God At Work

God At Work

Esther

This morning I am sure you have wondered or questioned where is God?

* Why did God put me in this position?

* How did or is God going to do this?

* How is this going to work out in the end?

We look at the world round about us everyday and we wonder is there any hope? The question of if the United States economy will ever bounce back? Will gas prices continue to soar?

* Then we may go back and ask the same questions I just mentioned

* Be assured this morning, God knows what He is doing and God knows what is going on all around…God is in control and God is at work

Esther is a very unique book, because as some of you know, God isn’t mentioned in the book

* There are several instances, we will see today and over the next few weeks that happened in the Life of Esther that will show us God’s divine work in Esther and the Jews

* We are also going to see in the Life of Esther, some of the things she does to that gives us a clear picture she was a woman of God

Today we are going to Concentrate How God Positions Esther and How He Positions us as well

I. Seeing the invisible Working of God

a. There are a few things we must understand about the Character of God

1st: God is Omniscient (All Knowing)

* Psalm 147: 4 & 5

* Psalm 139: 1 & 2

* God never has to scratch His head, wondering what in the world He is going to do next with people like us, or with nations of this world

* God knows everything, God is perfect in knowledge, & God’s understanding is infinite

2nd: God is Omnipotent (Almighty)

* Isaiah 14: 24-27

* God has the POWER: to speak the universe into existence, to fill the oceans and scatter the stars through space, to stack mountains to the summit, to ignite the sun that maintains all life, to create man in his own likeness. God did it ALL

3rd: God is Omnipresent (Everywhere)

* Psalm 139: 7-10

We learn from Scripture that God is omnipotent—or “almighty”—such that no part of creation can escape His influence or authority. We see that God—through His Spirit—is omnipresent, such that no part of creation can escape His presence. And we understand that God—perceiving all things—is omniscient, such that no part of creation can escape His knowledge.

b. Just as in Esther life there was a process and there is a process in your life as well as God moves the Chess pieces to get you where He wants you

* Think about where you were several years ago in your life and where you are today…being in the divine hand of God and where He has placed and positioned you

* We don’t always know what God is going to put on our plate, but we know He knows

II. Seeing the invisible Working of God: The Process Begins

a. The Kingdom of Persia has grown from 120 regions to 127 regions under the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes)

* Esther 1: 1-3

b. In celebration of all the victories he had accomplished, the king decides to have a nation wide celebration…a 180 day celebration

c. Over much wine, the king decides through his pride he wanted to show his wife off to the guest

* Esther 1:10 (the request)

* Esther 1:11-12

d. This embarrassed the king…the most powerful King known at that time

e. She “broke” the law by not obeying the king, but also to those who were there

* They were afraid other wives would do the same

f. The reigns of marriage were cut

* This is a point to where we must make sense of God’s hand in this. God never condoned the heavy drinking, nor did he condone the thought of the king exposing his wife, nor did he condone the divorce

* What we see here is the king over indulgence of self pride, one who lived a life of disobedience to God

* As a result of these things, the divorcing of his wife, an opportunity for the Jews to be rescued…God was looking down and said it is time for me to move in…prove who I am to my people…I will usen Esther

* History tells us there were several years of war, until chapter 2

* When king Ahasuerus comes back, he is feels alone

* It is at that point they come up with a plan to bring in young ladies from all over the province and the king could choose who he wanted

III. Seeing the invisible Working of God: From Rags To Riches