Esther - Making a Difference

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Welcome to Sha Tin Baptist Church
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EstherMaking a Difference
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Background

• Place Persia
• Date 483-473 B.C.
• 114 years after deportation of Jews in Esthers
  clan
• 55 years after the 1st return of the Jews from
  captivity (led by Zerubbabel in 538 B.C.)
• 22 years before the 2nd return (led by Ezra in
  458 B.C.)

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Unusual Book

• Written in Persia and probably censored
• Gods name not mentioned
• But God's acts and sovereignty could be easily
  seen in the whole story

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What we can learn today

• God is with us even if we are away from our
  homeland
• We can trust God in difficult times
• Our lives can make a difference too

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Esthers Circumstances

• Orphan
• Raised by older cousin Mordecai
• Possibly tempted to complain or feel sorry
  for self

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The Proud Pagan King

• King Xerxes shows off his wealth for 180 days
• King Xerxes gives big 7 day party with lots of
  wine

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The Party Pooper

• King gets drunk on 7th day
• King summons Queen Vashti to show off her beauty
• Queen Vashti doesnt obey King Xerxes

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The Partys Over

• King burns with anger
• King banishes Queen Vashti from the royal Persian
  palace

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King Xerxes seeks a new wife

• Searches all 127 provinces for beautiful young
  virgins
• Brings all contestants into his harem for the
  contest
• Esther taken because lovely in form and
  appearance

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Esthers Rags to Riches story

• One of many in the harem
• Won the favor of everyone who saw her
• Won kings favor and approval more than any of
  the other virgins
• Made queen

Note no coincidence God allowed all
this
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Crisis

• Mordecai wont compromise his faith
• Mordecai chooses to bow down to God only and
  not to Haman
• Haman devises evil plot asks the king to
  have all Jews killed
• King agrees issues decree

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Esther 41 Sorrow Humility
When Mordecai learned all that had been done, he
tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and
went out into the midst of the city and wailed
loudly and bitterly.
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Esther 45 Query Then
Esther summoned Hathach from the king's eunuchs
whom the king had appointed to attend her and
ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this
was and why it was.   
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Esther 46,7 Report So
Hathach went out to Mordecai to the city square
in from of the king's gate. And Mordecai told him
all that had happened to him and the exact amount
of money that Haman had promised to pay to the
king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.
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Esther 48,9 S.O.S. He also
gave him a copy of the text of the edict which
had been issued in Susa for their destruction
that he might show Esther and inform her, and  to
order her to go in to the king to implore his
favor and to plead with him for her people.  And
Hathach came back and related Mordecai's words to
Esther. 
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The Challenge

• Someone from the Jews had to beg the king for
  mercy
• The king did not know that Esther was a Jew
• What if the king hated Jews?
• Would the king hate her?

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Esther 410,11 The Excuse Then Esther
spoke to Hathach him to reply to Mordecai "All
the king's servants and the people of the king's
provinces know that for any man or woman who
comes to the king to the inner court who is not
summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to
death unless the king holds out to him the
golden scepter so that he may live.  And I have
not been summoned to come to the king for these
thirty days."  
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Esther 412,13 Exhortation And they
related Esther's words to Mordecai.  Then
Mordecai told them to reply to Esther,"Do not
imagine that  you are in the king's palace can
escape any more  than all the Jews.  
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Esther 414 Responsibility For if you
remain silent at this time, relief and
deliverance will arise from the Jews from another
place and you and your father's house will
perish.  And who knows whether you have not
attained royalty for such a time as this?" 
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Esther 415,16 Step of Faith Then
Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, "Go,
assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and
fast for me do not drink or eat for three days,
night or day.  I and my maidens also will fast in
the same way.  And thus I will go in to the king,
which is not according to the law and if I
perish, I perish."  
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God works for His people

• King accepts Esthers entry
• King offers her up to half of his kingdom
• The king has insomnia and reads that Mordecai
  once saved his life
• The king honors Mordecai

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God works (continued)

• Haman humbled
• Haman makes king angry
• King has Haman hanged
• King hires Mordecai as 2 man

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God works (continued)

• King asks Mordecai to help him write a new
  decree in behalf of the Jews as seemed best
  to him!
• King had edict written to all 127 provinces!

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God works (continued)

• What the Jews were allowedto do on the appointed
  day(13th day of Adar)
• Assemble protect themselves
• Destroy, kill and annihilate anyone who might
  attack them

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New Celebration - Purim

• 14th and 15th days of Adar(last month of Jewish
  calendar usually in Feb. or March each year)
• A continual reminder of Gods deliverance and
  Esthers heroism
• A celebration of the resting of the Jews from the
  oppression of their enemies

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What we can learn today

• God is with us even if we are away from our
  homeland
• We can trust God in difficult times
• Our lives can make a difference too

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Application 1Thanksgiving Praise

• Sincerely thank God that He is sovereign in our
  lives even in our less-than-ideal situations
• Acknowledge that God does not make mistakes - our
  lives are not the result of chance He designed 
  them

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Application 2Deal with Difficulties in a
Righteous Way

• Pray (and possibly fast)
• Seek godly counsel people who1. Know God and
  His Holy Word2. Know Gods purposes3.
  Understand the situation4. Think live a life
  set apart from the world
• Choose to do what is right
• Trust God for the outcome whether pleasant or
  unpleasant