Introduction and Review 

• A character study focuses on a single biblical character and draws attention to qualities in that person’s life that model things we should emulate or avoid.  

• Romans 4:19–22 (ESV): 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 

• We can be on a faith journey and be flawed 

Jesus’ Views on Social Interactions with Sinners 

• Matthew 9:10–13 (ESV): 10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

• Mark 7:8 (ESV): 8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” 

Takeaways from How Jesus Related to Sinners 

Sinners did not make Jesus panic 

• Romans 14:15–16 (ESV): 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 

• 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (KJV 1900): 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 

• 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (ESV): 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 

• It’s referring to kinds of evil, not literally appearances  

• 1 Timothy 4:12 (ESV): 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 

 

• 1 Corinthians 5:11 (ESV): 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 

 

• 1 Corinthians 5:9–10 (ESV): 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.  

 

• “Here, he instructed that at times we are to withdraw Fellowship. This case means to administer strict discipline when church members openly persist in sin and do not heed corrective counsel.”–Jack Hayford (Spirit-Filled Study Bible: Kingdom Equipping Through the Power of the Word, Third edition, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2018, p. 1650) 

• “This doesn’t mean you can’t speak to the person, or that you are to treat him cruelly. Instead, it means you are not to treat him like a fellow Christian when he is showing contempt for God, and for his people by ignoring the divinely prescribed process of church discipline.”–Tony Evans (The Tony Evans Bible Commentary: Advancing God’s Kingdom Agenda, Nashville: Holman, 2019, p. 1156) 

• Galatians 6:1–2 (ESV): 1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 

• We can’t take the measures we apply to extreme cases of sin and apply them to common cases of sin. 

• 1 Corinthians 15:33 (ESV): 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 

• Romans 12:2 (ESV): 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

• Matthew 5:13–14 (ESV): 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 

• People who followed Jesus did not immediately mature 

• Jesus allowed people to serve in ministry while they were still growing spiritually 

• Jesus pointed to people with a sinful history as examples for us to follow  

• Luke 7:44–50 (ESV): 44 Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” 

 

• Matthew 26:13 (ESV): 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” 

 

• The reality of the Christian life includes a battle with sin that we fight from a place of victory. 

The Checkered Journey of Abraham 

Genesis 17 (ESV): 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”  

9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”  

15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah, your wife, shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”  

22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day, Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.  

Righteousness By Faith 

Genesis 15:5–6 (ESV): 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. 

Abraham Believed the Gospel 

Galatians 3:8–9 (ESV): 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 

Introduction and Review 

• A character study focuses on a single biblical character and draws attention to qualities in that person’s life that model things we should emulate or avoid.  

• Romans 4:19–22 (ESV): 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 

God Uses People with Flaws 

Leaving Space for People to Grow 

 

• 1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV): 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 

 

• Acts 13:21–23 (ESV): 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ 23 Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. 

 

• Acts 13:36 (ESV): 36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 

 

• Psalm 51:1–19 (ESV): 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar. 

 

Consider the People that Received the Most Praise from Jesus 

• Luke 18:9–14 (ESV): 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

 

• Luke 7:36–50 (ESV): 36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus, answering, said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” 

Consider the Focus of Jesus’ Ministry 

Matthew 9:9–13 (ESV): 9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11, And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

Luke 14:16–24 (ESV): 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ” 

Christianity is Restoration-Focused, Not Criticism-Focused  

Galatians 6:1–3 (ESV): 1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 

Despite His Flaws, Abraham Did Not Sever His Relationship with God (and God did not sever His relationship with Abraham) 

Genesis 12:4 (ESV): 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 

Genesis 15:1 (ESV): 1 After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 

Genesis 17:1–2 (ESV): 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 

Genesis 18 (ESV): 1 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.  

Genesis 18:17–19 (ESV): 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 

James 2:23 (ESV): 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 

• Sometimes you must win a friend before you win a soul. 

Introduction 

Today we’re starting a new series.  

• A character study focuses on a single biblical character and draws attention to qualities in that person’s life that model things we should emulate or avoid.

This Year’s Theme 

• Abraham’s story ties directly to this year’s theme, which is “Under Construction.” 
• 1 Peter 2:5 (ESV):5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ 
• This year, God is building your ministry. 

Brief Review of Esther 

Last series, Esther gave us an example of a believer whose natural abilities situated her to excel in her calling. 

Introduction to Abraham 

On the other hand, Abraham, someone also called to do a mighty work of God, had none of the natural capacities that would qualify him for the role. 

Understanding the Role of the Natural and the Supernatural in Ministry Life 

Some of us will be called into things that make natural sense, and others of us will be called into things that don’t make natural sense. 

• When we’re called into something that makes natural sense, our background, our education, our resources, and our connections all support what God is calling us to do
• When we’re called into something that doesn’t make natural sense, the opposite is true. 

We have to walk by faith.  

Faith must be at the root of our obedience 

Defining the Miraculous 

No matter how well we manage our natural affairs, we need to leave space in our hearts to believe God for a miracle. 

• Every form of divine influence is not miraculous.
• A miracle happens when the Lord suspends the natural steps–and at times the spiritual steps–normally required to fulfill a need.

The Ways We Receive Miracles 

1. Some miracles are a providential part of our pathway of obedience to God.
2. Some miracles are the result of the gifts of the Holy Spirit—
3. Some miracles happen because God has made them available when we choose to believe.

Abraham Was Not a Usual Suspect 

• Genesis 6:9 (ESV):9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 
• Genesis 5:24 (ESV):24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. 
• Genesis 4:26 (ESV):26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time, people began to call upon the name of the Lord. 
• Genesis 11:26–31 (ESV):26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah’s fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 
• Job 1:1 (ESV):1There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 

Abraham Is Eventually Remembered as Someone Great 

• Hebrews 11:17–19 (ESV):17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 
• Romans 4:19–22 (ESV):19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 

An Unlikely Faith Hurdle 

• Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV):1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 
• Genesis 12:4 (ESV):4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 
• Genesis 13:2 (ESV):2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 
• Genesis 17:15–21 (ESV): 15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.” 

Great Faith Begins with Simple Obedience 

Genesis 12:4 (ESV): 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 

Hebrews 11:1–40 (ESV) 

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now, before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.  

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.  

 

Built to Last

· The king is the greatest in the land and yet is subject to his own laws and decrees.

· Esther found favor and was raised to prominence in a foreign land.

· We also see that there is a deceitful, crafty accuser working in the shadows

· We don’t specifically read of God’s directly intervening in their lives.

This story is ultimately told to display God’s authority, sovereignty, and protection for those who put their trust in the Lord.

John 17:14-15 ESV

14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

As Christians we are a sojourners or aliens in a foreign land. We are in this world, but not of the world.

Permission Based Society

Biblical stories often are challenging for us to relate to in comparing to our modern, Western, democratic thinking and ways of living. Our American society is built on self-reliance and independence.

Like the writer of the poem “Invictus,” William Ernest Henley wrote, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

Society in biblical times was patriarchal and kinship-based.

In our culture, children’s need for permission diminishes as they mature and gain independence.

· Excessive need for permission from parents, partners, or others often can reflect people-pleasing, low self-esteem, fear of rejection, or unresolved attachment issues.

· Mature individuals take ownership of decisions, accept consequences, and act with self-awareness and accountability, instead of seeking constant external reassurance.

· However, spiritual maturity involves growing in discernment so that our lives act in alignment with God’s will without constant external validation while still submitting to legitimate authority.

Permission is not passive (hands-off indifference or wishful thinking). It flows from God’s character as both loving Father and sovereign King.

We need to follow Jesus’s example and seek God the Father’s will.

John 5:19 ESV

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

John 5:30 ESV

“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

John 12:49 ESV

For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.

John 14:31 ESV

but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.

Jesus frequently withdrew in secret to pray, seeking the Father’s face and will.

Mark 1:35 ESV

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

Luke 5:16 ESV

But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Jesus taught the revelation of prayer is to see God as our Father.

Matthew 6:6 ESV

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Andrew Murray – Lord, Teach Us to Pray

“Christians often complain that private prayer is not what it should be. They feel weak and sinful, the heart is cold and dark; it is as if they have so little to pray, and that little no faith or joy. They are discouraged and keep kept from prayer by the thought that they cannot come to the Father as they ought to or as they wish. Child of God! Listen to your Teacher. He tells you that when you go to private prayer, your first thought must be” The Father is in secret, the Father waits for me there. Just because your heart is cold and prayerless, get you into the presence of the loving Father. As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth you. Do not be thinking of how little you have to bring God, but how much he wants to give to you. Just place yourself before, and look up into His face- think of His love, His wonderful, tender, pitying love. Just tell him how sinful and cold and dark all is: it is the Father’s loving heart will give light and warmth to yours.”

In theology, God’s secret will refers to his hidden will that has not been revealed to humanity, involving an eternal plan for the universe.

Deuteronomy 29:29 ESV

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

A common misconception of God is that He is simply letting something happen without involvement.

Theologians describe this as “actively passive”- He decides not to intercede directly in each moment while still governing the outcomes.

JOB

Job 1 ESV

1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed[a] God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants[c] with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell

from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

22 In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

· The author of Job is unknown. Although the text states he was in the land of Uz, no one really knows where it was located. Scholars believe it is outside of Canaan, near the desert, because of customs, vocabulary, and references to geography and natural History related to northern Arabia. – Roy B. Zuck, “Job,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1985), 718.

· It’s debatable of when Job lived. The book of Job does not mention the Mosaic Law. Job’s daughters were equal heirs with his sons, and Job himself, though not a priest, offered sacrifices, things not possible under the Law (Leviticus 4:10, Numbers 27:8).

“sons of God” – Divine Council – a heavenly assembly of God’s being, much like a courtroom (Psalm 82:1, Job 38:5-7) – The Unseen Realm by Dr. Michael Heiser’s

“Satan” – the original text has a definite article, “the satan”. Indicating that this is a rule or function of the being. Much like a prosecutor in a court.

The satan overstepped its bounds by questioning God and what he spoke over Job. If God removed the satan, then the sons of God are left to doubt not only if Job was righteous and blameless, but if God was a liar. God possibly allowed Job to be tested to prove his word.

Psalm 138:2 ESV

I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

3 Areas Satan Attacks:

· The satan attacks Job’s livestock – If he can’t steal your salvation, Satan’s tactic is to stop us from serving God.

· The satan attacks Job’s servants – Satan tries to isolate you, disconnect you from those that can help you.

· The satan attacks Job’s children – Satan tries to kill or make you lose your motivation (lose heart)

Luke 22:31-32 ESV

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Revelation 12:9-11 ESV

9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

1 John 2:1-2 ESV

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Introduction

Today, we’re going to finish up our character study on Esther.

Esther Story Summary

And for those of you just joining us

• The Jewish people in exile: Some returned, but some stayed in Persia: 
• Minorities in a strange land: 
• Esther’s people faced a backlash: 
• God raised up Esther to be a deliverer:

Vashti’s Experience

Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV):8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

Esther 1:13 (ESV):13 Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king’s procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, 

Esther 1:15 (ESV):15 “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?”

James 2:10 (ESV):10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

• [Play Clip from Parks and Rec: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2c8yfBo-Cx/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==]

The Favor of Esther

Esther 2:1–2 (ESV): 1After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king.  

Esther 2:1–2 (ESV):  3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel, under custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them. 4 And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so. 

Esther 2:5-7 (ESV): 5 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, 6 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. 7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is, Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 

• This first kind of favor is the favor that comes from having a covenant with God
• When we return God, His favor returns to us.

Jeremiah 29:11–14 (ESV):11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Jeremiah 29:4–7 (ESV):4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Esther 2:7 (ESV):7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is, Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

Esther 2:8 (ESV):8 So when the king’s order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king’s palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women. 

Esther 2:9 (ESV):9 And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king’s palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem. 

Esther 2:10-11 (ESV):10 Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. 11 And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her. 

• Favor from obedience to God’s law

Proverbs 16:7 (ESV):7 When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. 

Esther 2:12 (ESV):12 Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women— 13 when the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening, she would go in, and in the morning, she would return to the second harem in the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go into the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name. 

Esther 2:13 (ESV):13 When the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 

Esther 2:15 (ESV):15 When the turn came for Esther, the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now, Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.  

Esther 2:16 (ESV):16 And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, 17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 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.

Favor by kingdom assignment: 

Matthew 6:33 (ESV): 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 

Romans 8:31 (ESV):31. . .. If God is for us, who can be against us?

Esther 4:1–4 (ESV):1 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes. 

Esther 4:4 (ESV):4 When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 

Esther 4:5-8 (ESV):5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. 

Esther 4:9-11 (ESV): 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king’s servants and the peopleof the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come into the king these thirty days.”  

Esther 4:12–17 (ESV):12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 

Deuteronomy 8:11–18 (ESV): 11 “Take care lest you forgetthe Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Esther 4:15–17 (ESV):15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. 

Introduction

Today, we’re going to continue our character study on Esther.

Esther Story Summary

• The Jewish people in exile
• Some returned, but some stayed in Persia
• Minorities in a strange land
• Esther’s people faced a backlash
• God raised up Esther to be a deliverer

Review From Last Week

Last week, we looked closely at the opening of Esther, which describes a party thrown by King Ahasuerus, the king of Persia, that lasts 6 months. 

The king’s endgame is to display his military might and show that he has the wealth to finance more wars to conquer more territories and expand his kingdom.

The Queen’s World

• Required that a woman continually prove her worth
• Her chief role was to complement the king’s swag with her charm, style, beauty, and grace.
• Her royal status was perpetually in the balance. 

The Royal Hustle

The king and queen were still in this hustle for money, power, beauty, attention, and status.

• The king knew that he could be displaced at any time by another country who amasses more power.
• The queen knew that she could be displaced at any time by another woman who fancies the king’s interests more. 

Hustling As a Modern Way of Life

When “Best” Becomes an Antidote to Unfair

• Here’s how some people think: The way you respond to a world that is unfair is to be the best so that no one can deny you.
• Being the best—at whatever it is—won’t always be enough.

Queen Vashti’s Unexpected Challenge 

• Esther 1:10–12 (ESV):10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this, the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him.
• “Harems… were usually sequestered [to the point where if the women traveled in public, they had to ride] in closed carriages since the law forbade anyone from gazing on a woman’s face in royal charge.” –Donna Snow, Chosen: A Study of Esther, p. 43 
• “Some scholars have speculated if what is reported was true, then Vashti’s impertinence would stem from her objection to being humiliated by appearing in such a public place to be gazed on by the multitudes. And as queen, such an appearance was far beneath her royal station. What woman of substance longs to merely be an ornamental object?” (Snow 43)–Donna Snow, Chosen: A Study of Esther, p. 43

Queen Vashti’s Unforeseen Consequences

• Esther 1:19 (ESV):19 If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.

Queen Vashti’s Motives

• What was Vashti thinking?

The King Was Easily Influenced by Those Around Him 

• Esther 1:12 (ESV): 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this, the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him. 
• Esther 1:13 (ESV): 13 Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king’s procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, 
• Esther 1:14 (ESV): 14 the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face, and sat first in the kingdom): 
• Esther 1:15 (ESV):15 “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?”

Queen Vashti Overplayed Her Hand

When the Best is Not Enough

Comparing Vashti and Esther 

The Power of Covenant

• Esther 1:13 (ESV):13 Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king’s procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, 
• Esther 1:15 (ESV):15 “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?”
• James 2:10 (ESV):10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
• Esther 2:17 (ESV):17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

References

Dowden, Landon. Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Esther. Holman: Brentwood, 2019. 

Snow, Donna. Chosen: A Study of Esther. Concordia: St. Louis, 2021.

 

Introduction

Today we are introducing a new series. 

Esther Story Summary

• The Jewish people in exile: 
• Some returned but some stayed in Persia
• Minorities in a strange land:

• Their culture pointed to the future Christ: 
• The Christ Spirit provokes the Antichrist Spirit: 
• The Antichrist is not just a future evil world leader: 
• An antichrist is any person who opposes the spirit of Christ. 

• John speaks of the concept of multiple antichrists:
• 1 John 2:18 (ESV):18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. 

• Esther’s people faced an antichrist backlash: 
• The enemy attempted to annihilate Esther’s people: 
• God raised up Esther to be a deliverer: 

This Year’s Theme 

• Esther’s story ties directly to this year’s theme, which is “Under Construction”
• 1 Peter 2:5 (ESV):5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus  
• You are a minister

 

The Hidden Presence of God in Esther 

Esther’s Secular Context 

• Esther 1:1–2 (ESV): 1 Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, 2 in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel, 
• Esther 1: 3-4 (ESV):3 in the third year of his reign he gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him, 4 while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days.
• Esther 1:5 (ESV): 5 And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king’s palace. 
• Esther 1:9 (ESV):9 Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus. 

Reflecting the Spirt of Christ in a Secular Context  

• Matthew 20:25–26 (NLT):25 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 
• [Play Instagram Video by Francis Chan: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRcfsoljXeV/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==] 
• Romans 12:10 (ESV):10 . . . . Outdo one another in showing honor. 

• Esther has favor.
• Esther 2:8–9 (ESV):8 . . . .Esther also was taken into the king’s palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women. 9 And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. . . .  
• Esther 2:15 (ESV):15. . . .Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 
• Esther 2:17 (ESV):17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 

Three Kinds of Favor 

1. Favor from a covenant with God

• Genesis 12:2–3 (ESV):2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
• Deuteronomy 30:1–3 (ESV):1“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 
• Hebrews 8:6 (ESV):6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 
• Ephesians 2:8 (ESV):8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 
• Hebrews 4:16 (ESV):16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

2. Favor from obedience to God’s law

• Proverbs 16:7 (ESV):7 When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. 
• 1 Samuel 2:26 (ESV):26 Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.
• Luke 2:51–52 (ESV):51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
• Genesis 6:8 (ESV):8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
• Genesis 6:9 (ESV):9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
• Genesis 6:22 (ESV):22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him. 

3. Favor from the protection and provision of a kingdom assignment

• Matthew 6:25 (ESV): 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
• Matthew 6:31-33 (ESV):31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 
• Romans 8:31 (ESV):31. . .. If God is for us, who can be against us?                                                 

The Redemptive Hope of Motherhood

Roadmap to Hope Through Naomi’s Motherhood Journey

RESET | RE-CONNECT | RENEWAL

RESET

Ruth 1: 2-20 Introduction of Naomi’s Loss

We meet a woman who has everything, and all of a sudden, she loses her entire family in a decade.

Sometimes in life, we are faced with challenge after challenge, and it’s hard to feel close to God. But He is always near, and He is always sending glimmers of Hope

Ruth 1:16–17 (NKJV)

“But Ruth said:

‘Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.’”

Naomi’s season of motherhood did not end; it changed. Her calling to mother did not stop; the way she would mother was changing.

Naomi’s Mothering

• What we learn about Naomi in the text is that she was a wonderful mother-in-law. We know this because both of her daughters-in-law wanted to stay with her, and one refused to leave her.
• Motherhood often extends beyond our biological children. Being a mother often means we mother those closest to our children or in our proximity.
• God grants mothers a grace to keep loving well even when their hearts are breaking.
• Naomi was called to mother Ruth. Even though her son was gone, her assignment in motherhood shifted. Ruth would need Naomi’s guidance and direction in this next season. Ruth thought all was lost, but God had another plan.

“ Faith is depending on God when you’re living in the unknown, and sometimes the Lord lets us hit rock bottom so we can experience that He is the Rock at the bottom. Mom and Dad always told us that your greatest ministry is born from your greatest misery.” – Jonathan Evans, “Divine Disruption.”

Grief in Motherhood

We do not need to hide our honest prayers from God.

Scripture makes room for grief.

Psalm 13:1–3

“How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; enlighten my eyes.”

God loved David, and David was honest with God.

Grief in motherhood does not only result from the loss of a child. Sometimes there is grief from the loss of a relationship with that child, grief in the child being lost in the world, grief in not being able to mother or not being the mother you thought you would be. God wants you to tell him. He can handle your hurt. He makes room for it.

God cannot heal what you will not reveal.

Acknowledge the Emotion; Praise Your Savior

Lament is not the opposite of faith. Lament is faith that does not lie about how much it hurts.

The hurt is real, and so is the Lord’s faithfulness.

Joy and grief can co-exist.

We must acknowledge our emotions.

It is not a sin to express emotional pain.

Jesus expressed His emotions and wept for Lazarus.

Psalm 13:5–6

“But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

CONTINUOUS RESET

As a mother, and especially a mother who deals with grief, sometimes every day will be a reset.

We will have to remind ourselves that his mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

WORSHIP IS A WEAPON to fight anxiety in our lives.

Hebrews 4:16

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Motherhood requires bold prayers.

Motherhood requires honesty with God.

RE-CONNECT

Boaz – The Kinsman Redeemer

We need family to support healthy motherhood.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.”

In the text, we see that Boaz is a godly man.

He goes into the workplace blessing people and looking for ways to help. God wants to use all of us, whether we are mothers or not, to support motherhood. Find a community where you can  bless others.

Whatever workplace, church, or community organization you are involved in, look for ways to love others well.

Ruth 2:4–20

The Power of Notice

Boaz notices Ruth and helps her.

Ruth 2:11–12

“The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

Men can help meet needs in motherhood.

God is intentional and meets needs through people.

Provision often comes through people. God needs us in tune with what He is calling us to do and who He has called us to support. We can only be sensitive to that if we are spending time in the world.

Ruth 2:20

“Blessed be the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead.”

Be the reason someone says there must be a God. Your kindness can change the trajectory of a life.

RENEWAL

Ruth 4:14–15

“Blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a close relative… May he be to you a restorer of life.”

Be open to God’s plan, not looking like your original plan for motherhood. His plan may be greater, or it may be different, but it will give life.

Trust God’s plan for restoration.

Maybe God has called you to be someone’s “work mom,” foster mother, adoptive mother,  bonus mom (stepmother), grandma,  spiritual mother, mentor, or aunty. Whatever the Lord has called you to do, do it well and partner with him in prayer.

“From Scripture we have received written proof of what God has done for us, what He’s created us and called us and empowered us into becoming. Then in prayer we cooperate with him to stamp these truths repeatedly into our hearts.” -Priscilla Shirer, “ Fervent.”

New Life

Naomi was able to mother again as a grandmother.

God calls women to motherhood in different ways.

Do not limit how God will call you to be a mother.

Contentment in Christ

“Christ-based contentment will turn you into a strong person. Since no one can take your Christ, no one can take your joy.” – Max Lucado

No matter what happens in motherhood or in life, Jesus, I have you, and in you I have everything.

Christ-Confidence.

Proverbs 31:28

“Her children rise up and call her blessed.”

RESOURCES

“Divine Disruption” – Dr. Tony Evns, Chrystal Evans Hurst, Priscilla Shirer, Anthony Evans, and Jonathan Evans

“The Garden Within’ – Dr. Anita Phillips

“Fervent” – Priscilla Shirer

 

 

Ready to Build

Psalms 127:1 NKJV

Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…

I Corinthians 3:9- 11 NKJV

For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

• Have the right plans
• Be prepared for Change Orders
• Get Permits
• Get Insurance for protection

Some of the Pharisees (guardians of Jewish tradition) had as rigid, self-defined expectations of the Messiah as a political/military deliverer who would overthrow Rome, restore Israel’s kingdom, and affirm their religious status. The place of oral traditions and strict legalism over mercy and a pure heart before God. (Mark 7, Matthew 12)

Some of the Sadducees (priestly elite/ruling council) rejected the promise of a resurrection and afterlife and concerned themselves only with this life, its worldly status quo, and their temple status.  (Matthew 22:23-33; John 11:48)

Jesus spoke in parables because of their hardened hearts. (Matt. 13)

There are two people in Scripture who, without hearing Jesus speak or seeing any miracles or signs performed by Jesus, still recognized Him as the promised Messiah.

Luke 2:25-32

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,  he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Simeon is referred to as “just” or “righteous,” which speaks to his conduct and his right relationship with God.

Devout- “Eulabes”(Strongs Greek 2126) “taking hold of well”, “handling well/carefully.”

It conveys a cautious reverence towards God

 Waiting – “Prosdechomai” (Strongs Greek 4327) “waiting actively, expectantly.”

 To look forward to, to wait with confidence and patience, a hopeful expectation

Luke 2:36- 38

Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fasting’s and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Luke is pointing out the uniqueness of Anna, “a prophetess”. It places Anna in the lineage of OT prophetesses like Miriam (Exodus 15:20) and Deborah (Judges 4:4)

“tribe of Asher” – northern “lost” tribes deported by Assyria (2 Kings 17)

Anna chooses God’s plan over her own personal plans.

Anna’s life was not casual devotion-it implies:

• Consistency
• Loyalty
• Priest-like dedication
• Intentional

Anna function in service role, even though she was not a priest.

Anna’s life was a quiet act of resistance against cultural expectations.

She becomes one of the first evangelists for Jesus.

Psalms 51:17 NIV

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise

Introduction

There are Many Reasons to Fast

[List from Pastor Chris Hodges titled Pray First: The Transformative Power of a Life Built on Prayer] 

1. To Prepare for Ministry
2. To Seek God’s Wisdom
3. To Seek God’s Power and Protection
4. To Express Grief and to Mourn
5. To Repent and Return to God
6. To Seek God’s Power for Victory
7. To Worship God
8. To Seek God’s Favor in Desperate Situations
9. To Engage in Spiritual Warfare

• When we follow biblical models and motives, fasting is a powerful conduit for breakthrough.  
• Fasting is a unique spiritual tool that empowers our “Yes” to God.
• Fasting is more about “Yes” more than it is about “No.

The Rewards of Fasting

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV): 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 

Luke 11:11–13 (ESV):11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV):6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

When we seek God, God rewards us with Himself.

When We Think God is Not Enough 

Hidden in Plain Sight 

Luke 9:28–29 (ESV):28 Now about eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.

Mark 9:3 (ESV):3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.

Matthew 17:2 (ESV):2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

God Desires the Big Reveal

Ephesians 1:16–19 (ESV):16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 

Colossians 1:9 (ESV):9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 

Ephesians 3:14–20 (ESV):14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

A Simple “Yes” Will Do

The Two-Master Dilemma

1 John 2:15–16 (ESV):15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Matthew 6:24 (ESV):24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Be Careful What You Ask For

Romans 1:21–22 (ESV): 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

Romans 1:24 (ESV):24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity. . .

Romans 1:26 (ESV): 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. . .

Romans 1:28 (ESV):28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

1 Samuel 8:7 (ESV):7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

Acts 28:22–27 (ESV):22 But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”  23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening, he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus, both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: 26 “ ‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 27 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

Fasting Opens Us Up to Hear and Obey

Acts 13:2–3 (NKJV): 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them

Hebrews 3:7–8 (ESV):7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts. . .

Psalm 32:9 (ESV):9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.