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What are the odds that evil would be caught and brought to justice or that a well-resourced villain would get what his deeds deserve?
In this message, Pastor Mike Novotny says they are great odds when you remember God
The episodes are the weekly sermons from 922 Ministries (St. Peter and The CORE) of Appleton, Wisconsin.
God’s Odds
Week 4 - The CORE
Pastor Mike Novotny
Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome back to week number for the summer sermon series called God's Odds.
There's a question that has caused me more confusion and frustration and tension as a pastor than almost any other.
And when I share this question with you, you might think it's a joke. You might seem it's small. But I mean absolutely serious when I say it. The question is this…. Should our pastor like me?
Hug. People like you.
Hey, man. All right, I guess we're done for today. You’re when I was growing up, you pastors, wore robes and they stood up in pulpits and they were, you know, professional theologians. Answer to that question was really easy. Don't hug your pastor, you shake his hand before you go to the parking lot and head out to brunch. And when I was going through Bible College, and Seminary, that's kind of what I thought, too. You know, I want to be a nice Pastor in a warm pastor, but it's a calling, it's a position of authority and responsibility.
Facts may be like a police officer or a professor in college. You want to be warm and approachable, but it's not like your buddy and so a handshake is the right thing to do. That's why I think for the first five, six, maybe even seven years of my ministry. That's exactly what I did. I stood up at the door. I tried to love people who preach the word of God and shake their hands before we say goodbye.
But then, one gentleman came through the line. A retired pastor and his wife. I actually remember where I was standing at my old church and he challenged my thinking, and here's what he said, he said, “I waited way too long as a pastor to hug people.”
Was that my intention? He said, “Honestly, Mike you know what I do this is not like giving a lecture. This is not like making a judgment in a courtroom. We are involved in the most emotional moments of people's lives, right? A baby's born. You tell the pastor a baptism happens, you call the pastor a marriage is falling apart and it's crisis counseling. You reach out to the Pastor, literally Pastor stand between a man and a woman when they take the vows of one of the biggest decisions of their life. It's like the three of us up there where they're at.
People's gravesites and hospital beds, we ride the ups and the downs, is it like closing a business deal with a firm handshake. This is much more personal, much more relatable than that. So, the Pastor said, handshakes, if you have to. But the ministry, the relationship between a pastor and the people of this church is, is so much better. It's so much closer than that.
And so I changed. Back in 2014, a handful of you were here. I came to this church. I thought it was a fresh start. So I said I'm gonna, I'm just gonna hug people. So she made a funny video about it. I said, hey, if it makes you uncomfortable, I'll stick with the handshake but otherwise, like the normal greeting is going to be a hug around here and for years, that's exactly what I did.
Until?
Until two things happen.
You have them are scandalous or, you know, nothing went really wrong. I was counseling this couple whose marriage was just a mess. And they would be divorced before the end of the year. And, you know, I did my best and we prayed and we talked and at the end the conversation we said goodbye, like we normally did. I hugged him and then I hugged her. But as I did, this thought popped into my mind. I wonder how long it's been since this guy has hugged his own wife.
Right? They were so distant, the marriage had grown so cold and here, I am, literally in front of this guy. Hugging the woman, he probably doesn't hug anymore and something about that just didn't sit right with me.
How long after that the “me too” movement happened? And as I heard stories from actresses and people in businesses, I learned something that I actually had never thought about before I learned that, sometimes it's hard to speak up and say you're uncomfortable. When you're with a person who has a position of authority, I'd always just operate like, hey, if you're uncomfortable, let me know. That's fine, right? But for some people, it's not so easy to say, I'm uncomfortable. Sometimes when the pastor is approaching you. And I thought, man, I would never ever, ever, ever, ever ever want someone to come to this church and feel pressured like into physical contact with the pastor. That's, that's just foul to me. And because somebody knows about me, I'm really bad at kind of like nuance to gray area. Situations, I reverted actually, I think actually confused a whole bunch of you like I backed off from the hugs. I went back to the handshakes. And now, here years later. I have no clue what I'm doing.
Because I like I feel the pull of both of those things, right? I don't just want to be a professional who preaches sermons and gets paid and goes home. Like I want to be there for the ups and the downs with you and also I want everyone in this place. To not feel threatened to not feel pressured to feel totally safe when they step into space. So am I telling you all this? I was trying to think of a way to have the most awkward interaction at the doors before we leave church today. All right? It's just going to be weird. Let's prepare ourselves for that. All right, now I want to share that story with you, because here's something I've learned about life, it's a difficult part about life. It's the messy and complicated part, but it's an absolutely true part about life. And I want you to write this down for watching at home. Want you to write this down too. I want you to know that truth.
Is attention.
Like the right thing to do. The best thing to do, the God thing to do is often not just one point. It's two. Valid points that you hold in. Tension. Should a pastor hug people? Yeah. You're gonna get it right, you have to remember both those things at the same time. And I'm telling you that because you do have to be a pastor to feel that. There's so many times in life, where the decision that you have to make the way you relate with people or with God, you can't just stop at one thing. That's true. You have to remember all the things that are true. This happens to a lot of us. When we see a homeless person outside of church, Do you reach into your pocket, your purse and give them money?
On the one hand. Yeah, Christians want to be the most generous giving people because God Is the most generous giving Father. On the other hand we don't want to enable bad behaviors in a better way just to donate to organizations that help with homelessness, that's a, that's a real tension. Or your best friend or your roommate or your kid is really deep into a drug addiction and now they need help and they need a place to stay and they're asking you for money. What do you do?
What you want to be is the most patient and kind and giving person as a follower of Jesus.
And you've heard of the word enabling before and sometimes people have to hit bottom before they change and have to reap. What they've sown and feel the consequences of their own actions. Are you going to love someone in that situation? It's not just picking one or the other. It's holding those two things in tension. Should you forgive someone who's hurt you? Yes, more than once. Jesus said, Seventy times seven times, you should forgive them. But if someone is manipulative and abusive and dangerous, should you cut ties and keep your distance from the Christian thing to do. Sometimes. Yes it is the proverb that says run away from fools and violent dangerous people. So if you're gonna if you're gonna get God writes if you're going to get the Christian Life right? You can't just listen to one thing. Say amen, and go on your merry way. You have to be willing to get into the midst of these tense, difficult, nuanced moments. Now, I was thinking we should probably have a whole sermon series about the tension of truth but today as long as I have your attention, I want to, I want to take that concept and I want to apply to something very, very specifically.
Don't talk about you and God for a second. I want to talk about you and your neighbor. Here's what I want to talk about the tension between how much you plan and how much you trust in God's plans?
All right. How much do you schedule, set goals? Put on paper, pursue. Let's talk about your plans and others talk about God's plans. All right, well real quick, survey, if there's a line between people who plan things, you know, have a calendar boxes to check New Year's resolutions and people who are totally, not that like, go with the flow, whatever God has a plan. Anyway, if you had to pick one of the other really curious where my planners at or my box checking goalsetters for sitting next to one, you can point at them right now. Yes, they probably asked you to check the calendar this morning before you came to church or that's how I am.
And those of us who are, like, Out, what we would say is, Well, of course you should. You should go get one life. It's not just a great Eminem. Lyric can only get one shot right. God. God's given you this life. These resources don't just wing. It don't waste it. If he's given you like first world money and an American paycheck. He did not give that to you to just see what happens. Make a plan for your heart, your soul, your family, your finances. There's something you're going to fail if you don't like plan from the start. So you really should.
But where my not planners at? Have you ever had to say, to a very planning person in your house? Take a deep breath. All right, he's the God of Peace and of rest and joy and you don't have it right now because the box did not get tracks. I can't just make up your own list of things to do and there's a God who has a different list of things to do. He has good works planned for you to do that aren't on your list. So why are you worrying about your goals? When you don't know the future? You don't know today. You don't know tomorrow. Why not just like setbacks? Take a deep breath and let Jesus take the wheel.
So, the big question for today is, well, what kind of person should you be? Should be a person who is ruthless and radical and driven about planning your schedule and your life. Or should you be a person who's just so trusting. So faithful that you just wait to see where God takes you.
Well today, we're jumping back into the Book of Esther and we're going to find a really clear answer to that question. The Book of Esther, just in case it's your first week here is. Maybe you agree with me. One of the most interesting, surprising books that you can find in the entire Bible, right? Takes place 2,500 years ago. But 470, 480 BC, where we meet this Persian king named Xerxes. He has this like version of “The Bachelor” where he sleeps with dozens, hundreds of women. He picks this Jewish orphan named Esther to be his new wife, she becomes the queen except Esther's cousin, a guy named Mordecai has this major beef with the Kings right-hand man named Haman,
Haman wants to kill Mordecai and not just Mordecai, but all of the Jewish people and where we left the story off Esther had thrown this big banquet. She's trying to intercede and save her cousin Mordecai and all of the Jewish people. And today we're going to find out how it happened. Spoiler alert. Mordecai does not die. The vile enemy Haman ends up shish kebab impaled, and on a skewer before chapter 7 is over. So, how, how did the people get saved? Was it Esther using her brain? Her human wisdom, her plan.
Or was it? God quietly intervening working out all things for the good of his people. It's fine answer. Today is we open up our Bibles to Esther chapter 7.
First one says this. So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther's Banquets. And as they were drinking wine on the second day, the King again asked Queen Esther. What is your position? It will be given you. What is your request even up to half the kingdom? It will be granted.
Queen. Esther answered. If I found favor with you your majesty and if it pleases you Grant me my life. This is my petition and spare my people. This is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed killed and annihilated We had nearly been sold as male and female slaves. I would have kept quiet because no such distress would justify disturbing the king. King Xerxes, ask Queen Esther, who is he? Where is he? The man who has dared to do such a thing. Esther said and adversary and enemy this vial. Hey men. Oh can you fix his face and Haman was terrified before the king and queen? The king got up in a rage left, his wine and went out into the palace Garden, but hey, men, realizing that the king had already decided. His fate stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. Who What a plan? Esther planned. The perfect time. It was the second day of the second Feast, she had already buttered up her husband with good food. Good drink and a good time. And she planned the perfect attitude. Right in her distress, she did not become condescending or demanding that you catch all the language. If I have found favor with you, your majesty, if it pleases you I don't want to disturb you. She comes with Incredible respect. Plans the perfect approach. That's what people call inductive reasoning. She actually makes Haman condemned and killed a man. Before I should say. Xerxes condemned and killed a man. Before she even speaks. Haman's name, did you catch that? Someone's trying to kill your wife or husband. Someone trying to rid me of my life. Someone is trying to destroy and annihilate my people and Xerxes is so furious. He says who? Let me at them. Where is this man? And then Esther plans, the perfect punch line, doesn't she? Oh, yes, honey. He is an enemy. He's an adversary. He is Boom.
Esther's like a coach who's called the timeout, drawn up to play and then ran it to perfection. She planned the time. She planned the place. She planned. The script. She planned her attitude. She planned the conclusion and guess what happens.
Even Haman. The vile enemy knows that the plans going to work.
Right. And all the type a planning people Insurance join their voices and they said, hey man, you see? We were right. We were right. Turn to a hippie next to you and say I was right, right? That's why we keep a planner. It's in the Book of Esther, honey. Let's sit down with our calendars. After breakfast is over. It's all right, but wait, before we get excited. That's absolutely true. Isn't it? Esther wasn't winging it. She can't go in cold. Just wait for the holy spirit to guide her word. She had
A specific plan and the chapter isn't over.
Jump again at verse 8.
It says just as the king returned from the palace Garden to the banquet hall Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining to beg for his life. The king exclaimed. Well, he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house. As soon as the word left the Kings mouth, they covered Haman's face then one of the eunuchs attending the king said a pole reaching to a height of 50 cubits, 75 feet, stands by Haman's house. Haman set it up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.
The king said impale him on it. So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai and the King's fury subsided. I got to ask was any of that in Esther's plan. Was she thinking when I say it's Haman Xerxes gonna go outside and then Haman's going to beg for his life. He's gonna fall on the couch. It's gonna look like he's attacking me. Assaulting me at that very moment. My husband's gonna go back in the room, did it? No shouldn't have no clue how people would react? She could not have planned or predicted the timing of that moment that was not Esther and that I was God. And what are the odds that Harbona, one of the Servants of King Xerxes would just so have happened to seeing this giant 75 foot skewering impaling pole outside of his house and he would just so happened to say to the king. Oh yeah, the man that you just found out saved your life, Mordecai? That was actually meant for him. He fuels the rage and the vengeance of King Xerxes that wasn't in Esther's plan.
So how did all that happen?
It's grotesque to think about but as I took literally Haman's flesh and blood body and they held it above this, massive sharpened pole and let go. So what impaling was?
How did Esther and Mordecai get saved. How did the villain end up dead and God's people end up alive?
Well, the answer is. Esther. And, God, that's really not take a nap while Jesus took the wheel. She can sit in the back seat and wait for God to do his things she planned, and then God showed up with his plan. She took a first step and then God directed the steps.
That's what I want you to remember today. Write this down, please, that two truths, not one truth but two truths. Aren't you a lie?
If you're going to get your relationship with God. Correct. If you're not going to end up in one ditch, then you have to remember not one thing, but two things, and if you can keep two truths together, you'll end up with the whole truth. My friend been once described it like this. It's a piece of ribbon up here. Let's imagine that there's a cliff here and a cliff here. You're standing right here and there's this massive, like take one wrong step and it'll kill you kind of chasm. And here's the bridge. And if I attached that bridge on one side, And said, Go for it. You'd say no thank you. I said, well, why not? You said, well has to be attached on the other side and so I would say okay
They also, no, thank you. And if you're gonna get across, if you're going to survive, obviously a bridge has to be attached here and here. One, two. Put them both together and you have the way that the bridge works.
And that's the way that your plans for Life work, too. You're either going to end up with missed opportunities for blessing. Or you're going to miss the blessing of peace and joy. Unless you can remember these two things?
Write them down. We actually learn them from the story of Esther truth. Number one, is that God has a purpose. All right. God has a plan. God has things prepared for you. You might not see them, you might not know them, you might not have anticipated them but God has a grand purpose for your life. We call that Providence, right? So real quick, again, we're all my type a planner people at like me. All right, some of us we are way too stressed and we don't need to be
So if you come home at the end of the day and you're super frazzled and you're super mad because you wanted to do a, b, and c and then God interrupted you and he gave you d, e, and f.
You don't have to feel that way. Are you falling into the error of reminding, remembering just one truth, your plans and God says, hey I interrupt people.
Sometimes I detour people. Sometimes there are people that I know need love and you didn't even know about them. And so they weren't on your agenda, they weren't on your calendar. Sometimes you've done really, really great work. That really helped people and your stress and your frazzled because you didn't get your to-do list. That says you don't have to see life that way. Good days are productive days. Bad days are unproductive days. No. God has a purpose in all things. God is working for the good and all things include the things that weren't on your list of things. All right. So do your best impression of a local hippie to just take a deep breath. Or I know the calendar. I'm gonna burn my to-do list because God can work through all of that, right? And I want to say that especially to some of you who've been through some really hard things.
Right? I know having a broken heart wasn't part of your plan. If you're a widow, I know him dying as early as he did wasn't part of your plan. I know maybe being single for this long or being single again, wasn't part of your plan. I know being one of the many people who battles chronic anxiety wasn't part of your plan. And I'm struggling with fertility, wasn't part of your plan going through the death of your father, wasn't your plan, but you don't have to panic, like your life is wasted. Because there are more than just your plans of God.
And I would encourage some of you today to become the kind of person who remembers that in all things. God works for the good.
In that thing, you're going through. He works for the good. In the most backwards, I never would have chosen this day week season of life. God works for the good. The situation you were in is not the exception if you can. Remember this truth it will give you so much comfort and so much joy when you can say God you love me you know better than me like I didn't plan this but you brought it right in front of me. So I'm going to embrace it and I'm going to say again in all things, God works for the good that this too is the day that God has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Fanned. And here's truth number two, The Bible also talks about your plans. It was a great passage from Proverbs 20:1. Maybe some of you need to hear this today. It says, the plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
I love that. The plans of the diligent lead to profit, you want a profitable life, you want a blessed life, a prosperous life. What do you do?
This passage says you plan. Yeah, you buy yourself a calendar. You make a budget. You think about before the end of the year? What do I want to accomplish? Don't just go to work. Go to school. Let's see what happens with my life. Think about who you are, and where you are, what God has given you, how can you maximize your impact on people and on the kingdom of God? Or be intentional about your life, some of, you know, like life goes way faster than you think. When you're doing your homework, the seconds tick by and then one day you wake up and your 41 and you say what happened? And you have a little kid and you're just changing diapers and try not to fall asleep in church and then you blink and she's 14 and going to high school like life goes fast. We don't get to go back. And so God says, I want you to profit and the plans of the diligent lead to profit. So for some of you, your homework is to just sit down with a blank sheet of paper after church today and say what are my plans? Where am I going? What am I trying to accomplish? I'm gonna make them as if it all depends on me. I'm gonna hold these plans and open hands and say, but God in the end, your will be done.
Client like it all depends on you. Rest like it all depends on God. If you hold those two truths, intention. That truth will set you free.
Now, I'm ready to say, amen, and greet you awkwardly at the door with a handshake unless you try to hug me, which is cool.
But there's one last thing I want to sneak in here because we think about two truths and tension. I just can't miss. Maybe the biggest tension in the room.
Did you notice it?
Just put down your phones and your pens for a second and look for five seconds at that cross.
What do you feel when you look at a cross?
If I think about it long enough, I feel things that are held in tension. When I meditate on the meaning of the cross, I feel about as absolutely horrible about myself as I could.
And I feel so much better about myself than ever before.
Seventy-two. I mean, we say because the Bible says that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that's true. So when we think about Jesus there, you know what, when I described Haman being impaled on that stake, the gruesomeness of that, did you know that crucifixion was even worse?
And to think that if Jesus is dying for our sins, the reason Jesus is suffering that is because of because of you.
He imagined if this is, if it's actual body was there in this moment?
Jesus is twitching and convulsing and crying and groaning.
Could you stand before the cross? Knowing this is happening because of your sins. And actually think, you know what, I'm a pretty decent guy.
Now my selfishness, that's not a big deal. I'm not a bad person. Now when I stopped on the kids and when I looked at that thing on the internet, wow I'm just human, right?
Like, the cross is so devastating because it says that sin is so bad. Your sin was so bad. That this was the only way to fix it.
We compare ourselves to Haman and to Hitler, and we think we're fairly decent people. But if Jesus is dying on the cross for you, he wasn't dying for decent people. He was dying for damn two people.
That's what impatience looks like to God. That's what being mean to your brother or sister. Looks like to God, that's what living for yourself and not praying and not reading the Bible, not even thinking about God, looks like to God. It's that bad that the pure and innocent Son of God had to suffer, had to shed his blood on that cross. I mean, there's just like a stake, that impales. My own heart. When I think about that, I did that to Jesus.
And Jesus did that for me?
Jesus is a kind of love that no one has ever showed me in my entire life. You've never experienced something like this. Jesus, actually loved you so much, despite your sin, despite your choices, despite the mess that even though you he needed nothing from you, you know, what he did is he died on the cross. He gave up his life to forgive you for everything wrong that you've ever done. He was willing to shed his blood so that you and I could look at a cross and say, yep. Yep. I'm worse than I think, but God is way better than I ever believed. He's a God of mercy and he's a God of compassion, and he's a God of patience. And he is a God of Salvation. I can look at that cross and say, despite all of my mess, I'm forgiven. And I'm loved, and I'm good, and I'm Heaven bound and God cares for me, and he's working out all things for my good. The cross has two pieces of wood and it preaches to us. Two truths. We are not good people.
But God is an insanely good father to us. The cross humbles us and then lifts us up. It refuses to let us look in the mirror and think, we don't need any help. And then it extends to us all the help that we need both now and forever. And I hope you can be the kind of person who fixes their eyes on the cross. Who can hold that tension? It will save you from arrogance and I'm better than all of you from a holier-than-thou attitude but it won't crush you. It'll lift you up with humility, fix her eyes, and your forgiveness, and give you more hope and peace than ever before.
I so wish I could tell Will Smith that.
Will Smith you're not here today are you know that's again. Wow, that's I heard the story in early 2022 Will Smith delivered. The slap heard around the world. He's at an award ceremony Comedian Chris Rock, made some crack about Will Smith's wife and he got up on stage and physically assaulted Chris Rock and that after a little bit and the shock wore off people realized like just how bad that was. Someone says a joke even if it's a bit off-color and rude and you physically attack them. Is that how we want to live?
What Smith realized just how he had hurt, not just his own reputation, he had dishonored his wife, his family. Get attacked Chris Rock, he had stolen the thunder from the guy who was about to win the next award before it happened. And so after four months of thinking about that moment, he issued an apology. And when I listen to his apology, I so wished that I had his number.
Because I don't know that Will Smith knows about the tension.
Here's what he said. Talking about what he had done. Will Smith said quote “I'm trying to be remorseful. Without thinking of myself as a piece of….”
Yeah. How do you do that? How do you look your failures square in the face? Be as remorseful as you should be without think of yourself as trash as worthless as dung as shameful. I want. If Will Smith was here, I would look him in the eye and I would say I know a guy. I know a guy who will make you feel even worse about your behavior to see it for what it actually is, but he will not leave you there. He will lift you up. Make you right, clean you off and set you in the very presence of God. You allow yourself to say, “I'm a bad person but I'm still blessed. I'm a real sinner, but I am absolutely saved. God owes me nothing and yet through Jesus, he has given me everything I have sinned but Jesus saves And I hope and I pray my brothers and sisters that you can remember both things sin and salvation, the law and the gospel, how you messed up, and I'll Mercy cleaned up that mess because if you believe both those things, two truths will not lie.”
Let's pray. Thank you so much for the cross. I thank you so much that you just save us from arrogance and comparison. And thinking those people are the real problem. That's not true. It's a tough enough humbling word for us, but we need to hear it. God. When people are proud and think they're better relationships blow up and cultures blow up, schools blow up. So thank you for being real about our sin and its seriousness. And we thank you a million times more for your grace. Maybe we want to minimize our sin because we don't think there's forgiveness if it's too bad. But the cross comes and just deliver, is this beautiful declaration that we're holding onto for dear life today. That Jesus Christ died for the very worst of Sinners that for me. He died for us. And I'm asking God for help to hold this tension. In the days to come help us to fight sin like, everything depends on it. And if we sin, God helps us to remember that. It didn't depend on us. It was all about Jesus. Help us hold this tension as we go through life planning as best we can to leverage this moment to make the most of this opportunity to love you and love people. And God if nothing goes according to plan, help us to remember that. You have a purpose that you're got a Providence that in all things, you work for the good of those who love you. I got it. It's tough to remember one truth. It's even tougher to remember to. So give us all the help that we need to do this. Well, God your truth is a tension, a beautiful tension that I want to hold onto today. I pray that you bless us as we seek this as we seek you, and as we seek to love one another. In Jesus name, it's in His name that we pray and all God's people said, Amen.