Beyond Sunday
Beyond Sunday is a podcast where we dive into what our Church is up to, what's happening in society, go deeper into topics from Sunday mornings, and hear leadership talks and coffee break theology from Pastor Greg Griffith. This is a podcast of King of Kings Church in Omaha & Fremont, Nebraska. Learn more at kingofkings.org.
Beyond Sunday
Game On — UNO
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Dina, Julie, and Kate continue the Game On series by connecting Uno with Esther’s courageous decision to step forward at the right moment. They explore what it looks like to choose faith over fear, trust God when the stakes are high, and respond with courage when He calls.
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Thanks for listening!
National Dog Day Icebreaker
SPEAKER_01Week and beyond Sunday. My name is Dina Newsome and it's Ladies' Day today. Tuesday Ladies' Day. Yeah. I have some exciting guests. Go ahead and say hello. Hi, Julie Easley. Hello, Kate Solberg. Thank you so much for being here. So I don't know if you guys know this, but today, actually tomorrow from when we're recording, when this drops, it's National Dog Day. So I have a two-part question for you. One, are you a dog lover or a dog hater? And two, who's your favorite cartoon dog and why? Maybe not dog hater. That's a bit strong. Are you a dog lover or maybe not so much a dog lover? And who's your favorite cartoon dog and why?
SPEAKER_03I would say I tend to be more dog neutral. We had a we had a mini dochshund for 13 years, and he was very sweet, and we enjoyed him. And my son has a dog, and we love him. So I and I like to see a dog on the street, but I'm not like completely dog obsessed. And the dog, the cartoon dog I like is Droopy Dog. Do you remember when he talked? We moved real slow. Do you know what I'm doing?
SPEAKER_00I'm so impressed. Who knew? That voice actor really easily right here.
SPEAKER_03That dates me, but Droopy Dog, let's just shout him out. We all feel Droopy on occasion.
SPEAKER_02Well, I've had two dogs. I've owned two dogs. Um, as a child, we had a dog, I want to say for three months before my parents were like, nope, not a fit. And um, I don't know what they were thinking. I mean, my parents are relatively very intelligent people, but um we didn't have a fence, like they didn't think it through, I don't think. And I mean, I'm a mom now, you get suckered into stuff all the time. But um, yeah, my dad, luckily, he found this farmer and was like, the dog's yours if you want it. And I remember my dad told me the farmer called me back. And as soon as he said who it was, this was pre-caller ID, you know. My dad was like, Oh, I'm so just gonna hang up on him. And but luckily he said right away, like, I just want to call into you how much we love this dog.
SPEAKER_03Oh, great.
SPEAKER_02So my dad was like, Oh, great, okay, goodbye, you know?
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_02But anyway, my I gave somehow I gave birth to a daughter who um is a major dog lover. And so sh I've bought her two dogs. I've been suckered into it twice. Um, our lab passed away in the fall, and this goes with your next question. Um, she named him at five years old. She named him Hunley after the lobby dog in Curious George. So Hunley is like he really gets annoyed with people when they mess up his lobby because he really likes to keep the lobby spick and span. And um, I had the opposite. My lab made a mess of everything. When you hear shedding dog, like you do not understand what that means until you own one and you have hair everywhere.
SPEAKER_03Oh, that's tough.
SPEAKER_02Every piece of furniture, on every baseboard, on your clothing. Like I luckily I loved him. So um now I just have one dog, Fletcher. He is relatively unintelligent, but I really love him a lot.
SPEAKER_01So um, you talk about shedding. Uh my daughter just moved last week and we moved her from one apartment to another, and she has a dog and she has a lab who sheds. He's a black lab. She lived in a very white apartment, and I was shocked at the amount of black hair all over the baseboards, all over the counter, all over the floor.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_01There's no stopping it. Yeah. I'd say I'm a dog lover. I don't feel the need to be a dog owner. I am a dog owner right now. Um, I also maybe got suckered into it a little bit. I don't know. I also had owned little dogs when I was growing up. Our family had little dogs, and I always wanted a big dog, like a guard dog, like one that, you know. And so we got a big dog like a month before COVID happened. And he was the best thing during COVID. It was amazing. Um, and now I find him annoying at times. Um, he is still a shedder. He's very, he's a very hairy dog. He's part Pyrenees, so the hair is everywhere. Yeah. Um, but I'd say I'm a dog lover. My favorite cartoon dog. Oh, this was a tough one for me. Uh a close second is Scooby-Doo. I'm a big Scooby-Doo fan, but I think it has to be Snoopy. And I love Snoopy because he communicates without words. Like, I love figuring out like and just his expressions and I just and his happy dance. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I love the Charlie Brown universe. Like, so maybe I'm impartial, but um, Snoopy's gotta be it for me. That's great. Yeah. Uh go ahead, let us know how you're celebrating National Dog Day.
Esther Enters The Game On Series
SPEAKER_01All right, so we are on week four of our game on series. This has been an exciting month as we're diving into the story of Esther. And um, I have to say, on on Ladies' Day, I have to say, I've really enjoyed this. I really, there are um so many, I don't want to say bigger Bible adventures, but you know, more related in public Bible um stories about men. And I like as a as a woman, I like hearing the ones about strong women in the Bible. And so um, I really enjoy Esther's story.
SPEAKER_03And the Bible does have a lot of good stories about strong women, they don't shy away from it, man.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I just feel like we don't hear about them as much in public.
SPEAKER_03Sure.
SPEAKER_01And not because they didn't happen. It's just, yeah, it's just different. I love the the game on booklets that we have with this message, the the graphic. Yes, it just makes me feel like she's a superhero sweeping in to save the day. I agree.
SPEAKER_03I love it too.
SPEAKER_01All right, so this week we are talking about the game Uno, and we're talking about the reversal that courage changes everything. Pastor Greg Griffith has taken us through this series. So, what are you guys taking beyond Sunday from this week's message?
Refusing To Match The Color
SPEAKER_03I I liked the um refuse to match the color. I think there's just so much pressure to conform to the world standards or even, you know, clearly, I know we talk beat this to death, but like social media can just be a huge area of like, oh, I'm falling behind, or I need to catch up in this way. And saying, you know what, living a simple life for the Lord is a way uh in which we can refuse to match the color and say, uh, those may be your priorities, but they're not gonna be mine. And and I'm choosing to do something different with my life, and how I'm pursuing the Lord and trying to make his priorities mine.
SPEAKER_02So um I yeah, there's so many things that are so impressive about Esther and just how I was when Greg, you know, was getting ready the very first sermon. I remember that week being like, Oh, I'm gonna brush up on Esther. I'm gonna read through it before he starts and um, you know, just familiarize myself. And it was one of those times I just woke up at 4 a.m. And then I laid awake and I was like, oh, I forgot how terrible it is when it starts. Just like the system that the king had in place, how he banished his first queen. And then he had, you know, this harem of women that he was trying out for the new position of queen. Like I was just like, okay, this stressed me out. Why did I read this? You know, I'm like, how Down with the patriarchy.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_02And I was like, how is Gigi gonna tackle this? This is gonna be a stressful cert series, you know. But then, you know, Esther doesn't throw a fit, you know, she doesn't like get out her protesting board and you know, this is terrible. You know, she just is not that, you know, she's accepting of the situation that she's been placed in. And that's the first point. Like, no, second point, whatever point. You gotta play the cartridge out. Maybe that's just how Gigi started off. You gotta play the cartridge out, which is like, are there tons of things wrong in this world? Yes, all over. And you can choose to pitch a fit and make a scene and stomp your foot and be angry and bitter, or you can be like, or what can I do today with the situation I've been placed in, with the tools God's equipped me with? And that's what Esther did. You know, she she she was a vessel for the Lord to work through to save an entire nation of people because she didn't pitch a fit.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So maybe that was a lot.
SPEAKER_03No, it's good.
SPEAKER_01It's great. Um, if you haven't watched this week's message, catch up. If you haven't watched the series, that's great. Um, I really liked when he talked about your wild card moment and recognizing your wildcard card moment. I um my family really enjoys playing Uno. And there's a lot of times where I'm like, ooh, I'm gonna hold on to that wild card. And nope, not yet, not yet. I want to wait. I want to wait. Um, and then sometimes I'm like, oh, that was my moment. It went by. And I just liked the way he talked about it. And um, it just made me think, okay, how can I look for those moments in my life? You know what I mean? What is my wildcard moment? And it doesn't have to be like the epitome and all someone's life is on the line, someone's salvation is on the line. It can be the little things too that, hey, this is my wildcard moment where I'm gonna play this. Yeah. Yeah. I liked that. All
Everyday Courage That Costs Something
SPEAKER_01right. What do you think it truly means to be courageous in today's world? And how can we cultivate this in our daily lives?
SPEAKER_02Well, um, one thing for me is many years ago I decided to stop telling people um I'm going to pray for them. And instead I say, Can I pray right now? Which I think takes a lot more courage. And um, because it's pretty pretty passive to say, Oh, I'm gonna be praying for you, which which is nice and kind, but to say, can I pray right now is way more courageous. And um no one's ever told me no. So I'm batting it's a pretty good record. Yeah, I'm batting a thousand. Um, and so and sometimes it takes people off guard in a good way because um you're willing to kind of pause your day and say, we're gonna go to the Lord together right now. Yeah. So I love that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I think kind of related to what I talked about before, just trying to go against the grain and say, I'm not paying attention to all of the voices that are telling me what I should be like or how I should be spending my time or money, and instead turning to the Lord and saying, What is it that you want from me? And then let the chips fall where they may.
SPEAKER_01Um, I put go beg or go home. That's what I wrote down for my notes of this. And I I think that's a thing people say a lot. And if you say that to one of my daughters, she will say, I I think people underestimate my my desire to go home. I'll go home.
SPEAKER_03It's a pretty nice place to be.
SPEAKER_01But I feel like that is kind of that's uh my idea of courage is stepping into something that seems scary where maybe you want to run away. Um, you know, it's it's that bravery in the face of fear. Um, and I think that can come in really big ways and really small ways too. Um, and I love your your example of just praying for people in the moment rather than saying, you know, can I pray for you? I will pray for you, you know, doing it in the moment. And it does take courage because you don't know how they're gonna react. But like you said, Bat in a thousand, that's gotta that speaks for something. Yeah.
Uno Strategy And Spirit-Led Timing
SPEAKER_01All right. How does the metaphor of playing a game like Uno relate to living courageously like Esther? Do you guys feel like you are brave Uno players? Do you like go big or go home?
SPEAKER_03I feel like you do. Like I'm more strategic. Like I'm gonna hold this draw four until this person says Uno and then I'm gonna slap it down on them and whatever. But you're right, it's risky. Sometimes sometimes that doesn't always work out. Um okay, say the question again.
SPEAKER_01Well, how does the metaphor of playing a game like Uno relate to living courageously like Esther?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think just thinking about what are the strategic opportunities the Lord's placing before you and where can you make the most difference? So I really don't feel like God called me to be an accountant, right? That's never been something he's asked me to do. He has asked me to do other things though, and how can I make the best use of my time and the best use of the gifts that he has given to me instead of being sad for what I'm not, being thankful for what I am, and then just praying for those moments when and asking the Holy Spirit, like, please deploy me where you see fit. And would you let me know? Make it clear, like now, right? Talk to this person, write a note to this person to encourage them. Um, share your faith walk with a person right now, invite your cleaning lady to church, you know, all of those kinds of things. So within the gifts that he's given me, within the let's let's talk about Uno, within the these are the cards I've been dealt. And now how do I play them with cooperation of the Holy Spirit to the kingdom's best advantage?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I think I've said it before on this podcast that I the dumb prayer I used to pray, where I'd ask the Lord to just shove me in the way he wants me to go because I was just convinced like I'd be playing my own game and I would miss it. I'd miss the promptings. And then as I walked with the Lord longer and longer, I felt like he revealed to me, like, that's not my character. I don't shove my children. And if you want to hear from me, then you're gonna need to come to me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, get closer.
SPEAKER_02Right. Get closer, um, get quieter, slow yourself down and and wait sometimes. You know, uh we we want it now, now, now, now, now fast, fast, fast. But that's not the rhythm of the Lord. Like, yes, there are some times where God will say, like, go talk, go ask this person how, you know, it happens quickly. But with other times, no, it doesn't. Yeah, yeah. It happens slowly over time. And as you study the word, as you study his character, as you learn more about his traits, then you're gonna know in the steps to take because you're taking time for him to mold you and teach you.
SPEAKER_03And you're becoming a more sensitive spirit. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Um, I really thought of this as Uno is like ever-changing. You know what I mean? You don't know what's coming around next. You can have a strategy of, oh, I'm gonna try to hold on to this card, but then it comes down to the choice of do I draw or do I play the card I already have? Or, you know, and I feel like it makes me think of Frozen, the song from Frozen, do the next right thing. I think is one of the songs. My granddaughter says that a lot. Um, where you can only, like you said, you've you're dealt this set of cards. This is what you've got to play with. Everything else is rapidly changing. And I felt like that's where Esther was too. You know what I mean? The things around her were changing, the influences that she had were changing, the opportunities. Um, and so she was just reacting in each moment. Okay, here's the next right thing. Okay, now here's the next right thing. And I think that that is is living courageously as looking at each step at what you can do in that moment. It may not be the long-term courage that you want or the big step that you want, but it's what is the next step that I can do.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And when she didn't know the next step, she said, We're gonna fast and pray. Yes. And she told her cousin, you know, fast and pray, fast and pray for me. And she did. She stopped eating, she's, you know, she went to the Lord and waited. Like, I'm in a predicament. I I need to know what to do next. And the Lord revealed it to her.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
Choosing The Uncommon When It Hurts
SPEAKER_01Mordecai was noted for being uncommon. Greg or Greg really commented on this on being common, that like Satan wants us to be common. Can you share a personal experience where you chose to be uncommon and how it impacted your life?
SPEAKER_03Okay, so this is a this is a blast to the past.
SPEAKER_01Uh-oh.
SPEAKER_03High school 1986. Um, our professor or teacher, our school history teacher walked out of the room while we were having an exam and a bunch of people pulled out cheat sheets and started going to town. And I remember meeting the teacher after class and saying, Look, I just wanted you to know this is what was going on. I don't think that everybody had the best learning experience. And I don't think this is probably the way you want your classroom to run. And um, one of the guys that was cheating, I somehow found out that I talked to the professor, and he basically accosted me at a locker and pinned me up against a wall and uh was ready to beat me up.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, so yeah, you want to hear you want to hear the crazy thing? A petite female. Wow. So impressive.
SPEAKER_03He was so big. Um, three years later, he asked me out on a date.
SPEAKER_02No way. Were you like, is this a joke?
SPEAKER_03I was like, uh no. No, thank you.
SPEAKER_02Hard pass.
SPEAKER_03No, thank you. Anyway, I know this, isn't that just anyway? Dang. Living in common can be a little dangerous sometimes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Wow. Well, along those lines, I almost got beat up as well. I got a beat up story almost too. I I was sticking up, mine goes further back than high school. Mine was middle school. And I remember my friend, she was getting picked on by this big girl. And um, I was like, hey, knock it off, leave her alone. And she's like, Oh, no one talks to me that way. You know, and she's like, I've got friends in high school, and I was like, Okay, you know, and I'll never forget the next day she had her high school friend come to the middle school, they were gonna take me out. And her high school friend was a lot smaller than her, and she's walking down the hall and she sees me. Sure enough, from Tuesday night dance class, we knew each other. She's like, I don't want to beat up my dance friend. Oh, that's Katie. Katie, keep your mouth shut. And she like turned around and walked away. But I was like, Oh, wow, this isn't this took an interesting turn. Yes. But yeah, it yeah, it's in you to like stick up for the right thing and the little guy, like, you know, and that's uncommon.
SPEAKER_01That's often uncommon. Um, what I thought of in this is really my parenting. So um, my kids, I have two daughters that are just a year apart, and then there's nine years until my son was born. And that nine years, a lot of like when my daughters went through middle school, high school, and I feel like that's your harder test of parenting. Not to say that the young years aren't difficult and stressful and uh, you know, pull you in a lot of ways. But when they're little enough, you can still physically move them. That's a different story.
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_01But um a lot changed in my life, in their lives, and I feel culturally in those nine years. And um, I changed the way I parented. And it was funny to me because a lot of the things that I learned, I learned from conversations with my daughters once they got older about what they felt. Um, I was a fairly strict parent. I had really high standards. I um had high expectations for them. Um, their father and I kind of were on the same page with what their boundaries and guardrails were. And that was kind of it. I mean, there were no exceptions. And what I learned later was how that made them somewhat fearful of messing up and not being able to come to us when things like that happened, um, or just scared of us as a parent, scared of when they would make mistakes, what that would mean. And I didn't like that. I didn't like how that felt. And so I parented different with my son. And I was much more laid back. I was not as strict, I yelled much less. And the funny thing was, my friends um at first would tease me about it, but who I got the most flack from. Was my daughter's that you're going so easy on him. He has it so easy.
SPEAKER_03Every every older son of siblings does that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Even if it's not that bad. Right. But this was like there were a lot of things that changed. His rules were changed. Plus, at the time that he was in high school, I was a single parent household and it was not, we were not married any longer.
SPEAKER_03So you're 10 years older and freaking tired.
SPEAKER_01That's what I was going to say. And you're tired. I'm not going to have that fight anymore. But I just felt like it was, I felt like it was hard for me to explain to them why I was parenting different when the bulk of what I had learned about how to parent differently was from them. Yes. I feel like you created this. Yeah. But it was very much of um, okay, I'm dealing with the cards I'm dealt right now and the knowledge I have right now. And when you know better, you do better. Yep. And so I'm trying something different because I don't like what you said about how the first round went.
SPEAKER_03Yep. And he gets the benefit of it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I hope so. I hope so. You know, we'll see as he continues to grow what he tells me.
SPEAKER_02I love when I love when my children critique my parenting. I'm just like so rich, isn't it? Well, you know, maybe come back when you have your own children and discuss this.
SPEAKER_03Women teenagers.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for the comments, though. I can remember my dad many times saying, We'll talk when your kids are teenagers. Right.
SPEAKER_00For sure.
Leading With Wisdom And Prayer
SPEAKER_01Um, all right. So the choice between being a manager who does things right and a leader who does the right thing was talked about by Greg in this message. Can you think of a time when doing the right thing was more important than just doing things right? I feel like the example that he gave when he was kind of talking about this was the employee that he had let go, um, where, you know, the performance was down and he didn't take the time to find out what was going on behind the scenes. Um, and would that have changed the long term? Who knows? You know what I mean? But um that was uh something that he brought up.
SPEAKER_02Um I feel like the longer or the older I get, the more I'm like if I if I need to bend the rules, I'm gonna bend the rules to to help someone or benefit them, like you know, so I don't know if that's what you mean when you say, you know, do the right thing. Um you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Managing wisely and leading wisely are extremely tricky, and you need a lot of guidance from the Holy Spirit. I think one of the most helpful things for me as a manager going into conversations is praying beforehand, acknowledging the Holy Spirit, you're here in this moment, and then just praying during the conversation. Would you please enlighten my mind as to what's needed most in this situation? Because sometimes, and right, and and sometimes it's very helpful to see a person as an individual and and treat them with maybe unique or special care. But sometimes it's important to remember that you're overseeing a large group of people and having consistency is helpful to keep good feelings across the board. And so there's not always a cut and dry answer, and so seeking out the Lord in the middle of those conversations is just always my go-to, or I I really try to do that as much as I can.
SPEAKER_01That's really wise. Um, I was just recently having a conversation with someone um that had a staff member that was um underperforming and um just asking, you know, okay, so what do you think, you know, should my next steps be? And I said to them, Well, I think possibly asking them the why of, you know, is this caused by something in their job? You know what I mean? Is it a process or a lack of knowledge or something that could be affected? Or is this caused by this is maybe just not the right fit for that person? And then, you know, you can address each one of those differently because it's gonna mean different things for that person and for the organization, because you have to balance the needs of both. Yeah. All right.
Surrendering Control Like Esther
SPEAKER_01What does if I perish, I perish surrender look like in your context? This one's kind of hard. I don't mean, you know, life and death situations, these these beat-up stories, these bully stories, you know. Right.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we had those experiences too. Thankfully, we're here to tell about them.
unknownRight?
SPEAKER_03All about I I just think of her posture of kind of surrendering to the Lord. I think there are uh some situations in our lives that we feel like we have control over, but we really don't. And then there are some situations in our life that like smack us across the face and are like, you don't have any control over this. Um, and and I just feel like in my life, it's just been one long lesson in disabusing me of the notion that I had any control over my life whatsoever. Um, and you can either um go out kicking and screaming and resisting and saying, Lord, I'm gonna fight you this whole way, or you can, like Esther did, and just say, Okay, here it is. Um, you're gonna have to work this out, Lord. And I want to honor you with my surrender. It's a very hard lesson to learn. Giving it all up to God.
SPEAKER_02Yes. And I guess one area of my life I can relate to this idea is just changing professions after 23 years. And I started getting those emails from the Department of Ed like, your teaching license is going to expire. And I'm always like, hmm, is that bothering? Do I need to keep that current? And so, you know, I my plan was to be a teacher and a principal. You know, I went to undergrad and then master's degree in administration and um figured that's what I would do the rest of my life, and until, you know, things changed and I felt the Lord pulling me in a different direction. And so, you know, I left that career and and a lot of you know people thought that was foolish. Like you have a 401k, you've been putting in this 401k for 23 years, you know, which is kind of a myth anyway. Like, I didn't lose money, I took money with me. But there's just certain parameters people are almost enslaved to. You know, like like you can't, why would you change that? You gotta make it to this number. And and I was like, uh, what if the Lord tells me to do something different? You know, like what is my allegiance to? Is my allegiance to my 401k or is my allegiance to the Lord? And and just like, you know, the verse that Gigi pointed out in First Corinthians, you know, God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, like so many things in this world that seem like wise, and this is the next step, and this makes sense. Like it's an upside down kingdom. Like the Lord, the Lord works in unexpected ways and calls us into unexpected things sometimes. Yeah. And we do have to decide am I going to surrender the logical plan that makes sense on paper, or am I going to obey the Lord's still quiet, small voice?
SPEAKER_01So yeah, that's good. Yeah. I really thought of this again. I thought of my parenting first, you know. Um, Greg talked about even the example of um his own parenting, where he had been kind of putting some pressure on one of his kids until his wife spoke up. And and I thought of that of there's a level of we all want our kids to like us, but are we being the best parent if we just play it safe like that? And so for me, I mean, there are times where I have surrendered the idea of I'm gonna have a good relationship with my kids right now because it's important that I speak into their lives in a certain way, or that I call out a certain behavior, or implement a certain, you know, consequence because of something they've done. And they're not gonna like me. And maybe it'll be for a long while and maybe it'll be for a short while, but um, it is more important that they are safe or that they know where my lines are, where their boundaries are. Um, but it's the same is true with friendships. I've had different friendships in my life where, okay, I need to speak into something that's that's important to me and how this relationship is affecting my life. And it may mean I lose this relationship. But is that something I'm willing to surrender to stand on um the the I don't know what the right word I'm looking for, the the manners that I want in my own convictions. Yes, yeah, that's good. The convictions that I want. Um I I think you always have to be able to look back and be proud of your decisions. And if there's things that you weren't willing to speak into, then um yeah. I like how uh Greg talked about. I'm trying to think now how he put it that um there when they started middle school that there was one of them who was different. I think is that what did he? I'm trying to think how he phrased it. But I think that's a consideration too. Am I gonna be looked at differently culturally if I do this thing or speak up? Or I feel there's times I feel a hesitation about do I want to make this post on social media? Because I know 75% of my friends or following will support it, love it, feel the same way. But what is this other 25% gonna think? You know, and how does that affect my relationship with them? That hesitation is me deciding which is more important, you know what I mean? That I want to profess my face, faith or my um politics or my, you know, whatever it is at the risk of offending people? Where what am I laying down? Yeah.
For Such A Time As This
SPEAKER_01Reflecting on Esther 414, what does for such a time as this mean to you personally? And how does that influence your daily decisions? I love that phrase. For such a time as this, I like I I feel um, I don't know, I feel it's so applicable to many situations. But I think that sometimes I said this a couple weeks ago here on the podcast and we were talking about it. And I said, sometimes I think we're looking for too big of situations. Like it's gotta be like an Esther situation where her life is literally on the line. And I think we can look for small situations where it's for such a time as this. Um, what is the the hand we're dealt and how is God wanting us to use it?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and not even just big and small situations, but every believer in Jesus has that call in their life. God's put them on this earth for such a time as this. So it's not like, oh, that's just reserved for people of influence or well-known pastors, you know. Um you're placed in your life for such a time as this. And so just realizing like God views your life as of enormous importance. And it's not like, oh, I forgot about what's going on with her. Do I have plans for her at all? You know, absolutely not. I mean, you're at the forefront of his mind. One of the things that's amazing about God is a lot of people think, you know, God's too busy to deal with my little life. God's very amazingness, his very bigness allows him to care intimately about my life and your life and your life and everybody's lives. And so he hasn't forgotten about you and he has a good plan for you, and he has plans for your life for such a time as this. So please do not devalue yourself and say this is not something that applies to me. It absolutely does. God wants to partner with you in those important moments of your life, he wants to honor you by coming alongside you and saying, Let's do this together. Love it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And that's a very uncommon way of thinking, I think. I think it's more common to think, oh, God doesn't have time for this.
SPEAKER_03Right. And that's such a lie and it's so demoralizing.
SPEAKER_02It is a lie. And it and that's part of our, you know, job is to remind people of the truth.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02And the true character and the true nature of God and how much he cares for us. And that is something we don't want to miss.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, I had a a leader a long time ago say, if you're if you're saying to yourself, someone should do that, then it's also your job to look around and see, is that someone you? That anytime you say that. And that's what I think of in that, okay, if I'm saying, hey, someone should do that, is that me, God? Right. Right. Probably. Is this my for such a time as this? Yeah, probably. All right. How does Hebrews 4 16 approaching the throne of grace with confidence change how you approach God in hard moments? And that verse reads, let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
SPEAKER_02It's just confirming exactly what you just said, Julie. Like we're, you know, we are commanded to come to him in every situation and lay down our plans and say, What are your plans, Lord? Um, and we're to do that confidently, knowing that the Lord is waiting for us to do that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02He's not busy with anything else. In his almighty power, he can deal with all of us intimately every moment of every day.
SPEAKER_03Yep. And I would just say, don't dishonor the sacrifice that Jesus made in order for you to approach um your heavenly father. He did that at the cost of his own life. And for you to say, Oh, I don't know, I just feel like I can't do that, or maybe God's too busy for me, or I've I've just sinned too much. Then you're putting all of that on you, your salvation on you. And if you're good enough, or if he's paying attention to you, Jesus died so that you would have the privilege of approaching God's throne. So let's put aside all these thoughts about I need to do it myself. Let's look directly at Jesus and say, Thank you for the gift that you gave to me in order to do this, and I'm gonna make full use of it.
SPEAKER_01I also think that we approach him with confidence in our asks that we can ask him for big things. He's a big God.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_01And when we minimize what we think he can do, we're minimizing our perception of him. And he can do more than we. What is it? More than we ask or imagine, isn't that the verse? Yeah, in Ephesians, yeah. Um, yeah, that's good. That's really good. All right.
Reversal Stories And Final Takeaways
SPEAKER_01What are your final takeaways from this message as we wrap up today?
SPEAKER_02Well, we didn't talk about the gory part at all. You want to dive into that? Getting people impaled. Woo, sheesh. And it does make me think of um, you know, Zach did a whole series or sermon on flipping the weapon, you know, weapons that, and that's, you know, that's the kind of God that we have. He protects his children in mighty and unexpected ways.
SPEAKER_03And love it.
SPEAKER_02And um, yeah, I mean, what a twist of a tale that was. Yes, right.
SPEAKER_03I know. So it's just as good as a any movie.
SPEAKER_02And it's incredible. Yeah, it's incredible how it happened, you know. Um, the king, Xerxes is like has having insomnia, and he's like, ah, Mordecai was never honored for that one thing. You know, like I'm totally quoting it incorrectly here. But I mean, you know, like again, the Lord approached him at this quiet moment and started to work his plan that was going to happen, regardless if we are a part of it or not, you know. And Mordecai was spared, and Haman was, you know, his life ended that day. Like, that's incredible.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And how God orchestrates everything. I was just thinking about this the other day, just in my own life, you know, because sometimes when you look ahead to the future and there are things that are concerning to you, what you need to do is just remember God's past faithfulness. And it's really stunning how you can see just things coming together from from a long ways out, everything that kind of had to be orchestrated in order for some circumstance to work out for your, for God's glory and your good. And so just trusting him with those things and then realizing he's inviting you to come to his throne to make those requests, and that he's inviting you into this awesome partnership of really bringing heaven to earth. So, man, it's an empowering, exciting thing to be a part of.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna be honest. Um, I had to watch this sermon a couple of times to really get it all because um the idea of reverse just kept putting in my head the cha-cha slide. Reverse, reverse, reverse, reverse. No, I really like the idea that he talks about how this was a reversal reversal, reversal of fortune, you know, that that um the steps that Esther took really reversed the fate of people. And and um I think that's amazing. And I think that that we sell ourselves short, maybe on what the impact that we can have on praying for someone or you know, being a good manager or something. It's those little trickles. Like you said, so many small things have to come together for a certain situation, and we don't know where we're at in that story, what part we have to play. Yeah. All right. Well, thank you, ladies, for being here today. We are wrapping up with the last week of game on next week with FIFA.
SPEAKER_03Wow. And thank you, Queen Esther. You are a boss lady.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Mary, may we have your courage.
SPEAKER_01Yes. All right, until then, let's keep living our faith beyond Sunday.
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