Service for August 2nd, 2020. Preacher: Dave Elliott.
Video
Sermon Audio
mp3 link:20200802_AVBC_Esther_Surrendered_Life.mp3
Notes
Printable sermon notes: 6-Surrender-Esther-5.pdf
Only those who surrender to God can be ________ by God
Q. What are the marks of a surrendered life?
1. When you surrender to God you ____________. (4:16)
When we __________, we ruin!
I wait quietly before God, for my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. (Isaiah 62:1-2)
The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek Him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. (Lamentations 3:25, 26)
-when surrender…actively wait for Him to work.
2. When you surrender to God you _____________. (5:1,2)
FAVOUR = to be respected and esteemed by others because I live my life with godly grace
The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; He turns it wherever He pleases. (Proverbs 21:1)
3. When you surrender to God you _______________. (5:3-8)
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”(Isaiah 55:8-9)
Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)
4. When you surrender to God you ______________. (5:9-14)
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep ….No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again…(John 10:14-15,18a)
Digging Deeper
(For use in personal/family devotions or with your care group)
Q1: Do you generally think of the word “surrender” as a positive or negative trait? How do you think the world generally views the concept of “surrender”?
Q2: Study Philippians 2:5-11 and John 10:11-18. Do these verses impact your understanding of “surrender”? If so, how?
Q3: Why do you think waiting can often be so challenging?
Q4: Has their even been a time in your life when “more haste = less speed”? If so, describe.
Q5: Esther was involved in active waiting which included fasting. Have your ever fasted? If so, what was the experience like? What did you learn about yourself, your circumstances and the Lord?
Q6: Review Psalm 27:14 and Isaiah 40:31. What do these verses teach about the positive impact of waiting? Do these verses apply to your life? If so, how?
Q7: Have you stepped out in faith to trust/obey God only to have your circumstances go from bad to worse? If so, what was your immediate reaction? Did you stay in that place or did your perspective and outlook grow and change? If so, how?
Q8: Read Jeremiah 9:23-24. What are some ways you can boast about the Lord?