Main Character Energy - Esther 6:1-13 - Sunday Sermon

if you haven't already or if you're

interested in either being pray prayed

for or connecting more deeply with Boon

Fairy, go ahead and fill out one of

those welcome cards and then just go

ahead either way, no matter what the

purpose is, turn it into the uh

connection table as you walk out this

morning. Um

I don't think I have any uh

announcements that I'm forgetting, but I

do have a question for you. I keep

hearing about this movie uh Project Hail

Mary. Have you guys seen it? I'm

actually asking who's seen it back here?

Yeah. Anybody else? Nobody else has seen

it. Okay. All the way back there. I'm

actually asking, was it a good movie?

Did you? It was a good movie. Yeah. Safe

for Christians to watch. Decent message.

Yeah. Very interesting.

Totally clean. That's even better.

My wife is just walking in. Um

I'm thinking about going tonight with

her on a date. She doesn't know yet.

But I just dismissed the movie. I

totally had. I saw the trailer and it

was about seemed like, oh, they're

trying to get an average Joe to go save

the sun and then there's some alien

involved. And I was like, yeah, I'll

I'll wait till that comes out and if

it's good, we'll watch it on TV. But,

uh, now I've just heard it from five or

six different people whose review of

media I generally trust that it's a

great movie. So, I think I'll go see it.

And I was I was thinking about movies

and I was thinking about main characters

and supporting actors. And I don't know

if you've heard it. I think it's kind of

a Gen Z term. Every new generation has

some of their lingo. And I find

especially as a preacher that um when

you can put a complex idea into really

simple terms like a little phrase and

kind of any everybody knows immediately

what you mean by the phrase, it can be

helpful for describing things. Have you

heard of this term main character

energy?

>> That guy has main character energy. I

think it can be used positively like

that's a really tough person or

interesting person or that person takes

charge of things. But more often than

not, I think it's a slam like where

somebody's inserting themselves as the

main character

uh when they're not really the main

character. I don't know if you've heard

the term or not, but my guess is even

just hearing uh let's say I'm someone's

using it as a slam. Oh, you know that's

main character energy and you probably

know what they mean. They're making

themselves too important. They think

they're the star of the show. They're

not really the star of the show. They

assert the place themselves in places

they shouldn't. They make too big of a

deal of themselves. I'll be using this

idea

um all the way through the sermon, I

think, because I think it's a a great

way to think of how we ought to live our

lives in relationship to God and others.

We already know we're not the main

character. Star of the show is Jesus

Christ. So, we're not the main, we

haven't been cast in that role. Uh, God

from everlasting past, God the Son is

the main character. Uh, that's who the

Holy Spirit highlights. Uh, that's whom

God sent to do the most epic thing

possible, which is die for our sin and

to be resurrected. So, he's the main

character. And that means that at best

each one of us is a supporting

character. So, we're we're character

actors, but we're supporting characters.

And we ought not to make ourselves the

main character. And yet, I think there's

lots of ways in which we do. Hmon had

main character energy, didn't he? He was

he thought he was the main guy. Who the

king want to honor more than me? He

said, you know, and so this is this is

selfish ambition. We talked quite a bit

about selfish ambition last week, and

we're still talking about selfish

ambition today because that's what's

driving Hmon's murderous plot. That's

what's driving his intent to have uh

Mori killed. That's what drives him

towards destruction and downfall. Um and

so we ought to be thinking about it. Um

so if if you were to evaluate your life

um and people are looking in, would they

think, "Oh, that person thinks he or she

is the main character." or no, they

clearly know they're cast in a

supporting role and they're doing a

great job being a supporting

a supporting character in their lives.

You know, I think another way to think

about this is one way to make Jesus

Christ the main character is to make the

people that God has placed in your life

uh to think of them as the main

character and think of yourself as a

supporting character. Another term that

you probably know right away what I mean

that goes handinhand with supporting

actress, actor or character would be

like being a wingman.

You know how how good of are you always

have to be the main mission flying pilot

or can you be a wingman? And when you

are a wingman are you good at it? Um

also think about everyone here has

played supporting roles and done a good

job at times and I want you to think

about how good that felt.

you go and serve somebody, how good that

felt. I think uh Ben, an elder here at

church and just uh one of my closest

friends is home. His children have hand

foot and mouth. You might pray for them.

Uh that's a frustrating disease for the

kids that get very very uh uh

contagious. But um I told him, listen, I

know you do he's been unbelievably

servant-hearted towards me. He's treated

me like I'm the main character. And so I

thought, well, I wasn't thinking these

terms because this is just a sermon

metaphor, but it was basically the same

idea. I want I want to serve him. And so

I told him, hey, uh, you've got this

renovation going on. I'm not skilled, so

I can't do the electrical work or the

plumbing unless you just need a grunt

worker there. I'm helping, but like

anytime you need someone to just do a

bunch of labor intensive stuff, tell me.

I'll come right over. And so he said,

"Hey, I've got a bunch of tile that I

need you to move." It was a big pallet

of tile for his shower. And uh I think

it was like maybe last Sunday after

church or something and I was like,

"Yeah, sweet." I came over and it wasn't

a lot of work. I'm not touting how

servant hearted I It was a pallet. I'm

strong. It's kind of what I'm built for.

And I just carried an entire pallet from

his the back of his property. Well, the

the back back of his house into the the

new addition. And it just felt really

good to serve him. You've had that

experience before where you go and spend

half a day, couple hours doing something

for someone else for no other reason

than to serve God and to serve them. And

it is fulfilling and satisfying and and

that satisfaction is like a long chain

carbohydrate. It's not like uh sugar or

like you know um cotton candy. It stays

with you. The satisfaction that you did

this good a good work that God prepared

in advance for you. You walk it out, you

do it, and it feels good. I want you to

hold on to that feeling. Um, have you

ever had that feeling while pursuing a

selfish ambition? And you might think,

well, I don't really pursue selfish

ambitions. I think we all do. We all do

sometimes. Uh, get a little selfish and

think of ourselves first. Kind of put

ourselves in the main character

category. And when you've done that, if

you can think of example, I can think

unfortunately of plenty of examples for

me. I've never experienced that

satisfaction from that. Not once have I

maybe maybe a short-term satisfaction

because when you make yourself, you

know, number one is number one. Uh

sometimes you accomplish things for

number one and for time they can have

sort of a faximile a counterfeit

satisfaction but it's not the same. It

doesn't taste the same in your heart.

It's not it's like you know it's not

right and that you can't be fully

satisfied in it. But when you serve

another person and help them, it's just

a really good feeling. Why is that? I'm

not going to answer that question just

yet, but I want you to think about why

that is that it feels so right and good

and true to make another person the main

character.

Last question. When you're making

yourself the main character, have you

ever worried or maybe even experienced

or even known that God's acting to

thwart that plan?

Have you ever experienced like an

uncanny like this is too coincidental?

How did this happen? Uh that your plan

gets turned upside down. Maybe it was a

long play, you know, a long play and

then the plan gets turned upside down

many years later. Maybe it's just like

in the day you had this plan. It's

totally you're the main character plan

and God flips it on its head and you

realize, man, at least maybe somewhere

in the back of your mind. Is God like

did he do this to me? You know, so

consider consider all those things.

Consider is your life lived in a pattern

of recognition, understanding, and joy,

satisfaction, and being the supporting

character or has your life kind of been

lived as a main character?

Up until I was about 25, I was the

exclusive main character and I saw

everybody else as supporting characters

in my life. Um,

I'm going to talk to you about how it it

was a very stark difference. I started

living for others. But I am still

finding myself way too often acting like

the main character. It doesn't feel

good. It's not satisfying. It's

dissatisfying. It's a source of grief in

the end for me. Um but then I I just

continue to experience how God has

created me and for these good works that

he prepared for me in advance to do. And

when I walk them out, there is very few

things, if any, that satisfy me like

that.

Satisfaction is important to me. I don't

know if if you deal with dissatisfaction

or not, but but any other satisfaction

other than being satisfied in God and

doing his works that he worked that he

planned for you in advance is a form of

being satisfied in God. Uh I get

dissatisfied pretty quick, disillusioned

with things that don't last like that.

And so I am wanting to be satisfied and

I'm wanting to be satisfied in the

things that last and they're only found

in God and his plan and never in making

yourself the main character. Um, and

that is because God is who he is and he

doesn't change. And he shows us that

through these stories. So if you're

wanting a summary or a main point today,

the main point is that God actively

thwarts the schemes of selfish ambition.

That's half of it. But he honors those

who humbly serve him and others. God

actively thwarts schemes of selfish

ambition but honors those who humbly

serve him and others. So if you are

maybe today you came in and you're

coming in with main character energy. I

don't judge you. I do it sometimes

myself and uh we can all find ourselves

in that place. That's something that

needs to be confessed as sins. Like

that's I'm acting like I'm the main

character. We're not. Uh that's in the

way of putting God's agenda first. And

yeah, you're you're going against the

grain there. Going against God's grain.

So, you're going to experience the

splinters of his ways. God actively

thwarts the schemes of selfish ambition.

And sometimes our selfish ambition is

hidden from us. It's one of these

insidious kind of attitudes uh that can

hide itself from our sight. We need

God's help to expose it. But it's also

true that he honors those who humbly

serve him and others.

And similar to the book of Esther, God

doesn't name himself in this book. He

never even once explicitly mentions that

something was his work. But for those of

us of faith, you can see his

providential work all over the book. And

I find that interesting because it kind

of mirrors our experience. Now, it's not

like um God says that this thing that he

did that got in the way of one of

whatever scheme that was kind of selfish

ambition scheme of yours where you made

yourself the main character. I thwarted

that. He doesn't say that out loud.

He'll tell you what his character is.

He's living inside of you by his spirit

and will confirm to you that yeah, that

was that was the wrong thing. We call

that conviction. But it's not like he

explicitly out loud states himself as

the source of the reason why you

specifically whatever your name is got

thwarted in some kind of thing. And the

same thing goes for he doesn't

explicitly say yes, I just worked things

out for you to get that honor. So it's

it's only by faith in a God that you

know is providentially working uh for

the good of those who love him are

called according to his purpose working

to exalt those who humble themselves

honor those who who lower their pride

and power down but he against all people

who are acting in selfish ambition

Christian and non-Christian alike. Uh

God is against that and works against

that with his with his providence. Um,

and so in a way we experience God in our

lives not too dissimilar to how we're

experiencing through reading Esther, if

that makes sense. I almost wonder if

maybe God gave us this book where he

doesn't mention himself explicitly

because he just he knows how close to

the day-to-day experience that is. And

yet he does want us to interpret the

things that happens as a result of the

predictable character that he's shown

us. And the fact that he's told us that

he's sovereign over all things and that

if he's if he's working all things for

our good, um that means he doesn't

always have to say, "Yeah, that was me.

That was me." Because all things means

all things, right? So again, God

actively thwarts thing schemes of

selfish ambition, but honors those who

humbly serve him and others. We're in

chapter 6 starting in verse one. We will

finish with uh we're doing all of

chapter 6 today. So I'll finish with

verse 13 and we're continuing in the

story.

And we had just gotten done uh talking

about how discontent Hmon was. He's

bitter in his heart. He's able to

restrain his rage to a degree, but he's

enraged that another man won't tremble

in his presence. 100% main character uh

attitude. And uh he has all of these

blessings. Uh his family's blessed, his

ch the fact that he has so many sons is

a blessing. Um he's he's got a wife. Um

I think maybe the nicest thing I can say

about her is that she seems to care

about him. Uh but not in the right way.

And he's got friends who are considered

wise men, although their advice is not

wise. He seems to be the second in

command. Um, and we'll find out what the

king actually thinks about him today,

which is just another high honor he

doesn't see because he's so focused on

himself. Um, and then in verse 13 of

chapter 5, even after all of the

recounting all the things that he has,

all the promotions, all the wealth, all

the children, all the high honors, uh,

yet all this is worth nothing to me so

long as Morai the Jew is sitting at the

king's gate and to mix in that other

verse and not trembling in my presence.

That's what he's really saying. So

unless everybody bows down before and

trembles before me, which is truly a

desire to be worshiped. Unless I'm

worshiped, I'm not happy. That is the

ultimate end of selfish ambition.

It's the same thing Satan wants. And so

then we get into chapter 6 verse one.

And here's what's happening next. On

that night, the king could not sleep.

And he gave orders to bring the book of

memorable deeds, the chronicles, and

they were read before the king. And it

was found written how Mordei had told

about Big Thana, Big Thana is another

name for big, same person and Terish,

two of the king's Unix who guarded the

threshold, who had sought to lay hands

on King Houseaware. They had sought to

assassinate him, not just to beat him

up. Um, and the king said, "What honor

or distinction has been bestowed on

Morai for this? The king's young men who

attended him said, "Nothing has been

done for him." And I want to stop there.

Uh to me,

as an interpreter of the Bible, this is

narrative, not pros. Pros is like

teaching Paul in Romans. That would be

pros. But this is narrative. And um the

narrative doesn't necessarily explicitly

say, "Okay, here's the main point." And

so you have to interpret, okay, what is

God actually trying to say through all

of this? And where is God behind the

scenes in this? And it doesn't seem like

he's very far behind the scenes. All of

a sudden, in between the first feast

that Esther has for Hmon and King

Asaware, she intends to have another

feast where she exposes the evil scheme

that Hmon has. And and and that's

basically the next passage we're going

to get there. And then that very night

after Hmon goes home and talks about how

he just does has no satisfaction no

matter what he gets un because of Morai

and again his wife and his his advisors

tell him have them executed. Go into the

king have them executed on gallows which

by the way were poles like a spiky pole

and they would be impaled on them. So

don't think hanging by the neck, think

impaled. That was that was the Persian

method. Um and some of your Bibles even

say that. So he wants to impale Morai.

That's where Hmon is. That's what he's

planning to do. And that very night, the

king just happens to not be able to

sleep. Happens to go to the Chronicles

and happens on the story of how Morai

thoured this plot of assassination.

It has God's handiwork written all over

it. God's working behind the scenes. And

not just to support Morai, but also to

support Esther's wise plan that was on

dependence on him. remember she was

fasting um to do this thing in between

the two feasts. Um for one, it protects

Mori. Two, God's honoring those who

humbly serve him. And three, he's

bringing Hmon low. He's thwarting his

plan. And so you see God all over that.

Um and so even though King Asaware or

Xerxes wasn't a godly king, we couldn't

even call him a god-fearer. I don't

think he was ever in right relationship

to Lord according to biblical evidence.

Don't not know that for certain. Uh but

he ends up being assassinated anyway

later according to history. So it

doesn't really seem like he ever had a

turnaround. Um

God's working on him in such a way that

he becomes reflective about the past.

And he's a king so he has chronicles.

Maybe some of you keep journals or maybe

you keep a journal in your mind like you

remember things. I think we all do. And

there's things in the past and God

sometimes does call us to reflect on

those when he's working behind the

scenes. I wanted to talk about that for

a little bit and talk about what the

Bible says about reflecting on the past

because it really is a double-edged

sword if you study this biblically. I

have found when the Bible seems to say

two things that seem initially

contradictory, figuring out how they're

not and then like being able to define

that um is always a great source of

wisdom.

I don't know if you know what I mean,

but I'm going to show you verses that

say one thing about how we should relate

to the past and then say show you verses

that say another that relate to the

past. And between the two, applying both

of them faithfully, there's this razor

sharp wisdom about how we ought to

relate to the past. So, let's go to

Deuteronomy 32:7.

Deuteronomy 32:7

Just thinking about how this king is

reflecting and how we can tell that

behind the scenes that's God's work. And

so let's consider how we ought to

reflect on the past as well, especially

in relationship in in in this chapter

about is our past full of a lot of main

character energy or are there are there

places where God would encourage us

saying, "You did a good job being a

supporting character. Where you at with

that?" And again, did we really make him

the main character of our lives? Uh not

just right now in the present, but in

the past. So this is Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 32:7

32:7.

Remember the days of old. Consider the

years of many generations. Ask your

father, he will show you. Your elders,

and they will tell you. And then it goes

on to recount mighty works and acts that

God has done in faithfulness. So very

clearly we're told here, remember the

days of old. Consider the years of many

generations. And if you can't remember

something or if you need a refresher,

ask your father. He'll show you. or your

elders, people that remember, maybe

people that are older and remember more

of God's mighty works. So there's no

question that we are to consider

remember and consider the years of many

generations. So let's let's uh apply

that. Actually, let's go to one more.

Psalm 77. I'm sharing two that say uh we

ought to have certain relationship to

the past and then two that say we ought

to have uh what seems like a different

relationship the past. Now uh Psalm 77

11-12

I will remember the deeds of the Lord.

Yes, I will remember your wonders of

old. I will ponder all your work and

meditate on your mighty deeds. Okay,

most of the time and in fact it's hard

to think of an example where this is not

true. When God is doing mighty deeds,

he's also involving faithful servants

in carrying out those mighty deeds.

There may be times where he acts

entirely alone, but there's usually

somebody that is serving him in his plan

for which he's doing those mighty works.

Think of Moses and the 10 plagues,

famous, right? So God used

Moses to like a conduit so to speak uh

to enact those mighty plagues. And uh so

Moses was his servant. Moses didn't have

the power within himself to do those

things. He never would have been able to

do them without God. But there's a

servant involved. So if you were

remembering as an Israelite or even

remembering today, uh you might reflect

just on how powerful the 10 plagues

were, what God did about them, and then

you reflect, wow, he really freed his

people. Uh then you might think about

the Red Sea. It's like, why did he lead

them there? He even told them, don't go

around. He knew that the Egyptians were

going to come. He wanted to do another

mighty deed. He has them walk through on

dry ground as he parts the sea. They get

through and then Pharaoh comes in and he

has them all drown and protects them.

And maybe you stop thinking about it

there and then you turn toward like the

New Testament application. Uh the Exodus

as uh is really to be thought of

spiritually as slavery to sin. And then

the Passover lamb which protected them

is to be thought of in relationship to

the cross. And even my son at

four-year-old said, "So you have to have

the blood of Christ painted on the

doorpost of your hearts." Four years

old, he understood the idea. Um and you

might reflect on that. the mighty deeds.

But within reflecting that, I would also

be thinking about Moses and how Moses

faithfully served him. And if I was an

Israelite like Joshua and Caleb and I'm

reflecting about this not too long from

when it happened, I might even say,

"God, thank you for Moses, this faithful

servant who led us out. Thank you for

using him. Um, thank you that he's the

leader of our nation." So in reflecting

I when I'm right with the Lord I am both

thankful for the things he's done in my

life but also thankful for the people

that he's used to do those things in my

life. And that reflection is important.

And if we're relating this back to the

story and why are we talking about this

right now? It's like well if you're

going through the chronicles of your

life have you honored the people that

God's used to bless you? And if you

haven't it's not too late. Could you

plan to sit down with them or give them

a call and to just say, you know, I want

to thank you. God used you in a special

way in my life. Not sure I ever told you

that how meaningful that was to me. And

maybe take him out to breakfast or

dinner. Maybe get him a gift. Maybe send

him a thank you card. But those it's

just all too easy even for a king to

entirely forget and then move on and

life gets in the way and you're thinking

about other things. Um, but this is a

very active way that you can be a

supporting character. You don't know

what's going on in their life.

In a way, you know, I think Morai is

hopeful because Esther is willing to

sacrifice her life to use her queenly

position to come up with a plan and to

depend on the Lord to thwart this thing,

but they don't know it's thwarted yet.

And so Morai is still kind of like maybe

post fasting, post sackcloth and ashes,

and you don't know. He's not in like an

amazing place in his own mind. He's

looking at this like all my people are

still in terrible risk and I don't know

how this is going to go

and he's about to be honored in an

unbelievable way. But he doesn't know

that yet. Maybe the very person that's

helped you in your life, former mentor,

parents, a friend, and kids, you guys

can apply this. You can go and tell

somebody that's a friend at school or

just a friend outside of school,

something about them that you

appreciate, that's helpful to you. And

in that moment, you make them the main

character. And what if God uses that to

encourage them and honor them in a way

that they really needed in that moment?

They needed to be lifted up. But that's

it's not going to happen without

reflection, is it? Well, maybe sometimes

it will. Maybe sometimes you just

immediately write the thank you card.

That's a good practice, I think. But

sometimes we really need to think about,

have we honored the people that God has

used to honor us? Has have we honored

the people that have played a protective

role? And even if they were just

protecting us emotionally or they were

just loyal in a way or they were helpful

in whatever way you'd identify. I I

don't really ask people to take notes,

but it might be good right now even if

you have a phone. I I will use um I'm

not going to interpret this as you

texting, but you can use your little

notepad and say uh after the service

reflect on who's helped me and think

about doubling back to honor them for

that and thank them for that. It just is

too easy to forget it. create your own

little chronicle of what they did and

make a plan even right now. Um, and the

same thing with the Lord. More even more

important than honoring those that God

used to honor you, honor the Lord first

and spend time and don't forget to do

that. And you can do that just in

prayer. Lord, thank you for my house.

Thank you for my marriage. Uh, thank you

for my job. Thank you for my health. Uh,

thank you for your care for me while I'm

unhealthy. Whatever it is, God has been

faithful over and over and over again.

And it's it's part of our worship to

honor him for that. And it's a way to

take an action even if it's in your

thought and prayer to be the supporting

character. The Lord is the main

character. We're the supporting

character. Worshiping him is a

supporting character act. And thanking

those he's used to help you is also a

supporting character act. And remember

how satisfying those things are.

remember how they're way more satisfying

than complaining about the things you

don't have, which is like just leads to

more dissatisfaction, doesn't it?

So, make a plan. Maybe write it down so

you don't forget. Okay, I told you we'd

go to a couple verses where it seems to

say the very opposite because it leads

us to this scalpel sharp wisdom. Let's

go to Isaiah 43:18.

Isaiah 43:18

Isaiah 43:18.

Isaiah 43:18

Remember not the former things, nor

consider the things of old.

I understand why people on Reddit be

like, "The Bible contradicts itself all

over the place." Look, this says,

"Remember the things of old and consider

them." This says, "Remember not the

things of the former things, nor

consider the things of old." We've got

another verse, I think. Oh, no, maybe

not. Let me get to Isaiah. Um because

the Lord says, "I'm doing a new thing."

If I remember correctly there, uh this

is um 43:18.

Um yeah, it's right now. Remember not

the former things, nor consider the

things of old. Behold, I'm doing a new

thing. Now it springs forth. Do not do

you not perceive it. I will make a way

in the wilderness and rivers in the

desert. Um so we're actually talking

about something that belongs to the uh

place of esquetology. Uh so future

things. But evidently there are times

where God wants us not to dwell in the

past to stop considering it and think

about what he's going to do in the

future. And can God tell us to sometimes

remember things of the past and consider

them, reflect on them and worship him

then? And also tell us, hey, stop doing

that. Look forward to the things that

I'm going to do and worship me for the

grace that I have for you in the future.

If he's God, and he is, he can do that.

However, I think there's another aspect

happening because Isaiah is a book of

judgment. It's a book of this

disciplinary judgment, but it's Isaiah

proclaiming basically God's

righteousness and sending them off into

exile because of their unrepentant

hearts. He says, "How long should I

pray? Here am I, send me. How long

should I preach until their hearts are

hardened?" So, they're going to get sent

off um and they're going to be told why

through this prophecy. So, it's not good

news. But God's not done with them.

God's going to return them from the

exile. And it has implications for end

times theology. And we're not going to

get into that today, but I want to add

another verse uh that Paul says um in

Philippians 3:13-14,

Philippians 3:13–14

which will help us understand what God

wants our relationship to be like

towards the past at times and towards

the future at times. Here's Philippians

3 3:1 13. Um brothers, I do not consider

that I've already made it my own. He's

he's talking about um perfection. I

haven't made perfection my own. I am not

perfect. I'm still a sinner. Uh no one

should ever say on on this earth that

they've reached perfection because then

you make God out to be a liar. But

glorification, perfection will be the

ultimate heavenly goal. And God will do

that. Brothers, I do not consider that

I've made of my own. But one thing I do,

forgetting what lies behind and

straining forward to what lies ahead,

press on towards the goal for the prize

of the upward call of God in Christ

Jesus.

So if I'm thinking about, okay, clearly

sometimes I'm commanded and told that it

is wise to consider the past,

to think about the former things, and

then to remember God's faithfulness and

the faithfulness of his servants. Thank

him for it. Maybe double back and thank

them for it.

Tell them how you're thankful towards

God for them. That kind of thing. So

sometimes it's good to reflect on the

past. It would be foolish to say that

you ought to never reflect on the past.

Learning from history is wise. Thinking

about the patterns of your own life. Um

if you never reflect on the past, you

also almost never apologize because

sometimes you need to think about, oh, I

wronged that person yesterday.

Technically, you can only think about

who you've wronged in the past, right?

Because if you've done it, it's already

in the past. So sometimes for the sake

of reconciliation and keeping short

accounts like Jesus commands us in the

sermon on the mount to not even go and

offer our worship gift on the altar if

we know we're really wrong or someone's

wrong with us to go settle that first.

So it's very it's like a weekly kind of

thing that we ought to be doing that. Uh

you got to consider the past. that there

are times where the wise thing to do is

reflect on the past. However, there's

clearly also times where the wise thing

to do is to look forward to what's ahead

and to let go of what's behind.

And I don't think there's any

contradiction here. In fact, when you

consider the kinds of things that you

ought to stop thinking about that are in

the past in relationship to wanting to

move forward in faith, it's not that

complicated to understand that. Uh, for

example, if you're feeling guilty about

something you did in the past and

ashamed and embarrassed and you've

already asked God for forgiveness and

you know his character, you know his

word that says God is faithful and just

to forgive us. Uh, if we confess our

sin, God is faithful and just to forgive

us of our sin and to cleanse us from all

unrighteousness. And so, the guilt's not

coming from him. It could be coming from

your flesh or it be coming from Satan.

But if the God of the universe has told

you that you're forgiven and you're

holding on to that guilt, you need to

let it go. But that guilt will keep you

in the past in a way that you cannot

move forward. Shame will do that.

Embarrassment will do that. And if

you're if you're tethered to the past in

that way, you will not move forward in a

spiritual way. You you'll still try to

move forward because you're always

moving forward into the future. Um but

you'll design your own human ways to do

that.

Um, so we we if we have conviction about

something that we should let go, we've

let it go, but then we're still kind of

holding on to the guilt, which means we

haven't trusted God by faith that he's

truly forgiven us. We haven't really

submitted to his authority because he is

the authority above all authorities and

there's no behind him and he never

started. He just always existed. So he's

like self-sufficient authority above all

authorities. And if that authority who

is God says you're forgiven, you are.

And you have to submit to that he's

right. And until you do, you're tethered

to that guilt, even though God's already

forgiven you. And when you're tethered

to that guilt, it affects all these

things in your life negatively. So, I

think in those situations, we got to let

go of those things and look towards the

new thing that God is doing in our

lives. And I just mean what he's

revealed in his word in this case. Um,

but we strained forward. we press on

towards the goal for the prize of the

upward call in God in Christ Jesus. So,

I thought I'd just do this little pop

out talking about that um because I want

to say this gently because it is a

terrible thing to be tethered to guilt

in your past. But what it'll do when

you're tethered to guilt in the past is

it'll warp you towards thinking you're

the main character again. I don't know

if you've experienced this, but it's

kind of a weird way. It's like an

inverse insidious

under the hood kind of way of becoming

the main character because I don't know

if you've noticed this, but people that

are tethered to the guilt of their past

um will draw a lot of attention to

themselves. A lot of attention, whereas

people that have been freed from the

guilt of the past tend to draw attention

to the one who freed them from it.

So holding on to your guilt draws

attention to yourself. Letting it go and

be settled on the cross by faith draws

attention to the Lord. So this is

another tricky way that we get turned

inwards uh is by holding on to guilt.

And so I think one way to apply this um

is to do exactly what the king did uh

which God is moving him to do behind the

scenes. uh doesn't mean the king's

faithful. But in this case, you are you

are children of God. So all the more

reason to actually reflect on the past,

consider the great things he's done, who

he's used to do it, and honor those

people, which is exactly what King

Aasser is about to do. Other times, you

got to let go of what's holding you from

moving forward. Um so that's that's that

scalpel line like I think I need the

spirit. I think you need the spirit to

know is this reflect about the past or

let go of the past type of thing. And he

can show you that. In this case, God's

having you reflect on the past and he

finds out nothing's been done for the

guy that saved your life. Nothing's been

done. It doesn't seem like the author is

blaming the king that nothing's been

done. It's like it fell through the

cracks. Fell through the cracks. It

seems like he got busy after this

because we know that he hadn't even been

for like 30 days uh with Esther before

she came and saw him, which is one of

the reasons why she was so afraid. So

maybe he's just like busy administrating

the kingdom. Either way, God's put it

back on his mind. He reads the

chronicles and he says in verse three,

"What honor or distinction has been

bestowed on Morai for this? The king's

young men who attend him said, nothing

has been done for him." And the king

said, "Who is in the court?" Now Hmon

had just entered the outer court of the

king's palace to speak to the king about

having Morai hanged on the gallows that

he had prepared for him. As a student of

the Bible, I read this, I'm like, that

is it's way too

coincidental not to be God.

Hmon's coming in to have the guy who

saved the king, whom the king was just

reminded cuz he couldn't sleep, that had

saved him and is thinking about

honoring, and Hmon's coming in having

him having him killed. if if God had not

done this. Um,

and it doesn't seem to me like like

Xerxes knew that it was uh Mori. Now, he

hadn't remembered that. He might have

not even like if Hmon had come in, it's

like, "Hey, this guy needs to be killed

again. Yeah, Hmon, this Morai needs to

be killed." Hmon's second in command.

The king seems to just be like, "Yeah,

go ahead and do it. No, I don't even

need your money. Let's kill all the

Jews." Uh, well, he doesn't know they're

the Jews, but let's kill all these

people. So, he's got a lot of influence

with the king.

The night before, God works it out in

such a way to thwart Hmon's plan.

There's clear opposition. God's plan,

Hmon's plan. They're just 100% opposed

to each other. Hmon's trying to kill the

man God is trying to honor. I shouldn't

say trying. The God man God is going to

honor. That's what's happening. So, we

know that Hmon's attitude is evil. It's

crooked. He thinks he's the main

character. Why do I keep saying that?

Well, uh, he the only person that in

Hmon's life, maybe other than the king,

that isn't making Hmon the main

character is Mori. He's not willing to

make him the main character. And so,

that's the guy that's got to go. That's

the guy that's ruining my life. The guy

that's thwarting my plan to be the main

character. That's just the way it works.

So, the king said, "Who's in the court?"

And Hmon had just entered the outer

court of the king's palace to speak to

the king about having Morai hanged on

the gallows impaled that he had prepared

for him. And the king's young men told

him, "Hmon is there standing in the

court?" And the king said, "Let him come

in." So Hmon came in. And the king said

to him, "What should be done to the man

whom the king delights to honor?" And

Hmon said to himself, "Who would the

king delight to honor more than me?"

It's like main character energy

incarnate, isn't it?

It's all he does is think about himself.

Oh, just seems to like for a moment,

forget about I I was here to kill Morai,

but now there's more honor to be had for

me. For me. For me.

And Hmon said to the king, "For the man

whom the king delights to honor, let

royal robes be brought, which the king

has worn, and the horse that the king

has ridden, and on whose royal crown is

set." Remember, he's designing this for

himself. Gives me the ick that he's

like, "Let me wear your clothes." It

reminds me of like uh you know, I think

Michael Jordan's pretty cool, but I'm

not buying his shoes and sniffing them.

You know, that's that's that's weird.

He's like I you know what would be the

most honor is to wear your clothes and

ride around like it's creeper creeper

stuff. And Hmon said to the king, "For

the man whom the king delights to honor,

let royal robes be brought, which the

king has worn, and a horse." He just

wants to be the king. And in this case,

the closest thing he can do to wear to

be uh the king is like wear the king's

clothes. Gross. This is gross. The royal

robes be brought which the king has worn

and the horse that the king has ridden

and whose head the royal crown is set.

And let the robes and the horse be

handed over to one of the king's most

noble officials. Let them dress the man

whom the king delights to honor. Let

them lead him on the horse through the

square of the city, proclaiming before

him, "Thus shall it be done to the man

whom the king delights to honor." It's

literally a main character fantasy that

he's designing for himself, right? Just

obviously Hmon cares only about Hmon. He

has no idea the king's thinking of Morai

that I couldn't can't even imagine it

crossed his mind, but it for the moment

took over his plan. It's like, oo, honor

for me. You know, murder can wait. uh

he's not get letting go of that idea,

but uh man, it's just behind the scenes

like this would be if we could get a

hold of like a good Christian director

would be an awesome scene to watch

because as the as the audience, you know

what's coming. You know,

I want to do something right now. I want

to propose to you an alternate reality

where we change some of the details but

keep some of the details the same just

to hyperfocus on a point regarding what

selfish ambition is. Selfish ambition is

a sinful attitude. It's a sinful

attitude. It's an attitude that can

destroy your life. It's an attitude

that will uh provoke God opposing you in

your life.

The deeper the selfish ambition, the

more destructive it is, the more it's

running over others, the more God will

oppose you. It'll become uncanny,

coincidental to the point where your

heart's like, "Oh, I know it's God

opposing me." But if you just keep going

in it, you're on a path to destruction.

You're on a path to misery and

heartache. Um, but all it takes is an

attitude change through confession for

that to change. You confess that you've

been selfishly ambitious, that you've

been focusing too much on yourself, that

you've been, you know, kind of waking up

for yourself, living for yourself.

Number one is number one. You're doing

it for yourself. And you might say

you're doing it for others, but deep

down, you know, it's all just kind of

revolving around you. You're the main

character of your life. And you're not.

The the book that God has written about

your life that's already written, you're

not the main character of it. You're not

the main character of it. And acting

like the main character doesn't lead to

satisfaction. Acting like the character

God wrote you to be is what wrote you to

be is what leads to satisfaction. But

let's go with the alter if you would

just enter entertain this idea. Let's

imagine one major detail is different

and it's a major one. Hmon was not

absolutely unbridled in his wickedness.

He never got angry at Morai. He wasn't

seeking to be worshiped by everyone and

then so enraged by Morai not doing it.

Hmon's just second in command, a normal

non-believing citizen uh who hasn't

devolved into that kind of evil yet.

He's still sinful, but he doesn't hate

Morai and this alternate reality. Okay,

just go with me for a second because

it's an unbelievably interesting detail

and it illustrates how it's just an

attitude that has to change. Okay, in

this situation, he's still in the king's

court and maybe he was coming and we

just make up the details here. Uh he was

coming into the king to ask him about

some kind of official business of the

kingdom that he was about that day.

Neither great nor bad, but he's just

asking about that. He's not asking to

murder Morai. And so the king still had

this exact same thing happen. The king's

story exactly the same in the alternate

reality. And in this situation, the king

asks him again, "What should be done for

the man in whom the king delights to

honor?" And in this case, since Hmon's

not so self-absorbed and his life is

kind of mixed, sometimes it's selfish,

sometimes it's a little unselfish. Uh

he's not always the main character. Um

he thinks, well, this would be a really

honoring thing. And he says the same

thing, but he's not necessarily thinking

of himself. He's wondering, I wonder if

it's for me. But since his whole life

isn't just about himself and selfish

ambition, he's kind of wondering, I

wonder who this is for, but I will say

the he says the exact same thing. Okay,

so none of those things need to change.

Now,

what did he actually say in verse 9? Let

the robes and the horse be handed over

to one of the king's most noble

officials. Most noble officials. What

Hmon in the actual reality wanted is for

some other really high noble official to

parade him around. Okay. What the king

had in mind is to do what Hmon had

suggested for Morai. Who does the king

in reality choose to be the most noble

official, one of the most noble

officials to parade Morai around? Hmon.

Hmon. In the alternate reality version,

Hmon would have realized that. Whoa.

Okay. I wasn't the guy on the horse, but

he thought I was one of the most noble

officials.

In other words, the king thought that it

would be a great honor for Morai for

Hmon to parade him around because Hmon

is viewed by the king as such a noble

official.

Can Hmon see that at all in the actual

story? Because there are no alternate

realities. So

I don't think alternate realities are

biblically allowable, but I think that's

a different sermon. However, verse 10

says, "And the king said to Hmon,

"Hurry, take the robes and the horse as

you have said and do so to Mordeai the

Jew who sits at the king's gate. Leave

out nothing you have mentioned." So Hmon

took the robes and the horse and dressed

Morortei and led him through the square

of the city, proclaiming before him,

"Thus shall it be done to the man whom

the king delights to honor." And then

Morai returned to the king's gate, but

Hmon hurried to his house mourning with

his head covered.

It's not even within Hmon's field of

vision to think that this is a honor for

him according to King. All because he

has this selfish ambition attitude.

That's I would say just absolutely

target rich for application for us. If

you have the selfish ambition attitude,

you have this attitude of like, uh, oh,

I'm the main character, you'll miss the

ways God's honoring you in the midst of

that and actually interpret it as

something bad's happening to you. And

yeah, if you have long-term selfish

ambition, energy, and and agenda in your

life, God will oppose you. But in this

case, only one major detail. It is a

major detail. I'm not trying to downplay

it, but only one major detail has to

change for Hmon to see the honor that

he's missing in reality, and that's his

attitude. Hmon's the one that has to

change, not even the circumstance. If

you can go along and suspend your belief

of deleting the idea that he was trying

to just kill all the Jews.

I wanted to highlight that because

that's so true in our own lives because

contentment, satisfaction,

joy

is found in things like serving the Lord

and serving others and it's not found in

primarily serving ourselves especially

because serving ourselves ultimately the

endgame is to be worshiped. it's about

me. And the longer that grows, the more

it becomes it's about me to the

exclusion of every anyone else,

including God.

You end up hating God's people.

So, think about what attitude change

might need to happen in your life. And

you you will it will you'll be blind to

it before this. But let's say you're

coming to communion today and God's

already laying it on thick. I hope he

is. If there's hidden selfish ambition,

he may be like, "Yeah, this is true for

you, and you need to think about it."

And there is this main character thing

that I want you to let go of. Um, and I

will say this, um, you've probably

already been thinking if you know it

well, but thinking about it in

relationship to me, if you know it well,

um, I've been told before, and it stuck

with me by a mentor, that some sermons

you preach under conviction, and some

sermons you preach with conviction.

If I'm preaching a sermon about being

bold in the truth, I'm preaching that

with conviction. It's a strength for me.

It just is. If I'm preaching about not

acting like the character main character

in my life, it's something that I preach

under conviction.

So, I've been reflecting on the past.

How many table conversations have I made

myself the main character compared to

making other people the main character?

If I think about a weakness that I have

no excuse for, which is being a good

listener and asking good questions, I

think of people that ask good questions

and I experience at the table because

they're asking good questions and making

someone else the main character. I find

out things about my wife, about other

people that I did not know. And they're

satisfying to know because I care about

these people. And yet, if you don't ask

questions, don't listen enough, and make

yourself the main character, you never

find these things out. And so you miss

the satisfaction. And so I've been

thinking for myself,

convicted for myself,

uh, listening more, actively,

letting God intensify or fan into flame

my passion and interest in placing other

people first conversationally

is very much a way that I can take

myself out of the main character role

and put other people in the main

character role.

And it's even it's good for me. It's

satisfying. I want to do it. So, I was

thinking about this yesterday. I was

thinking about this like the very next

time I'm in a circle of friends. And you

know, it's not always easy. Sometimes

people like hit you with a barrage of

questions and they're making you the

main character and you want to answer

them. It feels good that they're asking

you about these things. You say these

things and then you realize you still

spent the whole time talking about

yourself and very little finding out

about them.

In fact, I went to kind of like a guys

night thing that I get invited about I

don't know once every other month or

something and there was another pastor

there and um this is all positive so I

was almost said his name but I haven't

asked him for so I'm just going to leave

it out um but I knew him from my

childhood my parents knew him and they

always spoke positively and like oh

you're so and so from such and such

church oh that's so cool and I had a

queue of questions to ask him because I

was thinking about this make him the

main character beat me to the punch and

just kept asking me questions and then

had to leave. And I was like, "Oh, you

know, so sometimes it's not easy." But

actually, isn't it a lovely thing to be

in a group where you're both wanting to

make each other the main character

conversationally? What a lovely thing.

So, you know, I'm going to be having

dinner with him. I've already reached

out and um

this time if I'm overbearing, I'm going

to be overbearing by asking him

questions about himself. I'm going to

get the task done. And maybe the same

thing for his wife, too. So, but yeah, I

there's there's an overfocus on myself

around table conversations and it's

uh it's something I'm convicted about

and it's an active way. That doesn't

apply to all of you.

Some of you maybe introverts think, "Oh

my gosh, being made the main character

in table conversations is my nightmare."

Um, and well, here's the thing. Uh, the

application here is not about being made

the main character. It's about being

making other people the main character

and serving the Lord by caring for them.

My dad used to say, still does uh but I

think it's really an powerful modern

application. He goes, you know, pe most

people in the modern world don't need a

cup of water anymore, but Jesus said we

ought to give them a cup of water. And

when we do uh and they can't provide

that for themselves, it's like we did it

to him. We all know that visceral

feeling of being thirsty and being cup

of given a cup of water. People are

thirsty for attention and they're

thirsty for you to care and they're

thirsty for you to listen. This is a

direct quote from my dad. And so in a

way the one of the types of cups of

water that you can give people is to

actually in my own words make them the

main character conversationally. And

that's true for introverts as well. One

way if your nightmares to be made the

main character conversation that you can

keep the attention off yourself is just

asking other questions about uh two

other people and some of you introverts

are really good at that. I admire it and

I think about what would so and so do

what question would they ask and then

try to copy it. However, sometimes

introversion can be so extreme that you

won't even ask the questions and make

the effort to put that other person

first.

We're only talking about this because

it's just something the Lord convicted

me of. And it, you know, like, no, I

don't have a murderous plan for an enemy

right now. The sin hasn't grown to that

point. I know that's its end if it's not

dealt with, but it still applies. The

idea that basically

being the center of attention, needing

to be the center of attention, having

patterns of working it in such a way,

even if it's not fully attentional, that

you are the center of attention is way

more like acting like the main character

than it is a wingman or or a supporting

character, isn't it? So, that's just an

issue for me. But consider the places in

your life where you have patterns of

becoming the main character.

Isolating yourself is a way it's another

way of being the main character. In your

story, the main character is just an

isolationist. That's how that works, you

know. But it's not that we're just not

supposed to be the main character. It's

that we're supposed to make God and

others the main character in our lives.

Considering them more important than

oursel doesn't mean you're not

important. Let God make you important

and you just make him and other people

important. Important. Let the arrows

face outward.

Let's continue with the story.

And I want to I want to go back through

this as well and think about the

not the the alternate reality again. Um

but Hmon's intent. What is Hmon actually

mournings here?

He's not just mourning that he didn't

get honored. He's mourning that he has

to honor someone else.

In this case, in his perception, it's

his worst enemy. So, he's mourning that

he has to honor his worst enemy. In the

alternate reality, he wouldn't have

hated Mori. He would have recognized,

"Whoa, okay, be cooler be on the horse.

I'm not on the horse, though. I'm in the

king's mind. One of the most noble

officials. What a high honor," says a

more humble man. And since he doesn't

have contempt and disdain for the man

that's on the horse, he's seeing the

role of honoring another as an honor in

and of itself.

That's not what actually happened. But

that is definitely a faithful way to

apply this in contrast to his sinful

attitude. So I want you to think about,

has God put you in a position to honor

somebody else?

And do you see that as already an honor

from the Lord that you're in a position

to honor somebody

or is most of your heart turned towards

I would rather be the one being honored?

This is a major lesson I'm trying to

teach my children in word but also in

deed. So I think the best example I can

give to those kids is to make Christine

the main character in the family to make

them the main character to serve them

at the same time. Just that model alone

doesn't work cuz I can serve them by

making food spending hours playing

basketball on the new basketball hoop

that we have. they love it and doing

that and then still they're acting like

the next chapter should still be them

being the main character. So I have to

use words. I have to use scripture and

to talk about things about how actually

our lives are supposed to revolve around

God and serving him, which means serving

others. And so I just gave you an

example of serving you. It's I enjoy

playing basketball with you guys, but

there's also other things I could be

doing that are just as much enjoyable

and and focused on me or whatever. And

so it doesn't seem like you're acting

thankful that you got to do all these

things and now you're feeling entitled

that we have to do another thing. I

don't like that attitude. And so I

prescribe for them to say, "Here's what

you should say. First of all, have an

attitude change and think, man, God,

it's it's nice that uh our dad will

spend time with us and he cooked dinner

for us. I'm thankful for that. And thank

you, Dad. And now I want you to say it."

You might might cringe at like how

prescriptive that is, but children need

to be taught how to act and talk. They

don't come into this world with no I was

taught like that by my dad told. So what

am I supposed to say? Well, the heart

changes to happen first. Okay, I'm

sorry. In this case, I'm pretending to

look at my kids. Sorry, I made myself

the main character, Dad. No, thank you

for making dinner. Thank you for playing

for with us. We're just saying we'd like

to play with you more. Can we play with

you more?

And I would have done it even if they

hadn't had an attitude change. It wasn't

that offensive. But since it's a common

theme of this kind of entitlement and I

think children just kind of start that

way, default settings of like it's about

me, uh, you need to train them how it's

not and how it's actually about God and

serving others. And they listen, they're

like sponges. They pay attention and

it's working. And so you need to both

model it and say it. Saying it without

modeling it is weak. They need to see

that you're willing to be different,

too, because you're asking them to be

different. So I think about that starts

in my family. I also think about in my

church am I, you know, being on the

stage.

Am I the main character

or am I someone who should be modeling

service to others? Obviously the second

one,

but man, it is a temptation for any

pastor to think I'm the main character.

Well, cuz you're on the stage and

because that's what the enemy is saying

and because that's what your flesh

wants. So, it is very I mean you guys

know maybe you don't maybe haven't

experienced like long-term time in a in

a destructive ministry where the senior

leaders all thought they were the main

characters but I realize that that's an

issue in my life and I know God wants to

change it and as he does it just means

that I'll be a better better model of

what it looks like to serve others

humbly. A better listener in this case

is one of the main applications. Um, but

also better at helping people to figure

out how to do that through teaching. So,

I look at that. What What is God calling

you to do to get rid of the main

character energy and to replace it with

supporting character energy in your

life?

Are you mourning an outcome where

actually it was an opportunity to honor

someone else and that opportunity was an

honor in itself? It is. It is. When God

places you in a position to honor

someone, that means he thinks it's an

honor to be honored by you.

He's chosen you. He's put you in that

position. But if all you can think about

is being honored yourself, you'll even

experience that as a downgrade from the

Lord.

So, let's finish here with the um um I

I'll repeat verse 12. Then Morai

returned to the king's gate, but Hmon

hurried to his house mourning with his

head covered.

And Hmon told his wife Sesh and all his

friends everything that had happened to

him. Then his wise men and his wife

Saresh said to him, "If Morortei, before

whom you have begun to fall, is of the

Jewish people, you will not overcome

him, but will surely fall before him."

I think it's always good practice of

studying a passage closely to look at

more than one translation. Um, I don't

think that the ESV is wrong here.

However, if you look at the Hebrew word

for if, uh, it can also be translated

since. And so, if you're reading the

NLT, maybe the CSB, I don't remember. I

think the NLT is the one. It actually

says since here because it I realized,

wait a minute, why are they saying if um

they already know Morai is Jewish and

it's not like they only why were they

saying this in the first place? Well,

because throughout history um and this

is the only God that does this. I'm not

saying there are other true gods.

There's only one true God. But other

nations thought of other gods as

protective gods as well. And God has

this God, the God, the true God, has

this unbelievable track record and

pedigree of protecting his people. And

these, you know, you do 10 plagues on

the world power, um, it's going to get

around. People are going to know.

So, and so Zaresh and the wise men

clearly knew that God is the protector

of his people. And you just you go

against them, you lose. That's yeah,

I've heard the stories. There's too many

of them, right? Well, did they only just

find that out in like a day or did they

know that history already? Since we know

in chapter 5 um verse 13, which I've

already read, Hmon says to his family

and or at least Zar and his wise men,

yet all this is worth nothing to me so

long as I see Mori the Jew sitting at

the king's gate. They know he's a Jew.

They know the history. They already know

going up against the Jewish people is a

bad idea. There's no way. They just

learned that in one day. And yet what

they tell him is let a gallows 50 cubits

be made high be made. In the morning

tell the king to have Morai hanged upon

it. Then go joyfully to the king in the

feast. Wicked advice.

However, who's the one that stands to

lose the most about doing that? Right?

It's it's Hmon.

Zaresh isn't the one that's actually

following out and following through the

wicked plan. It can definitely backfire

you on you to ask the king to have

somebody executed and really for no

reason justified. You're in a precarious

position. And yet that that's the uh

that's the advice they give him. And

it's this advice with no skin in the

game.

Well, it's not you that's going to get

blowback from that request, Zesh. It's

not you, the wise men, that are going to

get blowback from from that request. And

I noticed that that is often how it goes

when you're getting advice from people

that think they are the main character.

They don't care about you. They might

act like they care about you. They care

about themselves. They're like the

friends of the prodigal in when he's in

the wild country. As long as he's got

money, he's paying for them, they'll be

there. Soon as he doesn't, they're gone.

So one way to know just one vector of

analysis for whether is this wise advice

I'm getting from this person is do they

have any skin in the game? Do I what do

I mean by that? Is it sacrificial

wisdom? Like are they willing to serve

you and help you to um to enact the good

outcome of the wise plan that you're

coming with? Or is it this kind of thing

that's easy said but you're the only one

taking a risk and doing it right? These

are the kinds of people that in the past

have told you things to do and when it

worked out, they were nowhere to be

found and it didn't affect them. It's

it's what I would call nonsacfial

counsel. In my experience, council

that's godly comes with a degree of

sacrifice. You know, sacrifice, you

know, this person is willing to help you

accomplish the king the thing. I mean,

if they're willing to be accompllices to

the murder, obviously that's not wise.

But they already knew. They already

knew. And here they are all of a sudden.

And I don't know if you've ever had this

before where like someone give you full

advice, it backfires on you and then

they say, "Well, I could have told you

that." What do you mean you could have

told me that? You told me to do it. You

know, so what what scripture says about

this is found in Psalm 1 1-2.

And we're going to be going through the

Psalms in the summer. We're going to

start in Psalm 1. And uh I take a couple

breaks from preaching and Steve will

preach some of those. But I'm kind of

excited to start our our new summer

study will be the Psalms. Every summer

we're going to be in the Psalms and just

work through them. I think that's great.

Uh, blessed is the man who walks not in

the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in

the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat

of scoffers. Those who and and but his

delight is in the law of the Lord, and

on his law he meditates day and night.

Which, by the way, it says, "You shalt

not murder."

Thou shalt not murder. So, uh, when

someone tells you to blatantly

disregards God's law, you need to know

it because you've been meditating on it.

You've been thinking on it. You've been

reflecting on it. You've been reading

it. And if you're not doing that, so you

got to be in God's word. If you're not

doing that, it's hard to tell what

wicked counsel is. And it's hard not to

stand in that wicked counsel because you

don't really you don't have your powers

of discernment trained by constant uh

practice.

It's like a paraphrase, but that is a

Bible verse. the idea uh to distinguish

good from evil, you need to have your

powers of discernment trained by

constant practice. And what we're

talking about is God's word. Okay.

So, Morai clearly didn't. He wasn't even

right with the Lord. So, he gets this

advice and then by the end they're

telling him, "Yeah, you were never you

never had a chance anyway."

That's how wicked main character people

counsel you. If you surround yourself

with a bunch of people that think

they're the main character, they don't

care about supporting characters. They

don't care about what you're doing. So,

they'll tell you, "Oh, go do this, then

be happy." But they don't care about

your story. They only care about their

own. When you surround yourself with

people who are modeling to you what it

looks like to be the supporting

character, those are people that since

they've made God the main character and

serving those whom he wants them to

serve humbly, uh, are receiving wisdom

from above. That's not true of Zaresh.

And Zaresh will pay dearly. She loses

all her sons, maybe even all her

children. Maybe they only had sons, but

she at least loses 10 of her sons as a

result of Hmon's wicked plan being

thwarted.

So, just one more application in line

with this main point. God actively

thwart schemes of selfish ambition, but

honors those who humbly serve him and

others. Don't surround yourself by

people who all they care about is being

the main character in their lives. You

don't think that'll that'll rub off that

that's it's kind of contagious. Paul

even says, "Do not be deceived. Bad

company corrupts good morals.

So last last thing I want to show you.

This is a man whom I love.

Last prophet of the Old Testament.

Last man of his kind.

Uh kind of wish I was more not kind of

really wish I was more like him. Highly

respect him. His name was John the

Baptist. And almost everyone around him

thought he was the main character.

They thought he was the Christ. He

looked like a main character. Just

showed up out of the desert. Looks like

Elijah. Talks like Elijah. Wears clothes

like Elijah. Eats like Elijah. Is this

the new Elijah? Is this the Christ? Who

is this man was who speaks with such

power?

One of the men who seemed

like he was the main character to others

recognized not only is he not the main

character,

let me just instead of saying anything

more, let me say what he says. And these

are pretty famous verses. Here we are.

John chapter 3 verse 28

to 23. A man filled with the spirit from

birth. You yourselves hear me witness

that I said I am not the Christ. I'm not

the main character, but I have been sent

before him.

Next verse. The one who has the bride is

the bridegroom. That's the main

character. The friend of the bridegroom

who stands and hears him rejoices

greatly at the bridegroom's voice.

Therefore, this joy of mine is now

complete. Verse 30. I he must increase

but I must decrease.

He who comes from above is above all. He

who is of the earth belongs to the earth

and speaks in an earthly way. He who

comes from heaven is above all.

Says one of the greatest men who's ever

lived.

One of the most famous verses, he must

increase and I must decrease, is just

the very same idea of us not being the

main character anymore, humbling

ourselves and making Jesus and others

more important than ourselves. In that

order, Jesus first than others. God

actively thwart schemes of selfish

ambition, but honor those who humbly

serve him and others. So,

it's not like I've hit on every possible

application here, but as you come to

communion, consider,

are you acting in that selfish ambition?

Same thing as making yourself the main

character. Maybe just in one area of

your life. You know,

maybe it's in your marriage, maybe it's

in relationship to your children, maybe

it's at your job, maybe it's at church,

maybe it's just in your mind, in your

own little world that's relatively

private.

But but if you reflect on the past and

read through the chronicles of your life

and your memory, is your pattern one of

making another other people making God

first and other people the main

character? Or is the pattern

that you're a wingman or a wingwoman?

And remember this, I think one of the

most attractive things that draws us to

the table that this it's a kindness that

goes before repentance and a kind

reminder that remember that feeling at

the beginning of the sermon where we

talked about when you serve others, it's

so satisfying.

Main character energy is in the way of

that. So what do you got to do? You got

to let it go. It is a work of the flesh

and works of the flesh are fit for one

thing, crucifixion. They need to be put

to death by the spirit and we will live.

So

only God knows where the epicenters and

origins of that main character. I it's

about me. I need to do things for me

versus I need to serve others and trust

the Lord that he will give me what I

need to continue doing that. Whatever it

is that's stopping that, the Holy Spirit

can tell you bring that to the table.

Come to the cross, the foot of the

cross, and say, "I laid that down. Help

me today."

you've already had one little plan you

can make about just go thank someone

that's been helpful in that way. Thank

God for that person as well.

Again, God actively thwarts schemes of

selfish ambition but honors those who

humbly serve him and others. And of

course, the cross is the solution again.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the

opportunity to let go of the ways in

which we make our self the main

character in our selfish ambition.

Thank you for how satisfying you've made

it for us to

I mean walk in the reason you created us

and in the good works that you created

in advance for us to do. I pray that our

whole congregation would experience that

satisfaction today. But we know that

before that we need to let go of some of

the sins that cling so closely. So I

pray in our hearts we'd come on bended

knee that you would be very clear with

us that we'd hear your non-condemning

voice, your convicting voice about what

we need to let go and that we would be

encouraged and gain the power by the

filling of your Holy Spirit to make you

the main character that you are and

serve others the way you want us to in

Jesus name. Amen.