Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Let me make three important, interconnected, and I think very encouraging truths to us on the providence of God. First of all, God's hand may sometimes be invisible, but His hand is always in control. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Today, John continues exploring the fascinating story of Esther, revealing how God is at work even when he seems silent.
Whether you're facing uncertainty, disappointment, or confusion, John is sharing timeless principles that will anchor your faith in the sovereign purposes of our mighty God.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with part two of his message. the providence of God. Last time we began to study one of the most unusual books in all of the Bible. The Book of Esther It is certainly a unique and fascinating story. and while it is inspired by God, the name of God is not even mentioned.
The events of Esther take place around 483 BC. The people of God had been taken into captivity by the Babylonians. and then were under the Persian Empire. The Persian king allowed some of the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. But many of them, for different reasons, stayed in exile, including Esther.
Let's continue to learn of this drama. We're in Esther chapter 1 verse 9. The mighty king Ahasuerus has been defied by Queen Vashtai. What will happen next? Verses 1 through 9 then, the power of the king.
Secondly, in verses 10 through 12, The king is going to be defied. I want you to understand who this mighty man is, Ahasuerus. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine. He commanded Mehuman, Vista, Harbona. Exa.
Abikhtha, Zithar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, to bring Queen Vashtai before the king with a royal crown in order to show the people and the princes her beauty. for she was lovely. to look at. But Queen Vashta refused to come. At the king's command, delivered by the eunuchs.
At this, the king became enraged and his anger burned. within him. He's got this party. Very impressive. He's married with wine.
And he commands His queen, Queen Vashtai. to appear. Astonishingly, Queen Vashtai refuses to obey the king's commands. And the queen's open defiance at the command of the king results. in the king's extreme anger.
The most powerful man in all Of Persia, if not in all of the world, is being publicly defied. By one person. Yeah. Quinn. And now, in verses thirteen through twenty-two, we're going to see the kings.
Pettiness. Rather than admitting that this was a foolish command or just laughing it off as a silly, drunken idea, it becomes a matter of national policy and honor. And so, a very petty law is passed, a foolish law. Verse sixteen. Then Memukin said in the presence of the king and the officials.
Not only against the king has Queen Vashtai done wrong, but against all of the officials and all the peoples who are in all of the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen's behavior will be known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt. Since they will say King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashtai to be brought before him, and she did not come. This very day, the noble women of Persian Media, who have heard of the Queen's behaviour, will say the same to all of the King's officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. If it pleased the king, Let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it may not be repealed, that Vashtai is never again to come before King Ahasuaris.
And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.
So, when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all of his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike. This advice pleased the king and the princes And the king did as Memuchin proposed. He sent letters to all of the royal provinces, to every province in his own script, and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his. People. This man, Membutkan, gives this very pompous speech, saying to the king, This is not just a personal matter between the king and his wife.
This is a matter of international importance. Verse 16: For all the peoples who are in all of the provinces of King Ahasuerus, traditional family values are being threatened throughout the whole kingdom by this queen's defiance. We can't allow this to go on. There'll be whole-scale rebellion by all of the wives throughout the 127 provinces. What was the solution he proposes?
Verse 20: That all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike. And a public example is going to be made of Queen Vashtai, who will never again see the king.
Furthermore, we know that the law of the Medes and the Persians can't be repealed. Once the law is made, it stands. You can't revoke it. Queen Vashtai, or Vashtai, as she's now called, is permanently to be banished. And his elaborate, his drastic solution meets with universal male approval.
And letters are sent throughout the province in all of the different languages, right from India to Ethiopia, that every man. be master in his own household. Pretty stupid law, isn't it? Hardly designed to bring more respect for the king, who's just showing his own insecurity, isn't he? I mean, how can you command a man?
to be a master in his own house. The arrogance, the chauvinism, the insensitivity, in fact, the irony and the foolishness of this law is mind-blowing. and all caused by a king's pride. By his anger. By his acting when he is merry with wine.
demonstrating his own insecurity.
However, The king has set in motion a chain of events. which is going to greatly impact the Jewish nation. And that's the story. Let me make three important as we draw this together, three important interconnected and I think very encouraging truths to us on the providence of God. First of all, God's hand may sometimes be invisible, but His hand is always in control.
Who's in control? of the Persian Empire. Kenya has your heirs? No. God's in control.
And God's name May be deliberately omitted from the book of Esther to demonstrate that although God's hand is often invisible, although He sometimes seems absent in our personal affairs and in the affairs of the world, He's very much present. Not only is He very much present, God is always in control. That's what we mean when we say that God is sovereign.
So although his name is not mentioned in the book, His hands is everywhere. And then Esther won. What's God doing? God is moving Queen Veshtai Off the sin.
So that there is a vacancy. It's working. God is working. Behind the scenes. Do you believe that?
In this world, Do you believe that in your life? John Calvin put it very well. He says that God's hand is at the helm. Calvin is saying, the Bible is saying, God is always at the helm. Does it appear to be when the storm comes?
No. Does it appear in Esther 1 that God has anything to do with this? Of course not. God's not even mentioned Abbot God. Is that the.
The helm. His hand. may sometimes be invisible. But his hand is always Isn't that reassuring? Your life kind of unwinding at the moment, things not going well.
Remember. God's in control. Look out over the world. What a mess. You worried about what's going to happen to the United States?
Don't worry. Be still, no God. God's hand may be invisible, but God is in control. Second truth. God's hand may sometimes be invisible, But his hand is always invincible.
The silence of God in books like Esther and the book of Job. is very eloquent. God is powerfully present when He seems conspicuously absent and silent. Yes, God, from our perspective, may sometimes be invisible, but He is always invincible. We're gonna learn.
That here in Persia, here in Susa, the capital, Satan is inspiring a Holocaust for the Jewish nation. Think of the power of Persia. to stamp out the Jews if they want. Ah, but nothing can stand in God's way. And God had made faithful promises to the Jewish nation.
And God's promises and his purposes are invincible. Do you believe that? If you have a true understanding of the biblical God, you know that God is not a weak God. God is strong. He's invincible.
Paul says, and if God be for us, who can be against us? Dreading some future event. You're really quite afraid, aren't you? or some future event, whatever it is. Remember.
That God is always in charge. Ruling and guiding all things to their divinely appointed end. Yes, as I've already quoted, God works all things after the counsel of his will. Nothing can stand in the way of God. There is no force.
No person. Certainly not Satan, who can stop the invincibility of our great God. And your life and mine. is not at the whim of fate. Or chance.
or unseen mechanistic or capricious forces. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are certainly not fatalists and we certainly don't believe in luck. We don't believe just in chance as it were. No. We believe in the providence of God.
That God works providentially in our lives through seemingly trivial events.
Sometimes through seemingly coincidences. Have you found that as I have? You look back over your life. Goody and I were doing that as we reflected our life since we met, even our meeting. At the last moment, Gudni decides that she's going to go on this missions trip.
from something which seems just coincidental rather Minor in our lives, and yet the whole course of her life and mine. It's changed. Why? Because God. is working behind The saints.
And his purposes will be fulfilled. Therefore, Brother, sister, life is hard, life is difficult for you. You're a bit afraid, you're worried. About your ministry, about your life. About your children, about your health, about your finances, about your work.
Remember this. God's in charge. The invincible God. Therefore place your trust in God. Is God for us?
He's always for His people. I realize that doesn't always seem obvious.
Sometimes it seems that we're weak.
Sometimes we're devastated. His hand may be invincible, but it's always. Probably. invincible. Here's the third one, the final one.
We've sung about this. God's hand may sometimes be invisible. But his hand is always working. For our good. And for his glory.
You say, John, everything has gone a little far because I've had a lot of bad things happen in my life.
Well, I've had bad things happen in my life. But this great God is so powerful. That even when from our perspective things go bad, God is still at work for our good and His glory. For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purposes. And God is working behind the scenes of your life and mine.
even when you act contrary to God's will. Hand. just now maybe invisible. God is working silently. And invisibly For your good, for my good, and for his glory.
Mm-hmm. He cares for us even when we forget him. Even when we ignore him, even when we take him for granted, God is still at work for our good. And just as God is going to protect, as we'll learn, his ancient people at the time of Esther, so God. In his providential care, protects and guides us.
He is always working for our good. He's always working so that he will be glorified. And we have the assurance, the absolute assurance. That there is nothing in the whole universe which can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's Paul's majestic argument, isn't it, in Romans 8, as he brings it to this brilliant climax.
There's all kinds of things that could happen to us, there's wars, there's the sword, we're like sheep scattered, he says. There's death itself. There's all kinds of things that could happen to us. Yes, a nuclear holocaust, devastation, economic collapse. The worst situation you can imagine yet.
There is nothing. That can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. You know, I was thinking about this when we were away. I love to visit church buildings. My wife, not so enthusiastic all the time.
So we visited a lot of church buildings in Europe. And Goody would say to me, do we need to go into this one? I said, absolutely, yes, let's go in. And many of them were absolutely beautiful structures. Magnificent.
from an architectural standpoint, often very built very prominently. On the hill of the town of the community.
So obviously, when it was built, it was the very center of the community. You go in. And my Howard Nate some of them are. The gold, look at the beautiful paintings, masterpieces. You look at the stained glass.
Windows. The statutes. But almost invariably They were very dark. They were very gloomy. There was very little natural light.
And it suddenly hit me that as I looked around The paintings the stained glass, the statutes. Almost exclusively, with a few exceptions. We're reflecting. the sufferings of Christ. The wounds of Christ.
His death. Christ still on the cross. And as I look round one these beautiful structures and Ask our guide a few questions. I said to her, I said I'm looking around here and uh Correct me if I'm wrong, but There's a great emphasis on the sufferings of Christ and the death of Christ. But I don't see much about hope.
I don't see much about the resurrection or the empty tomb. Have I missed it? And she looked at me and she said, Well, no, she said, We believe that when. Jesus died on the cross, he died for the sins of the world. And yes, I believe that.
But you know that is not the full gospel, is it? And it struck me as she said, and I asked this same question to every time we were in a church, I said, how many people. Not talking about tourists, how many people actually come here to worship? In case you get these beautiful icons and everything. I said, how many people actually come here to worship?
And the answer was always. No not not so many. You know, our young people no longer believe this. Church is mainly older people. And I thought I understand why.
What is the relevance? From an aesthetic standpoint, yes, beautiful. We could admire these works of art, these statues and stained glass windows and all of that, but where is the reality? Of a living faith in the living Christ who not only died for our sins, not only gives us eternal life, but now. Yes, now, is actively involved in our lives.
guiding us. Helping us. Christ living in us. Seem to be missing. And it struck me, you know.
as we come to church. No, we don't have icons. We don't have statutes. We don't have a dead Christ on a cross. But you could Appreciate the choir.
You could appreciate the ministry. You could be glad your children. are cared for. You can enjoy the fellowship, but Is it possible? Yes, it is all too possible that you miss the central fact.
The uniqueness of authentic Christianity. That the one who died for our sins and was buried rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And he ascended to the right hand of God, that he is alive, as he himself said, I'm alive forevermore, and of the keys of death and hell, and that the Christian faith at its fundamental level is a personal living faith in the person of Christ based on his redemptive work. It's not on the trappings, however wonderful they may be. It's central to our faith.
And I ask you, do you understand this? Do you know Christ? as your personal Saviour and Lord to you. You talk about your heritage, you talk about your background, you talk about all of the programs, all the things going on. They may be wonderful, but at the very centrality of our faith is this living faith in Christ, is this God who knows me.
That the majestic God, the sovereign God, the God Who in love? Who in His grace sent His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to die and redeem us, that this God is alive. and sovereignly at work in our lives, often behind the scenes. He's the perfect choreographer, sovereign over all of human history.
Sovereign over time, sovereign over eternity. He oversees the fall of nations, he oversees the fall of the sparrow, and I know. He watches me. Do you understand that? That this God in his grace is not a remote God.
Does he seem sometimes remote? Yes, he does. But he's a god. Who is with us, a God who saves us, a God who redeems us, a God who is coming for us, a God that we will spend all of eternity with. And now, as we live our lives, How wonderful to know.
That we can love. and trust and worship this living, sovereign, personal and loving God. whose hand may sometimes be invisible. But who is always at work, who's always in control, whose hand is invincible. and who is always working.
for your good. and his glory. Therefore trust them. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and the conclusion of his message titled The Providence of God. The profound truths we've heard today about God's sovereign purposes echo throughout Scripture.
Yet many people struggle to grasp the implications for their own lives. To deepen your understanding of God's work in seemingly impossible situations, we've created our Esther Listening Guide. This printable workbook helps you follow along with the historical context. Highlights the key characters in this divine drama and provides thoughtful questions to help you apply the truths we're learning to your own circumstances. Esther's story reminds us that God is faithfully orchestrating events for our good and His glory, even when we can't see His hand at work.
Request your free copy of our Esther listening guide by visiting theverdict.org. Bringing biblical truth to listeners worldwide requires the faithful support of friends like you. Every contribution, regardless of size, helps us extend the reach of these messages to those seeking guidance and hope through God's Word. To participate in this outreach ministry, consider sending a gift through our secure website at theverdict.org. We also encourage you to explore the Verdict podcast, which includes these daily teachings plus John's weekly Avizandam segment, where he addresses current issues from a biblical perspective.
It's the perfect way to continue growing spiritually throughout your busy week. Find us on your favorite podcast platform today by searching for The Verdict with Pastor John Monroe.
Now, here's Pastor Jean Monroe to close today's program.
Well, what's your verdict? Isn't this an interesting story? Even if God's people are in exile, God has not forgotten them or forsaken them. And he's not forgotten you. God is at work.
And although it may not be obvious to you at the moment, God is at work in your life working out His plan. and purposes. Will you surrender your life to Almighty God? Will you put your trust in him? Don't believe in luck or chance or coincidence.
Believe in our great God who's always in control. Therefore trust them. 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.
