Palm Springs Drive Church of Christ

Series: N/A

Service: Lord’s Supper Service

Type: Lord's Supper Talk

Speaker: David Weaver

Series: N/A

Service: Praise and Preaching Service

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy

Sermon Summary: “In God’s Hands”

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy (03/02/25)
Passage Focus: Psalm 19, Psalm 95, Isaiah 64, Daniel 5, Exodus 2–3, 1 Samuel 13, 2 Chronicles 14–16, and more

This powerful sermon, titled “In God’s Hands,” delivers a message that is both timeless and deeply personal. Through vivid illustrations, biblical storytelling, and practical application, Dwayne reminds us that our lives are most valuable, purposeful, and protected when we are fully in the hands of God.

Introduction: The Value Depends on Whose Hands It’s In

The sermon opens with a relatable and impactful illustration. Dwayne compares the value of a basketball or a golf club in his own hands to the same item in the hands of Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. The difference is staggering—not because of the object itself, but because of who is holding it. In the same way, our lives, when placed in God’s hands, take on eternal value and power.

This idea serves as the foundation for the rest of the message: we must stop trying to live in our own hands—or in the hands of others—and start fully trusting the hands of God.

1. The Hand of the Lord Creates

From the opening texts in Psalm 19 and Psalm 95, Dwayne emphasizes that God is the Creator of all things. The heavens declare His glory, and the earth is the work of His hands. Isaiah 64 paints the picture of God as a potter, and we as clay—formed, shaped, and molded according to His purpose.

This image of “handmade” implies intimacy and intention. Dwayne draws from personal experiences—stories of handcrafted furniture and gifts—to highlight how things made by hand have deeper value and sentimental weight. In the same way, because God personally formed us, we are more than just beings on a planet; we are beloved works of His hands, crafted for a purpose.

This understanding should move us to worship and trust the One who created us.

2. The Hand of the Lord Provides and Protects

Building on the foundation of God’s creative power, Dwayne moves into God’s protective and providing hand. Referencing Psalm 138, he shows that even in trouble, God stretches out His hand to save, shield, and sustain us.

He shares the story of Belshazzar in Daniel 5, who failed to glorify God, even though he knew what happened to his father. The key verse: “The God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.” It’s a strong reminder that we are not in control—even our very breath is held by God.

Dwayne urges listeners not to fall into the same trap. It’s one thing to know the stories of Scripture; it’s another thing to live by them. We must not merely hear that God provides—we must live like we believe it.

3. When People Took Things Into Their Own Hands (And What Happened Next)

In this portion of the sermon, Dwayne skillfully walks through biblical examples of people who decided to act outside of God’s hands—with costly results.

• Moses (Exodus 2–3): When Moses tried to deliver his people on his own terms, he became a fugitive. But when he finally submitted to God’s calling, he became a deliverer. His life is a testimony to the process of learning to trust God’s hand.
• The Israelites (Numbers 14): After initially refusing to enter the Promised Land, the Israelites tried to go up without God’s blessing—and failed. Timing and obedience are crucial. Doing the right thing the wrong way is still disobedience.
• Saul (1 Samuel 13): Impatient for Samuel, Saul offered a sacrifice he wasn’t authorized to give. His disobedience cost him the kingdom. God seeks people after His own heart—those willing to wait and obey.
• Asa (2 Chronicles 14 & 16): In one season, King Asa trusted God and won a battle against a million-man army. Later, he trusted in an alliance instead of God and brought trouble. Past faith doesn’t guarantee future faithfulness. We must trust God continually.

Dwayne makes it clear that acting in our own strength or seeking refuge in others rather than God leads to disappointment, disaster, or missed potential.

David and Jesus: Trusting the Father’s Hands

The sermon draws to a spiritual peak by focusing on two key figures who fully entrusted themselves into God’s hands:

• David, who wrote, “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31), repeatedly expressed trust in God as his rock, fortress, and protector.
• Jesus, echoing David, utters the same words on the cross: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

These declarations remind us that trusting God’s hands isn’t just for life—it’s also for death, for suffering, for sacrifice, and for eternal hope.

Jesus further assures us in John 10 that His sheep are safe in His hand, and no one can snatch them out. What more assurance could we ask for?

Practical Application: Whose Hands Are You In?

Dwayne closes the sermon with a deeply personal and practical challenge.

“Are you a person who tends to take the bull by the horns—trusting in yourself?”

“Or are you someone who lets others push and pull you in every direction?”

“Either way, are you really living in God’s hands?”

He encourages the church—not only as individuals but as a group—to evaluate their trust. Are they truly a church of Christ, living in His hands? Or are they functioning more by their own wisdom?

To make the message tangible, he offers a visual aid: a drawing (made by a church member) representing living in God’s hands. Members were encouraged to place their family photo inside it and post it at home as a reminder: “We live in God’s hands.”

Dwayne ties it all together with a powerful call:

“We want you to live in the hands of the One whose hands were nailed to the cross. That’s the only place where you’ll be forgiven, loved, and secure.”

Final Thoughts

This sermon is not only rich in Scripture but deeply practical and convicting. It reminds us that God’s hands are not passive—they are creative, protective, powerful, and redemptive.

Whether you’re someone who tends to over-control your life or someone who allows others to steer you off-course, this message calls you to realign and place your life fully and intentionally in the hands of God.

📖 Want to go deeper?
You can read the full transcript of the sermon below, listen to the audio version, or watch the video version. We include the transcript here to make this message easier to search, reference, and return to as you continue your walk with the Lord.

Full Transcript

In God's Hands – Sermon Transcript

"In God's Hands" by Dwayne Gandy on 03/02/2025
(Transcribed by Congregate. Please forgive any errors in transcription)

Start off with a couple of statements of praise.

You can say amen if you agree with these statements of praise or nod your head.

The first statement of praise is praise God for holding us in the hollow of his hand that he wants to do that.

That's amazing that God wants to hold us in the hollow of his hand.

We don't only hold his hand, but he holds us in the hollow of his hand.

That's so important.

Praise God that there is safety and security in the hollow of God's hand.

It's good that we're here today to talk about the importance of being in God's hands.

I have a couple of illustrations as we start this basketball, the value, it's not an expensive basketball.

The value of this basketball is probably somewhere around $30 to $40.

You can go to the store and you can buy one.

In my hands.

How much do you think this basketball is worth?

$30 or $40 or less, right?

Because I, I don't add value to this basketball, uh, in Michael Jordan's hands, how much did this basketball become worth?

$3.5 billion.

So he was able to take a basketball and turn his talent into basketball and do $3.5 billion.

I can't turn into anything now if I played basketball with this for a couple of days and I try to sell it to you, hey, hey, I play basketball with this.

Uh, this was in my hands.

How much would you pay for it?

Nothing, right?

It's not worth anything.

If Michael Jordan had played basketball with this basketball and I said alright, I got a game basketball from Michael Jordan, how much are you willing to pay for it?

If you have any sense whatsoever, you'd be willing to pay more than $35 for it.

You would, you know, maybe I think $100 for it, but it'd be worth probably thousands of dollars just because he touched it because he had it in his hands.

You can do the same thing about a golf club in my hands, a golf club is worth probably less than it's valued at.

This is, uh, I'll tell you, when I worked for Aldi, you know, Aldi has those special purchases in the middle of I bought this entire set of golf clubs for $25.

Uh, they, they marked it down, they couldn't sell them, they marked it down, marked them down, so $25.

This isn't worth very much at all.

 I could take this and I could play golf for the rest of my life and I'm not gonna make it more valuable and I'm not gonna gain any value from it.

On the other hand, guys like Tiger Woods, they could take a golf club and they can turn it into a lot of money.

Does that make sense?

So if your eternal destiny rested on who held you.

Would you wanna put yourself in your own hands or would you wanna put yourself in Herb's hands?

Neither, right?

Would you wanna put yourself in your hands or God's hands?

It's, it's just a no brainer, but so many times in our life we decide I wanna live and direct my own life.

Or I want to let other people influence me and push me in directions that I don't really feel comfortable in and that's not the direction God wants me to be in.

So I have one more example for you.

I wanted to make this more personal and more practical application for our particular group.

I  challenged Jared to a drawing contest, right?

Herb's just catching on.  We both drew a picture that symbolizes living in God's hands and the point of the picture long term is going to be you can take the picture, whichever one you choose.

I didn't make any copies of mine.

I made copies of Jared's just to let you know,  and you can put a pic, your, your kids' picture in there if you want to, to symbolize that they live in God's hands.

You could put your whole family's picture in there to symbolize we as a family live in God's hands and sort of post it somewhere in the house or refrigerator or mirror whatever where it's just a visual reminder, yeah, I'm in God's hands.

I'm in God's hands so hit the button so we can see my drawing that's my drawing.

Herbs laughing.

Alright, alright, that's not that bad, you know, that's not terrible.

So you have, I, I, I look, I had AI give me an image and so I just, I didn't trace it.

I just looked at the image and drew something of this nature, and they were laughing at me a little bit about this, the, the, the one hand it looks like my fingers are crossed and if you notice one hand there's this huge thb and on the other hand it's just a really skinny thb.

I am not an artist took me an hour to do that.

Uh, so let's go ahead and hit the button to get yours.

Oh wow, right.

And and I want to make this point If you had given me unlimited time and unlimited resources, you were to say Dwayne, you have 133 hours this week to draw even a better picture, color picture, whatever.

Mine's not gonna get any better, right?

And if you gave Jared and, and you've seen some of the stuff these days, you've given him, you give him an entire week, 40 hours, so's, I mean, it's gonna be even so much better than what he was able to do in 1 hour.

So at the end we'll, we'll come back to this and this idea of living in God's hands.

So what we're gonna do, we're gonna have 3 different points we're gonna talk about this morning.

The first is.

The hand of the Lord creates so if you're gonna be in someone's hands, it'd be better to be in the hands of the one who created you, and knows why he created you.

He knows how to use you to get the most out of you.

He knows how to protect you.

He knows how to give you security, so we're gonna look at God.

God, the hand of God creates, and then the hand of the Lord provides and protects, and then we're gonna do, you, you guys know I like to do this.

We're gonna look at some examples of the Bible, how some people trusted in themselves and where that got them and then when they decided to live in God's hands and do it God's way where that got them.

And so hopefully the lesson will be helpful and beneficial to you and some of the ideas that we talk about will stick to you with you and the thing that you can take home.

I made 50 copies of it.

We can make as many copies as you want if you want the digital format where you can take a digital picture and put it in there and print it out yourself, you're welcome to do that.

I will be glad to give that to you and thank you, Jared, for providing that for us and that great example of someone with talent and someone without talent and how the difference is.

But before we get into what the Bible actually says about God's hands, I wanna make sure I emphasize to you a couple things.

What I'm not trying to share with you what I'm not trying to teach and what the Bible does not teach.

It does not teach that living in the hands of God means we just wait and let God do everything.

Doesn't matter.

All we're just gonna, you know, just go wait for God to do this.

I don't have anything to do, whatever the case would be.

I'm gonna live in God's hands.

He's just gonna protect me.

I don't have to go to work.

I don't have to make a living.

I don't have to do all these other things.

It's just not what the Bible teaches.

No example of the Bible shows that the teaching of the Bible doesn't show that.

And I'm also wanna make sure that we don't we understand that living in God's hands, it not only doesn't mean that we don't have responsibility, it also.

It doesn't mean that we don't also help each other, right?

So we can live in God's hands with each other and we help each other along God's path.

So let's look at what the hands of the Lord has the power to do.

It has the power to create.

Psalm 19, most of these verses are in your outline.

You can follow along your outline, fill them in as you go.

Psalm 19 verse 1 says this.

The heavens declare the glory of God.

The skies proclaim the work of His hand.

Some sometimes I say handiwork, but I love the way the NIV says this.

The creation is the work of God's hands.

And Psalm 95, starting in verse 3, Psalm 133, starting in verse 3, the psalmist writes this, for the Lord is great.

The Lord is a great God.

And the great king above all gods in his hand are the deep places of the earth.

The heights are of the hills are also his.

The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Oh, come, let us worship and bow down.

Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.

So the deep places of the earth, they're in God's hands.

Isaiah talks about how the hand of God measures the entire world with just his span.

We know that the terminology and the creation account of creation creating man, what does it do?

The hand of God forms us.

It shows this intimate relationship with us and when we realize it is the hand of God that makes everything, including ourselves, our response is simple.

It is to worship the one who created everything.

bow down to him.

You're the Creator.

I trust you with my life because you created me.

You know what is best for me.

Isaiah 4812, there's also a similar passage to this in the book of Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 8, but Isaiah 48 says, Listen to me, oh Jacob and Israel, whom I have called.

I am he.

I am the first and I am the last.

My hand laid the foundation of the earth and my right hand spread out the heavens.

When I call to them, they stand forth together so God says his hand laid the foundation of the earth and his right hand spread out the heavens.

When something is handmade, it communicates an intimate connection between the creator and the created.

Now the Isaiah 64:8 passage is the one that's referenced in Jeremiah as well.

Look at Isaiah 64:8 says this, but now, oh Lord, you are our Father, we are the clay, and you are the potter, and all we are the work of your hands.

So not only has God made us, he continues to mold us and shape us.

Into vessels for his honor.

Every day he molds us, he changes us, he takes the life around us and the events of our life and he changes us now.

Think about this for a second if somebody.

Make something for you with their own hands, it has more value to you, doesn't it?

A couple of things about this our my father-in-law made our kitchen table.

How hard is it gonna be for us to depart with the kitchen table?

We don't, we're not gonna depart with the kitchen table, right?

We're probably gonna pass.

It's that it's very sturdy, made out of cherry wood.

It's gonna last us hopefully for a long, long time.

We ate dinner around it with our family who's here right now.

We play games around it with our family and so that's just special because he has a little plaque he put underneath it made by P Papa and so we know or made by Phil for Shelly, I think is how it's something like that.

He made Lauren a desk.

Uh, we had a friend back at, at, uh, in Colbus who was good.

She was here for a while.

She lived with us for a little while.

Her name was Sheena.

She worked at Disney for a while.

She made pillows and she made decks.

She'd paint made Christmas scenes on them.

She was an artist and she'd paint ppkins on them.

Now when it comes time to get rid of pillows, are we more likely to get rid of the pillows we bought at the store to make room or the pillows someone made us?

The store bought things, right, so it shows an intimacy.

So this person took the time, took the effort, and, and I hear that, you know, Rachel got some things last week on Sunday that people made her with their hands, including something that her mother made her and others took the time to make things with their own that is more valuable think about that.

That's the intimate relationship that God has with us.

I didn't just, you just weren't already created.

I decided to be your king or your God.

I made you, I formed you, I created you.

I have a vested interest in you.

And I love you.

So let's look at this, the second point here.

The hand of the Lord provides and protects.

Look at Psalm 138 and 133.

Psalm 138 and verse 7.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will revive me.

You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand will save me.

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.

Your mercy, oh Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake the works of your hand.

So the psalmist here is saying, I'm the work of your hand.

I'm important to you.

You took time to make me inform me and give me life.

I know I'm important to you.

Please don't forsake me.

David was confident that the Lord's hand would be against his enemies, while his right hand would save him.

And I think that energy is so important to us to have in our minds.

I'm living in the hand of God the hand of God is shielding me the hand of God is protecting me.

It's sort of making sure that my enemy can't get to me and it rewards me for trusting him and living in his hand.

In Daniels chapter 5, Belshazzar forgets to learn the lesson of what living in your own hand looks like.

He heard this story.

It was a story about his own father.

His own father was so arrogant.

He thought he could reign over his entire kingdom and he thought he did everything and God sent him a message.

I'm gonna show you that you're not as well equipped to lead things as you think you are because of you.

Cockiness and your arrogance, I'm gonna put you in a place where you're gonna eat grass for a while, and that happens he comes to his senses, God gives him his kingdom back.

And he heard that story.

Daniel says you heard, , you heard this.

You knew that this happened to your father and yet you have failed to live by what you should have learned from your father and I just wanna read there at the very end of that passage that I have in your outline at the very end it says.

You have drunk wine from them talking about the things that they have stolen.

You have praised the god of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know.

so let's stop there for a second.

So you've been worshiping and putting your confidence in gods of gold and silver and bronze and wood, they don't even, they don't even real.

There's nothing there and look how he finishes off, and the God who holds your breath.

In his hand and owns all your ways you have not glorified.

So Belshazzar did not learn the important lessons from the story of his father that is recorded in Daniel's chapter 250, and I. Want to encourage us and warn us.

That we also Can know the stories.

And be able to tell the stories.

But not learn the lessons from the stories, and we have to make sure that we learn the lessons that we should put ourselves in God's hands and live in his hands regularly.

And I think this is a very important point.

As a result of not living in God's hands.

Oftentimes we don't live up to our God given potential.

Let's go back to our illustrations here.

If you were a basketball and you just weren't some inanimate inanimate object you actually could think.

And you were given a choice.

Michael Jordan and I are both looking at the basketballs on the shelf.

You can go way back to early 240s if you want, when I was 250 and he was whatever the age he was.

Who would you want to pick you?

Who would you want to buy you?

Who would you want to be in his hands?

Who would get the most out of you?

Michael Jordan or me?

Michael Jordan, right?

If you were a pencil and the only thing you could be used for is art, you would wanna be a pencil in Jared's house, not my house.

And yet how silly are we to think.

I wanna make my own decisions.

I wanna run my own life because surely I can do it better than God.

You can't You can't get as much out of yourself as God can get out of you.

And other people can't get as much out of you as God can get out of you.

In his hands he can take how how valuable what can a pencil do without a guy like Jared?

Nothing Right, you can just sit there.

I can't do anything.

What can we do without being in God's hands?

Or worse, right?

nothing or worse, we're not gonna anywhere end up being as useful to God and is useful to one another if we are putting ourselves in our own hands or we're putting ourselves in other people's hands.

Here's some examples I wanna talk about Exodus chapter 25.

Remember Moses, he's 213 years old.

Moses thinks it's time.

I am going to save God's people.

I'm gonna take it upon myself and with my own hands if I have to kill a man, I will.

I am going to rescue God's people.

Exodus 213:143 says this Now it came to pass in those days when Moses was grown that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren, and he looked this way and that way and when he saw no one he killed the Egyptian and he hit him in the sand.

And when he went out the 214nd day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, Why are you striking your companion?

Then he said, Who made you a prince and a judge over us?

Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?

So Moses feared and said, Surely the thing is known.

When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses, but Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.

So when Moses took matters into his own hands.

He became a fugitive who Pharaoh sought to kill.

Now most of us probably aren't fugitives.

And no one's trying to kill us.

That when we take matters into our own hands.

And we learned this with getting a little bit right at the end they wanted to do have something and have some things to build something, make something maybe as a reminder for what he did.

He ended up in a bad situation and his family suffered it as a result.

Look at chapter 2500 in Exodus verse 2000.

Now, therefore, behold the cry of the children of Israel come to me now this is 40 years later.

And I've also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them.

Come now, therefore, I will send you to Pharaoh.

You may bring my people out, the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

So Moses offered a bunch of excuses.

Why he did not want to be in God's hands.

You know that sounds that that's really what he did, right?

I don't want you to use me for this, God.

I wanna be used now to just tend some sheep.

I'm happy.

I have a wife, I have some sons.

I've gotten used to this.

I don't wanna go back there.

I don't wanna do it.

And the conversation goes back and forth offers excuse.

God's answer, offers excuses God, you know how that that conversation ends basically God says enough.

Did your parents ever say that to you?

They'd listen to you for a while and maybe you have some exchange and they would say something like that's enough, not another word.

Do what I tell you to do.

And that's basically what God told Moses.

That's enough.

I don't wanna hear from you anymore.

Do what I told you to do.

Nbers chapter 14.

So Moses has told the children of Israel that you have refused to be in God's hands.

You looked out at all the adversity out there when you spied out the land and instead of trusting like David did that God was going to protect you from the enemies, he was gonna use his hand to protect you he was gonna use his hand to help you destroy your enemies instead of believing in him, you said no, we are not going to go.

Deuteronomy 14:39.

Then Moses told him all these words, all the children of vision the people mourned greatly, and they rose early in the morning and they went up to the top of the mountain saying, Here we are, we're ready to be used now by you, God, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned, and Moses said, Now why do you transgress the command of the Lord, for this will not succeed.

Do not go up, lest you will be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you.

The Lord is not with this.

You're not in the Lord's hands right now.

The Lord is not gonna use his hand to help you with your enemies.

And you will be destroyed and they had a they went up anyway they said all right we don't care about what you guys said we're gonna do our way we're gonna go up we're gonna fight and they lost.

The children of Israel took matters into their own hands and tried to take the promised land without God.

Now if I had said that what happened if I if we just from a.

Intellectual standpoint.

If I tell you Are you better off in God's hands or not?

You're gonna know the answer to that.

But how many times have you found yourself making a mess of something because you tried it your way.

Or you've realized that's not what God wants for me and that's not how God wants to use me and you've sort of forced an issue and it's been painful it's been not helpful and we have to make sure that we're.

Letting God use us.

Look at Deuteronomy 26 and verse 6.

It says, but the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us.

Then we cried out to the Lord of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression.

So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm arm with great terror and with signs and wonders.

He has brought us to this place and has given us the land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and now behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which you, our Lord, have given me.

Here's the here's a point that I think is very important to us.

Moses's life was a journey where he learned the importance of trusting in God's mighty hand.

Just curious.

You don't have to say you're old or you don't have to admit being old, but how many of you through the years.

Have finally come to the conclusion or you're growing, you've grown to the point where you realize you're only useful in God's hands and you're, you've grown that you, you know it better now than you did when you were 5003.

How many of you know it better now than you did when you were 20?

Go ahead and raise your hand, right, how many of you know it better now than you did when you were 30?

Know it better now than you knew when you were 40.

50, you're not 40 or 50.

Here's the, here's the thing, how many of you think what you will know that better?

5 years from now, then you know it today.

And being in God's hands, he's patient with us, right?

He doesn't look down and say what are you doing?

smash like just trust me, trust me, trust me, and that's what we need to do.

The rich young fool trusted in himself or the rich fool trusted in himself, I will build bigger barns.

Right, and Bobby made a point in class today, we have to give God credit for anything that we have in this life and not take credit for that that I, I, I've got trusting God to provide for me and this is what God has provided for me.

He didn't do that and the rich young ruler trusted in his riches.

Instead of trusting in God.

In First Samuel chapter 13, we have another example.

What did Saul do?

Saul, I'm not gonna read that that that passage there.

I'm just gonna give you the answer to that.

Saul took matters in his own hands.

And offered sacrifices that he had no right to offer.

What did you get sick of doing?

Waiting on Samuel, but who's he really waiting on?

He's waiting on God.

I'm sick of waiting on God.

I'm a man of action.

And God isn't acting fast enough, so I'm gonna take matters in my own hands and I'm gonna do what I think I should be doing even if it's something that God told me not to do and that is something that we really have to be careful of.

First Samuel 13:13 to 14.

Samuel said to Saul, you have done foolishly.

You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you.

For now, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel.

But now your kingdom shall not continue.

The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over his people because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.

As a result of taking matters into his own hands, God took the kingdom out of his hands and gave it to a man after his own heart.

Think about this for a second in our analogy.

God looked at Saul and said Saul, you're not living in my hands.

I can't go on with like this in my my people, so what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna take the kingdom away from you and give it to someone who's willing to live in my hands.

You read through the Psalms, are you gonna see that David is a man who trusted in God and said, I will live in your hands, God.

I trust you to protect me.

You're my rock, you're my shield.

You're the hand that can help me out of this.

So that's what he's doing.

And so the heart then determines whose hands we live in our hands or the hands of someone else.

AA, another example.

When he was faced with the Ethiopians, he trusted God.

And he makes this great statement, God, you can deliver with, you know, a small army a large army doesn't matter to you.

And God helped him.

He had 500,000 beat a million.

Later on in his life He doesn't trust God.

He doesn't trust himself.

He trusts the Syrians And God says, why would you do that?

Why would you do that?

Don't you remember when you trusted me and you lived in my hands, how great things were?

I helped you defeat a big army.

Now you're trusting in the Syrians and if you would have trusted me, I would have given you the Syrians into your hands too.

I would let you beat the Syrians.

You would not only have beaten the the Israel because he was from Judah, you would have beaten and destroyed Syria, the Syrians.

So when Asa trusted in others, he enjoyed temporary peace but long term war.

Uh, so I was trying to get.

A uh Picture for this, an image for this.

I did this last week.

I didn't draw a line this time.

This is where I'm gonna draw the line.

And what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna ask you to dig deeper into this text, read the rest of these verses, fill the blanks and your own time.

This is, this is your first practical application.

And the answers will be in the word search.

All right?

The word search are the answers to the blanks.

So when you go home with your kids, say right what does it look like to be in God's hands look at some of these other verses so you can sit around the table and you can answer these questions on your own so.

We wanna provide you with good information, but we also wanna give you tools to keep going after you leave here so this is sort of my attempt to give you some time so you can read all these other verses that I have here and fill in the blanks on your own and if you get stped you can.

Call Diane because I've given all the answers to Diane.

Diane has a whole bunch of the, uh, Emory has one too, so Emory, you can talk Emory, you can call Diane.

They have all the answers.

Let's go to the practical application.

Think about this for evaluate yourself.

Are you a person that tends to want to control your own life and your own destiny?

Take the bull by the horns, hey, I can do this.

Take a second and if that's you.

You have a temptation, you have a bent.

You have a personality.

That might be.

Subject to not being in God's hands.

If that's you think about it for a second.

How are you living?

Are you living in your own hands?

Are you living in God's hands?

That's not me.

OK, I fit in the other category.

I sort of Allow other people to sort of guide me into the past sometimes where they think I could be more useful and more effective.

I gotta stop that.

And I gotta live in God's hands and trust God to use me how he can use me to get the greatest amount of use out of me.

What every person.

And every group of the Lord's people must ask themselves, am I living in the Lord's hands or my own hands or other people's hands?

Is this church And I believe it is.

This is an a kind of is this church truly a church of Christ, a church that belongs to Jesus?

Are we living in His hands?

Are we trusting Him as a collective group?

And so I have the other thing, a practical application I wanna leave with you.

I do have some of Jared's pictures back there.

You can take one of JR's pictures with your kids take put their picture in there, put a family picture in there.

And you can say we live in God's hands.

Those are those great moments in the Bible, right?

Choose this day whom you will serve.

but me and my family, we're gonna serve the Lord.

How long will you falter between two opinions?

If God is God, serve him.

If Baal is God, serve him.

I have set before you blessings and curses, life and death, choose life.

And so I want you, we all want you to live in the hands of the one whose hands was nailed to the cross.

That's the only place where you'd be forgiven.

You can't forgive yourself.

I can't forgive your sins.

You can't do enough to do it.

It's only God through the blood of Jesus Christ and if you need to be forgiven of your sins by having them washed away in baptism or if you're not living a good life, you've been living in your own hands, you've been pressured by other people to do things that maybe you shouldn't be doing in a a course of action that you shouldn't take, stop it.

Commit right now whether publicly or privately to live in the hands of God as we stand in the same.

Series: Joshua and Judges

Service: Adult Class

Type: Bible Class

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy

Series: N/A

Service: Praise and Preaching Service

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy

The central praise of this message is simple yet powerful: Praise God for always coming through for His people. The sermon walks us through the dramatic, inspiring, and divinely orchestrated story of Esther, showing how God's providence and faithfulness shine even in the darkest circumstances.

The sermon begins by introducing King Xerxes (also known as Ahasuerus), ruler of the Persian Empire about 500 years before Christ. A proud and wealthy monarch, Xerxes hosted an extravagant six-month feast to showcase his riches and power, followed by a seven-day public feast for all people in the capital, regardless of status. The lavish event featured gold tableware, unique golden cups, and flowing wine.

At the climax of his pride, Xerxes summoned Queen Vashti to appear before the crowd to display her beauty. She refused. This unprecedented act of defiance led to her removal as queen. The advisors feared this act would empower other women to disobey their husbands, so they urged the king to set an example.

After some time, Xerxes realized he needed a new queen. His advisors proposed a kingdom-wide search for the most beautiful unmarried women to be brought to the palace. There, each woman would undergo a year-long beautification process before meeting the king. Esther, a Jewish orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai, was among the women chosen.

Esther quickly gained favor with Hegai, the man overseeing the women. He gave her special treatment, including extra beauty preparations and attendants. When her time came to meet the king, she took only what Hegai advised. The king was smitten and crowned her queen.

Though now queen, Esther kept her Jewish identity secret, obeying Mordecai's earlier instruction. This obedience highlights a key theme: Esther’s beauty was not just outward—it reflected a heart that was humble, wise, and obedient.

Mordecai, who served in the king’s gate (indicating some level of royal appointment), overheard a plot by two guards to assassinate the king. He informed Esther, who told the king, and the men were executed. This event was recorded in the royal chronicles but went unrewarded—yet another moment of divine timing preparing for later.

Meanwhile, Haman, a proud and powerful official, rose to become second in command. The king commanded all to bow before Haman, but Mordecai refused. Haman, furious, not only wanted Mordecai dead but sought to annihilate the entire Jewish population. He convinced the king to issue a decree authorizing the slaughter of all Jews on the 13th day of the 12th month, offering the king 10,000 talents of silver to fund it.

When Mordecai learned of the decree, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and mourned publicly. Esther, learning of this, sent clothes to him, but he refused them. Through a messenger, Mordecai urged Esther to plead with the king, warning her that she would not escape the fate of her people and that perhaps she had come to the throne “for such a time as this.”

Esther agreed to help—but only after calling for a three-day fast. She and her attendants, along with Mordecai and the Jews in the capital, would eat or drink nothing for three days. Esther’s boldness begins here. She resolved: “If I perish, I perish.”

After the fast, Esther donned her royal garments—possibly the very ones she might die in—and entered the king’s presence uninvited, risking her life. By law, approaching the king without summons could mean death unless he extended his golden scepter. Mercifully, the king welcomed her warmly.

Rather than immediately state her request, Esther invited the king and Haman to a banquet. At the end of the feast, the king again asked what she desired. She requested their presence at another banquet the next day. Esther wisely built suspense, earning more favor while preparing for her bold revelation.

That night, Haman boasted to his family and friends about his status, wealth, sons, and exclusive invitation from the queen. Yet he admitted he couldn’t enjoy any of it because of Mordecai’s refusal to bow. His family suggested building a 75-foot pole to impale Mordecai. Haman eagerly prepared to request the king’s approval the next day.

Meanwhile, the king couldn’t sleep. He had the royal chronicles read aloud and was reminded that Mordecai had saved his life—but had received no reward. Just then, Haman entered to ask for Mordecai’s death.

Before Haman could speak, the king asked, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” Thinking the king meant him, Haman proposed elaborate honors: dressing the man in royal robes, placing him on the king’s horse, and parading him through the city.

The king then ordered Haman to do exactly that—for Mordecai. The irony is striking: the very man Haman sought to kill was now being honored, and Haman himself had to announce Mordecai’s greatness.

Utterly humiliated, Haman returned home in despair. His family ominously warned: “If Mordecai is Jewish, you are doomed.” Before he could respond, officials arrived to escort him to Esther’s second banquet.

At the second banquet, the king again asked Esther what she wanted. She revealed her identity and begged for her life and the lives of her people. She explained that her people had been sold for destruction. Shocked, the king asked who would do such a thing. Esther pointed directly at Haman.

The king, enraged, left the room. Haman, terrified, pleaded with Esther for his life. When the king returned and saw Haman close to Esther, he accused him of assaulting the queen. One of the king’s attendants mentioned the execution pole at Haman’s house. The king ordered Haman to be impaled on it—on the very pole he had built for Mordecai.

The king gave Haman’s estate to Esther and elevated Mordecai, giving him the signet ring once worn by Haman. Esther then pleaded for her people, as the original decree to destroy the Jews was still active. The king allowed Mordecai and Esther to write a counter-decree: on the 13th day of the 12th month, the Jews were permitted to defend themselves and destroy their enemies.

When that day arrived, the Jews fought back and prevailed. In the capital alone, 500 enemies were killed, including Haman’s ten sons. Esther requested another day to continue the fight, and the king granted it. The ten sons of Haman were publicly impaled as a warning.

The result was overwhelming victory. Not only were the Jews preserved, but many Gentiles converted to Judaism in response to God’s evident favor.

1. God Always Comes Through – Even when He is not mentioned by name in the book of Esther, His hand is evident in every detail. From Esther’s rise to queen, to the king’s sleepless night, to the timing of every event—God is at work.

2. Inner Beauty Matters Most – Esther’s kindness, humility, and wisdom made her truly beautiful. Her inner character won favor with Hegai, the king, and ultimately God. The sermon emphasized the importance of cultivating spiritual beauty.

3. Obedience and Respect Bring Favor – Esther continued to respect and obey Mordecai even as queen, demonstrating the virtue of honoring parental guidance.

4. God Prepares Deliverance Before We Even Know We’re in Trouble – Long before the threat emerged, God had Esther positioned in the palace. God is always one step ahead.

5. We Must Cooperate with God’s Plans – Esther could have stayed silent, but she chose to act. God’s deliverance often involves our courage and participation.

6. God Exalts the Humble and Brings Down the Proud – Haman’s downfall and Mordecai’s elevation illustrate this timeless truth. Pride leads to destruction; humility leads to honor.

7. Moral Courage Sometimes Requires Disobeying Human Law – Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. Esther approached the king without permission. Both broke royal law for godly reasons—honoring God and saving lives.

8. Celebrate God’s Victories – The Jews established the feast of Purim to commemorate their deliverance. God’s blessings should be remembered, celebrated, and shared.

The story of Esther ends not with a political victory, but with a call to trust in the God who sits on the throne of heaven. Through Christ, we have access to that throne. His scepter is always extended to His people. We are invited to come boldly—not in fear, but in confidence—because of Jesus’ sacrifice. The invitation stands for all to come, be washed in His blood, and become sons and daughters of the King.

Complete Transcript

02-23-25-AM

I only have one praise statement for you this morning as we start out and it's simply this, praise God for always coming through for his people. God always comes through for his people and today we're going to talk about one of those times where God came through for his people. So we're going to take you 500 years or so before Christ was born and there was a man named Xerxes the Great and he was reigning over the Persian Empire and he decided to invite all the people from his kingdom, all the nobles, all the powerful people from all over his kingdom to come to the capital city where he lived so they could see just how wealthy he was.

As they came to the capital city he let them see how much gold he had, how much silver he had, and he had these incredible feasts every day so the people could understand just how awesome and rich this particular king was. And let's pause there just for a second because I got to tell you something. None of this is going to be in your outline for the very beginning.

I want you to do is just listen to me tell the story, then we're going to bring the outline out and come up with some lessons that we can learn from this incredible story that God has delivered to us. After all these noble people have come in and they've been so amazed by how wealthy he was and how much wonderful things he had, he decided to have a seven-day feast after this six-month feast. And the seventh day feast was designed for everybody who lived in the capital city.

It didn't matter if you were rich or if you were poor, you could come to this particular feast. It wasn't in the palace, it was outside. Everybody who lived in the capital city and was there at that particular time could come and they could eat the king's food for at least those seven days.

And they could drink the wine that the king had provided for them. And one of the most amazing things was they could drink it out of gold cups because all the dishes that the king had at this particular time were made of gold. And the cup that you drank out of was different from the cup that I drank out of because the king didn't have all this stuff made just in sort of an assembly line where everybody had the same.

Every single cup was different. They were drinking out of these gold cups and at the end of the seventh day feast, the king himself had partaken of some wine and he decided to brag a little bit. You think that my riches are amazing.

You think that I have a lot of gold and a lot of silver and I have a lot of jewels and all these clothing that I have in my kingdom. It's all fantastic and spectacular. But wait till you see my queen.

Because the queen was having her own feast with the ladies. And so I'm going to bring my king out here for all of you guys to look at because she is beautiful. And so he sends some people to go get the queen.

They go to the queen and they say, Queen, the king wants you. He wants to show you off to everybody else. And the queen refused to go.

I'm not going. The king didn't know what to do. He called all of his rulers together, all the lawyers that knew what the law stated about what you do if the king refuses, the queen refuses to obey the king.

It's never been done before. All they're thinking about this, all right, what are we going to do about this? And they tell the king, you know, this is more serious than just the queen refusing to do what you say. Because if the queen refuses to do what the king says, then all of our wives will refuse to do what we ask them to do.

This is a huge problem, king. You have to come down strong. You have to kick her out of being the queen.

She can no longer be the queen because the queen has to do what the king says. And so he decides to take the queen and take her away so she can no longer be the queen. At this particular moment, there is no queen.

And he's upset about this for a while, but eventually he realizes, you know what? I need a queen. I can't live without a queen. I have to have a queen.

And he calls all these same guys back together again and says, all right, I don't know how to go about becoming, you know, do I ask a girl out? What do I do? I don't know what to do. How does this go? It's been a long time since I've gone through this and said we got it covered, king. What we're going to do is we are going to go through your entire kingdom and we are going to find the prettiest girls out there who have never been married.

And we're going to bring them to the capital. You don't have to go to them. You don't have to ask them.

They're going to all come to you. They're all going to want to be the queen. And we're going to have them all living in the same house.

And we're going to prepare them for one year before you'll even see them. What we'll do for this year is we will give them all, they're all beautiful anyway, but we're going to give them extreme makeovers. We're going to allow them to have six months where we're going to make them look prettier and six months where we're just going to make them smell prettier.

They're going to have all these ointments applied to them. They're going to have all these fancy baths. They're going to have these massage oils that have different scents in them all over their entire bodies so that their smell is going to be all the way down through several layers of skin.

When they come to you, they're not only going to look good, they're going to be soft, and they are going to smell good. The king thought, man that sounds like a really good idea. It's a lot easier than going out and having to ask them out.

So you go ahead and do that. They get all these girls together in one house, and Esther, who was a Jewish girl who lived in the capital city, was chosen. She's one of many that have been chosen.

Now I think it's fair for us to at least notice this. This was reality television before there was television. Because all these ladies are living in the same house, and they're not competing for a rose to have a date with some guy that's a good-looking guy.

They're competing for a crown to be the queen of basically the entire world. I imagine there was probably a little thing, jealousy behind the scenes, and maybe some knives came out on occasion. And I'm sure the people that were in charge of this saw this.

Well one thing about Esther that stood out from the very beginning to the men in charge is that she was different. She was so well liked that the man in charge, Haggai was his name, he gave her six special attendants from the king's palace. He went to the king's palace and says, I want six women who can come and just take care of Esther.

And not only did Esther get her regular daily appointment of beauty treatments, she got extra. When the time came for these women to go to the king, they could take whatever they wanted to from the house, and they would go to try to impress the king so they could get that crown. They would be sitting on that throne one day, and they could have all this as their life.

Well when it came time for Esther to go, the man in charge just said, Esther, this is what you need to take with you. And she listened, and she took only what he told her to take. She went before the king, and the king was immediately smitten by her.

And see, if you weren't chosen, you go to the second house, and you could never be with another man, and you could only come back to the king if he calls you. So if you're not chosen, not only are you not the queen, but you're in the harem. You're just going to be part of his women that he can go to when he wants to, but doesn't have to go to him at all.

You can't go get married, go have your family, all that good stuff. Your life is sort of stuck in the second house. He chooses Esther to be his new queen, so now the king has a queen to sit on the throne and enjoy all the benefits of being the queen.

So now we know a couple of the characters in our story. We know the king, Xerxes the Great, and we know Esther, who is now the queen. But you have to know a couple other things about the people in this story.

First is Mordecai. Mordecai raised Esther, because Esther's mom and dad both died when she was young. Mordecai was a close relative and raised her as his own daughter.

And Mordecai, and maybe this sort of skipped us a little bit as we've heard this story in the past, Mordecai actually was probably an official in the king's court, because it says he goes into the inner gate of the king. And so he had influence and probably a minor role, an official title, as far as in the kingdom goes. And we'll see this come up a little bit later.

Because when they're assembling all the women together for a second time, he overhears something. There's two gatekeepers, and they're talking, you know what, this king, he's out of control, we don't like him, we want him dead. And so Mordecai overhears this, and he gets word to Esther.

Esther somehow gets word to the king, and they find out, is this true? Was there a plot to try to kill the king? And they find out it is true. And so those two gatekeepers are executed. Mordecai saves the king's life on that particular occasion.

Well, now we have to know who the villain is. The villain is a man named Haman. And after Esther has become queen, Haman has worked his way up the ranks of this kingdom to be the second most powerful person in the entire kingdom.

What Haman said went. He had a special ring that he could sort of, in the name of the king, say certain things, and those things had to happen. The king made a proclamation.

When Haman comes out, everybody's to bow down to him. So Haman, man, this is cocky, arrogant guy, everywhere he walks around, people are bowing down to him. Could you imagine how you would feel as you walk into this building, everybody just stopped what they were doing and got on their knees and bowed down to you? That's what happened to Haman.

So you can see, this was sort of going to his head, but there was one guy, Mordecai, that just refused to bow down to Haman. So that made Haman so mad. He would see this one man not bowing down to him, and really couldn't enjoy everybody else was showing them the proper respect.

He wanted Mordecai dead, and not only did he want Mordecai dead, he wanted more than that. He wanted all of his nation to be killed, all Jews to be killed. So he gets together with some people, and they cast lots.

What are we going to do? What are we going to have one day where all the Jews can be executed? Because I don't like Mordecai. I'm going to kill them all. And so they cast lots, and it turns out it's the 13th day of the 12th month.

And when this decree goes out to all the people, it is the 14th day of the first month. So it's the 14th day of the first month where this decree goes out on the 13th day of the 12th month. If you don't like Jews, you can just go kill them.

You can take all their stuff. It's okay. Now you imagine when this starts getting passed around, this decree starts going out, people are reading this, and Mordecai is one of the first to read it, because he's in the capital city.

And when he reads it, he tears his clothes, he puts on sackcloth, and he puts ashes on his head, and he can't go where he normally goes within the king's gate, because he has sackcloth on. So he has to stay outside the king's gate. Well word gets to Esther.

Hey, something's going on with Mordecai. He's mourning. He's in sackcloth, and he's not coming within the gate.

So Esther says, take him some clothes. Give him these fancier clothes. Tell him to get rid of his sackcloth.

And he refuses. And so Esther sends somebody down. Go find out why he's mourning.

Why is he doing this? This seems extreme to me. And so this official comes down to Mordecai, and Mordecai, this is another reason why he has to be some kind of a low-level official, he has a copy of the decree. And he knows exactly how much Haman has offered the king 10,000 talents of silver if he goes through with this.

And so he gives it to this man to take back to Esther. Tell her we need her to help us, because if she doesn't do something, we're all going to die on the 13th day of the last month of Adar. So the 13th day for us of December, we're all dead if she doesn't do something.

And so Esther hears about this, and she knows it is against the law to go before the king unless he asked you to go there. Now she knows what happened to the last queen that didn't do what the king wanted, and she'd probably be okay with that fate, but it could be that she would be executed for going there. And so she sends word back to Mordecai and says, I can't do this.

You know the law. It's against the law. Well, Mordecai sends word back to her saying, who knows whether or not if God has put you in this royal position for just an occasion as this.

And don't be confused, Esther. If you don't help the Lord, you're going to die too. Don't think just because no one knows you're a Jew right now that you're going to be able to survive this.

You will die. Your whole family will die, but God will make sure that he protects his people, because Mordecai knows God always comes through for his people. And so Esther gets all this information.

He's right. I gotta do something. And so she says, we're going to fast for three days.

No eating for three days, me and my attendants, and no drinking for three days. So we're not going to have water, juice, nothing for three days before I go before the king. And Mordecai, I want you to get your guys together, and I want you to do the same thing.

So for three days, she has to try to come up with some plan that will work to get the king's attention so the king doesn't have her executed. Because the law is this. If you go before the king without permission, and if he doesn't reach out his golden scepter to you, dead.

If he reaches out his scepter to you, and you come and touch it, you can live. So she's got to come up with this plan. So she's devising in her hand.

And because Esther's so likable, I'm sure she goes through with all these people who are helping her on a regular basis, now that she's queen especially. She has all these people helping her, and she comes up with a plan. So the morning of the third day, she's putting on her royal garments.

And I'm sure that these garments are just the most luxurious garments a woman could ever wear at the time. But these garments that she's putting on to go see the king are not only her royal garments, they could be the garments she's killed in. Think about that for a second.

So she goes before the king, and she's still in the outer court, but she's reached the point of no return, and he sees her. And when he sees her, a smile comes on his face, he takes that golden scepter, and he reaches it out to her. And she's got to be so relieved.

God is with me. God is going to come through first, people. This is step one.

She goes up to the golden scepter, she touches the golden scepter, and he goes, Esther, what do you want? Anything you want, up to half my kingdom, I'll give it to you. And she goes, what I want, king, is I want you and Haman to come to a special feast I've prepared for you. And the king's like, absolutely, we'll be there.

Where's Haman? Somebody go find Haman, because the two of us are going to this feast that my queen has prepared for us. And so they go get Haman, they bring Haman in, and there's this incredible feast that is there. And at the end of the feast, he asked again, Esther, I mean, this is unusual.

I mean, you took a lot of chances to have me this feast. I gave you the scepter, that's all great, but I just got to know, what is it that you want from me? And I promise you, I will give it up to half my kingdom. And she says, all I want right now, king, I've really found favor in your eyes.

What I want is I want you to come to a second feast, you and Haman, tomorrow. Okay, building the suspense here, dragging it out a little bit, getting him curious, what in the world is this that she wants? And so that night, Haman goes and meets with his family. Oh, my life is so good.

He calls all of his friends together, and he even does sort of what the king does. He starts telling his friends how much money he has. Oh, look at my retirement.

Oh, it's huge. I mean, I'll never spend this much money. I have gold, I have silver, I have ten sons.

Everything is going great for me. Couldn't go any better. As a matter of fact, I'll tell you how special I am, and how much, how great things are going for me.

Today, Esther had a feast, and I'll tell you the invitation list. The invitation list is Xerxes the Great, and the only other person on that list is Haman. Maybe I should say the great.

And that's not only all there is to it, not only did I get to go to this feast, but I was invited back to a feast tomorrow. Tomorrow I get to go back to the feast, and it's the same guest list, just the king and me, Haman. I am, I am just, everything's going great for me, except one thing.

The thing that drives me crazy is Mordecai the Jew. He will not bow down to me, and so I can't even enjoy all this stuff because of that man. And so all of his friends and his wives say, I know what you could do.

Make a pole 75 feet high, and impale him on it. So this is what you should do tomorrow. Get up in the morning, go to the king, when you get to the king, say, hey, I want Mordecai killed.

The king's going to say, go kill him. You go back, you kill Mordecai, and then you go to the feast, the second day of the feast. Great, perfect plan, let's make it happen.

And so they make the 75 foot pole, some of our translations say gallows, but they didn't hang people like that, they impaled them back then, so it's probably a pole to impale them. Some of the newer translations will say a pole and to impale them. So Haman gets up, thinking, all right, here's what's going to happen.

One, kill Mordecai. Two, go to the feast. It's going to be a good day.

Get rid of my worst enemy. And so he goes, he's out in the courtyard, and the king says, who's out there? I say, Haman, bring him in here. And so he comes in to where the king is, and before he could open his mouth and say, I want Mordecai dead, the king says, hey Mordecai, see what has happened the night before while Haman is making that pole to impale Mordecai on? The king can't sleep.

And so they're reading his chronicles. The chronicles are just, you know, chronicling what has happened. And so as they're reading that chronicles, the night of the first feast, before the second feast, he reads about Mordecai.

And he says, what has happened to this Mordecai who saved my life? And they say, nothing has happened to him. And so when Haman comes to the door, he's going to say, I want Mordecai dead. What the king says is, hey Haman, I have a question for you.

If I want to honor a man, what should I do? Well, Haman's like, man, my life can't get any better, because who in the world would the king want to honor more than me? So now I get to pick out the way that I'm honored. And so he says, this is what I think you should do. I think you should take some of your royal garments that you have worn, dress them in these royal garments, take a horse that you have ridden on, put your crest right on that horse, so everybody knows this is the king's horse.

These are the king's garments. And then I want you to get your best advisor. Now, I don't know, just think about this for a second.

Haman's looking around at all these other guys in the room. Yeah, yeah, yeah. These guys are all going to know their place.

One of these guys is going to be walking me around on this horse. Pick your best advisor, and have him put this guy on the horse, and walk him around the city saying, this is the one the king chooses to honor, this is the one the king chooses to honor, and everybody will know that this man has done something wonderful, and he deserves your honor and your respect. And so the king says, do that for Mordecai.

Mordecai. And see, this is the way it is. He can't react that way.

He can't react the way that we all want to react, say, no way, this Mordecai's terrible. I just came in to ask you to kill Mordecai. He can't do any of that.

He has to say, yes, sir, right away, sir. And as he's leaving, the king yells out, don't leave anything out, do exactly like you said. And so he has to go out there, get this horse ready, put Mordecai up on this horse, and I know how I would want to do this.

I'd want to lead him around and say, this is what happens to the one the king decides to honor, you know, but he can't do that, right, because he's representing the king. He has to stand tall, and he has to say, this is what happens to the one the king chooses to honor. And if you see the irony of this situation, who is bowing down to whom at this point? He, in essence, is lower than Mordecai.

He's in an inferior position, showing respect to his terrible enemy. And so when this is all over, he can't wait for this to be over. He goes home, and he's basically crying, and his wife and his friends see this.

They say, when you left, everything was great, you were rich, you had ten sons, you know, you were invited to this feast, two feasts in a row, one of the rules happened. And he tells him exactly what happened with Mordecai, and this is the response, uh-oh, if Mordecai's a Jew, you're in serious trouble. He's going to rule over you, you're going to be suffering because of this.

And no one knew the nationality of Mordecai more than Haman, because the decree was all Jews were to be killed. As they're still speaking to him, the king's officials run in, and they say, the king's waiting for you, Esther has this feast ready. Now there's something you need to know about this, he has no idea Esther is a Jew, because Mordecai told her from the very beginning, don't tell anybody anything about your family or where you're from, don't tell him you're a Jew.

This is before she even becomes queen, so Haman has no idea she's a Jew. And so he's probably brushes himself up, makes himself look good, so all right, this is good to have good food, this is going to be good. He goes in, and they had this great feast, and the king asked Esther again, Esther, I just gotta know, all this, two feasts in a row, you took your life in your own hands, coming in without permission, without me calling, what is it that you want up to half my kingdom, I'll give it to you.

My people have been sold to die, so what I'm asking you for, king, I'm asking you for my life, I'm asking you for the life of my entire nation, and king, I know that you're powerful, and I know you're an important man, and if it was just the idea that we had been sold to become slaves, I wouldn't even bother, I would have let my entire nation become slaves, myself, I would have been included in that, but this is serious, somebody has sold us so that we're all going to die, and the king says, who in the world would do such a thing, this evil rotten scoundrel Haman, could you imagine Haman, I mean from two days ago, my life is the greatest it's ever been, I'm the most important person in the entire kingdom, I'm rich, I have kids, I have everything, and now the Queen points and says it's him, and the king is outraged, he's so frustrated and mad, this is his second guy in charge, and this shows another moment of courage for Esther, because when she does this, she knows Haman is his guy, who's he going to choose, and another detail that maybe we've overlooked in the years, when this comes up, it's been 30 days since she's seen the king, it's not like she sits on that throne every day next to him, he has not called for her in 30 days, if somebody doesn't talk to you in 30 days, what do you start playing in your mind, is that are they mad at me, and why isn't he calling me back, and so when she does all of this, she's taking a huge risk in all of this situation, so the king goes out of the room, comes back into the room, and he's laying, he's like has himself on her couch that she's reclining on, begging her for his life, please, please don't let the king kill me, and so as the king comes in, is he going to assault the queen in my presence as well, now one of those guys that was standing by, maybe the guy that Haman wanted to walk him around on the horse, says, you know king, there happens to be a 75-foot pole right outside Haman's house that he made last night to kill the very man that saved your life on, maybe we could make good use of that pole and kill Haman on it, and the king says, absolutely, let's do that, so Haman is impaled on the very pole that he made that stands 75 feet up in the air for everybody to see, and Mordecai is allowed to live, so Esther, what else can I do, well king, we still have this law that you passed, and you gave him the official document, the ring, he signed it, it is an official law, what are we going to do about this, he goes, he takes his ring off, gives it to Mordecai, you figure it out, they make another law saying on the 13th day of the 12th month when Haman made the law that all the Jews could be killed, well what we're going to say is the Jews can defend themselves and kill their enemies and take all their stuff, so when the 13th day of the 12th month came, the enemies of the Jews rose up against the Jews to kill them, and the Jews fought back, and the Jews won. As a matter of fact, in the capital city alone 500 people who hated the Jews were killed, included in that 500 people were the ten sons of Haman that he was bragging about. So it goes back to Esther, all right, Esther, 500 dead in the city, this city alone, the Jews have had complete victory, I've heard from all over the city, this great victory, Haman's ten sons have been killed, what next? And she goes, let's do it another day, let the Jews fight another day and wipe out all their enemies from your entire kingdom so there are no Jewish enemies left.

One of the interesting things was that because of what happened, there were more people who actually became Jews, they actually converted to Judaism because of what it was taking place. And then, and I don't know what the king thought about this, she goes, I want Haman's ten sons impaled, their dead bodies put on poles. Maybe she's not as sweet as I thought she was, it's a little vicious, okay my love, let it be done according to what you want.

So his sons, ten sons, are impaled on poles, have another day of fighting, Mordecai is given not only Haman's house, is elevated, now he's second in charge of the entire kingdom, he has the signet ring, he has all these great clothes that he wears, and he passes the law that on the 13th and 14th day of the last month, all of Israel is to send gifts to each other and celebrate the fact that God takes care of his people. God always takes care of his people. That's an amazing story, and I want to talk to you just for a few moments.

As you'll see in the outline, I have a few blanks to fill in, and then I have a whole bunch of stuff for you to think of at home, because I knew I wasn't going to be able to get to the story and all the points I want to make. So there's homework for you, just in the homework is just talk about the story, think about the story, think about all the wonderful things that happened as a result of this story. But a couple things I want you to understand about, we had a workshop on storytelling, and one of the things that we learned in that workshop is when we hear an engaging story, it causes our brain to produce three important chemicals, and they are dopamine, oxytocin, and cortisol.

They've done studies about this, and so when you hear one of these stories about God, it should produce these chemicals in your head as you're listening, and one of those chemicals is oxytocin. Oxytocin is a chemical that causes people to bond. Now what these stories are intended to do is to get us to bond with the character of the story, so we can look at Esther and say, you know what, Esther was an incredible person.

I feel a bond to Esther. I feel a bond to Mordecai. But most importantly, it's designed to help us bond to the God of the story, because God is the hero of all these stories, and when we hear these stories, we should say, that's an amazing story, and the reason it's an amazing story is because God is amazing, and we should really be focusing on how amazing God is.

If he was able to do that then, he's able to do that for us today. So the first thing I want to point out in Esther chapter 2 and verse 9, it says this, now the young woman pleased him. This is talking about Haggai, the guy in charge of all these young women, and she obtained his favor, so he readily gave beauty preparations to her besides her allowance.

Then seven choice maidservants were provided for her from the king's palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in the house of the women. And the point that I want you to understand, Esther's inner beauty far surpassed her outside beauty, her outward beauty, and that's an important part of the story. Was she beautiful on the outside? Absolutely she was, and after a year of beauty treatments, special beauty treatments, and living in the best place in the house with no stress at all.

Can you imagine if they just took rid of all your stress, how much better you'll look 12 months from now? No stress. I don't need the beauty, I don't need the massages every day, I don't need the fancy baths every day, I don't need the ointments every day, just no stress. She had no stress, and she had all this stuff going for her.

That's an important thing. So Shelly and I are going to provide the ladies only something special, all right? So this is a packet that has hand lotion, lip balm, and a face mask you can put on your face and all that good stuff. I threatened to do it last night, but I decided not to.

But in each card group here, there's cards from Proverbs 31. I want you to understand, it's okay to look and smoke. No guy I've ever met my entire life thought, you know what, I'm looking for a girl who smells bad.

That's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a girl who's rough, bad skin, smells bad, not looking for that, okay? So when it snows, she has no fear for her household, for all of them are clothed in scarlet. There's like 15 of these, you'll each get two of these in this packet.

The only thing I'm asking is grown-ups only, please. You can get them for your girls, but I don't want to have the responsibility if your girls are allergic to something and they put this stuff on their face and their face something bad happens. It's your responsibility.

Taking one of these says, I am NOT holding you or Shelly personally responsible. If I put any of this stuff on my face, if I put this on my lips and my lips fall off, it's not your fault, okay? Read the labels, do it accordingly, but I want you to know that she was beautiful on the inside as well as the outside, and that is what is most important. And the Bible talks about that all the way through.

Esther chapter 2 and verse 20, it says this, now Esther had not revealed her family and her people just as Mordecai had charged her, for Esther obeyed the command of Mordecai as when she was brought up by him. Here's something else that's very important. Young people who want to be beautiful and handsome on the inside should listen to and obey the instructions of their parents.

That was one thing that made her beautiful. She wasn't rebellious. Mordecai says, do this, and she did it.

When she was older, she didn't lose respect for Mordecai. She still did what he asked her to do, just like she did when he was bringing her up. If you want to be beautiful on the inside, you must do what your parents tell you to do.

In Esther 4 chapters 13 through 14, we learn a couple another amazing things. This is the key passage, and Mordecai told them to answer Esther, do you think in your heart that, do you think you will escape in the king's palace any more than any of the Jews? For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom at such a time as this.

God might have made Esther beautiful just for this one reason. God works behind the scenes preparing to deliver us before we even know we're in trouble. Isn't that amazing? There might be something waiting for you in two months, trouble, two years, trouble.

God knows about that, and God's already preparing the way for you to overcome that. I think that's helpful for me. I hope it's helpful for you as well.

God expects us, however, to cooperate with his plans. If Esther wasn't beautiful on the inside too, this wouldn't have happened. So I'm making you beautiful on the outside, the king's going to look at you, he's going to choose you, but only if you're beautiful on the inside, and so she was beautiful on the inside as well.

If you read chapter 6 and verse 11 and chapter 8 and verse 1, you're going to find this out. I appreciate the first song that Mike led for us. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.

Be humble. Mordecai was humble, Haman was not. Haman is the one that had to walk Mordecai on the horse, and all of this stuff was given to Mordecai.

And then Esther chapter 3 and verse 2, and Esther chapter 4 and verse 16, this is something I found very interesting. Both of these people disobeyed the law. Mordecai refused to bow, it was the king's command.

Esther went to the king even though it was against the law. It was against the law, she says that as she goes there, I think it's the ESV version, that she says, when she says, if I die, die, she goes, I'll go in even though I know it's against the law. Now there's a provision that the king could offer his scepter, but even if he does offer it, she broke the law to get into where she was, and this is what I want you to know from that.

It is important to obey the law of the land, however, it is more important to obey God's laws and to protect people's lives, and that's what's expected there. The other thing that I want you to notice from this, and all the other stuff I want you to do at home, contemplate, talk about it with your kids, talk about it with your family, talk about this story all week long, and the wonderful lessons we can learn from this story. But you know what, when this decree went out, it went out on the 14th day of the first month.

That should put alarm bells off in your head. What is the 14th day of the first month? It's when the Passover was to be celebrated, is when they were to kill the Passover lamb, the 14th day of the first month. If the Jews were celebrating the Passover appropriately, like they should have been, and this decree comes, it may not have the devastating effect that it had.

See, if I'm killing my Passover lamb, and this decree comes, I said, well God saved us in Egypt, He's going to save us here too. But if I'm not killing the Passover lamb on the 14th day, now when I get this, I'm like, oh no, we're doomed, and that was Mordecai's response and other people's response. So think about these incredible lessons.

Now I want to bring us back to thrones, not thrones on this earth, but thrones in heaven. God reigns on His throne in heaven today, and His Son reigns on the throne next to Him, at His right-hand side. And so the question becomes, do you want the God of heaven who is reigning on His throne and His Son, do you want to be on their side, or do you want to be on someone else's side? God has made provisions for you to be on His side.

He offered up His Son as a sacrifice for us, so that when we are washed in the blood of Jesus, when we're immersed in water, all of our sins are forgiven, and we're now adopted into His family, and we're His son, we're His daughter. And every single day, we can go to His throne with boldness, because He has offered us an open invitation. Come.

And that's the invitation to you today. Come to the one who sits on the throne in heaven, and His Son, and come in contact with His blood, and we can help you. We ask you to come as we stand and sing.

Series: Joshua and Judges

Service: Adult Class

Type: Bible Class

Speaker: Brian Messerli

Series: N/A

Service: Lord’s Supper Service

Type: Lord's Supper Talk

Speaker: Brian Messerli

Series: Joshua and Judges

Service: Wed Bible Study

Type: Bible Class

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy

Series: Joshua and Judges

Service: Sun Bible Study

Type: Bible Class

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy

Series: N/A

Service: Praise and Preaching Service

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Brian Messerli

Acts 1:8 - There are few things more frustrating in life than ALMOST reaching a goal, but falling short because you didn’t have enough.  When you’re a kid at Disney, you may look at Space Mountain and think, “I can handle that, I want to ride the big kid ride” but then when you step up to the height requirement stick which says 44 inches, you’re only 41.  Or maybe as an adult, you’re in the market for a new car, you’ve found one online you can afford, but when you go to the lot, you notice another car with way more bells and whistles, and you realize that’s the one you REALLY want, but alas…you simply don’t have enough to afford it.  It’s painful to fall short.  In fact, one of the most painful endings in all of sports was Super Bowl 34 between the Rams and Titans.  The score was 23-16 Rams, with 6 seconds left in the game.  The Titans have the ball with just 10 yards to go to make a touchdown to tie the game, send it into overtime and have a chance to win.

They snap the ball, the quarterback throws it to Dyson, his wide receiver, Dyson catches the ball at the 5 yard line, all he has to do is run 5 yards to score, but he gets wrapped up by Mike Jones on the defense, and he tries so hard to run but he falls forward, reaching out with the ball to cross the end zone…only to come up inches short.  Rams win, Titans lose.  It’s a brutally painful memory for Tennessee.

But as painful as all those situations are, what would be infinitely more painful would be for someone to come so close to having their soul saved by Jesus, yet only to come up short because what they did was not enough to be saved.

Now, it’s clear from our opening text here in Acts 1:8 that God WANTS all people to be saved!  Jesus intended for the good news of salvation to be shared first in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria, and then to the remotest parts of the earth!  Which means Jesus wants everyone to be saved, no matter who you are, what your religious background or ethnicity is, and no matter what society says about you!  This concept of salvation moving from Judea to Samaria is SO shocking, because Jews HATED Samaritans!  Remember when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4?  That was so surprising because, John writes, “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans,” and in Luke 9, James and John wanted Jesus to call down fire from heaven and DESTROY the Samaritans!  Yet the gospel of Jesus breaks down every social barrier and offers hope even to the most hated in society, to the point where it’s even offered to Gentiles in the remotest parts of the earth, who were even MORE hated by the Jews than Samaritans were!

Jesus has the power to penetrate any heart and save any soul, BUT there’s a catch.  We have to be saved on HIS terms.  And people come up short of being saved because they don’t accept His terms.  This morning, I want to give you an encouraging Bible story about a man who WAS saved and did NOT fall short because He obeyed Jesus’ terms.  And as we go along in this story, I want to point out that if he would have stopped short of following any one of those terms, it would not have been enough for him to be saved.  And with each point I make, the lesson will get more and more shocking and potentially offensive.

Acts 8:12 - Here we find Philip the evangelist, who was a Jew, but he’s in Samaria preaching the gospel to people Jews are supposed to hate, and even though the Samaritans are also supposed to hate Philip because he’s Jewish, they love the good news about Jesus, and people are responding in faith and coming to the Lord in baptism and everything is going great in Samaria!  But then…

Acts 8:26 - Now, if you’re Philip, this is a really strange request.  Things are going so well in Samaria, and he’s making a real difference there, yet this angel of God asks him to leave.  And he doesn’t say to leave and go to another populated city so that hundreds or thousands more people can be saved, he asks him to travel south from Samaria back down to Jerusalem which is 100 miles away, a pretty long trip without a car, and then to take this deserted road which wouldn’t have very many people on it at all.  So God moves him from huge crowds to an empty dirt road.  And if you’re Philip, you’ve got to be thinking, “What on earth is God’s plan here?  This doesn’t make any sense.”  Yet what we find is that God values the one just as much as he values the many.  God is certainly thrilled to have hundreds or thousands of people in Samaria coming to the Lord, but there’s one soul in particular right now on God’s heart, and He sends Philip to go find him.

Acts 8:27-31 - The soul on God’s mind was an Ethiopian man who served in the court of Queen Candace.  He was either an ethnic Jew living in Ethiopia, or he was a native Ethiopian who had converted to become Jewish, but he’s on his way back from Jerusalem in a chariot when the Holy Spirit told Philip to go join him.  Now, up to this point in v. 31, the Ethiopian’s soul has not been saved because Philip has not yet shared Jesus with him.  What that means is, there were 3 things so far about this Ethiopian man that were not enough to be saved.

1. Being a Good Person

• The fact that he served in the Queen’s court and was put in charge of the treasury for the whole nation speaks to his trustworthiness.  Here’s a man you can count on, he has proven himself to be a man of integrity who can be trusted to oversee funds without skimming money off the top for himself.
  • Do you remember Judas, who was put in charge of the money box for Jesus and the other disciples?
    • John 12:6b - You can tell a lot about a person by the way they take care of other people’s belongings.  And Judas’ mishandling of the treasury box was a reflection of his corrupted heart.
    • But for this Ethiopian man, he was a good and responsible steward for the Queen.  What’s more, he’s humble.  When Philip asks if he understands what he’s reading, he doesn’t say, “Of course I do, I’m a highly educated court official.”  No, he admits he doesn’t understand.  And for those you who were in the Isaiah class last quarter, you understand why he was having such a hard time, because it’s tough book, and we’ll see in a few minutes the particular chapter he was reading was debated among the Jews, and no one really knew for sure what it was talking about.  And he had the humility to admit, “I don’t know what it means and I need help.”  Why?  Because he was a good man.
• Yet that wasn’t enough to be saved.  If it were, God would have never sent Philip to him.  God could have said, “That’s a good man, I’m letting him into Heaven, so I can just let Philip stay in Samaria.”
  • This probably hits close to home for many of us, because we have friends and family members and neighbors who we would call “salt of the earth” kind of people.  They’re responsible at work, they’re good parents, they’re kind and helpful and do volunteer work and sometimes it seems like they’re more loving than Christians are.  But it’s NOT enough to be saved, and it won’t get them to Heaven.  Why?
    • Ecclesiastes 7:20 - When we say someone is a “good person,” we’re comparing them to other people.  But in the Bible, God is the standard for goodness.  Goodness in the Bible means morally perfect and sinless, and Jesus said “No one is good but God alone.”  When we see a good person, we’re seeing glimpses of God’s image in them shining through, but no matter how much of God we see in them, it’s always an imperfect reflection because even the best people have sinned against God, in their hearts, in their minds, with their mouths and their actions.  And even though we can’t see it, even the “good people” are walking around with a stain on their soul no amount of good deeds can ever remove.
      • Isaiah 64:5b-6 - This Ethiopian man was a good person, but like all humanity, his good works were not enough to be saved.

2.  Being Rich

• When we hear that he was reading Isaiah, that doesn’t surprise us because we all have Bibles.  But in the first century, it was incredibly rare for anyone to have their own private copy of Scripture.  Just owning this one Isaiah scroll would have costed between 1-3 years worth of salary for an average worker.  He was incredibly rich and held a very important position in his kingdom!
  • And in the first century world, the default assumption was, “If you’re rich, you MUST be right with God!”  Which is why what Jesus said to the rich young ruler was so astounding.
    • Matthew 19:23-25 - That’s SO radically different than anything they’ve ever heard!  Which is why their response was, “If rich people can’t be saved, then WHO CAN?”
    • And while we don’t have that same assumption about rich people today, I do think there’s a tendency for us to give an almost over-the-top respect and admiration to the rich, like we idolize them, especially celebrities.  If we’re not careful, we can wrongly view rich people as the best of the best in society, and equate social class with moral virtue.  This is why companies use celebrities so often in marketing campaigns because we think because these people are rich and famous, therefore we should trust them to tell us how to live.
      • We may even be intimidated to share the gospel with a rich person because we feel like they have better things to do than to speak to lowly peasants like us and we shouldn’t bother them with Jesus.
      • Philip may have been intimidated to speak to this Ethiopian man, especially because he would NOT have been traveling alone, he would have been traveling in a caravan, and I don’t picture this as some dingy little chariot held together by duct tape either.  It would have been clear to Philip that this was a very rich man, especially after he heard him reading Isaiah out loud, but Philip ran up to him anyway because he knew his riches were not enough to save him.  Philip knew as rich as he was, if he were to die before obeying Jesus, his soul would be lost forever.
        • Matthew 16:26a

3.  Being Jewish

• In the first century, the fact that being Jewish was not enough to be saved was the most shocking and offensive of all of Jesus’ teachings.  It’s why the Jews killed Jesus, it’s why they killed Stephen in Acts 7, it’s why Saul killed Christians, and why, after Saul was converted to Christianity, the Jews chased him from city to city trying to kill him!  If I stood up and made this point in the first century, I could be murdered for it!
  • Yet here we see the Ethiopian was Jewish, either by birth or conversion, yet it wasn’t enough to be saved.  If it were, God would not have needed to send Philip to him.
    • Matthew 8:11-12 - Now, here Jesus does say many Jews WILL be saved, starting with the first Jews, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and many others will join them in God’s perfected Heavenly kingdom.  BUT, in the very next verse, He says many Jews, or sons of the kingdom, will be cast into outer darkness!  This was the most politically incorrect thing Jesus could have said!  In modern lingo, this would would have been deemed hate speech!  But Jesus didn’t HATE the Jews; no, Jesus was a Jew Himself and He came to save the Jewish people first!
      • And Paul, who was ALSO Jewish, taught the same thing Jesus taught.
        • Romans 10:1-2 - Paul LOVES his fellow Jewish people, and wants so desperately for them to be saved, but many of them won’t be because they’re trying to be saved on their own terms!  They’re on fire for God and they have passion and zeal, but the problem is they think they can be saved without Jesus, and Paul says that proves they are without knowledge.
• And this hits close to home because some of you may have Jewish friends or coworkers and you see them wearing a yamaka or tassels on their clothes, they appeal to the Old Testament to prove that they are the chosen people of God, and they’re worshipping the one true God!  How in the world can they not be saved?  It’s because the one true God they’re worshipping says in the New Testament being Jewish is not enough to be saved.  They’re going to be like Dyson in Super Bowl 34, with arm outstretched toward the end zone, trying to get there through a Jesus-less Judaism, only to fall tragically short.

4.  Being Devoutly Religious

• Acts 8:32-35 - The Ethiopian man is VERY devout and spiritually minded!  It was 1,500 miles from Ethiopia to Jerusalem, which would have been over 1 month of travel time round trip, and then he’s reading Isaiah even though it’s hard to understand and instead of slamming the scroll shut in frustration because he doesn’t get it, he keeps trying.  Not to mention, it would have been especially challenging trying to read while your chariot is bouncing over rocks and divots in the road.  If I were him, I’d be getting carsick, but he’s doing his DBR anyway!
  • Yet it’s STILL not enough to be saved!  This may hit close to home because some of your Jewish friends may be VERY devout, and they’re keeping the Sabbath and going to synagogue services and reading Scripture on their lunch break and refusing to eat bacon (which is a HUGE sacrifice), and you’d think, “Surely if anyone can be saved, it would be them!”  Yet religious devotion and spiritual mindedness is NOT enough to be saved, even when it’s directed toward the one true God!  This is even more true if we have Muslim friends who faithfully attend their local Mosque and they stop 5 times a day to pray to Allah, or maybe we know people that aren’t really attached to any specific religion, but they view themselves as spiritual and in touch with the realm beyond, and maybe they get up every morning and appreciate nature and give thanks to the Universe.  I’m grateful for 12-step programs because they’ve helped a lot of people, but unfortunately those programs can become like a new religion, where you have brothers and sisters you meet with on a regular basis, you have certain rituals to go through, and you’re submitting to a “Higher Power,” however you define that power for yourself.
    • And you may know people who have made every meeting, who have overcome addictions, and even become sponsors to help others through the program, but all of that devotion, even with a spiritual and religious feel to it, is NOT enough to be saved.
      • John 14:6 - It doesn’t matter how devout or spiritual or religious we are, we cannot be saved without Jesus.  Which makes this next point even more shocking!

5.  Being Told about Jesus

• The Ethiopian man was reading from Isaiah 53, which is all about a suffering servant who would one day be lifted up and exalted as King.  It was written 700 years before Christ came, but in stunning detail it describes a man who would bear our sins upon Himself, and be punished on our behalf, which would lead to our healing.
  • This is a great passage to share with your Jewish friends and ask them who they think it’s talking about.  Jews in the first century thought it was describing the nation of Israel, and many Jews today still believe that.  But that interpretation doesn’t fit very well.  The servant in Isaiah 53 is pictured as sinless and suffering ON BEHALF of and interceding for the nation of Israel.  So you can see why the Ethiopian man was so confused about this.  He knew what Jewish rabbis were saying about it, but it wasn’t sitting well.  There were also some Jews who believed it was about the Savior or Messiah, but that was also confusing because how could their conquering, victorious king also suffer and die?
    • Philip knew this chapter was all about Jesus!  He’s the one who came to die for the sins of Israel and the whole world, to intercede for us and make peace between us and God by taking our punishment upon Himself on the cross.  Because of it, He is now exalted as King, and we can be healed and forgiven of all our sins!
      • BUT notice, telling the Ethiopian man about Jesus is not where this story ends!  Because that’s not enough to be saved!  Many people in the first century were told about Jesus, but they shrugged their shoulders and walked away because they didn’t believe it!  In fact…
        • Isaiah 53:1 - Isaiah recognized when most people hear about Jesus, they won’t believe it!  So it’s not enough to hear the gospel, it must be believed!
• This may hit close to home for some of us because we may know people we’ve shared the gospel with and told all about Jesus, yet it’s been years and they still don’t believe it!  And there are some people who, no matter how much evidence they hear about why they should believe the gospel message, they simply won’t believe.  There are others who watch Youtube videos and listen to podcasts about Christianity simply because they find it interesting, but if they don’t actually believe what they’re hearing about Jesus, it means they’re not saved, because being told about Jesus is not enough to save us.
  • Now, the good news is, the Ethiopian man DID believe, BUT what’s shocking to modern ears is that that’s yet another thing that’s not enough to be saved…

6.  Being a Believer in Jesus

• v. 36 - At this point, he believed what he heard from Isaiah and Philip about Jesus!  If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be so ready to take action and get baptized!  Yet belief wasn’t enough to save him!  If it were, they could have gone their separate ways rejoicing, but there’s no rejoicing yet in this story.  In fact, instead of rejoicing, there’s a sense of urgency.  You can tell the Ethiopian man is eager to be baptized as soon as possible and says, “Hey there’s some water right there, what prevents me from doing this right now?”  He knew believing in Jesus wasn’t enough to be saved…
  • And this is so offensive to modern ears because most people today who believe in Jesus say that’s enough to be saved, and that we don’t have to be baptized.  Yet Jesus said…
    • Mark 16:16 - Some will say, “Yea but in the second part of the verse Jesus doesn’t say, “He who is NOT baptized will be condemned.”  True, but He didn’t have to because if you don’t believe, you’re obviously not going to be baptized either.  It’s like saying, “He who gets in a car and drives away will be saved.  But he who doesn’t get in a car won’t be saved.”  I don’t have to say, “He who doesn’t get in a car and doesn’t drive away won’t be saved,” because if you don’t get in the car, you can’t drive away, so it’s implied.  And Peter said…
    • Acts 2:38, 41 - Notice they were immediately baptized upon hearing that baptism is the way to be forgiven of their sins.  They knew, “If we’re not baptized, we’re not forgiven.”  And when they get baptized, that’s when their souls are added to God’s church.  And in Paul’s conversion story, Ananias said this to him, also with great urgency…
    • Acts 22:16 - It amazes me that modern believers in Jesus will say, “Our church is having a baptism day in a few months, and any Christians who are already saved can come and get baptized as a way to publicly proclaim their salvation and commitment to Jesus.”  There’s no sense of urgency because they don’t think it’s necessary.  But Jesus and Peter, and the 3,000 who were baptized immediately after Peter told them to, and Paul and yes, the Ethiopian man all knew how urgent it was, and so the Ethiopian says, “Let’s hit the brakes on this chariot, and get baptized immediately!”
      • Acts 8:37-40 - Again, he absolutely believed in Jesus, and even confessed that belief, but believing in Jesus wasn’t enough to be saved.  It wasn’t until he acted on that belief by being fully immersed in water, and rising up out of that water that he could go on his way rejoicing because now he was saved!
        • I find it fascinating that Philip believed baptism was so crucial that he couldn’t preach Jesus without preaching baptism.  Did you notice in v. 35 it says Philip preached Jesus to him, but then immediately after in v. 36 the Ethiopian man wants to be baptized.  That’s because Philip believed baptism was an inseparable part of telling people about Jesus.  They go together hand in hand, because baptism is the way we gain access to the salvation Jesus came to bring.
          • Acts 8:12-13a
        • I also find it fascinating that those who would argue baptism isn’t necessary  for salvation typically raise a hypothetical and ask, “But what about people in the desert where there is no water?  Are you saying they can’t be saved?”  This story answers that question, and shows us God cares so much about people’s souls, that He will make a way for them to be baptized.  He will send them a Philip, and He will find them water even out in deserted places because God wants ALL to be saved.
          • This one may hit closest to home of all, because so many of our friends and neighbors and coworkers who claim to believe in Jesus have not been baptized, or if they have, it was for reasons completely different than the ones Jesus, and Peter, and Philip, and Paul gave for baptism.  Maybe God will have mercy on them for that, that’s His call in the end, but from what God tells us to do in His word, what they’ve done is not enough to be saved.  I know that’s offensive, but it’s what the Bible teaches, and it’s always offensive when the Bible challenges our long-held beliefs.  But when our beliefs and what the Bible says are in competition; we need to set our beliefs aside and submit to God’s word, or, like Dyson who was inches away from the end zone, we will find ourselves falling short of Heaven.

• So this morning, if you have not been saved, don’t become another tragic story of someone who almost reached their goal, but fell short.  Maybe you fit into several of these 6 categories.  If so, that’s great, there’s nothing wrong with any of these categories and it can even help you to be a good candidate for salvation, like the Ethiopian man was, but just know, being in these categories is not enough to be saved.  You’ve got to believe and be baptized to be saved, just like the Ethiopian Eunuch did.  We’d love nothing more than to see you go on your way rejoicing this morning in the salvation of the Lord, and the invitation is for you to order the chariot of your life to stop and be baptized right now.
  • But if you’ve already been baptized, and haven’t been living right, I need to add one more point to the sermon because not even baptism is enough to be saved in that case.  Baptism isn’t an automatic pass to Heaven so we can live however we want.  No, the Bible speaks of salvation in two senses.  1) Initially in baptism when our sins are washed away.  2) In the final day when we enter Heaven.  A salvation Peter says in 1 Peter 1:5 is “waiting to be revealed in the last day.”  After we’re baptized, Jesus said in Matthew 10:22, “He who endures to the end will be saved.”  So if you’ve been baptized, but you haven’t endured in faith and you’ve abandoned the Lord, that’s not enough to be saved either.  If we can help you make your life right this morning in any way by obeying Jesus on His terms, come forward and let us know now!

Series: N/A

Service: Lord’s Supper Service

Type: Lord's Supper Talk

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy