MORE SUNDAY SCHOOL STORIES FOR GROWN UPS | Esther | Jonathon VanGilst

==============
Join us for worship this Sunday at 10:30am (CST)! Connect with our community and experience a message of hope.

Learn more about Redeemer Church: http://www.redeemermn.org/

Ready to take a next step? Fill out a connect card: http://www.redeemermn.org/nextsteps 

Need prayer? We're here for you: http://www.redeemermn.org/prayer

Support our mission: http://www.redeemermn.org/give

=============== 

Stay Connected: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redeemermn_church/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redeemermn/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RedeemerMN

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, good morning. My name is Jonathan Van Gilst, and I'm on staff here at Redeemer, and uh get the honor and privilege of sharing the message today. But this week we are continuing on our series, More Sunday School Stories for Grown-Ups. And the main idea of this series is to dig into some of these stories that you may have heard of when you were younger, or you may have heard the different names at different times in your life. But don't worry, if you haven't heard these names before, no worries. I'm gonna give some more context and we're gonna dig into uh the different books. So, but they're really fun to dig into because as kids we hear kind of one version of the story, but then there's so much more into this, and then get to see all the different ways that God works through so many different broken people. So last week, uh Pastor Ben talked about Samuel and listening to God. This week we are digging into a book of the Bible that uh doesn't mention God, uh has excessive amounts of drinking, questionable morals, sexual exploitation, political corruption, an assassination attempt, and the killing of thousands of people. Can anybody take a guess? Esther, all right, yeah. We're digging into the book of Esther. Pretty wild story. Uh, we have a couple of kids' Bibles in our house, and none of them, none of them had the story of Esther in it. However, um, I know my daughter loves the book of Esther. And so I said, All right, Adeline, she's nine years old, said, All right, why do you like the book of Esther? Why do you enjoy her and that story? And so she said she was a brave girl who stood up for what was right when she was in danger, and because of even when she was in danger, and because of that, she saved her people. It was a proud dad moment right there. I was like, yeah. So uh I was very excited to hear that. And and it's so true, it is very true. However, there is so many more layers to it, and God's faithfulness, even when people do things not quite to his plan. So um so the grown-up version, getting into the grown-up version and some context, here we have approximately a 14-year-old orphaned girl from a destroyed country raised by her cousin. Uh, she was forcibly recruited into the king's harem to find the next queen. She had to hide her identity and eat and behave in ways that were in opposition to her culture. Uh each girl in this harem spent one night with the king, and if she wasn't his favorite, then she would become a part of the second harem where she was no longer, she was forbidden to marry or have a normal family. And the reason the spot of the queen was open was because the king wanted to parade her, probably naked, in front of a bunch of his drunk friends, and she refused to do so, so she was removed. And the king casually made a declaration to wipe out a whole ethnic group for a large sum of money. Uh, the antagonist, Haman, plans on hanging Esther's cousin Mordecai on the gallows, which is actually a 75-foot spike that they would impale the person on and then leave them there as a warning. Uh, and in the end, the reversal of the decree turned into a state-sanctioned war with the Jews killing around 75,000 of their enemies. So this may not be the story that you remember from growing up, or you may not recognize it at all. And so today I am going through uh the entire book of Esther, so we're gonna be here for the next two hours or so. But uh, just kidding. Um I will be going through the whole book of Esther, but I can't touch on all the details, so I encourage you to read it on your own. It's such a beautiful story with so many different elements and showing God's faithfulness, even though he isn't mentioned through it. So, a little bit more context as we dig into it. This takes place between the accounts of Daniel and Nehemiah in scripture. So if you're thinking of trying to figure out the timeline, it's in between Daniel and Nehemiah. It's around 500 BC, and it takes place in Susa, the capital of Persia, uh, which is now current day in between Iraq and Iran. And uh Esther was orphaned and raised by her cousin Mordecai. She was taken to the king's palace, and she did find favor with the king, and so she was chosen as queen. Um, and so at this time, none of it really kind of made sense. And you can't help wonder why God would put Esther through all of this chaos, all this mess. And then you may think, like, oh well, like he put her through all that, and then now she's queen. Now that's the end of the story. No, not quite. Uh, what we do see is that God was positioning Esther for something bigger than herself. And so what we see regularly in Scripture is God prepares us for hard assignments. I love uh the verses uh from James 1, chapter 1, verses 2 and 3. It says, consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Looking back at my life, there's so many different times where I was in a situation, it was really rough, I hated it, um, hard things, conversations, stuff like that. But then today, I look back on that and like, wow, I'm so glad I went through that because that helped equip me to be the person I am today, and helped equip me to help the people that I'm able to help today. And the situations I'm going through now, I am aware now, even though they're hard, they're equipping me and preparing me for something that God has planned for me in the future. So thinking of your own life, whatever age you are, what hard situations have you gone through that prepared you for what you're doing, going through now? Or what hard situation are you going through now that is possibly preparing you for the future? As I connect with people, counsel people, mentor people, I regularly remind them that if they're in the middle of a hard situation right now, guess what? Is stay strong, keep working at it, and God's gonna use that moment for you to bless someone else in the future. God's preparation often begins long before his purposes become clear. And we see that all throughout scripture. Joseph thought he was being forgotten in prison, but God was preparing a leader. And David thought he was just tending sheep, but God was preparing a king. Esther thought she was just becoming queen, but God was preparing a deliverer for his people, and the seed for her courage was planted. So after Esther becomes queen, uh, she's made aware of a decree. Lots of different things happen in there, but she's made aware of a decree that the king has made to kill all of her people, the Jews. Her cousin Mordecai, once again, who raised her, asks her to go to the king, and she's terrified because if you go to the king without being summoned, there's a good chance that you'll be killed because of it. So we see that one step invites us into God's greater story, and or I'm sorry, mixed up my points. Um, we see that God prepares us for hard assignments, and hard assignments require courage. We see this in Esther chapter four, verses twelve through sixteen, it says, When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer Do not think that because you are in the king's house, you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place. But you and your father's family will perish, and who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this. Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, day or night. I and my attendants will fast as you do, and when this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish. I love the example that Mordecai sets her, and this is a perfect example of what a father should be. So even though Mordecai was not related or not like her specific father, he takes her under his wing, he provides for her, he protects her, he guides her, he leads her, and he prepares her for the future. That's what a father should be. So for all of you guys out there, you may not have a child specifically that you fathered. However, you can be a father in the way that you guide and lead and protect and encourage the next generation. That's one of the greatest joys I have as a father is it's an honor and a privilege to be able to love and guide and lead and protect my kids and prepare them for their years ahead as they grow up into adults. That's what a father should be. And so I love Mordecai's example here. So Mordecai prepared her, guided her, and gave her wisdom, however, then the decision was up to Esther in this situation. So he was there, he helped, he guided, but the decision was up to her. And Esther had every reason to stay silent. She's the queen, she's comfortable, she has pretty much anything she wants. And going into the situation, it's dangerous, it's uncomfortable. It could cost her everything, and yet she chooses to trust. Most of God's assignments come disguised as costly obedience. Moses had to confront Pharaoh. Nehemiah had to leave the comfort of his position, and Daniel had to risk the lion's den, and Esther had to risk the king's wrath. None of them did these things on their own power, though. I think it's really cool in this passage, too, where we see that they sought God. Even though God's name is not mentioned here, she's fasting, she's preparing for the situation and seeking God's wisdom. And we see that as a perfect example all throughout Scripture. They came to him asking for his wisdom and strength, not relying on their own abilities, but the strength that God gives them. We also see this in how Jesus responds to his assignment. See, in Matthew 26, uh, Jesus is in the Garden of Ghessene, struggling with what's coming for him on the cross. He's weeping, he's aching, and so he comes to God saying, Please take this from me. But at the end of it, he says, Not as I will, but as you will. He says, I trust you in this situation. Even though it's going to be painful, even though it's going to be hard, I am trusting in this situation. Jesus stepped into the hardest assignment in history, not because it was easy and not because it was comfortable, but because obedience would accomplish salvation for the world. The greatest challenge in life is rarely knowing what should be done. It's finding the courage to do it. Hard conversations, hard decisions, hard acts of obedience. The assignment is usually clear, but it's the courage that's costly. And this is where we see courage in action. Courage begins with just one step. Esther five, verses one and two, we see this. On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner courts of the palace in front of the king's hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. Can you imagine that? Your life is on the line. By coming into the hall without being summoned, is a good there's a good chance that you're just he's just gonna say, nope, and then you're gonna be dragged out and killed right then and there. So by her taking this step of faith, it was so beautiful. And then we find out that she was safe. Esther doesn't save the nation here in chapter five. She simply walks into the room. God changes lives through people who are willing to take the next step. He rarely asks us to finish the full assignment. What he's calling us to do today, he usually just asks us to take the next step. Not the perfect step, not the fearless step, just the next step. And God is looking for trust, not certainty. Having faith that God knows what is best, even when we don't understand what He's doing. As a father, I uh regularly ask my kids to trust me in what I'm asking them to do to do. I have three kids. Uh my oldest is 12, and then nine, and then five. And they're a lot of fun. And this past week, uh it took some vacation time, and we went up to one of our favorite places uh up along the North Shore by Lutzen. Uh such a beautiful area, and we love to just find random places to hike. Uh, but one of our favorite places is the Cascades. It's such a fun area where we can kind of play in the river at the bottom, go along and see the waterfalls, and then you can play in the river at the top. And uh this time I was taking them up and was constantly like, please don't run along the edge. Don't grab random plants, please stay on the trail. No, you can't go off on that offshoot or that offshoot or after that shoe, all the different places they want to go. I said, I've got a plan for you, and I want you to just keep taking steps forward because I know you're gonna love where I'm taking you. And sure enough, we did. We were uh we were tossing rocks in the water for uh over half an hour. So I'm still sore from it, but it was great, it was so much fun. So, from their perspective, all these random trails and offshoots and stuff uh look like a lot of fun, and and even if anything, more interesting than the trail that I had them on. But what they couldn't see was that I had already made a plan, I knew where we were going, and was excited to show them something that they would love. In those moments, I wasn't asking them to understand the entire plan. I was asking them to trust me enough to take the next step in the direction I was leading. And in many ways, that's how God works with us. He doesn't, he often doesn't show us the whole path, he simply asks us to trust what he sees and that and for us to just take the next step in obedience. Now, we like I said, we rarely see the full impact of the obedience. My kids got to see it eventually, but they had to wait for a little while as we kept taking step after step after step and whatnot. And we so we rarely get to see that. However, after Esther steps into that courtroom, she earns favor with the king, she eventually makes the king aware of the plot to kill her people. And because of his dec because his decree is irreversible, um, the king instead makes another decree that the Jews are encouraged to take a stand and fight against those that come to kill them. And in the press process, instead of the Jews being eradicated, they are strengthened. So we get to see that one step invites us into God's greater journey. Esther, uh now farther along in Esther eight, in verses fifteen through seventeen, we see when Mordecai left the king's presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold, and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration for the Jews. It was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor, and in every providence and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was a joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating, and many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them. When Esther walked into the throne room, when she took that step, she couldn't see Mordecai being honored, Haman being defeated, and the Jews being saved. She only saw the next step. And so many times we want God to show us what's happening at the end of the chapter, uh, at the end of the book, like in chapter eight, before we're willing to obey, like Esther did in chapter five. We want to know the ending of the story before we act. But because Esther stepped into her assignment, a nation was preserved, lives were saved, and God's people were protected. When Esther walked into the king's court, she couldn't see any of that. She simply obeyed. So what hard assignment is standing in front of you right now? Is it a conversation? Is it a leadership responsibility? An invitation? A step of faith, a call to serve. Esther's story reminds us that God rarely uses the most qualified people. He uses ordinary people who are willing to say yes. God prepares us before he calls us. Hard assignments require courage. Courage begins with one step, and that one step often reveals a greater purpose than we could have ever imagined. Because God calls ordinary people to step into hard assignments so we can accomplish extraordinary things through them. So are you going to take a step to be a part of God's story? Are you willing to be courageous and take that step into what God is calling you to do? Even though it's scary and you don't know what is going to happen, we rarely see the full impact of our obedience in the moment, but God sees what we can't. One conversation can change a life, one invitation can change a family, and one act of courage can change a generation. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you for the opportunity laid before us today. It's so wonderful to gather together in this room to worship you, our amazing God. Lord, I just pray for the opportunities before us to take those steps of faith, to trust that you love us and you want what's best for us. Help us to not just uh know what's right to do, but to act on it, to live it out, and to take that step of faith knowing that you have a plan for us. Lord, I just pray for all the people going through the hard situations right now. It's not easy, it's painful. There's so many different situations we're struggling with, with health, or different people in our lives that are uh causing different issues and whatnot. But Lord, I pray for strength, for wisdom, and to continue taking those steps forward in faith, knowing that you want what's best for us, and that you are our wonderful and amazing God above all else. In your name we pray. Amen.