Finding Hope and Purpose in Esther, 3: "Whose Purpose & Plan?" Esther 5-6, The Message (MSG)

Finding Hope and Purpose in Esther, 3: "Whose Purpose & Plan?"
Esther 5-6, The Message (MSG)

o   The first week in our study of Esther we saw contrasting characters and we learned that loyalty and obedience make us available for God's purposes.
o   Last week we saw from the responses of Mordecai, Esther and God's people that our hope is in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances.
o   We paused in our study where Esther asked Mordecai and the Jews of Susa to fast for three days, a fast she also kept, after which she committed to go to the king.
o   5 1-3 Three days later (that is, after the three days of fasting) Esther dressed in her royal robes and took up a position in the inner court of the palace in front of the king’s throne room.
o   No one was allowed to appear before the king in morning and he had not called on Esther in 30 days, so after three days of fasting, she gets up and puts on her royal robes and presents herself beautiful before the King.
o   The king was on his throne facing the entrance. When he noticed Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased to see her; the king extended the gold scepter in his hand.
o   Here was his beautiful bride, his queen, whom he had not called on or seen in 30 days, and there she was looking strikingly beautiful, so the king couldn't help but extend his scepter to her.
o   His scepter was her life.
o   Out of honor and respect for the king, Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
o   Knowing this was no mere social call and that Esther had risked her life coming to see him unsummoned, the king asked, “And what’s your desire, Queen Esther? What do you want? Ask and it’s yours—even if it’s half my kingdom!”
o   How did she reply?
o   4 “If it please the king,” said Esther, “let the king come with Haman to a dinner I’ve prepared for him.”
o   A banquet was a socially acceptable way to invite the king to discuss serious issues. Esther was simply doing what royal custom required, and the king knew immediately that Esther wanted to talk to him about something very important to her.
o   By including Haman at the banquet, Esther allowed the eventual public revealing of his wickedness.
o   How does the king respond to her invitation?
o   5-6 “Get Haman at once,” said the king, “so we can go to dinner with Esther.”
o   So the king and Haman joined Esther at the dinner she had arranged.
o   After they ate, as they were drinking the wine, the king said, “Now, what is it you want? Half of my kingdom isn’t too much to ask! Just ask.”
o   In ancient times, it was considered bad manners to have serious discussions while eating. Therefore, after the meal, when the wine was served in that relaxed atmosphere was the time for serious conversation.
o   7-8 Esther answered, “Here’s what I want. If the king favors me and is pleased to do what I desire and ask, let the king and Haman come again tomorrow to the dinner that I will fix for them. Then I’ll give a straight answer to the king’s question.”
o   Esther here wasn't just inviting the king and Haman to another banquet. She was asking the king in advance to grant her request by agreeing to come to the second banquet.
o   Therefore, by agreeing to come the king was agreeing to grant her request even though he didn't yet know what it was.
o   The king agreed to grant her request without yet hearing it.
o   Already, Haman's doom is sealed. Esther's strategy has worked; and her prayers answered with a divine, "yes." God has revealed to Esther that he will rescue his people because he always keeps his promises.
o   The irony is that Haman does not yet know it.
o   Let's listen to what happens next.
o   9-13 Haman left the palace that day happy, beaming. And then he saw Mordecai sitting at the King’s Gate ignoring him, oblivious to him.
o   Haman was furious with Mordecai. But he held himself in and went on home. He got his friends together with his wife Zeresh and started bragging about how much money he had, his many sons, all the times the king had honored him, and his promotion to the highest position in the government.
o   “On top of all that,” Haman continued, “Queen Esther invited me to a private dinner she gave for the king, just the three of us. And she’s invited me to another one tomorrow. But I can’t enjoy any of it when I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the King’s Gate.”
o   Do you see the irony?
o   14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends said, “Build a gallows seventy-five feet high. First thing in the morning speak with the king; get him to order Mordecai hanged on it. Then happily go with the king to dinner.”
o   Haman liked that. He had the gallows built.
o   6 1-2 That night the king couldn’t sleep. (That very night!) He ordered the record book, the day-by-day journal of events, to be brought and read to him. They came across the story there about the time that Mordecai had exposed the plot of Bigthana and Teresh—the two royal eunuchs who guarded the entrance and who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
o   3 The king asked, “What great honor was given to Mordecai for this?”
o   “Nothing,” replied the king’s servants who were in attendance. “Nothing has been done for him.”
o   4 The king said, “Is there anybody out in the court?”
o   Now Haman had just come into the outer court of the king’s palace to talk to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had built for him. (There it is again! Do you see the irony?)
o   In his eagerness to set his plan in motion to have Mordecai killed early, Haman arrived early at the Palace that he might be summoned by the king.
o   Haman's arrival provided the king with a trusted advisor, but God made sure that his agenda would never see the light of day.
o   5 The king’s servants said, “Haman is out there, waiting in the court.”
o   “Bring him in,” said the king.
o   6-9 When Haman entered, the king said, “What would be appropriate for the man the king especially wants to honor?”
o   Ironically, the king fails to mention the person he wishes to honor by name.
o   Haman thought to himself, “He must be talking about honoring me—who else?” (More irony) So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, do this:
o   Bring a royal robe that the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crown on its head.
o   Then give the robe and the horse to one of the king’s most noble princes.
o   Have him robe the man whom the king especially wants to honor; have the prince lead him on horseback through the city square, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man whom the king especially wants to honor!’”
o   To wear the royal robes, to ride the king's horse emblazoned with a royal crest would have been an incredible honor and Haman couldn't imagine an honor greater than touching royalty.
o   10 “Go and do it,” the king said to Haman. “Don’t waste another minute. Take the robe and horse and do what you have proposed to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the King’s Gate. Don’t leave out a single detail of your plan.”
o   11 So Haman took the robe and horse; he robed Mordecai and led him through the city square, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king especially wants to honor!”
o   Haman concocted his own humiliation. Every detail of Mordecai's recognition had come from Haman's own mouth.
o   Can you imagine? Can you picture Haman during all this in your mind's eye?
o   I can hear Haman in my mind doing and proclaiming angrily all that he said should be done for the man whom the king wanted to honor, for Mordecai the Jew.
o   I can visualize him leading Mordecai on the king's horse dressed in royal robes, resentment and fury written all over Haman's face.
o   Isn't the irony rich?
o   Here was Haman so full of pride, leaving Esther's banquet with the biggest swelled head you ever did see, and thinking that everything was proceeding according to his purposes and plans.
o   He goes home and he toots his own horn, bragging to his family and his friends:
o   "Look at how awesome I am! Look at all the stuff I have! Look at the size of my family, my many sons! Look at how much the king and the queen think of me!"
o   Everything Haman wanted looked like it was falling into place before him. But it still wasn't enough to satisfy his pride.
o   Here was a man who had everything he could ever want, but it wasn't enough.
o   Even though he had his way politically and all the Jews were going to die by edict of the king, that wasn't good enough for Haman's pride.
o   He couldn't wait for the edict. He wanted Mordecai dead. NOW!
o   But God arranged it so that the king couldn't sleep, so Xerxes has the daily chronicles read to him to lull him sleep, but he is reminded of the plot to assassinate him that was foiled by Mordecai.
o   After all his plotting, Haman's revenge appeared to be spoiled by a night of insomnia for the king, but which also verified the sovereign hand of God in answering the prayers of his people.
o   Let's continue with the story.
o   12-13 Then Mordecai returned to the King’s Gate, but Haman fled to his house, thoroughly mortified, hiding his face.
o   For Mordecai, nothing had changed. Following the parade, he returned to the king's gate. Life went back to normal. As far as he knew, the Jews still lived under the threat of destruction, genocide.
o   But Haman returned home grief stricken, humiliated, hiding himself as if morning his own death.
o   When Haman had finished telling his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his knowledgeable friends who were there and his wife Zeresh said, “If this Mordecai is in fact a Jew, your bad luck has only begun. You don’t stand a chance against him—you’re as good as ruined.”
o   14 While they were still talking, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman off to the dinner that Esther had prepared.
o   Although Haman was ruled by his feelings and felt shattered by his shame, the edict of destruction for the Jews remained, and Queen Esther's banquet remained.
o   Before Haman had time to recover, he was summoned to the banquet with the prediction of his ruin by his wife and friends still ringing in his ears.
o   This morning as we think about the story of Esther in chapters 5 and 6, let's ask a question: Who is in control? 
o   Haman thought that he was in control; he thought that everything was proceeding according to his purposes and plans.
o   But the events show us that Haman didn't have anywhere near the control he thought.
o   The king thought that he was sovereign over Persia, but his compulsive attraction to his beautiful wife Esther and his insomnia prove otherwise.
o   Mordecai and Esther both lived in ways that demonstrated that they knew that Someone greater than Haman and the king ruled by His purposes and plans.
o   Whether God-fearing or not, people live out their lives by their routines, principles, and goals; and God develops these things to achieve his purposes and plans.
o   God appointed each event in the story of Esther.
o   Is it a coincidence that after fasting for three days, and not being summoned by the king for 30 days that the king extended his scepter to Esther although unsummoned?
o   Is it a coincidence that the very night Haman built his gallows the king cannot sleep and hears read how Mordecai saved him?
o   Is it a coincidence that the following morning Haman is waiting to see the king to ask for Mordecai's hanging, but the king summons Haman and instructs him to honor Mordecai instead?
o   Are these things just happy accidents? Or are they something much more, the development of the purposes of the Master Planner?
o   Artist Bob Ross developed a video curriculum called the Joy of Painting many years ago by which he became a household name.
o   In the following clip we’ll hear Ross use an interesting choice of words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n4f-VDjOBE
o   Did you catch that statement?
o   "We don’t make mistakes, we have happy accidents."
o   Bob’s sentiment may be great for the Joy of Painting and it may be the right attitude for approaching the canvas, but how does it hold up outside the art studio?
o   Is Bob right? Do we live in a mistake free world in which there are only happy accidents?
o   Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ ought to know that off the canvas we make mistakes in our lives and they’re often much more than mistakes, but real blunders, sinful and painful.
o   Even more, followers of Jesus Christ ought to know that since God is in control there are no happy accidents.
o   Everything proceeds according to God's purpose and plan.
o   Even when we can't see God at work, God is still working out all things according to his plans.
o   What do the Scriptures say about this?
o   In Isaiah 46:8-11 God reveals through his word that there are no coincidences and no happy accidents.
o   8 “Remember this and stand firm,
    recall it to mind, you transgressors,
9     remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
    and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
    the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
    I have purposed, and I will do it."
o   In these verses God's word clearly says, Everything proceeds according to God's purpose and plan.
o   Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
o   Here again we see that, Everything proceeds according to God's purpose and plan. And God's plans are good for those who love him.
o   Romans 11:33-36 says, 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Inscrutable means mysterious.)
o   34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”
o   36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen
o   God doesn't make mistakes. There are no accidents where his plans are concerned and they include everything and everyone.
o   His plan is to rescue all that are his, everyone who belongs to him.
o   God turned Haman's evil intent          and pride against him to accomplish his plans.
o   Everything proceeds according to God's purpose and plan.
o   Let's not be like Haman convincing ourselves that our life is only meaningful when we rub shoulders with those who are greater than ourselves.
o   We don't need to settle for second hand honor because we know the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ and he is seated at the right hand of God ruling over all things for his purposes.
o   Let's live like we know that it's true.
o   The only way to do that is to: (1) practice prayerfully putting our trust in God every single day, (2) enjoying the reality that he is in control, (3) worshiping him because he is in control, (4) obeying his word, and (5)submitting to him because...
o   Everything proceeds according to God's purpose and plan.

Finding Hope and Purpose in Esther, 2. Esther 4. "For Just Such a Time as This."

Catastrophe, disaster, tragedy; perhaps nothing else causes us to seek God more than these. It is so for many of us today, and so it was in Esther's day. It is human nature to seek God when we realize the depth of the trouble we face. Finding we are powerless to change it, we turn to the one who alone is able to help us. Out of places of darkness and despair we wonder if God is really in control, if God really cares, and if God is present in our times of greatest crisis. Where is our hope? In the fourth chapter of Esther, we see the people of God crying out to him while there appears to be no way out of the terrible tragedy that is about to fall upon them, no hope. Mordecai hears of the decree, learning all that had been done, and responds from a place of deep anger and grief, tearing his clothes, putting on sackcloth and ashes, and crying out loudly and bitterly in the middle of the city at the entrance to the king's gate, making his grief very public. Apparently, the key rule of protocol at the Persian court was, "never upset the king," so anything that represented misery was kept outside the palace walls, but Mordecai knew that others within the palace would hear his cries. As Mordecai responded, so also did the Jews of every province where the decree of the king was read and published. Jews throughout the Empire clothed themselves in sackcloth and lay in ashes with loud cries and tears. And while the story of Esther fails to mention God by name, there can be no doubt about why the Jews fasted, cried bitterly, and dressed with sackcloth and ashes: God's people were looking to God for his help. They were faced with what looked like an impossible situation, and they knew that they could not possibly have the solution. They were powerless to save themselves, therefore, they turned to the only power outside themselves able to save, the Lord their God. Now, the weeping and wailing of Mordecai, and certainly the Jews throughout the city of Susa, caught the attention of the young women who served Esther. These young women must've told Esther about Mordecai's rough clothing and clear grief, so Esther, greatly distressed, sent suitable clothing to Mordecai to wear into the palace so he could explain to her what troubled him. Esther understood his coarse clothing and cries as symbols of disaster and hoped that he would explain his grief in person once properly dressed, but Mordecai would not accept the palace dress she sent. So Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs assigned to her, and sent him to investigate. Mordecai told him everything that happened and the exact amount of Haman's bribe paid to the king's coffers. Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the edict so he might show it to Esther and asked that she to go to the king for all Jews. Just as Mordecai had asked her to keep her Jewish identity a secret, he now instructed her to identify with her people to beg and plead for all their lives. Esther gets the message and sent Hathach back with the following reply: "All the King's officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for 30 days." Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: "Don't think for a moment that because you're in the palace you will escape when all the other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made Queen for just such a time as this?" (Esther 4:11-14, NLT) A month had gone by since the king had sent for Esther and no one would dare go to the king unsummoned or else surely die, unless the king extended his scepter. Esther wasn't convinced that appearing before the king un-summoned would accomplish anything but her own death instead of mercy and grace for her people. But Mordecai clarified the point for her that if she did not go, then most likely she would die anyway. As he said, "Don't think for a moment because you're in the palace you will escape when all the other Jews are killed." But even if that did happen Mordecai did not place his confidence in Esther. He said, "If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die." "Deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place," said Mordecai. What gave Mordecai such confidence that if Esther remained silent, then deliverance would arise for the Jews from another place? Mordecai's trust was not in man, but in God. Mordecai's hope was in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances. The prophet Jeremiah reveals God's statements about the future of Israel. Let me summarize Jeremiah 33:14 to 26 and what was God saying to his people through Jeremiah that gave Mordecai such confidence? God was saying: "I will fulfill my promises; I will raise up a righteous descendent of King David; I will bring about the salvation and safety of Judah and Jerusalem; I will give Jerusalem a new name, The Lord Is Our Righteousness; I will make David always have a descendent on the throne; I will make the Levitical priests always have descendents to minister before me; Will my covenant with David be broken? Only if you can make it so that day doesn't follow night and night doesn't follow day! And as many as the sand on the beach and the stars in the sky, I will multiply the descendents of David and Levi . I will never abandon the descendents of Jacob or David; I will restore them and have mercy on them." Mordecai was confident because he knew that God never breaks his promises to his people. Mordecai's confidence was in God who always keeps his promises. Mordecai understood that if Esther either died before the king or died at the hands of those carrying out the edict, then God himself would deliver his people. Mordecai's hope was in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances. Mordecai also understood that Esther's position as Queen was planned and purposed by God, the Master Designer. That's why he said to Esther, "Who knows if perhaps you were made Queen for just such a time as this?" I don't think that Mordecai had any doubts in his own mind, but he phrased it as a question for Esther. Esther had to decide to count the cost of going before the king and not going before the king. And she sent the reply with her decision back to Mordecai. "Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go to see the king. And If I perish, I perish." One of the focuses of this chapter is fasting and putting on sackcloth and ashes, and the Bible makes it quite clear what their purpose is. Let's just look at one Scripture from the prophet Isaiah. God is speaking about the purpose of fasting and putting on sackcloth and ashes. Isaiah 58:5-11 (NLT) 5 You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord? 6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. 8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. 9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! 10 Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. What do we see in these verses as God's purpose for fasting, dressing in burlap, and spreading ashes on ourselves? God's purpose is to humble ourselves before him, seek him, and be awakened to the needs of others so that when we call out to God we do so for his glory and so his glory shines in our lives. God's purpose is that we fast from luxury and extravagance, from selfishness and self-indulgence. God's purpose is that his people humble themselves and serve others showing God's love in us. God's purpose is that his people bring his life and love to a broken and hurting world. The Jews all across the Persian Empire mourned and lamented over the edict that called for their destruction, but where God is at work he promises life! Esther called for all the Jews of Susa to observe a total fast for three days and nights, eating and drinking nothing. All of them knew that if Haman's sin was allowed to have its full affect, then a terrible tragedy, genocide, would follow, the Jews would be wiped out. They recognized that they were in a messy situation and God their only hope. They fasted as a sign of their unity before God in this matter. Prayer and fasting with humble hearts, revealing repentance and faith in God needs to be our response to the messes, tragedies, and disasters of life. This summer we have the tremendous opportunity to help a sister church in Paradise, NS with their vision to support a refugee family fleeing the danger of ISIS. They are running from the overwhelming messiness and tragedies of life to a place of safety. How can we fast from our luxuries and extras to help in this good work? What can we give up for the summer, longer, or permanently to help make life better for others? Our hope is in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances. Let's continue as the hands and feet and voice of Jesus to extend God's mercy to others in messy circumstances As we depend on God, fasting prayerfully in unity, the Lord who is our righteousness will grant victory. Mordecai did not hope in Esther, rather Mordecai hoped in the Lord. Esther was prepared to face death to save her people, prayers were answered, the Lord spared her from death, and the king heard her plea. The hope of Esther, Mordecai, and the Jews was in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances. Our hope is in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances. When things all around us feel impossible, overwhelming; when the mess of life is too big, too much; when sin (yours, mine, anyone's) seems to be an undefeatable problem; when the future doesn't look like it holds any promise; We need to remember the One who is our hope, prayerfully going to him with humble hearts. He is the one who gives his people a new name, The Lord Is Our Righteousness. He is our rescuer, our victory. Let's share that victory. Our hope is in God's overruling mercy within all of life's messy circumstances.

Finding Hope and Purpose in Esther, 1. "Ordinary Obedience & Loyalty." Esther 1:17; 2:5-15; 3:1-15

Finding Hope and Purpose in Esther, 1. "Ordinary Obedience & Loyalty." Esther 1:17; 2:5-15; 3:1-15

o   The story of Esther is a story of contrasts in character. Its focus is on the anger and excesses of the king, the hatred and deceit of Haman versus the submission and obedience of Esther, and wisdom and loyalty of Mordecai.

o   Some among the rich and powerful love to throw expensive, opulent parties to put their power and affluence on display for the world to see, but the parties of the 21st-century cannot compare with those of the court of the king of Persia.

o   Ahasuerus, he was called by the Jews, and Xerxes by the Greeks, in the third year of his rule he threw what must have been one of the most lavish and expensive parties in history.

o   For 180 days he displayed all the wealth and power of Persia like a male peacock fanning his feathers and strutting about for attention.

o   Attending this six month feast were all the nobles, officials, and officers of Xerxes' court, so the business of governing the Empire was postponed as the King lavishly entertained his government.

o   At the end of the 180 days, Xerxes put on a seven day bash for all the men of Susa, and the decadence of that second party appears to be worse than the lavishness of the first, if you can imagine.

o   The king put no limit on the amount of wine that he served and he ordered that each man was to do as he desired.

o   And on the seventh day of the king's second drunken, licentious feast, he decided show off his most treasured possession, his queen in her crown because she was very beautiful to behold.

o   But Queen Vashti was giving a feast of her own for the women of Susa, and she refused to obey the king's order, and not shame herself and the royal court by appearing in nothing but her crown.

o   At her refusal, the king became enraged. Xerxes was well known for his temper, and in his pride and drunken state, the king refused to back down in front of the partying public.

o   We already have a pretty good picture of the king's character.  Here was a man full of pride, selfishness, anger, and who lived to glut.

o   The king allowed his pride to destroy his relationship with his queen.

o   Pride is a destructive force that we need to learn to more than swallow because it will just keep popping out again.

o   The only solution to the problem of pride is learning that every person will be judged by God for their words and deeds, their character.

o   The King was unable to make a decision about his own household, and instead of apologizing to his queen, he consulted with his magicians and legal experts.

o   One expert spoke up, "If the Queen refuses to obey the king, then all the women of Persia will treat their husbands with contempt, so if it pleases the king, let a royal edict be declared and let it be written among the laws of the Medes and Persians so that it may not be revoked, that Vashti is never again to come before the king. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she."

o   From this plan, Vashti would live out her days in the king's harem, never called, never acknowledged, childless, and unloved.

o   Perhaps Xerxes was regretful, and the young men who attended him later noticed that he was in a different temper, so they suggested that young women from all over the kingdom be brought to the harem in Susa under the care of the chief eunuch.

o   These young women would undergo beauty treatments and the one which most pleased the king he would choose as queen.

o   At that time, a Jew by the name of Mordecai was living in Susa.  He was bringing up Hadassah, called Esther, after the deaths of her mother and father.

o   Let's stop and highlight the contrast between the character the king and the character of Mordecai.

o   The king displayed no loyalty to his queen, whereas Mordecai displayed a high degree of loyalty to his family, especially Esther.

o   And that loyalty makes Mordecai available to be used by God.

o   We need to value loyalty because it is part of our character that makes us available for God's purposes.

o   The Bible says that Esther had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, so because of the king's decree, Esther was among the many young women who were taken to Susa and placed under the care of the king's chief eunuch, Hegai.

o   Something about Esther caused Hegai to favor her above all the other young women and he gave her the best place in the harem and started her beauty treatments immediately.

o   In all this, Esther did not reveal that she was Jewish because Mordecai specifically asked her to keep it a secret.

o   And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.

o   Now, with Esther keeping her Jewish identity to herself, and with Mordecai checking up on her every day, we see two character qualities revealed by their ordinary daily lives that make them available for God's purposes.

o   Esther was obedient and submissive. She listened to the direction of Mordecai without question.

o   How many of us could say the same thing of our relationship with our parents or of our relationship with God?

o   How often are we asked to do something by someone in authority and do it? How often does the word of God tell us how to live, yet we don't to follow his instructions?

o   Let's look at Mordecai. He was unceasingly loyal. He loved and cared for Esther like she was his own daughter, not even letting a day go by without checking on her.

o   How is our loyalty?  How are we at sticking by people through thick and thin?

o   We need to test the levels of our obedience and loyalty to Christ and to his church because of these two character traits make us available to God for his purposes.

o   We know what happens in the story of Esther and Mordecai. We see how their character made them available and how God used them.

o   What we don't know is how our character will make us available next week, next month or next year, but the Holy Spirit wants to leverage our character so that we are available for God's purposes.

o   Our obedience and loyalty make us available for God's purposes.

o   After the 12 months of beauty treatments were completed, a young woman from the harem was brought to the king to spend the night with him, but would not return to the king unless he summoned her by name.

o   Each young woman could have whatever she wished to take from the harem to the king's palace, but when the time came for Esther to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except for what the eunuch Hegai advised, trusting that he would know what the king liked most.

o   Here again we see Esther's character. She deferred to Hegai, submitting to his care and advice obediently.

o    And when she was taken in, the king loved Esther more than all the other women, finding grace and favor in the eyes of the king and he set the royal crown on Esther's head and made her queen.

o   Esther continued to keep her Jewish identity a secret as Mordecai instructed her and she obeyed him just as she did when she was a child. What about us? Like Esther...

o   Our obedience and loyalty make us available for God's purposes.

o   Not long after that, Mordecai overheard a plot to kill the King and he reported it to Esther and Esther reported it to the king.

o   After an investigation the two men were hanged on the gallows, the episode was recorded in the chronicles of the king, and was forgotten.

o   Mordecai reported the plot, not to be rewarded, but because of his loyalty and his strong sense of doing what's right for righteousness sake, rather than personal gain.

o   Later, the king promoted Haman the Agagite to be his right-hand man and commanded that everyone who served at the king's gate was to bow down and pay homage to Haman, but Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.

o   Here again we see Mordecai's loyalty and this time it's his loyalty to God.

o   However, his loyalty to God doesn't look like it's doing him any favors.

o   In fact, it looks like it's about to get them into a pile of trouble.

o   The other servants pestered Mordecai day after day and he told them that he would not bow down and pay homage because he was a Jew and Jews are commanded by God to bow down and worship only him.

o   Mordecai's coworkers told Haman and when Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage to him he was filled with rage.

o   What about us? Do we refuse to compromise our loyalty to the Lord our God only as long as it doesn't get us into trouble? Or do we maintain our loyalty to the Lord even in the face of trouble?

o   If we compromise our loyalty to God, then we compromise our character.

o   Our obedience and loyalty make us available for God's purposes.

o   Now Haman was an Agagite meaning his ancestor was King Agag of Amalek.

o   The Amalekites caused problems for Israel earlier in their history.

o   Amalek came to fight against Israel in the wilderness, so the Lord promised to erase the memory of Amalek from history.

o   Many years later, the Lord sent King Saul to fulfill that promise, but Saul disobeyed the Lord and spared King Agag.

o   Samuel, however, carried out the commandment of the Lord and killed King Agag in the Lord's presence at Gilgal.

o   When Haman, a descendent of King Agag, found out that Mordecai was a Jew, an Israelite, who would not bow down and pay him homage, suddenly it was not enough for him that one man be punished for his disobedience to the king's order.

o   Haman wanted much more than that; he wanted revenge for the death of Agag and revenge for the nation of Amalek.

o   Haman did not hesitate to use his power and position to orchestrate a plot to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire kingdom of Persia.

o   He deceitfully convinced the king of a conspiracy for which he had no evidence, but the king took Haman and his word.

o   To sweeten the deal, Haman offered Xerxes a bribe, 10,000 talents of silver, about 34,000 kg.

o   The king was taken in by all this and passed over his signet ring to Haman, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

o   I want to take a moment to contrast Haman with Mordecai because Mordecai is this loyal guy and if anyone is deserving of a promotion or a reward it is Mordecai, but the king forgot about how Mordecai foiled the plot against him.

o   In Mordecai's place, the king promotes Haman, a proud, selfish, vengeful, hate filled, ambitious individual who is prepared to fuel genocide to accomplish his personal agenda.

o   What about us? Are we prepared to be loyal when there's no promise of earthly reward? Are we prepared to be loyal to others even when there's no evidence that they are loyal to us?

o   We live in a time when many Christians are focused on the self, the individual.

o   At times, we get wrapped up in ourselves, in what God can do for us, and how Christianity benefits us.

o   We look to what is convenient for us rather than what God says is right.

o   We forget that we exist through him and for him and not for ourselves.

o   We live in a time when submission and obedience are dirty words.

o   Rather than submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, we are concerned about our rights, privileges and plans.

o   The book of Esther gives us another picture of life, a picture in which the world does not revolve around us, our plans, or our preferences.

o   Our obedience and loyalty make us available for God's purposes.

o   What do our first glimpses into the story of Esther show us about how we live and how we ought to live?

o   We don't know if Esther had other plans or dreams, but we do know that she obediently submitted to the leadership of her cousin Mordecai.

o   Her willing obedience demonstrated her gentle, humble character.

o   She didn't act like she already knew it all, instead she submitted to those in authority over her, knowing that she needed their guidance, wisdom and advice.

o   What about loyalty? Mordecai did not seem too concerned that his loyalty to Esther or his loyalty to the King remained unrewarded.

o   Going unnoticed for uncovering a plot to kill the King didn't seem to matter to Mordecai.

o   The only thing that appears to matter to Mordecai was that he did what was right.

o   Do we do what we do to be seen and rewarded? Or do we do it because it's what's right?

o   Do we also do what's right because we know God is carrying out his purposes?

o   Our obedience and loyalty make us available for God's purposes.