ESTHER

two guys in their mid-20s tried to get tickets for a sold-out Metallica concert in the US.

That was probably their first mistake.

Having failed in getting the tickets to their concert to go and see their heroes,

they decided instead to hang out in the venue car park drinking alcohol.

And so eventually, fueled by alcohol, they decided that they would take a risk.

And the plan was to jump the two-metre fence and to sneak into the back of the concert.

However, the fence on the car park side was two metres.

What they didn't realise was on the other side was a seven-metre drop below the two-metre fence.

And so something that they couldn't see, obviously, in the darkness.

And so the first guy jumps over the fence, falls about halfway down the distance,

and lands in this large tree which broke his fall and his left arm.

He also somehow managed to get his shorts stuck in a tree branch,

and so he was dangling there in his shorts with his broken arm.

And it was at that point that he remembered he had a pocket knife.

Rips out his pocket knife and decides to cut his shorts free.

In the moment of cutting his shorts free, he dropped the knife,

and he fell through the rest of the tree and landed on some pretty hard concrete,

some branches of some concrete down the bottom, which broke his fall.

But he also landed on his knife that he dropped, which stabbed him in his left thigh.

His mate decides to attempt a rescue.

Throws a rope over the fence, ties his mate up, or gets his mate to tie himself up.

Tries to pull him up, but he's too heavy.

It's at this moment he has a stroke of genius,

and decides to tie the other end of the rope to his pickup truck.

And because of the level of alcohol in his system, he put it into the wrong gear.

He put it into reverse, drove through the fence, over the tree,

and landed on his mates, which killed him instantly.

He himself was thrown out of the vehicle

and died from internal injuries not much longer after that.

Now, risk is any action that exposes you to loss or injury.

That's what risk is.

If you take a risk, you can lose money, you can lose face,

you can lose your health, or you can lose your life.

And what's worse, if you take a risk,

you may in fact be endangering other people and not just yourself.

That's risk.

And so would a wise and loving person ever take a risk?

Is it loving to endanger others?

It depends.

You can throw your life away in a hundred sinful or stupid ways,

like trying to secure tickets for a Metallica concert,

and you can die as a result of it.

But losing your life is not the same as wasting your life.

What if successful risk brought enormous benefit to many people,

and its failure would cause harm to only you?

It may not be loving to choose comfort or security

when something great may be achieved for the cause of Christ

or for the sake of other people.

And that's where we find ourselves in Esther today.

As we saw last week in chapter 3,

Edict goes out to the whole Persian Empire

about the extermination of the Jews on a set date.

And on that day, if you're a Jewish person in the Persian Empire,

your next-door neighbour, your school friends,

your work colleagues are given permission by law to,

as it says in chapter 3, verse 13,

to destroy, to kill,

and annihilate you

and plunder all of your goods.

And so at the beginning of chapter 4,

as Deb just read out,

Mordecai is in sackcloth and mourning

at the open square of the city

in front of the king's gate

because of this edict.

It says,

When Mordecai learned of all that had been done,

he tore his clothes,

he put on sackcloth and ashes

and went out into the city

wailing loudly and bitterly.

Now, if I was Mordecai,

I've got to say,

I'd be feeling a little bit responsible at this moment.

This all transpired

because I refused to give acknowledgement to Haman.

Who could have predicted it would have gone this bad?

Feeling a little bit responsible.

But here's Mordecai.

He's at the palace gate,

chapter 1, verse 2.

He calls it the citadel of Susa.

It was a strongly fortified,

elevated position in Susa

and it was all designed

to exalt the importance of the king

and to guard his person.

So this is Mordecai.

He's at the gate of the palace complex,

the high city.

It's the palace.

It's the citadel

and it's the place of power and influence

for the whole Persian empire.

And this is where Esther is.

She's on the other side of this gate

and Mordecai is trying to get her attention

to do something about this situation,

to save the people of God.

Now the first thing we learn here

is that God doesn't just work

using missionaries and ministers

and church workers for his work in the world.

Esther's not head of a congregation.

She's not even in a congregation.

She's not even out in the streets.

She's here in the palace.

And this, of course,

is the problem with Esther

at the beginning of this chapter.

There is a danger

of being in the palace.

Notice Esther's response

to Mordecai's weeping in verse 4.

When Esther's eunuchs

and female attendants

came and told her about Mordecai,

she was in great distress.

Why was she in great distress?

Well, we know.

She sent clothes for him

to put on instead of his sackcloth.

But he would not accept them.

She was in great distress

because he'd torn his clothes.

And so she sends him clothes.

Maybe he's making a spectacle of himself.

Esther has become totally isolated

from the rest of God's people.

Every Jew from Ethiopia to India

knew about this edict.

Except Esther, it would appear.

She didn't have a clue.

Maybe she didn't have time

between the matricules

and the pedicules and the facials.

Maybe it was the shopping.

In any case,

she'd done a really good job

at concealing her identity

and so who would bother

to inform her

that her people

are about to be executed?

How easy it is

to become isolated

from the needs around us

and for God's concerns

for his world

when we live

the good life in the palace.

And Mordecai here begs her,

he pleads with her

to use her clout

and her position

and her faith with the king

to do something,

to work for justice

and to save her people.

Notice Esther's first response

to Mordecai in verse 11.

All the king's officials

and the people

of the world provinces

know that for any man

or woman

who approaches the king

in the inner court

without being summoned

by the king

has but one law,

that they be put to death

unless the king

extends the gold scepter

to them

and spares their lives.

But 30 days have passed

since I was called

to go to the king.

She says there's risk here.

Mordecai, there's risk.

Now let's not forget

that this is the Esther

who got to where she was

because her predecessor

was a little too bold.

Remember what happened to Vashti?

And notice too

that Esther says

that Xerxes

hasn't asked her

to come to her

for 30 days.

It's not like there's

a bunch of stuff

on Netflix

that he's trying to watch.

This guy does not

sleep alone.

And so if she has not

been called for 30 days,

then it could possibly

be a sign

that she is out of favour

with Xerxes.

So she says to Mordecai,

you don't know

what you are asking of me.

I could lose everything.

And Mordecai sends back

a message in verse 13

which is the high point

of all of Esther.

Esther.

This chapter 4

is the main chapter

in Esther

and this is the high point

of the chapter.

Do not think

that because you are

in the king's house,

you alone

of all the Jews

will escape.

For if you remain

silent at this time,

relief and deliverance

for the Jews

will arise

from another place.

But you and your father's

family will perish.

And who knows

but that you have come

to your royal position

for such a time

as this.

In other words,

if you don't risk

losing the palace,

you will lose everything.

If you risk

losing the palace,

you might lose everything

but if you don't risk

losing the palace,

you will lose everything.

If all the Jews

were killed,

then you'll eventually

be sniffed out

and you'll be discovered

as a Jew

and you will die too.

And if the Jews

aren't killed,

there's some other one

who comes in

and rescues

by God's hand,

then you'll just

be discovered

as a traitor.

Now,

we're not in

the identical situation

as Esther here.

Let's be clear

about that.

But it might be helpful

just to stand back

just for a moment

and generalise

a little for a moment.

I think there are

two remarkable principles

that have powerful

applications for us.

First,

first principle here,

unless you use

the cloud

that you've got,

the credentials

you've got,

the money you've got,

the position you've got,

the skills you've got,

for the service

of others,

rather than feathering

your own nest,

then those things

don't become

freeing for you,

they become

enslaving.

That's the first principle.

the palace

was in fact

death row

for Esther

if she used it

for her own comfort

and her own security.

If you're unwilling

to jeopardise

your place

in the palace,

then the palace

has ownership

of you.

It has taken

over you.

The only way

that you're prepared

to risk life

in the palace

is if your identity

has its foundation

somewhere else.

That is,

something other

than your net worth

becomes your self-worth.

Mordecai seems

to be saying here

that if you can't

throw away the palace,

or at least

risk throwing away

the palace,

or risk your place

in the palace

to do good

for other people,

then the palace

actually owns you.

You don't own

the palace.

So how do you

get an identity

that hasn't got

its foundation

in the palace?

And the answer

is actually hinted at

in these verses.

Remember those words

he said,

who knows,

but that you have

come to your royal

position for such

a time as this?

The word come there

is in the passive

form,

which means it's

probably a little

bit better to

translate it like

this.

Who knows,

but that you have

been brought

to the royal

position for such

a time as this?

He's saying

that you got

to the palace

by grace.

your beauty

was not

something that

your beauty

was something

that was given

to you.

She didn't

produce the

door of opportunity

that saw her

rise from

orphan girl

to queen.

God has been

silent but

sovereignly working

to this point.

Now,

although it's

a general

statement from

Mordecai,

Esther begins

to respond to

this message

here.

The Esther

that we know

from chapters

one and two,

the sweet,

the pretty little

Esther,

who was compliant,

who never rocked

the boat,

who doesn't

ruffle any

feathers,

goes away from

this moment and

starts to give

orders.

It's Mordecai

giving the

orders at the

beginning of the

chapter,

it's now Esther

who starts giving

the orders.

And this is

the turning

point for

Esther.

This is where

she steps

up.

This is where

she utters

those remarkable

words in

verse 16.

Go gather

all together

all the Jews

who are in

Susa and

fast for me.

Do not eat

or drink for

three days,

night or day.

I and my

attendants will

fast as you

do.

And when this

is done,

I will go to

the king,

even though it

is against the

law.

And if I

perish, I

perish.

We go from

Barbie doll

sex kitten

Esther to

the one who's

living the high

life in the

palace to

Esther risking

everything.

Esther the

hero.

hero.

What an

inspiration.

Let me just

pause again

there for a

moment because

there is a

danger here as

well.

There's a danger

that some of us

might be so

inspired by

Esther as

can I say

many feminists

are inspired

by Esther to

get out there

and do

something and

make change

for good.

If you're

inspired by

Esther,

that is,

some here

might stop

seeing all

that God

has given

them for

their own

benefit,

feathering their

own nest and

for their own

self-gratification

and start

instead to

use everything

that God's

given them

for a means

to serve

others.

You might

start to

take risks

and get

more interested

in justice

and mercy

and mission

and others

might be

interested by

Esther just

to start

speaking up

and speaking

your mind

and confronting

the issues.

Maybe you've

been too

quiet about

your beliefs,

you've been

afraid to

speak,

you're in

the background,

most people

don't know

who you are

so now,

come Monday

morning,

I'm on the

front foot and

I'm just

going to let

people have

it.

There's a

danger in

this and

the danger

is it

won't last.

The danger

is that if

you get

inspiration

by an

example,

even an

example like

Esther,

then your

basic motivation

is guilt.

Guilt because

of a past

life of

selfishness,

oh my

goodness,

I've been

living so

poorly and

I've got to

all change

now,

I feel so

selfish from

where I've

been.

It might

be guilt

over

elitism,

it might

be guilt

because I

live in

a really

nice part

of a

city in

a great

country.

Motivation

by guilt

wears off

because guilt

doesn't

actually change

you on the

inside.

Changes

actions on

the outside

but doesn't

change you

on the

inside.

When guilt

is your

motivation,

then you

are still

going to

get your

identity

from your

performance.

performance.

When guilt

is your

motivation,

you still

get your

identity

from your

performance.

And

self-righteousness

is always

the fruit

of performance.

I'm not

going to be

like those

other so-called

Christians who

don't give a

rip about

justice and

mercy.

I'm going

to lead

the way

in this.

I'm going

to be

principled

and I'm

going to

be outspoken.

It's not

actual change

in the

heart and

it's revealed

that when

you're confronted

by others

who don't

have the

same values

that you

have,

you get

angry with

them.

You become

judgmental.

That's the

outworking of

self-righteousness.

And there

is another

danger here

and that's

overreaction.

This is

where you

give everything

away,

go home

right now,

right now,

out all the

checks,

get everything

and put on

sackcloth

and mourning

and go

and sit

in the

mall.

You do

anything,

give away

everything

without any

thought,

any wise

stewardship.

Now,

let me say,

there is a

time to

throw a

band in

the air

and there

are also

times to

pull back

and to

regroup.

You know,

let's be

clear here,

it took

Esther a

little while

before she

actually

approached

Xerxes

and when

she did

approach

Xerxes,

he had

to ask

her three

times what

her request

was.

Three times.

It's almost

like she's

about to

say it,

come to

dinner.

You see

that in

chapter 5.

My point

is if you

just look at

Esther as an

example,

it will wear

off or

you'll become

more and more

self-righteous

and more

pharisaical or

you'll just

become stupid

if you just

look at her

as an

example.

But what

if you

didn't just

look at

Esther as

an example

but saw

her as a

signpost?

Esther

saved her

people by

two things,

by

identification

and by

mediation.

Identification

and mediation.

She

identified

with her

people.

She didn't

take the

safe way.

Her

people were

condemned

and she

identified

with them

and in

fact came

under the

same

condemnation.

She

risked her

life and

she says

if I

perish,

I perish.

And because

she identified

with her

people,

she could

mediate.

She could

go before

the throne

of power

in a way

that no

one else

could.

She went

before the

throne of

power and

because she

was favoured,

that favour

was attributed

to her

people or

imputed to

her people.

She saved

her people

through

identification

with them

and mediation

for them.

Now Esther

was a

flawed

saviour,

a very

flawed

saviour,

but she

points us

to a

far

greater

saviour.

Jesus

lived in

the ultimate

palace,

the very

presence of

God in

the kingdom

and as

the son

of God

he had

ultimate

beauty

and glory

and he

left it.

No one

had to

manipulate

him,

no one

put pressure

on him,

no one

had to

convince him

for it,

he wasn't

getting

pedicules

and manicules

and facials,

he wasn't

backed into

a corner,

Philippians 2

says that

he had

equality with

the father

but he

did not

hold on

to it,

he emptied

himself,

became down,

he identified

with his

people,

he took

on their

condemnation,

he didn't

do it

at the

risk of

his life,

he did

it at the

cost of

his life,

he didn't

say if

I perish

I perish,

he said

when I

perish,

I perish,

he went

to the

cross,

there he

died and

made atonement

for our

sins and

now the

Bible says

that he

stands before

the throne

of the

universe and

his favour

is our

favour in

front of

the king of

kings,

the lord of

all the

world.

You see

if,

you see

Esther as

an example

and say

be like

Esther,

it will

crush you

because you

could never

do it.

But if

you see

Jesus as

your

saviour,

not as

an example

doing

something for

someone else,

but as a

saviour

rescuing

you,

it changes

your identity.

He becomes

your security,

he becomes

your value,

he becomes

your worth

and suddenly

everything else

in your life

just becomes

stuff because

you've got

everything when

you've got

Jesus.

you're set

free to

risk stuff,

you're set

free to

lose stuff

because

your self-worth

is not

your net

worth and

when you

lose stuff

in Jesus,

you don't

lose

yourself.

If you

see what

Jesus has

done for

you in

losing the

ultimate

palace for

you,

then and

only then

will you

have the

freedom to

risk for

God's

glory in

the sake

of others.

When you

see Jesus

risk for

you,

there are

at least

four implications

for that.

At least

four.

So let me

go through

them.

Firstly,

if I perish,

I perish

is the

language that's

calling you,

Christian

person to

identify with

the poor

and the

oppressed in

this world.

Just like

Esther did,

identifying with

her people,

those in

great desperate

need.

So if I

perish, I

perish is the

language calling

you, Christian

person, to

identify with

the poor and

the oppressed

in this world.

If this is a

call for us

as believers,

having seen

what Jesus

has done for

us to

identify with

the people

who are

outside the

palace.

Scottish

minister

Robert

Murray

Mishane

preached this

message to

Scottish

Christians

living in

Scottish

cities in

1838.

He said,

I fear

that there

are some

Christians

among you

to whom

Christ will

not be able

to say on

the last

day,

well done,

good and

faithful servant.

He's referring

there to

Matthew 25.

Your

hearty

dwelling

rises

amongst

thousands

who have

scarcely a

fire to

warn themselves

at and

have but

little clothing

to keep

out the

biting frost

and yet you

don't darken

their door.

You heave

a sigh,

perhaps at a

distance,

but you do

not visit

them.

My

friends,

I'm

concerned

for the

poor,

but I'm

actually more

concerned for

you.

I don't

know what

Christ will

say to

you on

the great

day.

You say

you follow

Christ,

but you

don't care

for his

poor.

I fear

that there

may be

many hearing

me who

now know

well that

they may

not be

Christians at

all because

they don't

love to

give.

To give

largely,

and generously,

not begrudgingly,

requires a

brand new

heart.

An old

heart would

rather part

with its

lifeblood

than its

money.

Oh, my

dear Christians,

if you

would be

like Christ,

give much,

give often,

give freely

to the vile

and the poor

and the

thankless and

the undeserving.

Christ is

glorious and

he is

happy and

so will

you be.

It is not

your money I

want but

your happiness.

Remember his

word.

It is more

blessed to

give than

receive.

That's the

first bit of

if I perish,

I perish.

Secondly,

if I perish,

I perish is

the language of

exciting mission.

Wherever you

are right

now,

you've got

certain gifts,

certain

abilities,

certain

experiences,

certain

opportunities,

certain experiences

even of

hardship and

suffering

that make

you uniquely

ready,

uniquely

ready

to help

certain

people in

this world

that no one

else can

help.

Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2:10

verse 10

says that we

are God's

workmanship

created in

Christ Jesus

to do good

works that God

has prepared

in advance

for us to

do.

And the

word workmanship

there carries

the idea

of

the original

root meaning

is poem.

It's where we

get our word

poem form.

And the idea

is that we

are God's

artwork.

We have been

uniquely crafted

by God with

gifts and

talents and

positions and

strengths and

weaknesses,

even weaknesses

and blessings

and sufferings

that make us

uniquely placed

by God to

do unique

works for

other people.

Every one

of us.

You've been

brought to

whatever place

you've been

brought to

for such

a time

as this.

Ask God

what it

is.

Ask God

what it

is.

Thirdly,

if I

perish,

I perish

is the

language of

unconditional

obedience.

It means

I'm going to

follow God

whatever

happens.

And it's

really essential

for us to

understand who

it is that's

calling us

to

unconditional

obedience.

Imagine

the distance

between the

earth and

the sun,

approximately

149.6

million

kilometers,

is represented

by the

thickness of

this sheet

of paper.

that represents

149.6

million

kilometers.

The distance

between the

earth and

the nearest

star to

earth

is,

would,

a stack

of paper

like that,

360

reams of

paper high.

that's the

distance from

the earth

to the

nearest

star.

That's

about a

20 meter

high stack

of paper.

The distance

across the

little galaxy

that we

exist in

would require

3.456

million

stacks,

reams of

paper.

That's a

stack of

paper,

I think,

roughly

192

kilometers

high.

This

universe is

but a

little

speck

amongst

all the,

this galaxy

is a little

speck amongst

all the other

galaxies in

our world,

our universe.

It's pretty

impressive when

you consider

this is the

thickness between

here and the

sun.

Frankly,

the sun

wasn't close

enough this

morning to

us.

And the

point is that

Hebrews 1,

2 and 3

says that

this Jesus

is the

one who

spoke it

all into

existence

and he's

the one

who upholds

it by the

power of

his word.

Or another

way, my

translation,

he holds

it up by

his pinky.

This is the

Jesus who

calls you to

unconditional

obedience.

This is the

one who

calls you to

unconditional

obedience.

This is the

one who gave

his life for

you.

He's not

your personal

assistant.

He doesn't

fit with your

program and

follow you when

you can fit

him in.

You don't

RSVP with

Jesus and

wait for a

better offer.

friends,

take your

hands off

your life

because you

don't have

control of

it anyway.

You don't

have control

of it.

It seems to

me that God

intends for

us to live

with uncertainty

and risk in

our lives,

whether we're

Christian or

not.

James 4

James 4:13–15

verses 13

to 15

says this,

now listen,

you who

say today

or tomorrow

we will go

to this

city or

that city,

spend a

year there,

carry on

business and

make money,

why you

don't even

know what

will happen

tomorrow.

What is

your life?

You are a

mist that

appears for a

little while

and then

vanishes.

Instead,

you ought to

say if it

is the

Lord's will,

we will

live and

do this or

that.

You don't

know,

frankly,

friends,

if your

heart is

going to

stop before

this meeting

is over.

You don't

know if

some

oncoming

driver will

swerve on

the wrong

side of the

lane and

hit you on

the way

home.

You don't

know if the

food that

you've eaten

this morning

is some

sort of

wicked

bacteria and

virus thing

in it that's

going to

kill you.

You don't

know if a

man with a

gun is

going to

shoot you

down the

mall in

Chatswood

before the

afternoon's

over.

We are

not God.

we do

not know

what tomorrow

is and

risk,

therefore,

is built

into the

very fabric

of our

lives.

You cannot

avoid risk

even if you

wanted to

avoid risk.

All of our

plans for

tomorrow's

activities can

be shattered

by a thousand

unknowns.

Whether we

stay at home

in bed or

we walk

along a

footpath,

we need

to explode

the myth

of safety

and to

somehow be

delivered from

the seduction

of security

that exists

in our

culture.

It's a

mirage.

Security

doesn't

exist.

Don't

listen to

the retirement

ads.

It

doesn't

exist.

And the

tragedy is

that in

the myth

of security

we are

paralyzed to

take any

risk for

the cause

of Christ

because we

are deluded

and we

think it

will jeopardize

the security

that doesn't

exist.

Take your

hands off

your life

and put

them

into his

pinky.

fourthly,

if I

perish,

I

perish

is the

language

of

greatness.

There

are 14

times in

the book

of Esther

where

Esther is

referred to

specifically

as Queen

Esther.

13 of

the 14

times

occur

straight

after she

says,

if I

perish,

I

perish.

she

becomes a

person of

greatness

by letting

go of

her life

and placing

it in the

hands of

God for

his glory

and the

joy of

all others.

If I

perish,

I perish.

perish.

It's

the language

of risk.

It's

the language

of

greatness.

It's

the language

of

greatness.