One Voice with Dr Pastor Larry Montgomery

One Voice with Dr Pastor Larry Montgomery

17 Providence of God

Providence in the Book of Esther: Vashti's Refusal, Esther's Courage, and Haman's Own Gallows

Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery continues his providence series with the Book of Esther, tracing how God works unseen through Vashti's fall, Esther's rise, Mordecai's courage, and Haman's plot against the Jews that turns back on his own gallows.

Introducing The Providence Series And The Book Of Esther

Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery opens the evening service by returning to his ongoing study of the providence of God, telling the congregation there is no way to come to the end of the subject because it appears in nearly every chapter of scripture. He reminds them that providence is God working out his will in the lives of his people, whether through natural or supernatural means, and that believers often praise God when providence is sweet but argue with him when it delivers a hard blow. He then turns the congregation to the Book of Esther, calling it a fantastic read that most people, even longtime believers, have never opened. He pushes back on the common assumption that the book is only about Jewish history, insisting it is really about the providence of God in the life of his people, and promises to walk through the story verse by verse to show God's hidden hand at work throughout.

King Ahasuerus's Feast And Queen Vashti's Refusal

Montgomery reads from the opening chapters of Esther, introducing King Ahasuerus, a ruler he identifies with the Xerxes line of the Medes and Persians who reigns over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia. He describes the king displaying the riches of his kingdom for a hundred and eighty days before throwing a seven-day feast for everyone in the palace at Shushan, and he places the story on the biblical timeline by tying it back to Nebuchadnezzar's dream in the Book of Daniel, noting that if Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom is gold, Ahasuerus now represents the silver kingdom that follows. Once the king is thoroughly drunk, he sends for Queen Vashti so he can display her beauty to his guests, but she refuses to come. Montgomery describes the king's fury and the counsel of his officials, who convince him to dethrone Vashti and search the kingdom for a new queen, setting up the search that will eventually bring Esther to the palace.

Esther Rises To Queen As Mordecai Foils A Plot

Montgomery describes the year of purification the candidates for queen must undergo before meeting the king, and introduces Mordecai, whom he is careful to identify as Esther's cousin rather than her uncle, since Esther, originally named Hadassah, is the daughter of Mordecai's uncle and was raised by him after her parents died. Mordecai keeps watch daily at the palace gate, gathering news, while Esther, at God's quiet direction, keeps her Jewish identity hidden. When her turn comes, she pleases the king more than any other woman brought before him, and he crowns her queen. Montgomery jokes that most very pretty women are not very smart, praising Esther as blessed with both beauty and intelligence. He then recounts Mordecai overhearing two of the king's officers plotting to assassinate him; Mordecai reports it through Esther, the plotters are hanged, and the deed is recorded in the king's chronicles, a detail Montgomery insists is no accident but God's providence quietly setting the stage for what comes next.

Haman's Pride And The Plot Against The Jews

Montgomery introduces Haman, a proud official exalted second in the kingdom, whose anger boils over because Mordecai, alone among the people at the gate, refuses to bow to him. Haman goes to the king with a bribe and a warning that a certain people in the kingdom are dangerous, securing an order to destroy the Jews on an appointed day throughout all the provinces. Mordecai tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, and mourns at the gate, and word reaches Esther in the palace that her people are condemned. She protests that entering the king's presence uninvited is punishable by death, even for the queen, but Mordecai answers that she may have come to the kingdom "for such a time as this." Esther resolves to go to the king anyway, declaring that if it costs her life, it costs her life, and instead of stating her request immediately she invites the king and Haman to a private banquet, buying time for God's plan to unfold.

Haman's Gallows And The King's Sleepless Night

Montgomery savors the reversal that follows. Haman leaves Esther's first banquet still fuming over Mordecai's refusal to bow, and on his wife's advice he builds a gallows to hang him the next morning. That same night the king cannot sleep and has the court records read to him, discovering that Mordecai was never rewarded for exposing the assassination plot. When Haman arrives at the palace to request Mordecai's execution, the king instead asks him how to honor a man the king wishes to reward, and Haman, assuming the honor is meant for himself, describes a royal robe, a royal horse, and a procession through the city. The king orders Haman himself to lead Mordecai through the streets proclaiming his honor. At the second banquet, Esther exposes Haman as the enemy of her people, the king finds him seemingly assaulting the queen, and orders him hanged on the very gallows he built for Mordecai.

Deliverance, Rejoicing, And A Warning For Today

Montgomery finishes the story: the law of the Medes and Persians cannot be revoked, so instead of canceling the decree the king lets Mordecai, now elevated to Haman's position, send new letters allowing the Jews to arm themselves and fight back on the appointed day. The Jews are delivered, Haman's household loses everything, Mordecai becomes second in the kingdom, and the Jews establish a lasting holiday of rejoicing and gift-giving to remember the victory. Montgomery turns from the ancient story to the present, warning that America faces judgment much like Shushan did, that communism has effectively replaced the political opposition, and that only God, not either party, can deliver the nation now. He recalls calling Donald Trump's election a reprieve the country failed to appreciate and urges the congregation to pray for another one. He closes by comparing the church's only hope to Israel's in Esther's day, and invites the congregation to stand together in prayer.

One Voice with Dr Pastor Larry Montgomery

16 Providence of God

Providence in the Book of Job: The Blow, the Blessing, and the God Who Never Sleeps

Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery continues his providence series by preaching through the Book of Job, tracing Satan's challenge in heaven, the sudden loss of Job's family and fortune, and the restoration that follows when Job prays for the friends who accused him.

Introducing Job, the Greatest Man in the East

Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery opens the message by turning the congregation to the Book of Job, calling it one of his favorite books in the Bible and promising to trace God's providence through it. He reads from chapter one, describing Job as a man who is "perfect," upright, and one who fears God and turns from evil. He walks through Job's family and possessions, seven sons, three daughters, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, noting that scripture calls Job the greatest man of the east. Montgomery emphasizes that Job's children are godly, fasting and praying, and that Job regularly offers sacrifices on their behalf in case they have sinned. He holds Job up as a model of a man who honors God with what he has been given, setting the stage for a message he says will cover both "the blow" and "the blessing" of God's providence in Job's life.

Satan Challenges God Over Job

Montgomery moves to the heavenly scene in chapter one, where Satan comes among the sons of God to present himself before the Lord. God asks Satan where he has come from, and Satan answers that he has been going to and fro in the earth, a detail Montgomery uses to remind the congregation that the devil is never idle, comparing him to the New Testament's roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. When God asks Satan whether he has considered Job, Satan accuses God of protecting Job with a hedge, arguing that Job's faithfulness would collapse without it. God allows Satan to test Job, and Montgomery pauses to make a larger point: that Job's story matters so much to heaven that a conversation about him takes place there before anything happens to him, and that nothing can touch a believer's life except what God permits.

A Nation That Has Forgotten God

Before returning to Job's story, Montgomery turns his attention to the present day, arguing that Americans, like Job, have been richly blessed but increasingly fail to honor God for it. He says the country removed God from its schools and now suffers for it, declaring that anyone who holds many secular degrees but does not know Jesus Christ is, in his words, "a spiritual idiot." He warns that the pulpits themselves have become mouthpieces for another gospel and another spirit, and that the nation is already living under God's judgment. He points to politicians using climate change to strip away personal freedoms, control over food and farming, and rising taxes he believes are designed to make it impossible for ordinary people to keep their homes and land. Montgomery contrasts this drift with Job's family, who recognized "the God of glory" their parents and grandparents knew, framing America's spiritual decline as a warning before he returns to Job's unfolding trial.

The Blow Falls on Job's House

Montgomery returns to Job chapter one, describing the messengers who arrive in quick succession to report that Job's oxen and camels have been stolen or destroyed, and finally that all ten of his children have died together when a great wind collapsed the house they were feasting in. He marvels that Job, stripped of everything in a single breath, does not curse God but instead declares, "Naked came I out of the womb, and naked shall I return... the Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." Montgomery calls this response almost unimaginable, admitting he doubts he could say the same words in Job's place. He reminds the congregation that providence, as he preached the week before, includes both light and darkness, and that Job's blessed life has now given way to devastating loss, even as heaven's earlier conversation about him continues to govern everything that happens.

No Accidents in a Believer's Life

Montgomery builds a theology of providence from Job's suffering, insisting that nothing happens to a believer by accident because God is of one mind and already knows and has planned the end from the beginning. He recalls telling a class of seminary students that there has never been an accident in a believer's life, watching the room go silent at the claim, and argues listeners should call their own crashes "mishaps" rather than accidents, since God's plan runs through them regardless. He shares his father's words after Montgomery survived having a car "beat out from under him": "Son, we can replace the car, but we can't replace you." He then turns to Job's three friends, who arrive claiming to comfort Job but instead accuse him of hidden sin and hypocrisy, wounding him further. Montgomery holds up Job's refusal to blame God, even under those accusations, as the standard he wants the congregation to imitate in their own hard providences.

Restoration, Job's Daughters, and a Storm Over Vietnam

The sermon closes in Job chapter forty-two, where God tells Job's accusing friends he will not forgive them until Job prays for them, and Job does. Montgomery describes God then doubling Job's flocks and camels, restoring his ten children, and giving his three new daughters, Jemima, Keziah, and Keren-happuch, striking names Montgomery jokes the congregation should consider for their own children. He revisits and partly revises an earlier, harsher sermon about Job's wife telling Job to "curse God and die," conceding that commentators see her words as born of grief rather than malice. He ends with a personal story from flying patrols over the Tonkin Gulf, when a young airman who had stopped believing in God cried out to him during a violent storm, only to admit afterward that "in a case like that, everybody believes in God." Montgomery closes by inviting the congregation to stand together, trusting that God's providence, however painful, is always working toward their good.

One Voice with Dr Pastor Larry Montgomery

15 Providence of God.

Providence In The Storm: The Red Sea, The Cross, And A Father's Woodshed

Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery preaches the fifteenth message in his series on the providence of God, tracing its mixture of good and hard moments from the parting of the Red Sea to the cross and resurrection, and closing with a personal story about discipline at his father's dinner table.

Opening the Fifteenth Providence Message

Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery opens the service by telling the congregation that this is the fifteenth message in his series on the providence of God, and he says he is enjoying every minute of it. He thanks the people for coming and for listening, calling it a blessing to know that the God of glory is still on the throne. He tells the congregation that God's people need to wake up and recognize that God is in control, using the image of a pilot rather than a copilot to describe God's complete charge over their lives. He turns to Romans chapter eight, verse twenty-eight, a passage he says he has preached on repeatedly, including an unplanned eight-week series, and tells the congregation he intends to use it to open and close the message. He asks them to let the verse speak for itself rather than filtering it through assumptions.

Providence as a Mixture of Good and Bad

Montgomery explains that the providence of God is a mixture of good and bad, not a guarantee of constant ease. He tells the congregation that if life went smoothly all the time, they would not appreciate God, and that hard times are what drive people back to prayer. He describes God's ways of getting attention, from a gentle nudge on the shoulder to a word from a friend or a preacher, insisting that God will always find a way to remind his people that he is still God. He reminds the congregation that providence means God not only creates but continues to care for everything he has made, external and internal, from the sun and stars down to each individual person. He warns that forgetting this truth invites a reminder, and that questioning God in hard circumstances amounts to blaming him, a point he repeats for emphasis before moving into examples from scripture.

Creation and the Greater Act of Redemption

Turning to the wonder of creation, Montgomery tells the congregation that of everything God has made, mankind stands as the greatest work, visible even against the vastness that instruments like the Hubble Telescope and newer telescopes still cannot fully capture. He pauses on a fresh thought that strikes him in the moment: that the greatest thing God has ever done is not creation itself but the redemption of mankind. He describes salvation as God rescuing people from what he calls the slave market of sin, calling it the greatest act of a holy God. The congregation responds with amens as he links this redemptive theme back to providence, arguing that God's ongoing care did not stop at creation but extends into the deliberate work of saving his people, setting up the biblical examples of providence in action that follow.

The Red Sea and Pharaoh's Army

Montgomery walks the congregation through Exodus chapter fourteen, describing Israel trapped at the Red Sea with Pharaoh's army closing in behind them and no way forward. He describes the pillar of cloud moving from before Israel to stand between the two camps, becoming darkness to the Egyptians and light to the children of Israel. He notes that the people's shouting on the way out of Egypt had turned to pouting once they saw the sea, with no boat and no bridge to save them. He tells the congregation that God caused the sea to open with no help from the people themselves, letting Israel cross on dry ground before closing the waters over Pharaoh's pursuing army, since chariots and armored men do not float. The people who had been complaining the day before are shouting in celebration on the far shore, and Montgomery uses the scene to argue that God's providence is often clearest only after the crossing is complete.

The Cross, the Tomb, and the Resurrection

The sermon moves to the cross, Matthew chapter twenty-seven, as Montgomery asks the congregation to picture the Hill of the Skull with him. He describes disciples who had watched Jesus heal and raise the dead now watching him beaten beyond recognition, evoking the film The Passion of the Christ as an inadequate depiction of the brutality involved. He recounts Jesus speaking from the cross to his mother and to John before dying, and describes the disciples scattering as hope seems to die with him in the tomb behind a sealed stone. He then describes the third day, when the stone is rolled away and the tomb is found empty, framing the resurrection as providence breaking through apparent hopelessness. He closes the section with the two disciples walking to Emmaus, who fail to recognize the risen Jesus walking beside them until he reveals himself, after which they hurry back to Jerusalem to declare that he is alive.

A Father's Love in the Woodshed

Montgomery shifts to a personal story about growing up with his father Warren and his mother, who he affectionately calls a tattletale, at the family dinner table. He recalls the dread of hearing his mother say "Warren, Larry" before recounting a misdeed, followed by his father sending him for switches, a whipping over the potato bin, and the trick of biting a potato to keep from screaming. He describes his father afterward pulling him into his lap and saying "I love you," calling the hug worth the whipping. He applies the memory to the congregation's own hardships, naming a preacher friend, Brother Kenny, whose son was shot dead, and a grandson who died of a heart attack at thirty-three, insisting providence still holds even when understanding does not come in this life. He closes by describing God's providence as a mixture of wrath and love, chastening and lap-sitting, and invites the congregation to stand together.

One Voice with Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery

13 Providence Of God

Held Together by Light: Creation, Providence, and the God Who Cares

Summary

Providence as Creation's Continuing Care

The sermon defines divine providence as God's continuing care for everything He created. Using an eight-day clock that must be wound more frequently than expected, the preacher argues that the universe could not simply be created and abandoned. Providence is presented as God's ongoing work of guiding, guarding, ordering, and sustaining creation.

Light, Creation, and Human Purpose

Genesis 1 is used to emphasize the immediacy of God's command, "Let there be light." The preacher describes the sun and stars as immense sources of energy that continue fulfilling the purposes for which God created them. Human beings are likewise portrayed as intentionally created, with the simple purpose of honoring God through obedience.

God as Light and the Speed of Glory

The sermon connects the physical speed of light with the biblical statement that God is light. The preacher uses the resurrection appearances of Jesus to propose that a glorified body can move beyond ordinary physical limitations. A demonstration with the room's light switches reinforces the contrast between light appearing instantly and darkness disappearing.

A Universe Sustained in Motion

The preacher describes planets, stars, the earth, light, and the wider universe as moving at tremendous speed. A freeway pileup becomes an illustration of the chaos that might result if one moving part of creation slipped out of order. The continued stability of the universe is therefore offered as evidence that the Creator remains its providential Caretaker.

Future Judgment and Renewed Creation

The sermon anticipates a future moment when the present elements will melt and God will make creation new. The preacher describes a sinless future involving glorified believers in New Jerusalem, Israel living on earth, continued human population growth, and the eventual habitation of creation. These ideas are presented as theological conclusions within the sermon rather than independently established facts.

Personal Care, Grace, and the Ark of Hope

The closing section moves from cosmic providence to God's personal care for individuals. A shooting star becomes a reminder that God is present, while Noah's ark becomes an image of grace and deliverance before judgment. The preacher closes by assuring listeners that God cares for His children and will ultimately take them home, whether individually through death or collectively in the anticipated rapture.

One Voice with Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery

12 Providence Of God

When God Directs the Journey: Salvation, Healing, and Revival

Summary

Providence in Spiritual Salvation

The preacher organizes the sermon around three expressions of divine providence: spiritual, physical, and national. He begins with John 4 and Jesus’ statement that He “must needs go through Samaria,” presenting the journey as purposeful rather than accidental. The woman at the well is described as someone with a damaged reputation who nevertheless had a divinely appointed encounter with Jesus. The preacher argues that Jesus knew about the meeting even though the woman and the disciples did not. Her conversion and subsequent testimony to the people of the town become the sermon’s primary example of providence operating in spiritual salvation. The larger point is that, in the preacher’s view, God arranges circumstances and uses ordinary means to accomplish a predetermined spiritual purpose.

The Samaritan Woman and a Planned Encounter

The account of the Samaritan woman is developed as evidence that timing, location, conversation, and even the need for a water bucket fit into God’s plan. The preacher emphasizes that Jesus deliberately went through Samaria and waited at the well for this particular woman. He describes her isolation from other women, her response to the offer of living water, and Jesus’ knowledge of her personal life. According to the sermon, she moves from recognizing Jesus as a prophet to recognizing Him as the Son of God. She then goes into town and tells others about the encounter, after which they come to hear Jesus for themselves. The preacher presents the entire sequence as a demonstration that someone rejected by the community can still be the object of God’s providential saving purpose.

Providence in Naaman’s Physical Need

The sermon then turns to 2 Kings 5 and the story of Naaman as an example of providence concerning the physical body. Naaman is described as a powerful Syrian military leader whose leprosy overshadows his rank and achievements. A young Israelite captive becomes a servant in Naaman’s household and tells his family about a prophet who can help him. The preacher interprets the girl’s presence in that particular household as another providential arrangement rather than a meaningless consequence of war. Naaman initially resists the instruction to dip seven times in the Jordan River, but his servants persuade him to obey. His healing after the seventh immersion is presented as evidence that God can use unlikely people, difficult circumstances, and simple acts of obedience to accomplish His purpose.

Josiah, Scripture, and National Revival

For the national application, the preacher moves to 2 Chronicles 34 and King Josiah’s efforts to repair the temple and restore worship. The discovery of the Word of God during that work becomes the foundation of his argument about revival. He says that Scripture can effectively be “hid” even within churches when it is present but not preached, believed, or obeyed. Josiah’s response to hearing the Word is described as leading to the removal of idols, the restoration of worship, and revival among God’s people. The preacher then applies this pattern to America, arguing that national restoration depends upon a renewed return to God and to the preaching of Scripture. His political comments and criticism of contemporary government are presented as part of his own religious interpretation of the nation’s condition.

Belief Demonstrated Through Obedience

A major concluding theme is the distinction between merely saying one believes the Bible and actually obeying it. The preacher says his own opinions are unimportant compared with what he believes God has said in Scripture. He illustrates obedience with a family discussion about a school dress code and a rule concerning wearing a hat. The point of the illustration is that a person may disagree with a rule and still be responsible to obey it. He applies that reasoning to Scripture, acknowledging that believers may encounter teachings they do not personally like while insisting that obedience remains their duty. At the same time, he acknowledges human failure and emphasizes mercy and grace rather than claiming that believers obey perfectly.

Following God’s Direction

The sermon closes by returning to the overall theme of providence and personal direction. The preacher says people do not know all the ways God is arranging circumstances to bring them to where they are or to take them where they are going. He contrasts God’s plan with human plans and insists that God’s purpose will ultimately be carried out as God intends. A final illustration recalls children riding in a car and repeatedly asking whether they have arrived yet. The parent knows the route and destination even when the children do not, which the preacher uses as an analogy for trusting God’s direction. His closing message is that believers may not agree with or understand the route God takes, but they will ultimately be glad they followed His directions.

One Voice with Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery

11 Providence Of God

One Voice with Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery

10 Providence Of God

One Voice with Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery

09 Providence Of God

One Voice with Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery

08 Providence Of God

One Voice with Dr. Pastor Larry Montgomery

07 Providence Joseph