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God is in Control

God is in Control
November 6, 2016

Scripture: Esther 1

I. You should laugh at the power and glory of this world.

A. The book of Esther records events that begin in 483 BC. In that year Ahasuerus was the king of Persia. This king was kind of a big deal. The king and petty bureaucrats liked to control every detail in the Persian kingdom. In vs. 8 we read, “And drinking was according to this edict: There is no compulsion.” The king made a law that even addressed how much alcohol could be drunk at his banquet. And after Queen Vashti refused to go to the king’s banquet, the king made a new law that every man be master in his own household (vs. 22).

B. The micromanaging laws and the laws that are written in a drunken rage are all meant to be laughed at by the readers of Esther. We are meant to see satire of the king in this book. God also laughs at kings because only God is in control. Psalm 2:2-4: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.”

II. You should look to see what God is doing.

A. At one level it looks like God is doing nothing in Esther chapter 1. God’s name is nowhere mentioned in this chapter or in the entire book of Esther for that matter. But the truth is God had everything to do with Esther becoming queen and saving His people. Just because God did not use miracles did not mean that God was not at work. God was at work through what Christians call providence. The doctrine of providence teaches that God cares for His creation and His people by preserving them and guiding them to His intended ends for them.

B. In hindsight we can look back to see what God has done to answer our prayers. So the way that you keep looking to see God at work is by waiting. If you wait on God to act, eventually you will see all of the ways that God acted by seeming coincidence to answer your prayers. If you are looking for God today and don’t see Him, let me encourage you to memorize and meditate on Psalm 27:13-14: “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

III. You should let God and His Kingdom have your heart.

A. The book of Esther is about a powerful king and a powerful kingdom. But Esther is not just a book about the Persian king and his kingdom. It is a book that invites us to compare and contrast the kingdom of God with the kingdom of Persia. We see from the Gospels that God does not value big displays of power, wealth and beauty. Matthew 13:31-32: He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” God’s Kingdom starts small but grows large in us and the world.

Application:
Who is your real king and to whom is your heart committed? Give your heart to Jesus.

Sources:
The book of Esther
Commentaries on Esther by Karen Jobes, Iain Duguid and Frederic Bush