Caption transcript for Esther (2017): “Undone by a Woman” (4/8)

• 00:05 Brethren, my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel
• 00:09 is that they might be saved
• 00:11 for there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek
• 00:15 for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.
• 00:40 Shalom Friends I'm David Hart.
• 00:42 Welcome to Zola Levitt Presents.
• 00:43 And I'm Kirsten Hart
• 00:45 Today on our Series "Esther, For Such a Time as This"
• 00:49 Esther decides to risk her life
• 00:52 to save her people.
• 00:53 That's right
• 00:54 Chaim Malespin and Dr. Jeffrey Seif
• 00:56 will be teaching on location.
• 00:58 We will have another Hebrew lesson.
• 01:00 We love our Hebrew lessons
• 01:02 and we also love our guest analyst
• 01:04 who's also a musician
• 01:06 Ted Pearce
• 01:08 Now let's go to our dramatic reenactment.
• 01:11 Here's the story of Esther.
• 01:17 Queen Esther had wrestled with the thought for some time.
• 01:21 she had considered the consequences.
• 01:24 Going before the king uninvited could result in Esther's death.
• 01:30 on the other hand, not to appeal before the king
• 01:34 would mean certain death for all her fellow Jews.
• 02:25 The forces of anti-life were at work then as now.
• 02:29 And then Esther was placed to stand in the gap
• 02:34 and hold back the prevailing forces
• 02:37 that if they had their way
• 02:39 would lend themselves to
• 02:40 the annihilation of the Jews.
• 02:43 No one stood in the gap here
• 02:46 years ago when these stones were felled,
• 02:49 when the Beit HaMikdash , the temple in Jerusalem,
• 02:52 was destroyed by the Romans.
• 02:55 And I'm coming to you from that very place now.
• 03:00 And I want to open up the biblical text
• 03:03 and tell you a story that took place well before this when
• 03:07 Esther found herself at a place where she was able
• 03:11 to utilize influence "for such a time as this".
• 03:17 We're told in the book of Esther, Chapter 5; Verse 2,
• 03:21 there's a statement here.
• 03:23 I want to read it to you in the Hebrew and then the English.
• 03:25 It's so very profound.
• 03:26 We're told,
• 03:37 And the "sight" was in the eyes of the king.
• 03:40 Esther was guaranteed nothing.
• 03:42 She knew she needed to do something.
• 03:45 And prompted by Mordecai, conscience
• 03:47 and the Spirit of God combined,
• 03:50 never mind her own inner restlessness,
• 03:52 feeling that she needed to do something,
• 03:54 she threw the dice against an uncertain future and said,
• 03:57 I'm going to approach this powerful king
• 04:00 that doesn't want people approaching him uninvited
• 04:03 and I'm going to see what I can do.
• 04:05 And what did she do?
• 04:07 She called forth an event that would lend itself finally
• 04:10 to Haman's confrontation and demise.
• 04:14 Mindful of her story, if you'll permit,
• 04:16 I want to ask the question of you, and that is
• 04:18 How can you use your influence to be an ambassador
• 04:23 for God's good kingdom purposes on the earth?
• 04:27 It's an important story.
• 04:28 a story I want to explore as we look at this series
• 04:32 "For Such a Time as This."
• 04:41 Our resource this week is the series
• 04:44 "Called Together, Jew and Gentile One in Messiah" on DVD
• 04:49 David and Kirsten Hart
• 04:51 present the teachings of
• 04:52 Eitan Shiskoff.
• 04:54 These 8 programs show
• 04:55 how both sides of the
• 04:56 body of Messiah
• 04:58 are grafted together.
• 04:59 We also have interviews,
• 05:01 location reports,
• 05:02 Hebrew Lessons
• 05:03 and music.
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• 05:07 "Called Together" on DVD
• 05:12 We live in a topsy turvy world
• 05:14 where news events are often twisted
• 05:17 leading to untruth.
• 05:19 Here at Zola Levitt Presents
• 05:21 we believe it's important to tell the truth of God's Word
• 05:25 the Bible.
• 05:26 And we believe it should be proclaimed
• 05:28 to Israel and the Nations.
• 05:31 If you believe the same
• 05:33 please consider us in your monthly giving support.
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• 06:03 And don't forget to find everything on our website.
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• 06:28 There's a lot to read and a lot to learn.
• 06:30 Join us, that'd be great!
• 06:31 In just a moment we'll continue the story of Esther.
• 06:34 But first here's Chaim Malespin on location.
• 06:45 Hello friends.
• 06:46 Welcome to the Galilee, Israel.
• 06:48 I'm here in a bomb, or really this is a bunker
• 06:52 from the 1948 war, the War of Independence.
• 06:54 You remember we were attacked on all sides.
• 06:56 Let me remind you of the players in the War of 1948...
• 07:02 The Arab League
• 07:03 Egypt, Jordan
• 07:04 Iraq, Syria
• 07:05 Lebanon, Saudi Arabia
• 07:07 Holy War Army
• 07:08 Arab Liberation Army
• 07:09 Muslim Brotherhood
• 07:10 Yemen, Pakistan, Sudan.
• 07:12 And we miraculously survived.
• 07:14 A bunch of Holocaust survivors miraculously survived the attacks.
• 07:18 I want to remind you in Leviticus, chapter 25, you know, it's God's land.
• 07:22 Chapter 25, verse 23, God says, This is the Lord's land...
• 07:26 And He gives it to the gardeners that He wants to entrust it.
• 07:31 Now, I ask you this, if we support Israel, If we stand with Israel, are we
• 07:35 anti- the sons of Ishmael and the promises for Ishmael?
• 07:39 Are we anti-Arab?
• 07:40 No, we're not!
• 07:41 God has a plan for peace.
• 07:43 Isaiah 19 - for our cousins, the Arabs,
• 07:47 and for us, the Jews, together, here.
• 08:06 The wine flowed freely at Esther's feast.
• 08:09 The king and queen exchanged pleasantries while Haman mused.
• 08:15 Things were working out just as he had planned,
• 08:19 or so it seemed.
• 08:48 Haman was one happy camper.
• 08:53 He was himself very impressed by himself
• 08:56 all the more so now that Esther herself
• 08:58 seems to be minded to bring him into the loop
• 09:01 and he knew that he had destiny all over him.
• 09:05 but little did he know that there was someone greater than him
• 09:08 that was watching out for Israel's affairs
• 09:11 who is going to work through a woman named Esther.
• 09:17 Vast was the empire of Persia.
• 09:21 the Medo Persian realm extended to the east all the way to India and then
• 09:28 went westward sweeping across the Euphrates, the Levant, extending into
• 09:35 northern Africa all the way to Ethiopia,
• 09:39 2 million square miles,
• 09:43 a vast expanse now as then in that primitive world.
• 09:49 And there was one man that held the key to it
• 09:53 but it seems there was one woman
• 09:55 who held the key to that man...
• 09:58 a woman who decided to use her influence.
• 10:05 We read in the book of Esther, the 5th Chapter, the 8th verse,
• 10:37 There she was providentially well placed.
• 10:43 It was a God-thing actually
• 10:46 and that is that the Lord had raised her up
• 10:49 according to the text "for such a time as this."
• 10:55 Because she was there she was able
• 10:58 to be employed there for God's good purposes.
• 11:04 It seems to me as I had said a few moments ago
• 11:07 that the forces of anti-life,
• 11:09 the forces of anti-Semitism
• 11:12 are rife in history.
• 11:15 They just come around time and time again.
• 11:19 Standing here at the ruins in Jerusalem
• 11:23 that hark back to wars of days gone past
• 11:26 reminds me afresh, visually,
• 11:29 that Jews find themselves, we find ourselves
• 11:32 precariously perched in a very difficult world.
• 11:36 I find that when I look at the rocks round about me -
• 11:38 I find that when I want to stand on the rock and
• 11:41 find the God of Israel in the biblical testimony.
• 11:44 Here I see as well that there are forces at work
• 11:47 to destroy God's purposes...to destroy Jews.
• 11:51 Let me talk about you for a minute if you will while I'm thinking about Esther
• 11:55 to raise the question of you that was raised of her and that is,
• 11:59 "are you personally game to use your influence?"
• 12:05 Can you stand up in your churches,
• 12:07 can you stand up in your congregations,
• 12:09 in your webs of relationships and say
• 12:11 "let's stand up for the Jewish people?"
• 12:14 Use that influence and see how it is
• 12:16 that as with Esther so it will be with you
• 12:19 and that is you'll discover that God is willing to use you
• 12:22 "for such a time as this".
• 12:36 For insightful perspectives on Israel and Bible prophecy
• 12:41 ask for our free monthly newsletter the "Levitt Letter".
• 12:45 At levitt.com you can read the newsletter,
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• 12:50 or visit our online store.
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• 12:56 Come with us on a tour of Israel or Petra,
• 12:59 or a cruise to Greece and Ephesus.
• 13:02 Please contact us for more information.
• 13:07 Going to Israel is truly a trip of a lifetime.
• 13:11 Levitt.com is our website.
• 13:13 You can find out all about our tours
• 13:15 that go Spring and Fall every single year.
• 13:18 There are so many things we love about a trip to Israel.
• 13:21 What's one of your favorite things to do?
• 13:24 You have to ask that?
• 13:25 Let's see...
• 13:27 Everywhere we go is life changing and memorable.
• 13:29 But I remember one experience that you and I had together.
• 13:33 We were baptized in the Jordan River.
• 13:36 And if you come with us on a Zola tour, you can be baptized also.
• 13:40 We'd love for you to experience that just like we did.
• 13:43 Right.
• 13:44 Amazing to be in that body of water
• 13:46 where Yeshua Himself was baptized.
• 13:49 Life changing.
• 13:50 Now let's go to our Hebrew lesson with Deanna Malespin.
• 13:59 Shalom Haverim from the Galilee.
• 14:02 " Shalom " means peace.
• 14:04 " Haverim " means friends.
• 14:06 So when I say, " Shalom Haverim ," I'm saying, "Hello, dear friends."
• 14:11 Now, if you're only speaking to one person you would say, " Shalom Haver ."
• 14:16 But " Shalom Haver " is to a guy.
• 14:18 To a girl you would say, " Shalom Havera ."
• 14:21 Try it with your friends back home.
• 15:46 Haman for reasons that were uniquely his own
• 15:50 absolutely disdained one Jew in particular -
• 15:53 Mordecai
• 15:55 - and all Jews.
• 15:57 This anti-Semitism got deep in his gut and he was just gripped by it.
• 16:05 And he lived with that till the day that he died.
• 16:11 I'm standing in a cemetery right now,
• 16:14 of course a lot of people have been laid to rest here.
• 16:17 For my purposes the one that's remembered the most
• 16:22 is the one I'm standing beside right now
• 16:25 and that is Oscar Schindler .
• 16:29 He lived in a world where there was a Haman
• 16:31 and he did his part to take a stand in that world.
• 16:36 And now to remember him long after his death...
• 16:40 He died in 1974.
• 16:42 Long after individuals come and remember him
• 16:46 by laying a stone at his grave site.
• 16:50 Here in the biblical text
• 16:51 we're looking at the story in Esther Chapter 5 where
• 16:54 Haman's utter disdain for the Jews is noted.
• 16:58 we're told in chapter 5, verse 9,
• 17:11 But then he happened upon Mordecai
• 17:14 and just the sight of him completely turned his mood.
• 17:18 We're told,
• 17:29 And of course that wrath would find expression in
• 17:34 schemes for his utter demise.
• 17:37 As happy as he was in different ways
• 17:39 there was no way to assuage his aggravation.
• 17:42 In his own word in the 13th verse he says, in the Hebrew first,
• 18:00 Again, there was no way...this Haman was in the grip
• 18:05 and there was no way that he was going to be transformed
• 18:09 and that he was going to be changed.
• 18:11 And he took his hatred of Jews to the grave.
• 18:15 Oscar Schindler took his standing with the Jewish people to the grave.
• 18:21 Just an ordinary guy in Germany that decided to stand up.
• 18:24 And here he is buried in Jerusalem not far from the City of David.
• 18:31 Outside of the walls he's remembered and Jewish people come here,
• 18:35 Christian people come here,
• 18:37 of course his story was made famous by Stephen Spielberg.
• 18:43 But I think even without us knowing him through Spielberg's movie,
• 18:47 I think that the Lord would know, who judges men and who assesses lives, that he
• 18:53 would know that truly this was a good man,
• 18:56 a man that's buried here...
• 18:58 Oscar Schindler.
• 19:07 David and I were just at Schindler's grave
• 19:10 and it's a very moving place to be
• 19:13 and to stand and to remember this amazing man
• 19:16 who did so much for the Jewish people.
• 19:18 We are here with our guest analyst.
• 19:21 We welcome you again.
• 19:22 Thank you.
• 19:24 And would you tell us about your involvement with remembrance events?
• 19:27 Well, actually Dr. Seif and the Zola Levitt program
• 19:30 came to Europe to film the very first thing we had.
• 19:35 It was called The March of Life
• 19:36 where we went basically from the Stuttgart area on a prayer march
• 19:40 all the way across Germany to Dachau, which is outside of Munich.
• 19:44 Zola Levitt came and filmed the whole thing.
• 19:46 It was the children of Nazis who wanted to break the silence of
• 19:51 indifference of their own families not really caring about Jewish people.
• 19:56 But also it was led by a Holocaust survivor, Rose Price,
• 19:59 and a Holocaust survivor, Peter Loth.
• 20:01 And about thirty-five of my friends, mostly from Dallas,
• 20:04 who had lost their family, including Dr. Seif.
• 20:07 We marched across Germany in the spring of 2007
• 20:12 going through little villages all along the way.
• 20:14 People would come out and ask, What's going on?
• 20:16 We'd let Rose give her testimony.
• 20:19 At the end of her testimony she would always say,
• 20:21 "And Jesus wants to
• 20:23 show mercy on all who will break their silence here today."
• 20:26 Breaking the silence has much larger themes than just the Holocaust.
• 20:30 This march inspired a lot of people.
• 20:34 The next year pastors all over eastern Germany wanted to do it again.
• 20:38 Then the next year we brought it to America
• 20:40 as something called March of Remembrance,
• 20:42 where Christians gather in a public place to pray
• 20:46 on Yom Hoshoah, Day of Holocaust Remembrance.
• 20:48 Then we march through the city and at the end of that march we have a stage
• 20:51 set up for Holocaust survivors to give their testimonies so we can
• 20:54 remember these important lessons.
• 20:57 It's not really about the past as much as it is about today.
• 21:02 Breaking the silence of indifference against evil and wickedness.
• 21:06 These marches really inspired a lot of people.
• 21:10 And every year now in Europe, we get invited to a different country
• 21:14 and we go and we spend a year doing our research
• 21:16 and networking all the churches together.
• 21:18 We've had national campaigns now in
• 21:20 Ukraine, Latvia and Lithuania,
• 21:22 Poland and Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.
• 21:26 Actually we had a march through Paris, France last July.
• 21:30 It's just taken off in Europe.
• 21:32 The biggest one this year was actually Bogota, Columbia,
• 21:36 where almost 3,000 people marched
• 21:38 for the Jewish people through the city of Bogota.
• 21:41 Now we have these marches in almost 400 cities of the earth now
• 21:46 since it began in 2007
• 21:48 and 19 different nations.
• 21:51 For Israel's 70th birthday next year
• 21:53 we're going to all walk up to Jerusalem
• 21:55 and all these different nations
• 21:56 are going to all come together
• 21:58 and march through Jerusalem as a way
• 21:59 of just saying, We Bless you, Israel.
• 22:02 That's wonderful.
• 22:04 How many times have you been involved with that do you think?
• 22:05 Do you know?
• 22:06 Well, every year I can only go to one.
• 22:08 We have the marches on the same day.
• 22:10 We've had as many as sixty-two in a day in America.
• 22:14 So I can't go to all those, obviously,
• 22:16 but I usually go to the main event.
• 22:18 We've had them right in front of
• 22:20 the Capital building in D.C. three years in a row.
• 22:23 Different years we're at different main events.
• 22:25 I'm mainly in charge of Dallas,
• 22:27 so I'm usually in Dallas organizing here and helping others.
• 22:33 How can someone join that?
• 22:35 Well, it's marchofremembrance.org.
• 22:38 Okay.
• 22:39 That's the best way to find out.
• 22:41 We don't do it for ya, you know what I mean?
• 22:44 We help you with materials and ideas
• 22:49 and every community needs to
• 22:52 custom make it for their community.
• 22:54 Basically it's just a Christian prayer walk.
• 22:58 It's a prayer meeting in public and then a prayer walk
• 23:02 and at the end of it we give a platform
• 23:04 for Holocaust survivors to tell their stories.
• 23:06 Anybody can do that.
• 23:08 It doesn't cost anything to walk either.
• 23:10 It's really amazing how it's sort of
• 23:14 revolutionized entire communities
• 23:16 and brought Christians and Jewish people together.
• 23:18 It's brought churches of all denominations together
• 23:21 because it's not a big theological fight.
• 23:24 I highly recommend people check into it.
• 23:29 So much more on this coming up,
• 23:31 but right now we're going to hear a song from Ted Pearce.
• 24:11 ♪ Six million people crying from the grave. ♪
• 24:18 ♪ Invisible people calling out their names. ♪
• 24:25 ♪ Beautiful people taken from their homes. ♪
• 24:32 ♪ Scattered people nowhere to go. ♪
• 24:38 ♪ And the mothers and fathers and the sons and daughters ♪
• 24:42 ♪ they were carried away in trains. ♪
• 24:46 ♪ Their bodies were broken and beaten and burned ♪
• 24:49 ♪ and their ashes fell down like rain. ♪
• 24:52 ♪ They were branded with a number and a yellow star ♪
• 24:56 ♪ and paraded around in shame. ♪
• 24:59 ♪ They called it a crime to be born a Jew ♪
• 25:03 ♪ and in the name of God they were slain. ♪
• 25:05 ♪ The Forgotten People! ♪
• 25:08 ♪ Calling out, calling out calling out. ♪
• 25:13 ♪ Six million people ♪
• 25:15 ♪ Crying out, crying out, crying out. ♪
• 25:20 ♪ The Forgotten People! ♪
• 25:22 ♪ Calling out, calling out calling out. ♪
• 25:27 ♪ The Chosen People. ♪
• 25:29 ♪ Crying out, crying out, crying out. ♪
• 25:36 ♪ Blessed people who tried to help, ♪
• 25:43 ♪ While evil people schemed among themselves. ♪
• 25:50 ♪ Everyday people who ignored the news, oh-oh-oh ♪
• 25:57 ♪ and different people sitting in the pews. ♪
• 26:03 ♪ Sound the alarm shouting Never Again! ♪
• 26:06 ♪ Let the righteous revolution begin. ♪
• 26:10 ♪ History must never repeat itself ♪
• 26:13 ♪ so lift your voices and take a stand. ♪
• 26:17 ♪ United as One for Zion's sake, ♪
• 26:21 ♪ undivided as the nations rage. ♪
• 26:24 ♪ And to rise like an army in the name ♪
• 26:28 ♪ for the nation that was born in a day. ♪
• 26:30 ♪ The Forgotten People! ♪
• 26:32 ♪ Calling out, calling out calling out. ♪
• 26:37 ♪ Six million people. ♪
• 26:39 ♪ Crying out, crying out, crying out. ♪
• 26:47 ♪ Can you hear them crying out again? ♪♪
• 26:57 Thank you, Ted.
• 26:58 Join us next week as we continue this series on Esther.
• 27:02 Our prayer for today and every day is
• 27:04 Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim.
• 27:06 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
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