WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:01.280 Good morning. 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:07.120 You know it's gonna be a good morning when you're wearing the exact same shirt. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:08.160 Justin is. 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:09.199 Excellent. 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:10.960 There must have been a sale. 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:22.960 So the message series is uh we're going through the book of Esther, and Justin started us last week with kind of an introduction, and today we're gonna look at the very first chapter of the Book of Esther. 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:27.359 So the theme for the series is this is all about choices. 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:37.280 And so the choice we have this morning is choose our king, which is good because uh really we're only gonna meet one main character this morning in the story. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:43.759 We're gonna set the scene and kind of understand a lot more about the city, but the main character we're gonna meet is the king. 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:47.200 So choose your king this morning. 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:50.960 So as we start, wow, there's a tambourine right here. 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:53.439 If I feel that, I'm gonna pick that up. 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:54.640 That's awesome. 00:00:54.880 --> 00:01:01.439 So as we start this morning, uh let me tell you a weird story about how I began my my work career. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:05.760 This is right as I got out of college and just started working. 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:11.040 So I grew up at a pretty big church not too far from here, very involved in the music program. 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:24.799 And the guy there, the worship director, he took me under his wing, like middle school and high school, kind of like Justin was just describing some of these guys here, and really encouraged me to pursue music, maybe even professionally. 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:34.079 And but right as I was uh graduating high school, about to go into college, uh that guy had to resign personal scandal, and it was just a big mess. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:38.640 He's very repentant, it was a great example, but it was just kind of a loss, you know. 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:49.120 It's uh when I came back from college, he he wasn't there and as a different person, a couple different guys there, and they sort of knew me, but it just felt like it was a bit of a loss. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:51.359 But I would still help out on occasion. 00:01:51.519 --> 00:02:00.079 When I got out of college, I tried to pursue uh you know music professionally, and it didn't quite sink, and I didn't know why that was. 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:05.439 And occasionally I'd just be pulled back, you know, just like magnetically pulled back here, just helping out. 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:06.959 These guys sort of knew me. 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:13.360 So, fast forward another church in a different part of town, different denomination I wouldn't normally visit. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:17.360 Pianist there punches his hand through a car window. 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:19.280 I don't know, it's just a weird story. 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:26.560 I told you it was gonna be weird, and I never asked for a reason, and not wise to do that as a piano player, he just shattered that he couldn't play for months. 00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:29.840 So they had to have a fill-in on the piano player. 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:41.759 So that guy that was the worship director there just happened to go to college with the new worship director at my church, so he recommended me and I filled in there for three months. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:47.919 That led to a recommendation with that denomination for me to be a worship director at a church plant. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:55.360 I'd never thought about doing that, but I prayed through it, took that opportunity, I ended up doing that for like seven years. 00:02:55.599 --> 00:03:04.479 But the first five years of that, it was like starting a church, and we would rent uh a dollar movie theater and set up sound from the bottom up every single Sunday morning. 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:06.400 It was just a tremendous amount of work. 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:12.080 My life was going in a whole different way, and I didn't have time to really do much other music stuff. 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:16.960 I started the software developing stuff, and it's been 20 years I've done that. 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:26.319 And officially everything just didn't look according to plan, but I still kind of felt like I was where God needed me to be. 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:43.599 But then finally, one day, I understood light bulb, exactly why God had been moving, and I felt like these circumstances were beyond my control, but there was a reason. 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:47.599 But I'm not gonna tell you that reason this morning. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:59.439 Not gonna tell you, because the point of the illustration is I want you to feel that disappointment of the disappointment of an unfinished story, all that setup, and then why? 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:04.159 Why is it prove to me that was worth it, and we just don't know. 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:06.800 And that's what we're gonna talk about this morning. 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:26.879 It's just that feeling of you're bouncing around in life, and it kind of feels like you are at the whim of these arbitrary decisions, or people around you are making bad choices or things you don't understand, and it's just you are left to live in the wake of those choices. 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:42.160 You know, some guy uh has a personal tragedy, another guy punches his hand through a car window, another guy happens to go to college with a different guy, and then you know, dot, dot, dot, my life is forever affected. 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:43.360 How's that fair? 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:47.680 It's not it's not my fault, God, you don't seem to care what's going on. 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:50.000 Where do we go in those moments? 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:55.680 It's like the lot has been cast, and now this is the way my life's gonna be, and it's a headache. 00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:01.920 So the story this morning in the first chapter of Esther is about a guy named King Hedach. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:03.920 That's gonna be our nickname this morning. 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:06.639 Uh we know him as King Xerxes. 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:09.120 Uh, Xerxes was actually his Greek name. 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:11.920 The Greeks won, and so they got to name everybody. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:16.000 Uh, but his Persian name, very difficult to pronounce, I'm not gonna even try. 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:22.079 His Hebrew name uh was also difficult, ahashwurish or something like that. 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:27.279 And there's no specific name for that, but that is similar to their word for headache. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:30.639 So this is king headache we're gonna talk about this morning. 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:33.920 Kind of like my opening illustration, king headache. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:38.639 And Xerxes he came to the throne when he was 32 years old. 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:41.040 Uh, Esther starts in the third year of his reign. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:43.680 The book of Esther takes about 10 years. 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:47.279 Uh Xerxes was the son of King Darius. 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:55.120 If you can go back and remember from Western Civ, Darius was the Persian king that tried to attack Greece, totally lost. 00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:57.040 That was the Battle of Marathon. 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:06.079 And so Xerxes, when he comes on the throne, he's one of these guys, lots of guys like this, you know, they seem like they're really strong and big, but they don't really know what what they're doing. 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:13.519 He just kind of defines himself by what his dad did, and so all he cares about is he wants to avenge his dad's loss. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:15.920 So that's the main thing in his mind. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:19.199 And uh I don't want to spoil it for you, but he totally loses too. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:24.480 Loses even bigger, like you know, the movie 300, that's him losing big time. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:26.079 And he lost a couple times. 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:36.879 So when he starts his his reign, first thing he wants to do is have a war council, sell everybody on going back to war, and let's all lose again. 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:47.839 So he decides this is the third year of his reign, and he pulls in and has a huge banquet for uh there's two parts, two-part party. 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:53.519 First part is 180 days, and then a second party that's for seven days. 00:06:53.759 --> 00:07:01.839 So this first party, 180 days, he pulls in all the provincial leaders, military leaders across the entire Persian Empire. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:11.600 So if there are 127 provinces, it's maybe a one of one day was dedicated to each one of these provinces, or something like that. 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:17.920 But if if that wasn't the case, then this was like a 180-day-long, just epic party. 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:20.000 This is how rich this guy is. 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:22.639 Let's just, I mean, who has that kind of job, right? 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:27.040 Let's just all get together and party for 180 days and maybe talk about going to war. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:28.959 Count me in. 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:30.160 I will do that. 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:36.800 And so they 180 days, this big lavish party, and then that's party number one. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:43.920 Party number two is uh for seven days, and that includes everyone in the capital city of Sousa. 00:07:44.319 --> 00:08:00.879 It's four different capital cities, they kind of rotated with the seasons, and so they were in Sousa, and it's this seven-day party, probably a reward for everyone else, the common folk, that had to serve all the provincial leaders for 180 days. 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:06.879 Uh so it all kind of escalates to this big, huge party for the entire city, seven days. 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:10.480 And that's what's described at the beginning of the Book of Esther. 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:23.360 So at this citywide party, it's an outdoor party in the palace gardens, ornately decorated, and King Xerxes has an open bar the whole time. 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:27.439 It specifically says no limits on the amount of alcohol. 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:31.839 It had to be rather expensive, but he wanted to show off just how rich he was. 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:38.080 And he said all the alcohol should be served in these golden goblets from the king's treasury. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:46.480 So stop for a moment and just imagine how discouraging this is if you're a citizen of the town of Susa. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:50.480 And about 20% of the citizens here are the Jews. 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:56.879 And they've been uh dispersed into Babylon when Babylon conquered them. 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:14.960 And so the Persians have conquered Babylon now generations later, and they've integrated into society, but you have to pause what you've, your normal life, for 180 days to serve these provincial military leaders on a war that you probably don't want to do. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:16.639 Everybody knows we're gonna lose again. 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:19.519 So you're not really in agreement with the whole thing. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:33.360 And then the one week comes when you can finally participate in the festivities, open bar, but then again, you have to carry around this golden goblet all week from the king's treasury. 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:40.639 And it's so insulting because it's this is probably represents a year's income for you, or something like that. 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:46.799 And the king's attitude is just like, look how rich I am, take a sip and give it right back. 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:50.960 I mean, if the king's really so rich, why not? 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:53.120 Can we at least keep the party cups? 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:54.320 Come on. 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:57.039 Have you ever worked for a boss like that? 00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:57.679 You know? 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:00.399 Xerxes was all about Xerxes. 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:03.440 Everyone else exists to make me look good. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:08.799 Look how cool I am and rich and strong, and this is the culture you're stuck in. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:23.840 Once a great nation, and now you're holding this rented golden goblet, and you just feel like the choices in your life have been limited and the lot's been cast, and this is the hand I've been dealt. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:28.879 That's the discouraging place that we find ourselves at the beginning of the book of Esther. 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:42.399 Now I know this probably seems like a weird scene, this 180-day party and the war council, but we know from outside historical sources uh, like Herodotus, I read Herodotus all the time. 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:43.360 I'm just kidding. 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:45.039 I don't know what I'm talking about. 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:51.200 Uh Herodotus, he said Persian war councils uh typically had this pattern, actually. 00:10:51.360 --> 00:11:02.879 They would get drunk and debate a key military decision, come up with a decision, and then they would intentionally sober up the next day or two, reconvene, have the same debate. 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:06.240 If they came to the same decision sober, then they went with it. 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:09.919 If it was a different decision, I'm not making this up. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:14.799 If it came to a different decision, then they were like, back to the drawing board, let's get drunk again. 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:22.559 Or if they happened to have this the initial debate while sober, then they would schedule a follow-up, let's get drunk and re-debate session. 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:24.960 And and that was their pattern. 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:30.320 But it was because they thought the intoxication brought him into closer contact with the spiritual world. 00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:32.559 So that's even more depressing. 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:34.799 This is the culture you are in now. 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:39.919 Bad decisions are not just commonplace, they're like systemic. 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:43.120 They're built in, they're always gonna happen. 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:46.799 This is where you find yourself. 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:49.840 So let's pick up the story here in the book of Esther. 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.879 This is um starting in verse 9. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.360 Your crummy job, the poor decisions. 00:11:56.559 --> 00:12:02.399 So at the same time, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:14.159 On the seventh day of the feast, when King Xerxes was in high spirits because of the wine, he told the seven eunuchs who attended him eunuchs one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven. 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:17.519 Yeah, I can't do that. 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:23.440 To bring, Herodotus could do that, to bring Queen Vashti to him with a royal crown on her head. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:29.600 He wanted the nobles and all the other men to gaze on her beauty, for she was a very beautiful woman. 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:34.879 But when they conveyed the king's order to Queen Vashti, she refused to come. 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:39.600 And this made the king furious, and he burned with anger. 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:44.879 So here we have kind of our one one and only plot point of the day. 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:48.000 Queen Vashti just says no. 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:52.399 She makes a choice, and this is about choices. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:58.240 Now, unfortunately, we don't really have any information on why she made this particular choice. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:02.720 We can only speculate, so I don't want to try to act like I know. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:09.279 But from our perspective, it seems like this is a good call, you know, because of Xerxes and who he is. 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:15.200 But there's so many good reasons why you might say no, that we can speculate. 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:23.039 I mean, she might have been requested to come before all these drunken men wearing only the crown. 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:24.399 You know what I mean? 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:30.399 Or maybe she was just not particularly excited about being paraded in front of a bunch of drunken men. 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:42.639 Or maybe she was not particularly excited about going to war against uh against the Greeks again, potentially losing millions of lives, which is exactly what they did. 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:48.159 He marches with nearly two million soldiers and comes back with a few thousand. 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:52.080 So maybe she said, somebody's gotta say something. 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:57.519 Or historically, we know Xerxes had a son the same year of this war council. 00:13:57.600 --> 00:13:59.200 So she might have been eight months pregnant. 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:00.559 I mean, come on. 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:04.000 You know, you don't even want to go to the store at that point, much less. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:05.679 You gotta be kidding. 00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:08.240 Or maybe she was just being petty. 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:09.039 We don't know. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:13.600 But this is a great example of just making a choice, and it is really important. 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:18.559 And God really uses this, we'll see in the later chapters. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:27.600 And it's just it's so ironic because Xerxes spends 187 days trying to sell everyone on just how strong he is. 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:33.679 This is how amazing I am as a man, and I want to arouse your jealousy. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:47.519 And then at the very last day of the seven-day feast that ends this, he wants to crescendo and escalate to a final display of his glory, which is really the glory of somebody else. 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:53.440 And then, in a single word, a courageous woman says no. 00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:58.960 And in Xerxes' mind, it's about all, it's gonna all crumble. 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:05.519 His entire empire, he thinks, is at risk, is what we'll we'll see here in a second. 00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:14.720 So he he looks on the outside at first to be so strong, but really this is a weak and insecure man. 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:19.120 So quickly he can fall. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.879 So let's pick up the story in verse 13. 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:31.600 He immediately consulted with his wise advisors, who knew all the Persian laws and customs, for he always asked their advice. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:37.120 The names of these men were advisors one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven. 00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:39.519 Practice that at home, you want. 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:41.840 Seven nobles of Persia and Media. 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:46.720 They met with the king regularly and held the highest positions in the empire. 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:49.279 What must be done to Queen Vashti? 00:15:49.440 --> 00:15:50.480 The king demanded. 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:57.679 What penalty does the law provide for a queen who refuses to obey the king's orders, properly sent through the eunuchs? 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:01.120 Well, I sent it through the eunuchs, I should be able to say whatever I want. 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:04.320 Mamukin answered the king and his nobles. 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:12.159 Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king, but also every noble and citizen throughout the empire. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:20.159 Women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands when they learn that Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the king. 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:28.639 Before this day is out, because apparently they had Facebook or something, or Xerxogram. 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:29.919 Zerxesagram? 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:31.440 I was told that joke from Chris. 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:33.120 I I just bumbled it. 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:45.840 Anyway, before the day is out, the wives of all the king's nobles throughout Persia and media will hear what the queen did and will start treating their husbands the same way. 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:49.279 There will be no end to their contempt and anger. 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:56.720 So if it please the king, we suggest that you issue a written decree, a law of the Persians and Medes that cannot be revoked. 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:05.200 It should order that Queen Vashti be forever banished from the presence of King Xerxes, and that the king should choose another queen more worthy than she. 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:14.400 When this decree is published throughout the king's vast empire, husbands everywhere, whatever their rank, will receive proper respect from their wives. 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:20.319 The king and his nobles throughout thought that this made good sense for some reason. 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:22.880 So he followed Mamukin's counsel. 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:34.400 He sent letters to all parts of the empire, to each province in its own script and language, proclaiming that every man should be the ruler of his own home and should say whatever he pleases. 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:40.079 Dramatic pause. 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:40.960 Really? 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:43.039 Really? 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:45.680 So it's like it's like there's so much comedy there. 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:47.440 Where to even start? 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:49.039 Where to even start? 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:57.200 So it the King Xerxes, he says, he admits to his advisors, okay, you know, I can't control my wife. 00:17:57.440 --> 00:17:58.960 We just could be honest about that. 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:06.240 If I'm drawing a diagram, you know, and if this represents the circle of influence I have in life, my wife likes to hang out over here. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:08.799 And so what do I do about that? 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.119 And the advisors say, okay. 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:15.920 Well, the important thing is you don't want anybody to know about that because that's embarrassing. 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:17.039 Oh my goodness. 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:29.200 So what you need to do is send out a written proclamation to every single person in the empire in every possible language, telling them exactly what just happened. 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:31.440 So that everyone will know. 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:34.319 But it gets even better. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:44.000 Not only that, but in that same proclamation, you need to instruct that every other man do exactly what you've just admitted you cannot do. 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:45.599 Control your wife. 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:47.680 I mean, that'll go really well, right? 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:50.880 As if anyone can be controlled. 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:54.640 And King Xerxes is dumb enough to just fall for this. 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:57.039 Sure, that sounds like a great idea. 00:18:57.200 --> 00:18:59.039 Let's just broadcast this. 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:02.640 And it's so frustrating. 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:09.839 But in reality, these advisors, they probably are just, they just want King Xerxes' position. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:16.559 And so traditionally, wives were picked most often from these seven uh advisors' families. 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:25.839 And so they're just thinking it's gonna be one of our daughters that's picked, more power and influence for us, and this will make the king look bad, and hey, win-win for us. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:31.200 And Xerxes, he's so tied in with his ego, he doesn't even see this. 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:32.880 He goes along with it. 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:37.680 So remember, this is the place where you work, and you're stuck. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:43.359 This is your town, and you just think this is a recipe for disaster. 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:47.680 What good could possibly come from this? 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:50.240 I feel trapped. 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:59.680 I shoved this golden goblet in my hand, the lot's been cast, and I live my life at the whim of a madman. 00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:03.440 So, how does this story end? 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:05.680 Where does this story go? 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.279 Well, as you might guess, I'm not gonna tell you how it ends. 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:10.799 Because that's the theme of the service. 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:12.400 I'm just not gonna tell you anything at all. 00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:18.319 No, the reason I'm not gonna tell you this one is because that's where the sermon series is gonna go in the next few chapters. 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.440 Justin is gonna get into that in the next few weeks. 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:26.880 This seems like a recipe for disaster, but I'll give you a hint. 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:31.119 It's not, it's the recipe for something tremendous. 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:40.000 And there is a huge reversal of fortune that happens, and it actually ends up to be the most amazing thing, and it's a blessing. 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:50.640 It's a blessing so big that they initiate the Feast of Purim once a year, and that's still being celebrated today, thousands of years later. 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:53.680 It's an amazing story. 00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:59.440 So I've changed my mind, and I don't want to entirely disappoint this morning. 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:06.480 So let me go back and tell you what actually was the end of that opening story that I gave. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:17.039 You know, when I've first started to work and bouncing around, and I felt like my life was just going between circumstances that I were outside my control and my choices were getting limited. 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:26.960 And I didn't see it at the time, but really what that weird story was is that was the story of how I met Amy, my wife. 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:30.799 We've been married for 15 years and have two kids. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:38.559 Because Amy just happened to show up one day at that church where I ended up as worship director. 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:41.359 Third row from the back, right on the end. 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:43.039 I'll never forget. 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:45.200 Changed my life. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:55.200 A blessing so big that it easily made every single chess move that preceded it absolutely 100% worthwhile. 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:57.039 That's not even a discussion. 00:21:57.440 --> 00:21:59.680 And the thing is, I had been praying to God free. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:02.559 Years that God would lead me. 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:05.200 If he wants me to get married, who is this person? 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:08.240 I would say, God, this matters to me more than anything else. 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:10.079 Why don't you move? 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:12.720 And Amy was praying too. 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:15.039 And both sets of our parents also. 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:18.160 See, that got a big laugh in the other service, too. 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:18.480 Why? 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:19.279 Okay. 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:28.000 In fact, Amy's parents, before that story really got started, they happened to pray with the pastor of that church in the middle. 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:32.160 He was at their home one day and they prayed for a husband for Amy. 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:36.000 And that's around the same time that all this started to shift in my life. 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:38.400 And so it just kind of blows your mind. 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:47.839 God not only answered that prayer, but he allowed that pastor, that pastor's church, to be one of the puzzle pieces in what brought us together. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:51.920 And that allowed me to actually serve that pastor for a while. 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:56.079 And so God was always working in this. 00:22:56.240 --> 00:23:03.759 So the point is, for years I felt like I'm just at the whim of all this arbitrary stuff, and this is just lonely. 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:05.680 And where's God in all this? 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:13.200 But really, in reality, you know, it's like the backside of a tapestry that just looks like you're awful as a sewer. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:17.279 And then you turn it around and you realize that's beautiful. 00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:28.960 Because in reality, all those years, God was making choices in my life, and he was using things, and I was on a beeline in the fastest possible way to his best. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:30.960 And I think that was the fastest way. 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:34.640 I never got out really dated and all that stuff. 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:40.559 God did exactly what his plan was, he accomplished it. 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:44.079 And that's what changes, has to change in our lives. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:49.440 When we realize that we actually serve King Jesus. 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:53.440 King Jesus is the King that we choose. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:55.680 He's the one with the plan. 00:23:56.079 --> 00:24:00.880 He's the one that is unfazed by all this crazy stuff in life. 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:06.880 Even the bad choices, even all these circumstances that seem arbitrary, God uses it all. 00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:08.559 God's behind it all. 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:12.240 And we're not going to understand it, but he's the one with the plan. 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:17.759 Everybody else in life pretends to have a plan, be in control. 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:19.599 He really is. 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:25.279 And you not understanding that does not make it any less true. 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:27.599 That's his providence. 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:30.559 That's the theological term in that. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:34.960 That God's working and doing miraculous things even when we don't see it. 00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:41.759 And even when we think, well, I don't justify God's love or him miraculously moving. 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:44.640 He's just got a plan and he's doing it. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:56.640 But the trick is, and this is a this is a big irony, but only when we understand that, I want to try to connect a couple things that we normally think are at odds. 00:24:56.880 --> 00:25:06.559 But it's only when we when we come to grips with that, God's providence, that I serve King Jesus and He's behind everything that's going on in this world. 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:16.160 It's only when we accept that that we're finally unlocked to actually begin making real choices ourselves. 00:25:16.880 --> 00:25:23.359 It feels like if God's really in his providence, he's running everything, then what's there for me to do? 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:24.319 I can't make choices. 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:26.000 But that's not at all the reality. 00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:35.039 It's only when we accept that and know it that we're freed up for the very first time in our lives to really begin to choose. 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:46.960 Because it's all these other little small kings, you know, lowercase K in our lives, that they give us, they come to us and say, This is your purpose. 00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:49.039 And it just crushes us. 00:25:49.119 --> 00:25:51.759 And it feels like our choices are being limited. 00:25:52.079 --> 00:26:00.079 But when King Jesus says, This is your purpose, then our response is usually, I don't understand that. 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:01.359 It doesn't make any sense. 00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:04.880 But yet, it completely frees us. 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:08.640 And that's the first moment when we can begin to make choices. 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:10.799 Because God's always makes choices. 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:14.480 So let me illustrate what I mean by this. 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:24.160 In Colossians 3, Paul's talking to uh to servants and slaves that are members of the early church. 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:32.480 He says, Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you are working for the Lord rather than for people. 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:40.720 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the master you are serving is Christ. 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:43.759 So choose your king. 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:50.000 Whatever situation you find yourself in, Jesus is the one that's running everything. 00:26:50.240 --> 00:27:04.160 And the really amazing news this morning is that crazy boss that you have right now, or you've had in the past, that just you feel like you're constantly under their thumb and you're underappreciated and unrewarded. 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:08.720 At the end of the day, you and I don't really work for that person. 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:11.359 We work for King Jesus. 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:13.440 And that's not just a trick of the brain. 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:14.640 We really do. 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:16.799 He's the one that has the plan. 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:23.119 All these other little kings pretend to have a plan, but Jesus has the plan that will not be stopped. 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:26.400 No one stands before his army. 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:33.440 And so that only when we understand that perspective, and I know to a lot of us that just seems like, well, you're crazy, you're making that up. 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:37.519 But only when we have that perspective can we begin to choose. 00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:49.920 So the idea is if I know I work for King Jesus, then if King Jesus, capital K, tells me to work for a moment under this smaller king, then I can do it. 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:50.960 I can do it. 00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:52.880 And I can do it with joy. 00:27:53.200 --> 00:28:06.160 Joy not because of King headache, but joy because I work for a king who does see every single thing that I do, every good action, and it's always rewarded in the end. 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:08.160 I don't know what his plan is. 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:24.319 But if if God had come to me years before and said, here's the amazing woman you're gonna marry, and here's the cost or the life story you're gonna need to go through for a few years to get there, I would have said, Okay, easy enough. 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:25.200 It's fine. 00:28:25.519 --> 00:28:27.920 But yet I probably wouldn't have understood that, you know? 00:28:28.079 --> 00:28:29.519 And it wouldn't have worked. 00:28:29.599 --> 00:28:36.319 But God already knew that about me and was already treating me with the respect to be a part of that story. 00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:39.200 And we are all part of that story. 00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:49.119 So when we know we work for King Jesus, the person that's always going to see what we do and always reward it, then we can choose for the first time to have joy in what we do. 00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:57.440 And the joy feels really good because it's joy on one hand, and it feels really good because you get to choose. 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:02.559 Because it's no fun to be in a position where it just feels like someone is crushing you. 00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:10.640 But if you choose something, then all of a sudden now you're in the image of God and you're becoming who God sees you. 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:15.519 And it allows us to exceed expectations in our jobs. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:19.119 Do more than we're requested to do. 00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:25.680 If you're not doing that currently in your job, then you're missing one of the most enjoyable things in life. 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:27.359 We should all be doing that. 00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:29.759 That's what Jesus instructed us to do. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:42.000 And it's it's a painful truth, but if you are not exceeding expectations currently in your job, whatever it is, the only reason for that is because you're choosing not to. 00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:48.559 For all this talk we have about I don't have any choices in life, you have a choice to do that, and you're choosing not to. 00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:51.759 And you might say, well, why would I bother? 00:29:51.920 --> 00:29:56.079 No one would ever see it, and you know, there's no benefit from that, I don't want to get paid anymore. 00:29:56.400 --> 00:30:00.880 But that's that's the wrong perspective because you think you're working for King Headache. 00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:03.759 You work for King Jesus, and he does see it. 00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:10.640 And he asks us to do that not just so we can prove our love to him and be miserable and he likes to see us miserable or something like that. 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:25.279 He wants us to exceed expectations because he knows he will reward it, he will guide us on how to do that, he'll make good use of it, and he wants us to start living like people who are free and make their own choices. 00:30:25.599 --> 00:30:32.160 I know right now you're a slave, Paul says, but you don't have to think like that. 00:30:32.480 --> 00:30:33.839 You're not a slave. 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:34.960 You are free. 00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:40.720 And a great way to do that is just do more than is requested that you do. 00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:44.559 Because every time you do that, the joy comes. 00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:50.960 So if they, Jesus says, if someone says, go a mile, then go up, don't just go a mile, go two. 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:58.319 Because when you go the first mile, then that's just King Headache thinking he's getting what he's due. 00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:01.680 But you go the second mile, and that's you making a choice. 00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:03.440 And that feels really good. 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:07.680 And Jesus says, that's the way I want you to live, because that's a whole new way. 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:10.480 And that's the first time in your life you're making choices. 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:13.440 And you'll look strange, people think you're crazy. 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:15.519 What do you know that I don't? 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:17.440 But that's what it's all about. 00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:21.279 You do know something that unfortunately a lot of people don't know yet. 00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:23.680 So live in that freedom. 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:26.240 And that's what God has for us. 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:38.720 So I want us to identify with all those people in the city in that awful position, once a great nation, and holding these golden goblets in their hands, and ugh, my lot in life has been cast. 00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:40.720 That doesn't have to be our perspective. 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:46.480 We work for King Jesus and we can choose to have joy and exceed expectations. 00:31:46.559 --> 00:31:54.880 And it's not just a job, I use that because it's a common illustration, but this might be in your family or so many other categories in your life. 00:31:55.680 --> 00:32:01.920 But the other side of this, too, is identify with Queen Vashti in this story. 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:29.039 The other advantage of sitting at the feet of King Jesus and marching past every other pretend king in your life, and you sit underneath your true king, the other advantage in that is that at any moment, if King Jesus tells you it's time to speak and stand up and have your Vashti moment to these other smaller kings, then now you have the freedom, the choice to do it. 00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:31.279 Because you're not under someone. 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:32.960 And Jesus will guide you. 00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:39.680 Only do that if he guides you on how to do it, but it allows you to really begin to make choices. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:45.039 God has a wonderful plan for me, and for you, it's just you're no longer part of that plan. 00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:50.480 And I can do that now because I serve under a king who provides for me. 00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:52.559 His very name is provider. 00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:54.000 That's who Jesus is. 00:32:54.160 --> 00:33:01.599 And because I really know that, and I've heard that from him, now I can choose different things in my life. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:04.400 So that's our challenge this morning. 00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:06.559 Choose your king. 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:13.119 Step past every other smaller king in your life and sit at the feet of your true king. 00:33:13.359 --> 00:33:19.279 He's the one that has a plan and it's completely on track, even if you don't understand it. 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:22.079 Our king has already gone to war. 00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:26.559 He's not trying to just drum up a war council. 00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:31.279 He has already defeated the enemy, and his victory is our victory. 00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:33.359 And he invites us to his feast. 00:33:33.519 --> 00:33:37.119 It's not a 187-day feast, it's a forever feast. 00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:40.880 And he says, You come here and feast with me, because I've won. 00:33:41.039 --> 00:33:46.079 And the cup that's placed in your hand is yours forever. 00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:48.160 And the bread is too. 00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:51.519 His victory is our victory. 00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:53.680 Let's pray this morning. 00:33:55.119 --> 00:34:00.400 God, we thank you so much that you love us and you've won the victory in our lives. 00:34:02.319 --> 00:34:09.679 We know that every single action in our lives is being worked for your purpose and in your providence. 00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:16.159 Everything is being worked for good, for our good and for the good of those that are around us. 00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:19.440 And we know that one day we're going to see it. 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:26.079 And it's going to open our eyes, and we'll know even more deeply just how good you are. 00:34:26.719 --> 00:34:33.119 But for now, we we pray that we would come before you and choose you again as our King. 00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:34.960 Sit at your feet and know. 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:41.360 That we listen to you in the Holy Spirit, the gift that you've given us, and that allows us to serve. 00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:43.679