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Courage is remembered! -- Esther 9:1-5, 18-23, 26-28 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 2, 2013 AM God frequently operates within the sphere of the human situation. In performing supernatural deeds, God often uses such forces as nature (the wind in the parting of the Red Sea). Likewise, He commonly works through imperfect servants (David) or even evil human beings (Nebuchadnezzar). In Esther God limited His work to an edict that used a unique feature of Persian law. This does not lessen the miraculous nature of His activity. Rather, it ought to cause God’s people to recognize His presence and power in everything that happens. If I were to ask you this morning, “In what ways is God working in your life today?” could you give me an answer? How God works through those He loves demonstrates His devotion. We should respond in courage. Paul encouraged others to “Fight the good fight of the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:12 NIV) And he wrote about himself, “I have fought the good fight, I hav...

Courage triumphs when we are delivered! -- Esther 8 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 26, 2013 AM We live in a day and age whereby there are a lot of Christians blandly sitting by waiting for God to "do something." They have forgotten that God regularly works through His people who are willing to follow Him, no matter what the personal cost, in order for Him to "do something." If you want your nation and world changed, God desires that you "do something" for Him. Jesus' last command to His followers, was for all of them to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV) Deliverance of God's people comes when God's people have enough courage to "do something" for Him. Esther and Mordecai found this to be true and...

Courage triumphs with truth and justice! -- Esther 7 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 19, 2013 AM Esther had invited King Xerxes to bring Haman and attend a special banquet she had prepared. Haman’s status appeared to be secure. This new development seemed to reinforce his reputation. Haman must have thought only the king rivaled him in power and prestige. Haman’s morale had soared. Then, he encountered Mordecai, who “didn’t rise or tremble in fear at his presence” (v. 9). Mordecai remained seated. When Haman told his wife and friends what occurred, they advised him to build a gallows 75 feet high on which to hang Mordecai. He did so and that night Haman slept soundly, secure in his plans to bring about the demise of Mordecai and in his elevated status. In contrast, King Xerxes was restless. Seeking reprieve from his insomnia, he requested his servants read to him from his chronicles; and was reminded how Mordecai had exposed a plot to assassinate him. Xerxes sought Haman’s counsel...

Courage triumphs when we are vindicated by God! – Esther 6 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 12, 2013 AM Over the years, I have learned to listen more intently to what people say because the words they use reflect what they truly believe about themselves and others. Recently, I listened to a speech given by a national political figure and began to count the number of times he used the terms “I” and “me.” In a 20 to 30 minute speech, he referred to himself over 20 times and for the people and nation he is supposed to serve, he only offhandedly referred to them twice. What do you think this politician’s speech says about himself? We truly live in the “me first” generation. Interestingly today we celebrate mothers who often do not have that kind of luxury. Haman was a “me first” kind of guy. Again, how he came to power or into the King Xerxes’ circle we are not told, but we can speculate that it was probably due to the fact he was very wealthy. Remember, Haman was not Persian but...

Courage triumphs when we step out in faith! – Esther 5 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 5, 2013 AM    My wife is a great cook; she comes from a long line of great cooks. She had to develop her cooking ability and there were a few experiments along the way but for the most part her trials have been great. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everything in life could work out like great cooking? Of course, we know it can’t, but it makes one wish it could, especially if pie was involved! It is during the times of trial that courage triumphs when we step out in faith. Xerxes had elevated Haman to high office in the Persian court. Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, had not shown Haman the admiration the vile Persian official craved. Haman then used his status with the king to seek revenge against Mordecai. Haman sought payback by wiping out the entire Jewish population. When Esther learned of Haman’s plot, it was not as easy as pie, she eventually decided to intervene for her people. She faced ...

Following God includes trust, understanding, and risk! -- Esther 4:1-17 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 28, 2013 AM Tyler felt that after his call from God he should have been given a clear sign. When he sought the advice of others, they cautioned him as to his calling. Most did not see that God was actually calling Tyler to be a pastor. In fact, one of the deacons in the church who taught at the local seminary bluntly told him that he needed to work on his interpersonal skills first. Tyler went ahead, signed up for seminary, and soon was working at a nearby church. Within the year, Tyler had quit seminary and was let go from his church position. Occasionally folks expect God to do everything and then blame Him when things in life do not turn out the way they think they should; this is not only unrealistic, it is unbiblical. Whatever had been Mordecai’s reasons for not bowing to Haman, he was now in great mourning. His feud with Haman, whether legitimate or not, had caused a gre...

Following God includes loyalty -- Esther 3 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 21, 2013 AM Sandra struggled with two seemingly irreconcilable forces in her life. She believed God had called her to be a missionary but she could not believe He would send her to such a dangerous place. Like many Christians Sandra has falsely assumed God’s primary function is to protect, preserve, and prosper His people. They focus on Scriptures that affirm God’s love and care for His own. These believers assume God would not lead them to serve Him where they would be uncomfortable, much less, where there is potential danger. However, God’s objective is to carry out His purposes through His people. Those purposes may require His people to serve Him at great personal risk. The Lord expects His people to exercise faith as they serve Him in the risky situations into which He leads them. Perhaps we forget that following God includes loyalty even when there is risk involved. The plot of the Book of Esther t...

Esther 2:1-23 – Inner beauty and outer beauty! By Pastor Lee Hemen April 14, 2013 AM Jesus once related, “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’” (Mark 7:20-23 NIV) While in our day and age we place great importance on outward beauty, we discover biblically that what matters most is what is inside a person. This is what reflects the true inner qualities of a person. During the days of Esther, folks were not much different than they are today; they valued outward appearance more then what was found inside. My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from Profes...

Esther 1:1-22 – Obedience and responsibility! By Pastor Lee Hemen April 7, 2013 AM The Book of Esther is entitled by the Jews, “the volume of Esther,” or simply “the volume.” In ancient times, it was always written on a separate roll, which was read entirely at the Feast of Purim. The Greek translators retained only “Esther,” which became the ordinary title with Christians. There is much controversy concerning the date of “Esther.” The extreme minuteness of the details and vividness of the portraits in “Esther” suggest it was written by the hand of a contemporary rather than someone who lived long after the events commemorated. The entire tone of the book is in accord with the history, which it narrates, and is not unlike that of Zechariah. Therefore, overall, there is no sufficient ground for placing the composition of Esther later than that of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Esther is the only book of the Bible in which the name of God is not mentioned. The New Testament...