Summary: this sermon is a study of Queen Esther and the factors that contributed to her greatness.

SECRETS OF SUCCESS FROM THE LIFE OF QUEEN ESTHER

OUTLINE

1.SUPPORTERS

2.SUBMISSION

3.SINCERITY

4.SUPPLICATION

5.SACRIFICE

6.STRATEGY

7.SERVICE

THE MESSAGE

SECRETS OF SUCCESS FROM THE LIFE OF QUEEN ESTHER

1.SUPPORTERS

Esther 2:7 Esther 2:9

In the life of Queen Esther we find that God had given her people

who helped her and showed her favour.When she was a helpless orphan

girl she had an uncle Mordecai who came forward to adopt her.When she was in the palace she had favour in the eyes of Hegai who was incharge of the arrangements. Finally she had favour in the eyes of

the king who chose her to be the next queen.To be successful we need favour in the eyes of God and man. We need supporters who will stand with us and help us.

2.SUBMISSION

Esther 2:10,15,20

Esther was an obedient and submissive person. She obeyed the

instructions of Mordecai not to reveal her jewish identity.This

was not an isolated incident but her way of life. She was always

obedient to Mordecai when she lived in his house. Even when she

was about to be presented before the king she allowed Hegai to

decide what she had to wear.She respected the superior wisdom and

experience of Hegai. We need such a submissive and teachable spirit

in order to be successful in life.

3.SINCERITY

Esther 2:22 , Esther 4:4-5

Esther was a sincere person with true heart of love and gratitude.

When Mordecai revealed a secret plot of some palace gaurds against

the king.She passed the information to the king giving credit to

Mordecai which later helped in giving a great honour to Mordecai for

saving the king’s life.Esther was sincere in giving credit to Mordecai.She did not pretend as though she alone was responsible for

giving this information to the king. Moreover Esther did not forget

Mordecai once she became queen. She was still concerned about the

welfare of Mordecai who was the one who brought her up when she was

a destitute orphan.When she heard that Mordecai was in mourning she

was greatly distressed and was concerned enough to find out the reason.She did not ignore the sufferings of Mordecai.We need such

a sincere and grateful heart and a concerned love in order to be

succesful in our lives.

4.SUPPLICATION

Esther 4:16

Esther fasted for three days and called on her people to join her

in the fast before she undertook her mission to save her people from

destruction. She did not rush into action in pride and enthusiasm

thinking she could do everything in her own strength. We need such a

humility and supplication to seek God ’s favour before we undertake

tasks and endeavours in our lives.

5.SACRIFICE

Esther 4:11 ,16

Esther took a risk to save her people. She went to the presence

of the king without being summoned which meant death.Without this

willingness on her part to even sacrifice her life to save her people she would not have succeeded in her mission.We need such a

willingness to sacrifice in order to be successful in our lives.

6.STRATEGY

Esther 5:4,7 , Esther 7: 3-4

Esther had a strategy to accomplish her task. She used wisdom and

planning . She did not rush to the king in an emotional frenzy and

outburst. But she went about her task in a methodical way by first inviting the king and the archenemy Haman to dinner. It may have looked bad to give a dinner to their archenemy.Her people could have criticised and misundertood her actions.But Esther had a strategy and only after the second dinner did she reveal her requests .She did not

accuse Haman directly knowing he was close to the king. But she first told the king about the danger to her life and the lives of

her people. Only after the king demanded in fury as to who was

responsible for this did she reveal the name of Haman.We need such

wisdom and strategy and restraint and discretion in order to be successful in our lives.

7.SERVICE

Esther 8:5 , Esther 9:29 , Esther 10:3

Esther used her influence to help her people. She realised that

purpose of her elevation is to be usefel to others and not just to

enjoy her life selfishly.Mordecai her mentor also followed the same

principle of using their influence to be a blessing to their people.Today the Lord wants to bless and promote those who desire to be a blessing. Their success would benefit many others. This attitude would cause the Lord’s blessing upon our lives and bring

success to our efforts.