Sermon 5-15-11

“MESSED UP, MIXED UP, AND MOVING UP”

Esther 2

Illst of Patty (loving the unlovable)

That is the kind of love we are capable of isn’t it? And it certainly runs deeper when we demonstrate it toward our child that rebels, our spouse whose imperfections we deal with daily, or a parent that drives us crazy. Where do we learn that love from?

1 John 4:19 - “We love because He first loved us.”

Jeremiah 29:11 - “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Context...)

Today we see a personal example of this love taking place...

Read and explain text...

Vs. 1 -

“After these things” - review chapter 1, 4 years have passed and King returns from war with nothing - he has failed and been humiliated in marriage and war,

“remembered” - hints of regret...anger and wrath mixed with alcohol and bad advisors will produce nothing less...

Vs. 2-4 - His advisors come up with a plan...

“beauty preparations” - even in those days, ladies, you were told that you are not good enough, you need help to be beautiful...

This scene becomes the first recorded “Bachelor” reality show...there is nothing new under the sun...

This will open the door for Esther to be used by God...

#1 - God is at work even when you don’t see Him. (vs. 1-5)

Through everyday, unforeseen, and unlikely circumstances God can make us into something (one) that we could never be otherwise.

This event seems to be far removed from anything that would ever affect the Jews. This is a Gentile king trying to find a woman that will meet his needs. How could this event have any bearing on helping the Jews to see that God still loved them and wanted to spare them and use them? It’s because you can’t see what He’s doing.

Illst- I am where I am today b/c of my wife. God was truly working in ways we never saw to bring us together...

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Vs. 5-7

Mordecai’s great grandfather had been carried away into captivity. This made Mordecai a 4th generation exile. Esther is his cousin. Her parents apparently die early and Mordecai raises her.

All these two have ever known is living in a pagan, godless society. They may have heard stories of what God had done in the past but they haven’t seen it. In the time they live there is no fresh word from God. The Israelites ignored the prophets and God has gone silent. The only thing they have to go on was a promise He made of a better day that would come. You’ll notice there is no mention of Esther’s relationship to God. It likely wasn’t strong. You surely don’t see any evidence of it. There are no sacrifices, no observance of feast days, not concerned with moving back to the Promised Land, and no attempt to live by the law.

Esther has had a rough life. She has no clue what a normal family looks like, she’s been trough a tremendous amount of trauma, never lived in a religious society, and has no real relationship with God to sustain her. With all this against her she has no chance in life does she?

#2 - Your life may have had a bad start but it can have a great finish. (vs. 5-7)

Your past may make your life a challenge but its nothing God can’t overcome. Your past is part of your story. It reveals the glory of a God who could take someone who is broken, has nothing to offer, maybe even seen as unloveable, and yet He will love them, and make them into somebody that mattered.

Some of you don’t know anything about this. You had faithful Christian parents. You started coming to church 9 months before you could even cry and haven’t missed too many Sundays since. You got saved in the nursery, taught Sunday School when you were 8, Deacon at 12, led WMU at 15, preached and baptized 1,000’s by 20. :) If so then praise God for it. Don’t ever get over how blessed you have been. For some people that is your lot in life.

But not everybody gets a life like that.

In these last few years I am so thankful that God has allowed our family to step out into the world a little bit deeper because it has shown me what the world looks like. It is full of broken people.....(broken homes, far from God).....These are people I look at and think they don’t have a chance in the world. Some of you know what I’m talking about.

It doesn’t matter where you came from, what matters is where are you going.

John 10:10a - “The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy.”

He may have done that to you, but Jesus tells us that the story doesn’t have to end that way...

John 10:10b - “I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.”

No one is too broken, too far gone, or too messed up for Jesus to change. No matter where you have come from He still wants you. That may be the first time somebody has ever had anyone tell you that.

With Jesus I now have power, purpose and peace. It doesn’t mean trouble won’t still find me, but it does mean I have the right perspective to deal with it and I am not alone.

Jesus is the hope of the world and the church is the pipeline He uses to get that message out. If you have found that hope, then you need to find others who are broken and unlovable and share with them how they can have a course change in their life.

Esther was the very definition of messed up and mixed up, but we are about to see she is also moving up!

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Vs. 8-19

“gathered / taken” - Some may have gone voluntarily seeing it as a promotion although that is questionable given the vicarious nature of living with this king. Most were probably taken against their will. Commentators speculate anywhere from 400-1000 women were chosen. Lest you think the king was simply a male chauvinist pig consider what he did to the men...500 boys a year were gathered and made eunuchs!

“allowance” - she ate defiled food that Daniel would have rejected. Some of the blemishes in Esther’s character start to show up...

“had not revealed” - kept quiet about her Jewish identity. It is also very telling that they could be around her and not realize she was Jewish. Esther had adapted to Persian customs and become so worldly that no one would recognize her as being one of God’s people. She had become indistinguishable from the world. That is what happens when you forget God in your daily life.

“perfumes and preparations” - fumigation with other cosmetics. (Fumigation kills :) )

“she obtained favor” - make no mistake, this didn’t happen because they just stayed up all night talking. There is an implication of sexual activity that caused the king to be enamored with her.

“crown” - means this is going to be a marriage. A Jewish girl marrying a pagan Gentile King. This too was unacceptable in Jewish law because God’s people were not to mix marriage with ungodly people.

Here is our Esther...she compromises her religion by eating defiled food, keeping quiet about her God, committing immorality, and marrying an unbeliever. She is one worldly person.

#3 - God still uses imperfect people (vs. 8-17)

Reflecting on this truth absolutely rocked my world this week. If we must be perfect and get everything right for God to use us then I don’t know about you, but I’m in trouble. And if we were perfect then why would we need God?

There has only been one perfect person that has ever lived and been used by God. His name was Jesus. Everybody else falls short, way short, and yet God is still willing to use us. Our usability doesn’t depend on our perfection but His.

Noah was a drunk

Abraham was too old to be used

Isaac was a daydreamer

Jacob was a liar

Leah was ugly

Joseph was abused

Moses had a stuttering problem

Gideon was afraid

Samson had long hair and was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young

David had an affair and was a murderer

Elijah was suicidal

Isaiah preached naked

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt

Peter denied Christ

The Disciples fell asleep while praying

Martha worried about everything

The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once

Zaccheus was too small

Paul was too religious

Timothy had an ulcer.

AND Lazarus was dead!

And yet God still used each and every one. Don’t use your sin as a license to keep messing up but also realize it isn’t a scarlet letter painted on your forehead that says God rejects you and won’t use you.

Yes I know that doesn’t seem to make much since, and the pious religious crowd screams “that’s not fair!” But that’s grace and that’s why we sing about it being so amazing.

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#4 - God’s people will always stand out from among the rest

Everywhere Esther goes she is impressing people. The most telling thing is found in her name. Hadassah was her original Jewish name. The Persian would give her the name Esther. It means “star.” The people God chooses and uses will always stand out. They will be a star. Not b/c of who we are but b/c of who is in us. Jesus can take a messed up, mixed up, broken, hopeless imperfect person like Esther, like me, like you and make us into a star. I’d say that’s moving up!

*****

We could be tempted to look at Esther and judge her. She should have done this or not done that. Maybe so. But since the author doesn’t do that, it tells me there is something else God wants us to see here. This is a reminder that life can sometimes get messy. It’s not always neat and clean. Things happen quickly and you can find yourself in a mess before you know it. Lines between right and wrong sometimes become blurry in the heat of a moment. We have to act as best as we know how and sometimes we fail in doing what is right. Even then God is gracious and all powerful and He can use you and your situations to perfect His purposes in us and through us. Be careful how we judge others because we may just be judging someone that God is working on in a way that we can’t see.