1 00:00:00,270 --> 00:00:02,910 Todd Asaad: Thank you, um, Greg and Kathy. 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:08,100 Uh, so encouraging to be here with Orange County and all of our friends and 3 00:00:08,100 --> 00:00:09,780 visitors that are here with us today. 4 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:13,860 A lot to say, uh, in a short amount of time. 5 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,410 Uh, do want to say a couple things really quick? 6 00:00:16,500 --> 00:00:20,280 Um, you know, Greg and Kathy, we go back to Dallas days, I don't know, 7 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,820 25 years ago, 23, 25 years ago. 8 00:00:24,405 --> 00:00:28,185 And I think, uh, our relationship, what I would say is, is an incredible 9 00:00:28,185 --> 00:00:30,495 testament to God and his love for us. 10 00:00:30,855 --> 00:00:35,894 Um, I think Greg and I, um, you know, we didn't have a great relationship 11 00:00:35,955 --> 00:00:42,825 in, in Dallas, but because Greg is a disciple and I trying to be a disciple 12 00:00:43,095 --> 00:00:49,245 is we've worked on our friendship over the last 15, 18 years and I could 13 00:00:49,245 --> 00:00:51,495 absolutely say beyond a shadow of a doubt. 14 00:00:51,900 --> 00:00:57,300 Um, that Greg is a great friend of both Patty and I and Kathy, and I'm 15 00:00:57,300 --> 00:01:01,590 just so grateful for men and women like that, that are still standing, 16 00:01:01,830 --> 00:01:03,870 uh, in their convictions of God. 17 00:01:04,140 --> 00:01:08,400 And I have nothing but profound respect for Greg and Kathy and what 18 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:09,960 they've done and what they're doing. 19 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:13,980 Uh, one thing I'll add is that Greg got me to do something that no one 20 00:01:13,980 --> 00:01:16,770 was a ever able to do in my life. 21 00:01:17,130 --> 00:01:19,920 Um, as he mentioned, I'm a chiropractor by education. 22 00:01:20,580 --> 00:01:23,190 I went to college for seven years to get my doctorate. 23 00:01:23,490 --> 00:01:24,780 Uh, I was done with school. 24 00:01:24,780 --> 00:01:26,700 I was tired, I was burnt out. 25 00:01:26,940 --> 00:01:30,630 Uh, I was finished completely and Greg was such a huge 26 00:01:30,630 --> 00:01:33,180 proponent to go back to school. 27 00:01:33,180 --> 00:01:37,440 I mean, he wouldn't, he wouldn't nag me, but he would talk about the value 28 00:01:37,620 --> 00:01:42,960 of it, and eventually he got me to go back and get a master's at a CU. 29 00:01:43,430 --> 00:01:46,610 And I'm incredibly grateful again for that because I learned 30 00:01:46,610 --> 00:01:49,640 so much, um, over the years. 31 00:01:49,700 --> 00:01:54,530 Um, and because of his influence in my life, I'm very, very grateful. 32 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:59,270 So Pat and I, uh, we've been married almost 40 years, uh, baptized. 33 00:01:59,270 --> 00:02:00,890 I was baptized in Chicago. 34 00:02:01,070 --> 00:02:03,650 Uh, she was in Missouri, university of Missouri. 35 00:02:03,650 --> 00:02:05,030 She's a journalism. 36 00:02:05,030 --> 00:02:05,060 Okay. 37 00:02:05,539 --> 00:02:08,060 Um, we've been outta the ministry now for three years. 38 00:02:08,060 --> 00:02:10,579 Patty will share a lot about what's going on in our life. 39 00:02:11,145 --> 00:02:15,465 Um, I'm now in real estate in Dallas, so if you move into Dallas, let me know. 40 00:02:15,704 --> 00:02:19,785 Uh, yeah, so, and Patty's gonna share a little about our blog. 41 00:02:19,905 --> 00:02:21,405 Uh, we might move here someday. 42 00:02:21,405 --> 00:02:22,155 I don't know. 43 00:02:22,155 --> 00:02:25,515 I know all the real estate agents and their hearts just dropped a little bit. 44 00:02:25,515 --> 00:02:25,845 Great. 45 00:02:25,845 --> 00:02:29,415 Another agent in Dallas are in LA but we'll see what happens. 46 00:02:29,655 --> 00:02:33,795 Our oldest son and daughter, uh, daughter-in-law, uh, they're in 47 00:02:34,125 --> 00:02:36,435 Dana Point now, maybe San Clemente. 48 00:02:36,465 --> 00:02:37,035 We'll see how long. 49 00:02:37,770 --> 00:02:40,320 Um, taxes and politics. 50 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:41,010 Keep 'em here. 51 00:02:41,130 --> 00:02:42,720 Um, and maybe they go back. 52 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:43,920 I don't know, but we'll see. 53 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,040 So, amen. 54 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:47,640 Surrender. 55 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:48,120 Amen. 56 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:53,250 So the title of the lesson here is, if I Perish, I Perish. 57 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,610 It's about Courage in a Dangerous World. 58 00:02:56,820 --> 00:03:00,000 And I know that, you know, we think about it is like, what lesson do you 59 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:01,920 do between Christmas and New Year's? 60 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:04,320 Well, a lesson on Esther is the way to go. 61 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,820 Um, now you read this book, it's a few chapters. 62 00:03:08,820 --> 00:03:11,490 If you haven't read it lately, literally you can go home and 63 00:03:11,490 --> 00:03:16,859 get it done, um, in, in literally half an hour if that 20 minutes. 64 00:03:16,980 --> 00:03:19,859 Uh, and it's an incredible, powerful story, but it's over 65 00:03:19,859 --> 00:03:22,740 a span of time of 10 years. 66 00:03:22,980 --> 00:03:24,900 You read it and you're thinking, oh, it's a weekend. 67 00:03:24,900 --> 00:03:26,220 It's, it's a couple days. 68 00:03:26,220 --> 00:03:27,810 No, it's 10 years. 69 00:03:28,230 --> 00:03:29,400 And we have this statement. 70 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:30,810 If I perish, I perish. 71 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:33,630 Uh, it's not that for a time such as this. 72 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:35,970 It's like, no, no. 73 00:03:36,030 --> 00:03:38,700 We're gonna talk about if I perish, I perish. 74 00:03:38,940 --> 00:03:44,790 Having courage in a dangerous world, you know, we don't live in a safe world. 75 00:03:45,570 --> 00:03:50,970 It's uncertain, it's unpredictable, and often it is unfair. 76 00:03:51,720 --> 00:04:02,400 And in our nature, we want long for and even demand safe places. 77 00:04:02,475 --> 00:04:09,075 Oh, and I know probably a really good example is this Bucky's men's bathrooms. 78 00:04:10,394 --> 00:04:13,575 How many of us in this room have ever been to a Bucky's? 79 00:04:14,505 --> 00:04:15,105 All right. 80 00:04:15,105 --> 00:04:16,485 Some of you have been blessed. 81 00:04:16,575 --> 00:04:19,365 Many of you will be because they're taking over. 82 00:04:19,515 --> 00:04:23,025 It is the amusement park of gas stations. 83 00:04:23,070 --> 00:04:28,800 120 stations, they go in there Christmas time, you can't walk. 84 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:30,540 I mean, you're like walking like this. 85 00:04:30,540 --> 00:04:33,990 And they have Bucky nuts, they have brisket, they have everything. 86 00:04:33,990 --> 00:04:34,920 It's blow away. 87 00:04:35,250 --> 00:04:39,450 And, and I was here to Bucky's and, and you know, this is the expectation. 88 00:04:39,450 --> 00:04:40,770 You walk in the bathroom. 89 00:04:41,115 --> 00:04:42,284 It's wide. 90 00:04:42,495 --> 00:04:43,425 It's open. 91 00:04:43,425 --> 00:04:44,775 You got pictures. 92 00:04:44,775 --> 00:04:46,665 It's beautiful, it's clean. 93 00:04:46,844 --> 00:04:50,145 This is what I expect in my world. 94 00:04:50,505 --> 00:04:53,055 But see, but then you have reality. 95 00:04:54,075 --> 00:04:56,145 And this is the women's restroom. 96 00:04:58,125 --> 00:05:03,075 I'm sorry, this is the end of the line for the women's restroom. 97 00:05:03,765 --> 00:05:09,675 And it was all the way down zigzagging all the way to the back of the wall. 98 00:05:09,705 --> 00:05:15,165 And I was like, oh, I gotta take a picture of this because this is reality. 99 00:05:16,425 --> 00:05:20,715 So in the Book of Esther, you see power abused. 100 00:05:21,180 --> 00:05:21,270 Yes. 101 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:29,640 You see, truth was twisted and God's people were under threat, and in 102 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:35,610 that environment we have a faithful young woman, probably a teenager, 103 00:05:35,610 --> 00:05:40,230 beginning this walk, responded with courage and a dangerous world. 104 00:05:40,290 --> 00:05:40,470 Yeah. 105 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:46,920 Esther didn't wait for the world to calm down before she stepped up 106 00:05:47,700 --> 00:05:49,470 and she made this simple statement. 107 00:05:50,145 --> 00:05:52,935 If I perish, I perish. 108 00:05:53,445 --> 00:05:59,055 In other words, what she was saying is that I may not survive 109 00:05:59,085 --> 00:06:03,315 this, but I won't stay silent. 110 00:06:04,065 --> 00:06:05,025 So Patty's gonna share, 111 00:06:07,866 --> 00:06:11,925 Patty Asaad: you know, for years I've known the world was a dangerous 112 00:06:11,925 --> 00:06:16,590 place, but until it hit my family, I didn't really think about it. 113 00:06:17,550 --> 00:06:23,460 But before I go any further, I have to give a shout out to Emily Alexander. 114 00:06:23,460 --> 00:06:27,725 She is our babysitter in Dallas, Emily. 115 00:06:28,385 --> 00:06:28,605 Todd Asaad: Oh. 116 00:06:28,785 --> 00:06:31,500 Patty Asaad: She gets kind of, you try to stand up, Emily, just to mess with you. 117 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:32,310 I love it. 118 00:06:32,310 --> 00:06:33,570 And she comes over to our house. 119 00:06:33,570 --> 00:06:37,290 She's over at our house several times a week and we hang out and she's 120 00:06:37,290 --> 00:06:39,150 helping out with our granddaughter. 121 00:06:39,570 --> 00:06:45,870 I just had to give her a shout out because I love, but back to Esther, I knew the 122 00:06:45,870 --> 00:06:52,320 world was a dangerous place, but for the most part I was going along, just living 123 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,140 my life, having a good time, pretty much. 124 00:06:55,590 --> 00:06:59,460 And I didn't realize how quickly things could change. 125 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:03,150 I mean, when my boys, we have two sons that are grown now when they 126 00:07:03,150 --> 00:07:04,800 were in high school, it was just fun. 127 00:07:05,175 --> 00:07:09,555 I remember sometimes at dinner time we would be laughing so hard. 128 00:07:09,585 --> 00:07:13,245 It would be hard to get someone to stop praying long, laughing long enough to 129 00:07:13,245 --> 00:07:15,165 say our prayers so we could go on eating. 130 00:07:15,315 --> 00:07:16,905 We were just having a good time. 131 00:07:17,355 --> 00:07:24,735 Well, when our younger son went away to college, we knew he wasn't doing well, but 132 00:07:24,735 --> 00:07:27,915 we didn't realize how bad he was doing. 133 00:07:28,215 --> 00:07:30,555 He was, he played college rugby. 134 00:07:30,885 --> 00:07:32,115 And just loved it. 135 00:07:32,115 --> 00:07:37,845 But he had some injuries and when he had injuries, you know, they, they put him in 136 00:07:37,845 --> 00:07:44,685 the hospital and he was given opiates, and he felt like it flipped a switch on him. 137 00:07:45,135 --> 00:07:49,635 Some people, I guess, are just more prone to that and his addiction. 138 00:07:49,635 --> 00:07:52,665 I, I have his permission to share all of this. 139 00:07:53,445 --> 00:07:55,485 He got hooked on the opiates. 140 00:07:55,515 --> 00:07:56,625 He just loved it. 141 00:07:56,625 --> 00:07:59,280 It never occurred to me in a million years that he would love the. 142 00:07:59,820 --> 00:08:02,910 Because I don't, when I have surgery, I just wanna get off 143 00:08:02,910 --> 00:08:04,620 of 'em as quickly as possible. 144 00:08:05,310 --> 00:08:10,560 And it became so expensive, you know, having this addiction, trying to keep 145 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:14,850 it hidden that a friend told him, oh, you can get high on heroin for about 146 00:08:14,850 --> 00:08:21,120 10 bucks and stay high for a couple of days, and he became a heroin addict. 147 00:08:21,930 --> 00:08:22,920 Never did. 148 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,970 I think I would be the mother of a heroin addict. 149 00:08:27,045 --> 00:08:36,225 And it's such a dark, ugly, shadowy world and I was trying to count it up and I know 150 00:08:36,284 --> 00:08:40,934 of now of 19 friends of his who have died. 151 00:08:42,075 --> 00:08:45,795 I mean, we're talking suicide, murder. 152 00:08:45,885 --> 00:08:48,795 I mean, a lot of us, I didn't know anyone who had been murdered 153 00:08:48,795 --> 00:08:52,935 before, um, suicide or overdosing. 154 00:08:53,714 --> 00:08:57,494 But there for a while, I was to the point, every time he was living in 155 00:08:57,494 --> 00:08:59,295 Austin, Texas, we live in Dallas. 156 00:08:59,625 --> 00:09:02,354 Every time the phone rang from Austin, I would jump. 157 00:09:02,354 --> 00:09:06,224 If I didn't recognized the number, I was so afraid we were gonna get that call. 158 00:09:07,214 --> 00:09:11,474 And he's been in and out of rehab right now, actually. 159 00:09:11,505 --> 00:09:12,255 He's doing well. 160 00:09:12,255 --> 00:09:16,334 He's been clean for about a year and a half, but it has been a long, 161 00:09:16,334 --> 00:09:22,814 long, long process and because of the consequences of addiction. 162 00:09:23,145 --> 00:09:24,975 We are raising his daughter. 163 00:09:25,515 --> 00:09:27,795 Um, the mother has addiction issues too. 164 00:09:27,795 --> 00:09:32,415 We've had her since she was about six, six months old, and 165 00:09:32,595 --> 00:09:35,655 our life changed overnight. 166 00:09:35,895 --> 00:09:38,655 All of a sudden we'd been empty nesters for years. 167 00:09:38,655 --> 00:09:42,435 We were in the ministry doing all kinds of things, traveling 168 00:09:42,435 --> 00:09:46,425 all over the place, doing, just living our lives, a lot of freedom. 169 00:09:46,425 --> 00:09:51,285 And then all of a sudden we had a six month old baby with special needs. 170 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:57,240 Because she was born with a heart defect, severe heart defect. 171 00:09:57,540 --> 00:10:03,330 She had her first open heart surgery at three weeks, and right after we got her, 172 00:10:03,330 --> 00:10:07,920 we had to start making long trips down to Austin for her to see her cardiac 173 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:12,480 team there because she was going to need another heart surgery, and they were 174 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:14,250 hoping they would be able to repair it. 175 00:10:14,250 --> 00:10:19,350 But her issues were very, very complex and. 176 00:10:19,965 --> 00:10:25,725 So we, she got the surgery, um, it was not successful and 'cause of 177 00:10:25,725 --> 00:10:33,255 complications after that surgery, she had to be on a feeding tube and it was 178 00:10:33,255 --> 00:10:35,685 something I never thought I could do. 179 00:10:35,745 --> 00:10:39,795 I mean, going back to raising a baby again, I'm in my sixties 180 00:10:40,245 --> 00:10:44,835 and I'm chronically ill, I have lupus, and I thought never in a 181 00:10:44,835 --> 00:10:46,185 million years could I do this. 182 00:10:46,844 --> 00:10:50,055 But God had made it so clear by the time we were asked, Todd and 183 00:10:50,055 --> 00:10:51,555 I hadn't even talked about it. 184 00:10:51,885 --> 00:10:54,885 The person said, would you be willing to keep her long term? 185 00:10:55,064 --> 00:10:57,109 And we both in unison said yes. 186 00:10:58,260 --> 00:11:02,069 Because sometimes God just calls us to thinks we have no idea how 187 00:11:02,069 --> 00:11:03,420 we're gonna be able to do it. 188 00:11:03,569 --> 00:11:07,230 We never saw it coming, but that's what we need to do. 189 00:11:07,290 --> 00:11:09,270 And I'm not gonna say it hasn't been hard. 190 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:11,340 I'm gonna be talking about that. 191 00:11:11,340 --> 00:11:14,790 So after her surgery, she had to be on this feeding tube. 192 00:11:14,850 --> 00:11:17,610 And I remember when they told us that, I just cried. 193 00:11:17,670 --> 00:11:18,930 I was afraid of that. 194 00:11:19,350 --> 00:11:23,400 We had to learn how to drop a tube from her nose all the way 195 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,590 down her stomach to her stomach. 196 00:11:26,385 --> 00:11:29,115 And some of you may be medical people and think, oh, that's easy. 197 00:11:29,115 --> 00:11:30,165 That's just an NG tube. 198 00:11:30,195 --> 00:11:31,845 Well, I'm not a medical person. 199 00:11:32,475 --> 00:11:36,225 I know it was difficult and we were always so afraid we were gonna hurt 200 00:11:36,225 --> 00:11:41,085 her, and we had to learn to drop this tube and then perform tests on it to 201 00:11:41,085 --> 00:11:44,535 make sure that it was in her stomach and not her lungs, because if it 202 00:11:44,535 --> 00:11:46,245 was in her lungs, we could kill her. 203 00:11:47,385 --> 00:11:50,565 I was scared to death, and this is a tip by this point. 204 00:11:50,565 --> 00:11:51,675 She's 10 months old. 205 00:11:52,065 --> 00:11:54,315 She is a 10 month old baby. 206 00:11:54,900 --> 00:11:56,700 Todd's fingers were just too big. 207 00:11:56,700 --> 00:11:57,600 He couldn't do it. 208 00:11:57,750 --> 00:12:00,930 So he would hold her down and, 'cause this was the only way she 209 00:12:00,930 --> 00:12:05,520 could eat and I would have to feed this little tube through her nose. 210 00:12:05,730 --> 00:12:11,190 Hope, hoping it's going down to her stomach every, they trained us in the 211 00:12:11,190 --> 00:12:15,150 hospital, but for some reason, when we got home three hours away with all the 212 00:12:15,150 --> 00:12:20,310 stuff, it was a different type of tubing and we didn't, we kept having mistakes. 213 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:22,620 I don't think the first two weeks we had a single. 214 00:12:23,850 --> 00:12:27,210 Um, feeding time that went well. 215 00:12:27,450 --> 00:12:33,090 I mean, she would throw it up and we, we had, we were feeding it to her too fast. 216 00:12:33,450 --> 00:12:36,900 I remember I was, we were trying to, I thought I'd gotten the tube 217 00:12:36,900 --> 00:12:39,960 in 'cause we'd always be shaking and lay things out ahead of time. 218 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:44,280 We thought we got the tube in and then all of a sudden she opens her 219 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:48,540 mouth and screams and it was all wadded up in her mouth and all these 220 00:12:48,540 --> 00:12:50,130 wires started coming outta her mouth. 221 00:12:51,135 --> 00:12:55,875 And I mean, I was probably this close to hysteria and so Todd was 222 00:12:55,875 --> 00:12:58,365 thinking, well pull the, the tube out. 223 00:12:58,725 --> 00:13:01,245 And after something like that, it's traumatic. 224 00:13:01,245 --> 00:13:03,074 You wanna just kind of go recover. 225 00:13:03,824 --> 00:13:05,595 But she still needed to eat. 226 00:13:05,595 --> 00:13:07,215 So we had to start all over again. 227 00:13:08,085 --> 00:13:11,564 And this went on for weeks, for, until eventually it ended. 228 00:13:11,564 --> 00:13:13,335 But you know what I learned from that? 229 00:13:13,574 --> 00:13:17,204 It was something I didn't want, never thought I could do any of this. 230 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:22,620 God gets us through the hardest times. 231 00:13:22,620 --> 00:13:22,740 Amen. 232 00:13:22,980 --> 00:13:26,610 Somehow he gets us through it and I'm gonna talk more about my 233 00:13:26,610 --> 00:13:30,600 struggles believing all that when I get up next, but Todd's getting up. 234 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:31,260 Back up now. 235 00:13:34,995 --> 00:13:35,285 Todd Asaad: Amen. 236 00:13:36,750 --> 00:13:38,130 So this is Charlotte now. 237 00:13:38,370 --> 00:13:40,319 Um, she's had three open heart surgeries. 238 00:13:41,145 --> 00:13:45,345 And so that was her at church, I don't know, a couple months ago, maybe, uh, St. 239 00:13:45,345 --> 00:13:47,955 Patrick's Day and, and, uh, October here. 240 00:13:47,955 --> 00:13:48,555 Halloween. 241 00:13:48,885 --> 00:13:54,825 And so, um, faith doesn't wait for safe conditions. 242 00:13:55,005 --> 00:13:57,855 Now, one thing about Grant, Patty mentioned our youngest son, he's 243 00:13:57,855 --> 00:13:59,145 actually at church this morning. 244 00:13:59,445 --> 00:14:00,795 Um, you know, he loves the body. 245 00:14:00,795 --> 00:14:02,055 He loves people in the church. 246 00:14:02,115 --> 00:14:05,265 Um, so I'm very encouraged, uh, where he's at and what, how 247 00:14:05,265 --> 00:14:07,305 he's trying to grow and change. 248 00:14:07,605 --> 00:14:09,945 But faith doesn't wait for safe conditions. 249 00:14:10,620 --> 00:14:14,850 You know, the city of Susa where this is happening was not a safe spot. 250 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,030 Um, Persia was not a safe place. 251 00:14:18,180 --> 00:14:23,580 The king and the king's palace were not safe places. 252 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:28,830 You know, here in Esther, in chapter one, it says, and, and this is, they 253 00:14:28,830 --> 00:14:33,870 had like a, um, like two or three month long celebration, basically a festival. 254 00:14:34,275 --> 00:14:37,755 And this is one of the king's edicts, he said it in verse eight, says, and 255 00:14:37,755 --> 00:14:43,334 drinking was according to the edict, to this edict, there is no compulsion for 256 00:14:43,334 --> 00:14:49,305 the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired. 257 00:14:49,755 --> 00:14:51,555 I mean, imagine living in a society. 258 00:14:51,555 --> 00:14:56,025 Imagine, you know, we start like in then Halloween, you know, and say, Hey, all 259 00:14:56,025 --> 00:15:00,915 the way from holiday or Halloween, all the way to maybe Martin Luther King Day. 260 00:15:01,064 --> 00:15:01,839 Hey, it's just a party. 261 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:06,030 And you're gonna have all the food, all the drink you want, 262 00:15:06,090 --> 00:15:08,520 and there's no compulsion. 263 00:15:09,990 --> 00:15:14,745 Imagine the environment that you would be in, in that city, in that nation, that, 264 00:15:14,820 --> 00:15:26,460 that empire, you know, we want, we hope, we pretend that this is a safe world. 265 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:30,510 I remember, you know, just a few months ago. 266 00:15:31,425 --> 00:15:34,515 I, uh, Patty and I, we live in, in Louisville, it's 267 00:15:34,515 --> 00:15:35,985 right off or not Louisville. 268 00:15:35,985 --> 00:15:39,975 We live right off of Lake Louisville, and it's about a mile to the lake. 269 00:15:40,575 --> 00:15:43,695 And, and I was walking to the lake and, you know, my, my 270 00:15:43,695 --> 00:15:45,705 philosophy is I love to read. 271 00:15:45,765 --> 00:15:46,755 I have to pray. 272 00:15:47,775 --> 00:15:53,805 I love to read, but my sanity comes from my walk with God because my 273 00:15:53,805 --> 00:15:55,515 communication is not good enough. 274 00:15:56,115 --> 00:15:59,145 And people's ability to understand is not good enough. 275 00:15:59,325 --> 00:16:02,355 So the only one I can talk to, even if it's in grunt 276 00:16:02,715 --> 00:16:06,795 noises, is God, I love to read. 277 00:16:07,035 --> 00:16:08,055 I have to pray. 278 00:16:08,295 --> 00:16:12,105 So I'm out there and I'm on prayer walk and, and I'm walking and, and I'm, you 279 00:16:12,105 --> 00:16:16,155 know, talking to God and I'm coming up this little ridge and I'm coming up to the 280 00:16:16,155 --> 00:16:19,335 lake and I hear commotion, I hear yelling. 281 00:16:20,234 --> 00:16:22,185 And I'm like, what the heck is going on there? 282 00:16:22,185 --> 00:16:26,354 And I get closer and closer and I, you know, I, I look there and, and 283 00:16:26,354 --> 00:16:30,435 I come close and all of a sudden now there's three boats and, and 284 00:16:30,435 --> 00:16:32,474 they're just right next to each other. 285 00:16:32,474 --> 00:16:36,795 And they're, these two guys are literally yelling, screaming at each other. 286 00:16:36,944 --> 00:16:40,574 And you can see the wake, the wake around him is, is the guy 287 00:16:40,574 --> 00:16:41,895 in the one boat on the right. 288 00:16:41,895 --> 00:16:44,685 Literally did like a donut around the other two guys. 289 00:16:45,015 --> 00:16:46,755 And they're just like screaming, yelling. 290 00:16:46,875 --> 00:16:50,444 And I did what any American would do is I pulled out my cell 291 00:16:50,444 --> 00:16:52,244 phone and I started videotaping. 292 00:16:56,324 --> 00:17:00,494 And so they're yelling each other and, and evidently the guy on the right who did 293 00:17:00,494 --> 00:17:04,845 the donut around them did something that really ticked off the other two boaters. 294 00:17:04,935 --> 00:17:07,185 And I'm like, my goodness. 295 00:17:08,444 --> 00:17:11,865 And the last words I heard across the lake. 296 00:17:13,265 --> 00:17:17,069 And that's why Jesus preached on off the, the, the lake a lot of times. 297 00:17:17,069 --> 00:17:18,869 'cause he as clear as glass. 298 00:17:19,470 --> 00:17:24,060 I heard the guy in the middle boat say I'm going after him. 299 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:29,790 'cause the other guy took off and sure enough he went after him. 300 00:17:29,790 --> 00:17:34,290 And, and I'm walking down along farther down the, the peninsula I was walking. 301 00:17:34,290 --> 00:17:36,240 And sure enough the other guy found him. 302 00:17:37,260 --> 00:17:41,490 I mean, this was, these, these guys, they had their boats. 303 00:17:42,165 --> 00:17:47,235 They had their trucks, they had time to get away and get on the lake, 304 00:17:49,695 --> 00:17:51,165 and they made it unsafe. 305 00:17:53,535 --> 00:17:56,835 You would think of all the places in the world, this would be a 306 00:17:56,835 --> 00:17:59,625 safe environment, but it wasn't. 307 00:18:00,885 --> 00:18:02,325 How about driving down the five? 308 00:18:02,805 --> 00:18:04,005 Is that a safe place? 309 00:18:06,135 --> 00:18:08,505 So Esther, chapter two, verse one, 10. 310 00:18:09,735 --> 00:18:15,435 Esther had not made, known her people or Kindred for Mordecai had commanded 311 00:18:15,435 --> 00:18:18,824 her not to make it known here. 312 00:18:18,824 --> 00:18:24,735 The, the issue is, is that, is that it was so dangerous that Mordecai said, 313 00:18:24,735 --> 00:18:28,875 Hey, don't tell anybody who you are and where you're from, your people, 314 00:18:29,445 --> 00:18:30,975 because it's not a safe spot here. 315 00:18:32,685 --> 00:18:38,865 And so in this, we see Esther, a teenage girl stepping up into the middle 316 00:18:38,925 --> 00:18:41,925 of danger, but not when it's over. 317 00:18:41,925 --> 00:18:44,960 But during, and, and if you know the story is that, you know that. 318 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:51,060 The Vasti, the, the king's, um, wife basically got kicked out from being 319 00:18:51,060 --> 00:18:55,020 the queen, and somebody came up with a grand idea like, oh, let's go get 320 00:18:55,020 --> 00:18:59,760 all the virgins in Persia, the really beautiful ones, and let's bring 'em in. 321 00:18:59,969 --> 00:19:04,800 And you get to pick from this group of women and you get to pick one. 322 00:19:04,830 --> 00:19:09,120 But all the other ones, they have to stick in the harem for the rest of their lives. 323 00:19:10,815 --> 00:19:12,075 That's bad guys. 324 00:19:12,135 --> 00:19:16,034 Yeah, that's really, really, really bad for everybody. 325 00:19:17,565 --> 00:19:24,195 And so God never promised safety, but he did promise presence. 326 00:19:25,245 --> 00:19:28,170 The safest place was not in the palace. 327 00:19:29,909 --> 00:19:32,385 It rather was in the purpose of God. 328 00:19:33,945 --> 00:19:38,565 So when we talk about faith, you know, it's not about avoiding danger. 329 00:19:39,780 --> 00:19:42,510 It's about advancing through it. 330 00:19:43,979 --> 00:19:47,340 And we're not talking about a weekend, we're talking about like 331 00:19:47,340 --> 00:19:50,340 over 10 years this story unfolded. 332 00:19:50,850 --> 00:19:55,229 You know, imagine, think about the last 10 years of your life where you were 333 00:19:55,229 --> 00:20:00,449 10 years ago, and everything that's happened, you know, 10 more years from 334 00:20:00,449 --> 00:20:03,240 now, it's gonna be the same thing. 335 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:05,010 It's gonna be crazy. 336 00:20:05,010 --> 00:20:08,280 In 10 years from now, your life is gonna be dramatically different. 337 00:20:11,340 --> 00:20:15,660 Courage comes from calling, not comfort. 338 00:20:16,350 --> 00:20:19,800 And see, we see in the story of Esther, that she wasn't fearless. 339 00:20:19,860 --> 00:20:22,410 She wasn't like this little pit bull that go in, went in 340 00:20:22,410 --> 00:20:23,910 there like, I'm taking charge. 341 00:20:23,910 --> 00:20:24,210 No. 342 00:20:24,210 --> 00:20:30,510 It's like she was faithful and she knew that she was living in a dangerous world. 343 00:20:31,980 --> 00:20:32,820 Verse nine. 344 00:20:35,145 --> 00:20:40,065 I think it kind of helps us understand why Esther succeeded when other girls didn't. 345 00:20:40,875 --> 00:20:44,685 Verse nine, it says, and the young woman pleased him. 346 00:20:45,135 --> 00:20:50,055 He's talking about the the eunuch who is in charge and won his favor, and he 347 00:20:50,055 --> 00:20:55,095 quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven 348 00:20:55,095 --> 00:20:59,775 chosen young women from the King's Palace and advanced her and her young 349 00:20:59,775 --> 00:21:02,180 women to the best place in the harem. 350 00:21:02,895 --> 00:21:07,215 And in verse 15 B, it says, now, Esther was winning favor 351 00:21:07,395 --> 00:21:10,034 in the eyes of all who saw her. 352 00:21:10,995 --> 00:21:13,995 And if you look at this, it says, there's actually eight times in 353 00:21:13,995 --> 00:21:16,215 the book of Esther winning favor. 354 00:21:16,215 --> 00:21:17,834 She was winning favor. 355 00:21:17,865 --> 00:21:19,034 What does that mean? 356 00:21:19,094 --> 00:21:23,715 It means that she was living a life of wisdom. 357 00:21:24,314 --> 00:21:28,425 It's her, her actions, her demeanor, how she spoke, how 358 00:21:28,425 --> 00:21:31,215 she responded, how she engaged. 359 00:21:32,430 --> 00:21:33,810 She did it in wisdom. 360 00:21:34,860 --> 00:21:40,379 She wasn't flippant, she wasn't rash, she wasn't, she was wise. 361 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:44,910 She listened to Mordecai, her uncle or her cousin. 362 00:21:45,060 --> 00:21:47,550 She listened to the eunuch, said, do this, do this, do this. 363 00:21:47,550 --> 00:21:48,480 She did it. 364 00:21:48,690 --> 00:21:49,890 She engaged. 365 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:51,270 She didn't react. 366 00:21:53,460 --> 00:21:54,840 Patty's gonna come up and share more. 367 00:21:57,270 --> 00:22:00,585 Patty Asaad: It's amazing how God gives us what we need. 368 00:22:01,409 --> 00:22:02,610 When we need it. 369 00:22:03,270 --> 00:22:07,680 You know, I mentioned earlier all of this stuff that's happened. 370 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:12,149 I'm gonna get into more of it in just a minute, but it's revealed the gaps 371 00:22:12,149 --> 00:22:17,639 in my faith and the things I needed to learn and, and for that I am so grateful. 372 00:22:17,669 --> 00:22:21,149 I mean, with like what I shared about the feeding tube earlier, 373 00:22:21,389 --> 00:22:22,770 I think about the scripture. 374 00:22:22,770 --> 00:22:27,270 It says God gives in Isaiah 40 29, he gives strength to the weary. 375 00:22:27,465 --> 00:22:30,135 It increases the power of the week. 376 00:22:30,195 --> 00:22:33,345 I mean, he's taught me how to do things I never would've thought I 377 00:22:33,345 --> 00:22:38,475 could do, but it seems like early on when Charlotte came to us, I went 378 00:22:38,475 --> 00:22:43,875 through a long season where it seemed like God wasn't answering my prayers. 379 00:22:44,264 --> 00:22:48,135 Anything I prayed, it felt like, I'm not saying this is accurate, but 380 00:22:48,135 --> 00:22:50,054 it felt like he did the opposite. 381 00:22:50,625 --> 00:22:53,025 Our church was having this thing where we were all doing, you know, 382 00:22:53,025 --> 00:22:57,165 10 impossible prayers and people at midweek, they're sharing about it. 383 00:22:57,165 --> 00:22:59,355 They're practically dancing in the aisles. 384 00:22:59,565 --> 00:23:06,435 Every one of my 10 prayers had gotten worse and I was just discouraged, 385 00:23:06,495 --> 00:23:08,415 and this went on for a while. 386 00:23:08,865 --> 00:23:12,915 Then after Charlotte's second surgery, a few months later, we 387 00:23:12,915 --> 00:23:17,085 had to get her hearing tested and, and it turned out she was hard of 388 00:23:17,085 --> 00:23:19,995 hearing and needed hearing aids. 389 00:23:20,700 --> 00:23:23,909 And I was so discouraged. 390 00:23:23,940 --> 00:23:26,340 It was one of those times I had prayed. 391 00:23:26,340 --> 00:23:28,260 I thought, this little girl has enough. 392 00:23:28,260 --> 00:23:31,379 God, please don't let her be deaf on top of it all. 393 00:23:31,379 --> 00:23:33,000 Please, please, please. 394 00:23:33,420 --> 00:23:36,659 And then it turned out she was, and it seemed like this was just 395 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:41,490 the last, in many prayers like that where I felt like I just said no. 396 00:23:41,550 --> 00:23:44,820 Like when her, her heart was not fixed during that second 397 00:23:44,820 --> 00:23:49,139 surgery, and I was so discouraged. 398 00:23:49,525 --> 00:23:54,690 Well the next year how it works when the child has to have heart surgery is 399 00:23:54,690 --> 00:23:59,550 they want 'em to get as big as possible without it being completely dangerous. 400 00:23:59,970 --> 00:24:03,960 And so we had to watch Charlotte's blood oxygen level. 401 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:05,580 We're having to take it all the time. 402 00:24:05,940 --> 00:24:08,460 And when it got down into the low seven. 403 00:24:09,195 --> 00:24:12,345 Is when they were gonna do the surgery, and that's really, really bad. 404 00:24:12,345 --> 00:24:14,805 She was turning blue all the time. 405 00:24:15,045 --> 00:24:20,685 It was very scary to watch it, and it was just a very difficult time. 406 00:24:20,925 --> 00:24:22,125 Well, we got this. 407 00:24:22,245 --> 00:24:24,615 She was gonna get a third open heart surgery. 408 00:24:24,615 --> 00:24:27,345 They had told us that a repair would be impossible. 409 00:24:27,555 --> 00:24:30,735 This was gonna be another stop gap measure we thought. 410 00:24:31,365 --> 00:24:33,885 But it's amazing how God works things out. 411 00:24:34,544 --> 00:24:38,085 We kept having, they kept having to delay the surgery for different reasons. 412 00:24:38,085 --> 00:24:42,975 At one point, Charlotte had a virus and it's a, um, a, a 413 00:24:42,975 --> 00:24:45,885 very, they do, uh, transplants. 414 00:24:45,915 --> 00:24:48,915 And so a lot of it, several times they had to cancel our surgery. 415 00:24:49,245 --> 00:24:54,135 It had gotten canceled six times before we finally had it, and that may not 416 00:24:54,135 --> 00:24:58,155 sound like that big of a deal, but this was very, very risky surgery. 417 00:24:58,530 --> 00:25:02,490 Todd and I were both afraid she was gonna die on the table to be honest about it. 418 00:25:02,490 --> 00:25:07,230 And so we would have to gear ourselves up emotionally, be praying about it. 419 00:25:07,470 --> 00:25:12,900 The last time it was canceled, we had made it, we'd unpacked in our Airbnb, 420 00:25:12,900 --> 00:25:16,830 we'd driven to Austin where her team was, which is three and a half hours away. 421 00:25:17,130 --> 00:25:18,030 We'd unpacked. 422 00:25:18,030 --> 00:25:24,180 We were in pre-op, and again, they tell us they're gonna have to cancel the surgery. 423 00:25:24,525 --> 00:25:30,340 This was only about a year ago, almost exactly a year ago, and Todd and I, 424 00:25:30,345 --> 00:25:35,325 I don't think we could have been more discouraged and with all the moving the, 425 00:25:35,805 --> 00:25:41,145 the surgery around, I was also in the middle of cancer treatment for breast 426 00:25:41,145 --> 00:25:43,305 cancer, and it was affecting that. 427 00:25:43,305 --> 00:25:48,045 We were having to move all that around and we were just so discouraged. 428 00:25:48,045 --> 00:25:51,045 I don't think we said more than a few words to each other, 429 00:25:51,045 --> 00:25:52,545 all the way back to Dallas. 430 00:25:52,545 --> 00:25:53,625 We didn't even unpack. 431 00:25:54,585 --> 00:26:00,675 And I was supposed to go to a, um, well Charlotte had an audiology appointment. 432 00:26:00,675 --> 00:26:02,475 I thought they were just gonna adjust her hearing aids. 433 00:26:02,534 --> 00:26:06,315 I'd meant to cancel it 'cause I thought we would be still in the hospital in Austin. 434 00:26:06,735 --> 00:26:07,425 I'd forgotten to. 435 00:26:07,425 --> 00:26:10,065 I thought we might as well go pull myself together. 436 00:26:10,245 --> 00:26:15,345 We'll go and I take her in there and they're like, we wanna do a hearing test. 437 00:26:15,915 --> 00:26:18,705 And I was still struggling so much. 438 00:26:19,875 --> 00:26:21,375 Honestly, I was mad at God. 439 00:26:21,375 --> 00:26:24,675 I was ashamed of myself for that, but I was, and I just was stuck. 440 00:26:24,735 --> 00:26:26,595 I felt like I couldn't work through it. 441 00:26:27,135 --> 00:26:30,975 And so we're there and they decide, well, we'll just give her a quick hearing test. 442 00:26:30,975 --> 00:26:34,695 I'm sitting there in the booth with her and I could hear what 443 00:26:34,695 --> 00:26:35,804 they, they're saying to her. 444 00:26:36,044 --> 00:26:40,544 She's following all the directions that they're giving her. 445 00:26:41,325 --> 00:26:46,125 All through earphones and I could, I could hear it from where I was sitting 446 00:26:46,365 --> 00:26:49,005 and she said, I didn't even know at that point she could follow directions. 447 00:26:49,005 --> 00:26:52,995 But anyway, it meant she was hearing everything. 448 00:26:53,385 --> 00:26:57,015 I mean, I'm sitting there with tears streaming down my face. 449 00:26:57,075 --> 00:27:00,645 She could hear we weren't even supposed to be at that appointment. 450 00:27:01,275 --> 00:27:02,805 And remember, they're done with that. 451 00:27:02,805 --> 00:27:06,285 They send us out to the waiting room and they didn't even know what to tell us. 452 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,659 Finally the doc, they were all conferring with one another. 453 00:27:09,659 --> 00:27:13,290 All the different doctors, they go, we've only seen this happen once before. 454 00:27:13,500 --> 00:27:18,750 Her hearing loss was neurological, not because of blockage, and all 455 00:27:18,750 --> 00:27:22,680 of a sudden she could hear a can and I just couldn't believe it. 456 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:27,450 I mean, as we're leaving the hospital, I'm telling strangers even she can hear. 457 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:31,200 We just found out today the strangers were very happy for us 458 00:27:31,590 --> 00:27:34,290 and, but I just couldn't believe it. 459 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:35,800 And that night, because I. 460 00:27:35,970 --> 00:27:42,600 Was probably one of my lowest of low days, but I think about when I had been trying 461 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:46,890 to work through my anger with God and all of this, and we get some more good news 462 00:27:46,890 --> 00:27:51,420 from her speech therapist on the way home while we're in the car, and then her other 463 00:27:51,420 --> 00:27:53,370 grandmother was keeping her that night. 464 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:59,760 As I drop her off that night, I look at Charlotte to say goodbye and I 465 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:01,290 didn't even know she knew this sign. 466 00:28:01,290 --> 00:28:04,980 She goes, I love you. 467 00:28:05,700 --> 00:28:11,639 And I mean, after that day, God had been with me all along, but I felt 468 00:28:11,639 --> 00:28:18,060 it that day and I think God knew that was what I needed on that day because 469 00:28:18,090 --> 00:28:19,919 I had just done everything I could. 470 00:28:19,919 --> 00:28:21,270 I was just done. 471 00:28:21,570 --> 00:28:25,139 But God gave me the miracle I needed and it got us through the next week, 472 00:28:25,139 --> 00:28:29,760 her neck surgery, even though we'd been told it could never happen, that the 473 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:32,429 surgeon was able to repair her heart. 474 00:28:32,490 --> 00:28:32,550 Wow. 475 00:28:33,030 --> 00:28:37,800 And we only got this to surgeon because of all the delays they 476 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:39,420 had to switch surgeons on us. 477 00:28:39,420 --> 00:28:43,050 I, I thought the picture was, we have a picture of Charlotte with the 478 00:28:43,050 --> 00:28:47,940 surgeon after the, um, he saved her life basically after the, the surgery. 479 00:28:48,420 --> 00:28:53,280 But God has taught me so much through all this. 480 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:57,295 Sometimes I am hurting so bad I can, I can't see where he is working. 481 00:28:57,975 --> 00:29:05,655 But he still is working and all the time, and I had trouble believing. 482 00:29:05,655 --> 00:29:06,824 I knew God. 483 00:29:07,455 --> 00:29:12,254 Just sometimes I wondered if he was really good because things just 484 00:29:12,254 --> 00:29:17,145 seemed so dark, and then when he let us have that miraculous day. 485 00:29:17,550 --> 00:29:19,560 I saw God is always good. 486 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:24,270 I tried to work through it before, but then it just went deeper than ever and 487 00:29:24,270 --> 00:29:26,190 we're still in the middle of all this. 488 00:29:26,190 --> 00:29:29,580 Honestly, Charlotte was diagnosed with autism just a few weeks ago. 489 00:29:30,225 --> 00:29:31,665 We're trying to get her into new therapy. 490 00:29:31,665 --> 00:29:35,985 She's in children's ministry right now as we speak, and she's adorable. 491 00:29:35,985 --> 00:29:41,445 She's a little sweetie, but she's still nonverbal and she's four years old now. 492 00:29:41,565 --> 00:29:43,095 She's wonderful. 493 00:29:43,274 --> 00:29:48,014 But I think about everything God has taught me about who he is, about 494 00:29:48,014 --> 00:29:50,175 seeing the gaps in my own faith. 495 00:29:50,504 --> 00:29:52,129 I wouldn't trade this for anything. 496 00:29:53,149 --> 00:29:56,745 So many times when we're putting Charlotte to bed, it's been a hard day. 497 00:29:56,774 --> 00:29:57,524 We're exhausted. 498 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:01,410 But Todd looks at me and says, we wouldn't want it any other way. 499 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:07,440 And it's so true, and that's only because of God and all the lessons he's taught us. 500 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:11,010 And I'm sure we'll have more dark days and he will teach us new lessons. 501 00:30:11,310 --> 00:30:15,180 But I've learned in a way like never before, how God is always 502 00:30:15,180 --> 00:30:16,560 working and he's always with us. 503 00:30:18,975 --> 00:30:19,305 Todd Asaad: Good job. 504 00:30:20,715 --> 00:30:21,015 Amen. 505 00:30:21,825 --> 00:30:23,550 So that's a picture of Dr. 506 00:30:23,550 --> 00:30:24,405 Frazier there. 507 00:30:24,465 --> 00:30:27,915 Um, this is like six weeks after the, the, her third surgery. 508 00:30:28,125 --> 00:30:30,795 There is a possibility she could have another open heart surgery. 509 00:30:30,795 --> 00:30:35,985 It depends, uh, her heart is restored, but they left her procedure, uh, in her, um. 510 00:30:36,855 --> 00:30:40,065 Glen g Well, it's called a glen line and they might take it out, they might 511 00:30:40,065 --> 00:30:42,740 leave it, they don't know, but that'd be number four if she had to have it. 512 00:30:42,745 --> 00:30:44,595 It just depends on the pressure in her lungs. 513 00:30:44,595 --> 00:30:46,155 So pray for Charlotte if you get a chance. 514 00:30:46,155 --> 00:30:46,845 You remember that. 515 00:30:47,175 --> 00:30:52,245 But this guy was like the guy and um, he was training someone that actually 516 00:30:52,245 --> 00:30:56,625 went to, um, Vanderbilt to open up a heart surgery, pediatric heart surgery. 517 00:30:56,745 --> 00:31:01,665 So he actually ended up having to do the surgery when we moved back up to Dallas. 518 00:31:01,754 --> 00:31:05,445 Um, our new heart cardiologist, pediatric heart, um. 519 00:31:06,510 --> 00:31:11,820 Sorry, pediatric heart surgeon basically had a man crush on this guy. 520 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:13,139 He's like, oh, Dr. 521 00:31:13,139 --> 00:31:13,589 Frazier. 522 00:31:13,650 --> 00:31:15,780 I mean, it is like, it's like quick gushing. 523 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:16,410 Stop it. 524 00:31:16,410 --> 00:31:16,530 You know? 525 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:21,510 So he, um, this guy, that's, that's how impressive this guy is. 526 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:23,879 So, back to Esther. 527 00:31:23,910 --> 00:31:29,129 So long story short, um, Mordecai, her cousin reminds her or reminded 528 00:31:29,129 --> 00:31:33,270 her that her calling was, you know, you were born for such a time as this. 529 00:31:33,645 --> 00:31:38,145 And I think, you know, for, for us, I think as disciples, you know, 530 00:31:38,145 --> 00:31:43,755 we can forget that, that literally we are in places for a reason. 531 00:31:44,205 --> 00:31:52,575 And Esther was reminded that you were born for this time. 532 00:31:53,295 --> 00:31:56,985 And I think courage doesn't come from confidence. 533 00:31:58,290 --> 00:32:00,810 It comes from conviction. 534 00:32:01,140 --> 00:32:04,050 You know who you are in God's eyes. 535 00:32:04,410 --> 00:32:07,980 And before I get, and I'll show a QR code of Patty's Substack that Greg 536 00:32:07,980 --> 00:32:09,690 talked about, which I really appreciate. 537 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:13,260 Um, but this is Patty, Patty aside@substack.com. 538 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:16,080 That's, and I'll put a QR code up there if you wanna follow her. 539 00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:18,235 Um, what's that? 540 00:32:18,535 --> 00:32:19,440 Patty Asaad: It comes out weekly. 541 00:32:19,470 --> 00:32:19,950 Todd Asaad: Weekly. 542 00:32:20,220 --> 00:32:20,610 Thank you. 543 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,390 So Esther knew her position was not an accident. 544 00:32:24,915 --> 00:32:28,335 And she risked her comfort for a cause. 545 00:32:29,685 --> 00:32:31,635 God didn't put you where you're at. 546 00:32:31,665 --> 00:32:33,045 For you to play it safe. 547 00:32:33,675 --> 00:32:36,735 He put you there to make a stand. 548 00:32:37,725 --> 00:32:40,545 You're not stuck, you're stationed. 549 00:32:41,685 --> 00:32:46,004 So the last thought here is when you move, God moves. 550 00:32:46,995 --> 00:32:49,725 When you move, God moves. 551 00:32:50,235 --> 00:32:52,155 Esther, chapter four, verse 16. 552 00:32:52,995 --> 00:32:53,925 How does God move? 553 00:32:53,925 --> 00:32:55,034 Well, we know Esther's moving. 554 00:32:55,245 --> 00:32:56,264 Mordecai is moving. 555 00:32:56,564 --> 00:32:57,584 How does God move? 556 00:32:57,584 --> 00:33:02,985 Well, verse 16, here we see Esther talking to Mordecai and she goes, go gather all 557 00:33:02,985 --> 00:33:07,455 the Jews to be found in Suse and hold a fast on my behalf and do not eat or 558 00:33:07,455 --> 00:33:09,584 drink for three days, night or day. 559 00:33:09,915 --> 00:33:13,094 I and my young women will also fast as you do. 560 00:33:13,245 --> 00:33:17,024 Then I will go to the king and though it is against the law, 561 00:33:17,745 --> 00:33:20,955 and if I perish, I perish. 562 00:33:21,629 --> 00:33:26,730 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him to do. 563 00:33:27,450 --> 00:33:28,500 You need to think about that. 564 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:31,170 When was the last time you had a really big decision? 565 00:33:31,170 --> 00:33:34,889 Something really massive, uh, a decision you had to make? 566 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:38,250 When was the last time you called all your friends, maybe all your Bible 567 00:33:38,250 --> 00:33:42,420 talk and says, guys, I need you to fast with me for the next three days. 568 00:33:43,064 --> 00:33:45,435 For me to make a a, the best decision. 569 00:33:45,675 --> 00:33:48,554 I don't know if I've been in the kingdom like for 40 plus years. 570 00:33:48,615 --> 00:33:51,584 I don't, I can't think of one time anyone's ever done that. 571 00:33:52,754 --> 00:33:55,635 And I'll just, let me throw a, a freebie at you here. 572 00:33:55,635 --> 00:33:59,445 A little tidbit when we talk about job and his friends, you know, we 573 00:33:59,445 --> 00:34:00,824 could sit there and do a belly laugh. 574 00:34:00,885 --> 00:34:01,965 Oh, job's, friends. 575 00:34:04,395 --> 00:34:08,054 When was the last time someone sat with you for seven days and didn't speak a 576 00:34:08,054 --> 00:34:10,665 word because your suffering was so great. 577 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:18,060 You know, theologically, they might have been off, but man, to have friends like 578 00:34:18,060 --> 00:34:25,620 that that'll sit with you for a week and not say a word because they're grieving. 579 00:34:26,100 --> 00:34:27,389 Because of your grieving. 580 00:34:28,380 --> 00:34:28,980 That's intense. 581 00:34:28,980 --> 00:34:29,040 Yeah. 582 00:34:31,175 --> 00:34:34,080 So when you move, God moves. 583 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:35,370 Esther moved. 584 00:34:35,370 --> 00:34:36,179 Here it is. 585 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:36,570 Do this. 586 00:34:37,875 --> 00:34:43,185 Once Esther acted, God began turning everything around. 587 00:34:43,455 --> 00:34:44,925 The decree reversed. 588 00:34:44,955 --> 00:34:48,855 Haman was exposed, God's people were protected. 589 00:34:49,335 --> 00:34:56,385 Literally, in one act of courage became the spark that saved a nation. 590 00:34:57,465 --> 00:34:58,850 Chapter six, verse one. 591 00:34:58,870 --> 00:35:01,935 It says on that night, the king could not sleep. 592 00:35:02,250 --> 00:35:06,240 And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the Chronicles, 593 00:35:06,390 --> 00:35:12,600 and they were read before the King, and it was found how Mordecai saved 594 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:15,360 the king's life like 10 years ago. 595 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:17,340 And he forgot. 596 00:35:18,300 --> 00:35:22,020 I mean, you read about this king, it is like this guy. 597 00:35:22,045 --> 00:35:27,570 He, he, he, he drank all the time and he listened to the wrong people. 598 00:35:27,870 --> 00:35:27,930 Yeah. 599 00:35:29,220 --> 00:35:31,740 And we're, if someone saved your life, do you think you would 600 00:35:31,740 --> 00:35:34,650 remember that like every day? 601 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:36,270 Oh, they saved my life. 602 00:35:36,390 --> 00:35:37,259 They saved my life. 603 00:35:37,500 --> 00:35:39,480 I, I got a good friend of mine, Mike Ostrom. 604 00:35:39,750 --> 00:35:42,420 He used to be here in, in, in Ca, California, in the 605 00:35:42,420 --> 00:35:43,710 ministry for a long time. 606 00:35:43,890 --> 00:35:47,160 And my youngest son, grant that Patty shared about actually when 607 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:53,160 he, the, um, Ostrom's son, when he went, he dove into the deep end. 608 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:55,020 He couldn't swim, fell into the deep end. 609 00:35:55,170 --> 00:35:57,299 My son Grant jumped in there, saved his life. 610 00:35:57,795 --> 00:36:02,565 Every time I talk to Mike Ostrom, Hey, tell you Grant, tell your son Grant, 611 00:36:02,595 --> 00:36:03,885 thanks for saving my son's life. 612 00:36:06,795 --> 00:36:14,325 So here, the king just couldn't sleep and, and we, you know, Hey, I can't sleep, 613 00:36:14,325 --> 00:36:15,885 so hey, let's, let's read something. 614 00:36:16,005 --> 00:36:17,865 Hey, get the book of memorable deeds. 615 00:36:19,065 --> 00:36:23,265 And they just turned it to where Mordecai saved his life. 616 00:36:25,380 --> 00:36:28,020 And then a little bit later, verse four, it says, and the king says, 617 00:36:28,050 --> 00:36:31,590 'cause he wants to honor Mordecai now that he realized what happened. 618 00:36:31,590 --> 00:36:33,300 He goes, oh my gosh, I gotta do something. 619 00:36:33,900 --> 00:36:36,750 I, I need some advice again from the wrong person. 620 00:36:37,020 --> 00:36:39,750 And it's the king says, who's in the court now? 621 00:36:39,750 --> 00:36:41,430 Haman, who's the bad guy? 622 00:36:41,490 --> 00:36:45,390 And it's really cool if you ever go to this, uh, uh, pur is like, 623 00:36:45,450 --> 00:36:48,480 they, they had celebrate this, this festival still in Israel. 624 00:36:48,855 --> 00:36:51,555 And, and whenever Haman's name would come up, all the little 625 00:36:51,555 --> 00:36:55,155 kids that were dressed up as their favorite actors would start hissing. 626 00:36:55,935 --> 00:36:56,955 Oh, Haman. 627 00:36:58,695 --> 00:37:00,765 And it was like a little theater for the kids. 628 00:37:00,795 --> 00:37:04,425 And, and when they act this out, and so Haman, when he entered the outer 629 00:37:04,425 --> 00:37:08,925 core of the King's Palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged 630 00:37:09,765 --> 00:37:11,685 on the galas that he prepared for 'em. 631 00:37:12,585 --> 00:37:15,165 So Haman was in there all excited, happy. 632 00:37:15,165 --> 00:37:17,205 He is gonna walk into the King's president, Hey, king, 633 00:37:17,205 --> 00:37:18,134 I need you to do me a favor. 634 00:37:18,134 --> 00:37:20,235 I need you to kill this Jew named Mordecai. 635 00:37:23,145 --> 00:37:26,025 Well, before he can get those out of his mouth, those words out 636 00:37:26,025 --> 00:37:29,444 of his mouth, the king is like, Hey, I need to honor somebody. 637 00:37:30,735 --> 00:37:33,944 And Mor or Haman thinks it's obviously it's him. 638 00:37:35,295 --> 00:37:36,645 And it wasn't. 639 00:37:36,645 --> 00:37:37,515 It was Mordecai. 640 00:37:38,205 --> 00:37:42,195 And when he realized after telling the king what he should do to someone 641 00:37:42,195 --> 00:37:46,275 like him, if he wanted to praise him, he realized it wasn't for him, it was 642 00:37:46,275 --> 00:37:51,675 for Mordecai, and now he is petrified and we know that he was killed later. 643 00:37:52,935 --> 00:37:56,085 So what's the encouragement of all this? 644 00:37:56,085 --> 00:38:02,175 You know, your faith doesn't have to be massive, it just has to move. 645 00:38:02,250 --> 00:38:02,310 Yeah. 646 00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:14,220 When you take one step in obedience, God opens doors that no one can shut. 647 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:14,820 Wow. 648 00:38:16,830 --> 00:38:20,130 You know, I've had a number of people tell me like, man, I'm so glad you 649 00:38:20,130 --> 00:38:26,100 didn't call this lesson for such a time as this, because it's, if I perish, 650 00:38:26,370 --> 00:38:29,700 I perish, I'm gonna have conviction. 651 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:32,310 That if I die, I die. 652 00:38:33,270 --> 00:38:38,970 But my conviction's based upon God and his way and not my way. 653 00:38:40,410 --> 00:38:44,370 You know, the world's still a dangerous place, but this is your 654 00:38:44,370 --> 00:38:47,730 time, just like it was Esther's. 655 00:38:48,630 --> 00:38:51,090 You don't need to have all the answers. 656 00:38:51,900 --> 00:38:58,560 You just need the courage to say, if I perish, I perish. 657 00:39:00,870 --> 00:39:07,020 Because when you trust God in dangerous times, he turns danger into destiny. 658 00:39:08,549 --> 00:39:12,000 I don't know what challenges you're facing right now in your walk with God. 659 00:39:12,509 --> 00:39:15,509 I don't know what environment you are living in right now. 660 00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:19,859 It's no better or worse where we're at. 661 00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:21,125 It's just what it is. 662 00:39:22,245 --> 00:39:27,555 But at the end of the day, God's kingdom isn't gonna move forward unless 663 00:39:27,555 --> 00:39:31,875 more and more people are willing to have that attitude of, you know, if 664 00:39:31,875 --> 00:39:35,895 I perish, I perish, I'm gonna do it God's way and not the world's way. 665 00:39:36,405 --> 00:39:38,625 This is Patty's Substack, what just happened? 666 00:39:38,625 --> 00:39:39,675 That's a QR code. 667 00:39:39,675 --> 00:39:42,045 If you want a follower, there's a free version. 668 00:39:42,255 --> 00:39:46,275 You know, you can just read up and it's very helpful and I appreciate Greg's word. 669 00:39:46,575 --> 00:39:50,025 But again, this is an honor for us to be here to spend time with you. 670 00:39:50,025 --> 00:39:54,825 It's so encouraging coming in and I'm seeing people El Paso Albuquerque 671 00:39:54,825 --> 00:39:56,955 here, and I'm like, good night. 672 00:39:56,955 --> 00:39:57,945 I love the kingdom. 673 00:39:57,975 --> 00:39:58,965 So I love you guys. 674 00:39:58,965 --> 00:39:59,520 Thank you very much. 675 00:39:59,830 --> 00:40:00,120 Amen.