Your Time Is Now – Tony Evans Sermon

Every time we get ready to do something important, it seems like everything starts to fall apart. When it comes to spiritual preparation, Satan stands in the wings ready to wage war against our efforts. But as Tony Evans points out, God’s perfect timing uses the strategies of Satan against him and works them in our favor.

Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, chaplain of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and author of over 100 books, booklets & Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.

it is unfortunate that many people and

Christians will have spent a large part

of their lives climbing the ladder of

success only to discover at the end that

it was leaning against the wrong wall in

an effort to meet the standards of our

world system and what it calls success

many will have missed the purposes of

God they will have perhaps been very

great in their careers and in their

education and with their resources but

will stand before God never having

finished the work that God had called

them to do what we call purpose or

destiny your divinely designed reason

for being

once you become a Christian the reason

why we were not raptured at the moment

of conversion was that God left us here

for the achievement and the

accomplishment of a kingdom purpose

unfortunately today it is easy to get

caught up in the wrong purpose the

purposes of people possessions paychecks

power popularity and maybe we sprinkle

little piety in to make us feel a little

better it is easy to live the life that

we live without the right in game in

mind like the man who said I was dying

to finish high school so that I could go

to college I was dying to finish college

so that I could start my career I was

dying to get married so that I could

start a family I was dying for those

kids to become 18 so that they could

leave I was dying to retire only to

discover now I’m just dying and the

sense of purpose is gone that leads us

to our two chapters today chapters 3 & 4

the

book investor because it is in these

chapters that the greatest statement and

the most famous statement in the book is

located in chapter 4 verse 14 when

Mordecai asked her the question have you

not attained royalty for such a time as

this or as the King James says have you

not been called to the kingdom for such

a time as this so I want to explain to

you using the providential hand of God

in the life of Vesta how you know when

it’s your time you hear people talk

about it’s my time it’s my season and

that’s easy to say in quote but how do

you know when God has prepared you for

the moment that time that he has worked

with you for through the good the bad

and the ugly to bring you to a space of

usefulness for his kingdom purposes

well chapter 4 opens up with a problem

because we’re told in chef’s give me

chapter 3 opens up with a problem

because we’re told in chapter 3 verse 1

after these events King Ahasuerus

promotes Haman the son of harmony alpha

the aggregate and advanced him and

established his authority over the

princesses who were with him and all the

king’s servants who were at the Kings

gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman

but Mordecai

neither bowed nor did he pay homage

houston we have a problem

a hasshu heiress the king has decided to

elevate a man named Haman Haman has made

the second most powerful person in the

medo-persian Empire and the King has

said I want there to be public

recognition of the promotion that I’ve

given to Haman so I want everybody in

the kingdom to bow and so as everybody

began to bow then they came to one of

the employees of the King named Mordecai

and they dead Mordecai it’s time to bow

mister

minutes coming down mr. Heyman is

passing through Mordecai says excuse me

but I can’t do that I can’t bow and pay

homage

I cannot worship Him I can respect him I

can you know affirm him but what you’re

asking me to do is bow down and pay

homage you’re calling for an act of

worship and I can’t do that so what a

car refuses houston we have a problem

they want to know verse three how are

you transgressing the king’s command he

put it in everyday language how you not

doing what the government told you to do

because this is the King talking this is

governmental affairs and they say look

this is the government we expect you to

obey the government well bad the

government is one thing worshipping and

bowing to it that’s a whole nother

ballgame and Mordecai says I can’t do

that they spoke to him daily according

to verse 4 they told Haman that’s his

new name Mordecai and he’s not gonna bow

but let me tell you why he’s not gonna

bow he’s a Jew and then people over

there they’ve been taught by you know

their worldview that you do not bow that

is in worship to men or to systems of

men government’s when they conflict with

their belief system and so this water

guy is not gonna bow hmm Haman verse 5

was full of rage ticked off he said well

not only am I going to kill verse 6

verse 6 now only am I gonna kill

Mordecai I’m gonna kill all of his

people I’m gonna do genocide against the

Jews because I know all them people

think like he think so we not gonna had

that not under my rule King has words is

giving me clout and I’m not fighting

anybody around here not recognizing my

authority

so he’s gone and everybody like him is

gone

we’re gonna get rid of the juice he

brings the idea to the King house you

eros and he tells the house you where is

mr. house you eres King you got some

people here who don’t go with you there

there’s a certain people scattered and

they don’t abide by your rules they

don’t abide by your laws first aim and

so he says so King we got to do

something buddies food so if it pleases

the King verse 9 what I want to do is I

want to get rid of her

I want to exterminate them because

they’re gonna be a headache for you in

fact I want to get rid of these people

so bad verse 9 that I will pay you to

help get rid of them ten thousand

talents of silver I’m gonna give you a

boatload of money just to get rid of

these people because these people are

nothing but trouble because they’re not

going to bow they’re not going to submit

to the government

they’re not gonna submit to the

authority so the king put a signet ring

down sign the law of Haman the aggragate

let me pause

we’re told a couple of times in this

passage

Haman’s background he then agregate now

that may not mean much to you but God

doesn’t waste words in his word this has

a history to it you see the aggregates

came from a gag a gag is found in first

time you’ll chapter 15 verses 1 to 23 a

gag is head of the applicants and the

Amalekites

were trying to destroy the Jews many

years ago when saul was king in 1st

Samuel 15 God told Saul I want you to go

and I want you to to destroy the

Amalekites and I want to destroy the

King Agag cuz these folks are trying to

kill you but so thought he was too smart

for God and he decided I’m not gonna

kill the King I’m gonna kill some of the

stuff but I’m not gonna kill all of the

stuff

cuz cuz we can use some of the stuff so

he disobeyed God a gag was allowed to

live longer so his legacy was allowed to

continue so now we an ester with the

fruit of a root of the same problem that

wasn’t dealt with early so some of us

know what it is to have something we

should have dealt with which we were too

dealt with and if we would have dealt

with it we wouldn’t be dealing with this

today but because we did deal with it

when we should have dealt with it we

wind up with the fruit of it continuing

in our life and circumstance so when it

says that Haman wasn’t a gate he’s

telling you he’s part of a legacy of

unaddressed sin of unaddressed fully due

dealing with something God told you to

deal with long ago that you’re now

having to deal with the repercussions up

and so now not only is Mordechai in

trouble the whole race of Jews is about

to be exterminated

okay here’s lesson number one you know

it’s your time you know it’s your time

when God connects spiritual preparation

with spiritual warfare

you see Haman was an agent of the devil

whose goal it is to thwart the purposes

of God in the Old Testament it had to do

with destroying the Jews in the New

Testament it has to do with muting the

effectiveness of the church the people

representative people of God and so in

order to pull that off Satan uses people

and uses systems in order to destroy the

program and promises and purposes of God

God had said I’m going to build this

people protect this people they are

going to be my people because the

Messiah is going to come through the

Jews and so all along the way there’s a

theology of genocide and destruction

trying to hinder the purposes of God

whenever God is getting ready to use

someone they will have a battle

to overcome they will have spiritual

warfare that will seek to destroy God’s

program and purpose in your life and in

the life of others because as you’ll see

is not just about you he’s going to get

rid of Mordecai and all of the Jews

before David could be recognized to be

the future king of Israel he had to go

through a battle first he had to face

Goliath it wasn’t until he defeated

Goliath spiritual warfare since it was a

battle between gods that he began to

emerge as preparation for kingship

but before God elevated him to ultimate

purpose he had to use him in spiritual

battle so spiritual battle is always a

prerequisite to spiritual purpose if

you’re not willing to demonstrate that

you’re willing to deal with the

spiritual issues that Satan brings in

your life to support your purpose and

how God wants to use you for the benefit

of others then you’re not ready to be

realized and set free for your ultimate

spiritual purpose see what God wants to

know before he gives you spiritual

responsibility is that he can trust you

to use the spiritual when the going gets

tough he wants to know that the

spiritual won’t be thrown aside when the

natural shows up because it’s real easy

when the natural that shows up to get

natural it’s easy when the natural shows

up to go secular but when the spiritual

shows up because there is a spiritual

issue of the warding the program of God

the question is do you have insight

enough to see what’s happening

spiritually so that you have foretaste

enough to address it spiritually so when

God is going to give you your time that

is the time to be released to your

ultimate purpose there will be a

spiritual battle that you will have to

not only fight but that you will have to

make your declaration known and so now

the Jews are about to be destroyed the

scribes in verse 12 send the word out

they eat it goes out about

the destruction of the Jews letters

assent in verse thirteen by carriers to

all the provinces to destroy to kill and

annihilate all the Jews young old women

children but we’re told that this

happened was going to happen in a

12-month cycle you see that in verse

seven you see that in verse 13 it says

the 12th month let me just throw this in

if you look at verse seven it says / P

you are a that is the lot the lot the

lot is dice okay y’all know days right

come on don’t act like y’all little know

days so Haman is shaking the dice to

determine when he’s going to destroy

them they came up six and six 12th month

so the day’s got rolled it didn’t come

up with two zeros it didn’t come up with

one and one it came up with six and six

because it’s 12 months you see even when

Satan rolls the dice God loads them

because God is so sovereign and

providential he controls the dice so

there is a 12-month window between the

time of the declaration and the time of

the execution whenever God creates a gap

when evil is about to occur the gap is

good news in a bad situation remember he

told Nineveh threw Jonah and forty days

Nineveh will be destroyed why not just

destroy them because there’s a window

there’s a window between judgment

declared and judgment implemented

whenever God creates a window you better

praise it cuz a window is an opportunity

it’s called a grace window it’s a window

where God’s mercy and grace is still

being allowed before destruction is

implemented so there is a 12-month

window because God loaded the dice gave

them a magical amount of months within a

year to address the problem of satanic

influence to bring about a destruction

in God’s people and on behalf of God’s

program and so the saga continues of the

providential hand of God the edict is

given and when the edict is given

chapter 4 verse 1 with Mordecai learned

that all of all that had been done he

tore his clothes put on sackcloth and

ashes the garments of sorrow and went

out into the midst of the city and walk

loudly and wailed loudly and bitterly

you could hear that man crying all over

the place because when Satan is trying

to do a number on you he can bring you

to tears many of us know what it is to

have our spiritual warfare against us

and we’re weeping and well and because

the pain is so deep and so great he was

out there loudly declaring a

hopelessness because of how bad things

look he went as far as the Kings gate

that’s the interest of the king’s palace

and no one was to enter the Kings Kings

gate clothed in sackcloth but there he

was morning with great morning because

we’re told in verse 15 there was great

confusion you can think you’re a Jewish

father sitting there with your family

you hear come across the evening news

all Jews are to be exterminated

that’s panic in the city of Susan and

now everybody is wailing because it

looks like a hopeless situation let me

tell you something never count Donna

no matter how bad things look well

Esther finds out that our cousin is out

there in sackcloth and ashes she doesn’t

really know what’s going on and so she

sends him clothes out there to get him

dress he rejects the clothes and so it

now gets real interested

she sends her servant half back out and

verse six to Mordecai and Mordecai told

him all that had happened to him the

exact amount of money that Haman had

promised to pay to the Kings Treasury

for the destruction of the Jews who

sends word back to estimate gave a copy

of the Edith and this is what he says to

her in verse eight that he might show

Esther and inform her and to order her

to go to the king and employ his favor

and to plead with him for her people

water Keitel’s says to Esther service

take to eat it to Mordecai to take it in

Esther and tell Esther now to go to the

king and tell him who you are remember I

told you don’t tell him when you first

when he first brought you in don’t tell

him because there’s an anti-semitic

atmosphere in this city so you don’t

tell it but girlfriend honey bun cuz

it’s now time to come out the closet

it’s now time to go public it’s now time

to let it be known who you are and who

you people happen to be it’s time you

know it’s time for God to move you to

your ultimate purpose when he has given

you a position that leverages influence

for the Advancement of his kingdom he

says go you’re not just here cuz you’re

pretty you’re pretty but that’s not why

you here

you’re here because when you were pretty

and didn’t know what was going on God

knew this day was gonna come

he don’t use the name God but it will be

clear in a moment that’s his frame of

reference God knew that this day was

going to come it’s time you’ve been set

up for a situation when God has

positioned you to leverage influence for

his kingdom purposes let me put it

another way when your position in life

allows you to leverage influence for the

Advancement of God’s program and God’s

people to put it another way when he has

blessed you to be a blessing see we got

a problem today we got a

misunderstanding a blessing

we got people running around here I’m

looking for my blessing okay that is a

flawed approach the blessing because

it’s incomplete whenever you tell god I

want my blessing

period you have prostituted the term

because blessing is only blessing in the

Bible when it can flow through you and

not just to you God told Abraham I’m

going to bless you and through you all

the nations of the earth will be blessed

so whenever you go to God for a blessing

let him know that if he blesses to you

how it’s going to flow through you so it

can be a blessing to somebody else

God just doesn’t move you out of South

Dallas to North Dallas he just doesn’t

get you out of a bicycle and move you to

a Benz

he just doesn’t keep you out of the

Salvation Army thrift shop just so now

that you can go to the most fabulous

malls just so you can live large he

always wants to know how you

going to use the gifts talent skills and

resources he’s given you to advance his

kingdom program and if there is little

or no concern for his kingdom you just

cut off your blessing in fact you will

watch your blessing become a curse

because you’re not using it for Kingdom

purposes as well as personal benefit so

he tells her it’s time it’s time for you

to use your position your influence your

resources and you are now to leverage

that in light of the spiritual issue the

problem is if you don’t see the

spiritual you don’t see the opportunity

so if all you’re looking at is the

physical then you don’t see what’s

happening behind the scenes in the

spiritual so so you you you all shook up

about what’s happening in the physical

because you don’t know that there is a

spiritual activity occurring behind the

scenes so she hears as she’s supposed to

go before the King so she sends word

back to Mort Mort verse 11

all the king’s servants and the people

of the king’s provinces know that for

any man or woman who comes to the king

to the inner court who is not summoned

he has but one law that he be put to

death unless the king holds out to him

the golden scepter so that he may live

and I have not been summoned to come to

the King for these thirty days Mort let

me explain something I need you to

understand cuz it’s sort of like this me

and the King have not been talking for

30 days 30 days we not you know we only

outs with each other he hasn’t wanted me

in his bedchamber he’s not talking to me

cuz between chapter 2 and chapter 3 is

five years because you know after five

years the marriage can go south so his

five-year marriage and he not all that

impressed with our beauty anymore maybe

should have picked up a few wrinkles in

five years I don’t know but whatever it

was for 30 days he’s not talking to

sister not talking

to his wife he’s not talking to her and

he says there’s rule in this house if

you go in the king uninvited and he does

not hold out that royal sceptre it’s

over it’s over you are put to death so

what you’re asking

Mort is for me to risk my career life

economic stability my crib I’m living in

the palace you you’re asking me to put

that on the line for y’all see you no

longer us say she is you too but she

ain’t like them Jews back there she like

them Jews still caught in a bad

situation

she’s not like those Jews who still live

in in shabby houses she’s not like them

Jews who still have to eke out a life

with minimum income she’s not like those

Jews who still have to catch the bus

she’s not like those Jews who don’t have

multiple changes of clothes she’s not

like those Jews who still living in

inferior housing with inferior education

with inferior opportunity she’s not like

those Jews I used to be one of y’all but

I’m a peon now I’m a Jew but I’m a

different Jew I’m upper-class Jew

I’m a knitted you I’m a successful Jew

I’m a Jew with a bank account I’m a Jew

with a CD I’m I’m gonna do what I don’t

mean that now I’m a Jew with stocks and

bonds I am a successful Jew now I know

what it’s like cuz I lose to live with

child but but but my situation is

different now so I pray for you I hope

it works out I’m at a different

socio-economic political scenario and if

I go into my husband’s room and he has

not invited me and he does not hold out

the scepter I’m not willing to do that

for y’all cuz I used to be a Jew namju

plus

what she did is what we do we miss

diagnose Kingdom opportunity because we

don’t see it all we see is this could

have a negative effect on me say she

forgot something if it wasn’t for the

goodness of God she wouldn’t be there

she she she missed that she met along

the way

she misunderstood if it wasn’t for the

goodness guy girl you did not get here

on your own you got here the same way a

turtle gets to the top of a fence

somebody put it there so she forgot all

that in having forgotten all that she

she said look this is about me now not

about y’all it’s about me y’all get it

like I got it cuz right now it’s about

me and I can’t put myself in that

position forgotten it’s easy to forget

how you got where you are it’s easy to

forget once you start living in a

certain neighborhood and driving a

certain vehicle wearing certain clothes

and getting a BA and an MBA and a

doctorate and it’s easy to forget that

if it were not for the grace of God you

would not be in the position you are now

it’s easy to forget that and when you

forget that you’re not so concerned

about how other folk don’t make it you

wind up saying like her in essence I

made it why y’all not making it

you become we become self-absorbed see

I’m clearly understand I am not supposed

to be here I am not supposed to be on

the street in this pulpit doing this

when I was raised and my father was not

a believer in those early years and the

home was in total disarray I’m not

supposed to be here but because God

invaded my home and led my father to

Christ changing his life bringing God

into our families taking me to a Bible

teaching

Church allowing me to have unique

opportunity see I clearly understand the

only reason I’m standing here today is

the goodness and grace of God so the

moment I lose sight of that the moment I

knew sight that what Paul said I am what

I am only by the grace of God that’s the

only reason that I am with the moment I

lose sight of that my role has now been

illegitimate because God did not allow

me the experiences and opportunities

that he’s allowed me to make it all and

only about me

and anybody who does that must be held

to account that it is not just about me

or you or even us it’s about the kingdom

of God and when we lose sight of that

then we’ve missed God’s plan and program

in history Deuteronomy 8:18 Moses said

God has given you the power to make

wealth to fulfill his covenant it’s

about a kingdom purpose it’s okay to

benefit from a kingdom purpose as long

as you don’t lose the kingdom purpose in

the process of benefiting because when

you do that you lose your destiny you

see your destiny will always involve a

test whether you want to be a blessing

or whether you only want to be blessed

because once you hit that test God now

examines your heart are you here for him

are you here for how he can use you for

others or is this just about you me is

this just about selfishness and so she

says I can’t help y’all

Tony Dungy the Fame coach for the

Indianapolis Colts during the year that

he won the Super Bowl we talked on the

phone when he got to the playoffs so

we’d get on the phone and coach what you

want to pray about today he says I’m not

prayers simple that win or lose that I

might make his name great before this

national audience we finally get to the

Super Bowl when Indianapolis Colts are

gonna play the Chicago Bears

coach what’s your prayer he says the

world is watching when it lose I want to

make it inextricably clear blowing –

Jesus Christ I do not want to miss this

moment for an opportunity for my witness

what’s my point

he had a Kingdom connection to football

because that was his time your value to

the kingdom of God is your usefulness

sand on a beach is free you’re gonna

beat you wanna be sin is free that same

sand if you want to put it in a

playground it’s gonna cost you you got

to go to store and buy bags of sand and

that same free stuff you got it now pay

for it to put it on the playground

because it’s used differently if you

won’t sand paper all that is the same

glue on paper but you got to go to

Lowe’s or Home Depot or someplace and

you got to go by self it seems we see

with a little bit of glue and some paper

now costing you and don’t go to Silicon

Valley cuz they make computer chips with

sand that’s the most expensive saying

you ever saw in your life not because

it’s different it’s used differently

see one of the reasons why God can’t do

much with money one with these people is

he can’t use them so they’re just sand

they’re just out there cuz he can’t do

it he can’t find enough Silicon Valley

Saints Saints whose value is tied to

their usefulness what good is a

refrigerator that doesn’t work a stove

that won’t light up a can opener that

won’t come on and a toaster that won’t

pop up bread no matter how expensive it

was no matter how good it looks

if it does not do what it was created to

do it’s useless

appliance God says about his people in

Luke 14 he says some of his salt some of

his believers are useless because it’s

useless because we have no Kingdom

orientation and we wind up saying I

don’t know what my purpose is and you’ll

never find it if you’re not Kingdom

oriented you’ll never find your time

because it’s only about you not through

you only to you so your time comes when

you discover how God can use you to be a

blessing you know department stores

department stores big department stores

have display windows and their noses

play windows are dummies dummies ok

let’s let’s get sophisticated mannequins

but basically dummies in the real

expensive stores they put up living

large dummies they do the dummies I’ve

seen dummies with tucks the women

wearing gowns Rolex watches in New York

one time I saw a window what a dummy

sitting in a Ferrari in the window why

do the owners of the department stores

put dummies in the window

because they know we’re dummies like us

walking up the street so you know what

they do they put them on display the

reason they put the mannequins or the

dummies on display it’s so that when the

other dummies are walking up the street

they will be impressed by what’s on

display and having been impressed by

what’s on display it will draw them into

the store so that they can get some

stuff for themselves in other words the

dummy isn’t put on display to show off

the dummy dummy the dummy is put on

display to be an attraction to a bigger

Kingdom to draw people off the street

into the Kingdom where there’s floor at

the floor at the floor of the floor of

so much more when God blesses you he’s

putting you on display he allows you to

be successfully logged you get an

education it allows you to have

resources so that allows you some

popularity and some notoriety he is now

putting you on display so that as a

representative of his kingdom other

people will see what a dummy looks like

who’s been touched by the grace of God

but don’t forget on your best day you

still

because on our best day with sinners

saved by grace the Titanic was a was a

terrible terrible incident in nineteen

1912 sinking 1500 people lost their

lives 1500 people lost their lives in

the maiden voyage of the sinking of the

Titanic

did you know 1500 people didn’t have to

die 15 other people shouldn’t have died

did you know that most of the lifeboats

coming off of the Titanic were half

filled only half filled but for people

who were saved and delivered didn’t want

to risk turning back because if they

turn back the people drowning might

bum-rush the boat and if everybody but

um rushed the boat it might flip the

boat over so since they had been saved

and delivered they didn’t want to risk

going back to save and deliver others

because it might interfere with their

being saved and delivered so 1500 people

died because other people who were

already saved didn’t want to save others

if you’ve been saved by the blood of

Jesus Christ God has not just left you

here because you’re making it to glory

he’s left you here cuz they’re folk

drowning all around you drowning

spiritually drowning relationally

drowning morally drowning they’re just

drowning and here we are in this ocbs

lifeboat your personal life boat it

can’t only be about you or me or even us

in our church we do not exist only for

ourselves we exist to make a difference

in impact you know bolas are known for

the impact okay how good-looking bola

you are you know cuz there’s a bonus you

know today you know you both fancy today

when I was going up one fancy bowling to

dance fancy bowling

they got bowling pants bowling shirt

you know bowling socks you know they got

booked and it didn’t fancy bowling bags

and fancier bowling balls and then

there’s the bowling style put your three

fingers in koktebel

no matter how good you look as a bowler

if the pins are still standing you have

failed because Ebola is measured by his

impact no matter how christiany you look

how church’ fide you act if there is no

impact for the kingdom of God for your

life you are a failed representative I

am a failed representative of the

kingdom of God and until God sees that

he can use you to knock down some pens

why would he share his purpose with you

for you to dismiss it

no you blessed to be a blessing and when

he sees that

so Mordecai gets this information from

her and Mordecai writes her back because

you know by two or three witnesses he

says no we got to have a second

conversation then Mordecai told them to

reply to Esther cuz did not imagine

verse 13 that you and the king’s palace

can escape any more than all the Jews

for if you remain silent at this time

relief and deliverance will arise for

the Jews from another place and you and

your father’s house will perish and who

knows whether you have been attained

royalty called to the kingdom for such a

time as this he says Oh coz let me help

you out here because you know your

little confused

do you imagine and one of my favorite

temptation songs is just my imagination

running away with me girl your

imagination is running away with you do

you imagine do you think do you have the

mistaken idea

that this thing revolves real you hello

cuz I want to be confusing here cuz come

on I wanna make sure we want to say back

do you think cuz right now your

imagination is running away with you do

you think that by not doing this you

gonna save you and all of us are gonna

be like that

so let me shape your theology if you

don’t do it

God has a solution elsewhere I don’t

know what it is I don’t know where it is

but without using the name God let me

give you some theology cuz nobody is

indispensable let’s get this straight

let’s get this straight I don’t care how

good you are how rich you are how

powerful you are how skilled you up

god never limits himself to one person

God always has something up his sleeve

he doesn’t reveal it until he needs to

but God always has hidden options see if

you’re going downtown Dallas you’re

going down 35 and there’s an accident on

the highway in case you don’t know it I

know most of you know it if you’re stuck

on the highway there are other options

okay

35 is not your only option it’s just

your direct option because you can get

off on Illinois’s turn left go over

design turn right the Jefferson turn

right again go across the Jefferson C

bridge and you’re gonna be downtown or

you can turn right on Illinois sand go

through South dollars via Fair Park and

make it into downtown you can get to

downtown without the direct route so

while God would like to use you Esther

while God prefers to use you Esther

while God would rather you you Esther

let me splain something if he can’t use

you then he will find somebody else

we don’t even know they are because God

never allows men to box him in okay so

why he wants to use you you you you and

me

I see I’m I’m of no delusion that God

can get rid of me and bring somebody

better than me here no clear Bible

fellowship and so if I feel that about

me you know how I feel about you

that God always keeps his options open

and that nobody is indispensable when it

comes to his kingdom purpose not a

reason he said that it’s because God had

made a promise I will preserve the Jews

see he had enough of God’s Word God’s

Word does not mention God as not

mentioned but but he knows enough to

know that if you don’t do it God’s

sovereignty will make sure it’s done

because God is true to his word and his

word can be banked on and depended upon

he would rather use you but he doesn’t

have to

so stop smelling yourself cuz you you

ain’t all that now I mean you’ve you

been positioned if God wants to use you

but come on girl come on girl you you

got a look at this thing differently in

fact not only will he bring somebody

else cuz he can’t use you he gonna mess

you up because you were disobedient to

your kingdom calling he put he gave you

this job he gave you this position he

gave you this resource he gave you this

education he gave me this opportunity

and you have missed the kingdom purpose

you know none of that’s being used for

the kingdom which involves God’s promise

for the preservation of its people the

great tragedy today is if our church

exists and still doesn’t accomplish

kingdom purpose because just as your

church doesn’t mean you’re accomplished

and Kingdom purpose that’s a name

church if we’re not winning people to

Christ to save them in the faith and

improving their lives in history so that

they can be greater impact vessels for

God for eternity if we’re not doing that

demonstrating the kingdom of heaven

visiting the kingdom of Earth through

Kingdom disciples who are heavens

representatives on earth if we’re not

doing that we have a weekly party in the

name of Jesus

you may call to the kingdom for such

summon and the kingdom is bigger than

the church the church is facilitating

the kingdom well he hit him with this

then Esther told him verse 15 and

through 17 go assemble all the Jews who

are found in Susa and fast for me do not

eat or drink for three days night or day

I am my maidens also or fast in the same

way and thus I will go into the king

which is not according to the law this

is risky and if I perish I perish

so Mordecai went and did just as Esther

had commanded him let me tell you how

you’ll know it’s your time there’ll be a

spiritual conflict that God wants you to

intervene on you will see how he has

prepared you to be a blessing not just

be blessed but then he will ask you to

take watch this a risk of faith let me

explain something Saints faith is risky

business because you’re dealing with

something you can’t see you see the

opposite of faith is sight if you see it

it’s not faith because you see it

physically see faith is acting on what

you do not see because you believe God

wants you to do it based on his word see

this is based on God keeping a promise

so based on this word faith is taking a

step without being guaranteed the

outcome okay watch that now see we don’t

mind taking a step when we can guarantee

the outcome but risky faith okay watch

this I want to throw this at you

the greater the uncertainty the greater

the purpose the greater the uncertainty

the more fearful the step she says if I

perish I do not know

this is gonna work out and sometimes God

calls us as us when it’s our time to

take a step and we don’t see where that

foots gonna land

I don’t know if he’s gonna put out a

scepter I don’t know if he’s gonna keep

down this scepter I do not know how this

is gonna work out but because I know

this is a kingdom Mordecai said you’ve

been called to the kingdom you’ve been

given a royal opportunity for such a

time as this and because this is now and

you have to take a step and every time

all through the Bible people have had to

take risky steps of faith whenever God

was ready to do something big it’s a

spiritual entrepreneurial ISM

entrepreneurialism is where you take

risk but spiritually it’s where you’re

acting on God’s Word based on God’s

revelation but without having the income

without having the results already

predetermined and it could go left I

could perish but it’s clear what I want

God to do so I need spiritual

preparation to take this risk

have y’all fast everybody you know fast

tell your cousin’s the fast your people

are fast your aunties your uncles tell

everybody the fast cuz I’m really I’m

going out here on or on the line and I’m

gonna risk my very well-being for this

and if I perish I perish see the three

Hebrew boys had to take a risk they told

Nebuchadnezzar we now call about

Nebuchadnezzar said then you going into

the fiery furnace they didn’t know that

there was gonna be a fourth person in

there to meet him they had to take a

risky faith because they wouldn’t bow

and contradiction to the Word of God

Daniel had to take a risk he had to take

a risk that when he he refused to stop

praying when the king’s edict said you

can no longer pray in school you can no

longer pray in court you can no longer

he took a risk of faith and he got

thrown into the Lions and he didn’t know

that the Lions would have been fed from

manna from above before he got thrown in

there and they would lose their appetite

for human flesh

Peter had to take a risky step when he

stepped out on the water the only reason

he stepped out on the water

cuz Jesus told him he could step out on

the water he steps out on the water and

can walk on water but he didn’t know

whether he was gonna drown before he

stepped out the jezreelite crossing the

Red Sea they got Pharaoh on one end the

Red Sea on the other hand they don’t

know whether that water’s gonna crash

him once they get out into the middle of

the ocean but when you’ve been called

for a purpose there’s gonna be a risky

step of faith and that risky step of

faith has to take in both options this

could work or it might not

that’s God’s problem that’s God’s but I

have to trust God if I’m convinced that

this is how he’s positioned me to use me

I have to trust God and it will always

involve benefitting more than you the

Bible says don’t just look at yourself

but look at the things of others how

will be beneficial to others in the

process of me benefiting it will benefit

you don’t want to be like the pilot the

four engines in the plane went out all

four engines in the plane without the

pilot went and grabbed the one parachute

that was on this small plane he went to

the door unlocked the door just before

he jumped he said don’t worry I’m just

going to get some help it was just about

him so the challenge today I’m

challenging you to open your eyes to

such a time as this you know a turtle

only makes progress when it sticks its

neck out not to tell it sticks its neck

out is to go move God wants to use you

God wants to bless you God wants to

empower you because he wants you to make

a difference even if it means gambling

with faith that is the risk you don’t

know

I’m challenging you and me and us to

another level a kingdom level to say

okay God with the uncertainty with me

not knowing where all this is going Here

I am Here I am use me in whatever way

you choose use us even with the

uncertainty I’ll take the risk I just

want you to show me this is the risk you

want me to take without any promises I

will take the risk of faith cuz I want

my time I don’t want to end this time

and not have had my time his name is

Thomas Anderson aka Neil his movies are

the matrix the Matrix Reloaded and

matrix revolution

Thomas Anderson is a computer program a

part-time computer hacker but Thomas

Anderson gets whisked away to a

computer-generated reality known as the

matrix when he gets relocated in this

world behind the world that he knows he

discovers behind his world is another

world behind this other world he’s told

that back here in this other world there

are powers that he is

unaware of there is a love that he never

dreamt of name Trinity and there are a

whole group of people under attack in

Zion by the machines when he’s whisk

away he comes to Morpheus Morpheus looks

at him and says neo we’ve been waiting

for you you are the one there’s a mass

of confusion back here and we’ve been

waiting to be sent the one the one who

would be used to bring victory and

harmony now kneel you need to know back

here as this dude named mr. Smith and

mr. Smith wants to destroy you

mr. Smith like a man wants to do you in

and he wants to destroy Zion and he’s

going to give everything he can to keep

you for fulfilling your purpose as the

one but if you will take the risk and

come back here believing that this is

your purpose then while I cannot promise

you peace and prosperity and all that

cause mr. Smith is gonna reduplicate

himself over and over and over again and

he’s gonna come at you every which way

but loose but if you will accept this a

saint then you can be positioned to save

a world in trouble behind the world that

you think is the real world and so kneel

in this hand I have a blue pill in this

hand I have a red pill neo you take the

blue pill and you’ll wake up tomorrow

morning in your bed and you’ll think you

were just in a dream none of this will

be real and you’ll go on with your plain

ordinary computer programming life

Neal if you take the red pill then you

will be given powers that you never

dreamt of you will given experiences

that you never thought of because you

will be in the real world the world

behind the world you thought was the

real world so take the blue pill neo and

go back home take the red pill and let’s

see how far this rabbit hole goes neo

looks at both pills he reaches over to

the red pill and he swallows them neo

Morpheus says welcome to the real world

so my brothers and sisters I offer you

today two pills the blue pill and you go

back home today back to your plain old

ordinary life ya work raise family make

a little money pillow bills you go back

and you just live your plain old

ordinary life and this will just be

another Sunday at church I offer you the

red pill the pill that reflects the

precious blood of Jesus Christ I’ll

offer you that word pick with that red

pill you leave here and say I don’t work

an ordinary life anymore I don’t want to

just go through the motions anymore I do

not just want to go to church anymore I

want my time and I want to see all that

God has for me and all that God wants

for me and all they got wants to use me

and all that God wants to do through me

give me the red pill

don’t get me wrong I’m not promising you

if you take the red pill this all a

little sailing because it’s a risky pill

to take I am saying if you take the red

pill

we’ll get the see how far this rabbit

hole