Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. A reversal in power. A reversal in law, a reversal in emotion. These are examples of God again doing what only God can do. Mm.
doing the unexpected, reversing the irreversible. And we have a God, and our hope is in a God who reverses the irreversible. Mm-hmm. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. In Esther chapter 8, we witness one of Scripture's most dramatic reversals as God saves the Jewish people from certain destruction.
This remarkable turnaround reminds us that the same God who orchestrated salvation for his people in ancient Persia is still at work accomplishing his purposes.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with this message titled A Dramatic Reversal. I've said before that Esther is a fascinating book of high drama. The Prime Minister Hayman is determined to annihilate the Jews. He also builds a gallows to hang Mordecai. But we saw last time that the gallows made by Haman for Mordecai are the same gallows on which Haman is hanged.
What a reversal of fortune but all is under the invisible hand of Almighty God. He's always faithful to his people. and his promises. Today, we're thinking of Esther chapter 8 and see other brilliant reversals. This is why the gospel is good news.
It turns darkness into light, sorrow to joy, shame to glory, death. to life.
So love and trust is God, who has perfectly revealed himself in his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Well, last time, as we thought of Esther's chapter six and seven. We thought of the reversal of destinies for Mordecai and Haman. Gallows built for the Hanging of Mordecai are used for the h hanging of Haman. And as we thought of that reversal, we thought of the greatest reversal. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
From a human perspective, the cross of Christ seemed an unmitigated disaster, a tragedy. Here is an innocent man, a perfect man, and he's nailed to a cross. unholy hands are putting holy hands and holy feet and piercing them uh with nails. But from that seeming tragedy of Good Friday, we know there comes the glorious triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. The shame of the cross is turned to glory.
Humiliation has turned to exaltation. The man of sorrows now brings joy to the world. From death, There is life. And our Saviour, our magnificent Saviour, is alive for evermore. And authentic followers of Jesus Christ, we recognize that once we were on that broad road which leads to destruction.
Which leads to eternal darkness. But there has been a dramatic reversal in our lives. That through the person and work of Jesus Christ our Savior, we who were once on that broad road are now on the narrow road which leads to eternal life. Paul says he has delivered us. From the domain of darkness.
and transferred us into the kingdom of his Son. that we who know Christ are now in the kingdom of God. We don't make that kingdom. The kingdom exists, and in the grace of God, we enter it. Peter puts it this way: He's called us out of darkness.
into his marvelous Light. What a dramatic reversal for the Christian. We are rejoicing at this dramatic reversal which has taken place in our lives. All of us deserve to die. Like heyman.
We deserve to be put to death, as it were. on the gallows. And then the wonder of the Christian gospel. God does a remarkable thing. He himself In his person, he is hanged on a tree.
The Old Testament scripture says, Cursed is everyone who's hanged on a tree. We deserve to hang on the tree. We deserve to die because we have broken God's law. We're under the curse of God. But now our Savior comes, and with that dramatic reversal, Pigs are a place.
He is our substitute, we sometimes sing, bearing shame and scoffing rude. In my place, condemned, he stood. That's the gospel. That on the cross, our Savior is in our place, bearing our sin, our shame, and our guilt. He is our magnificent substitute.
And I trust. that we at Calvary never ever get over the wonder of God's amazing grace. I remember a man saying to me that we need to get beyond the cross. I thought, no, the Christian never gets beyond the cross. For all of eternity, we are singing, worthy is the lamb that was slain.
Jesus Christ is the center character of human history. The center character, if we can describe him as such, for all of eternity. Once we were lost.
Now we're found. Once we were blind, but now we see. And we're going to look at Esther 8 now and celebrate the greatness. And the goodness of our God in accomplishing brilliant reversals. Let's see the first.
In Esther chapter 8, if you have your Bible there, turn with me. And we're going to read of a reversal in power. Esther chapter 8 verses 1 and 2. On that day, King Ahasuerus. If this is your first time here, you didn't hear the earlier messages on Esther, they're on the web, but King Ahazuerus is the king of the great Persian Empire.
And he gave to Queen Esther. The house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. At the end of seven, we see Haman, this evil man. Who wants to annihilate the Jews, he's hanged on the gallows.
So now King Azuerus gives to his queen Esther the house of Haman, who is the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king. For Esther had told him what he was to her. And the king took off his signet ring. Think of the amazing reversal here, reversal of power.
He took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman. Before Haman is hanged on the gallows, the signet ring is taken from him, and now, in this incredible reversal, it is given. to Mordecai. And Esther said, Mordecai, over the house of Haman. Mordecai is rewarded with him in his property and position, as was the custom.
the property of traders revert to the king.
So the king now owns Heman's house. And he gives it to Esther. And the man who planned to kill Mordecai is himself hanged on the gallows. And Mordecai. This Jewish man.
receives the king's signet ring. becomes an effect. the Prime Minister in place of Haman. Haman is fallen, Mordecai is exalted.
Now, Mordecai is able to make laws with regal and legal authority. What a reversal in power. A powerful man, Haman, is hanged. And this seemingly insignificant man, Mordecai, this Jew, is now exalted. A reversal.
in power. Kind of pause here and say Don't put your trust in riches are worldly Power. Paul writes, don't set your hope on the uncertainty of riches. Earlier in the story, Haman the enemy of the Jews. Is glorying in his riches, his power, his position, his promotion.
His prestige. He's number two under the king. And his ego. is absolutely huge. and last than twenty-four hours.
Think of it. Think of the reversal in power. In less than twenty-four hours All of it is taken from him. In a moment, All he lives for. is gone.
It's a warning. To all of us. to make sure a trust Is not in ourselves, not in your career, not in your accomplishment. Not in your bank balance. But in Christ.
This past week. We've had a number of our members who passed from time Into eternity. And as myself and our other pastors, as we Officiated at these funerals, it reminds us over and over again of the. brevity and fragility of life. Mm-hmm.
Think of the devastation of these hurricanes. supposed innocent people ushered into Eternity. Yes, many people live into their eighties and nineties. My children die and Students die. and seemingly healthy people in midlife die suddenly.
And we were ushered into eternity. Jesus says, don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. In a moment, Everything that we have achieved on this earth is gone. Remember, Jesus asked the question: for what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his own soul? Haman, humanly speaking, achieved the whole world.
The top Pinnacle of power. In a moment. It's gone. Less than twenty-four hours. His house.
False. When he's there at the top Of the Persian Empire. He seemed unassailable. He's making these laws, he's manipulating things to bring annihilation to the Jewish nation. Uh but now he's under the sentence of death and now he's hanged.
Proverbs 21 verse 1. The king's heart is a stream of water. In the hand of the Lord, He turns it wherever He wills. The President's heart. The Prime Minister's heart.
The celebrity's heart. Our governor's heart, a mayor's heart, your boss's heart. Our heart. is in the hands of the Lord. He turns it whatever he wills.
emphasizing that in life You are not sovereign. You are not in control. You may be at the pinnacle. You may think you're very, very successful. And at a human level, I congratulate you, but be careful.
that your trust is not in yourself or accomplishments. what is in the living God. The other thing is we think of him, and I thought. Do any of any of you have a human type of person in your life?
Someone who is against you. Who maligns you? who's conspiring against you, who may be vengeful, who may ever even hate you. Perhaps it's a A former spouse. Perhaps as a boss, perhaps as a business competitor, someone who's always after you.
and you just sense that they would like to destroy you. Here's hope for us. If God can bring down Haman, He can deal very well with that stubborn, mean-spirited, hateful, evil person in your life. Don't panic. Don't repay evil for evil.
Don't stoop to the level of that individual. Live a life of integrity, as Mordecai did, as Esther does. Walk humbly before the Lord. Commit the matter to the Lord, because God is in the business. of turning hearts.
Changing hearts. Making reversals in power. Making reversals. in political situations, making reversals in business. Making reversals.
In every situation of life, therefore, our trust is in this God. Don't try to manipulate things. Don't try to get ahead of God. Trust God. Here is a reversal in power.
Secondly, there is a reversal in law. First of all, we have Esther's request, verse 3. Trust you're following the story. Here's Esther's big moment. Then Esther spoke again to the king.
She fell at his feet and wept. And pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of him and the Agagite and the plot he devised against the Jews. Remember? she'd been raised for such a time as this. She said, I'm going to go to the king.
If I perish, I perish. Verse 4. When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king. Can you imagine the The emotion. That's his experience.
And she said, notice how gracious she is. If it please the king. And if I have found favour in his sight, And if the thing seems right before the king and I'm pleasing in his eyes, Let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by him and the Agagite, the son of Hamadatha, which he wrote, to destroy the Jews who were. who are in all of the provinces of the king. For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to Notice this.
My People. Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred? She falls at the king's feet in tears and implores him to reverse the plot which had been conspired by Haman against the Jewish nation. He extends the golden scepter, she bows. She makes a request to save her people.
And notice how she personalises. It's my people. My kindred.
Now she's making it very, very clear that yes, she is a Jew. Don't you marvel at her compassion for others? It'd be very easy for her, she's queen. Even realizing the destruction of the people to kind of hide her identity, but she is concerned, she has this great compassion for her people. You know, sometimes when things are going well in our life, You get that promotion.
Things are going well in your family and you feel life's pretty good. It's very easy, isn't it, to be unconcerned. with the needs of others, or even to look down on others. Referring to the Church of Jesus Christ, Paul says, if one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Now you're the body of Christ and individually members of it. Esther is burdened about the annihilation of her people. Notice what happens now. The King's Decree verse 7. Then King Ahasuerus Remember who he is.
Absolute dictator. King Hashuara said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman. and they've hanged him on the gallows. because he intended to lay his hands on the Jews. But you may write as you please.
With regard to the Jews in the name of the king, and seal it with the king's ring. For an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked. The king's scribes were summoned at that time in the third month, which is the month of Savannah on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia. A hundred and twenty-seven provinces.
to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language. and also to the Jews. In their script. and their language. And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring.
Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king's service, bred from the royal stud, saying, that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives. To destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them. children and women included, and to plunder their goods. On one day throughout all of the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province.
being publicly displayed to all people. And the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies.
So the couriers, mounted on their swift horses that were used in the king's service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king's command. And the decree was issued in Susa. the scissors door.
Society is is in present day Haran. Isn't this a isn't this marvellous? The king is now on the side of the Jews. He's now opposed to the decree to annihilate the Jews. And he's giving Mordecai the authority to write in the king's name and to seal it with the king's signature, a decree which would neutralize the earlier irrevocable edict.
And the king's couriers ensure that the contents Uh visiting is known throughout all of the provinces. It's a huge province. Did you get it? Think of it, do you know your geography from India to Ethiopia? Think of that wide expanse, 127 provinces.
Put in every language, there's all kinds of people. living in the Persian Empire. About 44% of the world's population at this time is in the Persian Empire. And in particular, it's specified that the Jews are to receive the edict in their own script and their own language. And the Jewish nation, very important today, isn't it?
What are they given? They're given the right of self-defense. Not only are they given the right of self-defense, they're given the right to make a preemptive strike against any Persian if someone's going to attack them.
Well they have the king's authority. to defend themselves and to strike back. Hello there? If anyone in the Persian Empire leaves the Jews alone, they will be left alone. The edict?
It's not for vengeance. The edict is for justice. The first edict engineered by the evil Haman, the anti-Semit. The enemy of the Jews was for genocide. This evil man wanted to exterminate every Jew throughout the Persian Empire.
The second edict The one given by Mordecai is for self-protection. This was God's. vindication of his people. God watching over His people, the Jewish people.
Some commentators, as I've read this, are critical of the Jewish nation. That's unjustified. God is giving his people the right to defend themselves if attacked. To expect the Jewish nation simply to sit back then and now and allow themselves to be slaughtered is naïve. The Jewish nation was not to be the aggressor, notice.
They were not to be motivated by vengeance. God is vindicating His people. And present Israel seeks to defend itself. Seeks to carry out, yes, pre-emptive strikes in order to defend itself. On the other hand, today, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and so on, their aim is for vengeance.
Their goal, make no mistake about it, is the total destruction of Israel. They want to wipe out The nation of the Jews to wipe out the state of Israel. in our legal system here in the United States. And then Every civilized legal code, there is a right of self-defense. What would you do if someone came into your home?
man to assault your wife. To assault your children? What would you do? Would you stand by? Surely not.
Surely not. We have under the law a right of self-defense. What is true of an individual is true of a nation. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. and the first part of his message titled A Dramatic Reversal.
Throughout Scripture we see God's pattern of stunning reversals. The weak defeat the strong, the last become first, and instead of death there's deliverance. Esther chapter eight provides another powerful example, as a death sentence against God's people is countered by a new decree. To help you appreciate the profound insights of this remarkable narrative, our Esther Listening Guide helps you follow along with these key turning points and consider how God transforms hopeless situations into powerful testimonies of His faithfulness. When you face your own seemingly irreversible circumstances, Esther's story reminds us that our God specializes in dramatic reversals.
Download your free copy of this valuable printable workbook today by visiting theverdict.org. These daily broadcasts reach listeners worldwide who desperately need to hear about the God who is in control in our often confusing world. Your financial partnership makes this ongoing ministry possible. When you support the verdict with your gift, you help share this message of hope with people facing their own impossible struggles. To make your tax-deductible donation today, visit theverdict.org.
Or call us at 833-551-2231. We'd love to welcome you this Sunday at Calvary Church, where John serves as senior pastor. Join us for powerful worship, warm fellowship, and the same solid biblical teaching you hear on the verdict. We're located in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. Or join us remotely through our live stream online.
For more details, just visit theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Has there been a reversal in your life? To use the language of the Apostle Paul, have you been delivered from the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ? We call this being born again. When the Spirit of God gives us new life and we place our trust in the Lord Jesus.
That is the best reversal of all. Perhaps you need to repent of your sin. Cry out to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness, for new life. For a divine reversal. in your life.
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
