The Giant of Self: How One Person Can Make a Difference - Part B

You could be at a very important moment where God is going to call on you soon to make some very important decisions that will benefit a lot of people. God never wastes a life, and so often big doors swing on very small hinges. There are usually risks when we choose to act courageously, especially when we stand for our faith. Well, today on Connect with Skip Heitzinger, Skip shares how God can make a big impact on the world through your bravery.

Right now, we want to tell you about a resource that will nourish your mind and soul with God's unchanging truths. Skip Heitzinger left Southern California in 1982 to head for the desert of New Mexico. The goal was starting a Bible study in Albuquerque.

Let's just say it worked out okay. So I'm moving two states away, going back east, going to New Mexico, and I think it was in a place in the Jesus movement where that was not unusual, and I thought I'm going to go out here, spend a few months, maybe a year, and see if the Lord's going to do anything at all. Forty years later, Skip is celebrating the great things God has done to invite you into the celebration. We're offering our radio friends a free copy of Skip's book, You Can Understand the Book of Genesis, No Cost, No Obligation, just a way to say, wow, what the Lord has done from Calvary Church, order your free book by Skip Heitzinger by calling 1-800-922-1888, or go to connectwithskip.com slash free book.

Get your free copy of You Can Understand the Book of Genesis by calling 1-800-922-1888, or go to connectwithskip.com slash free book. Now, we're in Esther chapter 4 as we join Skip Heitzinger for today's message. Here, 20 years after 9-11, some of us who were a little bit older remember that day very well, and what we remember is how it brought people together because all of us collectively have been put on the same level suddenly. We're all attacked as a country, so we remember the news reporters and the shaky voices and the tears in their eyes as they were saying, oh my goodness, we're being attacked. They just couldn't hold in the emotion. And we remember people out in the streets hugging each other and Democrats and Republicans and independents standing on the steps of the Capitol singing, God bless America, holding hands.

We don't care about partisan politics. We're Americans today. We remember churches packed full of people for weeks because tragedy does that. I can't read verse 1 of chapter 4 without thinking of New York City where it says, Mordecai went out into the midst of the city.

I had the privilege of going to Ground Zero for three weeks following the Towers Falls and doing work there. Every day I walked out into the midst of the city. Every day in the midst of the city, I encountered New Yorkers who were desperate. I encountered in the midst of the city professionals who were at their wit's end and didn't know what to make of this. They were struggling.

They were weeping. And I heard in the midst of the city the vow of every New Yorker and then every American to never forget what has just happened. Never forget. It's like my parents vowed never to forget Pearl Harbor. And we say we'll never forget 9-11.

By the way, a side note actually fits right in. Do you know that the Jews to this day have never gotten over what Haman plotted with King Ahasuerus? Every year, every Jewish person celebrates to some degree the festival of Purim.

It happens in the fall, the March of every year. And they read the book of Esther. And for 24 hours, standard protocol in Jewish communities, every time the word Haman is mentioned for people to boo and hiss.

Every time it's mentioned, every time the word comes up, boo, all sorts of bad noises. Want to give it a shot? Yeah, let's do that. So look at chapter 3, verse 15. So the king and Haman, come on, you can do better than that, Haman, yeah, yeah, yeah, you got that. That's what they do. You do good. Get that down to drink, the city of Shushan was perplexed. Also, in the synagogues, every year, the book of Esther is read, and the name of Haman appears 51 times, 51 times in the synagogues, as the story is read, and they mention Haman, that's what you hear.

Pretty fun service, huh? And in the synagogue, they will often shout out at the name of Haman, the Hebrew words Yimach Shimo, which are translated, may his name be blotted out forever. The same exact Hebrew phrase when mentioning the name Adolf Hitler. So they never forget, they haven't gotten over this.

They resurrect this story every single year. So Mordecai wasn't there, but he hears of it, he gets wind of it. He's an officer in the court, but he has no direct contact with Queen Esther, even though she is his cousin, he couldn't just pop in, go, hey, cuz, let's hang out together. So he had to use a liaison, somebody to speak to her, and he chooses a guy by the name of Hathatch, I can't vouch for these names, that's just his name. So he gets Hathatch, and puts in Hathatch's hands a little copy of the edict that was signed, so she has proof positive, and says, you go to Queen Esther, and you tell her what has been done by Haman. You tell her what that guy did, and what they're up to, and tell her she has to approach the king and do something.

So she hears about it, let me show you the opportunity now, the strategic opportunity. Verse 10, Esther spoke to Hathatch, gave him a command for Mordecai, no, Mordecai is a good guy, you don't boo, you don't boo Mordecai, you clap Mordecai, okay, you'll make that mistake once. That's okay though, but he's a good guy. The bad guy is Haman, very good, the good guy is Mordecai. There you go, okay, good, good, good, good, you got it. So Esther spoke to Hathatch, neutral guy, gave him a command for Mordecai, you don't have to clap. All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces, this is what she said, all the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or a woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law, put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds up the golden scepter that he may live, yet I myself have not been called to go into the king these 30 days. So they told Mordecai Esther's words, Mordecai told them to answer Esther.

Listen to this little speech, says, you go tell Esther this, do not think in your heart that you will escape the king's palace, escape in the king's palace more than all the other Jews, for if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish, yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. You've heard this before, right? You've heard that phrase, for such a time as this. Say that out loud, for such a time as this.

That is what this book is built on. This is your time. Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. This is a speech for the history books. This is a watershed moment.

This is the turning point. This is like Patrick Henry's 1775, give me liberty or give me death moment. This is sort of like Winston Churchill in 1940 to the House of Commons during a very bleak time during that war. Churchill said, let us brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, this was their finest hour. This was their finest hour. Immortalized words. This is Mordecai saying, girl, this could be your finest hour.

This could be why you are here. Now, Esther has a little bit of a problem that she mentions. You just don't go saunter into the king, go, king, what's up? Because this is Persia, and nobody sees the king unless the king summons you. And he hasn't summoned me for 30 days. Now, if I'm the wife and I haven't seen my husband for 30 days, I'm a little nervous.

It's like, OK, he has a harem, he can have a girl night after night, anything he wants. He hasn't called for me for 30 days. And I'm thinking, am I ugly?

Do I have bad breath? Did I say something bad? And if I just show up like that and he sees me, it's like, heads off.

So I could die. This is risky business. He had his previous wife dethroned for not showing up. And if she just shows up unannounced, it could be equally as bad. By the way, I haven't told you this yet. The name of God is not mentioned once in this book. It's one of the unique things about the book of Esther.

The name of God isn't mentioned once. And this has bothered some people. It bothered Martin Luther. Martin Luther said, I wish the book of Esther would never have been written. But I want to say, Marty, you're way off base.

I disagree with you. Though God isn't mentioned, I can make a case that God is the main character of this book. He shows up all over the place with his fingerprints on everything. It's called his providence. God's providence is God takes normal circumstances of life and weaves them together for his ultimate purpose. And that is so apparent in this book.

Really, this is the beauty of Esther. God isn't always overt. God isn't always apparent.

He's not always miraculous or audible. Jesus said the kingdom of God does not come by outward observation. So rather than noticing what isn't there, like the name of God, notice what is there. God working like John Nelson Darby used to say. God's ways are behind the scenes, but he moves all the scenes that he is behind.

God is behind these scenes and he is working. Now in this little speech of verse 13 and 14 that we just read of Mordecai to Esther, he reminds her of three important truths and I want to review them with you. Number one, he's saying that your position won't guarantee your protection. Your position as queen won't guarantee your protection. You're the queen, but you're still a Jew. And sometime the king is going to find that out when he finds that out. Since the edict says all the Jews, you're part of that number.

It'll be your life. And I got to think that there were probably some leftovers from the previous administration of Vashti, Queen Vashti. I'm sure that there were some people that kind of sided with her, were loyal to her, and they would love to see Esther kicked out.

It would be for that. So your position won't guarantee your protection. One thing he reminds her of is your silence won't prevent our deliverance. Look at what he said.

For if you remain, verse 14, if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place. Why does he say that? Because he's a Jew.

That's why. Because this guy remembers, even though the name of God, as I mentioned, he knows the Abrahamic covenant. He knows that God made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for the Jews to be in that land that God would preserve and protect his people for his eternal purpose. So it might not be you, but God has got something up his sleeve somewhere. And you might die, Esther, and your family might die, but God will deliver the Jews somehow. So if you don't step in and do it, God will do something with somebody else. By the way, I hope you realize God doesn't need any one of us. God has a plan.

And God's plan is in motion for his eternal purposes. And you and I have one of two choices, either get on board or don't get on board. Either you're all in or you're not. And if you're not, it's your loss. God didn't go, Oh man, no, what it's like next.

I'll use somebody, but I'm going to get this done. We get the privilege of being a part of it. So he reminds her of that. Your position won't guarantee your protection. Your silence won't prevent our deliverance. And third, your prominence is God's providence. Your queen, because God put you here, he didn't mention God didn't say that, but he implies that. Who knows, but you weren't brought to the kingdom for such a time as this queen Esther. If you are looking for a purpose for why you are a queen, this is it.

I got to think the queen Esther sat on that throne from time to time, this young Jewish girl, and she scratched her head and she thought, how did I get here? What am I doing here? What is my purpose for being the queen of Persia? If you ever thought that Mordecai is here to say, this is why, this is why this is it.

Listen, there are two significant days in your life, the day you were born and the day you discovered what you were born for. And so if you wonder, why am I in this position? Why do I have this job? Why am I in sales?

I find myself in the legal profession. Why? What am I doing? I don't know, but figure that out.

Figure that out. Discern what that might be, because you could be at a very important moment where God is going to call on you soon to make some very important decisions that will benefit a lot of people. God never wastes a life, and so often big doors swing on very small hinges. It's one of these moments for her. So we have a tragedy, anxiety, opportunity, and finally, bravery. She has to do something with the information. What will she do? Verse 15, Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, okay, go gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, why all the Jews?

Because that's who it affects, who are present in Shushan, in the capital city, and fast. Fast for me, neither eat nor drink for three days. She doesn't mention prayer, but she does mention fasting, and I'm guessing that she's very cautious about letting out the idea that she is Jewish, especially in light of this edict. Let any Jew to another Jew, when you say fast for three days, know that includes prayer and fasting, because in the Old Testament, prayer and fasting are like salt and pepper, like peanut butter and jelly. They go together, and so I want you to fast for three days, implying pray for three days, and fast with your fellow Jews, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise.

She probably had some Jewish maids work on her staff. Now watch this, and so I will go to the king, which is against the law. I'm going to break the law. The law says I can only go in that throne room if I'm summoned, I'm going. Look at this, and if I perish, I perish. I need to do what's right. It could cost me my life, bring it.

If I perish, I perish. What a great answer. What a great woman. She decides to risk it all. Keep in mind, Esther has been in an environment that tampered her, an environment that told her to focus all of her attention on her skin and her looks and her beauty and herself, right? It was all about herself. Now, in this decision, she conquers the giant of self, and she suddenly becomes selfless, self-sacrificing, self-denying.

In effect, she is saying enough of the easy life, enough of the beauty queen stuff. I've been on Persian Vogue on the cover. I've been in Elle magazine. Everybody knows who I am. I'm a beauty queen, enough of that. I'm going to go see the king and put a stop to this, and if a spear gets thrust through my body or a guard tackles me, so be it.

Let this be my finest hour. Now, this is the commemoration for 9-11 as well, and the decision that Esther made is a decision that so many people made on that day to sacrifice their lives, to rush into the towers, to work in the Pentagon, to bring people to safety, to commandeer airplanes that could become missiles, whether they were firefighters or port authority officials or police members or ambulance drivers or clergymen, first responders all, they ran to it. People like Moira Smith, a female New York City police officer who ran in and ran out with people to rescue them and rescue them, and finally, she died in the tragedy. Or a chef, a chef who was a former Marine by the name of Benjamin Clark, who made sure that everybody on his floor, the 96th floor of one of the towers, was evacuated. Got him out, lost his life. Or Father Michael Judge, the first victim of the 9-11 attacks, he heard of the explosions. He ran into the building. He was killed.

Most of you know the name Todd Beamer. He was aboard United Flight 93, and he knew that the pilots had been killed, they were forced from the cockpit, they were knifed, they knew the plane was being hijacked. He got a report on the phone that other planes had been flown into the World Trade Center, another one into the Pentagon. They were probably going to commandeer this plane for the Capitol or the White House or some other target. So Todd Beamer, in a moment, knew this was an Esther moment. If I perish, I perish, and he told the other passengers what was going on, they concocted a very quick plan, and his last recorded words were, are you ready?

Okay, let's roll. And that plane went down in Shanksville. And the Civil War was at its height, and Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States of the time, was feeling very discouraged and despairing. He went to church one Sunday, and he listened to the sermon, and afterwards one of his aides that was with him said, Mr. President, did you enjoy the sermon? And Lincoln said, well, the preacher was clear. His points were logical. I'm sure he was very sincere.

And the aide said, so you thought it was a good sermon? Lincoln said, no, I think he failed. He did not ask of us something great.

He gave information, but he didn't ask us to do something with it. He didn't ask of us to apply something to our lives that would be considered great. What Mordecai asked of Esther is to do something great. This could be your finest hour. You could be alive and in this position for this moment. Do something good. Do something great. Let your life be raised to a higher level. I'm asking us to do something great.

Here it is in a nutshell. Stop spending your life. Start investing your life. If you are planning your life or your comfort and my joy in my latter years, it's all about that. You can do that.

It's a free country, free world, I suppose, but that's just spending your life. Invest your life into something that will outlive you. That's something great. Jesus didn't stay in heaven. He said, I'm going to come to this earth. I'm coming to ground zero.

I'm coming to where sin exploded and hit the human race. And I didn't come to be served. I came to serve and to give my life a ransom for many. So that's the answer to self. One person wrote, dear heavenly father, I'm working on a puzzle, pure and simple. It is I. God answered back, dear searching child, here's the answer to your puzzle, pure and simple. It is I.

That's always the solution to self is you replace yourself with himself, your will with his will, your plans with his plans, your cause with his cause. This is the flesh. That's the spirit.

That concludes Skip Heitig's message from the series, Hunting Giants. Now, we want to tell you about an opportunity you have to take your knowledge of God's word to a deeper level. Personal or small group Bible study is a great way to learn God's word. But what if you want to learn more?

Go deeper. This spring, Calvary College is offering classes in ministry training, classes like personal evangelism. Learn how to be a dynamic, confident witness for Jesus Christ.

Take evening classes on campus or anytime classes online. An education from Calvary College will impact your spiritual life for the rest of your life. Apply now at calvarychurchcollege.com.

That's calvarychurchcollege.com. As believers, it's crucial for us to build our lives on God's word. That's why we share these biblical teachings, to equip you to live out the life-changing truths of scripture. And you can help connect even more people to those truths today. Visit connectwithskipp.com slash donate to give generously and share God's word with others. That's connectwithskipp.com slash donate, or call 800-922-1888, 800-922-1888. Thank you for changing lives. Come back tomorrow for Connect with Skip Heitig as we hear a special message from author and speaker Shawn McDowell, who shed some important light on the cancel culture that's so prevalent today. Connect with Skip Heitig is a presentation of connection communications connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.