God Works in the Ordinary

Introduction

• Hello friends, it is good to be worshipping together in this physical space here at Jericho Centre together.
  • My name is Brady, and I am part of the staff team here at Jericho Ridge.
  • As we start our teaching time today, I want you to do me a favour and think of a time that you felt like you had to do something that seemed extraordinary difficult or impossible to do.
  • For many parents, it could be when you first child is born, and you have no idea how to care and raise them.
  • It could be in your finances, where it seems nearly impossible to put food on the table for your family or make rent each month.
  • Or as a student, it could be walking into a test or an exam with absolutely no confidence that you will pass. I have definitely been there before.
• Today we are going to see a conversation between Esther and her uncle, Mordecai, as they try and navigate the impossible themselves.
  • Really the crux of the issue for them is how do we know God is calling into a space and how do we respond to such callings.
  • And as we go through our text today, I really want us to understand both Esther and Mordecai’s perspective throughout this conversation and hopefully come to the realization that both play an essential role in this story.
  • But before we get too far ahead of ourselves let’s have a quick refresher on where we are in the story…

Recap

• The book of Esther takes place at about 500 BCE in the Persian Empire with King Xeres as its current ruler. Just recently, Esther has become Queen under King Xeres.
  • We also have Mordecai, who is Esther’s uncle. Mordecai is the one that encouraged Esther to even become queen in the first place.
  • Just last week with Pastor Brad we saw Mordecai in chapter 3 refuse to bow down to the story’s main antagonist, Haman.
  • Out of vengeance, Haman convinced and bribed King Xeres that all of the Jews, including Mordecai, were to be slaughtered in eleven months.

Story

• So that’s where we pick up today in Esther 4 with Mordecai, who is now mourning and processing after finding about the impending genocide that Haman orchestrated last week in Esther 3.
  • Let’s read together in Esther 4 starting in vs. 1. (NLT)
    • 1 When Mordecai learned about all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on burlap and ashes, and went out into the city, crying with a loud and bitter wail.
    • (Note this next part is important)
    • 2 [Mordecai] went as far as the gate of the palace, for no one was allowed to enter the palace gate while wearing clothes of mourning.
  • The practice of mourning in burlap publicly was quite common in Old Testament times.
  • Burlap, or otherwise called sackcloth, was typically this course shirt or gown made out of goat hair and was traditionally used to indicate mourning
  • So it was not incredibly uncommon during this time period for this to happen, although it is a cause for concern for Esther.
• Continuing in vs. 4, we see that Esther is immediately deeply distressed when she hears about Mordecai. Yet, she does not know the source of Mordecai’s mourning.
  • Naturally, Esther wants to know why her uncle is in such distress, but she can’t see him because Mordecai is not adequately dressed to be in the King’s palace.
  • So, she sends one of her maids to bring Mordecai clothes, but he refuses to change out of burlap.
  • The writer here doesn’t really explain why Mordecai refuses the clothes, so we are left to wonder that much, but it does really show that Esther and Mordecai’s relationship is really growing apart now that Esther lives in the palace.
  • This really sets the scene now for this conversation between Esther and Mordecai through a middleman, Hathach (hay-thack), one of Esther’s servants.
• Mordecai then goes on to tell Esther the whole situation of Haman threatening to kill of the Jews in the Persian Empire in eleven months.
  • He then continues to tell Esther he must go to King Xeres and “beg for mercy and plead her people” (vs.8)
  • Notice the power dynamic in this conversation friends. Throughout the book so far, we see Mordecai calling all of the shots, not Esther.
    • He was the one who made Esther queen
    • He told Esther to keep her Jewish background a secret
    • And so on…
  • So here again he tries to control Esther’s actions even from a far
• Esther’s response is a pragmatic one, she says this in vs. 11:
  • “All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days.”
  • Instead of just jumping at Moredcai’s instructions, Esther for the first time in this story takes her own autonomy back and questions Mordecai’s instructions
• I also want to remind us of the social realities at this time in the Persian Empire
  • While Esther may be married to King Xeres, they do not have any sort of partnership.
  • Instead, Xeres probably does not think of Esther as much more than a status symbol at best, and sex object at worst.
  • As we know, King Xeres holds no reservations about banishing his Queens. As he did with Queen Vashti in Esther 1.
• Okay let’s hear Mordecai’s response to Esther’s warning in vs 13-14:
  • “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. 14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
  • Debra Reid in her commentary breaks Mordecai’s jammed pack response into three elements for us (Reid, 6);
    • Mordecai is highlighting that as a Jew herself, Esther is in just as much danger as the rest of her family
    • The Jews will be saved with or without Esther – Mordecai’s faith in God is apparent here, though never explicitly mentioned
    • Esther’s life purpose is at stake
  • Again, Mordecai’s faith here is so clear without mentioning God himself. He continues to be confident that God’s people will be saved even if his own family dies at Haman’s hands.
  • Mordecai, however, is also confident that it is his niece’s role to deliver the Jews in this moment.
• At the end of Esther 4, we see Esther ultimately agree with Mordecai and decide she must risk her own life in an attempt to save the Jewish people.
  • But what does she do first? She instructs Mordecai and the Jews in vs 16 to go fast and pray alongside her for three days.
  • Fasting is something we may do at times to eliminate something from our lives for a period of time and replace it with connecting with God. In this case, Esther tells her people to fast from food and drink which is probably the most common type of fasting in Old Testament times.
  • I want us to notice the shift here in Esther and Mordecai’s relationship, Mordecai is no longer calling the shots, it is now Esther at the helm and her first action is to refocus herself and her people towards God and invite the Holy Spirit in to guide and counsel her before she risks her life for the Jewish people.
    • “Esther accepted Mordecai’s reasoning, but she needed the spiritual support from her people” (Smith, 4:16)
  • And lastly, Esther ends off the chapter with the famous phrase, “If I must die, I must die” (or “If I perish, I perish” (NIV))
    • While this may sound a tad bit fatalistic on Esther’s part here it really is the opposite
    • This language is indicative of Esther’s commitment to fulfilling God’s calling for her life
    • It also shows both Esther’s courage and fear and no, those two descriptors are not opposite of one another…”for courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear” (Hollingworth)

Esther

• I would like us to pause here for a moment and ask you to recall that memory of yours that we talked about at the beginning. An experience that seemed extraordinarily difficult or impossible.
  • It does not have to be as dramatic as Esther’s story, but we have all been there.
  • For me, I could say trying to preach a sermon at my church with no bible college experience. Just a random example…
  • I hope you still have that example in your mind because now I want you to ask yourself, “Were you fearful throughout that experience?” I’m going to go ahead and answer for you and say you probably had some level of fear or anxiety throughout that experience.
  • But, did you also still face that challenge?
  • Where was God throughout that experience?
• Friends, I promise you, God was alongside you and the Holy Spirit within you throughout that process.
  • While in times of fear, God can feel so distant and hard to reach out to, but he is always there cheering for you
  • Particularly in the book of Esther, God is seemingly always absent and yet as we have said over and over again throughout this series he is working in the Ancient Persian Empire, just as he is working here today as well
• The classic question for any follower of Jesus, is this:
  • If God is truly working right now in our community, then what is God’s plan for my life?
  • Friends this can be incredibly hard and tiring work.
  • God unfortunately does not just email us a roadmap for his plan for our life, instead he reveals it to us in real time.
• Just two weeks ago here at Jericho Centre we held a grad celebration for our high school and university graduates.
  • And a question that they have all faced, or are still facing is, “God, what next?”
    • God what are you calling me to do next in my life?
  • I confidently know that they all struggled with as a current university student myself going into his final year at Trinity Western University.
    • Almost daily I grapple with this question, “God, what do you have next for me?”
    • I was originally planning on becoming a High School Social Studies teacher for a while until last year I felt that was not for me.
    • Now I am just finishing up a degree in International Studies in the realm of policy making.
      • I promise it’s fun, you just need to be a nerd like me.
    • For nearly 18 months now I have been working here at Jericho Ridge as our Digital Ministry Director and the concept of maybe working in ministry as a career has begun to take root.
    • Friends, I promise I am not even close to figuring out where to go next right now and invite you to pray into that with me over the coming year
  • This is really what God calls us to do – when we are lost and ensure what to do, to just pause and pray
    • Esther models so well for us at the end of Esther 4
    • Esther does not know what’s next or what she’s being called to do, she is scared and confused
    • And as we saw her, and her people, fast and pray for three days
  • And friends this does not have to be some Old Testament practice that we disregard. It can also be a simple and helpful tool that we use today
    • In early June I felt God really stirring a lot of questions in me of what my future looked like and just felt the need to be still (vs?) and pray with God.
    • So that’s what I did, I took 2.5 days where all I did was rest and pray, no people, no work or school.
    • You will be surprised how quickly these two and a half days went by!
    • You are probably thinking, “Wow Brady, that sounds incredibly boring why would you want that?”
    • Honestly, I thought the same going into it too
    • But creating space like that does not have to be this uber-religious thing where you are on your knees for eight hours praying
    • It can be as simple as saying, “God, I devote this weekend/morning/hour to you, to be with you, to pray to you, and to listen to you”
    • Do not hear what I am not saying, you are not going to solve all of your problems throughout this process. But, your trust and faith in Christ will continue to grow.
  • After two or so days of my time with God, I came up with the illustration that I am stuck “in the fog”
    • What is God calling me to do? In my career, in my education, in my relationships…
    • Notice here that I am not saying I am lost in the fog but simply in the thick of it right now
    • And that comfort has largely come from my time in prayer and talking things out with my family and friends
    • Having someone alongside to just listen to you and speak into you can be a powerful thing, friends
  • Maybe you are feeling a bit lost in the fog yourself right now and can’t seem to hear what God is calling you to right now
    • If that is you, I would encourage you to reach out – I would love to hear where you are in your life journey
    • We also have an incredible pastoral team here at Jericho that would love to walk alongside you
    • Other incredible resources could be someone like a spiritual director that could help you identify where God is actively working in your life
    • Or maybe you are struggle with a trauma in your life and a counsellor could step in and help you work at healing from that experience

Mordecai

• Before we finish our teaching time today, I think it would be wise if we tried to look at this interaction from Mordecai’s shoes for a little bit.
  • In reaching through this passage and praying on it, it really struck me how crucial Mordecai’s role in this story truly is.
  • At the end of the day, without Mordecai, Esther would not have been aware of Haman’s plans nor have the courage to act on it. Mordecai truly orchestrates her future engagement with King Xeres (bit of a spoiler!)
  • This often gets missed as well as we often focus on the heroine of the story, Esther.
• Mordecai as well throughout Esther 4 displays an incredible amount of faith and courage himself.
  • We saw his faithfulness of God’s protection over the Jews in vs 14
  • And his courage to even go to the palace gates and alert Queen Esther to what was happening in the city
  • In contrast to Esther’s task-at-hand, Mordecai’s actions can seem minuscule, but friends rest assured that God was calling Mordecai into action just like He called Esther to action
• The same applies for you and me today
  • It is so easy to see all these extraordinary things happening around the world
  • I think of the continuing to discovery of unmarked graves left behind at residential schools for indigenous students
  • Or the continuing fight against systemic racism throughout the world
  • But massively intimidating topics like this should not distract us from listening to what God is calling us to do nor should it diminish the good works that we do on a regular basis
• At the end of the day friends, not all of us are going to be the Esthers in the world. Leading the charge, risking our lives, or launching into space…
  • Could you imagine us doing worship one Sunday morning where all of our worship leaders tried to be the main vocalist at once? Just four people at the same time trying to lead…
  • If you don’t know much about worship music, I will tell you, it would not be a great time and you would probably need to leave because of a massive headache.
  • That’s why we have one worship leader, and a couple people signing harmonies to support the lead
• The reality is, God more often than not is calling us to sing harmonies like Mordecai
  • That’s okay!
  • We need Mordecais in the world and more importantly our Esthers need a Mordecai to support and ground them
  • “In God’s providence each person has a unique task”, that is equally as valuable to the body of Christ (Breneman, 4:14)
  • And the completion of those tasks is an act of worship to God
• Now, I know what you are thinking, ‘Brady, how does one act like a Mordecai?’
  • I think if we all ask ourselves two questions, we can quickly identify ways to get there:
• Who is God putting on my heart and why?
  • Maybe at the dinner table you just talk it out with your partner or reflect inwardly, who in your life may be going through the fog
  • During this process try and hold a listening posture towards God
  • Ask him: Lord how are you calling me to serve and support this person in this time?
  • And it truly can be as simple as asking someone how they are doing
  • Or pointing out something you see in them
• I know for me this has been so impactful and is really why I am up here sharing today.
  • A few months ago, I was chatting with Pastor Jenna about some work stuff and it eventually came to a place of her saying that she would love to hear me deliver a message on Sunday morning one day
  • Now, at the time, I kind of played it off saying I would never be able or willing to do that
  • But friends, that started such a strong stirring in my heart that God did not let me ignore and now I am here!
  • Thanks Jenna
• How can I serve my… church/community/school?
  • This does not have to be this huge thing but can start by just serving your neighbor well
  • Good examples of this would be our K@TR volunteers upstairs right now who are creating a safe and loving space to explore
• Or, just recently with the crisis up in Lytton, BC; we saw massive food drives and crisis response carried out by fellow British Columbians
  • For example, one of our younger members, Grace, held a lemonade stand to raise money for Lytton relief
  • And Liz and Larry went to Katzie First Nations and helped pack and load boxes that were headed up to Lytton
• These members of our church community are not solving the entire Lytton crisis but instead serving as they are able and feel called to.
  • This is kind of what Mordecai was doing, he was doing his little part in the massive crisis in the Persian Empire.
  • Esther had her part to play in a big way, Mordecai had his in a smaller way
  • As you go home today, I would encourage you to think about what is your part to play? What is God inviting you to do this week?
• In just a few moments, Jared and the team are going to lead us in a time of responding through sung worship.
  • Maybe you are feeling like you are in the fog and are struggling to identify what God is calling you to next. Then take the lead from Esther and invest some time in prayer and in fasting. Seeking God and asking for God to reveal your next step to you.
  • Maybe you know what that next step is but you are resisting what God has in store for your life out of anxiety or fear
  • These next two songs really focus on surrendering yourself to God’s plans and his love
  • No matter where you are at, I would encourage you to bring your whole self before God as we sing together
• As always, our pastoral team would love to walk alongside you and pray with you, if you would like
  • At any time, you are welcome to head to the back and start that conversation with God together
• Let’s join the worship team in response, whether it is through prayer or singing