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[0:00] Back in Esther chapter 5 today, and of course remember last week now, we were at that place where Esther does as Mordecai had commanded her.

[0:28] Of course, remembering that Mordecai is representing the Holy Spirit and Esther the human spirit. And so it's a picture of the human spirit submitting to the Holy Spirit and what they are shown to do.

[0:45] So we saw in chapter 5 and verses 1 and 2 of Esther, the scripture says, 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.

[1:01] And the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house. So you get the idea of royal, right? Yeah. And it was so when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court that she obtained favor in his sight.

[1:16] 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. Now last week, I just thought about this.

[1:28] Last week we raised the question or took note of the fact of the difference in the way King Ahasuerus responded to the disobedience, first of all of Vashti in chapter 1, and now to Esther in chapter 5.

[1:48] Has anybody come to an idea of why the difference in the attitude of Ahasuerus? I also got considering this.

[2:00] You know, of course, you have to go to the historians to get any background on Vashti and Ahasuerus and their dealings in the past and all of that.

[2:10] But in reality, you take a look at the whole scheme of things here, and you've got to believe, you've got to believe in that dealing between Ahasuerus and the Vashti in chapter 1, that God had to have a hand in that as well.

[2:29] Because he was leading up to what's happening through Esther because of Haman's shenanigans. And so you've got to believe that's a picture there. So again, it gives us a good idea here of how completely God works and how broad his work is in the scheme of things that he lays out.

[2:53] Way back in the life of Vashti and her attitude of disobeying the king, no doubt knowing the consequences of doing that, and now that leading up to being able to look for a new queen and Esther being installed as that new queen, because of what's going to take place in this decree that's laid down by Haman through the hand of King Ahasuerus, that all the Jews would be put to death.

[3:31] Somebody had to be an instrument of God in that palace for things to be overturned. And so all of that gives us a great idea here. Look at the things transpiring in the world today.

[3:46] How many of you are like me? You look back and you see how things were 50 years ago, 40 years ago.

[3:57] However old you are, go back however far you want. Or however young you are, go back as far as you want. And realize how different things are now than they were back then.

[4:09] And it's not a good difference in most cases. All right. And you wish, boy, I wish it were like it was back yonder. Well, it's never going to be. In this realm of earth.

[4:22] All right. Until Christ comes and chases everything. And so, but you see how everything is evolving. How everything has been pictured in the word of God. That brings us right where we are today.

[4:36] So, what's that show us? That shows us God's in control of everything. Amen. He's in control. We don't have to fret. We don't have to worry. All we have to do is be like Esther.

[4:48] And do as the Spirit of God leads us. And trust God with the consequences. Remember, that's all this leads up to. Now, remember, the picture was that Esther experienced the emancipation of obedience.

[5:07] Being free. Being free. Being free. Because of the obedience that she did in light of what Mordecai had said.

[5:18] There's freedom in that. Because she didn't have to worry about the consequences, remember. Because she determined she's going to leave those consequences up to God in essence.

[5:31] All right. And we'll see that time and time again. We'll see that more this evening. So, now, we began looking at the idea of the gallows in the garden. Started that out by saying dead men can't die.

[5:45] Amen. Yeah. All right. That's an astute observation. All right. But think about it. Dead men don't have to worry about anything.

[5:56] Amen. Don't have to worry about responsibilities. That heavy load of responsibility up on their shoulder. They just don't have to. So, again, with the picture of us dying to ourselves in the circumstances of life in particular.

[6:12] So, there's nothing quite so relaxing as being dead. Anyway. I mean, look at the good cushy coffin they put you in.

[6:24] And we better quit with that. All right. So, but the idea is being dead to your own ability to accomplish anything apart from Jesus Christ.

[6:36] Have you ever begun a process of doing something that you've possibly never done before? And you got to a certain point.

[6:48] You just came to realize the farther into that you get, the more troublesome it becomes. And you figure out, I should never have gotten myself into this in the first place.

[6:58] I know plumbers do that. But, yeah, yeah. Well, it's the same thing here, spiritually speaking. We try to do things on our own.

[7:10] And sometimes it's when we don't even recognize we're doing that in our own power, our own flesh. Because it seems something good to do, something for God. All right.

[7:20] But, again, unless it's led by and empowered by the Spirit of God, it's all work in the flesh. So, we need to be dead to our own ability to accomplish anything outside of Christ Jesus.

[7:36] So we can afford to die once we have become utterly convinced that death to ourself is to trade what we are for what Christ is.

[7:46] Now, let that soak in a minute. But the focal idea here is this, to be utterly convinced. All right.

[7:58] Oh, yeah. If anybody were to walk up to you and ask you that question, can I trade what I am for what Christ is in my life?

[8:12] Can I trade that? You'll say, sure. And then we'll say, yeah, I've got that in my life. Right. But when it comes to that operating principle in the life, where are we with that?

[8:27] Are we utterly convinced? Convinced. I mean, convinced to the extent that Paul was in many things he writes about. To the point where he considered it.

[8:40] He's molded over. He's looked at it from both sides and through the middle. And he's come to the point where he's utterly, positively, without a shadow of a doubt, convinced that the truth is there.

[8:53] And that that's truth. All right. That's the kind of convincing that we have to have in our own soul about what God is able to do through his son in our life.

[9:07] To trade what we are in our humanity with that nature of sin. To trade that for everything that Christ is.

[9:17] We need to be convinced of that. Now. This is the place where disbelief raises its ugly head.

[9:27] All right. Yeah, I know what the word says. But. Can that be true? Can that really be done in my life?

[9:39] All right. If we're not wholly convinced that Jesus is willing and able to take over. And that's where the question comes. It's not that he can't.

[9:50] But as it's applied to little old me. Little old insignificant me. Is he going to do that? Is he willing to do that?

[10:02] And able to take control over my life? If we're not convinced of that. Then we'll hang on like grim death. To what we are.

[10:13] And when that happens. We can be certain that we'll never know. That deep seated peace that God provides for us. When we allow Christ to resume the responsibility.

[10:27] That is his. And to allow him to get to work. Within our life the way he wants to. I'm not going to ask for a raise of hands.

[10:39] But just think about it just a moment in your life. In your own. In your own heart. Have you ever. Have you ever spent restless nights.

[10:52] Troubled by something. Whether it's circumstances. Whether it's somebody that's done something. Or said something. But just caused you to toss and turn.

[11:03] Overnight. And even a pillow from my pillow didn't help. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What does that mean? That means we're not having the peace.

[11:17] That God wants us to have. And that peace can only come. When we turn things over. To the Lord. And let him be in us.

[11:28] All that he is. And all that he wants to be. And I think that's one of the greatest things we can do. As God's people. And it's not just.

[11:39] It's not just when there's circumstances out there that are troubling us. But anytime. Go to the Lord in the morning and say.

[11:50] God. I don't know what it is you want to be to me today. But whatever that is. Enable me to see it.

[12:02] Enable me to see what you're wanting to be to me today. Through whatever circumstance I face. In my life today. Because we recognize God knows all those circumstances ahead of time.

[12:14] Amen. He knows what our day holds. He knows what we're going to face. And he knows what we're going to need. And he's anxious and ready. To give us what we need.

[12:25] To provide those things. By his hand. And we need to be able to see that. We need to be looking for those things.

[12:36] Amen. Yeah. So like when I got to see. When I got to see Dave this week. Pulled up in that dentist parking lot. And I wasn't dreading the visit.

[12:47] I was going to be. I was going to be. Be. I was going to my coronation. All right. I got a crown. Yeah. Yeah.

[12:59] Yeah. I told him in there. I'm going to be. I'm ready for my coronation. But I just don't want you guys. To have to bow. Don't bow. You know. I've got my crown. I said. The problem was. I'm going to have to keep my mouth open.

[13:10] So people can see it. Anyway. But I felt blessed. By being able to see him. It was a real joy to me. You know. And that wasn't just plain circumstance.

[13:22] I don't believe. I believe God was in that. I believe God was in that. Because the timing was the same. It was just great. And I had to just thank the Lord.

[13:33] For arranging that opportunity. For us to be able to visit. Even for a short time. We were sitting in the lobby. Visiting. And all of a sudden. The lady called my name. And I didn't even hear her call my name.

[13:44] But Dave did. So he called my attention to that. I don't know if he was tired of me talking to him. Or what. I was letting him do most of the talking. But anyway. I was glad. That God did that.

[13:54] And that's part of what God was doing. In our. Both of our lives. That day. So. There's a state of mind.

[14:05] Out there. Amongst true believers. That kind of boo-ha-ha. This idea of. Completely turning things over to God.

[14:15] And letting him work. In our lives. They consider it a repudiation. Of self-effort. It results in hostility. That comes out of the idea.

[14:27] Of self-justification. Alright. Now. It's not that they're not dedicated to God. They are. In their own heart. And mind. And in their own way.

[14:38] Per se. Remember the old song. Frank Sinatra used to sing. I did it my way. Yeah. It's the same kind of thing. They.

[14:49] They're. They're. Probably saved. And. They're working for God. The best way they know how to work for God. And doing everything they think they ought to be doing for God.

[15:01] Because they're doing it. And it should be. Must be right. If I'm going to work for God. He's going to honor that. No matter what. It's kind of the idea there. That's out there. Alright.

[15:11] But again. We've got to be careful. To. To allow the spirit of God. To work in that. So this idea of.

[15:22] Of. Just letting the Lord Jesus. Work within us. And. And us dying to ourselves. Just kind of. Baffles them. And so. They. As well. Will not have that peace.

[15:34] And confidence. That comes from. Totally surrendering. Surrendering. The life. To the Lord Jesus. Now. That principle.

[15:45] Of. Total surrender. Is found. And illustrated. By the Lord Jesus. Himself. For 33 years. Jesus allowed the Father.

[15:56] To be. In him. Through the Spirit of God. What he himself. Wants to be. To us. Now. Through the Holy Spirit. Now.

[16:07] Recognize that. You look all through. The ministry of the Lord Jesus. As we said. Numerous times. He was always. Working. Through. His humanity.

[16:18] In the power. And direction. Of the Spirit of God. Even though. He was God. In the flesh. All right. So he depended. Completely. Upon the Spirit of God.

[16:29] And upon the Father. To be to him. And in him. Everything he needed. And that's what he wants. To be to us. In our lives. Today. Through the work.

[16:39] Of the Spirit of God. Peter writes of it. In second. In first Peter. Chapter two. Verses 22. Through 24. Which says. Speaking of Jesus.

[16:50] Who did no sin. Neither was guile. Found in his mouth. Who. When he was reviled. Reviled. Not again. When he suffered. He threatened not. But committed himself.

[17:01] To him. That judges. Righteously. Who his own self. Bear our sins. In his own body. On the tree. That we. Being dead to sins. Should live.

[17:12] Under righteousness. By whose stripes. You are healed. Now. Go over to John. Chapter 11. The good picture. The surrender. Of the Lord Jesus.

[17:22] In John. Chapter 11. Familiar event. Familiar event. In the life of Jesus. Concerning Lazarus. And Mary.

[17:33] And Martha. Now. Go ahead. Pick up with me. In verse number one. Of John. Chapter 11. A certain man.

[17:44] Was sick. Named Lazarus. Of Bethany. The town of Mary. And her sister Martha. It was that Mary. Which. Anointed the Lord. With ointment. And wiped his feet.

[17:54] With her hair. Whose brother Lazarus. Was sick. Therefore. His sister. Sent unto him. Saying. Lord. Behold. He. Whom thou lovest. Is sick. When Jesus.

[18:05] Heard that. Now. Pick up on this. When Jesus. Heard. When he got that message. About Lazarus. Being sick. He said. To his apostles. No doubt.

[18:18] That. This sickness. Is not unto death. But for the glory of God. That the son of God. Might be glorified. Thereby. Now. When he says.

[18:28] This sickness. Is not unto death. Did not mean. That Lazarus. Wasn't going to die. But what he was saying. Is. This. Is not going to be death. In its final stage. All right.

[18:40] Kind of an. Intimation here. That yeah. He'll. He may die. But. That death isn't forever here. Now. Verse 5.

[18:54] Now. Jesus loved Martha. And Lazarus. When he had heard. Therefore. That he was sick. He abode. Two days. Still. In the same place. Where he was.

[19:06] So. He stayed. Two days. After he. Got that message. About the. The illness. Of Lazarus. Now. Verse 7.

[19:18] Then. After that. After those two days. Saith he. To his disciples. Let us go. Into Judea. Again. His disciples. Say unto him.

[19:29] Master. The Jews. Of late. Sought to stone thee. And goest thou. Thither again. Jesus answered. Are there not. Twelve hours. In the day.

[19:40] If any man. Walk in the day. He stumbleth not. Because he seeth. The light of the world. But if a man. Walk in the night. He stumbles. Because there is no light. In him.

[19:50] Good picture here. Jesus intimating. The idea. That. We've got to be about. The father's business. While we have the opportunity.

[20:02] To be about his business. While it's his time. For us to do that business. Is kind of the idea there. Now. Doubt that the apostles.

[20:13] Understood that. But look at verse 11. These things said he. And after that. He saith unto them. Our friend. Lazarus.

[20:24] Sleepeth. But I go. That I may wake him. Out of sleep. Now. Look at these precious men. That are his disciples.

[20:35] Look at their response. Then said his disciples. Lord. If he sleep. He shall do well.

[20:47] Why wake him up. Is the idea here. He's sick. And if he's sleeping. That's good for him. To sleep and rest. Why bother waking him up.

[20:58] Oh. Don't you just hate. To be waking. From a good solid nap. Amen. Yeah. I was ready. I was ready. Sunday. Had a short.

[21:12] Sleep night. Saturday night. So Sunday. I was glad. When I got home. And I was looking forward. To the time. After dinner. I did.

[21:22] When I did the mechanic work. You remember that. Yeah. Installing the rear end. Of the recliner. Yeah.

[21:34] That's a mechanic worker. Installing the rear end. Yeah. Now. And. We had eaten. And. You know. I was. Finishing my cup of coffee. And the dessert.

[21:46] And I was. Just getting ready. To. Kick my shoes off. Kick back. And. Someone came in the door. Needed to visit. Visit. So.

[21:58] We sat. And we listened. And we visited. And we listened. And we visited. Yeah. And that was fine. That was fine.

[22:08] Hopefully God used us. In the situation. And so. Didn't get the nap. Amen. Didn't get the nap. But. So. It's never good. To keep a person.

[22:20] From his nap. Or to wake him up. From the nap. Right. Yeah. And that's what the disciples. Felt here. But look at this next verse. Here. Verse 14.

[22:31] Then said Jesus. Unto them plainly. Lazarus. Is dead. Now look at verse 15. And I am glad.

[22:41] For your sakes. That I was not there. For the intent. That you may believe. Nevertheless. Let us go unto him. All right. Now. And Thomas says.

[22:54] You know. We'll. We'll go with you. So we can die with you. You know. Bless their heart. They're going to be real spiritual there. Now. Take note of something. If you will here.

[23:04] Again. Around the illness. And consequent death. Of Lazarus. There's some. Vital lessons here. For us to learn. Notice the response.

[23:21] Of Jesus. At the news. Of the illness. Of Lazarus. And no doubt. I would imagine. That the. That the. The message. That the sister sent to Jesus.

[23:32] About Lazarus. Probably. Pretty. Pretty serious thing. About how serious. His illness was. Now. Consider this. Think about.

[23:43] Think about yourself. Either. A loved one. Or a good friend. That you get word about. That. Is ill. Seriously ill.

[23:56] How would you feel? How do you feel? When you get those. Those words. Things. Notice here. There's perfect calmness. In the Lord.

[24:07] In Jesus. He didn't get frustrated. He didn't. Find a bit of urgency. In his heart.

[24:18] About needing to do something here. Even his human affections. Were restrained. Perfect. Perfect calmness.

[24:29] Dealing with his apostles here. Alright. Calmness says. He's dead folks. He's dead. He died. But it's for your sake.

[24:42] That this is taking place. You see. He recognized something. Now here's a question. Here's a question. Was that calmness.

[24:55] That he had within him. Was that due to the fact. That he knew. In his. Knew in his. Deity. What was going to happen. Or was it something else.

[25:08] How many think. It was the first thing. How many think. It was the second thing. How many are afraid to answer. Yeah. Yeah.

[25:20] Yeah. But I think we need to look carefully at this. Alright. There was a complete. Consciousness. Of the power of God.

[25:32] In his delaying his going. Alright. What's that tell us. Jesus. Had perfect. Confidence. And what the father.

[25:44] Was going to do. In this situation. Didn't have to worry. Didn't have to complain. Didn't have to question God. No. He had.

[25:55] That confidence. That's why he stayed. Three more days. Or two more days. Before. He went. Plus the. Plus the day's journey. To. Where he was.

[26:06] Alright. So. Take note here. Here's the lesson. Christ is never in haste. Especially when he's on those. Tasks. That demonstrate his love.

[26:18] And he's never in haste. Because he was always. Sure. So. It's such confidence. In the power of God. That the lesson.

[26:29] Is to be learned here. Alright. Speaks of. Our confidence. And our expectation. In God.

[26:41] Alright. That's what we've got to recognize. Jesus reckoned with the father. And acted at all times.

[26:51] On the assumption. That his father was handling the situation. All he did was to take care. To obey the instructions.

[27:01] That he was given by the father. So he learned obedience. Obedience. Unto death. Now. Let me.

[27:12] Let me. Back up here a moment. And say something about that. Remember the book of Hebrews. Chapter 5 maybe. It's either chapter 5. Verse 8. Or chapter 8. Verse 5. I think it's 5.

[27:22] 8. Where the writer says. Though he were a son. Speaking of Jesus. Though he were a son. He learned obedience. Obedience.

[27:34] Through the things that he suffered. Now. Always question. Why? What's really the truth behind all that? I mean.

[27:45] He's God. Why did he have to learn obedience? Simply because. He never knew disobedience. obedience. And in his humanity.

[27:57] Humanity. In his humanity. He near. Need to learn the true essence. Of obedience. In humanity.

[28:08] By the things that he suffered. Because he had this. Through everything. Jesus went through. He always had the same mindset.

[28:20] Of being able to trust the father. In everything. That takes place. Everything. Every circumstance.

[28:31] Every situation. That arises in his life. No matter whether. It be persecution. No matter if it be. Impending.

[28:41] Threats of death. Death. Whatever. He trusted the father. Still had these. Very. This very same mindset. Through all those circumstances.

[28:53] So. Now. He. Jesus. As God. Doesn't ask you or me. To be any weaker. Any. Or any more foolish. Than he was prepared to be.

[29:04] Himself. The cross was both. The weakness of God. And the foolishness of God. Take note. Second Corinthians. Chapter 13. Verse 4.

[29:15] For though he was crucified. Through weakness. Yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him. That we shall live with him. By the power of God.

[29:26] Towards you. And in first Corinthians. Chapter 1. Verses 25. Through 27. Because the foolishness of God. Is wiser than men. And the weakness of God.

[29:37] Is stronger than men. For you see your calling. Brethren. How that not many wise men. After the flesh. Not many mighty. Not many noble. Are called. But God has chosen.

[29:48] The foolish things of the world. To confound the wise. And God has chosen. The weak things of the world. To confound the things. Which are mighty. I'm glad for that.

[30:00] Are you not? Yeah. That's what baffled the disciples. Why did Jesus do the things that he did?

[30:12] Why was he now not more outspoken about who he was? You know. Why did he not take advantage of this popularity here?

[30:23] Why didn't he show who he was? I mean. You know. The idea that money talks. Right? That's what they say. What about the rich young ruler? Could not he have done something.

[30:35] To straighten this thing out. And get him to where he needs to be. So people could recognize. That he was the Christ. You see. That baffled the apostles. And they just didn't quite understand.

[30:47] What all of that. Was about. All right. But. Notice. Jesus could be.

[30:59] Could afford to be reviled. He could be. He could afford. To be spit upon. Afford to be weak. And he could afford to be foolish.

[31:10] In the eyes of silly sinful men. And that's because. He knew. The one by whom he had been sent. And the one.

[31:21] Into whose hands. He had committed his spirit. Not only in death. But in 33 years. Of life. Now. Focus on the statement.

[31:34] It's all because. He knew the one. By whom he had been sent. And the one. Into whom he had committed his spirit. Or his life.

[31:44] The word no. Is an interesting word. There's an intellectual knowledge. Yeah.

[31:55] That we just have the information up here. And we know it's true. But then. A lot of times. In the scripture. There's a. There's a. A word that's used. That's translated.

[32:07] No. That means. An experiential knowledge. And that's the idea. Of coming to know someone. Through experience.

[32:18] With that person. And the kind of knowledge. The scripture talks about. Us needing to have. Of God. Is an experiential knowledge.

[32:30] All right. My wife is so sweet. And precious. Everybody loves her to death. And.

[32:41] Sometimes it gets syrupy. Sickening sweet. To hear people say that. All that. No. I'm joking. So. And she's very kind. And gracious.

[32:52] To allow me to use her. As an example. Okay. Yeah. Love you babe. Yeah. Yeah.

[33:04] We do have to go home. At some point. Yeah. But. What I was going to say is. Yeah. Well. We've been married. 23 years now. Yeah.

[33:14] Just. Just. Just now. 23 years in July. And. It's. It's. It's kind of scary Dave. That we can almost read each other.

[33:24] That we can almost read each other like a book. Amen. And how we respond to things. And how we respond to each other. And. I. I always kid. And.

[33:35] Sometimes I kid. Sometimes. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. You know. When she responds a certain way. I'm saying to myself. If not. Verbally. That's the Lucas in her. Lucas is her maiden name.

[33:48] Yeah. Because I could see her dad in her. You know. So. So. So. So. We've gotten to know each other. We could read each other. Pretty. Pretty well. She could read me. But. Everything's so good.

[33:58] She doesn't have anything you'll just say. Until now. But you see what I'm saying.

[34:11] That's experiential knowledge. And that's what we have to have with God. And we do that. By seeing him at work. Being aware.

[34:22] Of his hand at work. In our lives. In the things that he does. Day by day by day. And we're getting to see more of him.

[34:33] Through each experience. That's what happened to Abraham. One of these days. Maybe. Maybe just one of these days.

[34:44] We might just take a trip. Through Abraham's life. In a Bible study like this. Yeah. We may do that. So. Keep your hands off of that one. Lee. All right.

[34:57] We better quit. But that's what he. That's what he's showing us here. That we need to have. That same knowledge of God. Knowledge of the Father. That. That Jesus had.

[35:09] So. He could afford to do as he was told. He could afford to die. Because he knew that someone else was taking care of consequences. And that's what we've got to recognize as well.

[35:22] Let's pray together. Father again. Thank you for your loving kindness. Your goodness and grace to us. And Father again. Just thank you for being to us who you are and what you are. Father.

[35:33] And. We know that the only reason that's been possible for us. Is through your love for us. Through your son. And his sacrifice. And his death for us. So Father we thank you for that.

[35:44] We praise you for that. And now I pray that you'll enable us to grasp that even more. The depth of that relationship. That you enabled us to have through your son.

[35:56] And enable us to. Delve into that more and more. To grow into that more and more. Through the things we personally experience with you throughout our lives.

[36:08] To teach us that we can trust you. And enable us to do that more and more. As the days go by. Thank you again for these precious folks. And we thank you for their love for you and your word.

[36:20] And ask again your blessings upon them. And look forward to the time you bring us back next week. And we thank you for it in Jesus name. For your sake we pray. Amen.