The Esther Anointing: Strategy, Sacrifice, and Spiritual Warfare

This Mother's Day sermon offers a compelling call to action for mothers, framing them as 'plot destroyers' who must actively engage in spiritual warfare. While the emphasis on community and the priority of church attendance are strong, the message is compromised by a tendency to externalize spiritual battles into political spheres and to suggest that human strategy can override divine sovereignty. The sermon effectively motivates but risks leading listeners into anxiety and self-reliance rather than resting in Christ's finished work.

🟠
Theological Status: COMPROMISED (Worldly/Sloppy) Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Pergamum
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Faithful Parallels Smyrna • Philadelphia
Teaching that parallels the churches that endure suffering with true spiritual riches (Rev 2:9) and keep the Word of Christ without denial despite having "little strength" (Rev 3:8).
The Cold Orthodox Parallel Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Compromised Parallel Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
The Corrupted & Dead Parallels Thyatira • Sardis • Laodicea
Teaching that parallels churches with active heresy, synergism, therapeutic deism, or dead orthodoxy (Rev 2:20, Rev 3:1, Rev 3:17). These represent systemic, fundamental errors that corrupt the Gospel engine.
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
Date: 2025-05-12 | Church: Freedom House Church | Speaker: Penny Maxwell

🧐 Overview

Theological Verdict & Summary

Sermon Summary: Discover how the story of Esther reveals a divine calling for mothers to be strategic defenders, using spiritual discernment and community to protect their families and redeem generational legacies.

Pastoral Analysis: This Mother's Day sermon offers a compelling call to action for mothers, framing them as 'plot destroyers' who must actively engage in spiritual warfare. While the emphasis on community and the priority of church attendance are strong, the message is compromised by a tendency to externalize spiritual battles into political spheres and to suggest that human strategy can override divine sovereignty. The sermon effectively motivates but risks leading listeners into anxiety and self-reliance rather than resting in Christ's finished work.

Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Pergamum — The sermon blends orthodox biblical narrative with significant worldly philosophies. It conflates spiritual warfare with political activism and elevates human strategy over divine sovereignty, creating a hybrid theology that risks leading the congregation into fear-based decisionism rather than grace-based assurance.

Big Idea: Mothers are divinely appointed 'plot destroyers' who use spiritual discernment, fasting, community, and bold strategy to uncover and dismantle enemy plans, thereby protecting their families and redeeming generational legacies. [00:20:24 ▶️ 📄]

🎨 The Visual Metaphor

The indecipherable runes embody the concealed enemy schemes and generational burdens that seek to entrap the family. The fracture and blooming flower illustrate the mother's strategic spiritual warfare, dismantling the plot to restore life and legacy.


📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus

  • Primary Text: Esther
  • Usage Classification: Expository-Application Hybrid
  • Text-to-Talk Ratio: Moderate
  • Pulpit Decorum: ✅ PASS - The pastor maintains a respectful and encouraging tone, using personal anecdotes and biblical narrative effectively without resorting to coarse language or abusive rhetoric.

✝️ Christological Focus: Implicit/Weak

"Christ is mentioned as the object of thanksgiving in the cross, but the sermon's primary focus is on human agency and strategy, with little explicit connection to Christ's unique role as the only Savior and King."

Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 5 | Referenced: 2 | Alluded: 6

Passages Read Aloud:

  • Esther 2:21-23 [00:19:18 ▶️ 📄]
    "In those days, while Mordecai her cousin sat within the king's gate, two of the king's eunuchs, Bigfin and Teresh, they were doorkeepers, they became furious and sought to lay hands on King Asherus. So the matter became known to Mordecai. who told Queen Esther and Esther informed the king in Mordecai's name and when an inquiry was made into the matter it was confirmed and both were hanged on the gallows and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king"
  • Esther 4:14 [00:27:29 ▶️ 📄]
    "Yet who knows, Esther, whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this."
  • Esther 4:16 [00:28:21 ▶️ 📄]
    "Neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise."

Key References: 1 Samuel 15, Esther 4:14

💧 Liturgy & Sacraments

Altar Call / Invitation Observed: Yes

  • Theological Conditions: Acknowledging things in life that need to be erased, Desiring a fresh start, do-over, or new beginning, Inviting Jesus in, Asking to reverse the curse and make all things new
  • Sinner's Prayer: "Heavenly Father we thank you that you are the original plot destroyer what looked like failure when Jesus was on the cross was literally you redeeming us thank you God for your sacrifice we invite you in today in the name of Jesus reverse the curse make all things new in Jesus name" [00:45:00 ▶️ 📄]
  • Coercive Pressure: "This is the most important moment of the whole service. There is nothing more important than what we're doing right now." [00:43:41 ▶️ 📄]

🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery

Word Count: 2,782 words

📌 Key Topics Addressed

  • Identity and Calling [00:19:08 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor argues that Esther's background (orphan, foreigner) did not disqualify her; rather, her calling to be queen and a 'plot destroyer' was defined by divine appointment, not her history.
  • Spiritual Discernment vs. Appearance [00:21:05 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor contrasts the eunuchs Bigfin and Teresh, who looked faithful (castrated for the king) but had wrong hearts, with Esther, who saw through the deception despite their powerful positions.
  • Divine Timing and Preparation [00:26:05 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor emphasizes that Esther 'sensed the season' and paused to fast and pray for three days, illustrating that spiritual battles require divine timing rather than human urgency.
  • Community and Church Planting [00:30:17 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor uses Esther's reliance on Mordecai and the Jewish community to argue that mothers cannot fight alone and must be 'planted' in a church family for support and protection.
  • Strategic Action and Legacy [00:36:28 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor describes Esther as a 'kingdom strategist' who used banquets and bold speech to save her people, highlighting the importance of protecting legacy and generations.
  • Spiritual Warfare and Strategy [00:35:30 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor defines mothers as 'kingdom strategists' who proactively intercept 'genocidal thoughts' and 'plots' from the enemy, emphasizing that spiritual warfare requires timing and preparation rather than just reaction.
  • Biblical Typology (Esther and Saul) [00:38:55 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor draws a parallel between Queen Esther and King Saul, both from the tribe of Benjamin. He argues that Esther's strategic actions redeemed the lineage by destroying the Amalekites, a task King Saul failed to complete due to disobedience and insecurity.
  • Mother's Day Application [00:42:40 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor applies the theological concept to the current occasion, urging mothers to value their children's spiritual standing ('right with God') above receiving 'kudos' or praise on Mother's Day.

🖼️ Illustrations & Stories

  • Sermon Illustration [00:17:51 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor recounts the biblical narrative of Esther, detailing her orphan background, her rise to queen, her uncovering of the plot by eunuchs Bigfin and Teresh, and her subsequent strategic banquets to thwart Haman's genocide of the Jews.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:31:23 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about her children participating in traveling cheer, school cheer, football, soccer, and baseball, yet still attending church on Sunday mornings, using this to illustrate the priority of 'being planted' in God's house.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:32:32 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor tells the story of a young teenage mother at the church who kept her baby and was supported by a 'Mordecai' (her parents) and the church family, illustrating how the community covers and protects those in vulnerable situations.
  • Sermon Illustration [00:36:07 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor recounts the biblical narrative of Queen Esther, who strategically prepared three banquets to approach King Ahasuerus, using the 'stomach' to get to the 'heart' of a man, ultimately leading to the execution of Haman and the deliverance of the Jews. He contrasts this with King Saul, who failed to destroy the Amalekites as commanded by God due to insecurity, leaving a generational mess that Esther later 'cleaned up' by allowing the Jews to destroy 75,800 Amalekites.

🚀 Calls to Action (Application)

  • Pastoral Charge [00:31:12 ▶️ 📄]
    > Prioritize attending church services over extracurricular activities like sports and cheerleading.
  • Pastoral Charge [00:32:10 ▶️ 📄]
    > Join a life group or faith community to ensure support during difficult times.
  • Pastoral Charge [00:42:35 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor asks the congregation to stand and shift their focus from giving mothers praise to ensuring their children are spiritually aligned with God.
  • Pastoral Charge [00:43:05 ▶️ 📄]
    > The pastor commands the entire congregation, regardless of gender or role, to bow their heads and close their eyes for prayer/reflection.

🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard

Overall Verdict: Compromised / Weak

CategoryStatusReasoning
Gospel Presentation ❌ FAIL The Gospel Engine is compromised by Decisionism. The closing prayer implies that reciting specific words can 'reverse curses' and secure salvation, shifting the focus from Christ's finished work to human ritual performance.
Soteriology ⚠️ WEAK The sermon promotes a synergistic view of salvation where human effort (fasting, strategy, prayer rituals) is presented as necessary to 'redeem bloodlines' and 'reverse curses,' undermining the sufficiency of grace.
Bibliology ⚠️ WEAK The hermeneutic relies heavily on 'newspaper exegesis,' forcing contemporary political events into the text of Esther rather than allowing the text to speak on its own historical and theological terms.
Hermeneutic ⚠️ WEAK The application of Esther is overly allegorical and anthropocentric, focusing on human tactics (banquets, stomach manipulation) rather than the typological foreshadowing of Christ's sovereign deliverance.
Theology Proper ⚠️ WEAK God's sovereignty is diminished by the suggestion that He 'left undone' what Esther 'redeemed,' implying that God's plan requires human correction or completion.
Sacramentology ⚠️ WEAK The corporate prayer functions as a ritualistic act believed to confer grace or reverse curses, rather than a petition for God's will, reflecting a sacramental misunderstanding of prayer.
Confessional Depth ❌ FAIL The sermon lacks depth in explaining the nature of sin, grace, and sovereignty, opting instead for practical, self-help oriented strategies for spiritual victory.

⚙️ The Gospel Engine (Confessional Distinctives)

The Law And Wrath: Not observed in the sermon.

Total Depravity And Inability: Not observed in the sermon.

Active Obedience Of Christ: Not observed in the sermon.

The Cross And Atonement: Not observed in the sermon.

✅ Commendations

Community Emphasis | The Necessity of Church Planting

The pastor effectively argues that individual spiritual survival is impossible without being 'planted' in a local church community, using personal family examples to illustrate the priority of corporate worship.

Pastoral Care | Support for Vulnerable Mothers

The story of the young teenage mother supported by the church family demonstrates a heart for pastoral care and the practical application of bearing one another's burdens.

Strategic Thinking | Proactive Spiritual Defense

The call for mothers to be 'strategic defenders' rather than passive victims encourages a proactive and disciplined approach to spiritual life and family protection.

⚠️ Theological Concerns

🟠 The Error of Ritualistic Salvation (Decisionism)

Root Cause: Decisionism: The belief that a human decision or ritual act is the primary cause of salvation, rather than God's sovereign grace.

"Heavenly Father we thank you that you are the original plot destroyer what looked like failure when Jesus was on the cross was literally you redeeming us thank you God for your sacrifice we invite you in today in the name of Jesus reverse the curse make all things new in Jesus name" [00:45:00 ▶️ 📄]

Correction: Salvation is by grace through faith, not by works or rituals (Ephesians 2:8-9). Prayer is a means of communion and petition, not a magical incantation that forces God's hand.

🟠 The Error of Political Idolatry (Christian Nationalism)

Root Cause: Christian Nationalism: The error of equating the Kingdom of God with political power or national identity.

"We saw a whole generation that the enemy tried to take out through lots of different means, and at one point even used the government to try to do it." [00:35:43 ▶️ 📄]

Correction: Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). Civil governments are ordained by God for order, not as the primary battlefield for salvation.

🟠 The Error of Human Self-Sufficiency (Pelagianism)

Root Cause: Pelagianism: The Error of Human Self-Sufficiency, which overestimates human ability to achieve spiritual good or correct sin.

"What one king left undone, the queen came in and redeemed the bloodline from Benjamin. She redeemed it." [00:42:09 ▶️ 📄]

Correction: God alone redeems His people (Psalm 130:8). Salvation is the Lord's (Jonah 2:9), and no human effort can atone for sin or redeem a lineage.

🟠 The Error of Manipulative Influence (Ethical Compromise)

Root Cause: Machiavellianism: The belief that the ends justify the means, and that manipulation is a valid tool for leadership.

"She knew how to get to the king the same way you get to any man. She prepared a banquet. You get to the heart of a man through his stomach." [00:36:48 ▶️ 📄]

Correction: Let your speech always be gracious and seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6). Influence should be built on truth and love, not manipulation.


📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)

Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:00:05] Amen.

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Well, welcome to all of my mamas in the house.
[00:00:53] Do your arms like this if you're a mama.
[00:00:55] All right, even if you're online, come on, let me see your hands.
[00:01:00] Come on, mamas online.
[00:01:02] There you go.
[00:01:03] You know, I think sometimes we don't realize just how huge
[00:01:08] We think that it's just the four corners of this building, but we've literally got all over the world that's watching.
[00:01:16] Let's see, we got Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Wyoming.
[00:01:26] Give it up for everybody.
[00:01:29] Incredible.
[00:01:30] Okay, that felt like a golf clap to me.
[00:01:33] It's Mother's Day.
[00:01:34] We should be a little bit rowdy up in here.
[00:01:36] Let's give it up for everybody.
[00:01:39] There we go.
[00:01:40] There we go.
[00:01:42] Well, I am so excited.
[00:01:45] Thank you guys for honoring me as the spiritual mom of the house.
[00:01:50] I take my job very seriously.
[00:01:52] I am a fierce defender and protector, so just know I appreciate your honor.
[00:01:59] I did want to make sure and honor the spiritual mama of this campus.
[00:02:05] Pastor Stephanie, can you stand up?
[00:02:09] All right, turn and look at everybody so they can all see you.
[00:02:14] Pastor Aaron, could you stand alongside your queen?
[00:02:17] We gotta have the king and the queen together.
[00:02:21] Here's the thing I want you to understand.
[00:02:23] They fight for you.
[00:02:24] They pray for you.
[00:02:26] They believe for you.
[00:02:27] Even when their own house is shaken, they are still believing for your house.
[00:02:34] So make sure that you thank them, that you appreciate them, that you love on them because they fight battles that you would never know about because they keep showing up day in and day out for you and your family.
[00:02:49] So give it up to the Queen and the King here.
[00:02:54] At our central campus.
[00:02:57] And it's only fitting if I take that king and queen example and I talk about the game of chess.
[00:03:05] I think it's very apropos because in the game of chess, the king, I understand, he holds headship and he is the final piece.
[00:03:15] When he falls, it says it all.
[00:03:17] It's all and done, right?
[00:03:20] He stands tall at the center of everything he's majestic he's regal and he's symbolic we love the kings don't we ladies okay we need do i need to preach a different message today all right we need to do some repairing in here we love our kings don't we ladies
[00:03:49] But make no mistake, it is the Queen who holds the power to move on that board.
[00:03:57] She sweeps across the board.
[00:03:59] She's diagonal.
[00:04:01] She's horizontal.
[00:04:03] She's vertical.
[00:04:04] And she is unmatched with grace and with reach.
[00:04:10] There is no piece on that board that is more powerful or tellingly symbolic than the queen.
[00:04:18] Because not only does she look after every other piece on that board, she knows how to protect her king too.
[00:04:29] You know it's interesting to me my husband did a post recently about women and their role and the power that they hold and I was kind of cracking up reading some of the idiotic things that people were responding and I knew what denomination it was but it still cracked me up nonetheless because see actually here at Freedom House we believe that women have a place in the kingdom
[00:04:55] And it's interesting to me that some people would twist the Word of God and I start to think, okay, if they don't understand the power that women wield, they might not have ever read the book of Genesis where Eve, a woman, took down all of creation because she stepped out of her place.
[00:05:18] They might not have ever heard of Samson and Delilah where a woman took down the strongest man that was ever on the face of the planet because she stepped outside of her place.
[00:05:30] So by all means please know the queen is very powerful and she is very strong but she needs to be in her place.
[00:05:40] And sometimes the king puts us in our place
[00:05:44] And we appreciate that because sometimes it's warranted, right?
[00:05:51] Alright, good that you're still tracking with me.
[00:05:57] But I love the fact that we have a king over this castle that loves and appreciates the part that women contribute.
[00:06:07] I am so thankful for that.
[00:06:10] I am so thankful that the feminine heart and the masculine heart are both heard in this house.
[00:06:17] I appreciate more than you can know because I'm literally sitting there online reading all the ignoramus comments of a woman should be quiet in God's house.
[00:06:29] She should be silent.
[00:06:31] She shouldn't speak.
[00:06:33] She has no authority.
[00:06:35] And I'm like, wow, are we misinterpreting scripture right now?
[00:06:39] And then I wanted to say, okay, has your wife ever worn pearls?
[00:06:44] Because see that same scripture that you're referring to that you're taking out of context right now, it says that a woman shouldn't wear pearls.
[00:06:53] It says a woman shouldn't wear gold.
[00:06:55] It says a woman shouldn't braid her hair.
[00:06:59] What they don't understand is in that context right there, there were some women.
[00:07:05] It was Paul speaking to Timothy, a young pastor in a very divided culture who very much of it was Greek.
[00:07:14] And the women were being worshipped as gods, the goddess Diana.
[00:07:20] and He was trying to course correct what was happening.
[00:07:24] And I'm so thankful that the pastor of this house does not look at women as a throwaway.
[00:07:34] I mean, in my mind, why in the world would God want 50% of the population to remain silent when we have an end time harvest that is needed?
[00:07:47] And if I can just be specific,
[00:07:51] I saw in the old testament where he used a donkey to talk so if God wants to use somebody he can use anything he wants to use as long as we are willing that's all I'm going to say on that but I appreciate and I honor the fact that when the queen stands up and she serves alongside of her queen her king we're not that kind of church we're in two queens
[00:08:25] Can I get an amen up in here?
[00:08:29] But when they stand together, something incredible happens.
[00:08:33] The queen covers most of the ground on that board, and she holds most of the influence.
[00:08:40] She can alter the course of a game with one single well-played move.
[00:08:47] And you know what?
[00:08:48] She always shows up right when she is needed.
[00:08:52] Where the king stands firm,
[00:08:55] She's in motion.
[00:08:57] Where he oversees, she protects.
[00:09:02] The Queen does not just play the game, she changes it.
[00:09:09] I don't want us to ever think that the role that women play, and I'm not just talking about doing domestic duties, I'm talking about anything that God has set in front of us to do.
[00:09:21] that we steward those opportunities well because queens, they calculate every move.
[00:09:28] They are not just concerned with protecting themselves but protecting others.
[00:09:33] Everyone else on the board, she looks after and she guards her king.
[00:09:37] She defends the realm to hold the line.
[00:09:41] Her very presence shifts the balance.
[00:09:46] And here's the thing, you lose the queen,
[00:09:50] And you know the king's about to go down.
[00:09:53] If you've played chess, you know that's the truth.
[00:09:57] And it's the same thing in the game of life.
[00:09:59] The king may symbolize the end of the game, but the queen is its life force.
[00:10:07] Mothers, I want you to know today
[00:10:10] I just want to speak and say this sometimes Mother's Day can be difficult for some of us I know before I started having children Mother's Day was a very hard remembering day for me because I did not grow up with a nurturing loving caring
[00:10:31] Mother.
[00:10:32] So it was a hard holiday.
[00:10:33] It brought up hurt and pain.
[00:10:36] And some of you may feel that today because maybe you've lost your mother.
[00:10:42] You could also be feeling that because maybe you're a woman that's lost a child.
[00:10:49] I just want you to know that we love you.
[00:10:53] We are thankful for you.
[00:10:54] And I know there are spiritual mamas in here.
[00:10:57] Your womb may have never even opened for a child, but your heart has opened for countless others.
[00:11:06] And I just want to say thank you for that.
[00:11:11] Thank you for what you do.
[00:11:22] There was a moment where I, you know, there's been moments through the years where I think my kids might have forgotten I was the queen.
[00:11:34] Sometimes you gotta remind them, right?
[00:11:37] Mm-hmm, yeah.
[00:11:39] So I am honored.
[00:11:41] I had one of my girls with me the first service, and I have another one with me today.
[00:11:47] And I thought I would share a little story about her.
[00:11:50] Oh, just a little one.
[00:11:51] I've got many.
[00:11:52] But this was a funny day.
[00:11:56] So both of my girls were competitive cheerleaders, and they also cheered for their schools.
[00:12:02] And I remember, and I know you know what story I'm about to tell,
[00:12:06] I remember going to pick her up from school one day.
[00:12:10] And it was Huff High School.
[00:12:13] And she throws her cheerleading gear in the back of the car.
[00:12:16] She puts her book bag in the back of the car.
[00:12:20] And she hops in with a big smile on her face.
[00:12:23] And something just kind of hit me.
[00:12:26] You know, mom's sense is better than Spidey's senses.
[00:12:31] And I'm like, hmm, I'm feeling a little something-something.
[00:12:35] and you know moms you know even if you don't have like video recordings you just kind of know you don't need the cameras you know something's off or when you hear something in the other room and you walk in and everybody's pointing fingers you knew who done it and you knew how they done it
[00:12:56] You know.
[00:12:56] You know.
[00:12:57] You can just sense those things.
[00:13:00] You can feel those things.
[00:13:02] And so my daughter gets in the car.
[00:13:05] She's got a big smile.
[00:13:06] She's just talking.
[00:13:07] And I'm like, what happened today?
[00:13:13] She's like, what are you talking about?
[00:13:14] Nothing happened today.
[00:13:16] And I was like, are you sure?
[00:13:19] She said, yeah, just drive.
[00:13:22] And I'm like, okay.
[00:13:24] And I start to drive, and I get halfway through the school parking lot, and I said, are you sure nothing happened today?
[00:13:31] Because I feel like something happened.
[00:13:34] And she's like, oh my gosh, Mom, you are being so extra.
[00:13:39] Nothing happened.
[00:13:41] Can we just go home?
[00:13:42] And I was like, okay, okay.
[00:13:44] And you know, for a second, I thought, man, I missed it.
[00:13:52] So I pulled out on the main road right in front of Huff High School and it didn't go away.
[00:13:59] And I'm like, ah, this isn't just mama here.
[00:14:04] This is the Holy Spirit.
[00:14:07] And you know, here's the thing about the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit is a snitch.
[00:14:11] And he is going to out you so fast.
[00:14:14] I don't like something's going on.
[00:14:16] I don't know what it is, but I tell you what, this mama, this queen is going to get to the bottom of whatever's happening.
[00:14:24] So I pull out on that main road.
[00:14:25] I go down for a second and I take the car.
[00:14:29] I'm like and pull off to the side of the road and I throw it in park.
[00:14:34] And she's like, what are you doing?
[00:14:36] And I said, well, I was going to ask you that.
[00:14:40] what happened at school today because i know something happened mom i cannot believe would you just drive oh my gosh this is so embarrassing people are going to drive by okay well we're going to sit here until you tell me what happened oh my gosh i told you nothing and i said okay
[00:14:56] I don't care if it's five minutes I don't care if it's two hours I don't care if it's all night we aren't moving until you tell me what happened and then all of a sudden it's amazing we went from nothing happened to I'm sorry

[00:15:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Oh, skip school!
[00:15:17] I hung out with the friends you told me not to hang out with.
[00:15:21] I went to skip school.
[00:15:23] I went to the gas station.
[00:15:25] I went to lunch.

[00:15:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
And I was like, hmm, okay.
[00:15:29] I put the car back in drive.
[00:15:31] I said, okay, thank you.
[00:15:33] Was that so hard?
[00:15:37] To tell the truth, now when we get home, you're going to need to tell your father.
[00:15:41] You're going to tell your father.
[00:15:46] Now, it was interesting, whenever I would get a call,
[00:15:54] That something needed addressing with one of my children.
[00:15:57] My older two, they, for those of you who I maybe don't know as well, so this one's 24, then I have a 25-year-old girl, and then a 27-year-old boy.
[00:16:12] Now, my older two are married, and this one and her fiancé beside her, yeah!
[00:16:20] Who my husband had threatened very severely when he first started to come around our house.
[00:16:28] He just, what, showed you his gun collection and his muscles, Taylor?
[00:16:31] Is that what he did?
[00:16:32] Yeah.
[00:16:34] so what happened is you know my older two they never even had a curfew because they were doing bible studies and you know my son was 17 and he was preaching on this platform the youngest preacher on our teaching team just brilliant and so if we got a call we were like what did Cassidy do
[00:16:59] And now she will tell you that she went through her phase and the other two are nowhere near as perfect as she is.
[00:17:07] She will tell you that now.
[00:17:13] I want you to know that through the different seasons, when different things go on, God made you to be the queen of your castle.
[00:17:23] To know when things are going on, to know when something's off,
[00:17:30] and to be able to come in and usurp what the enemy is trying to do in your family, in your marriage, in your story.
[00:17:40] And I want to tell you today about another queen who knew when there was trouble that was coming to her castle and her name was Esther.
[00:17:51] And here was Esther with a very interesting background.
[00:17:56] She had literally grown up
[00:17:59] as an orphan her cousin took her in the Jews had been exiled and were living in Persia for quite a while and they could have gone back to Jerusalem some chose to some didn't but here's Esther in a foreign land than what
[00:18:20] Generations we're accustomed to.
[00:18:22] She's a Jew and she keeps her identity a secret because Mordecai, her cousin, said, keep it under wraps.
[00:18:32] And she did.
[00:18:33] And she could have felt all kinds of ways about being an orphan.
[00:18:38] And the Bible doesn't tell us how she got orphaned.
[00:18:40] It just says that she was.
[00:18:44] but what happens with her is she goes through preparations and she ends up in front of the king and he picks her out of all of these other women to be the queen so here she is now doesn't matter what her background was what her story was doesn't matter what she came from you hear me
[00:19:08] She was called to be queen.
[00:19:13] And she ends up uncovering a plot.
[00:19:18] It says, In those days, while Mordecai her cousin sat within the king's gate, two of the king's eunuchs, Bigfin and Teresh, they were doorkeepers, they became furious and sought to lay hands on King Asherus.
[00:19:36] So the matter became known to Mordecai.
[00:19:41] who told Queen Esther and Esther informed the king in Mordecai's name and when an inquiry was made into the matter it was confirmed and both were hanged on the gallows and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king
[00:20:07] What is so incredible is Esther steps in, the queen, and she was a plot destroyer.
[00:20:15] Did you know, moms, that's what you are for your house?
[00:20:21] You are a plot destroyer.
[00:20:24] You are there to annihilate the enemy when he tries to get into your castle.
[00:20:31] The other thing that I think is particularly interesting is you see these two men that are eunuchs.
[00:20:40] Now, a eunuch was somebody that had devoted their life, their entire being, to looking after the king in the castle.
[00:20:54] So much so,
[00:20:56] that these two men were castrated in observance of showing their faithfulness to the king.
[00:21:05] So in other words, they looked the part, but their heart was wrong.
[00:21:15] And Esther didn't confuse it.
[00:21:19] She knew there was a plot there.
[00:21:22] She also didn't even confuse it when it tried to be wrapped up like it was something God ordained because Bickfin, one of the doorkeepers who coincidentally a doorkeeper
[00:21:39] These eunuchs, they were in charge of everyone who would come and go in and out of the castle.
[00:21:46] They decided who got near the king and who didn't.
[00:21:51] They had a very, very powerful, powerful position.
[00:21:56] And from all accounts, it looked like they had given their life to serve the king.
[00:22:04] Bithyn, his name actually means a gift from God.
[00:22:12] So everything looked like he was the right man.
[00:22:16] But Esther knew there was something there.
[00:22:20] She was a plot destroyer.
[00:22:22] And even when it came wrapped up like it was a gift from God, she had discernment to know better.
[00:22:30] And she informed the king and they were both hanged on the gallows.
[00:22:37] Now, plot destroyers are positioned by purpose.
[00:22:45] Like Esther, moms are placed in strategic roles, not by accident.
[00:22:53] but by divine appointment.
[00:22:56] You see sometimes we can get frustrated because of all the chaos that seems to be going on and things that are happening but we are made for the moment to be plot destroyers.
[00:23:10] Don't get overwhelmed by things that try to take out your castle because you were made to be a plot destroyer.
[00:23:19] You stand strong and you face the enemy and you take him out.
[00:23:26] You see, mothers are game changers.
[00:23:29] Her background didn't matter.
[00:23:31] None of that mattered.
[00:23:34] She didn't let the position of these two men or who everybody else thought they were, she's like, no, no, no, they're faking.
[00:23:45] And moms know how to spot when somebody's faking.
[00:23:50] Moms know how to spot it and here's the thing this was not the only time where Esther uncovered a plot there was another evil plot and this time instead of coming after the king this time they were using the king for another plot
[00:24:10] Haman who was the second in charge right underneath the king he was a guy that had a lot of power but he let it get to his head and so he wanted to be worshipped and looked at as the man but here's the deal the Jews particularly Mordecai they only were going to worship God
[00:24:37] They weren't interested in worshiping anybody else.
[00:24:40] They didn't care about rank and position.
[00:24:42] They cared about the King of Kings.
[00:24:45] And so when Haman would come and demand for people to bow before him and Mordecai said no, and he knew that the other Jews were worshiping God, he started to think about a plot to take them out.
[00:25:04] and he came up with one and he goes to the king and he says hey there's this whole group of people that don't honor your kingdom and I want you to to give an official decree that we can just annihilate them and the king gives them his signet ring now once the signet ring goes down on a decree it cannot be reversed for any reason
[00:25:28] The King gave him the ring and there it goes.
[00:25:33] Sealed.
[00:25:35] All of the Jews are now going to be destroyed.
[00:25:38] But understand, Esther has not uncovered at this point that she is a Jew.
[00:25:44] So here she is knowing that her life is in danger.
[00:25:52] The life of Mordecai is in danger and every other family member of hers is in danger.
[00:26:03] But here's the thing.
[00:26:05] Plot destroyers sense the season.
[00:26:09] And she understood the urgency of the hour.
[00:26:14] She understood how spiritually sensitive this moment was and that she needed discernment in order to carry out a plan to overt what the enemy was trying to do.
[00:26:30] She felt the urgency, but she didn't rush into action.
[00:26:35] She paused.
[00:26:37] she waited she knew that this was more spiritual than it was political she waited three days to approach the king because by law she wasn't even allowed to approach approach the king she would be put to death and so she waited three days and she's just pondering what she needs to do
[00:27:05] She was sensing the season.
[00:27:09] Divine timing supersedes human urgency.
[00:27:15] She wanted divine timing.
[00:27:18] She wanted God's divine appointment.
[00:27:23] And in Esther 4.14 it says, This is Mordecai speaking to her.
[00:27:29] Yet who knows, Esther, whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.
[00:27:36] Maybe this whole queen gig is for you right now to save your people.
[00:27:43] Maybe that's what it's all about.
[00:27:44] And see, sometimes if we're not careful as moms, we can feel the pressure of the moment and not realize, hey, my role right now is to be a plot destroyer.
[00:27:58] not not to go why why so much pressure why no no i'm a plot destroyer i will destroy the enemy's evil plans plot destroyers fast and pray and that's exactly what esther did she said go and gather all the jews who are present in shushan and fast for me
[00:28:21] Neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day.
[00:28:26] My maids and I will fast likewise.
[00:28:31] Why?
[00:28:32] Before Esther went to the king, she fasted and she prayed.
[00:28:39] And moms erase plots because they understand spiritual warfare.
[00:28:46] You see, the thing is, is some battles are not won with words, but with weeping, with warfare,
[00:28:57] and with worship and she understood that she was reliant on God she wasn't reliant on her beauty although she was beautiful she wasn't reliant on her courage or her influence she was reliant on God and all of the things that he had gifted her with she would use for the kingdom but she was reliant
[00:29:22] on God.
[00:29:24] Plot destroyers are bold risk takers.
[00:29:31] And here we see her saying, and so I will go to the king which is against the law and if I perish, I perish.
[00:29:45] She was willing to do what it took.
[00:29:49] to save the people that she loved the most.
[00:29:54] Mamas don't think about their own life first.
[00:29:59] They think about everybody else.
[00:30:01] They think about the king and the castle.
[00:30:05] They think about generations.
[00:30:08] That's how mamas think.
[00:30:10] That's how a true queen thinks.
[00:30:14] Plot destroyers also.
[00:30:17] They don't fight alone.
[00:30:19] Esther called on others to fast and to pray with her.
[00:30:25] She went to Mordecai and she asked him to pray and fast with her.
[00:30:30] which denotes an elder somebody with wisdom that she was able to go to she also commissioned all of the jews in Shushan those were her church people those were the people that would literally her faith group that would fight with her that would believe with her i'm going to tell you right now
[00:30:56] There is no way that we are going to successfully make it through the things that the devil is throwing at us as individuals or our household without being planted in God's house.
[00:31:12] There is nothing more important to do on a weekend
[00:31:17] Not a baseball game.
[00:31:20] Not a soccer match.
[00:31:22] Not a cheerleading.
[00:31:23] I'm going to tell you, my girls did traveling cheer.
[00:31:27] They did school cheer.
[00:31:29] My son played football, soccer, baseball.
[00:31:33] My kids were in God's house on Sunday morning.
[00:31:38] They might even have to come dressed in their cheer uniform and we might leave after one service but we are not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together in the house of God.
[00:31:52] The Bible declares that those who are planted in the house of God will flourish.
[00:32:02] If there are areas of your life that are not flourishing,
[00:32:10] Might I suggest getting planted so when you walk through a battle, you can pick up the phone, you can show up at your life group and your faith community will surround you and be there for you.
[00:32:28] It is so important.
[00:32:32] This morning when we were doing the dedications for the babies,
[00:32:39] One of the mamas was a very young mama.
[00:32:43] She was a teenager.
[00:32:47] And she made the right choice to keep that baby.
[00:32:51] The right choice.
[00:32:56] But she has a Mordecai in her life with her parents.
[00:33:01] She also has a church family that came around her.
[00:33:05] We didn't critique her or judge her or point a finger lest we get ten-pointed back at us.
[00:33:15] We are there to cover and protect when we are planted.
[00:33:19] She also, Esther had her inner circle.
[00:33:24] She had the maids and her female attendants that looked after her.
[00:33:30] Plot destroyers use their voice.
[00:33:36] Esther knew she was a Jew and what was declared against the Jews.
[00:33:42] She spoke up when silence would have felt so much easier.
[00:33:47] Nobody knows who I am.
[00:33:49] At least I can look after me.
[00:33:53] The king's ring has already been stamped.
[00:33:58] Nothing I can do.
[00:34:01] Let me let it just happen and I'll ignore it and I'll just save myself.
[00:34:10] Mm-mm.
[00:34:14] No, because she knew.
[00:34:15] She knew the enemy's plot often relies on silence.
[00:34:22] And when a mother, when a queen finds her voice, plots unravel.
[00:34:30] They unravel.
[00:34:32] My goodness.
[00:34:38] Plot destroyers?
[00:34:40] Protect Legacy.
[00:34:41] Esther wasn't just trying to save herself or her cousin.
[00:34:47] She knew there was an entire people group that she might have a chance to save, even if it cost her her own life.
[00:35:00] She was thinking about generations.
[00:35:03] She was thinking about legacy.
[00:35:06] She discerned the plot before it even had a chance to touch her house.
[00:35:17] She discerned it.
[00:35:20] Wow, moms, you intercept evil plots even when the gatekeeper has everyone else fooled.
[00:35:30] Moms, you intercept genocidal thoughts, which I can tell you the last five years, that's exactly what we saw.
[00:35:43] We saw a whole generation that the enemy tried to take out through lots of different means, and at one point even used the government to try to do it.
[00:35:55] But moms, you uncover plots.
[00:36:01] and you save your people.
[00:36:07] Plot destroyers are kingdom strategists, like that queen in a chess game, understanding when to make your move, knowing that timing is everything, knowing that your movements protect the others.
[00:36:28] Moms,
[00:36:29] We don't just react.
[00:36:32] We strategize.
[00:36:35] We come up with plans.
[00:36:37] And Esther was brilliant.
[00:36:41] She knew how to get to the king the same way you get to any man.
[00:36:48] She prepared a banquet.
[00:36:53] You get to the heart of a man through his stomach.
[00:37:01] Three banquets she prepared and then he said, what can I do for you?
[00:37:08] She didn't ask for something of herself.
[00:37:13] You see, spiritual warfare isn't just about what you say, it's about when you say it.
[00:37:25] She waited for the right time because she was strategic.
[00:37:30] Plot destroyers, birth deliverance.
[00:37:35] The king heard Esther that day and Haman, the second in charge, who literally Esther now has removed three men from the palace that could have hurt and harmed the kingdom.
[00:37:56] Haman was hanged that day.
[00:37:59] and the gallows now because his ring was already stamped his signet ring he couldn't reverse the plot but what they did is they let all the jews know in all of the territories that all of the evil men were coming for them and so they gave them weapons they gave them things to prepare themselves
[00:38:28] and so Esther helped prepare the rest of her family so to speak she gave them the tools and the weapons to fight back so they didn't get annihilated now here's here's guys what is crazy to me when I was studying this
[00:38:55] because moms are always birthing breakthroughs.
[00:39:01] Check this out.
[00:39:05] King Saul, hundreds of years before Queen Esther walked the planet, King Saul was a king who had a lot of insecurities and those overtook him.
[00:39:24] And when we don't get our insecurities in check, the very position and place that we've been called to in leadership gets taken.
[00:39:35] And so King Saul was supposed to go and fight this battle and he had a commandment from God.
[00:39:40] When you go into this battle, you are to utterly destroy everything.
[00:39:46] that the Amalekites owned every possession and you are to utterly destroy every Amalekite.
[00:39:55] Keep nothing.
[00:39:57] That was the command.
[00:39:59] But what we know from Scripture is that is not what King Saul did.
[00:40:03] And the prophet Samuel, I believe it's 1 Samuel 15, the prophet Samuel confronts him and says, What is the bleeding of sheep I hear in my ears?
[00:40:14] What have you done?
[00:40:16] And he makes excuses for why he did not obey God.
[00:40:23] and he kept king Agag and some of the other people back and he kept some of the spoils and Samuel rebuked him and said your kingdom will be taken from you fast forward 750 years and here we are with Esther
[00:40:54] King Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin.
[00:41:01] Queen Esther from the tribe of Benjamin.
[00:41:09] What you see happen is that when she releases all of the Jews to fight back, guess what lineage Haman was from?
[00:41:24] The Amalekites.
[00:41:27] The people that King Saul was supposed to have destroyed but did not.
[00:41:38] Esther cleans up his mess and when she unlooses the Jews
[00:41:48] The Amalekites that have come from Haman and down through the years that were supposed to have been destroyed but never were.
[00:41:58] Those Jews that day take out 75,800 and completely destroy the Amalekites.
[00:42:09] What am I saying to you today?
[00:42:11] I am saying that what one king left undone, the queen came in and redeemed the bloodline from Benjamin.
[00:42:22] She redeemed it.
[00:42:24] And you no longer hear about the Amalekites causing havoc anymore in Scripture.
[00:42:31] They are done with.
[00:42:35] Can you stand on your feet with me today?
[00:42:40] On this Mother's Day, here's what I want you to do.
[00:42:46] I am so thankful for our plot-destroying, plot-erasing mothers.
[00:42:55] But I can tell you something more important than her getting kudos on Mother's Day.
[00:43:05] She would rather make sure all of her children are right with God.
[00:43:11] you may be here today because you came because of your mom you may be a mom it doesn't matter man woman or child i want everybody in here today to just bow your head and close your eyes as i ask you this question i've been talking about destroying plots and erasing plans of the enemy if today
[00:43:38] And thank you for everyone standing right where you are.
[00:43:41] This is the most important moment of the whole service.
[00:43:45] There is nothing more important than what we're doing right now.
[00:43:54] If today you would say, I know there are things in my life that need to be erased, and today I want those things erased.
[00:44:05] I want a fresh start.
[00:44:07] I want a do-over.
[00:44:08] I want a new beginning.
[00:44:10] If that is you today, man, woman, or child, I want you just to shoot your hand up and say, that's me.
[00:44:16] I need a fresh start today.
[00:44:18] Thank you.
[00:44:19] Thank you.
[00:44:19] Thank you.
[00:44:20] Who else?
[00:44:20] Thank you.
[00:44:21] Thank you.
[00:44:22] Who else?
[00:44:23] Thank you in the back.
[00:44:23] Thank you.
[00:44:24] Thank you.
[00:44:24] Thank you.
[00:44:25] Thank you.
[00:44:25] Thank you.
[00:44:26] Thank you.
[00:44:26] Thank you.
[00:44:27] Thank you.
[00:44:27] Thank you.
[00:44:28] Who else?
[00:44:29] I'm looking over on this side.
[00:44:30] Who else?
[00:44:32] Thank you.
[00:44:34] Who else said, man, I need some things erased today?
[00:44:38] Thank you.
[00:44:38] Thank you.
[00:44:41] Who else?
[00:44:43] I'm going to pray with everybody.
[00:44:45] Who else needs some things erased?
[00:44:47] come on yeah thank you let's all of us thank you thank you let's all of us say this together say Heavenly Father we thank you that you are the original plot destroyer what looked like failure when Jesus was on the cross was literally you redeeming us
[00:45:17] thank you God for your sacrifice we invite you in today in the name of Jesus reverse the curse make all things new in Jesus name
[00:45:39] Amen.
[00:45:41] Amen.

[00:45:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Give it up for all the mamas.
[00:45:49] I mean the loudest shout, the loudest roar.
[00:45:51] Thank you, mamas.
[00:45:53] You are plot destroying, plot erasing.

[00:45:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
And because of that, when you leave here today, you're going to get a gift from me.
[00:46:05] And believe it or not, I found these.
[00:46:07] And it took a while.
[00:46:09] But I found a queen chess piece that is an actual eraser.
[00:46:17] And whenever you think you don't have what it takes, you're gonna pull this out and you're gonna sit it on your desk, on your kitchen counter, I don't care where, on your dashboard.
[00:46:29] And you're gonna remind yourself that you are the queen of this chess board
[00:46:35] and you erase evil plots of the enemy.
[00:46:39] Amen.