No Good Work Goes Unnoticed

Chapter 2, verse 21, we are going to conclude

the story of Queen Esther today. We looked at

the first half of it last week, and you may be

saying, well, we're going the wrong way. We were

in chapter 4 last week, but we're going to read

Esther chapter 2, verse 21, and we'll eventually

Esther 2:21

get to it at some point in the story. While you

all are turning to that, I'll say a couple things.

One is we'll be out of town this week, and so

if you try to get a hold of me and don't get

me, that's why. If you need something while I'm

out of town, you feel free to call Ernest or

Jennings or Sonny, and they'll be glad to do

whatever you need. And so if something happens,

somebody's sick, you need something, please call

on them. and I'll be back Friday night, so I'll

see you guys when I get back. Also, I wanted

to say, too, in regards to the new digital stuff

that we're going to be rolling out soon, that

is also... Very kid -friendly. And so if you

have a young child that has an email address,

it's something that kids will be able to take

a part in. It's going to be very kid -friendly.

It's very safe. Good resources that we're about

to make available to everybody. And if you are

planning to come to the game show night, I'll

give you a little hint. If you are a couple or

a brother or sister, you may want to make sure

that you know each other. You might want to make

sure that you know a lot about each other because

that may be beneficial in some of the games that

we play. So we'll see how good everybody knows

everybody. All right, enough of that clarification

on those announcements. Esther chapter 2, verse

Esther 2:21

21. Esther chapter 2, verse 21. We'll read these

Esther 2:21

three verses, then we'll pray, and we'll get

started. During those days, while Mordecai was

sitting at the king's gate, Bicton and Teresh,

two eunuchs who guarded the king's entrance,

became infuriated and planned to assassinate

King Ahasuerus, or King Xerxes, some of your

translations will say. When Mordecai learned

of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther,

and she told the king on Mordecai's behalf. Let's

pray. God, we come to you this morning. We thank

you for the freedom and the privilege to come

and to read your word and to hear your word.

And I pray, dear Lord, that you would help me

to... do a good job to preach and teach this

today. I pray that you help my mind to be sharp

and focused. I pray that you help the words that

come from my mouth to be words that are yours,

dear Lord. There is no good word I can say if

it is not from you, dear Lord. So I pray that

our hearts would hear, that your Holy Spirit

will work on us, that you would meet us where

we are today. that you would help us to be encouraged

and to learn from what we see in your word and

the story of Queen Esther. And I ask these things

in Jesus' name. Amen. We left the story last

week with Queen Esther with a decision that she

had to make. An evil man had risen to power by

the name of Haman, and the king had really given

him authority to do whatever he wanted to do.

And Haman had a hatred for the Jews and particularly

Mordecai. Because when Haman was called to this

new position, everyone was to bow before him

and celebrate him and all just talk good about

him and treat him like a king, essentially. But

Mordecai refused to do so. And this had infuriated

Haman. And Haman had sent a command throughout

the land that on a certain day, All the Jewish

people in the land were to be killed. Now, Queen

Esther, who had come into this position, not

by coincidence, but by the very power of God.

If you want to catch that sermon last week, you

can find it online, get more details. But Esther

had ended up in the most unlikely of places,

a Jewish girl, to be the queen of King Xerxes.

Of course, it was not known that she was a Jew,

and her life as well was in jeopardy. And so

when this word went out, this command from Haman

to kill the Jews on this particular day, Mordecai,

Esther's cousin who had raised her, sent word

to Esther and said, you must speak up to save

your people. And Esther said, wait a minute,

this is dangerous. I can't just go talk to the

king. If I go and I've not been summoned, he

may have me killed. It's only if I go and he

extends his scepter will he listen, but maybe

he'll extend his scepter before me and maybe

he will not. But Mordecai said, look, Esther,

you have to go for maybe you've been placed in

this position for such a time as this, that God

has put you right here right now to do this.

And Esther said, look, I'll do it. You get everybody

together, all your people, all the Jewish people,

and y 'all begin to fast, and I'll get my people

together and we'll fast. And it doesn't say that

they prayed, but I think it might be reasonable

to assume that when they fasted that they were

praying. We often see that together. These were

God's people. It's almost certain, I believe,

that they were seeking God and humbling themselves

before God on Esther's behalf before she went

to the king. And so she did. After three days

went by, she got herself all prettied up and

dressed and she began to go into the courtyard

and into the area where the king was and the

king saw her. And when he did, he extended his

scepter to her. Praise the Lord. She now has

the king's ear and she goes before the king and

the king says, Esther, what is it that you want?

And Esther said, King, if it pleases you, I would

like... to hold a feast, a banquet today for

just you and Haman, just the three of us. I would

like you to come to this meal that I have prepared.

And the king says, whatever you asked, Queen

Esther. So the news is spread to Haman that he

is invited to come into the presence of Esther

and the king. Now Haman is thrilled at this.

Haman loves the attention. He loves to be in

the spotlight. And so Queen Esther holds this

magnificent feast. And all that is there is the

king and Haman. While they are feasting, the

king asks Esther. He says, Queen Esther, what

is it that you want? He said, up to half of the

kingdom, I'll give you whatever you would like.

And Queen Esther said, my request to you, king,

is that... We do this again tomorrow. The tomorrow

that you and Haman come back and that we have

this feast once again. And the king said, may

it be as you request, king. Now Haman was thrilled

at this news. He wanted to be in the spotlight.

He wanted everyone to know that he and he alone

was having a feast with the king and the queen.

And he left with great joy, but his joy quickly

turned into rage. Because no sooner than he got

out of the banquet with the king and the queen

did he see Mordecai, who refused to bow down

and acknowledge him. This infuriated Haman. And

Haman went home and he told his wife and he told

his friends and all of this was taking place

and he was just infuriated. And so his wife and

his friends, they... give him some instruction.

They give him some advice, not very good advice.

They said, Haman, here's what you need to do.

You need to make an example out of Mordecai.

You need to build a gallows 75 feet tall, and

you need to have Mordecai hanged on it in front

of everyone. Make an example of him. And Haman

said, that's a good idea. And so he told his

men, get to work. Begin to build this gallows.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, night had come

and the king was trying to sleep, but sleep escaped

the king that night. And so as he was laying

there unable to sleep, he called to one of his

servants and he said to him, would you go get

the book of the historical records of the kings

and read that to me? And so as he was there and

being read to, Eventually, the story of Mordecai

come up. The story where Mordecai, in the scripture

that we just read, had found about this plot

to assassinate the king. And Mordecai had spoken

up. He had did the right thing. And he had let

the proper authorities know. And as a result,

the king's life was saved. And when the king

was told this story, he said, what was done for

this man? What was done for this man who saved

my life? The servant who was reading the record

says, well, king, there was nothing done for

this man. And so he says to his servant, he says,

who's here? Is there anybody around in the palace?

Well, by this time, Haman has made his way into

the palace. And the servant said, well, Haman

is out there. And the king said, well, good,

send him in to me. And so Haman goes into the

presence of the king. And the king says to Haman,

he says, Haman, if the king wanted to honor a

man, and really, really just lift him up in the

presence of the community and do something great

for him? What would the king do? What should

he do? Now Haman, being full of himself, thought

to himself, well, who in the world could possibly

the king be talking about other than me? Who

could the king want to honor more than me? After

all, he had just had this private meal with the

king and the queen. And in not much time, he

would be having another one. And so Haman thought

to himself, the king is going to honor me. What

would I like? And so Haman responded to the king.

Haman said, king, here is what should be done

for the man that the king wants to honor. He

says one of the king's wardrobes should be brought

out. Some of the garments of the king should

be brought out and placed on this man. And a

horse that the king has ridden should be brought

out and this man should be placed on top of this

horse. And one of the king's highest officials

should take this horse and guide it through the

streets and parade this man around and yell out,

this is what is to be done for the man the king

wants to honor. I suspect Haman was probably

waiting for that honor to be placed on him, but

he was mistaken because when he told the king

what he thought should be done, the king said,

good, go and do this for Mordecai. So here is

Haman. Boy, he was so proud of himself. He's

come up with this plan to destroy the Jews. The

one that he hates the most, he's going to be

getting rid of soon. In just a few hours, Mordecai

was to be hanged. But instead of Mordecai being

hanged, now Haman and all of this misery is having

to guide Mordecai around on town on the king's

horse and the king's clothes, yelling, this is

what is done for the man the king wants to honor.

Haman completes his task and scurries back home,

angry as can be, and he tells his wife and his

friends, he says, this is what happens. And his

wife said, oh, you're in trouble. This ain't

a good sign. Well, no sooner than he talks with

them is he ushered back to the king. He's ushered

back in the presence of Queen Esther and King

Xerxes for the feast that has been prepared.

And Esther has the king there and he has Haman

there. And the king, once again, asks Esther.

He says, Esther, what is it that you would like?

Ask of me anything. I'll give you up to half

of the kingdom. Just let me know what you would

like. And Esther tells the king, she says, King,

my request is that you would spare my life and

the life of my people. For there is an evil man

who has put out an order. that all of the Jewish

people should be killed. Well, when the king

heard this news, he was furious. He said, what

evil man would put out such a command to do such

a thing? And Esther says, your majesty, it is

Haman. The king stormed out of the room in a

rage. Haman knew that his time was getting short.

Queen Esther was reclining on the couch there

in the area where they were having this banquet.

And Haman goes and begins to beg the queen that

there would be mercy, that he would be spared.

And he falls down on the couch on the queen begging

her for mercy. And no sooner than he falls on

the couch onto the queen, the king comes back

into the room and he says, How dare you violate

my queen in my presence? And after the king uttered

those words, one of the king's servants said,

King, there's a gallows at Haman's house, 75

foot tall, that Haman had prepared to hang Mordecai

on. And the king says, hang Haman on it. This

story is a good example of how sometimes when

we do the right thing and it seems as though

it goes unnoticed, Sometimes people do the wrong

thing and continue to do evil and harbor evil

in every way. And it seems like that the one

that does evil always gets away with everything.

That everything always works out for them. And

sometimes it feels for us that we do the right

thing and it goes unnoticed. But when we do the

right thing, it doesn't go unnoticed. And when

we do the wrong thing, it doesn't go unpunished.

Mordecai, all that time ago, had did the right

thing. He heard of the plot that was going to

take the king's life, and he reported it, and

nothing was ever done of it. But as is the case

throughout the whole story of the book of Esther,

it was no coincidence that sleep escaped the

king that night. It's no coincidence that the

king called his servant to read the book of the

historical records to him. It's no coincidence

that on that night, it was revealed to the king

the work that Mordecai had done. It's no coincidence

that God took care of Mordecai and Esther and

the rest of the Jewish people. It's no coincidence

that God delivers those... who are his, and punishes

those who are opposed to him. Who are we in this

story? Maybe we're like Esther. We're someone

who's been placed where we are for such a time

as this. Maybe we're like Mordecai. Maybe we're

one and we say, We've done the right thing, and

it seems to have gone unnoticed. Our life still

is in trouble. Mordecai's life, Esther's life,

the Jewish people's life was in trouble. Their

life was before them. It seemed as though that

God was not listening or paying attention, and

even though they had lived for him and appeared

to be godly people in every way, it doesn't appear

like God is there, but yet God is there through

every step of the way. He's there when a little

Jewish girl gets to be chosen. As queen. He's

there when Mordecai is just at the right place

to make this report to save the king's life.

Maybe we're like Esther. Maybe we're like Mordecai.

Maybe we're like Haman. Maybe we are the one

that wants the attention. Maybe we are the one

that wants the focus. Maybe we are the one that

is enraged at someone else today. What's driving

us today? Is it a desire to live for God? Is

it a desire to seek Him? Is it a desire to trust

Him? Is it a desire to continue to do good, even

when bad things are happening all around us?

Or are we driven by hate? Well, that was the

only thing that was driving Haman, his hatred

and his pride. And it looked like the enemy was

going to win. And it looked like the bad guys

were going to lose. But when it comes to the

word of God and it comes to the plan of God,

the enemy will never win. Because Jesus Christ

has died on a cross so that our sins could be

forgiven. Jesus Christ has died on a cross to

give us a way of escape, to give us victory over

sin, that we don't have to give in to our hatred

and our bitterness in the way that Haman did,

but that we could seek God and humble ourselves

before him in the way that Mordecai and Esther

and the Jewish people did. When we humble ourselves

before God, it leads to our deliverance through

Jesus Christ. But when we live in our pride and

what drives us is our bitterness and our anger

and our hatred, it will lead to our destruction.

None of us like to think of ourselves as the

bad guy. We watch the heroes in movies and our

favorite TV shows and in our books and our Bible

stories, and we always see the good guy and we

always see the bad guy, but we always want to

think of ourselves as the good guy, and maybe

sometimes we are, but maybe if we're honest with

ourselves, sometimes we're the bad guy, and maybe

more times than not. Maybe we don't want to compare

ourselves to Haman, but maybe we need to reflect

on our life and say, God, are there any of those

tendencies in my heart? Maybe there are, maybe

there aren't. But sometimes maybe we're worse

than we think. Sometimes maybe there are some

feelings like those of Haman that are in our

heart and we need to deal with those things.

Because the moment that seed of anger and bitterness

and hatred begins to sprout in our heart, If

we do not seek God and repent and humble ourselves,

then that seed is going to grow. And it's going

to grow into something ugly and nasty and dangerous.

It's going to grow you into a person that only

cares about themselves and does not care about

anyone else. And Haman had become that person.

What about you and I? If we're like Haman today,

then we need to repent. Then we need to ask God

to deal with those areas in our heart. And they

come up. We have to fight them all the time.

It's a lifelong battle. There's always those

things in our heart that are trying to grow,

that are trying to make us into something that

God does not want us to be. But we need to be

those who would seek God today. Maybe we're like

Esther and Mordecai. Maybe we're in a place we

don't want to be, in a situation that looks pretty

dark, looks pretty hopeless. But in those situations,

we need to seek God even more. We need to humble

ourselves before God and say, God, if you've

placed me here for such a time as this, then

help me to see what I need to do. God, help me

not get tired of doing good, for at the proper

time, I will reap, the Scripture says. Let us

never wonder whether God is with us and cares

about us and is paying attention to us. I can

assure you the answer is yes. He is with us,

he cares about us, and he pays attention to us.

He knows where you are and your need. Let us

be those who would seek God today. Let's pray.

God, we come to you, we thank you for your word,

and I pray, dear Lord, that you would help us

to examine ourselves. God, maybe we are those

and... And we feel like sometimes we do what

we're supposed to do, and maybe we do. And God,

maybe sometimes it feels as though it goes unnoticed.

But dear Lord, you know every work we do, good

or bad. And so dear Lord, you are with us no

matter what we go through. It may not always

seem like it. It may not always feel like it.

We may be in places that are scary, that are

tough, that are aggravating, dear Lord. But even

in those places, you are with us. So dear Lord,

I pray that you would help us just to hold on.

Maybe we have a Haman in our life, someone who's

against us, that causes us trouble, dear Lord.

Let us continue to do good even to people like

that. And dear Lord, maybe, just maybe, if we're

honest, maybe we are the Haman in somebody else's

life. Maybe we are the one that's filled with

hatred and bitterness and jealousy and anger,

dear Lord. Let that not be what drives us today,

dear Lord. Let us be driven by the love of Jesus

Christ, that that is what we seek. God, it is

hard. This world is hard. Sin is ever before

us. Temptation is ever before us. And sometimes,

dear Lord, we let our anger and our bitterness

and our hatred get the best of us. But God, you

have to help us because we are hopeless without

your help. But dear Lord, today we can have victory

over those thoughts, over those feelings. through

Jesus Christ who has given his life on a cross

so that we could be forgiven. So God, wherever

we may be today, if you've placed us here for

such a time as this, then help us to see what

you've placed us here for. And God, if we see

some things in our heart that should not be there,

I pray today that we would repent, that we would

confess those things to you, that we would ask

for your forgiveness and that we would seek your

help, dear Lord. Not just today, but every day,

dear Lord. It is a daily struggle for us to try

to walk in accordance to your will. God, it is

not easy, but the result is joy and peace. So

God, let us not walk in the path of Haman and

experience destruction today, but God, let us

walk in the path of Jesus Christ that we would

experience deliverance. God, just as you were

there with Mordecai and Esther and the Jewish

people, God, you are here with us today. So God,

you know our needs. You know where each one of

us are. You know what our struggles are. You

know where we need deliverance today. And I pray

that we would seek you to find that and be strengthened

by you. And I ask these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.