Do Your Best And God Will Do The Rest

DO YOUR BEST AND GOD WILL DO THE REST

ESTHER 6:1-11 (1)

FOCUS - “ON THAT NIGHT THE KING COULD NOT SLEEP...”

I. THE HISTORY BEHIND THE BOOK OF ESTHER

II. MORDECAI AND ESTHER HAD DONE ALL THEY COULD DO

A. Mordecai was limited in what he could do

B. Esther was limited in what she could do

C. The final decision was the king’s

III. RELATING THIS TO OUR OWN SITUATION

A. We are all dealing with situations in life that concern us, trouble us and burden us

B. Unsaved loved ones, family problems, financial, etc

C. It is natural to do everything you can

-if we don’t do all we know to do then it means we really don’t care

-when we care we rack our brains trying to think of the right words, the right actions, we pray and cry

-we are always wondering, “Is there something else I could have said or done?”

-sometimes the answer is no

D. There are situations that are not going to change unless there is a supernatural move of God to intervene

IV. YOU’VE DONE YOU’RE BEST, LET GOD DO THE REST

A. Mordecai and Esther needed God to intervene in a supernatural way and He did

- “On that night the king could not sleep”

-God directed the king’s heart to read the account of Mordecai

-how often have we looked at situations and something unexpected happened and you knew God was intervening?

B. We need God to intervene. After we’ve done our best we have to let God do the rest

C. God was able to intervene now because nothing had been done earlier

-nothing had been done for Mordecai

D. Sometimes God doesn’t move when we ask Him to because He is saving it for the right moment

-there is a time when a person’s heart gets to the place that it will respond to what God is doing

-if God intervenes at the wrong time, the person may not be ready to respond

E. These are what we call, “The mysterious ways of God”

-it can be something tragic, huge but often it is something little, insignificant things that happen. Something we would hardly notice. It’s nothing we would have thought of.

-illustration - Life’s a little thing! Robert Browning once wrote. But a little thing can mean a life. Even two lives. How well I remember. Two years ago in downtown Denver my friend, Scott Reasoner, and I saw something tiny and insignificant change the world, but no one else even seemed to notice. It was one of those beautiful Denver days. Crystal clear, no humidity, not a cloud in the sky. We decided to walk the ten blocks to an outdoor restaurant rather than take the shuttle bus that runs up and down the Sixteenth Street Mall. The restaurant, in the shape of a baseball diamond, was called The Blake Street Baseball Club. The tables were set appropriately on the grass infield. Many colorful pennants and flags hung limply overhead. As we sat outside, the sun continued to beat down on us, and it became increasingly hot. There wasn’t a hint of a breeze, and heat radiated up from the tabletop. Nothing moved, except the waiters, of course. And they didn’t move very fast, either. After lunch Scott and I started to walk back up the mall. We both noticed a mother and her young daughter walking out of a card shop toward the street. She was holding her daughter by the hand while reading a greeting card. It was immediately apparent to us that she was so engrossed in the card that she did not notice a shuttle bus moving toward her at a good clip. She and her daughter were one step away from disaster when Scott started to yell. He hadn’t even gotten a word out when a breeze blew the card out of her hand and over her shoulder. She spun around and grabbed at the card, nearly knocking her daughter over. By the time she picked up the card from the ground and turned back around to cross the street, the shuttle bus had whizzed by her. She never even knew what almost happened. To this day two things continue to perplex me about this event. Where did that one spurt of wind come from to blow the card out of that young mother’s hand? There had not been a whisper of wind at lunch or during our long walk back up the mall. Secondly, if Scott had been able to get his words out, the young mother might have looked up at us as they continued to walk into the bus. It was the wind that made her turn back to the card - in the one direction that saved her life and that of her daughter. The passing bus did not create the wind. On the contrary, the wind came from the opposite direction. I have no doubt it was a breath from God protecting them both. But the awesomeness of this miracle is that she never knew. As we continued back to work, I wondered how God often acts in our lives without our being aware. The difference between life and death can very well be a little thing. Miracles often blow unseen through our lives.

V. CONCLUSION

A. Elijah and the still, small voice

B. Samuel and the still voice of God

C. David and one small stone