Imperfect Esther Becomes Queen

June 27, 2021

JRCC Online

Esther: Truth to Power

“Imperfect Esther Becomes Queen”

Text: Esther 2

Thanks Jenna and welcome to our teaching time, friends. My name is Wally and I am on the Pastoral team here at Jericho Ridge.

• And this summer we are in a sermon series in the Book of Esther, entitled Truth to Power.
• Now, let me ask you, have you ever found yourself in a situation where you felt vastly under qualified or under prepared to speak or act?
• Perhaps you are facing something or someone right now where you know you should be standing up for truth, but just don’t feel like you’re the right person to do so…
• You’d rather avoid or run, than engage and act.
• Well, let me reassure you that you are not the first person to find yourself in such a situation and think of yourself in that light.

The account of Esther in the Old Testament, is a potent reminder that God calls imperfect individuals, like you and I, to accomplish his perfect plans.

• Esther reminds us that at any time, God can call you to be his voice and speak truth to power.
• Now you may hear that and be thinking, “Hold on! You don’t know me. There’s no way I’m going to ever allow myself to be put in that position.”
• I suppose you could be right, perhaps you will never be in such a situation, but in all likelihood, as we take a look at Esther’s story, God has something to say to you on this front.
• So I encourage you to be open to God’s word and stick with me as we move into Esther 2.

Last week, by way of review, Pastor Brad took us through chapter 1 and introduced us to King Ahasuerus or King Xerxes, which is his Greek name, and Queen Vashti.

• In summary, Xerxes, the king of Persia, was wrapping up a massive 6-month long party to display and flaunt his power and might to the known world.
• Xerxes was indeed the most powerful man on earth.
• His kingdom reigned from India to Africa to Greece, the entire known world … and he was reminding everyone of this grand fact.

Towards the end of his massive bash, while the wine was still flowing freely, he wanted to parade his wife before his guests to feed his ego even more.

• But Vashti refused to come.
• We can surmise that Vashti knew full well why a bunch of drunken power-hungry men wanted the beautiful Queen to come, and she was not about to put herself in that position.
• And so in all likelihood, she bravely made a principled stand for herself and on behalf of all women at the time.

Vashti’s (air quotes) “disobedient” decision embarrassed and enraged the king.

• So he consulted with his advisers and decided to dethrone the queen so that women in the kingdom wouldn’t get the wrong idea about being able to up-stage and disrespect their husbands by refusing their commands.
• The message was going to be crystal clear within the empire … on Xerxes’ watch, no woman would ever have such power or influence.
• And in place of Vashti, the king’s irrevocable decree in 1:19 stated that the king would choose a new queen more “worthy” than Vashti was.
• And I would encourage you, if you missed it, to go back and listen to Pastor Brad’s initial message on chapter 1 as it sets the stage and context for which we now move into.

We pick up the story in Esther 2,

• • 2 But after Xerxes’ anger had subsided, he began thinking about Vashti and what she had done and the decree he had made. 
• According to verses 1:3 and 2:16 approximately 4 years had passed during this time.
• In that time since Vashti was disposed of, king Xerxes had marched against the up and coming region of Greece with one of the largest Persian armies ever assembled.
• At the battle of Thermopylae, the mighty Persian army surrounded the Greeks, but the Greeks ultimately escaped.
• And even though Xerxes’ Persian army pursed and entered Greece and even destroyed Athens, Xerxes’ troops ultimately couldn’t contend with the Greek forces.

Xerxes and his army returned home to Susa frustrated, defeated, and once again furious.

• We can imagine this warrior king, angry and sulking in his palace.
• He would be walking past his throne room and staring at an empty Queen’s throne … no one to console him, pander to him, or take on the burden of his defeat.
• And 2:1 seems to indicate that king Xerxes is having regrets about getting rid of Vashti.
• Perhaps even reconsidering that Vashti’s actions had merit and that he had acted rashly and was now wishing he hadn’t done so.
• So much so, that some Jewish historians say that he once again acted rashly and had the advisor that encouraged him to dispose of Vashti, beheaded … which may be why his other advisors speak up in vs. 2-4.

² So his personal attendants suggested, “Let us search the empire to find beautiful young virgins for the king. ³ Let the king appoint agents in each province to bring these beautiful young women into the royal harem at the fortress of Susa. Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the harem, will see that they are all given beauty treatments. ⁴ After that, the young woman who most pleases the king will be made queen instead of Vashti.” This advice was very appealing to the king, so he put the plan into effect.

• The king’s attendants knew what would cheer up the king and let them keep their jobs, let alone their heads.
• Historians and the Book of Esther itself give us insight into the king’s frame of mind.
• Xerxes was prone to rash and erratic decisions, he was unpredictable and he ruled with absolute power.
• So his attendants decided a good plan of deflecting away from their role in removing Queen Vashti was that the king needed a new queen, a new subject, on the throne!
• Now, the king’s bed wasn’t empty.
• He definitely had a harem and concubines, but that wasn’t enough.
• His ego and protocol warranted a queen to be part of the royal palace.

But what these attendants were promoting wasn’t just a Queen’s beauty contest that any woman in the kingdom could choose to enter if they wanted to try and become Queen.

• It wasn’t your ancient version of “The Bachelor: Persian Edition”.
• Nor was this some noble search for a woman of great character and stature to come alongside the king and rule with wisdom and grace.
• To be blunt, this is more of a “Who has to be a sex object/Queen for the King?” decree.

Pastor Brad spoke last week of the horrible treatment women in the ancient world received at the hands of men.

• King Xerxes was at the pinnacle of such perpetrators.
• The king’s representatives were going to scour the entire kingdom to find young virgins who were the most beautiful in their region…
• But parents across the land weren’t just offering up their young daughters to this king.
• The king’s men were going to essentially kidnap them and place them in the haram in Susa under the watchful eye of Hegai, the head eunuch.
• And speaking of Hegai, we should note that sexual commodification during this time, wasn’t limited to females alone.
• Historians tell us that over 500 boys were regularly castrated and cycled through as eunuchs to work in the king’s palace and haram.
• Think of the brutality of that type of “amputation” in ancient times on young boys, again not by choice.
• This was a horrible time of sexual exploitation, commodification and cruelty for the sake of kings and power.

So king Xerxes is going to round up the most beautiful young women in the entire empire and they will participate in a “sex contest” to see who can please him most during a one-night stand.

• Jumping ahead, verses 12-14 give us further insight into the process,

¹² Before each young woman was taken to the king’s bed, she was given the prescribed twelve months of beauty treatments—six months with oil of myrrh, followed by six months with special perfumes and ointments. ¹³ When it was time for her to go to the king’s palace, she was given her choice of whatever clothing or jewelry she wanted to take from the harem. ¹⁴ That evening she was taken to the king’s private rooms, and the next morning she was brought to the second harem, where the king’s wives lived. There she would be under the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch in charge of the concubines. She would never go to the king again unless he had especially enjoyed her and requested her by name.

• This went on for 400 plus nights according to historians’ estimation of how many girls would have been rounded up from the vast regions of the empire.
• And for all but one of these women, the rest would live rejected as single unmarriable women, cut off from their families and society.
• Back to vs.4, where the text reads,
• This advice [this plan] was very appealing to the king, so he put the plan into effect.
• This verse alone should cause us to pause in anguish and disgust at the injustices that are about to take place.

Picking up the story back in chapter 2:5-7,

⁵ At that time there was a Jewish man in the fortress of Susa whose name was Mordecai son of Jair. He was from the tribe of Benjamin and was a descendant of Kish and Shimei. ⁶ His family had been among those who, with King Jehoiachin of Judah, had been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. ⁷ This man had a very beautiful and lovely young cousin, Hadassah, who was also called Esther. When her father and mother died, Mordecai adopted her into his family and raised her as his own daughter.

• We are now introduced to two more characters in our story, Mordecai and Esther herself.
• Mordecai we are told was a Jew, but he has a very Persian name in honor of their god, Marduk.
• In addition, he doesn’t just live in the city of Susa, but in the citadel, which means he probably has some sort of civil service job in the Persian government.
• Mordecai was an exile living in a foreign land who had moved up the ladder and for whatever reason had either not chosen or not been allowed to return to Jerusalem.
• At this point in history, both Xerxes dad and grandfather, the two previous Kings, had already been allowing Jews to return to Jerusalem.
• But Mordecai either was not allowed to leave (perhaps indicating his value to the Persian empire) or stayed by his own choice … either way, he kept his Persian name, status and lifestyle.
• So we see a Jewish man/family who is very intertwined with the Persian culture, which was not acceptable according to Jewish religion and law.

We are also told that Mordecai was raising his adopted cousin Hadassah, also known as Esther, which was her Persian name.

• What do know about Esther?
• Hadassah’s Persian name, Esther, means star and was in honor of the Persian god, Ishtar.
• We are told that she’s an orphan and very beautiful.
• We don’t know how or why her parents died or at what point she took on her Persian name.
• We do know from vs. 15 that her father’s name was Abihail, a Hebrew name meaning “father of strength/might” …
• Which may give us insight into what he stood for and perhaps why he was no longer alive within the Persian domain.
• Nevertheless, in the story, Esther is the only one with two different names, which seems to indicate that she lived in the transition and tension of two different worlds/cultures … one Jewish, which she kept hidden, and one Persian, which she was living outwardly.
• And it’s her Persian image along with her beauty and character that combine to allow her to find favour in the harem and ultimately with the king.

⁸ As a result of the king’s decree, Esther, along with many other young women, was brought to the king’s harem at the fortress of Susa and placed in Hegai’s care. ⁹ Hegai was very impressed with Esther and treated her kindly. He quickly ordered a special menu for her and provided her with beauty treatments. He also assigned her seven maids specially chosen from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.

 

¹⁰ Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had directed her not to do so. ¹¹ Every day Mordecai would take a walk near the courtyard of the harem to find out about Esther and what was happening to her.

Esther was one of hundreds of young girls taken and put under the care of Hegai.

• Did she put up a fight when taken?
• Did she try to hide or run?
• We aren’t told.
• Did Mordecai try to protect her? We don’t know.
• All we know is that he told her to hide her true identity.
• And now, she is under Hegai’s care and Hegai takes to Esther above all the other girls.
• He provides her with extra treatments and special foods, which again, would not have been kosher for a Jewish girl.
• Esther was also given a group of attendants and moved to the best place in the haram.
• She was still a captive, albeit with someone looking out for her and treating her extremely well.

Interestingly, one of the Hebrew root words associated with the name Esther, is “hide, conceal” or “to be hidden”.

• Mordecai seemed to be living as one hiding from his true identity and now he has commanded Esther not to reveal that she is a Jew.
• It’s a reminder that even in the pluralistic pagan society of Persia there remained anti-Semitism lingering from the time of Jewish exile.
• So Esther acted Persian, talked Persian, dressed Persian and no one ever suspected that she was Jewish.
• If they had, her life would most certainly have been in danger, which is why we have Mordecai keeping a daily watch, attempting to keep track of Esther … perhaps out of guilt for not making a stand based on his Jewish identity and trusting that his God, Yahweh would honor this and protect them for taking a faith stand.

Friends, this story is filled with conflicting choices, messages and characters who are a part of God’s people and plan.

• And yet, the story resides in the Scriptures in such a way that it does not overtly cast judgment on God’s people.
• I believe the reason for this is to be an example of a perfect, sovereign God using imperfect people to accomplish his perfect will … which, by the way, is still how God operates today with you and I.
• This is another story, not so much about the characters, but about God and his sovereign reign.

As Mordecai, with all his imperfections, tries to keep tabs on Esther, with all her imperfections … verses 12-14, which we read earlier, fill us in on what’s happening for Esther.

• In order to prepare for her one-night encounter with the king, it took a year’s worth of preparation.
• Again, speaking to the extremes of this king.
• Six months of oil and myrrh treatments.
• Six more months of perfumes and cosmetics.
• And then for the actual night, Esther could wear anything and could take anything she wanted with her.
• Imagine what would have been going through each girl’s mind that defining evening of their life.
• They must have been scared out of their minds … and yet, if by chance they were selected, they would become the Queen of the known world.
• But if not, in their defiled state, they would take a walk of shame and isolation to the haram of the concubines.
• Those girls would never be able to marry or have her own family, they would never be allowed to leave or enjoy a normal day in their neighbourhood.
• She would never even see the king again unless he wanted to have sex with her again.
• It truly was a terrible fate for these girls.

¹⁵ Esther was the daughter of Abihail, who was Mordecai’s uncle. (Mordecai had adopted his younger cousin Esther.) When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her. ¹⁶ Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal palace in early winter of the seventh year of his reign.

• Three years pass before Esther’s turn comes to go to the King.
• Imagine the realization that all the other women, night after night had been assaulted, rejected and tossed aside.
• Now it was Esther’s turn.

We are told that she was wise enough to ask and acquiesce to Hegai’s suggestions of what to take with her.

• But imagine that walk as young Jewish virgin … her heart undoubtedly pounding not knowing what to expect.
• Emotions running rampant.
• Did the guilt eat at her for sleeping with an uncircumcised pagan man?
• Did she think of her parents and feel incredible shame?
• Or was everything overridden by shear fear.
• All we know is that something happened that night that would change the course of history.

¹⁷ And the king loved Esther more than any of the other young women. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti. ¹⁸ To celebrate the occasion, he gave a great banquet in Esther’s honor for all his nobles and officials, declaring a public holiday for the provinces and giving generous gifts to everyone.

 

¹⁹ Even after all the young women had been transferred to the second harem and Mordecai had become a palace official, ²⁰ Esther continued to keep her family background and nationality a secret. She was still following Mordecai’s directions, just as she did when she lived in his home.

Mike Cosper, in his book “Faith Among the Faithless: Learning how to Live in a World Gone Mad,” describes Esther’s experience like this:

• “Preparing to meet the king took on a contest-like quality, each girl jockeying for the chance to become queen. Some probably sang, some danced or told stories; others looked for more salacious ways to entice and entertain the king. But in Esther, the king encountered something different. She was beautiful for sure but she had the character for winning the favour of everyone she met.

• Cosper goes on to say that while the other girls went to the king looking to delight his senses and massage his ego, Esther played on his greatest weakness.
• Remember, this was not Xerxes the great… this was a defeated and humiliated king wrapped up in his emotions.
• Somehow, Esther had the insight and ability to come with a different repertoire and work on the king’s humanity.
• Her plan was not to submit to the king, but to somehow remain under Mordecai’s oversight.
• And as a result, she miraculously “won” the contest.
• Yes, she was a defiled member of God’s people living a double life in a foreign land.
• And yes, she was still a captive to a pagan king.
• But at least she would not be banished into the haram of the concubines, never to be heard from again.

²¹ One day as Mordecai (now a palace official) was on duty at the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthana and Teresh—who were guards at the door of the king’s private quarters—became angry at King Xerxes and plotted to assassinate him. ²² But Mordecai heard about the plot and gave the information to Queen Esther. She then told the king about it and gave Mordecai credit for the report. ²³ When an investigation was made and Mordecai’s story was found to be true, the two men were impaled on a sharpened pole. This was all recorded in The Book of the History of King Xerxes’ Reign.

• Esther continues to manipulate and use her position in life to her and Mordecai’s advantage.
• And here we start to get our first glimpses in Esther’s call and obedience to speak truth into power.
• Esther does not cower away or so change her character as to acquiesce to the most powerful man on earth.
• Yes, she disobeys numerous Old Testament laws that no doubt positioned her against God:
  • She failed to tell the truth about her nationality and her covenant with Yahweh God.
  • She ate non-kosher food, unlike the prophet Daniel and others who were in captivity and refused.
  • She had sex with a non-Jewish man who was not her husband, albeit without much choice.
  • And she married in violation of Old Testament law, again without choice beyond losing her life.
• Could she have taken a stand against all these things at the risk of her own life, and with the hope that God would honour her choices and find another way out of all this?
• Yes, but that is not the story of Esther.
• As I said before, this is a story of unanswered questions where the sovereign, perfect God uses imperfect people to accomplish his perfect will.
• And this is not to minimize Esther’s sin.
• Rather, this is to emphasize God, who is at work in all things.

Case in point: God uses the vile and horrific plan of a pagan king who decides to hold a sex contest for his own personal pleasures at the cost of hundreds of young beautiful women… one of them being Esther.

• And in that plan, God uses the human quality of physical beauty … now don’t hear what I am not saying.
• I am not saying that physical beauty is sin or somehow “against” God’s plan… God is the creator of beauty.
• What is against God’s will is the human objectification of beauty and the degradation and abuse of those who are deemed beautiful in the eye of a beholder.
• God’s ultimate concern is not if you are seen as beautiful or if you see yourself as beautiful… it’s how you as a person are viewed and treated, how you view and treat yourself, and how you view and treat others.

The first descriptor we read about Esther in 2:7 is that she was beautiful and lovely.

• In our culture, we immediately envision stunning physical beauty.
• Something that others could never live up to … after all, she was so beautiful that she became Queen.
• But imagine the king’s men rounding up the girls for the contest.
• “You, yes you, come with me. I don’t care about anything else regarding you or your life, you just look good. And you, well you stay home; you may be a nice person but that doesn’t cut it.”
• Every girl taken was objectified and every girl left at home may have been relieved, but at the same time was given a message that said, “You don’t measure up. You are too tall, too short, too thin, too fat, too this or too that…”
• “You simply don’t measure up to the standard!”
• And it’s a lie from the pit of hell that continues to be spoken into each generation right up to you and I.
• Take a look at this video clip filmed in 2006 from the producers of Dove products:
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2gD80jv5ZQ
  • (up to and including, “no wonder our perception of beauty is distorted”)

That is a picture of a person who doesn’t exist. And there’s one for men as well but it’s too long to show.

• The message “that you don’t measure up” or that you “measure up because of your physical qualities,” is a lie.
• The message that because of who you are on the outside, God would or would not use you … is a lie.
• Listen to the words of the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 3:3-4, and can I say that while the context of these verses is aimed at women, these words are applicable for both women and men.

³ Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. 

• The outward focus is what king Xerxes and still today, the world focuses on for value.

• God says otherwise … focus on the beautiful “that comes from within”.
• Be concerned with what is precious to God, which is you as a whole person, physical, mental and spiritual.
• The real you flows from the inner you, so focus on your spirit, your heart and groom that beauty.
• Don’t focus on your outer beauty, focus on a gentle and quiet spirit … notice it doesn’t say timid or door-mat spirit.
• Focus on grooming a spirit within you that is humble and that rests in God’s voice and pleasure…
• Because when he conceived of you in his mind and birthed you in the womb, he said the very same thing he said of Adam and Eve in Genesis 1, “you are good, very good!”

The lie of Satan is that you are only valuable because of your appearance or that you are not beautiful enough in human eyes to be used for anything of value.

• Friend, the truth is, you are never to be “used” in any way as a measure of your value.
• God does not “use” you to determine your value.
• He does not “use” your beauty or apparent lack thereof to determine your value.
• He does not “use” your skills or knowledge or athletic ability, or lack thereof, to determine your value.
• God values you because he created you in his image (Genesis 1) and because God values you, he will always have a purpose for you.

You see Esther did not become Queen because she was physically beautiful… she was still a flawed, imperfect human.

• She became Queen because God had a purpose for using her in his sovereign plan.
• He valued her, beauty and imperfections included and aside.
• He valued her because he created her and had a purpose for her … in this case, to speak truth to power, as we will see in the coming chapters.
• So never buy into the lie or get caught in the trap that on the outside you don’t measure up.
• God sees your value from a completely different paradigm than the world does.

Another lie that we tell ourselves is that we are not good enough on the inside, or in other words, flawless/sinless enough for God to use us.

• I have said it several times already, Esther and Mordecai are not models of sinlessness.
• As Jews, they lived noticeably in contrast to God’s covenant with the Jewish nation of Israel.
• And yet God does not wipe them out with judgment; instead, he uses them in a pivotal point in history to speak truth to power and alter the course of humanity for his purposes.

We, humanly speaking, want to pass judgment on imperfect people.

• Either we want to gloss over sin for the greater good, or we want to condemn it to the full extent of the law…
• But in doing so, we miss a crucial element of this story … God, the main character, is actually silent as judge on these matters.
• Regardless of their character, their motives, their faithfulness to God’s covenant with them, the decisions of Esther and Mordecai are used to move events in some way to fulfill God’s purposes and promises.
• So the prevalence of their sin, or the lack of sin, is not the point of the story.
• The point is that God still uses them in whatever state they are in.

So let me ask you, “Are you holding back in your life because you are not perfect? Because you are a sinner? Because you or someone else has deemed that you cannot be used by a holy God?”

• It’s another lie from the Adversary, who according to John 10:10, has the purpose of destroying who you are.
• And if he can’t do it by objectifying and destroying you on the outside, then he’ll keep trying to accomplish your demise on the inside.
• He’ll say things like, “Oh, you’re okay with who you are on the outside? Well maybe you get a pass physically, but how about who you are on the inside? You’re flawed and you still don’t measure up. God wants nothing to do with you! And if others really knew you, they wouldn’t want anything to do with you either.”
• It’s a lie!
• And again, do not hear what I am not saying about sin in our lives and how it affects our relationship with God and others.
• At no point does the book of Esther applaud or condone the sins of Esther or Mordecai… it simply remains silent.
• But God’s word/the law wasn’t silent for them growing up … and they would have known that.
• This would have been a conversation that the Holy Spirit was having with them, reminding them that all fall short of the glory of God and all must come with repentant hearts before God. And that God is a God of ready and abundant grace.
• But for whatever reason, in this book, we are not privy to those personal wrestlings and conversations of Esther or Mordecai with God.

We are however, privy to them in our own lives… don’t ignore them, don’t diminish them or push them aside.

• And at the same time, don’t allow them to freeze or derail you into thinking that God has no use for you and that you are of no value to him.
• Because again, your value lies in the fact that he created you in his image and because of that, he always has a purpose for you.
• So keep striving through your brokenness … strive in God’s love and grace for you … strive in his mercy and forgiveness for you … strive in his calling and purpose for you!
• Don’t miss out on what God wants to accomplish through you because you think he will only use perfect or somehow holier humans than you.

When God reveals evil, injustice, abuse, wrong to you, listen for how he wants you to speak truth to that abused power.

• He can and will use you just as you are for his purposes.
• We see it with Esther.
• Esther walked a line of Jesus’ teaching to be in the world and not of the world, as we read about in John 17.
• She and Mordecai had adopted much of the world around them: names, dress, customs, food … all of which they used to conceal their identity as Jews.
• From the outside looking in, it’s easy to pass judgment on such compromise and neatly label wrong and right and render someone ineligible for action.
• We do it all the time with ourselves and those around us.
• And to do so is to place the emphasis on the wrong aspect of this story.

The truth and encouragement of this story is that no matter the state of our lives, pure motives or impure motives, right actions or wrong actions, God is at work using us, imperfect people to fulfill his perfect purposes.

• Do not discount yourself from this lot!
• You too are a Queen Esther or a Mordecai, because of the incredible grace and sovereignty of God.
• He alone gets to make those calls because he created us.

So what is around you today that is not as it should be according to God’s plan?

• Friends there’s so much isn’t there!
• In fact, it can be overwhelming.
• So to simplify, focus on where you are in the midst of things today, this week?
• Focus on how God is asking you and using you to speak truth into a specific issue, relationship, system, power?
• I guarantee you that today and then again tomorrow, you will see or experience sin and injustice, abuses of power.
• They don’t have to be on national or global scales.
• They don’t have to be on the evening news before you speak into them…
• They may be and we can list so many currently such as horrific indigenous realities, COVID related violence and racism, bullying due to societal stigmas … the list goes on and on.
• But they also and particularly happen in our daily lives, in our ongoing relationships, and God orchestrates our lives so that we can step into them and be his voice in the privacy of face to face, one on one conversations.

You were created in God’s image and for his purposes and he wants to use you to speak and act truth into that situation, that relationship, that workplace system, that misaligned friendship, that quest for personal power.

• Do not let the lies whispered to you by the evil one, “You don’t measure up on the outside or on the inside,” render you inactive and without a voice for God.
• Who are you to speak up?
• As Esther discovered, you are a sinner whose Creator continues to be at work within and through you, for his glory, the fulfillment of his promises, and for his purposes.
• So step up and speak Truth to Power when he asks you to.

In just a moment, our worship team is going to lead us in singing as a response to what we’ve heard.

• Perhaps you are wrestling with your identity or lot in life, under-privileged or privileged, as we know Esther did in both scenarios.
• Perhaps you are weighing the sin in your life, as I’m sure Esther did?
• Perhaps you are feeling overwhelmed by the evil and injustice you see around your life, or in the world.
• Perhaps you are wondering why God has you where he has you, with the people he has you, and for what purpose?
• Today is the time to engage those conversations with God.

 

Our pastoral staff is here to walk alongside you if you want to talk it out and pray with someone.

• At any time, you can push the “Request Prayer” button if you are watching live or otherwise, you can email and we’ll respond to your email as quickly as we can.

 

Friends, as we converse with God, let’s join the worship team in response … be that in singing or in prayer.

• Our God is awaiting our response and inviting us to agents of truth to power.

 

 Benediction

Our benediction today comes from Ephesians 3, where the Apostle Paul, formerly known as Saul who was chief among sinners, writes,

¹⁴ When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, ¹⁵ the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. ¹⁶ I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. ¹⁷ Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. ¹⁸ And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. ¹⁹ May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

²⁰ Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ²¹ Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.