The Tabernacle Today

Little Orphan Esther              Esther 2:1-20

The message is loud and clear through such things, whether spoken or not – “Unless you have ___________ beauty, you are nobody in this world.”

In the Book of Esther we see that 2,500 years ago Ancient Persia had the same emphasis on the __________________ and the shallow as Modern America.

The Beauty Contest to Replace Vashti                                 V. 1-4

The Future Queen’s _______________ Beginnings             V. 5-7

Esther’s real name was Hadassah – that’s her Jewish name, her Hebrew name. Hadassah means Myrtle. A Myrtle tree is a type of evergreen tree, with dark glossy leaves and white flowers. The name Hadassah speaks of God’s restoration and __________________!

Esther is a Persian name, and it probably means, “_____________!”

Painting the barn                                                       V. 8-14

They had to be exactly ready for their relatively short time with the king – and they had to _________________ out to win him over.

And the winner is…Esther!                                        V. 15-20

Three times in the verses of chapter two we are told that Esther stood out among these beauties.

The Sparkle of faith in a believer’s eyes is among the most _____________________ things on earth!

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”                 -Proverbs 31:30

“Do not let your adornment be merely outward – arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel – rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious to God.”            -I Peter 3:3-4

There’s 2 kinds of beauty according to Peter:

There’s corruptible beauty, and incorruptible beauty.

As you look in the mirror ask, “God, am I beautiful ______  ______?”

Listen oh daughter, consider and incline your ear. Forget your own people also and your father’s house. The King is enthralled by your beauty. Because He is your Lord, worship Him!    -Psalm 45:10-11

Ephesians 2:8-10

Can Do Christians       Luke 17:1-10

“William Bradford, speaking in 1630 of the founding of the Plymouth Bay Colony, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage…

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”                                       -President John F. Kennedy, Sept. 12, 1962 at Rice University

As we read the gospels we see Jesus challenge His disciples many times to do that which they could ______________ do in their own strength but that they can do through Him who gives them strength!

Can Do Christians practice the ___________________ brother principle                                                                          V. 1-3a

The word for offense is the Greek word skandalon (4625), from which we get our word scandal.  It indicates the trigger of a trap, a “trap-stick.” We are not to be the “_______________r” for somebody else falling into sin.                   Romans 14:10-13        I Cor. 1:1

Can Do Christians speak TO their brother, not _______________ their brother                                                                           V. 3b

 “The character of an absent person should never be discussed.”                                                                            -Augustine

Can Do Christians forgive as they have been forgiven        V. 3c-4

2 Parts of forgiveness…

Can Do Christians focus on the ___________ of their faith V. 5-6

Romans 10:17

Can Do Christians don’t expect ________________ for doing what they ought                                                                           V. 7-10

Exodus Chapter 5

“William Bradford, speaking in 1630 of the founding of the Plymouth Bay Colony, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage…

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”                   -President John F. Kennedy, Sept. 12, 1962 at Rice University

Exodus is best described with two words – ___________________ and Worship.

Genesis 15:12-14                           Genesis 50:24-26

I Kings 6:1 tells us that Solomon’s fourth year as king was 480 years after the Exodus. Archaeology tells us that that Solomon’s fourth year was 966/965 B.C. That means the Exodus happened in 1445 B.C. 

Genesis ends with Israel down in Egypt with 70 people; Exodus will end with Israel as a nation of ______________ worshipping God at Mount Sinai.

Moses Confronts Pharaoh with God’s __________________                 V. 1-5

What is significant about what Moses says there in the last part of verse 3?

Now of course Pharaoh doesn’t know or obey Israel’s God, so he just gets angry at God’s people, which has been _____________________ throughout history.

Pharaoh ____________________ God’s people Israel                              V. 6-19

Satan didn’t want Israel back in the Promised Land, so Satan uses Pharaoh to keep Israel enslaved and defeated. Their deliverance was coming, but that didn’t mean life would be ____________________.

The __________________ game commences!                                            V. 20-23

What does Moses the leader do in Exodus 5 when the people complain to him?

I love how Exodus tracks God’s ___________________ of Moses’ faith, and the model it is for us as our faith grows!

The Prime Mover                   Esther 1

Providence – The ________________ and supervision of God over His creatures.                                     -New Webster’s Dictionary

Deuteronomy 29:29

To believe in God’s Providence is to believe that despite how bleak or how awful things look down here God is at work for His own inscrutable purposes, and we will _________________ Him!

Prime Mover – A Self caused agent that is the cause of all things.

The Background of Esther                                                     V. 1-2

The events of Esther occur from about 483 BC until 473 BC.

180 Days of Showing ___________                                      V. 3-4

A Seven Day Feast                                                                  V. 5-6

As many as _________ guests would be entertained at once in Persia. 

Xerxes the King of ________________                                 V. 7-10a

“The great king, the king of kings, the king of the lands occupied by many races, the king of this great world.” 

“It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating drink.”                                                                        -Prov. 31:4

The _______________ of Queen Vashti                               V. 10-12

The King’s Sorry ____________ Give Sorry Advice              V. 13-18

Sorry Advice Leads to a Sorry _____________                    V. 19-22

Be assured of this: God is active and moving even when life seems as ___________________ as Esther chapter 1.

David & Svea Flood and daughter Aina “Aggie” Hurst

The Coming Reversal             Luke 16:19-31

The Pharisees were very strict in trying to obey God’s Law and the rules they had added to be sure and keep it.

But they were ___________________ strict, obeying in some areas and justifying disobedience in others.

The name Lazarus means ‘God _________________.’ The rich man has been called ‘Dives’ because that is the Latin for “rich man.”

Lazarus had a hard earthly life, whereas Dives __________________ it up                                                                                               V. 19-21

The rich man had a big funeral, but not Lazarus                  V. 22

For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.                     -Psalm 37:9      Job 19:25-27

After death Lazarus began to receive eternal comfort, and Dives began to receive eternal ____________________                    V. 22-26

There is no hope that the suffering of God-rejecters will be anything but ________________________.

The second Hell in Revelation 20 is presented as a Lake of Fire that had been prepared for the Devil and the Demons (Matthew 25:41).

One last point: No one in Hell will want ______________________ to join them there                                                              V. 27-31

Revelation 5:1-14

A Motivated Manager           Luke 16:1-13

The Story of a man who made quick _________________ when he needed to                                                                            V. 1-8a

Stewards were usually trusted servants, many times born in the household of the owner, who trusted them to ________________ and distribute household provisions.

Jesus commends the man’s effective and urgent use of resources to help his earthly well-being, and is calling believers to do the same, but their focus is to be even more on ________________ matters!

Three commands from Jesus in using our God-given resources:

1. Make eternal _____________________ with your God-given resources V. 8b-9

Matthew 6:19-20

1. Be ______________ as you manage God’s resources V. 10-12

Matthew 19:28-30; I Corinthians 6:3

I Corinthians 4:1-5

1. Be ______________ as you manage God’s resources V. 13

The love of money is the root of all evil.        -I Timothy 6:10

I Timothy 6:17-19

Placing your faith in Jesus gains you everlasting life; Practicing your faith in Jesus gains you abundant life now and Heavenly reward!