The Commission Is not Canceled

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

Esther 4:13-14

Many people take Mordecai’s rebuke here of Esther to represent personal prestige, personal power, or personal favor.  This is not the case.  In fact, Esther was being chided for self-indulgence.  It is actually in this passage that Mordecai was reminding Esther that the moment she was living in was one that had purpose, not to fulfill her own interests, but to face the enemy head on.  Ultimately, she was to risk her very own life with no guarantees of a good outcome for the glory of God.  I bring this passage up because I am reminded not to lose sight of the main thing.  Josh McDowell has said time and time again in all of his preaching engagements, “Don’t forget to keep the main thing the main thing”.  Well, what is the main thing for the church?

During a Monday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, one of the commentators observed that Walter Payton, the Bear’s running back and the NFL’s leading rusher at the time, had accumulated over nine miles – almost 16,000 yards – in career rushing yardage.   The other announcer remarked, “Yeah, and that’s with someone knocking him down every 4.6 yards!” We all get knocked down in life.  We all have our losses.   We all have our disappointments.  The key to success in both life and football is getting up again after you have been knocked down by the opposition. A story is told that Andrew Jackson’s boyhood friends just couldn’t understand how he became a famous general and then the President of the United States.   They knew of others who had greater talent but who never succeeded.   One of Jackson’s friends commented, “Why, Jim Brown, who lived right down the pike from Jackson, was not only smarter but he could throw Andy three times out of four in a wrestling match. But look where Andy is now.” Another friend responded, “How did there happen to be a fourth time? Didn’t they usually say three times and out?”   “Sure, they were supposed to, but not Andy. He would never admit he was beat — he would never stay ‘throwed.’ Jim Brown would get tired, and on the fourth try Andy Jackson would throw him and be the winner.” When life knocks you down, will you stay “throwed” or will you rise again asking God to give you the endurance to win the fight?   James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the one who endures under the load of trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” August  has been a good month with 360 in Bible Study.  Our Back to School Splash on August 4^th was a great time for Pre-K through fifth grade.    That night we also had a good crowd for the Lamar County Schools Prayer Walk.     Our  Missions Fest has become an annual celebration that encourages a missions mindset.     The Canopy, our community women’s worship event, takes place this coming Thursday.    And our Student/Young Adult Building Fund  ended the month of July at  $688,653.41! September has some very special emphases: