Sermon 5-8-11

“LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND SHAMELESS”

Esther 1

Background:

-author unkown

-Esther and Mordecai are main characters

-Esther isn’t exactly to be seen as a perfect role model

-God is never mentioned yet His presence is evident.

The year is 483 BC. The Jewish had been taken into exile approximately 100 years earlier by the Babylonians as discipline from God for repeatedly ignoring His calls to turn from their idols and return to Him. This was a turning point for the Jews that would forever change their way of life. Though God sent them into exile He promised that a remnant would one day return to Jerusalem. Nearly 50 years into captivity Cyrus the Great who founded the Persian empire invaded Babylon and overthrew Belshazzar. He would then issue a decree that allowed the Jews to return home (Ezra 1). His motives were not altogether pure as he likely saw them as another land to collect taxes from. Some Jews would travel back and begin to rebuild but most stayed behind. The story of Esther picks up about 50 years after Cyrus’ decree. His grandson Xerxes is on the throne and the question confronting the Jews is “are we still in the covenant relationship with God?”

This book is for anyone who finds themselves far from God, far from perfect, far from an easy life. You wonder does God still care about me? Does He still want a relationship with me? Can He still use me? The answer is overwhelmingly, yes! One person even with their back against the wall can still be used by God to make a difference. This is Esther’s story and how God used her to save an entire race of people.

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

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We have a fascination with rich people...Ex- The Royal Wedding...no one televised my wedding or got up at 4AM to see it... For some reason we are tempted to think that way of life must be infinitely better than the life I live...Not so fast...

I. WEALTH (vs. 1-5)

Vs. 1 - Leader over most of the known world. Greece only major territory not under his rule.

Vs. 2-5 - He throws a 180 day party for all his important dignitaries and then a 7 day party for the common folk to show off all that he has. Hmmm. Maybe he should have listened to last week’s message...

1 Timothy 6:17 - “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God who gives richly all things to enjoy.”

Here’s why:

Prov. 23:5 - “Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven.”

Let me tell you what happens to the King...Esther is written anywhere from 25-over 100 years after the events happen so the readers would already know this story and be captivated by the irony of it (It’s full of irony.)...Xerxes and the Persians wanted Greece bad. His dad, Darius, when he was the king had been defeated trying to invade Athens. So they are in a period of resting and recuperating. It is believed at this party Xerxes formed a Great War Council to make plans for taking Greece. Four years later he will invade Greece. He gets his backside whooped and ends up coming home broke. Wealth and wisdom apart from God will not last. Being prideful only sets you up for a big fall.

Ex- Donald Trump bragging about forcing Pres. Obama to show birth certificate then Obama gets boost by killing OBL.

Somebody - Jesus = Nothing

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

II. DECISIONS (vs. 6-21)

Vs. 6-8 - Liberty to drink as much as you want. Restraints are cast off... It was also a social norm to drink and deliberate matters of state. The thinking was if we come up with ideas drunk and in the morning when we are sober we still like them then we will act upon them.

First bad decision: Drinking alcohol will help me to make better decisions.

Prov. 31:4-5 - “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink; Lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted.”

Vs. 9-12 - The king wants his wife to parade naked in the middle of the party. Does anybody think this is a good idea?

Second bad decision: Treat his wife in an undignified and immoral manner.

Vs. 13-21 - “wise men who understood the times” - They base their opinions on what is popular at the time. We call that relevance at the expense of truth.

Third bad decision: Listen to counselors who tell you to do what feels right at the time.

Psalm 1: 1-3 - “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

III. MARRIAGE (vs. 21-22)

This marital relationship has deteriorated and is now done. He dismisses his wife (and possibly had her executed). If they have kids consider the impact this makes on them and then we wonder why these kings had such a bad history?

What it boils down to here, is that the king is declaring that marriage is all about the man. He is the head of the home and the wife must do everything he says. If she doesn’t then she can be replaced. That sounds kind of far-fetched and out-there, but I think it is closer to reality than we won’t to admit. Marriages get in trouble when they become centered on self rather than the other person. He/she better do what I want and make me happy. If not I’ll find someone else.

If that is your opinion then your marriage is not grounded in the truth of Jesus Christ, it is God-less and it will crumble.

Eph. 5:21-28 - “submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

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When you get to the heart of the matter, this isn’t just a picture of the lifestyle of the rich and shameless, it is a picture of the lifestyle of the world without God. Lives crumble without a relationship to God. As Christians this is what we are up against. This is the type of world we live in and unless we have a deep abiding relationship with Jesus Christ we will conform to it. But with that deep abiding relationship to Him not only can we survive but we can thrive.

“One decision can change everything.”

Romans 12:1-2 - “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.