End Times Now

Posted: August 28, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: End Times, Israel, Jesus, The Antichrist, The Day of the Lord, The End Times, The Rapture, The Second Coming | Leave a comment

The year was 1988! My wife was a young teenager at the time and she remembers one man in her church reading a book called 88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be in 1988. He sold some of his possessions and started going door-to-door in their small town telling everybody that Jesus was coming back that year. He was sorely disappointed when the book’s prophecy didn’t come true.

You may have noticed that I don’t spend a lot of time teaching on the study of the End Times called eschatology as a separate unit. If a passage on prophecy or eschatology comes, then I will delve into it. Why don’t I spend a lot of time preaching on eschatology and yet I still remind you at least monthly at Communion that Christ is coming back? Here are the four reasons (understanding that other doctrines can also cause the same problems):

  • Divisive Factions – Eschatology can be divisive and encourage people to become judgmental and labelling. Especially in the past, how one interpreted the Bible on eschatology became the litmus test to how orthodox one was. Rather than a rallying point, the belief in the various views of Christ’s Second Coming separates people into factions. I believe that is a tactic of our enemy to divide us over when his defeat will be. This is why I have tried to encourage unity these 11 years as your main Teaching Pastor. As John Ortberg once said, “Too often we argue about Christianity, instead of marveling at Jesus.”
  • Discipleship Focus – Eschatology is often based on prophetic, apocalyptic and figurative Scriptures that are opaque and I wanted to emphasize the clearer passages on discipleship. This is how Jesus redirected His disciples’ focus in Acts 1:6-8!
  • Debilitating Fear – I don’t want to add to people’s fears, especially after COVID. One lady on Instagram wrote on a recent post, “Can y’all pray for me? I’m still scared about the rapture.” Another response was, “I often feel my wife and kids will go and I will stay to suffer.” Just this past week, fears were raised again when the Amazon One identity system using people’s palms launched causing some to think that this may be used as a Mark of the Beast (Revelation 13). However, let me remind you what I heard Susie Larson said on a podcast, “Things aren’t falling apart, but falling into place.” God is control so don’t live in debilitating fear or escape through entertainment. Keep your eyes on Jesus! (Maybe one of the take-aways tonight is to get off Social Media End Times echo chambers?)
  • Declaring Falsehood – One Instagram post claimed, “When we Christians are raptured the government will blame aliens and UFOs. The trumpet will sound soon. Why else is the gov’t and media pushing UFOs all of a sudden?” This is in the conspiracy category. Conspiracies are one thing, violence is another. “A quick glance at history shows that studying the End Times has even had the capacity to bring out a bit of violence from time to time.” In 1993, the FBI raided a compound of the violent, apocalyptic Branch Davidians cult led by David Koresh who identified himself as the Lamb fulfilling Revelation 5:2.

Why End Times Now? We are going to be studying Daniel 7-12 that teaches a lot of prophecy and we have many in our church who have not been taught eschatology so tonight is an information night followed by a Q & A. My goal is for us not to lose hope, but to increase our joy and stay faithfully focused on seeing Jesus come back. This will also keep us on mission with Jesus. “The End Times began at Jesus’ birth (Revelation 12),” so we have been waiting awhile in order for us believers to preach the gospel to every tongue, tribe and nation. But Maranatha – come Lord Jesus come and soon! Amen!

What are some ground rules around eschatology? We do not make eschatology a test of fellowship here at TBC as long as one believes Jesus is physically and visibly returning to earth. We include this belief in our baptismal creed. For membership we require that one holds without mental reservation to our Affirmation of Faith, which states: We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ; in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust; in the eternal blessedness in Heaven of the redeemed and in the judgment and conscious, eternal punishment of the wicked in Hell. We have a big tent when it comes to eschatology, but all of us in the tent need to be humble and teachable. Too often, those with divergent views are sinfully mocked and ostracized. I have family and friends who are smarter and love Jesus more and hold views all along the eschatological spectrum. Don’t be dismissive of any of these views. They all have some valid arguments. I respect them.  However, as Bible Scholar Timothy Paul Jones reminds us, “Whenever a search for specific signs becomes the primary goal in our study of the end times, we are focusing on the wrong end.” My prayer is that all those who believe that Jesus is coming back feel welcome and loved here while having open hearts and open Bibles. I am going to say this a number of times. I am not trying to convince you of a certain position. I’ll share mine at the end. My goal tonight is to inform you of the various positions.

DEFINING TERMS

  • End Times (aka eschatology) – The study of the Bible’s teaching about the events leading up to the second coming of Christ. 
  • Apocalyptic literature – “Jewish genre or writing, structured around visions that figuratively pointed to hidden truths for the purpose of assuring God’s people of the goodness of God’s plans during periods of persecution.”
  • Imminent – The belief that Jesus could come back at any moment.
  • Millennium – The reign of Jesus for 1000 years that John describes in Revelation 20:1-6. 
  • Rapture – An event described in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, when Christ returns for His people. There are various views to if the rapture occurs before, after or half-way through the Tribulation.
  • Second Coming – “The bodily return of Jesus to earth to reign as king.”
  • Tribulation – A “time when disasters happen on earth and people who are faithful to Jesus suffer intense persecution, possibly lasting seven years.”

KEY PASSAGES ON THE END TIMES

  • Isaiah 24-27
  • Ezekiel 37-39
  • Daniel 7-12
  • Zechariah 12-14
  • Matthew 24; Mark 13:3-27; Luke 21:5-36
  • 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, 50-52
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:12
  • 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
  • 2 Timothy 3:1-9
  • Revelation 4-21

RESOURCES:

  • The End of the World as We Know It Infographic by Tim Challies
  • 4 End Times Views Pamphlet by Timothy Paul Jones. Purchase your own through Amazon for ~$5. (QR Code)

FOUR VIEWS OF THE END TIMES

Historical Premillennialism (Post-tribulational)PostmillennialismAmillennialismDispensational Premillennialism (Pre-tribulational & Mid-tribulational)
Will Jesus return physically to earth?YesYesYesYes
When will Jesus return? (Do the rapture and second coming of Christ occur at the same time?)After the Tribulation; before the Millennium (The Rapture and Second Coming are simultaneous and Christ returns to reign on earth)After the Millennium (Single event between the Rapture and Second Coming)Anytime: a detailed time frame is not important (Single event between the Rapture and the Second Coming and introduces eternal state)Comes in two phrases: 1) The Rapture of the Church; and 2) 2nd Coming to earth 7 years later after the Tribulation
When will the Resurrection Occur?The Resurrection of believers occurs at beginning of Millennium. Resurrection of unbelievers at end of Millennium.General resurrection of believers and unbelievers at second coming of ChristGeneral resurrection of believers and unbelievers at second coming of ChristDistinction in multiple resurrections: 1) Church at Rapture; 2) OT Testament & Tribulation saints at Second Coming; 3) Unbelievers at end of Millennium
Will there be a great Tribulation? (Will Christians suffer during the Tribulation?)YesThe Tribulation occurred during the first-century Jewish-Roman War (Preterism) or is currently experienced in this present age in the conflict between good and evil.The Tribulation occurs any time Christians are persecuted or wars and disasters occur.Yes, but the Church is raptured prior to Tribulation (pre-tribulation rapture) or 3 ½ years into the tribulation (mid-tribulation rapture) or prior to the wrath of God (pre-wrath tribulation rapture).
Will there be a 1000 year millennium?Yes, after the Tribulation, Christ will return and reign for 1000 years.No, the Millennium refers to a period of peace when the gospel reaches all people. Theonomists & Dominionists go further and believe the church should be taking authority in the areas of family, education, business, religion, media, government and entertainment (i.e. The 7 Mountain Mandate).No, the millennium is symbolic and refers to the reign of Christ in the hearts of his believers. The Kingdom is now. Yes, after the Tribulation, Christ will return and reign for 1000 years. The Kingdom is present and in the age to come.
What is the relationship between Israel and the Church?There is some distinction between Israel and church. There is a future for Israel, but the Church includes Messianic Jews.The Church is the new Israel. There is no distinction between Israel and the Church. (This is called Replacement Theology.)The Church is the new Israel. There is no distinction between Israel and the Church. (This is called Replacement Theology.)There is a complete distinction between Israel and the Church as well as a distinct program for each.
Is the modern state of Israel relevant to the prophecies in Revelation?Yes, but not conditionally.NoNoYes
When will the Judgments occur?General judgment of all people at the Second Coming (i.e. The Great White Throne Judgment). Believers are the judged at their death or at the beginning of Millennium when they will reign with Christ for 1000 years (i.e. The Bema Seat of Christ)General judgment of all people (i.e. The Great White Throne judgment)General judgment of all people (i.e. The Great White Throne Judgment)Three judgments: 1) Believers’ works at Rapture (i.e. The Bema Seat of Christ); 2) Jews/Gentile believers at end of Tribulation; and 3) Unbelievers at the end of the Millennium
When was this view most held? Who were its major proponents?The earliest view of the End Times, emerging at the end of the first century. Historical Premillennialist proponents include George Ladd, Robert Gundry and John Piper.May have been popular as early as 300 A.D. Less popular today. Postmillennial proponents include Augustine, John Calvin, Many Puritans, Jonathan Edwards, William Carey, William Booth, Charles Hodge, and B.B. Warfield. Theonomists include Joe Boot.Popularized in 400 A.D. Continues to be accepted today including in Catholic and Reformed circles. Amillennial proponents include Louis Berkhoff and G.C. Berkhouwer. Became popular about 1860. Was the dominant view until recently, but is still very popular. Proponents include William Miller, John Darby, D.L. Moody, Lewis Sperry Chafer, C.I. Schofield (Schofield Reference Bible Study Notes), Hal Lindsey (The Late Great Planet Earth) & Jerry Jenkins (Left Behind series).

RECAP: Millennium in the middle screen (amillennialism), Premillennialism on the left screen and postmillennialism on the right screen.

Hymnody and Songs that Teach Eschatology

  • Coming Again Chorus – “Coming again, coming again, may be morning, may be noon, may be evening, may be soon, O what a wonderful day it will be – Jesus is coming again!” – Notice the tune is a waltz in 6/4 time to emphasize we will be dancing as Christ’s Bride with the Bridegroom!
  • Last verse of “It is Well – And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul.”
  • Larry Norman’s “I Wish We’d All Been Ready” (redone by DC Talk) – “Life was filled with guns and war, and everyone got trampled on the floor, I wish we’d all been ready, Children died, the days grew cold, A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold, I wish we’d all been ready, There’s no time to change your mind,
    The Son has come and you’ve been left behind, A man and wife asleep in bed, She hears a noise, and turns her head, He’s gone, I wish we’d all been ready, Two men walking up a hill, One disappears and one’s left standing still, I wish we’d all been ready, There’s no time to change your mind, The Son has come and you’ve been left behind, Life was filled with guns and war, And everyone got trampled on the floor, I wish we’d all been ready, Children died, the days grew cold, A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold, I wish we’d all been ready, There’s no time to change your mind, How could you have been so blind?, The Father spoke, the demons dined, The Son has come and you’ve been left behind, You’ve been left behind, You’ve been left behind, You’ve been left behind, You’ve been left behind.” – This teaches the opposite of Matthew 24:36-42!

What will I be teaching? As my father and pastor Dr. Phil Stairs used to say, “If Jesus comes back before the Tribulation, I’m happy; if Jesus comes back after the Tribulation, I’m ready!” I adopted this mantra. It may be non-committal, but safe except for the fact that straddling the fence hurts. Nevertheless, I want to confess as I did at my Ordination that I am a moderate historical premillennialist and have been since graduating from Moody Bible Institute over 27 years ago. We have to pick sides. “It reminds me of the soldier from the civil war period that my dad told me about. It seems the soldier could not make up his mind which side to be on so he put on a blue tunic from the North and grey pants from the South. The result was he got shot at from both sides.” I am eschatological mutt borrowing from the various views, but consider myself a moderate Historical Premillennialist. I may not have been teaching you all the views of eschatology, but I have tried to prepare you for suffering, trials and tribulation like what we experienced during COVID and remind you often that Jesus is coming back. My goal is not to convince you of my view because if you have a settled eschatological position, then be content with it. Of course, I think we should always be growing and letting the Scriptures shape us, but as a pastor my goal is not to discombobulate you like a professor might do. My own recent study continues to give me respect for those who hold other positions, but has also affirmed my position. My position is not as easy to believe as dispensational premillennialism, but I want you to see where I am coming from as we walk through the second half of Daniel.

So, that is a brief overview of the various end times views and some points for why I hold to the position I do. But before I take some questions, the big question for you is do you believe Jesus is coming back? Do you look forward to that day? When He comes back has been debated for centuries. Your own view on that question needs to be supported by Scripture and I will support you as well. We are all called to act with love to those who hold different positions than we do. Remember that quote from Pastor John Ortberg, “Too often we argue about Christianity, instead of marveling at Jesus.” Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus!

Q & A

Why do I hold the position of historical premillennialism? 

  1. Strongest Scriptural Support  – a) Second Coming – Jesus’ direct words on the subject are found in Matthew 24, where He clearly describes and prophecies only one Second Coming. This is not an apocalyptic or opaque passage, but one that it is clear to understand. b) Rapture? – In regard to the rapture, Bible teachers like John MacArthur, teach the words translated “caught up” equals “rapture” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. (MacArthur describes himself as a “leaky dispensationalist,” because he does not agree with dispensationalism “easy believism.” However, only the Amplified Bible parenthetically uses “rapture” rather than “caught up,” so rapture is an interpretation, not a translation. Furthermore, the criticism that Second Coming without the Rapture means the resurrected saints are raised up only to come back down to earth does not solve the problem since the spirits of the dead saints are with Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:8) and will have to return to their resurrected bodies first.  What if Bible Scholar N.T Wright’s interpretation is correct of 1 Thessalonians 4:17? The “meeting” the Lord “in the air” is a vision of believers escorting Jesus victoriously to earth rather than escaping to heaven (cf. Phil. 3:20). Does this not fit better with the New Testament motif of the Bridegroom returning to claim His Bride who, along with the wedding party, stays for the ceremony and feast rather than experience a Western version of a 7 year “honeymoon” away while the world goes through Tribulation? (Matthew 25:1-13; John 14:1-4) c) Millennium – The millennium described in Revelation 20:1-6 should be interpreted literally, not spiritually or figuratively as it is prose and not apocalyptic like other genres written in Revelation. The Millennium seems to be an object lesson of God keeping His promises and how life could have been under the rule of Christ. d) Imminent Return of Christ? – Some accuse those who hold the historical premillennial view as not believing in the imminent return of Christ because one could count and figure out Jesus’ return based on going through a 7 year Tribulation. However, Jesus said in Matthew 24:36, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” We can ballpark the return of Christ, but not know the exact day or hour. In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us not to be surprised about Christ’s return. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11! Notice especially 1 Thessalonians 5:4, “But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.” For the unbeliever, the Day of the Lord will surprise them and take all the blessings God has given them as part of His prevenient grace (Matthew 5:45-47). For the believer, the Day of the Lord will not be a robber stealing from us while we are asleep, but the glorious return of our Big Brother taking us home to receive our inheritance!
  1. Most Literal and Normal Hermeneutics – From the Doctrinal Principles in TBC Guiding Principles – “Our Affirmation of Faith is as follows with the Scripture passages referred to under each article being interpreted according to the contextual, literal, and Biblical author’s meaning of the Word of God.” This is how we continue to interpret the Scriptures. As a concrete thinker, I find this also easiest to explain to people, especially new disciples who can take most of the Scripture at face value.
  2. Oldest Historic View – I find the historical premillennialist compelling because it is the oldest view. And though the oldest doesn’t necessarily mean best, I take comfort that the earliest Christians who were taught by Christ and the Apostles understood the End Times as I do. 
  3. Best Distinction Between Israel and the Church – Romans 11:25 describes that the Jews “are partially hardened to the gospel until the fullness of Gentiles has come in.” I believe that Jesus is not a polygamist and has only one Bride, the Church (Ephesians 5:23-29). The Church does not replace Israel, but believing Jews become a part of the Church (Romans 1:16). Amillennialists and Postmillennialists struggle to interpret Romans 11 and account for God not being finished with ethnic Israel yet.
  4. Gives accounts for Satan and evil – 2 Timothy 3:1-9 describes how evil will increase in the last days rather than get better as Postmillennialists believe. Amillennialists believe that Satan is somewhat bound during this present period, which goes against Ephesians 2:2 and Satan’s present power in the world.
  5. Explains best how the Kingdom of God is increasing and the Kingdom of Darkness is increasing simultaneously – Postmillennialists believe things will get better and “evil in all its many forms eventually will be reduced to negligible proportions.” This seems to contradict 2 Timothy 3:1-9 and reality. Nevertheless, Postmillennialists have a strong argument that many prophecies were fulfilled at the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. as promised by Jesus in Matthew 24:34, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” What about the Amillennial position on the kingdom? Amillennialists do not seem account for Satan’s great influence on the world and how the peaceful the millennium will be without him while he is in the slammer for 1000 years (Isaiah 11:6-9; 65:17-25).
  6. Avoids fear-motivated evangelism, but calls people to take up their cross and follow Jesus. Premillennialism also calls people not only to kingdom principles, but to become people of the King. In 1878, Arthur Pierson warned postmillennialists, “We have failed at missions simply because we have been aiming at universal conversion and not at universal evangelization. We have been trying to convert patches and not evangelize the whole.” One of the great benefits of dispensationalism is the increase in evangelism and missions. On a more personal note, my own father lived in fear of the rapture as boy growing up in a Pentecostal home where there was a belief that one could lose their salvation. He daily prayed the sinner’s prayer and took no comfort from his unbelieving siblings when his parents arrived home late. He thought he missed out on the rapture.
  7. Avoids prophetic date setting that is embarrassingly errant (e.g. 88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be in 1988 by Edgar Whisenant who said to the media, “Only if the Bible is in error I am wrong.”) 
  8. Give us the most hope – Robert Clouse explains, “Premillennialism is of great value for it focuses attention on eschatology. Premillennialism constantly reminds the believer that no matter how discouraging the situation is today, millennial glory awaits.”

Seek the Welfare of God’s People

Posted: August 27, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: compassion, Empowerment, Influence, Israel, Jesus, Legacy, Parenting, Peace, Relationships, Sermons, Sovereignty | Leave a comment

What will your legacy be? This is an important question for everybody here. What will your legacy be? Some of us who are younger may want to tune out and wait to get this message when you are eligible to attend our Prime Time Plus senior’s group. Don’t! None of us know when our fourth quarter in life will be, let alone the two-minute drill to use a football analogy. Two weeks ago, there was a packed church for a funeral for my friend, brother and former colleague Pastor Dwayne Francois. Dwayne and I served together for years on staff at Calvary Baptist Church in Oshawa and then I moved to Cambridge and he moved to Barrie. He was the Student Ministries Pastor and I the Adult Ministries Pastor at Calvary. Dwayne was a very godly man who made a huge impact for Christ, especially in the generation he served. This past March, Dwayne was diagnosed with colon cancer and he went home to be with the Lord earlier this month. He was 47 years old and left behind a wife and three children in their late teens and early twenties. I grieve the loss of Dwayne and didn’t get to see him much these last few years. I find comfort in the fact that in the new heavens and new earth, we will get to hang out together with Jesus and make up for lost time. Life here on earth is short.  We don’t know when our last breath will be before seeing Jesus, so what will your legacy be?

A lot of our life is spent accumulating position and possessions. But a good reminder is what Bob Goff says, “An inheritance is what you leave for your kids; a legacy is what you leave in your kids.” You could broaden that out to your family and friends. iPhone has a Legacy contact that once you pass away, all the apps, photos and files are accessible to your legacy contact. Being vulnerable with others provides a legacy contact while you are still alive. My brother-in-law Pastor Craig Trierweiler challenges people to leave a legacy in his book on Daniel entitled Bold in Babylon: “Leave a legacy! Think of legacy as:

L Leave it all on the field. 

E Endure trials with confidence. 

G Give verbal blessings. 

A Act with character. 

C Consider the cost of missed opportunities. 

Y Yield each day to a faithful Creator.”[1]

Which of these characteristics do you need to do more of? Giving it your all, enduring trials with confidence that God is in control, using your words to bless others, acting with character and taking the high road even when it seems treacherous, considering the cost of missed opportunities before you miss them and yielding everything to Christ. These are daily practices that have an eternal impact. As writer David French has said, “Legacy is planting a tree when you will not enjoy its shade.” Planting that tree also means nurturing it. Leave it all on the field, endure trials with confidence, give verbal blessings, act with character, consider the cost of missed opportunities and yield each day to a faithful Creator.

When he wrote that acronym for legacy, Craig was focused on Daniel, which we will be picking up again two Sundays from now, Lord willing. Today, we are finishing up the Book of Esther with three verses in Esther 10 that describe the legacy of both King Ahasuerus and Mordecai the Jew. Please turn in your Bibles to Esther 10 and if you don’t have a Bible, we would love to give one to you. Let’s stand and read Esther 10 to find out more about a godly legacy and more importantly, God’s legacy for us! Read Esther 10!

In some ways, the Book of Esther could be called the Book of Mordecai since he was often the prominent character in the story. However, part of leaving a legacy is sharing leadership with others and building into them. Mordecai and Esther both did that. As Bible Scholar Karen Jobes explains about the Book of Esther, “The author depicts a successful relationship of power sharing between male and female.”[2] They maintained their own gender and identity while complementing one another’s unique roles that God had assigned them. Those roles are examples to us of good gender dynamics. Think about it. “Mordecai was not a prophet, priest or king in Israel.”[3] He was the average Joe. We are first introduced to him in Esther 2:5-7, “Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother.”What was Mordecai? Mordecai was a captured slave caring for his younger cousin. His family had seen the horrific capture of Jerusalem and the last Jewish king, then had to walk in chains 500 miles (800 km) to Babylon along with people like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that we learned about in the Book of Daniel. Maybe part of your legacy is suffering? I read once the Puritan Thomas Watson who said, “Persecution is the legacy bequeathed by Christ to His people.” Recall Jesus’ promise in Mark 10:29-30, “Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” Suffering is a legacy Christ gives us to know and become more like Him (Philippians 3:10). Maybe it is caring for your cousin or other family members and pointing them to faith in Christ? That can involve suffering. Parenting and discipling is hard labour. Lori and I often remind ourselves this quote by Andy Stanley, “Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do, but someone you raise.” I hope this encourages you parents and guardians and disciple makers out there as raising others is not just physically, but spiritually. Be faithful! All those times you sing about God, read the Bible to the kids, take care of the poor and serve the Lord leaves an example. It is not a guarantee that your kids and others will follow Christ, but you are sure making it more difficult for them not to be attracted to Him. As Ruth Bell Graham taught, “As a parent, my job is to take care of the possible and trust God with the impossible.”

Mordecai invested in orphaned Esther. True religion is taking care of widows and orphans in their affliction as James 1:27 reminds us. It paid off in Esther’s life. This beautiful refugee slave living in a very corrupt society made a huge impact herself.  And not in the usual way. Bible Scholar Karen Jobes makes this insightful observation, “The importance of most biblical women, such as Sarah and Hannah, lies in their motherhood. Esther’s importance to the covenant people is not as mother, but as queen.”[4] We don’t even know if Queen Esther had children. We cannot be certain that the mother of Artaxerxes I was Queen Esther. A 13th century Rabbi claimed Darius II was the son of Ahasuerus (Dan. 9:1) and Queen Esther, but this is unlikely due to the chronology. The Bible only asserts that “Esther was both queen and Jewish, effectively making her the Queen of the Jews during this crisis period. Esther willingly shared power with Mordecai, as he wore the signet ring of the Persian King, effectively making him king of the Jews. Mordecai was the highest-ranking Jewish man at that moment in history, bearing the authority of a pagan monarch.”[5] And all this was because God was working behind the scenes. This morning I am not giving a TED talk on legacy. My message is for you to find your legacy in the Lord’s legacy – in His story. This is why we had God stories in the service earlier. We can talk about King Ahasuerus whose Biblical legacy was one of alcohol and emotionally-driven decisions according to Pastor Kyle. We can talk about the legacy of “Mordecai the Jew, who did not brag about himself as Haman did (5:11-12), but this righteous man who continually looked out for the good of others was rewarded with a high government position and the high esteem of his people.”[6] We can talk about the legacy of Esther and the amazingly courageous woman she was, but behind the scenes was the Lord’s legacy. This is why I heard somebody say, “Be a footnote in people’s lives – a reference so that you can leave a legacy more in heaven than earth.” Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus!

What is the legacy of our Lord and King? We find this in the three verses in Esther 10 as they point back to the work God had done. The verses mention King Ahasuerus and Mordecai – a king and a lord. These point us to something greater. Let’s examine the 3 legacies our Lord and King Jesus left. The legacy of ourLord and King is: 1) a redeemed people (2:18; 5:14; 10:1-2). The Lord redeems His people. He buys us back from slavery. To understand Esther 10:1-2 we need to go back in the story to when Esther first became queen. Esther 2:18 describes the scene, “Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther’s feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity.” What was Esther before becoming queen? A Jewish refugee and enslaved orphan girl! Recall Daniel 2:21, “He (God) changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings.” Since we know that only God puts people in positions, it was God who redeemed Esther and turned her into royalty from refugee. Think about how God redeemed us from the slave market of sin and how as we learned last that week that we go from condemned to coronated. The legacy of our Lord and King is a redeemed people. 

But there is more. God was also redeeming Mordecai. Mordecai went from about to be hanged to being honoured. Recall Esther 5:14 and Haman’s wicked wife Zeresh and all his friends who counselled Haman, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” Mordecai was almost executed to amazingly exalted 3 times. He was reluctantly honoured by Haman who had to guide him along a donkey in front of the whole capital (Esther 6:11). Then Mordecai is given the signet ring of the king because Mordecai was one of the few men that the king knew could be trusted since Mordecai foiled a plot earlier on the king’s life (Esther 2:19-23). And then by Esther 10:3 we see that Mordecai is # 2 in the entire Persian empire. I remind you again that you may be on the verge of what appears to be your final day and our Lord and King’s legacy is to redeem you. He is in control. He is even in control over evildoers and evil deeds. Recall how Haman took over a year practicing dark arts to choose lots when the best day was to commit genocide of the Jews (Esther 3:7). God was sovereign over the wicked lots. This is stated clearly in Proverbs 16:33, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” Don’t you find that encouraging? Evil doers, deeds and decisions are still overseen by God who turns what was meant for evil into something good. God redeems it all! That’s His legacy. But even more than redeeming possessions, He redeems people. He redeems you and me through His Son Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross.

The legacy of our Lord and King is a redeemed people and also 2) an empowered people (2:5-7; 10:2-3). In Esther 10:2-3, we see how Mordecai has gained position to being # 2 in the empire, only behind the king. However, when we look back, we see Mordecai not having much power as a Jewish refugee slave. My friends, God doesn’t just redeem us, but empowers us. This does not mean you are guaranteed the corner office or to climb the corporate ladder. But God empowers us to do what we need to do for His people. He gives us spiritual gifts to build up the body. He also gives us knowledge and ability in the moment. I’ll give you an example. Most of you know how I am not handy. Nevertheless, my mom had a job at her condo to put in some insulation. I was waiting for others to help her out who have more knowledge in such things. Last Sunday, as I was praying I sensed the Lord prompting me to take care of my mom, otherwise I was worse than an infidel, which 1 Timothy 5:8 warns in the midst of giving instructions about widows. So I prayed and then looked up online how to install insulation. It’s not that hard and God helped me. He empowered me. I boast in the Lord’s power in my weakness. Now if God can empower somebody incompetent as I am with repairs, God can empower us to do far greater things for His glory. 

The legacy of our Lord and King is a redeemed, empowered people and 3) a compassionate people (2:19-23; 10:3). Notice what Mordecai did with his power and position in Esther 10:3, “For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.” Mordecai sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people. But this wasn’t just welfare and peace for the Jews, but also for what he could have considered his enemy and oppressor – King Ahasuerus. Remember, Mordecai was a refugee slave and he still foiled a plot against the king. We could sum that up as compassion. But this was not just for Mordecai, but for the Jews. If we go back to the end of Esther 9:22, we read that the Feast of Purim were “days for sending gifts to one another and gifts to the poor.” The legacy of our Lord and King is a compassionate people.

Our redemption, empowerment and compassion comes from the Lord. It is not just for ourselves, but for others. Pastor Robert Morgan tells the story, “In 1907, missionary Jesse Brand, young and unmarried, left for India, settling in the disease-ridden Chat Mountains. His friends shuddered at his descriptions of flea-covered rats, swarming through the hills and spreading plagues with abandon. But one supporter longed to join him – Evelyn Harris, belle of a fashionable London suburb. She journeyed to India and married him in 1913. The Brands labored tirelessly, giving medical aid to thousands. Jesse organized economic assistance and cooperative programs so farmers could get ahead. He negotiated with government officials to use unemployed workers for labor. He took every opportunity to share Christ, in one year preaching 4000 times in 90 villages. (That is 10+ sermons/day!) Churches were established. Congregations grew. And so did the Brand family. Son Paul was born and taught by his mother under a tamarind tree. His nature-loving dad showed him the wonders of nature. At age nine Paul was sent to England for formal education and his parents pressed on alone. In the spring of 1928, Jesse contracted blackwater fever, which is complication of malaria. His condition worsened, but he continued working. In early June, his fever reached 104 degrees. On June 9, he preaching from Isaiah 60: ‘Stand up! Shine! Your new day is dawning!’” On June 11, 1928, his temperature reached 106 degrees and he was forced to bed. Evelyn sat by him day after day, watching his skin parch, his color yellow, and his life drain away. Local Indians wrapped his body in a mat and carried it on their shoulders to a hillside grave. Word was flashed to 14-year-old Paul. Two days later Paul received a letter from his dad, mailed by boat before his death. (Can you imagine getting such a letter?) It ended, ‘and always be looking to God with thankfulness and worship for having placed you in such a delightful corner of the universe as the planet Earth.’ Evelyn remained in India, becoming a legend hiking over the mountains with her walking stick, doing the Lord’s work. ‘Granny Brand’ lived to see her son, Dr. Paul Brand, become a famed missionary physician excelling in the treatment of leprosy.”[7]This is part of the God the Father’s legacy for us. The greatest legacy God gave us was when He sought the welfare and peace of His people through sending His own Son. Jesus is the hope of glory. He is our legacy. Do you have Him as your legacy?

[1] Craig Trierweiler. Bold in Babylon: Living with Conviction in a Culture of Compromise (Traverse City: Books for Jesus, Kindle Edition, 2022), Locations 1579-1585.

[2] Karen H. Jobes, The NIV Application Commentary on Esther (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), 226.

[3] Jobes, 227.

[4] Jobes, 224.

[5] Jobes, 228.

[6] Barry J. Beitzel, The NLT Study Bible (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2017), 847.

[7] Robert J. Morgan, On This Day – “Parent’s Footprints” (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997), June 11 page.

Are You Delighting in the Law of the Lord?

Posted: August 24, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Grace, Laws, Prayer, The Law | Leave a comment

Many of you probably have read and most likely memorized Psalm 1! Psalm 1:1-2 – “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.” The Bible asserts that the task you and I should have just finished as we slept was to meditate on God’s Law. And I don’t think the psalmist meant that reading Leviticus will put you to sleep. This is because another famous verse, Joshua 1:8, also makes the assertion that we are meditate on God’s law day and night. God’s Law should be in our day and in our dreams. But Psalm 1:2 raises a question or questions, why delight in God’s Law when rules feel oppressive? Ask any toddler about what they think about the rules and they will answer for all humanity – they don’t like them. I have not heard a young child say, “Please give me some more rules.” Some may even think that rules got us into this mess in the first place. If there was not that one rule in the Garden of Eden, we would have never fallen. They think that God just wants to spoil all our fun. But yet, the psalmist is proclaiming that a blessed man is one that not only avoids bad company, but delights in God’s law! In other words, fun is found in the Law. 

So why delight in God’s law when rules feel oppressive? Three reasons why rules are not the problem and are not oppressive. To reframe it in a question: what does the Law provide for us that we would delight in it? The provisions or what has been called the 3 Uses of the Law.[1] The Law provides 1) A Mirror (awareness); 2) A Wall (protection); and 3) a Honey-Do List (God’s desires). In the short time left, let me explain that how the law provides a mirror, a wall and a honey-do list and why we can delight in the law, even in prayer. 

Let’s start with the mirror. Have you ever got out of bed and thought you were feeling pretty good and then you go to look in the mirror and realize you have bed head? That mirror raises awareness to where you fall short and in which you need help. The Law acts as a mirror showing our sin because God’s standard is perfection. The Apostle Paul says it best in Romans 7:7, “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would have not known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” Brothers, has anybody loved you enough to tell you that your zipper is down or have a stain on your shirt? The first provision and use of the Law is a mirror that tells you something is wrong. No wonder the psalmist can delight in the Law, which acts like a mirror to shows us there is a problem to fix.

The first provision is a mirror. The second is a wall. Think protection. Lori and I began our ministry with a youth emphasis. For 6 years in Geneseo, Illinois, part of our responsibilities were to assist parents in discipling their youth. One girl that came to our youth group had a very challenging home life. Her parents told her that she could make up her own rules. They bought into the educational philosophy becoming more popular today that kids are clean slates and can find their own way. This girl told Lori and I one day, “I wished my parents loved me enough to give me rules. I wish I had a curfew.” This young girl understood that rules were made to protect her. We delight in the Law because it protects us. As Warren Wiersbe said and James MacDonald made famous, “When God says, ‘Don’t! He means ‘Don’t hurt yourself.’” Galatians 3:24 declares, “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.” We start to mature when we appreciate that the law keeps us from hurting ourselves and others. We no longer count on the law as a guardian, but we delight in the Law keeping us from more sins. Because of Christ and His Spirit we are now able to obey the law and stay within the walls. “Although under the law man finds himself incapable of obedience without divine aid, under grace, by the Holy Spirit, he is enabled to obey and do the good.”[2]

The law is no longer prison walls keeping us from escape (Galatians 3:22), but walls to keep some of the sins out. Don’t mishear me! We still have sin in us from the flesh, but the law helps keep some of sin out from the world. That was Psalm 1:1 was all about with the warning about the world’s influence. We can now be thankful and delight in the law’s protection rather than balk at it. Some like Billy Graham’s grandson Tullian Tchividjian, who took over for James Kennedy at his church, shunned this second use of the law thinking that life is all grace. He ended up committing adultery and divorced. Let’s delight in the Law and its protection rather than think that we are past the rules. Praise God for the walls found in His Word!

The provisions of the Law as a mirror and wall are important, but it is the honey-do list that is most important. The Law tells us what is important to God and what delights Him. As His children, we should delight in what the Father delights in. This is the ultimate reason for the Law moving forward. We are not theonomists thinking we have authority to govern this earth as the church, but we are to delight in the Father’s ways. Remember what Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” The Law is a mirror, wall and honey-do list. Our wives give us honey-do lists, not because we are their slaves, right? The honey-do list communicates the desires of our wives. Often the honey-do list is something that Lori and I do together. The Father through the Holy Spirit is helping you complete His honey-do list.

Let me conclude by reading this quote by Ernest Reisinger that sums up the Law best, “The law manifests the sin that is in man. Grace manifests the mercy that is in God. The law demands righteousness from man. Grace brings righteousness to man…. The law speaks of what man must do for God. Grace tells what God has done for man. The law brings knowledge of sin. Grace brings the remedy for sin. The law brings the will of God to man but gives no power to obey. Grace gives man a desire to do the will of God and gives him power to obey.”[3] We can delight in the Law of the Lord and be thankful for the grace of God that the Law leads us to. Amen!

So as we pray, may God use the Law as mirror so we confess our sins, a wall to protect us from the evil and a honey-do list to pray for God’s desires to be done!

[1] An brief explanation of the law can be found at https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/threefold-use-law.

[2] Joseph Boot, The Mission of God: A Manifesto of Hope for Society (London: Wilberforce Publications Ltd., Kindle Edition, 2016), 124.  

[3] Ernest C. Reisinger, The Law and the Gospel (Cape Coral: Founders Press, 2019, 143-144.

God’s War on Evil

Posted: August 20, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: celebration, Condemnation, Coronation, Cross, Dancing, Jesus, Mourning, Sovereignty | Leave a comment

Finish the statement: “God helps those who help themselves!” Can you name the chapter and verse where that is found in the Bible? It isn’t! One of our big problems in life is we sometimes we try to save ourselves and others. Many of us suffer from a Messiah complex. Let me tell you about one man who suffered from a Messiah complex and died because of it. He actually died after hearing Esther 8-9. He was no dummy. Some considered him a hero. His tombstone read, “He gave his life for the people of Israel, its Torah and land.” He was a physician – an ER doctor treating Jewish victims of Arab-Israeli violence. His name was Dr. Baruch Goldstein from Brooklyn, New York – an American-Israeli father of four. He was trained to save lives – instead he took them after listening to the annual public reading of the Book of Esther and celebrating the Feast of Purim. It was February 25, 1994 – both the Jewish Feast of Purim day and the Muslim month of Ramadan – a collision of religious high holy days! Baruch Goldstein went to synagogue and heard the Word of God. He went back to his neighbourhood, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. He then made his made to the Cave of the Patriarchs, where the Israelite matriarch Sarah was buried after her husband Abraham bought it peacefully from the Hittites. The cave called Machpelah is so important that a whole chapter of the Bible in Genesis 23 is devoted to Sarah’s death and burial. This was lost on Baruch Goldstein. You see, Dr. Baruch Goldstein went into the mosque meeting at the Cave of the Patriarchs where 800 Muslims were praying and he killed 29 and wounded 125 Palestinians.[1] He was a terrorist and thought Esther 8-9 gave him license to kill his enemies. It was a deadly example of missing the point and using the Bible to justify one’s action rather letting the Bible be used to lead us to justification and faith in God to save us. The Bible is not to be used to justify our sins, but lead us to Christ who will justify us from our sins. When we try to justify our sins, they we try to be our own saviour like Baruch. However, God alone saves His people.

Today we are going to be reminded or maybe learn for the first time how we don’t save ourselves, but God saves us – God saves His people. God has been saving His people, often behind the scenes for millennia. Throughout the Book of Esther, we have become Sovereignty Sleuths – detectives of God’s decrees. Time and again we have seen God work in this book without Him ever being mentioned. As Bible Scholar Karen Jobes reminds us, “We cannot see the end of a matter from the beginning or the middle. The story of Esther assures us that we do not have to.”[2] Do you believe that? Do you trust that God will make the matter that you are in the middle of to have a good outcome? Let’s read Esther 8-9. Esther is what we call in literature a comedy because there is so much satire and irony. We the readers get to see the bigger picture. The problem is that we are often in the middle of a matter, we don’t see the bigger picture that God is saving us, when it feels like we are dying. So let’s read Esther 8-9 to discover that God is the One actually saving us. Read Esther 8-9!

In Esther 8-9, we see the physical salvation that steers us to a larger spiritual salvation. God’s earthly rescues points to heavenly redemption. From Esther 8-9, we are going to learn about three transformations. The transformations and changes are evidences of God’s saving His people. The first transformation is that God saves His people by turning 1) Condemnation into coronation 8:1-2, 15). Be encouraged by these words: God saves His people by turning condemnation into coronation. Look closer at Esther 8:1, “On that day King Ahaseurus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.” Which was? Esther’s cousin and caretaker! And then verse 2, “And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.” This is another of the great reversals that God was doing behind the scenes. Esther’s reversal from refugee slave to royal wife in chapter 2. Mordecai goes from forgotten to honoured in chapter 2 and 6 as well as going from almost executed to amazingly exalted in chapters 4-7.  Haman goes from a large and in charge killer to a small beggar who was killed for his wicked schemes in chapters 4-6. And “just as Haman had promised the wealth of the Jews to those who would kill them (3:13), Xerxes gave the property of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther.”[3] I wonder what condemnation you are feeling and or under right now. What if God is on the cusp of reversing that condemnation and putting you on the path to coronation? Mordecai went from condemned to crowned as Esther 8:15 declares, “Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a robe of linen and purple, and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.” Most of us will not be crowned here on this earth. But there is a day coming, when we will be crowned.

This is because God has saved us. We are no longer condemned, but crowned, which points to God’s salvation of us spiritually. Romans 8:1 promises, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Jesus has taken away our condemnation. If you believe in and follow Christ, you will never hear the words from God, “Guilty, you are sentenced to eternity in hell.” And if this is true, the small condemnations that are hurled to you by the haters won’t stick either. But it gets better. The transformation is from condemned to coronation. Romans 8:15-17 goes onto promise, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father! The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may be glorified with Him.” I am blown away this promise, are you? We are co-heirs with Christ! So it begs the question, what will Christ inherit? The new heavens and new earth – everything valuable and that will last. Don’t think coronation as wearing funny clothes like we saw recently at the coronation of King Charles III. Coronation means being a part of God’s forever family and inheriting the new heavens and new earth. 

But notice that even though we are in line for coronation, we have to suffer. Our Brother, Co-heir and King suffered on the Cross and continues to suffer every time we are persecuted. Remember when Saul was hunting Christians and then Jesus showed up in a vision blinding Saul and said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4-5). Jesus takes our persecution personally. This is super helpful to remember because sometimes we believe that after coming to faith in Christ, life becomes easy. It doesn’t, but God is still saving us.

Darryl Strawberry learned this. He was a Major League Baseball player who was extremely successful on the field, but off the field got into drugs, alcohol and illicit relationships. Then he came to faith in Christ and is in ministry today. He made this insightful statement, “You can pick your sins, but not your consequences.” Consequences are evidence that we are not in control. Sometimes it is other people’s sin that causes ongoing consequences in our life. Old Testament Scholar Karen Jobes puts it this way, “Haman is gone, but the evil he set in motion lives on in the decree of death against the Jewish people.”[4] Esther and Mordecai are still suffering despite being transformed from condemned to coronated. And “It is moving to see the extent to which this young girl, who has everything money can buy; identifies herself with her own kith and kin and is prepared to risk everything in an attempt to prevent the disaster that threatens them.”[5]

This is why God has given us a second transformation. God not only saves His people by turning condemnation into coronation but God saves His people by turning: 2) The old law of death into the new law of life. (8:3-16; 9:11-14). God saves His people by turning the old law of death into the new law of life. In order to understand the old law in the story of Esther, we have go back to Esther 3:6-9, “Then Haman said to King Ahaseurus, ‘There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them. If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed…” That law was a death sentence. It was irrevocable as was the policy of the Persians.

But Esther didn’t give up hope. Even if Esther didn’t acknowledge God, He was saving His people. Maybe “Esther expected the king to reverse Haman’s decree right after he was killed, but that did not happen? This time she was much more insistent on raising the issue of Haman’s plot against her people.”[6] This is what we read in Esther 8:3-5, “Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, “If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman …” Notice, “Esther diplomatically avoided suggesting any responsibility on the king’s part,”[7] even though as we heard last week Ahasuerus was an alcoholic and emotionally-driven man. This shows how dangerous it is to be controlled by alcohol and anger when in a leadership role as Proverbs 31:4-5 warns. The powerful king couldn’t even revoke his own law. He did however, give to Mordecai the power to write a new law that counterbalanced and superceded the first law. Look at verse 8, “But you may write as your please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king.” Did you catch the empowerment of writing a new law to save God’s people? A law of life that could overcome a law of death!

Is this not what God did through Jesus Christ when we were under the law of sin and death? Did you realize that everyone of us is to keep God’s Law in the Bible perfectly? And yet, none of us can. The good news as the Apostle Paul declares in Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (c.f. Acts 13:39) Isn’t that so freeing? The old law showed us we needed saving from our sins, but the new law saves us from our sin. Paul goes on to say in Romans 8:3-4, “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” In other words, God’s Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, perfectly fulfilled the old Law so that through Him we fulfill that Law. Christ didn’t abolish the Law, but fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17-20). And now, we live empowered by the Holy Spirit to obey God’s commands. The new Law is that if we obey the command to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31), you are free and have eternal life. The old law is superceded and you will obey the commands of God. This is not relaxing the rules, but being relaxed in the rules found in Scripture because they protect us.

In the story of Esther, we see this protection through the new law. Look at Esther 8:10-12, “And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king’s service, bred from the royal stud, saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods, on one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.” “The date selected was March 7, 473 B.C. This date was nearly a year after Haman’s original decree was published (3:12).”[8] This not only gave time to get the word out across the Persian empire, including in Judah, but gave time for the Jews to prepare to defend themselves. God saves His people by turning the old law of death into the new law of life. 

And here is one of the potential outcomes – others may even want to join. At the end of Esther 8:17 we read, “And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.” Now some of these “converts” sought Judaism out of self-preservation. It is easy to be harsh on these people, but most of us believe the gospel out of self-preservation so that we avoid hell and go to heaven. Then God reorders our motivation to a love for Christ. Maybe there is somebody in your life that is living under the law of death that God is bringing to mind that you need to tell about the new law of life through Jesus?

This leads us to the third transformation. God saves His people not only by turning condemnation to coronation, the old law of death into the new law of life and thirdly, God saves His people by turning 3) mourning into dancing (8:16-17; 9:17-32). We can go from great fear and mourning into joyful dancing. You see this in Esther 8:16-17, “The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. And in every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and His edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday.” Remember, the Jews started celebrating before they were fully victorious. We need to celebrate the victories and the news of God’s new law of the Spirit before it is fully realized. This is why church is so important. It is a party each week to recall together Christ’s victory.

What if victory is right around the corner? It is time to start celebrating. Jump down to Esther 9:5, “The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them.” One Bible scholar explains, “This was not an attack on defenseless people or a ruthless uncontrolled killing spree, but a victorious self-defence against their attackers.”[9] The Jews were not attacking, but counter-attacking and not for selfish gain. Three times for emphasis, the author mentions no plunder was taken (v. 10, 15 and 16). The Jews took no plunder because “one of the rules of ancient holy war was that plunder must not to be taken. There was to be no personal profit in holy war because the destroyers were not acting on their own behalf, but as agents of God’s wrath.”[10] The new law of the king back in 8:11 read kill, slaughter, and annihilate. “It was an ironic repetition of the words in Haman’s original edict found in Esther 3:13.”[11] What a reversal! 

And those gallows built for hanging Mordecai in Esther 5:14, are now used by Mordecai to not only hang Haman, but his family. Sounds cruel? “In keeping with Persian practice, the king wipes out the conspirator’s family publicly, to deter other would-be plotters against himself and the Jews.”[12] In fact, the Bible goes further than reporting on Persian retributive justice. In Esther 9:7-10, we read the actual names of Haman’s 10 sons who were executed, finally putting an end to the Agagite line that King Saul over 600 years earlier didn’t do and thus disobeyed God (1 Samuel 15:9). These names were Daiva names. “Daiva names were once used of the gods in early Iranian and Hindu writings, but later came to be associated with demonic powers in Eastern religions.”[13] And so this victory was not just over Haman, but the demons that used him and his family against God’s people. God saves His people! God saves His people by turning mourning into dancing. Esther 9:22 tells it best, “As the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.”            My friends, even though we are not living in Persia, has not God saved us as part of His people? Has He not turned our condemnation into coronation? Has He turned the old law of death into a new law of life through the Holy Spirit? Has He not turned our mourning into dancing? All this change is through His Son Jesus Christ dying on a Cross and rising from the grave. Maybe you feel condemned today? Maybe you feel trapped under the old Law – trying to keep all the rules? Maybe you are feeling the weight of all this and you are depressed and mourning? Christ says, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more! Live in this freedom I bought for you.”

[1] Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Goldstein. The number of deaths is disputed. Russell Walter reported the number to be 55 deaths and 170 more wounded in his article “Massacre in a Mosque,” Newsweek 123 (March 7, 1994): 34-37. 

[2] Karen H. Jobes, The NIV Application Commentary on Esther (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), 211.

[3] Barry J. Beitzel, The NLT Study Bible (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2017), 844.

[4] Karen H. Jobes, The NIV Application Commentary on Esther (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), 176.

[5] Joyce Baldwin, Esther – An Introduction & Commentary (Tyndale OT Commentaries) (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1984), 95.

[6] Beitzel, 844.

[7] Beitzel, 844.

[8] Beitzel, 845.

[9] Beitzel, 845.

[10] Jobes, 196.

[11] Beitzel, 845.

[12] Barry G. Webb, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 862.

[13] Jobes, 198.

A Pipeline Fitter of Jesus Followers

Posted: August 16, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Discipleship, Funerals, Impact, Jesus | Leave a comment

Thank you Audrey, Sean, Kirk, Susan and Kyle for this super-humbling privilege of honoring God’s work in my life using his servant Dale and more importantly, all those who Dale led in youth groups for 25 years. I love you and you all mean so much to me. I am going to pray God’s comfort for you in a couple of minutes. But first, I want to thank God for Dale on behalf of all those for whom Dale impacted through the years. God used Dale and Audrey and Mark and Anne and rest of the youth leaders and the church to create a pipeline of faithful disciples and a disproportionate amount of church leaders particularly pastors. I am a pastor today in part because God used Dale and Audrey in my life.

            God brought Dale and the Groombridges into my life 41 years ago when I was 8 years old and they pulled their big maroon van with captain chairs and the first car cell phone I had ever seen into the parking lot at Emmanuel Baptist Church. I soon became fast friends with Dale’s second son Kirk, getting into all sorts of mischief, but also growing in our relationship to Christ. Fast forward to when Kirk and I became youth group age and Dale and Audrey volunteered to serve as youth group leaders. They did so with the blessing of their own kids. We never did have a youth pastor at Emmanuel in my day. Dale and Audrey had lots of friends, but put those friendships a little on the back shelf because they were serving the youth. You see, they didn’t just serve the youth at youth group, but had many conversations with youth throughout the week. They would mentor, counsel and pray with the youth. I know because I was one of them. They always made time for me. Thank you for that sacrifice Audrey, even if it meant you threatening to throw me over the rale of your back steps at times.

            So in the short time I have left, I want to share the question that I have been thinking about: how do you make an impact and fit together a pipeline of disciples – followers of Jesus Christ? I just need to recall Dale’s life to find the answer to my question. Dale was a reinforcing voice of our parents when we turned down the volume of their instructions in our lives. Dale cared for us – he tried to be tough, but was man enough to shed tears, especially over our sins and waywardness. He made time and listened to us. He confronted us when we needed confronting. He was vulnerable and shared his own struggles. He taught us God’s Word and when giving counsel referred us back to God’s Word. He exuded Christ’s joy. He would play with us – golfing, always telling us about his glory years in golf at Indian Creek Golf Course. Dale was generous and would take us out to some of the finer restaurants making me the foodie I am today. Dale sponsored us. I remember playing for the C & G Realty hockey team. He prayed for and with us. He exemplified integrity and strong business ethics, even if he was always trying to make a sale. He attended church faithfully and served in other ways beyond just as a youth leader. Those are some of the characteristics of what I would I would call a discipleship pipeline fitter. Most of all, Dale made an impact and fit together a pipeline of disciples because he himself was a disciple of Jesus Christ. He believed in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour and he wanted others to come to faith in Christ. You can’t give away something you don’t have. Dale had Jesus Christ. He too was part of a pipeline of believers tracing their start all the way back to Jesus dying on a Cross and rising from the dead so that we can eternal life. Today is sad, but not without hope because of Jesus – not what Dale did. Dale trusted in Christ alone for salvation – not his good works. Dale has now met his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ face to face because as God’s Word promises in 2 Corinthians 5:8, “So we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” Did you catch that? We are of good courage. Be of good courage, beloved Groombridges. Be of good courage, all of us. Dale was an overcomer, but he wanted to be away from the body and be with his Lord. Some day, we will get resurrected bodies with no more diabetes or strokes or heart attacks or cancer. But to be with the Lord, we need to believe in Dale’s Lord, Jesus Christ. This will not only result in you being saved, but have the opportunity for God to use you to make a huge impact and pipelines of disciples of Christ like Dale did. PRAYER!

Dale Groombridge and family