it is powerful. It is sharp. It is penetrating it separates. It restores it builds it forgives it brings philosophy knowledge of God 's forgiveness. We are in this world but we are not of it. We are going to hold and is prepared for us and it is not this life, it's in the life to come because the life of Jesus Christ that we live in. In now and forever we die in this life, like the sins of the flesh and by the things that would destroy a whole, we are resurrected to new life in Christ, now and forever more. Because of the spirit of God that resides within us. We are in this place when another. We have an effect upon this world but the world doesn't have an effect on because we are not on the heavenly realm. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places Him them him home, who pleases the king between us that a vast thigh. This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it. So what were going to run out of any context, so I have a lot in all the provinces are not a bell starting out for the flying of the most beautiful girls of all the lantern audios like a fairytale thing most available gravel 's novel lantern, and be presented advised time now. Verse twelve before April 's turn came to go in the fourth to King Xerxes. She had to complete what you have the complete twelve months of beauty treatments. Now this is just beautiful girls show up. This is while months of preparation six months with oils and of murder and six with perfumes and cosmetics. So they had a year of preparation before they can go in before the king, and then verse seventeen. Now the king was attracted to. After more than to any other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins, so he sent a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of bash time. Now we would think that that's a beauty contest. It's time to Janssen. She's beautiful, and so she wanted because the beauty and all those five things budget out there is more to it than what appears in our I know beauty expert beauty contest back channel like the watchmen went anyhow, there's a lot goes into the preparation and in this case. Esther had an opportunity to the Queen. She had an opportunity to be clean and beyond that desire to be clean. She also had an appointment that was going to say the entire Jewish population that's even know about you, so we find that answer here and heard she's got to be a good-looking woman, but more than that, she has to commit herself to this whole process. She was going to find yourself committed to a process in which she was going to be presented to the king in a beauty contest and how much it was going to win. McCain over all the other beautiful women in the entire province. The entire kingdom. What she doesn't know yet if she's going to have to find a way to save the entire Jewish population after set up a big lead in the Scripture says that this was a year of preparation. There were no shortcuts. She had an natural beauty that it took twelve months to enhance that natural beauty. Now some people are naturally intelligent by you then take them while years and see that man back there, naturally intelligent so they will learn naturally intelligent but sometimes it takes twelve fourteen sixteen eighteen twenty years to attend handset intelligence in all the price of success is not a preparation and discipline shoddy preparation and discipline. But there is a price to the success whether it is an athletic some other than education or whether it's an whatever field you're in a case study, preparation and discipline, and also pay the price are not lucky they are rewarded sometimes people say wow, how lucky are they while sometimes it's not luck its reward, and whenever we say that one man stated, the harder I work the luckier I get the harder I work the luckier I get. And so things don't just happen him meanwhile that you don't lose your relationship. You don't fall in lobby don't fall out of love you walk in a particular direction you go all in a direction towards or away from and it is this type of study preparation and discipline that is part of our life and part of who we are as a Christian we live in two worlds we live in two worlds we live in this present world with its evil lens that's many different desires that promotes the shortcuts and situational ethics that if you can lie to get out of something you don't do it. The world that says there is no conscience, do whatever you feel is right man. Scripture says that people will do what they feel is right and wrong eyes, and if these are the things that our world is presenting are trying to sell but also we live in a heavily world we live in a world in which God 's Word touches our life in God touches Austin and his word becomes part of our principles and part of how we live so we live in this world but we are not of this world it on the present world denies Christ and Christian principles and glorifies our fallen nature, our sinful nature. It's a very profitable industry sinful activity since our civil society is very profitable if you and all you look at, you don't look at, but as you would find our sinful nature are evil world around us. Leave a job, gambling and other addictive behaviors. There are good things with our life and he will always has a counterpart gambling. For instance look at Las Vegas that was built on people losing those in industry you see what is the one New Jersey Atlantic City I think city New Jersey are wheeling, West Virginia, or whenever these places are what I felt on their guilt on people losing their built on people 's listings, drug addiction, alcohol addiction in the world of art that is not being addictive behaviors that people are willing to sacrifice themselves. They're willing to sacrifice their families. They're willing to sacrifice their livelihoods for these addictive behaviors and here is an evil. Well, that says satisfy your desires out of five yard desire to the point that it is not becoming an addictive behavior, whether it's photography are young billions billion trillion dollar industry finally come out against it because there's too much money. And when people make money and stop paying promote it. It's there in front of it, and in front of our society and it's an evil society, but yet there is a world there that is filled with temptation in sorrow and in sacrifice, the people will make, and it will sacrifice anything. I remember family that I I couple of years ago and both of them are dead, so you don't know who they are but they both died and they were both alcoholics, and they were severe alcoholics. The one individual, he would drink a twelve pack before we go to work in the morning. No lie. Not making this up, you make for a drink a twelve pack of beer for a good work, he would drink at work and when he came home he would drink until he went to sleep and his wife had the same addictive behavior they had children and they went to the court and they went before the judge and I said that I just sent you either give up your alcohol give up your children because they were taking the children to the bar with them and drinking to the point that they've had no control over their schedule sounds they told me as well was a hard decision, but we gave up our kids addictive behavior they all are gone and they died before the age of fifty and visiting rights for their children, but they were willing to sacrifice their children. Drug addiction is the same thing. We know people, husbands and wives are addicted to drugs and they are going to lose their children because they have a choice in the choice to give up the drives are give up their children and they are giving up their children. Addictive behaviors, Jesus comes, he says, I've come to set you free from the July to have life in you might have it in abundance. What is the lure of addictions. What is the Lord of evil, the Lord of evil. Yet although the new fish. But in addition, pidgin. When David was little, you felt that you want a picture now, so any of invention. While you put on the end of the line update, which is a more and one of the Lord to that entices it entices the fish to come out on its place and swallow it hook line and sinker, RI, addictive behaviors are lower and the lore on say is that it is pleasurable for season zero addictive behaviors start with the best intentions in our relaxing nor appeasement and the Lord is that it is it altogether. One throwing to this that whatever and it's a lower dislike the fishes. Lord I want to get hooked. Then what happens if the Dragon in him behavior drives us in the hell. Jesus gives us the ability to choose always. God gives you choices. Addictive behaviors are such that you are on those behaviors and you need the power of Christ to break those behaviors that some individuals names and on these studies, and they say the only hope for our cities. The big cities in which you know the drugs and alcohol and the gangs and all this, the only hope for our cities and far society is the church. If the charge does it reach our nation of the church doesn't reach our people, our nation will be lost because it is the chart represents the ability to choose addictive behaviors present gangs and and and behaviors that will destroy and drive people into hell drive people down to destroying themselves and destroying the lives, so we live in a heavenly world. We have a heavily moreover, believers enjoy the blessing that Jesus Christ is made available to us. Our standard is that a believer should conduct his life on earth by principles that God has given us in the heavenly world, a heavily round. Sometimes we just have to take a little flight. This is actually a I called back this morning and Stanford outplaying Sony reality of playing. This is a Boeing seven oh seven civilization, and they were flown your twenty thousand feet. Let's open the Windows. What happens if you open the windows at twenty thousand feet you die even if you just took a hot air balloon went up to twenty thousand feet you would die. Why no I as pressure, cold, so he was a God like a guy getting in the lawn chair and even put a whole bunch of hot air balloons to letting all inch ego got been a just one way I and it took a long time to come down with it in the lunch was guided down with Solomon Islands funniest stupid things or people. But anyhow, if I said that when I find it was the something like that. They got in this guy. He is a lawn chair evening. Welcome to the blues on Québec, eavesdropping done so you know where there once. What happens is we can't live in that atmosphere. We are on this atmosphere. So what are they doing to play pressurize the cabin so that you can fly in this atmosphere, but you are not on that atmosphere. You are in this atmosphere at twenty thousand feet, but you're not that atmosphere, Europe is that we are in this world that we are not of this world we are living in an evil, sinful world, but we are not part of that evil, sinful world. What makes us different. Jesus Christ, you say we are in the world over. Not all the world you're in this atmosphere, which are not on this atmosphere. In this atmosphere, twenty thousand feet pressurized compartment and the alcohol works, and you know you does not have that atmosphere, but urinate and your surviving because we can pressure relief. So in this live we are in this world, but when out of this world. Our life is made up of twice and principles that are the heavenly world heavily round and they are and they keep us, they sustain us and gives us life. It gives us whole. It gives us encouragement. It gives us the ability to be separate from the sins that would entangle us. It gives us the ability to change and the addictive behavior that we would find ourselves in our broken because that we are in Christ, so we are in this world who are not of this world we are in this atmosphere, but were not of this atmosphere we have an atmosphere in which we have hope in perspective and Jesus Christ. So when you think about flying your in that atmosphere, which are not on the we are in this world were not of this world so we can think that for his plane 's illustration for today don't really think the point in the New Testament declares more than a hundred and fifty times that we are in Christ. More than a hundred and fifty times the Bible tells us you are in Christ and in him we live and move and have our being in Christ we die together in Christ. We also have the hope of the resurrection we die to ourselves that would be caught up in the Lord of the alignment on the temptations of this world that we live in and that that God would give us that we would rise to new life in him. So here we are in this world, but yet changed, transformed that we live by a different principle. We lived different standard with online real estate window wields the combination of cheating and stealing. Stealing it on your word today, so I waited. We are a little while, but we're not hobbit we know why we don't cheat. We don't steal you know, we know bear false witness. We don't break the commandments of God. While we're yachting it isn't that where Parker I visited that were perfect. If that were on the different world and in the Christian Christian must ask the own order for us to be saved. That same from them. The perils of this life, we are asking price to forgive us of our sins and live within our hearts. Create a new hard enough. We did this in our Sunday school lesson today about the heart and being the seed of the emotion than all that we are as an individual is in our heart and soul. It is not a figure of speech. It tells us everything is in the heart, just as the heart is a central part of the Anwar of our body so that the heart is where is the center part of our personality. Christians need to repent and confess their sins and the altar before God and doing their best in study and preparation and discipline. It is sometimes any, we get to idea that while salvation is free. August three, but it costs Jesus. Everything else. Jesus paid the price so that we could have salvation free, so there was a cost behind the price of free and in our lives. There is there a study. There is preparation. There is discipline. We have an adversary the devil, who loves to confront and confound Christians trying to their projects in an persecution, whether direct or indirect. Remember, Jesus promised that I am in you and you are in need. We are with him together. Jesus gives courage to our our lives that we can be. We can be more than conquerors and we can overcome and the courage to face dangers, and to give strength to overcome the trials he gives inward peace in the midst of the storm against constant inner assurances to his followers that they belong to him, and that they are not. They are part of his plan part of his purpose. We see this in Esther, first of all, we find for her that she had to prepare. She took time to prepare ourselves twelve months of preparation, twelve months of preparation, second she saw. She she shot she sought to please one person became that with her goal and her goal was that she was going to prepare herself that she was going to prepare herself in such a way that she would be far and above all the rest of the beautiful women in the whole country. We may think while in 's son beauty pageants and feel what's yesterday she had to do something and what was not what was so great about Esther was not only her beauty about her character. Her character was such that she was able to present herself and her character that made her different than all the rest, see this is where we look at how the God is doing the work in us that we are in this world, but we're not obvious. The character of the other Christian is to you are so we are different. We're different because we have a different standard. This standard is not that I am better than you. But I'm here to serve you. Jesus Christ said that that he did not come to be served when he came to serve the people. When Peter her name is washing the disciples feet and fears is all you wash my feet. Jesus said, I either watch your feet are you have no heart. Why and what I'm doing. Jesus challenged those concepts up superiority duodenal why Hester was to be queen Esther was to be clean in order to save the Jewish nation. The Jewish people. Now that wasn't in place when she was running for Queen, but there was that her character was aware that there was a need in her life and what she could become. This is a great thing about God. There is something inside of us that God has created us for, and because we don't know what it is just yet, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. You're here for a purpose. You're here for a purpose God has created us and brought us here for a purpose. After it's over twelve months to prepare. Second, she sought to please the king. There were lots of admirers. But as the sock to the approval of only one, the hard drive takes you, the more you'll have to answer the question, who am I hereto please myself, others were gone go here to please thought I heard a safety approval. All our life is more than the New York City restaurant owner and nightclub owner and his and his interview, he says. While I wouldn't be where I am today. I went for the big man upstairs. Of course, that's a true statement. In one sense, but the apostle Paul declared that in Christ in him we live, we move in. We have our being. Jesus Christ is the sustainer of the universe, and nobody would be where they are divisive for him every good and perfect thing comes down from our heavenly father God uses the world to bring blessings to resolve and fulfill his will for our lives and fulfill the will of the world. John ten forces, and when he put forth his own sheep to go before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. This is the great thing about our faith than on our relationship with Jesus Christ that we hear and we follow what is the difference between a Christian and an addict. We have the ability to choose an addict is addicted and hooked in the only way and Mrs. Wheatley spoken on this before, but teen challenge, that they deal with your addictions and addictive behaviors, and this was the study was done by by the government because they were looking for more efficient way to shoot your addictions and teen challenge. I believe they had in nineteen eighty five, ninety, ninety five percent. Somewhere in that range success rate over ten years and the other facilities that offer changes for addictions. They have a one percent success rate over ten years, one out of a hundred rise the challenge has an eighty five to ninety five hundred success rate over ten years and the government came in and said to the leaders of teen challenge. They said we will buy you everything you need. We will provide you salaries will provide you everything that you've got to give up God. God was one who was the difference maker. Because God change his heart God changes the person from the inside out. It's not a matter of rearranging philosophies and rearranging thinking it's a matter of changing the heart Jesus Christ is come to change us from the inside out after she took time to prepare herself. She sought to please one person she had a purpose greater than her own survival and self interest. You see our life is more than just about what we are going to do what how I am going to accomplish it. And what's going to be the reward for me in this life. It is bigger than IME in mind. Our purpose is about serving God, and whenever we serve God. That means we have something greater. Someone greater to please, and that Christ and we have a purpose that was created for us to have God is not God is not focused on the time that we were knocked down or is not focused on our faults are failures, God, for God focuses on the things that we've done right. Any see the best in us. He sees what we can become a know the impact if you will have in your life. You know the impact it were going to happen in our life and all of the things that we are about is about preparing us for that impact for that purpose I see you were undoubtedly going to do for God. Scripture says that we are God 's workmanship workmanship implies that you are not a finished product you are a work in progress. We are his workmanship. We are off up a work that is continuing process of development you are in the process of being completed, we golf from glory to glory from precept, precept from grade to grade features we go from grade to grade. We don't run bric-a-brac and I'll build a building upon building understanding upon understanding white. Now God is moving you and I on word toward the greater Baltimore, the greater thing that he wants for us to do is see the greatest thing that God has is for the salvation cotton and knowledge of Jesus Christ to fill your the knowledge of Christ. I think is more than just know here I am sorry about sermons. The knowledge of Christ is more than servants. The knowledge of Christ is a personal awareness of God 's relationship with you and when you have that personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you share that person was someone else. That's the changing of lives. The addictive behaviors are changed when people know Jesus, our lives are changed when we know Jesus Islamabad, you've done this wrong and you've done them wrong. We know if were not right with God, and I don't have to convince you, God does that and he says if we confess our sins, he forgives us. He's the one who cleanses us. He's the one who changes us from the inside out. He's the one who makes things new renews the right spirit renews the longing are harboring those us and it is this renewal, and we find that God has already built the value into you and there is no depreciation. I don't get us wrong is not our training for a new model is not today and it can be trying again for a new model. The values already there and your accomplishments. Your accomplishments can add to that value. Your lack of accomplishments can detract from that value. The value of the God sees he is instilled in you and the more that we were all in this knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the largest value is. It is realized these problems that we face just bring out the talents and abilities that God has given us study preparation discipline for raster, she ran into a very difficult thing. You would think why she was twelve, twelve months preparation. She's the Queen of England go good for her when she finds out that Haman 's plan to annihilate all the Jewish people, and only someone greater than Haman could stop him like the king 's wife was Queen who is going to influence the King was it just a beauty contest was it just a beauty contest that Esther was entering her was a divine plan was going to end up she would be the key component. The key person to saving her nation, you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Esther four fourteen eleven, for the kingdom of God for such a time as this. Esther, you have come to the kingdom of God for such a time as this. It wasn't just a beauty contest. It was God, God will be accomplished in your life. It was your study. It was your character. It was your effect it was who you are as a person. It was that the thing inside of you that made you different than all the other women in the kingdom, and now you are we, and payment is going to kill you, who eventually because you are a Jew, just like your descendents and your family and they are all to be killed because that's the decree Jamia one five since before you were born I set you apart. God has a plan. She took time to prepare yourself. She shot she sought to please one person she had a purpose greater than herself you are all well. We have an early warning system. Now we have barricades built around the White House. We have all these things in place to protect important people. Back in those days. If you enter into the king 's palace into the room where the king was the orders were killed you, unless you have an appointment that was the early protection system even get in the door without an appointment, and if you walk in without an appointment. The guards had a responsibility to tell you because you shouldn't be there and the only way the guards will be stopped from killing you visit the king gives you the acknowledgment on his scepter and a stop so it has allied the King have to make the decision to kill you. The word is already out, you walk in you. Because you don't have an appointment, Queen Esther lived by those same regulations and so she know that it was her appointed time that she had to go see the King or Alice Haman was going to have all of the Jewish people feel and he had a really great scheme at such and such a time. You can go and take their land and kill them and take everything they got. Whoever killed the Jewish people. You get whatever they'll and it was signed by the King, but asked if he had plan on past and see this is the thing about evil. Evil doesn't plan for God sake, evil doesn't realize we can live in this atmosphere, and not be on that the temptations that come to loss God can give us the victory. We live in this world who were not of this world. The Bible says that we are attempting to track just passing through this world is not our whole. We have a hold that God is preparing for us in eternity, and while we are in preparation of getting hold. We are tenting here and while they are taking here we are, we are subject to this world that we live in its temptations and its trials, but you know what God has given us the ability, through his Spirit and through his word to live this life for him, and Esther said if I die, I die. But I must approach the King for that is why I am here and so as there walked into the chamber into the palace roof and she should have been put to death, but the king says no way that was the moment that set things in process that she would save her people and the man who was scheming to kill all of the Jewish people, and especially he was going to kill uncle more chaotic, who is as there's uncle. He built a gallows, especially to have work-at-home payment was hung on his own balance evil what it was a song we did on Wednesday night, says evil will destroy evil. We don't need to wear the evil when this will understand about the present about God about his word living in our life. The Bible says that the word is alive and active. It is quick it is powerful. It is sharp. It is penetrating it separates. It restores it builds it forgives it brings philosophy knowledge of God 's forgiveness. We are in this world but we are not of it. We are going to hold and is prepared for us and it is not this life, it's in the life to come because the life of Jesus Christ that we live in. In now and forever we die in this life, like the sins of the flesh and by the things that would destroy a whole, we are resurrected to new life in Christ, now and forever more. Because of the spirit of God that resides within us. We are in this place when another. We have an effect upon this world but the world doesn't have an effect on because we are not on the heavenly realm. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places