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Seize your moment of Bravery

Intro: Good morning and welcome to restoration life. If you’re a guest with us this morning, we want you to feel at home us. Today I’d like to try and finish the story of Queen Ester by bringing out biblical truths that are not only relevant, but very applicable if we are BRAVE! Our Anchor Thought for this series is… Being brave doesn't mean we have no fear - it means we refuse to be overcome by it. In fact, if we push past our fears we can face everything, we can do all things through Christ whom strengthens us. I want to start off our time together this morning with these words from Erwin McManus Book, ‘Seizing Your Divine Moment.’ WHAT IF - you knew somewhere in front of you was a moment that would change your life forever, a moment rich with potential, a moment filled with endless possibilities? WHAT IF – you knew there was a moment coming, a divine moment, one where God would meet you in such a way that nothing would be the same again? WHAT IF – there was a moment, a defining moment, where the choices you made determined the course and momentum of your future? HOW – would you treat that moment? HOW – would you prepare for it? HOW – would you identify it? MOMENTS – are as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands of

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the sea, any anyone of them could prove to be your most significant divine moment… HOWEVER – a mundane moment may appear, the miraculous may wait to be unwrapped within it. YOU – rarely know the eternal significance of a moment. WHEN - a moment is missed, you have a glimpse at an opportunity lost. WHEN – you dream, you look to a moment still to come. YET – the only moment that you must take responsibility for right now is the one in right in front of you… THERE – may well be many moments waiting behind this one, and though the most significant moments of your life may still be moments away, the moment you are in right now WAITS to be seized… Today as we continue in our message series BRAVE, I’m convinced that God is going to speak to every person in this room today and give them something to learn from Esther’s life… A little Background on the players in this story: Xerxes; is the 5th king of the Persian Empire and is in the 3rd year of his reign which began in 486 BC after the death of his father Darius the First. He is a man focused on power, money and sex. He had a pretty violent temper and often acted without thinking. Vashti; is the Queen of Persia, she is a woman of character and conviction, we see her only in the opening scene. Mordecai; is a Jewish man whose family was exiled when Jerusalem fell. He is a cousin of Esther and has been raising her ever since her parents died. He is a man of integrity and faith. Esther; is an orphan girl who is being raised by Mordeci, she is a woman of both inner and outer beauty. Hamon; is the villain of the story, He represents evil and is the second in command of Persian Empire. He is a man consumed with himself and full of hatred.

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1. Here’s ‘The Plot’ [Chapter 3] a. Its here that we meet Hamon for the first time. You see fearing for his life, the King instituted a massive shakeup in his government and promoted an obnoxious politician named Haman to be his right hand man, the Prime Minister (second in command to Xerxes himself).

• Haman was a cocky guy who demanded that everyone literally bow down before him whenever he walked by and everyone did… EXCEPT… Mordecai.

• Being a Jew, Mordecai was committed to bow only before God.

Exodus 20 3 “You shall have no other gods before me...You shall not bow down to them or worship them...” b. HAMON HATED THE JEWS. They were the most stubborn people that he had ever seen.

• All of the other conquered nations would bow and give honor to Persian leaders, but not the Jews. They would not bow to anyone except their God.

• So Hamon decides to see for himself.. AND – sure enough as he

walked by, Mordecai refused to bow down… Hamon’s reaction is recorded in verses 3: 5 & 6 … When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage. 6 So he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Since he had learned that Mordecai was a Jew, he decided to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes.

C. And the 1st thing Hamon did after making this decision was to get together with his personal astrologers on New years Day to cast lots to determine the day for implementing his plan.

• And the lot indicated that the 13th day of the 12th month was the time to do it.

• I for one think that Hamon wasn’t too happy about having to

wait a full year before he could begin his program of ethnic cleansing…

QUESTION – who do you think caused the lot to fall as it did?

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Proverbs 16:33 says The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD…” Listen… I need you to UNDERSTAND that our God is SOVERIEGN. That nothing happens without him knowing and allowing or disallowing it to happen. That he GOD can step into anything at anytime because He is SOVREIGN. HE is the one in charge of everything. Sure this world may have its kings and lords… BUT – our God is the KING of kings and LORD of lords!!! MY POINT – whatever you are going through, God is over it and can bring you through it! 2. After this, Hamon goes to Xerxes and sells the King on his idea. a. An official irrevocable decree was issued saying that on a single day, "the 13th day of the 12th month all the Jews, men, women, children were to be killed and all their possessions plundered.” Esther 4:1-3 When Mordecai learned what had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, crying with a loud and bitter wail. 2He stood outside the gate of the palace, for no one was allowed to enter while wearing clothes of mourning. 3And as news of the king’s decree reached all the provinces, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and wailed, and many people lay in sackcloth and ashes. What would this look like in our day and age? Illustration: Imagine later on this week… while you are watching America’s Got Talent, the voice or reruns of CSI they break into the show to bring a special news bulletin. It’s a message from the Oval Office, the cameras zoom in on the President and he makes this announcement. "Today, I have signed executive order ‘43’ into law. Which states that with America’s best interests in mind - that on December 13th 2015… all Christians, men, women and children are to taken from their homes, schools and places of employment – their property confiscated and then promptly executed, without exception. Good night…”

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How would you feel? What would you do? b. For us at least right now, it’s just a hypothetical situation… BUT - for Esther and God’s people living in the Persian Empire it was a cold, fast approaching reality.

• Mordecai urged Esther to go into the king’s presence and plead for her people….

• Esther’s initial response was fear and with good reason… I mean

• She knew about what happened with Queen Vashti

• No one knew she was a Jew (part of the people who now had a

death sentence hanging over them)

• And she knows the law – to go into the King’s presence without permission could mean her death.

c. Now when Mordecai hears of Esther’s hesitancy, he turned up the heat and made a very convincing closing argument in Esther4:13-14:"Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 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 royal position for such a time as this?" (NIV) Mordecai is basically saying three things to Esther. #1 - Don’t think you’ll escape the holocaust when it happens.

• ESTHER - you’ll be wiped out just like everyone else when it becomes clear that you are one of God’s chosen people.

#2 – Esther - If you refuse to step up, God will send someone else.

• I love Mordecai’s understanding of God’s sovereignty. He knows – that God will accomplish all He intends, regardless of Esther’s involvement.

BOTTOM LINE – if Esther refused to seize this moment, she would miss out on an opportunity to serve God and blow the blessings that

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would come with faith and obedience… she would not stop God. My POINT: you & I will never stop the plans that our God has in this world… BUT - we can (and often do) forfeit the awesome opportunity to be a part of it… Listen… God is about to do some things at Restoration life beginning today and through the year that either we can be a great part of or lose out in the blessings of god using us to accomplish His will. God has plans to shake up and radically transform the lives of anyone in this room that is willing to seize their moment in ways that we cannot even begin to comprehend. Jesus our King and Savior is going to take some people in this room;

• To places they’ve never been before • To ways of living they have never lived • To experience gifting’s and blessings • He is going to send some out into this world to make a

difference… • The only question that remains, is will you be one of those

people? d. The 3rd thing that Mordecai was saying to Esther in his statement was…

• ESTHER God has put you exactly where He wants you to be • ESTHER this is your purpose in life! • ESTHER This is what God has made you to do! • ESTHER you may not understand how you got where you are or

why you are even there (maybe you don’t even like where you are)

• But I want you to know Esther that you are where you are at THIS VERY MOMENT, so that God can accomplish His will through you…

• And that is why you are where you are right now. QUESTION – have you ever wondered with the world in such a mess right now… Why didn’t God save people like Peter and Paul for today, for our time? ANSWER: Because God knew that you would be here. HE saved you for such a time as this!

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e. When Esther hears those powerful words her faith and courage begin to kick in… SHE - instructs all the Jews in Susa to spend three days praying and fasting.

• NOTICE that she doesn’t try to do this alone. She knows she needs some help.

• Help from and from His people. (AND – so do we… We were

created to do life together.

• QUESTION – are you trying to do life or overcome trouble on your own?

f. ESTHER tells Mordecai that she will go into the king. She decides to risk her life and says courageously in 4:16, “If I perish, I perish.”

• Like the apostle Paul who when people were telling him not to go to Jerusalem because his enemies would kill him said…

Acts 20:24 I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. We left off last week right here with thousands of Jews in the city and Esther and her maids in the palace… ALL – in humble prayer before the Sovereign God. I. Faith in Gods favor includes faith in Gods timing. Quote: Some one said that Life is all about timing… The unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable becomes available, the unattainable…attainable. God puts everything together for a perfect time. 1. After 3 days of fasting and praying Esther goes for it, she goes for broke. a. You can almost feel Esther’s heart beating as she puts on her Royal Robes and walks down the corridor to the King’s chamber.

• She’s probably praying over and over again, "Lord please let him extend his scepter."

• Xerxes is sitting on His Throne…

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• HE - looks up, sees Esther approaching, he smiles and extends his gold scepter…

• "What do you want, Queen Esther? What is your request? I will

give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!" b. NOW - apparently during her time of prayer God revealed to Esther a plan for saving her people…

• And that plan did not involve her making the request to save her people right then… INSTEAD - she told the King that she would like him to bring Haman and come to a special banquet that she had prepared.

• So they share a meal together and after dessert is served, the

King once again asks Esther what she wants.

• You can almost feel the suspense building (but she doesn’t make the request) INSTEAD - she says, “you know this was so much fun, I’d like to do it again tomorrow night, Haman are you free for dinner?”

I gotta ask… how do you think Hamon is feeling right now? c. I think Haman’s pretty pumped right…

• I mean he was the only one invited to eat with the king and queen two days in a row! IN FACT - 5:9 says that he went out “happy and in high spirits.”

• But as he’s walking through the palace, guess who he sees?

• Mordecai… and guess what Mordecai doesn’t do? Bow… AND –

Hamon immediately starts to loose it… BUT– he quickly calmed himself down and regained control, because he knew that Mordecai and his people would soon be dead.

WHEN - Haman got home that night, he called all his friends together and told them all about his rise to the top. "And that’s not all! Queen Esther invited only me and the king himself to the banquet she prepared for us. And she has invited me to dine with her and the king again tomorrow!" 13 Then he added, "But all this is meaningless as long as I see Mordecai the Jew just sitting there at the palace gate." (5:12,13)

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[MAN - that’s crazy… I Mean, who here, would ever do something like that? … allow one person or circumstance to steal your joy and cause you to forget all the good things happening in your life?] d. Hamon’s wife and his friends in an effort to make him feel better come up with a great idea.

• They encourage Haman to build a gallows in his backyard 75 feet high and ask the King to hang Mordecai from it.

• Haman is thrilled and has some workers begin it’s construction

right away. He could hardly sleep that night knowing that in the morning he would finally be rid of Mordecai for good.

• As Chapter 6 opens open we find that another person can’t sleep

that night. II. God always remembers days of obedience in times of trouble. 1. King Xerxes was tossing and turning, unable to sleep. A. But the bottom-line is that this is not a coincidence, instead its a probable case of Gods sovereignty stepping in.

• Xerxes asked one of his servants to read from the official records.

• This would surely put him to sleep! But, as he started to doze

off, he sat up when he heard about what Mordecai had done several months earlier to save his life.

b. He asked his servant what had been done to honor and reward Mordecai for his loyalty.

• He was embarrassed that he had forgotten to do anything special for him.

• At that precise moment, Haman arrives at the court so that he

could be first in line to talk to the King about hanging Mordecai. God’s timing is so cool…

• Haman is beside himself because he thinks he was going to get

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rid of Mordecai sooner than he had thought!

• The King asked Haman a simple question, “What should be done for the man the King delights to honor?”

QUESTION – Who does Hamon, think that the King is talking about? Him… SO – he thinks, ‘okay I better make this good…’ LET’S - pick up our reading at… Esther 6:7; "For the man the king delights to honor, 8 have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ’This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’ " Xerxes says; “dude that is an awesome idea now YOU go do what you just said for Mordecai…” 11So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, "This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!" 12 Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, I want to close with this… TALK ABOUT - having a bad day. EVERYTHING – is going wrong. He’s so embarrassed that he runs home with his tail between his legs and a bag over his head so no one will recognize him… When he gets home his wife and his friends tell him – “you’d best leave this Mordecai guy alone. Man, If you keep going after him, he is going to take you out SUDDENLY - there was a knock at the door… IT was the kings servants coming to take him to the queens banquet… AND I’m sure Hamon thought, ‘what now, things couldn’t get any worse…” OH – how wrong he was…

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I think we need to read all of chapter 7 together… BECAUSE - it’s kind of like a ride on a great roller coaster, YOU – just can’t be told about it, you need to experience it for yourself… So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther, 2 and as they were drinking wine on that second day, the king again asked, "Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted." Then Queen Esther answered, "If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life-this is my petition. And spare my people-this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king. " 5King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, "Who is he? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?" 6 Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman." Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. 8Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, "Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?" As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, "A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman’s house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king. "The king said, "Hang him on it!" 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided. In this scene we see Esther and Mordecia walking in the palace garden… The sun is shining the sky is clear blue… AND – as they walk the following facts scroll across the screen… In the days following Hamon’s execution… • Queen Esther was given all of His estate.. both land & property… • King Xerxes issued a new decree (written by Mordecai) that saved the Jewish people

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• There were great celebrations held among the Jewish people throughout the empire… Joy flowed like a river and because of all that happened, many gentiles turned to God…. AND

• Mordecai the Jew became the prime minister, with authority next

to that of King Xerxes himself. He was very great among the Jews, who held him in high esteem, because he worked for the good of his people and was a friend at the royal court for all of them. (10:3)

III. Here’s The Lesson 1. LISTEN – the main lesson that screams from the story of Esther is this…

• Our God is alive and moving in this world. • His divine plan of redemption and deliverance is unfolding… • AND – you like Esther have been invited to be a part of it.

2. Yes God is inviting you to be a part of something that is sooo much bigger than you.

• Something that will outlive and outlast you. • Something awesome and beautiful. • Powerful and eternal. Something new and alive!

3. Those things are more than certain… The only question that remains is this:

• Will you be a part of it? • Will you seize your divine moment?

4. WHAT if you knew somewhere in front of you was a moment that would change your life forever, a moment rich with potential, a moment filled with endless possibilities? WHAT IF – you knew there was a moment coming, a divine moment, one where God would meet you in such a way that nothing would be the same again? WHAT IF – there was a moment, a defining moment, where the choices you made determined the course and momentum of your future?

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HOW – would you treat that moment? REMEMBER – the only moment that you must take responsibility for right now is the one in front of you… What divine moment is God waiting for you to seize? It may be something big that has been chasing you down for years… OR – it may be something that on the surface seems small but is packed with power… LISTEN – when you boil it all down – it comes down to one thing… Are you Brave enough to seize your moment.!