For Such a Time as This Maybe

ReCAST Church of Mattawan

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This morning we're going to get back into the book of Esther and before the worship band comes in leads I enjoy kind of diving in a little bit into the text before they come so that we can kind of get our mind focused on where it's going and We're really looking at basically the halfway point through the book of Esther So we've been kind of churning through this and we're halfway through and what we find in our text is the halfway point but also the central theme of the book and Although it's a highlighter to kind of remind us where we've been

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God is not mentioned anywhere in the book of Esther That's kind of unique in Scripture, right?

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God isn't even mentioned in it But what we see in the book of Esther is the book is full of God's sovereign work his hand moving behind the scenes getting some things done and So some of the things that we saw so far in the text just to kind of catch up to speed or to remind you those of you have been here as There was a king who threw a big festival and basically at that festival

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Got drunk. His name is Xerxes. He was the king over all of Persia in that process of getting drunk he offended his queen and basically said

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Come from the palace come to the party and parade your beauty in front of everybody and she said I'm not an object I'm not a thing.

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I'm not I'm not gonna go and do that. And so what does he do? He kicks her out of the kingdom, but then it sobers up regrets his decision and goes man.

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I just got rid of my queen Every king needs a queen. So then he says, okay Well, we're gonna here's this process by which we're gonna find a new queen and there's this pretty dicey

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Contest that happens where all of the eligible young ladies are called together and This contest happens and Esther a

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Jewish woman wins the contest and she's raised to the office of Queen And in the middle of all of those seemingly bizarre and very human decisions

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We are going to find out that there has been a reason for these things This text is going to indicate that those things have had purpose or reason behind them

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And how many of you know that when you start talking about the events of your life having reason?

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When you start talking about the events of your life having purpose you have begun to appeal to something higher than yourself

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Does that make sense? For the things that happen to you to actually have reason to have a purpose

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Implies that something other than yourself is driving this thing. Are you getting what I'm saying? You agree with that?

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And so if we even just for a moment acknowledge that our life has some purpose we are starting to get close to Acknowledging that God is there and he is driving things behind the scenes and getting things done

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Our main character Mordecai is going to suggest that someone has been intentionally crafting

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Esther's life he's been working and Esther is going to be at a crossroads today

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So she's going to have an opportunity to look at the way that her life has been crafted up to a point and then she's going to stand at a crossroads and have to make a decision based on the information that she knows from the past and She is going to make a decision that is going to decide her destiny and not just hers alone

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But even the destiny of all of the Jews the entire Jewish race So I want you to open your Bibles, please to Esther chapter 4 and that can be found on page 355 in the

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Bible that's in the seat back in front of you so if you take that Bible out and check it out, that's page 355 in that Bible and If you don't own a

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Bible or an English Standard Version of the Bible, you can take that one with you We do desire that everybody has a copy of God's Word and is able to read it on their own

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But follow along as I read Esther chapter 4 in its entirety When Mordecai learned all that had been done

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Mordecai tore his clothes Put on sackcloth and ashes and went out in the midst of the city and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry

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He went up to the entrance of the king's gate For no one was allowed to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth and in every province wherever the king's command and his decree reached

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There was great mourning among the Jews with fasting and weeping and lamenting and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes

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When Esther's young women and her eunuchs came and told her the Queen was deeply distressed She sent garments to clothe

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Mordecai so that he might take off his sandals But he would not accept them or take off his sackcloth

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But he would not accept them then Esther called for Hathak one of the king's eunuchs who had been appointed to attend her and Ordered him to go to Mordecai and learn what this was and why it was

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Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him and The exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the

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Jews Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction that he might show it to Esther explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people and Hathak went and told

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Esther what Mordecai had said Then Esther spoke to Hathak and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say all the king's servants and the people of the king's province

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Know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called There is but one law to be put to death

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Except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live but as for me,

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I have not been called to come into the king these 30 days and They told

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Mordecai what Esther had said Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther do not think to yourself that in the king's palace

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You will escape any more than all the other Jews For if you keep silent at this time relief and deliverance will rise for the

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Jews from another place But you and your father's house will perish and who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this

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Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai Go gather all the Jews to be found in Susa and hold a fast on my behalf and do not eat or drink for Three days night or day.

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I and my young young women will also fast as you do then I will go to the king though it is against the law and if I perish

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I perish Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

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Let's pray Father we come before you as a people who need you.

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I Acknowledge that as we enter this text and as we think through these things we we can get kind of caught up in the history and the different events and even just kind of the

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The drama of this account But father I know that it is your spirits desire to come and to take us a step deeper than that to get beyond the history and kind Of the interest of the story and ultimately see ourselves in the story and recognize our brokenness before you

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But also the great way that you were your hand has been guiding and working in our lives and in our history

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Father we need you to bring light to this text this morning that we might be changed and transformed and that as if I get up and speak and Your spirit is not moving in our hearts and in our lives then then this is wasted time and it's wasted breath but as your spirit takes these words and takes your word your holy word into our lives and Transforms us that we can we could be changed because of your text and then father

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We need you as we come to worship because otherwise we're just singing songs and that's kind of cool and fun but it's not worship and it's our desire to worship you and to lift you up and to Acknowledge how high you are and so father

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I pray that you would be in our worship this morning and that we'd bring honor and glory before your throne because you are worth

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It you are awesome My prayer every

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Sunday that God takes the Word of God and grabs our attention and that the spirit is able to Take some of the just take some of the principles and I don't know what it might be for you as I prepare a message

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But that God would actually grab a hold of our hearts and lives and change us because this is his word

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This is the Almighty the the one who created everything that we see Speaking to us through this book.

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And so that's that's an awesome thing When we when we come to the start of our text Mordecai who is

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Esther's adopted father also her cousin It tells us in the text early in the book of Esther that at both of Esther's parents have died

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So there's no mystery to how she was orphaned. They both passed on and her cousin

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Mordecai somehow formally and legally adopts her and so she's raised by anybody here have a

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Cousin that's old enough that they could have raised you maybe a couple of us do I have

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I have some pretty interesting spreads and generations in my family and that could have been possible for me But when that's all said and done, that's what we've got going on here and Mordecai Finds out at the beginning of the text

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Esther's adopted father what happened back in chapter 3 So you're kind of going well what happened back in chapter 3 that was a couple weeks ago

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Mordecai had refused to bow to the prime minister of all Persia this man this evil wicked man named

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Haman who had been raised up to high high office like second -in -command to the king and the king made a command and said when you see

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Haman walk in the Everybody on the floor touch your head to the floor touch your forehead to the ground

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Um, you will bow before him and Mordecai says I'm not not me. I'm not gonna worship him.

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And so Haman didn't like that too much. Okay. He was like everybody bows in my presence, but not

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Mordecai So Haman plotted to destroy all of Mordecai's people who are the

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Jews the the ones To whom God promised that his Messiah would come and so if the

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Jews are destroyed no Messiah and so this is a pretty big deal in the scope of all that's why it's in Scripture is because the entire scope and theme of all of the

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Bible that God is God is putting everything in motion that he will provide a Savior for us in relationship with him and that's in jeopardy here in our text because Haman talks to the king and bribes the king and the king

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Xerxes actually sells all the Jews for a sum of money into Haman's hand to do with as he pleases and He passes a royal edict to extinguish the entire race of the

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Jews on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of the year says they're yours and In case there's any confusion of what this edict is

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It says to annihilate to kill or destroy the edict written uses all three verbs just to clarify in case you weren't sure

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Okay, so, you know if you if kill doesn't work for you then annihilate or destroy or whatever you prefer

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Get rid of all the Jews is the point and it even goes so far in the edict to say young old children women everyone

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I mean it spells it out in detail and you can go back into chapter 3 and read the edict itself So as a sign of deep mourning, how many of you if you found out your people were going to be destroyed everybody that you love

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Everybody that you know everybody that's related to you is going to be annihilated on a given day Anybody here kind of kind of taking that hard Okay, is it enough if you knew that you were going to die on a certain day?

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Like that would be pretty rough but to find out that Everybody in your family and your family's family and everybody in your history and your lineage and your ethnicity is going to be destroyed on A given day so as a sign of deep mourning

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Mordecai tears his clothes Puts on this itchy scratchy camel hair clothing covers himself with ashes and takes to the streets weeping and wailing

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Now he's not merely being melodramatic He's following ancient eastern social customs

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And so when you get this idea of putting ashes anybody kind of confused about what that means like does he just take a little? Pile of ashes and put him on his head or whatever well have any of you ever been at a campfire where?

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Maybe some of you were in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or whatever But you're at the campfire and you can take the wood that's already burned and scrape it and what happens if you put that on your face

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It's gonna. It's gonna get dark right and so that's the picture. He's just covering himself with ashes

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He puts on this this uncomfortable itchy scratchy Camel's hair clothing sackcloth if you will and All of these activities are symbolic and are intended to show on the outside What Mordecai is feeling on the inside?

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He feels torn he feels exposed Uncomfortable dark like the charcoal covering his face, and he's making a public display of his internal emotions

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Now do we live in a culture that that allows and permits external displays of internal emotions

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Not really do we and I wouldn't say that wholesale you ought to adopt you know, okay? let's just adopt what

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Mordecai does here, and if you're going through a rough week and go ahead and pull out the camel's hair and And put ashes on your head and things like that But I do think we have a lesson to learn here

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And that is that oftentimes we we suppress things we push things internally And we don't share any of our frustrations and as the body of Christ trying to seek out

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Authentic relationships with one another there ought to be a place in the body of Christ for that authentic Honest sharing of the difficulties that are going on inside, and I've appreciated that here to some degree

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I feel like Many of you not all of you But many of you have been open with me about your struggles and things that I can be praying for you about and some of That I recognize

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I might not be getting the full story But I that we are providing opportunities through our small group ministry for you to try to make those connections

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To genuinely share your hearts with one another and obviously we have to you know

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The sackcloth the ashes things like that aren't necessarily the the social custom for how to do that but there is a way in which we we need to trust one another and Step out with sharing our hearts and looking for help because how many of you would acknowledge that there are times in life when we?

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Need help would you be willing to admit that? When we can't carry it on our own, and we can't do it on our own

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And we need others in in essence we need God with skin on for us Christ with skin on to be there with us and to sit down in the dust and ashes with us so to speak so he put makes this um this display and not only that but he

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He goes out into the town And there's this cry and this weeping and the word that's used for the loud and bitter cry is actually a word used most often for a cry of help

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He's not merely wailing census senselessly. Oh He's crying for help that's the word that's used in the

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Hebrew text Anybody want to guess probably who he's crying to help To who's he who's he calling out for help to his

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God? And he takes his morning. It says in the text He takes it right up to the entrance of to the king's gate now

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He was not allowed into the king's gate decked out in all of his morning gear okay, and there's a reason for that kings like to be happy kings like Happy people in that day in that age

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It was not a good idea to make the king sad the person who made the king sad made the king mad and Making the king mad would always turn out bad

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That was bad That wasn't it rhymed That was that was ugly um

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But yeah, you get what I'm saying. I mean kings liked jesters triviality fun

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Celebrations things like that So nobody mourning in the presence of the king or in the king's gate where the king's business was being conducted

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Because he just didn't want any of that Sadness we even saw earlier in the text at the end of verse 3 him and Haman who have just plotted against the

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Jews plotted Genocide sit down for a cold one while the entire city is in confusion and is in chaos, and he'll just celebrate this

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This is awesome Mordecai is not alone in his mourning throughout the 127 provinces this vast

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Persian Empire There was great mourning among the Jews in verse 3 We're told that they were all fasting and weeping and lamenting a word that we don't use very often

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And they're lamenting in sackcloth and ashes the Empire all throughout permeating the entire

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Empire is this sorrow and the sadness That's weighing heavy in communities all throughout

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Persia Now the word lamenting I mentioned is one that we don't use very often and quite frankly I think we are a people that don't understand the concept of lamenting and even if we understand it a little bit

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We don't do it. Well We are a people that are good at complaining Not good at lamenting and there's a difference between the two.

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I would dare say that as Americans We've nearly perfected the art of complaint but not good at lamenting

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I Think the distinction between lament and complaint is very important because of the way we see it used in Scripture Grumbling and complaining is what we see indicated in the story of the

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Exodus that landed an entire generation in the grave like they ended up spending 40 years wandering around in the wilderness until an entire generation died because they complained and Grumbled and whined against God, right?

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Do you remember that anybody remember that story? It's complaining a big deal Yeah, I think so, yeah, but then we have

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David King David of Israel who is declared to be a man after God's own heart, right and He writes all of these significant and serious laments

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God. Where are you in my trial? Why where are you in my tragedy or Job who says I wish

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I wasn't even born. Oh my goodness This is just horrible. This is what he went through was pretty horrible, right? This is horrible.

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This is drastic Why did you even give me birth? Why did why did you bring me into this world? And yet it says of Job in all these things.

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He did not sin So there's a little bit of a difference here. Now. I think that our natural tendency might be to think okay

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What's the difference between complaining and lamenting? Well, then therefore if one is acceptable and one isn't then complaining must be look, you know focusing on my circumstances, right?

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Complaint is when I focus on the circumstances lamenting is ignoring the circumstances Is that that right

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No all the laments if you if you read the laments of David He's very direct about the things that are the burr under his saddle when he talks with God My enemies are pressing in all about me.

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Where is my God my protection you have been to me a fortress and a shield Where are you now God in this dire circumstance?

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I I need you Right. Do you see how he laments but he brings to God the issue at hand

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He's not shying away from it or ignoring the problem. And so here it is.

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So what is the difference? Complaining maligns God with the desire to be done with him or Ignoring his ability to help

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That's complaining. It's not coming to God for help. It's coming to God with just the issue at hand and Really ultimately a desire to be done with him

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It's the cry in the wilderness of the Israelites that says we would have been better off if we had ignored

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God and stayed in Egypt do you remember them saying that in the Exodus story? Wish wish we hadn't even followed you

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God we'd be better off having onions and meat and all of this stuff back in Egypt under slavery than have followed you out here.

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That's complaining But a lament says my circumstances are dark and difficult and God I am

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NOT enjoying this But who else do I have to turn to but you

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Where else can I go for help? There is no other help. There is no other place that I can go

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And so I'm coming to you God because you are the only one who can help me out in this Other people don't understand if you ever felt like that like you're alone in your circumstances and no other human

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Understands exactly what you're going through. There's some reality to that But there is one who understands exactly what you're going through and so Lament turns to him and acknowledges the hard things acknowledges the difficulties

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But also acknowledges that if we don't turn to him for help, there is no help to be found Z complaint says why did

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I ever trust you in the first place now? I've lost my job and I have to start all over again And it wants to be done with God lament says

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I've lost my job and I hate this process God Can you teach me through this? Can you would you please provide me something else because I need some income

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See the difference between complaint and lament Lament still acknowledges how bad it is but seeks the answer in God Complaint blames

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God with a refusal to turn to him for help and complaint all Ultimately is driving towards one main thing

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God. We want a new leader You're not doing a very good job and that's actually what finally

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Culminated that was that was kind of a straw that broke the camel's back with God Finally it came to the point where they had sent the ten spies into and twelve spies into the land

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Do you remember this story in? the Exodus and they go in and they spy it and they come back and ten give a bad report to give a

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Good report and in the end the people go with the ten who give the bad report and ultimately say let's ditch

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Moses Let's ditch God. Give us a new leader and we're out of here because God is not worthy of following is what they're ultimately saying

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Complaint leads to rebellion in our hearts towards God. Have you seen that in your own life?

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God you don't know what you're doing with me. How dare you? Rather than complaining to others about our circumstances and making

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God look bad Let's talk to God about our problems and properly lament the difficulties of life

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Turning to him rather than away from him in moments of need and I just say this because maybe maybe you're sitting there saying

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Don I don't understand why you're talking about this so much. This is an issue for me So maybe I'm just preaching to myself right now, but my wife is celebrating because I'm preaching this to myself

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So she's getting it. I Mean, I don't know maybe somebody else maybe there's one or two other people out there that struggle with complaining

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I don't know but this is something that God made as a major lesson to me as I'm reading through this text and studying the difference between complaining and lament the words in there and Hopefully God's working with somebody else, too

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So the Jews raise a lament to God seeking his help and some scholars think that Mordecai is trying to get

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Esther's attention By getting as close to the palace as possible in his weeping and wailing He gets right up to the edge of where he can legally go right by the edge of the king's gate

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But whether it's on purpose or not He does attract Esther's attention her servants see

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Mordecai's public display and report to her and it's it appears We don't know necessarily why she responds the way she does it some people assume that There's that she thinks that Mordecai is in sackcloth and ashes because of some economic tragedy that's happened in his life

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Somehow he's lost everything and so he's mourning and weeping and wailing in sackcloth So what does she do she goes and responds by sending him some good clothes?

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To make himself more presentable like she thinks he's lost everything and clothing was a major commodity during that time and he's lost everything

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And so she's gonna send him some clothes. It's interesting to note that Queen Esther has some means now Like the fact that she won that contest and is now

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Queen She actually has at her disposal some income and some resources and she's able to send decent clothes to Mordecai at will

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She's got that accessible to her But Mordecai refuses the clothes because the issue for which he is mourning has not been resolved

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And that's one of the Jewish customs as you kept in the state of mourning you kept the ashes the sackcloth and everything until resolution was brought and Now from verses 5 through 17.

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We enter into a lengthy discussion between Esther and Mordecai That's going to be mediated by a eunuch named

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Haythak. He's going to be the go -between Again any movie any Veggie tale any video anything that you've ever seen about the book of Esther that implies that Mordecai and Esther get to sit down face

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To face and talk is completely misguided Nobody got near the harem the word harem means forbidden

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That's what the word means in Arabic and in Hebrew and you don't go near that so without dying

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So he's got to go between here and it's apparent from verse 5 to Esther really did not know what was going on She's so shielded from the culture and the society around her in the harem

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She doesn't even know that her own people are under attack and are going to be destroyed and it's just clear from the interaction

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She did not know about the edict yet So she sent Haythak and he meets with Mordecai in the public square just outside of the king's gate and this interaction happens

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So Mordecai reports all he knows about the edict of destruction against the Jews that this edict has come forward

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And it's interesting to note Mordecai had some pretty serious sources To actually know the amount and that's why it's

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I think it's recorded in here is to show how integral he was he had Some some significant sources to be able to say how much was the bribe that Haman offered to the king?

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He's able to he's able to pass that along to Esther. He knows exactly how much they were sold for and everything

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Mordecai sends along with the eunuch a copy of the decree. So Haythak goes to Esther and reports.

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He shows her the decree Explains it to her and some see here an allusion to Esther being illiterate which would not have been that uncommon during that time

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They didn't have libraries not a whole lot to read You know, they didn't have their Kindles and their nooks yet And so there was there wasn't that much to read so that she would if she was able to read that would be somewhat surprising

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Although more common for a Jew to be able to read but notice that he shows her the edict and then explains it to her and most scholars say either she either you have to interpret this that she's kind of thick or She was not able to read it herself and he shows it to her to show it's got the official stamp on it

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It's official document But then Haythak has to read it to her and explain it to her and give the details

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Either way, it doesn't really matter to me It's just a just a point of you know What does that mean that he had to show it to her and then explain it to her?

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But the end of verse 8 is a little bit ironic if you if you get there and look at the text for a second it says he that he might show it to Esther the edict and explain it to her and Command her to go to the king to beg his favor

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Mordecai is going to command the queen That kind of funny

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Mordecai is going to command the queen. She she's in the position of commanding anybody she wants

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Now we saw back a couple of chapters that Esther had been a very compliant and obedient young lady

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You get the impression from just how many times it stated early in the book of Esther that she was compliant and obedient to those

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In authority over her and to her adopted father that it's laid on so thick that you get the impression

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She was quite a delightful young lady Just very compliant and very kind and very willing to do whatever her authority

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Told her to do and I think that that comes into play here because can you imagine? Some of you here are probably fairly compliant individuals you really don't

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Naturally tend towards rebellion any of you relating to that statement. It's just not not not a particularly rebellious heart in you

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That makes this all the more difficult because some spouses are ribbing each other

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I'm kind of confused by Like maybe you should be more like that. I don't know She was compliant and so I think that that makes this

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Mordecai telling her to do something and what he's telling her to do is to break the law of the land Can you see how that would be difficult if you were a compliant individual who liked to please everybody and just kind of liked

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Everything to kind of run smooth and peaceful. She's gonna be in a catch -22 here and people Who are more compliant don't like catch none of us really like that right or given a choice

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But some people are kind of like give me a challenge. We'll get this figured out And like making choices and her so her reply shows her distress over this command

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She's distressed and she doesn't know which way to go So in verse 11, she reminds Mordecai as if maybe he doesn't know

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But of course he already knows because he's a scribe in the king's gate. He's got royal responsibilities But she's like just in case you're forgetting

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Oh father Anyone who enters the court of the king uninvited is dead.

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Do you remember that little rule? Anybody who comes into his presence uninvited Herodotus was a

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Greek man who was a historian We have a lot of his writings translated into English. You can you can get a hold of that and read it

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It's kind of cool stuff, but the Greeks had a distinct interest in Persia because they were the competing

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Superpowers of the day so the Greeks had a significant interest in Persia Persia had a significant interest in Greece and they like to fight each other so they like to write about each other and kind of parody one another but Herodotus the

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Greek historian writes a lot about Persian history He says in the throne room of Xerxes were dozens of soldiers stationed at certain places with axes in hand

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Stationed anybody want to guess what they were for Herodotus makes it clear They were there to slay anybody who entered into the presence of the king unannounced

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Okay, so this is historically documented that this is the case and it is Dangerous to do this.

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Okay, they're they're ready there to carry out. No, no judge No jury, no trial.

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No handcuffs. No arrest. No Miranda rights Done you enter the king's presence.

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You are dead. It was assumed if you entered the court

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Unannounced you had ill intentions for the king. Can you understand how that would be the case? It's assumed that you have you mean some harm to the king if you enter unannounced because this is such a common law such a

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Such an obvious rule that to come in there would be like duh. Of course you want to die Like right and the only exception is unless the king acts

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Are you hearing what I'm saying? You're dead Unless the king does something he must actually enact

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Lower his scepter and he needs to do it quickly Okay, he needs to do it like the first thought he sees you and he's kind of like I don't know if I reckon you're done

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Who is who is that? Oh, okay, man. I was gonna lower the scepter, but my guards are just so quick.

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You guys are good You know, do you are you getting what I'm saying? He has to do something so in in essence for Esther to say yes to this and go through with this is to assume death and Throw herself on the mercy of the king hoping that he extends the scepter pretty quick But of course the assumption is going to be that the king is going to extend the scepter to his wifey, right?

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Anybody with me when we read how he treated his first queen in chapter 1.

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Oh Remember how he kicked her out. I don't think if Vashti had entered his presence that she was getting the scepter lowered and Then Esther shares a new nugget of information with Mordecai through Haythak as he's going back and forth.

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She says by the way Mordecai I've not been called to the presence of the king for at least 30 days now

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That kind of stands that statement stands alone without any explanation And so as you can imagine probably just as your wheels are spinning for hundreds of years

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Jewish Commentaries have been spinning out thoughts about this because there's a little bit of intrigue in that isn't there?

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Why wasn't she called for over 30 days? She's his wife as there's something going on so all the speculation volumes worth of speculation on what was going on in their relationship

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Of course, that's just kind of like that's the gravy of a story You know the love interest in the relationship and all that stuff.

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So did he did he did they fall out of love? They get in an argument Something he he no longer loved her.

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He was done with her. He was moving on Whatever the nature of the relationship was at this point.

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Are you getting it clear? That Esther is not quite sure if he's gonna extend the scepter or not.

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Are you getting that? That's the point That's why it's there 30 days. He hasn't even called. He hasn't texted me. He hasn't written no emails nothing

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I haven't even heard from him. So this is this is this is dicey for her

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So let me pause here for a second because I and I and I apologize to those of you Maybe aren't thinking the same way that I do

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But sometimes these logical questions come to my mind and I can't help but think at least a handful of you or maybe more are Thinking the same thing is me

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So I think we so I go down these rabbit trails in my study and then I'm like sure should I not I'm sharing it Why doesn't

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Esther just? Set up an appointment with the king. Does that cross anybody's mind in this text?

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like why doesn't she just set up an appointment and like like like text him or Message him on Facebook or something or just get his attention and get on his schedule, right?

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Like couldn't the Queen get on the King's schedule if she wanted to But the interesting thing is and I think this is probably the answer

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Historians document clearly who was in charge of the King's calendar

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Anybody want to guess who's in charge of the King's calendar? Haman Haman the

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Prime Minister is the one who guards the King's time guards The is actually in charge of the guards in his presence is in charge of a lot of different Inner workings of his schedule and in relationship with others and he's there to protect his time

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And so it's not just a matter of her going to Haman and saying hey I'd like to meet with the king on Tuesday at 3, you know that work for you.

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He's gonna say what what is this pertaining to? Anybody think that that might be an awkward conversation

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For her to have with the with with the Prime Minister. I think that would be awkward So Mordecai responds to Esther's reticence.

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She's reticent. She's like remember I'm gonna I'm gonna die if this happens He warns her and reminds her you're in dire jeopardy either way

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Esther You're likely to die either way if you do nothing you are under law going to be put to death

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It's extermination annihilation death to all Jews. You're going to be discovered and it's going to happen

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If she goes into the king's court She at least has a chance, right?

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This way you have a chance this way not so much So verse 14

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Yep warning Verse 14 is a central verse in the entire book of Esther So everything that has happened up to this point is going to be summarized at this point in the text

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Ultimately driving towards the purpose of God It's going to be shown that the things in the history the things in the past are

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The hand of God working and Mordecai is going to assume that by saying something about You've been raised up for such a time as this right?

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But there is one interpretive difficulty in this text that I think is is very important But I hold it loosely

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You see many scholars see the beginning of this verse as an intense Confidence and if we read it the way that most translations have it

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It looks like Mordecai is just completely confident that God is going to deliver the Jews So much so that if you look at go ahead and look down at verse 14 because this is important He says for if you keep silent at this time

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Esther relief and deliverance will rise from for the Jews from another place Right.

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Does that sound like he's just thoroughly confident that the Jews are going to be saved and it doesn't really matter what she does

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The way that most translators Most translations read it says something to the fact of Esther if you don't act

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God's gonna save the Jews anyways Yeah, you're getting the gist. I mean, that's just a paraphrase of what he says here

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But if you don't do anything God's gonna save them But doesn't it seem like a strange way to lead somebody to action?

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It would be like me saying you should go sell everything you own go move out of your house go overseas and Witness to people until the end of your life, but don't worry if you don't go somebody else will

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Or like me saying to my children, I want you to clean your rooms and clean the bathroom But don't worry if you don't somebody else will

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Is that is that the way we motivate? Is anybody is anybody kind of seeing what I'm getting at here? Anybody see the difficulty in that reading of the text?

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Well, I want to point out and this is where I diverge a little bit from the translations The Hebrew text in this verse allows that to be a rhetorical question the way that the words are structured and the way that the

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Hebrew is structured allows that to be a Question rather than a statement and that that's significant so that What that would mean for verse 14 is something along like along the lines of this.

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So listen to this It's like Mordecai saying if you keep silent at this time Esther will relief and deliverance rise for the

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Jews from another place Who else Esther if it's not you who's gonna do it?

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Is that different Will it will it come from somewhere else? If you keep silent your father's house will perish

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Who knows Esther whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

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You see I don't think he's leaving her and out. I think he's actually pouring it on thick. I Think he's emphasizing with confidence

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Esther I'm pretty sure that you have been lifted up to this place for this time for this reason

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Seeing what I'm getting at there Now I hold that loosely But I do think he's laying on thick he's driving his argument towards her being the chosen one for this very thing

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And he sees more than just coincidence in this but that God has been behind the scenes bringing her to this place

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But even Mordecai isn't positive Thinks it he thinks he's right

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But regardless of whether or not you agree with that interpretation again, which I hold pretty loosely Esther is motivated by the end of what

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Mordecai says she's she's motivated and she's set on fire and in verse 16 she realizes her position in the kingdom and That it has her in a significant place of influence at a key point in history

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And she is not going to squander that position, but she decides decisively to seize the opportunity

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She now orders Mordecai the roles have been reversed and She tells him to gather all the

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Jews in Susa for a 72 hour fast And the nature of that fasting is found right in the text

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So in case you're curious like what is this fast about? Why is it there? She asked them to fast on her behalf. It says in the text.

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It shows that this is a fast of intercession Stand in the gap for me before the throne of God and there may be times in our lives

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Where out of love and concern for others we give up food for a period of time in order to focus our attention on Prayer for them in their difficult and dire circumstances

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Now I want to I want to say this and I'll say this and say this to say this every time fasting appears in the text

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I'll probably say a sentence like this giving up food doesn't twist God's arm or make him give us stuff

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You get it It's not a it's not a means of like like you have the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel when they

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Confronted a lot when Elijah confronted them and what do they do they cut their backs and they slice themselves and they try to get their

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God's attention and it's like the more we hurt the more God pays attention to us And that was the pagan notion and that's not what we have here starve yourself so that your stomach hurts

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So God loves you more and then he's got then he owes you something. That is not the picture here

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It is a way of focusing our hearts to the task of prayer a

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Way of focusing us and so if you're taking notes and you're interested in this concept of fasting I want you to write this down because I think this is the most important thing about fasting that I feel like God kind of laid this on my heart, but Fasting has more to do with getting our attention and less to do with getting

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God's attention You get that Fasting has to do with grabbing our attention and arresting our focus and drawing us to focus on him rather than Wrenching him to our will that makes sense

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And then look at this amazingly brave comment she asked for everybody to fast for her implied by the prey and Then she makes this amazing comment in verse 16, then

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I will go to the king Though it is against the law This compliant kind gentle Jewish lady though it is against the law

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If I perish I perish How many of us could say that If I perish

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I perish in the service and love for others She's not being dramatic she is dying for the sake of her people and Jesus would later say the words of Jesus Christ himself in John 15 13 greater love has no one than this that someone laid down his life for his friends and then

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Jesus Went ahead and did that He didn't just speak it.

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He didn't just say it, but he acted on it and Esther is here laying down her life in essence

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I think kind of pointing ahead to Someone else who would lay down his life for others

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And I want to highlight the Esther does not know how this is going to go and neither does

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Mordecai Notice that verse 14 ends with a question mark. Look at it and Who knows whether you have come not to the king have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this question mark?

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And there's a real irony this week because I've heard sermons on Esther They have this rock -solid theme for such a time as this and if you look at the front of your

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I want you I want everybody to pull out a pen if you have a pen with you. I want you to correct this This is my mistake. This is not

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Carissa's mistake. I Titled the sermon and in the file that I sent her this week

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I didn't include the entire title and it makes it kind of made a mockery because I was gonna I was gonna literally joke about people

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Who titled the sermon on Esther for such a time as this and what does it say? The title is?

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For such a time as this and what I wanted it to say is for such a time as this dot dot dot maybe

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Because there is no rock -solid confidence in Esther for there isn't there is no assurance

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There is no angelic visitor that came to Esther and said you're gonna be spared. You're gonna be saved. You know it

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It's gonna it's all gonna just work out great for you. Are you seeing what I'm saying? She might be dying

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You see how that changes things a little bit for such a time as this exclamation point no question mark

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She enters the courtroom Three days later with no promise No guarantee that the scepter is going to be lowered to her being killed is a distinct possibility

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Maybe even at from her vantage point a likelihood and Then there's

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Mordecai who's sending his adopted daughter to a possible death and as he departs in verse 17

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And does everything that she ordered him to I am sure he has also some fear that it's not going to go well

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So how do we bring this text into 2012 where we live? I mean the reality is probably none of us have the authority the power of a queen over Persia None of us are likely to be at risk of being killed because of our next decision although.

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We really don't know that Well I see two sides of one coin in this text

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I see highlighted all the events in Esther's life that Mordecai points looking backwards and says God's hand see it

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See the way that God has raised you up to this position Pay attention to that side of the coin look at it study it know how

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God has been working in your history Esther Know how he has been moving and what he has been doing with you

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He sees that God has raised her up to a position for a purpose and he encourages her to decide

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What she does on the basis of his providential guidance in her life But the other side of the coin is that Esther stands at a genuine crossroads in her life

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She has a decision to make and so there's one side of the coin where she can see the the hand of God and his

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Faithfulness in her life and his leading and bringing her up But she's stuck with the side of the coin where she has a legitimate real genuine decision that she has to make and I think this text is a great model for our decision -making

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Encourage all of us to look backwards at the hand of God in our lives To what place have you been led even today?

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What experiences what position what relationships what location what skills what resources has

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God given you? What has he been doing in your life? And when decisions face us

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We should look to the pathway of God's working in our past To determine how we ought to step out in faith for the future.

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Does that make sense? looking at the side of the coin that is the past and and seeing how he has led and guided and gifted and skilled and given us resources and When when we face the crossroads in life

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The ask has has God been working to bring me to such a to this place for such a time as this

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But be cautious and be careful because the answer is not always yes to that. I mean, it's kind of like a rah -rah Yeah, okay.

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God has prepared me. He's he's equipped me. He's brought but there are times in life When opportunities come to us that really are none of our business in a sense.

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Have you been there? And we could take them on just because they're opportunities and we need to learn to be able to say no

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Anybody here struggle with the word? No at times And you take on more than you can chew and you take on and you can easily become

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Literally find yourself wake up one morning and you're in a position where you're not even equipped to to do that Because you've just said yes to everything that comes down the pipeline and you haven't really taken the time to consider

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God's gifting skills resources, but you've just said an opportunity presents itself. It must be must be from God Be careful with that Notice and this is what

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I want to point out Mordecai did not barge into the throne room of Xerxes.

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You see that in the text Now some might call him a coward and say well, he sent his sent his little daughter to do his work

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No, it was her job. It was her work. It was her position in her place Mordecai enters the throne room

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I think the story ends different If he's good You know what

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I'm saying a Scribe and barging in when we know that there have been threats against the king within just the last few years

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That's not gonna look good Now in reality some of us look to our history and we see a trail of sinful decisions

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And we might be tempted to even think I'm not sure and this is a temptation because I believe you are where God wants you

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To be he's brought you here even today even down to the place where you're sitting here You're where he wants you to be, but you might be tempted to think

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I'm not sure I am where I am in life because God put me here I've been making sinful decisions and therefore

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I am now in a bad place and some of us can feel that And if you're there at that place in life where you're kind of going man

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I've just made a lot of sinful decisions and bad decisions and now I Don't know where I'm at in God's will.

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I don't know where God's will is in my life. You're standing at a crossroads today You're at a crossroads

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And if you're at a place of difficulty that you can trace to your own sinful decisions Let your lament come before God Let him know your displeasure with your circumstances but equally confess and own your part in those circumstances confessing and saying

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I have sinned and therefore I am where I am today and Then ask him

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For mercy and forgiveness and for salvation based on what

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Jesus Christ did on the cross for us Maybe today someone here needs to call out to Jesus for salvation and Today would prove to be a significant crossroads in your life

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Maybe today would prove to be the point where you would look back and say that was decisive in my life

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As we come to communion this morning We remember one who laid down his life for his people

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Jesus Christ is God in flesh And he came down to live a sinless life and he died a cruel death on the cross for us

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The scepter was not extended But he did go to death for us

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And communion is ultimately an act of worship and thanksgiving for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us

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So if you're here this morning and you've asked Jesus to save you then I would encourage you to take the cracker and to take

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The juice with thankfulness and with joy in your hearts for his amazing love for you But if you're here and you're just kind of like I don't really know about the whole

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Jesus thing yet And I haven't asked him to save me and I'm kind of rustling through that I'd encourage you to just let the juice and the cracker pass by and then take in the song as Dave plays this morning

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But today could be a day of significant decision for you and the application obviously to Those of you who are in the faith is to think about the decisions that you face even in this next week and some of you

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Have some major decisions in front of you Think about how God has gifted you how he has given you resources

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Has he has he brought you to this place for such a time as this?

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maybe Let's pray Father I thank you for your providence that I can look back and I don't have to look back in distant history

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I can look back in this last week and see your hand in my life and Opportunities and things that you have placed in my path even just as simple as conversations at the coffee shop or people that you led

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Into my life and I praise you for that and then I can see it as I expand that out and I look

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I could See a bigger picture and a broader picture of not just me but your people and the way that you have moved through history and even just the flow of this awesome beautiful thread of redemption that's

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That weaves its way through the fabric of everything in history That you are ultimately calling out a people for your glory and for your name

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That are being redeemed and Will one day stand before you as a spotless bride in worship of you for eternity

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And so father as we come to communion and we remember the culmination of that thread of redemption in the cross of Jesus Christ And the glory of his sacrifice for us.