Cambodia

Every Nation Church Cambodia

Mordecai’s reply did nothing to ease the young queen’s fears. In fact, his challenge shook her to the very core of her being.

He had told the eunuch to tell Esther she would not escape death if the king’s evil edict remained in effect. In fact, even if every other Jewish person in the kingdom was spared, she and her family would still die.

Mordecai also challenged her with a probing question: “Esther, could it be that God has given you a royal position for such a time as this?”

With this divine question still resounding in her ears, Esther closed her eyes and put her face in her hands as she pondered the eunuch’s report. “Tell Mordecai to gather together every Jew in Susa for a three-day period of prayer and fasting. My handmaidens and I will also fast. At the end of this time, even though it is against the law, I will approach the king. If I die, I die,” Esther whispered to the eunuch.

With a heavy heart, the eunuch took the young queen’s message to Mordecai.

Many times, like Esther, we deceive ourselves into thinking our place in life will save us from the pain and destruction in our land. It may be our job security, net worth, wonderful family life, influential friends, or the position of power we have achieved; we mistakenly think these things can insulate us from the horrible realities all around us.

In my own experience, I have found this mindset cannot be farther from the truth. For example, if you do not fight abortion, sooner or later someone you love will be touched by its horrors.

Maybe, like the majority of Christians, when you look at the horrible problems plaguing the inner cities and poverty-stricken areas of our world, you might simply raise your hand in thanksgiving that you do not live there.

Sadly, this type of attitude almost guarantees that the problems of the inner cities will soon be coming to a neighborhood not far from you.

Do you see it yet? No matter what you or your nation might be facing, God is calling you to use your place of influence to accomplish His purposes in your sphere of influence: your neighborhood, your city, state, country, or even your world.

© Copyright 2005 by Jim Laffoon

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You can hear my talk on the .COM generation (Joy in Humility) by clicking here

As the generation that lives in First World 2013, this must be said: we live in either THE MOST SPOILT GENERATION, or THE MOST OPPORTUNE TIME in all of history.

I think about how we often joke about “FWP’s” or “First World Problems”, you know the ones where we begin to complain about things like internet speed, trains being late, pizzas not being delivered on time, text messages not going through. For some reading this and identifying with these or similar FWP’s, you may note that an overwhelming percentage of the world does not have access to internet, pizza delivery or smartphones. Again the speed and accessibility as to which information, travel and consumerism take place in our generation make this either the most opportune time for the Gospel to be preached, or the most self-centered time where the focus moves towards us and our benefit.

We are the .COM generation. But what kind of .COM’s mark this generation?

Is it COMpromise? Do you find yourself compromising by cutting corners to obtain what you might see other people may have?

Which brings me to the second negative .COM… Do you operate out of COMparison, always asking the question: “Where’s mine?” Not inspirationally like one who looks to a mentor and sees a model for betterment, but out of unrighteous jealousy and pure entitlement.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4, ESV)

Do we end up COMplaining about all the things that go wrong in our lives? Not towards God, but to people who may not necessarily be able to help you in your situation, but in a way that is laced with subtle bitterness?

 Do all things without grumbling or disputing (Philippians 2:14)

There are .COM’s though that may be more like Christ. Understanding much like Christ we have been COMmissioned with a call from the Father to love Him, love other people and make disciples. He empowers us with His COMpassion to be able to see the world and its people the way He does. And do we understand that He is a God who is faithful to COMplete the work that he has begun (Philippians 1:6).

Will you be one who takes advantage of the time you live in to experience all that God has for you to do and become? Or will you take advantage of this time, to milk this time for your own benefit, only to find at the end of this life that this world has nothing to offer at all?

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Last Sunday’s IDENTITY message was “I am unique.” Download and listen here.

You are unique. One of a kind. There never has been and never will be anyone like you. God wanted YOU. The world needs you. So don’t live as a copy…

In the Scriptures, David says about himself Psalm 139:13-14 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, my soul knows it very well.”  (The New Living Translation reads:  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.)

How do you feel about “you”?  Can you say what David said, or is yours more “God, I am scared and wonder why you made me like this”???

Do you love “you”? (It’s a commandment!)

I trust that this “I AM UNIQUE” message will speak deep to your soul and bring your freedom to be YOU in Christ!  Download and listen here.

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Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”       Esther 4:6-11

Mordecai was beside himself with grief. After putting on ashes and sackcloth, he staggered, weeping and wailing, through the streets of the royal city. He was mourning because King Xerxes had issued an edict calling for the total annihilation of the Jewish people throughout his domain.

Now, as Jews throughout the Persian Empire fasted and prayed for their deliverance, Mordecai knew young Queen Esther was the only hope for her people.

When Esther heard about her precious cousin’s bizarre actions, she immediately sent her servants to clothe and comfort him. After he refused to respond to the servants, she sent Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, to find out what was troubling her beloved relative.

Mordecai’s response to her inquiry would change Esther’s life forever; he sent her a copy of the king’s wicked edict and pleaded with her to go into the king’s presence and ask him to show mercy on her people.

After the eunuch had relayed Mordecai’s conversation to Esther, the young queen was more frightened than she had ever been in her life. The king had not called her into his presence for thirty days.

Under Persian law, any man or woman who approached the king without a royal summons would be executed. It didn’t even matter that she was the queen; unless the king extended his golden scepter, her life would not be spared.

Despite her terror, she wondered–deep inside–if her people’s peril was the very reason God placed her on the throne.

Do you see it yet? Just as God placed Esther on the throne for a purpose, so He has given you, for reasons probably far beyond your comprehension, the position or title you hold today.

Whether you are a class president, a team captain, a CEO, an editor, a professor, a politician, or any other type of leader, God has given you the power you need to advance His kingdom on the earth.

Many of you, however, are afraid to use your God-given position for His purposes and His glory; you don’t want to lose that position or its power. Remember, the same God who placed you in your current position also has the power to keep you there. If He doesn’t, it is only because your next placement will be even more strategic than the one before.

Once you see God’s sovereign hand of positioning and protection, you will never be afraid to use the place of influence He has given you for the advance of His kingdom.

For some of you, this will involve bringing a new level of morality and ethics to your chosen profession. Others of you will work within the legal or political system to change the laws destroying the very life of your nation.

Whatever the case may be, never forget that God Himself has sovereignly positioned you for the advancement of His kingdom and the fulfillment of His purposes for your life.

© Copyright 2005 by Jim Laffoon

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Jonathan’s request was unreasonable, yet faith supplied the necessary courage to complete the mission. In your life, what victory, wrapped in a God-inspired unreasonable request, is waiting to be secured? Whatever it is, arm yourself with courage and go get it. Live right, live well…

The chief eunuchs were not surprised; they knew young Esther was destined to be queen from the first moment they had seen her. Although she was a beautiful girl, it was her kindness, love, joy, and meekness which had won the hearts of everyone in the harem.

Because of Esther’s profound humility, however, she had been totally shocked when the king had chosen her to become his queen.

Now, as she was being prepared for her coronation, tears were streaming down her cheeks. Who would have thought a little Jewish girl would rise out of the darkness of the harem to the power of Persia’s throne?

Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, had always told her she had a destiny. He had been convinced she was born for a special purpose.

As she walked onto the dais to receive her crown, she knew Mordecai had been right all along. With the adoring multitudes cheering and applauding, Esther knelt to receive her crown. Her coronation, however, was only the beginning, for God had exalted her for a purpose far beyond anything she could have imagined.

If God could take Esther (a young orphan from a persecuted minority) out of the darkness of the harem onto the power of Persia’s throne, what can He do for you?

Even as God had a supernatural purpose for Esther’s life, so He also has an amazing purpose for yours. Although you will probably never become a king or a queen, there is a divine purpose for your life nevertheless.

The Apostle Paul said all of us were created with a specific task to accomplish (Ephesians 2:10). He also stated that God is able to do things in our lives, through the power of the Holy Spirit, which are far beyond our own imaginations (Ephesians 3:20).

No matter where you are in your life, or what profession you have, these Scriptures also apply to you. As you submit to the preparation required to complete His purpose in your life, you will be amazed to see the platform He gives you for the advancement of His Kingdom.

You may be thinking to yourself, “What about my terrible past and my deeply wounded soul? Can God really use a person like me?” The answer to all these questions is, “Yes, absolutely!”

In fact, God delights in using broken, wounded people to accomplish His purposes on the earth. Whether it was Esther, who lost both of her parents at a young age, or King David who was despised by his own family, there is nothing in a person’s past which will keep God from using them, as long as they submit their lives to Him.

Do you see it yet? If you will embrace God’s purpose and submit to His preparation, He will bring you into a destiny beyond your comprehension.

© Copyright 2005 by Jim Laffoon

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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, USA. Too often we get so focused on what we are NOT, that we forget what God says we are.

Over dinner I was reminded of the many times this humble man of God has impacted my life and of many others. Once we asked him for his greatest tip for successful living. His reply was one word: DISCIPLINE. I couldn’t forget that leaning moment with him.

When you think about it dis-ci-pline sounds very similar to dis-ci-ple. I don’t know where we get the idea that to be a follower of Christ we won’t need this important word that affects every facet of life.

The Bibe bears out Pastor Kevin’s wise words or should I say word.

“And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,…” Hebrews 12:5

God desires to discipline us. Yes, you read it right. Desires. He knows that without it, we will not go the distance. The right response is not to be overwhelmed and lose heart. We are also warned not to take His discipline lightly.

“…because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?” Hebrews 12:6-7

Discipline is a mark of God’s love. It is a mark of God’s desire to make us His children. Endure it by viewing it as God treating you as His beloved children.

“If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.” Hebrews 12:8

Fact is everyone undergoes discipline. If you are not being disciplined there is a measure of spiritual blindness in you. That blindness is probably because of illegitimacy in your relationship with God.

“Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! Hebrews 12:9

Discipline is really about submitting our spirits to God.

“They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.” Hebrews 12:10

Discipline is not the goal, holiness is. Many times the reason why we find ourselves in compromising situations is because of a lack of discipline much like the disciples who fell asleep when Jesus was in the garden. The result was they abandoned him.

Actually the real goal is not even holiness but to share in God’s holiness. The real goal is relationship.

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

The funny thing about discipline is it is never pleasant. Often, it is painful. In the end it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace when we have become trained in it. Think about all the athletes, performers, and leaders we emulate. We all appreciate the results of their discipline but would probably abhor the discipline it took to get them there.

The next time you feel like being lazy, taking a short-cut or settling for mediocrity – think of Pastor Kevin’s one word – DISCIPLINE. May you have a revelation of it’s vital importance and be willing to embrace it in its various forms, realizing it’s the way to enjoy a relationship with God.

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