College Drive Assembly, Colby, KS
College Drive Assembly, Colby, KS
Overruled! Lessons from Esther’s Story
Intrigued by the metaphor of "a turtle on a fence post"? We'll show you how it perfectly illustrates God’s ability to elevate us beyond our shortcomings. Drawing insights from King Xerxes' grant of authority to Esther and Mordecai, we reflect on the true nature of power and authority bestowed upon Christ followers. Through a personal anecdote from my days as a state trooper, we highlight the distinction between authority and power, emphasizing that our worth and capability stem from our relationship with God, not merely our deeds.
Hello, this is Pastor Wade, so glad you stopped by. You know, it's always my hope that you'll be blessed and inspired as you listen. Today. If you have your Bibles, if you'll turn them over to Esther, chapter 8. Esther, chapter 8, we'll be going to chapter 9, verse 25, as we continue in this sermon series on the book of Esther, and today is the last message of this sermon series and I will close it out.
Speaker 1:I think it's important that one of the things that I've been really trying to touch on is the sovereignty of God. The reason I do that is because we live in, if you haven't noticed, a world that's kind of chaotic right now. There's a lot of things going on in our world, but I think, as your pastor, it's important that you understand that God is still in charge, that he is still sovereign in the affairs of men and that he overrules the plans and the decisions of men, great and small, and that is to our benefit, because the other part of this is that how God cares for his people. He cares for them enough that he will overrule plans, and he always has a purpose and a reason for everything that takes place. Now the key to unlocking the book of Esther and, I have to admit, is found in the word Providence. It's not something we kind of talked about, because my whole, my whole desire was to talk about sovereignty, but Providence is something we'll talk about today in a little bit of detail. So I also cannot miss the fact that what we cannot accomplish due to our own limitations, be that whatever it may, maybe it's social status. You don't have any social status, maybe you don't have an education, maybe you don't have a lot of financial resources, whatever the reason is, whatever your limitations are, god can use your limitations to show you his power. He can take those shortcomings that you have and he can work in them in such a way because when God sees that you are helpless and cannot do anything, that's when God comes in with his power and he shows himself strong on his behalf, because he wants you to know you can trust him, and that's an important lesson for all of us. In fact, everything that happens in our life I think God is always honing that in our life that we will trust him more, day by day by day and everything that he uses in our lives are little things that seem to irritate us, things that cause us not to have control in our life, and God loves it when we don't have control in our life, because that's when he can show us, you can trust me. So it's important Now.
Speaker 1:You've all had children, probably. Well, some of you have had children. I shouldn't assume everybody has a child here, especially the college students, but the reality is that we all kind of are independent, aren't we? We want to do our own thing. I mean, you know my grandson. When he stayed with us he kept saying me, me, I do it, I do it, you know, and that's what we are. We say that to God all the time, but God wants us to stop trying to say I all the time and saying you all the time, you, god, can do this. And when we get to that place in our maturity of our spiritual life, then great things can happen. So God sees opportunity where we see we have no control, and I think that's what I'm trying to get at here Now, before we turn to the text this morning, I just want you to know that in our limitations, god can be seen in four different ways, and we're going to talk about those four different ways today as we open God's word. So let's look at it, esther, chapter eight, verse one and two.
Speaker 1:That same day, king Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman. Now, for you who just come in, you don't know the story. Haman was a man who tried to come up with a plan to wipe out and annihilate all the Jewish people in the kingdom of Xerxes, the Medes and the Persia kingdom and all the provinces, and apparently it all backfired. God turned the tables on and we've been kind of waiting for that to happen and he gets hung on the same gallows he built. Some of you have a different version of the Bible. That may say a pole. He was impaled on a pole, and that's probably an indicator that you have a newer Bible, because they're always constantly updating the Bibles and so it's nothing in the text that's wrong. It's just there was an execution, and so, basically, they came up with this different form because archaeologists have come up and realized that this is how they executed people, and so they're updating some of the terms.
Speaker 1:Anyway, it says that same day, king Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, who was the enemy of the Jews, and Mordecai came into the presence of the king. Esther brought him in so the king could meet him and Esther told him how he was related to her. The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai, and Esther appointed him over Haman's estate. So the tide has really turned in Esther's favor, in Mordecai's favor and in the Jews that are living in this kingdom, and it's all been turned around. Esther's awarded the estate of Haman. That means Zerush, who is Haman's wife, the widow she had to leave. You'll find out if you read through the text that all the sons were also killed and executed, probably so there would be no revenge coming or anything like that.
Speaker 1:And she brings Mordecai into the presence of King Xerxes and explains to the king how they are related, they are cousins, and she probably also told him how she was just a little child when they were brought into the kingdom and she couldn't care for herself. Her parents were killed in the war when they took down Jerusalem and she was brought and if it wasn't for Mordecai, who was older and basically took her, adopted her almost, and treated her like she was a daughter to him. And so she explains all of this to the king. And the king does an amazing thing he takes off his signet ring which he had taken from Haman and he gives it to Mordecai. And why does the king do this? Well, the answer is really simple. I mean, haman used the king, haman conned the king. But here's a man who saved the king and who had great character and took care of Esther, who's now queen. And I think the king just said who better, who better to give it to? And so he gives him and puts him basically second in command. He is the highest of all nobles.
Speaker 1:Can you see what's happened here? Literally, haman took their place and they took Haman's place. They were honored. Now, and isn't that what Jesus Christ did for you and me? We switched places with Jesus. Jesus one day will be honored, but on the cross he was cursed. He took that from us, he took that for us and he took our place. And what a wonderful thing that is. And so we see that here. So here's a man who the king can entrust to the kingdom. And let's look at what happens next. Verses 3 through 6.
Speaker 1:Esther again pleaded, with the king falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman, the Agite which he had devised against the Jews. Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him. If it pleases the king, she said, and if he regards me with favor and thinks it's the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written over ruling the dispatches that Haman, son of Amadatha the Agite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews and all the king's provinces. For how can I bear to see the disaster fall on my people, how can I bear to see the destruction of my family? So Esther is wanting the king to counter, to stop the decree that went out. But the king sees that she doesn't quite understand how this works, and so what we see here is what we find in verse 7 then.
Speaker 1:So the king is explaining to Esther and Mordecai how this works. He's trying to help them, he's trying to coach them. The king Xerxes said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew I have given Esther the property of Haman and he has been impaled on a pole that's what the New Living says because he tried to destroy the Jews you may have. He was hung on a gallows. Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews in the king's name, telling them whatever you want and seal it with a king's signet ring. But remember and this is the important part, but remember that whatever has already been written in the king's name and sealed with his signet ring can never be revoked. So he's trying to coach her and Mordecai you've got to make a counter decree, you've got to come up with some strategy that will counter what has been set in place. And so he's explaining that to them Now.
Speaker 1:Verse 9 and 10 informs us that the decree is written. We haven't read it yet, we don't know what it says. But let's just stop there for now, just for a moment. Okay, so it goes out what they have written.
Speaker 1:Now let me just begin, because I'm just dying to ask you this question how does someone go from Jerusalem who has been sacked, forced to move to a foreign kingdom as a child and as a young teenager? How does somebody like that come into that place and suddenly, as a war prize that's what they were, they were a war prize and then become one day the queen and second in command of all things under Xerxes? How does that happen? It's by God right, that just doesn't happen. How does that even work? And yet God worked it out, didn't he? He put those two people in place by his providence, and that is the thing. So, some of the things that I think.
Speaker 1:Have you ever heard of? The term a turtle on a fence post, have you ever heard of that? I'm going to explain it in just a moment, but let me just let me kind of set it up here, because whatever your limitations are, whatever your shortcomings are, I want you to know God can overcome those. God can do the impossible. He can make you a turtle on a fence post, and I'm going to explain that just a little bit Now.
Speaker 1:So in these kind of moments, god can be seen, I said, in four ways, and the first one is this God can be seen in his power. God can be seen in his power. Now we all know that, as Christ followers, we have the authority given to us by Christ, amen. I mean, we have authority been given to us. Jesus said in Luke, chapter 10, verse 19,. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. That's the authority he has given it to his disciples. He also has given it to us as followers. However, in the next verse verse 20, because they remember the disciples have just come back. They were out preaching the gospel, the good news, and if there were demon possessed, they would Remember. The disciples have just come back. They were out preaching the gospel, the good news, and if there were a demon possessed, they would command the demon to come out, and it would. They would lay their hands on the blind and they could see. And they were amazed. They were just blown away by this.
Speaker 1:And Jesus says in verse 20, he says but don't be happy, because evil spirits obey you. Be happy that your names are written in heaven. That is the important, eugene Peterson. I love how he puts it, the way he renders this verse. He says this all the same the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God's authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God, but what God does for you. That's the agenda for rejoicing.
Speaker 1:You see, we came into this whole family as beggars. We had nothing to offer and Jesus took us anyway. And if that doesn't, if that doesn't rock your boat, nothing's going to okay. If that's not, if that's not going to set you on fire, then your wood's all green right now. Because I'm telling you, when you get to the realization that I am nothing and I have nothing and I will never be anything but by Christ. I have been adopted into the family, I have been grafted into the family. That means Jesus chose me. There is the point and in relationship with God, that is the connection and I think that's important for us to understand. So we see the King Xerxes. He does this, he does absolutely this. He does it for Mordecai. He gives him the signet ring To Esther. He makes her his queen, he delegates his royal authority to both of them in a form of the signet ring. Authority gives its bearer the right to make a decision and to represent as an agent of that authority. So they are representing. Now let me put it in a way we all can understand.
Speaker 1:When I was a state trooper, I had a patch on this arm. I had a patch on this arm, I had a badge. I had a car and on the car was a badge on both sides and all of it said state of Kansas. I was given the authority by the state of Kansas to enforce every law wherever in the state of Kansas. That means if you're on a dirt road and I stop you for speeding and you look at me and go. This is not a highway I can go. Where does that say? State of Kansas? I actually had a person do that once. I actually did.
Speaker 1:I was sitting up on top of the hill, I was watching Highway 14, and I had a little stopwatch laying there and I was just sitting there Just a beautiful day, had the windows rolled down, Nice spring day, cool breeze coming through. I got my Christian music cranked up because I can Nobody's out there. I'm out in the middle of Tule's man, and I got that music. I'm just enjoying myself. All of a sudden a car comes by and it's not. I'm like, oh, this place down here is so boring, I need to find a better stopwatch lane.
Speaker 1:And I've been sitting there for about a half hour and suddenly a guy comes on and he goes on the dirt road. It's a shortcut across to another community. And I mean I thought man, he's really kind of kicking the dust up. And I open up my radar because I'm pointing right at him and he's like 70, 75, 80, 90. And he went over the hill and I'm like oh, baby, yeah, burn. And I'm after him, like I mean I'm after him. I'm going to get this guy and he was a referee for a wrestling match and he was late and I made him later, that's right. I got in my car, my radar's showing 90.
Speaker 1:He's like and I get my ticket out, I get his driver's license, he goes what are you doing? I said I'm writing you a ticket, you can't do that, I go. What he goes. You can't do that, I go. Does that say state of Kansas on it? He goes, yes, and I go. Guess what I can. And I did because I had authority.
Speaker 1:Now here's the thing. Authority is different and we make this mistake. Authority is different than power, did you hear me? It is different. I had the authority and I had a certain amount of power. You know, if you're 6'5 and about 350, I probably don't have enough power. Okay, I'm going to have to call somebody. And a wise officer knows when. He's like yeah, I better not try this by myself.
Speaker 1:But I can go out on the interstate 70 and I could go like this hold my hand up in front of a semi coming towards me and go like this and you know what, that big old semi slows down, pulls over, but what of that semi driver? He's like you know what? I'm tired of these guys, I'm tired of them hassling me and I'm just I'm going to keep going. Well, if a guy who's under authority, you have to understand do you have the power? If you don't have the power, you know what's smart to do in that case. If you don't have the power, you know what's smart to do in that case. Step off to the side, okay, because you can't stop them. But I can make one radio call and suddenly this guy's going to get stopped and I'll have all the help I need to do what I need to do.
Speaker 1:It's the same. In a spiritual sense, you have been given authority. But let me tell you this the last phrase in the Lord's Prayer and we all know the Lord's Prayer, I hope we all know the Lord's Prayer the last phrase says thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory Jesus is saying. Jesus is saying mine, my kingdom, my power, my glory. It's not yours. He does not share his glory, he does not share his power, he does not share his kingdom, unless he wants to. Let me tell you.
Speaker 1:So how do you go about this? How do you go about walking in power? It's all about relationship. What did Jesus say? Don't get excited that the demons did what you want. No, be excited that your name is written in the Lamb's book of life. That's the connection. Jesus said it this way I am the vine, you are the branches. Remain in me and I will remain in you and you will do what Bear much fruit. You need to stay connected and, my friends, the problem is sometimes we get a little. I'm just going to step away a little bit. I'm just going to step back and let me tell you, when you do that, you're losing the power. You're losing the source. You have the authority, but you need the power, and it's not your power you need. You need his power. And, my friends, that is what makes the difference what God did for Esther and Mordecai when they were helpless to help themselves. The Lord turned the tables, haman took their place and they took Haman's place.
Speaker 1:And that is a proverbial turtle on a fence post. If you see a turtle on a fence post, he didn't get up there by himself, he got up there by somebody else's effort. Does that make sense to anybody here? Are you kind of catching what I'm saying? You can't do it on your own, and that's what God's lesson is for all of us. You need me, we need God more than we'll ever begin to imagine, because that guy he didn't crawl up there, in fact he's will somebody get me down from there?
Speaker 1:And the problem is, once God puts you on a fence post, you kind of can get overwhelmed Because now you're walking in a place that you've really been stretched by. Don't ever think that you will not need God, because you always will need God. And so stay close, stay attached, let you just rest in those branches that Christ is for you. So when you see Esther as queen and Mordecai as second in command, you're seeing a turtle on a fence. Well, god can do that. And I just wonder sometimes, nt Wright he writes this and I love this because it's such a great picture of that connection, that relational connection. He writes this and I quote prayer brings together love and power, prayer brings together love and power, the relation of love that grows between God and the person who prays and flowing of power from God to and especially through that person, end quote. We in that connection are connected and that's how God can use his power and help us to have his power. And, my friends, the greatest thing you can do is stay in prayer with God, stay connected. How many of you here this morning can look back and you know that God exercised his power and that's why you're here today.
Speaker 1:I am a turtle on a fence post. If you would tell me that one day I'd be preaching the gospel, I would probably say I'd like that. But I don't think it's going to happen for me Because I mean, I have been rejected more than I've ever been accepted. I have had people, churches reject me.
Speaker 1:I can remember going to Larned, kansas, and there was two great guys there, two younger guys. I'm a young, I was a young not, I'm not a young guy now, but I was young back then and they were so hopeful that you could just see it. And there was this, this and I hate to say this there was this older gentleman there and he asked this question what Bible do you preach out of, pastor? I said, well, I could answer this in a way he wants and I could say, right now, king James and I would probably got the church. But that's not the way to do it. You got to be honest and I said, well, I preach out of the NIV. And both young men just went like that and it was because of just a bias and there are biases. You need to do what God wants you to do and I had to be honest, it wouldn't have worked, it would have been a disaster. And so we waited and we waited and one day we got to church and we were there for two whole years.
Speaker 1:Jody started getting sick, things started happening and I mean, things got just kind of worse and worse and worse and I'll be honest with you, I ended up going back to the Highway Patrol. But that brought me to this church. My wife was a secretary. We came and we attended. We made great friends, michael and Kim. We've known them forever.
Speaker 1:Some of you, I knew some of you when you were just kids, isn't that right, carla? Yes, one time I passed Carla and her dad. Well, I don't know if you were in the vehicle or not, but I know your dad was in there, linda, your mom was in there and your baby brother was driving the truck on your dad's lap and I was in the patrol car and I just said, okay, okay. So God had in his plan. If you would have told me one day that I'd be the pastor at College Drive Assembly. I didn't have much hope for that, but you know what God allowed it. He put you through the ringer to get me here and he put me through the ringer to get here. But we're together and we are waiting for what God may have in store for us, amen. So all of this, god can use all of this as providence.
Speaker 1:You know, one night before I spoke about Haman casting a lot. I told you that when Haman cast the lot in a previous sermon. By the way, if you're here and you'd like to listen to sermons, if you go to our website, I have, at the very bottom of the website there is five sermons, the five latest sermons. You can download them, you can listen to them, you can do whatever you want. I just want you to know they're there. But anyway, we're talking about Haman and Providence. Anyway, we're talking about Haman and Providence.
Speaker 1:And that morning, when I came to speak and preach that morning about that, that was the morning that a flight went down in Brazil. You might remember I was kind of mentioning that to you. Well, I've learned since then that it was a Brazilian flight and it was an ATR-72 twin-engine turboprop and you may not know what that is. But we actually have one that flies in and takes people from, picks people up from Colby and I think one of the local sons actually flies that and flies some people in from Denver every once in a while here and I recognize the plane, but it had gotten frosted over and when a plane's wings lose lift, it went into a flat spin. So basically it's just going down like this, it's just falling out of the sky and it crashed with 65 people on board. Everybody's lost. What's amazing about there?
Speaker 1:There was 15 doctors that were supposed to be on that flight, but seven of them were able to take an earlier flight. Ten people, because of a mistake by the airport, had flagged the wrong gate and didn't correct it and those ten were waiting on a gate to go on this flight and they missed the flight. And I've missed a flight. Have you ever missed a flight? Is anybody happy about that? I mean it always happens when you're on your way home too, doesn't it? And I mean I'm not happy. But can you imagine them being frustrated and then only to discover that God literally caused this to happen? And they hear because it happened just outside of the airport where this plane went down not too far from it and word got back that this plane went down.
Speaker 1:How would you feel if you were part of that 10? Would that be providence? Had God planned ahead? Because that is the definition of providence Providing in a forward fashion. So he's planning ahead, basically, and that's the definition To provide in advance, to provide in advance, to provide in advance, that's it. So you cannot tell those people that it wasn't the providence of God. And what happened to Esther and what happened to Mordecai and the people, the Jewish people there, that's all. And so, anytime, let me just let me say this to you, and I'm going to try to hurry up here I understand I've still got two points yet, but the last two points go fast, okay, I think it's important that we understand that in those moments, god may do something that isn't very kind to us.
Speaker 1:How many of you have ever had a flat tire? Is that a wonderful experience? Have you ever been caught in traffic? I mean probably not so much around here, but in Denver, or I mean, and you're just not going anywhere. How about when Aunt Mabel catches you and she won't stop talking? And you got things you got to do. But can I tell you. God can take something that was really really bad and he can inconvenience you with something, so you won't be at the place where something really really bad and he can inconvenience you with something so you won't be at the place where something really really bad happens.
Speaker 1:God can protect you like that. God can do that. So when we're helpless due to our limitations, we can see God in his power. We can see it in his providence. But third, we can see it in his protection. So number two is providence, but third, we can see it in his protection. So number two is providence. Three is protection. We can see God as protection.
Speaker 1:I cannot but think if Haman wanted to kill Mordecai, he could have earlier. He could have. No one would have noticed. Only Esther would have probably cared. No one even knew. But Haman was so fixated on wiping out all the Jews that he didn't have the opportunity. So God protected Mordecai, he protected Esther, he protected the Jewish people. And fourth, god can be seen in his preservation, in his preservation.
Speaker 1:Let's close this, chapter 9, verse 1 through 4. It says this On this day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. The Jews assembled in their cities and all their provinces of King Xerxes to attack those seeking their destruction. No one can stand against them because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them and all the nobles and this is important and all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the administrators, helped the Jews because fear of Mordecai had seized them. Mordecai was prominent in the palace, his reputation spread throughout the provinces and he became more and more powerful because the God of Abraham, isaac and Jacob did something special for him and put him on a fence post. My friends, the fear of God stayed the hand of those who had evil intent and, my friends, the good news is that God can still do that today. He can stay the hand of those through all kinds of different ways. Let me close with this.
Speaker 1:Jesus was on the back of the boat sleeping, and the disciples, who, many of them, were very, very seaworthy. They knew how a boat operates, they were experienced fishermen and a storm came up and it concerned them. It got to the point that the storm was so bad that they were worried the boat was going to be swamped. And when you don't know what to do and you've done everything you can do, what do you do? At that moment they did what we would do. We go to God, we cry out to him. They went back and they awakened him. I can just see Jesus getting up, rubbing his eyes, kind of stretching maybe just a little bit, and then going wind and waves, be calm. And they were. Be calm and they were. And at that moment, in their amazement, the disciples didn't know if they should be afraid of Jesus more than the storm.
Speaker 1:My friends, there is something about having a faithful and perfect view of who God is, a holy fear of who he is. He has the kingdom, he has the power, he has the glory, and we need to stay connected because here's the truth. We are only full of God as we are empty of ourself. This vessel only holds so much when you fill it with yourself, and if you're feeling any resistance in your heart right now from anything I'm talking about, that's probably a good sign. Maybe you're just a little too full of yourself because you're fighting it. Fighting it Centuries earlier a psalmist so earlier before Jesus even shows up a psalmist said this in Psalm 89.9, you rule over the surging sea. When its waves mount up, you steal them and, my friends, god hasn't stopped doing that. He's still in the business, he still can do it.
Speaker 1:And we need revival in this country. We need a revival that will wake up people from where they are sleeping right now, because Jesus could come back at any moment. And, my friends, I want my congregation to be there 100%. Would you pray with me, father? We come to you now in the name of Jesus and we thank you. We praise you, lord, me, father. We come to you now in the name of Jesus and we thank you. We praise you, lord. I ask, lord, that you so glad you stopped by to listen today and, like always, my prayer is that the Lord will bless you and guard your heart for that day.