← ArchiveEstherESTHER – Stand Up (Esther 3:1-4DateApril 21, 2024SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamTextEsther 3:1–4Passages in this sermonEsther 32:02Esther 3:1–45:09Exodus 1710:46Deuteronomy 25:1711:09Esther 8:313:30Matthew 23:2315:45Exodus 19:625:50TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world.0:28I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. I'm a fan of the world's world. Welcome to the church that gathers at Bethel.0:56My name is Josh, lead pastor here. So for everyone who is watching online, thank you for worshiping with us today. For those of you who are new, and again today I've met a family that has been here for three or four weeks. First time I've met them. When you invite, the Lord uses your holy invitation to draw people here. So if you're new, we simply want to say thank you. The greatest thanksgiving we can give our new guests is to let you know how thankful we are of Jesus Christ.1:24So church, if you're thankful that God sent his only son to die on the cross for your sins, and to cast your sins as far as the east is from the west, let's give the Lord a big hallelujah. On the count of three. I know you're going to try to preempt it. One, two, three. Hallelujah. Which means let us praise our Lord. If you have your Bibles with you, we are going to be in the book of Esther again. Now you're thinking, what?1:53What book? Yes, Esther. Nehemiah, Esther, Job in the Old Testament. As you turn to the book of Esther, chapter three, five years ago, give or take, there was a symphony in Philadelphia. So shout out to all of our covenant members from Philly. And this symphony was not like your normal orchestra. It was called the symphony for a broken orchestra. And in the recital, there was a trumpet player2:21that had his trumpet taped together with painter's tape. There was a violinist that was missing her A string. And there was a cello that had to be carried into the orchestra by three people. There was a clarinetist that could only get out a squeak for about three seconds at a time. It was made up of broken instruments. And at the beginning, it sounded like a hot mess.2:46But something happened through the evening that the music began to become more joyful and the symphony melded together. And I see that orchestra as a picture of the church. Each broken instrument comes into this place and you add your voice to the symphony that God is directing in our lives.3:14Now listen, sometimes the best you can do is to squawk or to squeak. Some of us have, that you've walked in here broken and you think, well, pastor, my life is held together by painter's tape. And God is saying, but together, I am making a beautiful chorus of praise, a beautiful hallelujah through the gathered church.3:39The reason I share that story is because Esther chapter three begins with a familiar refrain. Chapter three, verse one, after all of this took place. Earlier in chapter one, Queen Vashti was banished because she refused to bow to sexually abusive practices. Chapter two, sometime later, the Bible says, Esther herself in exile4:05was taken from her home and added to the king's harem, equivalent to modern day sex trafficking. And what we see in Esther chapters one, two, and three is that a fractured world is producing broken people. And so broken instruments become worse and worse and worse. And after all of this takes place, a fractured world goes4:30from bad to worse. So today, if you say, well, pastor, I'm the broken sousaphone. I'm, I'm the clarinetist that I can, I can only squeak with two seconds of breath at a time. You've come to the right place. Because in Esther, we see God taking broken people, fractured people and showing us that he is an unbreakable God.4:58So today's message is simply called Stand Up. Stand Up. So join me as we read Esther chapter three, verses one through four. After all of this took place. Now that's five years after chapter two and four years after chapter one. So nine years total. Vashti refuses sexual abusive practices. Queen Esther, sex traffic.5:26And you say, well, can things get worse? Never ask that question, by the way. If you ever say, Lord, can things get worse? The answer is always, yes, they can. King Ahasuerus honored Haman, son of Hemedatha the Agagite. He promoted him in rank and gave him a higher position than all other officials. Verse two. The entire royal staff at the king's gate bowed down5:54to pay homage to Haman or Haman because the king had commanded this to be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage. The members of the royal staff at the king's gate asked Mordecai, why are you disobeying the king's command? When they said that, they warned him day after day6:19and he still would not listen to them. Then they told Haman in order to see if Mordecai's actions would be tolerated since he had told them that he was a Jew. Today's message is called stand up. Or in the negative, refuse to bow down. Refuse to bow down. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you take broken people6:47and make us whole again. We thank you that you take sinners who are living in rebellion to your holy command. You take people who refuse to bow down to a holy God and you sent Jesus in our place. You sent your only son to die on the cross for criminals, for guilty people of whom we are the chief. And Lord, because of Jesus, you take people whose sins are as scarlet7:13and you wash us white as snow. You cast our sins as far as the east is from the west. You take our weariness and cover us in garments of praise. Lord, today, help us stand for righteousness and may we refuse to kneel at the altar of transgression.7:33Lord, help us stand up in your presence, blameless, through the blood of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen and amen. So verse one, the points all begin with H today. The first point is simply Haman or Haman.8:02With an extraordinary plot twist and for unknown reasons, King Ahasuerus promotes Haman to the highest of the royal officials. Now you say, well, why would he do that? Because previously, Mordecai saves the king's life. And the biblical answer I have for you is I have no clue. Kings do what kings do. We are told nothing about Haman's life in the biblical record other than his genealogy.8:28And for those of you who ask, well, what is a genealogy? It's the ancient version of Ancestry.com. Before you could send your DNA off and get back your ancestry, they had genealogies. And we have that Haman was the son of Hamadathah the Agagite. Now an Agagite is the son of Agag.8:55You say, well, who is that? He's the king of Amalek or the Amalekites. Now you might remember the Amalekites attacked Israel as they wandered from Egypt into the promised land. And the people of God were in their most vulnerable state and the Amalekites attacked. And to jog your memory, this was the battle where when Moses' hands were raised up, the people of God would win the battle.9:16But as men and women often do, you can't keep your hands raised often. Actually, if you just raise your, I know you're a Baptist, but just raise your hands in church. Everyone, I'm not, that's not, that's a command. Right? Okay, just keep your hands raised.9:43As we often do, our hands get weary. And as Moses, keep your hands up. As the hands were raised, God's people won the battle. Do not let your hands fall. And as Moses' hands would grow weary, the people of God, I'm going to blow my hands, you keep your hands up. Would lose the battle.10:11And so he had armor bearers. I see some of you dropping already. Aaron and Hur would help lift his hands. And by God's grace, God's people won the victory. You can put your hands down. This is the most un-Baptist service in the history of Bethel Baptist Church. That was the Amalekites. That's the people that, Esther chapter 3, that's Haman's kinfolks.10:39Exodus chapter 17. You might remember that Saul had defeated the Amalekites and God told him to exterminate King Agag. And Saul refused to do what was good in the eyes of the Lord. Saul refused. Samuel actually completed the act. That's the same family line.11:06And every year during the Feast of Purim, the people of God, even today, read Deuteronomy 25:17. Remember what the Amalekites did to you on the journey after you left Egypt. Blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven. Do not forget. Haman is a reminder that sin and transgression left ignored in your life will be passed down to the next generation.11:29Sin didn't start with Haman. It started with King Agag. Sin, transgression, didn't start with King Agag. It started with the Amalekites. Church, if you refuse to deal with the sin in your life, guess who pays the consequences? Your children. Your grandchildren. So if you look at the world and say, "What is wrong with our world?"11:58That is sin ignored in the previous generation. May we not ignore our transgressions. John Owen, a quote that I love that he says, "You be killing sin, our sin will be killing you." Let Haman remind us that sin ignored leads to our destruction. Church, may you not pass your sins and your curses to the next generation.12:26We fall at the feet of Jesus and say, "God, today stop my sin. Today stop my lust. Stop my greedy heart. Lord, may sin stop with me today." That's Haman. But we have homage paid to Haman. Look at verse 2. The entire royal staff at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman.12:50We don't know why Haman is elevated to his status and we don't know why Mordecai refuses to bow down. Scripture is silent on this fact. Now scholars have suggested several reasons. I'm going to give those to you today. It's quite possible that Haman refused to bow down to any individual.13:16It could be that Haman says to bow down to someone would be to give worship and I refuse to give worship to any individual at all. But in Esther chapter 8 verse 3, Esther bows down to the king. So most likely, and there's no transgression or iniquitous motive given to that act. So it seems to be that's not the reason. And thus far, by the way, Mordecai has been a model citizen.13:45He's received favor in the eyes of the king, which meant that he would bow down or kiss the ring of the king when he was in his presence. It's possible that Mordecai has been exposed to Haman and he knows he's not a good dude. He knows I'm not going to bow down to the jerk because I see what he's like behind the scenes. So maybe because of his vile character, Mordecai says, I, the Lord has prohibited me for honoring someone who is evil in their soul.14:11But again, we do not know. Potentially, and I think this is what is accurate, Haman knew, Mordecai knew that Haman was the son of Agag and he remembered the words of Deuteronomy. Never forget what the Amalekites have done to you. But let's go back. In chapters one through two of Esther, Mordecai has showed little concern when Esther was taken into the harem of the Gentile king.14:40With his non-kosher food and defiling practices. So apparently, Mordecai has no issue bowing down to that. And even more, we have that Mordecai tells the queen to conceal her Jewish identity as a covenant daughter of Yahweh.15:02So it doesn't seem that Mordecai is refusing to bow because he's Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, or Daniel. Again, these are different situations. What if Mordecai's refusal to bow down was a secondary issue? Not necessarily good or bad, but it was secondary.15:29Where was Mordecai? Why didn't he stand up when Esther was taken from her home? Why didn't he stand up and say, "You cannot eat these foods?" Jesus Christ actually warns us about secondary issues. Matthew 23:23, Jesus says this to the scribes, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" Now, this is in the series of woes.15:56He says, "You pay a tenth of your mint, your dill, and your cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others." Blind guides. He says this, "You strain out a gnat, but you gulp down a camel." May it never be said of us that we are professional gnat gulpers.16:24Or worse, camel gulpers. Sometimes, and the biblical record is silent on Mordecai. We don't know why. But sometimes we are quick to take stands on gnat issues. We're quick to stand up and say, "I would never do that."16:51And we refuse to take a stand on the larger issues of our faith. We refuse to take stands for mercy, and justice, and faithfulness. Church, what are you giving homage to today? If you are known more about your political affiliation and not your kingdom identity, quit gulping camels, right?17:10If we are known more about what we wear physically and not robes of righteousness, we are gulping down the wrong things. If we are known more about pointing out the sins of others than looking at our own hearts, we are letting our brother fall in the ditch as we also blindly fall in the ditch.17:33May it never be said of us that we gulp down camels and miss the gnats. May we stand on the word of the living God without apology. Church, we need to stand for what is right.18:01And if we are persecuted for righteousness sake, we have found our reward. What are you paying homage to? Now we have in verse 5. When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing down, which means, let me just kind of go back. Mordecai was not bowing down to Haman for a long time.18:26Apparently Haman was so self-consumed he only saw those who were giving him honor. He didn't see Mordecai. So the other official said, hey, Haman, by the way, dude's not bowing down. And he's a Jew, which again, I think is the Amalekite Jewish issue going on here. And when he sees this, verse 5 and 6, he was filled with rage.18:51When he learned of Mordecai's ethnic identity, it seemed repugnant to Haman to do away with Mordecai alone. He planned to destroy all of Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout Ahasuerus' kingdom. So in the first month, the month of Nisan, in King Ahasuerus' 12th year, pure, that is the lot, was cast before Haman for each day and each month.19:19And it fell on the 12th month, the month of Adar. Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, there is one ethnic group scattered throughout the people in every province of your kingdom. Highlight this in your Bible or your mind. Keeping themselves separate. "Their laws are different from everyone else's, and they do not obey the king's laws.19:44It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them. If the king approves, let an order be drawn up, authorizing their destruction, and I will pay 375 tons of silver to the official depository in the royal treasury." Which is roughly two-thirds of all taxes collected in the Persia-Mede Empire in any given year.20:11Third H: holiness. When Haman heard and saw Mordecai refusing to bow down, he was filled with rage and he desired to rid himself of this problem. This is what Haman knew.20:39The only way that he could guarantee universal obedience was to get rid of God's chosen race. Church, this is not the first nor the last time in the world that someone tried to annihilate the Jewish people. We can look through the annals of history. In World War II, the Nazis murdered over six million Jews and blamed them for Germany's downfall.21:01Anti-Semites believed Jews were dangerous and threatening because of their Jewish blood. Even today, Hamas, which is an Arabic word that means violence. That's what the word means. In their founding documents in 1988, part of their covenant says this in their preamble. It says that Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it.21:30Just as it will obliterate others before it. So do not buy the lie that Hamas desires a peaceful resolution. And you say, Pastor, how do you know that? Because I have read their documents. Don't believe what they say. Believe what they tell you. Believe what they write to you. The world desires universal obedience.21:59And the world understands the only way the world can get full obedience is to annihilate the people of God. Because we have a higher king. God's people, his covenant people will not ultimately bow down to the ways of the world. And Haman is unmistakingly motivated by racial hatred. And this is not unusual.22:28Because as with any hatred, whether it's racism, sexism, bigotry, it turns to discussion. And you see how Haman does this? Bigotry turns people from souls to objects. He doesn't say there are people that are disruptive. He says they are. Hatred makes it us versus them.22:53And we understand on a sociological level why this is true. Because it is easier to kill an abstraction than a person. This is the assault on the dignity of life that God has put in each and every one of us. This is why abortion, the fight is not over babies or not. The label is now fetus or not. Because when we turn people into abstractions, then our evil desires are easier.23:20They are easier to carry out. So when we remove the image of the Imago Dei from a person, born and unborn, souls become commodities and commodities become convenience. We lose the holiness of God upon the image of all people, no matter the age or whether they are yet born.23:42And in all this, we're reminded, as Samuel says, man looks at the outside, but not true of the Lord. He looks at the heart. It's a reminder, some of you are held together by painter's tape. You're thinking, Pastor, I just barely made an end today.24:11Look at me. Well, what I'm telling you is I don't need to look at what's on the outside. God is looking at your heart. Pastor, I'm afraid. I'm worn. I'm tattered. I'm tired. Look at me. No, no. God looks at your heart. See, I don't know how I'm going to keep going on. Look at me. And the Bible says, no, God looks at the heart. Be a holy people because God knows your heart.24:38And little did Haman know that what he says is remarkably accurate. Again, go back to verse eight. He says as an indictment, he says, King, there are these people and this is what they're doing. In every province they're scattered out, they are keeping themselves separate.25:06And I would say to the king, duh. What Haman doesn't understand that the wording he uses is holy language. Because to keep yourself separate means to be holy. So he says, King, there are these people living in your midst and they are holy.25:31They are repugnant. We should expel them. And God is saying, of course, they're holy. Because God's people are holy people. The idea of holiness means distinct. Exodus 19:6, the Lord says to his people, you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation. You see, what the world sees as a threat in you, God says is necessary.25:59Because unholy people cannot stand in the presence of a holy God. Now, when you live through the blood of Jesus Christ and he has washed you clean and he presents you blameless before the throne with great joy, what God says is necessary, the world says is a threat. You know, what God says is good and righteous.26:24Haman says, get away because you live separately. So I simply ask, are you living a holy life? So pastor, that's a lot to ask. No, no, I'm not asking you to make yourself holy. Don't, don't mishear me. The Bible never says, Israel, get your act together, become holy. The Bible says, you are holy and will be holy as God is holy.26:50Jesus makes you holy once and for all because all your sins are washed away. Are you living the holy life becoming separate? Beloved, those who live holy lives will experience frequent assaults from the enemy.27:14Do not be surprised when the world hates you. Do not be surprised when what God says is good in your life is a threat to the world. Live as a light in darkness. So amid the battle, God is working for his good. Look at verse 10. And so the king, hearing this, removes his signet ring from his finger and he gave it to Haman,27:41son of Hamedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jewish people. Then the king told Haman, the money and the people are given to you to do with as you see fit. The royal scribes were summoned. And now again, highlight this on the 13th day of the first month. So what month?28:10First month. What day? 13. Okay. Mental note there. And the order was written exactly as Haman commanded. It was intended for the royal satraps, the governors of each of the provinces, the officials of each ethnic group, written for each province in its own script to give each ethnic group in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the royal signet ring. Letters were sent by the couriers to each of the royal provinces telling the officials to destroy.28:37If that's not enough, kill and annihilate all the Jewish people. Young, old, women, children, plunder their possessions on a single day on the 13th day of Adar the 12th month. A copy of the text issued as law throughout the entire province was distributed to all the people so that they might get ready for that day.28:59The couriers left, spurred by the king's royal command. The law was issued in the fortress of Susa. And after all this, the king and Haman sat down to drink where the city of Susa was in confusion. What day was the order given?29:25First month, 13th day. Do you know when Passover is? First month, 14th day. The day that God's people were preparing to celebrate the deliverance of God's holy protection upon them from Egypt.29:45A new threat was emerging. This is what we see embedded in this text. Even if you walk in the valley of the shadow of death, it is okay to celebrate God's salvation in your life. And knowing this evil plot, the king sits and Susa is in confusion.30:14So the last point is simply, huh? Deeply, I spent hours praying on that point. Need you to know that. But huh encapsulates the confusion of Susa. The king sits and rests. To sit is to rest and find satisfaction.30:43These two reactions, sitting and huh, cannot be any more diametrically opposed. The king is resting because he thinks what he is doing is good. And the people on the ground understand that this is ungodly. Has life ever left you confused? Have you ever looked at the world and just said, God, I don't get it.31:08How can the evil people rest and drink in satisfaction? And God, how can I live in turmoil? God, why do good things happen to bad people? And why do bad things happen to good people? God, why did I get this diagnosis? God, why is life like this? God, I don't understand.31:36If you've ever had the huh question, church, you are not alone. I had a friend who's now deceased. He's gone to be with the Lord and he was a mechanic, a shade tree mechanic by trade. And he told me, he said, Josh, one day I just couldn't do anything right. He said, I literally could not change the oil in a vehicle. And he said, in the midst of this confusing time in my life, I had neighbors that would always come invite me to church.32:05And he said, every time they would come, I would say, look at me. I am oily from head to toe. We can't go to church looking like this. And this lasted for about a month. One day they knock on his door on a Sunday afternoon and say, hey, Tim, will you go to church? And he said, as providence would have it, he said, we'd just come back from a funeral. He said, I didn't have an excuse because I had the right clothes on.32:31He said, I went to church that night. And he said, everything that was said in that service. He said, I felt like my friends had set me up. He said, because I felt like the pastor knew about my life. He said, someone came to my house the next night. He said, me and my wife in our mid forties hit our knees on that night. And we gave our life to Jesus Christ. He said, it was the mid, he said, God allowed a season of confusion in my life that I might32:58see Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. So if you read this and you ever ask God, why? God, huh? I don't get it. Maybe that is God's clarion call to you to run to Jesus Christ. Because life will always be confusing until God makes all things right by faith.33:23This is the God who is calling you to know him. And on a whim and a simple request, the king gave Haman his ring and the authority to act in hostility against the Jews. He had no reason to act in violence. The king didn't, but yet chose genocide.33:49I read this and I said, God, why? And then I think about my sin and I realize that when I sin against God, who is a holy king, God, the father has every right to act in judgment against my sin. There is a holy God that has every right to exterminate me from the face of the earth.34:17Because my sin is an assault against his holiness. Church, when you sin, these, they're not little white lies. When we sin, we are saying to God, God, I hate you. I hate your ways for my life. And my way is better than your way for my life. I want nothing to do with you or your image upon me. So pastor, I would never say that, but you do it.34:44That is what our sin looks like to God. And the Bible says we all have sins and fallen short of the glory of God. There is not a single person in this room or listening online that is faultless. Sure, your sins look different than mine, but my sins don't smell any better than yours. They are all repugnant to the holy God that he is.35:12And instead of God issuing an edict and saying, you are banished from my presence. God took off his ring, his authority and said, I will send my only son to this world. Not as a sign of judgment, but he sent his one and only son and said, Jesus, I will let you die in their place.35:33So that the wrath of God was not poured out on sinners. It was poured out on his only son. The gospel is the anti type to Esther. It is a instead of an evil king doing what is evil.36:00It is a good king doing what in our eyes would seem unholy, but what is in the throne of heaven greater than we could ever imagine. That God chose to send his only begotten son who you and I would mock, beat. And when God said, okay, I'll release Barabbas, Jesus, the criminal or Jesus of Nazareth.36:29We shouted in our sin, crucify him, crucify him. And when they mocked him on the cross and said, you saved others. Save your, save yourself. Jesus knew that he could not save himself and you at the same time. And so Jesus gave his life so that you and I could be saved.36:56He said, pastor, why would God do this? My earthly response is I have no clue. But I know that he loved you enough to let his only son take your place. And as a father to a son, I would not let my son die in my place, much less for others.37:21And the Bible says, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Have you accepted God's offer of salvation? He took off his ring, gave it to Jesus Christ and said, son, when you die, the rebellious can be made right.37:45Sinners can be made forgiven. Criminals can be restored. Baptists can raise their hands. And those that are destined to an eternal hell can be given heaven for the very first time.38:10And if you say, pastor, I want that. I, I need that. I need to be washed. I need to be forgiven. You can pray a prayer today, a prayer of faith. As pastor Ken said, God is knocking at your door. You could pray a prayer that sounds something like this. Father, forgive me, I have sinned.38:34I believe you sent Jesus to take my place. I believe he lived a life I couldn't live. I believe he died on the cross. I believe he rose again. Father, I believe in my mind he did all that. But today I believe in my heart you did it for me. And today I will follow you no matter what it costs.39:01To every prayer of repentance by faith. The heavenly chorus is, of course I forgive you. That's why I sent my son. We invite you to run to Jesus today. A good king taking your place on the cross. Maybe as we've started this, you have come in here broken and weary.39:28You are the instrument playing the wrong note. You're the trumpet with the painter's tape. You're the tuba losing the mouthpiece. You say, Pastor, I just don't know. If I can go another day. You can, that's why you're here. The Bible says that through the people of God, we spur each other on to love and good works.39:55Which means I should love Jesus more because you're here. And you should love Jesus more because I'm here. You know what we do when we're together? We say, okay, you lost a little bit of tape. Here, keep going. Because one day Jesus promises that he will present you and I in the presence of his Father. Without blemish.40:25Without blemish. With great joy. And until he brings us home. May we stand up for the kingdom. And not bow down to the world. Father, we give you glory.← Previous in EstherESTHER – Life In Exile (Esther 2:1-4)Next in Esther →ESTHER – If You Keep Silent (Esther 4:1-3)More sermons on Esther →
