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PEOPLE OF THE BIBLE

Introduction:

Life does not always turn out like we want it to. Does it?

There are two facts that we would all do well to learn:

They are: (1) life is not fair; (2) sometimes people can be cruel.

I am sure that Vashti thought that life was not fair. When we look at what she did (or failed to do) and see what happened to her, we may tend to agree with her. Here we see that she refused to parade herself in front of a bunch of drunken men. That was an honorable thing to do, but it cost her. She paid a price for that decision.

We also need to understand that sometimes when we choose to do the right thing or the honorable thing, it may cost us in this life too! We see that story repeated again and again in Scripture.

Elijah did what was right at Mt. Carmel with the prophets of Baal and ended up on the run with Jezebel after him initially, but God prodded him to keep going on.

            Joseph did what was right and ended up in prison initially, but he didn’t stop doing right.

            Stephen did what was right in preaching the Gospel, but ended up getting stoned to death.

            There is also the example of our Saviour–Jesus Christ!

            We could tell of many others, but we would be here all night.

We may choose to do the right thing or the honorable thing and it may cause us some grief in this life. Does that mean that we quit doing right? Absolutely not!

As Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. use to say, “Do right because it is the right thing to do.”

We see that Vashti also learned the other part of those two parts of life: sometimes people can be cruel. Here she is trying to keep her virtue and reputation and she is dethroned.

Instead of a “rags to riches” story hers is a “riches to rags” story.

In addition to these two facts though, it is wise to remember this thought.

Nothing will frustrate the plans of God. Proverbs 21:1–“The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

All the events that transpired were in the provident plan of God.

God is still at work today doing the same thing in our lives, and while we may not always see or acknowledge Him, He is there nonetheless, using our actions and decisions to accomplish His will, even when those actions and decisions are made without regard to Him.

What is God’s will? Quite simply it is to bring Him glory. God’s eternal plan has always been to make Himself the center of attention, both in heaven and on earth. God is going to get the glory.

In times past, He worked through the nation of Israel to do it, and today He works through His New Testament Churches, using people just like you and me to please Him and to glorify His name.

Now understand that while God’s one chief purpose never changes, there are various ways in which that purpose may be accomplished.

In this chapter, we see some prominent lessons about protection and the accomplishment of God’s will.

I.         MAN DOES NOT DO THINGS GOD'S WAY! (Vs. 1-4)

Isaiah 55:8-9--"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

            We see the best laid plans of man to replace the queen.

            I’m sure that they actually believed that this was their plan, but God had his own plan.

But as we said before, Proverbs 21:1–“The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

II.       GOD MAKES PLANS IN ADVANCE. (Vs. 5-7)

            A.        Mordecai Was A Jew Working In The Palace. (vs 5)

            B.        Mordecai And Esther Were There By Providential Design. (vs. 6)

            C.        Mordecai Was A Dear Man. (vs. 7)

The words brought up means to nourish. He took responsibility for a child that was not his own. He was Esther’s cousin but raised her as if she were his own daughter.

III.      GOD EXERCISES HIS WILL THROUGH MAN'S PLANS. (Vs. 8-20)

The Lord used the plan of man to fulfill His Will even though none of these people knew what the future held the Jews.

            A.        We See Esther’s Splendor.  (vs. 8-9)

            B.        We See Esther’s Secret. (vs. 10-11; 20)

            C.        We See Esther’s Sprucing Up. (vs. 12)

            D.        We See Esther’s Simplicity. (vs. 13-15)

She could ask for whatever she desired, but she required no more than what had been appointed to her.

            E.        We See Esther In The Spotlight. (vs. 15b-19)

IV.      GOD PUTS HIS SERVANTS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME.

            (vs. 21-23)

            A.        The Plot. (vs. 21)

            B.        The Prevention. (vs. 22)

            C.        The Putting Down. (vs. 23)

Conclusion

Mordecai and Esther are both central to the story we find in this book.

            Both have certain qualities about them that made them usable by God.

            Both were positioned in such a way that they accomplished great things, and

            Both were blessed more than they ever dreamed.

What were these qualities?

Love–

Mordecai’s love for Esther caused him to take her in and raise her for the Glory of God.

Esther’s love for Mordecai caused her to be obedient to Mordecai.

Wisdom–

Mordecai’s wisdom proved itself in his admonition for Esther to not reveal her people or kindred.

Esther’s wisdom is proved in her listening to Mordecai.

Simplicity–

Mordecai’s simplicity is seen in the way that he raised Esther.

Esther’s simplicity was shown in her choices before the king.

Courage–

Esther demonstrated courage as she went through the process of becoming queen while maintaining her heritage and dignity.

And in the closing verses they both demonstrate courage by exposing a plot by two men to assassinate the king.

We’ll see later that even more courage is required on the part of them both.

But the main truth is that NOTHING will frustrate the plans and purposes of God!

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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!