Final Rest

Well, good morning, everyone.

You'd be grateful to keep your Bibles open there.

! Esther's 8 through to 10.

If you've just joined us, we've been working our way through this book of Esther,

!

particularly realising that it's not just some kind of Cinderella story of some poor orphan Jewish girl

who rises to greatness, become the Queen of Persia,

but ultimately it's a story about how God brings salvation to his people

through silently but sovereignly working through ordinary circumstances of life.

And we come to the end of it today.

So if you've got the Sir Paul's app, you'll see an outline for today's message, three points there.

And we're kicking off with the temporary victory of Esther.

So having, well, just to sort of summarise where we've been,

King Xerxes was convinced by the narcissistic Haman, who was chief of his administration,

to issue a decree to the whole entire Persian empire to kill, destroy and annihilate the Jews,

something that Haman himself obviously didn't like the Jews very much.

And so last time we met, what we got there was the first stages of glimpses, if you like,

of a reversal of fortune in chapter 6,

when Xerxes publicly honours Esther's cousin Mordecai,

the person who Haman hated the most,

publicly honours him just in the nick of time before Haman murders him.

And that moment there marked the reversal of fortunes and the swift downfall of Haman.

Haman was very soon, from that moment, he was executed on the stake that he himself had built

in order to impale Mordecai.

And so with Haman's downfall, Mordecai rises to Haman's place of power.

And so with Xerxes' original edict to annihilate the Jews, gone out into the empire,

and as we've just read, it cannot be reversed, it cannot be repealed.

Instead, what now happens is a counter-edict is drawn up,

allowing the Jews to defend themselves when they are now attacked.

What that means is, without this edict, the Jews would have been breaking the law

if they attempted to defend themselves in any way.

And the edict, we read, means that not only can they defend themselves,

but anyone who attacks them,

they can now take possession of all of their property.

Now, you would expect that this counter-edict

would have put the whole thing to rest,

and people would have gone,

OK, look, you know, deal's off.

Let's just go home and rethink this.

You'd think it'd be over, but it wasn't.

Not in any sense.

In fact, quite a number were willing to carry through

with the original edict, even in the citadel,

which we might remember from the very first message.

The citadel is the seat of power and influence.

Even there in the palace,

there are more than 500 who wanted to kill the Jews.

Verse 16 says that at the end of the day,

75,000 were killed.

75,000 attacked the Jews on that day

in order to kill and annihilate them.

And the only ones named of those 75,000

are the, well done, Anne,

the Haman's sons with names you just can't pronounce.

Why?

Why name his 10 sons?

I think for one really important reason.

There's a couple, but I'll give you one important reason.

At the end of chapter 5,

when Haman's ego was bruised by Mordecai

because Mordecai would not bow down and honour him

as he thought that he should be doing,

he goes home, gathers all of his friends and his family

and has a boast fest.

He boasted about three things in chapter 5

to reveal that he was a man worthy to be honoured.

He boasted about his power,

he boasted about his wealth

and he boasted about his sons,

which is another way of boasting about his legacy

and about his name going on beyond him.

And in chapter 7,

we see the reversal happening.

His position is taken away from him

and given to Mordecai in chapter 8.

In chapter 8, his wealth is taken away from him

and as we just read, given to Esther.

And now his sons, following through with their father's plan

to annihilate the Jews,

his sons are now taken away from him.

In other words, his name is no longer.

His name, his heritage is over.

He is finished.

His legacy is done.

The great reversal of Haman,

who set himself up against God's people,

is now complete.

Every basis of his boasting has now been removed.

All that he built his life on,

all that his ego, that pumped up his ego, is gone.

The one who boasted,

the one who profoundly proud in heart

has now been deeply and completely, totally humbled.

Regardless, having said all of that,

in the sense that there is a sense of poetic justice here,

regardless of that, in this narrative,

many in our society struggle with the Bible

portraying God's people like this,

executing judgment on others.

Our citizens of modern Western civilization

are a product of a culture

that has normalized unconditional self-acceptance.

That is our normal response,

unconditional self-acceptance.

And so, because we are drilled into us

from a very young age,

that we must accept ourself,

who we are.

And it's the dominant theme of self-acceptance.

When it comes to hearing about God's acceptance of us,

that's not so amazing.

What else would we expect God to do?

That's his job.

His job is to accept me as I have accepted me.

In fact, the idea of grace

in Western civilization is not so amazing.

It's God's job.

That's what we expect him to do,

to accept me as I have accepted me.

And yet, in our same culture,

the idea that God would stand in judgment of humanity

and demand from us repentance

or obedience of any form at all,

and the idea that he will finally condemn

all those who proudly reject him

and set themselves up against him,

as we have a glimpse here of Haman,

that concept is shockingly counterintuitive to us,

deeply perplexing.

How can God,

who we have created in our own image,

a God of love,

also hold us accountable?

That is perplexing.

And so, therefore,

in our civilization,

our society,

there are some aspects of the Christian faith

which we want to go,

that's absolutely right, of course,

because it agrees with our worldview,

but there are others,

aspects of the Christian faith

that we think are fundamentally dangerous

and we would despise

because it sets itself up against our worldview.

The bigger picture here

that's happening here

is that God's anger at his enemy

is not some kind of cranky explosion.

It's not an act of revenge.

God's acts of justice and retribution

in the Bible

are his settled opposition

to the cancer

which is eating out the insides of humanity,

the cancer of sin,

a humanity that is created

in his image

to enjoy relationship with him,

a humanity that he loves

with his whole being.

And the Bible says

that God's anger

flows from his love

and his delight

in that which he has created

to be enjoyed.

He is angry at evil

and injustice.

He is angry

at the pride of humanity

that sets itself up against him

because it is destroying

the peace

and the integrity

of what he has made.

God's punishment of evil

is not an overreach.

It is certainly shocking

and it is certainly terrifying.

That's what images of this

like Esther

is meant to,

the conclusion

is meant us to be.

It is his justice.

In that sense,

the punishment fits the crime

and it's the kind of justice

that we want to live for,

we want in society.

We want,

if someone does wrong to me,

we want wrong

to be done to them.

We want justice

in that moment.

We want the punishment

to fit the crime.

And so the Bible

clearly declares

that those who proudly

set themselves up

against God

in life

will be brought low.

They will be humbled.

They will be held accountable.

They will be punished.

But notice something else

in this text.

A couple of times

in these verses,

we are told very clearly

that the wealth,

the Jews did not take

the wealth

of their attackers.

Even though Xerxes' edict,

the law,

said that they could.

As they acted

in self-defence,

they were allowed

to take the plunder

of those who attacked them.

but they didn't.

Emphatically,

three times,

they didn't.

In other words,

the bloodshed

that we read of here

was an act

of self-defence

against tens

of thousands

of people

who wanted them dead

for no reason

than their race,

than their culture,

or their religion.

For no other reason

than that.

In other words,

this is not,

what we are reading here

is not an act

of imperial action

by which they were

enriching themselves

and increasing

their power.

we are told

several times

they needed

relief

from their enemies

who were seeking

to annihilate them.

And chapter 9,

verse 17

tells us

that that relief

from their enemies

is exactly what they got.

They rested

and made it

a day

of feasting

and joy.

And this particular day

became an annual day

of celebration

for,

of salvation

and rescue

and rest from enemies

for the Jewish nation.

However,

let me just say

as we get to there,

this is nothing new.

What we're experiencing

here at the end of Esther,

this is nothing new

for God's historic people

in the Old Testament.

They have a track record

of leaders

who give them rest

temporarily.

Moses gave it to them

for a little while.

Joshua gave it to them

for a little while.

Then there's the judges

and there's David

and then there's Solomon

and now Esther.

There's relief

but it doesn't last.

It's temporary.

And we even see it here

because tacked on the end

of this book

rather awkwardly

is this little postscript

in Esther chapter 10.

Esther 10 · chapter mention

King Xerxes imposed tribute

throughout the empire

to its distant shores

and all his acts

of power and might

together with a full account

of the greatness of Mordecai

whom the king

had promoted.

Now at first glance,

you read those verses

and you go,

I mean, okay, great.

You know, a little postscript.

What are they there for?

However, in the context

of Esther

and the great victory

that means one here

for God's people

against people

who were seeking

to annihilate them,

what these little verses

show us

is that nothing

has actually changed

at all.

Xerxes,

the ruler of Persia,

the kingdom

that is oppressing

God's people

is still king.

And his personal interests

remain paramount

regardless

of the cost

of his subjects.

At least 75,000

of his subjects

have just died

and it says here

that he imposed tribute

throughout the empire.

He didn't,

there's no day of mourning.

A tribute

is either a new tax

or it's constricting

people

into forced labour.

That's his response.

God's people

have received

rest

from

one enemy

but they have yet

to receive rest

from Xerxes himself.

And so their relief

here

is temporary

and it is fragile

as the next day

they start paying

more taxes

and they start

getting back

into slave labour.

And so it's

during this time

in the history

of God's people

that the

latter prophets

of the Old Testament

began to prophesy

that there will

someday

be a Messiah

and a Messiah

who will come

and this Messiah

will provide

for them

ultimate rest.

a final rest

a final peace.

In fact

Daniel chapter 7

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

who writes

during this time

of exile

talks about

this one

as being

the son of man

a powerful figure

who will have

great authority

direct from God

who will come

and wage war

against all evil

all injustice

and bring about

the final rest

of those

who are God's people.

and that final

victory comes

in the person

of Jesus.

Because several

hundred years

later

Jesus of

Nazareth

suddenly bursts

into the scene

the first century

Palestine

and the masses

there wondered

who is this

one

who is such

authority

with such

power

not just

with his

teaching

but the things

that he does

and Jesus

says

I am

the son of man

and I've come

to forgive sins.

That is

he's the son of man

from God

with God's authority

waging war

against humanity's

greatest enemy

sin

and its consequence

eternal death.

that's our

greatest

that's our

greatest enemy

and this

is

his

mission

but right

from the very

beginning

Jesus is

rejected

rejected

as the

son of man

and this

is where

we see

Jesus

treating

his enemies

quite differently.

In Luke

Luke 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9

there's a place

where some

people

in fact

right at the

very beginning

of his

public

ministry

he's

rejected

and they

show themselves

to be

an enemy

of Jesus

and enemies

of disciples

of Jesus

an enemy

against the

mission of

Jesus

and the

disciples

turn to

Jesus

say to

him

you know

Jesus

do you

want us

to call

down fire

from heaven

and just

obliterate

this little

village here

you want us

to take

them out

you know

call in

nuclear

strike

the smart

bombs

in other

words

what the

disciples

are saying

to Jesus

you are

the son

of man

aren't you

you are

the one

Daniel 7

said about

so show us

your power

and defeat

your enemy

right now

and these

people here

are your

enemy

and Jesus

rebuked

them

and he

says love

your enemies

forgive

your enemies

and it

wasn't

until

his main

disciples

had been

with him

for three

years

that they

finally got

it at the

very end

and they

didn't like

it

on the

night of

his

crucifixion

his

enemies

in this

case

not

the

oppressive

rulers

the

Romans

but it

was the

Romans

and the

Jews

came in

force to

arrest him

in the

garden of

Gethsemane

and Jesus

mate

Peter

slow on

patience

and

compassion

draws his

sword

because he

thinks this

is it

this is the

moment we've

been waiting

for

where finally

the son of

man will

stand up

and defeat

the occupying

Roman forces

and he

swipes the

ear off

one of the

guys who

comes to

arrest Jesus

and Jesus

says put your

sword away

Peter

and Jesus

goes with his

enemies

he allows

them to

bound him

and ultimately

to bind him

with nails

onto a

cross to

die

and he

utters

incredible

words from

the cross

father

forgive them

for they do

not know

what they

are doing

he forgives

his enemies

and so what

we have on

the cross

is Jesus

Christ

the son of

man

the son of

God

loving his

enemies

forgiving his

enemies

dying for

his enemies

and his

death

is the

ultimate

judgment

of evil

and injustice

this is

Jesus

defeating

our

greatest

enemy

he is

concerned

about

destroying

sin

and evil

and injustice

that he's

eating away

at the

world

that he

loves

Galatians

Galatians 3:13

3 verse

13 says

that Jesus

was hung

on a

pole

he was

put on

display

as a

public

spectacle

Christ

redeemed

us

from the

curse

of the

law

by

becoming

a

curse

for us

for it

is

written

curse

is

anyone

who's

hung

on a

pole

he

redeemed

us

in order

that the

blessing

of Abraham

might come

to the

Gentiles

through

Christ

Jesus

so that

by faith

we might

receive

the promise

of the

spirit

in other

words

what

Galatians

3 is

saying

for us

is that

Jesus

trades

place

with us

for all

of humanity

that's

rejected

their

God

he

trades

place

and

becomes

cursed

by God

for us

in other

words

we who

have

rejected

God

and are

the

enemies

of God

Jesus

trades

place

and

becomes

God's

enemy

for us

he was

made a

spectacle

for our

sin

and evil

and injustice

you see

what the

cross

of Jesus

reveals

to us

is that

God

is not

concerned

to destroy

this

particular

enemy

or that

particular

enemy

as much

as he

is concerned

to destroy

enmity

the enmity

the hostility

that divides

one person

with another

person

within

their own

household

even

that divides

groups of

people

cultures

and races

against this

group

and against

that group

but most

of all

Jesus

came

to defeat

the enmity

that exists

between

humanity

and its

creator

the enmity

exists

because

in our

proud state

we have

rejected

God

and deep

in our

hearts

we are

at war

with God

you see

if Jesus

had picked

up the

sword

in the

garden

of

Gethsemane

and destroyed

the occupying

Romans

the enemy

of the

Jewish

people

in the

first

century

he would

have given

his people

in that

moment

temporary

rest

from one

enemy

but when

he died

on the

cross

for our

sin

he was

destroying

sin

and evil

itself

death

itself

eternal

death

itself

the

great

enemy

of all

of humanity

he become

the curse

himself

he was

hung

on a

pole

and turned

away

the anger

of God

from us

and allowed

it to

descend

on him

the cross

of Jesus

is the

ultimate

warfare

against

God's

enemy

this is

so

important

for us

to grasp

because

as a

general rule

if someone

hurts our

reputation

we genuinely

conclude

that we

have an

absolute

perfect

right

to tell

everyone

about what

has happened

and therefore

in the hope

that we will

ruin their

reputation

the

natural

default

position

of every

human

heart

is to

respond

to evil

force

with hurtful

force

we fight

fire

with fire

in other

words

to defeat

our enemy

we must

whack

our enemy

and if

we whack

our enemy

hard enough

then we

will get

rest

don't we

that's the

thinking

if we

whack

them

hard

enough

we will

get

rest

and yet

the reality

is we

don't

all we

have done

is we

have made

our enemy

worse

the enmity

in other

words the

relational

hostility

is still

there

you

don't

have an

enemy

defeat

your

enemy

decisively

and they

come back

at you

and go

oh I

was

terribly

wrong

I got

that

entirely

you were

always

you were

totally

right

can we

now be

best

friends

tell me

when that's

ever

happened

in race

relationships

any

victory

in a

battle

where we

fight

fire

with

fire

is

only

temporary

when we

fight

evil

with

evil

we

don't

beat

evil

evil

wins

it

wins

every

time

and the

only way

to defeat

evil

is with

good

it's the

only way

and this

is what

Jesus

achieved

for us

on the

cross

the

perfectly

righteous

one

took on

all of

our

evil

all of

our

sin

all of

our

unrighteousness

and allowed

God

his father

to whack

him

for it

instead

his grace

is so

powerful

it's because

his grace

for us

destroys

the

enmity

there is

nothing

more

formidable

nothing

more

violent

if I

can say

that in

the most

positive

terms

there is

nothing

more

violent

than

grace

because

it

ultimately

defeats

evil

it

defeats

enmity

when you

give someone

grace

who does

not deserve

it

when you

forgive

them

when you

give them

the

prospect

when you

give someone

grace

when you

give them

mercy

when you

give them

forgiveness

you actually

turn an

enemy

and you

give them

the prospect

of becoming

a friend

and

friendship

is in fact

the only

way to

really

deal with

an enemy

it's the

only way

to destroy

an enemy

is to

make them

a friend

and that's

what Jesus

did for us

on the

cross

he was

changing us

from being

God's

enemies

deserving

of his

eternal

punishment

into his

friends

deserving

of his

eternal

love

instead of

whacking

us

God

dealt

with

his

righteous

anger

at our

evil

by

whacking

himself

so that

we might

not just

be his

friends

but that

we might

be co-heirs

with Jesus

his much

loved

children

and the

minute we

grasp hold

of that

that that

message which

is the

center of

Christianity

take hold

of that

it actually

changes us

from being

an enemy

to becoming

a friend

of Jesus

and of

God

and what

that does

therefore

is it

sends us

out into

this world

at rest

from enemies

if we

understand the

good news

of what Jesus

has done

for us

we actually

get rest

from all

of our

enemies

now

so let

me show

you how

this works

how do we

rest in

the victory

of Jesus

do you

believe

let me ask

a couple

questions

do you

believe

that Jesus

Christ

had to

die

for you

because

for your

sin

because in

fact you

are that

evil

that you

are that

flawed

that you

are that

much an

enemy of

God's

you were

that bad

do you

secondly

believe

that you

are

that

sinful

that

nothing

less

than

God

himself

the

son

of

God

Jesus

Christ

coming

into

this

world

to die

in your

place

nothing

less than

that is

required

to rescue

you

and to

bring you

back to

God

if you

do

that

is

incredibly

humbling

to a

proud

heart

and what

it does

is it

vaccinates

you

against

what evil

does to

keep itself

going in

the world

when someone

wrongs us

the first

thing that

happens is

we get on

our high

horse

and religious

people are

very good

at this

as a

general

rule

we get

on our

high

horse

we get

angry

and so

self-righteous

I would

never do

that

can't believe

they did

that to

me

don't they

realise

who I

am

and that

is how

evil

just

keeps

going

and the

good news

of Jesus

dying on

the cross

tells me

that when

someone

wrongs

me

and it

impacts

me so

hard

in my

heart

my

instinct

going

to

Jesus

should

say

oh

I

am

no

better

I'm

a

sinner

that's

saved

by

sheer

grace

I'm

no

better

and if

that is

our

place

of

refuge

then

evil

doesn't

have to

get a

foothold

in that

moment

what I'm

saying

is that

if a

Christian

hates

someone

who is

attacking

them

then they

have

forgotten

that they

are a

sinner

saved

by

God's

grace

they

have

forgotten

that they

are an

enemy

of

God

saved

by the

grace

of the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

if a

Christian

hates

anyone

you've

forgotten

the

gospel

this is

so

crucial

for us

as we

grasp

to grasp

this

as we

look to

our

future

as a

church

doing

ministry

here at

Chatswood

and

beyond

we

exist

in a

society

that

has

a

growing

indifference

a

genuine

perplexity

and

even

at

some

places

a

very

deep

hostility

to

the

gospel

of the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

to

the

Christian

faith

there

are

those

who

are

ignorant

of

what

it

is

that

we

believe

there

are

those

who

frankly

don't

care

what

it

is

that

we

believe

and

there

are

those

who

believe

that

what

we

believe

is

fundamentally

dangerous

for

society

for

the

welfare

of

society

whoever

they

are

they're

not

our

enemy

they

are

not

our

enemies

and

we

do

not

meet

force

with

force

we

do

not

use

political

power

we

do

not

meet

force

with

force

we

do

not

whack

those

who

are

against

us

and

it

starts

here

with

us

as

a

church

as

a

community

where

a

community

that

loves

and

forgives

and

bears

with

one

another

across

all

different

stages

of

culture

and of

race

and of

gender

and of

belief

and of

social

levels

we are

to stand

with those

who are

oppressed

even

even

if

those

who are

doing

the

oppressing

might

be

considered

traditionally

as being

our

enemies

we

stand

for

religious

freedom

not

just

for

our

sake

but

because

of

other

people

of

other

religions

have

a

right

to

their

beliefs

too

and

from

that

place

for

who

we

are

as a

community

loving

each

other

across

different

cultures

and races

and genders

and beliefs

we then

go out

into a

world

and we

give them

what we

got from

Jesus

we forgive

them

we reach

out to

them

we be

gracious

to

them

which

means

on a

day

like

today

we

don't

just

love

and

support

the

victims

of

domestic

violence

we

love

and

support

the

perpetrators

of it

as well

even

as we

call

them

to

repentance

because

as we

extend

the grace

of the

Lord

Jesus

to

them

we

hope

and we

pray

that

more

of

them

will

become

friends

that

is

our

vision

as we

move

forward

a

growing

church

family

saved

and

at

rest

in

the

grace

of

the

Lord

Jesus

a

rest

which

is

total

enduring

final

rest

from

our

greatest

enemy

in

sin

and

death

that's

what

we

need

and

we

can

all

have

it

now

in

fact

Jesus

offers

it

to

you

today

Jesus

offers

you

right

now

rest

for

your

soul

he

says

in

Matthew

Matthew 11:28

11

verse

28

come

to me

all

who

are

weary

and

burdened

and

I

will

give

you

rest

take

my

yoke

upon

me

and

learn

from

me

for

I'm

gentle

and

humble

in

heart

and

you

will

find

rest

for

your

souls

rest

come

to

Jesus

for

rest

do

you

have

a

deep

hunger

in

life

the

accumulation

of

possessions

and

honour

and a

legacy

pushing

it

down

to

try

and

find

satisfaction

from

all