Great Power Brings Great Responsibility

made with Proclaim

Gary Whitney

Middletown Baptist Church

Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago • Presented 2 years ago • 36:21

Esther 4:1–17

0 ratings

· 44 views

Files

Notes

Transcript

Handout

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

Esther 4:1–17 (CSB)

1 When Mordecai learned all that had occurred, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, went into the middle of the city, and cried loudly and bitterly. 2 He went only as far as the King’s Gate, since the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering the King’s Gate. 3 There was great mourning among the Jewish people in every province where the king’s command and edict reached. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

4 Esther’s female servants and her eunuchs came and reported the news to her, and the queen was overcome with fear. She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear so that he would take off his sackcloth, but he did not accept them. 5 Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who attended her, and dispatched him to Mordecai to learn what he was doing and why. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the King’s Gate. 7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened as well as the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay the royal treasury for the slaughter of the Jews.

8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa ordering their destruction, so that Hathach might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and command her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead with him personally for her people. 9 Hathach came and repeated Mordecai’s response to Esther.

10 Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to tell Mordecai, 11 “All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned—the death penalty—unless the king extends the gold scepter, allowing that person to live. I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the last thirty days.” 12 Esther’s response was reported to Mordecai.

13 Mordecai told the messenger to reply to Esther, “Don’t think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the king’s palace. 14 If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”

15 Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.” 17 So Mordecai went and did everything Esther had commanded him.

The Peter Parker Principle- “ With great power comes great responsibility.”

Peter Parker was an orphaned teenage boy who lived in Queens, New York with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. He was a shy boy, but highly intelligent and excelled in science. He was often teased by other more popular kids like longtime nemesis Flash Thompson, but his life was soon to change on a visit to the science museum.

At the science museum, Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider. The spider bite gave Peter spider-like powers with super strength and reflexes. He also had a “spider-sense” alerting him to danger. Armed with these new powers, Peter first sought fame and money before fighting crime. He worked with a wrestling circuit and got some fame and appeared on a television show. During a robbery of the television show, Peter has the chance to stop the thief but chose not to.

Peter later finds out that the same robber that he could have stopped at the television studio attempted to rob his aunt and uncle's residence, and his Uncle Ben was killed in the struggle. The words of his late uncle, "with great power there must also come great responsibility,” drive Peter to fight crime instead of chasing fame. Spider-Man was truly born.

This week’s text shines the spotlight on Mordecai and Esther either having failed to use their power and position responsibly, or being scared to try and do so. This isn’t just a principle for queens and superheroes. It is a passage for all Christians. God empowers us to do Kingdom work and opens doors allowing us to join Him in that work. Our faith determines our reaction. Who are we scared of — who do we trust!

The Text In Its Context

Mordecai’s Clarity in Crisis

Mordecai had been trying to hide the fact that he was Jewish, and he had asked Esther to do the same. Maybe they thought that life would be easier for them if they did so. We can easily understand why they did it, but hiding that we belong to God is sinful so they were wrong to do so.

Now Mordecai found himself in a horrible predicament- the man he refused to properly honor had issued a death sentence to him. Worse- he had angered a man who escalated his revenge far past getting even. Haman was going to kill every Jew in the kingdom and steal their money. I wonder if Mordecai regretted his actions, but he could not change what he did, and he had no idea how to fix things.

It is easier to see our need for God when our back is against the wall- AMEN? Mordecai found clarity in his crisis and saw what he needed to do. He needed to beg God for mercy, quitting the subterfuge of hiding his Jewish roots and openly crying out to God for help at the king’s gate, which was the commercial and legal hub of the city, a combination of marketplace and courtroom. Mordecai couldn’t go past the gates because Xerxes lived in a bubble of comfort, beauty, and agreement. Jewish people throughout the kingdom did the same- fasting, weeping, and crying out for salvation.

God’s name is absent from this book- but don’t you get the sense that His Hidden Hand is going to become more apparent??

Esther Challenged By Circumstances!

Esther must have thought that Mordecai had lost his mind! Her servants and eunuchs told her what Mordecai was doing, and she sent him some clothes to put on. She was afraid of what would happen if her ethnicity was discovered. Mordecai refused the clothes and sent back a copy of the written decree and commanded his adopted daughter to beg for mercy on the Jewish people from the king.

Esther was scared to obey, and with very good reason. She replied to Mordecai that his request seemed almost impossible to achieve. If anyone approached the king in the inner court without being summoned there was only one penalty—death. The ‘inner court’ seems to have been the entrance hall of an impressive apartment in the more private residence of the king, where he met with his councillors for the transaction of state business. Seated on his throne at the upper end of the apartment, he could see any person in the court. The only exemption from death was if the king pointed his golden sceptre towards the unsummoned visitor and spared their life. The intention behind this rule was the protection of the king’s life, time and privacy. Esther didn’t see the king every day- it had been more than thirty days since she had last been summoned to the king- so if she were to act immediately to protect her people she needed to risk death to do so.

Esther is often held up as a heroine- but her actions in the book show that she is full of fear and caution. She sees the difficulties of her circumstances much more easily than she sees God working in those circumstance or trust in God’s promises and protections. In other words, Esther was made of the same stuff as you and I are! It is a great encouragement to appreciate that those men and women whom God has used in the past had the same emotions and failings as we do. She sent the eunuch back to Mordecai and let him know about her fears and limitations.

Helped By God’s Hidden Hand

God’s name is not written in the Book of Esther. Even so, the book of Esther is about God’s sovereignty and providence, and the certainty of his intervention on his people’s behalf. God is always in control, even when we do not see Him working, and we can trust that God will keep His promises.

That certainty, however, doesn’t mean that believers can sit back and wait for God to work. God may be behind the initiative we take. John Calvin recognized that God’s providence is no reason to put aside our human responsibility for action:

‘We are not at all hindered by God’s eternal decrees either from looking ahead for ourselves or from putting all our affairs in order, but always in submission to his will … It is very clear what our duty is: thus, if the Lord has committed to us the protection of our life, our duty is to protect it; if he offers helps, to use them; if he forewarns us of dangers, not to plunge headlong; if he makes remedies available, not to neglect them.’ — John Calvin

Mordecai new clarity of thought pointed out that Ether’s being in the palace was not an accident, “perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” He didn’t say that God had put her there, but that’s what his statement amounted to. If Esther would just take the time to review her life, she couldn’t help but see the hidden hand of God working out of sight. Seemingly random coincidences become God’s sovereign providence. If God brought her to the throne, then He had a purpose in mind, and that purpose was now evident: She was there to intercede for her people. The situation is reminiscent of Joseph talking to his brothers

Genesis 50:20 (CSB)

20 You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.

When we realize that we are facing spiritual assault or when we see the Devil working to mobilize culture and government to achieve evil goals we cannot sit back and wait for God to respond. We are placed here to respond. The teaching of the Bible says that we are compelled to help the vulnerable and helpless. That means we must not get lost in our fear or weakness. Rather, we must double down on our dependence upon God, and act in a way that brings honor to God. We are often uncertain if God is calling us to act a particular way in a particular situation. But we do have extremely clear revelation on how God wants us to live our life in general. If you start to feel God calling you to act, but are not sure exactly how, that is not the time to passively - or cowardly- wait in the shadows for God to act. Step out in faith using God’s revealed Word to act in a way that honors God!

Our assurance of God’s sovereignty is no excuse for failing to do our duty, whether in missions, evangelism or the building up of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. William Carey, the man credited with starting the modern emphasis on missionary work, pioneer missionary, was discouraged from going to India. His friends and family gave him a long list of reasons why it was a horrible idea. Some even went so far as to put forward the idea that if God wanted the people of India brought to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, he would accomplish it without their endeavours. Carey rightly responded by reminding them of our Lord Jesus’ final command to his church. Later on in his life, as he looked back, he said, ‘Few people know what may be done until they try, and persevere in what they undertake.’

Contemporary Application

The Bible consistently teaches a theology of personal responsibility in harmony with divine dependence. We are accountable for our choices and actions as we rely on God to act in accordance with his nature and sovereignty. As you ponder Mordecai’s words, you will learn some basic truths about the providence of God that are important for Christians today.

God’s Will Be Done

God has divine purposes to accomplish in this world. God’s purposes involve the Jewish nation as well as the Gentile nations of the world. They also involve the church. God deals with individuals as well as with nations. His purposes touch the lives of kings and queens and common people, godly people and wicked people. There is nothing in this world that is outside the influence of the purposes of God.

God Works Through People And Circumstances

Mordecai made it clear that God accomplishes His purposes through people. For reasons we don’t fully understand, God permits wicked people to do evil things in this world; but He can work in and through unbelievers and His own people to accomplish His purposes. While He was not the author of his sins, God permitted the king’s drunkenness and his foolishness in deposing Vashti. He used the king’s loneliness to place Esther on the throne; and, in chapter 6, he will use the king’s sleeplessness to reward Mordecai and start to overthrow the power of Haman. In great things and little things, God is sovereign.

God’s Will Will Be Done

The third truth that Mordecai emphasized was that God will accomplish His purposes even if His servants refuse to obey His will. If Esther rejected the will of God for her life, God could still save His people; but Esther would be the loser. When MBC puts out a call for volunteers who feel called by the Spirit to lead ministries many people seem to get the idea that God’s work is at the mercy of God’s workers; but this isn’t true. If you and I refuse to obey God, He can either abandon us and get somebody else to do the job, and we will lose the reward and blessing; or He can discipline us until we surrender to His will. There are examples of this found in many places of the Bible.

Since John Mark left the mission field and returned home, God raised up Timothy to take his place.

Acts 13:13 (CSB)

13 Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and went back to Jerusalem.

Acts 15:36–41 (CSB)

36 After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers and sisters in every town where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they’re doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take along John who was called Mark. 38 But Paul insisted that they should not take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended by the brothers and sisters to the grace of the Lord. 41 He traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Acts 16:1–3 (CSB)

1 Paul went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers and sisters at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to go with him; so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek.

When Jonah ran from God, the Lord kept after him until he obeyed, even though he didn’t obey from his heart. When God isn’t permitted to rule, He overrules; and He always accomplishes His purposes.

God Isn’t In A Hurry

The last lesson gleaned from Mordecai’s speech is that God isn’t in a hurry but will fulfill His plans in due time. God waited until the third year of the king’s reign before taking Vashti off the throne. Then he waited another four years before putting Esther on the throne. It was not until the king’s twelfth year that God allowed Haman to hatch his evil plot, and He decreed that the “crisis day” for the Jews would be almost a year away.

If you were reading the Book of Esther for the first time, you might become impatient with God and conclude that He was doing nothing. In chapters 1 and 2, a drunken king and his flattering advisers seem to be in charge. From chapter 3 to chapter 6, it looks as though wicked Haman is in control. Even after Haman is off the scene, it’s the king’s unalterable decree that keeps everybody busy. But where is God?

God is never in a hurry. He knows the end from the beginning, and His decrees are always right and always on time. Tozer compared God’s sovereign purposes to an ocean liner, leaving New York City, bound for Liverpool, England. The people on board the ship are free to do as they please, but they aren’t free to change the course of the ship.

“The mighty liner of God’s sovereign design keeps its steady course over the sea of history,” wrote Dr. Tozer. “God moves undisturbed and unhindered toward the fulfillment of those eternal purposes which He purposed in Christ Jesus before the world began” --A.W. Tozer

The sovereignty of God doesn’t suggest fatalism or blind determinism, both of which would make life a prison. Only a sovereign God is great enough to decree freedom of choice for men and women, and only a sovereign God could fulfill His wise and loving purposes in this world and even make evil cooperate in producing good. The question is not, “Is God in control of this world?” but, “Is God in control of my life?” Are we cooperating with Him so that we are a part of the answer and not a part of the problem?

To quote Tozer again:

“In the moral conflict now raging around us whoever is on God’s side is on the winning side and cannot lose; whoever is on the other side is on the losing side and cannot win” --A.W. Tozer

There has only been one perfect person God used in accomplishing his purposes. For the rest of his agenda, God uses imperfect people. He uses our daily and ordinary obedience to accomplish his extraordinary plan. Perhaps you feel you have concealed your faith too long or compromised with the world too much. Here is where Esther and Mordecai provide us a lot of hope. It is not just that we should see what they did right and do that, but we should also see all they did wrong and know it did not disqualify them from being used by God. The same is true for us.

Remember The Peter Parker Principle? “With great power comes great responsibility?” Each of us has great power- AMEN? We might not have been bitten by a radioactive spider, we have even more power because we have been filled and sealed with the Holy Spirit! We have been reconciled with God thru Jesus Christ and have new life, new hope, and certainty about the future. So many people do not have that life and hope because they don’t know Jesus. You can change that by being open to the Spirit.

At a minimum we want to avoid being a stumbling block keeping people from doing right, and ideally we want to step out in faith boldly. But each of us can be sure that God empowers us to do Kingdom work and opens doors allowing us to join Him in that work. Our faith determines our reaction. What will you choose today?

Points To Ponder

“DEFINING MOMENTS” by Karen H. Jobes

IT is unlikely that any of us will ever be in Esther’s dire predicament, but every one of us faces defining moments in our own lives. Certainly the most fundamental of them comes when we hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and decide how to respond to it. The gospel confronts us with the decision either to continue to live as pagans or to identify ourselves with God’s people, the church. Our choice defines who we are and with what people we identify. The decision to be identified with Christ energizes our lives. It gives us a purpose bigger than our own concerns and problems and a hope that goes beyond our own death. It transforms us into people moved by the Holy Spirit, human agents of God’s grace and love in the world.

However, the new birth is only the beginning of decisions. It is followed by a continuous sequence of defining moments throughout life as we daily face decisions that demand we choose either to identify ourselves with Christ by obedience to his Word or to live as pagans in that moment. Only if we live as Christ commands, in every moment and every decision, will we be the agents through whom the promises of the new covenant are fulfilled. By the winsome testimony of our words and our lives, others are called to come to Christ and to identify with his people. By sustained obedience to God’s Word, which the apostle Paul calls “the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2), God’s promise of his transforming work in our own lives is realized and touches the lives of others in ways we can neither control nor predict.

Motivation to live as God’s child. However, it sometimes happens that even after coming to Christ, some Christians continue to think and live like pagans. At decision points, they take the path of least resistance instead of making the hard choice to obey God’s unpopular Word. How long can one live like a pagan before one’s true identity is revealed?

It seems to be human nature that sometimes we will do the right thing only when it becomes too painful to continue to do the wrong thing! Esther finds herself between a rock and hard place. Her life is in jeopardy by whichever choice she makes. She decides finally to identify with God’s people only after feeling too threatened by the alternative. It is interesting to see that even though Esther’s decision to “fast, weep, and mourn” with her people is made under duress, she does nevertheless end up identifying herself with God’s covenant people. She leads her people to do what God commanded his people to do through the prophet Joel in the face of such calamity. In spite of its flawed quality, Esther’s right decision enables her to become the agent through whom her people actually are delivered, in fulfillment of the ancient promise.

It is encouraging to realize that even if we turn to God reluctantly and perhaps even for the wrong reasons, we are still putting ourselves in a position to receive God’s promise of mercy. The Lord’s hand may graciously lead and guide his people who are living like pagans in the court of the king, but those defining moments will come around when each must decide whether or not to identify with God’s people through obedience to his Word.

Some defining moments may come unexpectedly and pass quickly, yet with far-reaching consequences. That moment of opportunity when a student must decide whether to cheat on an exam, or a taxpayer on her tax return, or a husband on his wife, defines the person one way or the other, depending on the decision made. The incident becomes a part of who that person is within himself or herself, even if the decision never becomes known to others. The cumulative effect of many such defining moments in the past determines who we truly are at this moment.

Then there are those predictably big defining moments, such as when a profession or a marriage partner is chosen. There is probably no larger a defining moment than when we decide how we will spend our lives and with whom. Recently I met a woman who told me that in college her great desire was to be a foreign missionary. “But then I got engaged to a man who wasn’t a Christian, and … you know …,” her voice trailed off with a fleeting look of embarrassment and regret.

Perhaps, like Esther, you have been brought to this moment in your life by circumstances over which you had no control, combined with flawed decisions you made along the way. Perhaps instead of living for God, you have so concealed your Christian faith that no one would even identify you as a Christian. Then suddenly you find yourself facing calamity, either in the circumstances of your life with others or just within your own inner emotional world. Regardless of the straits you find yourself in, turn to the Lord. Rend your heart, not your garment; “fast, weep, and mourn,” and return to the Lord your God. His purposes are greater than yours. And, who knows? Perhaps you have come to your present situation for such a time as this.

[Karen H. Jobes, Esther, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999), 140–142.]

Question Needing Answers

Describe a time the Lord called you to do something but you were full of fear rather than faith and did not obey. Why is Esther 4 a good chapter for many of us who have been in this position?

In what ways, if any, are you currently hesitating to obey the Lord? How can the gospel fuel obedience?

In the time of crisis, how far do you have to make it down your reaction list before you get to prayer? Why is prayer always the best reaction to difficult circumstances?

Why do we tend to conceal our grief or struggles rather than sharing them openly?

Who is someone God has used to encourage you to be obedient to something God was calling you to do? Why do we need others who will help spur our obedience? How can we encourage one another to be obedient?

What, if anything, are you hoping “somebody” will do in your faith family or in your city? Why do you think you are not the “somebody” to do it?

How might the gospel bring us to the point where we are willing to say, “If I perish, I perish, but I am going to obey at all costs”?

How often do you consider and take advantage of the fact that through Christ we have full access to meet with God the Father?

To what degree are you amazed that the Father wants us to be in his presence? Explain.

How often do you express gratitude for Christ’s identification with and mediation for us? Why is Christ called our great high priest?

[Landon Dowden, Exalting Jesus in Esther (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2019), Es 4.]

How do you explain the prevalence of violence and hardship in the world?

Discuss what the Christian community’s response to suffering should be.

Name some obstacles to living by faith. How does a Christian overcome these impediments?

Where has God placed you “for such a time as this”?

[Knute Larson and Kathy Dahlen, Holman Old Testament Commentary - Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, ed. Max Anders (Broadman & Holman Publishers., 2005), 323.]

A Week’s Worth of Scripture

Monday

Proverbs 16:9 (CSB) 9 A person’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.

Proverbs 16:33 (CSB) 33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

Tuesday

Isaiah 58:5 (CSB) 5 Will the fast I choose be like this: A day for a person to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the Lord?

Wednesday

Genesis 50:20 (CSB) 20 You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.

Thursday

Daniel 9:3 (CSB) 3 So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

Friday

Romans 8:31 (CSB) 31 What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

Saturday

Joel 2:12 (CSB) 12 Even now— this is the Lord’s declaration—turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

Related Media

Related Sermons