WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:09.199 Jesus, thank you so much for uh bringing us together, for giving us such an amazing family of people to worship alongside, to live life alongside. 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:10.400 We need one another. 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:12.000 Mainly what we need is you. 00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:14.320 And so I pray that you give us a hunger for your word. 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:19.839 I pray that you give us the ability to understand what we need to hear for our lives today. 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:21.600 We are all going through different things. 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:26.640 We are all in different seasons, but we have the same God, and we need you to show up in our lives. 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:28.719 And so we ask this in your name, Jesus. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:29.679 Amen. 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:33.439 Well, today we are going to wrap up the story of Esther. 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:36.079 I thought we were gonna wrap up the story of Esther last week. 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:37.840 Ken was going to wrap it up. 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:39.840 He didn't completely wrap it up. 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:42.320 He did more in the second service than he did in the first. 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:44.079 And so I was I was thrown for a loop. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:45.840 I was already mentally on next week. 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:46.560 That's okay. 00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:49.359 It's good to have the tables turned sometimes. 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:53.840 But I'm actually really excited that we get to spend one more week in this story. 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:56.320 Number one, it's an incredible story. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:59.679 This is one of the greatest stories that has ever been told. 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:08.640 It's a true story, and I really want us to see how it wraps up, how beautifully and how perfectly everything comes together. 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:11.840 Esther is all about the power of choice. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:14.000 Our decisions matter. 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:20.799 And when we make wise and bold and faithful decisions, godly decisions, the results are miraculous. 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:25.040 We might look at our lives and say, I need some miracles to happen. 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:29.200 I need things to change, I need my tables to turn in a good way. 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:36.000 And when we say we need a miracle, what we really mean is that we need a miraculous result because we need the change to happen. 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:39.599 If God wants to do it by way of a miracle, awesome. 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:42.799 If God wants to do it a different way, so be it. 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:45.760 What we really need is the results. 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:49.920 So often God chooses to work through our decisions. 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:57.840 If the story of Esther were adapted for a big Hollywood movie, they would not need to hire a special effects artist. 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:00.319 There wouldn't be any CG. 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:11.520 There's no huge miracle in this story, but the results are miraculous, and the results come from the choices that Esther and that Mordecai make. 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:17.039 We've looked at choices like choosing who to listen to, choosing the right time to act. 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:19.439 We're going to look at one more choice this morning. 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:20.960 It's really the choice. 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:21.840 It's a huge choice. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:29.840 I can't wait to get into it, but we've got to make sure we all know where we are because I'm sure there's at least one of us that hasn't been here for the last six weeks or so. 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:34.319 We're going to spend most of our time in Esther chapter 7 and Esther chapter 8. 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:37.199 So if you have a Bible, want to turn there on your phone, whatever, that's fine. 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:39.199 We'll have the verses up on the screens for sure. 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:41.280 It's just always nice to have it in hand. 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:43.360 So here's the story so far. 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:49.439 Esther is a woman, a Jewish woman, who lives in the Persian Empire, 500 BC. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:52.800 So obviously, someone we can all relate to easily, okay? 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:56.400 500 BC, she's Jewish, but no one knows that she's Jewish. 00:02:56.639 --> 00:03:00.560 Her uncle, a man named Mordecai, has raised her as his own daughter. 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:05.759 He is a palace guard at the fortress of Susa, where King Xerxes resides. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:08.560 And he has kept his nationality a secret. 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:12.400 The Jewish people were not looked upon favorably, but they're God's people. 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:17.599 The Persians saw them as the people who were conquered by the people they conquered. 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:23.199 So they didn't have a lot of respect, and the Jewish people had many enemies in Persia. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:26.400 So Mordecai kept his identity a secret. 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:28.479 He asked Esther to do the same. 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:36.479 One day Esther and a number of other young women were kidnapped and brought to the fortress of Susa to be part of the king's harem. 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:40.159 It was a sick thing, but King Xerxes was a sick man. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:43.439 She is now the property of the king. 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:44.560 She belongs to him. 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:46.319 Her whole life belongs to him. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:51.360 But God is with her and God favors her, and so she is chosen to be the queen. 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:59.680 She goes from being a Jewish girl in this big empire to literally being a sex slave, to being queen of all of Persia. 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:02.000 It's a pretty wild ride. 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:05.599 But even as the queen, she keeps her nationality a secret. 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:09.120 Now, there's this man named Haman that enters the story. 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:11.360 Haman is a very powerful man. 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:13.919 He is second only to Xerxes. 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:16.720 He has complete authority, he's very wealthy. 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:22.079 Haman desires for himself to be lifted up higher than anyone in the empire. 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:24.959 He wants everyone to be beneath him. 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:27.279 That's his life's goal. 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:31.279 And Haman absolutely hates the Jewish people. 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:33.680 He specifically hates Mordecai. 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:41.439 Mordecai and Haman have kind of a run-in, and Haman decides the best way to get back at Mordecai is to have all the Jewish people killed, every single one. 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:45.360 There were 15 million Jewish people living in Persia. 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:48.480 Haman's not going to have to get the army to do it for him. 00:04:48.639 --> 00:05:00.399 He simply has a law put into place that says on a certain day, about a year later, it was March 7th, anyone who was an enemy of the Jews could kill them and take their belongings. 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:05.519 He knew that that group of people had so many enemies he wouldn't have to do anything himself. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:07.839 He wouldn't have to employ the military. 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:14.160 And you can imagine that after that law went into place, the enemies of God's people made themselves known. 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:17.839 The taunts that would have happened every single day. 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:20.879 The reminders that March 7th was coming. 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:23.439 The Jewish people lived in fear. 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:27.839 Mordecai finds out about this, and he knows there's only one person that can do something. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:29.120 That person is Esther. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:32.079 So he goes to the queen and he says, You've got to do something. 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:34.720 You're in a position to make a difference. 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:36.240 You have to take action. 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:38.079 But Esther is reluctant. 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:43.120 She has not been invited into the king's presence, and you do not interrupt the king. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:48.399 Interrupting the king without being invited was punishable by death, even to the queen. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:51.040 So Esther has a serious decision to make. 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:55.279 She prays, she fasts, and then she decides to go to the king. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:59.279 And when she goes to King Xerxes, he does not have her executed. 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:02.800 He looks at her and says, Tell me what you want and I'll give it to you. 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:08.720 And Esther says, Okay, come to a banquet today and bring Haman. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:13.120 So Haman and King Xerxes go to this banquet. 00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:18.160 Haman is thrilled, by the way, being the third wheel for King Xerxes and Queen Esther, he loves it. 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:19.839 He thinks this is a great honor. 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:24.959 And at this banquet, Esther says, Will you come to another banquet tomorrow? 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:27.519 And at that banquet, I'll tell you what I really want. 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:30.560 So Haman gets invited to banquet number two. 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:34.560 Not one, but two banquets, where he is the only guest of the king and the queen. 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:36.399 He is on cloud nine. 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:37.839 He's eating this up. 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:44.480 But on his way home, basking in his own importance, he bumps into Mordecai and it ruins it for him. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:50.079 You ever had a day where like eight things go really well, but then one thing goes wrong, and you're like, I had a terrible day. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:50.800 Terrible. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:51.199 Right? 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:53.839 That is what Haman experiences. 00:06:54.240 --> 00:07:01.120 He gets home and he just can't get over the fact that every time he sees Mordecai, it ruins his, it ruins his mood, it brings him down. 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:12.319 But he's feeling so important right now is not only the second in command of all Persia, but as the special friend and guest of the king and queen, that he decides March 7th is too long to wait. 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:20.079 He talks to his wife and to his friends, and they give him some really terrible advice that he takes, and he decides that he's gonna have Mordecai executed the next day. 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:28.240 So he has a 75-foot-tall pole built in his courtyard, and the next day he's gonna have Mordecai impaled on that pole. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:32.399 That was the execution method of choice in Persia. 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:41.920 The very next day he's on his way to talk to King Xerxes to get permission to impale Mordecai, but the night before King Xerxes couldn't sleep. 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:48.560 And I guess when King Xerxes can't sleep, he likes someone to read to him and he likes to have stories about himself read to him. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:50.079 That's what happened the night before. 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:54.000 And this one particular story that was shared with him was one that he had forgotten. 00:07:54.160 --> 00:08:00.240 There was a palace guard years ago that had exposed an assassination attempt on Xerxes' life. 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:04.079 He'd exposed this plot to assassinate and kill Xerxes. 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:06.160 And Xerxes had forgotten about this. 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:09.360 Xerxes realized he hadn't done anything to thank the guy. 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:13.680 This is like one of those, I should have sent a thank you note times 10 moments. 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:18.399 And he decides that very moment, I'm gonna do something to thank this palace guard. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:20.480 That man's name was Mordecai. 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:28.000 So Haman shows up to ask permission to execute Mordecai, and Xerxes says, Haman, just the man I wanted to see. 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:32.960 What should the king do to show someone he really loves and appreciates them? 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:40.799 And Haman, on cloud nine from these banquets and his own deluded self-importance, he says, Ah, the king's talking about me. 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:43.440 Here's what you should do. 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:46.559 Let this guy wear your clothes, let him ride your horse. 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:49.360 And this is really creepy when you think about this, okay? 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:55.840 Let him dress up like you, let him ride your horse, and let him have a parade thrown in his honor around the whole city of Susa. 00:08:56.159 --> 00:08:59.759 Have someone go in front of the parade and say, Everyone, look, look at this man. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:03.120 This is what the king does to those he wishes to honor. 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:06.080 And Xerxes says, Good idea. 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:07.759 Do that for Mordecai. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:17.039 And so Haman has to parade Mordecai, the man he was planning on having impaled that very day, around the city of Susa. 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:18.799 He is humiliated. 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:22.799 But at least he has the second banquet to look forward to. 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:25.200 Maybe his spirits will be lifted. 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:27.200 And Ken kind of alluded to this last week. 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:28.159 He talked about it briefly. 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:30.159 We're gonna focus on it a little bit more. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:32.960 He's gonna have a really bad day, okay? 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:38.000 Things are not gonna get better for Haman, and we're gonna see the tables turned in a powerful way. 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:44.000 We talked earlier about how we can look at our lives and see a need for a role reversal. 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:47.039 Maybe we feel low, we need to be lifted up. 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:52.320 Maybe we're underappreciated at work, and we need to be recognized. 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:54.080 We need things to change. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:56.159 Things are about to change for Haman. 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:59.200 This is a role reversal of epic proportions. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:03.519 Being in a role reversal situation is kind of unnerving. 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:05.279 It's stressful, it's a little awkward. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:08.080 Anyone ever had to parent a parent before? 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:09.600 Strange, right? 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:15.360 When you find yourselves advising your parents, maybe even having to physically care for your parents. 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.559 Some of us maybe have been on the other side of that equation. 00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:24.399 We've had to depend on our children, or depend on someone that used to depend on us. 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:26.799 That's a difficult thing to navigate. 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:29.039 Role reversals are hard. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:34.000 My wife and I have a very interesting role reversal that happens every single day in our marriage. 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:38.320 If you know me very well, and you don't really have to know me that well to know this, I am a talker. 00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:40.159 I enjoy talking. 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:41.919 Just what I do. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:44.399 I wake up talking, literally. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:45.919 I wake up, I take a shower. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:51.759 I'm a pastor, so I wear a wetsuit, and I get in the shower, and uh, you know, didn't want to meddle anyway. 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:54.480 Um and in the shower, I will talk to my wife. 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:58.639 She'll come in the bathroom and brush her teeth at six in the morning, and I'm like, hey, I had a great idea. 00:10:58.799 --> 00:10:59.679 I think we should do this at work. 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:03.759 And oh, what if tomorrow we call those people and hey, we really need to get this checked out? 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:06.000 And she will just say, shut up. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:08.720 It's six o'clock in the morning. 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:10.000 Why are you talking? 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:14.720 She needs like 45 minutes and a lot of coffee before she's ready for that. 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:17.360 Every single day, that's our marriage. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:23.840 I just kind of think out loud, and so sometimes my wife will look at me and say, You're talking right now. 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:27.600 I don't know if you want to have a conversation or if you're just thinking out loud. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:29.039 Just tell me what's going on. 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:32.879 And I have to say, Yeah, I just, yeah, I'm just thinking out loud. 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:36.320 But see, then we go to bed at night and everything changes. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:39.279 When my head hits the pillow, I am ready to go to sleep. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:42.720 I'm like 30 seconds away from sleep at any given moment. 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:48.799 When my wife's head hits the pillow, everything she has thought about for the entire day comes out. 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:49.840 Everything. 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:50.480 Okay? 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:54.080 It's crazy. 00:11:54.159 --> 00:12:00.879 I don't know if it's because she lays down and there's something like physiologically that just pushes out of her, but she starts talking about everything. 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:06.240 And I'm half asleep and I'm just having a nod in my head, and she wakes up in the morning thinking, when will he shut up? 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:08.879 I go to bed at night thinking, when will she shut up? 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:14.159 And I'll stop her sometimes and say, Megan, do you really want to have a conversation right now? 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:16.720 Or are you just thinking out loud, please? 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:18.559 And then the next morning it switches. 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:20.559 That is every day in our marriage. 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:23.120 Role reversals are hard. 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:28.399 The biggest role reversal I've ever experienced in my life has to do with my younger brother. 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:30.879 I have a brother that is six years younger than me. 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.039 Any big brothers in the room right now. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:35.279 All right, big brothers, you you understand me. 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:38.000 So big brothers must win. 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:41.519 Everything is a competition between brothers. 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:44.720 Ladies, I don't care what they say, it's true. 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:48.240 Everything is a competition between brothers. 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:51.120 Fantasy football hinges on this. 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:57.759 If there were not brothers in the world competing for everything, things like fantasy football would not exist. 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:03.360 So my brother and I grew up competing, but I'm six years older, so I had the upper hand most of our lives. 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:04.720 We actually got along really well. 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:07.039 There weren't a lot of fights growing up. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:11.600 I only laid into him one time, and he will even tell you to this day that he had it coming. 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:19.440 But I did remind him often that I was the big brother, that I was bigger, that I was stronger, and that if he pushed me too far, I could take him. 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:23.840 My favorite place to remind him of this dynamic was in a swimming pool. 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:36.480 If we were ever swimming, you know, at somebody's pool or something like that, it would just become me dunking my brother over and over again, picking him up and throwing him, just reminding him how much bigger and stronger I am than him. 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:38.559 Well, now we're adults. 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:41.279 And he is still my younger brother, but he's not my little brother. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:42.320 He's taller than me. 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:44.480 He's thinner than me, and he's stronger than me. 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:48.080 So that's like an older brother's nightmare come to life. 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:55.759 A couple years ago, we were at a swimming pool and we were playing with my son Liam, who was about two at the time, and he was having a blast. 00:13:55.840 --> 00:14:00.240 And there's something weird about brothers, those of us that are in that relationship know what I'm talking about. 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:06.080 When you're together, it does not matter if you're an adult, you revert back to the dynamic you had when you're children. 00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:13.600 So you'll argue like your kids, you'll push each other like your kids, and all of a sudden, my brother and I are wrestling in this pool. 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:16.240 My son thought it was hilarious, he's enjoying it. 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:18.799 And as we're wrestling, I decided to use this move. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:21.120 This was my go-to move when we were kids. 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:24.000 Take my brother down, and it didn't work. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:29.840 And I realized that this move requires me to be stronger than him and bigger than him. 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:36.720 And so I found that not only could I no longer overpower my brother, but he began to overpower me. 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:38.960 And my son was watching. 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:42.320 And this is a this is an emergency, right? 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:48.960 So I sort of laughed it off, like, oh, I lifted yesterday, so I'm a little like this a little tense, you know. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:53.519 I, you know, my back, oh, once you get like 30 plus, you can just be like, oh, my back at any given time. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:55.360 And people go, okay, yeah, you're back, you know. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:56.639 That's fine. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:58.320 But I was so nervous. 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:01.679 I've actually had a similar dynamic with him just this last few weeks. 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:05.440 We were talking about Christmas, and my family is a little strange. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:08.960 We don't really value the surprise of a Christmas gift. 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:15.759 Every single year, my mom will send me a picture of what she is getting me for Christmas and say, Would you like this if I got it for you? 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:16.879 She did this a few days ago. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:17.919 I said no. 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:20.159 And she's like, Oh, I'll return it then. 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:20.639 Okay. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:24.879 So on Christmas morning at my house, there's no surprise. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:27.759 We unwrap the gifts and we're like, Yeah, that's what I thought. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:30.799 There's also no disappointment though, okay? 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:36.480 There's no returning anything, and there's definitely none of that, like, oh no, I really like this. 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:40.480 This is so much better than what I asked you for many times. 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:41.519 This is great. 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:43.600 That doesn't happen at my house. 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:49.840 So my brother calls me up a few days ago and he says, Hey, if I got you this for Christmas, would you like it? 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:57.600 And what he said he was planning on getting me is very nice and it's expensive, and I'm not going to return the gift. 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:01.120 Like, I'm not gonna spend as much money on him as he's planning on spending on me. 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:03.039 I'm just not going to, I can't. 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:07.440 But it's a strange thing because yes, I'd love it, but you're my little brother. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:08.960 You're the little one. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:14.960 I'm supposed to win the Christmas gift giving competition every single year because I'm the brother, I'm the big one. 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:16.399 But it's really nice. 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:18.320 I'm so tempted to say no. 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:20.320 Because it's just a strange dynamic. 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:22.960 I don't feel like I deserve it, I don't feel like I can pay it back. 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:24.000 He's my little brother. 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:28.879 That's a weird role reversal there for him to provide more for me than I can provide for him. 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:32.399 I'm so tempted to say no, but I'm not going to. 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:36.159 Because, see, we've got to be above temptation. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:44.159 People, like we, it's just we can't live our lives subject to temptation. 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:46.720 We've got to rise above, all right? 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:50.320 And what he wants to get me is really nice. 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:53.840 And it's it's made out of technology, which is like my weakness. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:57.039 Anything that has a power button, it has my heart. 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:01.279 And so I'm gonna do the right thing and say yes this year. 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:06.240 It's still hard though, it's still so awkward for me because I just want to say no. 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:08.400 It's a role reversal. 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:21.200 Scripture is full of role reversals, several of which actually involve younger brothers like taking over for their big brothers, Jacob and Esau, David and his brothers, Joseph, and all there's tons of those. 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:25.839 Jesus and John the Baptist had an interesting one in Matthew chapter 3. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:30.880 Verse 13, it says, Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:33.039 But John tried to talk him out of it. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:36.400 I'm the one who needs to be baptized by you, he said. 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:38.319 So why are you coming to me? 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:42.559 But Jesus said it should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires. 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:45.279 So John agreed to baptize him. 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:47.440 Can you imagine that for John? 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:49.599 Baptizing Jesus. 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:51.920 And I don't know what they said in those days. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:57.839 I don't know if John was like, I baptize you in the name of the Father and yourself and the Holy Spirit. 00:17:58.079 --> 00:17:59.680 Like, that's a strange thing. 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:00.880 What do you do? 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:03.920 And John felt the awkwardness of that. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:07.279 Like, how can I, Jesus, you should be baptizing me? 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:09.599 And Scripture is just full of those statements. 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:18.160 Jesus said in Matthew 20, 16 that those who are last now on earth will be first then, talking about the kingdom of heaven. 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:20.000 And those who are first will be last. 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:22.079 So that's a role reversal. 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:29.680 It's the people in this world, in this life, that serve and give of themselves that will be the most honored in God's kingdom. 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:33.839 Matthew 23, 12, we've looked at this verse a few times in the last few weeks. 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:39.839 It says, But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:41.359 It's a roll reversal. 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:48.079 Scripture is full of these, and Esther shows us an incredible roll reversal. 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:51.279 I believe it's the second greatest role reversal in history. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:53.119 Esther 7 1. 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:56.319 So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther's banquet. 00:18:56.400 --> 00:18:57.440 This is the second banquet. 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:07.119 It says, on this second occasion, while they were drinking wine, then King Esther, or the king again said to Esther, Tell me what you want, Queen Esther, what is your request? 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:10.240 And I will give it to you, even if it's half the kingdom. 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:20.160 Queen Esther replied, If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request, I ask that my life and the lives of my people will be spared. 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:24.640 For my people and I have been sold to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:32.480 If we had merely been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet, for that would be too trivial a matter to warrant disturbing the king. 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:34.400 Who would do such a thing? 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:35.680 King Esther demanded. 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:39.119 Who would be so presumptuous as to touch you? 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:43.759 And Esther replied, This wicked Haman is our adversary and our enemy. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:47.519 Haman grew pale with fright before the king and queen. 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:51.839 And then the king jumped to his feet in a rage and went out into the palace garden. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:58.799 Haman, however, stayed behind to plead for his life with Queen Esther, for he knew that the king intended to kill him. 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:05.359 In despair he fell on the couch where Queen Esther was reclining, just as the king was returning from the palace garden. 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:11.279 The king exclaimed, Will he even assault the queen right here in the palace before my very eyes? 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:16.480 And as soon as the king spoke, his attendants covered Haman's face, signaling his doom. 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:23.759 Then Harbona, one of the king's eunuchs, said, Haman has set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall in his own courtyard. 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:29.119 He intended to use it to impale Mordecai, the man who saved the king from assassination. 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:33.440 Then impale Haman on it, the king ordered. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:39.440 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and the king's anger subsided. 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:45.279 We should just stop for a second and appreciate the fact that Haman got everything he wanted. 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:49.359 Beth Moore has an amazing Bible study on the book of Esther. 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:52.720 She brings this up that Haman wanted to be above everyone. 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:54.559 And he got that. 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:58.799 Haman wanted everyone in Persia to be beneath him, to look down on them. 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:01.039 Haman got to live that dream. 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:06.400 Haman wanted everyone to point to him and to look and say, Hey, look, there's Haman. 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:08.319 Haman got that. 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:10.160 But it doesn't end there. 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:11.519 The role reversal continues. 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:12.799 Chapter 8, verse 1. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:18.160 On that same day, King Xerxes gave the property of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther. 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:22.000 And this man was extremely, extremely wealthy. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:27.279 And then Mordecai was brought before the king, for Esther had told the king how they were related. 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:31.519 The king took off his signet ring, which had been taken back from Haman. 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:35.920 That ring, by the way, gave whoever wore it the same authority as the king. 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:38.160 And he gave it to Mordecai. 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:42.720 And Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of Haman's property. 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:46.079 It's a pretty good role reversal. 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:50.000 Haman is impaled on the poll that he intended for Mordecai. 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:57.759 Mordecai gets Haman's job, his finances, his wealth, he gets his authority. 00:21:58.079 --> 00:21:59.759 Everything has complete. 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:01.599 Changed. 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:11.119 When people make bold, wise, and godly choices, everything can change. 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:17.279 I said that this is the second greatest role reversal in history. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:21.359 What I love about it, though, is it very much points to the first. 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:25.839 The amazing thing about the Old Testament is that it just constantly points to Jesus. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:27.519 It's pretty crazy, actually. 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:30.559 It's foreshadowing after foreshadowing. 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:39.839 You look at the story of Esther, God's people are saved because a man is executed on a piece of wood. 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:45.119 He's executed by an empire that is reigning over Israel at that time. 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:51.440 The method of execution involves his body being pierced on a piece of wood and placed high above for everyone to see. 00:22:52.319 --> 00:23:02.799 Fast forward a few years, and all people are saved by a man being executed by the Roman government, a government that happened to occupy Israel at that time. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:11.680 Their method of execution involved a man's body being pierced on a piece of wood and placed high for everyone to see. 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:15.440 Haman was executed on the 17th of Nisan. 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:19.599 This is an ancient day in the calendars that appears often in Scripture. 00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:21.599 My friend Bill Thrasher showed me that this week. 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:23.119 It was mind-blowing. 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:26.559 Jesus rose from the dead on the 17th of Nisan. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:31.599 So this whole story, it's pointing to Jesus. 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:34.880 There's too many similarities. 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:42.319 It's pointing to the greatest role reversal in history, and that is the cross. 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:52.240 And in dying, saving innocent people. 00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:56.880 But in our role reversal, it's switched. 00:23:57.039 --> 00:23:58.480 It's an innocent man. 00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:07.839 God himself, the greatest man to ever grace this earth with his presence, a man full of truth and love and honesty and compassion and power. 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:13.359 Dying on a cross for guilty people. 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:19.440 Taking their place, trading places with them. 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:23.599 The greatest role reversal in history is Jesus and us. 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:34.640 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering of our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:45.599 Romans 3.21 says, but now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:49.200 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. 00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:52.559 And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:53.680 I love that. 00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:55.920 For everyone has sinned. 00:24:56.160 --> 00:24:58.720 We all fall short of God's glorious standard. 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:03.279 Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:11.200 He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins, for God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:18.000 People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:28.720 This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. 00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:39.279 God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be made right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:42.640 That's the role reversal. 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:53.839 It's our mistakes, our sin, our shortcomings, our failures taken upon Jesus to the cross. 00:25:54.160 --> 00:26:01.759 And it's his perfection, his righteousness, his goodness that is given to us. 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:06.319 Anybody feel like I feel with my little brother? 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:07.920 Hey, you don't have to. 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:12.720 That's a nice gesture, but it's hard to accept. 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:15.920 I don't like to be given something that I haven't earned. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:18.160 I don't like to be given something that I can't pay back. 00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:25.599 I don't like to be given something that I know I could never give back. 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:32.319 But this is not Jesus saying, hey, if I did this for you, would you like it? 00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:35.440 Because Jesus has already done it. 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:36.480 He's done. 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:39.200 He's given his life, he's given the gift. 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:44.000 Like it or not, deserving of it or not, it has been given to us. 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:49.279 And our choice is simple, but still difficult in a strange way. 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:53.119 Our choice is to accept. 00:26:56.319 --> 00:27:02.400 Galatians 3.27 says, All who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:06.720