Today, on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. In the chapters that we've read, we see once again. that when all seems lost and hopeless from our perspective, It isn't. And God is in the business of reversing destinies and fortunes. And him and at the very height of pride comes to the supreme humiliation, hanged.
on his own. Gallows. Welcome to The Verdict, the Bible teaching ministry of Pastor John Monroe. Have you ever felt trapped in a situation that seems utterly hopeless? And does it seem that God is silent?
Today on the verdict, we're learning that God's ways are mysterious. and he often works through the seemingly insignificant circumstances of life. which we'll see as our study of Esther continues.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with a message titled The Gallows. In our study of the book of Esther, we're learning that God is at work. in the silences, in the darkness. God's hand is sometimes invisible, And we wonder. What's going on?
Faith in God sees the invisible. Trust God in the darkness. Listens to God. in the silence. I think you'll find this message incredibly encouraging.
as we see how God overcomes evil. the very wicked Haman ends up being killed on his own gallows. Be sure to listen to the end of the broadcast as I have a number of concluding lessons which will help you. when you're in these dark situations of life. God is at work.
And God was at work at the cross, where seeming tragedy is turned to triumph. Esther six, verse one on that night. The king could not sleep.
So we see the king's sleeplessness. Verses four through nine, we now see Haman's pride. Verse four. And the king said, Who is in the court? And the king's young men told him, Haman is there standing in the court.
And the king said, Let him come in.
So Haban came in. And the king said to him, What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor? He even said to himself, Whom would the king delight to honor more than me? He's immediately of the opinion that the man whom the king desires to honour is none other than himself. probably treats others with contemptuous superiority.
Ah, but now his humiliation, Haman's humiliation, verses 10 through 14. Then the king said to Haman, Hurry. Take the robes and the horses, you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew. Who sits at the king's gate? Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.
So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honour. Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate, but Haman hurried to his house mourning and with his head covered.
Now, in chapter 7, verses 1 through 6, we have Esther's petition. Chapter 7, verse 1.
So the king and Haman Went in to feast with Queen Esther. And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther. What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted to you. And what is your request?
Even to the half of my kingdom it shall be fulfilled. Then Queen Esther answered, If I have found favour, In your sight, O king. And if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish. and my people for my request. For we have been sold, I and my people.
to be destroyed. to be killed. and to be annihilated If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent. Mm-hmm. for our affliction is not to be compared With the loss to the king.
Then King Hazueru said to Queen Esther, Who is he? And where is he? Who has dared to do this? And Esther said, A fall. and enemy, this wicked Haman.
Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
Now Ahazu Aris's decision. Verses seven through nine. And the king arose in his wrath from the wine drinking and went into the palace garden. But Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was.
And the king said, Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house? As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's. Face. Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, Moreover, The gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits. Hi.
The king is so angry at the news life of his queen is threatened. And he goes into the palace garden to kind of cool off. In the meantime, Haman is begging for his life from Queen Esther And when the king returns, he sees Haman falling on the couch. Where Esther sat. How ironic!
Haman, who was furious that a Jew, Mordecai, wouldn't bow to him, is now begging for his life from a duess, Queen Esther. His His fate is sealed. His fall is almost completed. The man who conspires to murder a nation of the Jews. is himself going to be put.
to death. And the king's decision? Verse 10, hang him.
So they hanged him on the gallows. that he had prepared. For more decca than the wrath of the king. Abded. The very gallows which Haman had prepared for Mordecai.
now become the instrument of death. For him. The ultimate irony, what a reversal of destiny. Haman is hanged seventy-five feet high for everyone. To see.
Here is poetic justice. Don't oppose God. Don't rebel against God. You'll always lose. If God is for us, Why would you stand against Good.
Five concluding simple lessons. from Esther six and seven.
Some of them we've seen before. Number one, God is at work. In the silences and seemingly hopeless situations of life. Remember chapter 3, verse 3. Haman obtains the edict from the king to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all of the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day.
The situation then seemed hopeless. How could the Jews in Persia survive? An irrevocable edict. by the Persian superpower. And God was silent.
This seemed No solution. But in the chapters that we've read, we see once again. that when all seems lost and hopeless from our perspective, From the perspective of the world, it isn't. And God is in the business of reversing destinies and fortunes. And Haman at the very height of pride comes to the supreme humiliation, hanged.
on his own. Gallows. You're facing a hopeless situation at present. Seems that God is silent.
Something has happened, and you just don't seem a way out. Esther reminds us that when everything seems hopeless, When God is silent, seemingly, He's still at work. God often acts at the last moment. We don't like him to do that, do we? We want an instant resolution.
We want to know right now what's going to happen. But God Often doesn't do that. And in that way Our faith. is tested. And we see God work.
in remarkable ways. In the silences, and in the mysteries of life, God is always at work. for our good. Second lesson. God often works.
Through the seemingly insignificant, trivial events and circumstances of life. For the believer There are really no coincidences. We don't believe in luck. We don't believe in blind faith. We believe in God.
Yes, there are many quote coincidences in these two chapters. The king's insomnia. The king asking for the chronicles to be read. The very Chronicle read about Mordecai uncovering the conspiracy. Haman arriving early in the morning.
all seemingly coincidences. The unbeliever would see. But we see the hand of God. in the minute Timing. The exact Timing.
There are no coincidences with God, are there? God works through seemingly insignificant and trivial events and circumstances to establish. His purposes. Look back over your own life. Don't you see some amazing quote coincidences?
Seemingly chance encounters Seemingly insignificant and trivial events, and behind them all, as you look back, you realize that God was sovereignly at work. And God's timing, unlike ours, we are often impatient or we're lazy, we go too quick, or we go too slow, we're impatient, or we're lethargic. God's timing, unlike ours, is always perfect. He's in control. There's no coincidences with God.
And the seemingly trivial event in your life. can change the circumstances of your life. I will remember. Going for lunch. As an attorney with a friend of mine, as we sat down for lunch and as we were finishing lunch, he said to me, John.
Are you going to be A lawyer for the rest of your life? Are you going to practice law for the rest of your life? I said, absolutely. Absolutely. I was a partner in a law firm.
Financially we were very good. I had very good colleagues to work with. with more legal work than we could handle. And I said, Yes, of course I am. And I thought to myself, what a silly question.
And yet, as I walked away, The Holy Spirit. convicted me. That was an arrogant statement, John. Though you were following Jesus Christ. I thought you said your life was surrendered to Christ.
Why did you so quickly answer? And the Holy Spirit used that seemingly. Trivial. Question. to change the course.
of my life. Not all of these things are so dramatic. But you've seen them in your life, haven't you? Think of a friendship. Think of something happening.
Think of your life intersecting with someone else. And then, as you look back, you see God's hand was in this. And the what just seemed to be a coincidence. was in fact the sovereign hand. Mm-hmm.
Number three. God is always faithful to His promises.
Now, I know you know that. And I know you believe that. But I'm asking you Do you really experience that in life? You really trust in God? that is always faithful to his promises.
I know as you do many of the promises in Scripture. But don't we sometimes wonder Is God really faithful? Will God really come through? Will he really hold me fast? Could be a circumstance of life Which would be so devastating that I would be left on my own.
Is that true? No. God has promised. I'll never leave you nor forsake you. God has promised to be with us.
God has promised to provide for us. And even the pagan. Family of Haman, Haman's wife and friends understood. that God Himself cannot be opposed. And all of the might of Persia cannot stop God's purposes.
Do you remember the Abrahamic covenant? What was the promise? That God would bless his ancient people, and those who would bless them, God would bless. And those who would curse them, God would curse. promise.
Heyman. Seemed to be at the very top, right under the king of the Persian, the mighty Persian Empire. What was a young Woman like Esther. And her cousin Mordecai, what could they do against the might of Persia? Ah, but when you oppose God.
There is no place of safety. There is no place to hide. that God is always faithful to his promises. There's much evil around us, aren't there? And some of you And I had the privilege of being at one of the uh live groups and During it and after it, people are saying to me, Pastor, this this Society is really bad, isn't it?
And we're trying to raise our children and our grandchildren in this evil society, and how difficult it is. I understand it is difficult. But hasn't God promised His steadfast love is to all generations. Is that true? God was faithful to my grandparents.
God was faithful to my parents. God has been faithful to Gutney and myself. His steadfast love endures forever. That God doesn't change, His promises don't change, and the scripture is still true. If you seek me with all of your heart, if you seek first the kingdom of God, all of these things.
I'll take care of. Don't worry. Don't fret. Be still and know that I am God. And God always, always takes care of his people.
I love Psalm 46. I read it and I keep reading it to remind myself. What is the refrain of Psalm 46 when David tells us that God is a refuge and strength. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold.
That's true. For you, it's true for me, it's true for our children, it will be true for our grandchildren. Irrespective of the evil of our society, God is faithful. No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed. Isaiah forty five.
54 verse 17. God is in the business of reversing destinies. God can accomplish in a split second. What we could never accomplish in a thousand years. He's always on our side.
And he's always faithful to our promises. Lesson number four. A lesson from John Owen, the great English Puritan. Kill sin. Or it'll kill you.
Esther has no compromise with evil. Notice what she describes Haman as in verse 6 of chapter 7. She describes him as an enemy. She describes him as wicked. We don't like doing that.
Analyze its heart. It's hard to stand on this pulpit and preach. as I preached this morning against the evils of our society. I realize it's much, much easier to give a politically cracked and inspirational little thought for the day so that we leave feeling good about ourselves. But we must recognize.
That sin is sin and evil is evil. in our lives. Haman was an agagite, an implacable foe of the Jewish nation, unlike King Saul. Esther and Mordecai show no compromise with Agag. There can be no compromise with evil.
There can be no compromise with sin. There can be no compromise with pride. Pride, like all sin, exalts self and it displaces God.
So I ask you, as I ask myself, are you putting sin to death in your life. Just as Haman was put to death. The enemy of the people of God.
So we have an enemy. Remember Peter says in 1 Peter 2:11? Abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. You're in a spiritual battle. Your enemy wants to knock you down.
How can you Be a friend with the world, James says. It just doesn't work. Evil is evil, sin is sin, call it by its name. As Owen says, be killing sin or it will kill you. Was the sin in your life?
You know what it is. Is it pride? Is it lust? Is it greed? Superiority.
Anger, bitterness, unforgiveness. What way was the sin in your life? Esther says it's a faux and And it's your enemy. I know it sounds I know sin can make us feel comfortable. I know sin can be pleasurable, but expose the sin, bring it out of the shadows, bring it out of the dark, call it by name.
Kill sin. Or it'll kill Yeah, the final Lesson is the cross of Jesus Christ. is the greatest victory of all. At the cross, it seemed as if Satan and evil and darkness triumphed. The innocent Son of God is nailed to a cross.
The Holy One is taken by unholy hands and crucified. But what a dramatic reversal. From the darkness of the cross shines the glorious light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sorrow is turned into joy. Shame is turned to glory. From condemnation comes salvation. From death, there is life. And all of the evil of hell itself cannot stand against the purposes of God.
The world meant it for evil. They crucified our Savior. God meant it for good. And so on the day of Pentecost, Peter says to the men of Israel, this Jesus. You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Death itself couldn't defeat our Saviour. Hell itself couldn't defeat him. Satan and all of his forces could not defeat our Savior. He went into death.
He conquered it. He took out the sting of death. Rising from the dead. and calling on us to turn from our sin, and to receive him and to love him and to serve him. And that means we who follow Jesus.
Imperfectly, it is true. But we're on the victory side. You turn from your sin to Christ. If you turn from condemnation to be receiving The grace of God in your heart and the forgiveness of God. Tonight I say to you to trust Christ.
Many of you are doing that, I know. Will you reaffirm your trust in God? Ask God to strengthen your faith, to trust Him in whatever situation you're in. Tonight. We sang, some of you know the song.
We sang it at the Christian camps where I came to know Christ and Afterwards on the victory side, on the victory side. No foe can daunt me, no fear. can haunt me. On the victory side, with Christ within. The fight will win on the victory side.
Listen, there is no power in the whole universe which can stop. the purposes of God.
So trust him. Don't oppose God. Don't go into sin. Live a life. Clear cut from evil.
Following Christ. And Christ will use you. And Christ will bless you. and your life of blessing will overflow. to others.
We ask help to do just that, Father. Forgive us. when we compromise with sin. This decisive action about of Haman is a Vivid illustration to us of what we should do with sin in our life. Not to look at the sin in other people's life, but to ask that your spirit would expose the sin and the selfishness and the self absorption in our own life.
and that we would turn from it. Thank you. That Christ came to forgive us. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness tonight. Father, we, your people, humble ourselves.
We reaffirm our faith in you. Father, comfort.
Some tonight they're struggling. I lift them up to you.
Some are fighting the devil. They're resisting the devil.
Some are harassed, some are discouraged, Father. Encourage us, Father. Strengthen us. Deepen our faith and our love for the Savior, we pray. in his name.
Even This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World.
Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org. While you're there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry. Whether it's $5, $50, or more, your gift today helps cover the cost of sharing these gospel messages to listeners around the world. And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Verdict Podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam.
It's available wherever you get your podcasts, or simply go to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, We invite you to join us for our Sunday services.
For more details about Calvary and our service times, visit theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Will you trust God in the silences, in the darkness, in these hopeless situations? God's timing is very different from ours. If you're like me, you want God to act according to your own timetable. But we're learning.
that God's ways are mysterious. We may not always understand. But know this, God is at work and he'll never let you down. Make sure that your trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who went into the darkness, overcame it. and is alive forevermore.
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.
