The Greatest Threat to Christianity Today - Patrosky Anderson

Welcome to our series titled "The Queen's Gambit," where we dive deep into the book of Esther! Today's sermon is our third installment in the series as we look at chapter 3 and 4.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Church, the greatest thing destroying us as the church of God is not outside pressure. I'm not naive enough to think that outside pressure doesn't exist, but I won't overinflate that while we hurt each other. Because the greatest threat is not outside pressure, it's division within the church.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Hey everyone, welcome to the Brick by Brick podcast from Renovation Church, where faith gets built one truth at a time. In this sermon episode, you'll listen to our most recent Sunday morning message. So whether you're new to faith or have been walking with Jesus for years, there's something here for you. So kick back, hit play, and let's build this thing together.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

Turn your Bibles to Esther chapter three. Esther chapter three, by the time now here in Esther chapter three, Esther has been made uh queen. Um uh her uncle, uh, who serves more as a father figure in her life. Uh, Mordecai, out of his concern for her, it says that he frequents the walls there at the palace that she's at, trying to look after her, trying to get a glimpse of an earshot of kind of what's happening, how things are going for her. And while he's doing that, it says one day he hears this plot by these two um keepers of the door to kill the king. So, of course, he goes and tells Esther. Uh Esther tells her husband, the king, and the king finds out about this plot that is meant to uh kill the king. But the king finds out, he he investigates, he realizes that the plot's true, uh, he interrupts it, uh takes out these two men, and then Mordecai is given uh credit for all of all of this for saving the king. And then here we are in Esther chapter three. And Esther chapter three, hope you're there, it begins like this. It says, after these events, the events are um the king, the huge parties, we've talked about that, um, him uh removing Queen Vashti, him bringing in Esther, uh, and then the attempt on his life, all of these things. It says, after these events, it says King Xerxes chooses to honor a man named Haman. And in honoring him, it says that he elevates him by giving him a seat of honor higher than all of the other nobles. Remember, the king has gathered all of these nobles around him. He loves to party with these guys, and so he takes Haman and he elevates him above all of these other nobles. Uh, in verse 2, it says, above all of the royal officials, or it says all of the royal officials at the king's gate. These are royal officials, right? They are at the king's gate. It says that they kneel in honor of Haman. For the king had commanded this. And so not only did he elevate Haman to the highest place above all the nobles, he also, as a part of the honoring of him, he commands that everybody bows down when they see him. But it says, uh, but Mordecai would not bow down or pay honor to him. In verse 3, it says, Then the royal officials, right, at the gate, they asked Mordecai, why do you disobey the king's command? In other words, why are you disobeying the law? Like, why are you breaking the law? Like, like, did you not get the memo? Why are you not doing what the king has commanded us to do? And it says day after day in verse 4, day after day, it says that they spoke with him, but he refused to comply. And so, in other words, day after day, they're compelling him to say, Look, man, this is what the king is telling us to do. You better get with the program. Day after day, they're saying, Mordecai, come on, man, come on. Like, what's going on? Like, like what's happening? Day after day, but he refuses to comply. And it says, therefore, they told Haman about all of this to see whether or not Mordecai's behavior would be tolerated. Isn't that so human nature? Right? When we're made to do something that we don't want to do, we look around and see who's not doing it. And misery loves company, and they're like, bro, you gotta kneel. And after he doesn't comply, they then go to the boss and they're like, boss, he's not complying. You good with this? Because you know, why do we have to do it? Why do we gotta do something and he doesn't have to do it? But Mordecai refused to kneel. Why? He tells them. He tells them he refuses to reply because he was a Jew. It says this at the end of the verse here. It says, For he had told them that he was a Jew. You see, and this was nothing for the Jews. This was nothing for the Jews. See, because Mordecai, as a Jew, he believed that he was um a servant to the one and only true living God. And so for Mordecai, he was like, no, no, no, we just we don't we don't do that. It was kind of baked in his DNA, right? If you remember the story, about a hundred years before all of this happened, there was a king who had created a golden image, and he required that everybody would bow down at this golden image, but there were three young boys who refused to do so. How many of you know this story? And at the end of it all, as they chose not to bow the knee to a crooked and corrupt uh king, the Bible says that they were thrown into the furnace, but we know the rest of the story. God was there with them, wasn't he? Yes, he was. And so just baked in Mordecai's DNA, you could argue that he was like bowing down to crooked and corrupt means. Well, that's just not in me to do. He says, I don't do this, not because, oh, I'm a man of stature, nah, these knees, no. No, he said, I don't do this because I'm a Jew. And the things that we believe, we believe in the one high God, and so we just don't do this, right? So you look at verse 5, it says that when Mordecai, or when Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel or pay honor to who? To him. To him, right? Is Haman the king? No. But when but when Haman realized that Mordecai would not bow to him and give honor to him, the Bible says that he was what? Enraged. And it says, yet having learned who Mordecai's people were, so he did some investigating, right? Because I'm sure the men told him, man, he's not kneeling because he says that he's a Jew. And then Mordecai's like, uh, or then Haman's like, well, let me look at these Jews, let me let me look and see what's going on. And so having learned who Mordecai's people were, it says that he scorned the idea of just killing Mordecai. Instead, Haman looked for a way for him to destroy all of Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes. So the Bible says that then Haman goes to the king. He goes to the king and he he he starts whispering in the king's ear, telling the king that look, king, did you know that there's a whole group of people out here that when you give laws and decrees, they choose to stay separate, they choose to do their own thing, they choose to stay by themselves. King, did you know that there is a group of people who are just not fulfilling your laws? Something tells me that Haman was less concerned about them fulfilling all of the king's laws and more worried about them fulfilling one law. All right? Church, can I can tell you this? Because remember, we talked about this at the very beginning, if you are here, that the book of Esther, the book of Esther doesn't even mention God. The book of Esther is meant for us, it is inspired by God, and it's meant for us to look at this and make these direct correlations to the current time that we live in today. That's the power of scripture for us this morning through the book of Esther. And so, church, can I tell you that the wisdom we see with human nature on full display is that sometimes there will be people who will come up close to you, who will gain access into your life, and you will think that they are there for you. But trust me, church, they are there for themselves. And you've got to have the wisdom of God hidden inside of you, on full display with discernment to see who those people are. Because here, Haman is like, King, they're not even, they don't even listen to your laws. Although he didn't really get enraged until they didn't listen to one law. He's like, King, he tells him. If you read this, he says, King, you should not have these kind of people even around you. Little does he know that the king is married to one. The Jewish people were no threat. They were no threat to him, they were no threat to the people. They were there, they were exiles, they were living, they were no threat. And so Haman is saying, King, you can't have these people around you. They don't want your good. And again, little does he know that he's married to one. He's upset because they refuse to bow to him. Church, there will be people who will get up close to you and they will argue, oh, you shouldn't do this, oh, you shouldn't do that, oh, you shouldn't take that promotion, oh, you shouldn't do. And it's not that they have your best interests at heart, they have theirs. And so Haman says, if it pleases the king, let a decree be issued, this is verse 9, let it be issued to destroy them. And he says, I'll give 10,000 talents of silver to the king's administrators and the royal treasury. Make no mistake, Haman was rich. He was rich and he was playing rich and powerful games. And he's like, I want them destroyed. And I'm willing to even tip you to make it happen. And in this crazy turn of events, because again, who you gather around you, the company that you keep, will dictate your life. It says in verse 10 that the king took off his signet ring from his finger and he gives it to Haman. He gives it to him. And now the story is calling him the enemy of the Jews. And the king says to him in verse 11, Keep the money. Keep the money. Remember, the king was rich anyway. He says, Keep the money, the king says to Haman, and do with the people as you please. And so they gather all of the royal secretaries, and they draft this up in verse 13. It says, Dispatchers went out by carrier to all of the king's providence with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all of the Jews. It says, young and old women and children on one single day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month in the month of Adur. There's significance there. We don't have time to dive into it, but it's worth going back and looking at for your own personal reading. He says, and he commands them, he says, uh, and to plunder their goods. And it says a copy of the of the text of the edict was to be issued as law, as law in every providence, and made known to all the people of every nationality, so that they would be ready on that day. Are we not just reading scripture this morning? Yes, sir. So that they would be ready. And in verse 13, it says that the carriers went out, spurred on by the king's command. He's saying, Look, epah, epi, come on, man, move, move. Let's go, let's go. Get this out. Hurry, hurry, get this out. The king's command. It says, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. And once that was done, it says that the king and Haman sat back to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered. That's very important. We're going to come back to that. So once the edict goes out, now we turn over to chapter four. Are you with me so far? With what's happened so far? It's no small task. Mordecai, who's hanging out by the gates, who's also a Jew, he catches wind of what's happened. And the Bible says that he tears his clothes, right? He puts on sackcloth and ashes, meaning that he was in mourning. He was terrified. Of course, a date has gone out where you and all of the people that you love are now going to be executed, of course. So he's mourning. And it says, as are many of the Jewish people. When the word gets back to the queen, uh who's Esther, right, that Mordecai is in mourning, she tries to give him clothes to clean himself up. Church, we do this all the time, don't we? Don't we? People are transparent with us. They share some of their hurts, their habits, their hang-ups, their heartaches. And I think it's just human nature. So I'm not here to belittle it, but it's just human nature that our knee-jerk response is whoa, clean yourself up. Can I just tell you, it's okay to not have the words? It's okay when a person is grieving, when a person is hurt, when a person has experienced loss, when a person is afraid, when a person is terrified, when a person doesn't know which way is right, it's okay, church, to not have the words. But can we just sit with people? Can we just listen to people instead of rushing them to a place of looking like they are okay? Church, it's okay to not have the words. It's okay to say, I don't I don't know what to say right now, but I'm here. But I want to listen. Why are you crying? Why are you so upset? What can I do? It's okay to not have the words. But she's trying to, she's trying to clean him up, and I think it's with good intentions, but Mordecai replies back and he says, no, no, no, I won't allow my pain to simply be painted over. He's like, no, no, no, no. Look, look, they go through this back and forth, but it's a back and forth that you see that they're having between this messenger, because again, remember, she's trying to keep her very existence as a Jew secret. And so they're going back and forth through the messenger. And at some point, Mordecai tells her, Look, you are the queen. You're the queen. Would you please go talk to your husband and appeal to him, appeal for us, for him to have mercy on us? You're the queen. And then Esther replies to him again through the messenger, and basically what she says is, Look, Mordecai, you may not know this, but a lot of people know this around here that going up to the king without being invited is just not something that you do. It's actually punishable by death. And in verse 12, this is where we pick back up in chapter 4, it says, When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sends back this answer. He sent back this answer. He says, Do not think that because you are the in the king's house, you alone of all the Jews will escape. In other words, like I said last week, and I know that what I said last week kind of rubs some of you, like, I don't know. But but again, Mordecai is saying it as well. He says the same thing to Queen Esther. He says, Don't think that you can just sit back and do nothing while they come for us, thinking that somehow you will escape. Because that's just not how evil works. And I think sometimes as Christians, we have to realize that this world is dark, that this world is like sometimes we we get caught up in the sugar-coated, very drunk gumdrops of the world, and we think this is how life works. No, no, no. There's a wolf. 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 8. He tells them, he says, be alert and sober-minded. Be alert and sober-minded. Don't get lost in the sauce of your cush life, but yet be alert and sober-minded. He says, Your enemy, not my enemy, your enemy, the who? The devil, he says, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Sometimes I want to tell Christians, like, are you friends with the devil? Are you? Because you somehow pretend in your mind that when this roaring lion is done devouring them, when he looks at you, he's gonna recognize you and be like, no, no, no, no, I'm good. Why would he do that? Are you friends with the devil? Of course, none of you are. Calm down. You don't have to see what I'm saying? But we act like it, don't we? We act like, no, no, we're cool. He ain't gonna come for me. Trust me. You ever watch those nature shows where people be like, oh, this is just a cute little lion? And then when they turn their back, that lion is licking his chops. And I promise you, step outside that cage. I don't care if you raise that lion from a g, step out that cage. And if you notice, those people that hang around, they never well, I don't know what that was. They got a little too comfortable. But that's how we act sometimes as believers, don't we? That there's not an enemy out there who's roaming around searching for someone who he can destroy. And when he's done picking off the those who we've made it easy to pick off, you think that enemy is not gonna turn for you. Don't kid yourself. And that's what Mordecai is telling her. Don't think that just because you're behind these walls, that you alone will be safe. And he tells her in verse 14 for if you remain silent at this, he says, relief and deliverance will come. Don't forget that three or that a hundred years ago, relief and deliverance came for those who stood up. He says, if you remain silent, relief and deliverance for the Jews will rise from another place. But don't neglect your place. He says, But you and your fathers, uh your father's family will perish. He says, and who knows? But that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this. Church. What if for such a time as this is now? What if it's now? Can I just can we just be honest here? I'm almost done. Give me a few more minutes of just of listening with with the Holy Spirit. Can I just be honest with you, church? The greatest threat facing Christianity today is not the war over sexuality. Though it's big. Yes, but that is not the greatest threat. The greatest threat is not abortion, it's it's it's not um uh atheism, right? These are not just political issues, I get that. Like these are scriptural issues that we that we have been thrusted out into those arenas. I understand that. These are important issues, but they are spiritual issues, but these are not the greatest threats to us and our Christianity. The greatest threat to us was the greatest threat uh like it was uh to the people living in Susan. Because when you read it, it says that the greatest threat to them, but I just want to keep it in our context, the greatest threat for us that seeks to undo all of this that we have built and that we cherish as believers is division, it's division. The Bible says that after the king sent out his edict, him and his good old boy Haman, they sat back and did what? The Bible says that they sat back and drank. But all of the city of Susa was bewildered, they were at a loss, they didn't know what was going on, they didn't really understand. Wait a minute, am I reading this right? That on the 13th day in the 12th month, I'm supposed to kill my neighbor. For what? For who? Why? And the Bible says that they were bewildered, they didn't understand how overnight their entire city was gonna be upheavaled, their entire city was gonna be destroyed, plundered, divided, and to top it all off, this is law now. And the city was gonna be divided against itself. As the church of God is not outside pressure. I'm not naive enough to think that outside pressure doesn't exist, but I won't overinflate that while we hurt each other. Because the greatest threat is not outside pressure, it's division within the church. Hear me out. In terms of demographics, right? In terms of demographics of age, the the group that's called baby boomers, and and I don't mean that derogatory, I hope for those of you who I'm Jeanette. Sorry, all right. But for those of you who that's your demographic, I don't mean that derogatory. It's just a term given for those age 62 to 80. Did you know that that those in our country, 62 to 80, they make up the largest population in all of our churches. All of our churches across this entire nation. Ryan Burge is a well-respected sociologist of religion and politics. He's a man who studies this for a living. And he he says this. He says, as more and more of our baby boomers receive their heavenly reward, okay? As more and more of our baby boomers receive their heavenly reward, he says the pews of American churches are going to thin out with startling speed. And he says, I'm not sure that any denomination, any denomination is truly prepared for how fast this is gonna happen. And he follows it up with some statistics of study to say that did you know that 6% of Southern Baptists, the largest conglomerate of Christians today, the Southern Baptists, that only 6% of them are under the age of 30. It's wild. Only one in five, right, Episcopalians are under the age of 45. Even the assemblies of God who in this space, it's largely understood that they are doing the best uh in convening and gathering and discipling young people, even the assemblies of God, only 11% of them are in the ages between 18 and 29, and only 19% 30 to 44. The greatest threat to Christianity today is not outside pressure. The greatest threat today, and this is documented, the greatest threat, church, and I promise you, I'm gonna this is gonna make sense, but I want you to understand the gravity that the greatest threat to to church today is that we are seeing a massive, massive amount of young people, in particular young men who identify as Christians and yet they reportedly, self-reportedly, do not see the value in both going to church, reading scripture, and allowing the word of God to fully and wholeheartedly shape their life, to conform themselves to the practices that we call fundamental to being a believer? That is the greatest threat to our Christianity, and it is happening under our nose and from within. And so, can I just end by talking to people here this morning that are 55 and up? 55 and up. Listen to me close. What if this is your moment? What if this is why you are here? To serve as the wall, to defend against the breach of the enemy, who is telling our young people that it is okay to be a Christian only in identity, but the things that we do, the orthopraxy that we have, is not important. What if you are here to be that wall? What if this is your time? Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever asked those questions? Out of out of all, I don't care if it's six days or two or whatever, that the earth has been in existence. God put you here now. Have you never wondered why? What if it's this? So that you could be the generation that would help young people come back to the faith and keep the very thing that we hold dear, alive, and moving forward from glory to glory. What if that's why you were put here? What if that's why God grabbed a hold of your heart so many years ago for such a time as this? That you could come alongside us as young believers, wrap your arms around us and say, I want to do this together, not against you. I want to do this with you, not away from you. I want you to come with me and let's read scripture, let's live out the very things that we believe together. What if this is your moment, 55 and up? Because I'm telling you, there's a generation of young people who are doing what is right in their own eyes, and the butt and statistics, the numbers show that we're losing them. They're slipping through our grasp, and somehow they don't even realize it because they think Christianity is simply an identity, but you know in your heart that it's so much more. How will they know if you don't come alongside them and impart the very wisdom, the very relationship, the very fire that you have inside of you upon our young generation? I know you know that they matter. I know that you believe that they matter. Will you just hear me? That the church is not ready to lose you. For such a time as this, will you step up? Will you be the wall? I can't answer that for you. I can only try to compel you that the numbers tell us that the greatest threat is happening within the walls. And we need you. We need you for such a time as this. Here and now. Let's pray.

SPEAKER_00 28:09

Thanks for tuning in to the Brick by Brick Podcast. We're so glad you've joined us on our journey to build faith one truth at a time. Be sure to follow us so you never miss another episode. We've got plenty more coming your way.