For Such a Time as This

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Intro

Good morning Church, For those of you who don’t know who I am, My name as mentioned is Jayden Croft and I am a fourth year theology student at Avondale College University which means I am studying to be a pastor. I’m really excited to be standing in front of you today. I think that Lilydale is my favorite place to preach, for those of you who don’t know this is my home church. It’s where I grew up and this church, the people here will always hold a special part of my heart. ANYWAY!
2020 is over, gone, simply a figment of our memories. Now I have been blessed with being able to watch what happened here in Victoria and I don’t want to focus on it, but I can’t believe that we are here today and 2020 is over. We had to give up a lot, Church, family at weddings among others. It felt like it was going so slowly in the moment but at the same time you would look back on the year and think how is it already October! I want to focus looking forward today, 2021 has so much hope and promise and uncertainty. I don’t want to speak for anyone else but during 2020, I really struggled with my spiritual life. To be honest, I struggled with online church. My faith is not the strongest it has ever been. I’m not sure if any of you have also struggled with this, but I want to change that for 2021, I want to see my faith the strongest it has ever been, I want to be on fire for God. When I look back on 2020, and they say that hindsight is 2020, There are things that I could have done better. Now I’ve got that out of the way.
Lets Pray.

Set up

I want to focus on two different passages today. I believe both of them provide The first is an encouragement from the New Testament the second is one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament. So if you have you Bible’s Turn with me to Romans 8:31-37
God’s Everlasting Love
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Paul has experienced all of these
36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” (Psalms 44:22 - Call for help)
Romans The Love of God for Us in Christ (8:35–39)

The quotation of Psalm 44:22 in verse 36 is a bit of a detour in the logic of Paul’s argument. But the detour reveals two of his key concerns: to remind us that suffering is a natural and expected part of the Christian life (cf. 5:3–4; 8:17), and to root the experiences of Christians in the experience of God’s old covenant people.

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Esther

I want to pivot away from Romans for a bit. But keep it in mind, That we are more than conquerors through Christ. I want to talk about the story of Esther.
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The King’s Banquets

Queen Vashti’s Refusal

Esther Chosen Queen

Mordecai Discovers a Plot

Haman Plots Against the Jews

Esther Agrees to Help the Jews

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4:13 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. 14 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?
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Esther Prepares a Banquet

Haman Plans to Hang Mordecai

The King Honors Mordecai

Esther Reveals Haman’s Plot

Haman Is Hanged

Esther Saves the Jews

The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

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3 take away points

1. Like God is seemingly absent in the book of Esther, 2020 was a year in which we could easily say that God was absent from our world. While we look at the book of Esther and questions the morals and choices made, it shows as that just like in the book of Esther God is working always, fighting for and loving his people even when it seems he is absent and when bad choices are made, God doesn’t leave us, God always loves us.
2. Esther with the grace of God conquered her tribulation, it didn’t separate her from the love of God. What does it mean to overcome your tribulation? Well.... my final point is.
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3. 2021 is a year of promise, Paul tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God, Esther was placed in her position where her specific time. God calls us to be conquers through his love, each of us have been placed in specific places for such a time as this. God calls us for such a time as this, Paul listed the things that hey conquered, through Jesus. That was his calling. Here is my challenge. Imagine what Lilydale Church looks like if everyone of us accepts God’s call for us, and no matter what 2021 throws at us we will overcome it through Jesus, imagine what a church full of people on fire for God looks like. What difference can we make in the community, how can we better share Jesus with others. Thats my challenge lets seek God with all we have because nothing can separate us from the love of God and lets accept his call for such a time as this.
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