This Is The Time

Introduction

Good evening everyone. Chi Alpha has officially launched and I am so excited for what is in store for us. For those who do not know me, my name is Alan Grajeda and I have the privileged of being one of the directors for Chi Alpha. My beautiful wife Lauren is the better director, and I’m glad to have her as my partner. Whether you’ve known about Chi Alpha for some time, or you wondered here by accident or just your first time, please know that I believe God has placed you here tonight for a reason. And I pray that you will know without a doubt that you may have felt like a stranger when you walked in, but you will leave knowing you are a part of a family who cares about you.

So before we jump into anything, it’s only right I tell a little about myself. In case you haven’t caught on, I am Hispanic, Mexican. I have a super hard time pronouncing words that start with the letters TH side by side and I also have a slight lisp which means I spit out. There’s a super old show called That’s So Raven that actually did an episode on this where one of the teachers is like known to drench their students in spit. So fair warning that there is a splash zone the first or two rows. I am alumni of WSU. I graduated with a degree in Finance and I’ve used that degree in different roles throughout the years. If you want Friday’s off on classes, then major in Business. They don’t do Friday classes. Anyhow, I am a proud parent of a 9 month old little caveman baby boy named Noah who is the best. The best job in the world is getting to play a part in civilizing him and teaching him he can’t just pee and poop wherever he wants and he can’t put everything he touches in his mouth. It doesn’t work like that.

Ten years ago I made the greatest decision of my life. I gave God full control of my life as an eighteen year old. I told him God, you help me out with my degree, my love life, help me to love myself, oh and also I handed Him control over my immigration status because I was an immigrant trying to become a U.S. citizen. That isn’t easy.

Here’s how God responded to my prayers. He changed something in my core, my being. It’s like I had a hunger a passion to want to know more about who He was. But not only that, he brought brothers and sisters into my life who would forever change everything about what I thought was possible. And this all occured as a young adult. A girl named Natalie walked into my 8am Government class who sat beside me and would become one of the closest people in my life. Now, rookie mistake was taking an 8am class. Some of you guys are realizing that. Satan will tell you you’ve done it all your life and to continue to do it in college. That is a trap my friends. But I thought girl was cute, fun, and nice, so I told myself hey I’ll show up at 7:50 am. Anyhow, Natalie and I quickly became good friends who would hangout and talk about everything. Over time she became more than a friend, she became a sister to me. She genuinely cared about me and pushed me to get to Know more of God and trust Him in the journey I was in.

Fast forward several years and I find myself on this campus, revived in my heart by God and just a passion to live for Him. And so I came here to this campus, first time living on my own but really on fire for Jesus. This is where I met two Indian guys who would end up just rocking my world and taking my relationship with God and with others to a whole new level. So I’ll give you the condensed version because you’re probably wondering where I’m going with all of this:

I had a really tough time connecting with other people and forming strong bonds. There are so many great campus ministries here that I am a fan of. But just my testimony was that it was actually quite difficult for me to find authenticity and commitment so I found myself kind of being just a nomad for a while where I just drifted and lived each day, same thing over and over again. That was until a very polite and hospital Indian brother invited me over for some curry and small group fellowship. Both terms I was still not very familiar with and unsure about. Anyhow, in this group there are two other guys from India who are knew to the U.S. and one of them had actually been messaging the other one through like an app. So they didn’t know each other, had never met, and they were connected via mutual friends when they landed here. One of them was thinking the whole time the other one was a girl because the other had a gender neutral name (like Alex or Jordan). Talk about an ice breaker.. Y’all ever seen chattered hopes in a matter of seconds. Love man.. It’ll do that to you.. Anyhow different topic for a different service (come back for it, it’ll be great). Anyhow, through the night we all shared a little bit about our personal testimonies or stories and just our thoughts on God and Gods. Some had come from strong Hindu backgrounds.

The guys I met that night would end up becoming my best friends. They’d end up helping me with my homework, placing tennis together, watching romantic movies and talking about our future spouses and also about what it meant to be men of God. Overtime, others joined my life and impacted it as well. Sisters who were amazing leaders and taught me that I was worthy and to know my worth before God and mankind.

To this day I keep in touch with my brothers and sisters I met in my early twenties. But here is why I bring that up, they taught me things and values that are so important and necessary because they cared about me and my walk with Christ. Here at Chi Alpha our mission statement and why we exist can be simplified to three words:

Reconcile. Transform. Purpose.

We believe that Jesus is utterly amazing and worth following with every core of our being. Furthermore, we believe that the more we seek after Jesus, the more we will be transformed by his Holy Spirit, so that we find and live out our purpose in His Global plan. So 2020 was an outrageous year. All hell broke lose and every month was like a new challenge from Jumanji (you guys know Jumanji right. That isn’t too old right?). Here’s what was crazy about that year, is that it made everyone start questioning things in their life. Things that were important, and things that we took for granted.

Today, we are gathered as a group on the cusp of a new chapter. Not saying Covid is over, just saying that this is the first time we have gathered on campus in about a year. And during the year of absence on campus, my heart started to yearn and long for the day when we could gather again. So it’s only right that the title of this message is called: This is the Time. Today is the time. Let me say it like this.. For such a time as right now you and I are here together.

Many many years ago, the ancient Israelites were living under the control of the Persian Empire. During the Persian Empire, there was a king named Ahasueurus. Most believe him to be a Persian King named Xerses. Anyone heard of him? Seen the movie 300? You know that famous Spartan kick? No yes? I’m not that old. Anyhow, its the mid 480s B.C. and there is a command that goes out throughout the Persian empire to do a mass genocide of the Jewish people. Think world war 2 but in B.C. And you know the cause of the mass genocide? Pride and arrogance. The general who convinces the Persian King to do this does it because he has people bowing down to him everywhere he goes, except for a Jewish man who knows his allegiance belongs to God. Horrible stuff. But it’s during the middle of this command that God positions two Jews to lead a massive change!

I’m going to read to you from one of two books in the entire bible that never mentions God in it. The book of Esther. Trust me, the design of this literary book is so genius and purposeful. Here is what Esther 3:13 says

Esther 3:13 CSB

13 Letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces telling the officials to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jewish people—young and old, women and children—and plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.

Ok so as mentioned, the plot is a mass genocide. Here are the two characters that God calls on. Let’s read Esther 4:8-14

Esther 4:8–14 CSB

8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa ordering their destruction, so that Hathach might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and command her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead with him personally for her people. 9 Hathach came and repeated Mordecai’s response to Esther. 10 Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to tell Mordecai, 11 “All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned—the death penalty—unless the king extends the gold scepter, allowing that person to live. I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the last thirty days.” 12 Esther’s response was reported to Mordecai. 13 Mordecai told the messenger to reply to Esther, “Don’t think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the king’s palace. 14 If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”

So our characters are: The Persian King who doesn’t allow anyone to enter his presence unless they are called upon. Then you have Esther, who at this point is the kings wife, and the king doesn’t know he basically gave orders to have his wife killed by allowing mass genocide. And finally Mordacai. Two Jews and a King. Probably some super horrible racist joke that starts out like that.. Anyhow, Here is the meat of the message. There is a choice we are faced with today. God is calling on you to be his messenger and his representative to the world around you. If you keep silent and do not act, God will carry out his will and purpose, but who knows what it means for the direct people of influence around you and yourself. You guys tracking with me? You have influence and the ability to make a difference.

We have a campus that easily houses 15,000 students. And we live in a city that is full of young adults who have never been transformed by the power and love of God. People who have no idea what it’s like to have a brother or a sister answer their phone call at midnight and listen to them as they tell them how they ran back to the bottle again for comfort because of their lonely heart.. And how ashamed they are of their decisions. And their home life is pitiful and completely at the end of the road… Yet to have the person on the other line say those are lies straight from the pits of darkness and those bandages and chains that are all around you can be completely broken off!

Stress, anxiety, pornography, addictions.. The enemy and this world will say that is your identity and will do its best to keep you in a box. Friends, God wants you to live beyond the box.

What does the story of Esther and Mordacai mean for you and me? That there is a mass genocide spiritually of souls all around us, and God himself has called you and me for such a time as 2021 to reconcile, transform, and help others discover there purpose as Christ Ambassadors.

Chi Alpha, We make disciples who make disciples who make more disciples. It can’t end with ourselves. It must be multi-generational. My mom has said it before that she loves and enjoys being my mom. But the moment she found out she was going to be a grandmother, her heart experienced a joy it never had before. In the same way, when you see someone you’ve fought for and did life alongside with go and “spiritually reproduce” that is make another disciple, you are a “grandmother/father” to something so wonderful and special.

And so the journey ahead of us will not be the same if you aren’t a part of it. My invitation tonight is that you would join this movement of showing people all around us the authentic and transforming power, love, and presence of Jesus.

We value community very highly. That means that we push each other to be discipled and disciple others. To be in life groups. And to be all in. This counts for you too introverts. No one is exempt. I want to see a strong family of brothers and sisters rising up and transforming the world starting here at WSU. You say 15,000 is too many, start with one person. I promise intentionality, passion, and courage is contagious..

I want to end by inviting two or three of our leaders to come and share for 1-2 minutes their passion behind being a Christ Ambassador.

Pray. And go to Andy’s!!