WEBVTT 00:00:24.824 --> 00:00:27.727 Good morning, church. 00:00:27.727 --> 00:00:29.262 It's good to be with you this morning. 00:00:29.262 --> 00:00:32.332 We're continuing in our series of Esther this morning. 00:00:32.332 --> 00:00:35.201 Esther, chapter three is where we're going to be. 00:00:35.201 --> 00:00:37.536 And happy Mother's Day to everyone in the building. 00:00:37.536 --> 00:00:39.639 I'm not here today without a mother. 00:00:39.639 --> 00:00:41.573 My mama came in and surprised me today. 00:00:41.573 --> 00:00:42.942 I wasn't sure she was going to be here. 00:00:42.942 --> 00:00:45.945 So thanks, mama, for being here. 00:00:49.249 --> 00:00:51.783 And today is a bittersweet day. 00:00:51.783 --> 00:00:57.890 We acknowledge the bittersweetness of Mother's Day that some of you are here today, and your mothers with you. 00:00:57.890 --> 00:01:00.893 And we know and acknowledge that some others aren't in the room today. 00:01:00.893 --> 00:01:04.296 And so we know that there are some bittersweetness with today. 00:01:04.296 --> 00:01:09.569 But we celebrate mothers anyway, because without mothers we wouldn't be here. 00:01:09.569 --> 00:01:19.811 And I'm so thankful that God uses godly mothers to raise their families and help contribute to the church and to build God's kingdom through raising their families. 00:01:19.811 --> 00:01:21.346 And I'm so thankful for mothers today. 00:01:21.346 --> 00:01:25.251 But our passage in text actually isn't about Mother's Day at all. 00:01:25.251 --> 00:01:30.790 In fact, there is a lot of tension in our passage today in Esther chapter three. 00:01:30.790 --> 00:01:31.823 So go ahead and turn there. 00:01:31.823 --> 00:01:42.602 And as you're turning there, if you know me at all, you know that I like baseball, played baseball, I coached baseball, and I've obviously watch baseball. 00:01:42.602 --> 00:01:51.076 And one of my favorite teams is the Miami Marlins, which may seem random because they're not a popular team and I have no affiliation with Florida. 00:01:51.076 --> 00:01:57.115 But growing up in 1997, I watched the Marlins win their first World Series, and they were the underdogs. 00:01:57.115 --> 00:02:02.120 I was hooked ever since then, and so I often go to watch Marlins games. 00:02:02.188 --> 00:02:07.659 And on one occasion I went to Wrigley Field to watch them play the Chicago Cubs. 00:02:07.659 --> 00:02:11.129 And I know Nick, Nick rice is in the building, an elder at the church. 00:02:11.129 --> 00:02:12.764 He loves the Cubs. 00:02:12.764 --> 00:02:16.368 but today, or on this day, the Cubs didn't pull out the win. 00:02:16.368 --> 00:02:21.774 But going to the game, of course, I had to get decked out in my Marlins gear. Right? 00:02:21.774 --> 00:02:29.882 And because they're not a wildly popular team, I was, I was I thought I might be the only Marlins fan in the stadium when I went. 00:02:29.882 --> 00:02:35.621 So I had good seats, surrounded by just a sea of Cubs fans. 00:02:35.655 --> 00:02:41.294 But lo and behold, there was one Marlins fan sitting right in front of me in the row running from me. 00:02:41.294 --> 00:02:45.230 It's like, all right, I got me some protection now in case things go down. 00:02:45.230 --> 00:02:46.832 So the game is going on. 00:02:46.832 --> 00:02:50.068 The Marlins get a big base hit and we score run. 00:02:50.068 --> 00:02:52.705 And at that point, it kind of is the deciding factor. 00:02:52.705 --> 00:02:54.639 And we ended up getting the win. 00:02:54.639 --> 00:03:02.147 And so in response to that, I stand up with a big, loud yes, with a huge fist pump. 00:03:02.949 --> 00:03:13.425 And so all the Cubs fans immediately turn and look, I get all of their disgust, but I notice the same, the Marlins fan right in front of me. 00:03:13.425 --> 00:03:14.961 He has the same reaction. 00:03:14.961 --> 00:03:17.697 He gets up with a loud yes. 00:03:17.697 --> 00:03:22.133 And so we turn and slowly both look at each other make eye contact. 00:03:22.133 --> 00:03:25.037 I don't know if you've ever had this moment at a sporting event. 00:03:25.037 --> 00:03:30.675 We make eye contact in the world is looking at us and we're looking at each other. 00:03:30.675 --> 00:03:34.180 It's excitement and anticipation is building. Okay? 00:03:34.180 --> 00:03:40.953 He goes and raises his hand as a sign, an invitation for a high five. 00:03:40.953 --> 00:03:42.354 And everyone's watching it. 00:03:42.354 --> 00:03:59.138 This moment and this high five would communicate to all the Cubs fans around us that so without hesitation or deliberation, I raise my hand and with a slight rearing back, I thrust my hand towards his. 00:03:59.138 --> 00:04:02.307 And it is a perfect connection on a high five. 00:04:02.307 --> 00:04:10.282 And the the the smack of that high five honestly, probably sounded just as loud as the crack of the bat off that base hit that we just got. 00:04:10.282 --> 00:04:14.319 And it was sounds all across the area and they were just looking at us. 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:17.021 But I was so pumped, so excited. 00:04:17.021 --> 00:04:22.127 Despite the fact I was swarmed and surrounded by a sea of Cubs fans. 00:04:22.127 --> 00:04:25.463 But a brand that story this morning, because it's going to apply to our text. 00:04:25.463 --> 00:04:27.031 Because I've got a question for you this morning. 00:04:28.266 --> 00:04:32.103 What are you willing to stand for in your life? 00:04:32.872 --> 00:04:34.540 What are you willing to stand for? 00:04:34.540 --> 00:04:37.543 Hello, Lord. 00:04:38.576 --> 00:04:42.982 So what are you willing to stand for in your life? 00:04:42.982 --> 00:04:47.887 Because we're gonna see in the passage today, someone is standing for something that they believe in. 00:04:47.887 --> 00:04:49.754 And here's the truth that we need to understand this morning. 00:04:49.754 --> 00:04:55.627 That if you stand up for biblical truth, you will stand out from the world. 00:04:56.095 --> 00:05:04.903 That is, if you are convicted by God's Word and you want to stand up for your faith in this world, you are going to stand out from it. 00:05:06.338 --> 00:05:16.682 And there's this tension that we're going to see today in the book, because we see this character who's central to the book, Mordecai, doing two things. 00:05:16.682 --> 00:05:22.887 He is both helping the king, as we saw in the last chapter, but he also now is not obeying the King. 00:05:22.887 --> 00:05:31.230 So Christians must wrestle with the tension of being a good neighbor and a holy exile. 00:05:31.230 --> 00:05:38.269 There's this tension we should live with because we are called by God to be good neighbors, to love our neighbor as our self. 00:05:38.269 --> 00:05:41.173 And we are called to to live out our faith and to be good neighbors. 00:05:41.173 --> 00:05:51.315 But also we're called to be different, to not look like the world, but to be in the world, to love those in the world and to not look like them. 00:05:51.315 --> 00:05:54.218 And so for Mordecai, we're going to see that in the story today. 00:05:54.218 --> 00:06:00.925 And so just for a context, Esther, who was just picked to be king, she, is now in the palace. 00:06:00.925 --> 00:06:14.740 Will Mordecai, if you remember the last in the chapter to which you could probably see if you look down at your Bibles the last few verses, Mordecai uncovers this plot to kill the king, and so he sends word to Esther. 00:06:14.740 --> 00:06:17.442 Esther tells the king and the plot is taken away. 00:06:17.442 --> 00:06:20.711 So Mordecai actually was being a good neighbor. 00:06:20.711 --> 00:06:24.949 He helped the king survive, and so we're kind of left on this cliffhanger. 00:06:24.949 --> 00:06:30.122 At the end of chapter two, we're thinking, Is Mordecai going to be rewarded for this? 00:06:30.122 --> 00:06:31.757 Is he going to get something back for this? 00:06:31.757 --> 00:06:36.661 But then we jump into verse three and we see the exact opposite. 00:06:36.661 --> 00:06:40.499 It's not Mordecai that gets blessed, it's someone else. 00:06:40.499 --> 00:06:44.702 So look here in Esther chapter three, verse one, it says this. 00:06:44.702 --> 00:06:58.716 After these things King has a race promoted ham in the aggregate, the son of Ham, a daughter an advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 00:06:58.716 --> 00:06:59.483 So it's funny. 00:06:59.483 --> 00:07:01.887 Mordecai does this amazing thing for the king. 00:07:01.887 --> 00:07:04.423 He doesn't get any notice, recognition or praise. 00:07:04.423 --> 00:07:10.028 Hammon who is this as we're going to see this self-focused, self-obsessed man? 00:07:10.028 --> 00:07:15.000 He's the one who's promoted and lifted to the highest official in the land. 00:07:15.233 --> 00:07:17.569 Well, Hammond himself, he is called. 00:07:17.569 --> 00:07:19.571 This is called an aggregate is. 00:07:19.571 --> 00:07:24.910 We're going to kind of unpack in just a minute, but Hammond's promoted while Mordecai is not. 00:07:24.910 --> 00:07:40.492 So I mean, something simple to come out of this is that sometimes doing the right thing does not lead to immediate promotion or praise sometimes, but doing the right thing, being the good neighbor and doing what is right always doesn't lead to immediate recognition and praise. 00:07:40.492 --> 00:07:41.026 That could be it. 00:07:41.026 --> 00:07:43.060 Your job with your family out. 00:07:43.060 --> 00:07:44.262 It just out and about. 00:07:44.262 --> 00:07:45.430 But here's the thing. 00:07:45.430 --> 00:07:48.432 Mordecai was still being faithful to God. 00:07:48.632 --> 00:07:58.043 He wanted to be a good neighbor, but something interesting because there's a lot of tension between this person, Mordecai, and this person named Hammond. 00:07:58.043 --> 00:08:03.281 Did you know that these two people descended from the same brothers? 00:08:03.781 --> 00:08:08.019 So if y'all remember in the Old Testament, Jacob and Esau, they were twin brothers. 00:08:08.019 --> 00:08:10.422 They were born of Isaac. And. 00:08:10.422 --> 00:08:16.360 And from them Jacob leads to Israel, and Esau leads to the Amalekites. 00:08:16.827 --> 00:08:19.331 And it was a little bit of a history lesson, but it should be up on the screen. 00:08:19.331 --> 00:08:22.000 I want to I want to show you all this. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:26.737 So Mordecai came from King Saul, and he came from Jacob. 00:08:26.737 --> 00:08:31.675 Hamon came from this guy named King Agag, which is why he's an aggregate. 00:08:31.675 --> 00:08:42.653 I know this is a lot of history, but he came from Esau brothers, twin brothers who split off, and they were in complete conflict for the entire history of their people. 00:08:42.821 --> 00:08:43.721 So it's interesting. 00:08:43.721 --> 00:08:48.994 Israel was supposed to put an end to the Amalekites and his people, but they don't. 00:08:48.994 --> 00:08:56.467 And so now we have in this situation, Hammond himself is going to reverse it, and now he's going to try to end the Jews. 00:08:56.467 --> 00:08:59.004 So there's this huge amount of tension being built up. 00:08:59.004 --> 00:09:09.780 And he goes on in verse two here, and all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Hammond, for the king had so commanded concerning him. 00:09:09.980 --> 00:09:16.855 But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage, pay respect. 00:09:17.355 --> 00:09:32.302 So what's interesting here is that it talks about this, this pageantry, what they would do in Persia, they would have this daily pageantry where the officials would come out and they walk out and they would get praise and and recognition. 00:09:32.302 --> 00:09:34.072 And this is what Hammond would do often. 00:09:34.072 --> 00:09:40.778 And so Hammond would come out along with these other officials and they would get praise, and people would bow down to them and give them homage. 00:09:40.778 --> 00:09:44.381 But what's interesting is Mordecai doesn't. 00:09:44.381 --> 00:09:46.183 Mordecai does not bow down. 00:09:46.183 --> 00:09:47.585 He does not bend the knee. 00:09:47.585 --> 00:09:52.890 He is the one who stands up and stands out because he, as we're going to see in just a minute because he's a Jew. 00:09:53.924 --> 00:09:56.494 Because this isn't just your average. 00:09:56.494 --> 00:09:58.696 I'm going to give respect to my leader. 00:09:58.696 --> 00:10:04.335 This is I'm going to adore and to worship this person. 00:10:04.869 --> 00:10:08.438 And as long as you toed the line and bowed the knee, then you would be okay. 00:10:08.438 --> 00:10:11.408 But Mordecai is not doing that. 00:10:12.644 --> 00:10:21.119 So understand this morning that Christians should obey the governing authorities up to the point of contradicting their faith. 00:10:21.119 --> 00:10:24.389 You and I have a duty to be good neighbors. 00:10:24.389 --> 00:10:38.068 In fact, in Romans 13 I put a cross-reference up there for you that it says that we should obey the governing authorities over us because they will have sword to protect what is good, and we should obey the governing authorities like Mordecai does. He protects the king. 00:10:38.068 --> 00:10:40.804 He discovers this plot and helps him. 00:10:40.804 --> 00:10:44.475 But now we see Mordecai not obey the king. 00:10:44.475 --> 00:10:46.177 Do you see that? 00:10:46.177 --> 00:10:47.278 So there's this tension. 00:10:47.278 --> 00:10:49.714 We should be as Christians. 00:10:49.714 --> 00:10:57.355 We should obey the governing authorities up to the point that it contradicts our faith. 00:10:57.355 --> 00:11:01.491 Because as Mordecai is going to say, it's because I'm a Jew. 00:11:01.491 --> 00:11:02.994 Look at this in verse three. 00:11:02.994 --> 00:11:10.333 Then the king servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, why do you transgress the king's command? 00:11:10.333 --> 00:11:13.937 So they're coming up to him and asking, why aren't you listening? 00:11:13.937 --> 00:11:15.472 Why aren't you obeying the king? 00:11:15.472 --> 00:11:18.475 Bow down and worship this man. 00:11:18.975 --> 00:11:22.746 This is kind of similar in reminiscent to Daniel, right? 00:11:22.746 --> 00:11:25.115 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 00:11:25.115 --> 00:11:28.119 Bow down or you're going to go in the furnace. 00:11:28.119 --> 00:11:33.224 This is a very similar situation in a similar culture, but it goes on in verse four. 00:11:33.224 --> 00:11:40.431 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them. 00:11:40.431 --> 00:11:42.332 So Mordecai is hearing them day after day. 00:11:42.332 --> 00:11:45.068 They continue to challenge him, put pressure on him and ask him. 00:11:45.068 --> 00:11:46.903 He doesn't listen. 00:11:46.903 --> 00:11:56.346 And so it says they told him, and in order to see whether Mordecai these words would stand for he had told them that he was a Jew. 00:11:57.548 --> 00:11:59.683 So a couple things to understand here. 00:11:59.683 --> 00:12:04.422 Sometimes the wisest thing is to be silent. 00:12:04.422 --> 00:12:11.729 Sometimes it's the wisest thing to not say anything, because Mordecai doesn't want to stir up a bunch of civil unrest. 00:12:11.729 --> 00:12:15.399 He is simply standing because of his convictions and faith. 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:18.068 But notice, it's day after day. 00:12:18.068 --> 00:12:19.570 They keep coming back to him. 00:12:21.871 --> 00:12:28.379 But here's the thing time is often the biggest test of our commitment. 00:12:29.179 --> 00:12:40.224 Time often is the biggest test of our commitment for faith, our commitment to marriage, our commitment to relationships, our commitment to the gym. 00:12:40.224 --> 00:12:43.226 It's time that test our faith. 00:12:43.628 --> 00:12:49.600 So over time, he is being tested day after day and he continues to remain silent. 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:57.908 But then at some point he pipes up and says, listen, I'm not bowing down to this man because I am a Jew and I have convictions. 00:12:57.908 --> 00:13:02.546 Jews worship only one God, and I will not bow down to this man. 00:13:04.782 --> 00:13:05.548 And so what do they do? 00:13:05.548 --> 00:13:08.985 They go and tell him and Hammond, this guy. Bow and down. 00:13:08.985 --> 00:13:11.087 Are you going to do anything about it? 00:13:11.087 --> 00:13:12.623 Like is what is what he's doing? 00:13:12.623 --> 00:13:13.323 Is that okay? 00:13:15.393 --> 00:13:24.969 You see, believers must deal with the tension of standing up for their convictions while also loving their neighbor as themselves. 00:13:24.969 --> 00:13:27.937 And that's very difficult. 00:13:27.937 --> 00:13:30.908 Some of you have experienced this. 00:13:30.908 --> 00:13:39.783 You want to stand up for truth, but you're being pressured into bowing the knee to the culture and to the society around you. 00:13:39.783 --> 00:13:43.086 I want to love my neighbor but also hold God's word is true. 00:13:43.086 --> 00:13:44.889 Do you see the tension? 00:13:44.889 --> 00:13:46.490 I have to do both. 00:13:46.490 --> 00:13:49.058 And Mordecai is walking this fine line. 00:13:49.058 --> 00:13:54.130 I'm not going to bow down and worship this man, Hammond, but I'm going to stand for my convictions. 00:13:54.130 --> 00:13:57.134 And what God has said. 00:13:58.535 --> 00:14:02.907 And the crazy thing is, it's going to get harder and harder. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:21.258 In fact, what's really destroying the evangelical church from the inside out is this is this kind of this, this compassion that they want to have for people, but they sacrifice and get rid of God's Word for the sake of appeasing the culture. 00:14:21.292 --> 00:14:24.727 And we face that same temptation every day. 00:14:24.727 --> 00:14:32.235 But are we willing to stand on God's Word in our convictions and still love our neighbor, while also saying no to the culture? 00:14:32.235 --> 00:14:33.671 Look at verse five. 00:14:33.671 --> 00:14:40.778 And when Hammond saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Hammond was filled with fury. 00:14:42.312 --> 00:14:45.149 Hammond, by this point had noticed Mordecai. 00:14:45.149 --> 00:14:58.662 He walks through head held high, self self-obsessed, self-absorbed, getting all this praise, but then he finally turns over and looks and sees him not bowing down, and he's filled with rage and fury. 00:15:00.364 --> 00:15:03.801 This next verse helps us how much fury he has. 00:15:03.801 --> 00:15:04.668 Look at verse six. 00:15:05.836 --> 00:15:14.244 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, meaning he didn't just want to punish Mordecai, not just him alone. 00:15:14.244 --> 00:15:27.024 It says so as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, the Jews, Hammond sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai throughout the whole kingdom of a hazardous. 00:15:27.024 --> 00:15:29.192 This is the big. 00:15:29.192 --> 00:15:32.196 This is the big problem in this book. 00:15:32.596 --> 00:15:43.539 Hammond now has the desire, fury, and anger did not just punish Mordecai, but to get rid of all the people because here's the reality Mordecai is just a stand in for the Jews. 00:15:44.942 --> 00:15:52.950 Mordecai is just someone he can aim his anger at because listen, he doesn't just hate Mordecai, he hates what he believes. 00:15:52.950 --> 00:15:55.719 He doesn't just hate and have fury towards Mordecai. 00:15:55.719 --> 00:15:58.120 He has hate and fury towards God. 00:15:59.623 --> 00:16:01.424 I need to be worshiped, Heyman would say. 00:16:01.424 --> 00:16:02.525 I need to be worshiped. 00:16:02.525 --> 00:16:03.594 I need to get the attention. 00:16:03.594 --> 00:16:12.668 And if you're not going to do it for me, I'm not only going to punish you, Mordecai, I'm gonna punish your whole people and I'm going to punish everything and remove everything that you believe in. 00:16:12.668 --> 00:16:15.672 Do you see the picture? 00:16:16.173 --> 00:16:19.842 But this is the reality we live in today, is it not? 00:16:19.842 --> 00:16:27.283 The world will hate Christians because they ultimately hate Christ and what he stood for. 00:16:27.384 --> 00:16:35.826 Did Jesus not tell us this and teach us this, that we would be hated not just because they hate us, but because who we stand for, we stand for Christ and His Word. 00:16:35.826 --> 00:16:39.428 So if they hate Christians, it's because they hate Christ. 00:16:39.428 --> 00:16:45.369 Look what it says in John 15 if the world hates you, know that it is hated me before it hated you. 00:16:46.503 --> 00:16:50.005 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. 00:16:50.005 --> 00:16:52.042 But because you are not of the world. 00:16:52.042 --> 00:16:54.211 But I chose you out of the world. 00:16:54.211 --> 00:16:57.214 Therefore the world hates you. 00:16:57.880 --> 00:17:03.754 So, you know, that's a pretty good test if you are actually following and believing in Jesus. 00:17:03.886 --> 00:17:07.723 Does the world love you, or does the world hate you? 00:17:07.958 --> 00:17:10.926 For Mordecai. 00:17:10.926 --> 00:17:13.896 He was being hated by him and. 00:17:14.631 --> 00:17:19.435 And so all this to say, this is often what God does in His Word. 00:17:20.436 --> 00:17:23.573 See often in God's plan, the rescue word. 00:17:23.573 --> 00:17:25.642 The one who's doing the rescuing. 00:17:25.642 --> 00:17:28.178 He's the one who gets targeted. 00:17:28.178 --> 00:17:29.378 We see this with the prophets. 00:17:29.378 --> 00:17:41.191 We see this in the Old Testament, but ultimately we see this when Jesus, the one who came to rescue us from our sin and from death, he is the one who is targeted. 00:17:41.191 --> 00:17:43.792 He is the one who is persecuted. 00:17:43.792 --> 00:17:49.633 And we would not be shocked as the church, if we, as the church, would be the ones to be persecuted. 00:17:51.367 --> 00:17:59.541 So my first encouragement for us this morning from our passage is that like a good neighbor, stand for the truth. 00:17:59.643 --> 00:18:01.211 Y'all like that. 00:18:01.211 --> 00:18:08.018 So if y'all didn't catch the little jingle in your ear from your commercial, from your commercial, watching all the commercials aren't even a thing anymore because of streaming. 00:18:08.018 --> 00:18:11.488 But like, a good neighbor stand for the truth. 00:18:11.488 --> 00:18:12.087 Because you know what? 00:18:12.087 --> 00:18:17.227 The most loving thing you can do for your neighbor is to tell them the truth. 00:18:17.227 --> 00:18:31.807 Imagine a doctor going up to a patient who is dealing with a horrible sickness, a life threatening sickness, and the doctors reading the report understands their situation goes up to him and says, you're okay, good, clean bill of health. 00:18:31.807 --> 00:18:34.778 Have a good day. 00:18:35.811 --> 00:18:37.047 That would be malpractice. 00:18:38.448 --> 00:18:47.957 But we as Christians can commit spiritual malpractice by telling the world that you're doing okay and I'm going to appease you, but I'm not going to tell you the truth. 00:18:48.458 --> 00:18:54.064 See, as Christians, we need to be a good neighbor by standing for the truth and love. 00:18:55.198 --> 00:18:56.098 And it's a challenge. 00:18:56.098 --> 00:19:03.006 And it's going to be a growing challenge as we continue on in our culture that's growing further and further away from God. 00:19:04.073 --> 00:19:22.625 He goes on here in verse seven, in the first month, which is the month of Nissan, the 12th year of King Hazor, as they put they cast who are that is, they cast lots before him, and day after day, and they cast it month after month till the 12th month, which is the month of Adar. 00:19:22.625 --> 00:19:27.997 So notice the time on the first month to the 12th month, 11 straight months. 00:19:28.597 --> 00:19:34.203 Haman and his servants are plotting and scheming how they're going to take out all of the Jews. 00:19:34.203 --> 00:19:35.771 So they start casting lots. 00:19:36.806 --> 00:19:40.777 It was basically the equivalent of rolling a dice or flipping a coin. 00:19:40.777 --> 00:19:45.847 It was a game of chance, and it helped people make decisions in back in the day. 00:19:45.847 --> 00:19:53.789 So they were casting lots to figure out when they were going to persecute and ultimately destroy the Jews. 00:19:53.890 --> 00:20:00.630 And so all of this may seem weird, but honestly, the Old Testament teaches us that these things may be left up to chance. 00:20:00.630 --> 00:20:03.398 But here's the reality God is still in control. 00:20:03.398 --> 00:20:05.034 Look at Proverbs 1633. 00:20:05.034 --> 00:20:11.606 It says the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. 00:20:13.809 --> 00:20:20.016 And I want to think this morning that sometimes we look at life as if it's all up to chance. 00:20:21.384 --> 00:20:28.124 I got a bad I've had a bad go of it here lately and it's just all out of control, all out of whack. 00:20:28.124 --> 00:20:29.459 Everything's left up to chance. 00:20:29.459 --> 00:20:31.394 No one's in control. Life is crazy. 00:20:31.394 --> 00:20:33.496 There's no rhyme or reason for anything. 00:20:33.496 --> 00:20:39.402 But the reality is, according to God's word, God's in control. 00:20:39.402 --> 00:20:43.205 So listen, this morning, life may seem to be left up to chance. 00:20:43.205 --> 00:20:47.477 But you can trust God is working behind the scenes. 00:20:47.477 --> 00:20:53.316 You can trust that God is working behind the scenes in your life for your good and his glory. 00:20:53.316 --> 00:20:56.318 If you're going to trust in him. 00:20:56.384 --> 00:21:00.355 This Tuesday, we have a a drama performance of production happening at church. 00:21:00.355 --> 00:21:01.223 I'm really excited about it. 00:21:01.223 --> 00:21:03.259 We've got students involved in it here. 00:21:03.259 --> 00:21:04.626 We've got children involved in it. 00:21:04.626 --> 00:21:25.013 Aaron and Sarah Davis have really been helping and leading and putting this thing together, and I've been walking through some of the, walking through the chapel and even in this room where they've been rehearsing and preparing, getting costumes ready, going over lines, all the various things that go into a production and whether it's small or big production, it takes a lot of work. 00:21:25.013 --> 00:21:30.752 And to see them go through all of this, you don't really notice it on the stage during the performance, do you? 00:21:31.787 --> 00:21:40.429 You see all the things that are happening in the theatrical performance, but all the work that went into it is a crazy amount of hours and sacrifice. 00:21:41.329 --> 00:21:50.172 But I bring that up because we may see or live from a surface level, but underneath God is working in so many ways that we can't even fathom. 00:21:51.307 --> 00:21:54.277 And right now in the story, it's the same. 00:21:54.277 --> 00:21:57.313 It may look like the Jews are going to be destroyed. 00:21:57.313 --> 00:22:02.151 Mordecai is going to be getting they're going to get rid of him, and Esther is going to be going to be killed as well. 00:22:02.151 --> 00:22:03.118 But here's the reality. 00:22:03.118 --> 00:22:08.624 God's setting this all up for a great and incredible testimony of his power. 00:22:08.891 --> 00:22:10.358 And God wants to do that in your life. 00:22:11.626 --> 00:22:12.894 Look at verse eight. 00:22:12.894 --> 00:22:22.605 Then Heyman said to King of Hazardous, there is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples and all the provinces of your kingdom. 00:22:22.605 --> 00:22:33.582 There are laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the King's laws so that it is not the king's profit to tolerate them. 00:22:33.582 --> 00:22:35.785 So Hammond builds an argument. 00:22:35.785 --> 00:22:42.924 Listen, King, there's this specific group of people that have a specific set of laws and they're not obeying you. 00:22:42.924 --> 00:22:44.026 So you know what we should do? 00:22:44.026 --> 00:22:46.694 We need to get rid of them. 00:22:46.694 --> 00:22:47.997 They're intolerant. 00:22:47.997 --> 00:22:51.000 Ever heard that word? 00:22:51.099 --> 00:22:54.068 They're not inclusive enough. 00:22:54.804 --> 00:22:57.071 They're not accepting of every mean meaning. 00:22:57.071 --> 00:23:00.009 They don't just let anybody do whatever they want like we do. 00:23:00.009 --> 00:23:01.876 We need to get rid of them. 00:23:01.876 --> 00:23:03.578 You can't tolerate them, King. 00:23:03.578 --> 00:23:04.846 It's not to your profit. 00:23:04.846 --> 00:23:06.981 So we need to get rid of them. 00:23:06.981 --> 00:23:07.615 Do you see this? 00:23:10.352 --> 00:23:10.719 Listen. 00:23:10.719 --> 00:23:26.568 Pagan cultures of this kind, like Roman culture, Greek culture and even Persia, Babylon, all these cultures, they're pagan now, these cultures, historically, what they would do is, is they would promote what we would call inclusivity and acceptance to everyone. 00:23:26.568 --> 00:23:36.845 As long as you bow down and toe the line of the culture, we'll accept all religions, all beliefs, and we'll bring it in and we'll let you do your thing. 00:23:36.845 --> 00:23:45.854 As long as you bow down to us and you toe the line of our culture, you see it. 00:23:45.854 --> 00:23:47.957 This is today. 00:23:47.957 --> 00:24:01.636 Because in the modern context, for us today, in the modern context, inclusivity, relativism, another word syncretic ism, they're all the legs of the altar of Wokeism that we're dealing with today. 00:24:02.604 --> 00:24:03.271 I'm not. 00:24:03.271 --> 00:24:05.840 And not only you want to get I'm not getting political at all. 00:24:05.840 --> 00:24:13.949 I'm trying to get biblical with you to look at what is happening in our culture and in our world is a moral issue. 00:24:15.483 --> 00:24:23.025 So relativism is or sorry, inclusivity is just saying we got to accept everybody and everyone, no matter what they believe. 00:24:23.224 --> 00:24:24.425 Relativism is. 00:24:24.425 --> 00:24:26.561 Well, truth is truth. Your truth. 00:24:26.561 --> 00:24:28.931 You can believe I've got my own truth. 00:24:28.931 --> 00:24:31.933 And even if we disagree, that's okay. 00:24:33.335 --> 00:24:38.673 Syncretism is saying all these various religions can all be together in one, and they're all the same. 00:24:38.673 --> 00:24:43.010 They lead to the same path, the same road. 00:24:43.778 --> 00:24:53.689 And you and I are challenged each and every day to bow the knee and toe the line of this cultural pagan religion. 00:24:53.888 --> 00:25:04.932 But here's the good news for us this morning, friends, is that God places his chosen people in the middle of a godless culture because light is brightest in the darkness. 00:25:07.134 --> 00:25:12.140 You see, the darker the culture gets, the brighter the church gets. 00:25:12.140 --> 00:25:15.711 The more our culture heads away from God, the closer the church should be. 00:25:15.711 --> 00:25:18.145 Getting to God. 00:25:18.145 --> 00:25:23.951 And we'll see who is truly following Jesus and who is not. 00:25:24.486 --> 00:25:29.490 But it's a challenge and for us to stay the faith. 00:25:29.490 --> 00:25:41.103 Look at verse nine if it pleases the King, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 pounds of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the King's business. 00:25:41.103 --> 00:25:44.373 That they may put it into the king's treasuries. 00:25:44.373 --> 00:26:02.557 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to him in the aggregate the son of humbled Arthur, the enemy of the Jews, and so the king said to him, and the money is given to you, the people also to do with them, as it seems good. 00:26:03.724 --> 00:26:04.358 He goes on. 00:26:04.358 --> 00:26:23.678 Then the king scribe were summoned on the 13th day of the first month an edict, and according to all that Hammond commanded, it was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces, and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province and its own script, and every people in its own language. 00:26:23.678 --> 00:26:28.884 It was written in the name of King of Nazareth, and sealed with the king's signet ring. 00:26:29.817 --> 00:26:39.560 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces, with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children. 00:26:39.560 --> 00:26:42.564 In one day. 00:26:42.631 --> 00:26:48.135 The 13th day at the 12th month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 00:26:49.203 --> 00:26:56.678 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province, by proclamation, to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 00:26:56.678 --> 00:26:57.278 And last verse. 00:26:57.278 --> 00:27:05.586 For a main passage it says the couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa, the citadel. 00:27:05.586 --> 00:27:10.525 And the king and Haman sat down to drink. 00:27:10.525 --> 00:27:14.528 But the city of Susa was thrown into confusion. 00:27:14.796 --> 00:27:39.354 So here's the plot, here's the edict, here's the decree, stamped with the king's approval, sent out to every province, every people, every leader, every language, so that every person throughout the entire kingdom would know that on this day, on the 13th of this month, and it's actually 11 months span on this day, we are going to annihilate all the Jews. 00:27:42.324 --> 00:27:47.729 This state led persecution against the Jewish people has been going on for years, and it's repeated over and over and over again. 00:27:47.729 --> 00:27:50.699 And this is just one instance. 00:27:50.699 --> 00:28:00.141 But it's funny because the story this chapter ends with Hamann and the King sitting back, throwing back a couple beers and then letting the city just being complete. 00:28:00.141 --> 00:28:03.144 Chaos and confusion over this news. 00:28:03.478 --> 00:28:04.546 And you see this clear word. 00:28:04.546 --> 00:28:05.946 Picture the royalty. 00:28:05.946 --> 00:28:08.016 They make decisions and they don't care. 00:28:08.016 --> 00:28:12.554 The common people, they have no idea why in the world this is going on. 00:28:14.154 --> 00:28:26.334 I want to say this this morning though, when God's people stand up, the world will go to any link to force them down by fear, deception and persecution. 00:28:28.502 --> 00:28:32.272 I don't need to explain that anymore any more than that church. 00:28:32.272 --> 00:28:35.643 We need to stand firm on God's Word. 00:28:36.711 --> 00:28:37.846 Amen. 00:28:37.846 --> 00:28:39.480 So here's my second point for you this morning. 00:28:39.480 --> 00:28:44.018 We need to embrace being a peculiar people. 00:28:44.919 --> 00:28:49.624 It's the KJV translation here peculiar people. 00:28:49.624 --> 00:28:55.363 We have to embrace being a peculiar people, a people, different people set apart. 00:28:55.363 --> 00:28:58.599 And I'm going to kind of bring this to an end here in first Peter two, as we draw close. 00:28:58.599 --> 00:29:01.868 But Imma give you some a little, little advice here. Look at this. 00:29:01.868 --> 00:29:10.877 First Peter two nine but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. 00:29:10.877 --> 00:29:14.048 That phrase right there are people for his own possession. 00:29:14.048 --> 00:29:24.525 The KJV translated a peculiar people, people who are different, people who are holy, who are set apart, who are chosen by God. 00:29:24.525 --> 00:29:27.528 They are treasured possession of God. 00:29:27.561 --> 00:29:34.935 And here's why that you may proclaim the excellencies of him, of God who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 00:29:34.935 --> 00:29:36.104 God chose you. 00:29:36.104 --> 00:29:47.048 God set you apart so that you would make known how great God is, so that you would be a light in the darkness, that you would be both a good neighbor and a holy exile. 00:29:47.048 --> 00:29:49.983 To love those around you, but stand for truth at the same time. 00:29:49.983 --> 00:29:50.718 Verse ten. 00:29:50.718 --> 00:29:53.988 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. 00:29:53.988 --> 00:29:57.258 Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 00:29:57.258 --> 00:29:59.993 The church is now the people of God. 00:29:59.993 --> 00:30:09.069 We are called by God to stand up for him, and to stand on His Word, and to make known how good and marvelous he is. 00:30:09.069 --> 00:30:10.738 So let me give you three pieces of advice. Ready? 00:30:10.738 --> 00:30:17.244 We're going to run through these real quick. Number one, abstain from sin. 00:30:18.112 --> 00:30:20.914 You want to be holy in a dark world. 00:30:20.914 --> 00:30:22.750 You want to be light in a dark world. 00:30:22.750 --> 00:30:25.987 Abstain from the sin that's in the culture. 00:30:25.987 --> 00:30:26.921 Look at this and write. 00:30:26.921 --> 00:30:31.358 The verse comes right after, first Peter 210, the number 11. 00:30:31.358 --> 00:30:39.000 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. 00:30:40.567 --> 00:30:42.936 I shared a quote with our students this past Wednesday. 00:30:42.936 --> 00:30:44.271 We're not on a cruise ship. 00:30:44.271 --> 00:30:45.940 We're on a warship. 00:30:45.940 --> 00:30:48.776 We're on a battleship. 00:30:48.776 --> 00:30:51.578 The Christian life is not cruising towards the end of our life. 00:30:51.578 --> 00:30:53.314 The Christian life is on a battleship. 00:30:53.314 --> 00:30:59.019 We're battling against the enemies of God, and we're going to head on into eternity with God, carrying as many people as we can with us. 00:31:00.387 --> 00:31:02.656 We're called to fight sin. 00:31:02.656 --> 00:31:05.992 So one way we can fight in the dark world, abstain from it. 00:31:05.992 --> 00:31:12.299 Number two, live honorably in the world, says in the next verse. 00:31:12.299 --> 00:31:31.786 First Peter 212, keep your conduct among the Gentiles, honorable Gentiles or nonbelievers, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God in the day of visitation, so that your conduct, being honorable among the world, can actually help people see God. 00:31:31.786 --> 00:31:32.720 Amen. 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:35.990 How you live can be a gospel to people. 00:31:36.190 --> 00:31:39.160 Opening new doors for the gospel. 00:31:39.626 --> 00:31:44.832 Third, last but not least, submit to authority. 00:31:44.832 --> 00:31:47.167 Yikes. 00:31:47.167 --> 00:31:48.501 This is 13 and 14. 00:31:48.501 --> 00:32:00.748 Be subject to the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the Emperor as supreme or as governors on the local level, as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 00:32:03.250 --> 00:32:07.555 Because even the world doesn't want to be governed by the world. 00:32:07.555 --> 00:32:23.671 But what if Christians, for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of the good of our neighbor, and for the sake of keeping the peace that we obeyed those in authority over us up to the point of contradicting our faith, we can be a living gospel for those people. 00:32:23.671 --> 00:32:26.507 So here's my challenge for us this morning. 00:32:26.507 --> 00:32:36.616 Are you comfortable living in detention of being both a good neighbor and a holy exile? 00:32:36.616 --> 00:32:39.519 Because you can do both. 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:44.625 It's possible to just be a good neighbor, but don't actually live and stand out from your with your faith. 00:32:44.625 --> 00:32:49.797 It's possible that you can just be standing out in your faith and just opposing everything, but not really be a good neighbor. 00:32:49.797 --> 00:32:54.934 I'm talking about finding that tension right in between where you love your neighbor, but you also stand for truth. 00:32:57.304 --> 00:33:01.075 And so the call and the challenge for us is clear in the culture. 00:33:02.108 --> 00:33:07.047 So I would encourage you live and embrace this tension. 00:33:07.047 --> 00:33:07.480 Let's pray.