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00:00 after sister Marel shared u I want to I want to introduce you to this book it's
00:05 a small book it's called radical okay uh I I want I want to say from my heart if
00:11 there's anything you all should read especially middleclass comfortable Christians you should read this book and
00:17 I'll tell you after reading this you'll be completely depressed but there is a place a need to be depressed okay uh uh
00:25 let me tell you a little bit about this author uh David Platt is the youngest mega church pastor in the world. At 27
00:32 years old, he took over a church of 4,000 strength. 27 years old. Uh and he
00:39 has seen after that made a series of decisions which in our uh middle class
00:46 Asian lifestyle will be completely ridiculous. But that is what God calls
00:52 us to do. And it's a great book. Uh I read it. I got very depressed. Uh I need
00:58 to be depressed. And I'm going to challenge you to read this. And and know today's message is in in in essence a
01:04 bit about that. We're going to talk about what it means to be victorious, okay? To really lead a victorious life.
01:10 And you'll find what God calls us to is to do it radically. Let me start off a little bit. And uh the reason why we
01:17 don't have Bible reading today is because I've been tasked to finish the book of Esther. There's three chapters
01:23 here. If I read three chapters here, you all will fall asleep already. So I'm going to sort of bring you through. We're going to look at Esther chapter 7
01:29 to chapter 9. Let me give you a very long introduction before we actually go into prayer. And uh I'm going to start
01:37 with the end of the book and this is what is found in Esther chapter 9 24- 28
01:44 a bridge. She says, "For Haman, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted
01:49 against the Jews to destroy them. Because of everything written in this letter, and because of what they had
01:56 seen and what had happened to them, the Jews took it upon themselves to establish the custom. And these days of
02:03 Purim shall never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of
02:08 them die out among the descendants." And this is a text which talks about a Jewish celebration called Purim. Last
02:15 week I wasn't around. I was overseas. But Masimo told me he spoke a little bit about this. Purim is one of two
02:22 celebrations the Jews celebrate up to today. The the second one is called Hanuka.
02:27 And the the celebration is in essence they remember how long time ago in the
02:33 kingdom of Persia there was a plot to anhilate them to wipe them off the face
02:40 of the earth but yet through unseen eyes unseen years miracles that you don't
02:46 obviously see God rescued their people and that's the basis we're going to look
02:52 at today is the victory of the Jews over Haman and their enemies how thou How
02:57 does that apply to the church today?
03:03 Let me give you a bit of history because today what I want to do is start off is to give you a bit of the book of Esther
03:09 from a Jewish perspective instead of from a evangelical Christian perspective. In 1948,
03:16 Israel, the state of Israel as we know it today was formed. Immediately five of
03:22 the Arab nations went to war with them. If you read history, this is a very flash point in history. Okay, this is
03:30 coming just right off World War II. And in 1948, Israel defeats five countries.
03:36 Newly formed country. The diaspora of the people coming in and they enlarge their territory. In 1967, another war
03:45 breaks out. This one is very famous. It's called the six day war. And again, they war against the same Arab
03:52 neighbors. And at the end of it, Israel is victorious again. And you find after
03:58 that 1973, another war breaks out with Egypt. And again and again. And Israel
04:04 today, a nation of Jews, small among an entire
04:09 Arab uh uh neighbors survives. A race so old that it should have
04:16 perished with all the olden civilizations. And they not only survive, they thrive.
04:23 Go and ask, do do a Google Google how all all the people of Wall Street, the banks are owned by who? They owned by
04:30 the Jews. Go and Google who owns all the uh filming companies, Jews. Look at the
04:37 Nobel Prize. They not only survive, but the text tells us they turn the tables
04:43 on it. They drive. And this is not lost to them. This is
04:49 after the six day war. You can't read it because it's very very poor reading. But this is what it says. It says in Hebrew,
04:57 just for the salvation and for the acts of might and for the victories and for
05:03 the wars you engineered for our forefathers in those days. And this is a
05:11 reference to Esther at this season. You see to the Jews when
05:17 they look at the book of Esther and they look at their life now they say humanly it is
05:25 impossible for us to survive but God has put us there and God is protecting us
05:33 and that is purim to them to them purim is a sign of an invisible God protecting
05:40 a nation among hostilities now here's my question to us today. How do you apply
05:46 that to us as a church? And two, is it true? Is there some sort of special hand
05:53 among these people there? And a lot of Jews do not know Christ. So today I want
05:59 to ask about how do you understand the word victory? How do you understand when
06:04 you say you live victoriously? You know, do you do like this guy, you know, this positive thinking? I want to live so
06:11 victoriously. hell shakes with terror every time I fit. He's the floor in the morning. He's a victorious guy. A guy
06:16 who looks at you and you know he's he's got everything going for him. His life is dried. You throw any challenge in
06:22 him, he will survive, you know. So today we not look at that. And I want to ask
06:28 in whatever state you are, you know, whether you're going through a difficult time or or maybe your life is just
06:34 boring and mundane, I think God has a message of what victory really means. So let's come before God in prayer and and
06:41 and just ask that Lord speak to us on this. Lord you have called us to radical
06:47 disciplehip and that Lord entails radical decisions
06:52 and that also means radical thinking for that is nothing short of what Christ
06:57 did the king of kings who came and whom the people thought would lead to victory
07:05 against the Roman Empire. instead Lord died humbled and broken on the tree and
07:13 that he tells us is the path of victory. Teach us that oh Lord this morning we
07:18 ask your word truly truly speaks to us and humble us not not the might of man
07:24 or the wisdom of men but your words. We say this in Jesus name. Amen. Let me uh
07:31 give you a nutshell of the whole three chapters. Okay. And I I've sort of broken it down for you. In chapter 3,
07:39 Esther mediated or mediates on half of her condemned Jewish race to a corrupt
07:44 king. And this is of course king success. Let me just read you the verse.
07:49 We'll do a the next five minutes a quick nutshell of it. 7:3 Queen Esther answered. If you have found favor with
07:57 you, oh king, and he pleases your majesty, grant me my life.
08:02 This is my petition. spare my people. This is my request. She mediates on
08:08 behalf of her people who have been condemned. And you know the history Haman had twisted it so that the decree
08:15 goes out that on a certain day called 13 Ada. The Jews are designated for
08:22 complete anhilation. Complete anhilation. This is Hitler. Hitler's probably prodigy is Haman.
08:30 Okay. And he says here, "And I for I my people have been sold for destruction
08:35 and slaughter and anyhillation." Doesn't this remind you of what happened in the
08:41 Holocaust? You had merely been sold as male and female slaves. I have kept quiet because
08:46 no such distress would justify disturbing the king. And let's read how
08:51 the story unfolds. King Zazis asked Queen Esther, "Who is he? Where's the
08:56 man who has dared to do such a thing?" And Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman."
09:04 Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. The king got up in a rage, left his swine and went out into the
09:10 palace garden. But Haman realizing that the king had really decided his fate,
09:15 stayed behind to beg queen Esther for his life. Just as the king returned from
09:21 the palace garden to the banquet hall, Hmon was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king
09:27 exclaimed, "Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?" As soon as the word left the
09:33 king's mouth, they covered Hammon's face. Then Habona, one of the unuks attending the king, said, "A gallow 75
09:40 ft high stands by Hammon's house. He made it he had made it made for Morai
09:45 who spoke up to help the king." The king said, "Hang him on it." So they hang Hammon on the gallows he had prepared
09:52 for Morai and then the king's fury subsided. Now what she had done was she had planned a dinner where she was going
09:58 to petition and then here again we see God's hands. Uh you see what happens is
10:04 that the king is actually trapped because when she exposes it you must understand who's the guy who signed the
10:10 decree is the king. So he's he's stuck you see because if if he says all right um let's remove this decree actually you
10:17 cannot you have to do a counter decree. Hammon can say well you are the one who agreed to it. So the king is stuck and
10:24 so here what happens and where God's providence occurs the king walks out. Now here's the thing in in in any olden
10:30 time even Chinese uh temp palaces like that you are in actually a haram full of
10:36 women. The king goes out there you don't stay there very very stupid. So he not
10:42 only stays there he goes and bags her on the couch even more stupid. So in fact
10:48 actually in ancient society if the king walks out you're supposed to follow the king but the king is very angry with him
10:54 so he's not going to follow the king. So he thinks he has an opportunity to actually beg but it completely does the
11:01 opposite and again there's providence what are the what are the possibilities and the moment he's begging for his life
11:07 the king comes back. So the king has an avenue right now you're trying to you know molest my wife. I'm going to hang
11:14 you. And let me tell you what hanging is in the olden days. Hanging isn't the gallows. You know, in the Onen days with
11:20 the with the the empire like this, the Persian Empire, a gallow is a big big stick sharp at the top. They took a
11:27 tree, chop it off and made it very sharp and they will impale you on it. Whether you're dead or alive, we don't really
11:33 know. So that's point two. Hmon, the enemy is hanged on the tree. Then we told uh in chapter eight, the rest I'll
11:39 just read it to you. King Zes issues a counter decree declaring there's now no more condemnation of the Jews. The Jews
11:47 celebrate the counter decree and they are victorious on the day of battle. And up to today the Jews celebrate Purin in
11:54 remembrance of their deliverance from their enemies. I want you to I want you to try to get this into your mind
12:00 because we're going to revisit this. Okay. But that's a nutshell. Okay. And this how they got victory. I want to
12:07 give you two propositions. Number one, how you define victory is dependent on
12:13 who or what you define as your enemy. And in this case, one of the most famous lines among the Jews is found in verse
12:19 six. Esther said the adversary and enemy is this vile Haman. And I think Masimo
12:26 told you last week, you know, in in Purim nowadays when you mention Hammon, they will boo, they mention Modai, they
12:32 will cheer. Okay, this is called Ham Pinata.
12:37 Last month I was holding the pinata for our brother's uh son's uh birthday.
12:44 Okay. So uh I'm telling you and when kids hit the pinata they don't hold back. Okay. I was at McDonald's. Okay.
12:52 And they let their anger out. Really hit it. You know of course when they're not careful they hit the guy holding the pinata.
12:58 Okay. Now the question is this. No this seemingly innocent act. I mean, you're
13:04 actually teaching teaching a kid to hit a guy, you know, that's actually what it is. That that's a guy. So, you have a
13:11 bunch of kids whacking a guy, an SVG of a guy. And and if you Google their cartoons, you know, the cartoons have
13:17 the same kind of deadly message that Hammon is the enemy. So, here's the
13:24 translation of course to modern day. Who is your enemy today?
13:30 In 1994 during a purim celebration, an American Jew called Barack Goin read the
13:38 Esther scroll. What what they do at Purim is they will take out a scroll. Okay, they take out the scroll and they
13:43 read it. They read what is known as the Maseretic text. They read it from beginning all the way to the end. After
13:49 reading it, he scroll up the scroll. He went to a mosque and he proceeded to
13:55 shoot 29 Muslims in one row. Another 176 were wounded.
14:02 And this is the time doing peace talks between the PLO and the Israel state. If you're familiar with your history, this
14:09 is Barack Gold's tomb in Israel. And those are the Hebrew engravings on it.
14:15 You know what it says? It says this, the revered Dr. Barak Capel Gustinin, son of
14:22 Israel. He gave his soul for the sake of the people of Israel, the Torah and the
14:28 land. His hands are clean, his heart good. He was assassinated for sanctity
14:35 of God. And I I I I went online to research that is really troubling. And up to today, they celebrate him as a
14:42 hero. Haman, enemy of the Jews at the time of the
14:48 Persian Empire. And the Jews have now simply replaced Haman with who? The
14:54 Muslims. Who is your vile enemy? Because without
15:01 an enemy, there is no victory. And what's the difference in the end
15:07 when you teach a kid to hit a pinata of a effigy of a someone you hate and a kid
15:14 who does this on West Bank of the occupied territories? very little difference isn't it? So this
15:21 morning I want to challenge you and I ask you who are the people you struggle
15:27 to love. And this is found in Matthew 26. Uh when Jesus is about to be taken
15:33 to be crucified for his trial, the man stepped forward. See Jesus arrested him. With that one of Jesus companions
15:40 reached for his sword. This is Peter drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest cutting off his ear. Put
15:45 your sword back in its place. Jesus said to him, for all who draw the sword will die. the sword. Do you think I cannot
15:53 call on my father and he will at once put at my disposal more than 12 legions
15:58 of angels? And this why one of the reasons why we're called to love our enemies because hate
16:06 beget hate. Uh you know I I I I'm an architect. I I
16:11 do a lot of also consultation with developers and I I I'm engaged in advisory for lawsuits and and since
16:17 we're talking about lawyers this morning they really two lawyers lawyers thrive
16:22 on this. No no no no offense to any lawyers here. Don't line up to to stone me but I tell you what lawyer what they
16:28 do know you have a lawsuit and I tell you I I'm engaged in one now where in because I have to visit lawyers and
16:33 lawyers are very expensive. These lawyers charge me 1,500 per hour. You know is a crime what lawyers make
16:39 nowadays. But that's a discussion for another day. All right. And I tell you,
16:44 lawsuits are all about pride. They all about pride. Who's got a deeper pocket?
16:51 And I'm going to whack you, man. I've seen the way it's done. I've been at meetings, you know. Know I I I've been
16:57 there. He says, "Okay, counter offer. 3 million." You go and tell him. I say 3 million. What? 3 million? Half a
17:03 million. Half a million. Wow. I'm paying. Okay. I want 6 million. All the knife comes out. Lawyer make a lot of
17:09 money. because they fight. Have you ever had the case where you had two cars going to the going to the toll? I had it because
17:16 I was one of them. And you move your car like that. Oh, the other guy cannot he moves his car like that and you move your car like that. You move your car
17:22 like that and you know you kiss one another. It's a completely most meaningless accident. Why pride? Because
17:30 he is the enemy. He's the guy I need to kick in the face
17:35 and kick him down. I need to beat him. But see the Bible looks at it this way. The real enemy isn't Haman
17:43 or isn't a group of people you don't like or someone you dislike. And if we all honest, we all have that kind of
17:49 people. People will hurt us in our life. The real enemy is not country against country, people against people, but is
17:57 enmity between us and God. And what the New Testament tells us because of sin
18:04 which is our real enemy, we are separated from God. And the only real victory that matters is victory over
18:10 sin. And I want to particularly this morning talk about hate.
18:16 Let me talk about it generally and talk very specifically. Next Saturday I'm going to a rally.
18:24 I didn't say anything. Huh? Hey. Hey. I didn't say anything.
18:29 Guess car rally, right? Is my right to go to rally.
18:35 I'm not promoting it. Not promoting it. The church is not a place to do politics. It's not the first time I've
18:41 been to this rally. I look forward to going to it. Uh we're planning it. My
18:47 wife is joining me this time. The last time I went, I got tear gas. Seriously,
18:54 together with Ellen. Ellen was with me. We both got tear gas together. Now, what happened is that at that
18:60 rally, there are people who go because they really want to stand up for injustice.
19:05 Then they had the tagger along. Those guys who go along because they think it's fun and cool to do this street credibility they call this. And then
19:12 there guys who holding up posters posters where they take faces of our leaders and they stick it to Hitler
19:21 and they take it and they put an arrow through the head and they take a lot of pictures and let me tell you what those
19:27 pictures are showing. They are pictures of head. And there's a line where you say, I'm
19:33 doing this for the sake of my country. I'm doing this for the sake of my company because I need to sue the guy.
19:39 I'm doing this for the sake of my honor. And then you cross that line and it becomes head.
19:44 It's a very very subtle line. So let me take it personally.
19:51 You have a conflict with someone. He stabbed you in the back or she ex-wife,
19:58 present wife, ex-husband, present husband, ex- business partner
20:03 and you are the victim and you feel hurt
20:09 and that can move where you want to keep the guy in his face and you don't
20:14 realize it. You see, hate begets something else
20:19 called self-righteousness. Why do you think the most deadly enemy today is the suicide bomber? Is an enemy
20:27 you cannot beat? Because the suicide bomber is fueled by hate.
20:34 And when you fuel a guy by hate, he will walk into the Iawan Shine at the
20:39 junction of Raja Prasong and kill people. And those of you who travel, I've been there so often. That's such a
20:46 crowded area. And you and I are living in times where
20:52 nothing is safe. Can you imagine? And I saw the footage of the guy taking
20:57 the bag, putting it down, walking off. This is the world you live in. And why
21:02 do people do that? Because they tell you it's right to hate because they are the
21:08 enemy. But the Bible tells us, I want to give you two points, two main points before we go to application. The real
21:14 enemy is sin. And in God's eyes, the only victory is that
21:21 here the second point I'll pick up. This is another man who's running for president. Very entertaining if you
21:27 watch it. Extremely entertaining. Okay, but this is the way he works his life. Think like a champion. Now you
21:35 look at what he writes and look at what is coming out in Christian literature nowadays. Victory is mine. I told Satan
21:40 get thee be mine. Joy is mine. Happiness is mine. There a lot of books out there that you know if there are 10 steps for
21:47 leading a victorious Christian life you are destined to reign. I'm not going to mention names. All right. Uh your best
21:54 life is now. And if you follow these steps, God is really going to bless you.
22:00 You will be victorious in every area of your life. God has a plan to prosper
22:06 you. They pull up verses from Jeremiah to enlarge your territory.
22:12 Just follow this. God loves you and your life will be prosperous. Think like a
22:20 champion. Let's unpack this a little bit. I'm I'm old so my music is old. So
22:26 all you young people, forgive me. This one of the greatest rock songs ever written. Period. We are the champions.
22:33 Very famous at football, you know, football games. Freddy Mercury. Mercural
22:39 in every essence of it. And these are the lyrics for me. You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes
22:46 with it. I thank you all. We are the champions, my friend. We'll keep on fighting to the end. We are the
22:53 champions. No time for losers cuz we are
22:58 the champions of the world. And the bridge actually says this. We are the champions. Those are the losers. If you
23:05 know the song that's the bridge does has that, you know. And what the first thing the song tells you is that the world is
23:11 divided into two types of people. Winners and losers.
23:18 That's what he's telling you. And you try hard enough. And you try push hard
23:23 enough with Lord on your side with God with you. You're born again, born to win. And please don't say amen to that.
23:31 In many other churches, they do that. Let us take one step back and let me let me show you another song he wrote and
23:38 this was his last song and this is Freddy Mercury years later ravaged by
23:44 AIDS and on his deathbed he wrote this final song which is considered his swan
23:50 song in his last album by Queen and he says sometimes it seem lately I just
23:56 don't know better sit back go with the flow these are the days of our lives
24:03 They have flown in the swiftness of time. These days are all gone now. Some
24:08 things remain. When I look I find no change. And there
24:16 there were the days of my life. You see the second point we want to pick
24:22 up is this. You know proposition two. How you define success and victory will
24:30 shape how you define suffering and tragedy. The book of Esther shows the deliverance
24:36 of the Jews. But that's not the end of it. Centuries later, another empire called
24:44 the Roman Empire will enslave them. And history will tell us under General
24:50 Titus, the Israelites will be will be completely removed from Jerusalem, a pig
24:58 head will be put onto the temple and Titus will say, "What kind of God do you have? They will leave you so
25:04 desecrated." and try to tell Purim to the millions of
25:12 Jews who were gassed during Hitler's time
25:17 in the worst holocaust in human history. If you define victory as deliverance
25:24 from your illness, deliverance from your financial problems, your emotional
25:29 problems, you and I are going to be in for a very rude shock.
25:35 So what then is victory? So let me come to the crunch of it. And here's some
25:41 little details I want us to pick in you know and and we're going to go to look at chapter nine but let me pick it up.
25:47 You see victory in battles are all celebrated on the day. Let me give you
25:53 three in my research. France Bastil day. This is the day where the monarchy ended
25:59 and they become a republic because it's a storming of the Bastile. So on that day 14th of July French people celebrate
26:07 this the Soviet Union when when when when the SAR collapsed of course this is
26:13 no more celebrated was 7 of November in Mexico there's a celebration called
26:18 Sinso de Mayo is when they fought Napoleon's army and they won
26:24 5th of May. Now let me turn you to chapter nine. Okay.
26:31 And uh I want you to look at vers 16.
26:37 Okay. Uh 17. Okay. Now the day of battle
26:44 is 13 adah. So read this. It's important detail. Chapter 9:1 17. Okay. We can
26:51 take back verse 16 further. It say they killed 75,000 of them and did not lay hands on the plunder. This is the this
26:56 battle. This happened on 13th day of the month Ada. That's the day. And here's an
27:03 interesting detail. On the 14th day, they rested and made it a f day of
27:10 feasting and joy. But what's the difference here? Very important detail.
27:15 The celebration isn't on the day of the battle. It's the next day.
27:21 It's the next day. He mentions that is such an important detail. It's picked up again in two and
27:28 I'm giving you the verses here. It happened twice. Now why why don't you celebrate a day where you
27:34 kick the teeth in of your enemies? Why don't you celebrate a day there where you really really whack the guy? But
27:41 instead the author is very very clear to remind us the celebration is the next
27:48 day. It's an important point and here's the reason. Verse 17, this
27:55 happened on 13th day. On the 14th day, they rested.
28:02 You see, the victory isn't when you kick the guy's teeth in. You know, the victory isn't being gle, you're a loser,
28:09 I'm a winner. You see the difference? And this is so critical to our thinking
28:14 of victory is on the day where you are refreshed. And he says one to heaven celebrate
28:21 enemy the 14th day and 15th day of the month of Adah as the time the Jews got
28:27 relief. Victory is rest from our enemies. And I really want us to spend
28:33 time on this. So let me now recap. This is what we read at the beginning of
28:40 the sermon. Let me give you the real story. Esther mediated on behalf of the
28:46 condemned Jewish race to a corrupt king. Jesus mediated on behalf of a condemned
28:53 humanity to a incorruptible king of kings. For we are all enemies of God.
29:00 Our sin blocks us from God. God is pure
29:06 and there's an enmity between us. Hammon the enemy was hanged on the tree. Jesus
29:12 took our enemies sin and was hanged on the tree because the cross is a tree.
29:20 King Suis issues a counter decree declaring there's now no more condemnation of the Jews. The King of
29:27 Kings, God declares in the book of Romans, there is now no condemnation for
29:33 those in Christ Jesus. The Jews celebrate the counter decree and are victorious on the day of battle.
29:42 We celebrate our justification by faith which gives us victory over sin.
29:47 Sorry about that. That's my phone. My apologies. Up to today. Yes, wife. I should put it
29:53 on silent. I'm my my sorry. Can you can maybe let me just uh Okay. Up to today
29:60 the Jews celebrate Purim in remembrance of deliverance from the enemy.
30:05 And we celebrate Jesus. You see the the the the book of Esther points
30:11 to Jesus. As Esther mediated on a condemned race, so did Jesus. Now, how
30:18 does it help us? Let me give you three points and we're going to go into application about genuine victorious
30:24 living. Number one, victory is resting in Jesus. I I'm going to explain what
30:29 that means. Number two, victory is resting and wrestling together.
30:36 And thirdly, victory is resting in God's providence.
30:42 Number one, yesterday my wife, my daughter came back from BB. Uh she studied under teacher Jerry and teacher
30:49 Jerry taught her this story. It's a very famous story. Okay, it's a story about
30:55 five missionaries, okay? Jim Elliot who went to South America to preach the
31:00 gospel to a Native American tribe and what happens they were all massacred.
31:06 It's a very famous story. But what's more amazing about the story is that the wife Elizabeth Ever goes back to the
31:14 same people and they become Christian and she wrote a book which is actually taken off a hymn called Through the
31:21 Gates of Splendor. Now I want you to pause and and and think how this applies to our life.
31:26 Your husband just got murdered. You murder someone in the family, I go
31:33 and kick your teeth in. You know, I go and blanket bomb your village.
31:39 What does she do? She goes and live with the enemy. And the enemy comes to know Christ. This
31:48 is radical. This is disciplehip
31:54 because our war is not against flesh and blood. Our war is against the
31:59 principalities of this world and the devil. And our weapons is love and grace. It's so powerful. And I I want I
32:07 want you to to really think about that. I want you to think especially if you are struggling with with with
32:13 bitterness. And I I know in our midst because you know we do a bit of prayer and we do some visitation and there's
32:20 some in our midst where you you have we have issues with people. Some people have been really really nasty to you.
32:29 And what God is asking you this morning is to take that and put it on the cross
32:35 and he will give you rest and that rest will let you be victorious. You see the
32:40 story is when they were being killed, they sang this hymn. You know, we should sing more hymns. We must get back up to
32:47 teach us more hymns, you know. And this is a hymn we used to sing. Let me read it to you. We rest on thee, our shield
32:54 and our defender. We go not forth alone against the foe. Strong in thy strength,
33:01 safe in thy keeping tender. We rest on thee and in thy name we go.
33:08 We go in faith our own great weakness feeling and needing more each day thy
33:13 grace to know yet from our hearts a song of triumph peeling we rest on thee and
33:20 in thy name we go you guys know this song you know I I dare not sing it like you guys will freak out but but the song
33:27 is a bit like this that we rest on thee our sh and our defender da da da da da
33:34 da da da you all know this song we have sung it for and what a song is saying is
33:39 this. This is victory. What's the victory? Look at the the second stanza from our hearts. A song of triumph
33:47 peeling. That's victory. But where's that victory coming from? Resting on Jesus.
33:53 That's so important. That is so eyeopening. And look at what he says. We
33:58 go in faith our own great weakness feeling. You see a lot of victory out
34:03 there, they say is on God's strength. Actually, it's our strength. We go
34:09 because we got financial power. We go because we got talent. We go because we
34:14 we we have the ability and we are victorious. Then we rubber stamp ite. We say, "God, help me do it." But you're
34:21 not going in your weakness. And this is such an important thing to
34:26 understand because as they were being killed, they sang this song. And
34:33 Elizabeth Elliot remembered it because through the gates of splendor is the second stanza from this song. And it
34:40 reminds us victory is resting in Jesus. Now, how do you do it? Let me pick this
34:48 up for you. Wrestling and resting. You see what Esther is teaching is found in
34:55 the New Testament. The Jews fight to defend themselves and then rested in joy relief. That's Esther
35:02 92 and 22. But Jesus tells us the same thing. He says, "Take up the cross and
35:09 follow him." He's telling you to take up a weapon of
35:14 torture and follow him. He's telling you to die.
35:20 I mean, that's crazy. But then later on, one chapter later, he says, "Come to him. Find rest for our
35:28 souls. Take my burden. It is light." You see, this is so important because
35:34 there there two extremes in Christianity. There's one that tells you, "Hey, God loves you. God prospers
35:40 you. God God wants to take put all your burden on Jesus. Jesus loves you. You're
35:45 going to have this is consumer Christianity. Then there's the other extreme. These are the jihadist in Christianity. You
35:51 got to die for God. You got to do this. You got to do that. People feel guilty, you know. A and Paul says that if I give
35:58 my life to the flames and have not love, I have nothing. So Paul says the same thing in Philippians chapter 1:29. He
36:05 tells us to suffer for Jesus. In fact, the actual verse is granted. You're granted the right to suffer. I mean, who
36:12 wants to suffer for Jesus? Granted the right. Are you crazy? What kind of religion is this? Then he tells us you
36:19 suffer for Jesus, you experience the peace of Christ that transcends all
36:24 understanding. And John Piper puts it the best
36:29 wrestling and resting. First part, the path that leads to life is a path of
36:35 much self renunciation because so many of our desires as sinners are
36:40 spiritually suicidal. Life is war
36:46 and victory involves fighting wrestling. If you go a okay that means in military
36:52 term you desert you know from the narrow road that leads to life you imperil your soul
36:59 and we all know this right but that's not the whole story so let me stop a while I mean think about it I mean not
37:07 as a preacher the guy is sit here if every Sunday you come and the preacher tells you bad Christian bad Christian no
37:15 good you're sinner you're a sinner you need to die for Jesus you'll be depressed, right? I mean, hello. I'm
37:21 already depressed enough. Please don't make me more depressed. We all know we are rotten Christians. Thank you very
37:27 much, Mr. Preacher Man. Yes, you're telling the truth, but we can't have this. So, Ron Piper is right. This is
37:34 the truth. It's not the whole story. And here's the second part. Money beckons us
37:40 to rest in what it can buy. Sex beckons us to rest in the way it can make us
37:46 feel. Power and recognition beckons us to rest in what they can give. Health
37:51 and food, athletics, family, friends, hobbies, education, looks, accomplishment, they beckon us to rest
37:56 in what they offer. But Jesus says, "Come to me and find rest for your
38:02 souls." Other shelters offer rest. Other yolks off seems easy. Other burdens feel
38:09 light. They are all an illusion. In the end, they enslave and destroy. Only
38:15 Jesus gives deep and lasting rest and joy. Only Jesus supports the burdens he
38:22 give. Only Jesus uses a yoke to lift his team of oxen. And for me, this was
38:28 actually in many ways very life-changing. You see, our treating life is a roller coaster.
38:34 At one point, I suspect all of us want to say, you know what, I'm going to make a breakthrough and I'm going to do really good things for God. And then we
38:40 we we go for a while very high onward Christian soldier. Then after a while at
38:45 Hawkins say betan we burn out
38:50 and then we we we sit come to church with this kind of conscience thing neither here neither there because we
38:58 were no longer that victorious soldier and we feel guilty and we sit and I've
39:03 been I've been I've been understanding what has been missing. You see you can't fight if you don't have rest.
39:11 You cannot be victorious if you don't feel loved. Even God worked and then rested.
39:19 And here's one thing I want to ask to all of you. I a few applications. If you are struggling with sin,
39:25 any bad habits, it could be money, your job, you feel
39:30 corrupted, it could be sexual, it could be temper, it could be bitterness. And you tried and you feel
39:38 you hit a wall. Here is God's answer to you and me. Rest in
39:43 him. Soak in him. Feel his love. Feel his embrace. You cannot do that unless
39:51 you ask the Holy Spirit to give you that. And in that rest,
39:56 when morning turns to joy, you will find victory.
40:02 Wrestle and rest. I want to challenge you on that. Here's another one, a much
40:08 more simpler application. Time management. You see, we say uh we love God first,
40:14 family, and then work. Correct? Let me tell you, that's BS.
40:20 Cannot see what business. But the reality is work first, family,
40:26 then God. If we honest, how do we know that? It's the time you and I spend. I know that because I'm in a very busy
40:32 session my life. We were we were on holiday last week. uh overseas. You know
40:38 one of the biggest problem my biggest problem was every night I go back hotel I cannot wait to grab the iPad away from
40:45 my daughter to check my email I got to my daughter wants to serve
40:50 YouTube I want to grab it I need to clear my mailbox but you notice that until one day I say
40:57 you know what forget it but you see that's so important in life isn't it if you you don't find time to rest to pause
41:07 to as what Moby said to be still and know he is God.
41:14 You and I will not go through the fire and we will not go through the flood.
41:20 So here's the other second application to all you busy Chinese people particularly because Chinese people work
41:25 all the time. Correct or not?
41:32 For your soul and my soul rest, be still.
41:38 Know he is God and you will find you have a much better perspective on work.
41:45 And then when we say God first, family second, work third, we will mean it. It
41:50 won't be cliche. Let me move on to the third point. Rest in providence.
41:57 You know, I cannot stand soapy love movies. I I must admit I never watched
42:02 Twilight. I I I I cannot take it. Okay. So, but I know some of you do the young people. So, this is considered the most
42:09 robotic movie ever. I tried to watch a little bit of it yesterday. I couldn't. I gave it up. So, but I read about it.
42:17 But of course, those of you who are not so into all this Romeo Juliet movie, let me tell you a bit about this show. It's
42:23 interesting premise. Two people fall in love and they're terminally ill. That in simple simple English they are both very
42:30 sick and they're going to die. And the premise in the movie movie is this is that you can either choose to be a
42:37 victim or be victorious. No matter what circumstances your life is in there,
42:42 there's some truth in that. Meaning if I have cancer or if I' I've been beaten
42:49 down in life, I I'm I'm I everything's been taken away from me. I can sit at home and rot and feel depressed or I can
42:57 breathe life. That's the premise of the movie. It's an interesting premise and I
43:03 and I think there's value and and if you are in those shoes, don't get dragged down by by bitterness. Live life
43:08 breathe. Celebrate life. But let me give you a deeper story. You see, I can't I
43:14 would can't watch that kind of movie. The the hero the hero the the boyfriend he wrote a poem really romantic. So, I
43:22 got to share it with you. Please don't do this to your girlfriends. Okay? But let me read it to you. I'm in love with
43:27 you. I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you. You can hear the violin behind going.
43:35 But look at these verses are quite interesting. I know that love is just a shout in the void and that oblivion is
43:42 inevitable and that we are all doomed. There will come a day when all our labor
43:48 has been returned to dust. And I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have. And I'm in love with
43:54 you. Now, you take away the rhetoric about how deeply he loves her. You know
43:60 what he's telling you? Life is hopeless. Life is meaningless. I've got cancer.
44:06 I'm going to die. But despite that, I am going to live life to the fullest.
44:13 He's half right. Because the the the the poem is so
44:19 meaningful and yet so tragic. When you tell someone love is just a shout in a
44:25 void, oblivable. We all doomed and the day will come
44:30 where our labors return to dust. The son of Solom, the only earth we ever have.
44:36 Let me show you a better way. And this is what John says. John in the last book
44:43 of the Bible at a time where great persecution faces the church where people face problems worse than cancer
44:50 where the church is being annihilated. And on the island of Patmos he says this
44:56 do not be afraid. I'm the first and the last. I'm the living. I was dead and
45:01 behold I'm alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys of death and had this. Be
45:07 faithful even to the point of death. I will give you the crown of life. He will wipe away every tear from the eyes.
45:13 There'll be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For the old order things has passed away. To John, love is not a
45:21 shout into the dark. It is not oblivion. The sun will shine if you are faithful
45:30 through this time. This is victory. You see the most, let me wrap up the
45:36 third point is this. Each one of us in our Christian walk goes through a time of darkness and doubt. I read a lot of
45:44 books nowadays because travel so much got nothing to do with the plane I read and I find out even very great
45:50 Christians all have times of doubt and I I'm going to ask you that isn't it? Do you not go through a time where you
45:56 actually stop and ask is this real? I find out even David Platt does that.
46:03 And and and and here's the beauty of the book of Esper. See in the very beginning
46:08 chapter 4 Modi tells this to Esther for you remain silent at this time relief
46:13 and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place. What is Modi saying? Modi is saying yes we will die but God
46:21 will be faithful. How? I don't know. That's what he's saying. He's saying that God will
46:28 preserve a remnant. Now, we've all been saying this about Esther. And I I I want you to take a bit of this. In the book
46:35 of Esther, as a lot of the previous preachers have been saying, God is absent.
46:40 But what's obvious is God is systematically removed. For example, when you fast, you fast and pray, but
46:46 prayer is removed. When they go to war, uh you go to war and you find the text tells you you're not supposed to take
46:52 the plunder. That's from the book of Joshua. The author deliberately removes all reference to God. We don't know why,
46:57 but here's the effect. And what every commentator has agreed when you do that you know what he's telling you is
47:04 telling you this word I'm not sure that means whatever happens in my life I'm not sure if that's what God wants me to
47:10 do but friends isn't that life how sure you are you are where you are
47:18 at your work because God put you there you don't know how sure you know that your relationship
47:24 with these people God put that you don't know that's the beauty of Esther compared to say Joseph in in Genesis on
47:32 Providence and it means in times of doubt and we all have that
47:39 God is there and you rest in him there is victory and I want to challenge you
47:46 because I don't know what the future holds for me and you I don't know whether where you are now at work and
47:52 and you may be just questioning a lot of things and the heavens are quiet that's
47:57 Esther But Modi says no matter what deliverance will occur and we cling to the word of
48:04 God that God will bring everything to fruition. Whatever difficulty you're
48:10 going through, whatever unseen trouble, God will bring it through.
48:16 Let me just end with this victorious relieving. Rest in Jesus. Rest and
48:22 wrestle as you follow Christ. I want to ask the worship team to come up. rest in God's providence. One last thing,
48:29 celebrate. You know, celebration is like a dirty work among Christians, you know. You
48:34 know, and but what we're trying to tell you this morning that there is a place
48:40 to jump and shout and scream and celebrate celebrate. You know,
48:48 let let me give example. You're you're a football stadium. Huh? Football stadium. Football stadium. You you will shout,
48:54 right? when you when when there's when there's a game going on when when when you when you when you're
49:00 the stock market you make money you will shout right but in in a church we shout say you cannot very bad no good no good
49:06 no good there there's something I think something we have forgotten you see the Bible doesn't tell us to celebrate life
49:12 he tells us to celebrate Jesus why because he is risen he lives forever
49:19 more he is risen and we are celebrating the resurrection of our lives
49:26 And this morning I we want to just challenge you. We want to challenge you a few things. The first is whatever
49:34 struggle you have would you bring it towards Jesus. The second thing I want to challenge
49:39 you. No matter what you're going through, celebrate him. If if a non-Christian can celebrate life.
49:47 If if a non-Christian having cancer, non-Christian who's going through such difficult things can say, "I refuse to
49:53 be a victim. I I I want to be victor. How much more for you who are in the
49:58 Lord? And I'm going to challenge you at the end of this service to celebrate. And
50:03 people celebrate don't sit down there and go like that. And I pray you will get up and shout and
50:10 scream and praise the Lord because that's what the Jews did on that day.
50:16 But right now, let me just uh bring you through a time of prayer. And I want to ask if you are struggling and you feel
50:21 like a victim as we go through a time of prayer, would you raise your hands and let let let let me pray for you and so
50:28 let's let's close our eyes now.
