Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Church family, would you please stand and worship with us this morning?
I've got the joy of the Lord Deep down inside of my soul and I can't hide it no more I gotta praise him. I got the joy of the Lord deep down inside of my soul and I can't hide it no more I gotta praise the one who broke my chains and bought my freedom what else can I say but thank you Jesus?
Cause you're just that good? Just that faithful and you're just that kind. I'm so grateful that you saved my life like you said you would.
Oh so with my hands up high? Heart abandoned in a faith on fire Singing and dancing? Cause you saved my life like you said you would.
Cause you're just? Cause you're just that good.
You put a song in my heart I sing with all that I've got Until the world who you are I'm gonna praise you. You put a song in my heart I sing with all that I've got and tell the world who you are. I'm gonna praise the one who broke my chains and fought my freedom what else can I say but thank you Jesus?
Cause you're just that good? Just that faithful and you're just that kind. I'm so grateful that you sa like you said you would.
Oh so with my hands up high Heart abandoned and a faith on fire Singing and dancing Cause you saved my life like you said you would.
Cause you just? Cause you're just that good?
Oh, you're just that good.
Praise the one who broke my chains and bought my freedom what else can I say but thank you Jesus? You're the one who broke my chains and bought my freedom what else can I say but thank you Jesus?
Cause you're just that good? Just that faithful and you're just that kind. I'm so grateful that you saved my life like you said you would.
Oh so in my hands up high? Heart abandoned in a faith on fire Singing and dancing Cause you saved my life like you said you would.
Cause you're just? Cause you're just that good.
Oh.
Cause you're just that good.
[00:03:59] Speaker B: Amen. Amen. We serve a good God. Amen.
[00:04:03] Speaker C: It is good to be here with you this morning. How are you this morning? Church family?
Good. Good. It is good to be here. If we haven't had the opportunity to meet, my name is Rob Zimmerman, lead pastor here at Westgate and just thank you've chosen to worship with us today. Especially wanna welcome you if you are a guest whether today is your first time Here or you've been with us over the last few weeks or months, just thank you for joining us and worshiping together.
When you kind of make that decision in that point where you go, you know what? I think Westgate is the place I wanna get connected into.
The best first step to do that is to fill out a connection card. And this morning you'll see that connection card in the pew in front of you. And so I'd encourage you, if you wanna take that step today, you can begin filling out.
And I'll encourage you, at the close of our service today, you can take that card out to our main lobby and there at our guest center, you can give it to the hosts that are there. They've got a Westgate Chapel coffee tumbler that they would love to give you as a small gift just to say thank you for being here. But also they would love to answer any questions you have about how to get connected into our various ministries, places you could serve, all of that. And so we just encourage you to stop by at the close of our service today. And as always, the best way to stay connected with what's going on here at Westgate is our West Gate Chapel app that can be downloaded from your app store. And this morning, if you were to go to your app, you will see that it is full of things not only that are happening this fall and currently, but also as we approach the Christmas season, which seems to be coming rapidly. Anybody excited for that?
Okay. Handful of people. How many people are who's bought a Christmas gift already?
Shame on you. Okay. It's not even Thanksgiving. Come on. All right. I'm the guy that waits forever, but, well, we're excited about what's going on. I wanna make you aware of a few things this morning. So first thing, we've got about 64 of our women that are out on our Deeper life women's retreat this weekend. You'll see a picture of them up here this morning worshiping. It has been a fantastic weekend of just connecting with each other and connecting with the Lord. And ladies, if you weren't able to go and you're like, man, I would really love that opportunity to connect with other women at Westgate Chapel. I want you to know that there is another opportunity to do so. Coming up on November Twelf, we have what is called our gratitude and grace event.
Thursday, November 12, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm It's a great time to come together. There's gonna be desserts and just time to get connected with other women. But Also to get to hear the testimony of Mindy Delvoe and how God has been working in her life. And so I wanna encourage you to come because one, it's a great way to get connected. Two, it's also great to invite your friends that don't know the Lord that are in your circles to invite them to come and to just hear what's going on at Westgate and what it's about, what it's like having a relationship with Christ. And so we would love for you to be a part of that. Mark that on your calendar. You can register for it by scanning the QR code. You can do it by going to our app or to the website as well.
Another thing coming up here, soon as we move into the Christmas season, is that we're excited again on December 6th to have our Christmas kickoff. And we're gonna be having our kids choir and also adult choirs those mornings. They're gonna participate in our wor.
And so if you have a kid that would like to be involved, we would love for you to register them. You can do so again on our app or through the website. But they're gonna be practicing and rehearsing every Sunday morning leading up to December 6th. And so we would love for them to be a part of that as well. Adults. We would love again to have a massive adult choir here as we celebrate the Lord and all that he has done for us. And so if you would like to be a part of that, the rehearsals are gonna be Thursdays from 6 to 8pm also beginning Thursday, November 12th. And so we would love for you to participate. If you would like to be a part, please register. You can do that through the website or also through the app.
Lastly, so many things. One of our favorite Christmas events for the last couple of years has been Westgate at the Ribbon. We go and we rent out the Ribbon in Toledo for a time of ice skating for our church family. A time to gather and to have a great time to enjoy the cold weather, some ice skating, some food, sit around the fire and also connect. I'll just encourage you, if you're new here to Westgate, this is a great opportunity to meet people and to connect with them. And so registration is going to be opening up for that. I also want to encourage you. We use this event as an opportunity for us to reach out to people in our circles that don't know Christ. And so I'm just going to be really explicit as your pastor when I say this. Forgive me for doing this. If you have friends that go to Cedar Creek, Five Lakes, Emmanuel Baptist, Bedside Baptist. I don't care what it is.
We don't want them.
We don't. We love them. They've got a great church family. But your friends that don't go to church and that don't know Christ, those are the ones we want you inviting to this event. And so use it as an opportunity to come together as a church family, but also to introduce those people in your circles to your church family. And so you can register today, you'll see here on the screen the QR code again, our app, the Westgate Chapel website, or even on the back of your sermon notes this morning, a tiny, tiny little QR code. You can begin registering to be part of that. We'll have two skating sessions and we would love for you to come out and join us.
That was a mouthful.
Right now though, what I'd love to do as we continue in our worship is to invite you to stand, find somebody you haven't said hello to yet this morning and welcome them to our service.
It.
[00:10:33] Speaker D: Christ is my firm foundation the rock on which I stand when everything around me shaken I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus Cause he's never let me down he's faithful through generations so why would he fail now?
He won't, he won I've still got joy and in chaos I've got peace that makes no sense so I won't be going under I'm not held by my own strength Cause I built my life on Jesus he's never let me now he's faithful in every season so why would he fail now?
He won't, he won't he won't fail he won't fail he won.
He won.
He won't fail he won't fail Christ is my firm foundation the rock on which I stand when everything around me is shaken I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus Cuz he never let me down he's faithful through generation so why would he fail now?
He won't oh no he won't he won't fail he won't fail.
Rain came, wind blew my house was built on I'm safe with you I'm gonna make it through Rain came, wind blew My house was built on you I safe with you I'm gonna make through Rain came with My house was built on you I sa with you I'm going to make it through yeah I'm going to make it through Cause I'm standing strong on you yeah I'm gonna make it through Cause my house is built on you Christ is my firm foundation the rock on which I stand when everything around me I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus Cuz he's never let me down Faithful through generations so why would he fail now?
He won't.
He won't.
He won't fail.
He won't fail.
He won't.
He want.
He won't fail.
He won't fail.
No, he won't.
[00:16:37] Speaker B: Amen. Amen. We serve a God who doesn't fail us. Amen.
We're going to continue in our study with Esther this week. Pastor Rob's gonna come up in a minute and talk about one of the great stories of faith.
We talk about a lot of these and we're gonna sing this next song. It's another great story of faith in the Bible. We face trials and tribulations each and every day, right?
But our God stays true to us. Time and time and time again, Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego were forced to step in into the fire in full faith that no matter what happened, their God was for them.
He showed his great faithfulness once again.
Would you sing this song with us?
[00:17:33] Speaker A: There's a grace when the heart is un.
Another way when the walls are closing in.
When I look at the space between where I used to be and this reckoning I know I will never be alone There was another in the fire Standing next to me There was another in the waters holding back the seas and should I ever need reminding of how I've been set free There is a cross that bears the burden Another died for me There was another in the Father I.
Should I fall in the space between what leads to me and this reckoning either way I bound
[00:19:07] Speaker D: to the things of this world I know Cuz I know I will never be alone There is another in the fire Standing next to me There is another in the waters Pulling back the seas Should I ever need reminding Power set me free There is a grave that holds nobody My power lives in me There is another in the fire oh There is another in the fire.
There is another in the fire
[00:20:11] Speaker A: oh I can see I can see the light in the darkness as the darkness bows to him I can hear the roar in the heavens as the space between we're standing I can feel the ground shake beneath us as the prison walls he Nothing stands between us Nothing's in between us.
[00:20:51] Speaker B: There's no one like our God.
There is no other Name but the name that is Jesus.
He who was and still lives and will be through it all. Amen.
So come with me in the space between all the things I see
[00:21:18] Speaker D: and this reckoning I know I will never be alone I know I know I will never be alone Be enough Another in the fire standing next to me There'll be another in the waters holding back the
[00:21:45] Speaker A: seas Should I ever need reminding how could you been to me?
Count the joy come every battle cause I know that's way you'll be I can see the light in the darkness as the darkness bows to him I can hear the roar in the heavens as the space between Westin I can feel the ground shape beneath us as the prison walls given Nothing stands for between us Nothing stands between There'll be another in the fire standing next to me There'll be another in the waters holding back the se Should I ever need reminding how could you been to me?
Count the joy come every battle cause I know that's where you'll be I'll count the joy come every battle cause I know that's where you'll be Count the joy come every
[00:23:07] Speaker B: battle cause I know that's where you meet Count the joy come every battle cause I know that's where you'll be Count the joy come every battle cause I know that's where you'll be all for you, Father God. Amen.
[00:23:32] Speaker C: Amen.
You may be seated. Let's. Let's go to the Lord in prayer together.
Father, we thank you. We thank you for that truth that we just sang about, Lord, that in the midst of a dark world, in a world that is so difficult, that seeks to cause us to compromise continually on our belief and our faith and our trust in you. That no matter what we face, God, no matter what trial we face, God, you are faithful. And you are with us in those moments. You never leave us.
And Lord, I pray that as we are reminded, even as we get into the text this morning, as we are reminded of how you have been faithful time and time again throughout the centuries and the ages and even in our own individual lives.
That your continued faithfulness would be the thing that spurs our faithful response in this world as it seeks to pull us from you. That, Father, our lives would be lives that shine brightly about who you are and your son, Jesus Christ. So that the world would know him.
Father, as we come to our time of taking our tithes and offerings, it is a joy for us just to participate in what you're doing in this world. To bring the Good news of your son, Jesus Christ. And so we give back, Lord, joyfully. We give back, Father, as a sign and an act of worship, of our dependence upon you and ultimately God. Our prayer is that you would multiply it so that more people would know Jesus.
So receive our gift and our offering this morning of worship. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen. We're gonna take our morning offering at this time. And so if you're here on the center aisles, you can grab those center buckets. We'll pass them to the sides up in the balcony. They're in the corners. We'll pass them in.
And let's just continue to worship the Lord this way together for the next few moments.
Sam.
Well, again, I'm thankful that you are here and have chosen to worship with us this morning.
If you have your sermon notes, you can pull those out. And we have been in the Book of Esther together.
And so if you have your Bibles, you can begin turning there this morning. I want to ask you a question as we begin. How many of you like going to the beach?
Raise your hand. Anybody like going to the beach? Great. And I'm not talking about Lake Erie Beach. Okay.
I'm talking about how many people like to go to the beach, like on the coast. Okay. Yeah, I love. I obviously love the beach. Many of you know, I grew up in Southern California and spent a lot of my time growing up going to the beach. When I was a youth pastor for about 12 years in Southern California, you would find me every summer, every single Wednesday of summer at the beach with my students. As a youth pastor, we would go at about 9am and stay till 4pm every single Wednesday. It was a ton of fun. Loved playing beach volleyball, taking about 80 different students with us. We would hang out, have a good time, and then we would inevitably go hit the water where, honestly, it was fun to surf. And you might see a picture of me here from back in the day when I was with my students.
Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, AI, for making me look much thinner, more muscular.
Man, that looks good, right?
The truth is, I've never stood up on a surfboard.
The actual reality, if you look at this next picture, I did always take students to Huntington Beach. It was a beautiful beach. We would always go south side of the pier to Lifeguard Station 11. We would hang out all day with our students, but rather than surfboard, I loved body surfing. Just getting out in the waves and riding them. It was a lot of fun and thrilling.
My students would do that also. But inevitably there was also at times a danger that would come with that. And the danger was, is how many have heard or ever been caught in a riptide or a rip current? Anybody here, if you've never experienced that, these would come up often throughout the summer in Huntington Beach. You would be out there just enjoying the surf, and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there would be this powerful narrow channel of water pushing away from the shoreline and trying to suck you out into the ocean. And if you weren't strong enough and close enough to the shore, it didn't matter if you were in waist deep water, chest deep water. This current was so powerful, it would begin to suck you out if you were out where you could only swim.
Many people make the mistake of just trying to swim against the current, and when they do that, they begin to tear out, they begin to wear out and tire down, and then they get sucked out to sea inevitably. I had numerous students over the years that would be out in the surf. Riptide would come up and they would get sucked out, and then you would see the lifeguards running to try to go save them. But even more sometimes I think my students did it on purpose because they would come out on a jet ski to pick them up and then ride them through the waves. So I had a few that were really good at getting caught in them. But here's the thing. When you think about a riptide and a rip current, it's that powerful narrow channel of water that is pulling you away.
You know, I use this example this morning because sometimes I think there is a powerful parallel that we can have with this to the Christian life. The reality is, is that we're living in a world today where there are some pretty powerful currents that are pushing against us as followers of Jesus Christ.
Currents that are constantly pulling us in directions that don't align with what we believe, what our values are, but especially align with the heart of God. And sometimes it's very easy to not even recognize not only how powerful the currents are until we have found ourselves caught up in them, but also being swept away by them. I think this is important this morning because it brings us back to our study in the Book of Esther. As I said, if you have your Bibles, turn with me to the Book of Esther. You can pull out your notes to follow along. Long we've been in this series together the last couple weeks taking a look at Esther.
We've entitled the series Trusting the Unseen Hand of God.
And in this, what we will see especially as we dive into our message this morning. The title of our message is Standing against the Tide.
Esther and her cousin Mordecai are going to face current that challenge them to compromise who they are, what they believe, what their values are, but ultimately also their trust in God.
And this morning we want to learn from scripture about how it is that we as well can stand against the tides of our culture that are seeking to pull us away from our ultimate faith and trust in God, causing us to compromise. And so I want us to dive in quickly this morning. If you have your notes and are following along, I want to give us a quick background reminder where we started last week, especially if you weren't with us. You'll see with your first fill in. As we read Esther chapters one and two, everything turned from shame to bliss in Xerxes court.
Xerxes was the king of of the Persian Empire. And as we began last week, what we understand about Xerxes is that he had come to power after his father Darius had died and he oversaw this massive, massive kingdom that stretched all the way from India to the western edge of Turkey.
And ruling over this, it seems that there was a fair amount of shame in his life. It begins here, letter A with this Queen Vashti brought incredible embarrassment on the king. You'll remember that what King Xerxes was doing was he was preparing a large multinational war force from his kingdom. All of these different people's tribes, languages that were scattered throughout the vast kingdom. He wanted to bring them together into a war force to go up against Greece and Athens. He wanted to do this because his father himself had tried to go up against Greece and Athens and had lost. And so this was his opportunity to try to win the battle. And what we read in chapter one of the book of Esther is it's at the time where Xerxes is holding a six month war council.
This war council was to pull all of the officials, all the military leaders together into one place. He wanted to show up off the vast wealth and vast power of his kingdom. And one of the reasons for that is he wanted to woo everybody into being a part of this war force, but also wanted to remind them, hey, when we win this battle together, all of the glory of this kingdom, the wealth and its power will also be yours. He was kind of dangling that carrot in front of them. Well, once the war council was done, over a six month period, it says that he also held another week long party with the people of Susa to thank them for participation and hosting Everyone that came in having great hospitality, but he also wanted to prepare them for what would be a massive and difficult battle. And so it says during this week that he ordered that people could drink as much as they want. He had the best wine that was pulled out. And we see a picture of the king sitting with his officials, having drank too much drunk. And he puts this request out that Queen Vashti would come and appear before him and the officials, because he wanted to display all the greatest things of his kingdom. So he asked her to come wearing her crown. What scholars understand is likely what he was asking is that she would come only wearing her crown. And he wanted to use her again as just a pawn of his greatness, not really showing care or concern for her. Well, Vashti refuses. There's no way that she's gonna do this. And so what does Xerxes do? Having been embarrassed, he vanquishes his queen and begins a search for the next one. And with his officials, they devise this plan to go out through the entire kingdom and pull together a bunch of virgins into one place. And they'll hold kind of this little thing for him to find his next queen. Well, it's soon after this that we understand from history that he heads off to war and off to battle Greece. But not only did Vashti bring shame on him, but let her be. Xerxes was also humiliated in defeat at the hands of Greece.
Remember that what he did is he brought this war force together, is that he went up and his primary goal was to go to Athens. And basically, basically, if he could take Athens, it would be a resounding victory for him. His father met defeat here. Now, I want to show you, just so you have an idea of what was going on, a map here on the screen that'll show you a little bit of what was going on. You'll see here up on the top, right where it says the Persian Empire, there's that dotted line that follows kind of the green land. Around that is the path by which his multinational army, a massive army was, would have followed. Is they went up and around, over into Greece and down towards Athens, which is right just down here at the bottom they would go. And on their way to Athens, it says that they faced some. Some pretty good pushback from the. The Grecian army. And they had a huge battle for three days, but ultimately overcame them. And then it opened up the way for them to basically run straight into Athens.
And the people that were living in Athens had heard about this. And so that the battles had been lost, so they themselves fled. So as he arrives in Athens, there's hardly anyone there to put up a fight. And he comes in and he burns Athens to the ground. Now he thinks that he's won the battle, but the next step in his battle is he knows that the people that were living in Athens had gone just over to a place just up above that called Selene.
Salamis was these straits that were right next to the city and that's where they went and they kind of hid out. He decided that he would send his massive naval force in to kind of finish the job, believing that the war was essentially done. If you look at the big dotted lines that are in the water below the smaller ones that goes around, that is the direction that his navy would have traveled.
And the history tells that he went into the Straits of Salamis, but his boats were so large and so big that they were cumbersome. And in this tiny strait they were getting in the way of each other. They could barely move. And the smaller, more nimble Grecian navy was able to come, they were able to ram into the boats. And the history tells us that he was sitting, Xerxes was sitting on a hill on a golden throne, watching this battle, believing that his kingdom was going to prevail. And he watched a majority of his navy go down into the water. Well, this causes him to freak out and so what does he do? He tucks tail and he runs back to Persia. He wanted to make sure that he would get back to his kingdom before he could be cut off and they would essentially get him. Well, fast forward about a year later and his army goes to an incredible defeat and he is left to lick his wounds with much of his wealth having been depleted. Well, what's the best way to overcome that sadness? It's to find a new queen, apparently. And in letter C we see that Esther actually wins the heart of the king.
Esther, along with many other women, had gone through a year long time of preparation and beauty treatments just to be in the presence of the king. And the. And last week we talked about this fact that ultimately when they would be brought to individually be brought to the king, what they were essentially participating in was what would be considered a one night sexual tryout. Now I had a number of people say, hey, is that really true? Like, I've never heard that or read the story that way. And let me tell you why it is that we say that. I want you to think about all of the things that happened here in the text number one, they were specifically rounding up women who had one thing in common. What was it? They're virgins. Right.
They were prepared by eunuchs. All of them together with the other virgins.
After the year, long time of preparation, how long did they spend with the king?
One night. They came at night and they left in the morning. And in the morning when they woke up, did they go back to the virgin?
No. Where did they go?
To the concubines. Right. To the women who had had sexual relationships with the king.
And what they would do is, when they arrived there, they would either live life alone in the harem, if the king never called out for them again, or if they were lucky, maybe he would remember them and they would be able to go and see the king again. Well, it tells us that Esther was. Xerxes found Esther to be the most attractive of all of the women that came. And ultimately he is so infatuated with her that he makes her queen. It seems as though things, while not starting well, as Esther is pulled from her family and pulled from where she lived into this thing that was taking place, it seems that the best case scenario is playing out. She will live her life as the queen in the palace, with a royal life, with a lot of wealth. Everything in her life is taken care of. That seems to be the best case scenario as well. The passage last week in chapter two ends with another small story, letter D. We see that after she becomes queen, her cousin Mordecai saves the king. In chapter two, it closes with Mordecai overhearing a plot at the city gate of two people who were seeking to assassinate King Xerxes. So what does he do? He tells Esther, Esther tells the king. The plot is foiled. Mordecai really doesn't get credit. It says that his name is written in the annals of history, that he did this. But there's no party, there's no promotion, there's no high place of honor for him.
But it seems that things are going well. Things seem to be just going great.
But have you ever noticed how when things in life are going great, that we're almost afraid to admit it? Anybody here in that camp? Think about it. When someone asks you, how are things going? We may want to reply, fantastic. My marriage is great. The kids are doing well, they're getting good grades, everybody's healthy, work is peaceful and productive. Things couldn't be better.
But we know that there seems to be this unwritten rule in the universe that if we admit things are great, it Is the universe's duty to bring it all to destruction. And so what do we say instead?
You know, you can't complain, right?
Well, I feel like I've learned this lesson a million times over in my life. I always seem like every time I said things were going great, I couldn't be better. Something else was around the corner. Just a few weeks ago, right in the middle of Missions Emphasis Week, a friend of mine on Thursday asked me the question, how are things going? And I. You told them? Awesome. Things couldn't be better. Rochelle and I just spent 12 days away together. It was great. We did a trip for our anniversary. God, I felt like I got pulled out of the fishbowl. I got to rest, spent some really good dedicated time with her. The kids are doing good. They're getting great grades in school.
Really happy work feels peaceful at the moment.
And as well, Missions Emphasis Week is happening. And I was really excited because our president, Jonathan Schaefer, and his wife Mary were going to be coming and sharing with us as they did. They're good friends of Rochelle's and mine, and we were looking forward to dinner out with them. So there was a lot going on. And I said, things are busy, but honestly, they could not be better.
And it was later that night that a couple of headaches that I had been having also turned into an eye that was burning incessantly. And a large red knot showed up above my eyebrows.
And it only got worse as the weekend approached. And I remember sitting there with Rochelle on Saturday afternoon, we're getting ready to go out to dinner with Adam and Sarah, just.
And Jonathan and Mary Schaefer. And I look at her and I go, how can I go out? I look ridiculous. I have this massive red knot right above my eye. And she looks at me and she says, don't worry. No one's going to notice.
So we go to dinner, and let me tell you, it was a lovely dinner with friends. No one said a word.
And I found out the next day that I had shingles.
And it was a little bit painful and uncomfortable.
And I called Adam Sunday night to let him know what the diagnosis was and that I wouldn't be coming into the office. And he said, I wondered what that huge bump on your face was.
Yep. Rochelle lied to me. That's the moral of the story. Just kidding. All right, now, here's the deal.
We know that when we talk about, like, things are going great, and then all of a sudden, if you admit it, they fall apart, we know that's not really how the universe works, even though it might seem that way. It's not how God works. But there's a reason that we feel that way. The reason we feel that way is because the truth is life. Life has a way of changing unexpectedly on a dime.
One moment, everything seems to be falling into place, and the next, circumstances that are beyond our control can turn our world upside down. And that is exactly what happens. As we turn the page from chapter two in the Book of Esther to chapter three in the Book of Esther, a new character named Haman is going to enter into the story. And before this chapter is over, the entire Jewish population of the Persian Empire is going to face annihilation. Look at it with me if you have your Bibles. Esther, chapter three, beginning in verse one, and what we see here as you're following along in your notes, is we're going to move from a time of joy and bliss for Esther and Mordecai to a broad proclamation of death.
Things seem to turn on a dime. So what happened? Let's look at it together, beginning in verse, verse 1.
After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman, son of Hammeditha the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. All the royal officials at the king's gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded him concerning him, but Mordecai would not kneel down or pay honor to him.
Then the royal officials at the king's gate asked Mordecai, why do you disobey the king's command?
Day after day they spoke to him, but he refused to comply. Therefore, they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai's behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them that he was a Jew.
When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.
Yet having learned who Mordecai people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead, Haman looked for a way to destroy all of Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes. In the 12th year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur, that is, the Lot, was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and a month.
And the lot fell on the 12th month, the month of Adar. Then Haman said to King Xerxes, king, there is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the Provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate, their customs are different from those of all other people and they do not obey the king's laws. It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them. And I will give 10,000 talents of silver to the king's administrators for the royal treasury.
So the king takes off his signet ring from his finger and gives it to Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.
Keep the money, the king said to Haman, and do with the people as you please.
Let's take a look back at what is happening here in this passage, as you're following along Letter A, we see that Haman becomes the second most powerful man in the Persian Empire.
It doesn't tell us why. It doesn't tell us if maybe he had a special in with the king, if they were best buds. It doesn't tell us if he did something special to achieve this position. But what it does tell us is that King Xerxes raises Haman to a position of being elevated above all other officials in the kingdom.
And Haman possessed extraordinary political authority. At the very end of what we just read, it talks about how the king took his signet ring off of his finger and gave it to Haman.
I want you to think about this. You'll see a picture of signet rings here on the screen. A signet river ring was essentially a ring that a king possessed that would have an impression that was in it sometimes of maybe the king himself, or it had words in it, but it would be used as a way for the king to declare what things were, official declarations that would come from him. It was more than just a piece of jewelry. It was a symbol of the king's absolute authority. It was used to seal and to stamp official royal decrees. And what Xerxes essentially does is he gave Haman the authority to act on his behalf.
And so the king commanded the people also. Not only did he give him this authority and this power, but he then commands that all of the people would bow to Haman to recognize and to respect the power and the position that that the king had given to him. But there's something interesting that happens. Letter B. Mordecai refuses to bow. And this refusal to bow stokes Haman's hatred not just for Mordecai, but also towards the Jews. This begs the question, number one, why did Mordecai refuse to bow?
The text actually reveals to US only one thing. It says that it had something to do with Mordecai identity as a Jew. It says that because he was a Jew, he did not bow. But why that is significant remains completely unexplained.
Some scholars will argue that maybe it was because he saw it as a form of worship and so he didn't want to bow to him. Thinking back to like as we talked about during that song this morning, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego during the exile, refused to bow to a golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar because they wanted to stay true to God. And that refusal to bow found them in a fiery furnace. Some have argued that maybe that's the case, that he didn't want to bow because it would have been worshiped. But the thing is, is that it was common also for Israelites or for Jews to bow to officials. That wouldn't be something that was out of the norm. Other scholars have also also said that maybe what was happening is that he was refusing to pay honor to someone that he saw as a wicked and a prideful man that maybe didn't deserve the position that he was in. That could have been possible. Others have claimed that there was a cultural tension that existed between them. No matter what we do to try to understand it, the text is silent. It just simply says this truth that I think we should hold onto, it remains silent. And except that we understand it has something to do with his identity as a Jew, as one of God's people.
And because of this, it sets Haman off in letter C. What we see is that Haman then goes to manipulate the king, not just to destroy Mordecai, but to destroy all of the Jews. It tells us that what he does is he goes and he comes cast lots as he casts lots, basically this throwing of the dice. He chooses the day in which he wants every single Jew in the kingdom to be slaughtered, and then he goes to the king to make his declaration. But notice what is unique about this declaration to the king as he comes to him, he says, there is this people in your entire kingdom that they keep themselves separate from everybody else. They have a different culture, they have different customs. But most importantly, not only are they separate and not integrating, but also they don't obey the king's command. What is he doing? He's painting a picture that there's this people group within the kingdom that could potentially rise up. And for any king in that day and age, that would cause some sense of fear. Right? We can't have anybody raising up against the king. And so he essentially lies to him. But what I think is so interesting here is that Haman remains silent about who they are. Never does he say to King Xerxes that it is the Jews.
And he uses this as a way. And I've often wondered if the reason for that, just as an aside, is because of the heritage that came before Xerxes, where Darius and Cyrus were, those who also helped the Jews to go back to Jerusalem and showed them favor because of the hand of God. We don't know, we don't understand, but he tricks him into this and he receives the power to destroy them. But why? Why does this happen?
Why does it seem that Haman has such a hatred not just towards Mordecai, but all Jews? There may be a very clear window. In the passage that we often read over and over. Want to just point this out to you.
It says that Haman was an Agagite. Do you guys know what that means? He was a descendant of the Amalekites in the Old Testament.
Mordecai was what?
He was a Benjamite, a son of Kish.
When we look at those two things together, for the original readers of that text, that would have brought something immediately to their minds. What is it?
Who else in scripture do we know had a relationship in some form with the Amalekites that was a Benjamite son of Kish, King Saul.
King Saul himself was a Benjamite son of Kish who came to overthrow the Amalekites. Now he didn't follow what God asked him to do, but he did take Agag, the king of the Amalekites, prisoner. And when he was confronted, ultimately what he did is he cut this king into pieces. And what would come from that is a centuries old hatred. That is possibly what stoked the fire of this grand plan in Haman's heart to kill the Jews.
I want you to think about this. How easy would it have been for someone like Mordecai to just follow the crowd and bow down? Like it could have just been easy. Like, yeah, it's just this simple gesture. I'll just let my convictions go and I'm just gonna bow down because I don't wanna deal with issues, right?
I want you to think about this because the pressure, if you're following along again, your next note, the pressure to go with the tide can be incredibly powerful.
Have you ever, I want you to think about how this is true. Have you ever been at a concert or maybe a performance or A sporting event where people start giving a standing ovation. And you know what's going through your mind. At first you're sitting there with them clapping, but then a few people stand up and then a few more people and you're like, really? Are we doing this? And suddenly everybody in the room is standing. Now, maybe you didn't think that the performance was that great. You thought it was just okay. But what do you do? You stand up. Why?
Because nobody wants to be the one person sitting down while everybody else is standing and applauding. And here's the crazy thing. Nobody told you to stand up. Nobody threatened your life, nobody even asked you to do it. But you felt the pressure to conform and blend in with everyone else.
I find that this is the same pressure that we face as Christians every single day of our lives, is that we live in a world where there is a toxic that is pushing against us and the pressure to conform or to compromise is huge.
Where does that pressure come from? Letter A. That pressure can come from the expectations of other people.
The reality is, is that we care about what people think about us. We want to be accepted, we want to fit in. We want people to like us.
And at times we allow the expectations of other people to be the thing that shapes our decisions. Think about it. You have a group of friends, you're sitting around and the conversation turns towards talking negatively about someone who wasn't there. And we so easily fall right in and follow right along or stay silent or think about it this way.
You're at work and you're asked or even expected to do something that you know is not right.
But because of the expectations of your boss or another co worker, you compromise on what you think or believe. We don't want to let people down.
We stay quiet at times in our own life about our faith in Jesus Christ because we think other people might be hostile and we don't want people to view us negatively. So it's easier to be silent. Sometimes the pressure comes from expectations that other people have. Letter B. That pressure can also come from a desire to avoid conflict.
And we do this all the time in our relationships.
A friend makes destructive decisions and choices for their own life and we stay silent. Why?
Because we don't want to hurt the relationship.
We feel tension in our relationships or marriages, but we avoid the hard conversations because sometimes it's just easier to not deal with the drama.
And so we just go with the flow and let things go.
We also do this at times when we witness injustice in the world. That's around us, it's easier to stay silent and far less taxing on our lives than to do what is considered right.
Pressure can come from a desire to avoid conflict in letter C. Pressure can also come from a fear of what we might lose. And I would say that this is especially the pressure that can come and be most powerful. Because sometimes standing against the tide doesn't just mean risking someone's disapproval or having an uncomfortable conversation, but sometimes doing what is right can actually cost us something.
Think about it. At work, doing what is right might cause you an opportunity for advancement, or in a friendship. Standing by your convictions might cost you that relationship. Or in your social circles, refusing to participate may mean that you aren't invited back in your family. Taking a stand might create tension with people that you deeply love. In your business, refusing to compromise your integrity might mean losing a customer or an incredible amount of money. And suddenly the decision becomes becomes that much more complicated. Because now you're not just asking the question of is this right?
You're asking, am I willing to pay the price for doing what is right?
And that is a very, very different question.
And I find letter D that often we know what is right, but the question isn't whether we recognize it, it's whether or not we will choose to stand up for it.
Said differently, the challenge isn't knowing what is right to do, it's having the courage to do what is right when everything around us is pulling us in the opposite direction. I firmly believe that most people don't wake up every single morning saying, today I am going to abandon all of my convictions.
It usually happens in ways that are far more serious, subtle.
We remain silent when we should speak, we laugh when we should object, we participate when we should walk away.
And we compromise because we don't want to disappoint someone. And over time, we find ourselves further and further away from what God desires for us.
The passage that we're reading tells us that in Mordecai's life, we don't know exactly why it is that he wouldn't bow, but we do understand that it has something to do with his identity as one of God's people.
And with that, he sticks to his convictions, no matter what the cost.
But even more, as we continue into chapter four, what we'll see is that Esther is now going to face an even more daunting test of her own convictions.
And if you're following along in your notes, the tension is going to build for her in ways that she has not yet experienced.
Esther, chapter four, beginning in verse six, right before verse six begins, Esther has heard that Mordecai is gravely upset, that he is deeply lamenting, and she sends one of her eunuchs to find out what is going on. It says in verse 6. So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate. Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay in the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to him.
And he told him to instruct her to go into the king's presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Well, letter A, what we see here is that the rubber is about to meet the road for Esther, there is a crossroads that she is going to come to, where she has to make a decision of am I going to do what is right or am. Or am I going to do what is expedient and easy for myself?
Mordecai sends her a detailed account of what Haman has done, incredible detail. He also takes an exact copy of the edict that was given to annihilate the Jews and sends that as well. And he asks her to step in. And this is what's unique about this. Essentially what he's saying is for the very first time, Esther, I want you to reveal your Jewish heritage to King Xerxes. Think about this. In all of this time she's gone through this year long preparation, she had her night with the king, she's been made queen, it's probably been about five years. And Haman in the beginning had asked her, or I'm sorry, Mordecai had asked her in the beginning to not reveal her identity as a Jew. But now he's looking at her and saying, you need to tell him, you need to open up and tell him this thing that you've been hiding, that you yourself are a Jewish Jew and you need to do this so that you can plead with him to save your people.
And all of a sudden she faces this crossroads decision.
All that is cozy and has been comfortable for her for in life in the palace just got turned upside down.
And when she replies to him, what we see, letter B, is that the consequences of action or inaction were lethal.
Completely lethal. In Esther, chapter four, beginning in verse ten, she gives her instructions back to him, and she says she instructed him to say, speaking of her eunuch, say to Mordecai, all the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned, and the king has one law, that they be put to death unless the king extends the golden scepter to them and spares their lives. But 30 days have passed since I was called to go to the king.
This is interesting. As we read it, what we see is that if she does nothing, her people are going to be slaughtered. In one day, the Persian Empire will rise up against them every moment, man turning on them and putting them to death. That is the edict that has been given from the king using the signet ring. It is his decree, you must follow through. But she also tells Mordecai, if I appear before the king without being summoned, he has incredibly strict rules. In other words, even if I act, the likelihood is that I'm going to be put to death.
Because the striking thing here, even about being queen, is that she had this fear that if I go in without being summoned by the king, I'm putting my own life and well being at risk.
What's interesting is when we read at the very bottom of this, in verse 11, it says that she actually hasn't even seen the king in 30 days because he hadn't called for her. It helps us to understand that maybe she also is becoming a little bit more like Vashti, just another pawn, just another piece of his royal treasures and his wealth and his power.
Like, sure, he was infatuated with her, but for 30 days she hasn't seen the king, she hasn't been invited in, and she knows intuitively this fear that is driving her is that her life holds no real value if the king feels disrespected by her. And with Vashti fresh on her mind, she understands that she also is replaceable.
And so let her see as she sends this. Mordecai sends back word and challenges Esther to see beyond her momentary fears and trust in the providence of God.
And as we read this, I'm going to remind you that in this passage in this book that we never see the name of God mentioned, and nobody speaks the name of God. It's the reason that we've also declared the title of this series is Esther, the Unseen Hand of God.
Trusting in the Unseen hand of God, what we're going to See, as we read these next verses is the first place that we begin to get a picture from Mordecai, but also from Esther without saying God's name, the faith and the trust that they actually have in him. Look at verse 12. It says, When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer. Do not think because you are in the king's house, you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows, but you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.
You see, what Mordecai does is he understands leaning on his heritage is one of God's chosen people. He says, look, if you think that the expedient, easy thing to do is to stay silent because you can live in the wealth and protection of the palace, don't think that it'll be that easy.
In essence, you can literally hear him saying, don't think that there won't be a punishment exacted on you for not standing up for God's people when you have this power and position.
He warns her. But then he says, have you considered that maybe from all the difficulty of being taken from a place, a place that you loved and being taken, brought into a kingdom that you did not choose, into a situation that maybe wasn't even your desire, maybe God has raised you up for such a moment as this.
There is this sense of the providential hand of God that Mordecai is speaking of, that Esther has been given this position to save the people of God.
I would say the same thing to you this morning as we face the difficult currents of following Christ in a world where it is constantly seeking to have us compromise and to stay silent and to not stand up for justice.
Maybe God has also. I shouldn't even say maybe. I know that God has chosen you for a moment such as this to be his people who will live their lives wholly devoted to him and what he desires for you, that your life would be a part of the work that he is doing in this world to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, because we are standing up in the face of compromise and living holy lives so that our lives would be a reflection to others of his salvation.
Mordecai challenges Esther and says, see beyond your momentary fears. Trust in the providential hand of God that is guiding you in letter D. What we see is that Esther chooses faithful obedience and reliance upon God.
Esther, chapter 4, verses 15 through 16. It says that Esther sent this reply to Mordecai.
God, go gather together all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me.
Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. And when this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.
She she hits this difficult crossroad of trying to decide what she's going to do.
And I believe that as she considers the providential hand of God, her response is, fast for me.
Spend three days. That's essentially saying, spend three days. All of the Jews seeking God on my behalf, asking that he would give me favor.
What I love about it is that she didn't go, okay, I'm going to use my power and position to go and woo the king to do what is right. It wasn't about power and position.
It was about a recognition that she needed God to move on her behalf. She was trusting in his providential hand, even to the point that she says, I will go to the King, and if I perish, I perish.
What faith this passage leaves us almost in this hanging moment here at the end of chapter four. It doesn't resolve. We're going to move into the next part next week. But there is this moment where there are prayers being lifted up over this woman that God would move to save his people, and she is placing her dependence wholly upon him.
And I would just simply ask you, as we sit there this morning, when doing what is right comes at a cost, will you trust God enough to stand every single day? As I said, we face the temptation and the pressures of this world to compromise on who we are and not to stand up for God or to stand up for what is right.
And I would just ask you these couple of reflection questions this morning. Letter A. Where is God calling you to stand as we read the Scripture and we talk about it together? What's the Holy Spirit speaking into your heart this morning?
Where is it that he wants you to stand? Is it an area of holiness, of being separate from the world and not compromising and giving in?
Is there a situation or an injustice that you have seen that requires that you would stand up for what is right even if it might cost you something?
Where is it that God is calling you to stand and let her be? What are you afraid of losing that's real?
Anytime we face the idea of potential loss, it causes us to pause and stop saying what is right? And we think about, do I really want to give this up? But the bigger question is letter C. Are you willing to trust God with the outcome because you believe that his providential hand is guiding your life and that even if you lose something, what he has for you is far greater?
So, church, are we the type of people in a world and a culture that's trying to pull us away from that dependence and faith up upon God? Are we the kind of people that are going to say, I will trust in God's providence and do what is right in his eyes so that the world would know him?
Would you pray with me? Father, I give you praise and thanks this morning for the time that we have had together in your word.
And Father, as I think about this, the thing that comes causes us to stand for what is right, to live our lives in such a way that it honors you and that we walk into all of the things that you have for us. We do this because of your faithfulness, Father. Over the years you have proven yourself to us time and again through the centuries, through the eras. Lord, you have proven to us that you are faithful.
And even as we reflect on our own lives, we've seen your hands move in so many different ways. Where you have shown us that you are active, you are present, and that you are working all things together for your glory, but also for our good and for the purposes of eternity.
And so, Father, teach us to rely and trust on who we know that you are and to trust in your goodness.
That, Father, as we rely on your faithfulness, that we would be found, found faithful to you in this world.
And we pray this God so that you would refine us in such a way that the world would know you.
In your name we pray. Amen.
[01:14:10] Speaker B: I'm holding on to faith.
Cause I know you'll make a way.
[01:14:21] Speaker E: And I don't always understand and I don't know is get to see.
But I will believe it.
I will believe it.
You make mountains move, you make giants fall.
You use songs of praise to shake prison walls.
I will speak to my fear, I will preach reaching my d.
You are faithful then you'll be faithful now.
And I'm standing on your word.
Calling heaven down to earth.
You will fight my enemies and this will end in victory.
I will believe it.
Yes, I will believe it.
You make mountains, you make giants fall.
You use songs of praise to shake prison walls. So I will speak to my fear.
I will preach to my doubt.
You were faithful then, you'll be faithful now. Oh you are faithful there faithful now And I know that I know you never fail And I know that I know you never will Yes, I know that I know you never fail Yes, I know that I know you never hell, you make mountains move, you make g fall you use songs of praise to break down prison walls and walls I will speak to my fear, Lord I will preach my town you are f be faithful now.
You make mountains move you make GS to shake prison walls So I will speak to my fear Oh, I will preach to my doub you
[01:17:25] Speaker C: you'll be faithful now? Yes, you are faithful then you'll be faithful now.
Yes, he is.
Church family. As we close our service this morning, again, our prayer team is going to be here at the front. If there are any prayer needs that you have, they would love the opportunity to minister you today. I just invite you to come. As our service closes to the front here as well. I want to remind you that next Sunday we're going to take kind of a one week break in our series because it is going to be Baptism Sunday next Sunday, which we're very excited about.
And if you have never been a part of Baptism Sunday here at Westgate, let me tell you, it is a special, special time for us as a church as we celebrate what God is doing and people, people's lives. And they, no pun intended, really intended, they dive in deep with him. And so we are, we are excited to celebrate and to hear stories. I encourage you to come invite your friends to witness what God is doing in the lives of people here within our congregation. And I'll just say this, if you've never been baptized, if you've never taken that step of publicly professing your love for Jesus and commitment and desire to follow him with your life, it is not too late to be a part. I'd encourage you to grab a connection card today if you're like, hey, you know what, I'd like to at least talk to somebody about that, or I want to take that step. Put your name on that card, write baptism really big. Give me a phone number or email and drop it in the giving box in the back, bring it to me. We would love for you to be a part of that service with us next week. And so if you feel like, you know what, it's time for me to take that step. God has been pushing me in this area and now is the time. We would love for you to participate with us next Sunday.
Church family, as you go out.
Our culture in our world is desperately trying to pull us away from the Lord and to cause us to compromise.
Don't allow it to steal your light.
Stay firm in who you are as a follower of Jesus Christ and in your faith and trust in Him.
Do what is right at all times in the eyes of of the Lord and trust in his providential care in leading in your life so that your life will be a reflection to others of who he is, that they might find and follow Him. God bless you as you go out and serve him this week. We'll see you next Sunday.
