Sometimes, before God does an amazing, earth-shaking work, He allows darkness to grow to an uncomfortable level. Sin will not ultimately prevail, but God has not promised to exterminate all sin as soon as it begins to grow. No, God’s ways often include allowing evil on earth to gain traction before He releases a move that will exterminate wickedness and establish righteousness. This is the case with the beginning of the story of Esther. This heroic woman is not even mentioned in the first chapter of the book which bears her name. Before she is raised up by God, we must stare at the wicked hearts of depraved men who are running the show in ancient Persia. Against the backdrop of their evil ways, God will soon raise up a Queen who will deliver he people. Where there is a need for a hero, there is already the presence of a villain. This is the harsh reality that Esther would be planted in by her wise and strategic God.
Full Egos & Empty Souls
Esther 1:1-22
January 17, 2024 • Jeff Lyle • Esther 1
When God Pummels the Proud
April 10, 2024 • Jeff Lyle • Esther 6
Let’s admit it: we get frustrated when the bad guys win and good guys lose. We usually prefer quick justice. Haman, the proud and dangerous anti-Semite keeps on walking in prosperity & victory while the Jews are all about to die. In this message from the story of Esther, we see the sovereign hand of God begin to turn the tide against evil Haman. Fewer things prove to be more satisfying in the book of Esther than the events in this chapter. Just when things looked so good for Haman and so terrible for Mordecai, Esther, and the Jews, God does the unthinkable! We learn here why it is so important to wait on God to take care of our enemies. He may seem to move slowly at times, but it is glorious when His moves begin to make sense.
Humility, Authority & Depravity
March 20, 2024 • Jeff Lyle • Esther 5
Flagrant pride in an individual is among the ugliest traits we can witness. The inflated sense of ego, the aroma of self-importance, the insistence on being the center of everyone’s orbit…these are things that repulse us. In Esther’s story, Haman was such a person. This message reveals with no restraints just how nauseatingly arrogant the enemy of the Jews is. As we behold his words and actions, we must be willing to examine our own hearts to see if anything similar might be growing in us. Pride and arrogance ALWAYS have the eventual, inevitable result of God’s resistance and destruction. God exalts the humble as is seen in the life of Esther, but He powerfully resists the proud of heart. Haman’s testimony makes this abundantly clear.
Disturbed into Destiny
March 6, 2024 • Jeff Lyle • Esther 4:8–17
Sometimes, a Christian’s most important moments come through his or her most intense challenges. Many people do not realize that the most famous verse in the book of Esther flows forth from her own personal nightmare wherein she was being asked to put her life on the line. This message will reveal that God will sometimes bring about our divine destiny by presenting us with intense circumstantial disturbances. If you are in trouble during this current season, the disturbance you are experiencing may very well be the activity of God bringing you into what He has prepared for you from before the foundation of the world.