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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's Word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.
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We are going to pick up where we stopped last week in Esther chapter one and verse 19. And as I said last week, this is one of only two books in the Bible that happens to be named after a woman. And there's a lot of things we can learn from this text. Verse 19. If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out before him and let it be recorded in the laws of the Medes and the Persians, so that it will not be that Vashti shall come no more before King Ashwares. Last week we studied how Queen Vashti stood on her principles. But we also learned how, if Jewish rabbis were right about how Vashti lived, though her stand was noble, honorable, and in many respects, fair, she had not earned the moral authority to reverse her fate. You see, being right is not always enough because even a broken clock is right twice a day. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 7:3. He says, Saints, why do you look at the speck in your brother's eyes? Why do you focus on the faults, your spouse's, your boyfriend's girlfriend's life, but do not consider the plank in your own? See, we as people have a dark tendency to be much more tolerant of our sins than we are the sins of others. It's important that we are brutally honest about our own faults before we can help others with theirs. You see, immaturity focuses on who is right. Maturity focuses on what is right and not just what's right for me, but for us. Sometimes the marriage is not just about you. It's about us. And sometimes you have to personally take it on the chin for us. Esther 1:19. It's going to get worse. But I am your friend and I'm here to help. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. The challenge here is only people who know better can do better. So what we see here is the invisible hand of Providence had to reach outside of Persian culture in order to fulfill the request of both this king and his court. You see, the person God uses to meet your needs may not always be the same ethnicity. See, God's solutions to our needs are not based on race and culture, but light and darkness. Singles, your answer may look a little different than you expected. The only requirement God has in His Word is if that person worships the same God and loves His Word. Just like you do. Two in one, a little skipping just so we can get through the book after these things. After the king divorced his wife, some say executed her, and some brothers right now say, you know, I really feel this king. I get it.
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I.
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But be nice. Billy Graham's wife said it this way. My husband and I never thought about divorce. Murder sometimes, but never divorce. You see, if divorce is your first or an easy option, you will take it. He said, after these things. When the wrath of King Assuerus subsided after he had put away the queen, history says that King Exerxes, or in Hebrew, Assuerius, led a massive invasion of Greece. And if you saw the TV version of the movie 300, that king there was King Xerxes. It was speaking of this particular king. But before the king returned back to Iran, back to Persia, back home, he came back, let me say it better, a defeated man. And in his defeat, he began to have regrets. And the next clause says he remembered Queen Vashti. Be careful about the decisions you make and the things you say when you are angry. Learn to take a pause. Learn to take a moment to breathe. It doesn't. You don't have to sigh, but breathe in through your nose. Just a second. You don't have to say it that fast. She'll still be there. Or he'll still be there in a couple seconds. You can pause and take a second, take a breath and breathe. Because rash words and decisions, you'll end up regretting. So what I'm learning, and sometimes I have to learn it over and over and over again, but I'm learning to ask myself four questions. The first, is it true or is what I'm about to say right? But it doesn't stop there, because some of y' all are like, well, I'm just speaking the truth. That's your problem. The second is, is it helpful? I mean, is it edifying to the other person? I know you got it off your chest, but is it helpful for the other person to hear? Third, is it necessary? Everything you feel does not have to be said. Four questions. And lastly, is it kind. I had a disagreement with my younger brother, and, you know, something about the bigger brother that just kind of feels that the young brother needs to stay in his place. And he kind of, you know, mouthed off and bucked up, if you will, whatever you want to call it, in this phone call. And I did the same. And after the call, I must have been feeling guilty, because I was like, God, I know I was right. You know, I was right. But I literally heard the voice of the Holy Spirit say to me, but were you kind? You can call your girlfriend all you want, you know. I was right. The question is, were you kind? And the king remembered Vashti, what she'd
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and what had been decreed against her. He was probably like most men and would not admit it out loud, but he missed her. If you get a divorce, make sure it's over. Big biblical things like infidelity and abandonment and never ego. Make sure your deal breakers are righteous, not self righteous. Now, the Bible doesn't say this, but maybe we can divorce over severe physical, emotional, child or sexual abuse. But may we never divorce over things that we could have worked on. You see, marital success takes work. And it seldom happens for emotionally lazy couples. You have to roll up your sleeves, talk it through, think it through, pray it through. If you need counseling, you get a third party to talk you through. But couples that make it are willing to do the work, to deal with their busted and angry and emotional feelings, to find ways to work through them, to get to solutions. Then the king's servants who attended him said about four years had passed. And by this time, the king's regret. And sometimes it takes you time to really realize what you did. His regret became obvious to anyone and everyone that worked with this king. An unsettled king eventually unsettles the kingdom, as an unhappy parent tends to produce an unhappy child. Sometimes fixing the child begins with first fixing yourself. And the king said, let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king. Now, I cannot vouch for co sign for everything the king does here. This king was definitely a pagan king in a pagan land, in pagan times, doing pagan things. But a famous female missionary said this. The fact I'm a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact I'm a Christian makes me a different kind of woman. Our faith, it's not just what we do on Sundays. It should make us different husbands and wives. Monday through Saturday, And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to the sushan citadel into the women's quarters. In effect, they had called for a beauty contest, a kind of first of the Ms. Universe pageants. And I can't really say a lot about this, except sometimes singles. You have to be creative. I'm pausing my tongue just a little bit. You gotta think before you speak. Just keep in mind, in the New Testament, the heart matters more than the body. But here's where you got to Be careful. Don't get so deep. So religious, so spiritual. You connect with someone. You have to fast twice a week just to look at. Hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up. This side of room. When God brought Eve to Adam, Soon as he saw her, he was like, whoa, man, bone of my bone, flexing my flesh. She ain't say nothing, write no poetry, didn't tell her where she went to school.
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God did was bring Eve to Adam. And he was like, no, no, she's mine. Men and women are designed a little bit differently. Whether right or wrong, you typically get a man's attention through his eyes. But women are different. In the Garden of Eden, it wasn't what the snake looked like. Most women don't like what snakes look like. It was what the snake said. To reach the woman, the snake had to get in her ear. Did God say, Sometimes we wonder how couples are so mismatched? Because brother got in her ear. And she got to. Okay, I gotta stop right here. I'm in the book, though. I'm in the book. What verse was that? So the young ladies were under the custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, custodian of the women. In other words, this was the eunuch in charge of the king's harem. And whatever people might say about Christianity, this narrative reminds us it was not until Christianity that the true value of women was recognized. You see, a woman was created to be more than just a man's plaything. First Peter 3 and 7. It's gonna get worse. Stay with me, though. We're gonna learn some things. Brothers. Y' all have my back, okay?
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Okay. Okay. Okay.
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Thank you. Glad you said that. Cause you're next. Peter wasn't just inspired. Peter was a married man because the Bible says that Jesus healed his mother in law. So the thing about Popes not being married, I don't really find that in the Bible. Not mad at them. I'm just saying at some point, Peter was married. So this is advice, brother to brother. A guy who's been there, he says this. Husbands in the same way, be selfish, egotistical and controlling. Be considerate, meaning part of your job as a husband is to consider where she's coming from, not just where you're coming from. Be considerate as you live with your wives. It doesn't mean. It's not S with a plural, meaning that, you know, he's talking to us as living with our wives, not you having multiple. And treat them with what? That's the Bible. And treat them with respect. Did the king treat Queen Vashti with respect? No, with respect. As the weaker partner. The more literal language is like a delicate vessel. Like that expensive china that back in the day you hid in a china cabinet and you didn't want anyone to touch, except maybe, you know, Thanksgiving or Christmas. And it was a delicate vessel you handled with care. And even if she could bench twice as much as you can, as a man, we ought to treat her like a delicate flower. My pastor said to me once, he said, you know, Derek, a man, when he hears what you say, he thinks about what you say. But a woman, when she hears what you say, she first feels what you say. It's not that she don't think about it, but she feels it first, thinks about it second. I said, I don't like all these generalizations. I don't care. Been pastor for a long time, been in a lot of sessions. And the brothers don't understand what's wrong with her. You know, I was being logical. She feels first what you say. God designed her that way. She feels first what you say, and then she thinks about it. Brothers, we think about it and then maybe we might feel it later. We're designed differently. Y' all are pulling things out of me that's not in my notes. End. As heirs. Watch this with you, not beneath you, not under you, not less than you. As heirs with you of the gracious gift of life. Watch this next clause because it's scary. So that nothing will hinder your prayers. Men, according to scripture, the reason you can't get any traction in your relationship with God might be because of the way you're treating the woman in your life. You see, God is just. And there are just some games we should not play with his daughters. He takes his little girls personally. They matter to him. And God knows exactly where you live. And then it goes on. It says, let her beauty preparations be given them. So in effect, the king sends her on a year long spa and purification process. This is important now. We're reading this in the old covenant. But in the new covenant, our beauty transformations don't come from outward preparations that happen on the outside. The Bible says what's beautiful about us is really the hidden person of the heart. But let me hear it here. No man in his right mind wants to spend a life with a beautiful and perfectly fit woman who happens to be the devil in her heart. I come in peace. Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen in place of, or instead of Vashti. Our individuality can Never be replaced by another. This is important, but our positions in life can. So we need to be prayerful and careful. This thing pleased the king, and he did so. What we discover is, despite the king's weaknesses, despite the king's lusts, God was moving behind the scenes to establish his purposes. Proverbs 16:19 says, A man's heart plans his way, but it's the Lord who directs his footsteps. Proverbs 6:19 21 says it this way. Many are the plans of a person's heart, but it's the Lord's purpose that prevails. In other words, God's hand is at work from the beginning, working our end as we work our plans. God is still working his plan. A little boy grew up loving his mother's chocolate cake. And every time she would cook this, this cake, he wanted to be in the kitchen to smell it, to watch it, and then to eat it. One day, his mother was preparing the cake, and as he stepped out of
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he went up and started tasting some of the ingredients that mother put together to make this wonderful, rich chocolate cake. Touched a flower, made his mouth dry, thought about raw eggs. But then he broke off a piece of chocolate, and it was that cooking chocolate, that bitter chocolate. He tastes that, that is nasty. And he began to process. How is it that all these nasty tasting things can come together to produce something so delicious? You see, God can take bitter events, things that don't taste good, feel good. Look, God, stir it up and work it together for our good. I can't explain how it comes out like chocolate cake. Individually, that situation was painful. Individually, it was bitter. Individually, it was drying. Individually, oh my God. But God is a. Is a master chef, and he knows how to work all things together again for good. Knowing God has a plan is the only assurance that we have in the delicate art of not losing our minds in the midst of it. In Sushan, the citadel, there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. And Kish had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been captured with Jeconiah, the king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried away. All this drama had unfolded in the palace, but in the midst of it, God was creating a backstory. Even when we don't see it, he's working. Even when we don't feel it, he's working. He never stops. Never stops. That needs to be more than a Song. God is always working a plan for you. Everything else in the world is just noise. And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, Hebrew for Esther, or Persian for Esther. Actually, I don't. No, I'd have to. I forgot to look at that. He was his uncle's daughter, right? When you least expect it, God always provides a ram in the bush, even when you've done the wrong thing, even when you've made some mistakes. For this woman, neither had father nor mother. The girl was an orphan, but she had an uncle. Never become so overwhelmed by your loss. You can't appreciate what you have left. And it says, and I know it's okay to be quiet. I know you're thinking and you're processing. Somebody said, well, why is the. Why isn't the room saying Amen? Because your mouth is full. It's impolite to speak with your mouth full. And you're learning and you're growing. It's okay. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. You see, we all have different gifts. One person might be more athletic, another person more academic, another person more articulate. Particularly if you have children. You have. One child does this, you know, a child always makes you laugh. Another child. Boy, that child can sing. You know, you love all your children, and all of their gifts bring something special to the family. Likewise with God the Father, all of our various gifts bring joy to his heart. But I also need you to realize, no matter how cute, how popular, or how rich someone might be, we all have pains and problems that no one else knows about. It's amazing how we make everybody else's gift. You know, if I had that gift, I'd be happy. But the reality is, everybody know every cloud. You know, there's a shadow under every cloud. No matter what you got on every blessing, there's an underside. So be beautiful. And then people are jealous of you. Get some money, and everybody wants to have it. You know, you go down the list. There's an underside to everything in life, and it's amazing how we glorify everybody else's gifting, but then we look down on ours. Don't waste your time competing with other people's gifts. God gives us the gifts we need to live the lives he wants us to live. You're enough. What God's given you is enough. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her in as her own daughter. And thank God for the aunties, uncles, grandparents, school teachers, coaches, all those that filled the gap for us women up the street. The youth Pastor, maybe the children's church leader. So it was when the king's command and decree were heard and when many young women were gathered at Shushan, the citadel. And by the way, Josephus, the historian, tells us that there were over 400 women that showed up. Talk about competition. And they were all under the custody of the eunuch. That Esther was also taken into the palace, into the care of Haggai, the eunuch. The eunuch, the custodian of the women. Watch this, though. Now, the young woman pleased him. Not the king yet, but the eunuch. Make sure you are as courteous to the receptionist as you are to the CEO. Make sure you are as kind to the janitor as the principal. Make sure you are as kind to the greeter as you are to the bishop. Now, the young woman pleased him, and she obtained not the king's favor yet, but his favor. Everything that happens in the rest of this story is about this woman named Esther, finding God's favor. You see, God's favor will take you where your talent and even your anointing take you. People say to me, bishop, I know you guys started from zero. How did grace get to where it is today? Was it your light eyes? The only problem is I had light eyes two decades before people started showing up in church. I preached the empty rooms all over the dmv. Light eyes, fresh and everything. Nobody came. Yeah, but God. Thank you. They say, bishop, is it your education? Well, the pastor down the street earned more degrees than I have, but their church shut down. The only reason God's hand is on my life is one word, favor. Favor. Nothing to do with how I talk, how I walk. Favor. As much as I love you and I do, I don't live for your approval. I live for his. And I know if I have his favor. The Bible said it this way. If a man's ways please the Lord, he'll make even his enemies be at peace with him. So when nobody was showing up, I knew I just needed to wait for my season, that I would, if I would just keep growing, keep moving, keep obeying my God, caring about what he says and what he wants to do. Eventually the vision will speak and not lie. So he readily gave beauty preparations to her. Watch this. Besides her allowance, Esther got extra. When God's favor is on your life, what's not available to others will be available to you. What they can't get, somehow you have. You can't explain it, but goodness and mercy are following you all the days of. Of your life. The seven choice maidservants were provided for her from the king's palace. And he moved her and her maidservants. Watch this. To the best. Can you say it with me? Best. To the best place in the house of women. When we learn to treat nobodies like they're somebodies. When we learn to honor authority and. And put God first in all you do, God can't help but give us what favor. And here we have this orphan girl, a nobody in town, but her present situation didn't look like her final destination. Pay attention to what I'm saying. This is why we gotta stop competing. I don't need favor for everything, just my thing. You know I can't balance. I got barely a passing grade in accounting. I cannot balance books like Anna does. I can't fix computers. And this today he was fixing a camera like Greg does. I can't lead a song like Alexis and others do. But all God requires of me is that I do what I can do. And it's amazing, when you focus on what you can do, what you can't do starts losing its power and the paralysis of it begins to go over. God's not going to judge me based on what you can do, but based on what he gave me to do. We are not in competition. We're one body, one family fulfilling his purposes. Verse 10. Then Esther had not revealed her people or family. This is important because she would do this later. Timing is everything. Sometimes God's answer is not no, it's just not yet. And in one scene where God says no, that doesn't mean it's gonna always be no. But at this point, it's like, don't tell nobody where you come from. Don't tell anybody about your peoples. For Mordecai had charged her not to reveal it. Now, we see a lot about Esther's character here. She was smart enough to align herself with righteous authority. She was wise enough to recognize that God's hand is on my uncle Mordecai. And as I flow with him, what's on him will get on me. In verse 11, it said, and every day Mordecai paced in front of the woman's quarter. So he had his precious niece behind closed doors, didn't know what was happening to her and going on with her. And every day he would come and pace because she was under his authority. And as she submitted to his authority, he was also responsible for the results. In everyday, Mordecai paced in front of the woman's quarters to learn of Esther's Welfare and what was happening to her. You see, we don't submit to God's direction. God should not be held responsible for our protection. The Bible says the eyes of the Lord go to and fro, pacing back and forth across the earth, looking for someone in whom he could show himself strong. When we do what God says, do. When we step into what God says, step into. The angels of God began to pace in front of our situation and circumstance, waiting for the go ahead, waiting for the opportunity to step in and change your situation. God is eager. And if God himself could pace, if God himself could wring his hand. He's wringing his hand over an opportunity to bless you when you submit to his way and his word. Here's the deal. Your situation is no longer your responsibility. That's why Scripture says, cast your care on him, for he cares for you. When I do what God says, though it took me 20 years, if I keep doing what God said, he's responsible for the outcome. And at the right time, God will do what only he can do. God is pacing over your life looking for a crack in any opportunity to show himself strong. And every day Mordecai paced and I just imagine goodness and mercy. Pacing up and down, say, son, if you would just obey me with those lips of yours, if you just obey me, what would you do with your hands? If you just obey me and go on where I tell you to go. I'm pacing for an opportunity to show myself strong. Mordecai paced in front of the Quarter to Women's quarter to learn of Esther's welfare and what was happening to her. This situation looks like kind of a dirty situation. The first queen was reduced to a pile of meat and now Esther is in a beauty contest. Some would say that's beneath the dignity of a righteous woman. Sometimes the things we have too much self respect to do are the things that are getting in way of our purpose. No matter where God's purpose took her, she was willing to get under his covering. Come on. There's a story told about a barn that was caught on fire. And I'm done here. And the farmer saw the barn on fire. He spent time trying to put out the fire. Then the fire went out. When the fire went out, he looked at the chicken coop. It was a bunch of burnt up chickens. But there was this one chicken that was just as gray as all the other chickens around. But underneath that mother Henry with little yellow beaks, little heads popping out. You see, the mother was willing to get burnt to protect her babies. From the fire Jesus said it this way. Oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem. He wept over Jerusalem. How you slay the prophet. If you would have only knew the time of your visitation. Oh, how I would have gathered you like a mother hen under my wings. But you would not. At the cross, Jesus took the fire. He bore our punishment, our wrath, shame to us. And he took it all so that you might live. Underneath that death comes life. But the only way to receive it is if you're willing to get under it. Right now, Jesus is calling you. He's saying, get undercover. Get under my wing, under my shadow, in the shelter of the most high. Let me do what only I can do and I'll bear the brunt of it. I'll bear the shame of it. I'll bear the punishment of it. And you can walk out of here with new life. You can walk out of here with your youth renewed and vigor and purpose. But the only way to do that is for you to get undercover.
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Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derek rear.com by clicking the link in the description.