Esther 5:9-14
Pride
Last time we saw the courage of Esther. She knew she needed to approach the King about the slaughter and destruction of her people. But she also knew that if the King rejected her, she could lose her life.
She prayed and fasted with Mordecai and the rest of the Jews in the area for three days. Then she prepared herself. She got all dressed up and she waited. She waited outside of the King’s court.
She waited to see if the King would notice her. Sure enough, the King does. But not just noticed her in a physical way, rather the King actually notices that something is wrong with her mental or emotional state.
The King asks what is wrong. Esther simply requests his presence, along with his right hand man Haman, at a banquet she has prepared for them. The King agrees and has a good time, so Esther invites them back for another party the next day.
In the meantime, where our Scripture picks up this morning. We see Haman heading home to his family. Along the way he sees Mordecai and became very angry again that this Jew would not bow down to him.
But he was able to control his anger and continued his journey to his house. When he got home Haman invited some of his friends and family over for a get together. Haman starts to brag about his accomplishments and how many children he has and how rich he is and how the king promoted him above all others.
Not only that, but the fact that the Queen invited him to a party today and tomorrow as well and no one else was invited. But he says, “there is this Jew that does not honor me.”
His family and friends tell him to build a gallows and hang the Jew from it. Of course, this sounds like a good idea to Haman so he orders the gallows to be built.
Haman’s pride is out on display here in full force. He is showing off to his family and friends and bragging about how great he is. Isn’t is amazing how this man can he think he is on top and yet a little man like Mordecai can ruin his whole day!
Isn’t it also interesting to see how Haman’s family and friends feed his pride and arrogance and encourage him to have Mordecai executed.
Pride is one of those tough things to deal with. I mean we all have some pride right? I am sure when your children did well in school you were proud of them right? It is only natural and it is healthy and Godly.
I take pride in my work. I try to do the best job that I can do given the circumstances. Sometimes I can do a better job than others, but at the end of the day I have to believe I gave it my best shot.
I don’t do that just for me. I do it for the honor and glory of God. He has given me the ability to do the things that I do, so I try to do my best for His honor.
But pride can also be like a disease. We can sum it up by thinking that we know better than anyone else. We are experts in everything. We are never wrong. If it turns out we were wrong, then we make excuses and argue rather than “fessing” up and saying, I was wrong.
Pride insists on being in the spot light. Being the center of attention. This usually involves elevating yourself and belittling others and causing conflict. The Pharisees loved the best seats in the synagogue. Why? Because they were filled with pride.
Jesus tells us that the proud love to hear praises from people. Of course, we know that those praises will be their only reward, they will certainly get no heavenly acclamations for that.
The opposite of pride is humility. We have talked a lot about that during our series in the Gospel of Mark. The humble person may never hear a praise from others here on earth, but we know they will receive their reward in heaven.
God hates pride. Pride made sin a reality way back in the garden of Eden. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.”
The apostle Paul is a great example of a humble servant of God. And God kept him from become proud. As we know, Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews’. He had the perfect upbringing and training in the Jewish faith.
Then he is converted to Christ, to Christianity. Paul teaches and preaches the Gospel. He sets up and leads many churches. He oversees the spiritual growth of many. He is inspired to write about half of the New Testament. Here is a man that could truly be proud.
But Paul knew it wasn’t him. Paul knew it was God doing the work. And Paul knew that God was keeping him humble.
In Paul’s Second letter to the Corinthian church, he mentions that thorn in his flesh. We don’t know what that thorn was, but it caused Paul some trouble. Paul prayed and begged God to remove it. But God would not.
Why? Because that is what God used to keep Paul from losing his humility and becoming filled with pride.
Pride seems to be so natural for many of us today. As I mentioned, we are all proud of some things, especially our children. But listen to some conversations this week. I suspect you will notice someone telling a story and then the other person tries to “one up” that story. They are more proud of their story than they are interested in hearing your story.
Don’t feed pride like Haman’s family did. Instead when you hear someone boasting, simply say something like, “Wow, God has really blessed you!”
But what about you? Examine your heart this week, look at your actions and attitudes and see if there is any self-pride in them. If so, pray that God will do whatever needs to be done to remove that pride from you.
Closing Prayer
Lord, so often in this world today we are focused on ourselves and we forget that all things come from you. Thank you for blessing us in so many ways. Give us your vision for our lives.
Enable us to see our pride and remove it. Help us to humbly serve you with our lives.
AMEN
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Courage
Esther 5:1-8
Courage
Last week, we read about Mordecai and Esther finding out about the plan to exterminate the Jews. They discuss between themselves what needs to be done. And it is finally decided upon that Esther must approach the King and plead for mercy.
But before she does that she tells Mordecai to gather the Jews in the area and fast for 3 days and she and her servants will do the same. Fasting is a way of showing a grieved heart and soul. It is a way of becoming closer with God.
During a fast you block out worldly things and focus on God. Today most people only fast for medical reasons and even then it seems like such a sacrifice. But here we see all of the Jews fasting for 3 days to get in tune with God.
Then comes the action. After the third day of the fast, Esther gets dressed up real nice and pretty, goes to the King’s inner court and waits. She waits for the King to notice her. And sure enough, the King does notice her. And he extends his royal scepter to her, meaning he welcomed her presence.
As we have seen with the king so far, he doesn’t really pay much attention to what is going on. Remember, his first wife refused to come to him so he got rid of her because that is what his advisors said. And he signed the decree to kill the Jews because that is what Hayman said to do.
So the king isn’t one to really think for himself. But here he sees his beautiful wife and notice what the New American Standard text says in verse 3, “Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request?”
Amazingly the king actually had a thought of his own. He recognized something was bothering his wife and he was genuinely concerned for her.
Esther requests the presence of the King and his right hand man Hayman at a special banquet she has prepared for them.
Esther believed God’s hand was at work in this situation. How do I know that? Because she had the courage to approach the King. A man that could have you killed. Not only that, but she invited the guy who wanted to kill her and her people.
But Esther believed, she had faith. She knew the King would come, she had everything prepared for the King. What an example of faith, confidence, and dedication.
Esther had a plan. No doubt during the fast the plan came together as she followed God’s lead. She had a plan. Make the king notice her, so she doesn’t get killed. Get the king interested in her, so she can please the king. And then get the king to come back for more, so she can accomplish her goal of saving her people.
Esther was indeed prepared and had a plan, but she still trusted in God to strengthen her and see this plan through.
Often times, we too have plans. But do we leave God out of those plans. Or do we consult with God to see what he wants us to do?
It takes courage to live as a Christian in this world today. Sometimes I suspect our plans would go real well with what God wants. Sometimes our plans are not God’s. Sometimes we go places where we really wouldn’t want God to go.
But you know what. God is there. If we are true Christians then we have the Spirit of God living inside of us and wherever we go, we take God with us. So as you make plans, check in with God to see if that is where He wants to go.
It takes courage, because sometimes you will have to say no to your friends or family members. And sometimes you will have to say yes to God and go somewhere or do something that you don’t really want to do on an earthly level, but it is what He wants.
So we need courage and we can only get that courage through God. One author wrote, “Courage is the power to do well when the air is turbulent and the going gets tough. It is having the character to do well when things are tempting, when things are painful.”
It is easy to be a parent when your child is an A+ honor student, but it takes a lot of courage when your child gets mixed up in the wrong crowd and is harming themselves or others.
“Courage is the power to do well in the face of a threat – to your life, to your security, to your future, to the things you hold dear.”
Esther had faith and courage. And God honored that. Everything went as planned for her. She stepped up and did what was right and God honored that. His hand was upon her.
Think about what is keeping you from living courageously? Is it worldly pressures or possessions? Is it lack of strength and faith?
Whatever it is, take it to God. Ask him to strengthen you; to increase your faith, to increase your courage to see you through your difficult situation. And He will do it.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank You for the strength and courage that you have given each one of us. On the outside we may appear calm and collected, but you know our insides as well. You know our thoughts, our anxieties, and our fears.
Help us with those things that we are afraid of. It is something different for each of us. Maybe we are afraid of being jobless, of being sick, of being alone, or of pain in our aging years.
We offer these fears to you and ask you who knows no fear to give us courage to face our challenges and do what it is that you want us to do.
AMEN
Courage
Last week, we read about Mordecai and Esther finding out about the plan to exterminate the Jews. They discuss between themselves what needs to be done. And it is finally decided upon that Esther must approach the King and plead for mercy.
But before she does that she tells Mordecai to gather the Jews in the area and fast for 3 days and she and her servants will do the same. Fasting is a way of showing a grieved heart and soul. It is a way of becoming closer with God.
During a fast you block out worldly things and focus on God. Today most people only fast for medical reasons and even then it seems like such a sacrifice. But here we see all of the Jews fasting for 3 days to get in tune with God.
Then comes the action. After the third day of the fast, Esther gets dressed up real nice and pretty, goes to the King’s inner court and waits. She waits for the King to notice her. And sure enough, the King does notice her. And he extends his royal scepter to her, meaning he welcomed her presence.
As we have seen with the king so far, he doesn’t really pay much attention to what is going on. Remember, his first wife refused to come to him so he got rid of her because that is what his advisors said. And he signed the decree to kill the Jews because that is what Hayman said to do.
So the king isn’t one to really think for himself. But here he sees his beautiful wife and notice what the New American Standard text says in verse 3, “Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request?”
Amazingly the king actually had a thought of his own. He recognized something was bothering his wife and he was genuinely concerned for her.
Esther requests the presence of the King and his right hand man Hayman at a special banquet she has prepared for them.
Esther believed God’s hand was at work in this situation. How do I know that? Because she had the courage to approach the King. A man that could have you killed. Not only that, but she invited the guy who wanted to kill her and her people.
But Esther believed, she had faith. She knew the King would come, she had everything prepared for the King. What an example of faith, confidence, and dedication.
Esther had a plan. No doubt during the fast the plan came together as she followed God’s lead. She had a plan. Make the king notice her, so she doesn’t get killed. Get the king interested in her, so she can please the king. And then get the king to come back for more, so she can accomplish her goal of saving her people.
Esther was indeed prepared and had a plan, but she still trusted in God to strengthen her and see this plan through.
Often times, we too have plans. But do we leave God out of those plans. Or do we consult with God to see what he wants us to do?
It takes courage to live as a Christian in this world today. Sometimes I suspect our plans would go real well with what God wants. Sometimes our plans are not God’s. Sometimes we go places where we really wouldn’t want God to go.
But you know what. God is there. If we are true Christians then we have the Spirit of God living inside of us and wherever we go, we take God with us. So as you make plans, check in with God to see if that is where He wants to go.
It takes courage, because sometimes you will have to say no to your friends or family members. And sometimes you will have to say yes to God and go somewhere or do something that you don’t really want to do on an earthly level, but it is what He wants.
So we need courage and we can only get that courage through God. One author wrote, “Courage is the power to do well when the air is turbulent and the going gets tough. It is having the character to do well when things are tempting, when things are painful.”
It is easy to be a parent when your child is an A+ honor student, but it takes a lot of courage when your child gets mixed up in the wrong crowd and is harming themselves or others.
“Courage is the power to do well in the face of a threat – to your life, to your security, to your future, to the things you hold dear.”
Esther had faith and courage. And God honored that. Everything went as planned for her. She stepped up and did what was right and God honored that. His hand was upon her.
Think about what is keeping you from living courageously? Is it worldly pressures or possessions? Is it lack of strength and faith?
Whatever it is, take it to God. Ask him to strengthen you; to increase your faith, to increase your courage to see you through your difficult situation. And He will do it.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank You for the strength and courage that you have given each one of us. On the outside we may appear calm and collected, but you know our insides as well. You know our thoughts, our anxieties, and our fears.
Help us with those things that we are afraid of. It is something different for each of us. Maybe we are afraid of being jobless, of being sick, of being alone, or of pain in our aging years.
We offer these fears to you and ask you who knows no fear to give us courage to face our challenges and do what it is that you want us to do.
AMEN
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Be Responsible
Scripture Reading - Esther 4:12-17
Be Responsible
Last week in Esther chapter 3 we learned that a man named Haman was made head of security for the King after Mordecai discovered a plot by some officers to kill the King. Everyone was to bow down and pay honor to Haman, but Mordecai would not.
Some of the other security guards saw that Mordecai was not bowing down to Haman and they repeatedly came and asked Mordecai why he would not bow down. Mordecai simply responded that he would not bow because he was a Jew.
Now we don’t know for sure if Mordecai was standing on the principle of the second commandment, which is idol worship, or if he was referring to the long running feud between his ancestors and Haman’s.
Either way, Haman becomes filled with fury. He is extremely upset and mad. But rather than punishing Mordecai for his actions, Haman decides to have the King destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews.
The King signs the decree to destroy all the Jews on a certain day. This is where our scripture picks up this morning in chapter 4. Mordecai heard about the King’s decree and was filled with sorrow.
He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and went out to the city gate wailing in grief and sorrow. Putting on sackcloth and ashes was an outward sign of an internal distress, shame, or sadness. Mordecai realized that he had prompted this genocidal retaliation by Haman.
Some of Queen Esther’s maids and eunuchs saw Mordecai weeping and wailing so they came to inform her of the situation. Esther immediately sent Mordecai some clothes so he could enter the king’s gate and talk with her directly, but he refused.
Instead Mordecai and Esther communicate through a trusted servant. Mordecai tells Esther to go to the King and plead for the mercy of her people.
At first, Esther reminded Mordecai of Kingly protocol. In other words, you didn’t approach the King unless he summoned you or else you could lose your life. It appears as though for whatever reason, the King had not contacted Esther for about a month.
Esther was obviously concerned for her life by being rejected by the King. Mordecai responds by saying that she too was a Jew and she would not survive the massacre either. Mordecai also believed that if Esther did not step up so to speak, that God would still find a way to deliver them from this trouble.
Mordecai had faith in God. He believed in God’s sovereignty and power to protect His people. He believed that God had a plan and would see that plan through. No doubt, he remembered God’s promise to Abraham.
In Genesis 12:2-3, God tells Abram “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Finally, Mordecai appeals to Esther’s faith by simply asking the question, who knows if this is what God would have you do? Maybe God put you in this position for this reason, so do what you need to do, not only for yourself and your people, but for God.
Esther then agrees to visit the King, but only after she and her servants fast for three days and also Mordecai and the Jews he gathers together fast as well. Now the scripture here does not explicitly state that they prayed during this time, but I think it can be implied. Praying was and is usually a part of fasting.
And so they did according to the plan.
What an interesting turn in our story. Here we see a young girl struggle to do what was right. Think about it, we all have had to make tough decisions, but for Esther it was truly a matter of life and death.
Her decision really shows her character. She was willing to risk her life for her people. She knew the right thing to do, she had a moral responsibility to do what was right. And she did, but only after three days of prayer and fasting, gaining strength from God to do what he wanted her to do.
Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow Him. The story of Esther occurred about 400 to 500 years before Christ and here she is, taking up her cross and carrying out God’s will.
She trusted in God’s plan and she believed and listened to Mordecai once again. I think this goes to show you that we all need that personal role model in our lives. That person that we can trust. We can always trust God and sometimes God uses others to convey His message to us.
She had a problem and consulted with her trusted friend, but more importantly she took the matter to God through prayer and fasting.
How about you? Is that what you do? Fasting doesn’t seem to be a popular method of communing with God these days. Maybe we fast for medical or health reasons but rarely for God these days.
I think part of that is because we all live in a busy, noisy society. But it is important to take our troubles and worries to God.
And I don’t mean just knock on His door and drop them off and go about our business. I mean really focus on talking to and more importantly listening to God.
We need to remember that He has much more knowledge of the situation than we do. In fact, He has the big picture of it all. He also has more power, in fact ultimate power over the situation and He has an infinite amount of resources available to use.
The next time you are struggling with something, take it to the Lord and I mean really take it to Him fully. Focus your life on Him and He will respond. He may not tell you what you want to hear, but trust Him and He will take care of you.
We have a responsibility to ourselves, to others, especially the body of Christ, but most importantly we have a responsibility to God. We need to do what is right and what He wants us to do.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank You for helping us in our times of need. Help us to be responsible and to do the right thing in all situations. Help us to do what you want us to do. We are so thankful that you do not turn our backs on us, even when we fail you.
Give us the knowledge and wisdom to know and do what it is that you would have us to do and give us the courage to do it.
AMEN
Be Responsible
Last week in Esther chapter 3 we learned that a man named Haman was made head of security for the King after Mordecai discovered a plot by some officers to kill the King. Everyone was to bow down and pay honor to Haman, but Mordecai would not.
Some of the other security guards saw that Mordecai was not bowing down to Haman and they repeatedly came and asked Mordecai why he would not bow down. Mordecai simply responded that he would not bow because he was a Jew.
Now we don’t know for sure if Mordecai was standing on the principle of the second commandment, which is idol worship, or if he was referring to the long running feud between his ancestors and Haman’s.
Either way, Haman becomes filled with fury. He is extremely upset and mad. But rather than punishing Mordecai for his actions, Haman decides to have the King destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews.
The King signs the decree to destroy all the Jews on a certain day. This is where our scripture picks up this morning in chapter 4. Mordecai heard about the King’s decree and was filled with sorrow.
He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and went out to the city gate wailing in grief and sorrow. Putting on sackcloth and ashes was an outward sign of an internal distress, shame, or sadness. Mordecai realized that he had prompted this genocidal retaliation by Haman.
Some of Queen Esther’s maids and eunuchs saw Mordecai weeping and wailing so they came to inform her of the situation. Esther immediately sent Mordecai some clothes so he could enter the king’s gate and talk with her directly, but he refused.
Instead Mordecai and Esther communicate through a trusted servant. Mordecai tells Esther to go to the King and plead for the mercy of her people.
At first, Esther reminded Mordecai of Kingly protocol. In other words, you didn’t approach the King unless he summoned you or else you could lose your life. It appears as though for whatever reason, the King had not contacted Esther for about a month.
Esther was obviously concerned for her life by being rejected by the King. Mordecai responds by saying that she too was a Jew and she would not survive the massacre either. Mordecai also believed that if Esther did not step up so to speak, that God would still find a way to deliver them from this trouble.
Mordecai had faith in God. He believed in God’s sovereignty and power to protect His people. He believed that God had a plan and would see that plan through. No doubt, he remembered God’s promise to Abraham.
In Genesis 12:2-3, God tells Abram “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Finally, Mordecai appeals to Esther’s faith by simply asking the question, who knows if this is what God would have you do? Maybe God put you in this position for this reason, so do what you need to do, not only for yourself and your people, but for God.
Esther then agrees to visit the King, but only after she and her servants fast for three days and also Mordecai and the Jews he gathers together fast as well. Now the scripture here does not explicitly state that they prayed during this time, but I think it can be implied. Praying was and is usually a part of fasting.
And so they did according to the plan.
What an interesting turn in our story. Here we see a young girl struggle to do what was right. Think about it, we all have had to make tough decisions, but for Esther it was truly a matter of life and death.
Her decision really shows her character. She was willing to risk her life for her people. She knew the right thing to do, she had a moral responsibility to do what was right. And she did, but only after three days of prayer and fasting, gaining strength from God to do what he wanted her to do.
Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow Him. The story of Esther occurred about 400 to 500 years before Christ and here she is, taking up her cross and carrying out God’s will.
She trusted in God’s plan and she believed and listened to Mordecai once again. I think this goes to show you that we all need that personal role model in our lives. That person that we can trust. We can always trust God and sometimes God uses others to convey His message to us.
She had a problem and consulted with her trusted friend, but more importantly she took the matter to God through prayer and fasting.
How about you? Is that what you do? Fasting doesn’t seem to be a popular method of communing with God these days. Maybe we fast for medical or health reasons but rarely for God these days.
I think part of that is because we all live in a busy, noisy society. But it is important to take our troubles and worries to God.
And I don’t mean just knock on His door and drop them off and go about our business. I mean really focus on talking to and more importantly listening to God.
We need to remember that He has much more knowledge of the situation than we do. In fact, He has the big picture of it all. He also has more power, in fact ultimate power over the situation and He has an infinite amount of resources available to use.
The next time you are struggling with something, take it to the Lord and I mean really take it to Him fully. Focus your life on Him and He will respond. He may not tell you what you want to hear, but trust Him and He will take care of you.
We have a responsibility to ourselves, to others, especially the body of Christ, but most importantly we have a responsibility to God. We need to do what is right and what He wants us to do.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank You for helping us in our times of need. Help us to be responsible and to do the right thing in all situations. Help us to do what you want us to do. We are so thankful that you do not turn our backs on us, even when we fail you.
Give us the knowledge and wisdom to know and do what it is that you would have us to do and give us the courage to do it.
AMEN
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