Turn with me, if you would, to
Esther chapter four. Esther chapter four. While you're
turning there, I bring greetings from my congregation there at
Hurricane Road Grace Church. Last two texts I got from my
pastor were, be sure to tell everybody how I love him, and
be sure to tell everybody how much I thank you for your prayers
for him. And I bet a half dozen people
at least have stopped me even this morning to say, tell your
pastor, tell your brother that we're praying for him. And I
know he's comforted by that. And he wanted me to pass that
on to you, so I do. Our congregation there sends you all our love.
You're in our prayers as well. As do my wife, my kids. My kids
are homesick today. I'm glad to be here with my mom.
So we're very glad to be here with you. And Mark, you're right. Life's busy. I bet you anything
I can talk for Lindsey when I say the same thing. All that busyness
is just for this. Right? That's why we're busy. It's so that we can meet together
and worship. And it's so uplifting to me,
the conversations I've had already here this morning, been so encouraging
to me. Scripture say, right? You encourage
one another with these words. And that's what we've been talking
about this morning. That's what we've heard in the reading. That's
what we've heard in the specials and in the singing. And that's
why I pray. That's what we all pray that
Lord brings out in this message this morning is our God is absolutely,
absolutely sovereign. And our God is absolutely, absolutely
good. And without sacrificing an ounce
of that sovereignty or an ounce of that goodness, he's good to
sinners. absolutely sovereign absolutely
good for me right right that's what we just heard for me for
me that's what I pray that's what I pray that we hear in the
message this morning I remember hearing Tom Harding one time
say that he was up all night preaching
in his dreams. And that was me last night. I've
been preaching this in my dreams here in Esther chapter four.
And when we get to reading through Esther chapter four, listen for
the verse when Queen Esther comes into the presence of the king.
Queen Esther come into the presence of the almighty king who owned
the world. King Hazarus His word was law. His word was absolute. And listen
for when Queen Esther came into the presence of the king. That
interaction, that's the focus of today's message. It's an interaction
I think about very frequently. From the time I was young until
now, I hear men frequently, when they pray publicly, they pray
thank you God for allowing us into your presence. For allowing
us into his presence. the privilege of coming before
Him. That's not a routine, that's not a habit in prayer that you
hear frequently. We bow our heads and we pray
and we approach unto that throne of the Almighty, the throne of
the Creator. I was thinking the other day,
It's not that he's the creator existing in the universe. That's
amazing. He's the creator of the universe.
The universe exists in him. He's the creator of it. And that
is the sovereign throne that we come before. What a privilege. Before we get to Esther, turn
over to Isaiah chapter 40 with me. Isaiah chapter 40. And listen
to these comparisons of our God. Isaiah chapter 40, starting in
verse 12. Who hath measured the waters
in the hollow of his hand? In the hollow of his hand. Measured
the waters in the hollow of his hand. That's the water in all
the earth. The water in all the earth. The
water in all the universe. Right there. That's the hollow
of His hand. The water in all the universe is in the hollow
of His hand. All that water. Our sovereign
God holds all that just in the hollow of His hand. He's expressing spiritual authority
in human words. And even these human words don't
go far enough. Right? But He's expressing to us. We
can see that. The waters of all the earth and
all the universe, where we don't even know there's waters, in
the hollow of His hand. That's the sovereignty of our
Father. It says, and He meted out heaven with the span. That's
this right here, between His thumb and His pinky. That's all
the stars and all the planets between his thumb and his pinky.
If anybody's a football fan, I remember when the Bengals quarterback
Joe Burrow was going through the combine and they were complaining
that his hand span wasn't big enough. It was only nine and
a half inches. And I remember being in high
school trying to palm a basketball. We'd push our hands like this
on the table, trying to spread that span out, trying to make
it as bad as I can stretch it. It gets out to about nine and
a half inches. That's as big as, oh, not our God. All the
heavens, the stars, the planets, everything. In the span of his
hand. He doesn't even have to stretch. We look at the sky and
we see his sovereignty. All the stars, all the planets
in the span of his hand. What's it say there in verse
15? Behold, the nations are as a
drop of a bucket. They're counted as the small
dust of the balance. Behold, he taketh up the aisles as a
very little thing. That drop in the bucket I appreciate
these visual reminders, and we see the sovereignty of our God,
of our Father. When we're driving home today,
we'll probably stop for gas. And I'll stick the hose in, and I'll
turn it on, and I'll just wait for it to click off, right? But
actually, there's a little bit of gas left in that hose. Even
once it clicks off, there's a little bit of gas left in the hose,
right? Gas that I've paid for. And sometimes when I'm feeling
myself, I'll take the time to raise that hose up and get the
last two drops out of that hose. It's silly, but that's kind of,
but it's insignificant. That last drop in the bucket
is insignificant. Behold, the nations are as a
drop of a bucket. You think of that next time you're
filling up gas. That two drops of gas you just left in the hose,
that's the nations. Not that the nations aren't insignificant,
that our Father is so much more significant, that He's able to
count those as the drop, as a drop in the bucket. Our God is so
great, He considers the nations of the earth as insignificant
as I consider that drop in that hose. or the dust on the scales. When you're at the grocery store
putting bananas up on the scale, do you bother to dust off the
scale first? No, of course not. It's dust,
it's insignificant. It's insignificant. Compared
to the sovereignty and the majesty of our Creator, insignificant. That's the Almighty. That's the
Almighty whose throne we come to. That's the throne that we
come to. What a privilege. What an amazing
privilege that we would have the right through Christ to approach
unto that throne. That's the throne we come to.
That's the throne Isaiah said, woe is me. I'm a man of unclean
lips. That's the authority. And I pray
that that's the authority we see here in Esther with King
Ahasuerus. perverted our flesh is that we
would think we have a right to just step to that throne. I couldn't
call today and get a meeting with the mayor of Danville. Right? No way. What right do I have? How insignificant, how silly
an example of that is to show how perverted our nature is that
we believe we could come to the throne of the Almighty on our
own merit. What horrible, foolish, fallen,
sinful pride that reveals. It reveals our black heart that's
already there, that we think we have a right to walk into
that throne. Fallen angels have no right to
come before God's throne. Why would we? I heard someone
recently say, we're born thinking that we're God. The rest of our
lives have to be spent revealing to us that we are not. That's
what I want us to see here in Esther today, coming into the
presence of a holy, absolutely sovereign God. There are so many
aspects of God here in the book of Esther. We could focus on
God's providence. It's all throughout this book,
and I would certainly encourage you this afternoon. I think Esther
is, what, 12? Ten chapters long. This afternoon,
read through the ten chapters. See God's providence. See all
the many aspects of God. But this morning, I want to focus
on God's sovereignty. And again, let's look here in
chapter four. Four main characters. Here in
Esther, all four are shown here in chapter four. There's the
king, King Ahasuerus. He's king of the whole known
world at the time. And his word is absolute law.
King Ahasuerus, Queen Esther, who is both a picture of Christ
in this story and is also a picture of us coming to Christ. There's Mordecai, who's a picture
of sinners. And there's Haman. Haman, who
is a picture of sinners have left to themselves. Those four
characters, King Ahasuerus, Queen Esther, Mordecai, and Haman.
Those are our four characters. Esther and Mordecai are Jews. They're of the Jewish nation
that had been taken captive from Jerusalem years prior. And Mordecai
is Esther's older cousin. So that gives a history. Mordecai
had raised Esther as his own daughter. Mordecai lived in the
capital and he worked in the king's palace where King Ahasuerus
lived. Lord, through his providence,
had brought Esther up to be queen. By the time chapter 4 here begins,
she's been queen for a few years. And again, King Hazarus was by
himself, alone. the absolute authority in the
whole world, the whole known world at the time. His kingdom
stretched all the way across the Middle East from India to
Ethiopia. The whole known world at the
time was King Ahasuerus' and everything he said was absolute
law. He ruled the world. And in earlier chapters, the
scriptures give us insight into his authority as a picture of
God the Father. There was no voting. King Hazarus
didn't have to go to Congress. He didn't go to the House of
Representatives. King Hazarus' word was law. He was viewed as
a mini-God, if you would. As a mini-God, he was viewed
as someone who couldn't make any mistakes. So not only was
his word absolute law, his word was right and his word was unchangeable.
Because why would he need to change his law if he was perfect?
Right? He was a picture of a mini-deity. And again, I stress that his
word absolutely went. His law could never be changed.
He couldn't even change it. Because why would his perfect
law ever need to be changed? That's the authority that King
Ahasuerus has. Again, as a mini-god, and his word was absolute. Do
you see how King Ahasuerus is a picture of God in that regard?
His absolute sovereignty. Every word he says is absolute
and it's unchangeable. And Haman, that was the king's
right-hand man. Haman was first in charge. And
Haman absolutely hated Mordecai. Absolutely hated him. And through
deceit, Haman has convinced the king to write into law that not
only Mordecai, but all the Jews in the land, all the Jews in
the world are to be killed. So that's where we are when we
pick up here in chapter four. There's a law written by the
king, by the absolute authority that Mordecai and all the Jews
in the world are to be killed. And remember, that law is unchangeable
and it's irreversible, cannot be changed. All Mordecai and
all the Jews are to be executed later that year. Now we'll, we'll
read through chapter four. And again, as we do listen for
these four points, how did Mordecai, how did Mordecai approach the
King? How did Esther approach the King? How did Haman approach
the King? There's three types there. How
did Mordecai approach the king? How did Esther approach the king?
How did Haman approach the king? And then finally, what was Mordecai's
standing? So listen to those four things
as we read through here in chapter four. When Mordecai perceived
all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes and put on sackcloth
with ashes and went out into the midst of the city and cried
with a loud and bitter cry and came even before the king's gate.
For none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.
And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his
decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and
fasting, and weeping, and wailing, and many lay in sackcloth and
ashes. So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told
it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved. She sent raiment to
clothe Mordecai to take away his sackcloth from him, but he
received it not. then called Esther for Hathak,
one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend
upon her, and gave him commandment to Mordecai to know what it was
and why it was. So Hathak went forth to Mordecai
under the street of the city, which was before the king's gate.
Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, of the
sum of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries
for the Jews to destroy them. He gave him a copy of the writing
of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to
show it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her
that she should go in unto the king to make supplication unto
him, and to make requests before him for her people. And Hathak came and told Esther
the words of Mordecai. And Esther spake unto Hathak. and gave him commandment unto
Mordecai. All the king's servants and the people of the king's
provinces do know that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come
unto the king into the inner court who is not called, there
is one law of his to put him to death. except such of whom
the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live. But
I have not been called to come into the king these thirty days.
They told Mordecai Esther's words. Mordecai commanded to answer
Esther, Think not within thyself that thou shalt escape in the
king's house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether
holdest thy peace at this time, then shall their enlargement
and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. But
thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed. And who knoweth
whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
Then Esther Badeham returned to Mordecai this answer. Go,
gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan,
and fast ye for me, neither eat nor drink three days, night and
day. I also and my maidens will fast likewise, and so will I
go in unto the king, which is not according to the law. And
if I perish, I perish." So Mordecai went his way and did according
to all that Esther had commanded him. We'll read the first couple
of verses here in chapter five also. Now it came to pass on
the third day that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood
in the inner court of the king's house over against the king's
house. And the king sat upon his royal
throne in the royal house over against the gate of the house.
And it was so when the king saw Esther the queen standing in
the court that she obtained favor in his sight. And the king held
out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther
drew near and touched the top of the scepter. I've been blessed
by this study. looking at some of the ways that
the interaction of coming into the King's presence is like our
own as we approach that almighty sovereign throne. But I've also
been blessed by all the ways that this picture is not like
ours. All the pictures that it is like
ours, but also contrasting all the ways that it is not. Because
this is a human interaction, it's an earthly picture. It's
beautiful, but it's still just a picture. We read in Ephesians
3 that I quote often, this verse comforts me frequently, that
our God is able to do exceeding, abundantly, above all that we
ask or think. I may quote that in every single
message. I'm so touched by that scripture. To think that our
God is able to do all that we ask or think, that would be something.
Above all that we ask or think? No. exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think. So this is an earthly picture.
It's a beautiful picture, but we'll also look at the contrast
also. King Hazarus is the most powerful man on earth. He's probably
able to do everything that he could even think of. He probably
has the authority and the might and the ability to do anything
any of his subjects could ever even think or ask of. but he's
not able to do exceeding abundantly above. Only God can. So again, we'll point out the
similarities, but I also want to see the differences because
God is so much greater than any possible earthly example we could
come up with. So I want to, again, to look at both the similarities
and also the differences. There are four ways in which
the king was approached in this text, which I mentioned. How
did Mordecai approach the king? Here in, back in verse one of
chapter four, When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent
his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into
the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry, and
came even before the king's gate, for none might enter into the
king's gate clothed in sackcloth. How did Mordecai approach the
king? He can't. He can't. By law, he can't approach
into the king's courtyard, not in his current state. Mordecai
is unworthy. Mordecai cannot, in his state,
approach unto the king. He wasn't even allowed in the
king's sight. He wasn't even allowed in the king's court.
Mordecai. How did Mordecai approach the almighty king, Ahasuerus?
He didn't. He can't. And that's a picture
of us in our sinful state. How do we come before our sovereign
God? In our state, we can't. We don't have an audience with
Him. We're fallen sinners. We can't approach Him to a holy,
sovereign Father that, as mighty as King Ahasuerus is, that we
little King Ahasuerus is a picture of, the Almighty. Mordecai can't
even approach unto Him. We most certainly can't approach
unto a truly, a truly holy throne We can't. Nor would Mordecai even want
to. If Mordecai approached the king without being drawn, as
Esther said, he'd be killed on the spot. Those who come without
being first called and drawn, unless the king takes action
to lower the scepter, they're killed on the spot. He'd be killed
before he can even get a word out, walking into the king's
presence in sackcloth, our sinfulness, walking into the king's presence,
killed on the spot. What our holy fathers say to
Moses, you cannot see me and live. Thou canst not see my face,
for there shall no man see me and live. In our natural sinful
state, we think that God's waiting for us to come to him. And that's
what I hear. Sadly, that's how I hear God
described, that God's waiting for us to come to him and that
we'll be rewarded when we do. That is not our relationship
with the God, the Father. Our relationship with God the
Father is as Mordecai's relationship with the King. We can't, in and
of ourselves, approach unto Him. God is sovereign. The Bible teaches,
one of my mother's favorite verses, His ways are higher than our
ways, right? Not only won't we come to Him in our natural state,
we can't, any more than Mordecai could. We're unworthy, just as
Mordecai is unworthy. were under the law of the penalty
of death for sin, just as Mordecai is under the penalty of death
for being a Jew. The law that cannot be changed.
He can't come into the king's courts. What does Psalm 84 say? For a day in thy courts is better
than a thousand. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in
the house of my God than to dwell in tents of wickedness. A day
in his courts is better than a thousand. Mordecai. Mordecai
can't come into his courts. He's unworthy. We can't come
into his courts. We're unworthy. We're sinful. Can't come to him.
Can't come to our God any more than Mordecai can come to King
Ahasuerus. So to answer the question, how
did Mordecai come? Well, first he came with a need.
He saw that the law condemned him. There is no means of escape. The law can't be changed. He's
a Jew, right? He's out of the Jewish nation.
The law has been written. That all the Jewish nation is
to be killed. The wages of sin is death. Not only can that law not be
changed, it shouldn't be changed. It's a good law. God's law is
good. It shouldn't be changed. Mordecai
could say he's not a Jew, I can say I'm not a sinner. Does it
change anything? No, of course, Mordecai's a Jew.
He might pretend and act like he's not one. He might convince
the whole country that he's not one. Maybe Mordecai's great.
Maybe I'm fantastic. Maybe I can really come across
as something. Even if I could convince you,
even if I could convince my own mother that I'm not a sinner,
does it change anything? Of course not. I'm under the
law. I'm under the penalty, just as Mordecai is. Mordecai is under
the penalty. He's sold under this law, just as I'm sold under
sin, under my father Adam. I'm sold under sin. Can't change
the law. That law rightfully condemns
me. That law rightfully condemns
us. Mordecai came to the king with a need, a need he couldn't
fix, right? I'm under the law. I'm under
death's penalty. I'm under death's curse. I'm
a Jew. He's coming to the king with
a plea that he is utterly helpless to fix. I come to my God with
a plea. I'm a sinner. No matter how I act, no matter
what I do tomorrow, no matter what promise I make and fail,
no matter what I do, I'm sold under sin. Father, I need help.
That's how Mordecai came to the father with a need. Secondly,
Mordecai came to the king through a worthy mediator. He came to
the king through Esther, a mediator who the king loved. Mordecai
approached the king through Queen Esther, who, of course, in this
instance typifies Christ. Of course, you see, Mordecai's
petition is made through Esther. We come to the sovereign throne
through Christ, our worthy mediator. Esther, being a picture of Christ,
in both that Esther's worthy to stand before the King's presence,
right? The King lowered the scepter and accepted Esther. Esther's
worthy, just as Christ is worthy. Esther is part of Mordecai's
family. As such, she's one with Mordecai. She's a Jew. She's one with the
Jews, and she's not ashamed to call them her own. just as Christ. So she's worthy to stand before
the king because she's worthy and she's worthy to represent
Mordecai because she's a Jew like him. As a Jew, she's worthy
to represent Mordecai, and you see the picture of our Savior,
of Christ here, right? He's worthy to stand before God
the Father. Christ is worthy, and he's worthy
as the representative of sinners. Let me quote Isaiah 53 to you. Isaiah 53, 12 says, therefore
will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide
the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto
death, And he, Christ, was numbered with the transgressors. He was
numbered with the transgressors, just as Esther was numbered with
the Jews. Christ was numbered with the
transgressors. And he bare the sin of many.
and made intercession for those transgressors. Christ is worthy. He's worthy to stand in God the
Father's presence, and he's worthy because he numbers himself with
these transgressors. And he bore the sin of many,
because he's earned the right to be worthy, and the right to
represent us. We have not a high priest that
can't be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, because he
was made like unto us. We often sing, what can wash
away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
I may have mentioned this once before that I think I was a teenager
and I was singing that in church. And Lord gave me a little bit
of wisdom to realize, and this is what I sang, because this
is the truth. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood
of Jesus. Because outside of the blood
of Jesus, that's where that story ends. That's where that song
ends, right there. What can wash away my sins? Nothing. But the
blood of Jesus. But the blood of Jesus. Because
he's worthy. And because he was numbered with
the transgressors. When we pray, we have every reason, as we started
the service with, to give thanks for our right through Christ
to approach unto that throne. I pray that I never get past
that. the right to pray to the creator
of the universe and to be accepted before his throne in Christ,
we could stop our prayer right there. But he commands us, make
your prayers and admonitions known. That we can come to his
throne and speak. through Christ, that we're allowed
to come to the throne much bigger than King Ahasuerus' and make
known our petition for mercy, as Mordecai did through Esther. That should never cease. We should
stop right there and just amaze us. When Mordecai came to Esther,
look here in verse 8, what did he ask for? Verse 8, what did he ask for?
He gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given
at Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther, declare
it to her, to charge her that she should go unto the king and
make supplication unto him to make requests before him for
her people. What did Mordecai request? He
asked for mercy. Mordecai came to Esther as we
come to Christ, begging for mercy, asking, make supplication for
me based on who you are. That's what Mordecai asked Esther.
Go into the king based on who you are, right? You're worthy and you represent
me. Go into the king and make supplication based on who you
are. Make supplication for me, who's under the law. What did
Mordecai ask of Esther? He asked of mercy. He asked for
mercy. He asked that Esther make supplication for her people.
Mordecai didn't have a plan. He didn't have it all figured
out. Tell the king if he does this, I'll do that. That's foolishness,
foolishness. Don told me one time, correctly,
you're a fool. He said that to my face. You're
a fool. He's right. This would be being a fool, right? Going to the king and bargaining
with the king, don't be a fool. That's just foolishness He didn't
ask for the law to be changed so that it didn't apply to him
foolishness. He didn't make excuse Say that
I'm not guilty before the law try to not pretend to not be
a Jew. Not at all. He put his sackcloth on And he
came all to Christ he came all to Esther we come all all to
Christ all He has to take all of me for me to have any any
hope I and make that plea before God the Father. Mordecai didn't
ask Esther to make any claim, no claim, other than mercy for
her sake. What do I want? I want mercy
for Christ's sake. That's what sinners want. I want
mercy for Christ's sake, for Christ's sake. That's how we
come to Christ, pleading no right, no right to mercy. Our sinful
nature tells us that we can offer something, that I can offer something
to make myself a little bit more worthy. Thou fool, come begging
for mercy. My old heart tells me there must
be something I can do. Thou fool. You know what that
really is? That's Lucifer all over again
saying, I will, I will. Trying to figure out a way to
obligate God into giving me his favor. Mordecai didn't do that. Mordecai,
he went through Esther. Mordecai was wise enough to know
he cannot do that. He can't even get across the
courtyard to get to the king. And if he did get to the king,
somehow, he'd be put to death. But that's the deadness of our
hearts. If God leaves us alone, that's
what each of us will do. that we think we could obligate
God to show us favor. King Ahasuerus was absolutely
unapproachable to Mordecai, just as God the Father is absolutely
unapproachable by us, to us, other than through a mediator.
What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
It'd be an offensive suggestion to suggest that Mordecai could
possibly have anything that the king would want or need. Even
if he could get, the king is the king of the whole world,
what could the king possibly want that Mordecai has? It's foolishness. What could God the Father, the
creator of this universe, possibly want that I have? It's foolishness,
but it's evidence of who we are. King already owned Mordecai.
Not only all that Mordecai had, King already owned Mordecai.
Just as God the Father already owns us. Let alone everything
that we have. I drive home on 64, and I see
the cattle on a thousand hills. And they're all his. He owns
the cattle, and he owns the owner of the owner of the cattle. And
the hill. And the air the cattle's breathing.
He owns it all. What could Mordecai possibly bring? Mercy isn't for
sale. Mercy isn't for sale. It's a
gift of God for Christ's sake. For Christ's sake. How did Mordecai
approach the king? through Esther, how do we approach
God the Father? Only through Christ, through
Christ. Two, how did Esther approach the King? Esther is a picture
of sinners coming to Christ. In this instance, Esther's actually
us, and we're coming to Christ. How did Esther approach the King?
Esther actually had no right also to come before the King.
Chapter four here in verse 11, Esther says, All the king's servants
and the people of the king's province do know that whosoever,
whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner
court who is not called, there is one law of his to put him
to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden
scepter, that he may live. But I have not been called to
come into the king these thirty days. Esther had no right to
come before the king. She wasn't called. King Hazarus
hasn't summoned her for 30 days. She has, again, no right to come
before the king, no reason to believe that she was in the king's
favor. She hasn't been called for these
30 days. Nothing to offer him to persuade him. She has no right
to come before the king. How did Esther approach the king?
She approached him as her only hope. Here in verse 16, she says
to Mordecai, go gather together all the Jews that are present
in Shushan and fast ye for me, neither eat nor drink three days,
night or day. I also and my maidens will fast
likewise. So will I go in under the king,
which is not according to the law. And if I perish, I perish. She's coming to the king. That's
her only hope. And if I perish, I perish. That's
her only hope. She knew she was going to perish
one way or the other and coming to the king asking for his favor
was terrifying to her. She asked Mordecai and all the
Jews, fast for me and pray. It was terrifying to her to come
before the presence of the king without being called. If the
king did nothing, she'd be killed. He'd have to actually take action
to save her. I'm sure terrified, but she's
coming saying you're my own only hope if I perish I perish He would have to show again by
his action that he actually wanted her to be there Then there was
no indication that that was the cause that was the case, but
she came appealing to his love for her She came appealing to
his love for her Again they're in I'm sorry. Chapter five, verse
two. And it was so when the king saw
Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor
in his sight. The king held out to Esther the
golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near and
touched the top of the scepter. How sweet is that picture? Because
of his love for her, she obtained favor in his sight. How sweet
is that picture? She came appealing to his love
for her. not based on who she was, but
rather based on who he is, based on his love for her. Esther came
to the king based upon who she knew him to be for her, just
as sinners come to Christ. Sinners come to Christ this way,
never based on our own worth, but based upon who we know his
character to be, right? According to his loving kindness.
Isn't that what the scripture says? According to my worth? Absolutely not. According to
His loving-kindness. According to the King's love
for Esther, she was accepted. According to Christ's loving-kindness.
According to His authority. According to His goodness. According
to who He is, He accepts sinners. According to His loving-kindness.
according to His character. The Bible declares Christ's mercy
and gentleness to sinners in this exact same picture. We come
to His throne because of His goodness, pleading His character,
pleading His goodness, pleading His mercy, pleading His power,
pleading His right, pleading His accomplished death, pleading
the fact that He took our sins in His body on the tree and put
them as far away as the east is from the west, pleading His
work, pleading Him, Him, Him, pleading Him. We come to him
just as Esther came before the king, pleading his goodness based
on his goodness. Here, the similarities of us
coming to Christ are beautiful. Esther comes to the king appealing
to his love for her, and she was accepted. Just as all who
come to Christ, pleading his, all who come to Christ, pleading
his mercy will be accepted. Turn over to John, let's look
at that. Two verses in John chapter six. all who come to Christ pleading
his mercy will be accepted. Here in John chapter six, starting in verse 36. But I said unto you that ye also
have seen me and believe not. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Now remember, this is the words
of the king. It cannot be changed. There's no reason for them to
be changed. This is the law. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. Do you know who that's good news
for? That's good news for a sinner. A sinner could read that, and
all, I can find myself in all. Him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. I can find myself there. That's
the promise of Christ. That's the promise of, that all
who come to me They'll never be turned away, just as Esther
wasn't turned away. But here the difference might
be, the difference in this picture might be even sweeter. Because
think about this. Esther had no reason whatsoever
to believe that the king would accept her, right? She said,
haven't been called in these 30 days. Anyone who comes and
hasn't been called be put to death. I haven't been called
these 30 days. I have no reason. I have no reason
to believe the king's goodness to me will spare me. King didn't
call Esther. She still came, based on his
goodness to her, but she was never called. Here's where the
difference is so sweet. Unlike Esther, who was never
called, sinners have hope. If King Hazarus had called for
Esther, it wouldn't be an invitation, right? If the king had called
for Esther, he wouldn't be inviting her, he'd be commanding her,
come, right? Esther wouldn't have been sent
an invitation, she would have been beckoned. But we, unlike Esther,
have been called. Sinner, put your name right there. I do. Jonathan. Christ has called. We have been called by Christ
and it isn't an invitation either. It's a commandment. It's a beckoning. A sweet calling, beckoning. But listen to these verses. Romans
chapter 10. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 16. And they said, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Acts
2. And it shall come to pass that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Matthew
11, come, come unto me. If you can find yourself here,
come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. We have been called, we have
been commanded to come. Unlike Esther, that's where the
difference is even sweeter. We have been called to the throne. We have that commandment. We
have the authority of God's word that Christ accepts sinners and
delights to show mercy. This is a faithful saying, worthy
of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came to this world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief. That's a faithful saying. That's just like King Ahasuerus'
word. It'll never be changed. His word
will remain. That will never be changed, right? That's true. It was faithful
and worthy of acceptation 2,000 years ago. And it is again today,
right now. And it will be tomorrow too,
right? Christ Jesus came to this world
to save sinners of whom I'm chief. Revelation 3 says, the spirit
and the bride say, come. Let him that heareth say, come.
Let him that is a thirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. Christ has beckoned you to come,
whether you've never heard of Christ before today, whether
you're a mature believer, Christ bids you come, come, come to
Christ. King Jesus lowers that scepter
in love because of who he is, because of his character, according
to his loving kindness. Sinner, come to King Jesus, and
he absolutely will lower the scepter. We have that on the
authority of God's word. How did Mordecai approach the
king? Through Esther. How does Esther approach the king as we
approach Christ? Based on his loving kindness.
How did Haman approach the king? And this is every way other than
through a mediator. Haman is a picture of every way
coming to God outside of Christ. That's Haman. How did Haman approach
the king? Look down further in chapter
five and in verse 14. That's not the right verse. Oh,
yes it is, I'm sorry. Verse 14. Then said Zeresh his
wife and all his friends unto him, let a gallows be made of
fifty cubits high. Tomorrow speak unto the king
that Mordecai may be hanged thereon. Listen, this is how Haman went
into the king. Then go thou in merrily with the king unto the
banquet. This thing pleased Haman. Go
in, go into the king's presence merrily. Haman went into the
king merrily. He went into the king proud. He saw himself as nearly equal
with the king, as close enough to be able to just stand in his
presence on his own. He went in merrily, easy into
the king. Proud, standing on his own footing. He entered into the king's presence
merrily. All together vanity. Whether
we come into the King's presence merely as pretending to be equals, believing
ourselves. Maybe that's a better way of saying it. Believing ourselves
to be equal, believing ourselves to have a right to stand before
our God. Or whether we come in with our
head down. Thinking that, well, I'm aware
of my sinfulness. Oh, how deceitful is that? Since
I'm aware of my sinfulness and I have my head down, now I'm
worthy because I'm aware. That's altogether vanity. Had Mordecai come that way, he'd
have been put to death, right? You cannot come unto the King. It's all vanity. Any way of coming
to God the Father outside of Christ is altogether vanity. Just as Haman. But when his sin
was exposed, then what was Haman's reaction? Turn all the way over
to chapter 7. This is Haman's reaction once
his sin was exposed. Read the first 7 verses here
in chapter 7. So the king and Haman came to the banquet with
Esther the queen, and the king said again unto Esther on the
second day at the banquet of wine, what is thy petition, Queen
Esther? And it shall be granted thee,
what is thy request that shall be performed even to the half
of the kingdom? Esther the queen answered and said, if I found
favor in thy sight, O king, and if it pleased the king, let my
life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request,
for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain,
and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen
and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could
not countervail the king's damage. Then the king Ahasuerus answered
and said unto Esther the queen, who is he and where is he? That
Durst presume in his heart to do so. And Esther said, the adversary
and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before
the king and the queen. The king, arising from the banquet
of wine and his wrath, went into the palace garden, and Haman
stood up to make requests for his life to Esther the queen.
He saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. Now
Haman is afraid before the king. Haman's reaction revealed his
heart, just as ours does. Haman, seeing the king, seeing
his own sin, seeing his own guilt before the king, seeing his unworthiness
before the king, did Haman hit his knees, confess his sin, and
ask for mercy? No. Because this reveals his
heart. Just as aside from God's calling
grace, we will not, we will not, we will not have this man reign
over us, right? We will not, aside from God's grace, fall
and ask for mercy. What did Haman do? Haman stood
up and he started bargaining with Queen Esther. I imagine
that Haman offered everything. His house, his money. I imagine
Haman was very genuine. Thou fool. He's coming to the
king outside of a mediator. I don't care how genuine he is,
what he has to offer, how sorry he is. He still hasn't been given
life and a heart and eyes to come come through a mediator.
He's still standing up, bargaining, bargaining rather than coming
rather than coming for mercy. He was pleading for his life,
but his heart betrayed him. No doubt he wanted to undo his
guilt. I'm sure he did. He just desperately tried to
work it out for himself. He could never repent because
he's dead. And that's us. That's the picture
of us as sinners. Outside of God's saving grace,
we will never, we can never repent. We're dead. I see myself. I easily see myself in Haman.
outside of God's grace and love, there's where we would all be.
Haman's. He didn't He didn't stop and
say, Esther, you're absolutely right. I'm guilty and I deserve
to die. He didn't plead with Esther because of her goodness.
He didn't appeal to the king's goodness. He never begged for
mercy. He argued. His heart revealed himself. Haman
never asked for mercy. His actions revealed his heart.
His actions, he tried to cover his sin. This is the same story. It's the same story of Adam and
Eve. The fig leaves, they try to cover their sin. that he would give us a heart
to come to him and ask for mercy. Mercy for my soul. Our natural
hearts will never bow, even in the end days, when God returns
and our sorry, sinful, dead selves would instead call for the mountains
to come fall on us rather than ask for mercy. And Haman didn't. Our will is it's bound and it's
owned by sin. Oh, I pray that God give us that
that heart to come to the king as Mordecai did through Esther,
to come to our king through Christ, our worthy mediator. According to his loving kindness,
right? Based on his goodness, not even based on my coming,
not based on my faith, right? I don't ask for God to accept
me because I came. That's deceitful works all over
again. I ask for Christ to accept me
for his sake, according to his loving kindness, for his sake.
And finally, because Esther approached the king, what is Mordecai's
standing? Remember, Mordecai is a picture
of the redeemed sinner coming to God. Look here again, staying
in Esther chapter seven, We'll read through the first couple
of verses of chapter eight. We'll start in verse eight here.
Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place
of the banquet of wine, and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon
Esther was. Then said the king, will he force
the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of
the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. That's the authority
of King Hazarus, right? He didn't get the word out yet,
and it was done. He didn't even finish his sentence. I think
of that when the universe was created, and for our benefit,
the scripture says that God said, let there be light. He didn't
have to say it. It wasn't the words. It was the
authority of his thought, and there was light. It was the authority. As soon as the king saw it, and
before the word was even out of his mouth, they covered Haman's
face with a sack. And Harbanah, one of the Chamberlains,
said before the king, Behold also the gallows fifty cubits
high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good
for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king
said, Hang him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows
he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath was pacified.
On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman, the
Jew's enemy, unto Esther the queen. Mordecai came before the
king. Mordecai came before the king.
For Esther had told what he was unto her. The king took off his
ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai.
And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. Because of Esther's intercession
to King Ahasuerus, Mordecai can now approach unto the king. We
have an audience with the king. We're accepted by the king through
Christ, just as Mordecai is now accepted by the king through
Esther. What a beautiful picture. Because of Esther, the king gives
Mordecai his ring, and he becomes a son of the king. He gave him
his ring. Furthermore, the king completely
eliminated all those that would charge Mordecai. The law was
never changed. Right? The Jews were to be killed.
That law was never changed. The king completely eliminated
all of those who would charge Mordecai. Later in the chapters,
the king hung Haman, Haman's 10 sons, and over 75,000 other
people. who came after accusing the Jews.
The king didn't change the law, but the law no longer pertained
to Mordecai. The law was satisfied. The law was fulfilled. The law
was done. The law had no charge against Mordecai anymore. It
just says that the law has never changed. Our God, in his wisdom
and in his goodness, how can man be just and justified with
God? Only in Christ. The wages of sin was never bent.
The wages of sin is death and always has been death. The difference
is, just as the king wiped out every charge, all 75,000 charges
against Mordecai, that's how God the Father clears our name. Because God the Son took those
sins. in his body on the tree, and
they were absolutely put away. They were put away, just as these
75,000 were put away. The law never changed. Reminds
me of when the Pharisees brought the adulterous woman before Christ.
I had the privilege of being in Lexington last weekend. Todd
preached from this text. When the Pharisees brought that
adulterous woman before Christ, I love this verse, when Jesus
had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto
her, woman, Where are those thine accusers? Where are those thine accusers?
Hath no man condemned thee? And she said, no man, Lord. And
Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin
no more. God eliminates all charges, all
charges, all charges against his people. Just as Mordecai
can now come into the king's presence, sinners can come, the
scripture says, can come boldly to the throne of God to obtain
mercy, right? Find grace to help in time of
need. And we sang before the service, we sang, it is well
with my soul. Why? My soul, oh, the bliss of this
glorious thought, my sin, not in part, but the whole, all 75,000,
and my sin, much, much more, much more grievous. My sin, not
in part, but the whole, was nailed to the cross. I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
oh, my soul, right? That picture, coming to God in
Christ is what separates sovereign grace preaching from every other
What word do you want to use there? Hope? Not exactly. Religion? Lie? Only come to the King through
a mediator. Only come to the King through Christ. That's the
end of the story. Mordecai comes through Esther. We come to God our Father through
Christ. Those that come to Him, I quoted it earlier, they that
come to Him, He will in no wise cast out. He delights to show
mercy. Every other religion teaches
one way or another to become worthy. That's what all boils
down to, a way to become worthy. Some are very open about it.
Some are a whole lot more subtle. But the Bible, this that we call
sovereign grace, the Bible only teaches in ourselves we have
no right to come before God, and in ourselves we never have
a right to come before God. We're always Mordecai. We're
always coming to Esther. But as Esther came to the king,
we're always Esther, coming to our King Jesus, who always lowers
the scepter. Because he has the right to, because he's worthy
to, and according to his loving kindness, he will. We come to
the throne of God freely. Philippians 4 says, be careful
for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, only
through Christ. Senators have access to God,
to the Father, to make our requests known. Better yet, we come as
children. As a father, I try to give my
children much more than they could ever ask for. Not all the
things they ask for, they don't get that. That's not wise. But
to give them the goodness, more than they could ever even know
to ask for, right? To set them on a path that is
good for them. I try, but I'm very fallible.
And I'm not wise. And I make a ton of mistakes.
Oh, but not God our Father. And He calls us children. Not
only does He have the means and not only is He worthy, He also
has the wisdom to give His children what His children need. We have
not because we ask not. Ask, Matthew 7 says, ask and
it shall be given you. Seek and ye shall find. Knock
and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth. He that seeketh findeth. To him
that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you who,
if his son ask bread, he'll give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish,
will he give him a serpent? If ye, then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall
your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that
ask him? So I pray for myself, and I pray
for you, that you come to God the Father. ask for what he puts
on your heart to ask for come to him just as Mordecai came
to God the father for Esther's sake come come to God for Christ's
sake come to Christ for his loving kindness sake for his goodness
sake because he alone is worthy He's worthy in his birthright.
He's worthy in what he did. He's worthy in that he lived
a sinless life and took the sin of his people in his body on
the tree and put it away. He's worthy. He's worthy because
he numbers himself with transgressors like me and you. He's worthy. Come to Christ. Let's pray together
before we close. Our Holy Father, we are thankful
for the privilege of bowing our heads and calling you our Father,
for Christ's sake. We thank you for seeing fit,
based on your goodness, to save guilty sinners. We thank you. We thank you for this word today,
and I pray that you bless it according to your will. I pray
that you be with us through the week to come. all according to
your will. We pray this thankfully in Christ's
name and for his sake alone. Amen.