Sleepless in Shushan | Sunday, June 27, 2021

Welcome to Cross Connection Church! We're so happy that you're joining us here again today. Before we get started, we want to let you know some of the things that go on here at Cross Connection Church. For more information, check out lifeandconnection.com.

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On the day that death surrendered to the mighty cross of Jesus Christ, the earth would shake beneath the weight of darkened skies. On His brow, a crown of sorrow for a King

Floods the night as hope prevails to shine salvation, for His blood has set me free. Hallelujah!

Good morning, Cross Connection Church, and welcome to our online broadcast. This morning, we are going to be coming to Esther chapter 6. I thought it would be good to begin with a little bit of a recap.

The book of Esther is an important story about the working of God behind the scenes. There have been some who have viewed this book with skepticism. They questioned whether it should be included in the canon of Scripture, as God is not explicitly named in the ten chapters of this book.

Though it is true that God's presence in Esther is maybe a little obscure and not entirely overt, it is not true that God is not there. We're going to see that as we continue into chapter six today. We've already seen that as we've been going through the previous five chapters as well. The great apologist Francis Schaeffer used to say, "God is there and He is not silent," and that is true in this world that we live in. It is certainly true in the book of Esther. God, in the book of Esther, is working behind the scenes, and that truth is a great thing for me to remember when I look at the world around me.

In my day, I don't know about you, but I can become pretty easily discouraged when I see the insane and the inane happenings in our world today. Whether it is the chaos of politics or just the confusion of our culture, if I pay too close attention to the things going on in our world today, I will be horribly affected by it. I need to remember that God is still working behind the scenes. That is so important for me to keep in my mind as I look at all the things that are happening in the news media or in social media.

If you remember back five weeks ago and five chapters ago in Esther chapter one, the book of Esther began with the story of the fall of Queen Vashti. You can be certain that the fall of Queen Vashti and all the things that went around with it, in the midst of this insane party that King Ahasuerus was throwing in the kingdom of Persia for several months, brought significant political chaos in Persia and great cultural confusion. However, amidst the chaos and confusion, as you begin to look a little bit underneath the surface of the things that were going on, you begin to see very clearly that God is working. God is doing something in the process of all those things that are happening.

Making these things happen, is He the one that kind of is turning all the dials and making everything happen so that she falls from her position? Or is it that God is using the events of the world that are going on for His purpose? Now, it doesn't really matter where you line up on that, but all you really need to line up behind is that God is working.

I think it's just really important at this point, as we get into our study today, to remind you that from the very beginning, all the way back in the first book of the Bible, in the Book of Genesis, God has been working to bring order and good from chaos and confusion. Let me just say that again: God, from the very beginning, has been working to bring order and good from chaos and confusion. God speaks light—"Let there be light"—and truth, goodness, beauty, and order into a formless void and dark, chaotic, broken world. That's what God does. Never forget that. It is so important when you look at all the things that are going on, maybe in your own personal life or in the world around you. God is working behind the scenes.

Now, after the fall of Queen Vashti, we saw in Esther Chapter 2 the rise of Queen Esther. Again, the events of Chapter 2 were another significant round of political chaos. There were a number of years between those two events, from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2. When we read at the opening of Esther Chapter 2, "After these things," it was four years after Vashti had fallen from her position that we now have the rise of Queen Esther.

In the midst of all of the political chaos and cultural confusion of Chapter 1, things kind of die down for a period of time, and then you have some more political chaos and cultural confusion. In the midst of all of that, I wonder if the key characters of this story, people like Esther and Mordecai, felt a little bit out of control. I don't think that Mordecai, the older cousin and effectively the guardian of Esther, felt like he was really all that in control of the happenings that were taking place in Chapter 2. I certainly don't think that Esther felt like she had much say in the whole situation when she was...

Taken to the king's palace, as it says in Esther chapter 2, verse 8, she was taken to the king's palace. Do you really think that in the midst of all that, she felt like she had a handle on the things that were going on? I don't think that she did, and I don't even have to ask you the question to know the answer.

Have you ever felt like the situation and circumstances you find yourself in were out of control, and that you didn't really have much of a say-so in the things that were going on? Of course, we have all been in that situation. We have probably felt that way quite often over the last 15 months. I don't know about you, but I don't like to feel out of control. I don't like chaos and confusion.

But again, I want to remind you that God is still working. He is the one who, as the Scriptures say in the New Testament book of Romans chapter 8, works all things together for good. He is doing that to bring order and good from chaos and confusion. I think some of you probably really need to be reminded of that right now.

Whatever you're going through personally, whatever you see happening in the world around you—locally, at a state level, at a federal level, at the border, or around the world in Israel—whatever it may be, we can look at these things and feel a little flustered. We can be a little spun up, if you will.

It's just so important to step back from all the things that are going on from time to time. Have a moment of silence. Maybe sit down in solitude for a little while, quietly have a cup of coffee, turn off Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, and put the "Do Not Disturb" on your phone. Stop reading The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal or whatever flavor of news you prefer. Just step back from all of it for a moment.

Maybe read through the Psalms or read through the Proverbs and remember that God is working. He is doing work, and we may not always see Him perfectly clearly. He may not be explicitly or overtly seen, just like in the pages of the book of Esther. But if you are a follower of God, if you're a believer in the things of Scripture, then you have to believe that God is doing something. We don't always see, and sometimes we can't fully see all the ways that God is working. In fact, sometimes we are convinced that God...

He is not there, but He is working. I have a really good friend and mentor; his name is Mickey Stoney. Several years ago, he wrote a book called "God Is." As you look on the cover, it could say "God Is Nowhere." It is a book about God being in the midst of pain and ministering His grace in very difficult situations. Mickey is a pastor and a chaplain, and he has worked with a lot of people in crisis. In those situations, sometimes people can be tempted to think that God is nowhere. They wonder, "Where is God in the midst of that?"

In fact, I have had those questions when I minister to people, whether it's with the fire department as a fire chaplain or just ministering to people in our community or church family. They go through difficult situations and wonder where God is. The title of Mickey's book looks like it says "God Is Nowhere," but as you read through the book, you realize that the title actually is "God Is Now Here." It really depends on where you put the space in that phrase: "God Is Nowhere" or "God Is Now Here."

That's one of the things we discover as we study through the Book of Esther. There were probably people at the time of Esther who looked at the situation going on, especially as you go through the story of what happens in this book, and thought that God was not there. They felt He was not taking care of them and had left them alone.

I remember years ago, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, it is hard to believe that in just a few months we will be remembering the 20th anniversary of those attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. Right after that, a few other leaders from our church and I went to New York City. We worked with the Red Cross and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, along with some other organizations, ministering to people in New York City after the attacks.

I remember one day we were near Times Square, handing out little papers that said, "If you need prayer, you can call this prayer hotline" that the Billy Graham Association had put together. One of my friends, who goes to this church, handed one to a lady. She was beautiful and looked like she was spending her day shopping in New York. She walked just a few feet away from him, then turned back and came back to him with tears in her eyes. They started a conversation, and I joined in as well. It turns out that she was a Jewish woman, and she read that if she needed prayer, she could call this hotline.

The hotline stirred up emotion in her because, in her mind, when she thought back over the history of her own life and the history of her people, she had come to the conclusion that God has rejected us. He has turned away from us; He wants nothing to do with us. I'm sure there were people at the time of Esther who probably thought that when they saw the chaos and confusion of their time.

As you read through Esther chapters one and two, and chapters three, four, five, and six, you begin to see that God is working. The chaos and confusion of circumstances, like those pictured in Esther, can sometimes appear to us to be totally erratic and random. However, I hope you're beginning to see, as we continue through this story, that there is something going on behind the scenes. Sometimes, even though it may not seem like there is, there is some structure in the chaos as God is putting things together for His purposes.

The political chaos and cultural confusion of the fall of Vashti in chapter one and the rise of Esther in chapter two brought us next to chapter three, where we have more political chaos and confusion. After a pretty long period of time—there are four years between chapter one and chapter two, and another five years between chapter two and chapter three—chapter three introduces the promotion of a man named Haman the Agagite. I talked several weeks ago about what that term "Agagite" really meant and means when you come to it in the Scripture, because there is a lot of history behind that.

With the promotion of Haman, we saw not just his rise but also the rise of Haman's wrath. Mordecai, Esther's older cousin who had taken care of her for many years, refused to honor and bow before Haman, even though the king's command stated that everybody needed to bow before him at the king's court. Mordecai wouldn't do it, and as a result, Haman was filled with wrath—wrath so great that he devised a devilish plan to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all of the Jews, not just Mordecai but all of Mordecai's people. The passage in chapter three states that his aim was to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, in one day throughout all of the kingdom.

The kingdom of Persia faced a dire situation. Mordecai, his younger cousin Esther, the queen of Persia, and all of the Jewish people were confronted with the threat of total annihilation. Behind this devilish plan, we realize that there is more going on than just God working. The Bible clues us into this; there is a battle occurring behind the scenes in the unseen spiritual realm.

This battle involves what the Bible calls principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. The physical realm we inhabit is one we can sense with our five senses. We can see it, smell it, taste it, touch it, and hear it. However, there are other dimensions—spiritual dimensions—where these principalities and powers exist. In these places, a cosmic battle is ongoing. Just as God is working behind the scenes to bring about truth, goodness, order, and beauty, the enemy of God is continually causing chaos and confusion.

If we look around the world, we can see the manifestation of these spiritual realities. Wars, rumors of wars, famines, and pestilences are all reflections of the turmoil occurring behind the scenes. As a Christian, knowing that these unseen realms exist means you need to be prepared to stand and withstand these challenges. We will delve deeper into this important study of spiritual warfare, especially in books like the Book of Ephesians, chapter six.

The chaos and confusion described in Esther chapter three left the capital city of the Persian kingdom, Shushan, and likely the entire kingdom, totally perplexed. The events unfolding were confusing, and that is where we often find ourselves today. When we look out at the insanity of the world, it can be perplexing and confusing to witness all that is happening.

In times of uncertainty, we need to be reminded that God is present, not silent, distant, uninterested, or unengaged. He is actively working in our lives, often in ways that may not seem explicitly connected to Him. This is beautifully illustrated in Chapter Four of Esther, where we see God's providence and grace at work.

Vashti fell from favor about ten years before Haman's evil plot, and then Esther rose to her position as queen roughly five years before Haman's wrath was directed at her cousin Mordecai. Although God's name is not mentioned in this passage, Esther, a Jew and Mordecai's cousin, was in the right place at the right time. Mordecai had the eyes of faith to recognize what was unfolding.

We see this faith when Mordecai sends a message to Esther in Esther Chapter Four. He tells her, "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. This plan of this wicked man Haman will affect you as well, Esther. Do not believe that you will be safe in the palace."

In verse 14, he continues, "If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from some other place." Mordecai demonstrates his faith by trusting that God will bring about deliverance for His people. He recalls how God has delivered them before—from the Egyptians, the Amalekites, the Philistines, and all their enemies. Each time, God has been faithful, and He will deliver His people from Haman and this wicked plot once again.

Mordecai says to his cousin, "Listen, you're not going to be safe. This is going to overcome you as well. If you don't do anything, you have this privileged position that you've been given, but if you don't act, deliverance is going to come from somewhere else."

Look at what he says here at the end of verse 14 in Esther chapter 4: "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" These are the words of someone who sees with the eyes of faith. He says, "Esther, you are in the right place at the right time." You have to recognize that it might be that you are in that place for this very moment, for such a time as this.

These words have been an encouragement to many people in challenging and difficult circumstances for centuries, and maybe they will be an encouragement to you as well. In your workplace or on the school campus where you find yourself at this moment, when it feels like everything is against you and it's an uphill battle, remember that it may be that you are there for such a time as this. Would to God that we would have the eyes of faith to see that He is working. He has a way of placing us at just the right place at just the right time.

Esther's response to Mordecai's words is the response of someone who responds to faith with faith. In Esther chapter 4, verse 15, we read, "Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, saying, 'Go and gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan and fast for me. Neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast as well. So I will go to the king, which is against the law. I'm not supposed to go into the king unless he asks for me to come. I will go to the king, and if I perish, I perish.'"

From faith to faith, the just shall live by faith. That's what we hold as foundational to our Christian experience—our following God from faith to faith. The just shall live by faith, and that's exactly what we're seeing in Esther and Mordecai in this passage. They had the eyes of faith to see that it may be that God has us here in this position for just the right time in all of this. So, by faith.

In faith, Esther went before the king, and he accepted her in his presence. She invited the king and Haman to a banquet. There was so much chaos and confusion, and the question arises: that's really how you're going to answer this, Esther? There has to be a different way. After three days of fasting continuously, that's your plan—to have a banquet?

Isn't that just the way, though, that God so often works? At least it seems like that to me. God always seems to be going right when I would go left, or He is going left when I would go right. Through the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah chapter 55, we read this: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

The countdown is on until the destruction of Esther, Mordecai, and all of their people. A date has been set at the end of this year. As they are going through all of these things, the countdown continues. In the midst of all this chaos and confusion, Esther invites the king and the one who is conspiring against Mordecai, her, and all the Jewish people—she invites Haman the Magnificent over for dinner.

Just when Esther is given what seems to be her opportunity, seemingly the perfect opportunity to make her petition to the king, she goes left instead of going right. She invites Haman and the king over for another dinner. Maybe she could tell, in the midst of having a conversation with Haman and the king, that now is not the right time. She had enough discernment and wisdom to say, "Maybe we need another night, another dinner."

So she says, "You know, king, I'd like for you and Haman to come back over for another gathering tomorrow night." That's where we left off last time. It was kind of a long recap, but I think it was a necessary recap to bring us up to where we're going to be here in Esther chapter six.

Today, the perplexing chaos and confusion in Persia continues, and the countdown to the day of destruction—the annihilation of the Jewish people—is still on the horizon. The plot thickens as Haman goes home, and Ahasuerus returns to the palace to go to bed after the banquet with the queen.

That night, as Haman is leaving the palace, he feels as high as a kite after spending the evening with the king and the queen. No one else was there—just him with the king and the queen. He thinks he is pretty magnificent and special; for him, everything is awesome. However, the Scriptures tell us in Esther that Haman comes out of the king's court, out of the palace, and at the king's gate is Mordecai. Old Morty refuses to stand and bow in honor of Haman, which fills Haman with indignation. He is about to burst with anger.

Haman goes home to his wife and friends, who are probably all waiting to hear how it went with the king and the queen. They ask him what was going on and why he was invited to be with the queen that night. He sits down to tell them the story of his grand evening. He says, "I spent a wonderful night with the king and the queen—just me and the king and the queen. She invited me back for another night. I think she really likes me."

Yet, as he recounts this story, he adds that none of this matters so long as he sees Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate, refusing to bow to him. This is the biggest stumbling block for Mordecai; Haman just can't stand it. At the prompting of his wife and friends, Haman hatches a plan to make Mordecai pay. They tell him, "You know what, Haman? You have the authority to kill this guy, so go and build a gallows."

When we think of a gallows, we often envision a hanging platform, but for these people, it was a different method of execution. They instruct him to build a gallows super high—50 cubits or 75 feet tall.

You can kill this guy, Mordecai. Just get rid of him before you even go to the queen's palace to have dinner tomorrow night. You have to deal with this problem. This problem is something you can handle, and that's what brings us here to chapter six, beginning at verse one.

It says, "That night the king could not sleep." Now, you don't think that that's a coincidence, do you? Have you ever had a sleepless night? I've had far too many. I'm not necessarily going to say that every sleepless night is the result of the unseen providential hand of God, but I am going to suggest that this one, when Ahasuerus left the presence of Haman and Esther after this meal and went back to bed at the palace, was not a coincidence. There is something going on behind the scenes. Or maybe Esther just gave him way too much Persian coffee, and he just couldn't sleep.

Whatever the case, while Haman is hatching this devilish plan to destroy Mordecai, Ahasuerus is at the palace and restless. So, what do you do when you can't sleep? You do something mind-numbing, something boring. We read in Esther chapter six, continuing on in verse one, that the king could not sleep. So, one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king.

Every single day, as the king would go about his business, making decisions and having conversations, all the different things that were going on in the kingdom were being kept in the records, the chronicles of the king. Here he is, sleepless after this banquet with Esther and Haman, and he says, "Read to me the chronicles. What's been going on?" So, they are reading through page by page about all the things that have been happening.

In verse two, it was found written that Mordecai had told Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, the doorkeepers, who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. How could I have missed this in the political chaos and confusion of all the things we've seen previously in Esther? If you remember back in the story, if you've been reading through it with us, right after Esther was made queen, there was a plot.

To assassinate the king back at the end of chapter two, Mordecai had providentially, I believe, by God's moving of the pieces and doing the work, uncovered the plot to assassinate the king. He made that known to the authorities, and they were able to deal with this.

Now, it just so happens that on Ahasuerus's sleepless night, while Haman is across town, maybe building his gallows, a servant of the king randomly opens the records of the king and begins to read. He just so happened to read the story of Mordecai's good deed. This is one of those points where you have to say God is now here; God is working at just the right time and in just the right way. God often shows up in inexplicit ways—ways that are mysterious, ways that seem out of the ordinary, ways that you could kind of cover over and say, "Well, maybe that was God; maybe it wasn't." No, God is working at just the right time and in just the right way. That's certainly been my experience in life, and I'm sure that you've experienced these things as well. As you begin to look at things through the eyes of faith, you start to realize that God is moving. You can probably look back over your life and see various times where God was moving in all the things you've been going through.

So we continue on in verse 3. Then the king said, "What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this good deed that he did?" The king's servant who attended him said, "Nothing has been done for him." Just a coincidence—they just so happened to read just the right passage, and they remembered they just so happened to forget to honor Mordecai for his good deed.

In verse 4, the king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to suggest to the king that they hang Mordecai on a gallows that he had prepared for him. The king's servant said to the king, "Haman is there; he's in the court, standing in the court." The king said, "Let him come in." Haman just so happened to enter the king's outer court at just the right time, probably just after he finished his newly constructed gallows to kill the very same guy that the king had just decided to honor.

Haman just dropped by the palace on the off chance that the king was still awake. It must have been the coffee that kept both of them up. He did this to suggest to the king that they hang Mordecai on the gallows that Haman had prepared for him. Coincidence? I don't think it's a coincidence. I believe that there's something happening behind the scenes.

In verse 6, we see that Haman entered, and the king asked him what should be done for the man the king wants to honor. Haman thought to himself, "Who is it that the king would want to honor more than me?" Haman told the king that for the man the king wants to honor, they should bring a royal garment that the king himself has worn and a horse that the king himself has ridden, which has a royal diadem on its head. He suggested putting the garment and the horse under the charge of one of the king's most noble officials. They should clothe the man the king wants to honor, parade him on the horse through the city square, and proclaim before him, "This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor." That sounds like just the right thing to do for the man the king wants to honor.

In verse 10, the king told Haman to hurry and do just as he proposed. He instructed him to take a garment and a horse for Mordecai the Jew, who was sitting at the king's gate, and not to leave out anything that he had suggested. I love that there is a question: Where is God in the book of Esther? I appreciate that people wonder where God is in this story. At just the right time and in just the right way, God often shows up in mysterious and amazing ways. He is always at work, many times in ways that we don't see or comprehend until after the fact. Once everything has moved along, we can look back and see, "Oh, that was where the Lord was working."

In verse 11, Haman took the garment and the horse. He clothed Mordecai and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, "This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor." Afterward, Mordecai returned to the king's gate, but Haman, overwhelmed, hurried off for home with his head covered. Haman then told his wife, Zeresh.

And all his friends, everything that had happened, his adversaries, and his wife Zeresh said to him, "Since Mordecai is Jewish and you have begun to fall before him, you won't overcome him because your downfall is certain." While they were still speaking, while they were talking with Mordecai, the eunuchs of the king arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared for them for the second night.

The plans and schemes of the enemies of God will always be frustrated. This is very clearly seen, as it has been said, the devil always overplays his hand. Jesus, in the New Testament book of Matthew, chapter 16, at verse 18, is talking with his disciples. He tells them that the gates of Hades, the gates of hell, shall not prevail against the church.

Sometimes we read those words and assume that they mean God's people will storm the walls and the gates of hell, and the gates of hell will not be able to hold back the onslaught of the church. Perhaps that could be the correct interpretation, but I think a better interpretation is this: One commentator, Adam Clark, explains that the gates of hell, meaning the machinations and powers of the invisible world, in ancient times were used to hold councils and were usually places of great strength.

Our Lord's expression in Matthew 16:18 means that neither the plots, stratagems, nor strength of Satan and his angels should ever prevail to the extent of destroying the sacred truths in the above confession. Sometimes the gates are taken to represent the troops that issue out from them. We may firmly believe that though hell should open her gates and vomit out her devil and all his angels to fight against Christ and His saints, ruin and discomfiture must be the consequence of their part, as the arm of the omnipotent must prevail.

The devil always overplays his hand, and the strategies and plans that take place in that kind of court, at the gates of hell, will never be able to prevail against God and His church. Here was this devilish plan that had come against God's people, against Esther and Mordecai. Haman, the man who is the frontman for this devilish plan, has been trying to work all this to make it come to pass, bringing great chaos, confusion, and all kinds of perplexity among the people.

And now his plan is starting to fall apart at just the right time and in just the right way. God will show up to win the day. He is always at work, even if we don't immediately acknowledge or recognize His working.

So here is the truth for you and for me to hold on to today: the chaos and confusion of our broken world can sometimes overwhelm and shake us. But if you are a follower of Almighty God, never forget that God will not be dethroned. Haman's come and go; their rise may come about out of nowhere and quickly, and their fall oftentimes happens in much the same way.

There is so much more as we continue into chapter seven next time, but you have to come back for that next week.

Father God, I pray that You'd help us to remember that even in the midst of confusion and chaos, and all the crazy things that are going on around us in a broken world, You are on the throne. You have a plan, and You will work and accomplish Your plan. We have the privilege and the blessing, as those who understand the Scriptures, to know what the wrap-up event is. As we read Revelation chapters 21 and 22, there will come a day when You rule and reign for eternity, forever and ever. Isaiah prophesied of the increase of Your government and peace; there will be no end, and You will rule and reign forever and ever.

So we, as Your people, say, "Lord, come." We say, "Bring about Your kingdom." But until You do, I pray that You would give us the eyes of faith to see, even in the midst of chaos, even in the midst of confusion and the challenging, difficult things that we go through individually, as a culture, as a community, and as a society. We would see and understand that You are working; You are doing a work behind the scenes.

Help us to trust You, Lord, and that we would step in to be a part of the work that You are doing by faith, just as Mordecai did, just as Esther did, trusting and knowing that You will do a great work. God, help us to hold on to this truth, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

He comes in glory to reveal the fullness of His reign. Our hearts will bow before Jesus Christ.

Thanks for joining us on our broadcast today. As we close, we would love to invite you to our service here at Cross Connection Church at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, here on our campus. Also, if you'd like more information about Cross Connection Church, please make sure you visit our website, lifeinconnection.com.

Hey, Cross Connection, are you ready for...

The baptism today is an exciting event. After the service, we have our baptismal ready, and we would love to baptize you if you have not been baptized yet. It is one of the sacraments we practice here at Cross Connection Church.

If you believe in Jesus Christ and you haven't yet been baptized, please join us after the service. We have the baptismal set up, and we also have a barbecue. You don't want to miss out! If you forgot your goggles, I have you covered. See you there!